Postal Ballots
- Election Commission has notified Postal ballotsfor essential services workers.
- Postal ballots or vote by post allow eligible voters to exercise their franchise when they are unable to cast their votes in person.
- Eligible voters for Postal ballots are:
- Service voters (memebr of armed forces, Armed Police Force of a State, government employees, etc.)
- Absentee voters (senior citizens, person with disability, etc.)
- Electors on election duty or under preventive detention.
- Paper used in Postal Ballot is different from the one used in the EVM.
- Tags :
- Postal ballots
- Election Commission of India (ECI)
Conference of Parties (COP) Presidencies’ Troika
- COP Presidencies’ Troika announced to cut emissions in line with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- It is aligned with Nationally-Determined Contributions (NDCs) under Paris Agreement by early 2025.
- UAE, Azerbaijan, and Brazil are the members of triokia who are the Presidencies of COP28, COP29 and COP30 respectively.
- Troika will focus on Catalyzing the mobilization and provision of technical and financial resources to further stimulate ambition in NDCs.
- Tags :
- COP Presidencies’ Troika
- NDCs
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Startup Forum
- 4th edition of the SCO Startup Forum was organized in New Delhi.
- The initiative focused on broadening:
- startup interactions among the SCO Member States,
- fostering an environment conducive to innovation,
- promoting job creation, and inspiring young talent to develop innovative solutions.
- The creation of a Special Working Group for Startups and Innovation (SWG) at the Summit of SCO Heads of State in Samarkand (Uzbekistan), in September 2022, was a key step in the development of the SCO Startup Forum.
- The SWG is permanently chaired by India.
- It is created with the vision of promoting collaboration among SCO Member States and accelerating regional economic.
- Tags :
- SCO Startup Forum
- Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
- Special Working Group for Startups and Innovation (SWG)
Bima Sugam
- Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) approved the setting up of Bima Sugam.
- About Bima Sugam
- It is formed under Section 8 of Companies Act, 2013 as a not-for-profit company.
- It is an insurance e-market with open standards and an interoperable platform.
- Act as a one-stop solution for all Insurance stakeholders vis-a-vis customers, insurers, intermediaries, or insurance intermediaries.
- Available free of cost to consumers.
- Enables insurance companies to validate and authenticate data from multiple touchpoints in real time.
- It aims to achieve the vision of “Insurance for all by 2047”.
- Tags :
- Bima Sugam
- Insurance for all
Earth Hour
- Earth Hour” is set to be observed on March 23 from 8.30pm to 9.30pm (IST).
- Earth Hour
- Earth Hour was famously started as a lights-out event in Sydney, Australia in 2007.
- It is a global event observed annually on the last Saturday of March.
- It is organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
- It is symbolic to raise awareness about climate change and promote energy conservation.
- Beyond the hour, Earth Hour inspires people to take further action for a sustainable future.
- Tags :
- Earth Hour
- Lights-out event
Environmental Clearance (EC) for extracting earth
- SC struck down notification exempting green clearance for extraction of ordinary earth for linear projects like laying of roads and pipelines.
- Exemption notification was issued by Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change in 2020.
- About Judgement
- Exemption was termed “Completely Unguided” and Extraction of earth in an indiscriminate manner is wholly arbitrary and violative of Article 14 of Constitution.
- Notification was non-compliant with Environmental Protection Rules.
- SC observed that “linear projects” have not been defined and thus making it vague and exploitative.
- Now, projects shall require prior EC from concerned regulatory authority.