Current Affair 1:

LogiXtics - Unified Logistics Interface Platform’s (ULIP) Hackathon

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The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has launched the Unified Logistics Interface Platform’s (ULIP) Hackathon – ‘LogiXtics’ in order to crowdsource more ideas which will benefit the logistics industry.

ULIP is designed to enhance efficiency and reduce logistics cost in India by creating a transparent platform that can provide real time information to all stakeholders and remove all asymmetry information. The ULIP Hackathon – LogiXtics is organised by NITI Aayog and Atal Innovation Mission and supported by National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC) and NICDC Logistics Data Bank Services Limited (NLDSL).

ULIP is being developed as technology platform in the logistics sector which will provide real time information to all stakeholders and will converge visibility of multi-modal transport across the existing systems of various Ministries/Departments working in silos. Once completed, one can see huge efficiencies in the logistics sector, and which will transform it by bringing down the logistics cost and enhancing India's competitiveness in the global trade.

Current Affair 2:

Separate Electorate for Minorities: The Gandhi-Ambedkar Tussle

Read the entire paragraph.

Ambedkar was invited by Irwin to be a delegate to the First Round Table Conference and be a part of the constitutional process which culminated into the Government of India, Act, 1935. He was a part of the Minorities Sub-Committee, set up to resolve certain claims of the minorities. One of the many proposals of the committee was a separate electorate for minority communities -

"Claims were therefore advanced by various communities that arrangements should be made for communal representation and for fixed proportions of seats was also urged that the number of seats reserved for a minority community should in no case be less than its proportion in the population. The methods by which this could be secured were mainly three: (1) nomination, (2) joint electorates with reservation of seats, and (3) separate electorates."

The British agreed to consider the case for separate electorate -

"It was therefore plain that, failing an agreement, separate electorates with all their drawbacks and difficulties, would have to be retained as the basis of the electoral arrangements under the new constitution. From this the question of proportions would arise. Under these circumstances, the claims of the Depressed Classes will have to be considered adequately."

It is analysed that the communal electorate was not the dream that B.R. Ambedkar had, when he propagated communal representation before the Franchise (Southborough Committee) in 1918-1919. He voraciously argued for adult franchise and the reservation for the Depressed Class. At the Round Table Conference as the Muslim League along with the princely states rejected and the British Government was reluctant to consider the plea for universal adult suffrage in India, Ambedkar though it fit to support communal electorate as the next best alternative.

Upon signing the Irwin Pact, the Congress agreed to join the Second Round Table Conference to discuss the constitutional future of the country. At the conference Mahatma Gandhi had fervently opposed the idea of a separate electorate for the Depressed Classes, as he believed they were an integral part of the Hindu society.

The constitutional history of India witnessed a dramatic overhaul on 4th August, 1932, when Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award. Apart from apportioning representation amongst the communities, it also extended a separate electorate for the Depressed Classes. Displeased with the Award and on the apprehension that a separate electorate would block all the roads for the integration of the Depressed Classes into the Hindu society, Gandhi called for a fast unto death in the Yerwada Central Jail, to pressurise the British Government to reverse its decision. As Gandhi's health deteriorated, a compromise was reached between Gandhi and Ambedkar vide the Poona Pact on 24th September, 1932. Reserved seats were provided for the Depressed Class in the Provincial Legislatures.

 

Current Affair 3:

The Government of India Act, 1935: The Provincial Government

Read entire paragraph. There are so many Prelims Questions hidden here.

The 1935 Act provided for an All-India Federation comprising the British Indian provinces and the Indian States.

The power was divided between the Centre and the provinces and princely states in terms of three lists - federal, provision and concurrent list.

India could have become a federation if 50% of the Indian states decided to join it. Unfortunately, this provision was never implemented as the princely states decided against joining it.

Dyarchy was abolished at the provincial level, but was introduced at the Centre.

The Act granted autonomy to the provinces, which were allowed to act as independent units of administration. It also acknowledged responsible Governments in provinces, whereby the Governor was to act on the advice of ministers responsible to the provincial legislature. However, to see to it that the authority rested in British hands, Governors were bestowed with overriding powers.

Provincial Executive

The executive largely consisted of the Governor and his Council of Ministers. For some subject matter he was to act on the advice of the Ministers, whereas ample subjects needed no such advice. He could legislate through ordinance and exercise various other legislative and financial powers at his discretion. In case of constitutional breakdown in the Province, the Governor could by proclamation assume all powers vested into any provincial body, except the High Court.

Provincial Legislature

Out of 11 Provinces, there were bicameral legislatures in six [Bengal, Bombay, Madras, Bihar, Assam and the United Provinces] and unicameral in the rest [the Punjab, the Central Provinces, the North-Western Frontier Province, Sind and Orissa].

The Upper Chamber was called the Legislative Council and the Lower Chamber, the Legislative Assembly. The members of the Assembly were directly elected by the people on the communal basis or through various bodies and associations. Members of the Council were elected by the general constituencies and assemblies and some were nominated by the Governor.

As per the Poona Pact a substantial portion of the General Seats in the Legislative Assemblies were reserved for the Depressed Classes.

Seats were also provided for Muslims, Sikhs in the Punjab and North-West Frontier Provinces, Europeans, Anglo-Indians, Indian Christians, representatives of commerce, industry, mining and planting, landholders and labour. Women were assigned General Seats in all but one province (North-West Province). The size of the Assemblies varied in the provinces - 250 for Bengal, 228 for United Provinces, 215 for Madras, 175 for Bombay and Punjab, 152 for Bihar, 112 for Central Provinces and Berar, 108 for Assam, 60 for Sind and Orissa and 50 for the North-West Frontier Province.[8]

The right to vote was restricted to economic and educational qualifications and only about 14% of the total population of the country enjoyed 'the privilege' to vote.

The Act never came into operation for the Central Government, but with respect to the Provinces it came into force in April, 1937. The same year provincial elections were held. Congress emerged victorious and agreed to form Ministries in 8 out of 11 provinces on the assurance that the Governor would not interfere with its working. Congress Ministries worked until they resigned in 1939, when at the wake of World War II, the British Government without consulting the Indian leaders declared that India was at war with Nazi Germany.

Current Affair 4:

Zariski Cancellation Problem — a fundamental one in algebraic geometry.

Gupta received the Ramanujan Award, announced on 10 December, in particular for her solution to the Zariski Cancellation Problem — a fundamental one in algebraic geometry.

Just have an idea of the term. No need to go into detail.

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