UPSC Key- March 3, 2023: Know about Article 324 of the Constitution, Taiwan and China and Methane Global Tracker Report

SC steps in: Panel of PM, LoP and CJI will choose CEC, ECs

Syllabus:

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

Main Examination: General Studies II: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Stating that “core values of the Constitution, including democracy, and Rule of Law, are being undermined”, the Supreme Court Thursday stepped in to check what it called the “pernicious effects of the exclusive power being vested with the Executive to make appointment to the Election Commission” and ordered that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) shall be appointed on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Chief Justice of India. Ruling on petitions seeking an independent mechanism to appoint the CEC and ECs, a five-judge Constitution Bench presided by Justice K M Joseph said where no Leader of Opposition is available, the committee will include the leader of the largest Opposition party in Lok Sabha in terms of numerical strength.

• Why did the Supreme Court debate the issue?

• What is the issue exactly?

• Quick Recall-In 2015, a public interest litigation was filed by Anoop Baranwal challenging the constitutional validity of the practice of the Centre appointing members of the Election Commission. In October 2018, a two-judge bench of the SC referred the case to a larger bench since it would require a close examination of Article 324 of the Constitution, which deals with the mandate of the Chief Election Commissioner. The SC had not debated this issue earlier. In September last year, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph began hearing the case and almost a month later, the verdict was reserved.

• What is the challenge?

• What did the court decide?

• In case no leader of Opposition, then how EC members will be appointed?

• How did the court arrive at the verdict?

• Election Commission of India and Article 324 of the Constitution-Know in detail

• Who appoints Chief Election Commissioner of India?

• Do You Know-According to Article 324(2) of the Constitution, the CEC and ECs shall be appointed by the President, with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers, till Parliament enacts a law fixing the criteria for selection, conditions of service and tenure.

• The independent and impartial functioning of the Election Commission-How it is ensured?

• Election Commission of India- Powers and Functions

• Chief Election Commissioner and the two other Election Commissioners have equal powers-True or False?

• In case of difference of opinion amongst the Chief election commissioner and/or two other election commissioners, the matter is decided by the Supreme Court of India-Right or Wrong?

• What was the government’s stand?

• What are the other findings of the court?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Ambedkar to Advani, concerns over how poll panel members are picked

📍MORE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION

📍SC verdict on ECI appointments

It’s a win-win-win for BJP in three North-East states

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The BJP on Thursday emphatically won the Tripura Assembly elections and looked poised to return to power in Meghalaya and Nagaland as a junior partner in ruling coalitions. The party overcame a Left-Congress alliance and the TIPRA Motha, which had emerged as a force to reckon with in tribal seats, to bag 32 seats in Tripura, one more than the majority mark. It retained power in Nagaland along with senior alliance partner Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP). In Meghalaya, the National People’s Party (NPP) emerged as the single-largest party. The NPP and the BJP ruled the state together for five years but contested the elections separately. Both said they would tie up again.

• ‘The Northeast is a crucible of multiple identities and shares a long and sensitive boundary with Bangladesh, Myanmar and China. Both development and social peace are key to building the region as the centrepiece of India’s Act East strategy’-Comment

• Map Work-Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland

• What is the process of election system?

• What is the maximum and minimum strength of a legislative assembly?

• How is the legislative assembly’s strength determined?

• There is no uniformity in the organisation of state legislatures-Why?

• “Political representation is one of the unsettling aspects of interstate disparity that bubbles to the surface during assembly as well as general elections”-Critically analyse

• The Northeast region of India comprises of which states?

• Map Work– The Northeast states of India

• Northeast region is poorly connected to the Indian mainland by a small corridor-what is the name of that corridor?

• What are the main reasons that Northeast India is still lagging?

• What are the initiatives taken by Government specially targeting Northeast India’s development and growth?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍A rise and rise story

📍NORTH-EAST SPREAD

📍Coming full circle in Tripura

THE WORLD

Taiwan military to get $619-mn US arms boost amid China incursions

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- THE UNITED States has approved the potential sale of $619 million in new weapons to Taiwan, including missiles for its F-16 fleet, as the island reported a second Day of large-scale Chinese air force incursions nearby. The arms sales are likely to further sour already tense ties between Washington and Beijing, which has repeatedly demanded such deals stop, viewing them as unwarranted support for democratically governed Taiwan, an island China claims as its own.

• Taiwan and China-Know the Background

• China-Taiwan tensions-Know in detail

• How does the world, and US, view Taiwan?

• How does the India view Taiwan?

• “Many East Asian and South East Asian countries economic and commercial interests are bound ever tighter with the large and growing Chinese economy”-How far you agree with this?

• “Taiwan can be next Ukraine”-How far you agree with this statement?

• Map Work-Taiwan

• What is “porcupine doctrine”?

• Why there is need for such a strategy?

• What is Taiwan’s strategy to fight back in case China attempts to occupy it by force?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What is Taiwan’s ‘porcupine strategy’ to fight back if China attacks

EXPLAINED

METHANE EMISSION BY FOSSIL FUEL FIRMS: WHAT IEA REPORT SAYS

Syllabus:

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

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

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual Methane Global Tracker report, fossil fuel companies emitted 120 million metric tonnes of methane into the atmosphere in 2022, only slightly below the record highs seen in 2019. It added that these companies have done almost nothing to curb the emissions despite their pledges to find and fix leaking infrastructure.

• The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual Methane Global Tracker report- What are the findings of the report?

• The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) annual Methane Global Tracker report-Know the key highlights

• What do you understand by ‘Fossil Fuels’?

• What are the types of fossil fuels?

• How fossil fuel is formed?

• ‘The report said 75 per cent of methane emissions from the energy sector can be reduced with the help of cheap and readily available technology’-Analyse

• For Your Information-The energy sector accounts for around 40 per cent of the total average methane emissions from human activity, as oil and natural gas companies are known to release methane into the atmosphere when natural gas is flared or vented. The greenhouse gas is also released through leaks from valves and other equipment during the drilling, extraction and transportation process. Although it’s impossible to avoid all of this amount, the right policies and implementation can bring 200 bcm of additional gas to markets. It further mentioned that 80 per cent of the available options to curb the release of methane could be implemented by the fossil fuel industry at net zero cost.

• How are methane emissions driving climate change?

• Do You Know-Methane is a greenhouse gas, which is responsible for 30 per cent of the warming since preindustrial times, second only to carbon dioxide. A report by the United Nations Environment Programme observed that over a 20-year period, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide. In recent years, scientists have repeatedly sounded the alarm regarding the increasing amount of methane in the atmosphere. Last year, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that the atmospheric levels of methane jumped 17 parts per billion in 2021, beating the previous record set in 2020.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍UPSC Essentials: Reports and data on your tips — IEA’s Global Methane Tracker 2023

Adani-Hindenburg case: Who are the members of the SC-appointed panel

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Main Examination: General Studies IV: corporate governance

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Supreme Court Thursday (March 2) ordered a panel of experts to be set up, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, after a batch of PILs was filed on the recent Adani Group shares crash triggered by the US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research’s allegations of fraud. It noted that in view of the “safety of investors”, a committee was to be set up to assess whether the larger regulatory mechanism needs changes. Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said the remit of this committee will be to suggest measures to strengthen frameworks and investigate the Adani issue, LiveLaw reported. The Adani Group welcomed the order of the apex court, saying the “truth will prevail”.

• What is the Supreme Court order about?

• Who are the committee members?

• What are the PILs filed in this case?

• Adani-Hindenburg episode-Know in detail

• What is SEBI’s role in Adani-Hindenburg episode?

• Adani issue and its impact on India’s capital market-connect the dots

• Do you think that India is a capitalist economy?

• First of all, what is capitalist economy?

• How capitalist economy is different from Mixed Economy and Socialist Economy?

• Is there a government-business nexus in the evolution of capitalism?

• Do you believe that India, which is accused of crony capitalism, can rival China as the most powerful economic force in Asia?

• Hindenburg’s allegations have crucially raised questions about the regulatory effectiveness and accountability of Indian institutions-Do you agree?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Adani: SC sets up a probe panel, also asks Sebi to investigate

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