27 June 2024, The Hindu
LS erupts as Birla reads resolution on Emergency
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GS 2: Indian Constitution: features, amendments, significant provisions
- On the third day of 18th Lok Sabha, Om Birla was elected as the Speaker of the House through a voice vote, defeating the opposition candidate Kodikkunil Suresh on Wednesday.
- It was a rare contest for the Speaker post between the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Om Birla and Kodikunnil Suresh of the Congress after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government and the INDIA group of Opposition parties failed to arrive at a consensus.
- However, the NDA had the majority and the YSRCP too supported Mr. Birla’s candidature.
NHRC seeks report from govt. on death of homeless people due to heatwave
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- The National Commission of Human Rights (NHRC) has sought a detailed report within four weeks from the Delhi government The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a detailed report within four weeks from the Delhi government about the death of homeless people and the steps taken to prevent such incidents during the ongoing heatwave.
- A notice in this regard was issued on Tuesday, days after a report citing the Zonal Integrated Police Network data said at least 192 homeless people died between June 11 and 19 due to the severe heatwave in the national capital.
- The report was compiled by the non-profit Centre for Holistic Development (CHD).
NITI Aayog’s tourism project in Nicobar islands a threat to ecology, indigenous people
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GS 3: Environment- Conservation
- Speaking about his new book The Great Nicobar Betrayal, published by Frontline, Pankaj Sekhsaria on Wednesday said that NITI Aayog’s soon-to-be-launched tourism and real estate project is a “tremendously destructive” threat to the Great Nicobar island’s ecology and indigenous population.
- “The present government has gone to great lengths to denotify certain stretches of the island previously marked as protected areas for leatherback turtles in order to enable to transfer of land for commercial purposes,” said Mr. Sekhsaria, who has spent close to two decades studying the contemporary issues in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
- He was speaking at the book launch in Delhi while in conversation with chief guest Amita Bavaskar, a sociologist and professor of anthropology at Ashoka University.
India’s largest leopard safari opens at Bannerghatta
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Prelims syllabus: Current events of national and international importance
- South India’s first and the country’s largest leopard safari was inaugurated by Environment Minister Eshwar Khandre on Wednesday at the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP).
- As per Central Zoo Authority guidelines for safaris, an area of 20 hectares has been demarcated and fenced for the safari.
- Currently eight leopards have been released for the safari in the open forest area.
Opposition’s larger demography, LoP’s big responsibility
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GS 2: Parliament and State Legislatures- structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges
- The 2024 general election is historic in as much as it resulted in the numerically largest Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
- It is perhaps the largest in the history of the House. With the Opposition securing over 234 seats, one also saw the debate on the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) come alive.
- In the 16th and 17th Lok Sabhas, there was no LoP because under a direction of the Speaker issued in the 1950s, in order to get recognition as a party in the House, it should have a minimum of 10% members in that House (Direction 121).
- This direction was issued for the recognition and categorisation of parliamentary parties for the sake of providing them certain facilities in Parliament.
- But this direction does not deal with the recognition of the LoP. Later, Parliament enacted the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977, which for the first time, defined the term Leader of the Opposition as “the Leader in that House of the party in opposition to the Government having the greatest numerical strength and recognised as such by the Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People, as the case may be”.
Read the rocks to improve India’s geological literacy
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GS 3: Environment- Conservation
- With landscapes that range from the world’s greatest peaks to low-lying coastal plains, India showcases a diverse morphology that has evolved over billions of years.
- In several places, we find a variety of rocks and minerals and distinctive fossil assemblages.
- These geological features and landscapes tell us the spectacular ‘origin’ stories derived not from mythology but from scientific interpretations. India’s tumultuous geological past is recorded in its rocks and terrains and should be considered as our non-cultural heritage.
- India offers many such examples. Geo-heritage sites are educational spaces where people acquire much needed geological literacy, especially when India’s collective regard for this legacy is abysmal.
Lip service
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GS 2: Indian Constitution: features, amendments, significant provisions
- The Emergency, imposed on June 25, 1975 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and which lasted 21 months till March 21, 1977, remains a blot on the history of democratic India.
- The rule by decree, the suspension of civil liberties and free speech, the arbitrariness of government actions, and the indiscriminate arrests of dissenters and Opposition figures using draconian preventive detention laws, among other measures, continue to haunt Indians who experienced it in all its vicious forms.
- The traumatic episode is a reminder of the responsibility of democratic institutions in always safeguarding the freedoms and rights of citizens.
- When freshly elected and returning Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla read out a resolution, on Wednesday, “condemning the imposition of Emergency” and termed it as an attack on the Constitution, one could have considered this as a note of caution about the perils of suspending civil liberties, and as a pledge that this would never be allowed to happen again.
It’s time for India to reclaim its voice on Tibet
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GS 2: International Relations- India and its neighbourhood
- The timing of the visit by a delegation of U.S. lawmakers to Dharamshala made it clear what it would be about.
- The delegation arrived just days after the passage of the ‘Promoting a Resolution to the Tibet-China Dispute Act’ in both Houses of U.S. Congress, which now awaits U.S. President Joe Biden’s signature.
- Both Democrat and Republican co-authors of the Bill were part of the delegation, invited by the Central Tibetan Administration that manages affairs of the Tibetan diaspora-in-exile worldwide, for a special facilitation.
- Given the circumstances, New Delhi would have been more than aware of the content of the speeches they would make, slamming China for its repression of the Tibetan people, calling for talks between the Dalai Lama’s representatives and Beijing that were suspended in 2010 to be restarted, and for a Free Tibet.
- “This bill is a message to the Chinese government that we have clarity in our thinking on this issue, for the freedom of Tibet,” said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
- “[The Dalai Lama’s] legacy will live forever, but you, the President of China, will be gone, and no one will give you credit for anything.”
The row over Delhi’s water crisis
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Prelims syllabus: Current events of national and international importance.
- Amidst a heat wave in several parts of north India, the national capital has been struck with an acute water shortage over the past couple of weeks sparking a battle in the Supreme Court with its neighbouring States including Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government has alleged that Haryana is blocking water to Delhi and has asked them to release it.
- Delhi depends heavily on its neighbouring States of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to fulfil its drinking water needs.
- The capital’s raw water supply comes from four sources with approximately 40% of it coming via Yamuna through Haryana.
- The raw water is treated in Delhi’s Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) and sent across through its pipelines that covers over 15,000 kilometres.
How well is India tapping its rooftop solar potential?
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GS 3: Indian Economy - Infrastructure – Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
- Rooftop solar (RTS) has the potential to revolutionise India’s energy landscape, offering a sustainable, decentralised, and affordable solution to meet the country’s growing electricity needs and making consumers self-reliant.
- The country’s installed RTS capacity increased by 2.99 GW in 2023-2024, the highest growth reported in a year.
- As of March 31 this year, the total installed RTS capacity in India was 11.87 GW, per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
- To meet rising energy demand, India needs to double down on its efforts to expand its RTS potential.
- The Indian government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission in January 2010. It was the first major initiative to promote the growth of solar energy.
- The main objective was to produce 20 GW of solar energy (including RTS) in three phases: 2010-2013, 2013-2017, and 2017-2022.
Prolonged exposure to coal mining causes respiratory, skin diseases in workers: study
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GS 3: Environmental pollution and degradation
- Prolonged exposure to coal mining pollutants has resulted in widespread respiratory and skin diseases among the workers and people in six districts in India, where coal extraction is a major occupation, says a survey involving 1,200 households and published by the National Foundation for India, an organisation that works on social justice issues.
- At least 65% of participants interviewed reported issues such as chronic bronchitis, asthma, and skin ailments such as eczema, dermatitis and fungal infections.
