16 September 2024, The Hindu
‘One nation, one election will be implemented in the current term of Modi govt.’
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GS 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
- The concept of simultaneous elections for Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, referred to as “One Nation, One Election” will be implemented within the current term of the Narendra Modi government, sources said, hoping for support from political parties across the board, especially partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The census exercise, not undertaken since 2011, will also begin soon, senior government sources said.
- The issue of simultaneous elections was highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi within a few months of coming to power in 2014, and a committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind also looked into the issue in the previous term of the Modi government. It recommended simultaneous elections for the Parliament and Assemblies, followed by local body elections within 100 days. Mr. Modi had reiterated his government’s commitment to the move in his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, appealing to all political parties to contribute this decision.
‘Confession of crime, SC order reduced CM to ceremonial Minister’
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GS 2: Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure
- The BJP on Sunday termed Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to quit as the Delhi Chief Minister a “drama”, saying the move was propelled by his conditional bail as the Supreme Court order restricted his powers and reduced him to a “ceremonial Minister from a CM”.
- Granting the CM regular bail in a corruption case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, the top court had barred him from visiting his office and signing official files unless it was necessary to seek approval from the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor.
A human touch to India’s mineral ecosystem
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GS 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
- In the year 2014, the higher judiciary turned the spotlight on the allotment of coal blocks with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India’s report of 2012 focusing on the allocation of coal blocks between 2004 and 2009.
- In 2015, the Narendra Modi government amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act mandating auctions. As a part of the Bill, the government created a new body in the form of a District Mineral Foundation (DMF) where licensees and leaseholders pay the DMF a certain amount of the royalty. This was driven by the Prime Minister’s firm belief that local communities are the key stakeholders in the nation’s natural resource-led development.
Realising the rural-urban continuum
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GS 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
- This century is supposed to be India’s urban century due not only to massive demographic shifts, with the country soon becoming more urban than rural, but also to the demand for the infrastructure required to support these large shifts. These demographic changes are occurring in Tier II and Tier III cities, as well as the peripheries of major urban centres and urban agglomerations. India addresses challenges by viewing them as either rural or urban; it needs to instead look at them as part of an urban-rural continuum.
A crucial election in Sri Lanka
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GS 2: India and its neighborhood- relations
- Sri Lanka will go to the polls on September 21 and the campaign has intensified with barely a week left. The election marks the first opportunity citizens will have to choose their leader, after they ousted former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, at the height of a crushing economic downturn two years ago. The crisis, which triggered unprecedented mass protests, was the worst the island nation has seen since Independence in 1948. Besides booting out Mr. Gotabaya, the Janatha Aragalaya (Sinhala term for people’s struggle) sought to shake up the country’s establishment with a loud cry for “system change”. After Mr. Gotabaya fled the country and quit office, senior politician Ranil Wickremesinghe took his place through a parliamentary vote that he won with the support of the Rajapaksas’ party, which still holds a majority in the legislature.
Karnataka Governor seeks details of sanction given for prosecution of officials
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GS 2: Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure
- In the ongoing tiff between the Congress Government led by Siddaramaiah and the Raj Bhavan, the Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has fired another salvo against the State Government by seeking details of prosecution sanction given by State Government against officials facing corruption charges since May 2023.
- In a communique to the Chief Secretary Shalini Rajaneesh on September 5, the Governor sought to know prosecution sanction given by the State Government based on the request of the Lokayukta that is probing charges of corruption against the officials.
India sends supplies to typhoon-hit Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam
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GS 2: India and its neighborhood- relations
- India launched Operation Sadbhav to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) to Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam that have been hit by severe flooding caused by Typhoon Yagi. India has committed $1mn worth of flood relief assistance to Vietnam and $1,00,000 worth of assistance to Laos, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced. Following this, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have swung into action deploying ships and aircraft to ferry the assistance.
- “Demonstrating our solidarity with the people affected by Typhoon Yagi, India is dispatching aid to Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos. Ten tonnes of aid, including dry ration, clothing and medicines left for Myanmar onboard INS Satpura on September 15. IAF is carrying 35 tonnes of aid comprising water purification items, water containers, blankets, kitchen utensils, solar lanterns for Vietnam. Ten tonnes of aid comprising genset, water purification items, hygiene supplies, mosquito nets, blankets and sleeping bags sent for Laos,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on social media ‘X’.
SpaceX’s private astronaut mission returns home safely
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Prelims: Current events of national and international affairs
Bangladesh seeks U.S. assistance to implement interim govt.’s reforms
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GS 2: India and its neighborhood- relations
- Bangladesh on Sunday (September 15, 2024) sought assistance from the United States to implement the reform-related agenda of the interim government. Chief Adviser Prof Mohammed Yunus conveyed the requirements of the interim government to a multiagency delegation led by U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Finance and Development Brent Neiman and Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asia Donald Lu.
- Mr. Yunus briefed the visiting U.S. delegation about the prevailing scenario in Bangladesh since the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government fell following protests stemming from a student-people uprising. He said the interim government had constituted six commissions to reform various segments of the Bangladeshi state such as the judiciary, the police, the election commission and the constitution apart from launching an anti-corruption team. The visit is being keenly watched as it is the first high-level delegation from the U.S. visiting Bangladesh after the fall of Sheikh Hasina, who was widely known to be critical of the U.S. administration.
