• The Election Commission’s CVIGIL App has emerged as a force multiplier and a powerful tool to promptly report unlawful campaigning activities and violation of Model Code of Conduct (MCC), officials said.
• A total of over 1,000 cases were reported from Himachal Pradesh in which over 800 cases were found correct and action was taken. Over 580 cases reported were for posters and banners without permission and 185 cases were for money distribution.

What is CVIGIL App?

• “CVIGIL” is a user-friendly and easy to operate Android application. It will be operational only where elections are announced. However, the beta version of the app will be made available for the public and election staff to download so that they can acquaint themselves with its features and also try sending dummy data.
• “cVIGIL” will allow anyone in the election-bound state to report violations of Model Code of Conduct (MCC) that comes into effect from the date of announcement of elections and goes on till a day after the polls.
• By using this app, citizens can immediately report on incidents of misconduct within minutes of having witnessed them and without having to rush to the office of the returning officer to lodge a complaint.
• The vigilant citizen has to click a picture or record a video of upto two minutes’ duration of the scene of violations of the model code. The photo or video is to be uploaded on the app. The automated location mapping will be done by the app using the Geographic Information System. After its successful submission through the app, the vigilant citizen gets a Unique ID to track and receive the follow up updates on her or his mobile. A citizen can report many incidents in this manner and will get a unique id for each report for follow up updates.
• The identity of the complainant will be kept confidential.

• The Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation has on 8 December 2022 announced the winners of the Jamnalal Bajaj award 2022. The Foundation gives 4 awards in different categories. Three are given to Indians and one award, for promoting Gandhian values outside is given to a foreigner.

Jamnalal Bajaj Award: Categories

• Constructive Works
• Application of Science and Technology for Rural Development
• Development and Welfare of Women and Children
• International Award for Promoting Gandhian Values outside India

Jamnalal Bajaj 2022 winners

For Constructive Works

• Nilesh Desai of Madhya Pradesh has been chosen for the Jamnalal Bajaj award for Constructive Works. He is the founder of the Sampark Samaj Sevi Sansthan which works for the upliftment of the Bhil Community.

Award for Application of Science and Technology for Rural Development:

• Mansukhbhai Prajapati of Gujarat was awarded the Jamnalal Bajaj award for Application of Science and Technology for Rural Development. He was selected for his innovation and entrepreneurship in bringing traditional pottery making into the mainstream. His company Mitticool produces clay products and clay pots .He has helped the rural artisans making clay pottery to find new markets and business.

Award for Development and Welfare of Women and Children:

• Sophia Saik of Odisha was awarded the Jamnalal Bajaj award for Development and Welfare of Women and Children. She is a social service activist who works for women empowerment and gender rights. She is a prominent activist for women beedi workers in Odisha.

International Award for Promoting Gandhian Values outside India:

• Dr Ogirat Younan and Dr Walid Slyabi of Lebanon was awarded the Jamnalal Bajaj award for Promoting Gandhian Values outside India.
• They are the founders of the Academic University College for Non-Violence and Human Rights. They are the pioneers of non-violence in Lebanon and Arab world and spreading the Gandhaian ideas in the region.

About the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation:

• The Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation established in 1977, instituted four Awards, to globally propagate the ideals of Jamnalal Bajaj. The annual awards are the Foundation’s gratifying felicitation to those women and men involved at the grassroots level, who are committed to inclusive development, working in line with Mahatma Gandhi’s constructive work program and who have taken a vow to selflessly serve the people, their community and nation, at large. Jamnalal Bajaj Awards are categorized into three National and one International Award. Each award carries a Citation, a Trophy and a Cash Prize of Rs. 10, 00,000.

• The state Assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat have recently concluded. As with all elections, while there will be candidates who will rake in huge victory margins, there will also be contestants who will lose their security deposit – an indicator of clear rejection at the hands of the voters.

About:

• An election security deposit is an amount that is to be deposited with the Returning Officer when a candidate files their nomination.
• This is to be submitted either in cash, or a receipt must be enclosed with the nomination paper, showing that the said sum has been deposited on the candidate’s behalf in the Reserve Bank of India or in a Government Treasury.
• The main purpose of this practice is to ensure that only genuinely intending candidates end up filing the nomination to be a part of the electoral process.
• The amount depends on the particular election being conducted, and the Representation of the People Act of 1951mentions different amounts depending on the level of election:
  • in the case of an election from a Parliamentary constituency, meaning a Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seat, the amount is Rs 25,000 and Rs 12,500 for a Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidate.
  • in the case of an election from an Assembly or Council constituency, meaning at the level of legislative bodies in the states, it is Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 for an SC/ST candidate.
  • even in the case of Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections, a deposit of Rs 15,000 is to be made.

When is a candidate said to ‘lose’ their security deposit?

• As per the same Act, the deposit has to be forfeited at an election if the number of valid votes polled by the candidate is less than 1/6th of the total number of valid votes polled.
• Or, in the case of the election of more than one member, it would be 1/6th of the total number of valid votes so polled divided by the number of members to be elected.
• This refers to elections by proportional representation method, as is the case in Rajya Sabha.
• If the candidate does meet the threshold, “the deposit shall be returned as soon as practicable after the result of the election is declared”.
• If a candidate withdraws their nomination or passes away before the polls, the amount is returned.

What is a national party?

• The ECI has laid down the technical criterion for a party to be recognised as a national party. A party may gain or lose national party status from time to time, depending on the fulfilment of these laid-down conditions.

As per the ECI’s Political Parties and Election Symbols, 2019 handbook, a political party would be considered a national party if:

1. it is ‘recognised’ in four or more states; or
2. if its candidates polled at least 6% of total valid votes in any four or more states in the last Lok Sabha or Assembly elections and has at least four MPs in the last Lok Sabha polls; or
   if it has won at least 2% of the total seats in the Lok Sabha from not less than three states.

To be recognised as a state party, a party needs:

1. At least 6% vote-share in the last Assembly election and have at least 2 mlas; or
   have 6% vote-share in the last Lok Sabha elections from that state and at least one MP from that state; or
2. At least 3% of the total number of seats or three seats, whichever is more, in the last Assembly elections; or
3. At least one MP for every 25 members or any fraction allotted to the state in the Lok Sabha; or
4. Have at least 8% of the total valid votes in the last Assembly election or Lok Sabha election from the state.

Where does the AAP fit into this scheme?

• The AAP is in power with big majorities — and very large vote shares — in Delhi and Punjab. And in the Goa Assembly elections held in March, it received 6.77% of the vote.
• This meant that going into the Gujarat-Himachal elections, the party already fulfilled the criteria for recognition as a state party in three states.
• It now required 6% of the vote in the Assembly elections in either Himachal or Gujarat to be recognised in a fourth state — which would qualify it for recognition as a national party.
• While the AAP got only 1% of the vote in Himachal — where it virtually pulled out of the race midway through the campaign — its almost 13% vote in Gujarat is more than double what it required to be recognised as a state party there. That made it four states.

What are the other national parties?

• As of now, the ECI has recognised eight parties as national parties — the BJP, Congress, Trinamool Congress, CPI(M), CPI, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Conrad Sangma’s National People’s Party (NPP), which was recognised in 2019.
• Once the official results of the Gujarat elections are announced, AAP will become the ninth party to be recognised as a national party.

Why in News?

• Opposition parties resisted the introduction of the Uniform Civil Code in India Bill, 2020 in the Rajya Sabha. The controversial bill has been introduced as a private member bill in the Upper House that envisages a collection of laws to protect the personal rights of all citizens without consideration of religion.
• BJP MP Kirodi Lal Meena introduced the Bill in the Upper House. The private member’s Bill that seeks to provide for a panel to prepare a Uniform Civil Code. The Uniform Civil Code in India Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for the constitution of the national inspection and investigation committee for the preparation of a Uniform Civil Code and its implementation throughout the country and for matters connected therewith during the private member’s business.
• The private member’s Bill was opposed by the members from the Congress, CPI, CPI (M), and Trinamool Congress. The Opposition members said the bill will ‘destroy’ the social fabric and unity in diversity of the country.

What is private member bill?

• A bill introduced by the Member of Parliament (MP) who is not a Minister, i.e., a non-government member is known as the Private Members’ bill. Members of Parliament (MPs) other than ministers are private members. Private Members can also move legislative proposal or bill which he/she thinks is appropriate to be present in the Statute Book. However, it must be noted that a private member can give a maximum of three notices for the introduction of Private Members Bills during a Session.

What is a Uniform Civil Code?

• A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is one that would provide for one personal civil law for the entire country.
• This would be applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.

Basis for UCC

• Article 44, one of the Directive Principles of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
• These, as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable(not enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.

• UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar is in talks with international book publishers to discuss the possibilities of bringing out undergraduate textbooks in English in Indian languages in higher education institutions across the country
• The UGC intends to translate a large number of textbooks in Indian languages in the coming six to 12 months and will also encourage Indian authors/academicians to write textbooks in various Indian languages and will involve publishers in bringing those out, Kumar said.
• The UGC has also formed an apex committee to prepare a roadmap and work towards bringing out textbooks in Indian languages used in undergraduate programmes such as BA, BCom and BSc, he added.
• The discussion with foreign publishers laid stress upon bringing out translation of textbooks in Indian languages such as Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Odiya, Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu.
• Representatives from Wiley India, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis, Cambridge University Press India, Cengage India and McGraw-Hill India participated in the interaction and expressed their willingness to be partners in this national mission.

University Grants Commission – UGC 

• The UGC was established in 1953 and made into a statutory organisation with the UGC Act in 1956.
• UGC is responsible for coordinating, determining and maintaining standards of higher education.
• The University Grants Commission provides recognition to universities in India and disburses funds to such recognised universities and colleges.
• The UGC has its Head Office in New Delhi and six regional offices:
  • Bengaluru
  • Bhopal
  • Guwahati
  • Hyderabad
  • Kolkata
  • Pune

Languages in Indian Constitution in Eighth Schedule:

• It lists the official languages of the republic of India. Part XVII of the Indian constitution deals with the official languages in Articles 343 to 351.
• The Constitutional provisions related to the Eighth Schedule are:
• Article 344:Article 344(1) provides for the constitution of a Commission by the President on expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution.
• Article 351:It provides for the spread of the Hindi language to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India.
• However, It can be noted that there is no fixed criteria for any language to be considered for inclusion in the Eighth Schedule.

Official Languages:

• The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of the following 22 languages:
• Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri.
• Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution.
• Sindhi language was added by the 21^stAmendment Act of 1967.
• Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were included by the 71^stAmendment Act of 1992.
• Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added by the92^nd Amendment Act of 2003 which came into force in

Classical Languages:

• Currently there are six languages that enjoy the ‘Classical’ status in India:
• Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).
• All the Classical Languages are listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

• Britain, Italy, and Japan will jointly develop a future fighter jet that uses artificial intelligence.
• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, the joint venture aims to create thousands of jobs and strengthen security ties.
• The three nations held out the prospect of cooperation with European and US allies, which are developing their own sixth-generation planes, vowing to maintain interoperability among all the allies against threats from the likes of China.
• The new “Global Combat Air Programme” is slated to produce its first jets by 2035, merging the three countries’ costly existing research into new aerial war technology, from stealth capacity to high-tech sensors.
• Work on developing it is already underway – with the aim to create a combat aircraft that will provide speed stealth, use advanced sensors, and even artificial intelligence to assist the human pilot when they are overwhelmed, or under extreme stress.
• It could also be flown without a pilot’s input if required and could be able to fire hypersonic missiles.

Top Fighter Jets in India

1. Dassault Rafale: Dassault Rafale is a twin-jet combat aircraft which is considered to be the world’s most advanced fighter jet made by the French aviation company, Dassault Aviation.
2. HAL Tejas LCA: It is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
3. Sukhoi Su-30MKI: This multi-role combat fighter aircraft is made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under a license agreement with Russia’s Sukhoi Design Bureau where they called it as Flanker.
4. Mikoyan MiG-21: The infamous MiG-21, the first supersonic jet aircraft is the most commonly produced supersonic jet fighter and also the most sold fighter jet in the world is an incredibly effective aircraft. It’s infamous because it has led to many crashes and the death of pilots and that’s why it is also known as ‘Flying Coffin’.
5. Mirage-2000: Dassault Aviation manufactured Mirage is better known today as the It is known for its role during Balakot Strikes in 2019 when Indian Air Force entered the POK and destroyed terrorist outfits and also played a decisive role in the 1999 war of Kargil. Mirage-2000, called Vajra (meaning lightning thunderbolt in Sanskrit) by IAF took its maiden flight in March 1978.

Why in News?

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) said that global capacity for producing renewable energy will soar by some 75 percent in the next five years.
• According to Agency’s forecast, renewables will account for over 90 percent of global electricity expansion over the next five years, overtaking coal to become the largest source of global electricity by early 2025.
• The IEA expects worldwide capacity to grow by some 2,400 gigawatts the equivalent.
• That increase is 30 percent higher than the growth predicted a year ago, as higher fuel and electricity prices make renewables increasingly attractive to investors and consumers.
• IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said that the world is set to add as much renewable power in the next five years as it did in the previous 20 years.
• The report also envisaged a scenario where the increase in renewables could exceed its main prediction by 25 percent, making it more likely that the world could reach that target.

Creation

• The IEA was born with the 1973-1974 oil crisis, when industrialised countries found they were not adequately equipped to deal with the oil embargo imposed by major producers that pushed prices to historically high levels.
• This first oil shock led to the creation of the IEA in November 1974 with a broad mandate on energy security and energy policy co-operation.
• This included setting up a collective action mechanism to respond effectively to potential disruptions in oil supply.
• The framework was anchored in the IEA treaty called the “Agreement on an International Energy Program,” with newly created autonomous Agency hosted at the OECD in Paris.
• The IEA was established as the main international forum for energy co-operation on a variety of issues such as security of supply, long-term policy, information transparency, energy efficiency, sustainability, research and development, technology collaboration, and international energy relations.

The IEA’s founding members:

• The IEA’s founding members were Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway (under a special Agreement), Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States. They were followed by Greece (1976), New Zealand (1977), Australia (1979), Portugal (1981), Finland (1992), France (1992), Hungary (1997), Czech Republic (2001), Republic of Korea (2002), Slovak Republic (2007), Poland (2008), Estonia (2014), and Mexico (2018) and Lithuania (2022). Chile, Colombia and Israel are seeking full membership.
• The IEA’s collective emergency response system mechanism ensures a stabilizing influence on markets and the global economy. It was activated five times since the Agency’s creation. The first was in January 1991, during the First Gulf War.
• The second was in 2005, after the hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged oil infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. The third was in 2011, during the Libyan crisis. The fourth and the fifth were in 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Modernization strategy

• While energy security remains a core mission, the IEA has evolved over the years, adapting to the transformation of the global energy system. Today, the IEA is at the heart of global dialogue on energy, providing authoritative statistics and analysis and examining the full spectrum of energy issues, advocating policies that will enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy in its 31 members countries and beyond.
• In 2015, the IEA’s Ministerial Meeting approved a new modernization strategy presented by the Agency’s newly appointed Executive Director, Dr Fatih Birol, to strengthen the Agency’s role as an authoritative voice on global energy policy. Ministers endorsed the focus on creating a more inclusive and truly global agency through closer engagement with emerging energy economies.
• The modernization of the IEA was structured under three pillars:
• Strengthening and broadening the IEA’s commitment to energy security beyond oil, to natural gas and electricity;
• Deepening the IEA’s engagement with major emerging economies;
• and providing a greater focus on clean energy technology, including energy efficiency.

Why in News?

• The Government has said that more than three crore sixty lakh pregnant women have received comprehensive antenatal care under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan programme across all States and Union Territories.
• Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar said this in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.
• Pawar said, the percentage of pregnant women with institutional births in public facilities has increased from over 52 per cent in 2015-16 to around 62 per cent in 2019-21. 

About Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan

What is the program?

• The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan has been launched by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India. The program aims to provide assured, comprehensive and quality antenatal care, free of cost, universally to all pregnant women on the 9th of every month.
• Hon’ble Prime Minister highlighted the aim and purpose of introduction of the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan in the 31st July 2016 episode of Mann Ki Baat.
• PMSMA guarantees a minimum package of antenatal care services to women in their 2nd / 3rd trimesters of pregnancy at designated government health facilities
• The programme follows a systematic approach for engagement with private sector which includes motivating private practitioners to volunteer for the campaign developing strategies for generating awareness and appealing to the private sector to participate in the Abhiyan at government health facilities.

Objectives of the program:

• Ensure at least one antenatal checkup for all pregnant women in their second or third trimester by a physician/specialist
• Improve the quality of care during ante-natal visits. This includes ensuring provision of the following services:
  • All applicable diagnostic services
  • Screening for the applicable clinical conditions
  • Appropriate management of any existing clinical condition such as Anaemia, Pregnancy induced hypertension, Gestational Diabetes etc.
  • Appropriate counselling services and proper documentation of services rendered
  • Additional service opportunity to pregnant women who have missed ante-natal visits
• Identification and line-listing of high-risk pregnancies based on obstetric/ medical history and existing clinical conditions.
• Appropriate birth planning and complication readiness for each pregnant woman especially those identified with any risk factor or comorbid condition.
• Special emphasis on early diagnosis, adequate and appropriate management of women with malnutrition.
• Special focus on adolescent and early pregnancies as these pregnancies need extra and specialized care.

• The Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association (ITFA), an organisation of Tibetans and Indian working in Dharamsala since 1995, will organise a tourism fest on December 10 and 11. The fest will feature Tibetan and Indian cultural events.
• Sanjeev Gandhi, executive member of ITFA and coordinator of the fest, said tourism had been lean since the outbreak of the pandemic.
• The ITFA, which included Tibetans and locals as members, decided to take the onus of organising the event till the government help came in, he said.
• Gandhi said the two-day event would be held on the premises of the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), McLeodganj.
• President of the Tibetan government-in-exile Penpa Tsering was expected to inaugurate the event. Cultural teams of TIPA, the North Zone Cultural Centre and Government College, Dharamsala, would perform during the event.
• He said a workshop on Kangra paintings would be held during the tourism fest. Various food stalls would be set up by local restaurants and people from outside the state to provide variety of cuisines to the visitors.
• The ITFA has urged the Tourism Department to give publicity to their event in adjoining states too.