Author: instakas

Simultaneous Election Bill

Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance

Context

• The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on ‘One Nation, One Election’ has said that simultaneous elections can save nearly 7 lakh crore rupees, improve governance efficiency and increase India’s GDP growth by up to 1.6%.

Background

• To introduce simultaneous elections, the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were introduced in Lok Sabha in 2024.

Key Features of the Bills

• Bodies Responsible: The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 empowers the Election Commission to conduct elections for Lok Sabha and all State Assemblies together (referred to as simultaneous elections).
• The Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 extends this framework to Union Territory (UT) Assemblies.
• Commencement of simultaneous elections: The terms of all State and Union Territory Assemblies constituted after the date of the notification will expire with the expiry of the full term of Lok Sabha.
• Hence, elections to Lok Sabha and all State and UT Assemblies thereafter will be conducted together.
• Premature dissolution of Lok Sabha or Assemblies: If Lok Sabha or a State/UT Assembly is dissolved sooner than its full term of five years, a fresh election will be held for a term equal to the remainder of the five-year term.
• This will synchronise elections for Lok Sabha and all Assemblies every five years.
• Deferring a state election: If the Election Commission is of the opinion that the election for a particular State Assembly cannot be held as part of the simultaneous elections, it may make a recommendation to the President in this regard.
• Thereafter, the President may issue an order to conduct election for that State Assembly at a later date.
• The UT Laws Amendment Bill does not have such provisions.

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)@2047 Roadmap

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

In News

• NITI Aayog has launched DPI@2047 for Viksit Bharat, a roadmap for India’s next phase of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) aimed at driving inclusive and productivity-led growth.

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)

• It refers to foundational digital systems that are accessible, secure, and interoperable, supporting essential public services.
• India’s Digital Public Infrastructure began with the JAM trinity—Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar identity, and mobile connectivity—which linked citizens directly to government systems.
• Significance – This enabled direct transfer of welfare benefits, reducing intermediaries, delays, and leakages, and laid the foundation for India’s broader digital transformation.

Importance of DPI

• Governance Efficiency: DPI Enables direct benefit transfers, subsidy delivery, and e-governance platforms, reducing leakages and corruption.
• Financial Inclusion: UPI has transformed payments, now operational in 8 countries, supporting cross-border transactions.
• Economic Growth: India is the world’s 3rd-largest digitalised economy, with digital platforms embedded in daily economic and social life.

Key Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and digital solutions are as follows

• Aadhaar – A biometric-based digital identity platform that enables unique identification and authentication of residents for efficient service delivery.
• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – A real-time digital payment system enabling instant, interoperable, and secure person-to-person and merchant transactions.
• UPI is now active in 8 countries, improving cross-border payments, remittances, and financial inclusion, and strengthening India’s fintech influence globally.
• CoWIN – A digital platform for end-to-end management of vaccination services, including registration, scheduling, and certification.
• API Setu – A platform that enables secure and standardized sharing of government data and services through APIs.
• DigiLocker – A digital document wallet that allows citizens to store, access, and share authenticated electronic documents.
• Aarogya Setu – A digital health application providing risk assessment, health advisories, and access to health-related services.
• Government e-Marketplace (GeM) – An online platform for transparent and efficient procurement of goods and services by government entities.
• UMANG – A unified mobile and web platform providing single-window access to a wide range of government services.
• DIKSHA – A national digital platform supporting teachers and learners with e-content, training, and academic resources.
• e-Sanjeevani – A telemedicine platform enabling remote doctor-to-patient consultations, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
• e-Hospital – A hospital management system providing online registration, appointments, diagnostics, a nd billing services.
• e-Office – A digital platform for paperless governance enabling electronic file management and decision-making in government offices.
• eCourts – A mission-mode project for digitising court processes and improving access to judicial services.
• POSHAN Tracker – A mobile-based application for real-time monitoring of nutrition service delivery under ICDS.
• National Non-Communicable Diseases Platform (NCD) – A digital platform for screening, diagnosis, and management of major non-communicable diseases.
• Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) – A unified digital platform integrating skilling, training, and employment-related services.
• Public Financial Management System (PFMS) – A platform for end-to-end monitoring of government funds and direct benefit transfers.
• PM GatiShakti – A GIS-based digital platform for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure projects.

Anti-Defection Law

Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance

Context

• More than two-thirds of the MPs of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Rajya Sabha have decided to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party, raising questions around the application of the anti-defection law.

Anti-defection law

• Aaya Ram Gaya Ram was a phrase that became popular in Indian politics after a Haryana MLA Gaya Lal changed his party thrice within the same day in 1967.
• The anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule of the Constitution) was inserted by the 52nd Amendment in 1985 to prevent political defections.
• Constitutional Disqualifications [Articles 102(1) & 191(1)]: A person shall be disqualified if he/she:

1. Holds an office of profit under the Central or State Government;
2. Is of unsound mind, as declared by a competent court;
3. Is an undischarged insolvent;
4. Is not a citizen of India, or has acquired citizenship of a foreign State, or shows allegiance to a foreign State;
5. Is disqualified under any law made by Parliament.

Features of the Anti-Defection Law

• Disqualification on ground of defection: A legislator belonging to a political party will be disqualified if he: (i) voluntarily gives up his party membership, or (ii) votes/abstains to vote in the House contrary to the direction issued by his political party.
• A member is not disqualified if he has taken prior permission of his party, or if the voting or abstention is condoned by the party within 15 days.
• Independent members will be disqualified if they join a political party after getting elected to the House. Nominated members will be disqualified if they join any political party six months after getting nominated.
• The decision to disqualify a member from the House rests with the Chairman/Speaker of the House.

Exceptions

• The Tenth Schedule originally provided for two exceptions that would not render the members liable for disqualification.
• One-third members of the ‘legislature party’ split to form a separate group.
• Merger of their ‘political party’ with another party that is approved by two-third members of its ‘legislature party’.
• However, the first exception (one-third split) was removed in 2003 to strengthen the law.

Supreme Court Judgments

• Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu (1992): The decisions of the Speaker regarding disqualification under the Tenth Schedule (Anti-defection Law) are subject to judicial review by the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
• Keisham Meghachandra Singh v. Speaker, Manipur (2020): The Supreme Court set a clear outer limit of three months for the Speaker to decide on a disqualification petition.

Prevention of Insults To National Honour Act, 1971

Syllabus: GS2/ Polity and Governance

Context

• The Union Cabinet gave the go-ahead to amend The Prevention of Insults To National Honour Act, 1971.

About

• Aim: To make any insult or obstruction to the singing of National Song Vande Mataram a punishable offence.
• At present, insults to the National Anthem, the National Flag and the Constitution of India is mentioned in the 1971 Act and is punishable by an imprisonment of up to three years or a fine or both.

Vande Mataram

• Vande Mataram was composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in Sanskrit and first appeared in the novel Anandamath in 1882.
• Anandamath is set against the backdrop of the 1769–73 Bengal famine and the Sanyasi Rebellion.
• First sung by Rabindranath Tagore at the 1896 Indian National Congress session gave it national exposure.
• During the Swadeshi Movement of 1905, Vande Mataram emerged as the anthem of civil resistance.
• Vande Mataram, as a political slogan, was first used on 7 August 1905.
• National Song: On 24 January 1950, the Vande Mataram was adopted as India’s National Song.

Constitutional Provisions

• Article 51A(a) Fundamental Duties: Mandates every citizen to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem.
• Absence of Explicit Constitutional Protection: Unlike the national anthem, Vande Mataram is not explicitly protected by any constitutional provision.
• Its status flows from Constituent Assembly resolutions, not from enforceable constitutional text.

Water Hyacinth Livelihood Initiative in Assam

Syllabus: GS3/ Environment

Context

• A livelihood initiative supported by the International Rhino Foundation has enabled women living near the Laokhowa-Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam to convert invasive water hyacinth into marketable household products.

Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes or Pontederia crassipes)

• It is a free-floating, perennial aquatic plant native to tropical and subtropical South America.
• It is widely recognized as one of the world’s most aggressive Invasive Alien Species (IAS).
• It is famously referred to as the “Terror of Bengal” in India due to its devastating ecological and economic footprint.

Laokhowa-Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary (LBWLS)

• Location – Situated on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra River in Assam
• Ecological Connectivity: Strategically nestled between Kaziranga National Park to the east and Orang National Park to the west.
• Vegetation – A mosaic of wet alluvial grasslands, riparian forests, moist deciduous woods, and significant wetland systems (like the Rowmari-Donduwa wetland complex).
• Keystone Species: Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros, Royal Bengal Tiger, Asian elephant, and Asiatic water buffalo.

PM Modi Receives Agricola Medal

Syllabus: GS2/ International Relations

Context

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the prestigious Agricola Medal by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at its headquarters in Rome, Italy.
• The medal was presented by FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu.

About Agricola Medal

• The Agricola Medal is the highest honour conferred by the Director-General of the FAO.
• The medal is named after Georgius Agricola, a German scholar widely considered the “father of mineralogy” and a pioneer in agricultural and mining sciences.
• It is awarded to distinguished world leaders and individuals for exceptional and long-term contributions to global food security, sustainable agriculture, poverty reduction and improved nutrition.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

• FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve food security.
• It was founded on 16 October 1945.
• Members: The FAO comprises 195 members, including 194 countries and the European Union.
• Headquarters: Rome, Italy.

PRAGATI 2026 Exercise

Syllabus: GS3/Defence

Context

• The multilateral military exercise PRAGATI 2026 commenced at Umroi Military Station in Meghalaya.

PRAGATI

• Abbreviation – Partnership of Regional Armies for Growth and Transformation in the Indian Ocean Region.
• Participating countries – India, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam.
• Significance – The exercise will focus on counter-terrorism operations in semi-mountainous and jungle terrain.

Zwan-Wolf Effect

Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology

Context

• A recent study published in Nature Communications has provided evidence of the Zwan-Wolf effect at Mars using data from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft.

Zwan-Wolf Effect

• The Zwan-Wolf effect is a space weather phenomenon where electrically charged particles (plasma) are compressed and squeezed along magnetic field lines when a planet’s magnetic boundary interacts with the solar wind.
• First identified in 1976 by scientists B.J. Zwan and R.A. Wolf.

Significance of Discovery

• Mars lacks a strong global magnetic field unlike the Earth.
• The discovery shows that even relatively “unmagnetised” planets can experience complex magnetic interactions.

MAVEN Mission

• MAVEN stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission.
• It is a NASA mission launched in 2013 to study the Martian atmosphere and its interaction with the solar wind.
• The mission investigates how Mars lost much of its atmosphere and water over time.

Connect with the basics – Mars

• It is the fourth planet from the Sun
• It is the second-smallest planet in the Solar System.
• Mars is about half the size of Earth.
• Rotation period – Its rotation period is 6 hours, which is very similar to that of Earth (23.9 hours).
• Red Planet – The reason Mars looks reddish is due to oxidation or rusting of iron in the rocks, and dust of Mars. Hence it is also called the Red Planet.
• Moon of Mars – Phobos and Deimos

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mangalyaan

• Launched from – Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh
• Launched by – It was launched by Indian Space Research Organisation in November 2013.
• Rocket used – PSLV C-25 rocket
• Objective – To study Martian surface and mineral composition as well as scan its atmosphere for methane (an indicator of life on Mars).

India Backs Ethiopia’s WTO Entry

Syllabus: GS2/IR

Context

• India and Ethiopia signed a bilateral accession protocol in Geneva as part of Ethiopia’s process of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO).

World Trade Organization (WTO)

• Mandate – It is the only global international organization responsible for regulating and facilitating trade between nations.
• Established on – January 1, 1995, as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which had governed global trade since 1948.
• Member countries- 166 representing over 98% of global trade
• Headquartered in – Geneva, Switzerland.

Myopia Pandemic

Syllabus: GS2/Health

Context

• By 2050, approximately 4.75 billion people,nearly half the world’s population, are expected to be myopic.
• The prevalence of myopia among urban children in India has increased from 4.44% in 1999 to 21.15% in 2019 and is projected to rise to nearly 48% by 2050.

Myopia

• It is primarily a refractive condition caused by excessive axial elongation of the eye.
• In a myopic eye, the axial length, which is the distance between the front and back of the eye, becomes too long.
• As a result, incoming light rays focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it, causing distant objects to appear blurred.
• Concerns: As the axial length of the eye increases, the tissues of the eye, including the sclera, choroid, and retina, undergo stretching and thinning. This increases the risk of retinal detachment, myopic macular degeneration, glaucoma, and early cataract formation.
• High myopia, generally defined as a refractive error of −6 dioptres or greater, is associated with potentially irreversible visual impairment and blindness.
• Prevention: Research suggests that more outdoor time may help reduce progression risk.
• Regular eye exams are important, especially in school-age children.

BHAVYA Scheme

Syllabus: GS2/Government Schemes

Context

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has released the operational guidelines for implementation of the BHAVYA Scheme.

Bharat Audyogik Vikas Yojna (BHAVYA)

• Aim: To create 100 “future ready” industrial parks that will integrate with the PM GatiShakti programme so that they can avail of that programme’s multi-modal connectivity and last-mile access.
• These parks will set new benchmarks in industrial infrastructure, ensuring reliability, reducing inefficiencies, and enhancing productivity across sectors.
• Land Use: Industrial parks ranging from 100 to 1,000 acres will be taken up for the development.
• Funding: While the Central government will provide funding of up to Rs 1 crore per acre, the scheme is meant to include the involvement of the respective State governments as well as the private sector.
• Infrastructure: Core infrastructure like internal roads, underground utilities, drainage, common treatment facilities, ICT and administrative systems.
• The National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (NICDC), under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, will play a key role in implementing the initiative.
• The scheme duration would be for six years starting in 20526-27.

Additional Information –  PM GatiShakti

• It was launched in – 2021
• Objective – to enhance the country’s infrastructure and promote seamless connectivity across various sectors.
• Significance – It is a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development which is driven by seven engines – railway, roads, ports, waterways, airports, mass transport and logistics infrastructure.
• Implementation: PM Gati Shakti will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc.

International Booker Prize

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

Context

• The International Booker Prize completed a decade in its present form in 2026.

International Booker Prize

• Establishment: Originally set up in 2005 as the Man Booker International Prize.
• It is a prestigious literary award presented annually for a single work of fiction translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland.
• Prize Value: £50,000, which is split equally between the author and the translator.
• Shortlisted authors and translators each receive £2,500.Core
• Objective: To promote global fiction and elevate the critical, historically invisible role of translators.

Additional Information – Comparison: Booker Prize vs. International Booker Prize