Prelim Bits 01-12-2023 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Governor’s role as Chancellor

Recently, a Supreme Court bench reiterated that the governor acting as Chancellor are not bound the aid and advice of Council of Ministers.

• Chancellor of Universities – The Governor has been designated as the Chancellor of most of the State public universities created by state legislature.
• Powers – The Chancellor, by virtue of his office is a Head of the University, and vested with different powers.
  • Power to appoint the Vice-Chancellors.
  • Power to annul decisions of the various university bodies.
  • Power to conduct inspections in the university in some states (such as Bihar, Gujarat, and Jharkhand).
  • Power to preside over the convocation of the university, and confirms proposals for conferring honorary degrees.
• Controversies – In 2022, West Bengal tried to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister as the Chancellor, while Tamil Nadu tried to transfer the power of appointing the Vice-Chancellor to the state government.
• Supreme Court recommendations – Governor as a chancellor are not bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers and shall act only on his personal capacity.
• The powers as a Chancellor have no relation to the exercise of the powers and duties as the Governor of the state.

In 1981 judgment in Hardwari Lal, Rohtak v. G.D. Tapase (Chandigarh), the High Court had held that “the Governor was the ex officio Chancellor of the University and by virtue of his office, he was not bound to act under the aid and advice of the council of ministers”.

References

1. Indian Express| SC on powers of Governor as a Chancellor
2. PRS India| Governor’s role as a Chancellor

World Malaria Report 2023

According to World Malaria Report 2023, malaria cases continue to dip in India while it is increasing globally.

• Published by – World Health Organisation (WHO)
• Aim – To provide a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of trends in malaria control and elimination across the globe.
• 2023 report – For the 1^st time, it includes a dedicated chapter focused on the intersection between climate change and malaria.
• Key findings - Globally, there were 249 million cases in 2022, 5 million more than in 2021.
• Globally, the malaria deaths were higher than in 2019 but the malaria mortality rate decreases (i.e. deaths per 100 000 population at risk) continuously and is now at 14.3 in 2022.
• This year alone, 3 more countries were certified by WHO as malaria-free (Azerbaijan, Belize, and Tajikistan).
• India – There were around 33 lakh malaria cases and 5,000 deaths in India last year, a decrease of 30% and 34 % respectively compared with 2021.
• Threats – Climate change, conflict and humanitarian crises, resource constraints and biological challenges such as drug and insecticide resistance also continue to hamper progress.

Nexus between climate change and malaria

Changes in temperature, humidity and rainfall can influence the behaviour and survival of the malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquito.

• Extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and flooding, can also directly impact transmission and disease burden.
  • For example, catastrophic flooding in Pakistan in 2022 led to a 5-fold increase in malaria cases in the country.
• Climate variability has also led to malnutrition, a risk factor for severe malaria among young children and pregnant women.

In 2023, the R21/Matrix-M (R21) malaria vaccine became the 2^nd vaccine recommended by WHO to prevent malaria in children.

References

1. The Indian Express| Global burden of Malaria is increasing
2. WHO| World Malaria Report 2023

Elephant Death Audit Framework (EDAF)

According to the recent Elephant Death Audit Framework, electrocution major cause of elephant deaths in Tamil Nadu.

• Initiative by – State of Tamil Nadu
• This is the 1^st of its kind initiative in the country.
• Objectives – Prescribe a Systematic Standard Protocol (SSP) for conducting post-mortem to determine cause of death and understand the cases of preventable and unnatural deaths.
• Formulate remedial measures for prevention of unnatural and preventive deaths by conducting periodical death audits and monitoring these over time.

Key findings of the EDAF

• Mortality – 1,505 elephant deaths have been recorded since 2010, and 159 of them, or 10.5% of all mortalities, were caused by humans or human-related activities
• Primary threat - 802 deaths were due to diseases, followed by electrocution.

• Electrocution – It is an unnatural causes that were behind more than one in every 10 elephant deaths.
• Since 2010, 128 animals have died of electrocution with 76 cases of electrocution being “intentional” which occurred as the result of negative interactions with humans.
• Other unnatural causes – Poaching, poisoning, gunshots as well as train and road accidents.
• 158 carcasses were deemed to be unfit for post-mortem which means the cause of death was unlikely to be ascertained.

India is home to over two-thirds of the World’s Asian elephant population with only about 20% of their range is inside protected areas.

References

1. The Hindu| Audit of Elephant deaths in Tamil Nadu
2. CMS.TN| Elephant Death Audit Framework (EDAF)

Provisional State of the Global Climate report 2023

According to the recent United Nations (UN) report, 2023 is set to be the hottest year ever recorded.

• Published by – World Meteorological Organisation
• The final report is due to be published in the 1^st half of 2024.
• Climate chaos – In 2023, Green House Gas (GHG) levels, global temperatures, sea level rise reached record high, while Antarctic sea ice reached record low.
• Higher GHGs – Concentrations of the 3 main heat-trapping gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) reached record high.
• Higher global temperature – This year, till October 2023, was already around 1.4C above the pre-industrial baseline.
• CO2 levels was 50% higher than the pre-industrial era and the past 9 years were the hottest years since modern records.
• The warming El Nino weather phenomenon, which emerged mid-year, was "likely to further fuel the heat in 2024".
• Higher sea level rise – The rate of sea level rise over the past decade was more than twice the rate of the 1^st decade of satellite records (1993-2002).
• Lesser Antarctic sea ice - The maximum level of Antarctic sea ice this year was the lowest on record which was a million square kilometres less than the previous record low at the end of the southern hemisphere winter.
  • Swiss glaciers losing 10% of their ice volume in the past 2 years alone
• Increasing socio-economic impacts – Dwindling food security and mass displacement.

References

The Hindu| Climate Chaos in 2023

Iyothee Thass Pandithar

The Tamil Nadu government has installed a statue of Dalit rights and anti-caste activist Iyothee Thass Pandithar in Chennai.

• It will unveiled at Gandhi Mandapam on December 1, 2023.
• He was a prominent Tamil anti-caste activist and practitioner of Siddha medicine.
• Birth – On May 20, 1845 in the former Madras Presidency.
• Languages known – Tamil, English, Pali and Sanskrit.
• Tribal activist – He organised the tribal people in the Nilgiris in 1870’s and then started Advaidananda Sabha in 1876.
• Against Untouchability – He founded Panchamar Mahajana Sabha in 1891 along with Rettaimalai Srinivasan.
• He stressed that untouchables are not Hindus and shall be considered as Adi-Tamilars.
• Renaissance of Buddhism – He established the ‘Sakya Buddhist Society’ in Madras  in 1898 with branches all over South India, which is also known as Indian Buddhist Association.
• Literature – He launched ‘Dravida Pandian’ magazine in 1885 along with John Rathinam and in 1907, he launched ‘Oru Paisa Tamizhan’, a Tamil newspaper.
• Empowered depressed class – He succeeded in getting 1000’s of acres of lands and distributed among the landless poor under the scheme of ‘Panchami Lands’.

Panchama are people who do not belong to the Varna system. They are called Avarna communities.

• Recognition – The Siddha Institute of Studies (National Siddha Institute) at Tambaram, Chennai was established in 2005 and named after the anti-caste Buddhist leader.
• A commemorative stamp was issued in his honour in 2005.
• His work was nationalized and in 2008 he was given alimony to his legal heirs.

Iyothee Thass Pandithar is also known as the ‘Father of Social Reforms in South India’ and also described as ‘Dravida Peroli’.

References

1. The Hindu| A new statue for Iyothee Thass Pandithar
2. The Wire| Iyothee Thassar – A pioneer in Dalit history and Literature