About Phobos

Phobos is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos.
Both moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall.
Phobos is a small, irregularly shaped object with a mean radius of 11 km and is seven times as massive as the outer moon, Deimos.
Phobos is largely believed to be made up of carbonaceous chondrites.
The violent phase that Phobos has encountered is seen in the large section gouged out from a past collision (Stickney crater) and bouncing ejecta

Explanation:

Prerak Dauur Samman
The Prerak Dauur Samman has a total of five additional subcategories -Divya (Platinum), Anupam (Gold), Ujjwal (Silver), Udit (Bronze), Aarohi (Aspiring) – with top three cities being recognized in each.
In a departure from the present criteria of evaluating cities on ‘population category’, this new category will categorize cities on the basis of six select indicator wise performance criteria which are as follows:
1) Segregation of waste into Wet, Dry and Hazard categories

2) Processing capacity against wet waste generated

3) Processing and recycling of wet and dry waste

4) Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste processing

5) Percentage of waste going to landfills

6) Sanitation status of cities

Explanation:

What is the Hagia Sophia?
The construction of this iconic structure in Istanbul started in 532 AD during the reign of Justinian I, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire when the city was known as Constantinople.
The structure was originally built to become the seat of the Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church and remained so for approximately 900 years.
In 1453, when Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmet II’s Ottoman forces, the Hagia Sophia was ransacked by the invading forces and turned into a mosque shortly after.
For a long time, the Hagia Sophia was Istanbul’s most important mosque.
The 1,500-year-old structure, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was originally a cathedral before it was turned into a mosque.

Explanation:

India at UNSC
India will be back in the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021.
Two-year term will be a critical time in the history of the UN.
It is hoped that by then COVID-19 will have subsided, a U.S. President will have been elected.
And the contours of a new world order may have emerged.
How elections take place
The basic contest for the non-permanent seats takes place in the respective regional groups and their sub-groups.
Voting in the General Assembly is to fulfil the requirement of countries having to secure a two-thirds majority of the member states.
But regional endorsement is becoming difficult.
Last time, it was Kazakhstan which vacated the place for India.
This time, it was Afghanistan. India could not have got the endorsement without such gestures from friendly countries.
What will be India’s priorities as a member of UNSC
India will continue to provide leadership and a new orientation for a reformed multilateral system.
How far the UN will be able to reform itself in the new situation remains uncertain.
The UN did not succeed in either defining terrorism or in adopting the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
Counter-terrorism will be one of the highest priorities for India at the UNSC.
Permanent member of India issue
India’s election as a non-permanent member has understandably ignited the hope that its quest for permanent membership.
Nothing is farther from the truth.
Seeking to amend the Charter to add new permanent members is difficult task.
None of the proposals has the possibility of securing two-thirds majority of the General Assembly and the votes of the five permanent members.
A majority of the UN members are against the privileges of the permanent members, particularly the veto.
India’s performance in the Council will not lead to its elevation to permanent membership as the opposition to any expansion is not India-specific.
Role of India as non-permanent member
The non-permanent members have a collective veto over every resolution in the Council.
As a part of collective veto, India will have a higher profile at the UN for the next two years
Permanent members can prevent the adoption of resolutions by themselves through veto.
But they need at least nine votes to get a resolution passed.
India will also have a rare peep into the consultations chamber of the UNSC, which is closed to non-members of the Council.
India will get involved in many issues in which it may not have any direct interest.
Since India does not have a veto, it shall have to proceed cautiously not to offend anyone.

Explanation:

The Ninth Schedule (Article 31-B) was introduced by the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to keep certain laws particularly those on land reforms beyond the scope of judicial review. Over the years 284 laws were included in it and about 30 of them are under challenge.

In its unanimous verdict, the Supreme Court Bench, while recognising the supremacy of the court to examine the validity of inclusion of a law in the Ninth Schedule, did not accept the argument that introduction of Article 31-B was just a one-time measure to protect agrarian laws after the abolition of the zamindari system and that it outlived its purpose. The Bench did not go into the question of validity of Article 31-B as it was not under challenge.

“The power to grant absolute immunity at will is not compatible with the basic structure doctrine and, therefore, after April 24, 1973 the laws included in the Ninth Schedule would not have absolute immunity. The validity of such laws can be challenged on the touchstone of basic structure such as reflected in Article 21 read with Article 14 and Article 19, Article 15 and the principles underlying these Articles.”