20 May 2024 Daily Current Affairs 

Recently, it has been noticed that less than a third of Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPP) are contesting elections in India.

About Registered Unrecognised Political Party (RUPP):

• These are the parties which are either newly registered parties or those which have not secured enough percentage of votes in the assembly or general elections to become a state party, or those which have never contested elections since being registered.
• Allocation of symbols to RUPP: Common symbols are provided to RUPPs based upon an undertaking that they would put up “at least 5% of total candidates with regard to said Legislative Assembly election of a State”.
  • Election commission of India made it mandatory for RUPPs to furnish audited accounts of last three financial years, expenditure statements of last two elections.
  • The EC receives the applications from RUPPs in prescribed proforma for allotment of symbol under Provisions of Para 10B of the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968.

What are registered parties?

• The Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RP Act) lays down the requirements for registration of a political party with the ECI.
• Any political party that seeks registration should submit a copy of its memorandum/constitution.
  • Such document should declare that the party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India. It should also bear allegiance to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
• Benefits
• • Tax exemption for donations received under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
  • Common symbol for contesting general elections to the Lok Sabha/State Assemblies and
  • Twenty ‘star campaigners’ during election campaign.

Recently, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) directed all medical device licence holders and manufacturers to report any adverse events related to life-saving medical equipment on the government’s Materiovigilance Programme of India (MvPI) platform.

 

About Materiovigilance Programme of India:

• It was launched on July 6, 2015 to monitor the safety of medical devices in the country.
• It aims to collect data on medical device related adverse events systematically and scientifically analyze them to aid in regulatory decisions and recommendations on safe use of medical devices.
• Objective: To improve Indian patient safety by monitoring, recording and analysing the root cause of adverse events or risks associated with the use of medical devices including in-vitro diagnostics by healthcare professionals or patients/users and suggesting regulatory bodies for appropriate action with the sole intention of improving patient safety.
• It is an important program for reporting of adverse events, coordinated analysis etc related to medical devices including in-vitro diagnostic devices.
• The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) has functioned as the National Coordination Centre (NCC) since 2018.
• It is regulated by the Central Drugs Standards Control Organization (CDSCO).
  • Medical devices consist of electronic equipment, implants, consumables and disposables, surgical instruments and in-vitro diagnostic reagents, among others.
  • Currently, all medical devices in India are regulated by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Medical Device Rule, 2017.
  • At present, India is 80% dependent on imports for medical devices.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare

Key facts about Drugs Controller General of India

• Drugs Controller General of India is the head of the department of the CDSCO of the Government of India responsible for approval of licences of specified categories of drugs such as blood and blood products, IV fluids, vaccines and sera in India.
• DCGI also sets standards for the manufacturing, sales, import, and distribution of drugs in India.

About MATES Migration Scheme:

• On May 23, 2023, Australia and India entered into a Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA).
• The MMPA is a bilateral framework that supports and promotes two-way migration and mobility between our two countries while addressing issues pertaining to illegal and irregular migration.
• The Mobility Arrangement for Talented Early-Professionals Scheme, or ‘MATES’, is a new scheme established under the MMPA to enable the temporary mobility of Indian university graduates and early career professionals.
• MATES aims to encourage mutually beneficial skills and knowledge transfer between Australia and India.
• Under the scheme, Indian graduates and early career professionals (aged 18 to 30 years) with knowledge and skills in targeted fields of study will be offered a new temporary mobility pathway, to live and work in Australia for up to two years.
• Eligibility Criteria for MATES: MATES will be open to Indian Nationals who are:
  • Must be 30 years old or younger at the time of application
  • Have not previously participated in MATES
  • Have proficient English language skills
  • Have graduated within two years from an eligible educational institution at the time of application
  • Hold a qualification (Bachelor’s degree or higher) in target fields of study
• There will be no requirement for sponsorship by an Australian employer to be eligible to apply for a visa as part of MATES.

• What are the permitted activities?
  • MATES participants will be able to live and work in Australia for up to 2 years.
  • Whilst there is no strict requirement for visa holders to work in their nominated field of study, it is designed to support young professionals expand their skills and networks, particularly within the specified sectors.
• As a pilot initiative, MATES will initially offer 3,000 places for primary applicants per program year.
• Participants will be able to apply to bring dependents (spouses and dependent children). Dependents will have work rights in Australia, and will not count towards the annual cap.

Source: Australian 'MATES' scheme to facilitate mobility of Indian early-career professionals: Eligibility and other key components explained

7. What is National Savings Certificate (NSC)?

The Prime Minister recently declared Rs 9.12 lakh investment in the National Savings Certificate (NSC) scheme in his nomination filing.

 

About National Savings Certificate (NSC): 

• It is a fixed-income investment scheme launched by the government of India.
• It aims at encouraging users, who are primarily low- to mid-income investors, to invest as well as save taxes.
• You can invest in NSC from the nearest post office in your name, for a minor or with another adult as a joint account.
• Features:
  • Interest Rates: The certificates earn an annual fixed interest, which is revised every quarter by the government, thus guaranteeing a regular income for the investor.
  • Maturity Period: Five years.    
  • The amount of NSCs that can be purchased has no upper limit.
  • Tax Saver: As a government-backed tax-saving scheme, the principal invested in NSC qualifies for tax savings under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs annually.
  • Accessible: It can be easily bought from any post office on submission of the required KYC documents. Also, it is easy to transfer the certificate from one PO to another, as well as from one person to another, without impacting the interest accrual/maturity of the original certificate.
  • Loan Collaterals: NSC certificates are accepted as collateral or security for secured loans in Banks and NBFCs.
  • Nomination: The investor can nominate any family member (even a minor) so that they can inherit it in the unfortunate event of the investor’s demise.
  • Premature Withdrawal: Generally, one cannot exit the scheme early except on the death of an investor, on a court order, or on forfeiture by a pledgee who is a Gazetted Government Officer for it.

• Eligibility Criteria for NSC:
  • Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), Trusts, and Private and public limited companies are not eligible to invest in NSC.
  • The individual must be a resident Indian citizen. Non-resident Indians (NRIs) are not eligible to invest in NSC.
  • There is no age limit for individuals to purchase an NSC.

European Union naval forces recently arrested six suspected pirates after they allegedly opened fire on an oil tanker traveling through the Gulf of Aden.

 

About Gulf of Aden:

• It is an extension of the Indian Ocean, located between the Arabian Peninsula and the African continent.
• It connects the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea and ultimately the Indian Ocean.
• The gulf is named after “Aden,” a port city on Yemen’s coast.
• It is approximately 900 km long and 500 km wide and covers roughly 410,000 square kilometers.
• It is bounded to the south by Somalia and the Socotra Islands (part of Yemen), north by Yemen, east by the Arabian Sea, and west by Djibouti. 
• The gulf is connected to the Somali Sea to the south by the Guardafui Channel, and to the Red Sea on the west by the Strait of Bab el Mandeb.
• In the west, it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura, near Djibouti.
• It is demarcated from the Arabian Sea by the Horn of Africa and the Socotra Islands.
• The dominant relief feature of the gulf’s terrain is the Sheba Ridge, an extension of the Indian Ocean ridge system, which extends along the middle of the gulf.
• Some of the major cities near the gulf include Aden, Mukalla, Ahnwar, Balhaf, Berbera, Bosaso, and Djibouti City.
• Major Ports: Aden in Yemen and Berbera and Bosaso in Somalia. 
• It is also a critical part of the Suez Canal shipping route, which connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

What is a Black Hole?

• It is a cosmic body of extremely intense gravity from which nothing, not even light, can escape.
• This intense gravity occurs because a large amount of matter has been squeezed into a very small space.
• Formation:
• A black hole can be formed by the death of a massive star. 
• When such a star has exhausted the internal thermonuclear fuels in its core at the end of its life, the core becomes unstable and gravitationally collapses inward upon itself, and the star’s outer layers are blown away.
• The crushing weight of constituent matter falling in from all sides compresses the dying star to a point of zero volume and infinite density called the singularity.
• Event Horizon:
• The event horizon is the boundary around a black hole beyond which no light or other radiation can escape.
• Once an object crosses this boundary, it cannot escape the black hole's gravitational pull.

Source: Einstein proved right! Study gives first proof of 'plunging regions' around black hole

10. What is a Dyson Sphere?

Recently, an international team of researchers based in Sweden, India, the US, and the UK have devised a way to search for unimaginably complex extraterrestrial megastructures, known as Dyson spheres.

 

About Dyson Sphere:

• It is a hypothetical engineering project that only highly advanced civilizations could build.
• These Dyson spheres would allow a civilization to harness all of a star's energy. 
• The prospect of such a construction was first proposed by physicist and astronomer Freeman J. Dyson back in 1960.
  • He envisioned them as a solar-system-sized shell consisting of a 'swarm of objects'' that could travel on independent orbits around a star, such as our sun.
  • The idea behind this is that the aliens commandeering this multi-faceted sphere would use it to harness the energy of the star to fulfil the energy needs of its technologically sophisticated people.
• Do Dyson spheres exist? 
  • Because of their infrared radiation, Dyson spheres are considered a type of technosignature—a sign of activity that distant astronomers could use to infer the existence of intelligent beings in the universe, according to a NASA report.
  • A handful of Earth-based researchers have scanned infrared maps of the night sky in hopes of spotting Dyson spheres, but so far, nobody has seen anything out of the ordinary.