11 December 2023

• Supreme Court: A five-judge Constitution Bench led by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud unanimously upheld the 2019 abrogation of Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
• Climate data: The WMO "Global Climate 2011-2020" report confirmed that glaciers thinned by about one metre per year through the decade and atmospheric CO2 exceeded 413 ppm by 2020.
• Gene therapy: The US FDA approved two gene therapies for sickle cell disease. Casgevy is the first CRISPR-based therapy to receive regulatory approval for a genetic condition.
• Art Biennale: India's first Art Biennale opened at Red Fort in New Delhi.

GS area: Polity

The Supreme Court delivered a unanimous five-judge Constitution Bench verdict upholding the abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A:

• Bench: Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud authored the majority opinion. Justices Sanjiv Khanna, B.R. Gavai, Surya Kant, and A.S. Oka formed the five-judge bench.
• Petitions: 23 petitions challenged the Presidential Orders of August 5-6, 2019 that read down Article 370 and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories.
• Core holding: Article 370 was a temporary provision from the outset. The President had constitutional authority under Article 370(3) to abrogate it. The J&K Constituent Assembly's dissolution in 1957 did not extinguish this presidential power.
• J&K's status: The Court held that J&K was always an integral part of India and never possessed internal sovereignty. Its special status was a form of asymmetric federalism arising from the circumstances of accession, not a sign of separate sovereignty.
• Election direction: The Court directed that assembly elections in J&K be held before 30 September 2024, accepting the Union's assurance.
• Reorganisation into Union Territories: The Court declined to rule on whether bifurcating J&K into Union Territories was valid but noted that J&K's status as a UT with a legislature was intended to be temporary.

A note on the mechanism: The abrogation was achieved through a Presidential Order replacing "Constituent Assembly of J&K" with "Legislative Assembly of J&K" in the article, then passing a resolution through Parliament acting as J&K's legislature (since the assembly was under President's Rule). The Court found this process valid.

Static linkage: Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir, constitutional law, asymmetric federalism.

GS area: Polity

The specific protections that Articles 370 and 35A gave to Jammu and Kashmir:

• Article 370: Limited the extension of Union laws to J&K. Central laws required the concurrence of the J&K government (for certain subjects) or the J&K Constituent Assembly (for constitutional amendments).
• Article 35A: Inserted by Presidential Order in 1954. Empowered the J&K legislature to define "permanent residents" and grant them exclusive rights over employment, property, and scholarships. Non-residents, including women who married outside J&K, lost property rights under this provision.
• Sixth Schedule not applicable: J&K was not under the Sixth Schedule (tribal areas provisions). It had its own Constitution.
• Post-abrogation framework: All central laws now apply to J&K. The J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 bifurcated J&K into UT of J&K (with assembly) and UT of Ladakh (without assembly).

Static linkage: Constitutional provisions, Jammu and Kashmir, fundamental rights.

GS area: Environment, Geography

The World Meteorological Organisation's "Global Climate 2011-2020" report summarised the decade's climate data:

• Glacier thinning: Averaged about one metre of ice loss per year from 2011 to 2020.
• CO2 levels: Atmospheric CO2 exceeded 413 ppm by 2020.
• Ocean warming: Oceans absorbed about 90 per cent of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases.
• Sea level rise: Accelerated to 4.5 mm per year in 2011-2020, up from 2.1 mm per year in the 1993-2002 period.
• Ice sheet loss: Greenland and Antarctica together lost 38 per cent more ice in 2011-2020 compared to 2001-2010.
• WMO facts: Established in 1950. Headquarters: Geneva. 192 member states.

Static linkage: Climate change, physical geography, WMO.

GS area: Science and Technology, Health

The US Food and Drug Administration approved Casgevy, the first CRISPR-based gene therapy, for treatment of sickle cell disease in patients aged 12 and above:

• Sickle cell disease: A genetic disorder in which red blood cells assume a sickle shape, blocking blood flow and causing chronic pain, organ damage, and shortened lifespan. It disproportionately affects populations in Sub-Saharan Africa and among communities with ancestry from malaria-endemic regions.
• CRISPR mechanism: CRISPR-Cas9 acts as molecular scissors. The Casgevy therapy edits the patient's own blood stem cells to reactivate foetal haemoglobin, which replaces the defective adult haemoglobin.
• Second approval: A second therapy, Lyfgenia (using a different gene delivery mechanism), was also approved by the FDA for sickle cell disease on the same day.
• India relevance: India has a high burden of sickle cell disease, particularly among tribal communities. The National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission aims to screen 7 crore individuals by 2047.

Static linkage: Science and technology, health policy, genetic diseases.

GS area: Culture, Governance

India's first Art Biennale was inaugurated at the Red Fort in New Delhi:

• Location significance: Red Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (1638-48) on the western bank of the Yamuna and served as the Mughal imperial residence for about two centuries.
• Aatmanirbhar Bharat Centre for Design: Included as a component of the Biennale, showcasing indigenous craft and design.
• Biennale model: Modelled on internationally established art biennales such as the Venice Biennale, alternating between two-year cycles.

Static linkage: Culture, heritage conservation, arts policy.

GS area: Agriculture, Science and Technology

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research reported that it had developed 142 biofortified crop varieties since 2014:

• Biofortification: The process of increasing the nutritional value of crops through conventional plant breeding or genetic engineering. Unlike food fortification (which adds nutrients during processing), biofortification builds nutrients into the crop itself.
• Breakdown: 124 field crop varieties and 18 horticultural varieties.
• Target nutrients: Iron, zinc, vitamin A, and protein content are the primary targets, addressing hidden hunger (micronutrient deficiency) without requiring dietary change.

Static linkage: Agriculture, nutrition policy, biotechnology.

• Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary: Located near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. A dry evergreen forest ecosystem with Indian leopards, pangolins, and Russell's vipers. An Eastern Ghats Nature Interpretation Centre was opening in December 2023.
• Dodo de-extinction efforts: Scientists reported progress on using genomic technology to sequence the dodo genome and lay groundwork for eventual de-extinction, raising ethical questions about priorities in conservation spending.