What does black lives matter movement in USA tell us about the western world and what message can India take from it?

Recently, America was gripped by one of the most serious protests against racism and police brutalilty across it’s various states. The western world has always appeared to be modern and progressive and is always looked up to, but is it a reality?? Or is the west just a shiny house of glass that looks beautiful in a pretentious manner but is actually fragile; because these protests have suddenly woken us up to a bitter truth, shattered our notions and made us question what we as a civilization are looking up to. 155 years have passed since the end of the American civil war and a 158 years have passed since president Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, yet the United States in 2020 is battling the sociopathic ideology of racism. Surely, the states have come a long way since 1855, but the people of a particular race are still finding problems in adjusting and mixing up in the American society. As we already know,this is not the first time a movement to end racial discrimination has taken place in USA. The American Civil Rights Movement of the 1940s was the most important non-violent resistance and civil disobedience against racial inequality led by Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and Malcom X. The movement ended with United States signing the historic Civil Rights Act of 1968 abolishing discrimination of all kinds on the basis of race, sex, religion, ethnicity and granted voting rights to all. On the Other hand, India already abolished discrimination in a similar manner in Article 14 and 15 of the Indian Constitution 18 years before that back in 1950. This makes us think whether this society is actually modern and also leads us to ponder if their regressive nature is only limited to race. The answer is no to both.

The other problem they as a society have to deal with is sexism. Yes, gender inequality. A country, a civilization that is worshipped in India for it’s liberal socio-cultural approach especially towards the female gender is actually gripped by sexism that is far worse than India or as the fact of the matter, worse than any country in the world. The Indian youth is quick to notice that Women are allowed to wear whatever they want there, and moral policing is still a problem here, but their rudimentary mind fails to see that America and Europe combined have one of the highest numbers when it comes to crimes against women, there is an approximately 20 % difference between the wages of a man and a woman and the difference jumps to 40% when the woman is black. Women are objectified openly, picked out for their bodies, lifestyle and careers. Workplaces are still a nightmare there, opportunities for women are as limited as in any other ‘backward’ country. The most striking fact is that women over there had to fight to get voting rights and in India, we didn’t even need to think about it and made universal suffrage mandatory since the beginning. There’s no doubt that many of these problems do exist in India as well, but there is something that we possess that nobody else does: our culture. The culture that has been the origin of everything in this world, a culture that if followed, makes a human always travel the right path, a culture whose depth is unmatchable and whose ideas are the most progressive and broad minded in the world; a culture which the whole world will slowly adapt to as the only way to lead a balanced life. That is what distinguishes us from them. We, as of now are people with strong foundation who are disconnected from our own ideas largely due to misinterpretations and foreign invasions, the sole reasons of our backwardness. Now, if we truly have to uplift our society, we have to stop looking at the west and go back to our own ideas, follow them and guide the rest of the world.

You wake up everyday, cross your hall, walking past empty cups of latte, instead of seeing through the souls drinking them;

you are driving to your workplace and back, with a taco bell in one hand, ignoring signals and the reds. You find your 9-5 exhausting, soaked into feigned disinterest;

it’s the summer of 2020 and you are still lost in uncomprehended thoughts while you scroll down through your excel sheets. You are crashing deep into the heap of confusion as you daze in and out of the romantic sphere working out why they haven’t texted you today, while you include yourself in playing one of those pesky mind-games like you are hard to get;

you are a part of the naturally shallow generation with a general presumption that 20-somethings just aren’t looking for love, swiping left through the screens and your feelings, both;

you are constantly toeing the line, acting aloof, never truly expressing your feelings; you have this constant need for validation, while you give up on relationships that aren’t achieved by half-heartedness and ambiguity;

you are plagued by inconsistency, fear, and hypersensitivity; striving for more than what the culture offers, hating the life you got but, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥?

Instead of having a grip on your life, instead of trying to plan the very last aspect of your it, maybe give your life the chance to surprise you from time to time. life isn’t always sunny, but it can a lot more positive than we tend to appreciate it for.

Do you love?

And if you do, what would you do for your love?

And is it that you have to ‘get’ to the life you want before you can start loving it? Or is it perhaps that you learn to love your life right now, and then life will happen ‘for’ you and not just ‘to’ you?When you say you love a thing or a certain somebody, you accept the same in totality, beyond the flaws surrounding them. You are open to doubt, question your life and acknowledge the shortcomings and still love it beyond everything. The true meaning of loving and living through it, is the need to live in alignment with the purpose. This purpose could be anything-an artist waiting to be flown in a melancholic something, a sales expert wanting to discover a new path in business, or a workaholic seeking the level of happiness of that of a five year old sugar-high kid on a giant fairy wheel. Your purpose might demand you to create a story, fearless and imperfect, woven out out of uneven fragments; to interpret the ways of the universe falling into a loop.

As individuals, a lot of impact, though, on the processes evaluating what we love and what we don’t, depends upon the perception, emotions, or imagination that we are subjected to. You might not love your journalism because your friend thinks its future isn’t steady enough. While some are capable of following objectivity in its truest sense, others might simply fail to. We are so glued to the concept of materialism that in the process, we don’t quite realise that the end purpose of everything that we do doesn’t always have to be about numbers. What is different about us as millenials compared to previous generations is not just a matter of a few years now, we in fact have a different concept about life, altogether. Our finances are festered, sectors have cratered, personal lives are messed up and our peace, endangered. We are breathing off uncertainty and repeatedly loathing on the lives we got.

Unhappy. Exhausted and simply, done.

Thanks to the reality of modern 24/7 communication- we are subjected to a world full of ruthless competition. With all the instagram reach and twitter reactions, we are constantly reminded of the fact that we are never doing enough. We fail to look through the years of unrewarded hardships and harsh work realities underlying the success of many media profiles. What we jump over to is the conclusion, directly connecting us to the ground of failure. While devices and laptops make it psychologically exhausting for us to plan our lives strategically, sometimes they do work essentially as a reality check. Spending time on oneself to contemplate these questions about life, is crucially an investment in one’s own well-being.

Humans are one of the most curious creatures who will go beyond lengths to conquer the world and expand their horizons. We have this nature instilled within us, right from era of Homo Sapiens to Vikings. To learn more about universe and its celestial bodies we sent spacecraft, probes, orbiters, humans and even animals to various space missions. As time progressed, we gradually discovered that sending mobile robots aka Rovers is more practical than sending liable spacepersons on these highly prime and costly missions. Rovers are Robotic devices to explore extra-terrestrial areas which may be semi or fully automated and equipped with camera, antennas, Lasers, robotic arms, spectrometer etc. These instruments help in collection of samples such as dust, soil, rocks, and even liquids which are essential in space exploration. With other countries like China, UAE on their way to launch future missions to space, the use of rovers will only increase to test and experiment the surface of these celestial bodies. From Lunokhod rover to moon by USSR in 70s, to Perseverance to Mars by NASA, there are great examples of how humans are always able to find their way to progress and learn from their previous to march ahead towards the unknown territory.

Here are compact details of their instruments and current status of rovers sent to Moon and Mars: –

Lunar Rovers

These missions were early attempts of various nations to learn about the lunar surface and to win the Space Race which were predominant in era of (1960-1980). These rovers were examples of how with limited technology and resources, humans still prevailed and achieved these successes. Here are some rovers which were sent to our own satellite Moon

• Lunokhod-1: boarded on USSR’s Luna 17 spacecraft, it was one of the first successful rovers to land on any celestial body. It was launched on November 10, 1970 and landed on 17th of same month. It was equipped with antennas, laser devices, x-ray spectrometer and telescope, cosmic ray detector. It has other devices too to test soil samples of lunar body. It was powered by batteries which were charged by solar cell which were recharged during day. Travelling a distance of 10.5 km, it remained operational for next 11 months till October 4 1971, where it returned more than 20,000 TV images and 206 high-resolution panoramas. In addition, it performed 25 lunar soil analyses.
• Lunokhod-2: was the 2nd rover of USSR Lunokhod program in Luna 23 spacecraft in January 1973. The 2nd rover was more advanced than the former in ways such as- it had an electric system of motor and brake and suspension system with eight wheels. It had 3 TV Camera which were sending images with different frame rates. Solar panels were used to charge batteries. It had lots of another features of Soil mechanics tester, radiometer, magnetometer etc. On June 4th, it was announced that its mission was completed as it operated for more than 4 months and covered a distance of 37 km, taking 86 panoramic and 80,000 TV images while conducting soil tests.
• Yutu : was first Chinese Lunar rover launched in Chang’s 3 mission to moon which was launched on 1st December 2013 and landed on moon on 14 December. It included lunar surface topography & material composition with geological survey. It’s equipped with a robotic arm with panoramic cameras, an infrared spectrometer and an alpha particle X-ray spectrometer. In addition, it could transmit live video, and has automatic sensors to prevent it from colliding with other objects. Energy was provided by two solar panels mounted on it. It’s ground penetrating radar found evidence for a minimum of 9 distinct rock layers. It set the record for the longest operational period for a rover on the Moon working for 31 months, till 3 August 2016.
• Yutu-2:launched on 7 December 2018 and landed on moon on 3 January 2019 which is still operational. It had first soft landing on the far side of the Moon and longest fully functioning rover on the Moon. It is solar powered with six wheels while being equipped with panoramic camera, lunar penetrating radar and infrared imaging spectrometer. This time it had an energetic neutral atom analyzer which reveal how solar wind interacts with the lunar surface to determine the process behind the formation of lunar water.
• Pragyan : was the rover of Chandrayaan-2, a lunar mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched on 22 July 2019. Pragyan, being onboard Vikram, was also destroyed. Rover design has a rocker-bogie suspension system and six wheels, each driven by independent brushless DC electric motors. It had a Stereoscopic camera-based 3D vision to provide the ground control team with a 3D view of the surrounding terrain, and subsystems for light-based map generation and motion planning. The rover was never deployed. The Vikram landed, carrying the rover crashed-landed and was destroyed upon impact with the Moon’s surface.

Mars Rover

The Martian Rovers were very advanced in terms of technology and structure. NASA’s rover missions were always the most successful ones ever, in breaking new records with some of them being operational, even today.

• Prop-M Rover of Mars 2 : was the first Mars rover launched by USSR on May 19, 1971. It carried a dynamic penetrometer and a radiation densitometer. Its frame was that of a squat box and was supported on two wide flat skis and two small metal rods which were used for autonomous obstacle avoidance. It was to move in the field of view of the television cameras and stop to make measurements every 1.5 meters. The descent sequence did not operate as planned and the parachute did not deploy. The lander demised; the rover was never deployed.
• Prop-M Rover of Mars 3 : was the first Mars rover launched by USSR on May 19, 1971. It carried a dynamic penetrometer and a radiation densitometer. Its frame was that of a squat box and was supported on two wide flat skis and two small metal rods which were used for autonomous obstacle avoidance. It was to move in the field of view of the television cameras and stop to make measurements every 1.5 meters. The descent sequence did not operate as planned and the parachute did not deploy. The lander demised; the rover was never deployed.
• Sojourner : was the first wheeled vehicle to rove another planet by NASA. The First Mars Pathfinder mission was launched on December 6, 1996 that landed on July 4, 1997. It was designed for 8 sols but its mission extended up to 83 sols. Sojourner has solar panels and a non-rechargeable lithium-thionyl chloride battery of 150-watt hours. It had a 64Kb Ram CPU. It communicated with radio modem to send data to the base stations. The Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer determined the elemental composition of Mars rocks and dust, except for hydrogen. It had three cameras, comprising of 484 pixels. The rover needed the base station to communicate with Earth, despite continuously functioning even after the time communications ended. It travelled a distance of just over 100 meters by the time its communication was lost. It’s one of the popular rovers and has also been featured in Star Trek and The Martian.
• Spirit : aka MER-A or MER-2 – One of two rovers of NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Mission landed on January 4, 2004. It completed the distance of 7.73 km instead of 600m which allowed for more research on Martian surface. Spirit was planned to last at least 90 sols but lasted about 2,208 sols. Its objectives were to Search for and characterize a variety of rocks and soils to determine the distribution and composition of minerals, rocks, and soils and to learn water process like evaporation, precipitation etc., and to Assess whether those environments were conducive to life. Spirit is solar-powered by solar arrays to charge lithium ion batteries. It consists of Six wheels on a rocker-bogie system to enable mobility over rough terrain. It has onboard 20MHz CPU of 128 DRAM and 256 MB memory with heater units. It had high and low gain antennas
• Opportunity : aka MER-B or MER-2 Launched on July 7, 2003 and landed on 25 January 2014, three weeks after its twin Spirit. It bagged the position of the “Longest distance travelled by any rover” and “most days operated ever” titles. Planned for 90 sols but Opportunity was able to stay operational for 5111 sols after landing and exceeded its operating plan by 14 years. Its objectives were same as its twin rover Spirit. It consists of Six wheels on a rocker-bogie system, enabling mobility over rough terrain and powered by solar cells and rechargeable lithium ion batteries. It had onboard 20MHz CPU of 128 DRAM and 256 MB memory with heater units. It had high and low gain
• Curiosity : rover of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory launched on November 26th, 2011, and landed on August 6th. Its goals included an investigation of the Martian climate and geology; assessment of whether the selected field site inside Gale has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life, including investigation of the role of water; and planetary habitability studies in preparation for human exploration. Six wheeled rocker-bogie suspension was used which also served as a landing gear. It’s powered by a radioisotope thermoelectric generator that produced electricity from the decay of radioactive isotopes. It had self-monitoring on-board rover computers of 256

Whenever we discuss about the possibility of a shared existence of particles in the same electromagnetic field of ours, we immediately find ourselves correlating it to the principles of quantum physics with a desperate need for a conclusion that might sound more certain that what we have been left with, since decades.

The assumptions made about the coexistence of a different set of particles or atomic units, mess up with the already prevalent information and facts that have stayed traditional in reference to universe and its theories. However, there have been superficial events occured, that do demand a change in how we perceive science. The time capsule idea encountered by MIT administrators suspect it to be a strong evidence to the potential power of these ambiguities. In accordance to the Einstein’s general theory of relativity which clearly states that we perceive as the force of gravity arises from the curvature of space and time that govern our daily lives in order, this very structure of space-time unifies with the very concept of quantum theory, as well. While one event might take place just at the same time as another, each of them might be the reason behind the other. This validates that the observers of each of these might travel at different velocities, explaining a part of the Einstein’s theory. These space-time relations could be termed as quantum relationalism. While they do, the ways and directions to calculate the distances may cross may vary. As these particles are closely related, they share one quantum space, from where they are allowed to traverse different paths. Inspite of measuring their locations from universally opposite points, the measurements match and quite surprisingly so.

One of the perennial paradoxes of quantum theories could be traced back to its relation with the perception of these space-time realtioons. Quantum mechanics can be used to define the smallest bits of the universal objects. While quantum physicists is capable of accomplishing what ordinary individuals can’t, predicting the link between quantum theory and the objective reality has been equally challenging for them too. The notion has always sounded skeptical and puzzling at the same time. Our view of the world is generally how we perceive it as a whole. The objective side of it is probably something that exists independent of the subject’s perception of it. When we perceive objects or people beyond what they actually possess, there lies a ground for questions. Similarly, when we undermine the assumption of science about the basic existence of an objective world, discrepancies follow. Two different parties are entitled to their own sets of alternative facts and very rightly so. The reality perceived by one cannot be reconciled with the reality perceived by another. The answers to all such complexities of the world, encompassing quantum fields and black holes. While some researches might argue that objectivity is an illusion, some believe that neither quantum nor classical physics provides any principled means for saying what counts as an object.

Science and its reliable notions of observation, measurement and repeatability have times and again been counter intuitive to the foundations of the quantum realm. Such scenarios have long remained an interesting thought experiment and how they reflect reality. According to an experiment conducted to overrule the theory of superposition, under certain assumptions, measurements in quantum mechanics are subjective to observers. It was argued that applying quantum mechanics to an observer that is themselves being observed could be a distinct reversal to the objectivity theory. According to the theory, particles can co-exist in several places or states at once — this is called a superposition. But oddly, this is only the case when they aren’t observed. The second we observe a quantum system, it picks a specific location or state — breaking the superposition. To evaluate the same, composing a framework, the entire experiment is said to be devised into a method inclusive of two different boxes- the observers measure on a shared state. The results are then summed up to evaluate an inequality failing of which, observers could have alternative facts. There isn’t any access to this fact and to prove it, both the particles have to be in a superposition of all possible outcomes of the experiment. This however, presented a problem because the reality perceived by one didn’t match with the one seen by another. This experiment therefore shows that, we do need to rethink our notion of objectivity. Scientists viewed this as a new development as strengthening observations to accommodate more than one outcome to occur.

A defender of the prospects for objective knowledge however, might root for clear and distinct ideas distinguishing the reliable perceptions of objective truth from subjective experiences. Despite plausible ways of arguing that subjective reality is what the world is heading towards, there is a general explanation that lines within. We are usually much more confident about our instincts and knowledge about a certain topic, rather than believing someone else’s thought put worth. This agreement is based mostly on one’s subjective impressions of perceiving subjects agreeing with one’s own judgments only. When we value our judgements over something that is consistently valued by others, on a universal basis, it’s likely to be wrong or to have incurred some error. One can also argue that agreement indicates probable truth, as it is unlikely that you and I would both be wrong in our judgment regarding an object and both be wrong in exactly the same way. The differences are usually marked in the philosophy of mind. Observing something from the subjective point of view is something that we humans are used to, and is central to the basic psychology of our mind. Whether or not this subjective conscious experience influences quantum mechanics might be needed to fully understand how the human brain works. Like the quantum objects can apparently be in two places or states at once, it’s highly predictable that the mind can hold onto two conjectural ideas at the same time. Because of this theory of entanglement, two such ideas might thus in turn become entangled: a kind of quantum superposition of thoughts. Highly speculative and disturbing as it sounds, the idea of quantum consciousness has had a long history.

India is home to a diverse range of forests—moist and dry tropical forests, temperate and subtropical montane forests, alpine forests and scrub forests. It is one of the 17 “megadiverse” countries and is home to 8% of the world’s known flora and fauna. In addition, Indian forests support the livelihood of nearly 275 million people, who are dependent on forests for food, fuelwood, fodder and other forest products.

How much forest is there in India?

When Global Forest Watch (GFW) data is adjusted to the tree cover canopy threshold of 10%, it shows 39.1 million hectares of natural forests and 3.71 million hectares of plantations in India, mainly for wood fiber, timber, fruit and oil palm according to data from the Spatial Database of Planted Trees.

global scale, and our methods are fine-tuned for the detection of humid tropical forest. Employing country specific data from India grants more insights into their unique forest ecosystems. In its latest biennial India State of Forests report, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) estimated nearly 71.2 million hectares of forest cover in India— a number that includes tree cover in plantations and other non-forest areas. Other India specific datasets have estimated the extent of natural forests, which are crucial to combatting climate change, being 40 times more effective at sequestering carbon than planted forests. WRI India’s analysis of vegetation type maps, identifies approximately 65 million hectares of natural and naturalized forests.

The variation in these numbers between GFW and India specific data sets can be attributed to definitional and methodological differences used when analyzing the data, which can lead to the underestimation of some forest types, particularly dry forests, in GFW’s measurements.

How are India’s forests changing?

Forest cover change data from FSI between 2009 and 2017 shows an increase in forest of 2 million hectares. Increases occurred in India’s densest forests (greater than 70% canopy cover) and open forests (between 10% and 40% canopy cover), with slight decreases seen in moderately dense forests (between 40% and 70% canopy cover).

GFW data on primary forests (defined by GFW as areas of mature humid forests greater than 5 hectares without human clearing in recent record) extends back to the year 2001 and shows that India lost humid primary rainforest since the turn of the century — an estimated 334,000 hectares.

Packing box makers worst hit, demand ban on kraft paper exports

The Indian paper industry is going through one of its toughest phases in history with the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic affecting supply, compounded by non-availability of shipping containers and China importing huge quantities of kraft paper from India.

“Three factors are primarily behind the problems the paper industry is facing. The Covid-19 situation has resulted in waste paper supply shortage. The issue has been aggravated by non-availability of shipping containers. While India is starved of waste paper supply due to these factors, export of recycled pulp (made from waste paper and paper cuttings) to China is adding to the industry’s woes,” said Rajesh Sundrani, Executive Director of Chennai-based SBS Paper Recycling Ltd.

Packing box makers worst hit, demand ban on kraft paper exports

The Indian paper industry is going through one of its toughest phases in history with the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic affecting supply, compounded by non-availability of shipping containers and China importing huge quantities of kraft paper from India.

“Three factors are primarily behind the problems the paper industry is facing. The Covid-19 situation has resulted in waste paper supply shortage. The issue has been aggravated by non-availability of shipping containers. While India is starved of waste paper supply due to these factors, export of recycled pulp (made from waste paper and paper cuttings) to China is adding to the industry’s woes,” said Rajesh Sundrani, Executive Director of Chennai-based SBS Paper Recycling Ltd.

It is evident that we must all work together to save ourselves from ruin. But what do we do? First, we need to understand both the availability and the patterns of our consumption. India has 18 per cent of the world’s population but has only 4 per cent of the global water resources. So, the water balance is severely adverse. Contrary to popular belief, it is neither domestic use nor industry that guzzles India’s water supply but agriculture which consumes over 85 per cent of our water. With only 40 per cent assured irrigation, our farmers depend heavily either on rains or on groundwater for their needs. Though the monsoon season in India extends over four months, we get barely 30 days of heavy rainfall in all. And our efforts to conserve rainwater remain woefully inadequate.

Yet, amidst all this water gloom, the momentum to find innovative solutions out of the crisis has picked up speed, as the India today team discovered while compiling this special issue. Take drinking water, for example. After providing toilets to every household and making India open defecation-free in his first term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Jal Jeevan Mission at the start of his second term. Launched in August 2019, the ambitious scheme aims to provide potable water through taps to the 191 million rural households by 2024, from the existing one out of six households that have tap water.

Given the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic, there were doubts about the Jal Shakti ministry’s ability to meet its targets. Despite the odds, over 30 million new households have been provided with tap water during this period, equal to the number of households provided with taps since Independence. The Modi government achieved this by providing massive funding, Rs 3.6 lakh crore, and backing it with mission mode management and technology to monitor progress. What’s more, state governments are encouraging community participation in the operation and maintenance of water supply to their homes in the form of Pani Samitis. The Centre and states are also focusing on ensuring sustainability of water supply and quality rather than treating it as a one-shot affair. The most important outcome of these efforts is that women, who bore the brunt of the task of fetching water for households, wasting precious time, are being freed from that drudgery. This in itself will prove emancipating. Apart from ease of living, there is a clear link between socioeconomic development and water availability.

While experts appreciate the change in mindsets to provide drinking water supply, the real challenge, they say, is to bring a revolution in water use in farming. Hearteningly, this is being driven by a rare public private partnership between government and farmers, throwing up innovative cost-effective solutions. For instance, in Dewas district in Madhya Pradesh, water had become scarce for farmers, who were reduced to growing only one crop. An alert deputy commissioner helped the people get together to dig 10,000 farm ponds across villages that could store monsoon water. Farmers were given cheap bank loans to dig these ponds, the impact of which was felt almost immediately. In the next rainy season, farmers were able to grow high-yielding wheat varieties apart from diversifying to other crops. Most have repaid their loans and are on the road to prosperity.

There are scores of such examples of how farmers are turning around their fortunes by conserving water. The big message: alongside the transfer of water through high-cost large irrigation and drinking water projects, sustainable progress could be made by employing a billion low-cost aquifer recharging techniques suitable to local conditions.

While focusing on supply is good, the imperative is to tackle the demand side so that, as the government line goes, there is more crop per drop. Gujarat, once a perennially drought-prone state, has taken significant strides in inducing farmers to convert to drip irrigation. The state has done so by providing subsidies of 60-80 per cent of the cost of sprinklers apart from handholding farmers through the first cropping season. Already 20 per cent of the farmers have switched to micro-irrigation, saving as much as 40 per cent in water and labour costs, as an Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad study has revealed. They also earned an additional Rs 15,000 per hectare per crop.

In Punjab, where over-exploitation of water for paddy has seen a catastrophic drop in groundwater levels, there is an urgent need to diversify to other less water-intensive crops that can earn farmers the same income. Ditto for the sugarcane farmers of Maharashtra, where water use efficiency remains dismal. Haryana has shown the way by starting a scheme to give farmers a cash subsidy to stop growing paddy in groundwater-stressed areas and switch to other crops. Clearly, rather than issue fiats, states need to work as catalysts and persuade farmers to switch to crops that give them better remuneration while meeting the country’s food needs.

Another crisis area to tackle is the growing water shortage faced by our metros. NITI Aayog estimates that 21 major cities, including Delhi, would run out of groundwater by 2030. There are simple solutions like reviving water bodies as Bengaluru, once a city of lakes, can do. It is also perhaps time to rethink our waste disposal strategy and recycling of waste water. Currently, to transport faecal matter weighing 100 grams, we use six litres of water to flush it down. Can we develop technology to use less water as toilets in aircraft do? Our cities also employ centuries-old town-planning techniques of laying sewage pipes to carry solid waste to a common treatment plant on the outskirts. Can a more localised treatment plant be found and the treated water recycled either for industrial use or for parks in the vicinity? Delhi is working on an experiment to treat its sewage water to make it fit for industrial use. More such initiatives need to be taken up in addition to a total rethink on how we plan our water supply and wastewater disposal in cities.

Interlinking of rivers, while keeping environment considerations in mind, may be the answer to supplying water to dry regions, with the added benefit of harnessing water wasted in floods. But let’s not forget that it also makes economic sense to rejuvenate existing water bodies rather than just building more large dams to meet our needs. In the following pages, we have highlighted a host of such initiatives to conserve water from across the country that could be replicated with variations. Estimates are that if we continue with business as usual, India will have only half the water it needs by 2030. Day Zero for a catastrophe is not a century but just a decade away. We need to act, and post-haste

THE title suggest that food effects our minds directly. Nature has store food for each organism to survive. It has rich source of protein which is the building block of our body. Carbohydrates which is the staple food and sources of vitamins and minerals in fighting disease for the maintenance of our body.

Now question arises which food shall we choose to eat? we all know that we should eat healthy food. food tht is fresh and healthy. Now what does healthy food signify? It refers to a food which is fresh , free from harmful substances, and served with love. It is vital to have awareness of the most healthful foods to ensure a wide a range of nutrients in the diet. A balanced diet is the secret to healthful eating. This article will cover the 15 most healthful foods and their benefits.

1. Almonds 2. Brazil nuts 3. Lentils 4. Oatmeal 5. Wheat germ 6. Broccoli 7. Apples 9. Blueberries . An eating plan that helps manage your weight includes a variety of healthy foods. Add an array of colours to your plate and think of it as eating the rainbow. Dark, leafy greens, oranges, and tomatoes—even fresh herbs—are loaded with vitamins, fibre, and minerals. Adding frozen peppers, broccoli, or onions to stews and omelettes gives them a quick and convenient boost of colour and nutrients.

Healthy food contains an adequate amount of vitamins and nutrients that are essential to keep our body fit and fine. Health is the most important aspect of life and if we eat healthy we can live a more prosperous life. However, people nowadays tend to eat junk food that is harmful to our body and has proved to be fatal many times. Therefore, it is important to make people aware of the benefits of healthy eating so that they can adopt a healthy lifestyle and keep themselves away from diseases and infections. Food forms the basis of our life and eating good and healthy food keeps us in good physical shape as well increases our immunity and strength. Eating a healthy diet puts a positive impact on our lives and improves our mental, physical and internal health. Including fruits and vegetables in our diet prevents us from various diseases like heart attacks, blood pressure, cholesterol problems, diabetes and much more. Green veggies are considered very beneficial for good metabolism and resistance to diseases. These days’ people are suffering from obesity problems which in turn results in various illnesses. Junk food is the main cause of obesity as it contains high sugars and fats. So, in order to live a healthy life, one must cut down on junk food intake and should start eating healthy food.

So, in conclusion, one must resort to alternative ways to have tasty and healthy food at the same time. We must drink lemon water and herbal tea instead of soft drinks; one should drink plant-based milk, eat raw fruits instead of juices, switch to lean protein diet, and eat less processed foods to keep the body healthy and fit. Hence, we must realize this fact that even though junk food looks amazing and appetizing, we must not eat it and should include healthy food in our diet to live a long life full of health and good well-being.

Climate change refers to the change in the environmental conditions of the earth. This happens due to many internal and external factors. The climatic change has become a global concern over the last few decades. Besides, these climatic changes affect life on the earth in various ways. These climatic changes are having various impacts on the ecosystem and ecology. Due to these changes, a number of species of plants and animals have gone extinct.

When Did it Start?

The climate started changing a long time ago due to human activities but we came to know about it in the last century. During the last century, we started noticing the climatic change and its effect on human life. We started researching on climate change and came to know that the earth temperature is rising due to a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. The warming up of earth surface causes many ozone depletion, affect our agriculture, water supply, transportation, and several other problems.

Reason Of Climate Change

Although there are hundreds of reason for the climatic change we are only going to discuss the natural and manmade (human) reasons.

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Natural Reasons

These include volcanic eruption, solar radiation, tectonic plate movement, orbital variations. Due to these activities, the geographical condition of an area become quite harmful for life to survive. Also, these activities raise the temperature of the earth to a great extent causing an imbalance in nature.

Human Reasons

Man due to his need and greed has done many activities that not only harm the environment but himself too. Many plant and animal species go extinct due to human activity. Human activities that harm the climate include deforestation, using fossil fuel, industrial waste, a different type of pollution and many more. All these things damage the climate and ecosystem very badly. And many species of animals and birds got extinct or on a verge of extinction due to hunting.

Article 3 in The Constitution Of India 19493. Formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States: Parliament may by law(a) form a new State by separation of territory from any State or by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State;(b) increase the area of any State;(c) diminish the area of any State;(d) alter the boundaries of any State;(e) alter the name of any State; Provided that no Bill for the purpose shall be introduced in either House of Parliament except on the recommendation of the President and unless, where the proposal contained in the Bill affects the area, boundaries or name of any of the States, the Bill has been referred by the President to the Legislature of that State for expressing its views thereon within such period as may be specified in the reference or within such further period as the President may allow and the period so specified or allowed has expired Explanation I In this article, in clauses (a) to (e), State includes a Union territory, but in the proviso, State does not include a Union territory Explanation II The power conferred on Parliament by clause (a) includes the power to form a new State or Union territory by uniting a part of any State or Union territory to any other State or Union territory

1. What does Article 2 of the Constitution of India say?Article 2 says: “Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit.” However, Parliament cannot establish a new union territory by passing a law; that can only be done through a constitutional amendment. States like Sikkim (previously not within India) became a part of the country under Article 2.
2. What was the Constituent Assembly’s debate on Article 2?Article 2 was not deliberated on much because the Constituent Assembly agreed that given India’s size and diversity, a central authority was needed to hold together the country’s administrative structure and prevent it from disintegrating. So the centre was given the power to ‘admit and establish’ new states.
3. Which changes to Article 2 were proposed during the debate?During the debate, Assembly member Naziruddin Ahmad argued that Articles 2 and 3 overlapped to a large extent and must be amalgamated. He proposed that Articles 2 and 3 be substituted with Article 2. Assembly member H.V. Kamath proposed that instead of the word ‘Parliament’, Article 2 must use the ‘Parliament of the Union’ to make it absolutely clear which parliament was being referred to. 
4. Did the Constituent Assembly accept any of these amendments?None of these amendments were accepted and the Draft Article 2 was made part of the Constitution without any changes.

What is Article 1 of the Constitution?

Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress its powers and limits. Congress is the legislative branch of the government, meaning they are the ones to make laws for the United States of America. The article also creates the two sections of Congress, which is called a bicameral legislature. The first of the two is the Senate, which is made up of two senators from each state. The second is the House of Representatives, which has representatives from each state based on the population.

How is Article 1 Broken Down?

Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution has ten parts or sections. Within each section, the article is broken down even more into clauses.

Section 1 of Article 1

Section 1 of Article 1 is known as the vesting clause. This clause gives Congress the government’s power to make laws. There are similar vesting clauses in article two and article three, which give powers to the other branches of the government. This means no other branch is allowed to exercise the same power.

Section 2 of Article 1

Section 2 of Article 1 gives information about the United States House of Representatives. This part of Article 1 says that there will be elections for members of the House of Representatives every second year. These representatives are voted in by the people, meaning the citizens of each state will choose the representatives. Any representative who decides to run for a seat on the House of Representative’s bust be at 25 years old, and must have been an American citizen for at least 7 years. He or she must also live in the state that he or she wishes to be a representative for

Section 3 of Article 1

Section 3 of Article 1 describes explains how the Senate should be. This section says that there will be two Senators for each state, and they will have 6-year terms. In order to be a Senator, a person has to be at least 30 years old and must have been an American citizen for at least 9 years. He or she must also live in the state that he or she wishes to be a representative for

Section 4 of Article 1

Section 4 of Article 1 explains that the States have the power to determine where, when, and how elections will be held for Senators and Representatives. The section also states that Congress must meet at least once each year, and this meeting must be on the first Monday in December.

Section 5 of Article 1

Section 5 of Article 1 talks about how the procedure should be for each House of Congress. This includes the qualifications of members, the rules they must follow, how to keep records for what happens, and how a house can adjourn.

Section 6 of Article 1

Section 6 of Article 1 looks at the privileges, restrictions, and compensation of anyone who is a Senator or a Representative. These civil officers get paid by the Treasury of the United States. They cannot be arrested unless it is for a felony, treason, or a breach of peace. They also cannot take an office in the Executive government while they are still in Congress.

Section 7 of Article 1

Section 7 of the Article explains how Congress can make acts through bills. A bill can start in either the House of Representatives or in the Senate. Once the bill is passed in both houses, it can become a law. After it is passed, it will go to the president, who can let it pass or choose to veto the bill.

Section 8 of Article 1

Section 8 of Article 1 gives the Enumerated Powers of congress. The enumerated powers are a list of items that Confess is specifically allowed to do. Examples of these powers include making money or setting up taxes.

Section 9 of Article 1

Section 9 of Article 1 is a list of limits on the powers of Congress. For example, Congress cannot create any titles for royalty, like a King.

Section 10 of Article 1

Section 10 of Article 1 is the last section of Article 1. Section 10 limits the powers of the states. For example, the first part of section 10 says that states do not have certain powers that the federal government has. For example, they cannot create money.

Article 21 of Constitution of India: Protection of Life and Personal Liberty

Article 21 states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.” Thus, article 21 secures two rights:

• Right to life, and
• 2) Right to personal liberty.

The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for the establishment of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. It declares that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure established by law. Article 21 comes under the Part III of the Indian constitution and is one of the fundamental rights guaranteed to all citizens of India. In this article, we will discuss various rights and liberties that are a part of Article 21.

Article 21 of Indian constitution

• Article 21 is a fundamental right and is included in Part-III of Indian Constitution. 
• This right is available to all citizens as well as non-citizens alike. 
• Supreme Court has described this right as the “heart of fundamental rights”
• According to Justice Bhagwati, Article 21 “embodies a constitutional value of supreme importance in a democratic society.”
• Article 21 secures two rights: The right to life and the Right to personal liberty.
• Article 21 cannot be suspended during an emergency. 

Meaning and Scope of Article 21 of Indian Constitution

The right to life in Article 21 of Indian constitution does not mean animal existence or the mere act of breathing. It guarantees the right to a dignified life. Some of the rights that are currently included in the ambit of Article 21 includes (mentioned in Menaka Case):

• Right to live with human dignity.
• Right to the decent environment including pollution-free water and air and protection
• against hazardous industries.
• Right to livelihood.
• Right to privacy.
• Right to shelter.
• Right to health.
• Right to free education up to 14 years of age.
• Right to free legal aid.
• Right against solitary confinement.
• Right to a speedy trial.
• Right against handcuffing
• Right against inhuman treatment.
• Right against delayed execution.
• Right to travel abroad.
• Right against bonded labor.
• Right against custodial harassment.
• Right to emergency medical aid.
• Right to timely medical treatment in a government hospital.
• Right not to be driven out of a state.
• Right to a fair trial.
• Right of prisoner to have necessities of life.
• Right of women to be treated with decency and dignity
• Right against public hanging.
•  Right to hearing.
• Right to information.
• Right to reputation.

The Union executive consists of the President, the Vice-President, and the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as the head to aid and advise the President.

President

The President is elected by members of an electoral college consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the states in accordance with the system of proportional representation, by means of single transferable vote. To secure uniformity among state inter se, as well as parity between the states as a whole, and the Union, suitable weightage is given to each vote. The President must be a citizen of India, not less than 35 years of age, and qualified for election as member of the Lok Sabha. His term of office is five years, and he is eligible for re-election. His removal from office is to be in accordance with procedure prescribed in Article 61 of the Constitution. He may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Vice-President, resign his office.

Executive power of the Union is vested in the President, and is exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the Constitution. Supreme command of defence forces of the Union also vests in him. The President summons, prorogues, addresses, sends messages to Parliament and dissolves the Lok Sabha, promulgates Ordinances at any time, except when both Houses of Parliament are in session, makes recommendations for introducing financial and money bills and gives assent to bills, grants pardons, reprieves, respites or remission of punishment or suspends, and remits or commutes sentences in certain cases. When there is a failure of the constitutional machinery in a state, he can assume to himself all, or any of the functions of the government of that state. The President can proclaim emergency in the country if he is satisfied that a grave emergency exists, whereby security of India or any part of its territory is threatened, whether by war or external aggression or armed rebellion.

The Indian judicial system follows the common law system based on recorded judicial precedents as inherited from the British colonial legacy. The court system of India comprises the Supreme Court of India, the High Courts and subordinate courts at district, municipal and village levels.

I. Hierarchy of courts

The Indian judiciary is divided into several levels in order to decentralize and address matters at the grassroots levels. The basic structure is as follows:

1. Supreme Court: It is the Apex court of the country and was constituted on 28th January 1950. It is the highest court of appeal and enjoys both original suits and appeals of High Court judgments. The Supreme Court is comprised of the Chief Justice of India and 25 other judges. Articles 124-147 of the Constitution of India lay down the authority of the Supreme Court.

2. High Courts: High Courts are the highest judicial body at the State level. Article 214 lays down the authority of High Courts. There are 25 High Courts in India. High Courts exercise civil or criminal jurisdiction only if the subordinate courts in the State are not competent to try the matters. High Courts may even take appeals from lower courts. High Court judges are appointed by the President of India upon consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the Chief Justice of the High Court and the Governor of the State.

3. District Courts: District Courts are established by the State Governments of India for every district or group of districts based on the caseload and population density. District Courts are under the direct administration of High Courts and are bound by High Court judgments. Every district generally has two kinds of courts:

a. Civil Courts

b. Criminal Courts

District Courts are presided over by District Judges. Additional District Judges and Assistant District Judges may be appointed based on the caseload. Appeals against District Court judgments lie in the High Court.

4. Lok Adalats/Village Courts: these are subordinate courts at the village level which provide a system for alternate dispute resolution in villages.

5. Tribunals: the Constitution provides the government with the power to set up special Tribunals for the administration of specific matters such as tax cases, land cases, consumer cases etc.

Appellate jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to rehear/review a case decided by a lower court. In India, appellate jurisdiction is vested in both the Supreme Court and High Courts. They may either overrule or uphold the judgments of lower courts.

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II. Civil Courts

Civil courts provide remedies for civil wrongs committed by individuals against other individuals and entities. Civil matters range from property disputes to breaches of contract to divorce cases. Civil courts follow the principle of ubi jus ibi remedium (for every wrong the law provides remedy). Unless expressly or impliedly barred by any other law in force, civil courts have the jurisdiction to try all suits of civil nature.

The Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) 1908 governs the procedures to be followed by civil courts in administering civil cases in India.

As a matter of fact, every suit must be instituted before the court of lowest jurisdiction (the Munsif court). Upon institution, it is decided whether the respective court has competence to try the case.

The Civil Court hierarchy in districts is as follows:

1. District Court: The court of district judges is the highest civil court in a district. It exercises both judicial and administrative functions. The District Judge combines the powers of trying both civil and criminal cases. Hence, they are designated the District and Sessions Judge.

2. Sub-judge Court: if the value of the subject-matter of the suit is worth more than Rs. 1 lakh, the Sub-judge and Additional Sub-judge courts may try the suit.

3. Additional Sub-judge Court: this is created based on the case-load.

4. Munsif Court: if the value of the subject-matter of the suit is worth Rs. 1 lakh or below, the Munsif court is competent to try the suit.

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III. Criminal Courts

The power of the various criminal courts is mentioned under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

According to Section 26 of the CrPC, any offence mentioned under the Indian Penal Code may be tried by:

1. High Courts
2. Courts of Session
3. Any other Court as specified in the First Schedule of the Code of Criminal Procedure

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IV. Judicial Authority of the Supreme Court

Articles 141 and 144 of the Constitution uphold the authority and jurisdiction given to the Supreme Court to make decisions and uphold the law of the land. These Articles give animal welfare judgments their binding force, ensuring that they are appropriately enforced and implemented by the respective authorities. They allow for the Supreme Court to issue directives and fill gaps in law until the legislature steps in.

Article 141

Article 141 lays down that “the law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India.”

This Article embodies the English principle of stare decisis which holds that law must be definite, fixed, known and consistent. Since the Supreme Court is the Apex court of the country and all courts and tribunals are bound by its decisions, Supreme Court judgments become a source of law in themselves.

The binding part is the operative part of the judgment or the ratio decidendi (“reason of decision) determined after reading the judgment in its entirety. It is the general principle derived from a judgment that is deduced by courts when deciding the case based on facts. Mere observations, or the obiter dicta (“said by the way”), on the other hand, refer to those parts of judicial decisions which are general observations of the judge in the case. Obiter dicta have only persuasive value, not binding authority.

Article 144

Article 144 lays down that “all authorities, civil and judicial, in the territory of India shall act in aid of the Supreme Court.”

The Supreme Court has the power to hold any authority in contempt if they disregard or disobey the order of the court.

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V. Binding value of Judicial Precedents

Since India is a common law country, previously decided judgments of higher courts such as the Supreme Court and High Courts are binding on subordinate and lower courts, i.e., subordinate courts are bound to follow the decisions and hold them to be the law. Precedents are an important source of law in India. The binding value of different courts in the court hierarchy is as follows:

1. Decisions of the Supreme Court are binding on all courts in India. The Supreme Court is not bound by decisions of High Courts, lower courts or other judicial authorities.
2. Decisions of a High Court are binding on all inferior courts (as long as they don’t conflict with Supreme Court decisions) within its jurisdiction but holds only persuasive value for courts outside its jurisdiction. In case the decisions of the High Court conflict with the decisions of a similar bench, the matter is referred to a higher bench.
3. Lower courts are bound by decisions of higher courts in their own states. Decisions by High Courts of other states hold only persuasive value.

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VI. Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is an effective tool to advance social justice in India. Borrowed from the American tradition of Social Action Litigation, PILs have been widely used in India to advance the causes of disadvantaged and marginalized communities. The general rule to bring a cause of action in court is the rule of locus standi i.e. the party must possess sufficient connection or suffer particular harm in order to be a party to the case. In PILs, this rule is relaxed considerably as any citizen of India may bring an action in court to reduce a wrong if there has been a breach of Fundamental Rights. PILs are an effective tool in the furtherance of animal protection by allowing animal rights groups and activists to file PILs at the Supreme Court and give a voice to the voiceless.

Some landmark PILs related to animal welfare filed in the Supreme Court of India include the cases of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Union of India (a case regarding the protection of animals against exploitation and ill-treatment during film-making) and Animal Welfare Board of India v. A. Nagaraja & Ors. (a case regarding the prohibition of a traditional bull-fighting practice called Jallikattu).