Current Affairs Exam

Tapi River

April 20, 2025April 20, 2025 by rawan239

Recent Tragedy: A family of three died by suicide, jumping from a bridge into the Tapi River near Kamrej, Surat district.
Motive: The father, Vipul, was reportedly in debt (Rs 8 lakh) due to losses in share trading and aimed to prevent creditors from pursuing his family.
Discovery: A passerby noticed an abandoned bike and footwear on the bridge and alerted the police.
Search and Recovery: Police initiated a search, recovering the bodies the following morning. An accidental death complaint was filed.
River’s Significance: The Tapi River (also Tapti) is a major river in central India.
East-to-West Flow: It’s
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one of the few major Indian rivers flowing west, along with the Narmada and Mahi.
Geographic Reach: It traverses Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat.
Origin and Course: Rises in the Gawilgarh Hills (Madhya Pradesh), flows west between the Satpura Range, across the Jalgaon plateau (Maharashtra), through Surat (Gujarat), and into the Gulf of Khambhat (Arabian Sea).
Length and Drainage: Approximately 700 km long, draining 65,145 sq km.
Basin Features: Located
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in the Deccan plateau, bounded by the Satpura and Ajanta Ranges. Primarily agricultural land.
Relation to Narmada: Flows roughly parallel to the Narmada River, separated by the Satpura Range, forming a natural barrier between northern and peninsular India.
Major Tributaries: Purna, Girna, and Panjhra (flowing from the south in Maharashtra).
Ukai Dam: A significant hydroelectric project on the Tapi River.
Galteshwar Mahadev Temple: The family visited this temple on the banks of Tapi before the incident.

Article 142 Explained

April 20, 2025April 20, 2025 by rawan239

Article 142 empowers the Supreme Court to deliver “complete justice” in pending cases, even if it means filling legislative gaps or overriding laws temporarily.
Vice-President’s criticism: Jagdeep Dhankhar called Article 142 a “nuclear missile against democratic forces” after its use in the Tamil Nadu Governor case, where SC intervened regarding pending bills.
Supporters argue Article 142 is a necessary tool to protect constitutional values and rights, acting as a check on executive overreach, especially when Governors delay assent to bills.
Critics highlight subjectivity: The lack of a clear definition of “complete justice” raises concerns about judicial overreach and separation of powers.
Court’s Self-Imposed Limits: The Supreme Court has historically exercised self-restraint when using
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Article 142, but the debate continues regarding its scope.
Tamil Nadu Governor Case: The Supreme Court’s intervention involved setting time limits for Governors to act on bills, sparking debate about the balance of power.
Arguments in Context Those against Article 142 over-reach need to consider whether Governors appointed to non-ruling party states are acting independently of the Central government.

K2-18b: Biosignatures?

April 20, 2025April 20, 2025 by rawan239

Detection of Potential Biosignature Gases: Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have detected dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and dimethyl disulphide (DMDS) in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b.
Significance of DMS and DMDS: On Earth, these gases are primarily produced by biological processes, making their detection a potential indicator of extraterrestrial life.
K2-18b Details: This “super-Earth” exoplanet, located 120 light-years away, is about nine times as heavy as Earth and resides within its star’s habitable zone where liquid water could exist.
Previous K2-18b Discoveries: Earlier observations from the Hubble Telescope and JWST had already indicated the presence of water vapor, methane, and carbon dioxide.
Cautionary Note: Scientists emphasize that the detection of these gases does not definitively prove the existence of life on K2-18b. Abiotic processes or unknown chemistry might be responsible for their presence.
Habitable Zone: K2-18b’s location within the habitable zone, where liquid water can exist, makes it a compelling target in the search for extraterrestrial
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life.
Statistical Argument for Life: The vast number of planets in the universe increases the statistical probability of life existing elsewhere, even if the origin of life is rare. The Drake equation is used to consider the probability of intelligent, communicative extraterrestrial life, even if uncertain.
Ongoing Search: The presence of these gases makes K2-18b an interesting subject for further scientific investigation in the field of astrobiology.

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Report Release: The India Justice Report (IJR) 2025 is released, assessing states’ justice delivery capacity and performance.
Overall Rankings: Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana top the large/mid-sized states; Sikkim leads among small states. Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha show the most improvement.
Women in Police: Women hold only 8% of officer posts and under 1,000 senior IPS roles; 90% are in constabulary. 78% of police stations have Women Help Desks. No
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state/UT meets reserved quotas for women in police. Bihar has the highest share of women in state police.
Judicial Gaps: Approximately 21,000 judges (15 per million vs. recommended 50). High Court vacancies at 33%, district courts at 21%. Gujarat has highest vacancies in High Court Judges and staff.
Legal Aid Spending: Meagre Rs 6 per capita spent on legal aid annually.
Judiciary Spending: Overall judiciary spending is Rs 182 per person yearly; no state allocates over 1% of its budget.
Paralegal Volunteers (PLVs): PLV numbers dropped 38% over 5 years, with only 3 per lakh population.
Police Force: Faces manpower gaps (28% officer shortfall), low presence (120 per lakh vs. global norm 222), one cop for every 831 people. Per capita spending is highest among justice pillars (Rs 1,275).
Prison Overcrowding: Prisons are 131% over capacity, with staff shortages (officers 28%, correctional 44%, medical 43%). Doctor-inmate ratio is 1:775. Under-trials are 76% of prisoners. UP has the most overcrowded prisons and more than half of High Court Judges missing. 91% of Delhi’s prison population consisted of under-trials.
Prisoner Rehabilitation: Only 6% of inmates receive education, 2% vocational training (2022).
Tamil Nadu: Tops in prison management but rank in policing fell from 3 to 13 and continues to
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fare poorly in legal aid.
CCTV and Women Help Desks: About 17% of police stations in the country do not have a single CCTV. Nearly three in 10 police stations do not have women help desks.
Annual Spend on a Prisoner: Andhra Pradesh records the highest annual spend on a prisoner at ₹2,67,673.
Civil police personnel availability: One civil police personnel is available for 831 people.