23 September 2023

• Polity: Vanadium traces discovered by GSI in offshore sediments near Gujarat's Gulf of Khambhat: India's first such offshore find.
• Polity: Supreme Court revisiting the 1998 PV Narasimha Rao judgment on legislators' immunity from prosecution for bribes taken before a vote.
• Defence: Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, India's revamped science awards framework with four new categories, was announced.
• Society: An all-women panel of 13 Vice-Chairpersons formed in Rajya Sabha.

GS area: Geography (minerals), Economy (resources)

The Geological Survey of India reported vanadium traces in offshore sediments near Gujarat's Gulf of Khambhat coast. This is India's first reported offshore discovery of vanadium.

• Vanadium: a hard, silvery-grey metal. Its principal use is as an alloying agent in high-strength steel for construction, aerospace and defence. It is also a key material for vanadium redox flow batteries, a long-duration energy storage technology.
• GSI: the Geological Survey of India, established in 1851, is one of the world's oldest scientific organisations. It operates under the Ministry of Mines and conducts mineral surveys across India.
• Gulf of Khambhat: a bay in Gujarat between the Kathiawar Peninsula and the mainland. It has significant tidal power potential and is adjacent to several industrial ports.
• Strategic significance: vanadium is on India's critical minerals list. Domestic production reduces dependence on imports from China and Russia, the two largest producers.
• Critical Minerals Mission: India announced a Critical Minerals Mission to secure domestic and foreign supply of minerals essential for clean energy and defence.

Static linkage: geography (minerals, Gujarat), economy (critical minerals, energy storage).

GS area: Polity (judiciary, Parliament, privileges)

A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court referred the question of legislators' immunity for bribe-taking to a seven-judge Constitution Bench for reconsideration of the 1998 PV Narasimha Rao judgment.

• 1998 judgment (PV Narasimha Rao v. State): a five-judge bench had ruled that an MP who takes a bribe and votes in Parliament in a particular way is immune from criminal prosecution for that action. The Court interpreted Articles 105(2) (Lok Sabha) and 194(2) (state assemblies) broadly.
• Articles 105(2) and 194(2): protect MPs and MLAs from liability "in respect of anything said or any vote given in Parliament (or the Assembly)." The 1998 judgment extended this immunity to include the act of taking a bribe if the MP subsequently voted as bribed.
• Why revisit: the 2023 referral came in the context of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bribery case. The Court noted that a corrupt legislator hiding behind parliamentary immunity was absurd and inconsistent with constitutional morality.
• Expected outcome: the seven-judge bench is expected to overturn the 1998 ruling and hold that bribery is a criminal act outside the scope of parliamentary privilege.

Static linkage: polity (Parliament, privileges, judiciary), fundamental rights.

GS area: Science and Technology (institutions, awards)

The government replaced the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize and several other science awards with a unified Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar framework. The new awards have four categories.

• Four categories:
  • Vigyan Ratna: for lifetime contributions to science and technology.
  • Vigyan Shri: for distinguished contributions.
  • Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar: for young scientists below 45 years (retaining the SSB Prize brand).
  • Vigyan Team: for outstanding team achievements in science and technology.
• Ministry: Department of Science and Technology.
• Rationale: the earlier system had multiple awards across ministries without coherent hierarchy. The Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar consolidates them.
• Inclusion goal: by creating a lifetime achievement category and team award, the framework aims to bring in scientists who missed age-bound awards.

Static linkage: science and technology (institutions, awards).

GS area: Culture (history, philosophy)

A 108-foot statue of Adi Shankaracharya was unveiled at Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, a major pilgrimage site on the Narmada.

• Adi Shankaracharya: the 8th-9th century philosopher-saint from Kaladi, Kerala (conventional dates: 788-820 CE). He consolidated the Advaita Vedanta philosophical tradition.
• Advaita Vedanta: a non-dualistic school of Hindu philosophy. It holds that the individual self (atman) and the ultimate reality (Brahman) are identical. The phenomenal world is maya (illusion overlying reality).
• Works: Shankaracharya wrote commentaries (bhashyas) on the principal Upanishads, the Brahmasutras and the Bhagavad Gita. He also composed devotional hymns (stotras).
• Four Mathas: he is credited with establishing four monastic centres at Sringeri (south), Puri (east), Dwarka (west) and Badrinath (north).
• Omkareshwar: one of the 12 Jyotirlingas on the Narmada river in Mandhata Island.

Static linkage: culture (philosophy, history), geography (Narmada, pilgrimage sites).

GS area: Economy (financial regulation)

The Reserve Bank of India issued Basel-III capital framework regulations for All India Financial Institutions (AIFIs) effective April 2024.

• Covered institutions: EXIM Bank (Export-Import Bank), NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), NaBFID (National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development), NHB (National Housing Bank) and SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India).
• Capital requirements: Minimum Total Capital (MTC) of 9 per cent, Tier-I capital of 7 per cent and Common Equity Tier-1 (CET-1) of 5.5 per cent.
• Basel-III rationale: the international capital standards developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision after the 2008 financial crisis. They require banks and financial institutions to hold sufficient high-quality capital to absorb losses without requiring a taxpayer bailout.
• Why AIFIs: these institutions are critical infrastructure financiers and agricultural development banks. Applying Basel-III standards improves their resilience and credibility with international lenders.

Static linkage: economy (financial regulation, RBI, Basel norms).

GS area: Polity (Rajya Sabha, gender)

The Rajya Sabha constituted a panel of 13 Vice-Chairpersons consisting entirely of women members, a first in the history of the upper house.

• Deputy Chairman and Vice-Chairpersons: the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is elected under Article 91. In addition to the Deputy Chairman, the Chairman constitutes a panel of Vice-Chairpersons to preside during sessions when the Chairman and Deputy Chairman are absent.
• Current Women's presence in Rajya Sabha: approximately 15 per cent of members are women, making the all-women VP panel a symbolic milestone ahead of the Women's Reservation Act's eventual operation.
• Constitutional provisions: Article 89 provides for a Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha elected by the members. Article 91 empowers the Chairman to maintain a panel.

Static linkage: polity (Rajya Sabha, constitutional provisions, gender).

• Bangkok coastal security exercise: the Indian Coast Guard conducted pollution response exercises near Bangkok (Thailand), in cooperation with the Royal Thai Navy. India-Thailand maritime cooperation is part of the Act East Policy's security dimension.
• Parliamentary privilege referral: the reference to the seven-judge bench on the 1998 immunity ruling is significant because it may affect ongoing cases involving elected representatives across multiple parties.
• Personality rights (Anil Kapoor): the Delhi High Court granted Anil Kapoor interim protection of "personality rights," covering his name, voice, image and distinctive traits from unauthorised commercial use. This extends prior rulings on celebrity image rights.