One Nation, One Election

• President Droupadi Murmu received the report from the High-level Committee (HLC) on One Nation, One Election early on Thursday, March 14.

Context:

• Ram Nath Kovind, a former president, presided over HLC.

What does “simultaneous elections” mean?

• Holding polls for the Lok Sabha, all state Legislative Assemblies, and urban and rural local bodies (municipalities and panchayats) simultaneously is known as simultaneous elections, or “One Nation, One Election.”
• At the moment, each of these elections takes place on its own schedule, determined by the terms of each respective elected body.
• In India, until the fourth general elections of 1967, state assemblies and the Lok Sabha were elected at the same time. But as the nation’s coalition governments in the states and the center continued to fall apart and as succeeding central administrations exploited constitutional provisions to overthrow state governments before the end of their mandate, elections began to take place at various points during the year.
• The HLC report states that there are now five to six elections held annually in the nation; this number will rise significantly if elections for municipalities and panchayats are also taken into account.

What is the need for holding simultaneous elections?

• Regular elections put more strain on the public coffers of the government. These numbers will increase much further if political party spending is included.
• Asynchronous elections impede supply chains, corporate investments, and economic progress by causing uncertainty and instability.
• Citizens suffer as a result of the government apparatus being disrupted by asynchronous elections.
• Regular use of security personnel and government employees has a negative impact on how well they can perform their jobs.
• The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is frequently imposed, which paralyzes policy and slows down the advancement of development initiatives.
• Elections that are far out cause “voters’ fatigue” and make it extremely difficult to guarantee their turnout.

Important recommendations of HLC

• CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION: Two measures should be taken to alter the Constitution to allow for simultaneous elections.Elections for the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies will take place concurrently as the first step. This means that the constitutional amendment won’t need state ratification.The second phase would involve timing elections for municipalities and panchayats to coincide with the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. This will ensure that local body elections take place no later than 100 days after the polls for the legislature and state assemblies. Ratification of this will need to come from at least half of the states.
• SINGLE ELECTORAL ROLL AND ELECTION ID: The Constitution should be amended to allow the Election Commission of India to create a single electoral roll and election ID in collaboration with the State Election Commissions, with the goal of creating a single electoral roll and electoral photo identity cards for use in elections to all three tiers of government. It is necessary for at least half of the states to ratify these changes.
• SINGLE ELECTORAL ROLL AND ELECTION ID: The Constitution should be amended to allow the Election Commission of India to create a single electoral roll and election ID in collaboration with the State Election Commissions, with the goal of creating a single electoral roll and electoral photo identity cards for use in elections to all three tiers of government. It is necessary for at least half of the states to ratify these changes.

Rising sea surface temperature

• In February 2024, the average worldwide sea surface temperature (SST), or the temperature of the water at the ocean’s surface, was 21.06 degrees Celsius, the highest recorded value in a dataset dating back to 1979.

Context:

• August 2023 saw the previous record, which stood at 20.98 degrees Celsius.

Why are the oceans getting warmer?

• High concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have been emitted into the atmosphere by human activity, such as burning fossil fuels, since the start of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. Among the well-known GHGs that basically trap heat in the atmosphere and cause global warming are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. The average worldwide temperature has therefore increased by at least 1.2 degrees Celsius since pre-industrial times.
• Remarkably, the oceans have absorbed about 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases, contributing to their gradual warming over time.
• The rise in ocean temperatures is the result of many variables. For example, the equatorial Pacific Ocean’s anomalous warming of surface waters is known as El Niño, a weather pattern that has contributed to both ocean warming and rising world surface temperatures.
• Weaker-than-average winds have also resulted in less dust drifting off the Sahara Desert lately. Usually, the dust lowers ocean temperatures by creating a “giant umbrella that shades” the Atlantic Ocean.

Why are rising sea surface temperatures a cause of worry?

• Increased ocean temperatures may have effects on marine ecosystems that are permanent. The natural division of an ocean’s water into horizontal strata based on density, with warmer, lighter, less salted, and nutrient-poor water layering on top of heavier, colder, saltier, and nutrient-rich water, is known as ocean stratification, and it is exacerbated by warmer waters. Typically, winds, tides, currents, and ocean ecosystems combine these strata.
• On the other hand, the increased warmth has hindered the ability of water layers to combine. The viability of marine life is threatened as a result of the oceans’ reduced ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the oxygen that is absorbed’s inability to appropriately mix with the cooler ocean waters below.
• Additionally, nutrients cannot go from below to the ocean’s surface. The single-celled plants known as phytoplankton, which constitute the foundation of many marine food webs and flourish at the ocean’s surface, may be in danger as a result of this. Zooplankton feeds on phytoplankton, which is then devoured by fish, crabs, and sea stars, among other marine creatures. Thus, marine ecosystems may collapse if the phytoplankton population drastically declines.
• Marine heat waves (MHWs), which happen when the surface temperature of a specific area of the sea increases to three or four degrees Celsius above the usual temperature for at least five days, are caused by warmer oceans.

Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)

• India has chosen to participate in at least one of the four cooperative work programs—the one on supporting and boosting carbon-market activities—that were revealed last week under the Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which is led by the United States and falls under the “clean energy pillar.”

Context:

• On May 23, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden announced an economic program called the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). The Indo-Pacific region’s fourteen founding members of the framework were present when it started, and new states were welcome to join.

About Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF):

• On May 23, 2022, in Tokyo, the United States and other Indo-Pacific partner nations jointly launched IPEF.
• Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United States are among the 14 partner countries of IPEF.
• In order to promote progress, peace, and prosperity in the region, it aims to deepen economic ties between partner nations.
• Four pillars support the framework’s structure: Trade (Pillar I), Supply Chains (Pillar II), the Clean Economy (Pillar III), and the Fair Economy (Pillar IV).
• A shared set of guidelines and standards centered around the four pillars is the goal of the IPEF, which is perceived by many observers as an attempt by the United States to challenge China’s expanding influence in the region.

GULF OF TONKIN

• Vietnam requests that China honor the delimitation agreement for the Gulf of Tonkin.

Context:

• The borders of the Gulf of Tonkin’s continental shelf, exclusive economic zones, and territorial seas were established by a delimitation agreement signed in 2000.

About GULF OF TONKIN:

• Due to China’s unilateral enlargement of its territorial boundaries, the Gulf of Tonkin, which has historically been characterized by friendly relations between Vietnam and China, is currently facing a new maritime dispute.
• Off the beaches of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China lies the Gulf of Tonkin, a gulf in the northwest of the South China Sea.
• It functions as a crucial canal that links the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam with the South China Sea’s Beibu Gulf.

Sustainable & Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector (SIDNRS) Scheme

• For the upcoming two fiscal years (2024–2025 and 2025–2026), the financial assistance for the rubber sector under the “Sustainable & Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector (SIDNRS)” has increased by 23%, from Rs 576.41 crore to Rs 708.69 crore.

Context:

• This occurs in the midst of a natural rubber shortage that has led to an increase in the import of natural rubber from Southeast Asian nations like Vietnam and Malaysia.

Sustainable & Inclusive Development of Natural Rubber Sector (SIDNRS) Scheme:

• Launched in FY 2017–18, it is an initiative by the Indian government to support the equitable and sustainable growth of the country’s natural rubber industry.
• The Ministry of Commerce’s statutory Rubber Board is in charge of carrying it out.

Objectives:

• To improve the productivity and quality of natural rubber production.
• To promote the adoption of sustainable rubber production practices.
• To improve the income and livelihoods of rubber growers.
• To create employment opportunities in the rubber sector.
• To promote the development of the rubber-based industry.

Components of the Scheme:

• Rubber growers receive financial support to replace their aging, unproductive rubber trees with high-yielding, disease-resistant cultivars.
• Rubber growers received financial support to intercrop rubber with other crops like cocoa, bananas, and pineapple. Rubber growers can increase their revenue and preserve moisture in their land by intercropping.
• Rubber growers receive extension services and training on the best methods for producing, processing, and selling rubber.
• Infrastructure improvements in rubber-growing areas, including roads, water collection structures, and processing units, received financial support.
• The development and growth of rubber-based sectors, including the production of tires, shoes, and latex processing facilities, were given financial support.