Month: September 2023

Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi

Democracy About Evolution, Parliamentary Affairs Minister On ‘One Nation, One Election’ Proposal

By LokMarg

Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi said on Friday that there will be a discussion on ‘One Nation, One Election’ in Parliament. He termed the proposal an evolution of Indian democracy and asked why the Opposition was scared of it.

“There will be a discussion (on ‘One Nation, One Election’) in Parliament. why is the Opposition scared (about it)? Democracy is about evolution; India is the mother of democracy. This is part of evolution,” Pralhad Joshi said.

“In this evolution every new proposal that benefits the nation will be discussed. For now, a committee has been formed and they will give their suggestion and then discussion will be held on the subject. There were simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies till 1967. Now there are polls every few months and it is a huge expenditure. This must be discussed,” Pralhad Joshi said.

The government has decided to call a Special Session of Parliament from September 18-22 where it is speculated that the government could bring a bill on ‘One Nation, One Election’.

However, the Parliamentary Affairs minister gave no indication of what was on the agenda for this special session of Parliament. Responding to questions from reporters he said “As far as the special session goes, I will discuss the agenda with you later”.

The Union government has constituted a committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to explore the possibility of ‘One Nation, One Election’ which envisages the holding of general election and state Assembly elections simultaneously.

Sources said that the committee will explore the possibility of bringing legislation regarding it. A parliamentary standing committee, the Law Commission and Niti Ayog had earlier examined the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal and submitted reports on the subject.

The opposition INDIA alliance that is meeting in Mumbai has however opposed the idea of ‘One Nation, One Election” being discussed in the house.

Rajya Sabha MP and UBT Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said ” “Today the country is facing farmers’ issues, rising unemployment, China’s aggression… If the special session will address all these issues, then it’s welcomed. If it will be used to divert attention from these issues, then it shows that BJP is nervous. I want to ask them (central govt) as to when will a committee be formed on inflation, corruption, rising unemployment, women’s reservation…”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has several times pitched the idea of One Nation, One Election. In November 2020 while addressing a conference of presiding officers he said, “One nation, one election is not only a subject of debate but a necessity for India. There is an election in India every month, which hampers development. Why should the country waste so much money?”. (ANI)

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Chandrayaan-3

Aditya-L1: Countdown For India’s First Mission To Sun Begins

By LokMarg

Shifting focus to its next space odyssey after successfully placing a lander on the moon’s uncharted South Pole region, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set for the country’s maiden solar mission — Aditya-L1.

The launch of the sun mission is scheduled for Saturday at 1150 IST from the launch pad at Sriharikota, with the launch rehearsal and vehicle internal checks all being completed.

Aditya-L1 is India’s first solar space observatory and will be launched by the PSLV-C57. It will carry seven different payloads to have a detailed study of the sun, four of which will observe the light from the sun and the other three will measure in-situ parameters of the plasma and magnetic fields.

The largest and technically most challenging payload on Aditya-L1 is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph or VELC. VELC was integrated, tested, and calibrated at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics’ CREST (Centre for Research and Education in Science Technology) campus in Hosakote in collaboration with ISRO.

Aditya-L1 will be placed in a halo orbit around Lagrangian Point 1 (or L1), which is 1.5 million km away from the Earth in the direction of the sun. It is expected to cover the distance in four months’ time.

This strategic location will enable Aditya-L1 to continuously observe the sun without being hindered by eclipses or occultation, allowing scientists to study solar activities and their impact on space weather in real-time. Also, the spacecraft’s data will help identify the sequence of processes that lead to solar eruptive events and contribute to a deeper understanding of space weather drivers.

Major objectives of India’s solar mission include the study of the physics of solar corona and its heating mechanism, the solar wind acceleration, coupling and dynamics of the solar atmosphere, solar wind distribution and temperature anisotropy, and origin of Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) and flares and near-earth space weather.

The atmosphere of the sun, the corona, is what we see during a total solar eclipse. A coronagraph like the VELC is an instrument that cuts out the light from the disk of the sun, and can thus image the much fainter corona at all times, the Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics said.

On August 23, India took a giant leap as the Chandrayaan-3 lander module successfully landed on the moon’s South Pole, making it the first country to have achieved the historic feat and bringing to an end the disappointment over the crash landing of the Chandrayaan-2, four years ago. Overall, India became the fourth country – after the US, China, and Russia – to have successfully landed on the moon’s surface.

After having landed, the Vikram lander and the Pragyan rover performed different set tasks on the lunar surface, including finding the presence of sulphur and recording relative temperature.

Upon landing, the lander and the rover were to operate for one lunar day. One day on the Moon is equal to 14 days on Earth.

The stated objectives of Chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, were a safe and soft landing on the lunar surface, the rover moving on the moon’s surface, and in-situ scientific experiments.

Chandrayaan-3 is the ISRO’s follow-up attempt after the Chandrayaan-2 mission faced challenges during its soft landing on the lunar surface in 2019 and was eventually deemed to have failed its core mission objectives. (ANI)

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