1. Indian Heritage

• Culture

• Modern Indian history

• The Freedom Struggle

 

• Post-independence

• Indian Society

A. population and associated issues

B. poverty and developmental issues

C.urbanization

   7. Geographical features

8.Indian Constitution

9. Polity

 

 

10. Governance

A. institutions

Chief Information Commission becomes the first Government body to use AI

The Central Information Commission has been constituted with effect from 12-10-2005 under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The jurisdiction of the Commission extends over all Central Public Authorities.

The Commission has certain powers and functions mentioned in sections 18, 19, 20 and 25 of the RTI Act, 2005.These broadly relate to adjudication in second appeal for giving information; direction for record keeping, suo motu disclosures receiving and enquiring into a complaint on inability to file RTI etc;imposition of penalties and Monitoring and Reporting including preparation of an Annual Report. The decisions of the Commission are final and binding.

How is Central Information Commission constituted?

• Under the provision of Section-12 of RTI Act 2005 the Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette,constitute a body to be known as the Central Information Commission.
• The Central Information Commission shall consist of the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and such number of Central Information Commissioners not exceeding 10 as may be deemed necessary.

What is the eligibility criteria and what is the process of appointment of CIC/IC?

• Section 12(3) of the RTI Act 2005 provides as follows.
  (i) The Prime Minister, who shall be the Chairperson of the committee;
  (ii) The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha ; and
  (iii). A Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
• Section 12(5) of the RTI Act 2005 provides that the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners shall be persons of eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law, science and technology,social service, management, journalism, mass media or administration and governance.
• Section 12(6) of the RTI Act 2005 provides that Chief Information Commissioner or an Information Commissioner shall not be a Member of Parliament or Member of the Legislature of any State or Union Territory as the case may be , or hold any other office of profit or connected with any political party or carrying on any business or pursuing any profession.

Term of office , salaries of the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission

• Term of office —The Chief Information Commissioner, or Information Commissioners, as the case may be, shall hold office for a period of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office.
• Retirement from parent service on appointment —The Chief Information Commissioner or Information Commissioners, as the case may be, who on the date of his appointment to the Commission, was in the service of the Central or a State Government, shall be deemed to have retired from such service with effect from the date of his appointment as Chief Information Commissioner or an Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission.
• Pay.—
  • The Chief Information Commissioner shall receive a pay of Rs. 2,50,000 (Rupees two lakh and fifty thousand)(fixed) per mensem.
  • An Information Commissioner shall receive a pay of Rs. 2,25,000 (Rupees two lakh and twenty five thousand) (fixed) per mensem.
  • In case the Chief Information Commissioner or Information Commissioners, as the case may be, at the time of his appointment is, in receipt of any pension, the pay of such Chief Information Commissioner or Information Commissioners, as the case may be, shall be reduced by the amount of that pension including any portion of pension which was commuted and pension equivalent of other forms of retirement benefits excluding pension equivalent of retirement gratuity;
  • In case the Chief Information Commissioner or Information Commissioners, as the case may be, at the time of his appointment, is in receipt of retirement benefits in respect of any previous service rendered in Corporation established by or under any Central Act or State Act or a Government company owned or controlled by the Central Government or the State Government, his pay in respect of the service as the Chief Information Commissioner or Information Commissioners, as the case may be, shall be reduced by the amount of pension equivalent to the retirement benefits.

What are the powers and functions of Information Commissions?

·        Complaints

Section-18. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall be the duty of the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be, to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person,—

• (a) Who has been unable to submit a request to a Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, either by reason that no such officer has been appointed under this Act, or because the Central Assistant Public Information Officer or State Assistant Public Information Officer, as the case may be, has refused to accept his or her application for information or appeal under this Act for forwarding the same to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer or senior officer specified in sub-section (1) of section 19 or the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be;
  • (b) Who has been refused access to any information requested under this Act;
  • (c)Who has not been given a response to a request for information or access to information within the time limit specified under this Act;
  • (d) Who has been required to pay an amount of fee which he or she considers unreasonable;
  • (e) Who believes that he or she has been given incomplete, misleading or false information under this Act; and
  • (f) In respect of any other matter relating to requesting or obtaining access to records under this Act.
• (2) Where the Central Information Commission or State Information Commission,as the case may be, is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to inquire into the matter, it may initiate an inquiry in respect thereof.
• (3) The Central Information Commission or State Information Commission, as the case may be, shall, while inquiring into any matter under this section, have the same powers as are vested in a civil court while trying a suit under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters, namely:—
  • (a) Summoning and enforcing the attendance of persons and compel them to give oral or written evidence on oath and to produce the documents or things;
  • (b) Requiring the discovery and inspection of documents;
  • (c) Receiving evidence on affidavit;
  • (d) Requisitioning any public record or copies thereof from any court or office;
  • (e) Issuing summons for examination of witnesses or documents; and
  • (f) Any other matter, which may be prescribed.
• (4) Notwithstanding anything inconsistent contained in any other Act of Parliament or State Legislature, as the case may be, the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be, may, during the inquiry of any complaint under this Act, examine any record to which this Act applies which is under the control of the public authority, and no such record may be withheld from it on any ground.

B. regulatory

C. Government policies

D. role of NGOs

E. measures

11. Social Justice

A. Welfare schemes

B Health

C. Education

D. Human Resources

Perumal Murugan wins JCB Prize for Literature

Tamil writer Perumal Murugan on Saturday won the JCB Prize for Literature for his novel,

Fire Bird, an English translation of his Tamil novel Aalanda

Patchi. The award carries a cash prize of ₹25 lakh. The book, translated by Janani Kannan, has been published by Penguin.

Tamil writer Perumal Murugan on Saturday won the coveted JCB Prize for Literature for his novel, Fire Bird, an English translation of his Tamil novel Aalanda Patchi. The award carries a cash prize of ₹25 lakh. The work, translated by Janani Kannan, has been published by Penguin.

Forced migration

“Aalanda Patchi is about the forced migration of an agrarian family that happened six decades ago. The tragedy of being alienated from one’s native place, land and family, new town, new landscapes, new people, new environment. They have to accept it and make it constant. I wrote the novel driven by a desire to write about the capability of a family to handle both challenges,” Mr. Murugan said.

Muthu, the hero of the novel, has his world turned upside down when his father divides the family land, leaving him with practically nothing and causing irreparable damage to his family’s bonds.

Displaced people

Mr. Murugan said it was not merely the story of his ancestors or the life of his family. “I believe the novel will emotionally connect with every person displaced, small or big. The novel will also provide an experience of understanding agrarian life, the old times when there were not as many modern amenities, and the family relationships that characterise feudal life,” he said.

The JCB Literary Prize said Fire Bird is a masterfully crafted tale of one man’s search for the elusive concept of permanence.

“The prize aims to celebrate Indian writing, and to help readers across the world discover the very best of contemporary Indian literature. It makes significant awards also to translators, without whose work no reader can appreciate the scale and diversity of a literature written in over 20 languages,” it added.

The writer said he was grateful to “everyone, including my ancestors who were the reason behind my writing this novel; my family, which helped me in writing this; Kalachuvadu Kannan. who published it in Tamil; Penguin, which published it in English; translator Janani Kannan; and the jury of the JCB Prize and JCB institute”.

E. poverty and hunger

12. International relations

A. India and its neighbourhood

B. groupings and agreements

C.Indian diaspora

13. Economic Development

A. Government Budgeting

B. industrial

E.issues

14. Technology

 

15. Environment

Kadalundi’s shrinking mudflat ecosystem keeps birds away

Kadalundi, a village on the southwest coast in Kozhikode district of Kerala, had about 8 hectares of nutrientrich intertidal mudflats in the early 2000s. Today, the expanse of mudflats in the estuary of the Kadalundipuzha river has reduced to about 1 hectare. This too is gradually being covered with sand, depriving prey to thousands of shorebirds that migrate from colder climes in winter to the village.

Researchers point out that if the mudflats are not protected and restored, Kadalundi will vanish from the global map as a prominent destination of migrant shorebirds in a few years. It is the abundance of prey such as polychaetes and crustaceans in the mudflats that attract a wide variety of migrant shorebirds to Kadalundi from places such as Siberia, Ladakh, Mongolia, and Scotland.

“We have tried to convince the government through memorandums, of the importance of protecting the mudflat ecosystem of Kadalundi from other invasive elements such as sandbanks and mangroves. But the response has been passive,” said T.R. Athira, C.T. Shifa, and K. Jishnu, who have been studying the ecological changes taking place in the village for the past several years.

The mangrove threat

However, efforts are on to popularise ecotourism in the KadalundiVallikunnu

Community Reserve (KVCR) by widening the expanse of mangroves. The 154hectare KVCR had less than 50 hectares of mangroves until a few years ago, but these trees that thrive in salt water have proliferated so fast that they currently occupy more than 60 hectares.

“We are planting four more new species of mangroves as part of strengthening ecotourism in Kadalundi,” said P. Sivadasan, KVCR management committee chairperson.

The sedimentation of sand on mudflats not only brings down the amount of prey there, but also helps mangroves easily proliferate. The viviparous mangroves of Kadalundi, according to researchers, have been displaying an aggressively invasive behaviour.

The mangrove lobby has been raising carbon sequestration as the key environmental factor for its promotion. “But people often underestimate the significance of soil and mud in carbon sequestration. soil contains nearly twice the amount of carbon compared to the combination of the atmosphere, vegetation, and animals,” said Ms. Athira.

Holistic approach

Studies, however, show that wetlands and grasslands have the capacity to sequester more carbon than many types of forests. “Haphazard tree planting without proper understanding is never advisable. It is crucial to adopt a holistic approach that prioritises the protection of intact ecosystems and focuses on restoring the functionality of degraded ecosystems,” she said.

Prefer mudflats

The mangroves of Kadalundi never attract shorebirds coming from colder regions. They prefer open mudflats where they are safe from predators. “When I started my research in 2005, we used to see large congregations of migrant species such as the lesser sand plover, greater sand plover, common sandpiper, whimbrel, Eurasian curlew, common redshank, common greenshank, Kentish plover, Terek sandpiper, dunlin, and sanderling foraging voraciously during low tide. But now the prey depletion, because of sandbanks and mangrove proliferation, is forcing them to stay away from the mudflats,” said Mr. Aarif.

The migrant birds with great site fidelity are now finding an alternative on the beaches of neighbouring coasts.

Centre revokes stringent restrictions as air quality improves in the Capital

The Centre on Saturday lifted some restrictions in Delhi, including a ban on essential construction and demolition activities and the entry of polluting trucks, following an improvement in air quality.

However, several other prohibitions, such as the one on plying of BSIII petrol and BSIV diesel light motor vehicles, will remain in force.

The order coincides with the end of an early winter vacation for schools, from November 9 to 18, declared by the Directorate of Education (DoE) following a spike in pollution levels.

The DoE on Saturday said classes from preschool

to Class 12 will reopen on Monday, adding that morning assemblies and outdoor activities will not be permitted till further notice. Several higher education institutions, including Delhi University, are also scheduled to reopen on Monday.

The decision to lift the restrictions was taken in a meeting of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), a statutory body responsible for formulating strategies to combat pollution in the NCR and adjoining areas, on Saturday.

Officials said the commission reviewed the current air quality scenario and took into account the likely meteorological conditions in DelhiNCR over the coming days.

“The quality of air has shown improvement since late evening on Friday. The forecast does not indicate any steep degradation in the overall air quality of DelhiNCR in the coming days,” the commission said.

The CAQM, which is responsible for implementing the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), said measures under Stages 13 of the plan, including restrictions on nonessential construction and demolition activities, use of dieselpowered generators, and biomass (stubble) burning, will continue to

be in place. However, CNG, electric, and BSIVcompliant vehicles from other States, as well as heavy goods vehicles, will be allowed to enter the city.

According to the Delhi government’s realtime source apportionment study data, vehicular emissions accounted for about 45% of the Capital’s air pollution on Friday and nearly 33% on Saturday.

It also found that secondary aerosols — particles such as sulfate and nitrate that are formed in the atmosphere due to the interaction of gases and particulate pollutants from sources like power plants, refineries, and vehicles — are the second major contributor to the city’s air pollution, accounting for 1936% of pollution over the past few days.

16. Security

30 years of Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement

It took a border crisis that dragged on for years to finally bring India and China to the table. Thirty years ago, officials from both sides, meeting in the aftermath of the Sumdorong Chu standoff that strained relations, thrashed out what would be a historic first ever border agreement between the neighbours who had, in 1962, fought a war. Signed in September 1993 during Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s visit to China, what’s now known as the Border Peace and Tranquility Agreement (BPTA) — or to give it its full name, the “Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the IndiaChina Border Areas” — for the first time saw both sides legally commit to respecting the status quo and reduce the risk of an unplanned confrontation.

That the 30th anniversary of what was in many ways a historic development, passed without mention underlines its contested legacy today. For at least two decades, the BPTA, and subsequent agreements that it paved the way for, helped keep the peace on the longest undemarcated border in the world. Yet, the limited nature of the agreement would also ironically push both countries into an infrastructure race, ultimately leading to increasingly frequent incidents, starting in 2013, culminating in the deadly clash at Galwan in June 2020.

Indeed, the very first article of the BPTA saw a commitment that “neither side shall use or threaten to use force against the other by any means” and that “pending an ultimate solution to the boundary question between the two countries, the two sides shall strictly respect and observe the line of actual control (LAC) between the two sides”. Both also committed that neither side shall overstep the LAC and that “each side will keep its military forces in the areas along the LAC to a minimum level compatible with the friendly and good neighbourly relations between the two countries” and would “agree to reduce their military forces along the LAC in conformity with the requirements of

 

 

17. Disaster Management