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1. Difficult to press for women's quota before LS poll - Page No.1 , GS 2
2. Action and authority - Page No.8 , GS 2
3. Retrograde step - Page No.8 , GS 2
4. Delhi Air Quality - Page No.4 , GS 3
5. Pichwai Painting - Prelims

Difficult to press for women's quota before LS poll - Page No.1 , GS 2

• The Supreme Court on Friday described the constitutional amendment reserving one-third of the seats in Parliament, State legislatures, and the Delhi Legislative Assembly for women as a "very good step" towards attaining gender parity in politics, but voiced doubts about stepping in to ensure the implementation of the quota law before the general election in 2024.
• "It will be very difficult for us to do that. It will amount to virtually legislating," Justice Sanjiv Khanna, heading a Division Bench, observed.
• Delimitation is the process by which the limits or boundaries of a country's territorial constituencies are rejigged to reflect changes in population.
• The redrawing of these boundaries is based on the recent census.
• In India, the number of Lok Sabha seats allocated to different states, along with the total number of seats in a state's Legislative Assembly, can change as a result of a delimitation exercise.
• The body tasked with carrying out the exercise is called Delimitation Commission or Boundary Commission.

Action and authority - Page No.8 , GS 2

• That two States have approached the Supreme Court of India against the conduct of their Governors once again flags the problem of political appointees in Raj Bhavan using their authority to delay the implementation of decisions by elected regimes, if not undermine them.
• Tamil Nadu and Kerala have questioned the delay in the granting assent to Bills passed by the legislature.
• It is time to have a national prohibition on Governors being burdened with the role of chancellor of any university, as recommended by the Justice M.M. Punchhi Commission on Centre-State relations.
• One would have thought the Supreme Court's observations, aris the Telangana government's petition, reminding constitutional authorities that the phrase "as soon as possible" appearing in Article 200 of Constitution contains significant "constitutional content" would driven into them a sense of immediacy in considering Bills.
• In India, under Article 154 of the Constitution, the Governor can exercise his executive powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
Way forward:
• The Supreme Court of India should hear the matter of justiciability of the process of the assent within the constitutional framework and set a timeframe for the governors to give assent to bills passed by the state legislature.
• The decision will eliminate the confusion and avoid confrontation between the Governor's office and the state legislature.
Q) Which of the following are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State? (2014)
1. Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President's rule
2. Appointing the Ministers
3. Reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India
4. Making the rules to conduct the business of the State Government
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Retrograde step - Page No.8 , GS 2

• Misinformation and its more malicious variant, disinformation, have been the bane of today's unfettered communication system, especially social media where the necessary filters are rarely applied over the spread of news and views, many of which are based on false information deliberately or ignorantly placed.
• The Tamil Nadu government's decision to constitute a fact-checking unit to deal with "misinformation and disinformation pertaining to the State government" emanating from "all media platforms", sounds, on the face of it, a reactive step.
• This decision follows a similar move by the Karnataka government
• Tamil Nadu's move must be seen along with the Centre's notific the IT Rules earlier this year, which amended the Information Technology Rules, 2021, and allowed the Ministry of Electronics and IT to appoint a similar fact-checking unit
• Several parties including the Editors Guild of India, the Association of Indian Magazines and the political satirist Kunal Kamra had challenged the IT rule enabling the unit.
• During the hearing, the Bombay High Court had raised the issue of the lack of necessary safeguards that will allow fair criticism of the government.
• It had also remarked that even if the motives for the introduction of such a rule was laudable - to tackle false news - it could be done away with, if its effects were unconstitutional, that is, if it infringed upon freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

Delhi Air Quality - Page No.4 , GS 3

• The combined effect of stubble burning in neighbouring States, local pollutants, and unfavourable meteorological conditions resulted in Delhi's air quality slipping into the worst — 'severe plus' — category for the first time this season on Friday.
• Delhi's pollution is a serious health hazard that affects millions of people every year. According to a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research, air pollution was responsible for 1.67 million deaths in India in 2019, and Delhi had the highest per capita mortality rate due to air pollution among all states.
What is a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)?

• GRAP is a set of emergency measures that kick in to prevent further deterioration of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi- NCR region.
• It was approved by the Supreme Court in 2016 after the Supreme Court's order in the matter of M. C. Mehta vs. Union of India (2016) and notified in 2017.
• Till 2020, the Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) used to order States to implement GRAP measures.
• The EPCA was dissolved and replaced by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in 2020.
• CAQM relies on air quality and meteorological forecasts by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IlTM) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Pichwai Painting - Prelims

Context: -
• Pichwai art originated in Nathdwara, near Udaipur, and is traditionally created on cloth, typically khadi.
Features:
• The paintings use stone pigments for gold and silver tones and vegetable dyes for vibrant colours like orange, red, chrome yellow, and kesari.
The detailed work is meticulous and time-consuming, taking several months to complete a single piece.
• The art form has evolved over time, with modern themes and influences incorporated by artists.
• In recent years, there has been a resurgence in Pichwai art, attracting younger buyers and encouraging artists to return to their hometowns in Rajasthan to learn and continue the traditional techniques.