“The Government of India Act 1935 was an endeavor to give India a written constitution even though Indians were not involved in its creation ”

provisions in the Government of India Act 1935-

◻ Provision for the establishment of an All- India Federation consisting of provinces and princely states.

◻ Division in terms of powers between the center and units in terms of Federal list, Provincial list and the concurrent list.

◻ Abolition of dyarchy and introduction of provincial autonomy.

◻ Introduction of bicameralism in provincial legislatures in six out of eleven provinces (legislative council and legislative assembly).

◻ Extension of the electoral franchise but still limited to ten percent of the population.

◻ Establishment of public service commission at federal, provincial and joint for two or more provinces.

◻ provision for forming a federal court setup in 1937.

 It is true that the act stood as an inspiration as it bought many new provisions for practically governing this country. In fact the critics of the constitution even called it a carbon copy of the 1935 act but the chairman of the drafting committee clarified that only the provisions relating to the administration were taken as inspiration and not just a blind imitation. These can be seen as true from the following;

1. The provision for an All-India federation consisting of both the provinces and princely states was indeed what was put into practice while forming the union and they had the liberty of joining either of the new states.

2. The provision for dividing subjects in to union, state and concurrent is heavily borrowed from the above act.

3. The Local Self Governments gained its prominence in administration and governance as the act emphasized it.

4. The bicameral structure of the legislatures at both centre and state levels as inspired from the British system helped to form a robust legislating procedure which ensured both the participation of the peoples representatives as well as that of experienced individuals in different fields of the society.   

5. The practice of Universal Adult Franchise for elections was a huge leap forward in case of a newly formed democratic state. As the act only permitted a limited franchise the inevitable need for inclusion of the whole country was recognized and implemented.

6. Public Service Commissions were formed at the union, state and joint level for recruitment into government services.

7. The Reserve Bank of India which controls the currency and credit of the country was formed based on the provisions of the 1935 act.

8. The Federal Court established on the lines of the act paved way for the establishment of the Supreme Court whose jurisdiction was greater than that of its predecessor as it has replaced the British Privy Council as the highest court of appeal.

As Dr. Ambedkar reiterated ” there is nothing wrong in borrowing , it involves no plagiarism and only the provisions regarding to the details of administration was taken”. It can be concluded from the above that the constitution was not a mere imitation the 1935 Act , but a careful adoption catering to the needs of the nation.

Quantum mechanics is the field of physics that explains how tiny objects simultaneously have the characteristics of both particles (tiny pieces of matter) and waves (a disturbance or variation that transfers energy). Physicists call this the “wave-particle duality. Quantum mechanics grew out of the tremendous progress that physicists made in the early 20th century toward understanding the microscopic world around us and how it differed from the macroscopic world.

Quantum mechanics led to the development of things like lasers, light-emitting diodes, transistors, medical imaging, electron microscopes, and a host of other modern devices like smartphones.

Principles of Quantum Mechanics –

◻ The Superposition principle- television, microwaves and computers

◻ the Uncertainty principle- applies only to microscopic objects and minuscule particles.

◻ The Complementarity principle- DNA replication, applications in anatomy.

Implications of advancement in Quantum Mechanics-

1. Threat to encryption– its applications has the potential to break encryption which underpins the enterprises, digital infrastructures and economy. It can compromise the integrity and confidentiality of data.

2. Cyber Security concerns– The US and China are already at the forefront for investing and researching on quantum applications and this has further expanded the specter of quantum cyber attacks against nations like India.

3. Enhanced Artificial Intelligence (AI): Quantum machine learning algorithms can potentially enable more efficient and accurate training of AI models.

4. Better Sensing and Measurement: Quantum sensors can detect tiny changes in the environment, making them useful in areas such as medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and geological exploration.

5. Costly and difficult to manage and control- The materials used to create them can be costly, and many researchers believe that these costs may never be recovered.

6. Diverse applications- ranging from weather prediction to securing financial transactions, from agriculture to advanced manufacturing and the spillover effect on employment is vast.

Policy measures for India to promote Research and Development-

1. Easing the legislative hurdles – identifying this as a crucial sector both in economic and security terms the procedures should be eased to give prompt funding for the Research and Development activities.

2. Establishing Centers of Excellence-There is a high need to establish Centers of Excellence within both academic and government research institute.

3. Indegenization- procuring these from other nations has its own disadvantages, so, it is important to develop these at home.

4. Collaboration with global players – It is necessary to collaborate with like-minded entities and organizations to fight those who weaponize technology.

Like any other advanced technology, Quantum Mechanics brings in a lot of opportunities and hurdles. For the sake of the security and resilience of our economy, it is imperative that we take a giant leap about funding the Research and Development of Quantum technology.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in January, 2019 with an aim to improve air quality in 131 cities in 24 States and UTs by engaging all stakeholders. The programme envisages to achieve reductions up to 40% or achievement of National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter10 (PM 10) concentrations by 2025-26.
Measures taken by the government to improve air quality-
1. Reducing vehicular emissions by introducing schemes like Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric vehicles, enhancing public transport by introducing metro rails connecting more cities.
2.Tightening emission norms for thermal power plants, installation of online continuous emission monitoring devices and ban on use of pet coke and furnace oil in NCR, and ban on use of pet coke in processes in cement plants, lime kilns and calcium carbide manufacturing units.
3.Public Grievances and Response System (PGRS) is developed under NCAP and Air quality monitoring cell has been constituted across the country in NCAP Cities.
Outcomes of the national Clean Air Programme-
A recent study conducted by the Climate Trends and Respirer Living Sciences reveals majority of the cities are far from the clean air targets of the NCAP.
◻ There seems to be a mixed progress among cities, while some of them like Varanasi ,Agra shows a decline others like Delhi reported marginal decline or sometimes even increased pollution loads.
◻ Lack of ambient Air Quality Monitoring systems in cities – Delhi and Mumbai have several such stations while others only have a hand full.
◻ The indo-gangetic plain remains highly vulnerable to elevated particulate matter concentrations (18 out of 20 most polluted cities).
◻ The varying results can be attributed to different factors like geographical locations, diverse emission sources and even meteorological factors.
 
Mission Lifestyle for Environment- the objective of this mission is to promote and encourage a sustainable and environmentally conscious way of living.
Mission Life can help to revitalize the NCAP in the following manner
1.Encourage people to use  public transport systems in metro cities to avoid congestion and the resulting pollution due to individual vehicles.
2.Local bodies should persuade the residents to hand over the plastic waste instead of incinerating them and should heavily  fine those who don’t comply.
3.Promotion and adoption  of advanced Electric Vehicle technology especially in public transport systems through subsidies and benefits .
4.Systematically phasing out coal based thermal plants and giving way to Renewable energy generation.
5.Persuading manufacturers to produce more durable , recyclable plastic containers to ensure that they are not easily damaged and casted out as waste.
6. Spreading awareness among farmers about the environmental defects of stubble burning and suggest them viable alternative means.
Results suggest that the NCAP needs a makeover , region specific planning and Mission life with its pro planet people approach can help reinvigorate it.