Madras HC curbs L-G role in Puducherry                                                                  

ASI unearths treasure at U.P. site                                                                               

Now, a portal to register e-vehicles                                                                            

Fani is country’s strongest April cyclone in 43 years: IMD data                             

India’s ASAT test a response to growing space threats: France                            

Assam Rifles, NSCN(IM) agree to withdraw from Manipur villages                        

Madras HC curbs L-G role in Puducherry

GS PAPER - 02 POLITY - Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

Context :

• Lieutenant Governor Has No Right To Interfere In The Daily Affairs Of The Elected Government Of Puducherry, Rules Madras HC

Background :

• The order has come on a petition filed by K Lakshminarayanan, a Congress MLA, in 2017 which suggested that the LG ran a parallel government in Puducherry by conducting review meetings with officers and giving on-the-spot orders.

LG - claim :

• During the hearing,the personal secretary of the LG had submitted to the court that the LG has special powers granted by law and that as an administrator of the union territory,the LG has the powers to conduct meetings and ask for documents from the government.

• It also sought to draw a parallel with the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

High Court Verdict :

• The office of the Lieutenant Governor should not interfere in the day-to-day administration when an elected government is in place.

• The court also clarified that government secretaries should report to the Council of Ministers headed by the chief minister on all official matters and are not empowered to issue orders on their own or upon the instructions of the administrator, namely the LG.

• The court held that the Administrator has no exclusive authority to run the administration negating the Constitutional Principles and the Parliamentary Laws governing the issue.

• The Administrator is bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers in matters where the Legislative Assembly is competent to enact laws as contemplated under Section 44 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1962 though she is empowered to differ with the views of the Council based on some rationale which raises a fundamental issue regarding the action of the Government.

There lies a difference: Delhi and Puducherry:

• The HC did not accept the claim and clarified that the laws that concerns the two regions are different: Puducherry is governed by provisions of Article 239A of the Constitution while Article 239AA pertains to Delhi.

  • Article 239AA has specific provisions that limits the administrative remit of the Delhi government since the NCT of Delhi is also the seat of the central government. Such exceptions are irrelevant in the case of Puducherry.

LG - has no right to negate Constitutional Principles and the Parliamentary Laws:

• The elected government is entrusted with the task of running the administration and it should be left to the electorate to punish the government if it fails to execute its mandate.

• The LG, an appointee of the Centre and the representative of the President, ought to exercise powers only in the event of a constitutional breakdown. This is the spirit that underlies parliamentary democracy.

• The Central government as well as the Administrator (the term used in the Constitution to refer to the LG) should be true to the concept of democratic principles.Otherwise, the constitutional scheme of the country of being democratic and republic would be defeated.

                                                                                                                                                          Source :-  The Hindu

ASI unearths treasure at U.P. site

GS PAPER - 01 HISTORY - Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context :

• ASI Unearths 4,000-year-old rice, dal, sacred chambers and coffins found in Sunauli

Sanauli :

• Sunauli is located on the left bank of the River Yamuna, 68 km north-east of Delhi which brought to light the largest necropolis of the late Harappan period datable to around early part of second millennium BCE

Key Findings :

• ASI has unearthed underground “sacred chambers”, decorated “legged coffins” as well as rice and dal in pots and animal bones buried with the bodies

• Excavated site is different from Harappan culture. It is contemporary to the last phase of the mature Harappan culture.

Existence of Warrior Class :

• some coffins, shields, swords and helmets had been unearthed, pointing towards the existence of a “warrior class in the area around 2,000 BCE.

• These findings are important to understand the culture pattern of the Upper Ganga-Yamuna doab.

• Archaeologists  found copper swords, helmets, shields and chariots

Burial Practices :

• The excavators have found rice and urad dal in pots, cattle bones, wild pig and mongoose buried along with bodies

• These may have been offered to the departed souls. We also found sacred chambers below the ground. After the procession, they put the body in the chamber for some treatment or rituals

Pit Burial:

• In one of the burial pits, the excavators found a wooden legged coffin that was decorated with steatite inlays with a female skeleton

• The pit also contained an armlet of semi precious stones, pottery and an antenna sword placed near the head.

                                                                                                                                          Source :- The Hindu

Now, a portal to register e-vehicles

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential

Context :

• Maharashtra Government has announced its State Electric Vehicle Policy.

Maharashtra - State Electric Vehicle Policy :

• Under the new policy,Maharashtra has launched a new web portal for the registration of battery-operated vehicles.

• This portal will work as a gateway for sanction and disbursement of fiscal incentive to the buyers of Electric Vehicle (EVs).

• As per the approved policy,an enabling environment will also be created for the manufacture of nearly 5 lakh EVs in the next five years.

• The government has also proposed exempting e-vehicles from road tax and registration charges.In addition,15% subsidy will also be provided to owners of first 1 lakh EVs registered.

• Further,charging stations set up on public and private parking lots,fuel pumps,bus and railway stations and approved by the local planning authority will also be considered for grant of capital subsidy of 25% up to ₹10 lakh.

                                                                                                                       Source :- The Hindu

Fani is country’s strongest April cyclone in 43 years: IMD data

GS PAPER - 01 GEOGRAPHY - Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.,

Context :

• Cyclone Fani is only the second severe cyclone in the last 118 years to form in the Bay of Bengal (BOB) in the month of April and cross over to the Indian mainland, according to data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

• April cyclones are rare and the track and severity of Fani makes it even rarer.

Key Highlights :

• According to the data from The Ministry of Earth Science, The last severe cyclone, Nargis, devastated Myanmar in 2008

• Between 1891-2017, only 14 severe tropical cyclones formed in April over BOB and only one storm crossed the Indian mainland.

Causes :

• Meteorologists have suggested that the development of severe cyclonic storm in April is may be a consequence of global warming.

• They Further says that, More than normal sea surface temperatures due to global warming and the weak El Nino conditions in the equatorial Pacific Ocean could be possible reasons.

• They have also highlighted that Fani has a protracted gestation which could lead to its gaining strength. On an average tropical cyclones form and make landfall in less than a week; however Fani would be making a landfall after 10 days of its formation.

                                                                                                                                               Source :- Down to Earth

India’s ASAT test a response to growing space threats: France

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life

Context :

• French Envoy to India has supported India’s Anti-Satellite (ASAT) missile test.

More about the news:

• The French envoy has said that India’s ASAT missile test is a response to the growing threat posed by the defence and offensive space technologies which are being developed with various aims of spying, gaining control, deactivating service and destroying.

• However, he also emphasised on regulation of space traffic in view of the overlapping trajectories of satellites.

Debris Concern :

• outer space has become an arena of rivalry between major powers and there was a common concern on space debris.

• Space debris are artificial material that is orbiting Earth but is no longer functional.

India’s ASAT - Mission Sakthi :

• India had recently completed Mission Shakti.

• Mission Shakti is an anti-Satellite(ASAT) missile test. ASAT are missile-based systems to attack moving satellites.

• The mission has been carried out by bringing down one of the Indian satellites in the low earth orbit.

• The test was aimed at strengthening the capability to safeguard space assets and India’s overall security.

• Mission Shakti has been particularly significant as the acquisition and demonstration of ASAT technology has made India a member of an elite group of countries that claim to have anti-satellite weapons. Only the United States, Russia and China have had demonstrated this capability

                                                                                                                            Source :- The Hindu

Assam Rifles, NSCN(IM) agree to withdraw from Manipur villages

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Challenges to internal security

Context :

• Assam Rifles and National Socialist Council of Nagalim(NSCN-IM) has agreed to withdraw from two remote villages of Ukhrul in Manipur.

• The decision towards de-escalating the tension was taken by Nagaland based Ceasefire Monitoring Group(CFMG) and a delegation of NSCN-IM leaders.

Background:

• The standoff was triggered by the setting up of an “unauthorised” camp by the rebels at Khamasom village near the India-Myanmar border.

• Assam Rifles had accused the NSCN-IM of gross violation of existing ceasefire ground rules.The NSCN-IM had signed a peace accord with the Centre in 1997.

  • According to ceasefire ground rules, members of the outfit cannot venture outside their designated camps which are located in Nagaland.

NSCN-IM:

• The NSCN-IM is an insurgent group of Nagas operating in Nagaland, Assam,Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh.

• Its objective is to establish Greater Nagaland (Nagalim) consisting of all Naga inhabited areas in Northeast India and it has spearheaded a rebellion for the same.

                                                                                                                      Source :- The Hindu

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