14 November 2024

• Polity: The Supreme Court issued binding guidelines against "bulldozer justice", requiring 15-day notice before demolition of private property and mandatory videography.
• Finance: The RBI updated its Domestic Systemically Important Banks list. SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank remain on it with enhanced capital requirements from April 2025.
• Telecom: SATRC-25 met in New Delhi under India's TRAI presidency, with the theme of accelerating ICT development.
• Biodiversity: African elephant populations fell 70 per cent (savannah) and 90 per cent (forest) over 52 years; CITES Appendix I listed.

GS area: Polity, Governance

The Supreme Court issued binding guidelines to curb the practice of demolishing properties of accused or convicted persons without due process.

• The issue: Several state governments used heavy machinery to demolish homes and shops of persons accused of or convicted for crimes, often without legal notice or process. Critics called it extrajudicial punishment.
• Article 21 violation: The right to life and personal liberty includes the right to shelter. Demolition without due process violates Article 21.
• Presumption of innocence: An accused person is innocent until proven guilty. Demolishing property before conviction violates this principle.
• Supreme Court guidelines:
  • 15 days' written notice is mandatory before demolishing any private property.
  • The notice must specify grounds and give the owner an opportunity to respond.
  • A 15-day window must follow the demolition order before execution.
  • The entire process must be videographed.
• Key cases: Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985) on the right to shelter; Municipal Corporation of Ludhiana v. Inderjit Singh (2008).

Static linkage: Fundamental rights, rule of law, judiciary.

GS area: Economy, Governance

The Reserve Bank of India updated its D-SIB list.

• D-SIB: Domestic Systemically Important Bank. Also called "too big to fail" banks. Their failure would have severe systemic consequences for the Indian economy.
• Current list: State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank.
• SBI: In the highest bucket (Bucket 4), requiring 0.80 per cent additional Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital on risk-weighted assets.
• HDFC Bank: 0.40 per cent additional CET1.
• ICICI Bank: 0.20 per cent additional CET1.
• New surcharges: Effective from 1 April 2025. Banks build buffers to absorb losses without requiring a government bailout.
• Global equivalent: Global Systemically Important Banks (G-SIBs), regulated by the Financial Stability Board.

Static linkage: Banking regulation, RBI, financial stability.

GS area: Governance, International Relations

The 25th meeting of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators' Council was hosted by TRAI in New Delhi.

• SATRC: Established in 1997 by the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity.
• Members: Nine nations: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• 2024 theme: "Accelerating Telecommunication and ICT Development for Growth and Inclusiveness."
• TRAI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The statutory regulator for telecom services in India. Established 1997 under the TRAI Act.
• Relevance: South Asia has some of the lowest internet penetration rates in the world. Regional cooperation on spectrum and connectivity standards can accelerate digital inclusion.

Static linkage: Telecom regulation, SAARC connectivity, digital India.

GS area: Environment, International Relations

Data on African elephant populations made the case for stronger conservation action.

• Savannah elephant decline: 70 per cent over 52 years.
• Forest elephant decline: 90 per cent over 52 years.
• IUCN classifications: African Bush Elephant is Endangered. African Forest Elephant is Critically Endangered.
• CITES status: Both species are on Appendix I (highest protection, trade banned).
• Trunk anatomy: African elephants have two finger-like processes at the trunk tip; Asian elephants have one. This is a recurring identification MCQ.
• CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Signed 1973, in force 1975. Appendix I: trade prohibited. Appendix II: trade controlled. Appendix III: species protected in at least one country.

Static linkage: Biodiversity, wildlife conservation, international conventions.

GS area: Science and Technology, History

The centenary of Bose-Einstein Statistics was celebrated. 14 November is also Children's Day.

• Bose: Born 1 January 1894 in Calcutta. Physicist who worked on quantum mechanics.
• Bose-Einstein Statistics (1924): Bose developed a new way of counting quantum particles. He sent his paper to Einstein, who translated it into German and published it jointly. The statistics apply to particles now called bosons.
• Bosons: Particles named after Bose. They include photons, the Higgs boson and the W and Z bosons. They obey Bose-Einstein statistics and can occupy the same quantum state.
• Nobel Prize: Never awarded despite foundational contributions.
• Recognition: The Higgs boson, discovered at CERN in 2012, vindicated his framework posthumously.

Static linkage: Physics, India's scientific heritage, science and technology.

• Solar Fence Project, Odisha: Solar-powered electric fencing to resolve human-elephant conflicts. Cost-sharing: farmers contribute 10 per cent, orchard owners 50 per cent. Budget 3 crore rupees for the current phase with a 29.76 crore rupee planned extension.
• Children's Day: 14 November. Observed on Jawaharlal Nehru's birth anniversary. Nehru is associated with founding the IITs, IIMs and the Atomic Energy Commission. Also the architect of the Non-Aligned Movement.
• South China Sea Dispute: Scarborough Shoal (also Bajo de Masinloc in Spanish, Huangyan Island in Chinese, Panatag Shoal in Filipino) is claimed by the Philippines, China and Taiwan. The region holds estimated reserves of 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.