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Monthly DNA
02 Dec, 2023
33 Min Read
The Tamil Nadu government has installed a statue of Dalit rights and anti-caste activist Iyothee Thass Pandithar in Chennai.
It will unveiled at Gandhi Mandapam on December 1, 2023. He was a prominent Tamil anti-caste activist and practitioner of Siddha medicine.
Panchama are people who do not belong to the Varna system. They are called Avarna communities.
Iyothee Thass Pandithar is also known as the ‘Father of Social Reforms in South India’ and also described as ‘Dravida Peroli’.
Electoral reforms refer to the changes or improvements made to the electoral process to ensure the integrity and transparency of the electoral system. These reforms are necessary to maintain the credibility of the electoral process and to ensure that every vote counts.
Major Challenges In The Indian Electoral System
Criminalization Of Politics
The criminals' motivation for entering politics is to obtain influence and ensure that cases against them are dropped or not pursued. Because of their financial clout, they are able to make it big in politics. Political parties solicit funds from criminals in exchange for political privilege and protection.
Non-serious Candidates In Political Parties
Serious candidates frequently run non-serious candidates in order to cut a significant number of votes from opposing candidates, split votes along caste lines, or have more physical force at polling stations and counting centers.
Election Management Volume
A large number of candidates makes election management difficult for election authorities. The voters are also hampered in identifying their preferred candidates. The sanctity of elections is jeopardized as a result of this. This barrage of irresponsibility must be halted.
Incentives To Entice Voters (Freebies)
Electoral Reforms Before 2010
Electoral Reforms Before 2010
Electoral Reforms After 2010
Measures Taken By ECI For Electoral Reforms
Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS): To allow an applicant to track the progress of his/her application.
Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation Programme (SVEEP): ECI organizes voter awareness campaigns in order to educate the voters.
Measures taken by the Judiciary for electoral reforms
Supreme Court in the following cases recommended various reforms:
Electoral Reforms since 2010
What are the reforms recommended by the Election Commission of India? The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made several recommendations for electoral reforms over the years to improve the electoral process and ensure free and fair elections. Some of the major recommendations are:
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Various Committees On Electoral Reforms
DINESH GOSWAMI COMMITTEE
JEEVAN REDDY COMMITTEE
TARKUNDE COMMITTEE
Postal Ballot
Recently, in Madhya Pradesh, an opposition party confronted election officials for opening the strong room where postal ballots had been stored.
What options are available for voting in India?
What is postal vote ballot?
Features |
Postal Vote Ballot |
Postal ballot voting |
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Applicable to |
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Service voters |
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Special voters |
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Absentee voters |
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Electronically Transmitted Post Ballot System (ETPBS) |
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What is the procedure for storing postal voting ballot system?
What are the issues with postal ballot?
Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) |
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Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial (VVPAT) |
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It is the process by which a country decides to use two currencies the local currency and generally a stronger, more established currency like the US dollar.
Javier Milei, the recent winner of Argentina’s presidential election, has drawn attention for his plan to replace the country’s currency “Peso” with the dollar.
Example- Zimbabwe ran a dollarization test to see if the adoption of foreign currency could reduce high inflation and stabilize its economy.
significance of dollarisation?
3 fully dollarised economies - Ecuador, Panama and El Salvador have had successful economic outcomes following dollarisation.
Types- There are 4 types of dollarization that countries can adopt.
Ecuador model of dollarisation |
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Issues of dollarisation?
Seigniorage is a term that refers to the profit that a government or a central bank makes by issuing money.
De-dollarisation |
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To regulate the output of air pollutants from compression and spark-ignition engines equipment, including motor vehicles.They are in line with the European emission norms with a time lag of 5 years.
Mashelkar committee recommended a roadmap for implementation of Euro norms based on emission standards for India.
About |
Europe Emission Standards |
Bharat Stage Emission Standards |
Origin |
In Europe |
Indian government-instituted emission norms |
Adoption |
1970 |
2000 |
Iterations |
Euro 1, Euro 2, Euro 3, Euro 4, Euro 5, Euro 6 |
BS I, BS II, BS III, BS IV, BS V, BS VI |
Exceptions |
All standards are followed with Euro 6 being the latest |
The government decided to leap directly from BS-IV to BS-VI, due to the time it took to move from BS-III to BS-IV |
Recent news
Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has lifted the stage III measures of Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), allowing BS III petrol and BS IV diesel vehicles to run in Delhi and NCR.
What is Graded Response Action Plan?
Recent policy decisions-
Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) |
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Nagaland tops the list of States India with the highest prevalence (1.61%) of AIDS. At 0.29%, Karnataka’s HIV prevalence rate is higher than the national average of 0.22%.
The WTGF organizes the World Transplant Games (WTG), which are international multi-sport events that take place every two years.
The ships are part of the ASW Shallow Water Craft (CSL) project. The Mahe Class of ships will replace the in-service Abhay class ASW.
Duration - 2024-25 to 2025-2026. Recently PM has renamed it as ‘Namo Drone Didi'.
Focal theme: Emerging Challenges in Healthcare & a Resurgent Ayurveda
UNITAMS supports the promotion and protection of human rights.
On June 13, 2022, the West Bengal government passed a Bill to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister, as the Chancellor of 31 state public universities (such as Calcutta University, Jadavpur University). As per the All India Survey on Higher Education (2019-20) state publi
Vector Borne diseases are the illness caused by the vectors. A vector is a carrier of the causative microbe for various diseases such as mosquitoes, ticks and fleas. The reproduction rates of vectors are influenced by climate and weather. Such diseases are widespread and found throughout the world.
World Elephant Day, observed globally on August 12, is a dedicated observance aimed at raising awareness about the critical challenges confronting elephants and advocating for their protection and conservation. This significant day provides a platform to emphasize the issues elepha
According to the recent United Nations (UN) report, 2023 is set to be the hottest year ever recorded. Published by – World Meteorological Organisation. The final report is due to be published in the 1st half of 2024. Climate chaos – In 2023, Green House Gas (GHG)
Ministry of Jal Shakti to Organize ‘Jal Itihas Utsav’ at Shamsi Talab, Jahaz Mahal in Mehrauli, Delhi recently. Aim - To raise public consciousness about safeguarding water heritage sites, creating a sense of ownership among the masses as well as promote tourism and restorat
HD 110067 is a star with 6 known sub-Neptune exoplanets. The star is located in the constellation Coma Berenices, which is near Virgo in the northern sky. It is about 100 light-years away from Earth. The 6 planets in HD 110067 orbit the star in a rhythmic pattern. The planets form a &quo
Exercise Milan is a biennial naval exercise hosted by the Indian Navy. The exercise includes Professional exercises, Seminars, Social events, Sporting fixtures. The Indian Navy 1st held the exercise in 1995, and has since significantly expanded in scope and scale to become the la
India has the biggest burden of deaths due to snakebites in the world, with most of the cases in rural India. Avoidable Deaths Network (ADN) has set up a hub in an Odisha village to look into lifesaving solutions for snakebites. ADN is a global membership network working on avoiding huma
The Maski rock edict is a minor rock edict of Emperor Ashoka. It was discovered in 1915 by C. Beadon at the archaeological site of Maski in the Raichur district of Karnataka, India. The Maski rock edict is important because it was the 1st edict of Emperor Ashoka to include h
Sri Lanka has recently reached an “agreement in principle” with India and the Paris Club group of creditors including Japan, on a debt treatment plan. The Paris Club is an informal group of creditor nations that work to find sustainable solutions for debtor countries that
India is close to signing an agreement with the United States under which the process for the return of stolen antiquities will be hugely simplified. What is an antiquity? Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972- It defines “antiquity” as Any coin, sculpture, painting, e
According to scientists, North India can tackle smog using eco-friendly farm practices from the South. What is a smog? Smog= Smoke + Fog Photochemical smog- It is called as a Los Angeles smog which is produced when sunlight reacts with nitrogen oxides and at least one volatile o
Recently held 8th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) & 1st Climate Investments and Technology Impact Summit (CITIS) were included in the G20 India events in 2023. India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) Launch – Though started as a one-time event in 2012, it evolved as an an
The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Fast Track Special Court (FTSCs) till March 2026. It is a dedicated court to strengthen the deterrence framework for sexual offenders and to ensure the swift disposal of cases related to rape and the POCSO Act. Launc
The UNESCO report has stressed for mandatory participation of the vulnerable, neglected and marginalised individuals in policy decisions related to climate engineering. It is the intentional large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system to counter climate change. It is also kn
According to experts, if Global Biodiversity Framework Funds (GBFF) fails to find adequate money, countries will have to find more funds domestically. Establishment – It was launched at the 7th Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in Canada in 2023 w
According to the recent quarterly bulletin of Periodic Labour Force Survey, unemployment rate in urban areas has come down. PLFS – It is published by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) since 2017. Objective – To estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators
Skaftareldar It was erupted in 1783 near the Vatnajokull glacier. As a result, 25% of the country’s population died at the time. Grimsvotn It is the most active volcano in Iceland. At the time of its eruption, it was the larg
India and Indonesia were the top 2 beneficiaries of the European Union’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) schemes for exports in 2022. In 2023, however, the situation is expected to change significantly as some of the largest recipients of GSP benefits, including several sectors fr
It is India’s premium Cotton in the world cotton Trade. It is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Textiles, the Cotton Corporation of India, Trade Bodies & Industry. The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) has been designated as the implementing agency for Traceab
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