12 February 2024

• Polity: Parliamentary committee reviewed free legal aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987; only 17 per cent of legal aid cases are handled by lawyers.
• Governance: Smart Cities Mission: 66 per cent of projects completed; parliamentary panel recommends Phase II focused on tier-2 cities.
• Culture: Bharat Ratna 2024 announced for P.V. Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh, and M.S. Swaminathan.
• Science: PACE satellite launched to study ocean phytoplankton and cloud-aerosol interactions.

GS area: Art and Culture (National Awards)

The government announced Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, for three recipients in 2024:

• P.V. Narasimha Rao (posthumous): Prime Minister 1991-1996. Oversaw India's 1991 economic liberalisation alongside Finance Minister Manmohan Singh.
• Chaudhary Charan Singh (posthumous): Prime Minister 1979-1980. Known as a champion of farmers' rights. Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
• M.S. Swaminathan (posthumous): Agricultural scientist and the "Father of India's Green Revolution." He adapted Mexican dwarf wheat varieties for Indian conditions in the 1960s, enabling India to achieve food self-sufficiency. First recipient of the World Food Prize (1987).

About the Bharat Ratna:

• Established: 1954.
• Eligibility: Any person regardless of race, occupation, or sex. Not limited to Indian citizens (rare foreign recipients have been honoured).
• Maximum per year: Not explicitly limited, but convention typically allows no more than three per year. 2024 saw the longest-ever list in a single announcement.
• Presented by: The President of India.

Static linkage: History (Green Revolution, 1991 liberalisation), Awards and Honours.

GS area: Polity (Constitutional Rights, Access to Justice)

A parliamentary committee reviewed the functioning of free legal aid under the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987.

• Data: Only 17 per cent of legal aid cases are actually handled by lawyers; the rest involve para-legal volunteers or informal assistance. The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) handles approximately 1 per cent of total litigation pending in courts.
• NALSA: Established under the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987. Its mandate is to provide free legal services to weaker sections: those below the poverty line, women, SC/ST communities, persons with disabilities, victims of trafficking, and children.
• Article 39A: Directs the state to ensure equal justice and free legal aid for citizens who cannot afford legal services. This is a Directive Principle in Part IV, not a directly enforceable fundamental right. However, the Supreme Court has read access to legal aid as flowing from Article 21 (right to life).
• State Authorities: Each state has a State Legal Services Authority; each district has a District Legal Services Authority. Village-level Lok Adalats fall within this framework.

Static linkage: Polity (DPSPs, Article 39A, access to justice, NALSA, Lok Adalat).

GS area: Governance (Urban Development)

The parliamentary standing committee reviewed the Smart Cities Mission and recommended a Phase II focused on tier-2 cities.

• Progress: 66 per cent of projects completed overall. Madurai achieved 100 per cent completion. 14 cities were at 50 per cent completion or below.
• Funding gap: Only 6 per cent of projects were funded through public-private partnerships (PPPs). Only 28 cities received 100 per cent of central funds.
• Recommendations: Fixed tenure for SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) CEOs to ensure continuity; mandatory third-party project assessments; extend the mission to tier-2 cities that missed the first round.
• SPV structure: The Smart Cities Mission requires each selected city to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle, a separate company with joint ownership by the state government and the urban local body. The SPV executes projects.
• Ministry: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Static linkage: Governance (Smart Cities Mission, urban development, PPP, SPV).

GS area: Science and Technology (Space, Environment)

NASA launched the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into sun-synchronous orbit.

• Research objectives: To monitor ocean phytoplankton distribution and abundance, and to study how airborne particles (aerosols) interact with clouds to affect Earth's energy balance.
• Why phytoplankton matters: Ocean phytoplankton produce approximately half of Earth's oxygen through photosynthesis and absorb about a third of the CO2 humans emit. Their distribution is changing under climate change.
• OCI instrument: PACE carries the Ocean Color Instrument, which measures light reflected from the ocean in 200 wavelength bands (hyperspectral), far more than previous ocean-monitoring satellites. This enables identification of individual phytoplankton species.
• Aerosol-cloud interaction: Aerosols from pollution, dust, and fires affect cloud formation and rainfall patterns. PACE will refine climate models on this poorly understood interaction.
• Sun-synchronous orbit: An orbit that passes over the same point on Earth at the same local time every day, ideal for consistent environmental monitoring.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (NASA, climate science, remote sensing, phytoplankton).

GS area: Environment, Polity (Judiciary)

The Supreme Court criticised the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for issuing ex parte orders (without hearing affected parties) and for allowing zonal benches to remain non-operational for extended periods.

• NGT statistics (2018-2023): Received 15,132 new cases; disposed of 16,042 cases.
• NGT Act 2010: Established the NGT as a specialised judicial body to handle environmental disputes. It has jurisdiction over laws including the Water Act 1974, Air Act 1981, Environment Protection Act 1986, and Forest Conservation Act 1980.
• Composition: The NGT chairperson must be a former Supreme Court judge. Members must include judicial and expert members.
• Zonal benches: The NGT has zonal benches in Bhopal, Kolkata, Chennai, and Pune in addition to the principal bench in Delhi. Several were non-operational due to staffing shortages.
• Ex parte order concern: An order passed without hearing the party against whom it is directed undermines natural justice. The Supreme Court's criticism was that the NGT had used this power too broadly.

Static linkage: Environment (regulatory institutions, NGT), Polity (judiciary, natural justice principles).

• HAPS (High-Altitude Pseudo Satellites): Developed by the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Bengaluru. These are unmanned aircraft operating at 18 to 20 km altitude, powered by solar panels and capable of remaining airborne for months. They can perform surveillance and communication relay functions at a fraction of the cost of satellites.
• Trichoglossum syamviswanathii: A new fungal species discovered in Kerala's Western Ghats at the Kerala Forest Research Institute field centre in Thrissur. The species is a type of earth tongue fungus. Its ecological role is to decompose organic matter and aid nutrient recycling in forest soil.