Current Affair 1:

High Court Stops AP Govt taking Over Ahobilam Mutt Temple is Violation of Article 26(d)

 

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that the State's decision to appoint an 'Executive Officer' to control and manage the affairs of Ahobilam Temple in Kurnool is violative of Article 26(d) of the Constitution and affects the Mathadipathis' right of administration.

The division bench made it clear that the Temple is an integral part of the Ahobilam Math, which is situated in Tamil Nādu.

It rejected the State's argument that the Temple and the Math are distinct entities. The bench held that merely because the Temple is located in the current State of Andhra Pradesh and the Math is located in the current State of Tamil Nadu, the former does not cease to be a place of religious worship pertaining to the main Math.

In fact, at one point of time, both the Math and the Temple were in the composite State of Madras. "This fact cannot be lost sight of," Court said.

It finally noted that starting from the Endowments Act of 1927 through Acts of 1951, 1959 and 1966 till the Act of 1987, the Temple continued to be under the management of a Mathadipathis, whose nomination did not vest in nor was exercised by the Government.

Current Affair 2:

What Does Surrogacy (Regulation) Act Say?

 

The Surrogacy Laws

Surrogacy is defined as a practice wherein one woman bears and gives birth to a child with the intention to thereafter hand it over to the intending couple.

The parliament in December 2021 passed two laws - The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act and The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act. While the former governs the practice and process of surrogacy in India, the latter was enacted for regulation and supervision of the assisted reproductive technology clinics and banks. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Act provided a gestation period of ten months from the date of coming into force to existing surrogate mothers' to protect their wellbeing.

The laws soon received assent from the President of India. Surrogacy (Regulation) Rules, 2022 was notified in June 2022. While commercial surrogacy is not allowed in India, such procedures are allowed only for altruistic purposes with many restrictions on the person seeking to apply under the law.

Eligibility

According to the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, only a married couple who has a medical condition necessitating gestational surrogacy can avail it - they have to first obtain a certificate of recommendation from a District Medical Board. An intending woman - who is a widow or divorcee between the age of 35 to 45 years- can also avail the surrogacy.

What does 'medical condition necessitating gestational surrogacy' mean? A woman can opt for surrogacy if

• she has no uterus or missing uterus or abnormal uterus or if the uterus is surgically removed due to any medical conditions such as gynaecological cancer.
• intended parent or woman who has repeatedly failed to conceive after multiple In vitro fertilization or Intracytoplasmic sperm injection attempts.
• multiple pregnancy losses resulting from an unexplained medical reason, unexplained graft rejection due to exaggerated immune response;
• any illness that makes it impossible for woman to carry a pregnancy to viability or pregnancy that is life threatening.

The intending couple - where the woman is of the age of 23 to 50 years and a man between 26 to 55 years- is eligible under the law. Only such intending couples can apply who have not had any surviving child biologically or through adoption or earlier surrogacy - an exception has been provided for the couples whose child is "mentally or physically challenged or suffers from life threatening disorder or fatal illness with no permanent cure".

Who is eligible to be a surrogate mother?

A married woman of the age of 25 to 35 years on the day of implantation, with a child of her own, can be a surrogate mother. She can act as a surrogate mother only once in her lifetime and with only three attempts of procedure are allowed.

The woman has to give a written informed consent for the purpose and also be medically and psychologically fit. Also, she has to be genetically related to the intending couple or intending woman.

A surrogate mother can be allowed abortion during the process of surrogacy only in accordance with the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act. She cannot have intercourse of any kind once the cycle preparation is initiated. She also cannot disclose the identity of the couple seeking the surrogacy.

An intending couple or intending woman can be sentenced to a maximum five years imprisonment and burdened with a fine of Rs five lakh rupees for the first offence in case it is found that surrogacy was undertaken for commercial purposes.

Regulation of Surrogacy Clinics

No Surrogacy Clinic can conduct or associate with or help in any manner in conducting the surrogacy procedure unless it is registered under the law. Only qualified persons are required to be employed in such clinics and procedures are allowed to be conducted only at a place registered under the act.

Under the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, the services can be made available to a woman above the age of 21 years and below the age of 50 years and to a man above the age of 21 years and below the age of 55 years.

 

Current Affair 3:

Global status of multi-hazard early warning systems: Target G

 

The report titled “Global Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems — Target G” was jointly released by United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on the occasion of International Day for Disaster Reduction (October 13).

Just read below given images.

Current Affair 4:

Slender Loris

 

The state government of Tamil Nadu has notified the establishment of Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary.

Slender loris is considered endangered according to IUCN and is listed on the Red List of Threatened Species under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

 

 

 

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