19 October 2023

• Same-sex marriage verdict: the Supreme Court (3:2 majority) declined to legalise same-sex marriage, holding that it is a statutory matter for Parliament.
• Urban governance: the Annual Survey of India's City-Systems (ASICS) 2023 found that only 42 per cent of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act has been implemented by states.
• Bamboo for landslips: Kerala's Forest Department announced plans to plant bamboo along the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway to prevent landslides.
• Amazon drought: the Amazon River's Rio Negro tributary fell to record low levels amid severe El Niño-driven drought.

GS area: Polity, Society

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled by 3:2 that there is no fundamental right to same-sex marriage in India.

• Verdict: the Court declined to read same-sex marriage into the Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954 or the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. The majority held that defining who may marry is a legislative function.
• Special Marriage Act, 1954: a civil law allowing marriage between persons of different religions or without religious ceremony. Petitioners argued the SMA should be interpreted gender-neutrally to permit same-sex couples to marry.
• Fundamental rights cited: Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty); Article 15 (non-discrimination); Article 19(1)(a) (expression, including sexual orientation expression).
• Prior Supreme Court judgments that formed the basis for the petition:
  • NALSA v. Union of India (2014): recognised transgender persons as a third gender and affirmed their fundamental rights.
  • K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017): held that sexual orientation is a facet of the constitutionally protected right to privacy.
  • Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India (2018): decriminalised consensual same-sex relations by reading down Section 377 IPC.
• 3:2 split: Chief Justice and two other justices formed the majority declining marriage equality; two dissenting justices found a right to civil union.
• Government's Cabinet Secretary committee: the government offered to set up a committee to examine entitlements available to same-sex couples without creating a marriage right.
• Global context: 34 countries have legalised same-sex marriage as of 2023, including Australia, France, Germany, UK, and the USA.

Static linkage: Polity, society, fundamental rights.

GS area: Polity, Governance

The Annual Survey of India's City-Systems (ASICS) 2023 by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy assessed urban governance quality.

• 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (1992): the landmark urban local body amendment. It devolved 18 functions to municipalities (listed in the Twelfth Schedule); mandated Ward Committees; required state election commissions for municipal elections; five-year terms for mayors.
• ASICS 2023 finding: only 42 per cent of the 74th Amendment's provisions have been implemented by states. The full devolution intended by the amendment remains unrealised.
• Other findings: 51 per cent of states/UTs lack accessible urban legislation; 39 per cent of capital cities have no active master plan; only 20 per cent of municipal expenditure is covered by property tax.
• Eastern states: performed better on urban legislation quality.
• Recommendations: return 10 per cent of income tax to cities (KC Sivaramakrishnan task force recommendation); authorise vacant land tax; decentralise further through Area Sabhas and Ward Committees.
• Three finance commission grants: urban local bodies receive grants through the Finance Commission. The 15th Finance Commission (2021-26) provides both tied (for sanitation and national priorities) and untied grants to ULBs.

Critical note. The gap between constitutional intent and ground reality in urban governance is stark. Mayors in most Indian cities have minimal revenue autonomy, no independent cadre, and share functions with parastatals. The ASICS data gives concrete numbers to a frequently discussed but data-poor topic.

Static linkage: Polity, governance.

GS area: Environment, Disaster Management

Kerala's Forest Department announced plans to plant bamboo along a landslide-prone stretch of the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway.

• Mechanism: bamboo roots penetrate 4-5 feet into the soil, creating a lattice that binds slopes. Unlike trees, bamboo can be harvested without uprooting, so root networks remain intact.
• Successful precedents: bamboo has been used for slope stabilisation in Malaysia, Philippines, and Nepal. India's own experience with bamboo slopes in the northeast validates the approach.
• Indian Forest Act, 2017 amendment: reclassified bamboo as a grass (not a tree). This means bamboo on private land can be cut and transported without a forest permit, encouraging commercial cultivation.
• India's bamboo sector: India has the world's second-largest bamboo resources after China. The National Bamboo Mission (2018-19 onward) promotes bamboo cultivation, processing, and market development.
• Gap Road, Munnar: the specific landslide-prone stretch in Idukki district, Kerala, where the pilot project is planned.

Static linkage: Environment, disaster management, agriculture.

GS area: Modern India History, Culture

A current-affairs item on the Theosophical Society's 148th anniversary came up.

• Founded: 1875 in New York by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, and William Quan Judge.
• Headquarters shifted to India: the HQ moved to Adyar, Madras (Chennai) in 1882, where it has remained.
• Key figures in India: Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (American, co-founder; converted to Buddhism in Sri Lanka); Annie Besant (British; joined 1890; President 1907-1933; also prominent in Indian national movement; founder of Central Hindu College which became BHU).
• Relevance to UPSC: Annie Besant founded the Home Rule League in September 1916; Bal Gangadhar Tilak founded a parallel league in April 1916. Both merged demands for Indian self-governance. Besant was interned by the colonial government in 1917; her internment triggered protests.
• Theosophical philosophy: blend of Eastern and Western religious traditions; emphasised universal brotherhood, study of comparative religion, and investigation of nature's laws.

Static linkage: Modern India history.

GS area: Economy, Governance

The Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023 introduced the "Leniency Plus" provision.

• Leniency Programme (original): a cartel member who voluntarily discloses the cartel's existence to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) can get a reduction in penalty.
• Leniency Plus (new): a cartel member who is already cooperating under the leniency programme can now disclose the existence of a separate, unrelated cartel and get an additional reduction in penalty for the original cartel.
• Incentive: creates a cascading disclosure mechanism. Each disclosure of an additional cartel earns a penalty reduction. This is modelled on US and EU cartel prosecution experience.
• Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023: also introduced deal value thresholds (for large digital mergers), reduced timelines for merger approvals, and increased penalties.
• CCI: established under the Competition Act, 2002 to prevent anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position, and regulate mergers.

Static linkage: Economy, governance.

GS area: Environment, Geography

The Amazon basin experienced a severe drought in October 2023, linked to the El Niño event and high sea surface temperatures.

• Rio Negro: a major tributary of the Amazon, joining it at Manaus. Its levels dropped to record lows. The Rio Negro, despite its name (black river), carries very low sediment; its colour comes from dissolved organic matter.
• El Niño: a periodic warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean that alters global atmospheric circulation. For South America, El Niño typically means drought in the Amazon basin.
• Amazon dolphin deaths: about 120 river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis, the pink dolphin) died in Lake Tefé in September-October 2023 due to water temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.
• Amazon's global role: stores about 10 per cent of the world's total carbon in its above-ground biomass. Deforestation and drought reduce this carbon sink capacity. About 40 per cent of the Amazon is in Brazil; 8 countries share the basin.
• India-Amazon connection (UPSC angle): the Amazon and the Western Ghats are both global biodiversity hotspots. Climate change in one affects global circulation patterns and monsoons.

Static linkage: Environment, geography.

• Heartland Tripura Project: PIB announced this infrastructure project to improve connectivity in Tripura. India-Bangladesh connectivity through Tripura's Akhaura land port and road links form part of India's Act East policy.
• Estivation: the biological equivalent of hibernation during hot and dry periods. West African lungfish, desert tortoises, and land snails practise estivation. It is a standard GS biology topic that appeared in this day's current affairs.