4 July 2024, The Hindu
Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train expected to begin operations in Gujarat by 2027 end
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GS 3: Indian Economy - Infrastructure – Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
- The Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet project, is expected to begin operations in Gujarat by 2027 end and will later be extended to Maharashtra, according to the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).
- The first phase of operations is likely to begin ahead of the Gujarat Assembly election, which is due in 2027 with the term of the House expiring on December 19, 2027.
3 new criminal laws named only in English: ASG
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Prelims syllabus: Current events of national and international importance.
- The three new criminal laws which have replaced the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act from July 1 this year have been named only in English and not in Hindi or Sanskrit since the English alphabet had been used in the nomenclature, argued Additional Solicitor General (ASG) AR.L. Sundaresan before the Madras High Court on Wednesday.
- Appearing before Acting Chief Justice R. Mahadevan and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq, the ASG denied the charge of public interest litigant B. Ramkumar Adityan that the names Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam violate Article 348 of the Constitution which mandates the authoritative texts of all laws to be in English.
Trials, medical ethics and the orbit of power
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- On January 10, 2021, Rashida Bee (representing the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationary Karmchari Sangh), Nawab Khan (representing Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha), Rachna Dhingra (representing the Bhopal Group for Information and Action) and Nausheen Khan (representing Children Against Dow Carbide) wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the then Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan.
- In the letter, they alleged irregularities and ethical violations in the conduct of the clinical trial for Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin (a COVID-19 vaccine) by the People’s Hospital in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh and the resultant exploitation of trial participants belonging to vulnerable groups demanding stoppage, punishment and compensation.
Factory accidents, a pointer to rusty inspection reform
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GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.
- An explosion of a reactor in a chemical factory in the Dombivli Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area in May 2024 resulted in the loss of lives and injuries to workers and people.
- It also caused damage to factories, shops and residencies in the neighbourhood.
- The Maharashtra government announced compensation to the kin of the deceased and funds for the treatment of the injured.
- Newspaper reports show that fatal industrial accidents were frequent in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2023.
- The Maharashtra government is guilty of not relocating 156 chemical factories in the Dombivli MIDC area even after “deciding” in 2022 to relocate them to Patalganga.
- It is now known that the boiler in the chemical factory was not registered under the Indian Boiler Regulations, 1950.
Avoidable tragedy
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- The stampede at a religious congregation at Hathras in western Uttar Pradesh, claiming over 120 lives, is only the latest in a series of such tragedies in the country.
- There have been at least half-a-dozen such incidents in the last 20-odd years.
- In this instance, at least a lakh of people flocked to Fulrai village to listen to an address by a preacher Suraj Pal, also known as Narayan Sakar Hari or “Bhole Baba”.
- There are reports that there were over 2.5 lakh participants at the venue, which could accommodate no more than 80,000.
- The preacher is said to have followers in States such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana too.
- Most of the deceased, mainly women and children, were from the economically vulnerable sections of society, and were in search of spiritual solace.
- While only a fair investigation can find out the cause for the stampede, the reasons being cited include overcrowding, and the bid by some to collect soil from around the feet of the preacher.
- Not surprisingly, the responses, particularly from the field-level public health system, have exposed how ill-prepared the Uttar Pradesh administration is.
- Visuals of bodies lying outside the place of post mortem and of the kin desperate for help, as well as an inadequate number of ambulances and medical staff have become the common features of such tragedies.
- What has made it worse is the preacher and his aides reportedly leaving the site even as panic-stricken people were dying.
Spirit of accommodation
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GS 2: Parliament and State Legislatures- structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges
- The first session of the 18th Lok Sabha and the corresponding session of the Rajya Sabha were notable for the renewed spirit of parliamentary debate on display, notwithstanding the excessive combativeness and avoidable grandstanding by the government and the Opposition.
- Echoes of the election campaign continued too, as Rahul Gandhi, in his debut as the designated Leader of Opposition (LoP), mounted an aggressive critique of the NDA government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr. Modi in turn called into question the track record and intentions of the Congress, and Mr. Gandhi’s capacity.
- Both sides categorically declared fealty to the Constitution of India, while accusing each other of trying to undermine it.
- They also crossed swords over Hinduism and its political role.
- The rise of a strong Opposition — with no designated LoP earlier — and the return of coalition politics as the leading party lacks an absolute majority may restore the role of Parliament.
Humility in public discourse
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- In the wake of the recently concluded general election, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comment on the need for humility and decorum in public discourse is a wake-up call.
- The idea that the best way to respond to political criticism is through verbal harassment has become popular in the era of TRP-driven media.
- Public discourse has become a gladiatorial game, teaching the common citizen to be impressed with the nastiness of verbal blows rather than by how they serve matters of importance to the individual or the country.
- This problem is faced by liberal democracies throughout the world.
Smart Cities Mission period extended till March 2025
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GS 3: Indian Economy - Infrastructure – Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
- The Centre has extended the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) under the Union Urban Development Ministry till March 31, 2025.
- Under the SCM, launched in June 2015, 100 cities were chosen through a competition to be developed as smart cities.
- The mission envisions developing areas within selected cities in the country as model areas based on an area development plan, which is expected to have a rub-off effect on other parts of the city and nearby cities and towns.
No Indian industry presence in Board of National Research Foundation
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- The executive and governing boards of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) — a high-level body conceived to give strategic direction to scientific research in India — has no representation from Indian industry, suggests a perusal of the list of members made public by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) earlier this week.
- There is also no presence of State universities, who the ANRF had said would be among the major beneficiaries of the new structure.
- The absence of Indian industry is glaring as the ANRF Act, passed in August 2023, was expected to galvanise research by having close to ₹36,000 crore or 70% of its five-year outlay of ₹50,000 crore from “non-government sources, industry & philanthropists, from domestic as well as outside sources”, Science Minister Jitendra Singh had said in discussions surrounding the passage of the Bill in Parliament last year.
India to host 46th UNESCO heritage panel session
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GS 1: Indian Culture – Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture
- The 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which is being hosted by India from July 21-31, will be held at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
- The event will be attended by over 2,500 delegates from State Parties, advisory bodies, senior diplomats, heritage experts, scholars, and researchers from 195 countries, a senior official said. State Parties are countries which have adhered to the World Heritage Convention.
