1 – About the National Register of Citizens (NRC):GS I

Indian Polity 

·       Details:

·       NRC stands for National Register of Citizens.

·       Following the completion of the Census of 1951 in each village, a register known as the National Register of Citizens, 1951, was compiled. Each residence or piece of property’s population is listed, along with their names, and is shown in serial order.

·       1951 marked the only publication of the NRC.

·       The NRC of Assam:

·       The large illegal influx to Assam from what was previously East Pakistan and, after 1971, from what is now Bangladesh called for an update.

·       From 1979 to 1985, a six-year deportation of illegal immigrants agitation took place in Assam.

·       The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) led the movement calling for the NRC to be updated and all unlawful migrants who entered Assam after 1951 to be deported.

·       The Assam Accord was signed in 1985, which marked the culmination of the struggle.

·       The cutoff date for deporting unauthorised immigrants was established on March 25, 1971.

·       The cutoff date for Articles 5 and 6 of the Constitution was July 19, 1949; as a result, the Citizenship Act of 1955 was modified and a new clause was added to reflect the updated date.

·       The only place it applied was Assam.

·       In response to AASU and other Assam organisations’ persistent requests for the NRC to be updated, an Assam-based NGO filed a suit with the Supreme Court.

·       A divided Supreme Court bench mandated that the NRC be updated as quickly as practicable in December 2014.

·       Electoral Rolls from 1971 and the NRC from 1951 are two examples of legacy data (up to midnight on March 24, 1971). Indian citizenship is available to anybody whose name is on these documents and to their offspring.

·       Impact:

·       After the NRC is changed, rumours regarding the true number of illegal immigrants in Assam and the rest of the country are expected to stop.

·       A validated dataset will be made available to facilitate meaningful discussions and the implementation of policies.

·       The release of an updated NRC is intended to discourage future Bangladeshi immigrants from entering Assam illegally.

·       The new NRC has already created the perception that anyone entering Assam illegally runs the possibility of being detained, jailed, and deported.

·       More importantly, it may be much more difficult for illegal immigrants to get Indian identity cards and to enjoy all the rights and privileges to which all Indian citizens are entitled.

·       Everyone who speaks Bengali in Assam and once thought they were Bangladeshis will be relieved to see their names on the NRC.

·       Challenges:

·       Process mistakes: People who appeared on the first list, which was published on January 1, 2018, did not appear on the second list. The list did not include the family of a past Indian president.

·       The simultaneous operations of the NRC, the voter list kept by the Election Commission, and the Foreigners’ Tribunals, which are assisted by the Assam Border Police, have resulted in complete confusion.

·       The programme has a deadline for re-verification, but it will be exceedingly challenging to manually check everyone on the list.

·       The courts, which are now handling a huge number of open cases, may become overloaded as a result of such “non citizens” being able to use the legal system to bolster their citizenship claim.

·       What will happen to those who weren’t on the list is unknown.

·       Expulsion to Bangladesh is not a possibility because Dhaka has never acknowledged that they are its people or that illegal immigration is a problem. India is not allowed to forcibly return illegal immigrants to Bangladesh without a signed agreement.

·       Bringing up this problem will also damage relations with Dhaka. Such an endeavour would be harmful to the nation’s international position and bilateral relations.

·       Large-scale prison facilities are an option to deportation, albeit it’s unlikely that this would happen in a mature democracy like India.

·       Another choice would be to implement work licences, which would remove people’s political voice while giving them limited legal rights to work. What will happen to these people’s progeny, though, is unclear.

·       NRC seems to be an endless process because uncertainty has no beginning or end.

·       Source à The Hindu

2 – Details of the Space Debris:GS II

Space and Technology

·       What Is Space Debris, Exactly?

·       The continuous use of space-based technology that supports crucial operations including communication, transportation, weather and climate monitoring, and remote sensing is threatened by space debris.

·       Predicting the likelihood of collision with these space objects is crucial for both national security and the maintenance of Indian public and commercial space assets.

·       Total amount of orbiting debris:

·       The true amount of space debris is estimated to be between 500,000 and one million pieces, although this figure is simply an estimate because smaller objects cannot yet be detected by present sensor equipment. They all travel at up to 28,162 kph (17,500 mph), a fast enough speed for a little piece of orbital trash to destroy a satellite or spacecraft.

·       The project’s relevance:

·       The programme will produce a collision probability solution that is transparent, scalable, operationally adaptable, and built in India, thereby assisting the country’s $7 billion (Rs 51,334 crore) space industry.

·       Future developments that could help with the problem’s resolution include:

·       One technique to avoid a potential collision is to alter an object’s orbit, but the sheer amount of debris necessitates constant observation and forecasting.

·       The International Space Station’s Space Debris Sensor orbits the planet on behalf of NASA. In December 2017, the sensor was fastened to the exterior of the European Columbus module of the space station. It will be able to detect debris with a millimeter-diameter diameter for at least two years, reporting details on everything it observes, including size, density, velocity, orbit, and whether the item it is striking is made of natural space trash or artificial.

·       To showcase various retrieval strategies, two cubesats on the REMOVE debris satellite will launch fake space debris.

·       Deorbit project: The e.Deorbit mission is developing two state-of-the-art methods to capture or gather stray space junk.

·       Another approach involves moving items with a powerful laser beam. It is essential to start as soon as possible because current scientific forecasts show that without aggressive debris removal, some orbits may eventually become unusable.

·       Initiative Netra:

·       Isro constructed a specialised Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Center named “Netra” in Bengaluru in December to protect its space assets from space debris.

·       Netra serves as the hub for all SSA activities with the primary responsibility of tracking, managing, and protecting national space assets.

·       Only the United States, Russia, and Europe have equivalent tracking and collision warning systems in place.

·       The Indian anti-satellite missile (ASAT):

·       The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) are working together on Mission Shakti (ISRO).

·       An anti-satellite (A-SAT) missile that was fired as part of the operation was designed to strike a defunct Indian spacecraft. Mission Shakti was launched from the DRDO’s Balasore testing facility in Odisha.

·       Significance:

·       India is the fourth country in the world to develop such a cutting-edge capability, and all the work is done by Indians. Prior to this, only the United States, Russia, and China have succeeded in hitting a live target in orbit.

·       Source à The Hindu 

3 – About the National Company Law Tribunal:

Prelims Specific Topic 

·       The NCLT Facts:

·       In India, disputes involving Indian businesses are decided by a quasi-judicial body.

·       On June 1st, 2016, it was established. (2013 Companies Act)

·       The formation of the group was advised by the Justice Eradi Committee.

·       It mostly deals with issues concerning company law and insolvency law.

·       Members’ terms of office: The length of appointments will be five years from the start date of the position until the appointed person becomes 65, whichever occurs first, or until additional instructions are given.

·       Source à The Hindu

4 – Details of the Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus:GS II

Health related issues

·       About:

·       Through a mosquito bite, the Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus infects people. Only a few cases are reported in the United States each year. Eastern or Gulf Coast states tend to have the most occurrences. Despite being uncommon, EEE is a serious illness. A third of EEE patients pass away, and many of those who do survive have ongoing neurological problems.

·       EEE cannot be prevented or treated with vaccines or medicines. To reduce your chance of contracting the EEE virus, use insect repellent, wear long sleeves and long pants, and take precautions against mosquitoes both inside and outside.

·       Source à The Hindu

5 – About the Food Inflation:

Prelims Specific Topic

·       About:

·       Food and fuel inflation are two factors that contribute to India’s overall inflation rate.

·       Headline inflation, as the name suggests, is the total inflation for the period based on a basket of commodities.

·       the assortment of goods used for tracking Volatile items are not included in headline inflation. Food and beverages (including veggies) and fuel and light are the most volatile commodities (crude oil).

·       Core inflation is calculated as headline inflation minus (Food and Fuel) inflation.

·       Source à The Indian Express