SC questions ‘lightning speed’ of EC appointment

• The Supreme Court, after inspecting official files on November 24, said the appointment of Arun Goel as Election Commissioner was done with “lightning speed”, the procedure taking less than 24 hours from start to finish on November 18.
• A Constitution Bench led by Justice K.M. Joseph had asked Attorney General R. Venkataramani on November 23 to produce the files concerning Mr. Goel’s appointment

About Election Commission of India:

• The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
  • It was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25^thJanuary 1950 (celebrated as national voters’s Day) . The secretariat of the commission is in New Delhi.
• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
  • It is not concerned with the elections to panchayats and municipalities in the states. For this, the Constitution of India provides for a separate State Election Commission.

Constitutional Provisions:

• Part XV (Article 324-329) of the Indian Constitution: It deals with elections and establishes a commission for these matters.
• Article 324:Superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission.
• Article 325:No person to be ineligible for inclusion in, or to claim to be included in a special, electoral roll-on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex.
• Article 326: Elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assemblies of States to be based on adult suffrage.
• Article 327:Power of Parliament to make provision with respect to elections to Legislatures.
• Article 328:Power of Legislature of a State to make provision with respect to elections to such Legislature.
• Article 329:Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters.

Structure of ECI:

• Originally the commission had only one election commissioner but after the Election Commissioner Amendment Act 1989, it was made a multi-member body.
• The Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and such number of other election commissioners, if any, as the President may from time-to-time fix.
• Presently, it consists of the CEC and two Election Commissioners.
  • At the state level, the election commission is helped by the Chief Electoral Officer who is an IAS rank Officer.

Appointment & Tenure of Commissioners:

• The President appoints CEC and Election Commissioners.
• They have a fixed tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

Removal:

• They can resign anytime or can also be removed before the expiry of their term.
• The CEC can be removed from office only through a process of removal similar to that of a SC judge by Parliament.

U.P. govt. conducts first meeting for Mahakumbh

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday chalked out the outline of Mahakumbh2025 at a highlevel meeting organised in Prayagraj.
• Adityanath pushed the idea that Mahakumbh2025 should represent the ‘new Uttar Pradesh’ of ‘new India’, showcasing the rich culture, the administrative capacity and the tourism possibilities of the State in front of the world.
• In the first official meeting to discuss about Mahakumbh2025, Mr. Adityanath directed the officials to form a committee under the chairmanship of the Divisional Commissioner, Prayagraj, and asked them to monitor the projects every week.
• He also warned of strict action against those officials who showed laxity.

About Kumbha Mela

• Kumbh Mela is one of the oldest and largest congregation in the world which is attended by millions of people irrespective of all caste, creed, sex and region.
• The significance of Kumbh Mela has been enhanced at the Global level as the UNESCOhas inscribed Kumbh Mela on the list of Intangible Cultural heritage for humanity in 2017.
• The Kumbha Mela is held four timesover the course of 12 years, in rotation between four Hindu pilgrimage places on four sacred rivers:
  • Haridwar (banks of Ganga),
  • Prayagraj/Allahabad (Confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati),
  • Nashik (banks of Godavari)
  • Ujjain (banks of Shipra).
• Kumbh Mela can be traced back in history through the writings of 7th century Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsangwho came to India during the rule of Harshavardhan. The festival was also popularised among people by the eighth century saint Shankaracharya.
• At Prayagraj, Kumbh Mela held at every 6 years and Maha Kumbh at every 12 years. Earlier they were known as Ardh Kumbh and Kumbh. But this year the government has announced the Ardh Kumbh will be known as Kumbh and Kumbh as Maha Kumbh.

UNESCO’s Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage

• It is a list which is prepared to promote the intangible heritage and contribute to a greater awareness of their importance and was formed after Convention for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage came into effect.
• Intergovernmental Committee for safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage meets and evaluates the nominations proposed by member states after which the List is published every year.
• UNESCO brings out two separate lists:
• Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (ICH)– It is made up of those intangible heritage elements which bring out the diversity of culture.
  • List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of Urgent Safeguarding – It is made up of the intangible heritage elements which require urgent measures. It also helps to mobilize international cooperation.

Waqf Board to introduce NCERT syllabus in Uttarakhand madrasas

• The Waqf Board in Uttarakhand has decided to introduce the NCERT syllabus in 103 madrasas it runs across the State. The Board will also open madrasas to children of all religions. The plan will be executed from next year as part of efforts to modernise madrasa education. Introduction of smart classrooms is also being planned.
• The Waqf Board — formed by the State to take care of Waqf properties — is also planning to introduce smart classrooms and uniforms in madrasas. The Board will also hire teachers to teach the NCERT curriculum in the institution that start at the nursery level.
• We will ensure that NCERT syllabus is taught till Class 12 in 103 madrasas that are currently under Waqf Board. If all goes as per plan, the same will also be replicated in 419 other registered madrasas in the State,” said Mr. Shams.

Unemployment rate sees a decline in July September 2022

• 2 In %, the unemployment rate for persons aged 15 years during July September 2022 in urban areas from 9.8% a year ago, the National Statistical Office (NSO) informed.
• Unemployment rate is defined as the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour force. Joblessness was high in July September 2021 due to the impact of COVID related restrictions in India.

Record high drop in the immunisation for measles in children

• 40 In million, the number of children missing a measles vaccine dose last year, since the coronavirus pandemic began, the World Health Organisation and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention informed. In 2021, officials said there were 9 million measles infections, and 1,28,000 deaths worldwide. Measles is among the world’s most contagious diseases

India, Iran discuss development of Chabahar Port

• During the delegation-level talks, both sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations including political, economic, cultural, and consular engagement.
• The two sides reiterated their commitment to continue cooperation for the development of the Shahid Beheshti terminal of the Chabahar Port.
• Both countries exchanged views on regional and international issues including Afghanistan. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister briefed the Foreign Secretary on issues related to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the statement reads.
• During the visit, Iran’s Ali Bagheri met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday and discussed bilateral cooperation and the JCPOA.

About Chabahar Port

• The port of Chabahar islocated in southeastern Iran in the Gulf of Oman.
•  It is the only Iranian port with direct access to the ocean.
• It’s located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran’s southern coast.
• The Chabahar port is considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with central Asian countries.

• Significance:
  • No other international port has seen the level of involvement and enthusiasm from Chabahar as India.
  • It will make way for India to bypass Pakistan in transporting goods to Afghanistan using a sea-land route. 
    • At present, Pakistan does not allow India to transport its territory to Afghanistan.
  • It would give momentum to the  International North-South Transport Corridor  of which both are initial signatories along with Russia.
    • Iran is the key gateway to this project.
    • It would counter the Chinese presence in the Arabian.

• Objective:
  • The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Astrakhan, etc.

• Significance: 
  • It would be provided as a viable and fairer alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
  • Further, it will enhance regional connectivity.

Centre pledges to promote millets internationally in 2023

• In one of the prelaunch celebration programmes of the International Year of Millets, 2023 in New Delhi on Thursday, the Agriculture Ministry reached out to representatives of various countries in India to promote millets internationally.
• Both External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar (in photo) addressed the event and urged for global focus on millets for its nutritional and health benefi
• Tomar said the International Year of Millets, 2023 would provide an opportunity to globally promote millets as nutritious cereals, and added that his Ministry was working in a mission mode to increase its production and consumption.

Rajendra Pawar  has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award 2022 by FICCI

Ravi Kumar Sagar has been awarded Dr. Kalam Seva Puraskar

Russia become the biggest supplier of fertilizers to India

Shatru Nash firepower exercise was conducted by South Western Command in Thar desert in Rajasthan

Source : THE HINDU