18 November 2023

• Polity: A Constitution Bench reserved judgment on electoral bonds; the debate on state funding of elections revived, with the Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) supporting limited state funding.
• Environment: Bengaluru's Climate Change Action Plan outlined 269 climate actions targeting carbon neutrality by 2050 and emission reduction by 2030.
• Economy: India's microfinance industry added 87 lakh new women clients in FY 2022-23, reaching six crore low-income women, with gross NPA falling from 5.6 per cent to 2.7 per cent.
• Culture: Art historian B.N. Goswamy's 1968 groundbreaking article showed miniature painting styles were family-dependent, not region-dependent.
• Governance: The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) proposed nine-point draft guidelines on greenwashing in corporate communications.

GS area: Polity (Elections, Governance)

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reserved judgment on the validity of the electoral bonds scheme. The case renewed debate on state funding of elections as an alternative to opaque private donations.

• Electoral bonds scheme: anonymous donations to political parties through bonds purchased from SBI. Introduced in 2017. The Election Commission itself has criticised the anonymity provision.
• Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998): supported state funding for recognised political parties. Found it "desirable."
• Law Commission Report (1999): also advocated state funding as "desirable."
• Second Administrative Reforms Commission: recommended partial state funding as a reform.
• International models: Norway funds approximately 74 per cent of election expenses publicly. Germany provides funding based on electoral performance (matching citizen donations up to a threshold).
• Challenges to state funding: fiscal deficit concerns, risk of diverting funds from social sectors, difficulty in allocating fairly among new and established parties, and concerns about intra-party democracy.

Static linkage: Polity (Elections, Constitutional Law, GS2).

GS area: Environment (Urban Climate, Governance)

Bengaluru's Climate Change Action Plan was developed by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) with the World Resources Institute (WRI) as global consultant. It outlines 269 specific climate actions.

• Targets: reduce carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
• C40 Cities: Bengaluru is one of six Indian cities in the C40 Cities network for climate action. The others are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
• Issues addressed: urban flooding, drought, air pollution and thunderstorms.
• C40 Cities: an international network of nearly 100 megacities committed to addressing climate change. Members collaborate on adaptation and mitigation.

Static linkage: Environment (Urban Climate), Governance.

GS area: Economy (Financial Inclusion)

The Microfinance Industry Network's third edition review showed that FY 2022-23 saw 87 lakh new women microfinance clients added, reaching a total of six crore low-income women clients. Outstanding credit reached three lakh crore rupees across 729 districts.

• RBI definition of microfinance: collateral-free loans to individuals with annual household income up to Rs 3 lakh.
• NCAER study: microfinance contributes 130 lakh jobs and 2 per cent of Gross Value Added.
• Gross NPA improvement: fell from 5.6 per cent in FY22 to 2.7 per cent in FY23, showing recovery from the COVID stress.
• SHG-Bank Linkage Programme: the government's flagship microfinance delivery model. National Credit Fund for Women (Rashtriya Mahila Kosh) supplements it.
• PM SVANidhi: micro-credit for street vendors.

Static linkage: Economy (Financial Inclusion, Women, Development).

GS area: Art and Culture

Art historian B.N. Goswamy published a landmark 1968 article demonstrating that Indian miniature painting traditions were family-based rather than region-based. He showed that painting styles were transmitted within artist lineages, not geographically.

• Methodology: archival research tracing family networks. He reconstructed the network of Pahari painter Pandit Seu and his sons Nainsukh and Manaku.
• Implications: Mughal, Rajput and Pahari miniature styles that appeared to be regional were in fact the output of specific family workshops that moved with patronage.
• Miniature painting basics: small, highly detailed paintings on paper, cloth or ivory. Subjects include Mughal court scenes, Hindu mythology and portraiture.

Static linkage: Art and Culture (Indian Heritage).

GS area: Environment (Consumer Protection, Corporate Governance)

The Advertising Standards Council of India proposed nine-point draft guidelines on greenwashing. Public consultation was open until December 31, 2023.

• Greenwashing: making misleading claims about a product's or company's environmental benefits. Claims like "eco-friendly," "sustainable" and "planet-friendly" must be backed by strong evidence.
• ASCI: established 1985, headquartered in Mumbai. A voluntary self-regulatory organisation for the advertising industry. Registered as a non-profit under Company Act Section 25.
• Full lifecycle requirement: environmental claims must consider the full product or service lifecycle, not just one stage.
• Global alignment: International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) frameworks from 2024, SEBI's Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) norms, and the RBI joining the Global Financial Innovation Network's Greenwashing TechSprint all point to tightening standards.

Static linkage: Environment (Corporate Governance, Consumer Protection).

GS area: Social Justice (Governance)

The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) data showed that 4 of 5 organ and child recipients between 1995 and 2021 were male, revealing a significant gender disparity in adoption.

• CARA: established 1990, statutory body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Governs adoptions under the Juvenile Justice Act 2015.
• Waiting period: approximately 30,000 prospective parents wait an average of three years. Only 10 per cent of orphaned children are adopted annually.
• Hague Convention: India ratified the 1993 Hague Convention on inter-country adoptions in 2003, enabling regulated international adoptions.
• 2022 amendment: decentralised adoption order authority to District Magistrates, reducing delay.
• Controversy: CARA regulations exclude LGBTQ+ individuals and unmarried couples from adoption, a policy that human rights organisations challenge.

Static linkage: Social Justice (Governance, Women, Child Rights).

• Fractals in quantum systems: geometric shapes exhibiting self-similarity at different scales, such as the Koch snowflake, have been applied in quantum systems research by physicists studying graphene and magnetic properties of neodymium nickel oxide.
• Tunnel rescue update: at Day 7 of the Silkyara rescue, the primary auger drilling machine had broken down. A manual approach with steel pipes was being designed. Multiple parallel rescue routes were being explored including vertical drilling from the top of the mountain.