News In Short-2-04-2025

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024

Syllabus: GS2/Governance

Context

• The government re-introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in Parliament.

Waqf Bill Amendments Overview:

• Amends the Waqf Act, 1995, which governs Waqf property management in India.
• Waqf by User: The Bill removes the concept of “Waqf by use,” meaning properties continuously used as Waqf (like mosques) will require official documentation (Waqfnama) to be recognized as Waqf.
• Survey of Properties: The Bill replaces the Survey Commissioner with the District Collector or other senior officers to oversee the survey of Waqf properties.
• Representation on Waqf Boards: The Bill proposes allowing non-Muslim Chief Executive Officers and members to be appointed to state-level Waqf Boards.
• Application of Limitation Act: The Bill deletes Section 107 of the 1995 law, making the Limitation Act (1963) applicable to Waqf properties.
  • This change allows someone who has unlawfully possessed Waqf property for more than 12 years to claim it through adverse possession.

Reasons for Amendment

• The government argues that the 1995 Act has loopholes in regulating Waqf properties, such as title disputes and illegal occupations.
• The new Bill mandates a unified digital listing of Waqf properties to reduce litigation and ensure transparency.

Criticism 

• The Bill gives the government power to determine whether a property is Waqf.
• The District Collector, rather than the Waqf Tribunal, will decide disputed properties, treating them as government properties until resolved.
• Opposition parties oppose the amendments, arguing it undermines Muslim community rights.

Do you know? – Waqf refers to properties dedicated exclusively for religious or charitable purposes under Islamic law, and any other use or sale of the property is prohibited.  1. Waqf means that the ownership of the property is now taken away from the person making Waqf and transferred and detained by Allah. – In India, the history of Waqf can be traced back to the early days of the Delhi Sultanate when Sultan Muizuddin Sam Ghaor dedicated two villages in favour of the Jama Masjid of Multan and handed its administration to Shaikhul Islam.

Source: IE

NITI-NCAER Portal on State Finances

Syllabus: GS2/Governance

Context

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the “NITI NCAER States Economic Forum” portal.

About

• Portal Launch: Developed by NITI Aayog and National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).
• It is a comprehensive repository of data on state finances covering the period 1990-91 to 2022-23.
• Purpose: The portal will act as a research hub, offer a historical and real-time data analysis to track state progress, identify trends, and help formulate evidence-based policies for development.
• Main Components:
  • State Reports: Summarizes macro and fiscal data of 28 states, covering demography, economic structure, and fiscal indicators.
  • Data Repository: Provides access to a complete database categorized across five verticals: Demography, Economic Structure, Fiscal, Health, and Education.
  • State Fiscal and Economic Dashboard: Offers graphical representations of key economic variables and quick access to data through appendices and summary tables.
  • Research and Commentary: Includes extensive research on state finances and fiscal policy at both state and national levels.

Source: PIB

Government Securities

Syllabus :GS 3/Economy 

In News

• The Reserve Bank of India announced the injection of ₹80,000 crore by purchasing government securities citing “evolving liquidity conditions.”

Government security(G-Sec)

• It is a tradeable instrument issued by the Central Government or the State Governments. 
• It acknowledges the Government’s debt obligation.
  • Such securities are short term (usually called treasury bills, with original maturities of less than one year) or long term (usually called Government bonds or dated securities with original maturity of one year or more).

Scenario In India 

• In India, the Central Government issues both, treasury bills and bonds or dated securities while the State Governments issue only bonds or dated securities, which are called the State Development Loans (SDLs).
  •  G-Secs carry practically no risk of default and, hence, are called risk-free gilt-edged instruments.
• RBI acts as the debt manager for the Centre and the States.

Source :TH

Future Circular Collider (FCC) Feasibility Study

Syllabus :GS 3/Space 

In News

• CERN and international partners completed a study on the Future Circular Collider (FCC), reflecting contributions from over 1,000 physicists and engineers.

Future Circular Collider (FCC)

• The FCC aims to succeed the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the 2040s. 
• It will have a 91 km circumference and focus on fundamental physics questions, particularly related to the Higgs boson.
• It seeks to address key physics questions left unanswered since the discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, including the origin of mass and the fate of the universe.
• The FCC could lead to technological advancements with applications in medical fields, fusion energy, electricity transmission, and advanced accelerators

Purpose 

• It is a proposed particle accelerator designed to collide protons at unprecedented energies, aiming to study fundamental forces and particles. The project will unfold in two phases: the first phase, featuring an electron-positron collider, is expected to begin operations in 2046, while the second phase, a proton-proton collider, is slated for 2070.
  • The FCC will target an energy level of 100 trillion electronvolts, more than seven times higher than the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

Do you know ? – Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is  the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, has been operational since 2008 and has made significant discoveries, such as the Higgs boson. It is expected to conclude operations by 2041, with the FCC poised to continue advancing research in fundamental physics.

Source :IE

Saturn Gained 128 New Official Moons

Syllabus: GS3/Space

Context

• Saturn has “gained” 128 new moons in a groundbreaking discovery by astronomers in Taiwan.

About

• Saturn’s New Title:
  • Saturn now holds the title of “moon champion” with 274 moons, the most of any planet in the solar system.
  • This surpasses the total number of moons of all other planets combined.
• Discovery Details: Some moons were found during space missions like Voyager 1 and others during “ring-plane crossings.”
• Irregular Moons: All newly discovered moons are classified as “irregular” moons, which have elliptical orbits at various angles.
  • Irregular moons were likely once small planets captured by Saturn’s gravity and later shattered by collisions.
  • Regular moons are formed around a planet at the same time as the planet itself forms.
• Size of Moons: The new moons are small, only a few kilometers in size, but still classified as moons by NASA.
• Insights into Saturn’s Rings: The discovery of irregular moons offers clues about the formation of Saturn’s rings, believed to be fragments from comets, asteroids, and moons torn apart by Saturn’s gravity.
• Naming of Moons: Saturn’s moons typically follow names from Greco-Roman mythology and other mythologies.
  • The 128 new moons are currently named with technical designations (e.g., “S/2020 S 27”) and await official names from the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

About Saturn

• Saturn, is the second-largest planet in the Solar System and the 6th closest planet to the sun.
• Saturn’s rings are composed mainly of water ice, with a minor component of rocky material.
• Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, larger than Mercury and Pluto.

Source: IE

Green Credit Programme

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

In News

• The government is inviting voluntary participation in sectors ranging from plantations to water conservation in exchange of tradable credits under the Green Credit Programme.

About Green Credit Programme

• Launched by: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)
• Officially unveiled: December 1, 2023, at COP28 in Dubai by PM Modi and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Objective: To incentivize voluntary pro-environmental actions through tradable “green credits”
• Linked to: Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment)
• Participation: Open to individuals, companies, PSUs, and institutions on a voluntary basis.
• Activities Eligible for Green Credits: Tree plantation, Eco-restoration (grasses, shrubs, herbs), water conservation (rainwater harvesting, soil moisture conservation), Waste management & air pollution reduction.
• Incentive Structure: Participants earn green credits (e.g., 1 grown tree = 1 green credit)
  • Credits are tradable on a domestic market platform
  • Can be used for:
    • Meeting compensatory afforestation obligations
    • Environmental social and governance (ESG) under SEBI guidelines

Concerns & Criticism

• Legal flagged: Ministry of Law and Justice questioned the legality of the trading model.
• Supreme Court: Reviewing petition on survival of plantations and legality under amended Forest Act.
• Ecological concerns: May incentivize forest diversion by replacing non-forest land with degraded forest land.
  • Risk of harming ecologically important scrublands and open forests.
• Key issue: Undermines “land-for-land” principle of compensatory afforestation.

Source: IE

Migration Pattern of Painted Lady Butterflies

Syllabus :GS 3/Environment 

Context 

• Daria Shipilina, an evolutionary biologist, is studying how genetics contribute to observable traits, or phenotypes, in organisms, with a focus on migration in insects, particularly butterflies. 

About the study

• Researchers studied butterflies from regions in Europe and North Africa, documenting their migration patterns from the Sahara Desert to southern Europe and back.
• Researchers analyzed stable isotopes of hydrogen and strontium in butterfly wings to determine their place of origin, as the isotopic signature remains after the butterflies’ larvae stage.

Findings of Latest research 

• The butterflies follow a multi-generational migration cycle, spanning 8-10 generations, with each butterfly living only 2-4 weeks.
• Recent research examines painted lady butterflies (Vanessa cardui), which are known for their long migratory journeys of up to 15,000 km. 
• Unlike birds, which have distinct genetic groups for short- and long-distance migration.
  • It was found that  painted lady butterflies do not have significant genetic differences based on migration distance.
    • Instead, environmental factors seem to influence migration patterns.

Do you know? – The painted lady butterfly is known for its remarkable ability to thrive in diverse climates, from temperate grasslands to deserts, and is found on every continent except Antarctica and South America.  – They are strong flyers, capable of high speeds and altitudes, with specialized thoracic muscles for long-distance flight. – IUCN Red List status: Least Concern.

Source :TH