What is the Line of Actual Control (LAC)?

• The LAC is the demarcation that separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
• It is divided into three sectors: the eastern sector which spans Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and the western sector in Ladakh.
• India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long, while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.

• India’s claim line is the line seen in the official boundary marked on the maps as released by the Survey of India, including both Aksai Chin and Gilgit-Baltistan. This means LAC is not the claim line for India.
• In China’s case, LAC is the claim line except in the eastern sector, where it claims the entire Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet.

Disagreement over the LAC

• The major disagreements are in the western sector where the LAC emerged from two letters written by Chinese PM Zhou Enlai to PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959, after he had first mentioned such a ‘line’ in 1956.
• After the 1962 War, the Chinese claimed they had withdrawn to 20 km behind the LAC of 1959, which coincides with the so-called McMahon Line in the eastern sector.
• India’s Response to China’s Designation of the LAC:
  • India rejected the concept of LAC in both 1959 and 1962, as it is the line China has created.
  • The Chinese line was a disconnected series of points on a map that could be joined up in many ways.
  • The line should omit gains from aggression in 1962 and therefore should be based on the actual position on September 8, 1962 before the Chinese attack.
  • This vagueness of the Chinese definition left it open for China to continue its creeping attempt to change facts on the ground by military force.
  • During the Doklam crisis in 2017, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged India to abide by the “1959 LAC”.

Why are these Claim Lines Controversial in Ladakh?

• Aksai Chin in Ladakh province of the princely state of J&K was not part of British India, although it was a part of the British Empire.
• Thus, the eastern boundary was well defined in 1914 (when the Shimla Agreement on the McMahon Line was signed by British India) but in the west in Ladakh, it was not.

Current Arrangement to Reconcile Differences over LAC:

• India formally accepted the concept of the LAC when the Indian PM paid a return visit to Beijing in 1993 (after Chinese Premier Li Peng’s 1991 visit to India).
  • The two sides signed the Agreement to Maintain Peace and Tranquility at the LAC.
• The reference to the LAC was unable to make it clear that it was referring to the LAC at the time the agreement was signed, not the LAC of 1959 or 1962.
• To reconcile the differences about some areas, the two countries agreed that the Joint Working Group on the border issue would take up the task of clarifying the alignment of the LAC.

LAC vs Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan

• The LoC emerged from the 1948 ceasefire line negotiated by the UN after the Kashmir War.
• It was designated as the LoC in 1972, following the Shimla Agreement between the two countries (India and Pakistan).
• It is delineated on a map signed by DGMOs of both armies and has the international sanctity of a legal agreement.
• On the other hand, the LAC is only a concept. It is not agreed upon by the two countries, neither delineated on a map or demarcated on the ground.

The Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC)  

• The ECBC was first released by the Ministry of Power’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in 2007, followed by an update in 2017.
• ECBC sets minimum energy standards for commercial buildings, with the objective of enabling energy savings of between 25 and 50% in compliant buildings.
• Under section 14 (p) of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, Central Government has powers to prescribe ECBC for non-residential buildings, having a connected load of 100 KW and above or a contract demand of 120 KVA and above or recommended built-up area of 1000 sqm and above. or building complex for efficient use of energy and its conservation.
  •  The state governments have the flexibility to modify ECBC to suit local or regional needs.
• The ECBC in India focuses on six key components of building design, including the envelope (walls, roofs, windows), lighting systems, HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems, and electrical power systems.
• These components have both mandatory and prescriptive requirements. The code applies to both new constructions and retrofitting existing buildings.
• Compliant buildings are assigned one of three tags in ascending order of efficiency, namely ECBC, ECBC Plus, and Super ECBC.

What is the procedure for bringing a criminal contempt of court case against an individual? 

• The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, lays down the law on contempt of court. Section 15 of the legislation describes the procedure on how a case for contempt of court can be initiated.
• In the case of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General or the Solicitor General, and in the case of High Courts, the Advocate General, may bring in a motion before the court for initiating a case of criminal contempt.
• However, if the motion is brought by any other person, the consent in writing of the Attorney General or the Advocate General is required.
• The motion or reference made for initiating the case will have to specify the contempt of which the person charged is alleged to be guilty.
• The objective behind requiring the consent of the Attorney General before taking cognizance of a complaint is to save the time of the court. Judicial time is squandered if frivolous petitions are made and the court is the first forum for bringing them in. 
  • The AG’s consent is meant to be a safeguard against frivolous petitions, as it is deemed that the AG, as an officer of the court, will independently ascertain whether the complaint is indeed valid.

• Article 129 of the Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power to initiate contempt cases on its own, independent of the motion brought before it by the AG or with the consent of the AG.
•  Article 129 states-The Supreme Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself.
• Article 215 conferred a corresponding power on the High Courts.Article 215 states-Every High Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself.

• The codon deoptimization technology is used for Vaccine development.

Additional Information

• Codon de-optimisation involves changing the codons to less common ones, which slows down protein translation and weakens the virus, but the proteins produced remain unchanged. 
• Codon de-optimization is a technique used in vaccine development to weaken a virus by altering its genetic code without changing the proteins it produces. 
• This technique involves modifying the virus’s RNA or DNA sequence in such a way that the codons (the triplets of nucleotides that encode amino acids) used in the viral genome are less frequently used by the host organism. 
• This leads to slower or less efficient translation of viral proteins, resulting in a weakened virus that can still stimulate an immune response without causing disease.