14 September 2023

• Polity: Parliament's 75-year journey was reviewed as a special session was announced for 18-22 September. Key milestones include the 1952 general elections and the new Parliament building inauguration.
• Health: Nipah virus in Kerala: six laboratory-confirmed cases including two deaths by 14 September; Kozhikode was the epicentre.
• Defence: Nyoma Airfield in Ladakh was highlighted as India's highest fighter aircraft airfield at 13,700 feet, near the LAC.
• Economy: Salem Sago received a Geographical Indication tag, produced from tapioca roots in Tamil Nadu.

GS area: Polity (Parliament, constitutional history)

The government announced a five-day special session of Parliament from 18 to 22 September 2023, scheduled to begin in the old Parliament building and shift to the new building mid-session.

• 75 years of Parliament: the 1946 Constituent Assembly is treated as the starting point. Key milestones: the 1952 general election (India's first), the 1991 economic liberalisation, the 2023 new Parliament inauguration.
• New Parliament building: inaugurated on 28 May 2023. Built with a capacity of 888 seats in the Lok Sabha and 300 in the Rajya Sabha. It replaces the 96-year-old circular Parliament building.
• No constitutional definition of "special session": as noted earlier, the term is conventional, not constitutional. All sessions are convened by the President under Article 85.
• Expected business: the government did not pre-announce what legislation would be taken up. The Women's Reservation Bill and amendments to criminal procedure laws were among the bills anticipated.

Static linkage: polity (Parliament, Article 85), constitutional history.

GS area: Health (zoonotic diseases, public health)

By 14 September 2023, six laboratory-confirmed Nipah cases including two deaths had been reported in Kozhikode. Kerala's containment measures were already in place.

• Nipah profile: paramyxovirus, natural reservoir in Pteropus fruit bats. Mortality rate 40-75 per cent. No approved vaccine or antiviral treatment. Monoclonal antibodies (m102.4) are in trials.
• Kerala's response toolkit: contact tracing was launched for 788 contacts of confirmed patients. Containment zones were demarcated. Schools near the cluster were temporarily shut. The Kozhikode Medical College's isolation ward was activated.
• Testing: samples tested at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, which is a BSL-4 facility, one of the few in India capable of handling the highest-risk pathogens.
• Outbreak history: Kerala had previous Nipah outbreaks in 2018 (17 deaths in Kozhikode and Malappuram), 2019 (one case, one death, Ernakulam) and 2021 (one case, Kozhikode).
• Why Kozhikode repeatedly: the region has dense fruit bat populations roosting near human habitation and intensive mango and litchi orchards that bats feed on.

Static linkage: health (emerging diseases, zoonotic diseases, public health).

GS area: International Relations (defence, border infrastructure)

The Advanced Landing Ground at Nyoma, Ladakh, was highlighted as part of India's border infrastructure push. At 13,700 feet (4,178 metres) above sea level, it is India's highest fighter aircraft airfield.

• Location: the Nyoma village area in the Changthang Plateau of Eastern Ladakh, approximately 46 km from the Line of Actual Control with China.
• Strategic purpose: provides the Indian Air Force with a forward operating base to quickly deploy fighters, attack helicopters and transport aircraft near the LAC. Currently India's advanced aircraft have to operate from Leh (3,256 metres), which is farther from the LAC.
• BRO development: the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) is responsible for developing and maintaining strategic infrastructure in border areas. It operates under the Ministry of Defence.
• High-altitude airfield challenges: at 13,700 feet, aircraft have longer takeoff and landing runs because of low air density. Payload capacity is reduced. Winter temperatures drop to minus 40 degrees Celsius.

Static linkage: international relations (border security, LAC), governance (defence infrastructure).

GS area: International Relations (India-Russia, connectivity)

The Eastern Maritime Corridor linking Chennai to Vladivostok continued to be developed as a key element of India-Russia maritime connectivity.

• Route: the sea route from Chennai port to Vladivostok (Russia's Far East gateway to the Pacific) covers approximately 5,600 nautical miles.
• Time saving: this corridor reduces transit time by approximately 16 days compared to the traditional route via the Suez Canal or around Europe.
• Strategic significance: opens India to Russia's Far East and beyond, connecting to the Russian rail network (Trans-Siberian Railway) and providing an alternative to the landlocked Central Asian route (INSTC).
• India-Russia context: India's trade with Russia expanded significantly after Western sanctions following the February 2022 Ukraine invasion. Oil imports from Russia surged. The maritime corridor supports this growing trade.

Static linkage: international relations (India-Russia, maritime connectivity), geography (sea routes).

GS area: Economy (trade), International Relations

The WTO's 2023 World Trade Report advocated "re-globalisation" as an alternative framework to de-globalisation or protectionism.

• What re-globalisation means: expanding trade integration in a more inclusive, secure and sustainable form rather than retreating to protectionism. Addresses geopolitical tensions, inequality and climate without abandoning the gains from trade.
• Context: geopolitical fragmentation, supply chain restructuring after COVID-19 and the Ukraine war pushed many countries toward friend-shoring and nearshoring. The WTO argues this raises prices and reduces growth.
• India's trade policy: India has historically been cautious about opening its market. It withdrew from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in 2019 and has resisted reducing tariffs in services discussions.
• Trade and development: the WTO report emphasises that trade has lifted hundreds of millions from poverty. Retreating from it has a human cost, especially for smaller developing economies.

Static linkage: economy (trade, WTO), international relations.

GS area: Economy (intellectual property, GI tags)

Salem Sago (sabudana) received a Geographical Indication tag, recognising the product's origin in Salem district, Tamil Nadu. Sago here is extracted from tapioca roots, not from the sago palm tree.

• GI tag: a mark under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 that identifies a product as originating in a specific geographical area, with qualities attributable to that origin.
• Salem Sago: a key food ingredient in fasting foods. Salem's climatic conditions and traditional processing methods give it distinctive texture and purity, distinguishing it from non-GI sago.
• Harami Nala context: a 22-kilometre tidal channel in the Sir Creek area at the India-Pakistan maritime border was in the news for boundary demarcation issues. Sir Creek is a disputed estuary where tidal boundaries shift seasonally.

Static linkage: economy (GI tags, intellectual property), geography (India-Pakistan border).

• Ayushman Bhav Campaign: a health campaign targeting universal health coverage through Ayushman Bharat health accounts (ABHA IDs) and Ayushman cards. Launched September 2023 ahead of Gandhi Jayanti.
• VVPAT verification: a petition in the Supreme Court sought 100 per cent matching of VVPAT slips with EVM votes. Current practice matches slips from five polling stations per constituency. The petition was heard but no order directing universal counting was issued in this period.
• iGOT Karmayogi: the government's civil service training platform. A programme to train 5,000 block-level officials in 500 aspirational blocks on development administration was underway.