Why in news?

After the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single largest party in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Governor Rajendra Arlekar delayed inviting party president C. Joseph Vijay to form the government.

The Governor asked Vijay to demonstrate majority support by submitting physical letters from at least 118 MLAs in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly before taking oath as Chief Minister.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Governor’s Role in a Hung Assembly
• Order of Preference for Inviting a Party to Form Government
• Floor Test as a Measure of Majority
• Instances Where Floor Tests Protected Constitutional Governance

Governor’s Role in a Hung Assembly

• Under Article 164 of the Constitution, the Governor appoints the Chief Minister.
• However, the Constitution does not prescribe a fixed procedure for selecting a Chief Minister in the event of a hung Assembly.
• The Governor’s primary responsibility is to ensure the formation of a stable and responsible government while preserving constitutional governance in the State.
• Recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission and various Supreme Court judgments emphasise that Governors must act impartially and constitutionally rather than on personal discretion.
• Exploring Government Formation
  • The Governor is expected to explore all reasonable possibilities for government formation by consulting political parties, alliances, and independent MLAs within a reasonable timeframe.
  • While some time may be allowed to establish majority support, the Governor cannot delay indefinitely, as prolonged uncertainty may encourage political defections and horse-trading.
• Power to Dissolve the Assembly
  • The Supreme Court of India, in cases such as B.R. Kapur case and Rameshwar Prasad case, recognised that the Governor may recommend dissolution of the Assembly under Article 174(2)(b) if no party is able to form a stable government.
  • If all possibilities of forming a government fail, the Governor may recommend President’s Rule under Article 356 as a last constitutional option.

Order of Preference for Inviting a Party to Form Government

• First Preference: Pre-Poll Alliance with Majority - The Sarkaria Commission recommended that the Governor should first invite a pre-poll alliance that has secured a clear majority in the Assembly. This principle has also received judicial support.
• Second Preference: Single Largest Party - If no alliance has a majority, the Governor may invite the single largest party, provided it can demonstrate majority support through alliances or backing from other legislators.
• Supreme Court’s View on Minority Governments - In the S.R. Bommai case, the Supreme Court of India clarified that the Constitution does not require the ruling party to independently hold a majority. What matters is whether the government enjoys the confidence of the Legislative Assembly.
• Third Preference: Post-Poll Alliances - The next option is a post-election alliance formed after results are declared. Such coalitions are constitutionally valid if they can demonstrate majority support in the House.
• Rise of Coalition Politics - The Court recognised that post-poll alliances among ideologically compatible parties have become common in India’s coalition-era politics and are legitimate means of forming governments.
• Recent debates have focused on concerns that Governors may misuse discretionary powers, including recommendations for President’s Rule, to advance the political interests of the ruling party at the Centre.

Floor Test as a Measure of Majority

• Critics have argued that Governor Rajendra Arlekar’s insistence on physical letters of support has delayed government formation.
• A petition before the Supreme Court contends that the Governor is constitutionally bound to invite C. Joseph Vijay to form the government and then require him to prove majority through a floor test in the Assembly.
• Supreme Court’s Evolving Position
  • Although the S. R. Bommai case initially suggested that floor tests were mainly for testing whether an incumbent government had lost majority support.
  • Later, Supreme Court judgments increasingly treated floor tests as the most objective and transparent method of determining legislative confidence.
  • Successive rulings have stressed that the people’s electoral mandate should not depend solely on the Governor’s personal discretion and that majority claims should ideally be tested on the Assembly floor.

Instances Where Floor Tests Protected Constitutional Governance

• Over the years, the Supreme Court of India has increasingly treated the floor test as the most reliable method for determining majority support and ensuring stable government formation in States.
• Goa Political Crisis (2017)
  • In 2017, the Court allowed Manohar Parrikar of the Bharatiya Janata Party to be sworn in as Chief Minister despite the Congress being the single largest party.
  • However, the Court reduced the time given to prove majority from 15 days to 48 hours and ordered an immediate floor test, which Parrikar successfully won.
• Karnataka Political Crisis (2018)
  • In 2018, the Governor invited B. S. Yediyurappa to form the government and granted him 15 days to prove majority.
  • After a challenge by the Congress–JD(S) alliance, the Supreme Court shortened the deadline to 24 hours and directed that the floor test be conducted openly under live television coverage rather than through a secret ballot.
  • Yediyurappa resigned before the trust vote.
• Assembly Floor Over Governor’s Discretion
  • The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasised that legislative majority must be tested in the Assembly and not determined solely by the Governor’s subjective assessment.
  • According to the Court, the Legislative House — not the Raj Bhavan — is where democratic legitimacy must ultimately be established.

Why in news?

Pixxel, a Bengaluru-based satellite imaging company, has partnered with Sarvam to launch India’s first orbital data centre satellite, named Pathfinder.

Scheduled for launch in late 2026, the 200-kg-class satellite will combine datacentre-grade graphics processing units (GPUs) with Pixxel’s hyperspectral imaging technology, enabling advanced space-based data processing and AI applications.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About Orbital Data Centre
• Why Global Firms Are Interested in Orbital Data Centres?
• Challenges Facing Orbital Data Centres
• Pixxel–Sarvam Partnership for the Pathfinder Mission
• Can Space-Based Data Centres Become Cheaper Than Ground Systems

About Orbital Data Centre

• An orbital data centre is a network or constellation of satellites equipped with powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) similar to those used in terrestrial data centres.
• Unlike traditional satellites that mainly transmit data back to Earth, orbital data centres can process data and run artificial intelligence models directly in space.
• The concept extends the idea of edge computing, where computation happens close to the source of data generation instead of relying entirely on centralised cloud systems.
• In space, this allows faster and more efficient data analysis onboard satellites.
• Pathfinder as a Demonstration Mission
  • Pixxel’s Pathfinder is being developed as a single-satellite demonstrator to test whether data centre-grade hardware can operate reliably in the harsh conditions of low Earth orbit.
  • The project aims to evaluate the performance of advanced computing systems in space, especially under extreme heat and radiation conditions encountered in orbit.

Why Global Firms Are Interested in Orbital Data Centres?

• Rising Pressure on Earth-Based Data Centres - Growing demand from artificial intelligence has increased pressure on terrestrial data centres, which face constraints related to energy, land, water availability, and regulatory requirements.
• Advantage of Continuous Solar Power - In space, satellites can access near-continuous solar energy, offering a potentially abundant and uninterrupted power source. Supporters see this as a major advantage for running energy-intensive computing systems in orbit.
• Reducing Data Transmission Burden
  • Earth observation satellites generate massive volumes of image and sensor data.
  • Processing this information directly in orbit and transmitting only the final results can significantly reduce data transfer costs and communication bottlenecks.
• Strategic Competition Among Tech Companies
  • Major global technology and space firms are increasingly exploring orbital computing as a future strategic sector.
  • Elon Musk has suggested that advanced satellites and reusable rockets could support large-scale orbital computing infrastructure in the coming years.
  • Companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Microsoft through Azure Space, and Lonestar Data Holdings have already initiated pilot projects, although commercial-scale orbital data centres are yet to be achieved.

Challenges Facing Orbital Data Centres

• Heat Management in Space - Although space is extremely cold, its vacuum prevents convection — the natural process through which heat is carried away on Earth. As a result, powerful GPU chips used in orbital data centres can overheat easily.
• Radiative Cooling Systems - To manage heat, satellites must use specialised cooling systems that circulate heat through ammonia-filled loops to external panels, which then radiate the heat into space as infrared energy.
• Radiation Damage - Cosmic radiation poses another major challenge. High-energy particles can cause “bit flips,” where computer data changes unexpectedly, and can gradually damage semiconductor components over time.
• Limitations of Space-Grade Hardware - Radiation-hardened chips used in spacecraft are generally less advanced than commercial GPUs on Earth, creating performance limitations for space-based computing systems.
• Power Storage Constraints - Orbital systems rely heavily on solar energy, but they must also store sufficient power for periods when satellites pass through Earth’s shadow and sunlight is unavailable.
• Maintenance Difficulties - Repair and maintenance in orbit are extremely difficult without robotic servicing systems. Therefore, orbital data centres must be built with strong redundancy and backup mechanisms from the beginning to ensure reliability.

Pixxel–Sarvam Partnership for the Pathfinder Mission

• Pixxel will design, build, launch, and operate the Pathfinder mission, while Sarvam will provide the artificial intelligence infrastructure and language models.
• The satellite will use onboard GPUs to run AI models for both training and inference directly in space, reducing dependence on Earth-based data centres.
• Pixxel’s hyperspectral imaging camera will also be installed on the satellite. This will allow images captured in orbit to be processed in orbit itself, with only analysed results transmitted back to Earth.

Can Space-Based Data Centres Become Cheaper Than Ground Systems

• At present, operating data-processing infrastructure in space is more expensive than running similar hardware on Earth.
• According to Pixxel, a single satellite carrying GPUs costs significantly more than a comparable terrestrial setup.
• Supporters of orbital data centres believe costs could eventually decline due to:
  • deployment of large satellite constellations,
  • reduced launch costs through reusable rockets like Starship, and
  • lower long-term expenses related to cooling and electricity in orbit.
• Independent studies and space agencies remain more cautious.
• While limited edge computing in orbit is considered feasible in the near term, replacing conventional cloud infrastructure is widely viewed as a much longer-term possibility, potentially requiring 10–30 years.

About Western Disturbances:

• They are extratropical storm systems that form over the Mediterranean Sea and travel eastwards towards the Indian subcontinent.
• They carry moisture-laden air and interact with the subtropical jet stream, influencing weather conditions over vast regions, including parts of Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
• Western Disturbances primarily affect India during the winter months, from November to March.
• They bring crucial rainfall and snowfall, vital for the Rabi crop season, especially in northwestern India, including Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi.

Why is it named Western Disturbances?

• Western Disturbances are named so because of their origin and movement patterns.
• These weather systems originate from the western regions of the Earth, specifically from the Mediterranean region.
• As they form over the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent areas, they are referred to as Western Disturbances.
• The term “disturbance” indicates the disruptive nature of these weather systems as they travel eastwards from their origin towards the Indian subcontinent and beyond.
• While they are called Western Disturbances in India, similar weather phenomena may be referred to by different names in other regions of the world, depending on their origin and impact. 

About Panna Tiger Reserve:

• Situated in the Vindhyan mountain range in the northern part of Madhya Pradesh, the reserve is spread over the Panna and Chhatarpur districts.
• It is the only tiger reserve in the entire Bundhelkhand region.
• It falls in biogeographic zones of the Deccan Peninsula and the Biotic Province of the Central highlands.
• Landscape:
  • It is characterized by a ‘Table Top’ topography.
  • The terrain here consists of extensive plateaus and gorges.
  • Two plateaus run parallel to each other from southwest to northeasterly direction.
• River: Flowing from the south to the north through the reserve is the River Ken.
• The reserve is also dotted with two-thousand-year-old rock paintings.
• The region surrounding the reserve is home to various indigenous tribes, each with its distinct culture and traditions. The Baiga and Gond tribes are among the prominent ones.
• Flora:
  • The dominant vegetation type is dry deciduous forest interspersed with grassland areas.
  • It forms the northernmost tip of the natural teak forests and the easternmost tip of the natural Anogeissus pendula (Kardhai) forests.
  • The tree species Acacia catachu dominates the dry, steep slopes of the plateaus here.
• Fauna:
  • It supports a sizable population of Tiger, Sloth Bear, Leopard, and Striped Hyena.
  • Other prominent carnivores are Jackal, Wolf, Wild Dog, Jungle Cat, and Rusty Spotted Cat.
  • It is also a haven for birdlife. Notable sightings include the white-necked stork, bar-headed goose, honey buzzard, blossom-headed parakeet, paradise flycatcher, slaty-headed scimitar babbler, and five species of vultures.