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What is Anti-defection law? DO you think that anti defection law weakens accountability mechanism?  The anti-defection law was  included in the Constitution as the Tenth Schedule in 1985  to combat the “evil of political defections”.  The main purpose was to preserve the stability of governments and insulate them from defections of legislators from the treasury benches.  The law stated that any Member of Parliament (MP) or that of a State legislature (MLA) would be disqualified from their office if they voted on any motion contrary to the directions issued by their party. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar outlined the differences between the presidential and parliamentary forms of government. AMBEDKHAR  said that the presidential form (such as in the United States) had higher stability but lower accountability as the President is elected for four years, and cannot be removed except for proven misdemeanour.  In the parliamentary form, the government is accountable on a daily basis through questions and

 Literature and archaeology amply indicate that the period between 200 BC and 300 AD was one of urban prosperity all over the subcontinent. Indeed it can be said to represent the apogee of early historic urbanism. Cities that arose in the sixth century BC primarily in the Gangetic valley and the Malwa region now flourished. Moreover, new towns came into being and city life spread to new regions as well, such as Kashmir, Sindh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Orissa, Andhra, Karnataka and the deep south. sourceses: Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra which is an urban treatise par excellence and dedicated to enhancing the pleasures of leisure and refinement.  t he nagaraka or man-about-town ,  t he nagaraka or man-about-town , the cultured connoisseur of the good life in general, of pleasure in particular, and of sex even more particularly. His daily routine included beautifying himself, engaging in various arts and games, music and dancing, dressing up and going to salons, drinking parties and picnics, and con

 The period between 200 BC and 300 AD was one of urban prosperity all over the subcontinent.Indeed it can be said to represent the apogee of early historic urbanism. Cities that arose in the sixth century BC primarily in the Gangetic valley and the Malwa region now flourished. Moreover, new towns came into being and city life spread to new regions as well, such as Kashmir, Sindh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Orissa, Andhra, Karnataka and the deep south. Cities in this period not only show extensive construction activity, complex burnt brick buildings, well laid out streets and drains, and fortification walls but the adoption of new techniques like the use of tiles in flooring and roofing. There is also abundant evidence from the urban centres of the presence of coinage, a range of sophisticated artifacts like fine pottery, beads and terracottas, and of a population that engaged in a variety of urban occupations. A list of the thriving cities of this period includes Rajagriha, Pataliputra, Varan

  Understanding the emergence of bhakti  The bhakti movements were an important force in the religious history of South India between the 7th and 12th centuries. The saints of South India are largely unknown outside the region, but they were the first to experience the intense love of God that marked bhakti religion. There were two streams to the movement -- Shaiva and Vaishnava -- and they left behind hymns of tremendous beauty which dealt with human love and the love of God and reached out to all sections of society alike. To understand South Indian bhakti in south  India  In the sixth century CE, the Chalukya, Pandya and Pallava dynasties rose to power,they dominated politics in the region: waging war, upholding Brahmanical hierarchies, and patronizing art and culture. The new dynasties used inscriptions to make grand statements about their power. While kings gave grants to brahmanas and temples, in return, brahmanas and temple priests asserted the king‟s divinity and his right to r

Microplastics are small plastic particles in the environment that are generally smaller than 1 mm to the 1 micrometer range. Microplastics can be formed by fragmentation of large plastic waste material. Recently microplastic was found in the ice of arctic region showing it can reach any corner of the world posing many dangers. Danger of Microplastics to humanity and overall biodiversity: Microplastics pass the filtration and treatment processes for waste water due to small size and end up in sites of nature endangering food chain. This results in significant global impacts on wildlife from marine environment pollution. Microplastics kill biodiversity and other organisms fish before they reach reproductive age. It lead to stunted growth and behaviour change in some organisms. Microplastics are found in the viscera of dead sea birds, reptiles like turtles, whales etc. A large quantities of plastic are not recycled and enter landfill. Thus endanger human health. The durable properties of

 Fuel Cells have emerged as one of the most promising technologies for the power source of the future. Fuel cell is an electrochemical device that converts energy into electricity and heat without combustion Fuel cells are modular in construction, their efficiency is independent of size and have flexibility of using a wide range of fuels to produce hydrogen/reformate suitable for fuel cell applications. Fuel cells require relatively pure hydrogen free of contaminants such as sulphur and carbon compounds etc. When hydrogen rich reformate gas mixture is used, it results in some emissions similar to lean hydrogen – air mixture burning in IC engines. The fuel cell systems are more efficient than IC engines and turbines. Fuel cells are considered suitable for a broad spectrum of applications ranging from a few milli watts to several kilowatts. 6.1.3 Fuel cells are the long term option for hydrogen applications both for transportation and power generation. Fuel cells especially for vehicular

  Kanva dynasty (73 to 28 BCE)   ·          Kanva dynasty (73 to 28 BCE): The founder of the Kanva dynasty was Vasudeva Kanva, the minister under the last Sunga king Devabhuti. ·          The Harshacharita narrates that Devabhuti became the victim of a conspirancy masterminded by this brahmana minister Vasudeva, who went on to found the Kanva dynasty. It is known from the Puranic evidence that four rulers of this dynasty ruled over Magadha for forty five years. ·          They are Vasudeva, Bhumimitra, Narayana and Susarman. Their kingdom was limited to the confines of Pataliputra. ·          It is stated in the Puranas that the Kanvas were overthrown by the Satavahanas. Thus the Kanva rule came to an end by 28 BCE. ·          The rule of the Kanvas was a passing phase in the history of Ancient India. After the fall of the Kanvas, the history of Magadha was a blank until the establishment of the Gupta Empire. ·          The fall of the two Brahmana dynasties was followed

  Sunga Dynasty (185 to 73 BCE)   ·          The Sungas were the immediate successors of the Mauryas in North India, a Brahmin family of obscure origin. Pushyamitra Sunga laid the foundation of a new dynasty in Magadha known as the Sunga dynasty.   ·            According to Harshacharita, Pushyamitra, a general of Mauryan king Brihadratha, assassinated the last Mauryan ruler and usurped the throne. Thus he succeeded in gaining power by slaying his master. The dynasty ruled roughly for 112 years, i.e., from about 185 to 73 BCE.   Pushyamitra Sunga:   ·          Pushyamitra was the greatest king of this dynasty. He fought number of wars. He conquered the Vidarbha region (Berar) in the Northern Deccan. ·          The most important challenge to the Sunga rule was to protect against the invasions of the Bactrian Greeks from the north-west. ·          The Greeks advanced up to Pataliputra but the invasion was repulsed by Vasumitra, son of Agnimitra and grandson of Push

A  flash flood  is a rapid  flooding  of low-lying areas: washes,  rivers ,  dry lakes  and  depressions . It may be caused by heavy  rain  associated with a  severe thunderstorm ,  hurricane ,  tropical storm , or  meltwater  from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields. Flash floods may also occur after the collapse of a natural  ice  or  debris dam , or a human structure such as a man-made  dam . Or  Flash flooding  – it is characterized by an intense, high velocity of water that occurs in an existing river channel with little to no notice. What is Glacial  Lake Outburst Floods?  When glaciers melt, the water in glacial lakes accumulates behind loose, natural “glacial/moraine dams” made of ice, sand, pebbles and ice residue.  A GLOF refers to the flooding that occurs when the water dammed by a glacier or a moraine is released suddenly. Unlike earthen dams, the weak structure of the moraine dam leads to the abrupt failure of the dam on top of the glacial lake, which holds l

Government of India, in pursuance of its commitment to “Zero Tolerance Against Corruption” has taken several measures to combat corruption which,  inter alia,  include: Systemic improvements and reforms to provide transparent citizen-friendly services and reduce corruption. These, inter alia, include: Disbursement of welfare benefits directly to the citizens under various schemes of the Government in a transparent manner through the Direct Benefit Transfer initiative. Implementation of E-tendering in public procurements. Introduction of e-Governance and simplification of procedure and systems. Introduction of Government procurement through the Government e- Marketplace (GeM). Discontinuation of interviews in recruitment of Group ‘B’ (Non-Gazetted) and Group ‘C’ posts in Government of India. Invocation of FR-56 (j) and AIS (DCRB) Rules, 1958 for retiring officials from service in public interest whose performance has been reviewed and found unsatisfactory. The All India Services (Discip

The progress journey of humanity will unfold in the times to come. First is the health of our people. Second is the health of our planet. Both are inter-linked. There are already many ongoing discussions on improving people's health. We have gathered here to talk about the health of the planet. The scale of the challenge we face is widely known. But, conventional approaches cannot solve the problems we face. The need of the hour is to think out of the box invest in our youngsters and work towards sustainable development. The road to fighting climate change is through climate justice. At the route of climate justice is the principle of being large-hearted. Climate justice is also about thinking of the bigger and long term picture. The sad reality is-changes in the environment and natural disasters impact the poor the most. Climate justice is inspired by a vision of trusteeship- where growth comes with greater compassion to the poorest. Climate justice also means giving the developin

Government has taken the following steps to achieve the target of augmentation of coal production capacity: 1. Single Window Clearance System has been launched. 2. Guidelines for procedure and approval of mining plan has been simplified. 3. Auctioning of coal mines for commercial sale of coal started. 4.  Regular review and monitoring of allocated coal mines in the past. 5.  Holding of Monitoring Committee meetings headed by Secretary (Coal) and concerned Chief Secretary of the state for early operationalisation of coal mines allocated. 6. Improving evacuation efficiency & capacity and construction of new railway lines. 7. Establishment of new washeries to enhance clean coal.   In addition to above, Coal India Limited has taken following specific steps:   Capacity addition through approval of new & expansion PRs. Capacity addition through special dispensation in EC under clause 6(2) of EIA 2006. Enhancing capacity through marginal schemes and OC patches. Capacity augmentation t

The Indian constitution adopts the first-past-the-post (FPTP) system of elections, otherwise known as  simple majority  where a candidate with the most number of votes from a constituency wins the seat. Some  believe  that this system is undemocratic and unrepresentative of diverse identities. The critics of the FPTP system have called for reexamining this constitutional choice and have argued for adopting the system of proportional representation Debates : So why did the constitution framers choose FPTP? Are those historical reasons still relevant in today’s India? Article 81  of the constitution stipulates for FPTP. The constituent assembly took up this provision (draft  Article 67 ) for discussion on  January 4, 1949 . Kazi Syed Karimuddin offered the strongest critique of FPTP and made a case for adopting proportional representation. He  sought  to move an amendment to substitute FPTP with “system of proportional representation with multi-member constituencies by means of cumulativ