GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

The Election Commission of India issued the notification for the election of the Vice President of India.

• The term of office of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu comes to an end on August 10.
• The election is scheduled for August 6.

Office of the Vice President

• The office of the Vice-President of India is the second-highest constitutional office after that of the President and ranks second in the order of precedence.
• Article 63 of the Constitution states that “there shall be a Vice-President of India”.
• Article 64, the Vice-President “shall be ex officio Chairman of the Council of the States” (Rajya Sabha).
• Article 65 says that, in the event of the occurrence of any vacancy in the office of the President, the Vice-President shall act as President until a new President enters upon his office.
  • The Vice-President shall also discharge the functions of the President when the latter is unable to do so “owing to absence, illness or any other cause”.
  • During this period, the Vice-President shall “have all the powers and immunities of the President” that are due to the President.

Election of the Vice-President

• Article 66 lays down the process of the election of the Vice-President.
• It says that the Vice-President shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of:
  • It consists of both elected and nominated members of the Parliament (in the case of president, only elected members).
  • It does not include the members of the state legislative assemblies (in the case of President, the elected members of the state legislative assemblies are included).
• Election is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
  • In the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, the elector has to mark preferences against the names of the candidates.
  • As per Election Commission of India’s guidelines, the marking of the first preference is compulsory for the ballot paper to be valid, other preferences are optional.

Eligibility and term of office

• Article 66(3) says “No person shall be eligible for election as Vice-President unless he —

1. 1. is a citizen of India;
   2. has completed the age of thirty-five years; and
   3. is qualified for election as a member of the Council of States”.

• Under the Constitution, the Vice-President “shall not be a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of the Legislature of any State”.
  • If a member of any of these Houses is elected to the post, “he shall be deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as Vice-President”.
• Term of office: Article 67 lays down that the “Vice-President shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office”.
  • However, the Vice-President continue to hold office until his successor enters upon his office.
• Resignation: The Vice-President may leave office before the end of his term by resigning to the President.
• Removal: He can be removed by a resolution of the Council of States passed by a majority of all the then members of the Council and agreed to by the House of the People.

What if the election is disputed?

• Article 71 of the Constitution deals with matters relating to the election of a President or Vice-President.
• It says that all doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with the election of a President or Vice-President shall be inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court.
• The decision of SC shall be final.

The state of Tamil Nadu is asking for greater autonomy by the Central Government, otherwise, the demand for a ‘separate’ or ‘Dravida Nadu’ could be revived.

The demand for Dravida Nadu

• The idea of Dravida Nadu is the old debate on an independent nation comprising the four (now five) South Indian states
  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Karnataka
  • Kerala
  • Tamil Nadu
  • Telangana
    
    

• The Dravida Nadu as a political idea was originally floated by Periyar E.V. Ramasamy who came out with the slogan “Tamil Nadu for Tamils” in 1938 in response to the plan to introduce compulsory learning of Hindi across India.
• By the following year, his clamour had changed to Dravida Nadu because of the South’s cultural oneness.
• Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), a political party was launched, to pursue this goal.
• Though Periyar said the two demands were the same, it never gained traction outside the Tamil areas.
• Political Parties scenario:
  • C N Annadurai (1909-1969) was the last Chief Minister of Madras state, and the first Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
  • He founded the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) after breaking with Periyar. 
  • DMK ultimately chose to go slow on the demand for an independent Dravida Nadu and instead worked for greater autonomy for Tamil Nadu and better cooperation among the southern states.

• The movement for a separate Dravida country has passed through several stages and meanings.
• The early 20th century agitations against the colonial government of Madras state (of which, along with Tamil Nadu, portions of modern-day Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala were part) often included expressions of regional aspirations.
  

The Evolution:

• Justice Party (1917):
  • The South Indian Liberal Federation, popularly known as Justice Party, which was founded in 1917.
  • Sir Pitti Theagaraya Chetty, Dr T M Nair, and Dr C Natesa Mudaliar were the first to raise the flag of anti-Brahminism and oppose the caste system that put Brahmins at the top of the social hierarchy.
  • In 1920, the Justice Party won the first legislative council elections held under the Government of India Act, 1919, and formed the government.
    • The Congress had boycotted the elections. The Justice Party remained in power until 1926, and then from 1930-37.
• Self-Respect Movement (1925):
  • Periyar founded the Self-Respect Movement in 1925.
  • He was both anti-caste and anti-religion.
  • He advocated major social reforms, including equality for women in society, and supporting birth control for women for their health and well-being.
  • He also opposed the domination of Hindi and emphasised the distinct cultural identity of the Tamil nation.
• In 1938, the Justice Party and Self-Respect Movement came together, representing the merger of the party and the movement.
• In 1944, the new outfit was named Dravidar Kazhagam.
  • DK was anti-Brahmin, anti-Congress and anti-Aryan (read North Indian).
  • It launched a movement for an independent Dravida nation.
• Post-independence, DK continued to demand Dravida Nadu and Periyar refused to contest elections.
• In 1949, Annadurai split from Periyar due to ideological differences and his DMK joined the electoral process.
• • The DMK’s platforms were social democracy and Tamil cultural nationalism, but Annadurai was silent on Dravida Nadu.
  • In 1967, Annadurai became Chief Minister.
• Assertion of Tamil identity
  • Since 1967, as power has moved between the DMK and AIADMK, the preservation of Tamil culture and language has been a major focus area of successive state governments.
  • The state opposed the three-language formula, which meant Hindi would be taught in schools of South Indian states in 1966 and has continued to protest the introduction of Hindi in education.
  • The demand for Dravida Nadu was gradually replaced by a demand for greater autonomy in education and cultural practices.

Linguistic nationalism

• The Linguistic Provinces Commission (or S K Dhar Commission) set up in 1948 argued against a linguistic basis of reorganisation of states, reasoning it could lead to further division.
• In 1952, the freedom fighter Potti Sriramulu died at the end of a 56-day hunger strike undertaken to demand a separate Telugu state.
• In the face of intense public anger, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru announced an intention to create a separate Andhra state.
• In 1953, the States Reorganisation Commission (SRC) was constituted under Justice Fazl Ali, historian K M Panikkar, and parliamentarian H N Kunzru.
• The States Reorganisation Act, 1956, which incorporated some of the suggestions of the SRC, redrew the boundaries of states along linguistic lines, and created the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Mysore and Kerala in southern India.
• In the process, a major demand of the linguistic movements was fulfilled, and the idea of an independent Dravida Nadu was weakened.

The new 6-Lane tunnel at Khambatki Ghat on Pune-Satara highways (NH-4) is a twin tunnel with 3 lanes each & currently under construction is expected to be completed by 2023.

Khambattaki Ghat Project:

• The Khambattaki Ghat project is a new initiative towards saving time and money while accelerating highway development.
• Two new three-lane twin tunnels have been constructed on this ghat route to reduce the length of the Pune-Satara route and save fuel.
• The new six-lane tunnel at Khambatki Ghat on Pune-Satara Highway (NH-4) is a twin tunnel with three lanes each.
• The construction work of this tunnel is in the final stage.
• The total capital cost for the 6.43 km long project is approximately Rs 926 Crore 
• The development of this corridor has been considered important from the point of view of increased mobility level of the people.
• This twin tunnel will facilitate traffic on Mumbai-Bengaluru National Highway and reduce traffic for Pune, Satara, Solapur.
• Fuel will be saved and pollution will be reduced.
  
  

Home Minister Amit Shah unveiled the 'statue of peace' of Swamy Ramanujacharya in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.

Swamy Ramanujacharya:

• Ramanujacharya (1017 to 1137 CE) was a Tamil-Hindu theologian, philosopher and social reformer of the Vaishnava school of thought of the Sanatan Dharma.
• He was one of the earliest reformers of the discriminatory caste system and helped people who were considered untouchables to get absorbed into the Sri Vaishnava Bhakti movement to attain spiritual liberation.
• Born in 1017 in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu, Ramanujacharya is revered as a Vedic philosopher and social reformer. 
• He travelled across India, advocating equality and social justice.
• Ramanuja appealed for the protection of nature and its resources like air, water, and soil. He went on to write nine scriptures known as the navaratnas, and composed numerous commentaries on Vedic scriptures.
• Belief:Sri Ramanujacharya liberated millions with the foundational conviction that every human is equal regardless of nationality, gender, race, caste, or creed.
• Vishishtadvaita:Sri Ramanujacharya was a famous proponent of Vishishtadvaita, a sub-school of Ved?nta.
• Bhakti Movement: Bhakti movement was greatly influenced by Sri Ramanujacharya’s philosophical teachings of devotionalism.
  • Ramanujacharya revived the Bhakti movement, and his preachings inspired other Bhakti schools of thought.
  • He is considered to be the inspiration for poets like Annamacharya, Bhakta Ramdas, Thyagaraja, Kabir, and Meerabai.
• Temple Entry:Sri Ramanujacharya opened the doors of temples to all people, including those subjected to extreme discrimination.
• Literary Contributions:Sri Ramanujacharya,s literary contributions include bh?sya on the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, all in Sanskrit.
  
  

World Zoonoses Day is observed annually on July 6 to commemorate the first immunisation against a zoonotic illness.

• Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL) organised a nationwide free vaccination camp against zoonotic diseases on account of World Zoonoses Day 2022. 

What is Zoonoses?

• Zoonotic diseases originate in animals and can spread to humans.
• Infections occur through bites or contact with the infected animal’s bodily fluids.
• Virus, bacteria, fungi, prions or parasites cause zoonoses.
• Rabies, Ebola, certain strains of Swine flu, leptospirosis, brucellosis, anthrax, Zika and Ebola viruses, rickettsioses, plague, chikungunya, dengue and Japanese encephalitis, are the most notorious zoonotic diseases.

Origin of World Zoonoses Day

• World Zoonosis Day was instituted on 6 July 1885 to educate and raise awareness about zoonotic diseases that can transmit from animals to humans.
• It commemorates French biologist Louis Pasteur, who administered the first dose of the first vaccine against rabies.
  
  
  

India, a potential hotspot for zoonotic diseases:

• A recent report from the State of the World’s Forests 2022 predicts India as a potential hotspot for zoonotic viral diseases. 
• Zoonotic diseases such as rabies have imperilled human health since antiquity.
• Dogs are the source of most human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans, and every year it causes 18,000 to 20,000 deaths. 

The Union Cabinet gave the 13th extension to the Justice Rohini Commission, giving it time until January 31, 2023 to submit its report.

About the Commission:

• The Commission was set up on October 2, 2017 under Article 340 of the Constitution.
• It was tasked with sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and equitable distribution of benefits reserved for them.
• Its initial deadline to submit its report was 12 weeks.

The Commission’s mandate

• to examine the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities included in the broad category of Other Backward Classes, with reference to such classes included in the Central List;
• to work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for sub-categorisation within such Other Backward Classes;
• to take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes or communities or sub-castes or synonyms in the Central List of Other Backward Classes and classifying them into their respective sub-categories

Sub-categorization of OBC

• Reservation given: OBCs are granted 27% reservation in jobs and education under the central government.
• Supreme Court’s intervention: In September 2020, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court reopened the legal debate on sub-categorisation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for reservations.
• Only affluent communities enjoying reservation: The debate arises out of the perception that only a few affluent communities among the over 2,600 included in the Central List of OBCs have secured a major part of this 27% reservation.

Extent of OBC recruitment in central jobs:

• As per the report submitted to the NCBC by the Department of Personnel and Training on July 24, 2020, OBC representation is
• 16.51 % in group-A central government services
• 13.38 % in group-B
• 21.25 % in group-C (excluding safai karmacharis)
• 17.72 % in group-C (safai karmacharis).
• This data was for only 42 ministries/departments of the central government.
• It is reported that a number of posts reserved for OBCs were being filled by people of general category as OBC candidates were declared “NFS” (None Found Suitable). Home Minister has asked the NCBC to collect countrywide data on this and NCBC is yet to collect and process the data of the “NFS”.
• The government is also contemplating revision of the income limit for the creamy layer for the OBCs.

What have its findings been so far?

In 2018, the Commission analysed the data of 1.3 lakh central jobs given under OBC quota over the preceding five years and OBC admissions to central higher education institutions, including universities, IITs, NITs, IIMs and AIIMS, over the preceding three years. The findings were:

• 97% of all jobs and educational seats have gone to just 25% of all sub-castes classified as OBCs; 
• 95% of these jobs and seats have gone to just 10 OBC communities; 
• 983 OBC communities — 37% of the total — have zero representation in jobs and educational institutions; 
• 994 OBC sub-castes have a total representation of only 2.68% in recruitment and admissions.