Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
Days ahead of the announcement of the schedule for the upcoming Lok Sabha poll, Election Commissioner Arun Goel resigned on Saturday. His tenure was till 2027.
According to a notification by the Law Ministry, his resignation has been accepted by President Droupadi Murmu with effect from March 9.
With the resignation, the Election Commission has been reduced to just one member — Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey retired in February.
Mr. Goel, a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, joined the EC on November 21, 2022.
States
Kozhikode to get India’s first cooperatives museum (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 1, Culture)
Amul, Indian Coffee House, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO), Kerala Dinesh Beedi: these are brands from diverse sectors with one uniting factor — they are all cooperatives.
These and many others will be showcased at the almost-ready 14-storey International Cooperative Museum (ICM) in the heart of Kozhikode, Kerala.
It will be a destination to learn about India’s cooperative movement that has a history of more than a century.
A ₹150-crore project of Karassery Service Co-operative Bank that began operations in 1994, the museum will be the second of its kind in the world (the first is in Toad Lane, the U.K., set up in 1844).
There are more than 8 lakh cooperatives in India today, with a collective membership of 29 crore. Maharashtra has the maximum number of cooperative societies, at 2.3 lakh, with 5 crore members.
The museum will showcase the success and achievements of cooperative movements in India, especially Kerala. The building will also house a wax museum and an art gallery.
News
‘Bharat Shakti’ to showcase prowess of indigenous defence equipment (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
A firepower demonstration ‘Exercise Bharat Shakti’ will be held on March 12 at the Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan to demonstrate the “prowess” of indigenously manufactured defence equipment of the three Services, the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force, with particular focus on “jointness” and synergy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to witness the demonstration.
“The event will demonstrate the indigenous capability of the three Services through an integrated Tri-Service firepower and manoeuvre exercise for about 50 minutes.
This event will be followed by a static equipment display,” Major General C.S. Mann, Additional Director General of the Army Design Bureau.
Emphasising indigenous weapon systems, Maj. Gen. Mann said the announcement of ‘Make in India’ was a “watershed moment”, wherein the year 2020 brought about a paradigm shift with the launch of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign.
The campaign proved to be a catalyst for transformation in indigenous R&D, adoption of niche technology and establishment of indigenous manufacturing ecosystem, ushering in the manifestation of Bharat’s quest for self-reliance.
This is evident from the fact that the global share in Indian Armed Forces’ capability development projects has steadily declined, whereas the share of domestic component has increased considerably.
Navy demonstrates twin-carrier operations (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constituion)
The first edition of the Naval Commanders’ Conference of 2024 concluded on Friday. The first part of the conference was held at sea on board aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya on March 5 during which the Navy showcased its “twin-carrier operations” with MiG-29K fighter jets taking off simultaneously from both INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, and then landing cross deck. The operations were witnessed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Anil Chauhan.
The remainder of the conference was held in New Delhi. The twin-carrier operations also demonstrate that the first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, has been fully integrated into the operational cycle. The twin operations were followed by a sail by several warships of the Navy.
Science & Tech
Why India urgently needs a legal framework for genomics (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
The last two decades have seen unprecedented advances in genomics. These advancements have come in the background of our ability to sequence, analyse and interpret genomes at an unprecedented scale, along with an emerging and expanding corpus of evidence to act upon the genomic information for healthcare decision making.
As the costs of sequencing continue to plummet, the next decade is expected to see widespread use of genome sequencing in clinical settings.
The population-scale genome programmes currently under way in many large and small countries encompassing millions of genomes would form the foundation and fuel this paradigm shift. This throws open unprecedented new opportunities, as well as significant new challenges.
FAQ
What has France ruled on abortion rights? (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constituion)
In a global first, France inscribed the guaranteed right to abortion in its constitution on March 8 sending a powerful message of solidarity with women’s rights on International Women’s Day.
Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti used a 19th-century printing press to seal the amendment in France’s constitution at a special public ceremony.
The measure was approved at a joint session of Parliament on March 4. The move comes after a rollback of abortion rights in the U.S. in recent times, especially the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn a 50-year-old ruling in Roe versus Wade.
The amendment had already been passed by the National Assembly in January and by the Senate last week. However, final approval by parliamentarians at a joint session was needed to effect constitutional change.
During the voting session, out of the 902 legislators, 780 voted in favour of the reform, 72 voted against it and 50 abstained.
Abortion, although legal in France since 1975, will now be a “guaranteed freedom” for women. Although rare, amending the constitution is not without precedent in France.
The French constitution has been modified nearly 25 times since it was adopted in 1958. The last instance was in 2008 when Parliament was awarded more powers and presidential tenure was limited to a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms in office.
What are the hurdles to fair global trade? (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) held its 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) at Abu Dhabi in the UAE between February 26 and March 2, which was attended by 166 member countries.
At the conclusion of the meeting, a ministerial declaration was adopted that set out a forward-looking, reform agenda for the 30-year-old organisation, which is tasked with overseeing global trade regulations and facilitating smooth cross-border flow of goods, services, investment and people.
The members resolved “to preserve and strengthen the ability of the multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, to provide meaningful impetus to respond to current trade challenges, take advantage of available opportunities, and ensure the WTO’s proper functioning”.
The ministers took a number of decisions, including renewing the commitment to have a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system by 2024 and to improve use of the special and differential treatment (S&DT) provisions for developing and least developed countries (LDCs).
Profiles
A symbol of defiance (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Lying in the waters around the Spratly Islands, a derelict ship at the Second Thomas Shoal has become a symbol of the Philippines’ defiance in the hotly contested South China Sea.
A recent incident in the area, where the Philippines claims that China Coast Guard ships caused two collisions with their boats and water cannoned one of them, has renewed global interest in the flashpoint.
The Philippine vessels were part of a routine mission to deliver provisions to troops stationed on the grounded navy vessel BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal.
The incident happened a day after Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo called on China to “stop harassing us”, defending the country’s strategy of publicising Chinese manoeuvres in the South China Sea.
Business
India to gain higher investments from FTA pact with EFTA (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s gains from the proposed free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, will have to mostly flow from the $100-billion investment and one million jobs promised by the bloc over 15 years, as goods exports may gain minimally due to insignificant existing tariffs, research body Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) indicated in a report.
New Delhi convinced the EFTA countries, which include Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, to weave in commitments on minimum investment flow and job creation keeping in mind that the existing goods tariffs in the bloc are already zero or very low, an official told businessline.
World
Asif Ali Zardari becomes Pakistan’s 14th President (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Asif Ali Zardari was overwhelmingly elected as the 14th President of Pakistan on Saturday, becoming the only civilian President of the coup-prone country for a second time.
Mr. Zardari, the co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party, was the joint candidate of the ruling alliance of the PPP and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).
His rival, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, is the head of his Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP). He was fielded by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and backed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
Mr. Zardari, 68, received 255 votes while his opponent got 119 votes in the National Assembly and the Senate. The new President was elected by the electoral college of the newly elected members of the National Assembly and the four provincial Assemblies, which formed the electoral college.