Headlines

The climate crisis is not gender neutral - Page No.6 , GS

1,3
Gross mismanagement - Page No.6 , GS 2
Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) - Page No.12 , GS 2
Text and Context - The ‘import restrictions’ on solar PV
cells

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Consider the following statements.

1. The Doctrine of Basic Structure is a form of judicial review that is

used to test the legality of any legislation by the courts.
2. The doctrine was evolved by the Supreme Court in the 1973
landmark ruling in Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala.
3. The Doctrine of Basic Structure is not applicable to constitutional
amendments.
How many of the above statements is/are correct?

a) Only one
b) Only two
c) All three
d) None
• Solution: b)
• Statement 3 is incorrect.

• The Doctrine of Basic Structure is a form of judicial review that is used to test the
legality of any legislation by the courts.

• The doctrine was evolved by the Supreme Court in the 1973 landmark ruling in
Kesavananda Bharati v State of Kerala. In a 7-6 verdict, a 13-judge Constitution
Bench ruled that the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution is inviolable, and could
not be amended by Parliament.

• If a law is found to “damage or destroy” the “basic features of the Constitution”,

the Court declares it unconstitutional. The test is applied to constitutional
amendments to ensure the amendment does not dilute the fundamentals of the
Constitutional itself.

• The test is widely regarded as a check on majoritarian impulses of the Parliament

since it places substantive limits on the power to amend the Constitution.
Article 1 of our Constitution says – “India that is Bharat, shall be a
Union of states”. This declaration signifies

1. That the Union of India has resulted out of an agreement between

the states.
2. The component units/states have no right to secede from the
Union.
Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?

a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2
• Solution: a)

• Article 1 describes India, that is, Bharat as a ‘Union of States’ rather

than a ‘Federation of States’.

• According to Dr B R Ambedkar, the phrase ‘Union of States’ has

been preferred to ‘Federation of States’ for two reasons: one, the
Indian Federation is not the result of an agreement among the
states like the American Federation; and two, the states have no
right to secede from the federation.
Which article of the Indian Constitution deals with the formation of
new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing
States?

a) Article 1
b) Article 3
c) Article 4
d) Article 5
• Solution: b)

• Article 3 in The Constitution Of India 1949

• Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing

States: Parliament may by law

• (a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or
more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State;

• (b) increase the area of any State;

• (c) diminish the area of any State;

• (d) alter the boundaries of any State;

• (e) alter the name of any State;

Which principle among the following was added to the
Directive Principles of Stat Policy by the 42nd Amendment to
the Constitution?

a) Securing living wage and human conditions of work to

workers
b) Equal pay for equal work for both men and women
c) Right to work, education and public assistance
d) Participation of workers in the management of industries
• Solution: d)

• 42nd Amendment to the Constitution Added three new Directive

Principles viz., equal justice and free-legal aid, participation of
workers in the management of industries and protection of
environment, forests and wild life.
Match the following organization with their founders.

1. Landholders Society: Devendranath Tagore

2. East India Association: Dadabhai Naoroji
3. Indian Society: Anandmohan Bose
How many of the above statements is/are correct?

a) Only one
b) Only two
c) All three
d) None
• Solution: b)
Statement 1 is incorrect.

• In 1838, to protect the interests of the landlords, the Zamindari

Association (popularly known as the Landholders’ Society) was
established by Dwarkanath Tagore in Bengal.

• The East India Association was founded by Dadabhai Naoroji in

1866, in collaboration with Indians and retired British officials in
London.

• In 1872, Anand Mohan Bose formed an Indian Society in London to

foster the spirit of nationalism among the Indian residents in
Britain. Later, this organisation became an important platform for
Indians to voice their demands.
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Pg no. 6 GS 1,3
• The climate crisis is already here and does not impact everyone
equally. Women and girls experience disproportionately high health
risks, especially in situations of poverty, and due to existing roles,
responsibilities and cultural norms.

• According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),

women and children are 14 times more likely than men to die in a
disaster.

• The Supreme Court of India has just ruled that people have a right
to be free from the adverse effects of climate change, and the right
to a clean environment is already recognised as a fundamental right
within the ambit of the right to life.
• Agriculture is the most important livelihood source for women in India,
particularly in rural India. Climate-driven crop yield reductions increase food
insecurity, adversely impacting poor households that already suffer higher
nutritional deficiencies

• Within small and marginal landholding households, while men face social stigma
due to unpaid loans (leading to migration, emotional distress, and sometimes
even suicide), women experience higher domestic work burdens, worse health,
and greater intimate partner violence.

• In fact, when compared to districts without droughts in the past 10 years,

National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4 and 5 data showed that women living in
drought-prone districts were more underweight, experienced more intimate
partner violence and had a higher prevalence of girl marriages.

• For women, the increasing food and nutritional insecurity, work burdens and
income uncertainties lead not only to poor physical health, but also impact their
mental health and emotional well-being.
• The world is witnessing an increasing frequency of extreme weather
events and climate-induced natural hazards.

• A report from the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) in

2021 found that 75% of Indian districts are vulnerable to hydromet
disasters (floods, droughts and cyclones). NFHS 5 data showed that over
half of women and children living in these districts were at risk.

• Prolonged heat is particularly dangerous for pregnant women (increasing

the risk of preterm birth and eclampsia), young children, and the elderly.

• Climate action requires 100% of the population if we want to achieve the

Paris Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5° C.

• At the same time, empowering women means better climate solutions;

when provided with the same access to resources as men, women
increased their agricultural yields by 20% to 30%.
Pg no. 6 GS 2
• With less than two years left to achieve the ambitious goal set by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 to “eliminate” TB in India, the pharmacy of
the Global South is once again struggling to treat patients with drug-
sensitive TB.

• Shockingly, India is experiencing a TB drug shortage, with increasing

frequency.

• Just seven months ago, there was an acute shortage of critical MDR-TB
drugs; disruptions in drug supply, which began with drug-sensitive
medicines in 2022 and snowballed to include MDR-TB drugs, lasted for
nearly a year.

• Similarly, in September 2021, India faced a stockout of MDR-TB drug

Delamanid. Delay in diagnosis and treatment initiation are already a huge
concern in the TB care cascade. Patients who start therapy but fail to
achieve treatment success is another gap.
• Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by
Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
• It commonly affects the lungs, but can also affect other parts of
the body.
• It is a treatable and curable disease.

Transmission: TB is spread from person to person through the air.

When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the
TB germs into the air.

• Symptoms: Common symptoms of active lung TB are cough with

sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss,
fever and night sweats.

• Vaccine: Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is a vaccine for TB

disease.
India’s Efforts:
• India’s National TB Elimination Programme is strengthened to
meet the goal of ending the TB epidemic by 2025 from the country,
five years ahead of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for
2030.

• National Strategic Plan (NSP) for Tuberculosis Elimination (2017-

2025), The Nikshay Ecosystem (National TB information system),
Nikshay Poshan Yojana (NPY- financial support), TB Harega Desh
Jeetega Campaign.

• Currently, two vaccines VPM (Vaccine Projekt Management) 1002

and MIP (Mycobacterium Indicus Pranii) have been developed and
identified for TB, and are under Phase-3 clinical trial.
• Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana: It provides Rs 500 support through direct
benefit transfer to the patients.

• Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission: The government has also

focused on utilising technology and creating digital health IDs for TB
patients under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission to ensure
proper diagnostics and treatment are available.

Global Efforts:
• The WHO (World Health Organisation) has launched a joint initiative
“Find. Treat. All. #EndTB” with the Global Fund and Stop TB
Partnership.

• WHO also releases the Global Tuberculosis Report.

Pg no. 12 GS 2
• Central Armed Police Forces is the collective name of central police
organizations in India under the authority of Ministry of Home
Affairs.

• These are technically paramilitary forces formerly known as

“Central Para-Military Forces (CPMF)”.

• Since 2011, India adopted the term "Central Armed Police Forces"
to drop the word "paramilitary".

• These forces are responsible for internal security and guarding the
borders.

• The Central Armed Police Forces refers to seven security forces, all
functioning under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs.
These seven security forces are –

• Assam Rifles (AR)

• Border Security Force (BSF)
• Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
• Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
• Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
• National Security Guard (NSG)
• Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)

• Each of the seven has its own cadre of officers, but they are
headed by officers of the Indian Police Service.
• Recent government orders on attempts to increase local sourcing of solar modules
to support India’s renewables manufacturing ecosystem has been widely reported
in the media as ‘import restrictions’.

• This follows the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy’s (MNRE), March 29 order
to re-implement its 2021 notification of an ‘Approved List of Models and
Manufacturers of Solar Photovoltaic [PV] Modules’, also called the ALMM list.

• This list consists of manufacturers who “are eligible for use in Government
Projects/Government assisted projects/ projects under Government schemes &
programmes.... including projects set up for sale of electricity to the Central and
State Governments.”

• India is overwhelmingly import dependent to meet its demand for solar cells and
modules — with China and Vietnam being the country’s major suppliers.
• According to a reply by the Minister for New and Renewable Energy in
Parliament in February last year, India imported about $11.17 billion worth
solar cells and modules in the past five years.

• This is worth 0.4% of India’s total exports in the same period. And until
January of 2023-24, data from the Ministry of Commerce’s Import-Export
showed that China accounted for 53% of India’s solar cell imports, and 63% of
solar PV modules.

• Ratings agency ICRA estimates that China commands more than 80% share
of the manufacturing capacity across polysilicon, wafer, cell and modules.

• In a July 2022 report, the International Energy Agency (IEA) noted that China
was the most cost-competitive location to manufacture all components of the
solar PV supply chains. This is mainly because of the lower cost of power
supplied to the industry
• The government’s ambitious target of 500 GW of installed
capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030 is the main driver to scale
solar power in India.

• India also accounts for the fastest rate of growth for demand of
electricity through 2026 among major economies, according to
the IEA.

• This is because of strong economic activity and expanding

consumption of products to mitigate extreme weather.
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