Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
In a huge setback to Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar ruled on Wednesday that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction was the ‘real Shiv Sena’ when the rival factions emerged on June 21, 2022.
He further refused to disqualify 30 Shiv Sena MLAs from both factions, including Mr. Shinde, citing a lack of valid grounds.
Reading out his ruling on the disqualification petitions filed by the rival factions against each other’s MLAs, Mr. Narwekar also said that Sunil Prabhu, who belonged to the Thackeray faction, had ceased to be the whip from June 21, 2022, and Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde group had then become the authorised whip.
Terming Mr. Narwekar’s verdict as the “murder of democracy”, Mr. Thackeray said that his party would not accept it and would move the Supreme Court.
We are challenging it in the apex court,” he said. His alliance partners, the Congress and the NCP, came out in his support. Mr. Shinde, meanwhile, noted that numbers were important in a democracy.
States
IISC develops warm vaccine for COVID 19 (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
A heat-tolerant vaccine developed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) researchers is said to be effective against all current strains of SARS-CoV-2 besides having the potential to be quickly adapted for future variants as well.
According to IISc-Bengaluru, since the beginning of the pandemic, Prof. Raghavan Varadarajan from Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU) and collaborators have been working on developing a heat-tolerant vaccine that can offer protection against different strains of SARS-CoV-2.
In a study published in npj Vaccines, they report the design of a synthetic antigen that can be manufactured as a potential COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
They showed that their vaccine is effective against all current strains of SARS-CoV-2, and can be quickly adapted for future variants.
According to IISc., while current vaccines are proven to be effective against most SARS-CoV-2 strains, their efficacy has declined due to rapid mutation by the virus.
Editorial
Change for the worse (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The rapid decline in ties between India and the Maldives, just a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with the newly elected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, should set alarm bells ringing.
The trigger came from tweets by three Maldivian Ministers, attacking Mr. Modi for promoting the Lakshadweep islands during his recent sojourn there at a perceived cost to the Maldives and for his close ties with Israel; the Ministers also made derogatory remarks about Indians.
The tweets have been deleted, the Ministers suspended, and the Maldivian government has distanced itself from them, but the damage has been done.
The respective Ambassadors were summoned. Hurt Indians have crowded social media sites calling for an economic “boycott” of the Maldives — Indian tourists make up the most arrivals post-COVID-19.
However, the underlying reasons run deeper, and could have a broader impact on India-Maldives relations and the neighbourhood, accruing to the change in government in Male. Mr. Muizzu rode to power on the back of the PPM’s “India Out” campaign.
Despite its disappointment with the win of ‘anti-Indian forces’, given the warm relationship it shared with his predecessor Ibrahim Solih, the Modi government sent a Minister to his swearing in, and there was a Modi-Muizzu meet at the COP28.
However, Mr. Muizzu chose Turkey as his first bilateral destination, and is now visiting China — becoming the first President not to make India his first priority.
Even President Yameen, who began the “India Out” movement and cozied up to Beijing, visited Delhi first in 2014. Mr. Muizzu has continued to press India on the withdrawal of its military personnel, even though India has clarified their role.
Text & Context
The laws around remission policy (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
The Supreme Court on January 8 set aside the remission of 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment for the gang rape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family, during the 2002 communal riots in Gujarat. The remission order was passed by the Gujarat government in August 2022.
Article 72 and 161 of the Constitution provide powers to the President and Governor respectively to grant pardon, commutation, remission, respite or reprieve to a convict.
These are sovereign powers vested in the heads of the Union and State executive to be exercised on the advice of the council of ministers.
Apart from this, the appropriate State government under Section 432 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC) may remit the whole or part of the punishment to which a convict has been sentenced.
In case of life imprisonment convicts, this remission can be done only after a period of 14 years in jail as per Section 433A of the CrPC.
The heinous crimes for which the 11 persons were convicted were committed in Gujarat in March 2002. However, considering the need for fair trial, these cases were shifted to Maharashtra by the Supreme Court in 2004. A CBI trial court in Mumbai sentenced the convicts to life imprisonment in 2008.
Why did north India fog heavily in last weeks of 2023? (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
As winter tightened its grip on northern India, a blanket of fog descended on several States in the last days of 2023 and first of 2024, creating challenging conditions for residents and travellers alike.
According to weather reports in late December 2023, minimum temperatures in Punjab, Haryana, and the northern reaches of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh hovered around 6-9 degrees Celsius.
In New Delhi, south Rajasthan, and north Madhya Pradesh, some places recorded minimum temperatures in the range of 10-12 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
At the same time, most of North India also experienced a dense fog that reduced visibility in many areas to as little as 50 metres for several days.
Haryana, including Chandigarh, plus isolated pockets of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh reported fog with visibility reduced to under 200 metres.
Other States including Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand also reported fog for a few hours in the morning, the IMD reported.
The fog’s principal effect was on air travel: nearly 450 flights were delayed or cancelled on December 27 at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport as a dense layer of fog enveloped the city.
On December 29 and 30, almost a 100 and 80 flights, respectively, were delayed from Delhi. The arrival and departure of several Delhi-bound trains were also delayed by poor visibility and dense fog on December 29.
News
U.K. to send advanced naval groups for training with Indian forces (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
The U.K. Navy will send its Littoral Response Group to the Indian Ocean region later this year, with plans for its Carrier Strike Group to visit India in 2025. Both will operate and train with Indian forces, U.K. Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.
He said this as he held discussions with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh who is on a two-day visit to the U.K. This is the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to the U.K. after over two decades.
The two nations also discussed future cooperation in defence from joint exercises to knowledge sharing and instructor exchanges.
These steps build on the comprehensive strategic partnership envisaged in the 2030 India-U.K. roadmap, announced in 2021.
Deployment of the U.K.’s most advanced naval capabilities marks a decisive step in bolstering the U.K.-India security ties, it stated.
Under new deal, each State can field tableau once in three years (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
With repeated controversies erupting over the rejection of tableaux for the Republic Day parade year after year, the Defence Ministry has proposed a plan for the States and Union Territories to showcase their display by rotation, official sources say.
Approximately 15 tableaux from the States and Union Territories are selected for the parade every year. So everyone cannot be accommodated.
Under an agreement now, every State and Union Territory will get an opportunity within three years. This is to ensure equitable distribution,” an official source in the know said.
Discussions were held three or four times with the Resident Commissioners of various States and Union Territories at a meeting chaired by the Defence Secretary.
A memorandum of understanding has been proposed. A draft agreement was then circulated and 28 States have signed it so far,” a second source said.
To fast-track the participation of tableaux year-wise, willingness of States and UTs was sought in advance for the next three years for their participation in Republic Day Parades 2024, 2025 and 2026. In response, most of the States/UTs conveyed their willingness for all the three years.
To encourage new and fresh talent, the Culture Ministry empanelled 30 agencies for design and fabrication of tableaux through an open selection process.
The States and Union Territories were advised to engage these agencies following an appropriate procedure, the first source added.
SC report exposes severe gaps in accessibility for disabled persons across courts in India (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Social Justice)
More than half of the district court complexes in the country do not have ramps, only 25.2% have wheelchairs, and just 5.1% have tactile paving to assist persons with visual disabilities in navigating the court building, said a recent report by the Centre for Research and Planning of the Supreme Court.
The first-of-its-kind report, released on December 15, sheds light on the glaring inadequacies in the infrastructure of district courts across India, raising serious concerns about the impediments faced by people with disabilities in accessing justice.
The report said that while accessible toilets for people with disabilities hold fundamental importance, only 30.4% of court complexes have separate disabled-friendly toilets.
It highlighted that only 5.1% of district courts have tactile paving to assist persons with visual disabilities in navigating the court building.
Inclusivity and accessibility to justice can be ensured to persons with visual impairment by giving them instructions that are accessible to the tactile or auditory senses.
In a first, the Supreme Court in September allowed a lawyer with hearing disabilities to argue virtually with the help of a sign language interpreter.
The Delhi High Court too last year engaged the services of a sign language interpreter to enable a petitioner to understand the proceedings.
World
Tshering Tobgay to become Bhutan PM for second time as poll body confirms results (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Bhutanese voters have elected Tshering Tobgay to become Prime Minister for a second time after his party won nearly two-thirds of seats, the Election Commission said in results released on January 10.
The election was dominated by serious economic challenges that have called into question the Himalayan kingdom’s long-standing policy of prioritising “Gross National Happiness” over growth.
Bhutan also lies sandwiched between the globe’s two most populous countries, China and India, who watched the vote with keen interest as they eye strategic contested border zones.
Mr. Tobgay, head of the liberal People’s Democratic Party (PDP), who served as Prime Minister of the Himalayan kingdom from 2013 to 2018, won 30 of 47 seats in Tuesday’s election, official figures showed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his “heartiest congratulations to my friend” Tobgay for winning the polls.
Mr. Tobgay, who has promised to boost ties with India, including by developing rail links, responded by thanking Mr. Modi.
Business
ILO warns of rise in unemployment, decline in real wages (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Global unemployment rate is set to increase in 2024 while growing social inequalities remain a concern, said the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in its ‘World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024’ report released.
Joblessness and the jobs gap have both fallen below pre-pandemic levels but global unemployment will rise in 2024, the ILO noted adding that growing inequalities and stagnant productivity are causes for concern. In India, real wages are “positive” compared with other G20 countries, according to the UN body.
Science
How a super-energetic particle from outer space could help physics (Page no. 22)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
When Japanese scientist Toshihiro Fujii discovered a very high energy cosmic-ray event in May 2021, he christened it ‘Amaterasu’. It turned out to be the second-highest-energy cosmic ray to be discovered — so it was apt that he had named it after the sun goddess in Japanese mythology.
According to a paper published in the journal Science in November, Dr. Fujii, an astronomer at Japan’s Osaka Metropolitan University, discovered the cosmic ray when analysing data collected between May 2008 and November 2021 by the Telescope Array Project in the U.S.
Cosmic rays are streams of energetic particles and clusters of particles coming from outer space and the sun. They include protons and alpha particles (nuclei of helium atoms).
Only low-intensity cosmic rays reach the earth’s surface. Their energy is mostly lost in the atmosphere itself, as they smash into atoms of the atmospheric gases and produce a shower of other particles. Otherwise life wouldn’t have been possible on the earth.
From the 1930s, studies of cosmic rays led scientists to discover many then-unknown subatomic particles. Yet the sources of cosmic rays and the reason they’re so energetic remain a mystery even 86 years after their discovery.
2023 may have been warmest in 1 lakh years (Page no. 22)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Last year was the planet’s hottest on record by a substantial margin and likely the world’s warmest in the last 1,00,000 years, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said.
Scientists had widely expected the milestone after climate records were repeatedly broken. Since June, every month has been the world’s hottest on record compared with the corresponding month in previous years.
This has been a very exceptional year, climate-wise... in a league of its own, even when compared to other very warm years.
C3S confirmed 2023 as the hottest year in global temperature records going back to 1850. When checked against paleoclimatic data records from sources such as tree rings and air bubbles in glaciers, Mr. Buontempo said it was “very likely” the warmest year in the last 1,00,000 years.