25 February 2024

• Polity: Law Ministry endorsed proposals for regional Supreme Court benches. Over 80,000 cases are pending before 34 Supreme Court judges.
• Culture: Two 1,300-1,500-year-old Badami Chalukya temples were discovered in Krishna River banks in Andhra Pradesh.
• Economy: UK and European countries began withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty because it allows fossil fuel companies to sue governments for climate policies.
• Environment: The Indian gharial was spotted in Greater Kaziranga for the third consecutive year.

GS area: Polity (Judiciary, Constitutional Provisions)

The Law Ministry endorsed the proposal to establish regional benches of the Supreme Court across India. The idea has been debated for decades.

• Scale of the problem: Over 80,000 cases are pending before the 34 judges of the Supreme Court as of early 2024. Litigants from distant states must travel to Delhi for hearings.
• Constitutional provision: Article 130 of the Constitution states that the Supreme Court "shall sit in Delhi or in such other place or places, as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, from time to time, appoint." This means regional benches can be set up under existing constitutional provisions.
• Historical recommendation: The 229th Law Commission Report (2009) recommended four regional benches in metro cities. The idea was not implemented.
• Access to justice argument: India's vast geography creates practical barriers for poor and distant litigants. Regional benches would reduce travel costs and time.
• Counter-argument: Critics worry that regional benches may fragment the Supreme Court's unified constitutional voice and create inconsistencies in interpretation.

Static linkage: Polity (Supreme Court, Article 130, access to justice, judicial reform, Law Commission).

GS area: History (Medieval India, Art and Architecture)

Two ancient temples were discovered in Mudimanikyam village on the banks of the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh. The temples were identified as approximately 1,300 to 1,500 years old, placing them in the Badami Chalukya period.

• Badami Chalukyas: A dynasty that ruled the Deccan from their capital Badami (Vatapi) in present-day Karnataka. Founded by Pulakesi I around 543 CE. Their most famous ruler was Pulakesi II, who defeated the Harsha Vardhana at the Narmada River.
• Architectural style: Vesara style, a blend of North Indian (Nagara) and South Indian (Dravidian) architectural traditions. The Badami Chalukyas developed this style; examples include the cave temples at Badami, Aihole, and Pattadakal.
• Significance of Pattadakal: A UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 1987). Contains temples in both Nagara and Dravidian styles, reflecting the syncretic Vesara tradition.

Static linkage: History (Deccan dynasties, Chalukya architecture, medieval temples), Culture (Vesara style, UNESCO heritage).

GS area: International Relations, Environment (Climate Policy)

The UK, France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands announced withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).

• What the ECT is: An international treaty signed in 1994 (entered into force 1998) that protects cross-border energy investments. It covers trade in energy products and the transit of energy materials.
• The problem: The ECT's Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism allows fossil fuel companies to sue governments in international arbitration for policies that reduce the value of their investments, including climate legislation.
• Cases: Multiple European oil and gas companies had filed multibillion-euro claims against European governments for coal phase-out and renewable energy support decisions.
• India's status: India is not a signatory to the ECT. The treaty is primarily relevant for European and former Soviet energy investment patterns.
• Climate policy implication: The ISDS threat has a "regulatory chill" effect: governments may avoid aggressive climate legislation to avoid arbitration liability.

Static linkage: International Relations (energy treaties, climate governance, ISDS), Environment (climate policy, fossil fuels).

GS area: Environment (Conservation, Critically Endangered Species)

The Indian Gharial was spotted in the Brahmaputra River basin around Greater Kaziranga for the third consecutive year, suggesting a small but persistent population.

• Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus): Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Globally fewer than 1,000 adults survive, found almost exclusively in the Chambal River (the stronghold) and some other north Indian rivers.
• Distinguishing feature: The most aquatic of all crocodilians. The long, thin snout with a bulbous "ghara" (pot) at the tip (in adult males) is unique. Primarily a fish eater.
• Legal protection: Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972; Appendix I of CITES (trade banned).
• Greater Kaziranga: Kaziranga National Park and its extended landscape along the Brahmaputra. Its sighting here was unexpected given the gharial's very restricted range.
• Comparison with mugger and saltwater crocodile: India has three crocodilian species: gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), mugger (Crocodylus palustris, Vulnerable), and saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus, Least Concern).

Static linkage: Environment (crocodilians, WPA Schedule I, CITES Appendix I, river ecosystems, Assam).

GS area: Science and Technology (Health, Disease Elimination)

India met the WHO's elimination target for Kala Azar (visceral leishmaniasis) in 2023, with fewer than one case per 10,000 population at the sub-district level.

• Kala Azar: A disease caused by the Leishmania donovani parasite, transmitted by the sandfly (Phlebotomus argentipes). It affects the spleen, liver, and bone marrow, causing fever, weight loss, and anaemia.
• Data: 595 cases and 4 deaths in 2023, down from 891 cases and 3 deaths in 2022.
• Endemic states: Bihar accounts for over 90 per cent of cases. Also found in Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh.
• WHO certification requirement: A country must sustain fewer than 1 case per 10,000 at the sub-district level for three consecutive years before WHO certifies elimination. Meeting the target in 2023 is the first year.
• Treatment: The primary treatment is liposomal amphotericin B (a single-dose injection).
• India's context: India also successfully eliminated Guinea Worm disease in the late 1990s and has made significant progress on lymphatic filariasis, leprosy, and polio.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (disease elimination, public health, vector-borne diseases, WHO).

• Equal Opportunities Policy for Transgender Persons: The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment introduced India's first equal opportunities workplace policy for transgender individuals in central government employment. The policy allows transgender employees to choose pronouns and preferred names and prohibits discrimination in recruitment and promotion. It is grounded in the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2019.
• Makha Bucha: A major Buddhist holiday observed in Thailand and Theravada Buddhist countries. It commemorates the occasion when 1,250 enlightened monks spontaneously assembled to hear the Buddha speak without prior arrangement. In 2024, nearly 100,000 devotees gathered in Bangkok.