Daily Prelims Booster 11th May 2023

1) Energy Transition Advisory Committee Report: Recently, the Energy Transition Advisory Committee (ETAC) report has been received by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

• The report contains a wide range of forward-looking recommendations by a panel for the shift to low-carbon energy, in line with India’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2070
• The report also includes suggestions that relate to multiple ministries and a range of stakeholders, including states

Recommendations of the panel:

• India should ban the use of diesel-powered four-wheeler vehicles by 2027 and switch to electric and gas-fueled vehicles in cities with more than a million people and polluted towns to cut emissions
• There should be no diesel city buses addition in urban areas in about 10 years
• EVs may be promoted as the optimal solution in preparing for phasing out internal combustion engine two/three-wheel vehicles by 2035
• The report favoured new registrations of only electric-powered city delivery vehicles from 2024
• The panel called for four-wheelers, including passenger cars and taxis, to partially shift to electric and partially to ethanol-based petrol with almost 50% share in each category
• Government should consider a ‘targeted extension’ of incentives given under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles scheme (FAME) to beyond March 31
• The report suggested higher use of railways and gas-powered trucks for the movement of cargo
• However, consultations with various stakeholders on the report have yet to be initiated, and no decision has yet been taken on the recommendations

2) Sepoy Mutiny Anniversary: Indian Mutiny is also called Sepoy Mutiny or First War of Independence

• It was a widespread but unsuccessful rebellion against British rule in India in 1857-59
• It began in Meerut by Indian troops (sepoys) in the service of the British East India Company; it spread to Delhi, Agra, Kanpur and Lucknow
• The rebellion began when sepoys refused to use new rifle cartridges
• These new rifle cartridges were thought to be lubricated with grease containing a mixture of pigs’ and cows’ lard and thus religiously impure for Muslims and Hindus
• The soldiers were shackled and imprisoned, but their outraged comrades shot their British officers and marched on Delhi
• The ensuing fighting was ferocious on both sides and ended in defeat for the Indian troops
• The immediate result was that the East India Company was abolished in favour of direct rule of India by the British government
• In addition, the British government began a policy of consultation with Indians
• British-imposed social measures that had antagonized Hindu society (e.g., a proposed bill that would remove legal obstacles to the remarriage of Hindu women) were also halted

3) Extension of CPEC to Afghanistan: Pakistan and China have agreed to extend the Beijing-backed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to Afghanistan

• Pakistan Foreign Minister, his Chinese counterpart and Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed acting Foreign Minister held the 5th China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Dialogue
• The Ministers also underlined the need to prevent any group from using their territories for terror activities against any nation
• The Ministers held in-depth talks on various issues and reached common understandings on mutual trust, security cooperation, counterterrorism, connectivity and trade and investment
• The three countries also urged the international community to assist Afghanistan to counter the cultivation of narcotics effectively and develop alternative crops to enhance its capacity for independent and sustainable development
• The three sides emphasized their commitment to continuing the trilateral cooperation mechanism, good-neighbourly relations and partnerships

CPEC: It is a framework of regional connectivity

• It is a massive bilateral project
• It aims to improve infrastructure within Pakistan for better trade with China and to further integrate the countries of South Asia
• It is part of the larger Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)
• Notably, the project was launched on April 20, 2015, when Chines President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif signed 51 agreements and memorandums of understanding valued at $46 billion

4) India’s first pod taxi: India is set to get its first pod taxi between Noida International Airport in Jewar and the Film City

• Following the approval from the Uttar Pradesh government, the construction will also be kickstarted
• Moreover, the tender process is also expected to begin shortly
• The Pod Taxi initiative is expected to be finalized by the conclusion of 2024
• The project is estimated to cost approximately 810 crore rupees

Environment-friendly and fast, pod taxis are considered one of the most advanced modes of transport

• They are automated cars
• They are designed in a way that can carry only a fixed number of travellers from one place to another
• They need a track to travel
• They are powered by electricity
• The track for pod taxis are usually made separately on the roads in a bid to avoid road traffic

While pod taxis have already been seen in several other nations such as Singapore, London among others, UP will be the first state in India to get the international transit system

5) Surrogacy Law in India: Recently, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that live-in partners and same-sex couples cannot be allowed to avail of services under the surrogacy law

• The government said the inclusion of live-in and same-sex couples within the ambit of the Surrogacy Act would lead to ‘misuse’
• It would be difficult to ensure a better future for the child born through surrogacy
• The affidavit comes at a time when same-sex couples are fighting for their right to marry and raise a family as equal parents
• The government’s perspective is not in tune with several SC judgments that long live-in relationships ‘presume’ marriage
• The response from the Centre is based on a petition challenging several provisions of the Surrogacy Act, 2021 and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021 as discriminatory and violative of the reproductive rights of women and an impediment to the right to privacy
• But the government argued that both Acts made it clear that couples opting for surrogacy or assisted reproduction should be ‘legally married biological man and woman’
• Live-in partners are not bound by law and safety of the child born through surrogacy is at risk. The government said that even single men or women were not allowed to avail surrogacy. The Act intends to provide a complete family to the child born out of surrogacy

6) 25 Years of Pokhran-II Nuclear Tests: Every year since 1998, May 11 is observed as National Technology Day in India

• The day is a significant milestone in the history of India’s technological innovations as India successfully tested nuclear bombs on May 11, 1998
• Pune will host an exhibition of nuclear radiation and contamination protection equipment as part of the celebrations marking 25 years of Pokhran-II

Pokhran-II Nuclear Tests: India conducted 5 nuclear tests of advanced weapons designs on 11 and 13 May 1998 at the Pokhran range in Rajasthan Desert

The tests proved to be fundamentally consequential for India’s regional as well as global relations, specifically with the United States