Facts in News

                                Facts in News

Delimitation Commission

• It is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
• Its members are a serving or retired Supreme Court judge, Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner nominated by CEC and Election Commissioners of the respective state.
• Its function is to determine the number and boundaries of constituencies, to identify seats reserved for SC/ST.
• It is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
• Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.

Delimitation

• It literally means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body.

Objective –

• To provide equal representation for equal population segments and a fair division of geographical areas so that no political party has an advantage.

Constitutional provisions:

Article 82–

• This provides the Parliament with the authority to enact a Delimitation Act after every Census.

Article 170–

• This provides for the  States to get divided into territorial constituencies as per the Delimitation Act after every Census.
• The Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission once the Act is in force.

Ease of Living Index & Municipal Performance Index

Ease of Living Index

•  It provides a comprehensive understanding of participating cities across India based on the quality of life, the economic ability of a city, and its sustainability and resilience.
• It was based on indicators across 15 evaluation criteria, including governance, identity and culture, education, health, safety and security, economy, affordable housing, land use planning, public open spaces, transportation and mobility, assured water supply, waste-water management, solid waste management, power, and quality of the environment.
• The assessment also incorporates the residents’ view on the services provided by city administration through a Citizen Perception Survey.
• The first edition of the index was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Municipal Performance Index

• It is an effort to assess and analyse the performance of Indian municipalities based on their defined set of functions.
• The responsibilities of a municipality span across a range of verticals that include the provision of basic public services to more complex domains like urban planning
• It was launched as an accompaniment to the Ease of Living Index.

SPAC

• A Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) is a company with no commercial operations.
• They are formed strictly to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring an existing company.
• They are also known as “blank check companies.

• A SPAC is generally formed by a group of investors, called sponsors, with a strong background in a particular industry or business sector.
  • They raise funds from other investors, and use the money to acquire an existing, privately held company — and then take it public in an IPO.

‘Red Rice’

• The first consignment of red rice was shipped from India to the US.
•  Iron-rich ‘red rice’ is grown in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, without the use of any chemical fertilizer.
• The rice variety is referred to as ‘Bao-dhaan’, which is an integral part of Assamese food.
•  The red colour is due to the presence of the pigment called anthocyanin.
• It would enhance the incomes of farming families of the Brahmaputra flood plains.
•  The red rice has more nutritional value than conventional rice varieties and a distinctive nutty flavour.
• Red rice is enriched with the goodness of antioxidants and magnesium, which helps in preventing and curing several diseases.
• Red rice helps in regulating insulin level. The low glycemic index of red rice helps in controlling the sugar level and is good for diabetic patients.

Dandi March

• Dandi March aka Salt Satyagraha, Salt March was the first event of the Civil Disobedience Movement after British Viceroy did not pay heed to 11 demands put forth by Gandhi.
• Gandhi ji started the non violent march from Sabarmati Ashram on 12 March 1930, travelled to 21 places and over 390 kms and reached Dandi on 5 April 1930.
• Gandhi  also published an article titled “Duty of Disloyalty”. In the issue of Young India.
• Gandhi, Nehru, etc were arrested on breaking salt law which again instigated masses to take part in Civil Disobedience.
• The Dandi March was launched to attain the target of ‘Purna Swaraj’ as per Congress Resolution at Lahore in 1929.
• Salt appealed to masses as Repressive Salt Law prohibited Indians from processing and manufacturing salt.
• The National Salt Satyagrah Memorial has been set up at Dandi by Gujarat Government to celebrate the event.

• Many more leaders took part and made it a grand amalgamation of Awakened Indians.

Employees’ Provident Fund (EPFO)

• Statutory body established by the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952
• Administrative control: Ministry of Labour and Employment
• It assists the Central Board in administering the following schemes for the workforce engaged in the organised sector in India.
  • Compulsory contributory Provident Fund Scheme,
  • Pension Scheme and
  • Insurance Scheme
• It is also the nodal agency for implementing Bilateral Social Security Agreements with other countries on a reciprocal basis.
• The schemes cover Indian workers as well as International workers (for countries with which bilateral agreements have been signed.
• As of now 19 Social Security Agreements are operational).
• The EPFO’s apex decision making body is the Central Board of Trustees (CBT).
• EPFO has liquidated equity outlay and retains 8.5% payout as interest over deposits.

“CSIR Floriculture Mission”

• Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry.
• This Mission is being implemented in collaboration with
  • Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-Directorate of Floriculture.
  • KVIC.
  • APEDA.
  • TRIFED.
  • Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC), Kannauj, MSME Ministry.
  • Universities.
• Approved for implementation in 21 States/UTs.
• Available knowledge base in CSIR Institutes will be used to help Indian farmers and industry re-position itself to meet the import requirements.
• Despite the fact that India has diverse agro-climatic and edaphic conditions, and rich plant diversity, it shares only 0.6% of the global floriculture market.
• At least 1200 million USD worth of floriculture products are being imported by India every year from different countries.

CERA Week Global Energy & Environment Leadership Award

• CERAWeek stands for Cambridge Energy Research Associates Week.
• CERAWeek was founded in 1983 by Dr Daniel Yergin.
• It has been organized in Houston in March every year since 1983 and is considered the world’s premier annual energy platform.
• CERAWeek 2021 is being convened virtually from March 1 to March 5.
• The CERAWeek Global Energy and Environment Leadership Award was instituted in 2016.
• It recognizes the commitment of leadership towards the future of global energy and environment, and for offering solutions and policies for energy access, affordability and environmental stewardship.
• PM Modi will receive the award and deliver a keynote lecture at the event.