KARTHIKEYA IAS ACADEMY

Transcription

1 Loksabha cleared Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017 Lok Sabha has passed Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to extend the facility of proxy voting to overseas Indians, on the lines of service voters.the Bill seeks to amend Representation of People Act (RPA), 1950 and Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951 to allow for proxy voting and make certain provisions of these Acts gender-neutral. Highlights of the Bill: The Bill proposes to allow non-resident Indians (NRIs) to emerge as a decisive force in the country s electoral politics on their own terms. The amendment paves the way to remove an unreasonable restriction posed by Section 20A of the Representation of the People Act, which requires overseas electors to be physically present in their electoral constituencies to cast their votes. What necessitated this move? Section 20A of the Act provides for registration and inclusion of overseas electors in the electoral rolls. The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 provide for overseas electors to register themselves in the electoral rolls of their respective constituencies on the basis of self-attested copies of their passport and valid visa, and exercise their franchise in person on production of the original passport at the time of voting at the specified polling booth. This amendment proposes facilitating an external mode of voting, that is, voting by proxy, whereby such electors can exercise their franchise from their places of residence abroad. What is voting by proxy? According to the provisions of Representation of the People Act (Amendment) Bill, 2017 overseas Indians, who are entitled to vote in India, can appoint a proxy voter to cast their votes on their behalf. Also, the overseas Indians would be allowed to use the option of proxy, which till now was only available to service personnel. Drawbacks of the proxy voters: The proxy voter may cast vote for the candidate who is not desired by oversea Indians. There can be no guarantee of NRI voters exercising their vote in a free and fair manner as there can be no check on coercion or inducement by the employers. There is no guarantee that votes would not be sold to the so called proxy. It threatens the very core of democracy as the special treatment violets the fact that there are many times more domestic migrants who also seek to have a voting right at their homes. Q. Which of the following are the features of Representation of Peoples Act 1950 (RPA Act 1950)? 1) Qualification of voters. 2) Preparation of electoral rolls. 3) Delimitation of constituencies. 4) Registration of political parties. CIVILS/GROUPS/BANKS ,

2 5) Administrative machinery for conducting elections. a) 1, 2 and 4 b) 1, 3 and 4 c) 1, 2 and 3 d) 1, 3, 4 and 5 Answer: (c) Representation of Peoples Act 1950 (RPA Act 1950): 1. Qualification of voters. 2. Preparation of electoral rolls. 3. Delimitation of constituencies. 4. Allocation of seats in the Parliament and state legislatures. RPA Act Actual conduct of elections. 2. Administrative machinery for conducting elections. 3. Poll. 4. Election offences. 5. Election disputes. 6. By-elections. 7. Registration of political parties. India s first all-women SWAT team CIVILS/GROUPS/BANKS ,

3 Delhi Police has inducted India s first all-woman Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team for anti- terrorist operations. The all-woman SWAT team is the brainchild of Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik. It was formally inducted by Home Minister Rajnath Singh. Key facts: The maximum numbers of members (13) are from Assam and five each from Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Manipur. The women are trained to handle challenges unique to the capital like climbing multi-storey buildings or carrying out hostage rescue operations at hotels, buses or metro. Have undergone rigorous training of around 15 months from specialists all across India and abroad to handle urban situations as well as jungle operations. These commandos will be stationed at strategic locations in central and south Delhi. Amids intel inputs of women fidayeens planning to target the capital, this all-women unit would helm the security apparatus around Red Fort and India Gate as well. Many of them would be posted in anti- countries do not terror vans called Parakram. The formation of this team is being considered a big achievement as most western have all-women SWAT teams due to the kind of training required to becomee one. They will be deployed at Red Fort and India Gate during the 2018 Independence Day celebrations. Q. India s first all-woman Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team for anti-terrorist operations has been inducted in which state / UT police? a) Telangana police b) U.P police c) Kerala police d) Delhi police Answer: (d) India s first all-woman Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team for anti-terrorist operations has been inducted in Delhi Police. The 36 elite women commandos, hailing from north-eastern states, have undergone rigorous training of around 15 months from specialists all across India and abroad to handle urban situations as well as jungle operations. Their expertise includes unarmed combat, ambush and counter-ambush and urban operations like building interventions, vehicle intervention and VVIP security. CIVILS/GROUPS/BANKS ,

4 PEGylated Streptokinase CSIR-IMTECH and Epygen Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, have entered into an agreement for the latter to develop PEGylated Streptokinase for treatment of Ischemic Stroke. Clot buster? A clot buster is used to break-up the clot that causes a blockage or disruption in the flow of blood to the brain and helps restore the blood flow to the area of the brain. PEGylated Streptokinase It is a new clot buster developedd by at CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH), Chandigarh. It is all set to revolutionize the treatment of ischemic strokes. Ischemic stroke is a condition caused by a dysfunction in the supply of blood to the brain due to emboli, thrombus or atherosclerosis occurring in cerebral arteries. PEGylated Streptokinase, the novel recombinant protein Thrombolytic molecule has been precisely engineered through decades of research for enhanced proteolytic stability. Its advantages are reduced probability of hemorrhage over current treatment regimens of thrombolytic drugs for acute stroke. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research was established by the Government of India in 1942 is an autonomous body that has emerged as the largest research and development organisation in India CIVILS/GROUPS/BANKS ,

5 Q. consider the following statements 1) A clot buster is used to break-up the clot that causes a blockage in the flow of blood to the brain 2) The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research operates as an statutory body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860 Which of the following above statements are correct? a) Only 1 b) Only 2 c) Both 1 and 2 d) None of the above Answer: (a) CSIR-IMTECH and Epygen Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, have entered into an agreement for the latter to develop PEGylated Streptokinase for treatment of Ischemic Stroke. A clot buster is used to break-up the clot that causes a blockage or disruption in the flow of blood to the brain and helps restore the blood flow to the area of the brain. PEGylated Streptokinase It is a new clot buster developedd by at CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH), Chandigarh for the patients suffering from Ischemic stroke. Ischemic stroke is a condition caused by a dysfunction in the supply of blood to the brain due to emboli, thrombus or atherosclerosis occurring in cerebral arteries. PEGylated Streptokinase, the novel recombinant protein Thrombolytic molecule has been precisely engineered through decades of research for enhanced proteolytic stability. CSIR: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research was established by the Government of India in 1942 is an autonomous body that has emerged as the largest research and development organisation in India Although it is mainly funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, it operates as an autonomous body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860 CIVILS/GROUPS/BANKS ,

6 India s first genetic bank for wildlife conservation in Hyderabad India has got its first scientific and most modern national wildlife genetic resource bank where genetic material will be stored for posterity which will further the cause of conservation of endangered and protected animals It is located in Hyderabad at the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangeredd Species (LaCONES), a research wing of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). Key facts: The state-of-the-art bank is equipped with sophisticated equipment to preserve the genetic resources that could be utilised to virtually resurrect an animal species in case it goes extinct. It will cryopreserve living cell lines, gametes and embryos of endangeredd wild animal species in India For cryogenic preservation, researchers at CCMB-LaCONES will use liquid Nitrogen that is cooled down to as low as minus 195 degrees Celsius. The bank that contains genetic resources of about 250 wildlife species. The Genetic Resource Bank will store genetic material of Indian species. It will also help in protecting India s biodiversity and environment. Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES): It is India s only research facility engaged in conservation and preservation of wildlife and its resources. It was established in 1998 with the help of Central Zoo Authority of India, CSIR and the government of Andhra Pradesh. LaCONES has helped the Mouse Deer Conservation Breeding Centre at Nehru Zoological Park to increase the population of mouse deer in Telangana forests. Amrabad forest, for instance, ran out of mouse deer and through the efforts of LaCONES, the animal is now reintroduced in Amrabad Tiger Reserve. CIVILS/GROUPS/BANKS ,

7 Earlier, LaCONES has developed universal DNA based marker for identification of wild animals from parts and remains. It has a DNA banking of more than 250 species of mammals, birds and reptiles. Q. India s first genetic bank for wildlife conservation has been located in which city? a) New Delhi b) Karnataka c) Hyderabad d) Chennai Answer: (c) India has got its first scientific and most modern national wildlife genetic resource bank where genetic material will be stored for posterity which will further the cause of conservation of endangered and protected animals It is located in Hyderabad at the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangeredd Species (LaCONES), a research wing of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). ISRO set to launch its own dedicated TV channel The ISRO is all set for a year-long Vikram Sarabhai centenary celebration starting in August 2019 to honour the visionary scientist and its legendary founding father. In a few months time, it plans to roll out a dedicated ISRO TV channel showcasing space applications, developments and science issues, targeting young viewers and people in remote areas in their language. Television channel will be launched to reach even the rural parts of India on how space programme can benefit the common man and will promote the scientific temper. CIVILS/GROUPS/BANKS ,

8 To be named "ISRO TV", the channel will telecast science programmes and highlight the benefits of the space agency's missions in regional languages as well as English, so thatt it reaches people across the country As it strengthens its public outreach, ISRO will shortly start allowing the public to watch satellite launches from its Sriharikota launch centre. In order to inculcate scientific temper among students, ISRO officials will mentor them for days and allow them to visit ISRO's labs and launch facilities. Selected students of classes 8 to 10 will be the trained at ISRO for a month and taken to various laboratories and centres across the country. Vikram Sarabhai Sarabhai, the architect of the Indian space programme, the first ISRO chief and renowned cosmic ray scientist, was born on August 12, ISRO s tributes to Sarabhai start with naming the first Indian moon landing spacecraft of the Chandrayaan-2 mission Vikram. Note: All missions of the ISRO are important from examination point of view CIVILS/GROUPS/BANKS ,