Iron Ore Mining and Supreme Court Judgement

• The Supreme Court recently increased the "ceiling limit" of iron ore mining for the Karnataka districts of Ballari, Chitradurga, and Tumakuru, stating that environmental protection and economic development must coexist.
• The Supreme Court has loosened its own directives ten years after strictly regulating the production and sale of iron ore in Karnataka.

About Karnataka Iron Ore Mining Ban

• After the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opened an investigation into unlawful mining at the Obulapuram Mining Company (OMC) near Ballari in 2009, the company was shut down by the Supreme Court in 2010.
• The illicit mining caused significant losses to the exchequer, theft of public property, encroachment on forest land, environmental destruction, and widespread health problems among the local population.
• Over 700 government officials, including three chief ministers, were implicated in the unlawful mining affair in the two Lokayukta Reports from 2008 and 2011.

Supreme Court Directives:

• The Supreme Court issued a directive in 2011 to halt mining activities in Ballari after the Central Empowered Committee (CEC), which was formed by the SC, published a report on the widespread irregularities in the mining industry.
• As part of the idea of intergenerational equality, the SC also prohibited the export of iron ore pellets from Karnataka in order to stop environmental damage and conserve it for future generations.
• For mines in categories A and B, SC additionally set the maximum allowed yearly output limit at 35 MMT.
• In order to repair the environmental harm brought on by illicit mining, it instructed the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) to develop a reclamation and rehabilitation (R&R) plan.
• The SC approved the restart of 18 "category A" mines in 2012.
• Mines were divided into groups based on how much illicit activity they included.
• "Leases where no illegality or marginal illegality has been identified" are classified as "A Category Mines."
• Based on their different offences, mine with more significant transgressions fall under categories B and C.
• The ore was sold through online auctions after the mines were permitted to reopen.

The implication of Order:

• As a result of the mines' closure, steel mills were forced to buy raw materials from abroad, which allowed large international iron ore companies to do business in India.

• The price increases, e-auction restrictions, and other factors had a negative impact on thousands of Karnataka residents who depend on the mining industry for a living.

Recent Developments on the Issue

• Mining Firms Appeal: In May 2022, mining companies requested that the Supreme Court (SC) eliminate the e-auction requirements for the export or sale of iron ore to mining lessees in the Ballari, Tumakuru, and Chitradurga districts.
• They stated that their failure to sell their stocks had led to their impending closure.
• Position of the Karnataka Administration: The Karnataka government is in favour of completely eliminating the ceiling limit.

Original Petitioners' Position

• The initial petitioner opposed all exports, arguing that only finished steel should be exported because materials are valuable national resources that must be conserved.

Supreme Court Decision

• The Supreme Court increased the cap on mining for the following mines and allowed the state to resume exporting already-excavated iron ore through channels other than e-auction.
• 28 MMT to 35 MMT in Ballari
• Districts of Chitradurga and Tumakuru: 7 to 15 MMT
• The court determined that it was necessary to level the playing field between the miners located in the three districts and those located elsewhere in the nation.

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Rising Greenhouse Gas

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Sea levels and greenhouse gas emissions reached new highs in 2021, according to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States.

Findings:

• The study, which claimed that Greenland's ice sheet is already starting to melt to dangerous levels and will eventually raise sea levels without any warming, came out just days before the report.
• The dwellings of hundreds of millions of people who live in low-lying locations all over the world are predicted to be submerged.
• Rising Greenhouse Gases: In 2021, the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases was 414.7 parts per million, 2.3 parts more than in 2020.
• Since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant slowdown in the global economy last year, the rise is attributable to a reduction in fossil fuel emissions.
• Rising Sea Levels: This is the eighth year in a row that sea levels have risen.
• When satellite measurements started in 1993, they broke the previous record by 3.8 inches or 97 millimetres.
• Global warming: Since records have been kept in the mid-to-late 1800s, 2021 ranks as one of the seven warmest years on record.
• Additionally, according to the global mean surface temperature, it was one of the six warmest years ever recorded.

Variations in temperature

• The La Nina phenomenon, a sporadic event in the Pacific that cools seas, was to blame for the low average temperature.
• All but two months of the year—June and July—saw La Nina in full effect.
• February was the coldest month since February 2014 and had the lowest global temperature anomaly of the year.
• However, the water was also unusually warm.
• Tibetan lakes, which are crucial because they provide water for many of Asia's major rivers, saw high temperatures.
• As the Earth warms, the frequency of tropical storms increased in 2021.
• Super Typhoon Rai, struck the Philippines in December and left nearly 400 people dead.
• Before becoming the second most dangerous hurricane to kill people in Louisiana after Katrina, Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc in the Caribbean.
• For the first time since 1409, cherry trees in Kyoto, Japan, began to bloom early.
• The frequency of wildfires, which is also anticipated to rise as a result of climate change, was relatively low in previous years, despite the fact that Siberia and the American West both had devastating burns.

US role in climate change

• The US is the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases globally per capita, after China, which accounts for over 25% of all emissions.
• It is the world's top emitter of greenhouse gases per person.
• As a result, the US is given a bigger duty for leading the world toward climate change.
• The US has the economic strength to influence the world toward global environmental recovery as the largest economy and the only superpower.
• Additionally, the US is seen as the de facto leader of the western world and has the authority to influence international decisions.
• Technology Leadership: The US's technological strength has a significant impact on the global climate paradigm.
• Therefore, in order to take speedier and more effective action against climate change, many developing nations, like India, have requested the sharing of technology.
• For instance, creating more affordable photovoltaic cells, creating batteries, utilizing hydrogen as a clean, highly efficient fuel, building ultra-supercritical power plants, etc.

India’s steps to tackle climate change

• In accordance with the Paris Summit, India's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
• The diminished intensity of emissions
• capacity for generating electricity from non-fossil fuels
• development of a carbon sink

International Solar Alliance:

• France is a partner nation in the international alliance known as ISA, which was founded by India and has its headquarters there as well.
• By utilizing cutting-edge technology, as well as offering incentives and regulating solar power, it aims to promote research into the development of more effective, affordable solutions to the world's energy needs.
• It has 88 members right now.
• Its initial membership was limited to tropical nations, also known as those having a strong potential for solar resources. However, it is now accessible to all UN members.
• India is allocating a significant portion of its resources for development to the fight against climate change.
• When compared to western nations, which are already in advanced stages of development, this is an amazing endeavour.
• In fact, India's attempts to use solar energy have led to a situation where the cost of producing solar energy is currently lower than that of any other form of energy.
• Climate Transparency Report: Of the G20 countries, only India consistently ranks at the top due to its measures being in line with the aim of preventing the world temperature from rising above 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Way Forward

• The globe should closely adhere to the 1.5 degree Celsius limit for temperatures over pre-industrial levels.
• Moving from the sensational to the strategy is necessary. Anthropogenic emissions must reach net-zero levels, and cumulative emissions cannot go over a global carbon budget in the meantime, in order to moderate the increase in temperatures.

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Cervavac Vaccine for Cervical Cancer

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The scientific completion of Cervavac, India's first locally made quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer, was recently announced by the Union Minister of Science and Technology.

About Cervavac

Manufacturer: The Serum Institute of India, situated in Pune, developed Cervavac in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology of the Indian Government (DBT).

Human papillomavirus (HPV), a common virus that is spread through sexual contact, has been related to almost all cases of cervical cancer.

Lifecycle:

While the HPV infection is typically cleared up spontaneously by the body's immune system within two years, in a tiny proportion of people, the virus can remain over time and cause some normal cells to develop into cancerous cells.

Prevention

• Two effective methods for avoiding cervical cancer include screening and immunisation.
• Less than 10% of Indian women are screened, and few women are aware of how to prevent this cancer.
• Even if they don't have any symptoms, all women aged 30-49 must get screened for cervical cancer and have their teenage daughters vaccinated against HPV.

In India, how prevalent is cervical cancer?

• With 1.23 lakh instances and over 67,000 fatalities per year, India is responsible for almost a fifth of the world's cervical cancer cases.
• In the nation, it claims one woman's life every eight minutes.
• How well does the new vaccine work?
• Data indicates that the antibodies that form after receiving both doses of the HPV vaccine can last up to six or seven years.
• The cervical cancer vaccination may not require booster injections.
• It is anticipated to be substantially less expensive, with a price range of Rs 200 to 400

Challenges

• The largest challenge will be assigning enough money and labour to vaccinate the enormous population of teenage females between the ages of 9 and 15.
• There is a critical need to raise community knowledge of the disease and the vaccine.
• The community has very little screening, which is a problem.

Data/ Facts

• Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women globally according to the WHO.
• It is preventable.
• In 2018, an estimated 570, 00 women were diagnosed with the disease and it accounted for 311,000 deaths across the world

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Vostok Exercise 2022

India recently took part in the International Vostok-2022 strategic and command exercise in Russia together with a number of other nations.

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Exercise Vostok

• There will be forces there from a number of former Soviet states as well as China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua, and Syria.
• The 7/8 Gorkha Rifles contingent served as the Indian Army's representative.
• Interaction and coordination between other participating military contingents and observers are its main objectives.
• More than 50,000 soldiers and more than 5,000 weaponry units, including 140 planes and 60 warships, will participate in the Vostok 2022 exercise, which will take place at seven firing ranges in Russia's the Far East and the Sea of Japan.
• Through discussions and tactical exercises, the Indian Army contingent will look forward to exchanging practical information, putting verified drills, and procedures, and practising the integration of new technologies into effect.

Other exercises of India with China and Russia

Exercise TSENTR:

• The 2019 edition of this yearly series of sizable drills is a component of the Russian Armed Forces' yearly training cycle.

ZAPAD exercise 2021:

• 17 nations, including India, China, Russia, and Pakistan, are taking part in this multinational exercise.
• Operations against terrorists are its main focus.

Exercise Hand-in-Hand

• It is being conducted in China with the goal of honing cooperative planning and execution of counterterrorism operations in semi-urban terrain.

Russia: Indra's Exercise

• The exercise will involve a joint force conducting counterterrorism operations against global terror organizations in accordance with a United Nations mandate.
• Beginning in 2003, the bilateral naval exercise series known as INDRA was carried out alternately between the two nations.
• The first joint Tri-Services exercise, however, was held in 2017

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Indian Police and Ethics

Most other professions lack the ethical or moral component that the police have in their work.

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An "ideal police system," according to former president Ram Nath Kovind, means that a police officer's duties are filled with accountability and responsibility.

Motives for various police ethics

Making moral judgments:

• The authorities frequently have to choose between taking away someone's freedom or their life since life and liberty are important moral ideals that are upheld in all human civilizations.
• The police must take a wide range of acts into account while making moral choices.

Considered as Good or Bad in Relation to Law:

• Before deciding whether a person's activities are wrong, police must first assess their goodness and badness.
• They claim that they must carry out their duties in conformity with the legislation in force at the time.

Reacts to a Range of Emotions:

• Police officers are much more likely than persons in other professions to experience a variety of emotions over the course of their employment, including fear, wrath, suspicion, enthusiasm, and boredom.
• They need to be emotionally intelligent in order to be able to react to these feelings appropriately in order to act effectively

Problems with India's Ethical Policing

Police politicization:

• In India, the rule of law, which serves as the framework for justice, has been "undermined by the rule of politics."
• The lack of a clear tenure policy for the posting of officers at all levels and the arbitrary transfers and postings that have been used for political gain are the main causes of the politicization of the police.
• Politicians use suspension and transfer as tools to control police officers.
• These harsh sanctions have a negative impact on police morale and disrupt the line of command inside the organization, undercutting the authority of any superiors who may be competent, honest, and fair-minded but fall short in terms of support or political utility.

Custodial Death:

• According to government statistics, the overall number of custodial fatalities in India grew from 1,940 in 2020–21 to 2,544 in 2021–22.
• Among all states and Union Territories over the past two years, Uttar Pradesh has reported the most deaths in custody.
• Police coercion is best described as when a police officer applies excessive force or intimidation in an effort to coerce a suspect into confessing to a crime.
• Police have been charged with utilizing various sorts of coercion to induce confessions from suspects. Coercion by the police can take many different forms.

Corruption:

• India ranks 85th out of 180 countries in the corruption perception index, 2021, despite the fact that corruption is pervasive around the world.
• The corruption that permeates the police force at practically every level and in various forms has not gone unnoticed.
• In some cases, high-ranking police officials were discovered to be engaging in corrupt practices, and in other cases, low-ranking police officers were caught red-handed accepting bribes.
• Due to inadequate representation of women in the police force, investigations into crimes involving women are hampered by gender inequality.

Problem with Constabulary:

• The constables constitute 86% of the police forces and their duties also involve a certain amount of decision-making and judgment for which they are not adequately skilled and trained

Public Distrust:

• There is a trust deficit among the public when it comes to the police who are often seen as corrupt, inefficient, and politically partisan.

Police Ethics, National Human Rights Commission, 1998

• Police must achieve their goals but must do so in a troublesome way:
• The police must have "low in authority and high in accountability" in a democratic society.
• One of the main roles of the police is to protect human rights: Additionally, the definition of police ethics and police institutions exist to uphold the greatest moral ideals and to defend citizens' rights to life, liberty, and property in a democratic democracy.
• Police frequently employ damaging tactics including coercion and fraud, among other things.
• This seeming conflict between noble goals and dubious methods creates a perilous moral dynamic that threatens not only Indian police work but police activity everywhere else.

Various Suggestions

Shah Commission of Inquiry (1978) Recommendation:

• The Shah Commission of Inquiry recommended in its report that the government should seriously consider the viability and desirability of shielding the police from the nation's politics and employing them scrupulously on police duties that are the only ones required by law to prevent political interference.

National Police Commission (1977)

• The National Police Commission also made a number of crucial recommendations to safeguard the police against internal and external influences.
• The commission suggested making judicial inquiries into cases of in-custody rape, fatal police shootings, and excessive use of force mandatory.

Model Police Act: To create a Model Police Act, the Soli Sorabjee Committee was formed.

• In order to "allow the police to operate as an efficient, effective, people-friendly, and responsive service," the group submitted their proposals in 2006.
• The committee generally followed the guideline set forth by the Supreme Court in its Prakash Singh ruling.
• The Supreme Court issued seven orders in the Prakash Singh Case in 2006 with the goal of enacting police reforms.
• An antiquated piece of legislation, the Police Act of 1861 was created to control the Indians after the uprising of 1857.
• Society is evolving: More than 150 years have passed since the Act was passed, and society today is very different from that of the times, particularly after independence.
• Changing Expectations: The public's expectations of police departments have completely shifted, and reformative rather than punitive policing is now most necessary.
• The complexity of Crimes: With the introduction of technology and other variables like the white-collar and complex crimes, the nature of crime has also completely changed.

Steps were taken by the Government of India

• A program to decriminalize infractions and transgressions that are small;
• The proposal to change the Identification of Prisoners Act of 1920, was a piece of legislation that was enacted more than a century ago.
• The deeper integration of technology into the day-to-day operations of the police is a top objective for the government.
• The Indian Police Foundation is making efforts to bring internal reforms, technology adaption, digital transformation, and training to strengthen the professional and ethical standards of the police to realize the vision of a SMART Indian Police.

The Prime Minister’s call for making the police a SMART force is:

• Strict and Sensitive,
• Modern and Mobile,
• Alert and Accountable,
• Reliable and Responsive,
• Tech-savvy and Trained.

Ethical Principles that must Be Obeyed by Police Practice:

• According to a 1998 statement by the National Human Rights Commission, police practices must adhere to carefully formulated moral standards that adequately strike a balance between the moral rights of victims and those of suspects.
• For instance, police must be restrained from using lethal force in order to protect both themselves and citizens.
• The Indian policing system needs to be updated in order to keep up with contemporary crime and the demands of necessary investigations.

Way forward

• In a democratic society, the police must be "low in authority and high in responsibility," according to the National Human Rights Commission in 1998.
• In a democratic government, protecting individuals' rights to life, liberty, and property is one of the highest moral obligations of police ethics and police institutions. Therefore, upholding human rights is a fundamental duty of the police.

Also, Read - Iron Ore Mining and Supreme Court Judgement