13 May 2023

• Polity: A Constitution Bench ruled that Delhi's elected government controls services except police, public order and land. This settled a long-running federal dispute.
• Karnataka: Congress won 135 of 224 seats, securing an absolute majority. BJP won 66; JD(S) 19.
• Economy: RBI directed banks to complete the LIBOR transition by 1 July.
• Environment: Cyclone Mocha made landfall near Sittwe in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
• Agmark: FSSAI proposed removing separate Agmark registration for edible oils.

GS area: Polity (Federalism, Centre-state relations)

A five-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud ruled on the services dispute between the Delhi government and the Centre.

• Ruling: Delhi's elected government has legislative and executive control over services. The Lieutenant Governor must be bound by the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers on services matters.
• Exclusions: Police, public order and land remain under the Central government's exclusive control in Delhi.
• Federal principle: The Court rejected the argument that India's federalism is unitary, affirming that "federalism is a means to reconcile commonality with autonomy."
• Constitutional basis: Article 239AA, inserted by the 69th Amendment in 1991, created Delhi's special status as a National Capital Territory with a legislature.
• Government of NCT of Delhi Act 1991: Governs the relationship between the elected government and the LG.

Within days of this ruling, the Central government issued an ordinance reasserting the LG's control over services, overriding the judgment. This became a major constitutional and political controversy.

Static linkage: Article 239AA, NCT Delhi, federalism (Polity).

GS area: Polity (Elections, Political parties)

Votes were counted on 13 May 2023 for the Karnataka Legislative Assembly election held on 10 May.

• Result: Congress won 135 of 224 seats, a clear absolute majority. Majority mark: 113.
• BJP: Won 66 seats. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai resigned.
• JD(S): Won 19 seats.
• Congress themes in the campaign: Five guarantees including free electricity up to 200 units, free bus rides for women and 2,000 rupees monthly aid to women heads of household.
• Significance: The result was the first major state election result before the 2024 general election. Congress positioned it as a setback for the BJP nationally.
• CM formation: Siddaramaiah was later sworn in as Chief Minister. D.K. Shivakumar became Deputy Chief Minister.

Static linkage: State elections, anti-incumbency, electoral guarantees (Polity).

GS area: Economy (Financial markets, Banking)

The RBI directed all banks to complete the transition away from LIBOR by 1 July 2023.

• What LIBOR is: The London Interbank Offered Rate. A benchmark interest rate at which major global banks lend to one another. Used as a reference for trillions of dollars in loans and derivatives.
• Why it is being phased out: A 2012 scandal found that banks had manipulated LIBOR to benefit their trading positions. Regulators globally lost confidence in the rate.
• Replacement rates:
  • US: SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate).
  • UK: SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average).
  • EU: ESTER (Euro Short-Term Rate).
  • Japan: TONA (Tokyo Overnight Average Rate).
• India's domestic benchmark: The Mumbai Interbank Offer Rate (MIBOR) and the External Benchmark Lending Rate (EBLR) for retail loans.

Static linkage: Banking regulation, benchmark rates, RBI directives (Economy).

GS area: Geography (Cyclones)

Cyclone Mocha made landfall near Sittwe in Myanmar's Rakhine state on 14 May at approximately noon local time. The storm had been building since 8 May.

• Intensity: Peak winds of about 250 km per hour. Category 4 at landfall; it briefly touched category 5 peak strength with 175 mph winds.
• Record: Tied with Cyclone Fani (2019) as the strongest storm ever recorded in the North Indian Ocean basin.
• Landfall location: Between Kyaukpyu township (near Sittwe) in Myanmar and Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.
• Tidal surge: A 3.5-metre surge inundated the low-lying coastal region.
• Evacuation: About 1 million people were evacuated in Bangladesh and Myanmar before landfall.
• Deaths reported: Myanmar government reported a preliminary death toll of 455.
• Rohingya displacement: Cox's Bazar hosts the world's largest refugee camp. Mocha threatened this already vulnerable population.

Static linkage: Cyclones, Bay of Bengal, disaster management (Geography).

GS area: Polity (Fundamental Rights)

The Supreme Court reaffirmed that indefinite internet shutdowns violate fundamental rights.

• Rights engaged: Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression, includes internet use) and Article 19(1)(g) (freedom to practise any profession or trade).
• Proportionality requirement: Any shutdown must be temporary, have a legal basis and be proportionate to the threat it addresses.
• Manipur context: An internet blackout was imposed across Manipur from 3 May and extended repeatedly, raising these constitutional questions.
• Leading case: Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020), in which the Court held that internet shutdowns cannot be indefinite and must be judicially reviewable.

Static linkage: Digital rights, fundamental rights, internet governance (Polity).

• Agmark: A quality certification mark for agricultural products in India under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act 1937. FSSAI proposed eliminating separate Agmark registration for edible oils to reduce regulatory duplication.
• Bhopal SDG: Bhopal became India's first city to adopt localised UN Sustainable Development Goals tracking through Voluntary Local Reviews. This is the mechanism cities use to self-report on SDG progress at the local level.
• AI water consumption: An analysis noted that ChatGPT uses approximately 0.5 litres of freshwater for every 20 to 50 questions posed, due to data centre cooling requirements. This feeds into debates about AI's environmental footprint.