June 19th Current Affairs

1. Atlas on General Elections 2019.

IN NEWS:

Chief Election Commissioner, Shri Sushil Chandra along with Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Shri Anup Chandra Pandey released ‘General Elections 2019 – An Atlas’.

KEY POINTS:

• In Indian elections, electoral data is primarily collected during the preparation of Electoral Roll by the Electoral Registration Officers and also in the process of conduct of elections by the Returning Officers.
• This data is then collated by these statutory authorities.
• Thereafter, after the culmination of the electoral process, the Election Commission of India collects this electoral data and prepares various reports for compilation, record and dissemination purposes.
• The Atlas encompasses all the data and statistical figures of this monumental event. It has 42 thematic maps and 90 tables depicting various facets of the elections.
• The Atlas also shares interesting facts, anecdotes and legal provisions related to the Indian elections.
• Since the first General Elections in 1951-52, the Commission has been publishing compilation of electoral data in the form of narrative and statistical books.
• 17th General Elections conducted in 2019 were the largest democratic exercise in human history which witnessed the participation of 61.468 crore voters at 10.378 lakh polling stations spread over 32 lakh square kilometer territory of India.
• The Atlas brings out salient features such as data of the 23 States and Uts where women voting percentage was more than the male voting percentage; information about the largest & smallest parliamentary constituency in terms of electors, candidates and performance of political parties amongst other parameters.
• The Atlas depicts the electors data in different categories and through various comparison charts like Elector Gender Ratio and electors in different age categories.
• The 2019 General Elections witnessed the lowest gender gap in the history of Indian elections. The Elector Gender Ratio which has shown a positive trend since 1971 was 926 in 2019 General Elections.
• e-Atlas is available at https://eci.gov.in/ebooks/eci-atlas/index.html.

SOURCE:PIB

2. Indian Certification of Medical Devices (ICMED) Plus Scheme.

IN NEWS:

• The Quality Council of India (QCI), and the Association of Indian Manufacturers of Medical Devices (AiMeD) have added further features to the ICMED the Scheme that had been launched for Certification of Medical Devices in 2016.
• An end to end quality assurance scheme for the medical devices sector in India.

KEY POINTS:

• The ICMED 13485 PLUS, as the new scheme has been christened, will undertake verification of the quality, safety and efficacy of medical devices.
• ICMED 13485 Plus has been designed to integrate the Quality Management System components and product related quality validation processes through witness testing of products with reference to the defined product standards and specifications.
• This is the first scheme around the world in which quality management systems along with product certification standards are integrated with regulatory requirements.
• This scheme will be an end to end quality assurance scheme for the medical devices sector in India.

• This scheme provides the much-needed institutional mechanism for assuring the product quality and safety.
• It will go a long way in assisting the procurement agencies to tackle the challenges relating to the menace of counterfeit products and fake certification.
• This will also help in eliminating the circulation and use of sub-standard medical products or devices of doubtful origin that could prove to be serious health hazards.

SOURCE:PIB

3. EUNAVFOR

IN NEWS:

Maiden Indian Navy – European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) Exercise in Gulf Of Aden.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Indian Naval Ship Trikand, mission deployed for Anti-Piracy Operations, is participating in the maiden IN – EUNAVFOR Joint Naval Exercise in the Gulf of Aden commencing today.
• A total of five warships from four navies are participating in the exercise on 18th and 19th June 2021. Other warships include Italian Navy Ship ITS Carabinere, Spanish Navy Ship ESPS Navarra, and two French Navy Ship FS Tonnerre and FS Surcouf.
• The two day exercise will see high tempo-naval operations at sea, including advanced air defence and anti-submarine exercises, cross deck helicopter operations, tactical manoeuvres, boarding operations, underway replenishment, Search & Rescue, Man Overboard drills, and other maritime security operations.
• Ships of the four navies will endeavour to enhance and hone their war-fighting skills and their ability as an integrated force to promote, peace, security and stability in the maritime domain.
• a virtual “Information sharing Exercise” is also being conducted between the Indian Navy Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region and Maritime Security Centre-Horn of Africa on 18 June 21.
•  EUNAVFOR and the Indian Navy converge on multiple issues including counter piracy operations and protection of vessels deployed under the charter of World Food Programme (UN WFP).
• Indian Navy and EUNAVFOR also have regular interaction through SHADE (Shared Awareness and De-confliction) meetings held annually at Bahrain.
• This engagement showcases increased levels of synergy, coordination and inter-operability between IN and EUNAVFOR.
• It also underscores the shared values as partner navies, in ensuring freedom of seas and commitment to an open, inclusive and a rules-based international order.

SOURCE:PIB

4. India and Bhutan sign MOU

IN NEWS:

India and Bhutan sign MOU for developing cooperation in the areas of Environment.

KEY POINTS:

• The MoU was signed virtually by Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar from the Indian side and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairperson of the National Environment Commission Lyonpo Dr. Tandi Dorji from the Bhutanese side.
• The MoU is a platform to further enhance Indian and Bhutanese partnership and support, exchange best practices in areas like prevention of Air Pollution, Waste Management, Chemical Management, Climate Change, etc.
• It also provides the possibility to have joint projects in areas of mutual interest.
• The MoU will also strengthen technological, scientific and management capabilities and expand the areas of cooperation in the field of environment to promote a mutually beneficial partnership between the two countries.

SOURCE:IE

5. IMD’s World Competitiveness Index.

IN NEWS:

World Competitiveness Index was compiled by Institute for Management Development (IMD) which examine the impact of COVID-19 on economies worldwide.

KEY POINTS:

• India was ranked at 43rd position among 64 countries.
• Switzerland has topped the list and is followed by Sweden (2nd), Denmark (3rd), Netherlands (4th) and Singapore (5th).
• Taiwan was ranked at 8th position, reaching among top-10 for the first time in 33 years.
• UAE (9th) and USA (10th) maintains the same spots as in 2020.
• Top performing Asian economies include Singapore (5th), Hong Kong (7th), Taiwan (8th) and China (16th).
• This index ranks 64 economies and assesses extent to which any country promotes prosperity of its people. This index started ranking countries 33 years ago by measuring countries well-being through hard data and survey responses from executives. It is released by IMD World Competitiveness Center.
• Among BRICS, India (43rd) is ranked second after China (16th). India is followed by Russia (45th), Brazil (57th) and South Africa (62nd).
• India witnessed improvements in government efficiency factor because of relatively stable public finances amid covid-19 pandemic. As per the report, qualities like investment in innovation, welfare benefits & leadership, digitalization have helped countries to get higher ranks.

SOURCE:IE