Polity: Supreme Court rejected a plea to bar candidates from contesting two constituencies simultaneously. Section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act survives.
Ladakh: Education reformer Sonam Wangchuk renewed demands for Sixth Schedule protection and statehood. Ladakh's ~80 per cent tribal population has no elected legislature after the 2019 bifurcation.
Budget scrutiny: MGNREGS cut, low health and education allocations, and the social sector underfunding drew commentary from economists.
Environment: NGT directed Uttarakhand to assess Mussoorie's carrying capacity. India also earned recognition as a Pioneer Investor from the International Seabed Authority.
1. Two-constituency rule survives: Section 33(7), RP Act
GS area: Polity (elections)
The Supreme Court dismissed a plea challenging Section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The ruling is clear: a candidate may contest from a maximum of two constituencies in a single election.
Section 33(7), RP Act 1951: permits a candidate to file nomination papers for not more than two parliamentary or assembly constituencies at the same election.
History: before 1996, there was no limit. The 1996 amendment capped the number at two. Critics argue even two is too many because the winner of both seats must vacate one, forcing a costly by-election.
Section 70, RP Act 1951: a person cannot be a member of two Houses of Parliament or two state legislatures simultaneously. This does not prevent contesting from two seats before results.
Court's reasoning: the Constitution does not prohibit multi-seat candidacy. Changing the limit is a policy matter for Parliament, not a constitutional mandate for courts.
Chief Election Commissioner's recommendation: the CEC had urged a single-seat limit to eliminate avoidable by-elections and voter inconvenience.
Static linkage: Polity (elections, Representation of the People Act).
2. Ladakh and the Sixth Schedule: Sonam Wangchuk's demand
GS area: Polity, Governance
Sonam Wangchuk, the education reformer whose work inspired the film "3 Idiots," renewed his demand for Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh after the revocation of Article 370 in August 2019.
Background: Ladakh was carved out of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 and made a Union Territory without a legislature.
The demand: Sixth Schedule protection and restoration of statehood with an elected legislature.
Sixth Schedule: it applies to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. It creates Autonomous District Councils with legislative, judicial and administrative powers over tribal areas. Ladakh's tribal communities argue they need similar protection.
Tribal profile: approximately 80 per cent of Ladakh's population belongs to Scheduled Tribes. Without a legislature, there is no elected body to represent their interests.
Government response: the Centre had raised the ST reservation in government recruitment from 10 to 45 per cent. Critics argue this does not substitute for legislative representation.
Current status: Ladakh has a UT administration and two Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils (Leh and Kargil) but no legislative assembly.
Static linkage: Polity (Sixth Schedule, Union Territories, Article 370).
3. International Seabed Authority and India's Pioneer Investor status
GS area: Economy, International Relations
India holds the status of "Pioneer Investor" under the International Seabed Authority (ISA):
ISA: established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Regulates mineral resources on the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction, called the "Area."
Pioneer Investor: a status accorded to states that commit to exploration and contribute to the ISA's development fund. India earned this designation for polymetallic nodule exploration in the Central Indian Ocean Basin.
Deep Ocean Mission: India's programme for deep-sea exploration, including technology development for underwater vehicles and polymetallic nodule extraction. Budget 2023-24 allocated Rs 600 crore to the mission.
Polymetallic nodules: rock concretions on the seabed containing manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper. These are critical minerals for battery technology and clean energy.
The National Green Tribunal directed Uttarakhand to conduct a carrying capacity study for Mussoorie:
Carrying capacity: the maximum human load a geographical area can sustain without degrading its ecological systems.
Context: a 2001 study had already found that "no further construction was viable" in Mussoorie. Construction continued nonetheless.
NGT's order: a nine-member committee to assess hydro-geology and geo-morphology and recommend remedial steps.
Broader pattern: hill stations across the Himalayas face sewage overflow, water scarcity, landslides and traffic congestion from unchecked tourism and real estate development.
Static linkage: Environment (NGT, hill ecology, tourism carrying capacity).
5. Budget social sector underfunding: the data
GS area: Economy, Social Justice
Economists flagged a gap between stated priorities and actual allocations:
MGNREGS: Rs 60,000 crore against a revised estimate of Rs 89,400 crore in the previous year. This is the lowest allocation in several years in real terms.
Education: Budget allocation at 2.9 per cent of GDP. The NEP 2020 targets 6 per cent of GDP for education. The gap is 3.1 percentage points.
Health: 2.1 per cent of GDP. The National Health Policy 2017 targets 2.5 per cent. Progress exists but the target remains distant.
PM-POSHAN: the midday meal scheme received a slight reduction despite expanding coverage to pre-primary children.
The data is directly testable in prelims. Examiners frequently give the policy target and ask candidates to identify the actual allocation or the year the target was set.
Static linkage: Indian Economy (social sector expenditure, welfare schemes).
6. Red Sanders: CITES listing and smuggling data
GS area: Environment
Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) received attention after a seizure report:
Distribution: endemic to the Seshachalam Hills of Andhra Pradesh. Found in a narrow strip in the Eastern Ghats.
Trade data: approximately 20,000 tonnes were smuggled between 2016 and 2020. China is the primary importing country.
Legal status: IUCN lists it as Endangered. CITES places it in Appendix II, meaning trade requires permits. The Wildlife Protection Act 1972 lists it under Schedule IV.
Uses: furniture, handicrafts, textile dyes, medicines, and food colouring. Its dense red-coloured heartwood is the target.
Static linkage: Environment (biodiversity, CITES, endemic species of India).
7. Briefly noted
Yaya Tso: Ladakh's first proposed Biodiversity Heritage Site. A high-altitude wetland that is one of India's highest black-necked crane breeding grounds. Also hosts bar-headed goose and brahminy duck.
Ancient marine crocodile: Turnersuchus hingleyae, from 185 million years ago, identified as the oldest known thalattosuchian. Discovery fills a gap in crocodile evolutionary history.
African AIDS Alliance: 12 countries endorsed the Dar-es-Salaam Declaration for a Global Alliance to end AIDS in children by 2030.
Practice MCQs
Check yourself
Consider the following about Section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951: 1. It was amended in 1996 to restrict candidates to contesting a maximum of two constituencies. 2. The Supreme Court has struck it down as unconstitutional. 3. If a candidate wins both seats, one must be vacated, triggering a by-election. Which of the above are correct?
Check yourself
The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution applies to tribal areas in which of the following states?
Check yourself
India's "Pioneer Investor" status under the International Seabed Authority relates to exploration of which resources?
Check yourself
With reference to Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus), consider the following: 1. It is endemic to the Seshachalam Hills of Andhra Pradesh. 2. CITES places it in Appendix I, banning all commercial trade. 3. It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Which of the above are correct?
Check yourself
Under MGNREGS, which of the following best describes the scheme's counter-cyclical character?