14 January 2023

• Culture: Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Magh Bihu and Lohri were observed across India. Tamil Nadu's name changed from Madras State to Tamil Nadu on 14 January 1969.
• Polity: Centre and Delhi Government's dispute over control of administrative services (Article 239AA) reached a five-judge Constitution Bench.
• Archaeology: Two 1,200-year-old votive stupas were found at Nalanda Mahavihara (World Heritage Site) in Bihar.
• Security: The first India-Egypt joint military exercise (Exercise Cyclone-I) began at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan.

GS area: Art and Culture, Indian Society

Makar Sankranti, observed on 14 January 2023, marks the sun's northward journey (Uttarayan) into the zodiac sign of Capricorn (Makara). It is one of the few Hindu festivals determined by the solar calendar rather than the lunar calendar.

• Regional names: Pongal in Tamil Nadu (a four-day harvest festival). Maghi in Punjab. Uttarayan in Gujarat. Magh Bihu in Assam (marking the end of the harvest season).
• Tamil Nadu name change: On 14 January 1969, Chief Minister CN Annadurai renamed the state from Madras State to Tamil Nadu (Land of Tamils). The Self-Respect Movement, launched by E.V. Ramasamy (Periyar) in 1925, had sought a distinct Tamil cultural identity.
• Significance: Makar Sankranti marks the beginning of longer days. It is associated with sesame seeds (til), jaggery and kite-flying in Gujarat.
• Pongal (Tamil Nadu): Celebrated over four days: Bhogi (burning old items), Thai Pongal (offering freshly harvested rice to the sun), Mattu Pongal (venerating cattle), and Kannum Pongal (family visits).

Static linkage: Art and culture, Indian society (GS Paper 1).

GS area: Polity (centre-state relations, urban governance)

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court took up the question of whether the Delhi government or the Lieutenant Governor has control over the posting and transfer of IAS officers serving the National Capital Territory.

• Article 239AA: Inserted by the 69th Constitutional Amendment, 1991. Created the National Capital Territory of Delhi with its own elected legislature and Council of Ministers. However, it specifically excluded three subjects from the Delhi legislature's domain: police, public order and land.
• The dispute: The word "services" (the state list entry covering civil servants and appointments) is not in the exclusion list. The Delhi government argues it should control bureaucrats. The Centre argues all services touching on sovereignty and national capital functions fall outside Delhi's ambit.
• 2018 ruling: A five-judge bench held that the LG was bound by the advice of the Council of Ministers on all matters except police, public order and land. However, the question of "services" was left open.
• 2019 split: A two-judge bench split 2:0 on services. The case was referred to the present larger bench.
• Constitutional significance: The ruling will determine the effective autonomy of elected governments in Union Territories with legislatures.

Static linkage: Centre-state relations, federalism (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Ancient History, Art and Culture

Two miniature stone stupas estimated to be around 1,200 years old were discovered during maintenance work at Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar.

• Votive stupa: A small stupa built in fulfilment of a religious vow. The practice became popular in Buddhist architecture from the 7th century CE. These small structures were donated by pilgrims and monks.
• Nalanda Mahavihara: One of the great learning centres of the ancient world. Operated from around 427 CE to 1197 CE, approximately 800 years. A premier Mahayana Buddhist university attracting scholars from China, Korea and Central Asia.
• Destruction: Bakhtiyar Khilji's forces destroyed Nalanda in 1197-1203 CE. The destruction of its libraries (estimated at millions of manuscripts) is considered one of the great losses of ancient knowledge.
• World Heritage status: Nalanda Mahavihara was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016.
• Archaeological context: Nalanda is in Rajgir subdivision of Nalanda district, Bihar. Extensive excavations began in the early 20th century.

Static linkage: Ancient history, art and culture (GS Paper 1).

GS area: International Relations, Security

The first joint military exercise between India and Egypt, named Exercise Cyclone-I, began at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan on 14 January 2023.

• Exercise format: Counter-terrorism focus, training on joint operations in desert and semi-desert terrain.
• Diplomatic backdrop: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi was the Chief Guest at Republic Day 2023. The exercise was announced during preparations for that visit.
• India-Egypt relations: Diplomatic relations were established on 18 August 1947. Both countries are founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement (1961). Bilateral trade reached 26 billion dollars in 2021-22.
• Strategic significance: Egypt controls the Suez Canal, a critical chokepoint for India's trade with Europe and the Americas. The relationship has both economic and security dimensions.

Static linkage: International relations, security (GS Papers 2 and 3).

GS area: Economy (industry), Environment

An International Energy Agency report in January 2023 assessed the technological pathways for decarbonising the steel industry.

• Problem: Steel production contributes approximately 7 to 9 per cent of global CO2 emissions. The blast furnace route using coal coke is deeply embedded in industrial infrastructure.
• Green steel routes: Direct Reduced Iron using hydrogen instead of coal coke. Electrolysis of iron ore. Coal gasification with carbon capture.
• IEA finding: Most net-zero emission routes for steel and cement still lack commercial viability at scale. Innovation typically takes 20 to 70 years from prototype to full commercialisation.
• India's initiatives: National Hydrogen Energy Mission, Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga project providing piped natural gas to eastern India since 2019.
• Strategic tension: Renewable energy infrastructure (solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles) actually requires more steel and aluminium than fossil-fuel technologies, creating a demand surge precisely when the industry must decarbonise.

Static linkage: Industry, climate change (GS Paper 3).

• MAARG Portal: A mentorship platform for the startup ecosystem. Connects startups with industry mentors.
• Basmati rice identity standards: FSSAI notified the first-ever standards for Basmati rice identity in January 2023, including minimum grain length and aroma requirements. Enforcement was set for August 2023.
• Online gaming Centre of Excellence: The first such centre was established in Shillong to support northeast gaming startups.
• Child marriage: Supreme Court was examining whether personal laws allowing marriage below 18 years (as in some Muslim personal law interpretations) are overridden by the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.