Current Affairs March 2019
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VISION IAS www.visionias.in CURRENT AFFAIRS MARCH 2019 Copyright © by Vision IAS All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Vision IAS. 1 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS Table of Contents 1. POLITY AND GOVERNANCE ____________ 4 4.4. Indian Army to Undergo Major Reforms __ 37 1.1. Unequal Representation in Indian 5. ENVIRONMENT ______________________ 39 Democracy ______________________________ 4 5.1. Draft Indian Forest Act Amendment _____ 39 1.2. Self-Regulation of Social Media in Elections 5 5.2. UNNATEE (Unlocking National Energy 1.3 Vote-Bank Politics _____________________ 6 Efficiency Potential) _____________________ 40 1.4. Party Symbol Allocation ________________ 7 5.3. Star Rating _________________________ 41 1.5. Official Secrets Act ____________________ 8 5.4. National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage _____________________ 42 1.6. Lokpal ______________________________ 9 5.5. KUSUM ____________________________ 43 1.7. Reducing Number of Tribunals _________ 11 5.6. India Cooling Action Plan ______________ 44 2. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS __________ 14 5.7. Global Environment Outlook ___________ 45 2.1. India-Russia Defence Relations _________ 14 5.8. State of The Global Climate Report ______ 46 2.2. Japan-India Space Dialogue ____________ 15 5.9. Frontiers Report 2018/19 _____________ 47 2.3. OIC Meet ___________________________ 15 5.10. Global Energy & CO2 Status Report ____ 48 2.4. Malaysia Accedes to Rome Statute ______ 16 5.11. Hazardous and Other Wastes 2.5. Golan Heights _______________________ 17 (Management & Trans Boundary Movement) 2.6. WHO Reforms _______________________ 18 Amendment Rules, 2019 __________________ 48 3. ECONOMY _________________________ 21 5.12. Compensatory Afforestation __________ 49 3.1. Independent Fiscal Council ____________ 21 5.13. Climate Vulnerability Maps for Himalayan States _________________________________ 50 3.2. Swap Facility ________________________ 22 5.14. World Water Crisis __________________ 51 3.3. Monetary Policy Transmission__________ 23 5.15. Otter _____________________________ 52 3.4. Swift Norms ________________________ 25 6. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ____________ 53 3.5. Offshore Rupee Markets ______________ 25 6.1. Women in Science ___________________ 53 3.6. White Label ATMs ___________________ 26 6.2. PSLV C-45 __________________________ 54 3.7. Capital Gains Tax ____________________ 27 6.3. AstroSat ___________________________ 54 3.8. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund ______________________________________ 27 6.4. Forward Search Experiment (FASER) _____ 55 3.9. DataSmart Cities Strategy _____________ 28 6.5. Atmospheric Waves Experiment ________ 56 3.10. Hydro Power Sector _________________ 30 6.6. GRAPES-3 __________________________ 56 3.11. Minimum Support Price for Minor Forest 6.7. China’s Artificial Sun _________________ 57 Produce _______________________________ 31 6.8. New Rules for Drugs & Clinical Trials ____ 58 3.12. Ind AS ____________________________ 32 6.9. Nano-Pharmaceuticals ________________ 60 3.13. India’s 3rd IT Corridor in China ________ 33 6.10. Global Influenza Strategy _____________ 61 4. SECURITY __________________________ 34 6.11. National AIDS Control Programme-IV 4.1. Mission Shakti ______________________ 34 (NACP-IV) ______________________________ 62 4.2. Smart Fencing on Indo-Bangladesh Border 36 6.12. Ban on E-Cigarettes _________________ 63 4.3. Multi-Disciplinary Terror Monitoring Group 6.13. Cloud Seeding ______________________ 64 on Terror Financing in J&K ________________ 36 6.14. Graphene _________________________ 64 2 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS 6.15. Cabinet nod for Joining Nice, Vienna, 10.3. Abel Prize ____________________________ 74 Locarno Agreements _____________________ 65 10.4. Lalit Kala Akademi _____________________ 74 10.5. Tea Board ____________________________ 74 7. SOCIAL ISSUES ______________________ 66 10.6. Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 75 10.7. Ease Reforms Index ____________________ 75 7.1. Swachh Survekshan 2019 ______________ 66 10.8. E-Dharti App and E-Dharti Geo Portal _____ 75 7.2. National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey _ 67 10.9. Centre for Disability Sports ______________ 75 10.10. Israel Unveils World’s Longest Salt Caves _ 75 7.3. Cities Summit _______________________ 67 10.11. Marine Heat Wave ___________________ 75 7.4. World Happiness Report 2019 __________ 68 10.12. UN World Wildlife Day ________________ 76 10.13. Energy Transition Index________________ 76 8. CULTURE __________________________ 69 10.14. Operation Sunrise ____________________ 76 10.15. Military Exercises_____________________ 76 8.1. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ______________ 69 10.16. Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter __________ 76 8.2. Navroz Festival ______________________ 69 10.17. I-Stem Portal ________________________ 76 9. ETHICS ____________________________ 71 11. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES IN NEWS _____ 78 11.1. Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) 9.1. Campaign Ethics _____________________ 71 Scheme __________________________________ 78 10. NEWS IN SHORT ___________________ 74 11.2. Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) _______________________ 78 10.1. Nari Shakti Puruskar ___________________ 74 11.3. Yuva Vigyani Karyakram (YUVIKA) ________ 79 10.2. Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Report ___________________________________ 74 3 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS 1. POLITY AND GOVERNANCE 1.1. UNEQUAL REPRESENTATION IN INDIAN DEMOCRACY Why in news? Delimitation Commission In the wake of General Elections 2019, a debate has • Delimitation is the redrawing of the boundaries of again surfaced on unequal representation in Indian parliamentary or assembly constituencies to make sure that there are, as near as practicable, the democracy. As per studies, India has the lowest number same number of people in each constituency. of MPs relative to its population across democracies. • Equally populous constituencies allow voters to Background have an equally weighted vote in the Legislature. • It is a high power body whose orders has the force • Article 81 of the Constitution of India prescribes of law and cannot be called in question before any that every state and Union territory (UT) would be court. These orders come into force on a date to be allotted seats in the Lok Sabha in such a manner specified by the President of India in this behalf. that the ratio of population to seats should be as • The orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the equal as possible across states. respective State Legislative Assemblies. However, • Article 82, stipulates that a delimitation of modifications are not permitted. parliamentary constituencies be carried out after • Delimitation commissions have been set up four every census. This task is carried out by the times in the past — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 — under Delimitation Commission Acts of 1952, 1962, Delimitation Commission established by the 1972 and 2002 Government of India under the provisions of • The Delimitation Commission in 2002, undertook Delimitation Commission Act. It was done after readjustment and rationalization of territorial every census until 1976. constituencies in states based on Census 2001, • However, government froze delimitation in 1976 without altering the number of seats allotted to until after 2001 Census by the 42nd constitutional each state. amendment (1976). This freeze was extended to 2026 by the 84th constitutional amendment (2002). • The aim of this move was to promote family planning and population stabilization in the country. Thus an incentive was given to states towards working for family planning programs, without worrying about changing their political representation in the Lok Sabha. • As a result the Delimitation Commission could not increase the total seats in the Lok Sabha or Assemblies. It may be done only after 2026. • This had led to wide discrepancies in the size of constituencies, with the largest having over three million electors, and the smallest less than 50,000. Issues arising out of Unequal Representation • Malapportionment in Democracy- The present delimitation, based on 2001 census, has been undertaken after 30 years. The population has increased by almost 87% and the nature of constituencies in the country, by and large, had become malapportioned. • Dilution of the principle of “One Citizen One Vote”- e.g. the average MP from Rajasthan represents over 30 lakh people while the one in Tamil Nadu or Kerala represents less than 18 lakh. This means the voter in Tamil Nadu and Kerala has more say than the one in Rajasthan • Skewed Representation across constituencies- In 2014, the five smallest constituencies together had just under 8 lakh voters while the five largest had 1.2 crore voters, 15 times more than the smallest five. 4 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS • Increasing burden on the Representatives- An MP today represents more than four times the number of voters than what an MP did in 1951-52, when the first general elections were held • Representation Crisis- If candidates cannot reach out to enough voters, then elections may become less about hearing the voices of the voters and addressing the issues they care most about. It has also resulted in lower voter turnouts of people during elections. • Don’t include changing dynamics-In 1988, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 via 61st Amendment