30 January 2024

• Polity: a RBI study found Panchayati Raj Institutions generate only 1.1 per cent of their revenues from own taxes; 95 per cent comes from central/state grants.
• Environment: acid rain (pH 4.2-4.4) continues to damage monuments and ecosystems; 90-plus per cent reduction in SO2 and NOx is achievable via flue-gas desulfurisation.
• Infrastructure: the modified Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal (PKC) project and Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) linkage was cleared by the Centre for water security in Rajasthan.
• Martyrs Day: 30 January is Martyrs Day, commemorating Mahatma Gandhi's assassination in 1948.

GS area: Polity (federalism, local governance)

An RBI study on municipal and panchayat finances found that Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in India are severely dependent on intergovernmental transfers.

• Revenue structure: only 1.1 per cent of PRI revenues comes from own-source taxes (property tax, professional tax). About 95 per cent comes from grants from the Centre and states.
• Historical context: the 73rd Constitutional Amendment (1992) and Article 243-H empowered PRIs to levy and collect taxes, duties, tolls, and fees as legislated by state law.
• Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP): PRIs are required to prepare annual plans converging all Central and state grants. The Finance Commission releases untied grants to PRIs.
• Problem: low own revenues make PRIs fiscally dependent on state governments, undermining local autonomy. Property tax systems are outdated; few gram panchayats have GIS-based property mapping.
• Comparison: urban local bodies in metropolitan cities (Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi) have stronger own-tax revenues (property tax, advertisement tax).

Static linkage: 73rd Amendment, Panchayati Raj, fiscal federalism.

GS area: Environment (atmospheric chemistry, pollution)

Acid rain occurs when sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) react with atmospheric water, oxygen, and other chemicals to form sulfuric and nitric acids, which fall as precipitation with pH below 5.6.

• Normal rainwater pH: approximately 5.6 (due to dissolved CO2 forming carbonic acid). Acid rain has pH 4.2-4.4.
• Sources of SO2: thermal power plants (coal burning), volcanic eruptions, metal smelting. India's power sector emits large quantities of SO2.
• Sources of NOx: vehicular exhaust, power plants, fertiliser production.
• Effects: acidification of lakes and rivers (fish mortality), leaching of soil nutrients, corrosion of building materials (limestone and marble dissolve: CaCO3 + H2SO4 → CaSO4 + H2O + CO2), and damage to forests.
• Taj Mahal: a much-studied case of acid rain damage to marble. The "marble cancer" (yellowing and pitting) is partly caused by SO2 from Mathura refinery and Agra vehicle emissions.
• Control: flue-gas desulfurisation (wet scrubbers, limestone injection) can reduce SO2 by 90 per cent-plus. Catalytic converters reduce vehicular NOx.

Static linkage: atmospheric chemistry, pollution control, environment.

GS area: Economy, Environment (interlinking rivers, water security)

The Centre cleared a modified version of the Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal link project, integrated with the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project to address water scarcity in Rajasthan.

• PKC-ERCP scope: transfers surplus monsoon water from tributaries in the Chambal basin to 13 water-scarce eastern Rajasthan districts including Bundi, Karauli, Dholpur, Alwar, and Jaipur Rural.
• National Chambal Sanctuary: a wildlife reserve along the Chambal River shared by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. It is the primary nesting ground for gharials (Gavialis gangeticus, IUCN Critically Endangered) in India and hosts Indian skimmers and river terns.
• Chambal River: one of India's least-polluted rivers, originating from Janapao Hill in MP. Flows through MP, Rajasthan, and UP before joining the Yamuna.
• ERCP (original): Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project, designed for irrigation and drinking water in 13 districts. Rajasthan had sought it as a national project. The modified version links it to PKC to increase storage.
• Challenge: the project involves diverting water from a river shared with MP. Clearances under the Interstate River Disputes Act are needed.

Static linkage: river ecology, water security, interstate water disputes.

GS area: Modern Indian History

30 January is Martyrs Day (Shaheed Diwas) in memory of Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated on 30 January 1948 at Birla House (now Gandhi Smriti) in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse.

• Gandhi's role: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi led mass movements including Non-Cooperation (1920-22), Civil Disobedience / Dandi March (1930), and Quit India (1942).
• Dandi March: 12 March to 5 April 1930, covering 241 miles from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi, Gujarat, to protest the salt tax. About 80 volunteers marched with Gandhi.
• Philosophy: satyagraha (truth-force), non-violence (ahimsa), and constructive programme (gram swaraj, khadi, removal of untouchability).
• Tribute: on this day, the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, and Defence Minister observe a silence at Raj Ghat (Gandhi's memorial on the Yamuna bank in Delhi) at 11 am.

Static linkage: modern Indian history, freedom struggle, national days.

• ECOWAS crisis deepens: diplomatic communications continued as Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger reiterated their withdrawal from ECOWAS, which would take effect after a one-year notice period per the bloc's charter. This raised fears about the viability of the West African monetary union project (Eco currency).
• Default bail (Section 167(2) CrPC): the Supreme Court reiterated that default bail (also called statutory bail) is a fundamental right; police cannot keep an accused beyond the statutory period (60 or 90 days depending on offence) without filing a charge sheet, and courts cannot deny bail merely because a charge sheet was filed on the last day.