Prelim Bits 14-11-2021 & 15-11-2021 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Kamo’oalewa

A new study offers insights into where the Kamo’oalewa could have come from.

• The asteroid Kamo’oalewa is a quasi-satellite of the Earth.
• It is Earth's wobbly companion that was spotted in 2006 by the PanSTARRS telescope in Hawaii.
• It is a near-Earth object (NEO) that orbits the Sun and gets as close as about 9 million miles from Earth.
• It was named as Kamo’oalewa, a word that is part of a Hawaiian chant, and alludes to an offspring that travels on its own.
• Because of its small size (about 50 metres wide), this quasi-satellite has been difficult for scientists to study.
• Possibilities - The study suggests that there is one possibility that Kamo’oalewa was a part of the Earth’s Moon, that could have broken away from the Moon due to a possible impact.
• When scientists compared its spectrum with a lunar sample from the Apollo 14 mission, there were striking similarities.
• Second possibility is that Kamo’oalewa was captured in its Earth-like orbit from the general population of Near Earth Objects.
• Third possibility is that it originated from an undiscovered quasi-stable population of Trojan asteroids of the Earth.
• [Trojans are a group of asteroids that share an orbit with a larger planet.]

A mission to collect Kamo’oalewa’s samples has been scheduled for a launch in 2025.

Reference

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/this-word-means-kamooalewa-7622853/
2. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-021-00303-7
3. https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/12/kamooalewa_moon_origins/

National Achievement Survey 2021

The National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 was successfully conducted across all 36 states and UTs of the country.

NAS 2021 is the first achievement survey after release of National Education Policy 2020 (NEP).

It will infuse the competency-based assessment system over the content and memory-based assessment as envisaged by NEP 2020.

• NAS is a nationally representative sample-based survey of students' learning undertaken by the Ministry of Education.
• It is a scientifically designed achievement survey that gives a system level reflection on effectiveness of school education.
• It is a process of gathering information in order to develop a deep understanding of what students know, understand and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experiences.
• It will ultimately culminate to improve the subsequent students' learning and development, through systemic interventions.
• NAS was conducted in different mediums of instruction as available in the sampled schools (govt and govt aided schools.)
• There are 3 phases of NAS exercise,

1. Instrument development (done by the NCERT),
2. Sampling design and
3. Actual administration of the test (conducted by CBSE in collaboration with states and UTs).

• Grade-wise subject specific Learning Outcomes have been assessed through NAS.
• The results of NAS 2021 will be prepared in the form of District Report Cards, State/UT reports and National report.
• It will also help in the capacity building for teachers and officials involved in the delivery of education in the country.

Reference:

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1771353
2. https://nas.education.gov.in/home

Kittur Karnataka

The Karnataka Cabinet renamed the Mumbai-Karnataka region, consisting of 7 districts, as Kittur Karnataka.

• The name change was demanded by pro-Kannada bodies saying that there is no point in retaining the old name when border disputes often emerge.
  • Border disputes started after the unification of Karnataka.
  • The States Reorganisation Act of 1956 made Belagavi and 10 talukas of Bombay State a part of the then Mysore State (renamed Karnataka in 1973).
• The renaming is to detach itself from any ties with Maharashtra.
• Every year during the Kannada Rajyotsava celebration (November 1), the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) observes a black day in the state as well as Belagavi.
  • MES says that parts of Belagavi were forcibly separated from Maharashtra during the reorganisation of states in 1956.
• By rechristening Mumbai-Karnataka as Kittur Karnataka, the government is trying to dissociate itself from any ties with the erstwhile Presidency or colonial-era nomenclature.

Kittur

• The name Kittur comes after a historical taluk in Belagavi district of north Karnataka.
• It was ruled by Rani Chennamma (1778-1829), a legend of the Lingayat community.
• Kittur Rani Chennamma had fought against the British about 40 years before Jhansi Rani Laxmibai.

Reference:

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/mumbai-karnataka-region-rechristened-as-kittur-karnataka-7618512/
2. https://www.news18.com/news/explainers/explained-from-bombay-hyderabad-to-kittur-kalyana-the-journey-to-new-names-for-north-karnataka-regions-4435037.html
3. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/mumbai-karnataka-region-7-districts-renamed-kittur-karnataka-1874596-2021-11-09
4. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/will-rename-mumbai-karnataka-region-as-kittur-karnataka-says-cm-bommai-101635794190394.html

Kalyana Karnataka

Earlier in 2019, the Karnataka Cabinet had renamed the Hyderabad-Karnataka region as Kalyana Karnataka.

• Kalyana Karnataka comprises of 6 north-eastern districts of the State. It is one of the most backward regions of Karnataka.
• The reasons why the government effected the change are,
  1. To do away with remnants of colonial nomenclature,
  2. To do away with the connection with the Nizams,
  3. To erase the memories of the atrocities of the Razakars
  4. To promote the Sharana culture and
  5. To give special attention to the region’s development.
• In 2012, the Hyderabad-Karnataka region was accorded special status by the Centre by the insertion of Article 371(J) into the Constitution (special status).

Kalyana

• The name Kalyana comes from the Kingdom of Kalyana.
• Kingdom of Kalyana was the epicentre of the 12th-century Sharana movement and the Vachana Sahitya preached and followed by Basavanna, a Lingayat saint in the Bhakti movement.

Reference:

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/mumbai-karnataka-region-rechristened-as-kittur-karnataka-7618512/
2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/name-changed-development-still-a-dream-for-kalyana-ktaka/articleshow/86270198.cms
3. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/hyderabad-karnataka-is-kalyana-karnataka-now/article29444001.ece

General Consent for the CBI

The Supreme Court is concerned over the CBI’s submission that since 2018, 150 requests for sanction to investigate have been pending with 8 state governments that have withdrawn general consent to the agency.

• The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is governed by The NIA Act, 2008, has jurisdiction across the country.
• But the CBI is governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.
  • This law makes the CBI a special wing of Delhi Police and thus its original jurisdiction is limited to Delhi.
• So, the CBI must obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime in a state.

• Types of Consent - The consent of the state government can be either case-specific or general.
• When a state gives a general consent to the CBI for probing a case, the agency is not required to seek fresh permission every time it enters that state in connection with investigation or for every case.
• When a general consent is withdrawn, CBI needs to seek case-wise consent for investigation from the concerned state government.
• If specific consent is not granted, the CBI officials will not have the power of police personnel when they enter that state.
• A general consent is given to facilitate that seamless investigation in a case of corruption or violence.
• Section 6 of the DSPE Act says that nothing contained in section 5 shall enable any member of the DSPE to exercise powers and jurisdiction in any area in a State, not being a UT or railway area, without the consent of the Government of that State.
  • Section 6 (“Consent of State Government to exercise of powers and jurisdiction”)
  • Section 5 (“Extension of powers and jurisdiction of special police establishment to other areas”)
• Withdrawal of general consent means the CBI cannot register any fresh case involving officials of the central government/ a private person in the state without the state government’s consent.
• The CBI officers will lose all powers of a police officer as soon as they enter the state unless the state government has allowed them.
• Without the general consent, the CBI could continue to probe in old cases until specifically taken back by the state government.
• Further, it continues to investigate cases that were given to it by a court order.
• In Vinay Mishra vs the CBI, Calcutta High Court ruled that,
  1. Corruption cases must be treated equally across the country,
  2. A central government employee couldn’t be distinguished just because his office was located in a state that had withdrawn general consent, and
  3. Withdrawal of consent would apply in cases where only employees of the state government were involved.

Reference:

1. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/sc-state-government-consent-cbi-investigation-7617317/
2. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/what-is-general-consent-to-cbi-1738499-2020-11-06