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🗞️ Ancient port city of Poompuhar traced undersea, claim researchers: • Researchers of Bharathidasan University’s Department of Remote Sensing, the lead agency of a Department of Science and Technology-sponsored research study, on January 20 claimed to have found traces of an ancient port city buried undersea, at a depth of 50-100 metres, about 30-40 km off the coast of the present-day Poompuhar in Mayiladuthurai district. • The city, they said, was spread over about 250 sq. km, complete with a huge harbour, a lighthouse, ship and dockyards, and settlements. • A major finding, based on a study of the past sea levels, is that Poompuhar is not just 2,500 years old as believed widely and might be more than 15,000 years old. It might be one of the oldest port cities in the world,” said SM. Ramasamy, Professor of Eminence and national coordinator, Project Poompuhar. • Poompuhar, also known Kaveripoompattinam, was submerged by the sea, and there are references to this in the Tamil epic Manimekalai. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/ancient-port-city-of-poompuhar-traced-undersea-claim-researchers/article66413969.ece

🗞 ISRO pushing Venus mission ‘Shukrayaan’ to 2031?: • ISRO’s Venus mission, called Shukrayaan I, was expected to be launched in December 2024. The idea was born in 2012; five years later, ISRO commenced preliminary studies after the Department of Space received a 23% hike in the 2017-2018 budget. • Shukrayaan I was “originally scheduled for a 2023 launch” but that “right now the 2031 window is very good”. • Both the U.S. and the European space agencies have Venus missions planned for 2031 — referring to VERITAS and EnVision, respectively — while “China might go anytime: 2026, 2027, whenever they want to go”. • ISRO had originally hoped to launch Shukrayaan I in mid-2023 but cited the pandemic when it pushed the date to December 2024. • Other ISRO missions, including Aditya L1 and Chandrayaan III, have also been affected by manufacturing delays and commercial launch commitments. • Shukrayaan I will be an orbiter mission. Its scientific payloads currently include a high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and a ground-penetrating radar. • The mission is expected to study Venus’s geological and volcanic activity, emissions on the ground, wind speed, cloud cover, and other planetary characteristics from an elliptical orbit. https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/isro-pushing-venus-mission-shukrayaan-to-2031/article66382110.ece

🗞️ A Governor and a Chief Minister at loggerheads: • Article 154 of the Constitution says "the executive power of the State shall be vested in the Governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution". • However, Article 163 states that the Governor shall exercise his functions with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers except for functions which require his discretion. • Further, Art 163 (2) states,"If any question arises whether any matter is or is not a matter as respects which the Governor is by or under this Constitution required to act in his discretion, the decision of the Governor in his discretion shall be final". • The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976, had made ministerial advice binding on the President but no such provision has been made for the Governor. • The Supreme Court of India, however, has in several landmark judgements defined limits of the discretionary powers. • In the 2016 Nabam Rebia judgement, a five-judge Bench led by then Chief Justice of India, J. S. Khehar, said that Article 163 of the Constitution does not give the Governor a "general discretionary power to act against or without the advice of his council of ministers". • In the Shamsher Singh & Anr versus State Of Punjab (1974), a seven-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court said that the President and the Governor shall exercise their formal powers in accordance with the advice of their Ministers other than in some exceptional situations.