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📰 Panel to study SC status of converted Dalits. • The Union government has set up a three-member Commission of Inquiry headed by former Chief Justice of India, Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, to examine whether Scheduled Caste (SC) status can be accorded to Dalits who have converted to religions other than Sikhism or Buddhism. • The three-member commission will also comprise Professor Sushma Yadav, member, UGC, and retired IAS officer Ravinder Kumar Jain, and has been given a two-year deadline to submit a report on the issue starting from the day Justice Balakrishnan takes charge of the commission. • The petitions challenging the religion criterion for inclusion have cited several independent commission reports since the First Backward Classes Commission headed by Kaka Kalelkar in 1955 that have documented the existence of caste and caste discrimination among Indian Christians and Indian Muslims, concluding that Dalit converts continued to face the same social disabilities even after leaving the Hindu fold. • These include the Report of the Committee on Untouchability Economic and Educational Development Of the Scheduled Castes in 1969, the HPP report on SCs, STs, and Minorities in 1983, the Ranganath Mishra Commission Report, among others. □ What does the law say now? • Currently, the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 under Article 341 provides for only those belonging to Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist communities to be categorised as SCs. □ How were Sikhs and Buddhists included? • When enacted, the Order only allowed for Hindu communities to be classified as SCs based on the social disabilities and discrimination they faced due to untouchability. •  The Kalelkar panel report (1955) and the high-powered panel report (1983) were the basis for amending the Order to include Dalit Sikhs and Dalit Buddhists as SCs in 1956 and 1990 respectively. □ Ranganath Misra Commission, 2004: • The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities headed by the former Chief Justice of India Justice Ranganath Misra was set up in 2004 to recommend ways to ensure welfare of socially and economically backward sections among linguistic and religious minorities in India. • This commission recommended the complete delinking of SC status from religion and make it religion-neutral like STs. • This recommendation was not adopted as it did not have sufficient backing from field studies.

■ Places, Species, Other names in News (August 2022): [PART - 2] □ Other names: ● INS Vikrant - It is India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier. ● Kerala Savari - It is the country’s first online taxi service owned by a State government, was rolled out in the State ● India’s first commercial space situational awareness observatory - It tracks objects as small as 10 cm in size orbiting the earth, will be set up in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand by Digantara, a space sector start-up. ● Goa becomes the first Indian state to get certified under ‘Har Ghar Jal’ with 100% coverage. ● Mithila Makhana - It is a GI tagged nut from Bihar. It is locally known as Makhan in Mithila. Its Botanical name is Euryale Ferox Salisb. It is a special variety of Aquatic Fox Nut. This is fifth product from Bihar which is awarded the GI Tag. Bhagalpur’s Jardalu Mango, Katarni Dhaan (rice), Nawada’s Magahi Paan and Muzaffarpur’s Shahi Litchi have got GI tag prior to this. ● Herpes simplex virus (HSV) - Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a virus that causes infections. It is very contagious. There are two types of this virus. One type (HSV-1) usually causes sores around the lips or inside the mouth that are sometimes called fever blisters or cold sores. The other type (HSV-2) usually causes sores on the genitals (private parts). Either type can infect the mouth, genital area or another part of the body. ● SMILE 75 initiative - The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry launched the ‘SMILE-75’ initiative for comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging in 75 identified municipalities as a part of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence. ● NAMASTE scheme - It aims to achieve outcomes like zero fatalities in sanitation work in India. NAMASTE scheme is being undertaken jointly by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and aims to eradicate unsafe sewer and septic tank cleaning practices. ● National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) - It is a constitutional body. It is tasked with monitoring safeguards provided for socially and educationally backward classes, giving advice to the government on their socio-economic development and evaluating their progress. ● Article 338B - National Commission for Backward Classes. ● Zorawar - India's indigenous Light tank. ● India's first Gold in Judo Championship  - Manipur's Linthoi Chanambam has become the first Indian to win a medal with Gold in World Cadet Judo Championship. ● Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a contagious viral disease that affects cattle. ● Lumpy skin disease - This virus belongs to the genus Capripoxvirus, from the same family as the smallpox virus and monkeypox virus (Poxviridae). It is genetically related to the goatpox and sheeppox virus family. ● Lumpi-ProVac - Indian government has launched the indigenous vaccine Lumpi-ProVac to protect livestock from Lumpy Skin disease.

■ Places, Species, Other names in News (August 2022): [PART - 1] □ Places: ● Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary, Gulf of Mannar Marine Reserve, Vembannur Wetland Complex, Vellode Bird Sanctuary, Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary and Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary, Chitrangudi Bird Sanctuary, Suchindram Theroor Wetland Complex, Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary and Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary (All are Ramsar sites) - Tamil Nadu. ● Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve - Andhra Pradesh & Telangana. ● Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project - It is being built on the Alaknanda River in Uttarakhand. Alaknanda is a tributary of the river Ganga. ● Tampara Lake, Hirakud Reservoir and Ansupa Lake, Debrigarh Sanctuary - Odisha. ● Hygam Wetland Conservation Reserve and Shallbugh Wetland Conservation Reserve - Jammu and Kashmir. ● Yashwant Sagar - Madhya Pradesh. ● Thane Creek - Maharashtra. ● Mudumalai Tiger Reserve - Tamil Nadu. ● Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - Karnataka. □ Species: ● The Peninsular Rock Agama (Psammophilus dorsalis) - It is a type of garden lizard has a strong presence in southern India. ● Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) - Critically Endangered. □ Other names: ● AL NAJAH-IV - It is the 4th edition of India-Oman joint military exercise. ● Article 246 (3) - The states have the exclusive power to make laws concerning the items included in the State List (List II in the Seventh Schedule). ● People's Majilis (Majilis) - Parliament of Maldives. ● Philips curve - It is a graphic representation of the economic relationship between Inflation and the rate of Unemployment (or the rate of change of unemployment). ● African swine fever is a contagious, viral disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boar, leading to high mortality. Its mortality can reach 100%. It is a non zoonotic disease. ● Kalabhat (black rice), Mallifullo (brown rice), Kerala Sundari (raw aro matic full bran folk rice) and red rice, locally called as Sathia - These are indigenous rice varities of India. ● Rat-hole mining - It is the primarily practiced mining technique in Meghalaya in which deep vertical shafts with narrow horizontal tunnels of 3 to 4 feet diameter are dug and miners are sent down to extract coal till 100 to 150 metre and in some case even more than that. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned it in 2014. ● BrahMos - BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile. It is a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia based NPO Mashinostroyeniya and the missile derives its name from the Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers. The BrahMos missile can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land and has been inducted into all three services -- Army, Navy and Air Force. ● Electricity - Concurrent list. ● Khayyam - Iranian satellite. ● Exercise Pitch Black - It is a biennial three-week multilateral air combat training exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). ● HQ-17A - It's a short range air defense missile of China. ● My Experiments with Truth - It's the autobiography book of Mahatma Gandhi. ● Repo rate - It is the interest rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds. Repo rate is used by monetary authorities to control inflation. ● Srikrishna Committee (2017) - To formulate a regulatory framework for data protection. ● Udarashakti - It is a bilateral air exercise between Indian Air Force and Royal Malaysian Air Force. ● Ration Mitr - This software was developed by the National Informatics Centre. It can be used to enrol people of any State in ration cards from anywhere in the country. ● Miyawaki method - It is a successful type of closed plantation proposed by Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist, to combat environmental issues caused by urbanisation. It is helpful for the creation of mini forests in urban areas. ● Super Vasuki - It is a 3.5-km-long freight train. This is the longest and heaviest freight train ever run by the Railways.

■ Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) Functionality Assessment Awards 2022: • The awards for Functionality Assessment 2022 have been given after assessing the performance of local water utilities in the States and UTs. • A functionality assessment exercise is undertaken every year by the Jal Jeevan Mission to understand the status of water service delivery in households. • Puducherry bagged first award, Goa second and Tamil Nadu was given third award. • The Union Territory of Puducherry bagged the first prize in the Jal Jeevan Awards 2022 for the overall functionality category among States/Union Territories having more than 60% households with tap-water supply. Goa ranked second. • Tamil Nadu bagged the first prize in the Jal Jeevan Awards 2022 for the overall functionality category among States/Union Territories having less than 60% households with tap-water supply. Meghalaya ranked second. • Puducherry and Karaikal, were also adjudged “Har Ghar Jal Certified Districts” for outstanding work in implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Jal Shakti Ministry in providing tap connections to all rural households. • Puducherry was adjudged as the first Union Territory in the country to provide functional water tap connections to all 1,14,908 rural households under the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Jal Shakti Ministry, a press note said. • A fully functional tap water connection is defined as a household getting at least 55 litres of per cap ita per day of potable water all through the year. □ About Jal Jeevan Mission: • On 15th August 2019, Jal Jeevan Mission was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. • It aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. • At the time of the launch, only 3.23 Crore rural households had access to tap water connection. • With relentless efforts made on ground by the Mission in partnership with the State and UTs, today over 10.27 Crore rural households are getting water through taps, in a short period of 3 years.

■ Vice President: • The Vice President occupies the second highest office in the country. • The oath of office to the Vice-President is administered by the President or some person appointed in that behalf by him. • The Vice President is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. • The Vice President acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of the President. He/She can act as President only for a maximum period of 6 months within which a new President has to be elected. • While acting as President, the Vice President does not perform the duties of the office of the chairman of Rajya Sabha. During this period, those duties are performed by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. • Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was the first Vice President of India. • Krishna Kant was the first Vice President to die in office. □ Qualifications: • He/She should be a citizen of India. • He/She should have completed 35 years of age. • He/She should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha. • He/She should not hold any office of profit under the Union government or any state government or any local authority or any other public authority. • He/She should not be a member of either House of Parliament or a House of the state legislature. If any such person is elected Vice President, he/She is deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date on which he enters upon his office as Vice-President. □ Election of the Vice President: • The Vice President is not elected directly by the people but by the method of indirect election. • The Vice President is elected by the members of an electoral college consists of both elected and nominated members of both the Houses of the Parliament (In the case of president, only elected members). • The electoral college does not include the members of the state legislative assemblies (in the case of President, the elected members of the state legislative assemblies are included). • Thus, this electoral college is different from the electoral college for the election of the President. • The Vice President’s election, is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting is by secret ballot. • All doubts and disputes in connection with election of the Vice President are inquired into and decided by the Supreme Court whose decision is final. □ Vacancy: • When the vacancy is going to be caused by the expiration of the term of the sitting Vice President, an election to fill the vacancy must be held before the expiration of the term. • If the office falls vacant by resignation, removal, death or otherwise, then election to fill the vacancy should be held as soon as possible after the occurrence of the vacancy. • The newly elected Vice President remains in office for a full term of 5 years from the date he assumes charge of his office. □ Articles related to the Vice President: • Article 63 - The Vice President of India. • Article 64 - The Vice President to be ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha). • Article 65 - The Vice President to act as President or to discharge his functions during casual vacancies in the office, or during the absence, of President. • Article 66 - Election of Vice-President. • Article 67 - Term of office of Vice President. • Article 68 - Time of holding election to fill vacancy in the office of Vice President and the term of office of person elected to fill casual vacancy. • Article 69 - Oath or affirmation by the Vice President. • Article 70 - Discharge of President’s functions in other contingencies. • Article 71 - Matters relating to, or connected with, the election of Vice President.

🏆 Nobel Prize for Physiology 2022: • Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology for the year 2022 “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.”

■ Swachh Survekshan Gramin Awards (SSG) 2022: • The Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2022 award ranks States and districts on the basis of their performance attained on key quantitative and qualitative Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) parameters and engagement of the rural community in the improvement of their sanitation status. • Among the Large States category, Telangana won the first prize in Swachh Survekshan Gramin (SSG) 2022. Haryana ranked second and Tamil Nadu ranked third. • Among the Smaller states and Union territories, Andaman and Nicobar secured the first position followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Sikkim. • The awards were presented by President Droupadi Murmu. • Since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin in 2014, more than 11 crore toilets have been constructed and about 60 crore people have given up the practice of open defecation. • The second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin was launched in 2020. It aimed to make all six lakh villages in the country Open Defecation Free Plus’. • Since the beginning of the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin, more than 1.16 lakh villages have declared themselves as ODF Plus’ and the work of solid and liquid waste management has also started in about three lakh villages. □ About Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G): • SBM-G was started on 2nd October 2014 with the aim to stop Open Defecation. • On 2nd October 2019, all villages in the country declared themselves ODF. • Thereafter, SBM-G 2.0 was launched in 2020 to sustain the ODF status in villages and improve the level of cleanliness in rural areas through Solid and Liquid Waste Management, thereby making villages ODF Plus.

■ Swachh Survekshan Awards 2022: • Indore has been declared the cleanest city of India for the sixth year in a row, while Madhya Pradesh is the cleanest state in the country. • Surat is the second cleanest city and Navi Mumbai comes a close third in the category of cities with a population more than a lakh. • In the population category of less than one lakh, Panchgani and Karad from Maharashtra bagged the first and third positions respectively, while Patan from Chhattisgarh bagged the second position. • Tirupati received the best city award in Safai Mitra Suraksha category, while Haridwar in Uttarakhand received the award for the best Ganga town in more than one lakh population cities. Shivamogga in Karnataka received the fast mover city award. • In the category of "More than 100 Urban Local Bodies", Madhya Pradesh is the cleanest state. It was followed by Chattisgarh, Maharashtra. • In the category of "Less than 100 Urban Local Bodies", Tripura is the cleanest state. It is followed by Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. • The 7th edition of Swachh Survekshan was conducted to study the progress of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) and rank the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) based on various cleanliness and sanitation parameters. • In the Swachh Survekshan 2022 Awards, Hyderabad retained the ‘Water Plus’ tag in the Open-Defecation-Free cities category. • Methodology of Swachh Survekshan rankings are based on three parameters, namely, service level progress, citizinens’ voice, certification of star rating, and open defecation status. • The survey was launched in 2016 with 73 cities being covered. A total of 4,354 cities were covered for this year’s survey.

📰 Supreme Court axes 51-year-old curb, single women get equal abortion rights. • In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed unmarried and single women whose pregnancies are between 20 and 24 weeks to access safe and legal abortion care on par with their married counterparts. • A Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud pried open the restrictive grip of a 51-year-old abortion law which bars unmarried women from terminating pregnancies which are up to 24-weeks old. • The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 and its Rules of 2003 prohibit unmarried women who are between 20 weeks to 24 weeks pregnant to abort with the help of registered medical practitioners. • “The rights of reproductive autonomy, dignity and privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution gives an unmarried woman the right of choice as to whether or not to bear a child on a similar footing as that of a married woman,” Justice Chandrachud held. • The court declared that prohibiting single or unmarried pregnant women with pregnancies between 20 and 24 weeks from accessing abortion while allowing married women with the same term of pregnancy to access the care was violative of the right to equality before law and equal protection (Article 14). 📰 CBI launches ‘Operation Garuda’; arrests 175 alleged drug smugglers. • The multi-phase exercise code-named "Operation Garuda" has been launched to dismantle the drug smuggling networks with international linkages through coordinated enforcement actions across the world, through the Interpol. • About 175 persons allegedly involved in drug smuggling have been arrested in different parts of the country in an operation led by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in close coordination with the Interpol, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the police forces. 📰 Excavations shed light on Farokhabad fort, Tipu Sultan’s Malabar capital. • Less-known facts are now emerging about a well-planned fort that was designed to be part of Farokhabad, the capital of Malabar at Feroke near Kozhikode, as envisioned by the Mysore king Tipu Sultan. • Historical documents such as William Logan’s Malabar Manual, the Joint Commissioner’s ‘Report on Malabar’, and Mohibbul Hassan’s A History of Tipu Sultan say that Tipu planned to build the fort on the south bank of the Chaliyar river between 1786 and 1790. But its construction could not be completed. A report by the department says that this was the only fort in Kerala built entirely by Tipu. 📰 Doctors need not report identity of minors seeking abortion, says Supreme Court. • Registered medical doctors are exempt from disclosing to the police the identity of minors who have come in for abortion, Supreme Court directed in a judgment. • A registered medical practitioner (RMP) is obliged under Section 19(1) of the POCSO Act to report to the police when a minor approaches him or her for an abortion. • The court said it was necessary to harmonise the provisions of the MTP and POCSO laws to enable minors to approach an RMP for abortion without the fear of getting exposed. • It would also protect the statutory obligation of the RMP to report the offence under the POCSO Act and the rights of privacy and reproductive autonomy of the minor under Article 21 of the Constitution.