Current Affairs – December 13, 2024

{GS1 – Geo – EG – Water Resources} CWC 2024 Report on Water Availability

Context (IE): The Central Water Commission (CWC) released its 2024 study, estimating India’s average annual water availability from 1985-2023 at2,115.95 billion cubic meters (BCM).

Comparison with Previous Estimates

1901–1903 Estimate was the earliest calculation at 1,443.2 BCM.
2019 Assessment: Water availability estimated at 1,999.2 BCM (1985–2015).
Improved Accuracy in 2024 Assessment: Includes Bhutan’s Brahmaputra contribution and Nepal’s full Ganga contribution, enhancing precision.

Key Findings of the Assessment

Current Status

Per capita water availability at 1,486 cubic meters in 2021
2024 Projection shows that 1,513 cubic meters of water is still below the water stress threshold.

Water Scarcity Analysis conducted by Falkenmark Indicator which states:
- Water stress: <1,700 cubic meters per capita.
- Water scarcity: <1,000 cubic meters per capita.
- Absolute scarcity: <500 cubic meters per capita.

Average Distribution of Water Availability

Top Ranking Basins: Brahmaputra (592.32 BCM), Ganga (581.75 BCM), Godavari (129.17 BCM).
Bottom Ranking Basins: Sabarmati (9.87 BCM), Pennar (10.42 BCM), Mahi (13.03 BCM).
Total Water Availabilty across India: 2,115.95 BCM.

(Quantities in BCM are just for reference and are not to be remembered.)

Water Availability Assessment

Essential for planning sustainable water resource management, it is the process of evaluating the quantity, quality and distribution of water resources within a specific region over a defined period.
It involves analysing natural water sources, precipitation patterns, evapotranspiration, land use, and soil data to determine the amount of water available for consumption and agricultural, industrial, and environmental needs.

Challenges in Utilizable Water

In 2019, only 690 BCM out of 1,999.2 BCM water availability was utilisable surface water.
Smaller basins like Sabarmati and Pennar have higher water usability than larger basins.
Brahmaputra basin has the minimum proportion of utilisable water resources.

{GS2 – Policy – IC – Judiciary} Impeachment of Judges in India

Context (IE | TH | TH): Opposition parties in Rajya Sabha (RS) are preparing a motion to impeach Allahabad HC judge Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav for controversial remarks.

Grounds for Removal

Constitutional Provisions: Article 124(4) and Article 218 provide the legal basis.
Criteria: Removal is permitted only on grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.

Removal Process

The Judges Enquiry Act (1968) regulates the procedure for removing an SC judge and an HC judge.
Initiation: Requires a motion signed by at least 100 MPs in Lok Sabha (LS) or 50 MPs in RS.
Committee of Inquiry:
- Comprises the CJI or SC judge, a High Court CJ, and a distinguished jurist.
- Investigates charges, frames allegations, examines evidence and cross-examines witnesses.
- Report findings to the Speaker/Chairperson.
Parliamentary Vote:
- Each House must pass the motion with at least two-thirds of the members present and voting and more than 50% of the total membership in favour.
- If both Houses agree, the President issues the removal order.

Termination of Proceedings: If the committee finds the judge not guilty, the matter is dropped.
From the above, it is clear that the procedure for the impeachment of a high court judge is the same as that for a judge of the Supreme Court.

Also, refer to Impeachment Process in USA vs. India

Cases of Judicial Removal

Justice Ramaswami (1993): Accused of financial impropriety. Motion failed as LS abstained from voting.
Justice Soumitra Sen (2011): Guilty of corruption, impeached in RS but resigned before LS discussion.
Justice S. K. Gangele (2015): Cleared by a committee on sexual harassment charges.
Justice Pardiwala (2015): Motion dropped after controversial remarks on reservations were expunged.
Justice C. V. Nagarjuna (2017): Accused of victimising a Dalit judge and financial misconduct. The motion failed due to insufficient signatures.
Justice Dipak Misra (2018): The RS chairman rejected the motion at the preliminary stage.

Limitations with the Process

No Success: Despite six impeachment attempts, no judge has been impeached since independence.
High Bar for Removal: The stringent voting requirement makes impeachment rare.
Political Nature: The process often involves political negotiations and alliances.

Way Forward

Judicial Training: Initiatives to ensure sensitivity and ethical conduct among judges.
Depoliticization of Process: Measures to reduce political influence in judicial impeachment proceedings.
Strengthening Accountability: Regular performance reviews and clearer guidelines for judicial conduct.

{GS2 – Polity – Laws} Supreme Court’s Alimony Guidelines

Context (ET): SC issued comprehensive guidelines to ensure consistency and fairness in alimony following the tragic suicide of a Bengaluru techie, setting a precedent for future cases.

Existing Framework for Alimony in India

Legal Provisions for Alimony

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: Under Section 24, the court may order interim maintenance to a spouse during divorce proceedings. Section 25 allows for permanent alimony after the final decree of divorce.
Special Marriage Act, 1954: Similar provisions as the Hindu Marriage Act, with Section 36 dealing with maintenance and alimony during divorce.
Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986: Provides for maintenance to Muslim women post-divorce.
Indian Divorce Act, 1869: Governs alimony for Christian couples, where the court can order maintenance or alimony for the wife post-divorce.

Court’s Role in Alimony Determination

The determination of alimony is largely at the court’s discretion, which considers factors such as income, lifestyle, age, and the capacity of both spouses.
Courts can grant interim maintenance during proceedings and permanent alimony post-divorce, with the permanent amount dependent on the financial situation of both parties.

Challenges in the Existing Framework

Inconsistent Judgments: Before this ruling, alimony amounts and terms varied widely, leading to potential exploitation and imbalance.
Long-Term Financial Strain: In some cases, alimony is awarded for extended periods, which may lead to financial strain for the paying spouse.
Misuse: There were instances where alimony was sought to extract funds unfairly from the paying spouse.
Limited Scope and Application: Eg- Muslim Women Act 1986 applies only to Muslim women.

Key Provisions of the Alimony Guidelines by SC

Calculation of Alimony: Alimony should be based on the income of the paying spouse, considering the financial well-being of the recipient spouse.
Standard Duration: The alimony duration should be decided with a clear understanding of the recipient spouse’s capacity to sustain themselves post-divorce.
Consideration of Lifestyle Before Divorce: The court thus ensures that the recipient spouse maintains a similar standard of living post-divorce.
Self-Sufficiency and Income Generation: The court encouraged the recipient spouse to become financially independent and self-sufficient.
Educational qualifications, employment status of both spouses, Income sources and property owned by each party are also factored in.
“Whether the wife left her job to take care of family responsibilities” must also be considered when deciding on alimony.

Benefits of the SC Guidelines

Fairness and Consistency: These guidelines bring clarity and uniformity to alimony calculations, addressing inconsistencies in past judgments.
Improved Financial Balance: Ensures a more equitable division of financial resources, considering both spouses’ needs and capacities.
Social Security for the Recipient: Provides necessary financial support to the spouse seeking alimony, especially in cases of vulnerability or dependency.

Way Forward

Enforcement and Monitoring: These guidelines must be consistently enforced across all courts, ensuring that the financial interests of both parties are considered equitably.
Awareness and Education: Raising awareness about these new guidelines is essential to prevent exploitation and ensure fair practices in alimony disputes.

Context (IE): YouTube partnered with NCERT to launch educational channels.

These channels will carry educational content in 29 Indian languages for students from grades 1 to 12.
In addition to NCERT, YouTube is rolling out 50 credentialed courses in collaboration with the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL).

‘Key Concepts’ By Youtube

This feature uses AI to identify concepts covered in a video & pull definitions of those from the web.
YouTube will also show users definitions and images from Google’s Knowledge Graph based on the video’s transcript and metadata.
The quiz questions will be generated right after watching the video based on the topics watched.

Also, refer SWAYAM Portal & SWAYAM Plus Platform.

{GS3 – Infra – Transportation} India’s First Hyperloop Test Track

Context (IT): IIT Madras built a 410-meter Hyperloop test track, with the Mumbai-Pune corridor selected for India’s first full-scale Hyperloop project.

Hyperloop Technology: A high-speed transport system where pods travel in low-pressure tubes, eliminating air resistance and friction.

How Hyperloop Technology Works

Tube System: Hyperloop operates within sealed, near-vacuum tubes, minimising air resistance to allow pods to travel at ultra-high speeds efficiently.
Pods or Capsules: Pods use magnetic levitation (maglev) to hover inside the tube, eliminating ground friction and enabling smoother, faster travel.
Compressor Mechanism: A compressor inside the pod maintains low-pressure conditions by sucking in and redirecting the small amount of air, ensuring streamlined movement.
Suspension System: Advanced suspension systems maintain pod stability and reduce drag, allowing smooth travel even at extremely high speeds.
Propulsion Technology: Linear induction motors along the tube propel the pods forward, providing necessary thrust without physical contact for efficient travel.

Significance and Benefits

Safety and Efficiency: The low-pressure environment, maglev technology, and precise engineering create a safe, energy-efficient, eco-friendly transportation system.
Speed and Travel Time Reduction: Pods can reach speeds up to 1,200 km/h, with operational speeds around 360 km/h, drastically reducing travel time (e.g., Mumbai-Pune in 25 minutes).
Frictionless Travel: Capable of maintaining high speeds over long distances.
Direct Connectivity: Point-to-point travel without intermediate stops.
Sustainability: Hyperloop’s reliance on renewable energy and low-emission design contributes to a more sustainable transportation solution.
Economic Boost: The technology can improve inter-city connectivity, catalysing regional development and boosting economic growth by reducing travel time between major cities.

Challenges

Infrastructure Costs: Extremely high initial investment is required for building tubes, stations & tracks.
Land Acquisition: Difficult in densely populated areas, complicating route planning.
Tech Hurdles: Advanced systems like maglev, vacuum tubes & safety features need further R&D.
Regulatory Bottlenecks: Lack of established frameworks & safety standards specific to Hyperloop.

{GS3 – S&T – BioTech} Novel Gene Therapy for Haemophilia

Context (TH): Indian scientists report success in treating severe Haemophilia A using gene therapy.

Hemophilia A is a rare genetic disorder where the blood doesn’t clot properly due to a deficiency of Factor VIII, a blood-clotting factor. It leads to prolonged bleeding after injuries or surgeries and can cause spontaneous internal bleeding.

Need for an Indigenous Haemophilia Treatment

India has the world’s second-largest patient pool (40,000–100,000 patients).
Typically, patients undergo weekly infusions of clotting factor to prevent bleeding.
Costly Treatments: Severe cases requiring frequent and expensive treatments with an estimated ₹2.54 crore per patient over 10 years in India.

Gene Therapy for Haemophilia A

Roctavian is a U.S.-approved gene therapy that has reduced bleeding incidents in patients. However, it requires corticosteroids and involves using adenoviruses, posing challenges for children and safety.
Gene therapy offers a one-time solution by introducing a gene to teach the body to produce its own clotting factor. This could eliminate the need for repeated injections of Factor VIII.

Significance of the Gene Therapy

A one-time gene therapy solution could significantly reduce the cost and frequency of treatment.
Bypasses the need for immunosuppressive therapies and addresses liver health issues associated with other treatments.
It opens the door for local manufacturing, reducing treatment costs and improving accessibility.

{GS3 – S&T – Tech} GenCast

Context (TH): AI & machine-learning (ML) based new weather prediction model ‘GenCast’ was unveiled.

Using a diffusion model approach similar to artificial intelligence (AI) image generators, the system generates multiple forecasts to capture the complex behaviour of the atmosphere.
The best estimate of the future comes from averaging the different forecasts. This probabilistic approach is claimed to be more accurate and less resource-consuming than the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts’ world-best numerical weather prediction system.
GenCast, in its current state, can be used for weather prediction but not for climate prediction.

Traditional General Circulation Models

Traditional weather forecasts run multiple numerical simulations of the atmosphere. These numerical simulations use a model of the world’s atmosphere divided into a grid of three-dimensional blocks.
These predict the weather by solving equations describing the fundamental physical laws of nature.
They are usually run at high-performance supercomputing facilities.
GenCast is trained on reanalysis data from these general circulation models from 1979 to 2018.

{Prelims – In News} Homi Bhabha Chair Scheme

Context (PIB): Union Minister of State for Science & Technology informed the Rajya Sabha about the Homi Bhabha Chair Scheme.

Administered by: Department of Atomic Energy.
Beneficiaries: Distinguished Scientists/Professors, including retired /superannuated scientists/engineers involved in developing sensitive and/ or critical technologies.
Duration: One to five years at the discretion of the Selection Committee.
It includes an honorarium and allowances.

{Prelims – In News} Youngest world chess champion: Dommaraju Gukesh

Context (TH): D. Gukesh became the youngest world chess champion ever after defeating Ding Liren of China at the World Chess Championship (WCC) 2024 in Singapore.

Source: NDTV

He broke the record held by the Russian Garry Kasparov for nearly four decades. Gukesh is the only third Asian to have won the WCC. Viswanathan Anand, now a mentor for Gukesh, was the first, and Ding the second. Gukesh is also the only 18th World champion in history, dating back to 1886.
This was the first-ever World Championship match contested by two Asian countries.

World Chess Championship

Origin: 1886. Steinitz became the first world champion, defeating Johannes Zukertort.
In 1946, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) took over the administration of the WCC.

Also, refer to the Chess Olympiad 2024.

{Prelims – Sci – Bio} DHARINI Brain Atlas

Context (IE): IIT Madras researchers have unveiled a “DHARINI”, a detailed 3D map of five developing baby brains from the second trimester. It explains the rapid growth during this critical stage.

This free-to-access map is the largest & only one capturing the developing brain at such an early stage.
It can help to detect possible brain disorders like autism. Additionally, the findings could shed light on changes in the adult brain linked to mental health conditions such as depression or bipolar disorder.
The only other publicly available brain atlas capturing the brain of an adult woman was released by the US Allen Institute for Brain Science in 2016.