Chandrayaan 3 and beyond (GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- With the successful deployment of the Chandrayaan-3 mission by the Launch Vehicle Mark-III, achieving a flawless track record, ISRO is now focused on the development of advanced high-thrust rocket engines.
- ISRO's Indigenous Semi-Cryogenic Engine Project (SCE-200) is set to enhance the lifting capacity of existing launch vehicles and pave the way for the evolution of next-generation Indian rockets with super heavy-lift capability.
Emergence of High-Thrust Rocket Engines:
- Semi-cryogenic engines hold the key to achieving full-fledged super heavy-lift capabilities.
- Unlike traditional cryogenic boosters, which use liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, semi-cryogenic engines burn a combination of liquid oxygen and kerosene, providing greater thrust in the vacuum of space.
- These boosters significantly enhance a rocket's range, velocity, and payload capacity, enabling the launch of heavier payloads into higher orbits.
- Over the years, India has made significant progress in developing indigenous cryogenic engines, including the CE-7.5 and CE-20 engines.
CE-7.5 Cryogenic Engine:
- The CE-7.5 engine, widely used as the upper stage booster of the medium-lift GSLV Mark-2 rocket, is a regeneratively-cooled, variable-thrust, staged combustion cycle-based rocket engine.
- With a burn duration of up to 718 seconds (CUS-12 version) or 846 seconds (CUS-15 version), the CE-7.5 engine carries approximately 12,800 kg of fuel, using liquid hydrogen as fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer.
- The cryogenic upper-stage booster has been widely used in seven successful GSLV Mark-2 flights since January 2014 and has totally replaced the KVD-1 (RD-56) engines which were earlier imported from Russia as completely built units (CBUs).
CE-20 Cryogenic Engine:
- Developed indigenously, the CE-20 engine is a high-thrust cryogenic engine based on a gas-generator cycle. It is considered one of the most powerful engines in its class worldwide and serves as the upper stage of the medium heavy-lift capable LVM-3 rocket.
- Burning a combination of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the CE-20 engine has a burn duration of up to 800 seconds.
- It has been successfully used in six LVM-3 missions since June 2017, including the launch of the Chandrayaan-2 mission in 2019 and Chandrayaan-3 this year.
SCE-200 Semi-Cryogenic Engine:
- It is a liquid-fueled rocket motor burning a combination of liquid oxygen and kerosene, delivering a thrust of up to 2030 kilonewtons in a vacuum. The engine's dry weight (without fuel) is approximately 2700 kg.
- Proposals are underway to replace the LVM-3's second stage L-110 engine, currently powered by two liquid-fueled Vikas engines, with an SCE-200 engine.
Dawn of a New Era:
- ISRO is working on futuristic super heavy-lift launch vehicles, including the Unified Launch Vehicle (ULV), which employs a modular architecture with clustered stages comprising multiple cryogenic and semi-cryogenic propulsion units.
- The ULV is slated to replace all operational launch vehicle platforms, including PSLV, GSLV Mark-2, and LVM-3.
- A heavy-lift variant of the ULV may incorporate a cluster of five SCE-200 boosters in the second stage, enabling India to launch space station modules and cargo spacecraft weighing up to 20,000 kg to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
- With further advancements in high-thrust semi-cryogenic powerplants, a larger version of the ULV (SHLV) may be developed by the end of the decade, further enhancing lifting capacity to 41,300 kg to LEO.
Way Forward:
- This capability could facilitate manned lunar missions similar to NASA’s Apollo program and open doors for interplanetary manned missions.
- The launch of Chandrayaan-3 is a significant leap in the right direction.
New guidelines for designation of senior advocates in the SC
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Supreme Court has published new guidelines for the designation of senior advocates practicing mainly in the Apex Court.
Background:
- These guidelines come after the May 12 ruling delivered by a three-judge bench led by Justice SK Kaul in a case seeking modification in the conferment of ‘senior advocate’ designation guidelines rendered in a 2017 SC ruling.
- In doing so, the Bench, replaced the guidelines issued by the top court in 2018, in the aftermath of its 2017 ruling in Indira Jaisingh v. Union of India.
What do the new guidelines say?
Age limit:
- The new guidelines prescribe the minimum age as 45 years to apply for the ‘senior advocate’ designation. This age limit may, however, be relaxed by the Committee, the Chief Justice of India, or a Supreme Court judge if they have recommended an advocate’s name.
- However, no minimum age was prescribed under the 2017 guidelines or even the May 12 SC ruling, which said that “although designations in the Supreme Court in comparison to High Courts have usually taken place at the age of 45 plus, younger advocates have also been designated,” while leaving the final decision in the hands of the Permanent Committee and the Full Court.
Recommendation by:
- Although the 2017 guidelines say that the CJI along with “any judge” can recommend an advocate’s name for designation, the 2023 guidelines specify that the CJI along with “any Judge of the Supreme Court” may recommend in writing the name of an advocate for designation.
Weightage:
- Previously, the guidelines stated that 15 marks were set aside for publications. However, the new guidelines state that only 5 marks will be given for “publication of academic articles, experience of teaching assignments in the field of law,” and “guest lectures delivered in law schools and professional institutions connected with law” combined.
- Besides this, the weightage given to reported and unreported judgements (excluding orders that do not lay down any principle of law) has increased from 40 to 50 points in the new guidelines.
What are the 2018 guidelines?
- In October 2018, the Apex Court released a list of “Guidelines to Regulate the Conferment of Designation of Senior Advocates” while acting on a plea filed by India’s first woman Senior Advocate, Indira Jaising, for greater transparency in the designation process. The guidelines discouraged the system of ‘voting by secret ballot”, except in cases where it was “unavoidable.”
Committee:
- According to the 2018 guidelines, a “Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates,” or “permanent committee,” was created and empowered with powers of conferment.
- The CJI-chaired committee was to consist of two senior-most SC judges, the Attorney General of India, and a “member of the Bar” nominated by the chair and other members. The Committee was to meet twice a year, at least.
- The CJI or any other judge could recommend the name of an advocate for designation.
Alternative criteria:
- Alternatively, advocates could submit their applications to the “Permanent Secretariat”, which would evaluate them on criteria like 10–20 years of legal practice, be it as an advocate, district judge, or judicial member of an Indian tribunal where the qualification for eligibility is not less than that prescribed for a district judge.
What did the court decide in the Indira Jaising case?
- On October 12, 2017, a three-judge bench of the Apex Court headed by then-Justice Ranjan Gogoi laid down guidelines for itself and all High Courts on the process of designating senior advocates. Jaising had challenged the existing process as “opaque”, “arbitrary,” and “fraught with nepotism.”
Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961:
- Prior to this, Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961, governed the appointment of senior advocates.
- Section 16 (1) stated, “There shall be two classes of advocates, namely, senior advocates and other advocates.”
- Besides this, Section 16 (2) allowed an advocate to be designated as a senior advocate if he consented to it and “if the Supreme Court or a High Court” was of the opinion that by “virtue of his ability, standing at the Bar, or special knowledge or experience in law, “he is deserving of such distinction.”
- Further, it was the Chief Justice and the judges who designated an advocate as a ‘senior’ advocate.
Guidelines in 2017:
- It was this ruling that decided the setting up of a “permanent committee” and a “permanent secretariat”, a body tasked with receiving and compiling all applications for designation with relevant data, information, and the number of reported and unreported judgments.
- After this, the proposal for designation is to be published by it on the official website of the concerned court, inviting suggestions and views, which shall then be forwarded to the permanent committee for scrutiny.
- The committee then interviewed the candidate and made an overall evaluation based on a point system that gave marks for years of practice, pro-bono work undertaken, judgements, publications, and a personality test. Once a candidate’s name was approved, it was forwarded to the Full Court to decide on the basis of the majority. The Full Court could also recall the designation of a senior advocate.
Only 1% women live in countries with high gender parity, female empowerment, UN report
(GS Paper 2, Social Justice)
Why in news?
- Only an abysmal 1 per cent of women across the world live in countries that have managed to achieve both high women empowerment and gender parity, according to a new report by the United Nations.
- Leadership roles and decision-making still mostly lie with men and are unavailable to women.
What is the report about?
- The first-of-its-kind report that presents a comprehensive analysis of the progress made in human development of women and girls was jointly created by two UN agencies – UN Women and UN Development Programme.
- They collated data from 114 countries and analysed them based on the twin indices of Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI) and the Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI).
- These complementary indices together, the authors proposed, are the best tool to develop the most accurate understanding of the progress made towards women’s empowerment and gender parity in a country.
- They also factored in new data on the progress made by these countries towards achieving UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals that deal with closing gender gaps.
Key findings:
- WEI showed that, on an average, women are empowered to achieve only 60 per cent of their full potential. They also were found to achieve 28 per cent less than men across key human development dimensions, as measured by the GGPI.
- None of the 114 countries analysed achieved full women’s empowerment or complete gender parity, they found.
- More than 90 per cent of the global population of women live in countries with low or middle women’s empowerment and low or middle performance in achieving gender parity.
- No country with a large gender gap has achieved high women’s empowerment.
Areas where comprehensive policy action is needed:
- Health policies: Support and promote long and healthy lives for all, with a focus on universal access to sexual and reproductive health
- Equality in education: Address gaps in skills and quality of education, especially in fields such as STEM, to empower women and girls in the digital age
- Work-life balance and support for families: Invest in policies and services that address work-life balance, including affordable quality childcare services, parental leave schemes, and flexible working arrangements
- Women’s equal participation: Set targets and action plans for achieving gender parity in all spheres of public life and eliminate discriminatory laws and regulations that hold women back
- Violence against women: Implement comprehensive measures focused on prevention, changing social norms, and eliminating discriminatory laws and policies.
Way Forward:
- They stressed that the twin indices should be used for tracking and assessment of progress and gaps across countries.
- They called for policymakers, stakeholders and communities to harness these tools “to take informed action and accelerate the journey towards a more equitable and inclusive world”.
