Daily Current Affairs | April 15 2025

1) Governmentality Behind Stubble Burning

• A new study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Management, Amritsar analyses the problem of stubble burning from the lens of ‘governmentality’ and market failure.

• Name of the Study - Governmentality and Marketing System Failure: The Case of Stubble Burning and Climate Change in Neoliberal India.

• Governmentality - A concept developed by Michel Foucault, that encompasses subtle ways, techniques and strategies through which govt. influences behavior and direct actions.

Types of Governmentality in Agriculture

• Neoliberal - Use of market incentives like MSP to shape farm behaviour.

• Authoritarian - Penalties and forced compliance in case of stubble burning without offering alternatives.

• Pastoral - By positioning agriculture as the main cause of air pollution, but ignoring industrial pollution.

Impact of Governmentality on Stubble Issue

• Minimum Support Price & Food Security - Focus on rice/wheat leaves no incentive for eco-friendly crops.

• Lack of Alternatives - State penalises burning but doesn’t subsidise happy seeders or bio-decomposers.

• Bias in Favour of Urban Areas - Industrial pollution (30% of Delhi’s PM2.5) is overlooked while farm fires are vilified.

• Market Exploitation - Arhatias control credit, forcing farmers into debt and cost-cutting measures like burning.

Way Forward

• Residue Monetisation - Promote fodder, biofuel, and packaging industries to monetise crop residue.

• Incentive for Crop Diversification - Reform MSP regime and incentivise millets, pulses and oilseed production.

• Direct Market Linkages - State-led price transparency and direct farmer-market linkages to bypass middlemen.

• Subsidise Technology - Expand access to happy seeders, bio-decomposers, and balers via cooperatives.

• Promote Alternative Agri-practices - For example Zero-Budget Farming workshops in Haryana reduced input costs by 40%.

2) Sir Sankaran Nair

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled the nationalist and jurist Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair, who fought a legendary courtroom battle against a senior official of the Raj who had sued Sir Sankaran for holding him responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

• This tribute was paid on the 106th anniversary(April 14) of Jallianwala Bagh Massacare, Amritsar.

• Sir Sankaran Nair was a distinguished jurist, statesman, and fearless nationalist known for speaking truth to colonial power.

Achievements

• Sankaran Nair was appointed public prosecutor (1899) and went on to become a judge of the Madras High Court (1908).

• He received knighthood in 1912 and became a member of Viceroy’s Executive Council for Education in 1915.

• He resigned from his post in protest of the Jallianwala Bagh Massacare.

Contributions towards Freedom Struggle

• Jallianwala Bagh Case - He fiercely held O’Dwyer accountable for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, faced a defamation suit in a British court, and despite losing the case, displayed moral courage by refusing to apologise.

• Political Reforms - Advocated for constitutional reforms and India’s self-governance. He was a chairman of the All-India Committee, which in 1928–29 rather ineffectually met with the Simon Commission

• Congress - He presided over Indian National Congress Session at Amraoti (1897).

• Authored “Gandhi and Anarchy”, critiquing both British excesses and Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement.

• Founded and edited Madras Law Journal and Madras Review.

3) Threat of GPS Spoofing

• A day after sources in the military establishment suggested that the Indian Air Force's transport aircraft carrying relief materials to earthquake-hit Myanmar late last month faced "GPS spoofing", the IAF on Monday (April 14, 2025) said its crew were well capable to handle such situations, and "every mission was achieved as planned".

GPS Spoofing

• Also known as GPS Simulation is a form of cyberattack that includes generating fake GPS signals to mislead an aircraft.

• Threats - Aviation risks, logistics disruptions, threats to defence operations etc.

• Protection against GPS Spoofing - Signal Authentication, Anomaly Detection, Use of Multi-Signal System, Use of Advanced Software Filters etc.

4) Space Tourism

• Pop star Katy Perry and five other women went to space on Monday (April 14) aboard a rocket operated by billionaire Jeff Bezos’ private company, Blue Origin.

• It was the first time since 1963 that an all-women crew has been to space.

• The mission lasted for 11 minutes involving the New Shephard Rocket and crossing the Karman Line(internationally recognised boundary of space at more than 100 kms above Earth).

Different Types

• Sub-Orbital Tourism - Brief flights crossing the Kármán line offering minutes of weightlessness.

• Orbital Tourism - Extended stays in space, often docking with the ISS or private space stations.

• Lunar Tourism - Proposed future missions circling or landing on the Moon. Eg - SpaceX’s DearMoon project.

Concerns

• Environmental - Massive GHG emissions along with Ozone layer depletion.

• Lack of Scientific Value - These missions offer only leisure for rich people, without any scientific breakthrough.

• Safety - Private companies face higher accident risks than government agencies.

• Ethical - Resources spent on tourism could fund climate action or poverty alleviation.

5) Type-5 Diabetes

• Type-5 Diabetes, discovered almost a decade ago, has been officially recognised by International Diabetes Federation, at World Congress of Diabetes 2025 Bangkok.

• A global task force has also been formed to explore the epidemiology and pathogenesis of Type-5 Diabetes.

• Epidemiology - The study of how diseases spread and how to prevent and control them in a population.

• Pathogenesis - The process of disease development.

About this Disease

• A form of diabetes linked to severe malnutrition affecting young individuals, especially from low & middle-income countries.

• Causes - Early life undernutrition, poor metabolic adaptation, protein & micronutrient deficiency in critical growth years.

• Symptoms - Consistent low weight, frequent urination, thirst etc.

Other Facts

• Comparison between Type-1 & Type-5 :

  • Symptoms and affected populations are similar.

  • Both cause Insulin Deficiency.

  • Type-1 is an auto-immune disorder, while the cause for Type-5 is severe malnourishment.

• Comparison Between Type-2 & Type-5 :

  • Type-2 causes Insulin Resistance, while Type-5 causes Insulin Deficiency.

  • The main cause of Type-2 is obesity & inactive lifestyle.

  • Type-2 diabetes affects middle-aged adults.