Kali Bein
GS Paper 1: Art & Culture
Important For:
Prelims exam: Kali Bein
Why in News
Punjab Chief Minister has been admitted to Delhi’s Apollo Hospital, days after he had drunk a glass of water directly from the Kali Bein, a holy rivulet in Sultanpur Lodhi.
What is the Kali Bein?
• The 165-km rivulet starts from Hoshiarpur, runs across four districts and meets the confluence of the rivers Beas and Sutlej in Kapurthala.
• Waste water from there as well as industrial waste used to flow into the rivulet via a drain, turning its waters black, hence the name Kali Bein (black rivulet).
Significance to Sikh religion
• The Kali Bein is of great significance to Sikh religion and history, because the first Guru, Nanak Dev, is said to have got enlightenment here.
• When Guru Nanak Dev was staying at Sultanpur Lodhi with his sister Bebe Nanki, he would bathe in the Kali Bein.
• He is said to have disappeared into the waters one day, before emerging on the third day. The first thing he recited was the “Mool Mantra” of the Sikh religion.
Indian Innovation Index
GS Paper 3: Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology; Indigenization of Technology and Developing New Technology.
Important For:
Prelims exam: Indian Innovation Index
What is the India Innovation Index?
• It is released by NITI Aayog and the Institute for Competitiveness
• The India Innovation Index is a comprehensive tool for the evaluation and development of the country’s innovation ecosystem.
• It ranks the states and the union territories on their innovation performance to build healthy competition amongst them.
Key Highlights of the 2022 index
• Karnataka has held 1st position, under the Major States category, in all three editions of the Index so far.
• It was followed by Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar and Gujarat were at the bottom of the index.
• In the Index, Manipur secured the lead in the Northeast and Hill States category, while Chandigarh was the top performer in the Union Territories and City States category.
Strengthening the scope of Innovation
• The release of the third edition of the index corroborates the Government’s continuous commitment to transforming the nation into an innovation-driven economy.
• The aim of the index is to strengthen the scope of the innovation landscape in India by drawing on the framework of the Global Innovation Index (GII).
o In this index, the performance of countries is compared and therefore measured on the basis of innovation.
• The index evaluates the innovation performance of all the states and union territories in India.
• The states and the union territories have been divided into 17 ‘Major States’, 10 ‘North-East and Hill States’, and 9 ‘Union Territories and the City States’, to effectively compare their performance.
Women have right to safe abortion: Supreme Court
GS Paper 2: Indian Constitution—Historical Underpinnings, Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure.
Important For:
Prelims exam: Right to Abortion
Why in News
A Supreme Bench heard the appeal of a woman who wanted to abort after her relationship failed and her partner left her.
What did the court say?
• A woman’s right to reproductive choice is an inseparable part of her personal liberty under Article 21 of Constitution.
• Denying an unmarried woman, the right to a safe abortion violates her personal autonomy and freedom.
• Forcing a woman to continue with her pregnancy would not only be a violation of her bodily integrity but also aggravate her mental trauma.
Basis of Judgement
The court noted that an amendment to the Act in 2021 had substituted the term ‘husband’ with ‘partner’, a clear signal that the law covered unmarried women within its ambit.
Reiterating the live-in recognition
• Chastising the lower court, the Bench said live-in relationships had already been recognised by the Supreme Court.
• There were a significant number of people in social mainstream who see no wrong in engaging in pre-marital sex.
• The law could not be used to quench “notions of social morality” and unduly interfere in their personal autonomy and bodily integrity.
Note: For more information refer to the following Article in 20th July DNA: ‘What is India’s law on abortion?’