RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 1

RAJ MALHOTRA’S IAS ACADEMY, CHANDIGARH

PRELIMS BOOSTER 2
AMU’s Minority Character 2
Why 2023 was the warmest year ever? 4
50 years of Project Tiger 4
Artemis Programme 6
Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 7
REC Limited 7
International Classification of Diseases 8
Prasadam 8
Ugram 9
Drishti 10 ‘Starliner’ 9
INS Kabra 10
Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve 10
Eucalyptus Snout Beetle 10
MCQs 11
EDITORIAL SIMPLIFIED 13
Charting a path to disability inclusion in politics 13
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 2

PRELIMS BOOSTER
AMU’s Minority Character
A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court started hearing the matter pertaining to Aligarh
Muslim University’s minority character. This is a dispute that dates back almost 57 years and has
been adjudicated upon multiple times by different courts.

Aligarh Muslim University -

• Origin —
• AMU’s origins can be traced back to the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MOA) College.
• It was established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in 1875 to help Muslims overcome educational
backwardness and prepare for government services.
• MOA not only imparted Western education but also emphasised Islamic theology. Sir Syed
also advocated for women’s education.
• University status —
• In 1920, the institution was conferred university status and all assets of MOA College were
transferred to it.
• Currently, AMU is a public central university in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.

Minorities in India -
• Definition —
• The expression minorities appear in some Articles of the Constitution, but is not defined
anywhere.
• Identification —
• The subject of identification of the minority community is on the Concurrent List.
• Currently, the central government decides who gets the minority community status in India.
It is done under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
• Only those belonging to the communities notified under Section 2(c) of the 1992 law are
regarded as minority citizens.
• However, this arrangement may change soon.
• In March 2022, the central government told the SC that states could decide the minority
status of the eligible communities within their territorial jurisdiction.
• This came as a response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Ashwini Upadhyay
contending that those from the majority communities in some states are treated as
minority citizens and therefore corner undue benefits.
• Current Status —
• Under this law, Centre had notified five groups — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists,
Parsis and Jains — as ‘minority’ communities.
• Jains were added to the list in January 2014.
• Constitutional provisions dealing with rights of minorities
• Article 29 deals with the Protection of Interests of Minorities.
• Article 30 deals with the right of minorities to establish and administer educational
institutions.
• Article 350(A) says there shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed
by the President.

Different SC Judgements dealing with minorities -

• TMA PAI —
• In ‘TMA Pai’, an 11-judge bench of the SC dealt with the question of the scope of right of
minorities to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice under the
Constitution.
• The court ruled that —
• The State is to be regarded as the unit for determining both linguistic minority as well as
religious minority.
• The question whether a sector denomination of a religion can claim minority status even
though followers of that religion are in majority left unanswered.
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 3
• INAMDAR CASE —
• The 7-judge bench ruled that:
• Minority whether linguistic or religious is to be determined by the demography of state,
• Minority institutions may be classified into 3 categories:
• Those which do not seek aid or recognition
• Those which want aid, and
• Those which want only recognition and no aid.
• BAL PATIL —
• In 2005, the SC in its judgment in ‘Bal Patil’ referred to the TMA Pai ruling, and said:
• The unit for determining status of both linguistic and religious minorities would be state.

Minority Educational Institution (MEI) -

• About —
• MEIs are colleges or institutions established by a minority group to protect and promote
their culture and traditions.
• Constitutional provision —
• Article 30 of the Indian constitution gives all minorities the right to establish and run
educational institutions.
• In case the property is taken over by the state, due compensation is to be provided to
establish institutions elsewhere.
• The article also prohibits the state from discriminating against these institutions when
granting aid.
• Legal provisions —
• The National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions (NCMEI) Act has been
enacted to safeguard the educational rights of the minorities enshrined in Article 30(1) of the
Constitution.
• The Commission is a quasi-judicial body and has been endowed with the powers of a Civil
Court for the purpose of discharging its functions under the Act.

Legal dispute over AMU’s minority character -

• S. Azeez Basha and another versus Union of India —
• The legal dispute over AMU’s minority status dates back to 1967 when the Supreme Court
was reviewing changes made in 1951 and 1965 to the AMU Act.
• These amendments affected how the university was run.
• In its judgement, the court emphasised that AMU was established through a central Act to
ensure the government’s recognition of its degrees.
• So, while the Act may have been passed because of the efforts of the Muslim minority, it
does not imply that the University, under the 1920 Act, was established by the Muslim
minority.
• 1981 Amendment to the act —
• The SC ruling triggered nationwide protests from Muslims.
• In response, political authorities yielded in 1981 and introduced an amendment to the AMU
Act, explicitly affirming its minority status.
• Implementation of reservation policy by AMU in 2005
• In 2005, the AMU implemented a reservation policy, reserving 50% of seats in postgraduate
medical courses for Muslim candidates.
• This was challenged in the Allahabad High Court, which, in the same year, overturned the
reservation and nullified the 1981 Act.
• The court reasoned that the AMU could not maintain an exclusive reservation because,
according to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the S. Azeez Basha case, it did not qualify as a
minority institution.
• Matter challenged in Supreme Court —
• In 2006, a set of eight petitions, including one from the Union government, contested the
Allahabad High Court’s decision before the Supreme Court.
• In 2016, the then government informed the SC that it was withdrawing the appeal filed by
the government.
• It said that as the executive government at the Centre, we cannot be seen as setting up
a minority institution in a secular state.
• Matter referred to a seven-judge Bench —
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 4
• In February 2019, a three-judge Bench presided by the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi referred the
matter to a seven-judge Bench.
• This bench has now started hearing on the issue.

Why 2023 was the warmest year ever?

As per the Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), 2023 was the warmest year since
records began in 1850, beating the previous record of 2016.

Details -
• The announcement said temperatures in 2023 likely exceeded those of any year-long period
in at least the last 100,000 years.
• Last year was 1.48 degree Celsius warmer than the average of the 1850-1900 pre-industrial
level and 0.17 degree Celsius warmer than 2016, C3S said.
• The announcement was confirmation of what scientists have known for a few months.
• The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) had already said in November that 2023
was set to emerge as the warmest year on record, based on data until October.
• Rising temperatures contributed to a large number of extreme weather events around the world
in 2023, including heatwaves, floods, droughts, and wildfires.
• Canada had its most destructive wildfire season (May to September) on record, with more than
45 million acres burned.

Reasons behind 2023 being the warmest year -

• The main driver behind the extreme warming is the increasing greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere.
• Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, and water vapour trap the Sun’s energy in
the Earth’s system before it escapes to space, causing warming.
• Since the industrial revolution, human activities like burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and
gases have released unprecedented levels of such gases.
• As a result, the planet has warmed rapidly, especially in recent decades.
• In 2023, greenhouse gas concentrations reached the highest levels ever recorded in the
atmosphere, according to C3S and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).
• Carbon dioxide concentrations in 2023 were 2.4 parts per million (ppm) higher than in 2022;
methane concentrations increased by 11 parts per billion (ppb).
• The onset of El Niño last year, after seven years, also played a key role.
• El Niño refers to an abnormal warming of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific
Ocean.
• It increased the likelihood that temperature records would be broken, and there would be
more extreme heat in many parts of the world and the ocean.

What could happen now?

• Scientists have suggested that 2024 could be warmer than even 2023.
• Typically, in the past few decades, very hot years have been ones that began in an El Niño state.
• Last year, El Niño didn’t set in until around July, which means that it wasn’t the primary reason
behind the abnormal heat at that point. Therefore, 2024 could be hotter than last year.
• It is also possible that the next year may surpass the 1.5-degree Celsius warming threshold
across the entire calendar year for the first time.
• The WMO in its 2023 State of Global Climate report said there was a 66% chance that at
least one of the years between 2023 and 2027 would cross the threshold.
• A long-term breach of the 1.5-degree limit would unleash far more severe climate change
impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves, and rainfall.
• To prevent this, the world needs to urgently implement certain steps, including greenhouse
gas emission cuts, which it has failed to do so far.

50 years of Project Tiger

Launched in 1973, Project Tiger introduced India’s Tiger Reserves – which have since rapidly
ascended in status.
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 5

Background of Project Tiger -

• In 1972, India enacted the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WLPA) and introduced new spatial fixtures
within notified forests, called ‘National Parks’.
• In the National Parks, the rights of forest-dwellers were removed and vested with the State
government.
• The WLPA also created ‘Wildlife Sanctuaries’, where only some permitted rights could be
exercised.
• The government created the ‘Critical Tiger Habitat’ (under the WLPA) in areas of National
Parks and Sanctuaries which are required to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of wildlife
conservation.

What is Project Tiger?

• It is a tiger conservation programme (a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the MoEF&CC)
launched in 1973 by the Government of India and administered by the National Tiger
Conservation Authority (NTCA).
• It aims at —
• Ensuring a viable population of the Bengal tiger (‘endangered’)in its natural habitats,
• Protecting it from extinction,
• Preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage that represent the
diversity of ecosystems across the tiger's range in the country.

Developments after the launch of the Project Tiger -

• In 2005, the then PM appointed a 5-member ‘Tiger Task Force’ after a public outcry that
India’s tigers existed only on paper and not in the forests of Sariska in Rajasthan.
• In Sariska, the government had spent Rs 2 crore per tiger in 2002-2003 for their upkeep and
safety, versus Rs 24 lakh per tiger elsewhere.
• The Task Force found that the increasing conflict between the forest/wildlife bureaucracy and
those who coexist with the tigers was a recipe for disaster.
• So, the Parliament amended WLPA in 2006 to create the National Tiger Conservation Authority
(NTCA) and a tiger conservation plan.
• From an administrative category arbitrarily constituted and administered by the forest
bureaucracy, Tiger Reserves became a statutory category in 2006.
• Later, the government also enacted the Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006, which recognised all
customary and traditional forest rights - individual as well as community - on all forest land,
including in Tiger Reserves.
• Under the Act, the habitation-level Gram Sabha was to democratically determine and
demarcate the forest rights that FRA recognised and vested in them.
• As a result, FRA secured the livelihoods of at least 20 crore Indians – about half of them
tribals – in 1.79 lakh villages.
• Importantly, FRA introduced a ‘Critical Wildlife Habitat’ (CWH), akin to the CTH, with one
difference: once a CWH had been notified, it couldn’t be diverted for non-forestry purposes.

Success Story of the Project Tiger -

• Today, Tiger Reserves are hailed worldwide as India’s miraculous success story in
environment and forest conservation, especially in this age of climate change.
• From only 9 Reserves in 1973 encompassing 9,115 sq. km, there are today 54 in 18 States,
occupying 78,135.9 sq. km/ 2.38% of India’s total land area.
• CTHs covers 42,913.37 sq. km/ 26% of the area under National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
• According to the Tiger Census 2022, there were 3,167-3,925 tigers in the country and their
population is growing at 6.1% a year, prompting the government to claim India is now home
to 3/4th of the world’s tigers.
• The monitoring system M-STrIPES(Monitoring System for Tigers - Intensive Protection and
Ecological Status) - is a software-based monitoring system developed(by NTCA in 2010) to
assist patrol and protect tiger habitats.

Concerns regarding India’s tiger protection and conservation plans -

RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 6
• Exclusionary approach —
• The Buffer Area outside the CTH is to promote human-animal coexistence while recognising
the livelihood, developmental, social, and cultural rights of the local people.
• However, the overall ‘fortress conservation’ approach to protecting tigers displaced
people who had coexisted with tigers for generations.
• Except for Similipal (Odisha), the CTHs had no Buffer Area —
• India bears the long-term brunt of this error: tigers have been forced to inhabit and inherit a
landscape leading to increase in man-wild conflict incidences.
• With further increase in tigers and Tiger Reserves, and tiger corridors to link them up, India’s
tiger terrain is set to become a hotspot not for biodiversity but anxiety and conflict.
• Issue with relocation and rehabilitation —
• WLPA prohibits all relocation except “voluntary relocation on mutually agreed terms and
conditions” satisfying requirements in the law.
• According to the FRA and the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act 2013, no relocation can happen
without the consent of the affected communities.
• LARR also requires the rehabilitation package to provide financial compensation as well as
secure livelihoods to those relocated.
• However, these provisions are not followed in letter and spirit.

Artemis Programme
A spacecraft developed by a private US company and carrying a bunch of scientific instruments
from NASA, took off from Florida, USA. The aim of this launch is to become the first US
spacecraft to land on the Moon in more than 50 years.

Details -
• The first US lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed to space recently, launching a race for
private companies to deliver experiments and other items to the moon.
• If successful, this mission would also involve the first landing of a private spacecraft on the
Moon.
• In 2023, a Japanese company had attempted a moon landing with its Hakuto-R mission but
was unsuccessful.
• In 2019, the first Israeli attempt to land on the Moon was also engineered by a private
company, but the spacecraft, Beresheet, had crash-landed.

Artemis programme -
• About —
• The Artemis programme is a series of ongoing lunar missions run by NASA.
• Different phases under this programme —
• One Artemis mission has already been completed. In late 2022, Artemis 1, an uncrewed test
flight, orbited and flew beyond the Moon.
• Artemis 2 will be a crewed flight beyond the Moon which will take humans the farthest
they’ve ever been in space.
• Artemis 3 will be the first crewed Moon landing mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.
• NASA aims to land the first female astronaut and first astronaut of colour on the lunar
surface.
• They will spend a week on the Moon performing scientific studies, before returning to
Earth.
• Artemis 4 will deliver a core part of a new lunar space station (named 'Gateway') into orbit
around the Moon, and land another two astronauts on the Moon's surface.
• Artemis 5 will add another important module to Gateway and involve a third crewed lunar
landing to undertake further surface science.
• Aim —
• It seeks to establish a permanent base camp on the Moon.
• It also aims to send astronauts and robots for longer stays for more comprehensive
exploration, and scientific studies of the lunar surface and atmosphere.
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 7
• It would also explore opportunities for the utilisation of resources available on the Moon with
the ultimate objective of launching deep space missions from the lunar surface.

Key highlights of the mission -

• Involvement of private player —
• The Peregrine lander module of the mission, as well as the Vulcan rocket that launched it,
have both been built by private space companies in the US.
• The Mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative that
seeks to involve private space sector in its ambitious Artemis programme.
• This launch was the first under the CLPS initiative.
• Under CLPS, so far, at least 14 private companies have been contracted to carry NASA
payloads to the Moon.
• This collaboration is aimed at creating the market and technology ecosystem in the
private space industry with respect to science and technology needs of lunar
exploration.
• The mission —
• Five payloads from NASA sat inside the Peregrine lander that was launched by the Vulcan
heavy rocket.
• The payloads are meant to carry out various exploratory activities, including detection of
water.
• The spacecraft will take more than 40 days to reach the Moon, and is planned to make a
landing on February 23.

Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas

Recently, the Prime Minister of India extended greetings on the occasion of Pravasi Bharatiya
Diwas.

About Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas -

• It is also known as Non-Resident Indian (NRI) Day, is celebrated on January 9 to mark the
contribution and achievements of the overseas Indian community to the development of India.
• It is the flagship event of the Ministry of External Affairs.
• The day also commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, from
South Africa to India in 1915, who led India's freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians
forever.
• It was first celebrated in 2003. It was an annual event earlier, but in 2015, the government
revised its format to celebrate PBD once every two years.
• It has become a platform to connect the Indian diaspora with their roots and encourage their
continued engagement with India’s progress.
• It is held in different cities, to showcase the diversity and progress of different regions of India.
• Till date, 17 conventions have been held. The last Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was celebrated in the
Indore of Madhya Pradesh in 2023.

REC Limited
REC Ltd. recently announced its ambitious plan to increase its financial sanctioning in the
infrastructure space, including roads and highways, to ₹1 lakh crore in the current financial year.

About REC Limited -

• REC Limited (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited) is a Central Public Sector
Undertaking under the Ministry of Power involved in financing projects in the complete
power sector value chain from generation to distribution.
• It is registered with the RBI as a Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC), a Public Financial
Institution (PFI) and an Infrastructure Financing Company (IFC).
• History —
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 8
• It was incorporated in 1969, in the backdrop of severe drought and famine in the country,
to energise agricultural pump-sets for irrigation purposes, thereby reducing the
dependency of agriculture on monsoons.
• REC has evolved and expanded its financing mandate to cover the entire Power-
Infrastructure sector, comprising Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Renewable
Energy and new technologies like Electric Vehicles, Battery Storage, Green Hydrogen etc.
• More recently REC has also diversified into the Non-Power Infrastructure sector
comprising Roads & Expressways, Metro Rail, Airports, IT Communication, Social and
Commercial Infrastructure (Educational Institution, Hospitals), Ports and Electro-Mechanical
(E&M) works in respect of various other sectors like Steel, Refinery, etc.
• Financing — REC provides long-term loans and other financing products to State, Centre,
and Private Companies for creation of infrastructure assets in the country.
• REC funds its business with market borrowings of various maturities, including bonds and
term loans, apart from foreign borrowings.
• ECPDCL (REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited), the wholly owned subsidiary of
REC, provides a range of value-added consultancy services in the power sector.

International Classification of Diseases

World Health Organisation’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 11 TM Module 2,
Morbidity Codes launch event was held in New Delhi on 10th January, 2024.

About International Classification of Diseases -

• It is developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to classify diseases internationally.
• The global data on diseases currently available is mainly based on healthcare practices to be
diagnosed through modern biomedicine.
• It serves a broad range of uses globally and provides critical knowledge on the extent, causes
and consequences of human disease and death worldwide via data that is reported and
coded with the ICD.
• Clinical terms coded with ICD are the main basis for health recording and statistics on disease
in primary, secondary and tertiary care, as well as on cause of death certificates.
• These data and statistics support payment systems, service planning, and administration of
quality and safety, and health services research.
• Diagnostic guidance linked to categories of ICD also standardised data collection and enables
large scale research.
• The classification of data and terminology relating to diseases based on Ayush systems such as
Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani etc. is not yet included in the WHO ICD series.
• Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI) is an agency under the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare that serves as the WHO Collaboration Centre for ICD-related activities.
• It facilitates the collection and dissemination of data on various diseases and mortality.

TM2 module of ICD11 -

• The Ministry of Ayush has developed the Code for Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani Medicine
through the National Ayush Morbidity and Standardised Electronic Portal (NAMASTE).
• The Ministry of Ayush in collaboration with WHO has prepared a categorisation of data and
terminology related to diseases based on Ayush - Ayurveda, Siddha, and Unani systems under
TM2 module of ICD11 series.
• The Ministry of AYUSH has also signed a Donor Agreement with the World Health
Organisation for the same.

Prasadam
Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare recently inaugurated the country’s first healthy &
hygienic food street, ‘Prasadam’, at Neelkanth Van, Mahakal Lok, in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.

About Prasadam -
• It is the country’s first “Healthy and Hygienic Food Street”.
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 9
• It has been opened at Neelkanth Van, Mahakal Lok, in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
• It will connect people in every corner of the country with pure and safe local and traditional
food.
• Spread over 939 square metres with 19 shops, Prasadam offers convenient and culturally
rich dining options for the 1-1.5 lakh devotees who visit the Mahakaleshwar Temple daily.
• The food street is designed to provide various facilities, including a kids’ play area, drinking
water facility, CCTV surveillance, parking, public conveniences, and seating spaces.

Key Facts about Mahakaleshwar Temple -

• It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva.
• Location —
• It is located in the ancient city of Ujjain, in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
• The temple is situated beside the Rudra Sagar Lake.
• It is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva.
• Mahakaleshwar idol is Dakshina Mukhi, facing south, unlike all the other Jyotirlingas.
• The temple, which is spread over five levels, sees a huge throng of devotees during the Maha
Shivaratri festival.
• Architecture —
• The temple complex comes with a spacious courtyard that is adorned with the finest
sculptures that are believed to be influenced by the Chalukya, Maratha, and Bhumija
styles of structural design.
• The foundation and platform are built of stones. Most of the upper structure rests on the
strong and well-designed pillars and plasters.
• It is complete with impressive lingam sculptures of Mahakaleshwar.
• The images of Ganesh, Parvati, and Kartikeya are installed in the west, north, and east of
the sanctum sanctorum.
• The temple also houses a tank constructed in the sarvatobhadra style.

Ugram
The Defence Research and Development Organisation recently launched an indigenous assault
rifle named ‘Ugram’.

About Ugram -
• ‘Ugram’ is a state-of-the-art indigenous assault rifle.
• It has been developed by the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a
unit of DRDO, in collaboration with a private industry partner.
• It was developed in less than 100 days.
• It has been developed as per the General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQR) of the
army into consideration.
• Features —
• The rifle will deploy rounds of 7.62 mm calibre, making it more ferocious than rifles that
use 5.62 mm calibre rounds, like the INSAS rifle, which is popularly used by the armed
forces in India, including paramilitary forces.
• It has an effective range of 500 metres.
• It weighs less than four kilograms.
• The rifle has a 20-round magazine that fires robustly and in full auto mode.

Drishti 10 ‘Starliner’
Chief of Naval Staff recently flagged off the first indigenously manufactured Drishti 10 'Starliner'
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for the Navy.

About Drishti 10 ‘Starliner’ -

• It is an indigenously manufactured Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
• It was developed by Adani Defence and Aerospace.
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 10
• It is an advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) platform with 36
hours endurance and a 450 kg payload capacity.
• It is an all-weather military platform which has clearance to fly in both segregated and
unsegregated airspace.
• It is designed to possess high endurance, combat-proven capabilities, and advanced features,
providing a significant boost to India’s naval capabilities.
• The UAV’s autonomous nature, coupled with its mission effectiveness and payload
configuration options, makes it an invaluable asset for strategic operations.
• One of the distinguishing features of the Drishti 10 ‘Starliner’ is its minimal maintenance
requirements, making it cost-effective and operationally efficient.
• This characteristic ensures increased operational readiness, reducing downtime, and
maximising deployment opportunities.
• It is equipped with advanced communication systems, including satellite communication
and Line-of-Sight (LOS) data links, ensuring reliable and secure data transmission.

INS Kabra
Indian warship, INS Kabra, an indigenous fast attack craft, docked at the Colombo port in a move
aimed at fostering bilateral ties between India and Sri Lanka.

About INS Kabra -

• It is a naval vessel named after an island of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.
• It belongs to the Car Nicobar class of high-speed offshore patrol vessels built by Garden
Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) for the Indian Navy.
• It was the eighth in a series of 10 Fast Attack Crafts.
• The vessels are designed as a cost-effective platform for patrol, anti-piracy and rescue
operations in India's Exclusive Economic Zone.
• The class and its vessels are named after Indian islands. They are the first water jet propelled
vessels of the Indian Navy.
• With a top speed of over 35 knots, and excellent manoeuvrability offered by her water-jet
propulsion, the ship is ideally suited for high-speed interdiction of fast-moving targets.

Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve

The Karnataka Forest Department recently started collecting green tax, Rs 10 from two-wheelers
and Rs 20 from four-wheelers, entering BR Hills through BRT Tiger Reserve.

About Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve -

• Location — It is located in the Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka State.
• The tiger reserve derives its name from 'BILIGIRI ', the white rocky cliff which has a temple
of Lord 'VISHNU', locally known as ‘Rangaswamy’.
• This unique bio-geographical entity, situated in the middle of the bridge between the Western
Ghats and the Eastern Ghats in South India, was constituted as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1974.
BRT Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2011.
• Vegetation — The forests of BRT Tiger Reserve are principally of dry deciduous type and
are interspersed with moist deciduous, semi-evergreen, evergreen, and shola patches
occurring at varying altitudes.
• Flora — The major species include Anogeissus latifolia, Dalbergia paniculata, Grewia
teliaefolia, Terminalia alata, Terminalia bellirica, Terminalia paniculata, etc.
• Fauna — Animals including tiger, elephant, leopard, wild dog, bison, sambar, spotted deer,
barking deer, four-horned antelope, sloth bear, wild boar, common langur, bonnet macaque,
varieties of reptiles, birds, etc., are found in the Tiger Reserve.

Eucalyptus Snout Beetle

RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 11
Scientists have found a natural remedy to protect eucalyptus forest plantations from a pest,
eucalyptus snout beetle, which is known to cause serious damage to eucalypts.

About Eucalyptus Snout Beetle -

• It is a leaf-feeding beetle that is a major defoliator of eucalypts.
• It is also known as eucalyptus weevil.
• The pest is indigenous to Australia but occurs in many countries throughout the world where
eucalypts are grown.
• The beetle feeds on leaves, buds and shoots, resulting in stunted growth and deflation and
causing heavy losses.
• It can cause damage over vast areas as it has a great flight capability and gets transferred with
transport of forest products.
• The pest is mainly controlled with the help of micro-wasps Anaphes spp — an expensive
solution.
• This led a team of scientists to look for naturally occurring pathogenic fungi to tackle the
problem.

New research -
• The scientists collected the fungi from naturally infected beetles, the pathogen can better
adapt to the environmental conditions, making it efficient to control beetles in forest
populations.
• The findings of the study showed that Beauveria bassiana was highly effective both by contact
and ingestion, with a mortality rate of 100 per cent.
• The fungi could be used to develop a bio-pesticide for sustainable forestry using integrated
pest management.
• The fungi could also be used in other countries where the insect is causing severe damage.

MCQs
1. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
1. The Constitution of India does not define the term ‘minority’.
2. The linguistic minorities are identified by the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities.

Select the correct codes from below -

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer - A

Explanation - As the Constitution of India does not define the term ‘minority’, the Central
Government notifies minority communities at the national level in consultation with various
stakeholders under Section 2 (c) of National Commission for Minorities (NCM), Act, 1992.
The Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution provide for protection of interest of minorities which
includes linguistic minorities also. The 7th Constitutional (Amendment) Act 1956 inserted Article
350-B which provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President
of India. It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the
safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the Constitution. The linguistic minorities are
identified by the respective States/UTs.

2. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?

1. The ‘minorities’ are notified only by the central government.
2. ‘Judaism’ is the latest minority community notified by the government in the year 2014.

Select the correct codes from below -

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 12
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer - D

Explanation - Section 2(f) of the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions
or NCMEI Act 2004 says “minority ,”for the purpose of this Act, means a community notified as
such by the Central Government.” Section 2(c) of the of National Commission for Minorities (NCM)
Act, 1992 also gives the Centre similar powers.
In 2005, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the Centre notified five
communities — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis — as minorities at the national
level. In 2014, the Manmohan Singh government notified followers of Jainism as a minority
community, making them the sixth on the national list.
NOTE - The states can also notify minorities within their respective jurisdiction. For example,
Maharashtra notified ‘jews’ as minority community in the state in 2016.

3. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?

1. No citizen shall be denied admission into an educational institution maintained by the state or
receiving aid out of state funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of
them.
2. Both religious and linguistic minorities have the fundamental right to establish and administer
institutions of their choice.
3. The identification of minority community is on the Concurrent List of the Constitution of India.

Select the correct codes from below -

A. 1 and 2 only
B. 2 and 3 only
C. 1 and 3 only
D. All of the above

Answer - D

Explanation - The subject of identification of the minority community is on the Concurrent

List. Article 29 deals with the Protection of Interests of Minorities. Any section of the citizens
residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture
of its own shall have the right to conserve the same. No citizen shall be denied admission into any
educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of State funds on grounds
only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them.
Article 30 deals with the right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions. It
says that all minorities, whether based on religion or language, shall have the right to establish
and administer educational institutions of their choice.
Article 350(B) says there shall be a Special Officer for linguistic minorities to be appointed by
the President.

4. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct about the ‘Project Tiger’?
1. ‘Project Tiger’ was launched in the year 1973 with 50 tiger reserves across the country to
ensure maintenance of available population of tigers in India.
2. It follows a core/buffer strategy where the core areas have the legal status of a national park or
a sanctuary, whereas the buffer areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land.
3. It is a centrally sponsored scheme by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate
Change.

Select the correct codes from below -

A. 1 and 2 only
B. 2 and 3 only
C. 1 and 3 only
D. All of the above

Answer - B
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 13

Explanation - Project Tiger, a centrally sponsored scheme was launched in 1973 with 9 tiger
reserves (currently increased to 50 tiger reserves) with the following objectives - To ensure
maintenance of available population of Tigers in India for scientific, economic, aesthetic, cultural
and ecological value. To preserve, for all times, the areas of such biological importance as a
national heritage for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people. The tiger reserves are
constituted on a core/buffer strategy. The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a
sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land,
managed as a multiple use area. It is an ongoing Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the Ministry of
Environment, Forests and Climate Change providing central assistance to the tiger States for
tiger conservation in designated tiger reserves.

5. Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct about the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’?
1. It is celebrated annually to strengthen the engagement of the overseas Indian community with
the Government of India.
2. January 9 is chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that
Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa.

Select the correct codes from below -

A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer - B

Explanation - Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conventions were held every year since 2003. Since
2015, its format has been revised to celebrate the PBD once every two years. Pravasi Bharatiya
Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian
community in the development of India. January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this
occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi,
returned to India from South Africa, led India’s freedom struggle and changed the lives of
Indians forever.

EDITORIAL SIMPLIFIED
Charting a path to disability inclusion in politics
The Election Commission of India, on December 21, issued a crucial advisory urging political
parties to adopt disability-sensitive terminologies.
This initiative aims at fostering disability-inclusive communication, ensuring accessibility of
information, and promoting inclusion within political party frameworks.
It is a commendable step forward amid recent cases of national leaders using disability (in their
election speeches) in a demeaning manner, dehumanising PwD and resulting in an “attitudinal
barrier” under the Rights of PwD Act, 2016.

An overview of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwD) Act, 2016 -

• An Important Legislation for PwD —
• This Act is an important legislation that aims to protect and enhance the rights and
entitlements of persons with disabilities.
• It replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full
Participation) Act, 1995.
• This act represents a significant step towards promoting the rights and inclusion of
persons with disabilities in India.
• Definition of Disabilities — The Act recognises various disabilities, including physical,
intellectual, mental, and sensory disabilities.
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 14
• Rights and Entitlements — The Act outlines the rights and entitlements of persons with
disabilities, including the right to equality, non-discrimination, and full and effective
participation in society.
• Education — It ensures that persons with disabilities have the right to free education up to
18 years of age and promotes inclusive education.
• Employment —
• The Act promotes equal opportunities in employment and prohibits discrimination.
• It also mandates that the government and private sector establishments reserve a
certain percentage of jobs for persons with disabilities.
• Reservation in Higher Education — The Act provides for reservation of seats for persons with
disabilities in higher educational institutions.
• Special Employment Exchanges — The Act calls for the establishment of special employment
exchanges to facilitate employment for persons with disabilities.
• Accessibility — It emphasises the need for barrier-free access in public buildings,
transportation, and information and communication technologies to enhance accessibility
for persons with disabilities.
• Healthcare — The Act ensures that persons with disabilities have access to affordable and
quality healthcare services.
• Legal Capacity — It recognises the right of persons with disabilities to equal recognition
before the law and supports their decision-making capacity.
• Social Security — The Act promotes social security and welfare measures for persons with
disabilities.
• National and State Advisory Boards — The Act provides for the constitution of National and
State Advisory Boards to oversee the implementation of the Act.
• Offenses and Penalties — It prescribes penalties for offenses committed against persons
with disabilities and ensures that legal proceedings are accessible to them.

Key aspects of ECI’s Disability-Inclusive Communication Guidelines -

• Banning Ill-Health Terminologies —
• The guidelines stress the avoidance of ill-health terminologies when referring to persons
with disabilities.
• This prohibition seeks to counter the tendency of using language that may stigmatise
or marginalise individuals with disabilities.
• Instances such as the derogatory comparison made by Tamil Nadu leader A Raja in
September 2023 highlight the real-world consequences of such language, creating an
urgent need for corrective measures.
• Dehumanisation and Stereotype Prevention —
• Another crucial aspect of the guidelines is the call to refrain from dehumanising
portrayals and the perpetuation of stereotypes related to PwDs.
• Instances of national leaders using disability as a demeaning tool during election speeches
exemplify the deep-rooted problem these guidelines aim to address.
• By discouraging the use of language that fosters stereotypes, the guidelines work to
dismantle the attitudinal barriers identified under the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities Act, 2016.
• Legal Implications —
• The advisory recognises the legal implications of violating these communication
guidelines.
• Breaches, particularly in disability-inclusive communication, could make political parties and
their members subject to action under section 92 of the Rights of PwD Act.
• This section, a punishment provision for atrocities against PwDs, underscores the
severity of the issue.
• The guidelines, therefore, not only aim at improving communication but also contribute
to legal measures that protect the rights and dignity of PwDs.

Ways to make ECI’s guidelines more effective -

• Need for Uniform Mandate —
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 15
• Despite the imperative nature of these guidelines, a critical analysis reveals a potential
area for improvement.
• While guidelines under the disability-inclusive communication category use mandatory
language like ‘should’ and ‘shall,’ other guidelines, especially those concerning inclusion
within the political party framework, employ discretionary terms such as ‘may’.
• To strengthen the impact, a uniform mandate across all categories is necessary,
providing a consistent and enforceable framework for political parties.
• Guidelines need to be incorporated into Model Code of Conduct (MCC) —
• These guidelines are still not part of the MCC and the advisory mentions that the breach of
guidelines related to disability-inclusive communication would make political parties and
their members prone to action under section 92 of the Rights of PwD Act.
• It is unclear whether a breach of other guidelines will also invoke this provision.
• Section 92 is a punishment provision for atrocities against PwDs. These guidelines must
be given teeth by including them within the MCC on the lines of gender guidelines.
• Address the ambiguity in Phraseology —
• There is some ambiguity within the guidelines with respect to the usage of specific
phraseology.
• For instance, it cites words like blind, deaf and dumb as examples of wrong terminologies.
• Although their translation in Hindi or another language might be derogatory, these are
technical words to refer to people with visual, hearing, and speech disability.
• A detailed list of disability-sensitive words and phraseology under the UN Disability
Inclusion Strategy can guide the ECI.
• Incorporation of a chapter on Political Inclusion in the National Policy —
• The draft National Policy for PwD released last year for public consultation did not have any
chapter on political inclusion.
• The ECI advisory says that political parties must endeavour to include PwD at all levels
as members and party workers.
• It also prescribes adherence to accessibility norms by political parties, which are the
first instance of access to political space for PwD.
• As these guidelines are expected to catalyse the political inclusion of PwD, a chapter
on political inclusion in the national policy should be incorporated.
• This will align with the principles of Article 29 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities.
• Creation of a database on legislators with disabilities —
• There is still no data on the number of legislators with disabilities and the ECI still does
not have any column on disability in the nomination forms and affidavits filed by
contestants during elections.
• The lack of data has contributed significantly to the political exclusion of PwDs.
• It is hoped that the ECI will also correct this anomaly and the 2024 general elections are
an opportunity to address this lacuna and it can be the second step towards the political
inclusion of PwD.

Conclusion -
• The ECI’s recent advisory on disability-sensitive guidelines for political parties is a pivotal
step towards fostering inclusivity.
• However, to realise the full potential of these guidelines, several enhancements are
needed, such as a consistent and mandatory language, inclusion in the MCC, and a
comprehensive approach to political inclusion within national policies.
• By addressing these aspects, India can pave the way for a more inclusive political
landscape that respects and empowers persons with disabilities.

Source - The Indian Express

QUESTION - Critically analyse the significance of the Election Commission of India's (ECI)
advisory on disability-sensitive terminologies for political parties. Discuss the strengths and
limitations of the guidelines, and propose actionable recommendations to ensure their
RAJ IAS ACADEMY 11th January, 2024 Page 16
effective implementation and maximise their impact on promoting disability-inclusive
political discourse and practice in India.