Daily Prelims Notes 6 August 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

6 August 2023

Table Of Contents

1. Lula to host South American summit on saving the Amazon
2. In TB detection, smear microscopy’s share still holds sway
3. The enigmatic Indian eagle-owl
4. A 340-tonne whale species lived 39 million years ago
5. The science behind a nuclear bomb
6. Where is the money for biodiversity?
7. Ukrainian drones hit Russian ship in yet another sea attack
8. The language used in courts: What the Constitution and laws say
9. Libraries measure progress of Civilisations: President
10. Telangana Assembly passes 4 Bills returned by Governor
11. Kuttikkanam Palace: Soon-to-be Historical Monument

1. Lula to host South American summit on saving the Amazon

Subject :Environment

Section: International convention

Context:

• Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will host a regional summit with planetary stakes, as leaders of the countries that share the Amazon seek a roadmap to save the world’s biggest rainforest.

Details:

• The meeting of the eight-nation Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization will be held in Belem, capital of the Amazon state of Para.
  • It is the 28-year-old organization’s first summit since 2009.
• The CoP30 of UNFCCC will also be held in Para, Brazil in 2025.
• Norway and Germany, key contributors to Brazil’s Amazon Fund to protect the rainforest, are also invited, along with France, which has a share of the Amazon via the territory of French Guiana.
• Brazil also invited tropical rainforest nations Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO):

• Established: 25 February 1995
• Headquarters:Brasília, Brazil
• The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) is an international organization aimed at the promotion of sustainable development of the Amazon Basin.
• The Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT) was signed on 3 July 1978 and amended in 1998.
• ACTO was created in 1995 to strengthen the implementation of the Treaty. The Permanent Secretariat was later established in Brasilia in 2002.
• Group members — Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

Deforestation in Amazon rainforests:

• With its hundreds of billions of carbon-absorbing trees, the Amazon is a key buffer against global warming.
• The carbon emissions from the Amazon increased by 117 percent in 2020 compared to the annual average for 2010 to 2018.
• Deforestation is pushing it dangerously close to a “tipping point,” beyond which trees would die off and release their carbon stores back into the atmosphere, with catastrophic consequences for the climate.
• Brazil, which holds around 60 percent of the Amazon, has pledged to eradicate illegal deforestation by 2030.
• Deforestation has already wiped out around one-fifth of the rainforest.

About Amazon Rainforest:

• Comprising about 40% of Brazil’s total area, it is bounded by the Guiana Highlands to the north, the Andes Mountains to the west, the Brazilian central plateau to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
• These are large tropical rainforest occupying the drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries in northern South America and covering an area of 6,000,000 square km.
• Tropical forests are closed-canopy forests growing within 28 degrees north or south of the equator.
• They are very wet places, receiving more than 200 cm rainfall per year, either seasonally or throughout the year.
• Temperatures are uniformly high – between 20°C and 35°C.
• Countries sharing Amazon rainforests are:
  • The majority of the forest, 60%, is in Brazil, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

2. In TB detection, smear microscopy’s share still holds sway

Subject :Science and technology

Section: Health

Context:

• According to the WHO Global TB report 2022, over 40% of 10.6 million people globally who developed TB in 2021 were not diagnosed. India along with Indonesia and the Philippines accounted for a 67% drop in the number of people with TB being diagnosed in 2020.

Sputum smear microscopy:

• Sputum smear is a rapid test to detect the presence of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) but a single sputum test lacks sensitivity.
• Even when people finally get tested for TB, sputum smear microscopy with about 50% sensitivity has been used for diagnosis in a majority of the cases in India, thus leading to a huge number of missed TB cases.
• Drawbacks:
  • Besides lower sensitivity, smear microscopy is ill-equipped to diagnose rifampicin resistance.
• Way back in 2014, the WHO guidelines clearly stated that GeneXpert may be used rather than conventional microscopy and culture as the initial diagnostic test in all adults suspected of having TB.

Molecular tests for TB:

• Molecular tests are not only more sensitive than smear microscopy, they also help identify rifampicin resistance at the outset.
• Yet, India has been overly relying on smear microscopy for the initial diagnosis.
• Even in 2015, the Joint monitoring mission report had criticised the national TB programme for heavily relying on smear microscopy and for the “slow uptake of the new molecular test”.
• The rapid molecular diagnostic machines have been scaled up from 40 in 2014 to 5,090 in 2022.

India’s reliance on sputum smear microscopy for TB detection test:

• As per the India TB report 2023, even last year, 77% (13.9 million) of presumptive TB cases were examined using smear microscopy and just 23% (4.1 million) with a molecular test.
• The presumptive TB case examination rate (PTBER) is a good indicator of the efforts to detect and diagnose TB cases.
• According to the 2019-2021 TB prevalence survey report, nearly 43% of the TB cases in the survey would have been missed if a chest X-ray was not included.

Tuberculosis (TB) cases in India:

• According to the National TB prevalence survey in India 2019-2021 report, nearly 64% did not get tested for TB. It varied from 46% in the case of Kerala to 88% in Haryana.
• 50% of all people with bacteriologically confirmed tuberculosis have no symptoms and by the time symptoms develop, transmission has probably already occurred.
• There is emerging evidence that TB may not fall under a binary of latent infection (asymptomatic and non-infectious) and active disease (symptomatic and infectious).
• Instead, TB may be a spectrum of disease, including incipient and subclinical stages.
• In 2020, the RNTCP was renamed as the National TB Elimination Program (NTEP) to underscore India’s goal to eliminate TB in the country by 2025, five years ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals.

For more details on TB: https://optimizeias.com/the-road-to-ending-tuberculosis/

3. The enigmatic Indian eagle-owl

Subject :Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• The Indian eagle-owl was classified as a species only in recent years, thus distinguishing it from the Eurasian eagle-owl.

Indian eagle-owl:

• The Indian species is an imposing bird.
• The slightly larger female can reach a total length of two and a half feet, with a wingspan of six feet.
• Prominent ear tufts that look like horns are seen to project from its head.
• One theory holds that these have evolved to impart a threatening look that keeps away predators.
• It is nocturnal in nature.
• It is native to hilly and rocky scrub forests in the Indian Subcontinent.
• The widespread range — the entire Indian peninsula — indicates that it is a stable population.
• It is usually seen in pairs. It has a deep resonant booming call that may be heard at dawn and dusk.
• The Indian eagle-owl does not have a dependency on forests as their diet includes rats, bandicoots, and even bats and doves which are found in open scrubland and agricultural tracts.
• It nests on rocky perches and crags of those scrublands.
• Near human settlements, they prefer mango trees.

Benefits to farmers:

• Indian eagle-owls nesting near agricultural lands had more, and healthier, owlets than scrubland nesters.
• It controls the rodent populations in agricultural tracts thus preventing the loss.

4. A 340-tonne whale species lived 39 million years ago

Subject :Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• The newly discovered Perucetus colossus, an ancient species of whale, is thought to be one of the largest and heaviest animals on record.

Perucetus colossus:

• The species is discovered in Southern Peru and estimated to be approximately 39 million years old.
• Estimates of its size and weight, based on a partial skeleton, rival those of the blue whale, which was previously thought to be the heaviest animal ever to exist.
  • It is predicted that the skeletal mass would be two-three times that of a 25-metres-long blue whale.
• The findings suggest that the trend towards gigantism in marine mammals may have begun earlier than previously thought.
• The ancient whale species displays the highest degree of bone mass increase known to date, an adaptation associated with shallow diving.
• The estimated skeletal mass of P. colossus exceeds that of any known mammal or aquatic vertebrate.

5. The science behind a nuclear bomb

Subject :Science and Technology

Section: Nuclear science

Context:

• On 6 August 1945 World’s deadliest bomb hit Japan: Carries blast power of 20,000 tons of TNT.
• At the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, the only country to have suffered a nuclear strike, pushed for a world without nuclear weapons.

First, a primer on the atom:

• Atoms are the basic building blocks of all matter, such that they cannot be “broken down” further by simple chemical processes.
• Most of an atom is empty space. The rest comprises three basic types of subatomic (smaller than, or occurring within an atom) particles — positively charged protons, negatively charged electrons, and the neutral neutrons.
• The protons and neutrons combine to form the atom’s nucleus, around which circle a “cloud” of electrons.
• The number of protons in an atom determines the element, and the number of neutrons determines the isotope of that element. Different isotopes of the same element have the same chemical properties, but very different nuclear properties.

Nuclear fission, U-235, and chain reaction:

• Most of the atoms on earth are stable, but few are unstable due to unequal composition of neutrons and protons. The unequal composition does not allow the atom to hold itself together. Such types of atoms are known to be radioactive. They tend to break apart or fission into two lighter elements.
• Uranium-235, an extremely rare isotope of the heavy metal uranium, is the most commonly used nuclear fuel, as it is one of the few elements that can undergo induced fission (breaking apart of atoms).
• Fission process in U-235:
  • This is done by subjecting a U-235 nucleus to neutrons.
  • The nucleus immediately absorbs an extra neutron and consequently becomes unstable — and immediately breaks apart into two lighter atoms, and a few extra neutrons. This process releases what is known as atomic energy.
  • The fission of a U-235 atom produces about 2 to 3 new neutrons on average. If these new neutrons are then absorbed by other U-235 atoms, it creates an exponentially growing chain reaction.
  • Even though not all neutrons engage in the fission process, as long as each fission leads to more than one additional fission, the chain reaction grows exponentially and releases large amounts of energy.

Need for uranium enrichment:

• Approximately 99.3% of naturally occurring uranium is of the isotope U-238, which is not fissionable.
• Thus, uranium ore is enriched in order to increase the concentration of U-235.
• Most nuclear power plants require an enrichment of 3-4% U-235 to sustain a chain reaction. Fission bombs on the other hand need closer to 90% enrichment.
• Notably, the equipment needed to enrich fuel for nuclear power generations is the same as that needed to enrich it for a bomb — leading to one of the great challenges of enforcing nuclear non-proliferation.

Critical mass:

• Critical mass is the minimum mass of fissionable material required to sustain a nuclear fission.
• Thus, in a fission bomb, the fuel is kept in separate subcritical masses and then brought together when the explosion is intended.
• Conventional explosives shoot the bullet down the gun barrel, where it mates with the target, forming a supercritical mass, resulting in a chain reaction, and an atomic explosion. This was the kind of bomb that was used over Hiroshima.

There are also plutonium implosion devices:

• The second way to create a supercritical mass is to compress the subcritical masses together by means of an implosion.
• This is the kind of device required for plutonium bombs, which cannot be triggered by a simple gun mechanism.
• Plutonium implosion bombs are more complex to make but the fissionable isotope of plutonium, Pu-239, is easier and cheaper to obtain in critical mass quantities. If produced correctly, these bombs can also be more efficient than their U-235 counterparts.

Fusion bombs:

• Nuclear fusion is basically the opposite of fission — it is the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a single, heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy.
• For fusion bombs, the nuclei of two extremely rare isotopes of hydrogen — deuterium and tritium — are fused together under extremely high temperatures and pressure, thus giving these bombs the moniker of hydrogen bombs or H-bombs.
• All H-bombs are basically two bombs in one — a fission bomb which produces adequate heat and pressure, to trigger the fusion reaction.

Which is more destructive, Fission bomb or Fusion bomb?

• Fission bombs, although very destructive, are not very efficient. There is also a theoretical limit to the yield they can possibly generate. The largest fission bombs tested till date have had yields of around 500 kilotonnes.
• Fusion bombs, on the other hand, have no such limit. The largest fusion bomb ever tested — the Soviet Tsar Bomba — gave a yield of roughly 50 megatonnes, or 50,000 kt.

Upon explosion, they produce four types of energy:

1. A blast or a shock wave that can flatten and obliterate any physical structures in the blast radius;
2. Bright light, which can cause permanent blindness even many kilometres away;
3. Intense heat, which can literally turn human bodies into ashes in an instant; and
4. Radiation, which includes both initial radiation, produced within a minute of detonation and residual (or delayed) nuclear radiation, which is emitted over a period of time.

Nuclear tests around the world:

• The world’s first nuclear weapon test (code name: Trinity) was conducted in July, 1945.
• There have been at least 528 nuclear weapon tests around the world that took place above the ground, plus the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
• The 1979 “Vela incident” that most likely involved an Israeli nuclear weapon test with help from South Africa.
• Reprocessing of plants also exposes us to radioactive materials.

6. Where is the money for biodiversity?

Subject :Environment

Section: International convention

Context:

• The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill is now cleared by both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. The new Act, which has been named the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, will come into force after the Centre notifies it in the official gazette and new rules are prepared.

Details:

• The new Act amends the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (BDA).
• The amendments have been made purportedly to ensure that the provision of United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992 and Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising from their Utilization of 2010 are met with.

Reduced scope of benefit sharing:

• There are very few examples of benefit sharing on traditional knowledge and the contract on rooibos tea is a rare example.
• The scope of benefit sharing has been reduced through the amendments.
• For example, the amendments open up access to a large extent.
• Exemptions have been set for codified traditional knowledge as prescribed in the first schedule of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 which means that the industries using this knowledge do not have to share benefits.
• Also, industry does not have to share benefits if the raw material is from cultivated sources.
• The Amendments have decriminalized the offenses and made them punishable with a penalty which could range from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore depending on the severeness of the violation.
• The other sources could be the food industry and the cosmetic industry. Proprietary herbal drug industry could also be a source as could be the modern pharma industry.
• The amendments suggest that ABS funds would be used for biodiversity conservation if exact beneficiaries are not identified but this amount is not likely to be much as few people would be sharing the benefits.

Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use already faces extreme shortage of funds:

• The Union budget set out the total amount for Conservation of Natural Resources and Ecosystems for the year 2023-2024 as Rs 47 crore.
• This is lower than the Rs 58.50 crore provided for the purpose during 2022-2023.
• The allocation to National Biodiversity Authority too has gone down from Rs 17.5 crore in 2022-2023 to Rs 16.40 crore for the year 2023-2024.

Shortage of funds for biodiversity is a global phenomenon.

• In December 2022, when the world agreed upon the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) at the conference of parties (COP15) in Montreal, countries agreed to mobilise at least $200 billion per year for the purpose.
• The finances to fund GBF are handled by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the recent GEF governing board meeting revealed that the total of only around $1.4 billion is available with the Facility and only around 50 per cent of this would be available for biodiversity.

About the Biodiversity Act 2002 and the new amendment:

Changes made in the new amendment:

7. Ukrainian drones hit Russian ship in yet another sea attack

Subject : International Relations

Section: Places in news

Context:

• Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea late Friday, the second sea attack involving drones in one day.
• Ukraine struck a major Russian port earlier.

Details:

• Earlier, Russia carried out repeated strikes on Ukrainian ports, including Odessa and Izmail.
• The attack took place at Kerch strait.
• Ukraine’s earlier strike was on Novorossiysk, a commercial Russian port.
  • The port has a naval base, shipbuilding yards and an oil terminal, and is key for exports. It lies about 110 kilometers (about 60 miles) east of Crimea.

Kerch strait:

• The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe.
• It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia’s Krasnodar Krai in the east.
• The strait is 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) to 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) wide and up to 18 metres (59 ft) deep. The most important harbor, the Crimean city of Kerch, gives its name to the strait, formerly known as the Cimmerian Bosporus.
• It has also been called the Straits of Yenikale after the Yeni-Kale fortress in Kerch.
• Taman, the most important settlement on the Taman Peninsula side of the strait, sits on Taman Bay, which is separated from the main Kerch Strait by the Chushka Spit to the north and the former Tuzla Spit to the south; the Tuzla Spit is now Tuzla Island, connected to the Taman Peninsula by a 2003 Russian-built 3.8-kilometre-long (2.4 mi) dam, and to mainland Crimea by the Crimean Bridge opened in 2018.

8. The language used in courts: What the Constitution and laws say

Subject :Polity

Section: Constitution

Context:

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court observed that although there are at least 22 official languages in the country, Hindi is “the national language”.

What was the case before the Supreme Court about?

• The motor accident case in Siliguri, West Bengal, involved injuries and resulted in death, leading to a compensation claim under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
• The plea for transfer to the MACT in Darjeeling, West Bengal, was based on the contention that all witnesses were from Siliguri, and language could be a barrier.

Is Hindi India’s “national language”?

• Although Hindi is the official language of the Union, the Constitution does not explicitly designate it as India’s “national language.”
• Article 343(1) of the Constitution states,
  • “The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script.” However, it does not use the term “national language.”
• India has more than 100 languages and 270 mother tongues spoken across the country, reflecting its linguistic diversity.

What is the Eighth Schedule in the Indian Constitution?

• The Eighth Schedule initially listed 14 languages, and later, four more languages, including Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali, were added in 2004, making a total of 22 languages in the schedule.
• There have been demands to include another 38 languages 
  • Such as Bhojpuri, Garhwali (Pahari), and Rajasthani.
  • However, the dynamic nature of language evolution makes it challenging to fix criteria for their inclusion.

What is the status of English in India?

• English is one of the two official languages of the central government and continues to be used for all official purposes even after the initial 15-year period specified in the Constitution.
• Article 343(3) grants Parliament the authority to provide for the use of English or the Devanagari form of numerals for specific purposes through legislation.
• On January 26, 1965, Section 3 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, came into effect, which ensured the continuation of English for official purposes of the Union and in Parliament.

What is the language to be used in courts?

• Article 348 (1): All proceedings in the Supreme Court and High Courts, as well as Bills, Acts, ordinances, rules, and orders at the Union and state levels, are conducted in English until Parliament decides otherwise.
• Article 348(2): permits the use of Hindi or any other official language of the State in proceedings in the High Court with the Governor’s authorization and the President’s consent.
  • However, judgments, decrees, and orders passed by the High Court must be in English.
• Some High Courts have initiated changes in their court procedures to allow the optional use of Hindi or the official language of the State in judgments, decrees, or orders, accompanied by an English translation.
• The Rajasthan High Court allowed Hindi to be used during court proceedings in 1950, citing Article 348(2).

How did the use of regional languages in courts evolve?

• In 1965, the Cabinet Committee decided that the Chief Justice of India’s consent must be taken on any proposal concerning the use of any language besides English in the High Courts.
• Some states sought to use Hindi in their respective High Courts
  • The proposals were rejected by the Full Court of the Supreme Court
  • upheld the use of English for judgments, decrees, and orders.
• growing recognition of the need to encourage the use of regional languages in courts to facilitate better understanding and access to justice for a diverse population.
• In May 2022, Prime Minister emphasized the importance of “encouraging the use of local languages in courts” to make the judicial process more accessible to the people.
  • then CJI N V Ramana also expressed the possibility of such changes happening “over a period of time.”
  • then Law Minister, supported the use of regional languages in the curricular activities of courts.

What is the situation in courts subordinate to the High Court?

• State governments have the authority to determine the language used in courts subordinate to the High Court.
• Section 272 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973,
  • “The State Government may determine what shall be, for purposes of this Code, the language of each Court within the State other than the High Court.”
• The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908,
  • Section 137(1)
    • the language initially used in subordinate courts is the language of the court until the State Government directs otherwise.
  • Section 137(2),
    • the State Government can declare the language and character in which applications and proceedings in such courts should be written.
  • Section 137(3)
    • allows for the use of English in writing, but if a party or pleader is unacquainted with English, they can request an English translation in the language of the court.
  • Rajasthan has since carried out a state amendment to this section, replacing the words “such writing may be in English” with the words “such writing shall be in Hindi in Devnagri Script with the international form of Indian numerals.”

9. Libraries measure progress of Civilisations: President

Subject :Schemes

Context:

President Droupadi Murmu Inaugurates Festival of Libraries 2023 in New Delhi.

What did President emphasize during the inauguration?

• Stressed that the development of libraries reflects the progress of civilizations and history contains instances of invaders destroying libraries.
• Libraries are considered a symbol of a country or society’s collective consciousness and intellect.
• Libraries act as bridges between civilizations, with people from various countries gaining knowledge by carrying books from India and translating them.
• Books and libraries are seen as a common heritage of humanity.
• President referred to Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography, where he highlighted the significant positive impact of John Ruskin’s book “Unto This Last” on his life.
  • The power of a small book to influence world events.
• Conservation of manuscripts and modernization of libraries are crucial for preserving cultural heritage.

What is the goal of the ‘Festival of Libraries’ ?

• Organized by the Ministry of Culture.
• The festival aims to promote the development and digitization of libraries, fostering a reading culture in India.
• It seeks to initiate dialogue on modernization and digitization of libraries, showcasing iconic libraries worldwide, and developing model libraries at the village and community levels.

What initiatives are part of the ‘Festival of Libraries’ program?

• Launching a ranking system for libraries across India.
• Exhibitions on allied crafts like cartography, calligraphy, and cursive writing will be held.
• Creation of a crowd-sourced directory of significant book collections in the country.

What is the vision behind the National Virtual Library of India?

• The National Virtual Library of India aims for ‘One Nation, One Digital Library,‘ making information accessible through technology.
• It aims to strengthen the culture of connecting with libraries and reading books.

What is Nationl Mission for Libraries (NML)?

National Mission on Libraries (NML):

• National Knowledge Commission gave 10 recommendation on libraries in its 2011 report.
• Initiative by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
• Launched in the year 2014.
• Modernizing and digitally connecting nearly 9,000 libraries across India.
• Cost estimation for the ambitious project is approximately 1000 crores.
• Aims to grant easy access to a wide array of books and information for diverse audiences.

Vision of National Policy on Library and Information System (NAPLIS):

• Established in 1985, provided the foundation for NML.
• Envisioned fostering, promoting, and sustaining information organizations.
• Emphasized leveraging technology advances and training library personnel to meet evolving needs.

Fostering Inclusive and Accessible Libraries:

• NML prioritizes creating inclusive and accessible libraries.
• Special provisions for differently-abled individuals, braille corners, and children’s corners.
• Encouraging young minds to explore literature and knowledge from an early age.

Setting up of NML Model Libraries:

• Core component of the NML scheme.
• Library is a State subject and public Libraries in States/Union Territories function under the administrative control of the respective State/Union Territory authority.
  • Financial assistance provided to State Central and District Libraries.
• Six Public Libraries functioning under Ministry of Culture namely
  • National Library, Kolkata,
  • Central Reference Library, Kolkata,
  • Central Secretariat Library, New Delhi,
  • Delhi Public Library, Delhi,
  • Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library,
  • Patna and Rampur Raza Library, Rampur.

Setting up of National Virtual Library of India (NVLI):

• Aims to create an all-inclusive database of digital resources about India.
• Features federated searching, virtual learning environment, E-Governance platform, and multilingual retrieval.

Support from Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation (RRRLF):

• An autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture.
• Provides financial assistance to public libraries for construction, renovation, and procurement of books.
• Conducts capacity-building programs for library professionals.

10. Telangana Assembly passes 4 Bills returned by Governor

Subject :Polity

Section: Federalism

Context:

The Telangana Assembly, on Friday night, passed four Bills, which were earlier returned by Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan with queries and doubts.

What were the four Bills passed by the Telangana Legislative Assembly?

1. Telangana Municipal Laws Amendment Bill, 2022 (increasing co-option members in municipal bodies)
2. Telangana State Private Universities Establishment and Regulation Amendment Bill, 2022 (establishing five private universities)
3. Telangana Public Employment Regulation of Age of Superannuation Amendment Bill, 2022 (rectifying an anomaly in medical teachers’ retirement age)
4. Telangana Panchayat Raj Amendment Bill, 2023 (dividing certain Gram Panchayats)

What happened to the Bills after they were sent to the Governor for her assent?

• The Governor returned the Bills with queries, but the Assembly passed them unchanged on August 4 after receiving messages from the Governor.
• The Bills were passed by voice vote after the Speaker received messages from the Governor, following Article 175(2) of the Constitution.

What is Article 175(2) of the Constitution?

• Article 175(2) of the Constitution of India deals with the power of the Governor to address the State Legislature.
• According to this article:
  • “175(2): The Governor may send messages to the Legislative Assembly of the State with respect to a Bill then pending in the Legislature or otherwise, and a House to which any message is so sent shall with all convenient dispatch consider any matter required by the message to be taken into consideration.”

What are the Governor’s Powers over State Bills?

Article 200:

• Article 200 of the Indian Constitution gives the Governor the authority to:
  • Assent to a Bill passed by the State Legislature.
  • Withhold assent from a Bill.
  • Reserve the Bill for the President’s consideration.

Article 201:

• It states that when a Bill is reserved for the consideration of the President, the President may assent to or withhold assent from the Bill.
• The President may also direct the Governor to return the Bill to the House or Houses of the Legislature of the State for reconsideration.

Options Available with the Governor:

• He may give assent, or he can send it back to the Assembly requesting it to reconsider some provisions of the Bill, or the Bill itself.
• He may reserve the bill for the consideration of the president. The reservation is obligatory where the bill passed by the state legislature endangers the position of the state high court.
• However, the governor can also reserve the bill if it is of the following nature:
  • Against the provisions of the Constitution
  • Opposed to the DPSP
  • Against the larger interest of the country
  • Of grave national importance
  • Deals with compulsory acquisition of property under Article 31A of the Constitution.
• Another option is to withhold the assent, but this is not normally done by any Governor because it would be an extremely unpopular action.

11. Kuttikkanam Palace: Soon-to-be Historical Monument

Subject :History

Section: Art and Culture

Context:

The 130-year-old Kuttikkanam Palace, once the summer residence of the kings of erstwhile Travancore, is set to be declared a historical monument.

Why is the Kuttikkanam Palace soon to be declared a historical monument?

• Former summer residence of Travancore kings.
• Verified eligibility under the Ancient Monuments Act and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958..

What are the key historical and other details of the Palace?

• Built around 1890 during Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma‘s reign.
• Additions made in the 1900s.
• Known as “Ammachi Kottaram” previously.
• Documented history since 1892.
• Situated on 14 acres of land.
• Special hall for administrative discussions.
• Houses a stud farm showcasing royal lifestyle.

What is Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act?

• It is an Act to provide for the preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance, for the regulation of archaeological excavations and for the protection of sculptures, carvings and other like objects.
• It extends to the whole of India.
• The AMASR Act, 1958, was amended in 2010 to declare the 100-metre radius of protected monuments as prohibited areas and the next 300-metre radius as regulated areas.

What is Ancient Monument and antiquity?

• Ancient Monument means any structure, erection or monument, or any tumulus or place of interment, or any cave, rock-sculpture, inscription or monolith which is of historical, archaeological or artistic interest and which has been in existence for not less than 100 years and includes—
  • remains of an ancient monument,
  • site of an ancient monument,
  • such portion of land adjoining the site of an ancient monument as may be required for fencing or covering in or otherwise preserving such monument, and
  • the means of access to, and convenient inspection of, an ancient monument.
• Antiquity includes.—
  • any coin, sculpture, manuscript, epigraph, or other work of art of craftsmanship,
  • any article, object or thing detached from a building or cave,
  • any article, object or thing illustrative of science, art, crafts, literature, religion, customs, morals or politics in bygone ages,
  • any article, object or thing of historical interest, and
  • any article, object or thing declared by the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette to be an antiquity for the purposes of this Act, which has been in existence for not less than one hundred years.

What are the steps required to declare the Palace a historical monument?

• Obtain and verify revenue details.
• Seek government notification for declaration.

What is the historical connection between the Palace and the Peermade Sreekrishna Swami temple?

• Presence of an abandoned tunnel, possible link to Peermade Sreekrishna Swami temple.

How does the declaration of the Kuttikkanam Palace as a monument impact tourism in the region?

• Becomes a major tourist attraction in Idukki district.
• Tourism programs organized by the Tourism Promotion Council.
• Boosts tourism growth and interest in the area.