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TOPIC : GS 2 Indian Constitution—Historical Underpinnings, Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure.

Circumscription

What is the news?

  • Police verifcation and security clearances for passport or government job applicants are a matter of routine in most parts of the country.
  • In Kashmir, the police have now issued a circular aimed at gathering details and denying security clearance to those involved in throwing stones and joining street protests i
  • The exercise may not be out of the ordinary, but it could result in serious prejudice to the aspirations of many young men and women.
  • The circular, which asks CID Special Branch field units to ensure that any subject’s involvement in law-and-order incidents and related crimes be specifically looked into,
  • It also to collect digital evidence from the records of police and security forces,
  • It suggests that the administration is serious about preventing those with a likely link to protests in the past from either entering government service or travelling abroad.
  • Reports suggest that the official list of street protesters swelled between 2008 and 2017 to include nearly 20,000 people.
  • On the face of it, the decision to subject applicants for passports and jobs to scrutiny is not illegal.

Legal Provision

  • Under Section 6(2) of the Passports Act, 1967, passports can be denied to applicants for various reasons
  • It including their likelihood of engaging in activities prejudicial to the country’s sovereignty and integrity, or detrimental to its security.
  • Further, those convicted in the preceding five years, or against whom proceedings are pending before any criminal court, are also candidates for refusal.
  • There is legal recourse for those affected, as the Act allows them to approach the trial court for a ‘No Objection’ certifcate to get a passport.
  • The Government’s position is that the alteration of the status of J&K in August 2019 has ushered in a new era of development and prosperity, and that it is time to strengthen grassroots democracy.
  • It was as a part of this process that Prime

Way Forward

  • The administration to pursue this circular zealously, t
  • There is a danger that it may revive the sort of alienation among the youth that led to the stone-pelting incidents in 2008 and 2010,
  • The wave of disaffection following the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani.
  • All efforts should be directed towards building on current gains, nothing ought to be done to make those still harbouring, for whatever reason, a sense of betrayal feel that some fresh collective punishment is in the offing

Mains question

Explain how Circular on using past protest record to deny jobs, passports risks further alienation in J&K

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/circumscription-on-security-clearances-for-passport-or-government-jobs/article35709197

PRELIMS PUNCHERS

  1. The Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary SSSSSS

It is the ultimate destination for anyone enamoured with the intrinsic beauty of nature. Sprawling over a 125 sq.km complex, it lies about 20 km east of Thrissur. It is situated in the catchment area of the Peechi and Vazhani Dams. It is part of the Palapilli-Nelliampathy forests and forms the northern boundary of the Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Peechi-Vazhani Sanctuary is blessed with many a picnic spot along with a plethora of boating options. The highest point here is the 923 m high Ponmudi which offers an excellent view of the underlying valley. There are more than 50 different kinds of orchids, exotic medicinal plants, teak and rosewood here. One can see over 25 species of mammals including the leopard, tiger, Sambar, deer, Spotted Deer, Indian Bison and Asian Elephant. More than 100 species of birds and several species of snakes and lizards are also found here.

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/concern-over-dip-in-water-level-in-dams/article28287679.ece

  1. Colloidal gold

It is a sol or colloidal suspension of nanoparticles of gold in a fluid, usually water. The colloid is usually either an intense red colour for spherical particles less than 100 nm or blue/purple for larger spherical particles or nanorods. Due to their optical, electronic, and molecular-recognition properties, gold nanoparticles are the subject of substantial research, with many potential or promised applications in a wide variety of areas, including electron microscopy, electronics, nanotechnology, materials science, and biomedicine.

The properties of colloidal gold nanoparticles, and thus their potential applications, depend strongly upon their size and shape. For example, rodlike particles have both transverse and longitudinal absorption peak, and anisotropy of the shape affects their self-assembly. Gold nanoparticles absorb and scatter light resulting in colours ranging from vibrant reds smaller particles to blues to black and finally to clear and colorless (larger particles), depending on particle size, shape, local refractive index, and aggregation state. These colors occur because of a phenomenon called localized surface plasmon resonance

Sources : https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1635079

  1. Digitalization Fund

Google for India’ digitisation fund through which the tech giant will be investing Rs 75,000 crore, or approximately $10 billion, into India over the next 5-7 years. The object is to “investment reflects the internet giant’s confidence in India’s future and its digital economy

Google intends to improve voice input and computing for all of India’s languages which in turn will support a new generation of entrepreneurs. The digitisation fund will invest the Rs 75,000 crore in India through a mix of equity investments, partnerships, and operational, infrastructure and ecosystem investments. Investments will focus on four areas important to India’s digitisation.  First, enabling affordable access and information for every Indian in their own language, whether it’s Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi or any other.  Second, building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India’s unique needs. Third, empowering businesses as they continue or embark on their digital transformation. And fourth, leveraging technology and AI (artificial intelligence) for social good, in areas like health, education, and agriculture. The digitisation Fund will also help in realisation of the key targets under “Digital India movement“. The goal of the fund is to ensure that India not only benefits from the next wave of innovation but leads it. Working together we can ensure that our best days are still ahead, he added.

  1. A metamaterials

It is any material engineered to have a property that is not found in naturally occurring materials. They are made from assemblies of multiple elements fashioned from composite materials such as metals and plastics. The materials are usually arranged in repeating patterns, at scales that are smaller than the wavelengths of the phenomena they influence. Metamaterials derive their properties not from the properties of the base materials, but from their newly designed structures. Their precise shape, geometry, size, orientation and arrangement gives them their smart properties capable of manipulating electromagnetic waves: by blocking, absorbing, enhancing, or bending waves, to achieve benefits that go beyond what is possible with conventional materials.

Potential applications of metamaterials are diverse and include optical filters, medical devices, remote aerospace applications, sensor detection and infrastructure monitoring, smart solar power management, crowd control, radomes, high-frequency battlefield communication and lenses for high-gain antennas, improving ultrasonic sensors, and even shielding structures from earthquakes. Metamaterials offer the potential to create superlenses.

Sources : https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/science-technology/researchers-use-metamaterials-to-enhance-detection-of-defects-in-large-structures-72410

PRELIMS QUESTIONS

Qn 1.Consider the following statement with regard to metamaterials

  1. They have smaller than the wavelengths of the phenomena they influence
  2. Their smart properties capable of manipulating electromagnetic waves by blocking, absorbing, enhancing, or bending waves

Select the correct statement using code given below.

(a). 1only       (b) 2 only

(c).Both       (d). None of above

Answer : B

It is any material engineered to have a property that is not found in naturally occurring materials. They are made from assemblies of multiple elements fashioned from composite materials such as metals and plastics. The materials are usually arranged in repeating patterns, at scales that are smaller than the wavelengths of the phenomena they influence. Metamaterials derive their properties not from the properties of the base materials, but from their newly designed structures. Their precise shape, geometry, size, orientation and arrangement gives them their smart properties capable of manipulating electromagnetic waves: by blocking, absorbing, enhancing, or bending waves, to achieve benefits that go beyond what is possible with conventional materials.

Potential applications of metamaterials are diverse and include optical filters, medical devices, remote aerospace applications, sensor detection and infrastructure monitoring, smart solar power management, crowd control, radomes, high-frequency battlefield communication and lenses for high-gain antennas, improving ultrasonic sensors, and even shielding structures from earthquakes. Metamaterials offer the potential to create superlenses

  1. Consider the following statement with regard to The Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary
  2. It is located in Tamil Nadu
  3. It forms the northern boundary of the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.

Select the correct statement using code given below.

(a). 1only       (b) 2 only

(c).Both       (d). None of above

Answer : D

It is the ultimate destination for anyone enamoured with the intrinsic beauty of nature. Sprawling over a 125 sq.km complex, it lies about 20 km east of Thrissur. It is situated in the catchment area of the Peechi and Vazhani Dams. It is part of the Palapilli-Nelliampathy forests and forms the northern boundary of the Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Peechi-Vazhani Sanctuary is blessed with many a picnic spot along with a plethora of boating options. The highest point here is the 923 m high Ponmudi which offers an excellent view of the underlying valley. There are more than 50 different kinds of orchids, exotic medicinal plants, teak and rosewood here. One can see over 25 species of mammals including the leopard, tiger, Sambar, deer, Spotted Deer, Indian Bison and Asian Elephant. More than 100 species of birds and several species of snakes and lizards are also found here.