13 July 2024

• Governance: SDG India Index 2023-24 released. India's composite score improved from 57 in 2018 to 71 in 2023-24. Energy access (Goal 7) scored 96.
• Tribal: Eklavya Model Residential Schools face staff shortage and centralised recruitment controversy over Hindi language requirement.
• Ports: Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala received its first commercial cargo vessel. India's deepest trans-shipment port is now operational.
• J&K: Ministry of Home Affairs expanded the J&K Lieutenant Governor's powers over appointments, transfers, and financial decisions.

GS area: Governance, Social Policy

NITI Aayog released the SDG India Index 2023-24. India's composite score rose from 57 in 2018 to 71 in 2023-24. Thirty-two states and UTs now fall in the "front-runner" category (65 to 99 score range).

• Fastest improving states: Uttar Pradesh (plus 25 points), Jammu and Kashmir (plus 21), Uttarakhand (plus 19).
• Goal 1 (No Poverty): Multidimensional poverty fell from 24.8 per cent in 2015-16 to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23.
• Goal 3 (Good Health): Score rose from 52 to 77. Maternal mortality fell to 97 per 100,000 live births. Under-5 mortality at 32 per 1,000 live births. Institutional deliveries at 97.8 per cent.
• Goal 6 (Clean Water): Score rose from 63 to 89. All districts declared Open Defecation Free. 96 per cent households using clean cooking fuels.
• Goal 7 (Affordable Energy): Score rose from 51 to 96. Universal electricity access achieved under the Saubhagya scheme.
• Goal 13 (Climate Action): Score rose from 54 to 67, the highest gain on this goal. India's clean energy transition is driving this.
• NITI Aayog's role: Coordinates India's reporting on SDG progress, maps SDGs to government schemes, and publishes annual Index rankings.

Static linkage: Sustainable Development Goals (Governance), poverty indicators.

GS area: Governance, Social Justice, Education

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) are boarding schools for Scheduled Tribe students in remote tribal areas. A 2023 centralised recruitment mandate requiring Hindi competency for teachers caused controversy in southern and north-eastern states.

• Programme origin: Started in 1997-98 under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• Capacity: Each school accommodates 480 students (50 per cent boys, 50 per cent girls). A maximum of 10 per cent non-ST students allowed.
• Staff shortage: As of 2022, only about 4,000 teaching staff were in place against a recommended 11,340. Vacancies persist across states.
• Hindi requirement: The 2023 centralised recruitment through NTA mandated Hindi proficiency. This created difficulties in southern states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala and in north-eastern states where tribal communities speak entirely different languages.
• Constitutional context: The Eighth Schedule lists 22 officially recognised languages. Tribal languages (many of which are unscheduled) are a distinct category. Articles 29 and 30 protect minorities' cultural and educational rights.
• NEET paper leak: EMRS recruitment was conducted through NTA, the same agency facing the NEET 2024 paper leak scandal. This further undermined confidence in the centralised recruitment model.

Static linkage: Tribal education (Social Justice), federalism in education.

GS area: Economy, Geography

The first commercial cargo vessel "San Fernando" docked at the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala, marking the port's transition to operations.

• Significance: India's deepest natural harbour and first deep-water trans-shipment port. Natural depth of 20 metres eliminates costly dredging.
• Developer: Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) under a public-private partnership with the Kerala government.
• Trans-shipment: A port that receives large vessels and redistributes cargo to smaller vessels for onward destinations. India loses significant trans-shipment revenue (estimated 200 billion dollars a year) to ports in Colombo, Singapore, and Dubai because no Indian port could handle the largest container vessels.
• Location advantage: On the southern tip of India, directly on the East-West international shipping lane. Less deviation required for ships compared to reaching Colombo.
• Competition: Colombo handles about 70 per cent of India's trans-shipment cargo. Vizhinjam aims to capture a significant share.

Static linkage: Port infrastructure (Economy), Indian geography (Kerala coast).

GS area: Polity, Federalism

The Ministry of Home Affairs amended rules giving the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir expanded authority over appointments, transfers, and financial decisions ahead of the state's elections.

• Constitutional position: After the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation in August 2019, Jammu and Kashmir became a Union Territory with a legislature (Category B UT). The LG is constituted under Article 239AA in a modified form.
• Power distribution: For Union Territories with legislatures, there is an inherent tension between the elected government and the LG-appointed administration. The J&K Reorganisation Act 2019 gives the LG additional powers compared to what an elected CM in a state would have.
• Concern raised: Critics argued that expanding LG powers just before elections reduces democratic accountability to voters. The LG's control over public works, education, and health departments limits the incoming elected government's authority.
• Comparison: In Delhi, the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that the Lieutenant Governor cannot override the elected government on subjects within the legislature's domain (services excluded). J&K's legal framework is different and more LG-centric.

Static linkage: J&K constitutional status (Polity), federalism.

GS area: Geography, Environment

The Upper Siang Hydropower Project (proposed 11,000 MW) in Arunachal Pradesh faced renewed local resistance.

• River system: The Tsangpo river originates in Tibet. It enters India in the Upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh where it is called the Siang. Downstream it joins the Lohit and Dibang rivers to form the Brahmaputra in Assam.
• Project scale: If built, the Upper Siang project would be India's largest hydropower project. The proposed dam would displace thousands of Adi tribal community members.
• China link: China plans large dams on the Tsangpo in Tibet. India views the Upper Siang project partly as a measure to secure its rights under the watercourse agreement and to respond to China's upstream damming.
• Ecology: The Siang corridor is one of the richest biodiversity zones in the Himalayan belt. Arunachal Pradesh is a biodiversity hotspot.

Static linkage: Brahmaputra river system (Indian geography), hydropower development.

• e-Office: National Informatics Centre's digital workplace system. Four components: eFile (electronic file management), Knowledge Management System (KMS), WAW (work allocation and workflow), and SPARROW (annual performance appraisal). Being rolled out across 133 attached and subordinate offices.
• Mineral nanoparticles from water (IIT Madras): Researchers demonstrated that water microdroplets, when subjected to high voltage, break mineral particles (silica, alumina) into nanoparticles. Potential application: soil enrichment and fertility restoration through nano-mineral supplementation.
• Time crystals: A newly created time crystal using rubidium atoms inflated by lasers to 100 times their normal size oscillates between two quantum states without losing energy. Time crystals break time-translation symmetry: they maintain a periodic rhythm without energy input, unlike normal matter.