10 August 2023

• History: 10 August marks the 81st anniversary of the launch of the Quit India Movement on 8 August 1942 at Bombay.
• Governance: A Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended that Supreme Court and High Court judges declare assets annually.
• Health: Ayushman Bharat PMJAY completed five years. It has empanelled 27,000 hospitals and covered over 12 crore families.
• Ecology: The Belem Declaration from the Amazon Summit in Brazil saw leaders fail to agree on a target of protecting 80 per cent of the Amazon by 2025.

GS area: Modern Indian History

The Quit India Movement was launched on 8 August 1942 at the Bombay session of the All-India Congress Committee. Mahatma Gandhi gave the call "Do or Die."

• Context: The Cripps Mission (March-April 1942) had failed to offer full independence. Wartime economic hardships, inflation, and military reversals in Southeast Asia had heightened discontent.
• Immediate outcome: The British government arrested the entire Congress leadership within 24 hours. Gandhi, Nehru, and the Working Committee were imprisoned.
• Mass mobilisation: Despite the arrests, the movement became one of the most widespread in the freedom struggle. Students, workers, women, and farmers participated across the country.
• Parallel governments: In the absence of Congress leadership, some regions set up alternative administrations.
  • Ballia (UP): Chittu Pandey's Azad Panchayat governed for about a week.
  • Tamluk (Bengal): The Jatiya Sarkar (National Government) ran for about two years from 1942.
  • Satara (Maharashtra): The Prati Sarkar (Parallel Government) functioned for about two years.
• Impact: The Quit India Movement placed India's independence on the immediate agenda of post-war British politics. It showed that Indian cooperation could not be taken for granted.
• Significance for prelims: Frequently tested on: the call to action, the parallel governments, and the contrast with the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) and Civil Disobedience Movement (1930-34).

Static linkage: Indian freedom struggle, national movement (GS Paper 1).

GS area: Social Justice, Government Schemes

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) completed five years of operation in August 2023.

• Coverage: The scheme provides health insurance of up to 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. It covers the bottom 40 per cent of the population by economic vulnerability, targeting over 12 crore families (roughly 55 crore individuals).
• Hospital network: 27,000 empanelled hospitals across India, both public and private.
• Financial benefit: The government claims the scheme saved over 1 lakh crore rupees in out-of-pocket medical expenses for beneficiaries.
• Gender equity: About 48 per cent of treatments under PMJAY benefit women.
• Fraud prevention: 210 hospitals have been de-empanelled for fraud. The National Anti-Fraud Unit (NAFU) uses Aadhaar-based biometric authentication to prevent identity fraud.
• State coverage: Some states, particularly in the south, have expanded the income limit beyond the national threshold. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh run state-level variants.

Static linkage: Health schemes, social protection (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Polity (judiciary)

A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Legal Affairs recommended reforms to improve accountability and diversity in the higher judiciary.

• Asset declaration: Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts should be required to declare their assets annually. Currently the Supreme Court has a voluntary internal disclosure policy.
• Pendency: The committee noted extreme case pendency. There are approximately 5 crore cases pending across all courts in India.
• Long vacations: The committee questioned the relevance of extended court vacation schedules in a context of severe pendency.
• Diversity: The committee noted insufficient representation of women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and minorities in the higher judiciary.
• Regional benches: A proposal to establish regional benches of the Supreme Court to improve geographic access to apex court justice.
• Retirement age: Currently 62 years for High Court judges and 65 for Supreme Court judges. The committee noted proposals to raise these.

Static linkage: Judiciary, judicial appointments, constitutional bodies (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Governance, Health

The government reported that six states and Union Territories have achieved 100 per cent full immunisation coverage under Mission Indradhanush 4.0 (IMI 4.0).

• Mission Indradhanush: Launched in 2014 to accelerate immunisation coverage of children and pregnant women. It targets seven vaccine-preventable diseases initially; the number of vaccines has expanded since.
• IMI 4.0: The fourth phase, covering 416 high-priority districts across India.
• Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP): The overarching framework. India aims for 90 per cent full immunisation coverage nationally.
• Vaccines covered: BCG (TB), Oral Polio Vaccine, DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus), Hepatitis B, Hib, IPV, Rotavirus, PCV (pneumococcal), and Measles-Rubella.
• Progress: National immunisation coverage was 62 per cent in 2014 when Mission Indradhanush was launched. It rose to 76 per cent by NFHS-5 (2019-21).

Static linkage: Immunisation policy, health schemes (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Environment (energy), Geography

A government review of renewable energy potential included tidal and wave energy resources. India's coastline of 7,516 km offers theoretical marine energy potential.

• Tidal energy potential: Approximately 12,455 MW theoretical potential. The major sites are the Gulf of Khambhat and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat, and the Sundarbans in West Bengal.
• Wave energy potential: Approximately 41,300 MW theoretical potential along the entire coastline.
• Current status: Both are at the exploration or demonstration stage in India. No commercial tidal or wave plant operates in India as of 2023.
• Contrast with solar and wind: Solar capacity was over 70 GW and wind capacity over 44 GW by August 2023. Marine energy is theoretical capacity.

Static linkage: Renewable energy, ocean geography (GS Paper 3).

• Keralam renaming: The Kerala Legislative Assembly passed a resolution requesting the Union government to rename the state "Keralam" in the Constitution and official use. The name derives from "Keralaputra" mentioned in Emperor Ashoka's Rock Edict II (257 BCE).
• Belem Declaration: Leaders of eight Amazon basin countries at a summit in Belem, Brazil adopted a declaration on Amazon conservation. They failed to agree on a binding target to protect 80 per cent of the Amazon by 2025. Deforestation has declined in Brazil under President Lula but remains significant.
• Vaquita porpoise: The International Whaling Commission issued its first ever formal extinction alert for a species. The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is a small porpoise found only in the northern Gulf of California. Its population is down to 9 to 10 individuals.