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Current Affairs 16/3/24

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  1. Indian Heritage
  • Culture
  • Modern Indian history
  • The Freedom Struggle
  • Post-independence
  • Indian Society

A. population and associated issues

B. poverty and developmental issues

C.urbanization

   7. Geographical features

8.Indian Constitution

9. Polity

ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA GENERAL ELECTIONS – 2024

MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE GUIDANCE OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND CANDIDATES

I. General Conduct

  1. No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.
  2. Criticism of other political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work. Parties and Candidates shall refrain from criticism of all aspects of private life, not connected with the public activities of the leaders or workers of other parties. Criticism of other parties or their workers based on unverified allegations or distortion shall be avoided.
  3. There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Mosques, Churches, Temples or other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election propaganda.
  4. All parties and candidates shall avoid scrupulously all activities which are “corrupt practices” and offences under the election law, such as bribing of voters, intimidation of voters, impersonation of voters, canvassing within 100 meters of polling stations, holding public meetings during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the close of the poll, and the transport and conveyance of voters to and from polling station.
  5. The right of every individual for peaceful and undisturbed home-life shall be respected, however much the political parties or candidates may resent his political opinions or activities. Organizing demonstrations or picketing before the houses of individuals by way of protesting against their opinions or activities shall not be resorted to under any circumstances.
  6. No political party or candidate shall permit its or his followers to make use of any individual’s land, building, compound wall etc., without his permission for erecting flag-staffs, suspending banners, pasting notices, writing slogans etc.
  7. Political parties and candidates shall ensure that their supporters do not create obstructions in or break up meetings and processions organized by other parties. Workers or sympathisers of one political party shall not create disturbances at public meetings organized by another political party by putting questions orally or in writing or by distributing leaflets of their own party. Processions shall not be taken out by one party along places at which meetings are held by another party. Posters issued by one party shall not be removed by workers of another party.

II. Meetings

  1. The party or candidate shall inform the local police authorities of the venue and time any proposed meeting Well in time so as to enable the police to make necessary arrangements for controlling traffic and maintaining peace and order.
  2. A Party or candidate shall ascertain in advance if there is any restrictive or prohibitory order in force in the place proposed for the meeting if such orders exist, they shall be followed strictly. If any exemption is required from such orders, it shall be applied for and obtained well in time.
  3. If permission or license is to be obtained for the use of loudspeakers or any other facility in connection with any proposed meeting, the party or candidate shall apply to the authority concerned well in advance and obtain such permission or license.
  4. Organizers of a meeting shall invariably seek the assistance of the police on duty for dealing with persons disturbing a meeting or otherwise attempting to create disorder. Organizers themselves shall not take action against such persons.

III. Procession

  1. A Party or candidate organizing a procession shall decide before hand the time and place of the starting of the procession, the route to be followed and the time and place at which the procession will terminate. There shall ordinary be no deviation from the programme.
  2. The organizers shall give advance intimation to the local police authorities of the programme so as to enable the letter to make necessary arrangement.
  3. The organizers shall ascertain if any restrictive orders are in force in the localities through which the procession has to pass, and shall comply with the restrictions unless exempted specially by the competent authority. Any traffic regulations or restrictions shall also be carefully adhered to.
  4. The organizers shall take steps in advance to arrange for passage of the procession so that there is no block or hindrance to traffic. If the procession is very long, it shall be organized in segments of suitable lengths, so that at convenient intervals, especially at points where the procession has to pass road junctions, the passage of held up traffic could be allowed by stages thus avoiding heavy traffic congestion.
  5. Processions shall be so regulated as to keep as much to the right of the road as possible and the direction and advice of the police on duty shall be strictly complied with.
  6. If two or more political parties or candidates propose to take processions over the same route or parts thereof at about the same time, the organizers shall establish contact well in advance and decide upon the measures to be taken to see that the processions do not clash or cause hindrance to traffic. The assistance of the local police shall be availed of for arriving at a satisfactory arrangement. For this purpose the parties shall contact the police at the earliest opportunity.
  7. The political parties or candidates shall exercise control to the maximum extent possible in the matter of processionists carrying articles which may be put to misuse by undesirable elements especially in moments of excitement.
  8. The carrying of effigies purporting to represent member of other political parties or their leaders, burning such effigies in public and such other forms demonstration shall not be countenanced by any political party or candidate.

IV. Polling Day

All Political parties and candidates shall –

  1. co-operate with the officers on election duty to ensure peaceful and orderly polling and complete freedom to the voters to exercise their franchise without being subjected to any annoyance or obstruction.
  2. supply to their authorized workers suitable badges or identity cards.
  3. agree that the identity slip supplied by them to voters hall be on plain (white) paper and shall not contain any symbol, name of the candidate or the name of the party;
  4. refrain from serving or distributing liquor on polling day and during the forty eight hours preceding it.
  5. not allow unnecessary crowd to be collected near the camps set up by the political parties and candidates near the polling booths so as to avoid Confrontation and tension among workers and sympathizers of the parties and the candidate.
  6. ensure that the candidate’s camps shall be simple .They shall not display any posters, flags, symbols or any other propaganda material. No eatable shall be served or crowd allowed at the camps and
  7. co-operate with the authorities in complying with the restrictions to be imposed on the plying of vehicles on the polling day and obtain permits for them which should be displayed prominently on those vehicles.

V. Polling Booth

The Election Commission is appointing Observers. If the candidates or their agents have any specific complaint or problem regarding the conduct of elections they may bring the same to the notice of the Observer.

VII. Party in Power

The party in power whether at the Centre or in the State or States concerned, shall ensure that no cause is given for any complaint that it has used its official position for the purposes of its election campaign and in particular –

  1. (a) The Ministers shall not combine their official visit with el ectioneering work and shall not also make use of official machinery or personnel during the electioneering work.
    (b) Government transport including official air-crafts, vehicles, machinery and personnel shall not be used for furtherance of the interest of the party in power;
  2. Public places such as maidens etc., for holding election meetings, and use of helipads for air-flights in connection with elections shall not be monopolized by itself. Other parties and candidates shall be allowed the use of such places and facilities on the same terms and conditions on which they are used by the party in power;
  3. Rest houses, dak bungalows or other Government accommodation shall not be monopolized by the party in power or its candidates and such accommodation shall be allowed to be used by other parties and candidates in a fair manner but no party or candidate shall use or be allowed to use such accommodation (including premises appertaining thereto) as a campaign office or for holding any public meeting for the purposes of election propaganda;
  4. Issue of advertisement at the cost of public exchequer in the newspapers and other media and the misuse of official mass media during the election period for partisan coverage of political news and publicity regarding achievements with a view to furthering the prospects of the party in power shall be scrupulously avoided.
  5. Ministers and other authorities shall not sanction grants/payments out of discretionary funds from the time elections are announced by the Commission; and
  6. From the time elections are announced by Commission, Ministers and other authorities shall not – 
    (a) announce any financial grants in any form or promises thereof; or
    (b) (except civil servants) lay foundation stones etc. of projects or schemes of any kind; or
    (c) make any promise of construction of roads, provision of drinking water facilities etc.; or
    (d) make any ad-hoc appointments in Government, Public Undertakings etc. which may have the effect of influencing the voters in favor of the party in power.
    Note : The Commission shall announce the date of any election which shall be a date ordinarily not more than three weeks prior to the date on which the notification is likely to be issued in respect of such elections.
  7. Ministers of Central or State Government shall not enter any polling station or place of counting except in their capacity as a candidate or voter or authorized agent.

VIII. Guidelines on Election Manifestos

  1. The Supreme Court in its judgment dated 5th July 2013 in SLP(C) No. 21455 of 2008 ( S. Subramaniam Balaji Vs Govt. of Tamil Nadu and Others) has directed the Election Commission to frame guidelines with regard to the contents of election manifestos in consultation with all the recognized political parties. The guiding principles which will lead to framing of such guidelines are quoted below from the judgment:-

    (i) “Although, the law is obvious that the promises in the election manifesto cannot be construed as ‘corrupt practice’ under Section 123 of RP Act, the reality cannot be ruled out that distribution of freebies of any kind, undoubtedly, influences all people. It shakes the root of free and fair elections to a large degree”.

    (ii) “The Election Commission, in order to ensure level playing field between the contesting parties and candidates in elections and also in order to see that the purity of the election process does not get vitiated, as in past been issuing instructions under the Model Code of Conduct. The fountainhead of the powers under which the Commission issues these orders is Article 324 of the Constitution which mandates the Commission to hold free and fair elections.”

    (iii) “We are mindful of the fact that generally political parties release their election manifesto before the announcement of election date, in that scenario, strictly speaking, the Election Commission will not have the authority to regulate any act which is done before the announcement of the date. Nevertheless, an exception can be made in this regard as the purpose of election manifesto is directly associated with the election process”.
     
  2. Upon receiving the above directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the Election Commission held a meeting with the recognized National and State Political Parties for consultation with them in the matter and took note of their conflicting views in the matter.

    During consultations, while some political parties supported the issuance of such guidelines, others were of the view that it is their right and duty towards voters to make such offers and promises in manifestos in a healthy democratic polity. While the Commission agrees in principle with the point of view that framing of manifestos is the right of the political parties, it cannot overlook the undesirable impact of some of the promises and offers on the conduct of free and fair elections and maintaining level playing field for all political parties and candidates.
     
  3. The Constitution under Article 324 mandates the Election Commission, to conduct elections inter alia to the Parliament and the State Legislatures. Having due regard to the above directions of the Supreme Court and after consultation with the Political Parties, the Commission, in the interest of free and fair elections , hereby directs that Political Parties and Candidates while releasing election manifestos for any election to the Parliament or State Legislatures, shall adhere to the following guidelines :-

    (i) The election manifesto shall not contain anything repugnant to the ideals and principles enshrined in the Constitution and further that it shall be consistent with the letter and spirit of other provisions of Model Code of Conduct.

    (ii) The Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in the Constitution enjoin upon the State to frame various welfare measures for the citizens and therefore there can be no objection to the promise of such welfare measures in election manifestos. However, political parties should avoid making those promises which are likely to vitiate the purity of the election process or exert undue influence on the voters in exercising their franchise.

    (iii) In the interest of transparency, level playing field and credibility of promises, it is expected that manifestos also reflect the rationale for the promises and broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirements for it. Trust of voters should be sought only on those promises which are possible to be fulfilled.
  4. Prohibitory period of Release of Manifesto during elections(s)

(i) In case of single phase election, manifesto shall not be released during the prohibitory period, as prescribed under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

(ii) In case of multi-phase elections, manifesto shall not be released during the prohibitory periods, as prescribed under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, of all the phases of those elections.”

10. Governance

A. institutions

B. regulatory

C. Government policies

D. role of NGOs

E. measures

11. Social Justice

A. Welfare schemes

B Health

C. Education

D. Human Resources

E. poverty and hunger

12. International relations

A. India and its neighbourhood

B. groupings and agreements

C.Indian diaspora

13. Economic Development

A. Government Budgeting

B. industrial

Patents Rules, 2024 notified

The Patent Rules, 2024 has been officially notified, marking a significant milestone in the journey towards fostering innovation and economic development. These rules introduce several provisions aimed at simplifying the process of obtaining and managing patents, thereby facilitating a conducive environment for inventors and creators. It is expected to accelerate economic development of the nation through science and technology to fulfil the Viksit Bharat Sankalp.

Some salient features of the revamped Rules are as follows:

  • Unique provision for New ‘Certificate of Inventorship’ has been introduced to acknowledge the contribution of inventors in the patented invention.
  • Provision for claiming benefits of Grace period under section 31 has been streamlined by incorporating new form, i.e., Form 31.
  • Time limit to furnish foreign application filing details in Form 8 has been changed from six months from the date of filing of application to three months from the date of issuance of first examination report.
  • Considering the fast pace of technology, time limit for filing request for examination has been reduced from 48 months to 31 months from the date of priority of application or from the date of filing of application, whichever is earlier.
  • Provision to extend time limit and condone delay in filing has been further simplified and made more explicit to ease in practice. Now, the time for doing any act/proceeding may be extended any number of times up to six months by a request in prescribed manner.
  • Renewal fee has been reduced by 10% if paid in advance through electronic mode for a period of at least 4 years.
  • Frequency to file the statements of working of patents in Form 27 has been reduced from once in a financial year to once in every three financial years. Further, the provision to condone delay in filing of such statement for a period up to three months upon a request in prescribed manner has been incorporated.
  • The procedure to file and dispose the Pre-grant representation by way of opposition under section 25(1) has been further streamlined and made more explicit by providing ways to dispose of the representation and fixing fees to file such representation in order to curb benami and fraudulent pre-grant oppositions and simultaneously encouraging the genuine oppositions.

The Government is committed to enhancing the IP ecosystem and administration in the country

Patents

Every 6 minutes one technology is seeking IP protection in India. In 2023, an all-time high of 90300 patent applications were received. Patent office granted over one lakh Patents in the last one year (15-Mar-2023 to 14-Mar-2024). Every working day, 250 patents were granted.

Geographical Indications

There has been a notable surge in Geographical Indication (GI) registrations, demonstrating a threefold increase compared to the previous year. As on date, 573 GIs are registered in India. In 2023-24, 98 new GIs have been registered and another 62 will be registered by 31st March 2024. In addition, 11621 authorized users are registered, and an additional 2575 users will be registered by 31st March 2024.

Copyright

The fiscal year 2023-24 witnessed a record-breaking number of copyright registrations, totalling 36,378, thus underscoring the vast potential within the creative sector. Measures to further promote awareness about the strategic role of copyright in creative industry is planned.

Design

During the fiscal year 2023-24, the highest number of design registrations to date, totalling 27,819, were recorded, alongside final disposal of 30,450 applications. Over 1.25 lakhs students participated in Toycathon, an initiative jointly organized by J&K SCERT and Indian IP Office. 115 novel designs by J&K School students received through the event were registered.

Trade Marks

The Trade Marks Registry is fully committed to issue the examination report within 30 days post receiving a trademark application.  The registry is offering trademark protection in the shortest possible time.

Infrastructure Finance Secretariat, DEA, organises workshop on Public Private Partnership (PPP)

The Infrastructure Finance Secretariat (IFS), Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance (MoF), organised a two-day workshop in hybrid mode on 14th-15th March,2024 in New Delhi.

The workshop was held to sensitise stakeholders from Ports sector, and on how to structure PPP projects using the web-based PPP structuring toolkit in Ports sector. The workshop was attended by more than 45 representatives of Centre and State/UT Government departments, private players and major ports authorities.

Ports Sector requires proper project structuring due to inherent complexities involved. Understanding this need,‘PPP Structuring Toolkit’ is one among the initiatives that IFS has taken to support the Project Sponsoring Authorities (PSAs) and other stakeholders to structure their Portprojects in PPP mode with objectivity and to boost private sector investment for development of ports sector in the country.

This workshop, which is the fourth in a series catering to Ports Sector, was inaugurated by Ms. Preeti Jain, Director, Infrastructure Support & Development (ISD) Division, DEA, MoF. Ms. Jain highlighted the importance of infrastructure and the need for creating a shelf of viable infrastructure projects to take India on a higher growth trajectory and further encouraged the participants to structure PPP projects in Ports sector.

The workshop includedsessions ondemonstration of toolkit and further included hands-on sessions understanding of tools developed for evaluating projects in Ports sector. The workshop familiarised participants with the toolkit’s overview and objectives through the case studies for practical understanding, detailing its five integral tools: –

E.issues

14. Technology

15. Environment

16. Security

ANTI-PIRACY OPERATIONS AGAINST PIRATE SHIP MV RUEN BY INDIAN NAVY

INS Kolkata, mission-deployed in the Arabian Sea, through the sustained high tempo of operations lasting over 40hrs, has thwarted the designs of the Somali pirates to hijack ships transiting through the region by intercepting the pirate ship MV Ruen, on 16 Mar 24. The merchant vessel had been hijacked in December 2023 and was under the control of the Somalian Pirates till now.

Indian Navy as part of the Maritime Security Operations has been carrying out extensive surveillance in the region including monitoring of traffic in Areas of Interest. Based on the analysis of the surveillance information the Indian Navy was able to track the movement of the Pirate Ship Ruen and directed INS Kolkata to intercept the ship approximately 260 Nm East of Somalia. Kolkata intercepted Ruen in the morning of 15 Mar 24, and confirmed the presence of armed pirates through a ship-launched drone. In a reckless hostile act, the pirates shot down the drone and fired at the Indian Naval warship. In a calibrated response iaw International Laws, Kolkata disabled the ship’s steering system and navigational aids, forcing the Pirate Ship to stop.

INS Kolkata undertook precisely measured actions while maintaining her position close to the Pirate Ship and also engaged in forceful negotiations, which resulted in the Pirates surrendering and releasing the pirate ship MV Ruen and its original crew present onboard. The efforts of the Indian Navy in the ongoing anti-piracy operation 1400 nm (2600 km) from mainland India were augmented by the deployment of INS Subhadra in the area AM 16 Mar 24, and also by air-dropping of the Marine Commandos (PRAHARS) by C-17 aircraft in the same afternoon. Additionally, the pirate vessel was kept under surveillance by HALE RPA and P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Due to sustained pressure and calibrated actions by the Indian Navy over the last 40 hours, all 35 Somali pirates surrendered PM 16 Mar 24. All 17 original crew members of MV Ruen were also safely evacuated from the pirate vessel without any injury. The vessel has also been sanitised for the presence of illegal arms, ammunition and contraband.

The seaworthiness of MV Ruen will be assessed in the morning on 17 Mar 2024, and the vessel which is carrying approx. 37800 T of cargo estimated at around one million dollars will be brought safely to India.

The culmination of the ongoing Anti-Piracy operation involving pirate ship Ruen in the Southern IOR highlights the commitment of the Indian Navy towards reinforcing peace and stability, and also to thwart the resurgence of Piracy in the region. The Indian Navy remains steadfast in performing its role as the ‘First Responder’ in IOR.

17. Disaster Management