THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. CAN NOT FORCE VACCINATION: SUPREME COURT

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court has ruled that no individual can be forced to take any vaccination but stated that the government can impose some restrictions in the interest of the community.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Supreme Court ruled that no individual can be forced to get vaccinated against Covid-19 but added that “as long as there is a risk of spreading the disease, there can be restrictions placed on individuals’ rights in larger public interest”.
• A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai delivered the judgement on the plea challenging mandatory Covid-19 vaccine mandates as unconstitutional, “Considering bodily autonomy, bodily integrity is protected under article 21. No one can be forced to get vaccinated. (But) government can regulate in areas of bodily autonomy.”
• Observing that restrictions on unvaccinated individuals imposed through various vaccine mandates by State Governments/Union Territories cannot be said to be proportionate, the court clarified that the suggestion to review the vaccine mandates imposed is limited to the present situation alone.
• The personal autonomy of an individual, which is a recognized facet of the protections guaranteed under Article 21, encompasses the right to refuse to undergo any medical treatment in the sphere of individual health,” said a bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and B R Gavai in the judgment.
• The bench also reiterated that subject to the protection of privacy of individual subjects, with respect to ongoing clinical trials and trials that may be conducted subsequently for COVID-19 vaccines, all relevant data required to be published under the extant statutory regime must be made available to the public without undue delay.
• The bench said that no data has been placed by the Union of India or the States controverting the material placed by the petitioner in the form of emerging scientific opinion which appears to indicate that the risk of transmission of the virus from unvaccinated individuals is almost on par with that from vaccinated persons.
• In light of this, restrictions on unvaccinated individuals imposed through various vaccine mandates by State Governments/Union Territories cannot be said to be proportionate.
• The bench also approved the vaccination policy for children but directed that the clinical trial data be made public at the earliest.

2. THE DEBATE ON THE NATIONAL LANGUAGE

THE CONTEXT: The “national language” debate came back in focus recently, as Hindi actor Ajay Devgn took to Twitter to react to a comment by Kannada actor Kiccha Sudeep.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Under Article 343 of the Constitution, the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in the Devanagari script. The international form of Indian numerals will be used for official purposes.
• The Constituent Assembly was bitterly divided on the question, with members from States that did not speak Hindi initially opposing the declaration of Hindi as a national language. Proponents of Hindi were insistent that English was the language of enslavement and that it should be eliminated as early as possible. Opponents were against English being done away with, fearing that it may lead to Hindi domination in regions that did not speak the language.
• There were demands to make Sanskrit the official language, while some argued in favour of ‘Hindustani’. There were differences of opinion over the script too. When opinion veered towards accepting Hindi, proponents of the language wanted the ‘Devanagari’ script to be adopted both for words and numerals. Some advocated that the Roman script be adopted, as it would facilitate faster learning of Hindi. The predominant opinion was in favour of adopting ‘international numerals’ (the Arabic form used and understood throughout the world) instead of Hindi numerals.
• Ultimately, it was decided that the Constitution will only speak of an ‘official language’. And that English would continue to be used for a period of 15 years. The Constitution said that after 15 years, Parliament may by law decide on the use of English and the use of the Devanagari form of numbers for specified purposes.

WHAT IS THE EIGHTH SCHEDULE?

• The Eighth Schedule contains a list of languages in the country. Initially, there were 14 languages in the schedule, but now there are 22 languages. There is no description of the sort of languages that are included or will be included in the Eighth Schedule. There are only two references to these languages in the text of the Constitution.
• One is in Article 344(1), which provides for the formation of a Commission by the President, which should have a chairman and members representing these scheduled languages. The purpose of the Commission is to make recommendations for the progressive use of Hindi for official purposes of the Union and for restricting the use of English.
• The second reference, found in Article 351, says it is the Union government’s duty to promote the spread of Hindi so that it becomes “a medium of expression for all elements of the composite culture of India” and also to assimilate elements of forms and expressions from Hindustani and languages listed in the Eighth Schedule.

WHAT WERE THE 1965 PROTESTS ABOUT?

• The Official Languages Act, 1963 was passed in anticipation of the expiry of the 15-year period during which the Constitution originally allowed the use of English for official purposes. Its operative section provided for the continuing use of English, notwithstanding the expiry of the 15-year period. This came into force from Jan 26, 1965, a date which marked the completion of 15 years since the Constitution was adopted.
• Jawaharlal Nehru had given an assurance in 1959 that english would remain in official use and as the language of communication between the Centre and the States. The Official Languages Act, 1963, did not explicitly incorporate this assurance, causing apprehensions in some States as the January 1965 deadline neared. At that time, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri reiterated the government’s commitment to move towards making Hindi the official language for all purposes.
• In Tamil Nadu, then known as Madras, the prospect of the use of Hindi as the medium of examination for recruitment to the Union public services created an apprehension that Hindi would be imposed in such a way that the future employment prospects of those who do not speak Hindi will be bleak. With the Congress government in the State taking the view that the people had nothing to fear about, protests broke out in January 1965.
• It took a violent turn after more and more student activists joined the protest and continued even after key Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leaders were arrested. More than 60 people died in police firing and other incidents as the protests went on for days. The agitation died down later, but by then the Congress at the Centre realised the sensitivity of the language issue among Tamil-speaking people. When the Official Language Rules were framed in 1976, it was made clear that the Rules apply to the whole of India, except Tamil Nadu.

WHAT IS THE THREE-LANGUAGE FORMULA? Since the 1960s, the Centre’s education policy documents speak of teaching three languages — Hindi, English and one regional language in Hindi-speaking States, and Hindi, English and the official regional language in other States. In practice, however, only some States teach both their predominant language and Hindi, besides English. In States where Hindi is the official language, a third language is rarely taught as a compulsory subject. Tamil Nadu has been steadfastly opposing the three-language formula and sticks to teaching Tamil and English. It argues that those who need to know Hindi can learn on their own.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

3. INDIA-DENMARK TIES

THE CONTEXT: India and Denmark on 3 May 2022, agreed to further strengthen the Green Strategic Partnership with a focus on green hydrogen, renewable energy and wastewater management.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A number of agreements covering sectors such as green shipping, animal husbandry and dairying, water management, energy, cultural exchange were inked after the bilateral talks.
• The two Prime Ministers welcomed the Letter of Intent on the establishment of a Centre of Excellence on Green Shipping, which will further strengthen bilateral maritime cooperation.
• The two leaders also agreed to expand the cooperation on agriculture by a Joint Declaration of Intent establishing among others a Centre of Excellence on Dairy.
• India and Denmark also confirmed their continued collaboration in the field of antimicrobial resistance.
• India conveyed its acceptance of the Danish invitation to join the International Center for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) as Mission Partner.

4. INDIA EXTENDS MORE ASSISTANCE TO SRI LANKA

THE CONTEXT: On 2 April 2022, India had extended its current credit line by a further $200 million to replenish Sri Lanka’s rapidly depleting fuel stocks.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India has committed more than $3 billion to debt-ridden Sri Lanka in loans, credit lines and credit swaps since January this year,as the island nation tries to navigate through its worst economic crisis since independence.
• The ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.
• A $400-million currency swap with the Reserve Bank of India, extended early this year, was on April 18 extended by another three months. A billion-dollar credit line for essential imports is operational and around 16,000 MT of rice has been supplied under it so far.
• India has helped Sri Lanka defer repayment of loans totalling $1 billion under the Asian Clearing Union. Further, 400,000 MT of fuel has been delivered to Sri Lanka through a $500 million credit facility.
• “Multi-pronged assistance provided by India testifies to the importance Government of India attaches to the welfare of the people of Sri Lanka and is guided by the twin principles of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and S.A.G.A.R (Security and Growth for All in the Region)”.
• Sri Lanka’s economic crash intensified from the beginning of this year, with the country’s foreign reserves plunging to barely a couple of billion dollars, owing to an acute balance of payments crisis in recent years.
• The crisis manifested in severe shortages of food, fuel and medicines, as the country experiences record inflation, that hit nearly 30% in April. Consequently, the ruling Rajapaksa administration’s popularity has plummeted over the last few months, with citizens demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa quit.
• For almost a month now, demonstrators have been gathering at Colombo’s seafront, protesting every day against the government’s “failed” crisis response. Students, professionals, business people, worker unions, and scores of children, among others, can be spotted at the daily rallies, chanting anti-government slogans.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

5. GST SIGNALS: ON APRIL GST COLLECTIONS

THE CONTEXT: The first month of the new financial year has yielded a sharp surge in Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections, taking them well past ₹1.67 lakh crore — the highest, by a wide margin, in the five years since the levy was introduced by subsuming myriad State and central duties.

THE EXPLANATION:

• GST revenues have scaled fresh highs in three of the last four months, having hit ₹1.41 lakh crore in January and ₹1.42 lakh crore in March.
• Overall GST revenues had grown 30.8% in 2021-22 to ₹14.9 lakh crore, despite slipping below the ₹1 lakh crore mark for two months when the second COVID-19 wave raged.
• The 20% year-on-year revenue uptick this April could be seen as a comforting signal about 2022-23 revenue prospects for policymakers at the Centre and the States, whose treasuries are fretting about the prospect of income falling off a cliff from this July when the assured compensation for implementing the GST comes to an end.
• Compensation cess levies will persist till at least March 2026, but they will be used to pay off special borrowings of 2020-21 to bridge revenue shortfalls and recompense States.
• The Centre needs a mechanism to expedite the payment of outstanding compensation dues to States (₹78,700-odd crore, or four months of dues). The Finance Ministry has blamed ‘inadequate balance’ in the Compensation Cess fund and promised to pay up ‘as and when’ the requisite cess accrues.
• The Centre, which called the April inflows a sign of ‘faster recovery’, must also state whether these revenue levels warrant a rethink of its concern that the effective GST tax rate had slipped from the revenue-neutral rate envisaged at its launch.
• A clear acknowledgment is needed that the higher revenues are not solely driven by a rebound in economic activity. Persistently higher input costs facing producers for a year and their accelerating pass-through to consumers, seen in higher retail inflation, have contributed too, along with tighter input credit norms introduced in the Union Budget.
• That revenue growth from goods imports has outpaced domestic transactions significantly in recent months, also suggests India’s consumption story is yet to fully resurface. Urgent policy action is needed to rein in the inflation rally and bolster consumer sentiment, so as not to sink hopes of more investments, faster growth and even greater revenues.

6. NO SHORT CIRCUITS: ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES CATCHING FIRE

THE CONTEXT: A spate of incidents related to the burning of electric vehicles (EV) has resulted in the Union government announcing an expert panel to investigate the battery explosions causing them and a few manufacturers recalling batches of electric scooters after some caught fire.

THE EXPLANATION:

• EVs have increasingly become a viable transportation device, with more than 11 lakh electric/battery-operated vehicles registered in India (Vahan database, April 2022).
• The increase in the utilisation of EVs has also been largely helped by the significant reduction in costs of lithium-ion batteries that have fallen by an estimated 89% since 2010. With climate change concerns driving governments, including India’s, to incentivize the shift to EVs, their manufacture for commercial use has undergone an acceleration with an increase in indigenous companies in the Indian market as well.
• The enhanced use of EVs and utilization of the underlying technology is welcome as, despite the institution of fuel emission norms and building these into fossil fuel-driven vehicles, the shift to EVs from petrol and diesel ones is expected to gain significant net environmental benefits. But it must also be remembered that the Li-ion battery packs that form the core of the technology, are sophisticated devices and there should be no compromise on the inbuilt safeguards.
• Battery fires occur due to the convergence of heat, oxygen and fuel, and the controlled manufacturing of devices is specifically required to prevent these.
• Engineering higher safety into EVs can result in higher costs but the smooth functioning of Li-ion batteries without accidents is reliant on the absence of “shoddy engineering” and “cutting corner approaches”.
• With long-term device changes in Li-ion batteries such as the use of solid-state electrolytes, special safety switches, etc. still some time away in implementation, the onus is on manufacturers and regulators to ensure that testing and certification standards related to battery management systems such as devices that prevent accidental shorting of the cells, and thermal management solutions among others are met in existing EV systems and supply chains.
• The Ministry of Road Transport will issue guidelines for EVs which would include tests for compliance with specific safety norms. While the regulation of a fledgling albeit growing sector that has shown a lot of promise but requires adequate safety norms to be put in place is an imperative, manufacturers and other companies in the EV supply chain should also proactively work in recalling defective batches of vehicles and ensuring safety compliance to prevent the recurrence of mishaps.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

7. NASA TO SHUT DOWN SOFIA TELESCOPE

THE CONTEXT: NASA and the German Aerospace Center are permanently shutting down the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a telescope on an airplane that has been scrutinized for years for its high cost and low scientific output.

THE EXPLANATION:

The organisation announced April 28, 2022, it would shut down the operations of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) mission by September 30, 2022.

ABOUT SOFIA –

• SOFIA is a 2.7-meter infrared telescope sitting inside a Boeing 747 SP airplane, flying at an altitude of 38,000-45,000 feet above the surface.
• It’s the second-most expensive astrophysics mission, according to NASA’s Financial Year 2023 budget estimates report. The document mentioned a 2020 decadal survey report, which concluded that SOFIA’s science productivity did not justify its operating costs.
• SOFIA is a collaboration between NASA and the German Space Agency (DLR). “SOFIA is globally unique and, with the start of regular operations in 2014, has been successfully used for scientific research during a total of approximately 800 flights.
• Since its inception in 2014, SOFIA has been collecting data to understand star birth and death and the formation of new solar systems. It has also been keeping a close eye on planets, comets and asteroids in our solar system, nebulas and galaxies, celestial magnetic fields and black holes at the centre of galaxies.
• SOFIA was designed to observe cosmic objects in far-infrared wavelengths. This allows researchers to watch star formation by looking through huge, cold clouds of gas, according to NASA.
• NASA’s decision to shut down SOFIA closely follows the White House’s 2023 federal budget request released on 28 March 2022, which did not allocate money to SOFIA.

IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES:

• The project has generated 309 scientific studies, according to information on SOFIA’s website. In 2020, NASA announced that SOFIA discovered water molecules (H2O) on the sun-facing side of the Moon.
• The site is the Clavius Crater, located in the Moon’s southern hemisphere. The telescope’s data suggested that the site contained water in concentrations of 100 to 412 parts per million — roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle [355 millilitres] of water, according to NASA.
• India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission and NASA’s ground-based Infrared Telescope Facility found evidence of hydration in the sunnier regions, they couldn’t confirm whether hydrogen was in the form of H2O or OH, the report stated.
• In 2019, SOFIA also discovered helium hydride — the first molecule formed in the Universe almost 14 billion years ago, the German space agency said.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q.Consider the following statements:

1. Even if the bill after reconsideration is passed by the state legislature with or without amendments, the governor is not bound to give his assent to the bill.
2. Constitution does not lay down any time frame for the Governor to take action on the bill passed by the state legislature.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR 1 & 2 MAY 2022

Answer: B

Explanation:

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

• It is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 193 Member States and Territories.
• It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), the roots of which were planted at the 1873 Vienna International Meteorological Congress.
• Established by the ratification of the WMO Convention on 23 March 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences a year later.
• The Secretariat, headquartered in Geneva, is headed by the Secretary-General.
• Its supreme body is the World Meteorological Congress.

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