UPSC Key—30 August, 2023: Genome Sequencing, LPG price calculation and Sulphur on Moon

Islamabad HC suspends Imran Khan’s 3-year jail term in Toshakhana case

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Islamabad High Court Tuesday suspended former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan’s three-year sentence in the Toshakhana corruption case. However, he will continue in judicial remand until he is presented before a special court tomorrow (August 30) in connection with the cipher case,reported local media. As per a letter from Judge Abual Hasnat Muhammad Zulqarnain, of the Special Court established to hear cases under the Official Sec¬rets Act, to Attock Jail superintendent, Khan “is hereby ordered for judicial remand in case FIR mentioned above, who is already detained in district jail, Attock,” reported Pakistani media house, Dawn.

• What is the Toshakhana case?

• For Your Information- The Toshakhana controversy came to the forefront in August 2022, when the coalition government — led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) — filed a case against Imran, claiming that he did not disclose information on gifts presented to Toshakhana as well as the proceeds from the “illegal” sale of some the gifts.
Established in 1974, Toshakhana is a department under the administrative control of the Cabinet Division which stores gifts and other expensive items received by public officials. According to its rules, it’s compulsory for officials to report the gifts and other such materials received by them to the Cabinet Division.
However, when Imran came to power in 2018, he resisted disclosing details of the many presents he received during his time in office, saying that doing so would severely impact relations with other countries.
Subsequently, the former prime minister wrote a letter to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and admitted to selling at least four such presents but also said that he bought them from the government by paying a percentage of their value. These included a Graff watch gifted to him by the Saudi Arabian crown prince, Rolex watches, expensive cufflinks, a valuable pen and a ring.

• What did the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) say about the case?

• What happened after Imran was disqualified?

• What is the present situation in Pakistan?

• India-Pakistan Relations-Know the Historical Background

• “A strong, stable and peaceful Pakistan is in India’s interest”-Elucidate

• The current unrest in Pakistan could present a new challenges to the already strained relationship between India-Pakistan?

• The current unrest in Pakistan can put a damper on hopes for effective regional cooperation and commerce in South Asia-Discuss

• “The unrestrained powers and insatiable avarice of Pakistan’s ‘deep state’ are to blame for the majority of the country’s internal problems and subsequent instability”-How far you agree?

• “Pakistan is undeniably under the grip of escalating domestic insecurity and massive economic woes”-What is happening in Pakistan?

• “Geoeconomics” rather than geostrategy between India and Pakistan-Comment

• What makes peace elusive between India-Pakistan in present scenario?

• Current events shaping India-Pakistan Relations-What are they?

• Major ‘changes’ in Indian diplomacy in the last eight years of New Delhi’s towards Pakistan-What is that ‘Change’?

• How diplomacy worked under former prime minister of India’s like PV Narasimha Rao, H D Deve Gowda, I K Gujral, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Manmohan Singh’s in the context of Pakistan?

• Do You Know-Ties between India and Pakistan have nosedived over the past eight years. In August 2015, India had extended an invitation to Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz. But the visit was called off after the then External Affairs Minister, the late Sushma Swaraj, asked Aziz to desist from meeting the Hurriyat in India. The last External Affairs Minister to visit Pakistan was Swaraj in December 2015 for the Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad. Subsequently, bilateral ties deteriorated with the terrorist attacks in Pathankot (January 2016), Uri (September 2016) and Pulwama (February 2019). And they hit a nadir with the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K, which led to downgrading of diplomatic ties, suspension of trade and review of arrangements, and a halt on all cross-border bus and train services.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What is the Toshakhana case, in which Imran Khan has been sentenced to a 3-year jail term?

FRONT PAGE

India protests China’s latest map, Jaishankar says ‘absurd claims’ are Beijing’s ‘old habit’

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- As China released the 2023 edition of its so-called “standard map” incorporating disputed areas and including its claims over Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region, India lodged a “strong protest” through diplomatic channels and said that such steps only “complicate the resolution of the boundary question”. This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the military standoff along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. Xi is also expected to travel to New Delhi for the G20 Summit being hosted by India on September 9-10.

• China on Monday released the 2023 edition of its “standard map”-What exactly is there in the Map?

• For Your Information-China on Monday released the 2023 edition of its “standard map”, staking a claim over Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin region, Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea, news agency PTI reported.
The news agency referred to a tweet by the state-run Global Times, which stated, “This map is compiled based on the drawing method of national boundaries of China and various countries in the world.”
The map displayed by the Global Times showed Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as South Tibet, and Aksai Chin occupied by it in the 1962 war, PTI reported. The map also incorporated Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory though the island sees itself as sovereign nation, and the nine-dash line, claiming a large part of the South China Sea, according to the news agency.

• How India responded?

• Map Work-Aksai Chin

• India and China-What’s the source of tension?

• What are the Causes of the India-China Conflict?

• Is there any Border Dispute Settlement Mechanisms between the two?

• How are relations between China and India currently?

• ‘China-India relations have been worse over recent months. Along their contentious border in the Himalayan area, the two nations are at odds with one another’-Discuss

• “Amid tensions between China and India, Pakistan’s political and economic turmoil, and the resurgence of great power competition, strategic stability in Asia is getting harder to manage”-Do you agree?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Chinese order of battle in Aksai Chin: What are we up against?

📍Understanding Sino-Indian border issues: An analysis of incidents reported in the Indian media

As elections near, LPG price is slashed by Rs 200 a cylinder

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-AHEAD OF Assembly elections in five states later this year and the Lok Sabha elections next year, the Centre on Tuesday reduced the price of domestic cooking gas by Rs 200 per cylinder. The decision, which will be effective from Wednesday, will benefit all the 33 crore domestic consumers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). For about 10 crore poor households covered under the Ujjwala scheme, the price cut will be in addition to the existing subsidy of Rs 200 per cylinder, resulting in total relief of Rs 400 per cylinder.

• What is the Ujjwala Yojana?

• What is the main objective of Ujjwala scheme?

• For Your Information-While the government has not clarified whether it will compensate public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) – for this price reduction, industry executives believe it will eventually cover their losses. The government already compensates the three companies for their losses on LPG sales to Ujjwala beneficiaries.
Last year, the government had provided a one-time grant of Rs 22,000 crore to the three fuel retailers to compensate them for selling LPG at a loss for the previous two years.
There are two aspects to the cut in LPG prices. First, it may help in easing retail inflation which touched a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July 2023, primarily due to a surge in food prices. Second, oil prices have declined from over $100 per barrel soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to $80-85 per barrel, giving OMCs more headroom to manage the cut in retail prices.
According to the latest National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report, LPG is the primary source of energy for nearly 50 per cent of households in rural areas and about 90 per cent of urban households across India.

• How Gas Cylinder prices are decided?

• What is the formula for LPG price calculation?

• What is import parity price?

• What is the difference between import parity price and export parity price?

• Why India uses import parity price?

• Why gas prices vary from state to state in India?

• What causes LPG prices to rise?

• Do You Know-LPG is the primary cooking fuel in more than 70 per cent of Indian households, and 85 per cent households have LPG connections, according to an independent study released on Thursday by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). However, 54 per cent households continue to use traditional solid fuels such as firewood, dung cakes, agriculture residue, charcoal, and kerosene, either exclusively or with LPG — increasing the exposure to indoor air pollution.
The CEEW findings are from the India Residential Energy Survey 2020, conducted in collaboration with the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy in FY 19-20 in nearly 15,000 urban and rural households across 152 districts in 21 most populous states.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Why cooking gas is costlier, what lies ahead

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

Climate finance, hard fact

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

• General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Somit Dasgupta Writes: India has taken over the presidency of the G20 at a time when consensus-building is difficult. One area where there is complete polarisation is the subject of climate change. When it comes to climate finance specifically, the present commitments made by the developed world are absolutely insufficient. The figure of $100 billion for projects in developing nations, which was arrived at about 13-14 years ago had no basis and is devoid of any logic. In fact, when it was estimated, at that time too, it was too small vis-à-vis the need. For the past 10 years or so, there has been too much debate on this figure and the developing world has been lamenting that this meagre amount of $100 billion per year is not forthcoming from the developed world.

• Why author feels that there is a complete polarisation in the subject of climate change?

• “When it comes to climate finance specifically, the present commitments made by the developed world are absolutely insufficient”-Why?

• What is the meaning of climate finance?

• For Your Information-The need for climate finance today is estimated to be around $4.35 trillion in order to meet the Paris Agreement targets. What is being actually spent is about one-seventh of this amount. There are two main components of climate finance — mitigation and adaptation. While mitigation would include projects where we set up renewable generation projects, an example of an adaptation project would be the building of sea walls to prevent flooding. Most of the money that is flowing into climate finance is actually for mitigation (93 per cent) and it is not difficult to see why. Mitigation projects usually have a revenue stream and are thus considered to be bankable. So financial institutions have no problem in extending loans on pure market terms and conditions. On the other hand, adaptation projects have high upfront costs, have a long gestation period and no defined income stream. Therefore, they are considered risky by banks and other financial institutions. Having said that, there is no denying that it is difficult to assess how much has been invested towards adaptation since it is difficult to define as to what constitutes adaptation.

• What is the financial mechanism? What are the other funds?

• In accordance with the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities” set out in the Convention, developed country Parties are to provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties in implementing the objectives of the UNFCCC- discuss the objective behind this step?

• What is the Standing Committee on Finance? What is the long-term finance process?

• Green finance and climate finance-Compare

• What is the UN climate summit?

• Why are COP meetings needed?

• What Is Climate Change?

• How Is Climate Change measured over time?

• What Causes Climate Change?

• What are the effects of Climate Change?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:   

📍Introduction to Climate Finance

BASIC STRUCTURE, SO FAR

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Fali S Nariman writes: On the Ideas page, the article titled “Let’s debate the Basic Structure” (IE, August 28), assumes: One, it was only in Kesavananda Bharati (April 1973), that by a narrow majority of 7:6, in a bench decision of 13 judges, the basic structure doctrine was propounded; and two, that since then the basic structure doctrine has not been debated. But in 1973, the Union of India, then represented by a government with an overwhelming majority in Parliament, had promptly filed an application for a reconsideration of the April decision; and on November 10, 1975 a bench of 13 judges was specially constituted by CJI A N Ray for debating the following question: “Whether the power of amendment of the Constitution was restricted by the theory of basic structure and framework as propounded in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973)”.

• What is Doctrine of the ‘basic structure’?

• How has the doctrine of basic structure evolved?

• What power is granted by Article 368 of the Indian Constitution?

• Shankari Prasad case (1951), Golak Nath case (1967), Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), Indira Nehru Gandhi case (1975), Minerva Mills case (1980), Waman Rao case (1981) and the evolution of basic Structure of the Constitution-connect the dots

• What are the features of the ‘Basic Structure of Constitution’?

• Why there is a need for the ‘Basic Structure of Constitution’?

• “The Basic Structure Doctrine has a very debatable jurisprudential basis”-Why this particular sentence is in news?

• For Your Information-The Basic Structure Doctrine emerged from the Kesavananda Bharati judgment of the Supreme Court, delivered by a majority of 7:6 on April 24, 1973. It held that Parliament could not alter the basic structure of the Constitution by an amendment. There is no exclusive and definitive list of what the basic features are, for the judiciary decides this on a case-by-case basis. In consequence, as cases accumulate, the list of areas off-limits to the executive gets longer. This creates a peculiar political environment where frenzied elections generate tall mandates that are undeliverable. The executive remains hamstrung, constrained not just by limited material resources but bound by limited and uncertain legal room to manoeuvre. The consequence of this gap between parliamentary competence and executive impotence knocks the wind out of the power and capacity of electoral democracy. The political culture it breeds is known as “cheap talk” in game theory, seen in such emphatic gestures as grandstanding and heady rhetoric followed by inaction, empty rhetoric and costless, non-binding, unverifiable communication between politicians and the electorate. The Basic Structure Doctrine puts “procedure established by law” below “due process” in the functioning of the legislative process. Its political profiling as “sacrosanct” puts it beyond the ken of politics. In 1951, right at the outset of post-colonial India’s journey into uncharted territory, no less a democrat than Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had taken the bold step to initiate the process to restrict the freedom of speech and expression and got Parliament to pass the First Amendment. In retrospect, one is grateful for his boldness and sagacity in undertaking the necessary changes in the core principles of the Constitution for the validation of zamindari abolition laws and provisions that stipulated that the right to equality does not bar the enactment of laws that provide special considerations for underprivileged sections of society. Article 368 of the Constitution clearly stipulates that “Parliament may in exercise of its constituent power amend by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision of this Constitution in accordance with the procedure laid down in this article.”

• Can Parliament change the basic structure doctrine of the Indian Constitution?

• Why is the doctrine criticised?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Let’s debate Basic Structure

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
📍 Consider the following statements: (UPSC GS1, 2020)
1. The Constitution of India defines its ‘basic structure’ in terms of federalism, secularism, fundamental rights and democracy.
2. The Constitution of India provides for ‘judicial review’ to safeguard the citizens’ liberties and to preserve the ideals on which the Constitution is based.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍 “Parliament’s power to amend the constitution is limited power and it cannot be enlarged into absolute power”. In light of this statement, explain whether parliament under article 368 of the constitution can destroy the basic structure of the constitution by expanding its amending power? (UPSC GS2, 2019)

EXPRESS NETWORK

Chandrayaan-3 rover detects sulphur, other elements: ISRO

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- After releasing data from an instrument studying the temperature profile of the lunar surface, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday said another instrument on Chandrayaan-3 had detected the presence of several elements on the Moon. Notably, it had picked up signals that confirm the presence of Sulphur whose direct evidence was not available yet. The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) instrument onboard Chandrayaan-3 Rover has made the first-ever in-situ measurements on the elemental composition of the lunar surface near the South Pole. These in-situ measurements confirm the presence of Sulphur (S) in the region unambiguously, something that was not feasible by the instruments onboard the orbiters,” ISRO said in a statement.

• For Your Information-Preliminary analysis… have unveiled the presence of Aluminum (Al), Sulphur (S), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Chromium (Cr), and Titanium (Ti) on the lunar surface. Further measurements have revealed the presence of Manganese (Mn), Silicon (Si), and Oxygen (O).

• Why the presence of Sulphur (S) and other elements are significant?

• What is the significance of Sulphur’s presence on the Moon?

• Water ice and Sulphur-connect the dots

• What is the role of sulphur in keeping flora and fauna alive?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Chandrayaan-3 Pragyan Rover finds evidence of Sulphur on Moon, search for Hydrogen underway – Details here

Gujarat announces 27% OBC reservation in local bodies polls

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Gujarat government on Tuesday announced 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Class (OBC) communities in the elections of local bodies. The government, however, said that the OBC communities will continue to get 10 per cent reservation in areas under the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act — commonly known as the PESA Act — with a significant tribal population. The announcement was made by Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel, who is also the spokesperson of the government.

• For your Information-The PESA Act was enacted in 1996 “to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled Areas”. Other than Panchayats, Part IX, comprising
Articles 243-243ZT of the Constitution, contains provisions relating to municipalities and cooperative societies.

• What is the PESA Act?

• The PESA Act empowers Gram Sabha’s to play a key role in approving development plans and controlling all social sectors-How?

• What is the issue in Gujarat?

• PESA in Gujarat-Issues and Challenges

• How is the PESA Act, 1996 supposed to work?

• PESA Act, Tribals and their Rights-connect the dots

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: The PESA Act, and the background of the AAP’s election promise in Gujarat

In a first, Pune’s medical college to go for genome sequencing of dengue virus

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General Science and Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nanotechnology, bio-technology.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Can learnings from Covid genome sequencing and wastewater surveillance be leveraged to address the increasing problem of dengue? For the first time, concerted efforts have been taken under the aegis of the Pune Knowledge Cluster (PKC) — one of the six science and technology clusters established by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India — towards genomic sequencing of the dengue virus.

• What is genome sequencing?

• What do you understand by the term ‘Genome’?

• How Genome and Gene differ from each other?

• What is genome sequencing of dengue virus in India?

• Why is genomic sequencing important?

• How does genomic sequencing work?

• Where does the data for genomic surveillance come from?

• What are the three steps to genome sequencing?

• What are the advantages of genome sequencing?

• Do You Know-Nearly two decades ago, when scientists published the map of the human genome for the first time, it was hailed as a breakthrough. That was incomplete, however: about 8% of the human DNA was left unsequenced. Now, in a series of papers published in Science, a large team has accounted for that 8%, completing the picture of the human genome for the first time.
A complete human genome makes it easier to study genetic variation between individuals or between populations. A genome refers to all of the genetic material in an organism, and the human genome is mostly the same in all people, but a very small part of the DNA does vary between one individual and another. By constructing a complete human genome, scientists can use it for reference while studying the genome of various individuals, which would help them understand which variations, if any, might be responsible for disease.
The genetic sequence made available in 2003 from the Human Genome Project, an international collaboration between 1990 and 2003, contained information from a region of the human genome known as the euchromatin. Here, the chromosome is rich in genes, and the DNA encodes for protein.
The 8% that was left out was in the area called heterochromatin. This is a smaller portion of the genome, and does not produce protein.
There were at least two key reasons why heterochromatin was given lower priority. This part of the genome was thought to be “junk DNA”, because it had no clear function. Besides, the euchromatin contained more genes that were simpler to sequence with the tools available at the time.
Now, the fully sequenced genome is the result of the efforts of a global collaboration called the Telomere-2-Telomere (T2T) project. The invention of new methods of DNA sequencing and computational analysis helped complete the reading of the remaining 8% of the genome.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: The complete human genome, and what it tells us

EXPLAINED

Before SC in Article 370 case: constitutionality of CO 272, 273

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-For more than 10 days, the Supreme Court has heard arguments by petitioners challenging the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution which guaranteed special status to Jammu and Kashmir. The government will defend the legal manoeuvres of August 2019 this week.

• What are the key grounds of challenge?

• What is ‘The Constitution (Application To Jammu And Kashmir) Order, 2019 C.O. 272’?

• What is Article 147 of Jammu and Kashmir Constitution?

• What is CO 273?

• Do You Know-August 5-9, 2019: Two Presidential Orders, Four Legal Steps: On Aug 5, then President Ram Nath Kovind issued CO 272, a Presidential Order amending Article 367, which deals with the interpretation of the Constitution. CO 272 inserted a proviso in Article 367 which stated that the reference to the “Constituent Assembly” in Article 370(3) would instead be a reference to the “Legislative Assembly”. This paved the way for changes to Article 370 itself. Article 370(3) reads: “Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of this article, the President may…declare that this article shall cease to be operative or shall be operative only with…exceptions and modifications…as he may specify: Provided that the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State referred to in Clause (2) shall be necessary before the President issues such a notification.” Within hours of the President issuing CO 272, Rajya Sabha recommended that Article 370 should cease to operate. Since Jammu and Kashmir was then under President’s Rule, the Governor of the erstwhile state assumed the powers of the Legislative Assembly, and Parliament made the recommendation on behalf of the Governor. On Aug 6, President Kovind issued a second proclamation, CO 273, operationalising the Rajya Sabha’s recommendation. This meant that Article 370 effectively ceased to operate. On Aug 9, Parliament passed The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, bifurcating the state into two Union Territories.

• What is the Constitutional Principles involved?

• Article 370 of the Indian Constitution-What you about this article?

• How was Article 370 enacted?

• For Your Information-Petitions challenging the August 2019 decision of the Union government last came up in the Supreme Court on March 2, 2020, when a five-judge bench presided by Justice N V Ramana rejected the prayer to refer the petitions to a larger Bench. The court, however, made it clear that its order “is confined to the limited preliminary issue of whether the matter should be referred to a larger Bench” and “have not considered any issue on the merits of the dispute”. The other members on the Bench were Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, R Subhash Reddy, B R Gavai and Surya Kant. Justice Reddy retired in January last year and Justice Ramana retired as Chief Justice of India in August 2022. There are as many as 23 petitions relating to the issue pending before the court. They challenge the Presidential orders of August 5 and 6, 2019 as well as The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The petitions challenge the Presidential Orders of August 5–6, 2019, as well as The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The August 5 order titled Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 2019, was passed in exercise of the power under Article 370(1)(d) of the Constitution, superseding the 1954 Presidential Order that introduced Article 35A, which empowered the state of J&K to define who is a permanent resident and make special laws for them.

• Was Article 370 a temporary provision?

• What specific aspect of Article 370 has been contested before the Supreme Court?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍SC asks Govt: Is there a time frame for J&K statehood, when will you hold polls

📍SC to hear pleas against abrogation of Article 370: Here’s what you need to know

📍Explained: What are Articles 370 and 35A?

📍Explained: What’s changed in Jammu and Kashmir?

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com
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