NEWS:SC sets timelines to facilitate repair of Mullaperiyar dam

GS Paper 2 – Polity & Governance: Inter-State Relations, Judicial Interventions

• Supreme Court directed Kerala and Tamil Nadu to cooperate on long-pending repair and maintenance of the Mullaperiyar dam.
• Issue involved tree-felling, material transport, and grouting of the 125-year-old dam’s superstructure.
• Kerala permitted 6 out of 9 repair works; Court questioned its objection to the remaining three.
• Kerala’s environmental concerns over road repairs through forest areas were addressed by allowing eco-friendly materials.
• An Executive Engineer from Kerala will monitor repair works done by Tamil Nadu.
• A Bench led by Justice Surya Kant instructed Kerala to process Tamil Nadu’s tree-felling application within two weeks.

• Mullaperiyar dam is situated at the confluence of the Mullayar and Periyar rivers.
  • The dam is located entirely in Kerala.
• It was built in the late 1800s in the princely state of Travancore (present-day Kerala) and given to British-ruled Madras Presidency on a 999-year lease in 1886.
  • The agreement granted full rights to the Tamil Nadu to construct irrigation projects on the land.
• The dam was built to divert eastwards a part of the west-flowing Periyar river, to feed the arid areas of Tamil Nadu.

Provisions for the distribution of water in Indian Constitution

• The relevant provisions of the Indian Constitution are
  • Entry 17 in the State List,
  • Entry 56 in the Union List, and
  • Article 262

NEWS:Thought police: A professor’s arrest for posts points to misuse of law against dissent

GS Paper 2 – Governance: Fundamental Rights, Freedom of Speech & Expression

• Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad of Ashoka University arrested by Haryana Police over social media posts on Operation Sindoor.
• FIRs filed for “endangering sovereignty” and “promoting enmity,” based on complaints by BJP and state commission members.
• Posts were analytical and patriotic, calling for pluralism and inclusive national strategy.
• Supreme Court agreed to hear his plea urgently, emphasizing need to protect freedom of expression

Article 19(1)(a), COI

• Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India states that all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression.
  • The philosophy behind this Article lies in the Preamble of the Constitution, where a solemn resolve is made to secure to all its citizen, liberty of thought and expression.
• The following aspects are included in Article 19(1)(a):
  • Freedom of Press
  • Freedom of Commercial Speech
  • Right to Broadcast
  • Right to Information
  • Right to Criticize
  • Right to expression beyond national boundaries
  • Right not to speak or right to silence

Essential Elements of Article 19(1)(a), COI

• This right is available only to a citizen of India and not to foreign nationals.
• It includes the right to express one’s views and opinions at any issue through any medium, e.g. by words of mouth, writing, printing, picture, film, movie etc.
• This right is, however, not absolute and it allows Government to frame laws to impose reasonable restrictions.

Article 19(2), COI

• The exercise of this right is, however, subject to reasonable restrictions for certain purposes imposed under Article 19(2).
• sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.

NEWS:tough timing: ISRO needs more resources to support India’s military needs,

GS Paper 3 – Science & Tech (Space), Internal Security, Strategic Capabilities, Defence Preparedness

• ISRO’s PSLV-C61 failed to place EOS-09 satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit due to a third-stage glitch.
• EOS-09 was designed for civilian uses like land-use mapping and hydrology, but also had strategic military relevance for defence surveillance.
• The failure highlighted the need for enhanced reliability in India’s space-based systems amid strategic tensions.
• The Department of Space had invited Members of Parliament, indicating dual-use implications beyond civilian observation.
• Follows the January failure of NVS-02 navigation satellite, raising concern over consistency in launches.

• EOS-09’s failure shows limitations in ISRO’s capacity to consistently deliver under pressure despite PSLV’s strong record.
• Operation Sindoor revealed India’s reliance on foreign commercial imagery due to surveillance gaps.
• ISRO’s launch manifest is crowded, and its resources are stretched across multiple domains (R&D, manufacturing, processing, and Gaganyaan).
• Urgent space-based surveillance needs are competing with civilian climate and disaster monitoring objectives.
• The Space-Based Surveillance-3 (SB-S3) programme to launch 52 surveillance satellites—31 by private sector—requires ISRO’s support and oversight.

Key Concepts:

• Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR): Enables imaging in all-weather conditions, crucial for surveillance.
• C-band Data Link: Supports high-resolution satellite communication and real-time data transfer.
• Sun-synchronous Orbit: Preferred for Earth observation due to consistent lighting conditions.
• Dual-use Technology: Civilian assets leveraged for military purposes (e.g., hydrology + defence mapping).

Significance:

• Reiterates ISRO’s critical role in national security and the need for increased investment and coordination.
• Highlights the urgency to scale India’s space surveillance infrastructure amidst rising geostrategic threats.
• Emphasises importance of indigenisation and launch reliability in a competitive and sensitive domain.

NEWS:Our bodies perform a kind of mRNA editing, and we don’t know why

GS Paper 3 – Science and Technology: Biotechnology, Genetic Engineering, Molecular Biology

• Recent study finds that A-to-I mRNA editing persists widely in fungi and animals, though its evolutionary benefit is unclear.
• Researchers observed that in a fungus (Fusarium graminearum), editing is delayed until a specific stage of development (sexual stage).
• More than 200 genes undergo this editing; some crucial proteins are only correctly formed when edited.
• The enzyme responsible for this editing in animals is called ADAR (Adenosine Deaminase Acting on RNA).

Detailed Insights:

• mRNA acts as a blueprint for making proteins, transcribed from DNA and translated by ribosomes.
• In A-to-I editing, adenosine (A) is changed to inosine (I), which behaves like guanosine (G) during protein translation.
• This allows one gene to code for multiple proteins depending on developmental stage or environmental need.
• Editing may be postponed until needed—e.g., editing of crucial codons only begins when the fungus enters the sexual stage.
• Despite its complexity and delayed function, the persistence of this editing suggests selective evolutionary advantage.

Key Concepts:

• mRNA Editing: Post-transcriptional modification of RNA that alters nucleotide sequence before protein synthesis.
• A-to-I Editing: A specific type where adenosine is converted to inosine; inosine is read as guanosine by the cell.
• ADAR Enzyme: Carries out A-to-I editing in animals, critical for protein diversity and regulation.
• Fusarium graminearum: A pathogenic fungus studied to understand the timing and necessity of mRNA editing.

Mains Mock Question:
“Discuss the constitutional safeguards available for freedom of speech in India. How does the frequent invocation of laws like sedition affect academic freedom and democratic discourse?”