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1. Train accident in A.P - Page No.1, GS 2,3
2. Give up impropriety, demonstrate impartiality - Page No.6, GS 2
3. Developed countries to overshoot carbon emissions goal- Page No.12 , GS 3
4. Text and Context - The Indian Railways' revenue problem

Train accident in A.P - Page No.1, GS 2,3

• At least eight passengers were killed and 32 injured when a passenger train rammed another from behind at the Kantakapalli station, 36 km from Visakhapatnam, in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.
• Officials said the Visakhapatnam-Rayagada passenger train (No. 08504) hit the stationary Visakhapatnam-Palasa passenger train (No. 08532) on the Vizianagaram-Visakhapatnam line, resulting in the derailment of four coaches around 7 p.m. The toppled coaches fell on the track and crashed into one another, they added.
• Railway officials did not reveal the exact death toll, but said the number may rise. District Collector S. Nagalakshmi said eight persons lost their lives and 32 were injured. The injured were being shifted to hospitals in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram.
• Infrastructure Defects: The railway infrastructure, which includes tracks, bridges, overhead wires, and rolling stock, is often defective due to poor maintenance, ageing, vandalism, sabotage, or natural disasters.
• Human Errors: The railway staff, who are responsible for operating, maintaining, and managing the trains and tracks, are prone to human errors due to fatigue, negligence, corruption, or disregard for safety rules and procedures.
• Signalling Failures: The signalling system, which controls the movement and direction of trains on the tracks, can fail due to technical glitches, power outages, or human errors.
What Railways has Done to Reduce Accidents so far?
• Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK): A safety fund for critical assets. It was established in 2017-18 with a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore over a period of five years for critical safety related works such as track renewals, signalling projects, bridge rehabilitation, etc
• Technological Upgradation: Improved design and features of coaches and wagons. This includes introducing Modified Centre Buffer Couplers, Bogie Mounted Air Brake System (BMBS), improved suspension design and provision
of Automatic fire & smoke detection system in coaches. It also includes installing KAVACH - an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP).
• LHB Design Coaches: Lighter and safer coaches for Mail/Express trains.
• GPS based Fog Pass Device: A device to help loco pilots navigate in foggy conditions.

Give up impropriety, demonstrate impartiality - Page No.6, GS 2

• As the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha at the Centre and the Legislative Assembly in the States, the Speaker is required to act in an impartial manner.
• Under the Indian Constitution, the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies elect two of its members to be the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively. Apart from the traditional roles with respect to the conduct of business, the Speakers perform two important functions: of certifying a Bill to be a Money Bill (over which the Rajya Sabha/Legislative Council have a limited role), and deciding on disqualification under the Tenth Schedule for defection.
• The Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly rules provide for suspension of members for misconduct in the House.
• The Speaker is the authority to refer Bills introduced to the Parliamentary Standing Committees. However, even significant Bills that require detailed scrutiny are not referred to such committees.
• As against more than 60% of Bills referred to committees in the Lok Sabha during 2004-14, less than 25% have been referred during 2014-2023.
• The minority judges in Kihoto Hollohan (1992) were of the view that vesting the power to decide on defections with the Speaker violates the basic democratic principles.
• The Supreme Court in Keisham Meghachandra Singh vs The Honble Speaker Manipur (2020), recommended that Parliament amend the Constitution to vest these powers in an independent tribunal to be headed by judges.
• Article 94: The Speaker of the Lok Sabha shall be chosen from amongst the members of the house and shall vacate his/her office when he/she ceases to be a member of the house.
Q) "Once a speaker, Always a speaker'! Do you think the practice should be adopted to impart objectivity to the office of the Speaker of Lok Sabha? What could be its implications for the robust functioning of parliamentary business in India. (2020)
Q) Consider the following statements: (2018) 1. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall vacate his/her office if he/she ceases to be a member of the Assembly. 2. Whenever the Legislative Assembly is dissolved, the Speaker shall vacate his/her office immediately. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q) Consider the following statements: (2017)
1. In the election for Lok Sabha or State Assembly, the winning candidate must get at least 50 percent of the votes polled, to be declared elected.
2. According to the provisions laid down in the Constitution of India, in Lok Sabha, the Speaker's post goes to the majority party and the Deputy Speaker's to the Opposition.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Developed countries to overshoot carbon emissions goal- Page No.12 , GS 3

• Developed countries — responsible for three-fourths of existing carbon emissions - will end up emitting 38% more carbon in 2030 than they have committed to, going by current trajectories, shows a study published last week by the Delhi-based think tank Council for Energy Environment and Water (CEEW).
• The study, which comes ahead of the 28th Conference of Parties (COP-28) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held in Dubai in November and December, shows that 83% of this overshoot will be caused by the U.S., Russia, and the European Union.
• At COP-28, countries are expected to give an account of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are the commitments to the UN on emission cuts.
• Several countries have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Doing so would require steady measurable cuts every decade until that year. As an intermediate objective, countries presented data to the UN on their projected cuts until 2030.
• To keep temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius, developed countries need to cut emissions to 43% below their 2019 level. However, the CEE study found that based on their current emissions trajectories, their cuts would likely amount to only 11% by 2030.
• Except for two countries - Belarus and Norway - none of the developed countries seem to be on the path to meet their 2030 targets, though Japan and Kazakhastan are close, and are expected to miss their targets by only a single percentage point.

Text and Context - The Indian Railways' revenue problem

Operating Ratio:
• Noted the regular deterioration in Railways Operating Ratio (OR).
• OR indicates how much the Railways spend to earn a rupee. It helps determine the financial health of the Railways.
• For example, an operating ratio of 98.36% for 2019-20, indicates that to earn Rs. 100, the Railways will have to spend Rs. 98.36.
• For 2020-21, it is estimated to be 131.4%.
• For 2021-22, Railways is targeting OR of 96.15%.
• Indian Railways' ills are as multifarious as they are well-known: bureaucratic, obese structure with a misconceived perception of public-service-obligation, warped investment priorities, capacity crunch on arterial routes, strained terminals, irrational fare & freight structures.
• It has one of the highest rail freight charges in the world. This has also resulted in consumers moving to roadways for freight transportation, which is more convenient for them.
• The predicament of the railways is that the profits earned freight business are utilised to compensate for the losse! incurred on passenger and other coaching services, there adversely affecting both freight and passenger business.