Recently demands were raised to recognise Right to vote as a fundamental right.

About Right to Vote in India

• It is a Constitutional Right.
• Related Constitutional Provisions: 
  • Article 325: No person to be ineligible for inclusion in electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex.
  • Article 326: Elections to Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies on the basis of adult suffrage (above 18 years of age). 
• Related Sections under Representation of the People Act (RPA) 
  • Section 62 in RPA, 1951: It deals with right to vote and specifies restrictions such as voting in no more than one constituency, disallowance in case of confinement in a prison etc.
  • Section 16 of RPA, 1950: It specifies disqualifications for registration in an electoral roll.

Key judgements 

• People’s Union of Civil Liberties case (2003): Right to vote is statutory, but freedom of voting is a fundamental right (Article 19(1)(a)). 
• Anoop Baranwal vs UoI (2023): Recognised it as a constitutional right rather a statutory or fundamental right 

Faizabad Bar Association resolved not to represent the accused in the Ayodhya Ram Temple embezzlement case.

Right to Legal Representation 

• Article 22 (Fundamental Right): No arrested person shall be denied the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of their choice.
• Article 39A (Directive Principle): The State must ensure that no citizen is denied access to justice due to economic or other disabilities.

• Key Judgements:
  • Sheikh Mukthar Case (2020): The Supreme Court recognized the right to a fair trial as an integral part of Article 21 (Right to Life and Personal Liberty).
  • Kuldeep Agarwal Case (2019): "Special circumstances" can justify an individual advocate refusing a case, but not a Bar Association doing so collectively.
  • M. Rafi v. State of Tamil Nadu (2010): All Bar Association resolutions that collectively deny legal representation to specific accused persons are null and void.

UK fighter jets intercepted a Russian patrol aircraft over Norwegian Sea.

Norwegian Sea

• Geography
  • Location: Marginal sea of Arctic Ocean between Norway, Greenland, and Iceland.
  • Boundaries: Barents Sea (North-East) and Greenland Sea (North); separated from the Atlantic Ocean by Greenland–Iceland–Faroe–Scotland Ridge and from Greenland Sea by Jan Mayen Ridge.
  • Formation: ~250 million years ago due to separation of Eurasian and North American plates.
• Oceanography & Climate
  • Currents: Warm Norwegian Current keeps the sea ice-free year-round.
  • Thermal Mixing: Interaction with the East Iceland Current creates rich fishing grounds.

Astronomers, including from India, discovered a hidden population of faint, weakly active supermassive black holes in nearby galaxies using e-MERLIN (enhanced Multi-Element Remotely Linked Interferometer Network) radio array.

About e-MERLIN Radio Array

• It is UK's national radio telescope interferometer. 
• Infrastructure: Network of 7 radio telescopes spread over 217 km across Great Britain.
• Connectivity: Linked by optical fibre to Jodrell Bank Observatory; operated by the University of Manchester.
• Resolution: Hubble-like angular resolution with high-sensitivity centimetre-wave radio observations.
• Capabilities: 2 GHz wide-band correlator for advanced spatial-scale coverage.

A new study focused on Microgastrinae found that Earth could hold 14.2 million to 20.3 million insect species.

About Microgastrinae

• They belong to a subfamily of parasitoid wasps that live on the larvae of butterflies and moths.
• Ecological Importance: 
  • Many species act as natural biological control agents for managing agricultural and forestry pests.
  • Provide an effective way to estimate overall insect richness due to their exceptional diversity and close association with their hosts.

The Indian Navy is set to commission its sixth Project 17A indigenous stealth frigate, INS Mahendragiri (with over 75% indigenous content) at Visakhapatnam.

• Project 17A is an initiative of the Indian Navy to build seven advanced Nilgiri-class stealth frigates.

About Mahendragiri Stealth Frigate

• Named after Mahendragiri Hills in the Eastern Ghats.
• Built by: Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai.
• Designed by: Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau (WDB). 
• Key Features:
  • Powered by Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion for high speed and long endurance.
  • Advanced stealth design with reduced radar signature.
  • Equipped with:
    • Surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missile systems, 
    • Sophisticated electronic warfare capabilities, 
    • Comprehensive anti-submarine warfare systems, 
    • Integrated Combat Management System.

The Department of Consumer Affairs has amended the Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011 under Legal Metrology Act 2009.

• Amendment reduces compliance burden, lowers verification costs and promotes Ease of Doing Business.

About Legal Metrology Act, 2009

• Aim and Objective: To establish and enforce standards of weights and measures, regulate their trade and commerce etc.
• Rules notified under the act- 
• Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011: Governs the design, calibration errors, and stamping of mechanical and digital instruments (e.g., weighbridges, thermometers, taxi meters).
• Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011: Governs mandatory labeling declarations on retail units, such as Country of Origin, Net Quantity, and maximum retail price (MRP).

The Ministry of Power has proposed a credit trading mechanism under Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norms.

• It allows passenger vehicle manufacturers to trade surplus compliance credits and buy credits from the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to meet fuel-efficiency targets.

About CAFE Norms

• They are regulatory standards that set fuel efficiency targets for automobile manufacturers.
• Implemented by: Ministry of Power under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• CAFE – III norms have been notified for the 5 year period during 2027-2032.