- POLITY
USE OF REGIONAL LANGUAGES IN HCs REMAINS LIMITED DESPITE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
- The issue of using regional languages in High Court proceedings is a significant topic in the context of making justice more accessible to the common citizen:
- Constitutional Provisions
- Article 348(1): Mandates that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and High Courts be conducted in English unless Parliament decides otherwise.
- Article 348(2): Allows the Governor of a State to authorize the use of Hindi or any other official language in the State’s High Court, provided the President consents.
- Current Scenario Out of India’s 25 High Courts, only four — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar — are allowed to use Hindi in their proceedings and legal documents.
- Proposals from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Karnataka to permit the use of Tamil, Gujarati, Hindi, Bengali, and Kannada in their respective High Courts were not accepted by the Chief Justice of India in 2012 after thorough deliberation with other judges.
- Recent Developments MPs D.V. Heggade and Tejasvi Surya raised the issue in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, respectively.
- Minister of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, mentioned that efforts are being made to translate proceedings and judgments from English into other regional languages to make them more comprehensible to the common citizen.
2. POLITY
OVER A CRORE CASES SETTLED IN NATIONAL LOK ADALAT
- National Lok Adalat: Reducing Pendency in Courts
- Event Overview:
- The third national Lok Adalat was conducted by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on Saturday.
- The event aimed to reduce the burgeoning pendency in courts across India.
- Scale and Reach:
- Conducted across taluks, districts, and High Courts in 27 States.
- Organized under the stewardship of Supreme Court judge and NALSA Chairman, Justice Sanjiv Khanna.
- Cases Settled:
- A total of 1,14,56,529 cases were settled. ○ Pre-litigation Cases: 94,60,864 cases.
- Pending Cases: 19,95,665 cases.
- Settlement Amount: The approximate value of the total settlement amount was ₹8,482.08 crore.
3. ENVIRONMENT
ICMR SIGNS PACTS FOR CLINICAL TRAILS FOR FOUR DRUG MOLECULES
- Memorandums of Agreement (MoAs):
- The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has formalized MoAs with multiple sponsors under its Network for Phase 1 Clinical Trials.
- These agreements mark the entry into first-in-human clinical trials for four promising molecules.
- Collaborative Research:
- Multiple Myeloma: Collaboration with Aurigene Oncology Ltd. for a small molecule.
- Zika Vaccine: Partnership with Indian Immunologicals Ltd. for vaccine development.
- Seasonal Influenza Virus Vaccine: Coordination with Mynvax Private Ltd. for a vaccine trial.
- CAR-T Cell Therapy: Advancement study with ImmunoACT for chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
- Significance:
- Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda highlighted the collaboration as a key milestone for affordable and accessible cutting-edge treatments.
- Rajiv Bahl, Director-General of ICMR, emphasized the importance of establishing Phase 1 clinical trial infrastructure for developing indigenous molecules and treatments
4. INTERNATIONAL
RUSSIA, UKRAINE SWAP 206 POWs IN UAE BROKERED DEAL
- Overview:
- Russia and Ukraine swapped 103 prisoners of war (POWs) each on Saturday.
- The deal was brokered by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
- Background: The Russians released were captured during Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region.
- Some Ukrainians freed had been prisoners since Moscow seized the Azovstal steel plant in May 2022.
- Locations Involved: The freed Ukrainian soldiers were defenders of Kyiv, Donetsk, Mariupol, Azovstal, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions.
- The Russian servicemen were taken to Belarus for psychological and medical assistance.
- Brokerage and Coordination:
- The UAE played a key role in brokering the deal.
- Despite ongoing hostilities, Russia and Ukraine have managed multiple POW swaps, often facilitated by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, or Turkiye.
- Significance:
- The swap represents a rare moment of coordination between the two warring sides.
- The UAE hailed the deal as a “success” and thanked both sides for their cooperation
5. ENVIRONEMENT
POST GLACIAL ECOSYSTEMS COULD HELP TO SLOW DOWN CLIMATE CHANGE, SAYS DECADE LONG STUDY
- Study Overview:
- The study titled “The development of terrestrial ecosystems emerging after glacier retreat” was published in the multidisciplinary science journal Nature.
- It is a decade-long investigation into how ecosystems develop in areas where glaciers have retreated.
- Impact of Deglaciation:
- Deglaciation may accelerate climate change by reducing surface reflectivity (albedo effect) and releasing stored carbon.
- However, post-glacial ecosystems could help mitigate climate change by enhancing biogeochemical processes.
- Ecosystem Development: Initial Colonization: Microorganisms such as bacteria, protists, and algae are the first to colonize the barren landscape after glacier retreat.
- Soil Enrichment: These microorganisms make minerals available for other species, enriching the soil.
- Plant Establishment: Within a decade, hardy plants like lichens, mosses, and grasses begin to establish, further enriching the soil and paving the way for more complex plant life and larger animals.
- Sample Collection and Analysis: The study involved collecting over 1,200 soil samples from nearly fifty glaciers worldwide.
- Indian researchers analyzed samples from the Gangotri and Bara Shigri glaciers in the Indian Himalayas.
- Potential for Climate Change Mitigation: Proper management of these emerging ecosystems can boost biogeochemical processes.
- These areas can develop rapidly, providing temporary habitats for species threatened by climate change.
- The study suggests that these new ecosystems could play a significant role in slowing down climate change.
ONE LINER
- Prime Minister launched Subhatra scheme to provide financial assistance of Rs 10000 per year to women in Odisha
- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched NPS Vatsalya scheme for parents to invest in a pension account for their children
