1) Article 170: under this, States get divided into territorial constituencies as per Delimitation Act after every Census. The Supreme Court observed that Article 170 of the Constitution deals with only the State Legislature and thus has no application to the Legislatures of UT.
- Legislative Assemblies of the concerned Union Territories will be governed by the law made by the Parliament in accordance with Article 239A. Even if the law made by Parliament creating a body of legislature for Union territories of Puducherry and J&K has the effect of amending certain parts, it shall not be deemed to be an amendment of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368.
2) Startup20 Engagement Group: initiated under India’s G20 Presidency in 2023 it aims to create a global narrative for supporting startups and enabling synergies between startups, corporates, investors, innovation agencies and other key ecosystem stakeholders.
- The engagement group comprises of three taskforces, namely Foundation & Alliance, Finance, and Inclusion & Sustainability.
- By creating the Startup20 Engagement Group, G20 has turned itself into an ambidextrous institution- while the existing B20 Engagement Group continues its focus on corporations, the Startup20 takes on the policy issues concerning the global startup ecosystem, with the necessary linkages between the two groups.
3) Income tax ‘raids’: IT survey: authorities conduct surveys to unearth hidden or undisclosed income and property. Here, the main focus is the collection of information. It is also ascertained in a survey if a person or a business has properly maintained its books of accounts or not. It is guided by Section 133A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
- IT search: Searches are thorough inspections of buildings, places of business, and other places to find hidden income or wealth in tax evasion cases. The authorities are also given the power to seize the documents, assets, bullion, which have been hidden from the authorities. Searches are conducted under Section 132 of the I-T Act.
- Surveys can be conducted during business hours, searches have no restrictions
4) Roche limit: refers to the distance from any celestial body within which its tidal forces prevent the formation of natural satellites. Material in orbit outside the Roche limit would be aggregating to become natural satellites. The rings of other planets lie within the Roche limit.
- Example: The moon is pulled towards the Earth by gravity. The draw is stronger on the side facing the Earth compared to the other. As a result, the moon is compressed or stretched from all sides by the so-called tidal force. But, the moon’s own gravity aids in keeping it intact by negating the tidal force’s effects. The moon’s gravitational pull can be overpowered, if it is moved closer to the planet and it will eventually shatter the satellite, transforming it into a ring. The Roche limit is the shortest distance at which this occurs.
5) Quaoar: it is a minor planet that orbits beyond Pluto in Kuiper belt, discovered in 2002.
- It is defined as a minor planet and is proposed as a dwarf planet. It has a small moon called Weywot, orbiting beyond the ring. Quaoar’s ring was spotted by the ESA. The ring is located about 4,100 km away from Quaoar’s center, outside the Roche limit.
- They suggest that at such a distance, the particles of the ring should have come together to form a moon.
