18 November 2024

• Governance: Audit Diwas celebrated the CAG's constitutional role. The Lok Sabha Speaker highlighted CAG's importance under Article 148.
• Defence: DRDO tested a long-range hypersonic missile with a range over 1,500 km and a speed of Mach 6.
• IPR: India ranked 6th globally in patents (64,480 filings in 2023) and 4th in trademarks (WIPO 2024).
• Environment: Oriental Pied Hornbill, a seed-dispersal keystone species, was in the news for habitat loss in northeastern India.

GS area: Polity, Governance

The 4th Audit Diwas in New Delhi underscored the constitutional importance of the Comptroller and Auditor General.

• Article 148: Establishes the CAG as an independent constitutional office. The CAG is appointed by the President, can only be removed by Parliament through an address (like a judge), and serves for six years or until age 65.
• Functions: Audits all receipts and expenditure of the Union and State governments. Audits accounts of public sector undertakings. Reports are submitted to the President (for Union accounts) and Governors (for state accounts).
• Parliament's role: CAG reports are laid before Parliament and referred to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for follow-up action.
• Challenges: Limited enforcement powers (CAG can report, not act). Delays in tabling reports. Ambiguous jurisdiction on PPP projects and independent regulators.
• CAG's reports have uncovered the 2G spectrum allocation loss, coal block allocation controversy and MGNREGS implementation gaps.

Static linkage: Constitutional institutions, accountability, parliamentary control.

GS area: Defence, Science and Technology

DRDO tested a long-range hypersonic missile in November 2024.

• Speed: Mach 6 (six times the speed of sound).
• Range: Over 1,500 kilometres.
• Features: Manoeuvrable in flight (hypersonic glide vehicle). Can carry multiple payloads. Flies at low altitude on terminal phase to evade radar.
• Significance: Places India in a select group with the US, Russia and China that has operational or near-operational hypersonic strike capability.
• DRDO: Defence Research and Development Organisation. Under the Ministry of Defence. Established 1958. Headquarters in New Delhi.

Static linkage: Defence technology, strategic deterrence, DRDO.

GS area: Economy, Science and Technology

India's intellectual property activity showed strong growth across categories.

• Patents: 64,480 filings in 2023. Growth of 15.7 per cent. Ranked 6th globally.
• Trademarks: Ranked 4th globally. Filed approximately 6.1 per cent more than the previous year.
• Industrial designs: 36.4 per cent growth.
• Patent-to-GDP ratio: Rose from 144 to 381 per billion dollars of GDP between 2013 and 2023. India's innovation intensity is improving.
• WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organisation. UN specialised agency. Headquartered in Geneva.
• Key laws: Patents Act 1970, Trademarks Act 1999, Copyright Act 1957.
• Policy initiatives: National IPR Policy 2016, KAPILA scheme (kalam programme for IP literacy), Startup India, Atal Innovation Mission.

Static linkage: Intellectual property, innovation, technology policy.

GS area: Environment and Ecology

The Oriental Pied Hornbill was in the news for its ecological role and habitat threats.

• Scientific name: Anthracoceros albirostris.
• IUCN status: Least Concern (globally), but declining in India.
• Habitat: Himalayan foothills and northeastern India through Southeast Asia.
• Ecological role: Disperses seeds of large-fruited forest trees over long distances. Called a "forest engineer" because it maintains forest composition.
• Nesting: Female seals herself inside a tree cavity using droppings, mud and fruit pulp. The male feeds her through a narrow slit. This makes large, old trees (with natural cavities) essential.
• Threat: Deforestation removes nesting trees. Hunting for beaks and plumes persists.

Static linkage: Biodiversity, forest ecology, wildlife conservation.

GS area: Defence, Internal Security

The Poorvi Prahar tri-services exercise in Arunachal Pradesh tested India's multi-domain operations capability.

• Duration: 10 to 18 November 2024.
• Location: Arunachal Pradesh, the eastern most contested sector of the India-China LAC.
• Focus: Swarm drones, loitering munitions, M777 ultra-light howitzers and Chinook heavy-lift helicopters operating jointly.
• Multi-domain operations: War-fighting that integrates land, air, sea, cyber and space domains simultaneously.
• Arunachal Pradesh context: China does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh and refers to parts of it as "South Tibet." The McMahon Line, drawn at the 1914 Simla Convention, forms the de facto border.

Static linkage: Defence, border security, India-China LAC.

• Global Energy Efficiency Alliance: Launched by the UAE at COP29. Goal: double annual energy efficiency improvement rates by 2030. India joined the International Energy Efficiency Hub (IEEH) which has 16 members. India's Bureau of Energy Efficiency represents India.
• Māori people of New Zealand: Indigenous Polynesian people who migrated to New Zealand between 1320 and 1350 CE from East Polynesia. The second-largest ethnic group in New Zealand. The Haka is their ceremonial dance expressing pride, strength and unity.
• PAN 2.0: Fully online, paperless PAN card application. Free updates for name, date of birth and address. Enhanced dynamic QR code with real-time tax-linking data. Mandatory PAN Data Vault for cybersecurity at entities using PAN data.