• The SC ruled that the media has rights to report observations made during the course of hearings (Court Proceedings).
• Freedom of Speech:
  • Real-time reportage of court proceedings, including the oral exchanges in courtrooms between judges and lawyers, is part of the right to freedom of speech.
    • Under Article 19, Indian Constitution guarantees Freedom of Speech and Expression.
  • With the advent of technology, reporting has proliferated through social media forums, which provides real-time updates to a much wider audience. This is an extension of the freedom of speech and expression that the media possesses.
    • This constitutes a virtual extension of the open court.
  • Except in cases of child sexual abuse and marital issues, the phenomenon of free press should extend to court proceedings.
• Judicial Integrity:
  • Right of the media to report and disseminate issues and events, including court proceedings that were a part of the public domain, augmented the integrity of the judiciary.
• Functionality of Open Court Proceeding:
  • Ensures that the judicial process is subject to public scrutiny which in turn is crucial to maintaining transparency and accountability and transparency in the functioning of democratic institutions is crucial to establish the public‘s faith in them.
  • Ensures that judges act in accordance with law and with probity.
  • Court proceedings are vital sources of public information about the activities of the legislature and the executive. An open court serves an educational purpose as well becoming a platform for citizens to know how the practical application of the law impacts upon their rights.
• Language:
  • There is a need for judges to exercise caution in off-the-cuff remarks in open court, which may be susceptible to misinterpretation. Language, both on the Bench and in judgments, must comport with judicial propriety.
    • Language is an important instrument of a judicial process which is sensitive to constitutional values.

• • It is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
  • It was established in accordance with the constitution on 25^th January 1950 (celebrated as national voters' day). The secretariat of the commission is located in New Delhi.
  • The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
    • It is not concerned with the elections to panchayats and municipalities in the states. For this, the Constitution of India provides for a separate State Election Commission.
• Constitutional Provisions:
  • Part XV (Article 324-329) of the Indian Constitution deals with elections, and establishes a commission for these matters.

Third Arctic Science Ministerial Recently, India participated in the 3^rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM) and shared plans for research and long-term cooperation in the Arctic Region.

• The first two meetings—ASM1 and ASM2—were held in the USA in 2016 and Germany in 2018, respectively.

• The Arctic region comprises the Arctic Ocean and parts of countries such as Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Russia, USA (Alaska), Finland, Sweden and Iceland.
• These countries together form the core of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum.
  • HQ: Norway

• Third Arctic Science Ministerial Conference:
  • Host Countries: It was jointly organised by Iceland and Japan.
    • It was the first Ministerial meeting being held in Asia (Tokyo in Japan).
  • Objective: It provides opportunities to various stakeholders, including academia, indigenous communities, governments and policymakers, to enhance collective understanding of the Arctic region, emphasize and engage in constant monitoring, and strengthen observations.
  • Theme: ‘Knowledge for a Sustainable Arctic’.
• India’s Stand:
  • To contribute observing systems in the Arctic, both in-situ and by remote sensing.
  • Would deploy open ocean mooring in the Arctic for long-term monitoring of upper ocean variables and marine meteorological parameters.
  • The launch of NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellite mission, in collaboration with the USA, is underway.
  • Contributions to the Sustained Arctic Observational Network (SAON) would continue.

• NISAR will scan the globe every 12 days over the course of its three-year mission of imaging the Earth’s land, ice sheets and sea ice to give an unprecedented view of the planet.
• It aims to conduct global measurements of the cause and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.

• It is a joint activity of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the Arctic Council.
  • IASC is a non-governmental, international scientific organization.
• The purpose is to support and strengthen the development of multinational engagement for sustained and coordinated pan-Arctic observing and data sharing systems.

• India’s Engagement in the Arctic:
  • India’s engagement with the Arctic dates back to 1920 with the signing of the Svalbard Treaty in Paris.
  • Since July 2008, India has had a permanent research station in the Arctic called Himadri at NyAlesund, Svalbard Area in Norway.
  • India received the ‘Observer’ country status in the Arctic Council in 2013 and is one among the 13 countries across the world, including China, to have that position which was again renewed in 2018.
  • It has also deployed a multi-sensor moored observatory called IndARC in the Kongsfjorden fjord since July 2014.
  • The research in the Arctic region from India is coordinated, conducted, and promoted by the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
  • Recently, India drafted a new Arctic policy that aims at expanding scientific research, sustainable tourism and exploration of mineral oil and gas in the Arctic region.
• Significance of Arctic Study for India:
  • Though none of India’s territory directly falls in the Arctic region, it is a crucial area as the Arctic influences atmospheric, oceanographic and biogeochemical cycles of the earth’s ecosystem.
  • Arctic warming and its ice melt are global concerns as they play a pivotal role in regulating climate, sea levels, and maintaining biodiversity.
  • There is growing evidence of connection between the Arctic and the Indian Ocean (which modulates the Indian monsoon). Hence, improving the understanding of physical processes and quantifying the impact of Arctic ice melt on the Indian summer monsoon is very important.

• The Supreme Court of India in its 2019 order had said that “No new construction shall be permitted on private lands which form part of the nine identified animal corridors.”
• Animal Corridor
  • Wildlife or animal corridors are meant to ensure safe passage for animals between two isolated habitats.
  • In wildlife parlance, corridors are mainly of two types: functional and structural.
    • Functional corridors are defined in terms of functionality from the perspective of the animal (basically areas where there have been recorded movement of wildlife).
    • Structural corridors are contiguous strips of forested areas and structurally connect the otherwise fragmented blocks of the landscape.
  • When structural corridors are affected by human anthropogenic activities, functional corridors automatically widen because of animal use.
• Kaziranga Animal Corridor
  • A special committee formed by the Supreme Court in its report had recommended the delineation of nine animal corridors in Kaziranga National Park (KNP). The nine identified animal corridors are:
    • Amguri, Bagori, Chirang, Deosur, Harmati, Hatidandi and Kanchanjuri are in Nagaon district and Haldibari and Panbari corridors are in Golaghat district of Assam.
    • The nine corridors that already exist behave as functional corridors, but according to the new recommendation, the corridors will act as both structural and functional, on the basis of need.
  • The report suggested that structural corridors should be made free of all human induced disturbances except for the forestry and wildlife management practices.
    • On the other hand, functional corridors (which might become important when structural corridors are disturbed), can have regulated multi-use with restrictions on land use change.
  • Significance of Animal Corridors:
    • These corridors are crucial for the rhinos, elephants, tigers, deer and other animals that escape a flooded Kaziranga during the monsoon months for the safety of the hills of Karbi Anglong district beyond the highway skirting the southern boundary of the tiger reserve.
    • Once the rain clear, the animals make their way back to the grasslands.

• Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve:
  • It is located in the State of Assam and covers 42,996 Hectare (ha).
  • It is the single largest undisturbed and representative area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain.
  • It was declared as a National Park in 1974.
  • It has been declared a tiger reserve since 2007.
  • It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
  • It is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
  • It is the home of the world's most one-horned rhinos.
    • Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has the highest density of one-horned rhinos in the world and second highest number of Rhinos in Assam after Kaziranga National Park.
  • The National Highway 37 passes through the park area.
  • The park also has more than 250 seasonal water bodies, besides the Diphlu River running through it.
• Other National Parks in Assam:
  • Dibru-Saikhowa National Park,
  • Manas National Park,
  • Nameri National Park,
  • Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park.

• A commodity is a basic good used in commerce that is interchangeable with other goods of the same type. Commodities are most often used as inputs in the production of other goods or services.
  • A commodity super cycle is a sustained period of abnormally strong demand growth that producers struggle to match, sparking an increase in prices that can last years or in some cases a decade or more.
• Current Situation:
  • Metals:
    • Steel, the most commonly used input in the construction sector and industries, is at all-time highs, as most metals including base and precious metals prices have increased a lot in the last one year.
  • Agricultural Products:
    • Sugar, corn, coffee, soybean oil, palm oil — have risen sharply in the US commodities market, the effect of which is being seen in the domestic market, too.
• Reason: The new commodity super cycle is resulting from:
  • Recovery in global demand (led by recovery in China and the US).
  • Supply-side constraints.
  • Loose monetary policy of global central banks.
  • Investment in Asset Creation: It is also a result of money starting to hide in assets that are stores of value as there is an expectation that inflation may rise.
    • Therefore it is fear of inflation that is leading to jump in prices and it is not demand driven.
• Concerns:
  • It is leading to input cost pressures and is a growing concern, as it is not only expected to have a bearing on cost of infrastructure development in India but also have an impact on the overall inflation, economic recovery and policy making.
  • Higher metal prices will lead to higher Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation and so the core inflation may not come down.

• A monetary policy that lowers interest rates and stimulates borrowing is an expansionary monetary policy or loose monetary policy.
• Conversely, a monetary policy that raises interest rates and reduces borrowing in the economy is a contractionary monetary policy or tight monetary policy.

• Inflation refers to the rise in the prices of most goods and services of daily or common use, such as food, clothing, housing, recreation, transport, consumer staples, etc.
• Inflation measures the average price change in a basket of commodities and services over time.
• Inflation is indicative of the decrease in the purchasing power of a unit of a country’s currency. This could ultimately lead to a deceleration in economic growth.
• However, a moderate level of inflation is required in the economy to ensure that production is promoted.
• In India, inflation is primarily measured by two main indices — WPI (Wholesale Price Index) and CPI (Consumer Price Index) which measure wholesale and retail-level price changes, respectively.

• It is the change in the costs of goods and services but does not include those from the food and energy sectors.This measure of inflation excludes these items because their prices are much more volatile.
• It is important because it's used to determine the impact of rising prices on consumer income.

• The decision makers need to look at the mismatch in supply and demand and they need to find out where to invest, where to incentivise through the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme to prepare themselves to deal with the situation.

• Gopal Krishna Gokhale was a great social reformer and educationist who provided exemplary leadership to India's freedom movement.
• Birth: 9^th May, 1866 in Kotluk village in present-day Maharashtra (then part of the Bombay Presidency).
• Ideology:
  • Gokhale worked towards social empowerment, expansion of education , struggle for freedom in India for three decades and rejected the use of reactionary or revolutionary ways.
• Role in Colonial Legislatures:
  • Between 1899 and 1902, he was a member of the Bombay Legislative Council followed by work at the Imperial Legislative Council from 1902 till his death (1915).
  • At the Imperial legislature, Gokhale played a key role in framing the Morley-Minto reforms of 1909.
• Role in INC:
  • He was associated with the Moderate Group of Indian National Congress (joined in 1889).
  • He became president of INC in 1905 in Banaras session.
    • This was the time when bitter differences had arisen between his group of ‘Moderates’ and the ‘Extremists’ led by Lala Lajpat Rai and Bal Gangadhar Tilak among others. The two factions split at the Surat session of 1907.
    • Despite the ideological difference, in 1907, he intensely campaigned for the release of Lala Lajpat Rai, who was imprisoned that year by the British at Mandalay in present-day Myanmar.
• Related Societies and Other Works:
  • He established the Servants of India Society in 1905 for the expansion of Indian education.
  • He was also associated with the Sarvajanik sabha journal started by Govind Ranade.
  • In 1908, Gokhale founded the Ranade Institute of Economics.
  • He started english weekly newspaper, The Hitavada (The people's paper).
• Mentor to Gandhi:
  • As a liberal nationalist, he is regarded by Mahatma Gandhi as his political guru.
  • Gandhi wrote a book in Gujarati dedicated to the leader titled ‘Dharmatma Gokhale’.

• The reforms included the admission of Indians to the Secretary of State's council, to the viceroy's executive council, and to the executive councils of Bombay and Madras, and the introduction of an elected element into legislative councils with provision for separate electorates for Muslims.
  • The reforms were regarded by Indian nationalists as too cautious, and the provision of separate electorates for Muslims was resented by Hindu.
• The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces were increased in size.
  • The Act increased the maximum additional membership of the Imperial Legislative Council from 16 to 60.
• The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces were to have four categories of members as follows:
  • Ex officio members: Governor-General and members of the executive council.
  • Nominated official members: Government officials who were nominated by the Governor-General.
  • Nominated non-official members: Nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials.
  • Elected members: Elected by different categories of Indians.
    • The elected members were elected indirectly.
• Indians were given membership to the Imperial Legislative Council for the first time.
• It introduced separate electorates for the Muslims.
  • Some constituencies were earmarked for Muslims and only Muslims could vote for their representatives.
• Satyendra P Sinha was appointed the first Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council.

• • He was born in Calcutta on 7^th May 1861.
    • He was also referred to as ‘Gurudev’, ‘Kabiguru’, and ‘Biswakabi’
    • He is regarded as the outstanding creative artist of modern India and hailed by W.B Yeats, Rabindranath Tagore was aBengali poet, novelist, and painter, who was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the west.
    • He was an exceptional literary figure and a renowned polymath who singlehandedly reshaped the region's literature and music.
    • He was a good friend of Mahatma Gandhi and is said to have given him the title of Mahatma.
    • He had always stressed that unity in diversity is the only possible way for India’s national integration.
    • He had spoken at the World Parliament for Religions in the years 1929 and 1937.
• Contributions:
  • He is said to have composed over 2000 songs and his songs and music are called ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ with its own distinct lyrical and fluid style.
  • He is responsible for modernising Bengali prose and poetry. His notable works include Gitanjali, Ghare-Baire, Gora, Manasi, Balaka, Sonar Tori, He is also remembered for his song ‘Ekla Chalo Re’.
    • He published his first poems aged 16 under the pen-name ‘Bhanusimha’.
  • He not only gave the national anthems for two countries, India and Bangladesh, but also inspired a Ceylonese student of his, to pen and compose the national anthem of Sri Lanka.
  • Besides all his literary achievements he was also a philosopher and educationist who in 1921 established the Vishwa-Bharati University, a university that challenged conventional education.
• Awards:
  • In 1913 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his work on Gitanjali.
    • He was the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize.
  • In 1915 he was awarded knighthood by the British King George V. In 1919, following the Jallianwalla Bagh massacrehe renounced his Knighthood.
    • He died on 7^th August 1941 in Calcutta.

• Description:
  • Rana Pratap Singh also known as Maharana Pratap was born on 9^th May 1540 in Kumbhalgarh, Rajasthan.
  • He was the 13^th King of Mewar and was the eldest son of Udai Singh II
    • Maharana Udai Singh II ruled the kingdom of Mewar, with his capital at Chittor.
    • Udai Singh II was also a founder of the city of Udaipur (Rajasthan).
• Battle of Haldighati:
  • The Battle of Haldighati was fought in 1576 between Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar and Raja Man Singh of Amber who was the general of the Mughal emperor Akbar.
  • Maharana Pratap fought a brave war, but was defeated by Mughal forces.
  • It is said that Maharana Pratap’s loyal horse named Chetak, gave up his life as the Maharana was leaving the battlefield.
• Reconquest:
  • After 1579, the Mughal pressure relaxed over Mewar and Pratap recovered Western Mewar including Kumbhalgarh, Udaipur and Gogunda.
  • During this period, he also built a new capital, Chavand, near modern Dungarpur.
    • He died on 19^th January, 1597. He was succeeded by his son Amar Singh, who submitted in 1614 to Emperor Jahāngīr, son of Akbar.

ATS seizes 7kg uranium worth Rs 21 crore from a scrap dealer; here’s what happened Two people were arrested under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 for possessing uranium without licence and selling it illegally.

• On testing, the sample was confirmed as natural uranium by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Uranium:
  • Uranium occurs naturally in low concentrations in soil, rock and water. It is a hard, dense, malleable, ductile, silver-white, radioactive metal.
    • Uranium metal has a very high density.
  • When finely divided, it can react with cold water. In air it is coated by uranium oxide, tarnishing rapidly.
  • It can form solids solutions and intermetallic compounds with many of the metals.
  • Applications:
    • Energy Production: The main use of uranium in the civilian sector is to fuel commercial nuclear power plants for generation of nuclear energy.
      • This requires uranium to be enriched with the uranium-235 isotope and the chain reaction to be controlled so that the energy is released in a more manageable way.
    • Making Atomic Bomb: The first atomic bomb used in warfare was an uranium bomb.
      • This bomb contained enough of the uranium-235 isotope to start a runaway chain reaction which in a fraction of a second caused a large number of the uranium atoms to undergo fission, thereby releasing a fireball of energy.
    • Used as Shield against Radiation: Depleted uranium is also used as shield against radiation in medical processesusing radiation therapy and also while transporting radioactive materials.
      • Though itself radioactive, uranium’s high density makes it effective in halting radiation.
    • Used as Counterweights in Industry: Its high density also makes it useful as counterweights in aircraft and industrial machinery.
    • Radiometric Dating: The isotope uranium 238 is used to estimate the age of the earliest igneous rocks and for other types of radiometric dating.
    • Fertilizer: Phosphate fertilizers are made from material typically high in uranium, so they usually contain high amounts of it.
  • Health and Environmental Impacts:
    • Impact on Health: Potentially depleted uranium has both chemical and radiological toxicity with the two important target organs being the kidneys and the lungs.
    • Impact on Environment: Uranium mining facilities produce tailings that generally are disposed of in near surface impoundments close to the mine.
      • These tailings pose serious environmental and health risks in the form of Radon emission, windblown dust dispersal and leaching of contaminants including heavy metals and arsenic into the water.

• Uranium Deposits In India:
  • In India, Uranium deposits occur in the Dharwar rocks.
  • It occurs along the Singhbhum Copper belt (Jharkhand); Udaipur, Alwar and Jhunjhunu districts of Rajasthan, Durg district of Chhattisgarh, Bhandara district of Maharashtra and Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
  • Significant quantities of reserves have been recently discovered in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana between Seshachalam forest and Sresailam (Southern edge of Andhra to Southern edge of Telangana).
• Legal Framework in India:
  • In pursuance to entry at serial No. 54 of List I (Union List), the Parliament has passed ‘The Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (MMDR Act)’.
    • However, with respect to minor minerals, the rulemaking powers have been delegated to the States through this Act.
    • Since Uranium is a major mineral, it is managed by the Union Government under provisions of MMDR Act.
  • The policy and legislation relating to Major minerals are managed by the Ministry of Mines, but Uranium being an atomic mineral is managed by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
    • The Atomic Energy Act, 1962 seeks to provide standards of controlling radioactive substances and plants and measures to prevent radiation accidents, retain public safety, assure cautious disposal of radioactive wastes, and so on.
  • Many of these mineral deposits are found in rich forest reserves and thus approval of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change becomes necessary.