18 September 2023

• Polity: Parliament's special session opened in the old circular Parliament building. The session was to shift to the new building during the week.
• Culture: Santiniketan's UNESCO inscription was confirmed as India raised its World Heritage tally to 42.
• Environment: The Segur elephant corridor case: a Supreme Court-appointed committee declared 12 resorts in the corridor area illegal for blocking wildlife movement.
• Health: World Food Programme's HungerMap LIVE data: 193 million people face acute hunger across 53 countries.

GS area: Polity (Parliament, constitutional practice)

The five-day special session of Parliament (18-22 September 2023) began in the old Parliament building. It was the last session held there before proceedings shifted entirely to the new building.

• Old Parliament building: the circular building with a colonnaded exterior was designed by Herbert Baker and completed in 1927. It was originally called the Council House and later Council of States became Rajya Sabha and House of the People became Lok Sabha after 1950.
• New Parliament building: a triangular building with expanded seating (888 seats in Lok Sabha, 300 in Rajya Sabha) inaugurated on 28 May 2023. It incorporates symbols from all Indian states and union territories.
• Special session announcement: the government did not pre-announce the legislative agenda. This unusual secrecy generated speculation and criticism from the Opposition.
• Sengol: a golden sceptre called Sengol, a symbol of just and righteous rule from Tamil Nadu's Chola tradition, was installed in the new Lok Sabha chamber during the inauguration.
• Lok Sabha Speaker: Om Birla is the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. The Speaker presides over the special session.

Static linkage: polity (Parliament, constitutional history).

GS area: International Organisations (WFP), Society (food security)

The World Food Programme's HungerMap LIVE platform tracks acute food insecurity in real time using satellite data, economic indicators and household surveys.

• Scale: approximately 828 million people face chronic hunger globally. A subset of 193 million people across 53 countries face acute hunger, meaning immediate crisis-level food insecurity.
• Definition of acute hunger: the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) defines Phase 3 (Crisis), Phase 4 (Emergency) and Phase 5 (Catastrophe) as acute hunger. People in Phase 3 and above need urgent assistance.
• India's ranking: India ranked 107th out of 121 countries in the GHI 2022. Over 224 million people in India are undernourished.
• WFP: the World Food Programme is the UN's food assistance agency and the world's largest humanitarian organisation. Its head is called the Executive Director. It won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

Static linkage: international organisations (WFP), society (food security, malnutrition).

GS area: Environment (wildlife, law), Polity (judiciary)

A Supreme Court-appointed committee directed the demolition of 12 resorts in the Segur elephant corridor in the Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, for obstructing elephant movement.

• Segur corridor: connects the Nilgiris, Mysore and Eastern Ghats elephant populations. Elephants require large ranges and must move between forest blocks for food, water and genetic diversity.
• Legal basis: Section 29 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 prohibits destruction of vegetation in sanctuaries without permission. The resorts had encroached on the corridor without environmental clearances.
• Wildlife corridors: defined areas connecting fragmented habitats, allowing animals to move between patches. Corridors are critical for preventing inbreeding and maintaining viable populations.
• High-profile case: the Segur case was before courts for over a decade. The affected resorts' owners argued economic hardship; conservationists argued the corridor's integrity was non-negotiable.

Static linkage: environment (wildlife corridors, WPA 1972), polity (judiciary, environmental law).

GS area: Environment (national parks, biodiversity)

An eco-restoration project at Anamudi Shola National Park in Idukki district, Kerala revived 50 hectares of degraded grassland and shola (montane evergreen forest).

• Anamudi Shola: a national park in the Munnar area protecting the unique shola-grassland mosaic of the Western Ghats. Shola is a Tamil word for a patch of montane forest.
• Western Ghats biodiversity: recognised as a biodiversity hotspot under the Convention on Biological Diversity framework. It is home to over 5,000 flowering plant species of which about 1,700 are endemic.
• Eco-restoration methods used: removal of invasive Eucalyptus plantations, replacement with native shola species and monitoring of plant community recovery.
• Anamudi peak: the highest peak in peninsular India at 2,695 metres, located adjacent to this national park.

Static linkage: environment (biodiversity, Western Ghats, shola ecosystem).

GS area: Polity (Parliament, privileges)

During the 17th Lok Sabha's preceding sessions, several MPs were suspended for disrupting proceedings. The special session opened against this backdrop of concern about parliamentary productivity.

• Suspension mechanism: under Rules 374 and 374A of the Lok Sabha Rules of Procedure, the Speaker can name an unruly member and have them suspended by the House for the remainder of the session.
• Recent suspensions: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury (Congress) was suspended from the Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha suspended Sanjay Singh (AAP) and Raghav Chadha (AAP) for alleged misconduct related to committee proceedings.
• Rajya Sabha suspension difference: Rajya Sabha suspension powers under Rule 256 require a motion moved and voted upon by the House. The Chairman cannot unilaterally suspend.
• Parliamentary productivity: the 17th Lok Sabha passed 220 bills in its term but had low productive hours due to repeated disruptions and wash-outs.

Static linkage: polity (Parliament, rules of procedure, privileges).

GS area: Governance (sanitation, cleanliness)

Swachhata Hi Seva 2023, an annual campaign running in September ahead of Gandhi Jayanti (2 October), focused on cleanliness and sanitation with a specific emphasis on honouring sanitation workers' dignity.

• Campaign focus: voluntary cleanliness drives, safai mitra (sanitation worker) respect activities and elimination of single-use plastics.
• Swachh Bharat Mission: the parent mission launched on 2 October 2014. Its Phase 2 (SBM-U 2.0 and SBM-G 2.0, launched 2021) targets faecal sludge management, wastewater treatment and plastic waste management.
• ODF Plus: 75 per cent of Indian villages had achieved Open Defecation Free Plus status by late 2023.
• Urban sanitation: SBM-U focuses on eliminating open defecation in urban areas, constructing community toilets and processing solid waste.

Static linkage: governance (Swachh Bharat Mission, sanitation).

• Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics: the Ministry of Agriculture launched a portal to revolutionise agricultural data management by integrating data from states, schemes and production surveys. It aims to improve price forecasting and crop planning.
• Cauvery Water Management Authority: the Supreme Court considered a petition on the CWMA's powers. The CWMA was set up per a 2018 Supreme Court direction to implement the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award.
• National Higher Education Qualifications Framework (NHEQF): introduced to bring Indian higher education qualifications into alignment with global frameworks, allowing credit recognition across institutions. Implementation gaps were flagged.