Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for January 4, 2024. If you missed the January 3, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here

FRONT PAGE

SC rejects pleas for court-monitored CBI probe into allegations against Adani firms

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Main Examination: General Studies IV: corporate governance

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to transfer the probe into the allegations of stock price manipulation by the Indian corporate giant to a special investigation team and directed market regulator SEBI to complete its probe into two pending cases within three months.

• Adani-Hindenburg case-Know in detail

• What is Hindenburg Research?

• What does Hindenburg Research say about the Adani Group?

• Why Supreme Court rejected demands for a court-monitored probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation?

• What exactly Supreme Court said?

• What is SEBI’s role in Adani-Hindenburg episode?

• What is SEBI probing in Adani Group?

• For Your Information-The two aspects of the Hindenburg Research allegations against the Adani Group which market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India is still probing are: i) ownership of 12 foreign portfolio investors who hold stake in the companies of the group, and ii) short sellers (selling without owning) in Adani shares during January 18-31 last year (around the time of the release of the Hindenburg report).

Refusing to hand over a probe into allegations of the Hindenburg Research report on Adani Group to a Special Investigation Team, the Supreme Court asked market regulator SEBI to continue with its investigations and complete the probe in three months. SEBI had last August told the Supreme Court it is gathering details pertaining to “economic interest shareholders” of 12 Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) which are public shareholders of the Adani Group companies. This investigation is being conducted by the regulator to find if there has been a violation of Section 19A of the Securities Contract (Regulation) Act, which stipulates minimum 25% public shareholding in listed companies.

Providing a status report to the Supreme Court on the course of its investigation covering 13 overseas entities (12 FPIs and one foreign entity), SEBI said, “As many of the entities linked to these foreign investors are located in tax haven jurisdictions, establishing the economic interest shareholders of the 12 FPIs remains a challenge… efforts are still being made to gather details from five foreign jurisdictions.”

The other interim report pertains to investigation of trading patterns or short positions – short selling relates to selling shares without owning them, and later buying them back at a lower price – of certain entities in Adani Group companies. The regulator sought to find if these were unusual around the time of the release of the Hindenburg report. The time period of investigation was January 18-31, 2023. SEBI said it was actively pursuing and waiting for information from external agencies/ entities. This interim report was approved on Thursday, August 23.

Besides these two interim reports, SEBI said another 22 investigation reports were final and had been approved by the competent authority in the regulatory body. On March 2, 2023, the Supreme Court set up a six-member expert committee “to investigate if there was a regulatory failure in dealing with the alleged contravention of laws pertaining to the securities market in relation to the Adani Group or other companies.” Separately, the Supreme Court also asked SEBI to probe if there was a violation of the minimum public shareholding norms in public limited companies; if there was a failure to disclose transactions with related parties; and if there was any manipulation of stock prices.

• Adani issue and its impact on India’s capital market-connect the dots

• Do you think that India is a capitalist economy?

• First of all, what is capitalist economy?

• How capitalist economy is different from Mixed Economy and Socialist Economy?

• Is there a government-business nexus in the evolution of capitalism?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Adani-Hindenburg Case Verdict: SC rejects prayer for SIT probe into allegations against Adani; asks SEBI to complete investigation in 3 months

Tiger zinda hai: Big cat’s return brings hope in Bengal reserve

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Two years ago, a fleeting glimpse of a tiger gave way to disappointment in West Bengal’s Buxa National Park, as the big cat was not to be seen again. Then, on December 28, forest officials got an early New Year’s present as one of the camera traps in the national park captured a tiger crossing a dry riverbed. And three days later, on December 31, the tiger was captured at night, on a different camera.

• Map Work-Buxa National Park

• What are the potential reasons given by experts for the tiger’s comeback in Buxa National Park?

• Do You Know-Buxa Tiger Reserve and National Park covers 760 square kilometers and is located in North Bengal’s Alipurduar district. Its Northern boundary runs along the border with Bhutan. According to the National Tiger Conservation Authority, the Reserve has corridor connectivity across the border with the forests of Bhutan in the North; linkages with the Kochugaon forests and Manas Tiger Reserve in the East; and with the Jaldapara National Park on the West.

“It is indeed a positive development. In the recent past, we have been able to reduce human interference, increase grassland as well as the prey base. We have been trying to create an ideal habitat for tigers here,” said Apurba Sen, Field Director of Buxa Tiger Reserve. “It seems to be a different tiger than what was spotted in 2021. However, final confirmation will come after we evaluate the stripe marks. The process is on,” said Sen.

According to experts, Buxa is a “low density” reserve and part of a larger tiger territory which stretches all the way to Bhutan. “Over the last year, we introduced 200 chital (spotted deer). In the last three-four years, 900 such deer were introduced (as prey). We have also been able to increase the grassland about 70 hectares per year and create watering holes,” said Sen. Ujjal Ghosh, the additional chief conservator of forest, North Bengal, said their initiatives to curb infiltration and trespassing “also worked towards creating a proper environment. We plan to relocate a couple of villages from the core area soon. That will further work towards lessening the presence of humans”.

It was in 2018 that the “Tiger augmentation and monitoring project” was introduced in Buxa by the state forest department, Wildlife Institute of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority. According to K Ramesh, scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India, who has also worked in Buxa, an increase in the tiger population in Assam’s Manas Tiger Reserve and forests of Bhutan, apart from a proper environment in Buxa, are key reasons behind the tiger spotting.

• ‘Project Tiger’-Why Significant?

• What year does Project Tiger begin?

• Where was Project Tiger launched?

• Under which Prime Minister was Project Tiger launched?

• “Status of Tigers in India” report-Key Highlights

• What is India’s tiger population?

• How scientists count tigers in India

• How are camera traps used to count tigers?

• What is spatial capture-recapture used to count tigers?

• What is Monitoring System for Tigers: Intensive Protection and Ecological Status (MSTrIPES)?

• National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body under which Ministry?

• Who is the Chairman of National Tiger Conservation Authority?

• What is Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CATS)?

• 5th cycle of Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE)-Know key Highlights

• For Your Information-IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas provides a framework for assessing the management effectiveness of protected areas through six criteria, which include existing values and threats, progresses through planning and allocation of resources as a result of management actions and its impacts.

• What is Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE)?

• Do You Know-The government has been using the MEE to assess tiger reserves across the country since its inception in 2006. At present, the country has 998 Protected Areas including 106 National Parks, 567 Wildlife Sanctuaries, 105 Conservation Reserves and 220 Community Reserves covering 1,73,629 sq km or 5.28% of India’s geographical area. Of these 53 tiger reserves, however, only 51, covering a total area of 73,765 sq km, were evaluated as two newly declared tiger reserves, Ramgarh Visdhari and Ranipur, have not been included in the current cycle of MEE.

The MEE results also suggested an overall improvement in the management effectiveness of the tiger reserves. “In the 5th cycle, there are 12 Tiger Reserves that have scored 90% and above and therefore a new category of ‘Excellent’ has been added,” the report added. Twelve 12 tiger reserves have ranked in the “Excellent” category, followed by 20 in the ‘Very Good’ category, 14 in the ‘Good’ category and 5 in the ‘Fair’ category. None of the country’s tiger reserves was graded as ‘Poor’.

• Know about Section 38V (1) of The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

• Map Work-Locate top five and bottom five states (Population) Tiger Reserves in India

• For Your Information- In the present cycle, 3,080 unique tigers have been identified from the camera-trapped photos but the SECR analyses are still underway. In the interim, the minimum estimated figure of 3,167 tigers is comparable with the lower limit of the range – 2,603-3,346 – estimated in 2018, implying a gain of over 500 tigers.

• What is Project Tiger?

• As tigers inhabit diverse habitats across a vast geographical expanse in India, they are categorized into five major landscapes based on biogeography and interconnectivity of the habitats-What are they?

• What are the persisting threats facing the tiger across its habitats?

• International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA)-What exactly is the proposal?

• Who are potential IBCA member nations?

• Map Work-potential IBCA member nations

• Know the big five

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Fifty years of ‘Project Tiger’: How the programme saved Indian tigers

Previous Year Prelims Questions Covering Same theme:

????The term ‘M-STrIPES’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of (Please Refer GS1 2017 for Complete Question) ????Among the following Tiger Reserves, which one has the largest area under “Critical Tiger Habitat”? (Please Refer GS1 2020 for Complete Question)

GOVT & POLITICS

SC denies interim relief to Mahua over expulsion, to hear matter from Mar

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to grant interim relief to Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, who has challenged her expulsion from the Lok Sabha. The court, however, sought a reply from the Lok Sabha Secretary General on Moitra’s plea.

• What exactly Supreme Court said?

• Why Mahua Moitra was expelled?

• What is exactly cash for query case?

• Has there been an allegation earlier about an MP handing over access to the Parliament website to someone else?

• Is there a rule that specifically bars Members from giving their Parliament login and password to a third person?

• So is the Ethics Committee the right forum for a matter such as this?

• What exactly is the Parliamentary Ethics Committee?

• What is the primary role of the Ethics Committee?

• For Your Information-The members of the Ethics Committee are appointed by the Speaker for a period of one year. The Committee is currently headed by the BJP’s Kaushambi MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar, and includes Vishnu Datt Sharma, Sumedhanand Saraswati, Aparajita Sarangi, Dr Rajdeep Roy, Sunita Duggal, and Dr Subhash Bhamre of the BJP; Ve Vaithilingam, N Uttam Kumar Reddy, and Preneet Kaur (Congress); Balashowry Vallabbhaneni (YSR Congress); Hemant Godse (Shiv Sena); Giridhari Yadav (JD-U); P R Natarajan (CPI-M); and Kunwar Danish Ali (BSP).

A Presiding Officers’ Conference held in Delhi in 1996 first mooted the idea of ethics panels for the two Houses. Then Vice President (and Rajya Sabha Chairman) K R Narayanan constituted the Ethics Committee of the Upper House on March 4, 1997, and it was inaugurated that May to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of members and examine cases of misconduct referred to it. The Rules applicable to the Committee of Privileges also apply to the ethics panel.

In the case of Lok Sabha, a study group of the House Committee of Privileges, after visiting Australia, the UK, and the US in 1997 to look into practices pertaining to the conduct and ethics of legislators, recommended the constitution of an Ethics Committee, but it could not be taken up by Lok Sabha. The Committee of Privileges finally recommended the constitution of an Ethics Committee during the 13th Lok Sabha. The late Speaker, G M C Balayogi, constituted an ad hoc Ethics Committee in 2000, which became a permanent part of the House only in 2015.

In 2005, the two Houses adopted motions to expel 10 Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya Sabha MP who were accused of agreeing to ask questions in Parliament for money. The motion in Lok Sabha was based on the report of a special committee set up by the Speaker under Chandigarh MP P K Bansal to examine the issue. In Rajya Sabha, the complaint was examined by the House Ethics Committee.

The BJP, which lost six MPs, demanded that the Bansal Committee’s report be sent to the Privileges Committee, so that the parliamentarians could defend themselves. Former Lok Sabha Secretary General P D T Achary said there was “a lot of evidence” in the 2005 case — it was based on a sting operation — the challenge in the Mahua Moitra case will be to link the questions asked by the TMC MP to a money trail. Any person can complain against a Member through another Lok Sabha MP, along with evidence of the alleged misconduct, and an affidavit stating that the complaint is not “false, frivolous, or vexatious”. If the Member himself complains, the affidavit is not needed.

The Speaker can refer to the Committee any complaint against an MP. The Committee does not entertain complaints based only on media reports or on matters that are sub judice. The Committee makes a prima facie inquiry before deciding to examine a complaint. It makes its recommendations after evaluating the complaint. The Committee presents its report to the Speaker, who asks the House if the report should be taken up for consideration. There is also a provision for a half-hour discussion on the report.

• How long could the Committee take to reach a decision and, should they find merit in the complaint, what is the maximum punishment it could recommend?

• Could the Committee refer the matter to an investigative agency like the CBI or police?

• Mahua Moitra has pointed out that the Ethics Committee has an “absolute majority of BJP members”-Comment

• Can the MP appeal a potentially adverse decision in a court of law?

• Code of Conduct in Lok Sabha and Code of Conduct in Rajya Sabha-Compare

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee: its history, constitution and members

EXPRESS NETWORK

SC guidelines for courts: Do not summon govt officials as first resort

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Supreme Court Wednesday cautioned courts against “routinely” summoning or “humiliating” government officials, laying down an elaborate set of guidelines that underlined the need to cultivate an “environment of respect”.

• What is there in the standard operating procedures (SOPs), drawn up by a three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud?

• What exactly Supreme Court said?

• What was the April 2023 Allahabad High Court order?

• For Your Information-The standard operating procedures (SOPs), drawn up by a three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, were necessitated by an April 2023 Allahabad High Court order under which senior Uttar Pradesh government officials were taken into custody and faced bailable warrants — all over the notification of rules on domestic helps for former high court judges. The top court, while pulling up the Allahabad High Court over the issue, said in the guidelines that courts should refrain from passing remarks that can humiliate government officials or making comments on their clothes, appearance, education or social standing.

The bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said the physical presence of officials may be required in proceedings involving evidence such as documents or oral statements. Except in these cases, “if the issues can be addressed through affidavits and other documents, physical presence may not be necessary and should not be directed as a routine measure,” said the SOP. It said that presence of a government official may be directed in cases where the court is satisfied that specific information is not being provided or if the correct position is being suppressed or misrepresented. The SC said that “in exceptional cases wherein the in-person appearance of a government official is called for… the court should allow as a first option, the officer to appear before it through video conferencing” and that when personal presence is directed, reasons for the same should be recorded.

The official concerned should be given due notice so that he has sufficient time to prepare, the bench said adding courts should, to the extent possible, also designate a specific time slot for the appearance. “Government officials participating in the proceedings need not stand throughout the hearing. Standing should be required only when the official is responding to or making statements in court”, said the SOP.

The SOP stated: “Courts must cultivate an environment of respect and professionalism. Comments on the dress of the official appearing before the court should be avoided unless there is a violation of the specified dress code applicable to their office”. Among others, the SOP also calls upon courts to exercise caution and restraint when initiating contempt proceedings against government officials.

In the Uttar Pradesh matter last year, the Finance Secretary and Finance Special Secretary were taken into custody and bailable warrants were issued against the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance). This was over non-compliance with the Allahabad High Court’s April 4 direction to the state government to notify rules proposed by the Chief Justice on ‘Domestic Help to Former Chief Justices and Former Judges of the Allahabad High Court’.

The state government moved an application before the court seeking the rollback of the April 4 order. It highlighted legal obstacles in complying with the directions, but the HC went ahead with the action against the officials. Deciding on the state’s plea against this, the top court made it clear that the high court did not have the power to direct the state government to notify the rules. “The Chief Justice did not have the competence to frame the rules under Article 229 of the Constitution. Further, the High Court, acting on the judicial side, does not have the power to direct the Government to frame rules proposed by it on the administrative side”

Disapproving of the “conduct” of the High Court in “frequently summoning” officials of the Uttar Pradesh government, the SC said: “Appearance of government officials before courts must not be reduced to a routine measure in cases where the government is a party and can only be resorted to in limited circumstances. The use of the power to summon the presence of government officials must not be used as a tool to pressurize the government, particularly, under the threat of contempt”.

It said: “The issuance of bailable warrants by the High Court against officials, including the Chief Secretary, who was not even summoned in the first place, further indicates the attempt by the High Court to unduly pressurize the government” and “runs contrary to the scheme envisaged by the Constitution”. Sounding a note of caution, the SC said: “Courts must refrain from summoning officials as the first resort. While the actions and decisions of public officials are subject to judicial review, summoning officials frequently without just cause is not permissible… Courts across the country must foster an environment of respect and professionalism…”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Supreme Court to lay down guidelines for courts on summoning govt officers

EXPLAINED

How (and why) DBT works

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination:

• General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

• General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Traditional thinking with regard to helping the poor is captured by the following well known saying: ‘If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.’ But if one examines the assumptions in this, it can lead to a surprising policy recommendation: Just give a man a fish!

• Why are Nyay/PM-Kisan not UBI?

• What is Nyuntam Aay Yojana (or Minimum Income Scheme)?

• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)-Know about the schemes

• What are the objective and components of PM-KISAN?

• Who is Eligible for PM-Kisan Scheme?

• When did the PM-Kisan scheme come into effect?

• Why has UBI not been rolled out?

• What is the meaning of Direct Benefit Transfer?

• What are the Benefits of Direct Benefit Transfer?

• What are the Issues Regarding DBT?

• Crucial beneficial feature of DBT that has received little attention-Discuss

• Why do politicians persist with direct benefit (or cash) transfers?

• Wouldn’t giving cash make people lazy?

• What is the concept of universal basic income?

• What is the universal basic income for India?

• What are the characteristics of universal basic income?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????What is PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana?

????What is Universal Basic Income?

????How Direct Benefit Transfer scheme has transformed social welfare in India

 CYBER KIDNAPPING

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Main Examination: General Studies III: Basics of Cyber Security

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-A Chinese student who was a victim of ‘cyber kidnapping’ has been found in rural Utah, unharmed. The 17-year-old, Kai Zhuang, was reported missing on December 28. By the time the police traced him, his parents back in China had paid $80,000 in ransom.

• What is cyber kidnapping?

• For Your Information-Cyber kidnapping refers to a crime where the ‘kidnappers’ convince their victim to hide, and then contact their loved ones for ransom. The victim is also made to send pictures that make it look like they are being held captive — showing them bound or gagged. These are then shared with the family. Both parties believe their loved ones will be harmed if they don’t do as the kidnappers ask.

The ‘kidnappers’, though not physically present, monitor the victim online through video-call platforms. In the Utah boy’s case too, his parents were sent a picture indicating he had been kidnapped. The police believe the kidnappers have manipulated him since December 20. He was traced by analysing call data and bank records. According to the FBI’s website, “Although virtual kidnapping takes on many forms, it is always an extortion scheme—one that tricks victims into paying a ransom to free a loved one they believe is being threatened with violence or death. Unlike traditional abductions, virtual kidnappers have not actually kidnapped anyone. Instead, through deceptions and threats, they coerce victims to pay a quick ransom before the scheme falls apart.”

Experts believe that with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), such crimes can rise, as scammers can send people voice notes that sound exactly like a loved one in distress. Last year, an Arizona woman testified in the US Senate about receiving just such a call. When Jennifer DeStefano picked up a call from an unknown number, “her 15-year-old daughter”, crying, told her some “bad men” had her. A man then threatened her and demanded ransom. After she cut the call, she called up her daughter, and realised she was safe.

• Know these terms-Cyber Stalking, Cyber Defamation, Cyber Pornography, Cyber bullying and Cyber grooming

• Know types of Cyber Attacks

• How to protect yourself?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????24% rise in cybercrime in 2022, 11% surge in economic offences: NCRB report

VVPATs and the fresh debate over them

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on December 30, requesting that a team of INDIA group leaders be provided with an opportunity to meet him and his colleagues to put forward their point of view on VVPATs. In his letter to Rajiv Kumar, Jairam Ramesh said that on December 20, 2023, INDIA front leaders had requested an appointment with the ECI to “discuss and provide suggestions on the use of VVPATs” based on a resolution passed at a meeting of leaders of the bloc the previous day. The resolution called for 100% verification of VVPAT slips.

• What is Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)?

• Where was the first time the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was used?

• What was the rationality behind the introduction of VVPAT?

• Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)-Know key features as well as its applications

• What are the challenges and concerns with VVPAT?

• Who conduct the First Level Checking of VVPATs?

• How VVPAT is different from EVMs?

• Why are the EVMs and VVPATs kept in separate strong rooms after counting?

• Do You Know-When a vote is cast, the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine, which is attached to the ballot unit (BU) of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), prints out a slip of paper with the voter’s choice indicated on it. Though it remains behind glass, the printed slip is visible for seven seconds so the voter can see that the vote has been recorded correctly, before it falls into a box underneath.

The idea of the VVPAT machine first emerged in 2010, when the EC held a meeting with political parties to discuss the EVM and ways to make the polling process more transparent. After discussing the idea, the EC referred the matter to its Technical Expert Committee. A prototype was prepared by the two PSUs that manufacture EVMs – Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL). Subsequently, field trials were held in Ladakh, Thiruvananthapuram, Cherrapunjee, East Delhi and Jaisalmer in July 2011. Finally, after fine-tuning the design, holding more trials and taking feedback from political parties, the expert committee approved the design of the VVPAT in February 2013.

The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 were amended in 2013 to allow for a printer with a drop box to be attached to the EVM. The VVPAT was used for the first time in all 21 polling stations of the Noksen Assembly constituency of Nagaland in 2013, after which the EC decided to introduce VVPATs in a phased manner. From June 2017, 100% of VVPATs began to be used in polls, and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections became the first general election to have 100% of EVMs being attached to VVPATs.

• What percentage of VVPAT slips are counted as of now?

• Why does the INDIA alliance want 100% counting of VVPAT slips?

• What has the EC said?

• What are the recent key electoral reforms proposed by Election Commission of India?

• Election Commission of India and Article 324 of the Constitution-Know in detail

• The independent and impartial functioning of the Election Commission-How it is ensured?

• Election Commission of India- Powers and Functions

• System of Election- First past the post electoral system.

• How Elections are conducted in India?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????What is VVPAT? How does it work?

Why has the 110-yr-old Indian Science Congress been postponed?

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Indian Science Congress, the largest gathering of scientists and students of science in the country and a permanent annual fixture in the calendar of the participant group for more than a century, has been postponed. The five-day event will not begin on its customary date, January 3. There is no firm word on when — and whether — the congress will meet this year.

• What is Indian Science Congress?

• What was the aim of Indian Science Congress?

• ‘It is said that the glory days of the Science Congress are over. In more recent times, the event has attracted attention for all the wrong reasons’-Discuss

• Know about Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA)

• Why is the Indian Science Congress significant?

• Know the achievements of Indian Science Congress

• Is the postponement of the Indian Science Congress a big deal? Why?

• So why then has the Science Congress been postponed this year?

• Was this crisis for the Science Congress not foreseen by the organisers?

• But what exactly is the government’s dilemma here?

• And what has the government done about this situation?

• Is this year’s postponement a signal that the Science Congress could be approaching the end of the road?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

????Science Congress: an appraisal

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