CURRENT AFFAIRS - September 2020

• Defence Forces Academy, Ghaziabad
• 31, Dec 2020

Content :

• Current affairs
• GS Corner: Zooplankton
• Science Corner: Important Amendments

Current Affairs

Important Current Affairs

1. Krishi Megh (National Agricultural Research & Education System -Cloud Infrastructure and Services) has been launched. It will help in meeting the services and infrastructure requirements of Digital Agriculture of National Agricultural Research and Education System (NARES).

• The minister also launched the KVC ALUNET (Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Chhatr Alumni Network) and Online Accreditation System for Higher Agricultural Educational Institutions (HEI).
• The National Agricultural Higher Education Project has been funded by the Government of India and the World Bank.

 ​2. Raksha Mantri launches Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation

• Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) has been launched by the Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh.
• NIIO is a three-tiered organisation and it will enable its end users to interact with academia as well as industry for the promotion of innovation and indigenisation for self-reliance in defence, with the help of its dedicated structures.
• The twin aspects of innovation and indigenisation would be brought together by the Naval Technology Acceleration Council (N-TAC).

3.  Forbes magazine has released “The Highest-Paid Actors Of 2020” list. Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar is the only Indian star to be listed among the top 10 world’s highest-paid actors of 2020.

• Top 6 highest-paid actors in the list of Forbes Magazine 2020:

1. Dwayne Johnson
2. Ryan Reynolds
3. Mark Wahlberg
4. Ben Affleck
5. Vin Diesel
6. Akshay Kumar

4. IIT Madras Tops Atal Rankings (ARIIA) 2020:

• The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has retained the top position in the ‘Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements,’ (ARIIA) 2020 for being the best centrally funded institution in India. The 2020 ‘Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA),’ was released by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, in presence of Union Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ in a virtual event on 18 August 2020.
• The top five centrally funded institutions in the list:

1. IIT Madras
2. IIT Bombay
3. IIT Delhi
4. IISc Bengaluru
5. IIT Kharagpur

5. Swachh Survekshan Awards 2020 Announced

• Swachh Survekshan 2020 awards have been announced and Indore became India’s cleanest city for the fourth year in a row. Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri announced the Swachh Survekshan 2020 result at the Award Ceremony ‘Swachh Mahotsav’ in the national capital being organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHA).
• This is the fifth edition of the annual cleanliness survey of the country. A total of 129 awards will be handed out to the top-performing cities and states.
• Swachh Survekshan was started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016.
• While Mysuru won the award for the cleanest city of India in 2016, Indore retained the top spot for three consecutive years in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
• One city has been given only one Award. Cities population is as per 2011 Census.

List of winners across several categories are given below:

1. Cleanest city awards for cities with population above 1 lakh: – Indore (Madhya Pradesh)
2. Cleanest city awards for cities with population below 1 lakh: – Karad (Maharashtra)
3. Cleanest state with more than 100 cities: – Chhattisgarh
4. Cleanest state with less than 100 cities: – Jharkhand
5. Cleanest Ganga town: – Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh)
6. Maximum citizen participation in keeping city areas clean: – Shahjahanpur
7. Cleanest megacity with more than 40 lac population: – Ahmedabad (Gujarat)
8. Best self-sustainable cities with population above 40 lakh: – Bengaluru (Karnataka)
9. Fastest-moving city in terms of cleanliness: – Jodhpur (Rajasthan)
10. Self-sustainable city in terms of cleanliness (more than 10 lakh population) : – Rajkot (Gujarat)
11. Self-sustainable city in terms of cleanliness (less than 10 lakh population) : – Mysuru (Karnataka)
12. Cleanest small cities: – Ambikapur (Chattisgarh)
13. Cleanest city with population between 1 lakh to 3 lakh: – Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh)
14. Cleanest capital city: – New Delhi (Union Territory of New Delhi) and the NDMC.
15. Fastest moving cleanest capital city: – Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh)
16. Fastest moving self-sustainable cleanest capital city: – Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
17. Cleanest Ganga towns: – Kanauj (Uttar Pradesh)
18. Cleanest city in the north Zone: – Gangaghat (Uttar Pradesh)
19. Cleanest city in the north Zone (pop. 25k – 50k) : – Nawashahar (Punjab)
20. Cleanest city in the north Zone (pop. below 25k) : – Awagarh (Uttar Pradesh)
21. Cleanest city northeast Zone: – Jorhat (Assam)
22. Cleanest city in the northeast Zone (pop. 25k – 50k) : – Mokukchung (Nagaland)
23. Cleanest city in the northeast Zone (pop. below 25k) : – Jiribam (Manipur)
24. Cleanest cities in the east zone: – Dhamtari (Odisha)
25. Cleanest cities in the south zone: – Palamaneru (Andhra Pradesh)
26. Cleanest cities in the western zone: – Ratnagiri (Maharashtra)
27. Cleanest cantonments in the country: – Jalandhar Cantt.
28. Cities awarded for citizen-led awareness towards cleanliness: – Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)
29. Best performing state with more than 100 cities: – Maharashtra
30. Best performing state with less than 100 cities: – Madhya Pradesh

6. National Sports Awards 2020 announced

• National Sports Awards are conferred every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. The Government of India has announced the list of winners of the National Sports Awards 2020, as per the recommendation of the Selection Committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Mukundakam Sharma (former Judge of Supreme Court of India).
• Honourable President of India will confer the awards to the awardees at a specially organized function through virtual mode from Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29th August, 2020.
• Here is the complete list of winners of the award:
• RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AWARD: This award is being conferred for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years:

1. Shri Rohit Sharma - Cricket
2. Shri Mariyappan T. Para -Athletics
3. Ms. Manika Batra -Table Tennis
4. Ms. Vinesh -Wrestling
5. Ms. Rani- Hockey

• ARJUNA AWARD: This award is being conferred for consistent outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years:

1. Shri Atanu Das -Archery
2. Ms. Dutee Chand -Athletics
3. Shri Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy -Badminton
4. Shri Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty -Badminton
5. Shri Vishesh Bhriguvanshi -Basketball
6. Subedar Manish Kaushik -Boxing
7. Ms. Lovlina Borgohain -Boxing
8. Shri Ishant Sharma –Cricket
9. Ms. Deepti Sharma -Cricket
10. Shri Sawant Ajay Anant -Equestrian
11. Shri Sandesh Jhingan –Footbal
12. Ms. Aditi Ashok -Golf
13. Shri Akashdeep Singh- Hockey
14. Ms. Deepika -Hockey
15. Shri Deepak -Kabaddi
16. Shri Kale Sarika Sudhakar -Kho Kho
17. Shri Dattu Baban Bhokanal –Rowing
18. Ms. Manu Bhaker -Shooting
19. Shri Saurabh Chaudhary -Shooting
20. Ms. Madhurika Suhas Patkar -Table Tennis
21. Shri Divij Sharan -Tennis
22. Shri Shiva Keshavan -Winter Sports
23. Ms. Divya Kakran -Wrestling
24. Shri Rahul Aware- Wrestling
25. Shri Suyash Narayan Jadhav -Para Swimming
26. Shri Sandeep -Para Athletics
27. Shri Manish Narwal -Para Shooting

DRONACHARYA AWARD: This award is being conferred to coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events.

• Life- Time Category

1. Shri Dharmendra Tiwary -Archery
2. Shri Purushotham Rai- Athletics
3. Shri Shiv Singh- Boxing
4. Shri Romesh Pathania -Hockey
5. Shri Krishan Kumar Hooda -Kabaddi
6. Shri Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar- Para Powerlifting
7. Shri Naresh Kumar-Tennis
8. Shri Om Parkash Dahiya- Wrestling

DHYAN CHAND AWARD: This award is being conferred for the life time contribution towards the development of sports.

1. Shri Kuldip Singh Bhullar -Athletics
2. Ms. Jincy Philips -Athletics
3. Shri Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe -Badminton
4. Ms. Trupti Murgunde -Badminton
5. Ms. N. Usha -Boxing
6. Shri Lakha Singh- Boxing
7. Shri Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu- Football
8. Shri Ajit Singh -Hockey
9. Shri Manpreet Singh -Kabaddi
10. Shri J. Ranjith Kumar -Para Athletics
11. Shri Satyaprakash Tiwari -Para Badminton
12. Shri Manjeet Singh -Rowing
13. Late Shri Sachin Nag -Swimming
14. Shri Nandan P Bal -Tennis
15. Shri Netarpal Hooda –Wrestling

RASHTRIYA KHEL PROTSAHAN PURUSKAR: This award is being conferred to the corporate entities (both in private and public sector) as well as individuals who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and its development.

1. Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent -
   1. Lakshya Institute
   2. Army Sports Institute
2. Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd.
3. Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures- Air Force Sports Control Board
4. Sports for Development - International Institute of Sports Management (IISM)

MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD (MAKA) TROPHY: This award is being conferred to the overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments.

1. Panjab University, Chandigarh

TENZING NORGAY NATIONAL ADVENTURE AWARDS 2019: It is being awarded to recognize the spirit of adventure among the people of the country.

1. Ms. Anita Devi -Land Adventure
2. Col. Sarfraz Singh- Land Adventure
3. Shri Taka Tamut -Land Adventure
4. Shri Narender Singh- Land Adventure
5. Shri Keval Hiren Kakka -Land Adventure
6. Shri Satendra Singh -Water Adventure
7. Shri Gajanand Yadava -Air Adventure
8. Late Shri Magan Bissa -Life Time Achievement
9. Ministry of Culture announces 7 new circles of ASI

• The Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (IC), Shri Prahlad Singh Patel has announced 7 new circles of Archaeological Survey of India.
• These new circles have been formed in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat.
• Along with the 7 new circles, the minister also added that the Hampi Mini Circle in Karnataka has been converted into a full fledged circle.

Here is the list of all 7 new circles:

• Trichy in Tamil Nadu
• Raiganj in West Bengal
• Rajkot in Gujarat
• Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh
• Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh
• Meerut in Uttar Pradesh
• Hampi in Karnataka

8. International Current Affairs

• The United Arab Emirates became the first Arab country to open a nuclear power plant, when the Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Plant in Abu Dhabi, got operational on 31 July 2020
• Former Guyanese housing minister, Mohamed Irfaan Ali has been named as the President of the country. He is a member of the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
• Former Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier (retired) Mark Anthony Phillips has been sworn in as Prime Minister of Guyana.
• The United States Senate has unanimously passed a bill banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok on government devices.
• A “state of environmental emergency” has been declared by the island nation of Mauritius, as a Japanese bulk carrier “MV Wakashio” ran aground on a reef in Mauritius and began leaking oil into the ocean.
• Sri Lanka’s former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa took oath as the country’s Prime Minister for the fourth time.
• President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko has won his sixth consecutive term in the country’s presidential election.
• Mohamed Ould Bilal has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Mauritania.
• Walter Roger Martos Ruiz has become the new Prime Minister of Peru.
• Russia has become the first country to register a coronavirus vaccine “Sputnik V” registered for use.
• Prime Minister of Lebanon, Hassan Diab and his entire government has resigned, in the wake of the major blast in Beirut.
• Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has resigned and dissolved parliament hours after mutinying soldiers detained him at gunpoint, plunging a country already facing an insurgency and mass protests deeper into crisis.
• Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona has been sworn in as the 54th President of Dominican Republic.
• Keith Rowley sworn in as Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for a 2nd consecutive 5-year term. He is from the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM).
• Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asue was reappointed as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea for 3rd consecutive term.
• The Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC), an independent body set up by the World Health Organization (WHO), has certified the African continent free from wild Polio virus.
• China has successfully launched 5th Earth observation satellite, Gaofen-9 (05), from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
• Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe has announced to step down from the post on 28 August 2020, because of the poor health conditions.
• India has been ranked 57th in Digital Quality of Life Index 2020 with overall score of 0.5. Denmark has topped the index and was followed by Sweden.
• According to the data provided by Ministry of Finance to Rajya Sabha, Tamil Nadu has topped the list of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) in availing loans to women. It was followed by West Bengal and Karnataka.

9. Summits And Conferences

• The 6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting was held under the presidency of Russia. The Environment Ministers of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa participated in the meeting. The meeting was preceded by the BRICS Working Group meeting. India will host the next meeting in 2021.
• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal has inaugurated the National Digital Conference on “Easing Doing Business for Atmanirbhar Bharat”. This conference is organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with the Department for Promotion of Investment and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to improve the business environment of India.
• Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has organised the “India@75 Summit – Mission 2022” focusing on ‘reinventing technology in India’.
• Russia chaired the 4th Meeting of the BRICS AntiDrug Working Group. The session which was held over video conference, featured the participation of delegates from Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and India. Rakesh Asthana, Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau led the Indian delegation that participated in the meeting.
• The 13th Session of the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation was held to review the continuing growth of broad based cooperation between the two countries. The session was cochaired by Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India and Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates.
• 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (5WCSP) was held virtually. The InterParliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva, and the Parliament of Austria jointly organized the two day Conference with the support of the United Nations (UN). Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla participated in the inaugural ceremony of the conference.
• The 17th meeting of the India-Vietnam Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held virtually. It was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh.
• National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) has organised the “World Urdu Conference” in New Delhi.

11. Defence Current Affairs

• India will take part in the multilateral military "Russian Kavkaz 2020" strategic command-post exercise to be held in Astrakhan, Russia. The Indian contingent includes 150 Army personnel and a smaller number of personnel from the Navy and Air Force.
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has launched an Interceptor Boat ‘ICGS C-454’ in Surat, Gujarat. The Interceptor Boat ‘ICGS C-454’ has been built by Larsen and Toubro and it has a maximum speed of 45 nautical miles or 83 kilometers per hour.
• Chief of the Air Staff, Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria has launched a mobile application named ‘MY IAF’ to provide career-related information and details to the aspirants who wish to join the Indian Air Force.
• India Pavilion at the Army-2020 International Military and Technical Forum was inaugurated by Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar and Indian Ambassador DB Venkatesh Verma at Moscow, Russia.
• The 14th India-Singapore Defence Policy Dialogue (DPD) was held virtually. Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and Permanent Secretary (Defence), Singapore Mr Chan Heng Kee co-chaired the virtual dialogue.
• Directorate General National Cadet Corps (DGNCC) Mobile Training App has been launched to provide support in conducting countrywide online training of NCC cadets as it has been affected adversely due to the restrictions imposed by COVID-19.

12. Science and Technology

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has launched “Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission” with United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket to the Red Planet “Mars”.
• Skyroot Aerospace, a Spacetech startup has successfully test fired an upper stage rocket engine “Raman” and has become the first Indian private firm to exhibit the potential to build a homegrown rocket engine. “Raman” is a 3-D printed rocket engine which has been named after Nobel laureate CV Raman.
• Air Unique-quality Monitoring (AUM) Photonic System has been indigenously developed with the prime objective of real-time remote monitoring of air quality. It has been developed by Prof. Rao Tatavarti along with the support of Department of Science and Technology’s Clean Air Research Initiative.
• Google and Central Water Commission(CWC) of India have launched the flood forecasting initiatives across India for the past several months.
• Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, DIAT (DU) has launched two products namely 21 “Pavitrapati” & “Aushada tara” to fight against COVID-19.
• “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge– Innovate Solutions for #Aatmanirbhar Bharat” has been launched by the Union Minister of Law & Justice, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad. It aims to invite innovators, startups and students to use two microprocessors namely “SHAKTI (32 bit) and VEGA (64 bit)” to develop various technology products. SHAKTI & VEGA microprocessors have been developed by IIT Madras and Center for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC) respectively.
• Indian Space Research Organisation and Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Odisha, have signed a MoU to set up the first of its kind innovation cum incubation centre, VSSUT Space Innovation Centre (VSSSIC) to promote space research.
• Indian Institute of Technology’s Alumni Council has signed an agreement with Russia’s Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and Russoft to build the world’s largest and fastest hybrid quantum computer in India.

13. Books & Authors

• Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar has released a book titled “Siyasat Mein Sadasyata” authored by Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary.
• The book, titled “Vishesh: Code To Win”, has been written by sportswoman-turned-author Nirupama Yadav and published by the publishing house Bluerose. The book is set to be released on August 29, the National Sports Day.
• The book, titled “RAW: A History of India”s Covert Operations” has authored by investigative journalist and author Yatish Yadav.
• The book titled ‘Amazing Ayodhya’ has been authored by Neena Rai. The book offers “authentic information” about the city, which will not only help understand the life and times of ancient Hindus but also the revered figures of Rama and Sita.
• Dalai Lama, will release a new book titled “Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to the World” on climate change with German environmental journalist, Franz Alt in November.
• Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar unveiled a book titled ‘Connecting, Communicating, Changing’ that chronicles Shri M Venkaiah Naidu’s three years in office as the Vice President of India.
• Retired Air Vice Marshal, Arjun Subramaniam has authored a new book titled, “Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020″. It is the sequel to his 1st book, ‘India’s Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971’.
• Chetan Bhagat has authored a book titled ‘One Arranged Murder’.
• Union Minister, Jitendra Singh has released a book on cancer named “Gastric Cancer” edited by Dr Ashok K. Vaid.
• A book titled “Who painted my lust red?” has been authored by Sree Iyer.
• A book title ‘Cricket Drona’ on renowned coach Vasudev Jagannath Paranjpe or Vasoo Paranjape is written by his son and current national selector Jatin Paranjpe along with Cricket Journalist Anand Vasu.
• Indian Army Chief, General Manoj Mukund Naravane has released a book titled “National Security Challenges: Young Scholars’ Perspective” penned by university students.

Science Corner: Zooplankton

Zooplankton Definition

Zooplankton (pictured below) are a type of heterotrophic plankton that range from microscopic organisms to large species, such as jellyfish. Zooplankton are found within large bodies of water, including oceans and freshwater systems. Zooplankton are drifting ecologically important organisms that are an integral component of the food chain.

Types of Zooplankton

The most important types of zooplankton include the radiolarians, foraminiferans, and dinoflagellates, cnidarians, crustaceans, chordates, and molluscs.

Radiolarians

Radiolarians are small protozoan species that are characterized by the production of mineral skeletons made of silica. The remains of these organisms can be found at the bottom of oceans, comprising a large part of the sediment.

Foraminiferans

Foraminiferans are a type of amoeboid protest that exhibit an external shell and ectoplasm used to obtain food. While the shell is typically comprised of calcium carbonate, the shells of some species contain other minerals. These zooplankton can be found in the sediment or drifting about the upper surface waters.

Dinoflagellates

Dinoflagellates are considered a mixotrophic species, meaning than they can be both photosynthetic or ingest other species. This type of zooplankton is extremely small and represent a significant portion of marine eukaryotes and are important for the health of coral reefs.

Cnidarians

Cnidarians are marine species that are characterized by specialized cells called “cnidocytes”, which are used to capture their prey. They have bodies consisting of a jelly-like substance called mesoglea, a mouth, and tentacles that contain the cnidocytes (e.g., jellyfish).

Crustaceans

Crustaceans are a type of arthropod that consists of crabs, krill, shrimp, and barnacles. Crustaceans range in terms of size, and comprise a significant part of the food chain. Krill and copepods in particular, are important zooplankton species.

Chordates

Chordates are animals that possess anotochord, norsal nerve chord, endostyle, post-anal tail, and pharyngeal slits. This is a highly diverse family that includes sea stars, scalps, and many other species.

Molluscs

Molluscs are a highly diverse group of organisms, which include squid species as well as sea slugs, and sea snails. Molluscs comprise a large component of all marine life.

What do Zooplankton Eat?

Zooplankton consume a variety of bacterioplankton, phytoplankton, and even other zooplankton species. Since such organisms reside at the surface of bodies of water, zooplankton are also typically found in the upper waters.

Zooplankton Examples:-

Krill

Krill (shown below) are a type of crustacean found populating oceans throughout the world. Krill consume phytoplankton and other zooplankton species. Krill are consumed by larger marine animals, thus making them a significant contributor to the lower food chain in marine environments. As such, krill are extremely abundant and provide a primary dietary component of several large marine species, such as whales and seals. Krill reside at the surface at night and drift down into deeper waters during the day.

Jellyfish

Jellyfish (shown below) are a type of cnidarian as described above, and are found residing throughout marine environments; some reside near the surface, while some species can be found in deeper waters. Jellyfish are most commonly found near coastal regions throughout the world.

Conger Eel

Conger eels (pictured below) are large organisms found in both Europe and North American coastal waters. They typically reside close to the sediment and prey on crustaceans and small fish.

Segmented worm

Segmented worms include leeches (shown below) and other forms of ringed worms. Marine species are most frequently found in coral reefs and tidal zones, borrowing into the sediment. This type of zooplankton is important as its borrowing ability oxygenates the sediment, thereby facilitating the growth of aerobic bacterial species and other animals.

GS Corner : Important Amendments in the Indian Constitution

First Amendment Act, 1951

• Empowered the state to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and economically backward classes.
• Provided for the saving of laws providing for the acquisition of estates, etc.
• Added Ninth Schedule to protect the land reforms and other laws included in it from the judicial review. After Article 31, Articles 31A and 31B were inserted.

The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956

• The Seventh Amendment brought about the most comprehensive changes so far in the Constitution. This amendment was designed to implement the State Reorganisation Act.
• The Second and Seventh schedules were substantially amended for the purpose of the States Reorganization Act.

Constitutional (10th Amendment) Act, 1961

• The Tenth Amendment integrates the areas of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli with the Union of India and provides for their administration under the regulation of making powers of the President.

Constitutional (13th Amendment) Act,1963

• Gave the status of a state to Nagaland and made special provisions for it.

The Constitution (24th Amendment) Act, 1971

• It amended Article 13 and 368 with a view to removing all possible doubts regarding the power of Parliament to amend the Constitution and procedure thereof.
• It gets over the Golak Nath ruling and asserts the power of Parliament, denied to in the Golak Nath, to amend Fundamental Rights.

The Constitution (Twenty-fifth) Amendment Act, 1971

• The 25th amendment of the Constitution in 1971 added a new clause, Article 31C to the Constitution. Up to 1971, the position was that Fundamental Rights prevailed over the Directive Principles of State Policy and that a law enacted to implement a Directive Principle could not be valid if it conflicted with a Fundamental Right.
• Article 31C sought to change this relationship to some extent by conferring primacy on Articles 39(b) and 39(c) over Articles 14, 19 and 31.

Twenty-Sixth Amendment Act, 1971

• Abolished the privy purses and privileges of the former rulers of princely states.

The Constitution (Thirty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1974

• By this amendment twenty State Acts concerning land ceiling and land tenure reforms were added to the Ninth Schedule to the Constitution.

The Constitution (Thirty-eight Amendment) Act, 1975

• Made the declaration of emergency by the President non-justiciable.
• Made the promulgation of ordinances by the President, governors and administrators of Union territories non-justiciable.
• Empowered the President to declare different proclamations of national emergency on different grounds simultaneously.

The Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976

• The Amendment was meant to enhance enormously the strength of the Government. The major Amendments made in the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act are: Preamble The characterization of India as ‘Sovereign Democratic Republic’ has been changed to ‘Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic’.
• The words ‘Unity of the nation’ have been changed to ‘Unity and integrity of the nation’.
• Parliament and State Legislatures: The life of the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies was extended from 5 to 6 years.
• Executive: It amended Article 74 to State explicitly that the President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Council of Ministers in the discharge of his functions.
• Judiciary: The 42nd Amendment Act inserted Article 32A in order to deny the Supreme Court the power to consider the Constitutional validity of the State law. Another new provision, Article 131A, gave the Supreme Court an exclusive jurisdiction to determine question relating to the Constitutional validity of a central laws. Article 144A and Article 128A, the creatures of the Constitutional Amendment Act made further innovation in the area of judicial review of the Constitutionality of legislation. Under Article 144A, the minimum number of judges of the Supreme Court to decide a question of Constitutional validity of a Central or State law was fixed as at least seven and further, this required two-thirds majority of the judges sitting declare law as unconstitutional. While the power of the High Court to enforce Fundamental Rights remained untouched, several restrictions were imposed on its power to issue writs ‘for any other purpose’.
• Federalism: The Act added Article 257A in the Constitution to enable the Centre to deploy any armed force of the Union, or any other force under its control for dealing with any grave situation of law and order in any State.
• Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles: A major change that was made by42nd Constitutional Amendment was to give primacy to all Directive Principles over the Fundamental Rights contained in Articles 14, 19 or 31.
• The 42nd Constitutional Amendment added a few more Directive Principles – free legal aid, participations of workers in the management of industries, protection for environment and protection of forests and wildlife of the country.
• Fundamental Duties: The 42nd Amendment Act inserted Article 51-A to create a new part called IV-A in the Constitution, which prescribed the Fundamental Duties to the citizens.
• Emergency: Prior to the 42nd Amendment Act, the President could declare an emergency under Article 352 throughout the country and not in a part of the country alone. The Act authorized the President to proclaim emergency in any part of the country.

The Constitution (44th Amendment) Act, 1978

• It reduced the life of Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies again to five years and thus restore the status quo ante.
• It cancelled 39th Amendment which had deprived the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction to decide disputes concerning election of the President and the Vice-President
• A new provision was added to Article 74(1) saying that the President could require the council of ministers to reconsider its advice to him, either generally or otherwise and the President should Act in accordance with the advice tendered after such re-consideration. Article 257A was Omitted
• It has been provided that an Emergency can be proclaimed only on the basis of written advice tendered to the President by the Cabinet.
• Right to Property has been taken out from the list of Fundamental Rights and has been declared a legal right.

The Constitution (Fifty-first Amendment) Act, 1984

• The Amendment effectuates some changes in Articles 330 and 332 with a view to provide for reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha for Scheduled Tribes in Meghalaya, Aruncahal Pradesh and Mizoram, as well as in the Legislative Assemblies of Nagaland and Meghalaya.

The Constitution (52nd Amendment) Act, 1985

• The amendment is designed to prevent the scourge of defection of Members of Parliament and State Legislatures from one political party to another.

The Constitution (61st Amendment) Act, 1989

• The 61st Amendment reduces the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok Sabha and Assembly election.

The Constitution (Sixty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1990

• Article 338 of the Constitution has been amended for the Constitution of a National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes consisting of a chairperson, vice-chairperson and five other members who shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.

The Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991

• The Amendment Act was to grant Statehood to Delhi as ‘National Capital Territory of Delhi’. It also provides a 70 member assembly and a 7 member Council of Ministers for Delhi.

The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992

• April 20,1993 as it got rectification by the State legislatures and was assented to by the President of India. After notification, the Panchayati Raj Institutions have now got Constitutional legitimacy.
• After part VIII of the Constitution, a separate part IX has been added to the Constitution with the addition in Article 243A and fresh Schedule called Eleventh Schedule enumerating the powers and functions of Panchayti Raj Institutions.
• The Act provides for Gram Sabha, a three-tier model of Panchayati Raj, reservation of seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their population and one-third reservation of seats for women.

The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992

• The Act provides constitutional status to Urban Local Bodies. After part VIII of the Constitution, a separate part IXA has been added to the Constitution with the addition in Article 243A and a fresh schedule called Twelfth schedule enumerating the powers and functions of urban local bodies has been incorporated.
• The Act provides Municipal Panchayat, Municipal Council and Municipal Corporation, reservation of seats for SCs and STs in proportion to their population and one-third reservation of seats for women

The Constitution (76th Amendment) Act, 1994

• This Amendment Act raises the reservation quota of government jobs and seats for admission in the educational institutions in favor of socially and educationally backward classes to 69 per cent in Tamil Nadu.
• Further, the Amendment Act has been included in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution to exempt it from the purview of judicial scrutiny

The Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995

• This Amendment has added a new clause (4-a) to Article 16 of the Constitution which empowers the State to make any provisions for reservation in promotions in Government jobs in favour of SCs and STs, if it is of opinion that they are inadequately represented in the services under the State.
• This has been done to nullify the effect of the Supreme Court Judgment in the Mandal Commission Case (Indra Sawhney vs. Union of India) in which the Court has held that reservation in promotions cannot be made.

The Constitution (80th Amendment) Act, 2000

• Based on the recommendations of the Tenth Finance Commission, an alternative scheme for sharing taxes between the Union and the State has been enacted by the Constitution (Eightieth Amendment) Act, 2000.
• Under the new scheme of devolution of revenue between Union and the States, 26 per cent out of gross proceeds of Union taxes and duties is to be assigned to the States in lieu of their existing share in the income-tax, excise duties special excise duties and grants in lieu of tax on railway passenger fares.

The Constitution (85th Amendment) Act, 2001

• This Act amended Article 16 (4A) of the Constitution to provide for consequential seniority in the case of promotion by virtue of rule of reservation for Government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.

The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002

• With a view to making right to free and compulsory education a fundamental right, the Act inserts a new Article, namely, Article 21A conferring on all children in the age group of 6 to 14 years the right to free and compulsory education.
• The Act amends in Part-III, Part –IV and Part-IV(A) of the Constitution.

The Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003

• The Act adds Article 338A and provides for the creation of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.

The Constitution (90th Amendment) Act, 2003

• The Act amends Article 332 and adds section (6) regarding representation in the Bodo Territorial Areas District in the State of Assam.

The Constitution (Ninety-one Amendment) Act,2003

• The Act makes provisions for limiting the size of the Council of Ministers at the Center and in the States and gives teeth to debar a defector from holding any remunerative political post for the remaining tenure of the legislature unless reelected.

The Constitution (Ninety- third Amendment) Act, 2005

• Providing reservation for the socially and educationally backward classes, besides the Schedules Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, in private unaided educational institutions.

The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2012

• In Part IIIof the constitution, after the words “or unions” the words “Cooperative Societies” was added.
• In Part IVa new Article 43Bwas inserted, which says: The state shall endeavour to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of the co-operative societies”.
• After Part IXA of the constitution, a Part IX Bwas inserted to accommodate state vs centre roles.

The Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014

• The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was established by the Union government of India by amending the constitution of India through the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 201

The Constitution (100th Amendment) Act, 2015

• Constitution (100th Amendment) Act 2015 ratified the land boundary agreement between India and Bangladesh.
• The act amended the 1st schedule of the constitution to exchange the disputed territories occupied by both the nations in accordance with the 1974 bilateral Land Boundary Agreement.
• India received 51 Bangladeshi enclaves (covering 7,110 acres) in the Indian mainland, while Bangladesh received 111 Indian enclaves (covering 17,160 acres) in the Bangladeshi mainland

The Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2017

• Introduced the Goods and Services Tax.

The Constitution (102nd Amendment) Act, 2018

• Constitutional status to National Commission for Backward Classes

The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019

• A maximum of 10% Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs) of citizens of classes other than the classes mentioned in clauses (4) and (5) of Article 15, i.e. Classes other than socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
• Inserted Clause [6] under Article 15 as well as Inserted Clause [6] under Article 16