Supreme court says, Collegium’s final decisions alone need to be in public domain

• The Supreme Court on December 9, 2022 held that only the final decisions of the apex court Collegium need to be published in the public domain.
• A “final decision” of the Supreme Court Collegium would mean a resolution drawn and signed by all the collegium members of the court after due deliberations, discussions among them and post consultations conducted among the other Supreme Court judges, a Bench led by Justice M.R. Shah laid down in a judgment.
• The Collegium is composed of the Chief Justice of India and four senior most judges.
• The Collegium unanimously recommends names for Supreme Court and High Court judgeships to the government, which appoints them through the President under Article 124(2) and 217(1) of the Constitution.
• “Tentative” decisions of the multi-member Collegium, while the required deliberative and consultative processes remain unconcluded, need not be put in the public domain via publication on the Supreme Court website nor do they come under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.

Three Himalayan medicinal plants enter IUCN Red List

• Three medicinal plant species found in the Himalayas have made it to IUCN Red List of Threatened Species following a recent assessment.
• Meizotropis pellitahas been assessed as ‘critically endangered’, Fritilloria cirrhosa as ‘vulnerable’, and Dactylorhiza hatagirea as ‘endangered’.
• Meizotropis pellita, commonly known as Patwa, is a perennial shrub with restricted distribution that is endemic to Uttarakhand.
• “The species is listed as ‘critically endangered’ based on its limited area of occupancy (less than 10 sq. km),” the study stated.
• The species is threatened by deforestation, habitat fragmentation and forest fires.
• “The essential oil extracted from the leaves of the species possesses strong antioxidants and can be a promising natural substitute for synthetic antioxidants in pharmaceutical industries,”
• Fritillaria cirrhosa(Himalayan fritillary) is a perennial bulbous herb.
• “It is reasonable to conclude a decline of at least 30% of its population over the assessment period (22 to 26 years).
• Considering the rate of decline, long generation length, poor germination potential, high trade value, extensive harvesting pressure and illegal trade, the species is listed as ‘vulnerable,
• In China, the species is used for the treatment of bronchial disorders and pneumonia.
• The plant is also a strong cough suppressant and source of expectorant drugs in traditional Chinese medicine, the IUCN assessment said.
• The third listed species, Dactylorhiza hatagirea(Salampanja), is threatened by habitat loss, livestock grazing, deforestation, and climate change.
• It is extensively used in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and other alternative systems of medicine to cure dysentery, gastritis, chronic fever, cough and stomach aches.
• It is a perennial tuberous species endemic to the Hindu Kush and Himalayan ranges of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
• “The Himalayan region is a biodiversity hotspot but there is lack of data on many species here.
• The assessment of these plants will set our conservation priorities and help protect the species,” said Harsh Kumar Chauhan, member, IUCN Species Survival Commission, Medicinal Plant Specialist Group.

Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre gets new trisonic wind tunnel

• The new trisonic wind tunnel at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) was inaugurated on Thursday by conducting the first blow-down test successfully.
• The massive structure, which can perform tests in three speed regimes, equips the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with a robust in-house support system for space missions.
• For the country as a whole, it is a big step towards self-reliance in the aerospace sector, the VSSC says.
• Wind tunnels are devices used to study the effects of air flows on solid objects—in this case, scale models of ISRO rockets and spacecraft.
• The trisonic wind tunnel at VSSC is about 160 metres long and measures 5.4 metres at its widest part.
• The blow down was switched on by ISRO chairman S. Somanath.
• In a ‘blow down test’, stored gases are released and blown through the tunnel’s test section, simulating flight conditions.
• The tunnel can simulate flight conditions from 0.2 times the speed of sound (68 metres per second) to four times the speed of sound (1,360 metres per second), according to the space agency.
• ‘Trisonic’ refers to the tunnel’s capability to test in three speed regimes—below the speed of sound (subsonic), at the speed of sound (transonic), and above the speed of sound (supersonic).
• Its parts include air storage vessels, a settling chamber where the airflow is ‘smoothened’ out, and nozzles for releasing the air into the test section.
• Senior ISRO officials including VSSC director S. Unnikrshanan Nair, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) director V. Narayanan, and ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) director Sam Dayala Dev also witnessed the test.
• The trisonic wind tunnel was implemented through M/s Tata Projects India Ltd with the assistance of industries across the country.

Shenu Agrawal has been appointed as the MD and CEO of Ashok Leyland

9th World Ayurveda Congress inaugurated in Panaji

Uniform Civil Code bill bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha on 9th December amid huge protest

Karthigai Deepam Chariot festival is held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu

Sushmita Shukla has been appointed as First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the Federal Reserve Bank Of New York in December 2022

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, also called as COP-15 held in Montreal, Canada

Teacher Veena Nair has received the 2022 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Australia

UN organized an opening ceremony for the International Year of Millets – 2023 in Rome, Italy.

Source : THE HINDU