12 JULY 2023

Topic 1: Ker Puja

Context: The Prime Minister of India has greeted the citizens of Tripura on occasion of Ker Puja.  

About Ker Puja:

• Ker puja is a festival held in the state of Tripura.
• The celebration honor Ker, the guardian deity of Vastu Devata.
• It includes offerings, sacrifices, and a prescribed boundary which both safeguards people from calamities and saves them from external aggression.
• The puja was initiated by the Tripura rajas.
• Participation in the puja is required for the Halam tribe.

About the Halam Tribe:

• The Halam community are various tribes native to the state of Tripura.
• The name Halam was coined by the Tipra Maharaja.
• As per their oral tradition they called themselves “Riam“, which literally means “Human being”.
• Ethnically Halam communities of Tripura belong to the Kuki-Chin tribes of Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group.
• Halams live in typical “Tong Ghar” specially made of bamboos and Changrass (thatch).
• Apart from plain land cultivation, they still practice Jhum cultivation and depand on both the activities, apart from other substitute works.
• Hi-Hook dance of the Halams is the most popular dance of the tribe.
• Rai Balmani Festival is another festival that is celebrated by the tribe.

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Topic 2: SAMARTH scheme

Context: An empowered meeting of the Empowered Committee for Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector (SAMARTH) was held recently.

Key details:

• SAMARTH is a demand driven and placement-oriented umbrella skilling programme of the Ministry of Textiles formulated under the broad skilling policy framework adopted by M/o Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
• Aim:
  • To incentivize and supplement the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organized textile and related sectors.
  • To offer market-responsive and job-oriented National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) specific upskilling programs to 10 lakh youth (9 lakh in organized sector and 1 lakh in the unorganized sector).
  • To promote skill upgradation in traditional sectors such as handlooms, jute, etc.
  • To ensure sustainable livelihood by providing wages or creating self-employment opportunities to all the sections of India.
• Eligibility:
  • To be eligible for Samarth Scheme, individuals have to be residents of India.
  • Preference will be given to SC/ST, women, minorities, differently-abled persons, BPL category persons, and aspirational districts.

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Topic 3: Palliative care

Context: The revised operational guidelines of the National Programme for Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases limit palliative care to only cancer patients, leaving out those with any other chronic and debilitating ailments

Key details:

• India is home to nearly 20% of the world’s population, two-thirds of which reside in rural areas.
• Apart from a rising population, India has experienced a steep rise in the burden of lifestyle-related non-communicable diseases.
• Nearly 1.4 million people are diagnosed with cancer in India every year while diabetes, hypertension, and respiratory diseases are also on the rise.
• All these diseases need palliative care sooner or later in the disease trajectory.

About palliative care

• Palliative care is the branch of medicine focusing on improving the quality of life and preventing suffering among those with life-limiting illnesses.
• It aims to identify patients at risk of over-medicalisation at the expense of quality of life and financial burden on the family.
• It is often misinterpreted as end-of-life care.
• However, palliative care aims to improve the quality of life by addressing the physical, psychological, spiritual, and social domains of the health of people suffering from life-limiting diseases like heart failure, kidney failure, certain neurological diseases, cancer, etc.

Status of Palliative care in India:

• Palliative care in India has largely been available at tertiary healthcare facilities in urban areas.
• Due to skewed availability of services, it is accessible to only 1-2% of the estimated 7-10 million people who require it in the country.
• 55 million people in India are pushed below the poverty line every year due to health-related expenditures.
• Over-medicalisation plays a significant role in this financial burden.
• The NPCDCS:
  • The National Programme for Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), includes chronic diseases whose treatment contributes the most to health-related expenses.
  • These diseases progress to a stage where, in an ideal scenario, palliative care should take over curative care.
  • It was launched in 2010.
  • The aim was to counter the rising burden of non-communicable diseases in the country.

Challenges:

• Narrowing of the definition:
  • The revised NP-NCD operational guidelines mention palliative care in synonymy with just cancer.
  • This is a step back from the previous operational guideline, in which chronic and debilitating conditions also fell under the ambit of palliative care.
• Lack of resources and awareness:
  • The guidelines mention the linking of 11 programmes to promote the convergence of services focusing on the care of non-communicable diseases.
  • One of these is the National Programme for Palliative Care (NPPC).
  • NPPC was announced in 2012, however, the lack of a dedicated budget has prevented the implementation of the programme since its inception.
  • Many medical officers at primary health centres are not aware of the existence of such a programme.
• Inaccessibility:
  • Despite various government programmes with palliative care provision as one of their objectives, access to palliative care continues to be abysmal.
• Less focus on children:
  • The guidelines have also skipped an opportunity to bring focus on children suffering from chronic diseases.
  • An estimated 98% of children facing moderate to severe suffering during their end of life reside in lower and middle-income countries like India.
• Narrow assessment:
  • Access to palliative care will be assessed by estimating morphine-equivalent consumption of strong opioid analgesics (excluding methadone) per death from cancer.
  • An indicator focusing only on patients with cancer might lead to an inaccurate assessment of coverage of services.

Conclusion:

• The 67th World Health Assembly in 2014 called for palliative care to be integrated into health systems at all levels.
• Despite needs at the grassroot level and international calls for including palliative care along with curative treatment, the realities on the ground are a far cry from what is desirable.
• It is high time we realised the ongoing pandemic of non-communicable diseases in India and strengthened our palliative care services.

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Topic 4: Majorana

Context: Recently, researchers at Microsoft created a strange kind of particle called Majorana zero modes that could potentially revolutionise quantum computing.

About Majorana

• A Majorana fermion, also referred to as a Majorana particle, is a fermion that is its own antiparticle.
  • All subatomic particles that make up matter are called fermions.
• They were hypothesised by Ettore Majorana in 1937.
• The term is sometimes used in opposition to a Dirac fermion, which describes fermions that are not their own antiparticles.
• With the exception of neutrinos, all of the Standard Model fermions are known to behave as Dirac fermions at low energy, and none are Majorana fermions.
  • The nature of neutrinos is not settled, they may turn out to be either Dirac or Majorana fermions.

About Majorana zero mode

• Most of the rules that apply to single fermions also apply to pairs, or bound states.
• When these bound states are their own antiparticles – i.e. if they meet, they annihilate each other – they are Majorana fermions.
• Such bound states Majorana zero modes.

Benefit to quantum-computing

• Majorana zero modes can be used to realise a powerful form of computing called topological quantum-computing.
• A quantum computer today can use individual electrons as qubits.
  • Qubit is its fundamental unit of information.

Topological Degeneracy:

• Degeneracy in quantum mechanics means that the system has multiple states at the same energy.
• In topological systems, the system has multiple states at the lowest or ground state energy.
• Topology is the study of those properties of matter that don’t change when it undergoes continuous deformation – i.e. when it’s stretched, folded, twisted, etc., but not ruptured or glued to itself.

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Topic 5: Telangana Eunuchs Act

Context: Recently, the Telangana High Court struck down the Telangana Eunuchs Act of 1919, terming it unconstitutional and an intrusion into the private sphere of transgender people, as well as an assault on their dignity.

About the Telangana Eunuchs Act

• It was previously called the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Eunuchs Act.
• It was first enacted in 1919 in the Hyderabad Nizam’s dominions and was applicable to “eunuchs”.
• It defined eunuchs as all persons of the male sex who admit to be impotent or who clearly appear to be impotent on medical inspection.
• As per the Act, all eunuchs were mandated to register with the authorities.
• The Act allowed for the arrest of transgender people without a warrant and imprison them for up to two years if they were found in female clothing or ornamented or singing, dancing, or participating in public entertainment in a street or a public place or where a transgender person is found in the company of a boy below the age of sixteen years.

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Topic 6: Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights

Context: Recently, the Delhi High Court held that the appeal filed by PepsiCo over the patent rights for its ‘unique potato’ variety was against an order passed by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights’ Authority (PPVFRA), revoking PepsiCo’s registration vis-a-vis the unique potato variety developed by it.

About the case:

• The PPVFRA revoked PepsiCo’s registration with respect to its potato plant variety, ‘FL 2027’ on the grounds provided under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001 (PPV&FR).
  • FL 2027 is a ‘chipping potato’ variety with low external defects, high dry matter/high solids content and stable sugars, all of which make it highly suitable for the manufacture of chips.
• According to the appellant, it was developed in the U.S. by Robert W. Hoopes.
• A certificate of registration for FL 2027 was granted to PepsiCo India in 2016, conferring it an exclusionary right to market, sell, import, export or distribute FL 2027 for a period of six years.
• In an application filed by a farmers’ rights activist, the PPVFRA revoked the company’s registered potato variety in 2021.

About PPV&FR Act

• The Act provides an effective framework to conserve and encourage the development of various plant varieties.
• It established an effective system to safeguard and recognise the rights of breeders, researchers and farmers to promote agricultural development in the country.
• It also facilitates the mushrooming of the Indian seed industry to ensure the availability of high-quality seeds and planting materials to farmers.
• Aims of the PPV & FR Act, 2001:
  • To establish an effective system for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new varieties of plants.
  • To recognize and protect the rights of farmers in respect of their contributions in conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources for the development of new plant varieties.
  • To accelerate agricultural development in the country, stimulate investment for research and development both in the public & private sector for the development of new plant varieties.
  • Facilitate the growth of the seed industry in the country which will ensure the availability of high quality seeds and planting material to the farmers.
• Authority
  • The Central Government will set up an Authority to be known as the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority.
  • It will consist of a director and fifteen individuals as delegates.
• Rights under the Act
  • Breeders’ Rights:
    • Breeders will have exclusive rights to produce, sell, market, distribute, import or export the protected variety.
    • Breeder can appoint agent/ licensee and may exercise for civil remedy in case of infringement of rights.
  • Researchers’ Rights :
    • Researcher can use any of the registered variety under the Act for conducting experiment or research.
  • Farmers’ Rights
    • A farmer who has evolved or developed a new variety is entitled for registration and protection in like manner as a breeder of a variety;
    • Farmers variety can also be registered as an extant variety;
    • Farmers are eligible for recognition and rewards for the conservation of Plant Genetic Resources of land races and wild relatives of economic plants;
    • There is also a provision for compensation to the farmers for non-performance of variety
    • Farmer shall not be liable to pay any fee in any proceeding before the Authority or Registrar or the Tribunal or the High Court under the Act.
• National Gene Fund
  • The National Gene Fund to be comprised under the Act will be credited thereto:
    • The advantage of sharing from the raiser.
    • The yearly expense payable to the authority by a method of eminences.
    • By the remuneration given to the networks
    • Contribution from any national and global association and different sources.
  • The fund will be applied for disbursing shares to benefit claimants, either individuals or organizations, and for compensation to village communities.
  • The fund will also be used for supporting conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources.
• Grounds for revocation
  • The protection granted to a breeder may be revoked by the authority on the following grounds that:
    • the grant of a registration certificate is based on incorrect information furnished by the applicant;
    • the registration certificate was granted to an ineligible person;
    • when the breeder does not provide the registrar with the required documents;
    • a failure to provide an alternative denomination for variety registration in case the earlier variety provided is not permissible for registration;
    • a failure of the breeder to provide the required seeds for compulsory licence;
    • failure to comply with the acts, rules, regulations and directions issued by the Authority; and
    • if the grant of the registration certificate is against public interest.

Conclusion:

• India is an agri-based economy with the agriculture sector having the highest workforce, nearly 152 million as of FY2021.
• Multinational food processing companies and investors must prioritise the well-being of farmers and their rights by developing a comprehensive understanding of India’s local laws, particularly the PPV&FR Act 2001, and recognize the safeguards and protections it provides to farmers.

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Topic 7: Need for Governors in India

Context: The recent action taken by Tamil Nadu Governor to terminate the appointment of a state minister, who was arrested, has once again brought attention to the tussle between state governments and the Governor’s office.

Evolution of Governor’s post:

• According to the provisions outlined in the Government of India Act of 1858, the position of Governor was subject to the oversight of the Governor General.
• According to the Government of India Act, 1935, Governors were entrusted with the duty of adhering to the counsel provided by provincial governments.
• Later, the Constitution established an analogous system of governance in the states, mirroring the parliamentary structure adopted at the national level.
• The state executive is addressed in Articles 153 to 167 within Part VI of the Constitution.
• According to these, the state executive comprises:
  • the governor,
  • the chief minister,
  • the council of ministers, and
  • the advocate general of the state.
• The governor assumes the role of the primary executive leader of the state.
• Similar to the President, he assumes the role of a nominal executive head, also referred to as a titular or constitutional head.

Appointment:

• The appointment of the Governor is done by the President through the issuance of a warrant, which is executed with the President’s signature and official seal.
• He can be considered as a candidate selected by the Central government.
• However, it was established by the Supreme Court in 1979 that the position of governor in a state does not fall under the category of employment within the jurisdiction of the Central government.
• The office in question operates autonomously as a constitutional entity, functioning independently from and not being subject to the authority or subordination of the Central government.

Powers of Governor

• Executive Powers:
  • These powers are exercised by the council of ministers in the name of Governor.
  • Governor is only nominal head and council of ministers is the real executive.
  • He is the constitutional head of the state who appoints the leader of majority party as chief minister.
  • He can seek any information from the chief minister.
  • He appoints the advocate general, chairman and members of the respective state public commission.
  • He can recommend the imposition of constitutional emergency in a state to the President.
  • During the period of President’s rule in a state, the governor enjoys extensive executive powers as an agent of the President.
• Legislative Powers:
  • He is part of state legislative assembly.
  • No bill can become a law until the governor signs it.
  • He can withhold a bill and send it to the President for consideration.
  • He can dissolve the State Assembly before the expiry of its term on the advice of the Chief Minister or as directed by the President.
• Judicial Powers:
  • The governor appoints the district judges.
  • He is consulted in the appointment of the judges of the High Court by the President
  • He can, pardon, remit and commute the sentence of a person convicted by a state court.
• Financial Powers:
  • He causes the annual budget to be laid before the Vidhan Sabha;
  • No money bill can be introduced without his prior approval.

Discretionary Powers:

• The Governor can use these powers:
• If no party gets an absolute majority, the Governor can use his discretion in the selection of the Chief Minister;
• During an emergency he can override the advice of the council of ministers.
  • At such times, he acts as an agent of the President and becomes the real ruler of the state;
• He uses his discretion in submitting a report to the President regarding the affairs of the state; and
• He can withhold his assent to a bill and send it to the President for his approval.
   

Controversies Related to Governor’s post:

• Central Interference:
  • There have been numerous instances of the Governor’s position being abused, usually at the request of the Centre’s ruling party.
  • The procedure of appointment has been the root of the problem.
• Bias:
  • The central government has appointed politicians and former bureaucrats who identify with a particular political ideology as Governors in many cases.
  • It is contrary to the constitutionally mandated neutral approach and appears to have resulted in bias.
• Acting as Puppet Rulers:
  • The Governor of Rajasthan has recently been charged for breaking the model code of conduct.
  • His support for the ruling party goes against the ethos of non-partisanship.
• Favoring a Particular Political Party:
  • The governor’s discretionary powers to ask the leader of the largest party/alliance to form the government after an election have frequently been abused to favor one political party over another.
• Misuse of Power:
  • A Governor’s request for President’s Rule in a state has not always been based on ‘objective material,’ but rather on political whim or fancy.

The Supreme Court’s stand on office of Governor

• In Shamsher Singh v State of Punjab, 1974 the Supreme Court established that a Governor is required to exercise their formal constitutional powers solely upon and in accordance with the aid and advice of their ministers,except in limited well-known exceptional circumstances.
  • These exceptions pertain to the removal of a government that no longer holds a majority, as well as the decision to invite a party to assume governance.
• The satisfaction of the Governor is derived from the government’s possession of a majority in the House.
• According to the Supreme Court, the Governor cannot exercise any power that has not been granted to them by the Constitution or a law enacted in accordance with it.
• The Supreme Court also established the limits of gubernatorial overreach through a series of significant rulings, including the notable cases of:
  • S. R. Bommai (1994),
  • Rameshwar Prasad (Bihar Assembly Dissolution Case of 2006), and
  • Nabam Rebia (Arunachal Assembly Case of 2016).
• These decisions effectively eliminate or minimise the potential for excessive abuse of power, subject to the duration required for judicial review.

Recommendations of various commissions, committees

• ARC:
  • The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) of 1969 placed significant emphasis on the necessity of establishing a harmonious rapport between the Governor and the state government.
  • It is advisable for Governors to collaborate with the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers in order to foster cooperative federalism and facilitate efficient governance.
  • The ARC has made a recommendation that Governors should serve as intermediaries between the central government and the state government.
  • The ARC proposed that the removal of Governors from office should be limited to cases where there is substantiated evidence of misconduct or inability to perform their duties, while ensuring that proper legal procedures are followed.
  • It is suggested that Governors should be afforded the opportunity to voluntarily resign from their position prior to the completion of their term, on the condition that sufficient advance notice is provided.
• Sarkaria Commission:
  • The 1983 Sarkaria Commission was tasked with the examination of the intergovernmental relationship between the central government and the states in India.
  • The proposal did not explicitly advocate for the elimination of the Governor’s position.
  • There is a suggestion that Governors ought to possess a non-partisan and impartial disposition, while also maintaining a fixed tenure to uphold stability and continuity.
• Punchhi Commission:
  • The Punchhi Commission, established in 2010, was tasked with conducting a comprehensive assessment of the Constitution’s efficacy and proposing strategies to enhance coordination among different governmental bodies.
  • The commission proposed that the appointment of governors should involve consultation with the Chief Minister of the respective state, and that governors should be granted enhanced responsibilities in domains such as:
    • tribal welfare,
    • regional development, and
    • the promotion of cooperative federalism .
• NITI Ayog:
  • In 2015 Niti Ayog recommended the abolition of the Governor’s post in smaller states or union territories where the role was seen as redundant.
  • It argued that the Governor’s functions could be carried out by the Chief Minister or other administrative mechanisms.
• National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution:
  • The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution in 2001, which is also known as the Justice Venkatachaliah Commission, proposed that the Governor should be appointed by a collegium consisting of:
    • the Prime Minister,
    • the Chief Justice of India, and
    • the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
  • The commission also suggested that the Governor should have a limited role and should not interfere in the day-to-day administration of the state.
  • The NCRWC recommended that the Governor’s role should be largely ceremonial and non-executive, and limit their involvement to constitutional duties.

Conclusion

• The role played by governor is very important.
• He serves as a bridge between central government and state government.
• The governor has to see that a stable government is formed in the state and also look into the legal validity of the law passed by state legislature and recommend president rule in the state if there is a breakdown of constitutional machinery.
• Thus the post of governor is essential for the healthy functioning of democracy though it is true that this post has been reduced to becoming a retirement package for politicians.

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Topic 8: Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Context: A surge in cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in Peru has brought forward concerns over the links between the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the rare neurological disorder.

About GBS:

• What is it?
  • GBS is a serious autoimmune disorder.
• How it affects the body?
  • It attacks the peripheral nervous system and leads to weakness, tingling and numbness initially in the limbs.
  • These can then expand to the rest of the body and eventually cause paralysis.
  • The syndrome can affect the nerves that control muscle movement as well as those that transmit pain, temperature and touch sensations.
  • This can result in muscle weakness and loss of sensation in the legs and / or arms.
• Treatment:
  • Treatment consists of cleaning or immunising the blood.
  • One of the treatments is plasmapheresis, a procedure that removes the plasma from the blood and replaces it with other fluids.
• Causes:
  • The syndrome usually occurs following a bacterial or viral infection or, on rarer occasions, following vaccinations.