Vigyanika Science Literature Festival Event in IISF Bhopal (GS Paper 1, Culture)
Why in news?
- Vigyanika, a Science Literature Festival is going to be organised during 22 & 23 January, 2023 in the IndianInternational Science Festival (IISF), MANIT, Bhopal.
- “Science Literature Festival” is being organised as part of the 8th India International Science Festival (IISF).
IISF:
- The annual India International Science Festival, which is in its 8th edition this time, showcases and celebrates the fruits of science and technology.
- IISF aims to engage the public with science and demonstrate how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) provide solutions to improve our lives.
- In 2023, IISF is being coordinated and organised by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Ministry of Science & Technology and Vijnana Bharati.
- Since the launch of IISF in 2015, the “Science Literature Festival” has emerged as one of the well-attended events.
Vigyanika:
- Aligned to the larger objective of IISF, the Vigyanika will showcase India's rich legacy of promoting science & inculcating scientific temper among the public through multilingual scientific literature, science poetry, science drama and folk art.
- Vigyanika seeks to promote discussions and deliberations on challenges and future roadmap for effective communication of scientific knowledge.
- As India is celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to mark 75 years of Indian independence, Vigyanika will also commemorate the Amrit Kaal aligned with science and technology in India through discussions.
S20:
- India is also going through the Presidency phase of the G20 and Indian Institute of Science is the Secretariat for Science 20 (S20).
- S20 will address the scientific aspects such as climate change, food security and health.
- Vigyanika will have six sessions, including keynote lectures, panel discussions, and interactions with authors, depiction of scientific ideas through drama & folk dance, and Vigyan Kavi Sammelan.
New plateau type discovered from Maharashtra could prove to be a repository of information to study climate change effects on species survival
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) in Pune, recently discovered a rare low-altitude basalt plateau in Manjare village, Thane district.
- This is the fourth type of plateau to be identified in the region; the previous three are laterites at highand low altitudes and basalt at high altitudes.
Why it matters?
- A rare low-altitude basalt plateau housing 76 species of plants and shrubs from 24 different families discovered in Thane region in the Western Ghats, can prove to be a repository of information for species interactions.
- It can help study effects of climate change on species survival and increase awareness of the conservation needs of rock outcrops and their immense biodiversity value in the global context.
Plateaus in the Western Ghats:
- The Western Ghats is one of four global biodiversity hotspots in India, and ARI in Pune has been studying its biodiversity, particularly its rock outcrops, for a decade.
- Plateaus are dominant landscapes in the Western Ghats, significant because of the predominance of endemic species.
- They are classified as a type of rock outcrop and provides unique and challenging environment for species to adapt to. These outcrops have seasonal water availability, limited soil and nutrients, making them ideal laboratories to study the effects of climate change on species survival.
- Plateaus are thus a valuable source of insight into how species can survive in extreme conditions.
Significance:
- Surveying the plateau, the team documented 76 species of plants and shrubs from 24 different families.
- This is an important discovery, as the plateau shares the vegetation with the three other rock outcrops, simultaneously holding a few unique species. This gives a unique model system to study the species interactions in varying environmental conditions.
- The research highlighted the importance of the newly discovered low-level basalt plateau located in Manjare Village of Thane district in the Northern western Ghats, standing 156 m above mean sea level.
SC backs right to free speech of 2 lawyers up for judgeship
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Why in news?
- The Supreme Court Collegium recently backed the right to free speech of two lawyers recommended for appointments as judges in the Madras and Bombay High Courts.
Excerpts of judgement:
- All citizens have the right to free speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
- Expression of views by a candidate does not disentitle him to hold a constitutional office so long as the person proposed for judgeship is a person of competence, merit and integrity.
- It refused to drop the name of advocate R. John Sathyan for the Madras High Court merely because the government received an Intelligence Bureau report that he had shared a Web portal’s article critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and another regarding the death of a medical aspirant who was unable to clear NEET, while portraying it as a “political betrayal”.
Decision of the collegium:
- Instead, the collegium, said Mr. Sathyan should get precedence over all the other names recommended by the collegium on that day. It also drew the Centre’s attention to the part of the same IB report which said Mr. Sathyan did not have any “overt political leanings” and his integrity was intact.
- On Bombay High Court advocate Somasekhar Sundaresan, the government had deduced that he was a “highly biased opinionated person” from his social media posts.
- It accused Mr. Sundaresan of being “selectively critical on social media on the important policies, initiatives and directions of the government”.
Other recommendations:
- The collegium reiterated the names of advocates Amitesh Banerjee and Sakya Sen for Calcutta High Court judgeships.
- It had recommended these two names four years ago in December 2018. The government returned them in November 2022 without citing “fresh material or ground” for its objection.
