• Recently, France becomes the only country to explicitly
guarantee abortion as a constitutional right.
• The measure was approved in a 780-72 vote in the Palace of
Versailles.
• The move was proposed by President Emmanuel Macron as
a way to prevent the kind of rollback of abortion rights seen in the United States in recent years. France Abortion Right
• Both houses of France’s parliament, the National Assembly
and Senate, had separately adopted a bill to amend Article 34 of the French Constitution.
• However, the amendment needed final confirmation by a
three-fifths majority in the special joint session.
• The measure specifies that “the law determines the conditions
by which is exercised the freedom of women to have recourse to an abortion, which is guaranteed.” France Abortion Right
• Eiffel Tower in Paris displayed the message
"MyBodyMyChoice" as the result of the vote was announced.
• None of France’s major political parties have questioned the right
to abortion, including Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party.
• A group of about 200 anti-abortion protesters gathered soberly in
Versailles, holding a banner reading: ‘’I too was an embryo.” France Abortion Right
Legal History –
• The latest French constitution dates from 1958 and the birth of the Fifth Republic with the presidency of Charles De Gaulle.
• Since it was enacted, the French Constitution has been
amended 17 times.
• The last time was in 2008, when parliament was awarded
more powers and French citizens were granted the right to bring their grievances to the Constitutional Court. France Abortion Right
• France legalized abortion in 1974 in a La Loi Veil ('The
Veil Act') law championed by health minister and women's rights icon Simone Veil.
• At the time, there were large protests against the measure
and Veil was personally attacked, in a France that was still a largely conservative, Catholic country.
• France's time limit on elective abortion was first set at 12
weeks. France Abortion Right
• Since 1975 the law has been updated nine times - and on each occasion with the aim of extending access.
• France's time limit on elective abortion is now set at 14 weeks.
• In a 2001 ruling, the council based its approval of abortion on
the notion of liberty enshrined in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man, which is technically part of the constitution. France Abortion Right
Global Trend –
• A recent poll showed support for abortion rights among the
French public at more than 80%, consistent with previous surveys.
• Globally, there has been a trend towards liberalisation of
abortion laws and increased access to abortion services.
• Since the early 1990s, nearly 60 countries across the world
have eased abortion laws to expand the grounds under which abortion is legal. France Abortion Right
• The French measure is seen as going a step further than was the case in the former Yugoslavia, whose 1974 constitution said that “a person is free to decide on having children.”
• Yugoslavia dissolved in the early 1990s, and all its successor states have adopted similar measures in their constitutions.
• This legally enable women to have an abortion, though they do not
explicitly guarantee it. France Abortion Right
• Only four countries, namely the U.S., El Salvador,
Nicaragua, and Poland have removed legal grounds for abortion during 1990s.
• Most notably, the U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the
constitutional right to abortion in 2022.
• The US overturned the landmark judgement of Roe v Wade
(1973). France Abortion Right
• The judgement made abortion a constitutional right allowed
abortion up to the point of foetal viability.
• Foetal Viability is the time after which a foetus can survive
outside the womb.
• Abortion is banned in around 14 states in the US since Roe v
Wade was overturned and two states – Georgia and South Carolina – have banned abortion past roughly six weeks of pregnancy. France Abortion Right
India’s law on abortion –
• Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, criminalized
voluntarily causing miscarriage, even when the miscarriage is with the pregnant woman’s consent.
• However, an exception is made when the miscarriage is caused
to save the woman’s life.
• This means that the woman herself, or anyone else including a
medical practitioner, could be prosecuted for an abortion. France Abortion Right
• In 1971, The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act
(MTP Act) was introduced to “liberalise” access to abortion.
• The latest amendment to the act was in 2021.
• Previously, the MTP Act only applied to married women which
was expanded in 2021 to include unmarried women as well. France Abortion Right
The Act allows termination of pregnancy in three stages –
• Up to 20 weeks, it's permitted with one doctor's advice.
• Between 20-24 weeks, it's allowed exceptionally based on
two registered medical practitioners' recommendations for specific categories.
• After 24 weeks, a medical board in approved facilities
decides on termination, considering substantial foetal abnormality. France Abortion Right
• Specific categories of exceptions are listed in Section 3B of
the MTP Act rules, 2003.
• Exceptions cases such as rape involving minors,
pregnancies involving women with disabilities, and changes in a woman's marital status during pregnancy.
• The Act mandates that abortion should be performed
exclusively by doctors with specialization in gynaecology or obstetrics. France Abortion Right
• The Act maintains the confidentiality of women seeking
abortion.
• The breach of confidentiality will lead to Fine and/or
imprisonment of 1 year which was earlier a fine up to Rs. 1000.
• The act states that a gestation period is the period of time
between conception and birth. France Abortion Right
Termination beyond 24 weeks -
• In several instances, the courts have allowed abortion beyond
the usual limits
• In August 2022, a special sitting was held to permit the
termination of pregnancy for a rape survivor at 27 weeks and three days.
• In September 2022, a Bench led by Justice Chandrachud
allowed abortion for an unmarried woman in a consensual relationship who was 24 weeks pregnant. France Abortion Right
• Bench cited “transformative constitutionalism” that promotes
and engenders societal change.
• There have also been cases where the court overruled a
medical board's decision to deny termination.
• One such case is 'Bhatou Boro v. State of Assam' (2017),
involving a minor rape survivor's pregnancy of over 26 weeks. MethaneSAT MethaneSAT
• Recently, MethaneSAT was launched aboard a SpaceX
Falcon9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Bas, California.
• The MethaneSAT is a satellite which will track and measure
methane emissions at a global scale.
• These satellites are designed to combat climate change by
providing data on emissions of the invisible but potent greenhouse gas (GHGs). MethaneSAT
• The entity behind MethaneSAT is the Environmental
Defense Fund (EDF) — a US-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group.
• To develop the satellite, EDF partnered with Harvard
University, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and the New Zealand Space Agency.
• This new satellite is backed by Alphabet Inc's Google.
MethaneSAT
Features -
• The satellite is washing-machine-sized and has a camera
view of 200 by 200 kilometer.
• The satellite cost $88 million to build and it’s instrument
measures 140 metres.
• MethaneSAT will orbit the Earth 15 times a day at an altitude
of 590km and collect data in a 200km swathe, monitoring the oil and gas sector. MethaneSAT
• It will create a large amount of data, which will tell “how much methane is coming from where, who’s responsible, and are those emissions going up or down over time”, according to by EDF.
• Google Cloud will provide the computing capabilities to process
the information.
• The data collected by MethaneSAT will be made public for free
in near real-time. MethaneSAT
• Equipped with a high-resolution infrared sensor and a
spectrometer, the satellite will fill critical data gaps.
• It can track differences in methane concentrations as small as
three parts per billion in the atmosphere, which enables it to pick up smaller emissions sources than the previous satellites.
• MethaneSAT also has a wide-camera view — of about 200 km
by 200 km — allowing it to identify larger emitters so-called “super emitters”. MethaneSAT
• It will identify and quantify emissions from large, intermittent
sources over 500 kg/hr.
• It will create Heatmaps of 1 km2 areas across targets that are
200 km x 200 km, with a native pixel size of 100m x 400m.
• It is expected to contribute to the UN’s international methane
emissions observatory, which will collate and publish data on leaks. MethaneSAT
• The first results after the commissioning process are expected at
the start of the summer with the full flow of data being available from early 2025.
• The first MethaneAIR flights took place over the Permian
Basin in August 2021.
• The initial flight covered over 9,000 square miles in just 2.2 hours. MethaneSAT
• MethaneSAT will fill significant data gaps left by other satellite
systems that are currently planned or recently deployed.
• Nasa’s Emit mission also collects high-resolution data, but with
lower precision methane measurements than MethaneSat.
• Methane data from the commercial GHGSat is not freely
available. MethaneSAT
Falcon 9 –
• Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed and
manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.
• Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital class reusable rocket.
• Reusability allows SpaceX to refly the most expensive parts of the
rocket, which in turn drives down the cost of space access. MethaneSAT
• It can also be used as an expendable heavy-lift launch
vehicle.
• The first Falcon 9 launch was on 4 June 2010.
• Currently the total launch of Falcon 9 stands at 302 with 260
total landings and 234 total reflights. MethaneSAT
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) -
• Environmental Defense Fund or EDF is a United States-based
nonprofit environmental advocacy group.
• The group focuses on global warming, ecosystem restoration,
oceans, and human health, advocating for environmental solutions based on sound science, economics, and law.
• The headquarter of EDF is based in New York.
MethaneSAT
• The Founders of EDF are Dennis Puleston, Art
Cooley, Charles F. Wurster.
• They founded the organisation in 1967.
• The current president of the organisation is Fred Krupp.
MethaneSAT
Methane -
• Methane is an invisible but strong greenhouse gas, and the
second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide.
• It is responsible for 30 per cent of global heating since the
Industrial Revolution.
• According to the United Nations Environment Programme,
over a period of 20 years, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide. MethaneSAT
• The gas also contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone
— a colourless and highly irritating gas that forms just above the Earth’s surface.
• According to a 2022 report, exposure to ground-level ozone
could be contributing to one million premature deaths every year.
• The main culprit: fossil fuel operations, which account for
about 40 per cent of all human-caused methane emissions. MethaneSAT
• Earlier EDF measurements from planes show methane emissions
were 60% higher than calculated estimates published by US authorities and elsewhere.
• The Guardian revealed more than 1,000 methane “super-
emitter” sites in March 2023.
• The worst single leak was spewing the gas out at a rate equivalent to 67m running cars. MethaneSAT
• More than 150 countries in 2021 have signed a global
methane pledge to cut their emissions of the gas by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.
• Some oil and gas companies have made similar pledges, and new regulations to limit methane leaks are being worked on in the US, EU, Japan and South Korea.
• At last year’s COP, more than 50 companies committed to
virtually eliminating methane emissions and routine flaring. Passage :
Indian tourists can now purchase tickets for the iconic [1] and pay via (UPI). NPCI International Payments Limited partnered with [2] , a French leader in securing e-commerce and proximity payments, to launch a UPI payment mechanism in France. This service will soon be extended to other merchants in the tourism and retail space. This will make it significantly easier for touring Indians to remotely book hotels, museum visits, etc. for their stay in France. The acceptance of UPI in France opens up more opportunities for merchants across France and Europe operating in the tourism and retail sectors, NPCI International mentioned. "At NIPL, our ambition is to enable acceptance of NPCI's payment solutions in international markets and create a truly interoperable global payment system. We aim at actively collaborating with financial institutions worldwide to establish partnerships and provide consumers with convenient and secure cross-border payment solutions," said , CEO of NIPL. [Source – The Hindu] Which of the following will replace [1] in the above passage? a) Statue of Liberty b) Louvre Museum c) Palace of Versailies d) Eiffel Tower Correct Answer: d) Eiffel Tower Which of the following will replace [2] in the above passage? a) PayPal b) Lyra Network c) CurrencyCloud d) Fintecture Correct Answer: b) Lyra Network Who is the CEO of NIPL? a) Ritesh Shukla b) Dilip Asbe c) Rajeeth Pillai d) Vishal Anand Correct Answer: a) Ritesh Shukla What is the full form UPI? a) Universal Payment Interface b) Union of Payment Institution c) Umbrella of Payments Interface d) Unified Payments Interface Correct Answer: d) Unified Payments Interface NPCI was founded in which year? a) 2016 b) 2014 c) 2008 d) 2012 Correct Answer: c) 2008 Passage: Each year, more than half a million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and the disease results in over 300 000 deaths worldwide. High-risk subtypes of the HPV are the cause of the disease in most cases. The disease is largely preventable. Approximately 90% of cervical cancers occur in low-income and middle-income countries that lack organised screening and HPV vaccination programmes. In high-income countries, cervical cancer incidence and mortality have more than halved over the past 30 years since the introduction of formal screening programmes. Treatment depends on disease extent at diagnosis and locally available resources, and might involve radical hysterectomy or chemoradiation, or a combination of both. Conservative, fertility-preserving surgical procedures have become standard of care for women with low-risk, early-stage disease. Advances in radiotherapy technology, such as intensity-modulated radiotherapy, have resulted in less treatment-related toxicity for women with locally-advanced disease [Source – The Lancet] India intends to institute vaccination against cervical cancer for girls of which age group? a) 9 to 14 years b) 0 to 5 years c) 5 to 10 years d) 7 to 12 years Correct Answer: a) 9 to 14 years What is the name of Serum Institute of India’s HPV vaccine? a) CERVAVAC b) CERVAIND c) GARDSAIL d) WOCERVA Correct Answer: a) CERVAVAC What is the full form of HPV? a) Human Parasiticvirus b) Human Paranoidicvirus c) Human Pathogenvirus d) Human Papillomavirus Correct Answer: d) Human Papillomavirus Which actress recently did a publicity stint spreading fake news of her death to spread awareness about Cervical Cancer? a) Poonam Pandey b) Mallika Sherawat c) Preeti Nair d) Adah Sharma Correct Answer: a) Poonam Pandey Who is the current Health and Family Welfare Minister? a) Smriti Zubin Irani b) Mansukh L. Mandivya c) Piyush Goyal d) Arjun Meghwal Correct Answer: b) Mansukh L. Mandivya Passage: India and Saudi Arabia on Sunday signed a bilateral agreement under which New Delhi has been allocated a quota of [1] pilgrims for the annual Haj pilgrimage in 2024. Discussions also encompassed plans for the enhancement of medical facilities, ensuring the comprehensive well-being of all pilgrims. During the meeting, India’s digital initiatives in facilitating and promoting ease and convenience for the Haj pilgrims were greatly appreciated by the Saudi side and the Gulf Kingdom offered to extend all possible help. Ms. [2] , also serving as the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, will also meet the Indian business community and Indian diaspora in Saudi Arabia.On Monday, she will attend the opening ceremony of the third edition of ‘Haj and Umrah Conference’ in Jeddah being organised by the Saudi Ministry of Haj and Umrah Affairs.The Indo-Saudi partnership has deepened in recent years, marked by sustained engagement across various sectors. The visit will further strengthen the strategic partnership placing Haj as a vital dimension in this relationship, the statement said. [Source : The Hindu] Which of the following will replace [2] in the above passage? a) Nirmala Sitharaman b) Smriti Irani c) Renuka Singh d) Meenakshi Lekhi Correct Answer: b) Smriti Irani Which of the following will replace [1] in the above passage? a) 1.75 Lakh b) 1 Lakh c) 1.25 Lakh d) 1.85 Lakh Correct Answer: a) 1.75 Lakh The Haj is the sacred pilgrimage to which holy city? a) Medina b) Mecca c) Multan d) Bukhara Correct Answer: b) Mecca The Haj Committee of India was established in which year? a) 2016 b) 1998 c) 2002 d) 2004 Correct Answer: c) 2002 What is the Capital of Saudi Arabia? a) Dubai b) Muscat c) Mecca d) Riyadh Correct Answer: d) Riyadh
