In News

The Supreme Court recently declined to stay the floor test that the Governor of Maharashtra had asked the ruling party to take recently to prove its majority.

About the News

• Maharashtra Governor asked Chief Minister to prove his majority on the floor of the House.
• The ruling party had gone to the Supreme Court against the Governor’s direction for a floor test, which the court has refused to stay.
• Shortly after the Supreme Court decision, the Chief Minister resigned from the post.

What is a floor test?

• Floor test or a “No Confidence Motion” is conducted on the floor of the House to check if the government of the day, i.e. the Executive, shares the confidence of at least 51% of the members present in the House, i.e the Legislature.

• Any member from the Opposition can move the no-confidence motion against the ruling government.
  • The motion has to receive the backing of at least 50 members before it is accepted and subsequently, a date for the discussion of the motion is announced by the Speaker, which has to be within 10 days from the date of acceptance.
• A no-confidence motion can be passed in the Lower Houses only — Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas.
• Generally, the Governor is approached to summon the House when it is not in session.
  • However, when in session a no confidence motion can be initiated following the procedure mentioned in the Rules of the concerned House. For eg., Rule 198 of Lok Sabha

Significance of a floor test

• While the Constitution of India does not contemplate that the political party which forms the Ministry should have a majority in the Legislature, the Council of Ministers should command the confidence of the Legislature, which enjoys the will of the people.
  • Articles 75 and 164 of the Constitution mention that the executive — both at the Centre and state — is collectively responsible to their respective legislatures.
• The floor test upholds the collective accountability of the elected government to the legislature.
• An exception to this rule can be made only under extraordinary situations, where because of the existence of 'all pervasive atmosphere of violence', the members of the House 'cannot express their opinion freely'(Justice Jeevan Reddy's judgment in SR Bommai case).

Important Rulings regarding floor test

Sources:

• Uddhav fate sealed after SC declined to stay Governor floor test direction
• Explained: Why has the Maharashtra Governor ordered a floor test in the Assembly, and what happens now?
• What is a floor test: Governor’s role, Supreme Court rulings explained ahead of Uddhav Thackeray’s big test tomorrow
• What Is A "Floor Test"? Explained With Important Supreme Court Judgments
• Why the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly’s resolution to suspend members for one year was unconstitutional

In News

A recent study on the PLI scheme has necessitated a complete assessment to comprehend the prospective effects of the scheme on the industrial and economic growth.

Observed faultlines of the Scheme:

Four issues that deserve prominent attention in the context of the discourse of PLI include:

Way Forward

• The world of value-chains requires a liberal trade system in order to provide firms access to competitive and high-quality raw materials and intermediate inputs in the global market.
• A free and stable trading environment encourages firms to engage in export-focussed assembly operations.
• India’s complicated industrial architecture, which is hampered by a highly fragmented production structure that generates a particular “missing middle” problem should be addressed.
• As the manufacturing sector is composed of concentration of MSMEs on one end and a few giant enterprises on the other, PLI policy may end up expanding the gap between the two compounding the existing “missing middle” problem.
• Recognising these concerns, realigning the PLI scheme in the light of globalised commerce, which requires open, liberal, and transparent policies is required failing which, the country is doomed to return to the pre-liberalisation age of 1991.

Source:

• A return to Pre-reforms era?
• PLI scheme to put India on firm footing in global value chain: Amitabh Kant

Image source:

• Govt announces incentives of Rs 1.5 lakh cr to boost manufacturing

In News

India's first mRNA vaccine GEMCOVAC-19 has recently got emergency use authorization. 

About the News

• The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has given its go ahead to the two-dose mrna-based covid vaccine- GEMCOVAC-19 in India.

Gennova mRNA-based Vaccine:

• It is India's first homegrown mRNA COVID- 19 vaccine.
• Developed by Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, it is up for restricted use in emergency situations for all adults aged above 18 years. 

• While most other mRNA vaccines have to be stored at sub-zero temperatures, GEMCOVAC-19 can be stored between 2 and 8 degree celsius (thermostable).
  • This means that the vaccine can be stored in a standard medical refrigerator as well.
• The conversion from liquid to powder form of the vaccine takes place via Lyophilisation- this is freeze-drying, a process where the water is removed from the product after it is frozen and placed under a vacuum allowing the ice to change directly from solid to vapor without passing through a liquid phase.
  • For this to be achieved, the key was to add an external agent which at a certain critical concentration keeps it stable under lyophilized conditions.
  • The Lyophilisation technology is not new, but a lyophilized mRNA vaccine is unique.
• This will enable rollout of the vaccine easy in India and hence is being seen as a as a game-changer for the healthcare industry in the country.
• Also, the Indian version of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine aims to make mRNA-based vaccine affordable and accessible. 

mRNA vaccine

• Messenger RNA, also known as mRNA, is a type of RNA found in cells that is used for the production of proteins.
• The mRNA vaccines teach our cells how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response inside our bodies.
• While traditional vaccines are made up of small or inactivated doses of the whole disease-causing organism, which are introduced into the body to provoke the immune system into mounting a response, mRNA vaccines tricks the body into producing some of the viral proteins
• mRNA vaccines are considered safe as mRNA is non-infectious, non-integrating in nature, and degraded by standard cellular mechanisms.
• They are highly efficacious because of their inherent capability of being translatable into the protein structure inside the cell cytoplasm.
• Additionally, mRNA vaccines are fully synthetic and do not require a host for growth, e.g., eggs or bacteria. Therefore, they can be quickly manufactured inexpensively to ensure their "availability" and "accessibility" for mass vaccination on a sustainable basis.
• The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are both mRNA vaccines. 
  • These two vaccines make use of the technology where genetically engineered mRNA is used to instruct cells to make the S-protein found on the surface of the Covid-19 virus.
  • Thus, after vaccination, the muscle cells begin making S-protein pieces and displaying them on cell surfaces that causes the body to create antibodies.

Source:

• Explained: How India’s first mRNA vaccine for Covid-19 was created
• MC Explains | GEMCOVAC-19, India's first mRNA Covid-19 vaccine, and how it scores over Pfizer, Moderna

Image source:

• Explained: How India’s first mRNA vaccine for Covid-19 was created
•  

On June 30, 1917, Dadabhai Naoroji breathed his last.  He is also known as the “Grand Old Man of India” and “Unofficial Ambassador of India”. He was an Indian political leader, merchant, scholar and writer. He was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom House of Commons between 1892 and 1895 and the first Asian to be a British MP other than the Anglo-Indian MP David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre. Naoroji is renowned for his work in the Indian National Congress, of which he was one of the founding members and thrice the elected president in – 1886, 1893, 1906 Indian nationalist and critic of British economic policy in India.

Source:

• 30 June in Indian and World History:

• Context: The US and its allies-Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the UK have recently launched ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ (PBP)initiative for “effective and efficient cooperation” with the region’s small island nations.
• The PBP is a five-nation “informal mechanism”to support Pacific islands and to boost diplomatic, economic ties in the region.

• It aims at enhancing“prosperity, resilience, and security” in the Pacific through closer cooperation.
• Through this initiative, these countries together and individually will direct more resourcestowards the Pacific Island Countries to counter China’s aggressive outreach.
• The initiative members will“elevate Pacific regionalism”, and forge stronger ties with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
• Areas where PBP aims to enhance cooperation include climate crisis, connectivity and transportation, maritime security and protection, health, prosperity, and education.

Source:

• Explained: What is the US-led ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ initiative to counter China?
• In new Indo-Pacific move, US and allies launch Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative

Image source:

• Step up - to the Blue Pacific

• Context: Russia has recently promised to deliver Iskander-M tactical missile systemsto its ally Belarus.
• Iskander-M missile is a nuclear- capable missile system that has been exclusively used by theRussian military.
• It is codenamed “SS-26 Stone” by NATO.
• It  is a term used by Russia to define both the transporter-erector launch systemand the short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) it fires. 

• The system can also fire ground-launched cruise missiles (GLCMs)-the SSC-7 and the SSC-8. 
• The missile has a range of 500 kmand it can carry a payload of up to 700 kg. 
• It is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.
• The export variant, Iskander-E, has a range of 280 km with a reduced 480 kg payload.
• The Iskander system was inducted by Russia in 2006, its development picked pace in the late 1980s.

 Source:

• Explained: What is the Iskander-M missile system Russia has promised to arm Belarus with?
• Explained: The Iskander-M missile system that Russia is giving Belarus

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• Russia plans to deploy Iskander-M missiles in Kaliningrad

• Context: Scientists from Stanford University, have recently warned of imminent mass annihilation of marine speciessimilar to the Permian extinction (250 million years ago) that wiped out most lives in oceans.

• Permian extinction (or the “Great Dying”) was caused by global warming that left ocean animals unable to breathe. 
• About 96% of marine species and 70% of land species had gone extinct.
• The major reason for the extinction was Volcanic eruption that took place towards the end of the era, in central Siberia, injecting massive amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere.
• The study noted that if emissions continue to climb and temperatures reach around 4.9 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, close to about 40% of marine genera could perish by 2300 and 8% by 2100. 
• The global average temperature in the current Anthropocene era that is already up by 1.1 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times, is predicted to increase by 5 degrees Celsius by 2100 if the world takes the high GHGs emission trajectory.

Source:

• Oceans Great Dying 2.0: Mass extinction haunts oceans
• Great Dying 2.0

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• Mass Extinction

• Context: The Indian and Nepal Prime Ministers have recently laid the foundation stone for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage in Lumbini, Nepal.

• Lumbini is believed to be the birthplace of the Shakya prince Siddhartha Gautam, who became The Buddha after attaining Enlightenment.
• It is located across the border from Gorakhpur in Rupandehi district of Nepal's Lumbini province.
• Other holy sites in the Lumbini Complex include:
  • Mayadevi temple, which is dedicated to The Buddha’s mother.
  • Sacred pond in which Mayadevi is believed to have taken a ritual bath before giving birth to Siddhartha.
• Lumbini Garden that is described as a Pradimoksha-vana (sin-free forest), was built by Anjana, king of the Koliya clan, for his queen Rupadevi or Rummindei.
• Cultural deposits dating to the 6th century BC have been discovered at Lumbini.
• The Chinese monks Fa-Hien and Huien Tsang visited the site in the 5th and 7th centuries AD respectively.
• Also, Maurya emperor, Ashoka in 249 BC, built a large temple-like structure over the birthplace of Buddha and erected a sandstone pillar containing inscriptions to memorialise his pilgrimage.

Source:

• Explained: The historical significance of Lumbini, the birthplace of The Buddha

Image source:

• http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1148469.stm

Essence: UAE is India’s closest partner in the Arab world and largest trade partner in the region. Both sides signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) which has the potential of increasing Indian exports multifold. Author hopes that sustained public diplomacy will cool down turbulence caused due to the comments on Prophet Mohammed. Responsible persons should appreciate efforts by the UAE to extend diplomatic support to India in middle eastern affairs.

Why should you read this article?

• To understand the closeness of India’s relationship with the UAE.
• To appreciate the sensitivity of our strategic partners.

Source:

• The significance of PM Modi’s visit to the UAE:

Essence: The  recent electoral politics in India reminds us of capabilities and limitations of Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. Article discusses how despite the Tenth Schedule, the practise of prohibiting legislators from switching political parties while being in office persists unabatedly in Indian legislatures. Article further discusses how Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule is open to multiple interpretation and, suggests potential solutions for it. Also, the Supreme Court should review the Tenth Schedule thoroughly to guide how the anti-defection statute will be applied going forward for the benefit of India’s democracy. 

Why should you read this article?

• To know the capabilities and limitations of the Tenth Schedule in prohibiting legislators from switching political parties while serving in the office.
• To understand the how 4^th paragraph of the Tenth Schedule is open to multiple interpretations.
• To know potential future strategies for handling related issues.

Source:

• The anti-defection law- political facts, legal fiction:

• Tiruvannamalai is considered to be one of Tamil Nadu’s hottest and water-stressed districts. The reasons are primarily sinking levels of groundwater, the lack of proper supply channels to irrigate the fields, and the drying ponds and lakes.

• TVS, a lead two- and three-wheeler maker is transforming villages in five states and inspiring local communities to be partners in change.

About the Initiative of TVS

• TVS group’s Srinivasan Services Trust (SST) inspected the curious case of drying Tamarai lake and found that some of the villagers had engaged in obstructive construction blocking the three inlet channels to the lake.
• SST volunteers cleared the encroachments and rebuild the supply channels to the lake and the nearby wells.
• SST spent ₹7.75 lakh, laid pipes and walk-over slabs, to streamline the rainwater straight to the lake.
• After three decades, the Tamarai lake holds rainwater again and groundwater gurgles up at 8 feet.
• What’s unique about SST’s projects are that they are all small-scale, nature-based, and require community involvement in execution.
• Similar water conservation efforts are scattered across Padavedu such as check dams, percolation ponds, and watershed projects.

Quote: “The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved.” – Richard Rogers

Source:

• TVS group’s Trust is sowing seeds of growth in rural India: