Daily Current Affairs and News Analysis 23-03-2025

Vinod Kumar Shukla Wins: The 59th Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honor, has been awarded to Vinod Kumar Shukla.

Significance of the Award: The Jnanpith Award recognizes outstanding contributions to Indian literature, awarded annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith.

Shukla’s Background: He is an 88-year-old author, known for novels like “Naukar ki Kameez” and “Khilega Toh Dekhenge.” This win makes him the 12th Hindi writer to receive the award and the first from Chhattisgarh.

Literary Style: Shukla is celebrated for his simple language and focus on the lives and struggles of ordinary people. His work emphasizes humanistic views and brings attention to the language. His poems have changed the diction of modern Hindi literature.

Impact and Legacy: The award acknowledges Shukla’s significant impact on Hindi literature, highlighting themes of hope and the lives of everyday individuals.

Award Details: The Jnanpith Award includes a cash prize, a citation, and a bronze replica of Vagdevi (Saraswati). The award is presented to writers in languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English.

The 2025 UN World Water Development Report (WWDR), released on World Water Day (March 22nd), focuses on “Mountains and glaciers – Water towers.”

Published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, the WWDR is a flagship report assessing global freshwater resources.

The report highlights the accelerating melting of glaciers due to global warming. All mountain ranges show warming since the early 20th century.

Increased rain, reduced snowfall, and earlier snowmelt are thinning snowpacks, impacting river flows.

A “peak water” point, where river flow declines after an initial increase from meltwater, has already been passed in some glacial-fed rivers (e.g., the tropical Andes, western Canada, Swiss Alps).

Many glaciers have disappeared completely; for instance, Colombia has lost 90% of its glacial area since the mid-19th century.

Projected warming of 1.5-4°C could cause glaciers to lose 26-41% of their 2015 mass by 2100.

Retreating glaciers threaten the food and water supply of 2 billion people. Two-thirds of irrigated agriculture is potentially affected.

Consequences include reduced drinking water and agricultural water, ecosystem stress, and increased risk of devastating glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

First recorded sighting of the dog-faced water snake (Cerberus rynchops) in Northeast India, specifically Assam’s Nalbari district. This is far from its typical coastal habitat.

Five individuals were discovered in floodplains, approximately 800 km from the nearest coast.

The finding is significant because this species is usually found in coastal mangroves, mudflats, and estuaries of Southeast Asia, Northern Australia, and parts of India’s coastline.

This semi-aquatic snake is rear-fanged and mildly venomous. It hunts fish and crustaceans using a “sit-and-wait” strategy.

The discovery highlights the snake’s adaptability to habitats beyond its known range and necessitates further research into its dispersal patterns and ecological flexibility.

The research underscores the important role of local snake rescuers in biodiversity research and conservation. Collaboration with and training of these individuals is crucial for data collection and monitoring.

The dog-faced water snake’s scientific name is Cerberus rynchops.

Its conservation status is “Least Concern” according to the IUCN Red List.

Hawala’s Definition: An informal, unregulated system for transferring funds without physical money movement, relying on trust and a network of brokers (hawaladars).

How it Works: A sender deposits money with a hawaladar in one location and receives a token. The recipient presents the token to a hawaladar in another location to collect the equivalent amount. Accounts are settled later between hawaladars.

Key Use Cases: Facilitates remittances (funds sent by migrant workers), especially from regions like West Asia, offering convenience and accessibility, particularly where formal banking is limited.

Illegal Activities: Hawala is exploited for illicit activities like smuggling, money laundering, the drug trade, and terror financing due to its anonymity and lack of regulatory oversight.

Current Context: A poaching network in central India used hawala for digital payments, operating across multiple supply lines to Nepal and Myanmar, implicated in the potential killing of “100 or more” tigers since 2022.

Notoriety: Hawala has gained notoriety, particularly after 9/11, due to its association with terror financing, leading to bans in many jurisdictions, though networks continue to operate.

Nano DAP (Di-Ammonium Phosphate) is a liquid nano-fertilizer developed by IFFCO in 2023.

It offers improved nutrient absorption and enhanced plant growth compared to conventional granular DAP.

Nano DAP is 8% Nitrogen and 16% Phosphorus by volume. Its liquid form and nano-size (under 100 nm) increase efficiency.

500ml of Nano DAP can replace 50kg of conventional DAP.

Application methods include foliar spray and seed treatment.

It’s considered eco-friendly due to reduced pollution.

The Parliamentary Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers recommends expanding Nano DAP production capacity.

The Committee highlights the need for increased funding for fertilizer subsidy schemes to avoid negative impacts on farmers.

Field trials show potential for reduced conventional DAP use with Nano DAP.

The government has approved Nano DAP for use.

Doctrine of Precedent (Stare Decisis): Courts follow previous decisions on similar legal issues. This ensures consistency and predictability in legal application.

Kerala High Court Case: Highlighted the violation of the doctrine when tax assessments ignored binding higher court precedents. Such assessments are deemed unsustainable.

Article 141 of the Indian Constitution: Establishes the Supreme Court’s judgments as binding on all Indian courts. Lower courts must follow Supreme Court interpretations.

Ratio Decidendi: The binding legal reasoning within a judgment. Courts must follow this in similar cases.

Obiter Dicta: Non-binding, but potentially influential, remarks made in a judgment.

Landmark Case: State of Orissa v. Mamata Patnaik (1978): Underscored the importance of following precedents for consistent law application.

News Relevance: The Kerala High Court case emphasizes the ongoing importance and practical application of the doctrine of precedent in India’s legal system. Ignoring precedents leads to legal inconsistency and challenges to judicial decisions.

IndusInd Bank Derivative Losses: The bank reported a Rs 2,100 crore loss from its derivative portfolio, impacting its share price, leading to a 23% decline initially. The loss was due to misaccounting for forex derivatives/swap transactions executed over the past 5-7 years.

RBI’s Role and Regulations: The disclosure was likely prompted by the RBI. The RBI’s directive in September 2023 prohibited banks from internal trades/hedging, with IndusInd Bank ceasing internal trades from April 1, 2024.

Derivatives Basics: Derivatives are financial contracts whose value is derived from an underlying asset. They are used for hedging risk, speculation, and arbitrage. Types include forward, futures, options, and swaps.

Accounting Lapses: The bank failed to recognize losses on forex derivatives/swap transactions through Net Interest Income (NII), which raises concerns of a breach of accounting norms. The losses accumulated over time, instead of being adjusted gradually.

Executive Actions: The CFO’s sudden departure, along with the CEO and Deputy CEO selling shares worth Rs 157 crore, has raised questions regarding the seriousness of the losses and the bank’s handling of the situation.

RBI’s Response: The RBI assured depositors that the bank’s financial health remains stable, with a comfortable capital adequacy ratio and liquidity coverage ratio.

Rapid Glacier Melting: Glaciers are disappearing at an unprecedented rate, with the last three years showing the largest mass loss on record. Since 1975, glaciers have lost over 9,000 billion tonnes of mass, equal to a Germany-sized ice block, 25 meters thick. Five of the last six years registered the largest losses.

Factors Accelerating Melting: Warmer temperatures, increased wildfires, and dust storms contribute to glacier melting by depositing black carbon and particulates on ice surfaces. This increases solar radiation absorption, accelerating melt rates.

Permafrost Thawing: Rising temperatures are melting permafrost, which contains significant organic carbon. As it thaws, this carbon releases into the atmosphere, worsening climate change, and destabilizes slopes, increasing landslide risks.

Declining Snow Cover: Snow cover is decreasing in almost all mountain regions, especially in spring and summer. Persistent snow cover declined by 7.79% between 1979 and 2022. Erratic snowfall patterns are emerging.

Significance: Mountains, covering 33 million sq km, are vital for life. They provide freshwater resources to around 2 billion people. Glacier melting and permafrost thaw cause changes in water flow, erosion, and increase the risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). Melting ice contributes to rising sea levels, exposing millions to flooding.

Exercise Varuna 2025, the 23rd edition of the India-France bilateral naval exercise, occurred in the Arabian Sea from March 19-22, 2025.

It’s a key pillar of Indo-French strategic cooperation, initially launched in 1993 and officially named “Varuna” in 2001.

High-intensity drills involved subsurface, surface, and aerial domains.

Key objectives included enhancing combat readiness, strengthening joint tactical coordination, and deepening maritime security cooperation.

Aircraft carrier operations featured INS Vikrant (India) and Charles de Gaulle (France), with the Indian Navy observing Rafale-M jets.

Air combat drills included mock air-to-air combat between French Rafale-M and Indian MiG-29K jets.

Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercises involved Indian Scorpene-class submarines acting as aggressors, testing underwater domain awareness.

Surface warfare operations showcased synchronized maneuvers and engagements.

Logistical cooperation was enhanced through replenishment-at-sea exercises.

The exercise strengthened India’s blue-water naval capabilities and interoperability with a major European naval power.

France’s commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific was reiterated, highlighting its presence in the region.

The exercise demonstrated the ability of both nations to operate seamlessly in complex maritime scenarios.