1 May 2024, The Indian EXPRESS
Turnout figures are in: Under 4 pc point dip in first phase, under 3 pc point in second phase
Page no- 1
GS2- Salient Features of the Representation of People’s Act.
- The final voting figures for the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections are in.
- Amid criticism from Opposition parties over the delay in releasing turnout data, the Election Commission Tuesday announced 66.14% polling for the first phase and 66.71% for the second phase — a drop of just under 4 percentage points for the first phase and under 3 percentage points for the second phase compared to the 2019 elections.
AstraZeneca admits rare side effect of vaccine; benefits outweighed the risk, say Indian experts
Page no-8
GS3- Awareness in the fields of Bio-technology
- Global pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca has admitted that its Covid-19 vaccine, developed by researchers from the Oxford University, can cause a rare side effect of blood clotting and low platelet count after immunisation.
- In India, the same vaccine, called Covishield and manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute, has been administered through 175 crore doses. Understandably, this raises questions as to the safety of the jab all of us took.
Surpassing China, Indians now largest group of foreign students in Germany
Page no-9
GS2- Indian Diaspora
- India has surpassed China as the largest source of international students in Germany, with nearly 43,000 Indian nationals currently enrolled in various colleges and universities in the country.
- The number has doubled in the past five years, with 42,578 Indian students registered in Germany in 2023, according to data shared by officials of the German Embassy in New Delhi.
- Comparatively, the number of Chinese students was 39,137, followed by Syria (15,563), Austria (14,762) and Turkey (14,732).
SC: Art 39(b) shouldn’t be read like there is no protection for pvt rights
Page no-9
GS2- Indian Constitution—Historical Underpinnings, Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure
- A nine-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, which is examining the question whether private property would constitute material resources of the community as appearing in Article 39(b), on Tuesday said that the provision should not be interpreted in such a wide sense that there is no protection for private rights at all.
- “We will be sending a message across because what we write will send a message of what India is and what India aspires to be…We do not want to dilute the constitutional social significance of 39 (b) and (c).
- It’s there for us, given to us. At the same time, we should not be sending a message by interpreting 39(b) in such a wide sense that there is no protection of private rights in the society at all,” Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, presiding over the bench, said, adding “how will we attract private investment if we say that there is no protection of private rights”.
Cautious optimism
Page no-10
GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment
- Last year, the Indian economy fared better than expected. The National Statistical Office’s second advance estimates have pegged growth for the full year at 7.6 per cent.
- As per the International Monetary Fund’s Regional Economic Outlook report, India has been a “source of repeated positive growth surprises”.
- There are expectations of the growth momentum continuing this year as well.
- In its most recent World Economic Outlook, the IMF has upped its growth projections for the country.
- The Fund now expects the Indian economy to grow at 6.8 per cent in 2024-25, up from its earlier projection of 6.5 per cent. The Reserve Bank of India is more optimistic.
Selected to office
Page no-10
GS2- Salient Features of the Representation of People’s Act.
- In the 2019 general election, a total of 5,67,636 electors voted for the first runners-up in the Surat and Indore Lok Sabha constituencies. While BJP candidates won both seats by massive margins (74.5 per cent of the vote in Surat and 65 per cent in Indore), they did so through the competitive, often adversarial, process that is an Indian election.
- Five years on, it could be argued that the BJP candidate from Surat, Mukesh Dalal, has beaten his predecessor’s record: Congress candidate Nilesh Kumbhani’s nomination form was rejected by the District Election Officer after three proposers submitted affidavits saying the signatures on the form were not theirs.
- Other candidates too withdrew, making Dalal the first MP-elect this election cycle.
- The lack of an electoral contest has robbed lakhs of voters in Surat of their franchise.
CISF takes over Parliament security from Delhi Police
Page no-12
GS3- Various Security Forces and Agencies and their Mandate
- From Monday, the CISF personnel replaced the 150 personnel of the Delhi Police, including 54 women personnel, who were deployed for the security of Parliament complex following a security breach on December 13 last year.
- The move was initiated on the request of the Lok Sabha Secretariat who asked the Security unit of the Delhi Police to withdraw its 150 personnel from the Parliament premises.
Why Banks can’t seek LOCs to stop debtors from going abroad
Page no-13
GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- The Bombay High Court has held that public sector banks (PSBs) cannot recommend or request the issuance of Look Out Circulars (LOCs) against loan defaulters and has set aside the provisions of the central government’s Office Memoranda (OM) that empowered PSBs to do so.
- On April 23, a division Bench of Justice Gautam S Patel (who has since retired) and Justice Madhav J Jamdar quashed LOCs issued to restrain PSB debtors from travelling abroad, saying they are “strong-arm tactics” used to get around legal processes, and violative of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
Public investment remains an important driver for India’s growth, says IMF
Page no-15
GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- Public investment remains an important driver for India, making it the world’s fastest growing major economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its latest remarks on the Regional Economic Outlook for Asia and Pacific released Tuesday.
- The IMF also said that headline inflation may see further reductions due to lower energy prices in several economies in the Asia and Pacific region, but food price pressures – especially for rice – may slow headline disinflation in India.
- The IMF had earlier this month raised India’s growth forecast for the financial year 2024-25 to 6.8 per cent from 6.5 per cent earlier and retained the growth forecast for 2025-26 at 6.5 per cent.
- India and the Philippines have been the source of repeated positive growth surprises, supported by resilient domestic demand, the IMF said.
RBI updates guidance note for banks, NBFCs
Page no-15
GS2- Statutory, Regulatory and various Quasi-judicial Bodies
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has updated its “guidance note” on operational risk management for the financial sector, and also extended it to the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), including housing finance companies.
- The 2005 ‘Guidance Note on Management of Operational Risk’ covered only commercial banks.
- The RBI said all regulated entities (REs) in India should implement a robust information and communication technology (ICT) risk management programme in alignment with their operational risk management framework.
