Delhi declaration adopted, SC notice on women’s reproductive rights, Silver Trumpet, Antarctic Ozone layer Hole shrinking

Delhi Declaration adopted

The UN counter-terrorism council, during a meeting held in the national capital on 29 October 2022, adopted the Delhi Declaration and called on all 15 member states to ensure zero tolerance towards terrorism. The council also reaffirmed that terrorism, in all forms, constitutes one of most serious threats to international peace and security. It further vowed to deal with the scourge more vigorously.

What the declaration said

1. The main focus of the meeting was to address misuse or abuse of new and emerging technologies by terrorists, with a focus on information and communication technologies, financing of terror, and unmanned aerial systems including drones.
2. Ruchira Kamboj, permanent representative of India to the UN and Counter-Terrorism committee chair, said the Delhi declaration will encourage member states to work collaboratively and collectively to counter the menace of terrorism.
3. It will adopt non-binding guiding principles that will encourage member states to counter the menace of terrorism.
4. In the declaration, the global body expressed concerns over the increasing use of Internet and other information and communications technologies, including social media platforms, for terrorist purposes.
5. It said innovations in financial technologies such as crowd funding platforms present a risk of being misused for terrorist-financing and noted with concern the increasing global misuse of unmanned aerial systems by terrorists to conduct attacks against on critical infrastructure.
6. The Counter-Terrorism Committee urged all member-states to ensure “zero tolerance” towards terrorism, consistent with their obligations under international laws, including human rights law.
7. The meeting underlined the need for taking “urgent action” to counter terrorism in all its forms and manifestations through the full and effective implementation of various UN resolutions.
8. It also noted the importance of continuing discussions on the misuse of emerging technologies for terrorist purposes in other relevant international forums, including the G20.
9. The committee emphasised the need for member-states and CTED (Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate) to continue cooperation with the private sector and civil society for more effective means to counter the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.

SC notice against women’s reproductive rights

The Supreme Court has sought response from the Centre on a plea against the age restriction of 35 years on women’s reproductive rights for conducting pre-conception and pre-natal diagnostic tests. A bench of Justices S K Kaul and Abhay S Oka issued notice to the Union government and others on a plea filed by an advocate contending that the age bar is a restriction on the reproductive rights of women.

What

1. She refers to Section 4(3)(i) of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 to contend that the age restriction of 35 years is a restriction on the reproductive rights of women and in view of the recent judgment of this Court… Issue notice restricted to the aforesaid aspect, it said.
2. The top court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Meera Kaura Patel who contended that the age restriction of 35 years in Section 4(3)(i) of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994 is a restriction on the reproductive rights of women.
3. As per the act, no pre-natal diagnostic techniques shall be used or conducted unless the age of the pregnant woman is above 35 years.
4. In a significant ruling on reproductive rights of women, the apex court had earlier held that all women are entitled to safe and legal abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, and making any distinction on the basis of their marital status is “constitutionally unsustainable”.

Salient features of the “Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act 2021:

• Abortions before 20 weeks of pregnancy:
  • Terminating a pregnancy up to 20 weeks will only require the medical advice of one doctor.
• Abortions upto or beyond 24 of pregnancy:
  • Abortion is legal for women in certain circumstances up to 24 weeks.
  • It would include:
    •  survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (like differently-abled women, minors) etc.
  • Opinion of 2 providers is required for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation.
  • A state-level medical board will be set up to decide:
    • if pregnancy may be terminated beyond 20 months till 24 months.
    • Such a decision can be taken by the medical board only after
      • due consideration and
      • ensuring that the procedure would be safe for the woman.
      • The time frame available to the Medical Board is 3 days.
  • The upper gestation limit does not apply in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by the Medical Board.
  •  
• Anonymity:
  • Name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed except to a person authorised in any law for the time being in force.
• Marital and age criteria:
  • Unmarried women can also access abortion under the above-mentioned conditions because it does not mention the requirement of spousal consent.
  • If the woman is a minor, however, the consent of a guardian is required.
• Intentionally causing a miscarriage:
  • Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code holds intentionally causing a miscarriage as a criminal offence.

Significance of MTP Act:

• Constitutional right:
  • The reproductive choice is personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian constitution.
• Reproductive Rights of a Woman:
  • The laws provide greater reproductive rights and dignity to women as abortion is considered an important aspect of the reproductive health of women.
• Right to Privacy:
  • The rape victims and vulnerable victims are also benefitted from Privacy Clause.
• Encouragement to Safe Abortion:
  • Deaths and injuries from unsafe abortions are largely preventable provided services are performed legally by trained practitioners.

Criticisms of MTP Act:

• No Personal Choice:
  • The boards are unnecessary and an invasion of privacy of the pregnant women which pushes the laborious process a woman had to undergo in order to get an abortion.
  • As the law does not permit abortion at will, critics say that it pushes women to access illicit abortions under unsafe conditions.
• Increase in Gestational limit only in certain cases:
  • It enhances the gestational limit for legal abortion from 20 to 24 weeks only for specific categories of women.
  • A woman who does not fall into these categories would not be able to seek an abortion beyond 20 weeks.
• Shortage of medical staff:
  • According to a 2018 study in the Lancet, 15.6 million abortions were accessed every year in India as of 2015.
  • The Act requires abortion to be performed only by doctors with specialisation in gynaecology or obstetrics.
  • However, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s 2019-20 report on Rural Health Statistics indicates that there is a 70% shortage of obstetrician-gynaecologists in rural India.

Way ahead

• Access to legal and safe abortion is an integral dimension of sexual and reproductive equality and must be a crucial element of conventional society.

The President presented the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner

President Droupadi Murmu presented the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the President’s Bodyguard in a ceremony on 27 October 2022 evening. The President’s Bodyguard (PBG) is the oldest regiment in the Indian Army, having been raised as the Governor-General’s Bodyguard (later the Viceroy’s Bodyguard) in 1773. The regiment was raised in Banaras (Varanasi) by the then Governor-General, Warren Hastings.

The President’s Bodyguard

1. It had an initial strength of 50 handpicked cavalry troopers from the so-called Moghal Horse, which was raised by two local sardars in 1760, and was later augmented by another 50 horsemen.
2. On 27 January 1950, the regiment was renamed the President’s Bodyguard. Today, the President’s Bodyguard is a mounted unit comprising a select body of hand-picked men with special physical attributes. They are chosen after a rigorous and physically grueling process.
3. The President’s Bodyguard has seen war-time duty and a detachment currently serves on the Siachen Glacier.
4. Its men have served with the IPKF in Sri Lanka and as part of UN Peace-Keeping Missions.

Silver Trumpet and Banner

1. As the President of India’s own Guard, it has the unique distinction of being the only military unit of the Indian Army that is privileged to carry the President’s Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner.
2. This distinction was conferred on the President’s Bodyguard in 1923 by the then Viceroy, Lord Reading, on the occasion of the Bodyguard completing 150 years of service. Each succeeding Viceroy, thereafter, presented the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the Bodyguard.
3. Every President has continued the practice of honouring the regiment. Rather than a coat of arms, as was the practice in the colonial era, the monogram of the President appears on the Banner.
4. Dr Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, presented the Silver Trumpet and Trumpet Banner to the President’s Bodyguard on 14 May 1957.

Antarctic Ozone Layer Hole Keeps Shrinking

The hole in the ozone layer became smaller in 2022, according to the annual update by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Concern

1. The ozone layer protects life on Earth from the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation.ODS, released through aerosols, and damages the stratospheric ozone layer.
2. The chlorine and bromine (produced from human-produced compounds) cause ozone in the southern polar region to be destroyed rapidly and severely. This depleted region is known as the ozone hole. The strongest depletion occurs above Antarctica.
3. But since the early 2000s, the Antarctic ozone hole has been shrinking and its annual average size was 23.2 million square kilometers, according to NASA and NOAA.
4. This depleted area of the ozone layer over the South Pole was slightly smaller than the extent of 23.3 million square kilometers for the same period in 2021, the organizations noted.

Montreal Protocol

1. The recovery of the ozone layer was due to the ban adopted by the Montreal Protocol in 1989 on the release of harmful, ozone-depleting chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons adopted by the Montreal Protocol.
2. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layeris the multilateral environmental agreement that regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 man-made chemicals referred to as ozone depleting substances (ODS).

PM calls for ‘One Nation, One Uniform’ for Police

One Nation One Uniform

• PM urged that the identity of police across the country should be the same.
• This suggestion is in line with his broader attempt to introduce a uniform set of policies across the country.

How can this be achieved?

• Law and order is a State Subject.
• The Indian Constitution puts police forces under the jurisdiction of state governments, and each of the 28 states have their own police force.
• Both ‘public order’ and the ‘police’ are placed in List II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with the division of powers between the Union and States.
• In the circumstances, it is unclear how the PM’s suggestion, if the government were to take it up seriously, might be implemented.

Why such move?

Ans. Inconsistencies in attire

• While police personnel in India are often associated with the colour khaki, their uniforms do differ in varying degrees in different regions.
• For example:

1. Kolkata Police wear white uniforms
2. Puducherry Police constables wear a bright red cap with their khaki uniforms
3. Delhi Traffic Police personnel wear white and blue uniforms

Changes in police uniforms

Over the years, police departments of various states have made various attempts to reform uniforms for their personnel.

• Maharashtra: In February 2018, in a bid to prevent colour variation in the uniform of its personnel, the Maharashtra police had decided to provide dope-dyed khaki fabric for its staff. Again, the Maharashtra DGP issued a circular discontinuing the practice of wearing a “tunic uniform” for officers from the rank of Police Sub Inspectors (PSI) to Deputy Superintendent (DySP).
• Karnataka: In October 2018, the Karnataka Police announced that women personnel would no longer wear khaki saris, rather a khaki shirt and trousers while on duty. This would make it easier for policewomen to do their job and improve their effectiveness in dealing with crime.
• New Delhi: The Delhi Police had asked the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) to design fresh uniforms, with an immediate focus on clothing that would be more comfortable.

Other such moves

• In August this year, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers announced that it had implemented the “One Nation One Fertiliser” scheme.
• The Centre in August 2019 had introduced the “One Nation One Ration Card” scheme.
• PM has also repeatedly suggested the implementation of “One Nation, One Election”, and adopting a single voter list for all polls.