What to read in The Hindu

27 July 2024, The Hindu

SC to examine if Governors are ‘subverting’ federalism

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GS 2: issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure

• The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine if Governors, by indefinitely sitting on crucial Bills only to eventually refer them to the President who solely acts on the advice of the Centre, are opening the doors for Union interference in the legislative domain of States, thereby subverting federalism.
• The decision of the court to intervene came in a petition filed by the State of Kerala which brought into focus the role of its Governor, who kept Bills pending for two years before reserving seven of them for the consideration of the President, who has no discretion and entirely depends on the aid and advice of the Centre.
• The President had subsequently withheld consent to four though none of the seven Bills had dealt with Centre-State relations.

 

Royal burial mounds of the Ahom dynasty from Assam make it to UNESCO World Heritage List

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GS 1: Indian Culture – Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture

• The Charaideo Moidams, a unique 700-year old mound-burial system of the Ahom dynasty from Assam, was officially inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List on July 26 becoming the 43rd property from India to be included in the prestigious index.
• The announcement was made at the ongoing 46th session of the World Heritage Committee being held in New Delhi.

 

Solid waste management in a ‘sorry state’ in Capital: SC

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GS 3: Environmental pollution and degradation

• The Supreme Court on July 26 said solid waste management in Delhi is in a “sorry state” and may lead to a public health emergency.
• “Going by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi [MCD] affidavit and timelines, there are no possibilities of adequate facilities in Delhi till 2027 to treat 11,000 tonnes of solid waste in Delhi.
• No guesswork is needed that by then solid waste generated will multiply.
• It is a sorry state of affairs in the Capital city and can lead to a public health emergency,” a Bench headed by Justice A.S. Oka observed.

 

Using children’s personal data legally and securely

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GS 2: mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections

• The Indian school education system is one of the most expansive ecosystems in the world.
• Composed of approximately 15 lakh schools, 97 lakh teachers, and nearly 26.5 crore students enrolled from the pre-primary to higher secondary levels, it boasts of stakeholders from varied socioeconomic backgrounds.

 

A new push in the Bay of Bengal

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GS 2: International Relations- India and its neighbourhood

• India hosted the 2nd BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in New Delhi earlier this month with a focus on providing an “informal platform to discuss ways and means of cooperating and accelerating action in security, connectivity, trade, and investment within the Bay of Bengal.”
• The retreat was held in preparation for the sixth summit meeting, scheduled for September, in which the BIMSTEC leaders will meet in person for the first time in the post-pandemic era.
• They are also expected to sign the BIMSTEC Agreement on Maritime Transport Cooperation to improve regional connectivity — a foundational aim of this grouping.

 

Fiscal federalism

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GS 2: issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure

• It is not often that fiscal federalism finds a prominent place in judicial discourse.
• The Supreme Court judgment, holding by an overwhelming majority of 8:1 that the States can tax mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands, is a truly landmark ruling, as it protects their legislative domain from interference by Parliament.
• For decades, it was believed that the States were denuded of their power to impose any tax on mineral resources extracted from their land because of the prevalence of a central law, the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
• Even though the right to tax mineral rights is conferred on the States through Entry 50 in the State List of the Seventh Schedule, it was made “subject to any limitations imposed by Parliament by law relating to mineral development”. 

 

India, U.S. sign agreement to protect cultural heritage

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GS 2: International Relations- Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting the Indian interests

• India and the U.S. on July 26 signed a cultural property agreement aimed at enhancing cooperation to protect cultural heritage of the two countries.
• Cultural property agreements prevent the illegal trade of cultural property and simplify the process by which looted and stolen antiquities may be returned to their country of origin.

 

Sugar mills seek policy framework to promote sustainable fuels

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GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment

• The Indian Sugar & and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) said it made a detailed presentation to the Union Minister of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi seeking a policy framework for transition of sugar mills into bio-refineries.
• The association said in a press release that along with bio-ethanol, bio-electricity and bio-gas, the units can also produce the emerging energy streams such as sustainable aviation fuel, green hydrogen, E-100 and 2-G ethanol.