What to Read in Indian Express Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

EDITORIAL 1: How scientists detected a colossal merger of black holes

Context

Scientists have reported the discovery of gravitational waves from the merger of two black holes that are the biggest to have been observed in such an event.

A rare event

• Black hole mergers are rare but some of the most spectacular events in the universe,releasing massive amounts of energy that are propagated to a very large distance through gravitational waves.
• Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime created by movements of massive objects, just like the movement of a boat in a lake produces ripples in water.
• But these are extremely weak, and only gravitational waves produced in very big events, like the merger of two black holes, can be detected by instruments on Earth.
• The existence of gravitational waves was proposed in Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity in 1915.
• However, it was only in 2015, exactly 100 years later, that scientists were able to detect these for the first time, using extremely sensitive equipment at the two detectors built in the United States for this purpose, called the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, or LIGO.

So, what’s new this time?

• In general, a black hole is a region in Space where the pulling force of gravity is so strong that neither matter nor light can ever escape.
• The latest discovery involves black holes that are more massive than any seen in previous such detections, and something that current theories find hard to explain.
• One of the black holes was 140 times the mass of the Sun in our solar system, the other 100 times bigger. Their merger resulted in a black hole that was about 225 times larger than the Sun.
• Much bigger black holes do exist in the universe. Supermassive black holes are millions of times more massive than the Sun.
• The stars that can produce black holes in this particular size range are currently understood to meet a different kind of end, and not end up collapsing into a black hole.
• Additionally, at least one of the black holes involved in the event was spinning at very high speeds, almost at the limit of what is possible under the General Theory of Relativity.
• For these reasons, the detection of gravitational waves from this event has generated a lot of scientific interest.

Studying gravitational waves

• Gravitational waves offer scientists a new way to glean information about the universe.
• Until it was first detected in 2015, scientists had to depend largely on the electromagnetic waves, like light, X-rays or radio waves,to study the universe.
• But most of the universe comprises of dark matter and dark energy, which do not interact with electromagnetic waves.
• These areas, and the events that happen therein, are therefore ‘invisible’ to traditional measuring devices like telescopes. Black holes were a classical example.
• Gravitational waves are generated by all moving objects in the universe, though only those that are produced by sufficiently large events are strong enough to travel very large distances and get detected by gravitational wave detectors on Earth.
• Gravitational waves, thus, provide a new ‘vision’ to scientists to view and study the happenings in the universe.

LIGO’s capabilities

• The first detection of gravitational waves, in 2015, was made by the two observatories in the United States.
• After that, a few more observatories have come up, notably the Virgo detector in Italy and the KAGRA (Kamioka Gravitational Wave Detector) in Japan.
• Together, these are known as the LVK collaboration.The latest discovery has come from this collaboration.
• Incidentally, the LIGO is proposed to have a third observatory, this one in India, to be called the LIGO-India observatory,but its construction is running way behind schedule.

Conclusion

The Department of Atomic Energy, which is handling the project, has selected a site in the Hingoli district of Maharashtra to set up this observatory. As per the latest information, the construction of the project is expected to start later this year and be completed by April 2030.

 

EDITORIAL 2: When every question counts

Context

In Parliament, Question Hour is among the few tools still available to hold the current government accountable.

Tools of accountability

• For the government ,there is no running away from answering 21 hours of questions in each House this session.
• A total of 42 hours. Question Hour, for 60 minutes a day,puts Union ministers in the hot seat.
• They are obliged to reply, either orally on the floor of the House (starred questions), or in writing (unstarred questions).
• On average, nine questions are answered orally on the floor of Parliament every day, and over 400 questions receive written replies daily.
• With notices for discussions on important subjects not being accepted for the past one-and-a-half years,

The Question Hour

• Over the last 70 years, MPs have successfully used the parliamentary device of ‘Question Hour’ to shine a light on government functioning.
• Their questions have exposed financial irregularities and brought data and information regarding government functioning to the public domain.
• Here are 12 questions asked in the Budget Session of Parliament, 2025. Each answer from the government tells a story.
• Atal Pension Yojana: over 1.11 crore accounts have been closed since the scheme’s inception. From 1 October 2022, the scheme’s rules were revised and income tax payers were made ineligible to be enrolled in the scheme.
• PM Internship scheme: Question revealed that in Phase I of the scheme, only 28,141 applicants had accepted internships out of the 1.27 lakh opportunities published. A meagre 22 per cent.
• UDAN scheme:the government stated that 619 routes were operationalised under UDAN, of which 48 per cent are non-operational now. 114 routes had been discontinued before the completion of three years.
• Samagra Shiksha scheme: The question on the integrated scheme for school education showed that Rs 2,152 crore was allocated for Tamil Nadu, Rs 1,746 crore allocated for West Bengal, and Rs 329 crore for Kerala. No funds were released to any of the three states.
• Vacancies in Kendriya Vidyalayas:In response to question, the Union government replied that as of December 2024, there were 8,977 vacancies in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, of which 7,414 (83 per cent) were for teaching posts.
• Manual scavengers: 430 deaths occurred due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks between 2019 and April 2025 despite of Manual scavenging  been banned in India since 2013.
• Cyberattacks: The government gave a composite figure which showed that between 2020 and 2024, there have been over 75.86 lakh cybersecurity incidents. A 76 per cent increase in 2024 compared to 2020.
• Digital frauds:The government answered that from 2022 to 2023, the number of digital payment frauds had increased by 334 per cent.
• PM Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM):The PM-KUSUM scheme was launched to provide energy and water security to farmers. Question revealed that out of the 10,000 megawatts (MW) sanctioned for renewable energy-based power plants, 431 MW has been installed; that is, only 4.3 per cent.
• Loan write-offs:The answer stated that between 2014 and 2023, loans worth more than Rs 16 lakh crore were written off, out of which 57 per cent were of large industries and services.
• Malnutrition: The answer stated that two out of five children up to five years of age who are enrolled in Anganwadis and registered on the poshan tracker of the Ministry of Women & Child Development are stunted in India.
• Indebtedness of farmers: In response, government data revealed that the average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household was Rs 74,000. The highest levels of debt were in Andhra Pradesh (Rs 2.46 lakh), followed by Kerala (Rs 2.42 lakh), Punjab (Rs 2.03 lakh), Haryana (Rs 1.83 lakh), and Telangana (Rs 1.52 lakh).

Conclusion

Since the government is accountable to the parliament, the parliamentary proceedings meant to hold the government accountable should not be suspended or curtailed as it will go against the essence of the Constitution.