The Women’s Reservation Bill and Problems

The passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha almost three  decades after it was first tabled in Parliament is a welcome move that can finally  shatter a political glass ceiling. 

Bill 

  • The Women’s Reservation Bill (WRB) was passed by the Lok Sabha with a two-thirds majority.
  • The bill seeks to reserve one-third  of all seats for women in the Lok  Sabha and state legislative  assemblies.
  • The bill was passed with 454 members supporting it and two members  opposing it.
  • The bill has been remained in place for 15 years from the day of its  implementation. Parliament can extend the duration if required.  The Bill also mandates that as nearly as one-third of the seats reserved for  Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes will be set aside for women. 

The bill is considered important because:  

  • It adheres to constitutional principles and takes caste diversity into  consideration. 
  • Without a gender quota, women’s representation would remain minimal.

Problems in the bill: 

  • The bill has been in the works for 27 years.
  • The bill to be implemented immediately rather than by 2029.  Wanted a quota for OBCs and Muslims within the general quota

Cauvery Dispute 

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the Cauvery Water  Management Authority’s (CWMA) direction to Karnataka to release 5,000  cusecs of water per day for 15 days to neighbouring Tamil Nadu. 

Cauvery (Kaveri): 

  • Cauvery, the ‘Dakshina Ganga’ or the Ganges of the south, and  the fourth largest river of southern India has been the  economic backbone of the states through which it flows, making  its impact felt most strongly in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.  
  • In these two states, the river is almost the Mother Goddess,  entwined with the identity of the people there.  
  • It is celebrated in music and literature and sung praises of in  prayer and legends.  
  • Yet this same holy river has been the bone of contention between  the two states for decades.
  • The contest for Cauvery between what is modern day Tamil Nadu  and Karnataka can be traced back to the 11th century ADIt is believed that Chikkadeva Wodeyar of Mysore attempted to  stop the flow of Cauvery into Tamil regions to settle scores with  Chokkanath Naik of Madurai kingdom.

Dispute: 

  • The Cauvery water dispute is a conflict between the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of  the Cauvery River.
  • The dispute dates back to 1807 when the Mysore state began  development projects on the  river, which the Madras  government disapproved of.
  • The two governments signed agreements in 1892 and 1924.
  • The dispute arose because the Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu can only be  filled if water is released from the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in  Karnataka.
  • The water in the Mettur dam is used for crops in the delta region of Tamil  Nadu.
  • The water in the Krishna Raja Sagara dam is used for irrigation in  Karnataka and to meet the water needs of Bengaluru.
  • In 1997, the Attorney General of India made a statement in the Supreme  Court that the Union of India would prepare a scheme to implement the  Interim Award of the Tribunal.

British government favoured Madras: 

  • The relationship shared between Madras presidency and Mysore state was  that of a ‘sovereign power and a feudal unit.’ “Because of these reasons,  the then British government favoured Madras,” 
  • When Madras presidency disapproved of Mysore’s irrigation plans on the  Cauvery in 1807, and the two states could not come to a mutual agreement,  the matter had to be taken by the government of India which was then in  British hands. 
  • Through the intervention of the British government, the General  Agreement of 1892 was signed between the two states.
  • The agreement entitled, “Rules defining the limits within which no new  irrigation works are to be constructed by Mysore State without previous  reference to Madras government,” laid out six rules of negotiation between  the two states regarding Cauvery water.

Other News

ICMR nod to conduct  Truenat test to detect  Nipah incubation period is 21 days 

Kerala has been accorded sanction by the  Indian Council for Medical Research  (ICMR) to use Truenat test to diagnose  Nipah. 

Hospitals with BSL 2 level labs can  perform the test.

Kurmis call off stir after  Calcutta HC calls it illegal  and unconstitutional Kurmi tribe is found in Jharkhand, West  Bengal and Odisha

 

seeking Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for  the community 

demand to include Kurmali language in  the eighth schedule of the Constitution.

Study throws light on how  gravitational instabilities  affect evolution of galaxies Study conducted by Indian Institute of  Astrophysics 

understand how gravitational instabilities  are connected to galaxy evolution. 

sample of 175 galaxies taken from the  Spitzer Photometry and Accurate Rotation  Curves (SPARC) database 

spiral galaxies exhibit a higher median  star formation rate, lower stability, lower  gas fraction, and a smaller timescale for  the growth of gravitational instabilities 

trace the role of dark matter in regulating  the stability levels of the galaxies and  understand if stars and gas can self regulate the stability levels

What is the tussle between  the Central government  and the Delhi Waqf  Board? Delhi Waqf Board 

State level statuary body 

Established under Waqf Act, 1954 of  Delhi Government 

exercises control over mosques,  graveyards and religious waqfs. 

Central Waqf Council  

statutory body under the Ministry of  Minority Affairs  

set up in 1964 by the Waqf Act, 1954  Advisory Body to the Central  Government on matters concerning the  working of the Waqf Boards

 

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