Headlines

Govt. panel to study simultaneous polls to LS, State Assemblies

- Page No.1 , GS 2
India’s first solar observatory mission to be launched today - Page No.6 ,
GS 3
An uneven rebound- Page No.8 , GS 3
Seven years on, mission to clean the Ganga remains a work in progress-
Page No.12 , GS 2 ,3

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Pg no. 1 GS 2
• The idea has been around since at least 1983, when the Election
Commission first mooted it. However, until 1967, simultaneous
elections were the norm in India.
• The first General Elections to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and
all State Legislative Assemblies were held simultaneously in 1951-
52.
• That practice continued in three subsequent General Elections held
in the years 1957, 1962 and 1967.
• However, due to the premature dissolution of some Legislative
Assemblies in 1968 and 1969, the cycle got disrupted.
• In 1970, the Lok Sabha was itself dissolved prematurely and fresh
elections were held in 1971. Thus, the First, Second and Third Lok
Sabha enjoyed full five-year terms.
• Incalculable Economic Costs of Elections:
• Policy Paralysis
• Administrative Costs

• Simultaneous elections threaten the federal character of our

democracy.
• Large national parties would reap the economies of scale of one
large election every five years, to the disadvantage of regional
parties.
• It is against the constitutional fabric.
Pg no. 6 GS 3
• India’s first solar observatory mission, named Aditya-L1, will be launched
onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from the Satish
Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at 11.50 a.m. on Saturday.

• On Friday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) commenced

the 23-hour 40-minute countdown for the launch of the Aditya-L1 mission.

• Approximately sixty-three minutes after lift-off, the satellite separation is

expected to take place as the PSLV will launch the Aditya-L1 spacecraft
into a highly eccentric earth-bound orbit at around 12.53 p.m.

• This PSLV-C57/Aditya-L1 mission can be counted as one of the longest

missions involving ISRO’s workhorse launch vehicle. However, the
longest of the PSLV missions is still the 2016 PSLV-C35 mission which
was completed two hours, 15 minutes and 33 seconds after lift-off.
• Aditya L1 is the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun.
• It will be launched by the PSLV-XL launch vehicle.
• The spacecraft shall be placed in a halo orbit around the Lagrange
point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km
from the Earth.
• A satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major
advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any
occultation/eclipses.

• Lagrangian points, also known as Lagrange points or libration

points, are specific locations in space where the gravitational forces
of two large bodies, such as a planet and its moon or a planet and
the Sun, produce enhanced regions of gravitational equilibrium.
• In these points, the gravitational pull from the two bodies creates a
stable or quasi-stable region where a third, smaller object can
maintain a relatively constant position relative to the larger bodies.
Pg no. 8 GS 3
• India’s economy, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) as well as the Gross Value Added (GVA), grew 7.8% in the
first quarter (Q1) of the year. This is the highest GDP uptick in
four quarters, but slightly underwhelming relative to the 8%
growth estimated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

• A feeble recovery in rural demand could also come undone if farm

incomes take a hit. Interventions to counter inflation, such as export
curbs on rice and onions, will hurt growth and the external trade
balance, while relief measures, such as the ₹200 cut in LPG cylinder
prices, that may proliferate ahead of the general election, also pose
risks to the fiscal math and growth.
Pg no. 12 GS 2,3
• In the seven years since the government unveiled its ambitious ₹20,000-crore
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), it has installed treatment plants
capable of treating just 20% of the sewage estimated to be generated in the
five major States that lie along the river. This is expected to increase to about
33% by 2024. According to the latest projections by senior officials in the
NMCG, the treatment plants will be capable of treating 60% of sewage by
December 2026.

• These calculations are premised on sewage to the tune of 11,765 million litres
per day (MLD) being generated in the five States — Uttarakhand, Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal — through which the river
courses. This figure derives from a report submitted to the National Green
Tribunal earlier this year.
• Discovery:
• The Ganges river dolphin was officially discovered in 1801.
• They were declared as the National Aquatic Animal of India in 2009.

• Freshwater species:
• The Gangetic river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in
the world.
• The other three are the baiji, now likely extinct from the Yangtze River in
China, the bhulan of the Indus in Pakistan and the boto of the Amazon River
in Latin America.

• Habitat:
• Ganges river dolphins once lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and
Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
• But the species is extinct from most of its early distribution ranges.
• The distribution range of the Ganges river dolphins in India covers seven
states namely, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar,
Jharkhand and West Bengal.
• Characteristics:
• The Ganges river dolphins can only live in freshwater and are essentially
blind.
• They are frequently found alone or in small groups, and generally a mother
and calf travel together.
• Females are larger than males and give birth once every two to three years to
only one calf.
• The Dolphin cannot breathe in the water. It surfaces every 30-120 seconds to
breathe in fresh air as it is a mammal.
• Navigation and hunting through a highly developed ‘sonar system’, using
echolocation (ultrasonic sounds).
• Different names:
• They are also known as Susu, Hihu, Blind dolphin, Ganga river dolphin, side
swimming dolphin and South Asian river dolphin.

• Ganges river dolphins are listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List.
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