DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
1 – Mummified Baboons: GS III – Environmental Conservation:
Context:
- Scientists have been baffled by the origin of mummified baboons in Egypt for more than a century. Using mitochondrial DNA, scientists have just revealed the mysteries surrounding these antiquated artefacts.
About:
- DNA testing identified the ancient city of Adulis in modern-day coastal Eritrea as the baboons’ birthplace.
- The study provided insight into the probable site of Adulis and the vanished city of Punt, which was an important trading partner of ancient Egypt.
- The results underscored the ancient commercial ties between Egypt and Adulis, emphasising the Red Sea as a pivotal hub in the trade network among India, Egypt, and Europe.
- Baboons of the Papio anubis and Papio hamadryas species are related. Old World monkeys belonging to the Papio genus are called baboons.
- The most widely dispersed species of baboon is Papio anubis, which inhabits most of central sub-Saharan Africa.
- Papio hamadryas is found in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea, as well as the southern Red Sea region of Africa.
- Their status on the IUCN Red List is “Lower Risk, Least Concern.”
Source The Hindu
2 – Male Mosquitoes that depended on Human Blood: GS II – Health-related issues
Context:
- The bloodsucking behaviour of ancient male mosquitoes was recently disclosed by scientists when they discovered the earliest known insect fossils, which date back 130 million years. The evolutionary history of mosquitoes and their function as disease vectors are illuminated by these fossils.
About:
- The fossils depict two male Cretaceous-era mosquitoes with lengthy, piercing-sucking mouthparts that are usually exclusively found in females.
- This finding implies that, at one point in time, all mosquitoes, male or female, were hematophagous, or blood-eaters.
- The mouthparts of the male mosquitoes were smaller than those of the female mosquitoes of today.
- As blood feeders, mosquitoes infect their hosts with parasites and illnesses such as dengue, malaria, yellow fever, and Zika fever.
- According to the researchers’ theory, mosquitoes originated as non-blood-consuming insects, and their mouthparts were originally designed to pierce plants in order to obtain nutrient-rich fluids.
- Male and female mosquitoes may have developed different eating habits as a result of the emergence of blooming plants during the Cretaceous Period.
- Molecular evidence suggests that mosquitoes existed throughout the Jurassic Period, millions of years before the fossils that have been found.
Source The Hindu
3 – Exercise “VINBAX-2023”: GS III – Internal Security
Context:
- In order to participate in the fourth iteration of Joint Military Exercise VINBAX-2023, the personnel of the Indian Armed Forces arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam.
- Initiated in 2018, Exercise VINBAX held its inaugural event in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
- Every year, there is a training session held alternately in Vietnam and India.
Goal:
- The goal of the exercise is to support cooperative partnership, interoperability, and the exchange of best practices between the two parties in accordance with United Nations Charter Chapter VII on Peacekeeping Operations.
- With an emphasis on the deployment and employment of an engineering company and a medical team, the exercise will be carried out as a combination field training exercise and command post exercise.
- Modern construction techniques for roads, culverts, helipads, ammo shelters, and observation posts in operational areas will be discussed and ideas exchanged.
Source The Hindu
4 – ARTHA Ganga Project: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Context:
- The government’s 2014 launch of the Namami Ganga Programme included the Arth Ganga programme.
- Building an economic bridge to improve the relationship between the people and the river is a viable and sustainable approach of economic development.
- It was determined that, with the participation of all stakeholders, the Namami Gange mission would spearhead the idea of Arth Ganga.
- Along with the other four verticals of the Namami Ganga Programme, it was incorporated as a vertical.
- The Gangas are Nirmal, Aviral, Jan, and Gyan.
The six identified pillars of Arth-Ganga are:
- Encouragement of Natural Framing throughout the Ganga River’s 5 km length on both sides.
- Reuse and monetization of treated sludge and water from STPs;
- enhancement of opportunities for livelihood, especially for women;
- Tourism and cultural heritage promotion
- Public Involvement and Capacity Building
- enabling local government to achieve better water governance.
Source The Hindu
5 – Bihar Reservation Law: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Context:
- The Bihar Assembly recently passed Bihar Reservation Laws, which violate the 50% Rule affirmed by the Supreme Court (SC) by raising the percentage of reservations in the State to 75% in both jobs and education.
- The discussion on the appropriate boundaries for reservations in India has been triggered by this, especially in light of the “50%” limit that the Indian Supreme Court established in the Mandal Commission case (Indra Sawhney, 1992).
- Which provisions of the Bihar Reservation Laws are the most important?
- These are the Bihar (in admission in educational institutions) Reservation Amendment Act, 2023, and the Bihar Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes) Amendment Act, 2023.
- The revised Act provides for a total reservation of 65% in both scenarios, with 20% going to Scheduled Castes, 2% going to Scheduled Tribes, 18% going to Backward Classes, and 25% going to Extremely Backward Classes.
- Aside from this, the 10% reservation for EWS (those from the economically weaker general group) that was previously granted under the Central Act will persist.
What does the 50% Rule entail?
About:
- The 50% rule, which has consistently been maintained by the Supreme Court, states that reservations for employment or education in India cannot account for more than 50% of all seats or positions.
- first instituted by a bench of seven judges in the 1963 M.R. In the Balaji case, reservations were limited to a maximum of 50% of available seats because they were deemed a “exception” or “special provision” under the constitutional framework.
- But when it was recognised in 1976 that reservations are a part of equality, not an exception, the concept of reservations changed. This change in viewpoint did not affect the 50% ceiling.
- In the Mandal commission case in 1990, a nine-judge court upheld the 50% limit and declared that it is a legally-mandated regulation rather than just a matter of caution. It is not a rule without exception, though.
- States may go overboard under certain conditions, most notably to grant reservations to underprivileged populations that are not part of the mainstream, no matter where they live.
- Furthermore, the 103rd Constitutional Amendment’s recent confirmation by the Supreme Court supports an extra 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
- Accordingly, States may reserve up to 60% of the seats/posts, including EWS reservations, and the 50% cap will only apply to non-EWS bookings.
Other States Going Over the Boundary:
- Even with the EWS quota excluded, other states that have already exceeded the 50% threshold are Chhattisgarh (72%), Tamil Nadu (69%), several north-eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland (80% each), and Tamil Nadu (69%), which is protected by the Constitution’s ninth schedule.
- For Scheduled Tribes, Lakshadweep possesses an astounding 100% of reserves.
- The courts have rejected Rajasthan’s and Maharashtra’s earlier attempts.
Source The Hindu
