Current Affairs

Henley Passport Index 2024 Context: 

The average number of visa free destinations has nearly doubled since 2006, according to the 2024 Henley Passport Index. 

About 

It is the original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. 

It started in 2006as the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index (HVRI). 

The index is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest, most accurate travel information database, and enhanced by Henley & Partners’ research team. (Henley & Partners is a London-based advisory firm). 

The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations. 

The number of countries that a specific passport can access becomes its visa free 'score'. 

Highlights of Henley Passport Index 2024: 

• France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain hold the top spot as the world's most powerful passports, allowing visa-free entry to 194 global destinations. 

• The top 10 is largely dominated by European countries. 

• The average number of destinations travelers are able to access visa free has nearly doubled, from 58 in 2006 to 111 in 2024. 

• India's passport ranked 80th in the list, with citizens allowed to travel to 62 countries without a visa. 

• Afghanistan occupies the bottom spot on the list, with access to just 28 countries without a visa. 

• Syria, with visa-free access to only 29 destinations, holds the second lowest position, followed by Iraq with 31 and Pakistan with 34.

International Court of Justice (ICJ) 

About 

• The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the principal judicial organ of the UN. 

• It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. 

• The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). 

• Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York, United States. 

• The hearings of the ICJ are always public. 

• French and English are the official languages of the Court. 

Powers and Functions: 

The Court may entertain two types of cases: 

• legal disputes between States submitted to it by them (contentious cases) and requests for advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by United Nations organs and specialized agencies (advisory proceedings). 

• Advisory proceedings before the Court are only open to five organs of the United Nations and 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations family or affiliated organizations. 

• The court's judgments in contentious cases are final and binding on the parties to a case and without appeal. Unlike the Court’s judgments, advisory opinions are not binding. 

• The ICJ decides disputes in accordance with international law as reflected in international conventions, international custom, general principles of law recognized by civilized nations, judicial decisions, and writings of the most highly qualified experts on international law. 

Composition: 

• The Court is composed of 15 judges, all from different countries, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Security Council (UNSC). To be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both UNGA and UNSC. 

• One-third of the composition of the Court is renewed every three years. 

• Judges are eligible for re-election. 

• Once elected, a member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of any other State. 

• Members of the Court are independent judges whose first task, before taking up their duties, is to make a solemn declaration in open court that they will exercise their powers impartially and conscientiously.

GM Mustard 

• DMH-11 is an indigenously developed transgenic mustard. It is a genetically modified variant of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) mustard. 

• DMH-11 is a result of a cross between Indian mustard variety ‘Varuna’ and East European ‘Early Heera-2’ mustard.

• It contains two alien genes (‘barnase’ and ‘barstar’) isolated from a soil bacterium called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens that enable breeding of high-yielding commercial mustard hybrids. 

• Barnase in Varuna induces a temporary sterility because of which it can’t naturally self-pollinate. Barstar in Heera blocks the effect of barnase allowing seeds to be produced. 

• DMH-11 has shown approximately 28% more yield than the national check and 37 % more than the zonal checks and its use has been claimed and approved by the GEAC. 

• “Bar gene” maintains the genetic purity of hybrid seed. 

GM Mustard is Necessary  

• India’s import of edible oils is on continuous rise to meet the domestic demand. It ultimately led reduction forex. GM Mustard is essential to reduce the forex drain on Agriimport. 

• Productivity of oilseed crops viz., soybean, rapeseed mustard, groundnut, sesame, sunflower, safflower and linseed in India is much lower than the global productivity of these crops. 

• Crossing of genetically diverse parents results in hybrids with increased yield and adaptation Safety Concerns associated with DMH-11 

• The safety of three genes used in the creation of the technique Barnase, Barstar and Bar is being questioned. 

• Field trials for three years (two years of BRL-I and one year of BRL-II) have been conducted to assess the impact on human health and environment as per the stipulated guidelines and applicable rules. 

• It is important to note that comprehensive research on the toxicity, allergen city, compositional analysis, field trials, and environmental safety studies of GM mustard has shown that they are safe for food and feed usage as well as for production. 

• DMH-11 has “Bar gene” which is responsible for herbicide tolerance. Effectiveness of “Bar Gene” is under question as per herbicide tolerance is concerned. 

Significance of Genetically Modified Crops 

• Crossing of genetically diverse plants results in hybrids with increased yield and adaptation, a phenomenon known as hybrid vigor heterosis which has been widely exploited in crops like rice, maize, pearl millet, sunflower and many vegetables. 

• It has been convincingly demonstrated that hybrids in general show 20-25% higher yield over the conventional varieties across the crops. 

• Hybrid technology can play an important role in enhancing the productivity of rapeseed mustard in the country.

Swachh Survekshan Awards About: 

• Swachh Survekshan has been conducted since 2016 and is the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey. It has been instrumental in fostering a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens and towards creating cleaner cities. 

• It is conducted under the ambit of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), 

Goal: 

• The primary goal of Swachh Survekshan is to encourage large-scale citizen participation and create awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of working together toward making towns and cities better places to reside in. 

Nodal Ministry: • Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).