DNA 17 JULY

Parliament, Assemblies in poll fervour 

The Election Commission has permitted 14 Rajya Sabha and 41 Lok Sabha members to vote in the Assemblies for the presidential election, while five MLAs will vote in Parliament on Monday

Some salient facts:

• The President is elected through an Electoral College that comprises of :

                        -MPs and 

                        -State and Union Territory MLAs. 

•  There are 543 Lok Sabha members, 233 Rajya Sabha members, and 4,120 MLAs from 29 States and two Union Territories. 
• The total number of votes is 10,98,903. 
• Nominated members of Parliament or the Assemblies are not eligible to vote. 
• Besides, members of the Legislative Councils are also not electors.
• As per the election rules, political parties cannot issue any whip to their MPs and MLAs for the presidential election
• In consultation with the Union government, the Election Commission appoints the Secretary-General of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, by rotation, as the Returning Officer.

Serial-numbered pens for voting 

• Electors have to mark the Ballot only with this particular pen and not with any other pen. Voting by using any other pen may lead to invalidation of the vote at the time of counting under Rule 31(1) d of the Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections rule 1974.
• Article 55(3) of the constitution provides that The election of the President shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.In this system,the elector has to mark preferences against the name of the candidates .
• The elector can mark as many preference as the number of candidates. While the marking of the first preference is compulsory for the ballot paper to be valid, other preferences are optional.

 Safe haven for endangered Egyptian vultures

• Breeding of the rare and threatened Egyptian vultures in a human habitat at the Punjabi University campus in Patiala has come as a pleasant surprise for birding enthusiasts
• Egyptian vulture is successfully breeding within a human habitation in Punjab and, more importantly, has become a resident species
• The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), one among the globally threatened vulture species found in India, is classified under the ‘Endangered’ (EN) red list of the International Union for Conversation of Nature (IUCN). 
• The species is popularly known as safed giddh (white vulture) in Hindi. 
• According to BirdLife International, a global partnership of organisations working for the conservation of birds, the present global breeding population of the Egyptian vulture is estimated to be 12,000 to 38,000 individuals. 
• GM mustard release faces another hurdle
• Dissent has crept in among agricultural scientists of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) over the possible release of genetically modified mustard
• The GEAC,India's apex regulator for genetically modified seeds has cleared GM Mustard for environmental release and use in farm fields on May11 this year.
• However,the approval is contingent on a final nod from Environment Minister.
• In May, NAAS President Panjab Singh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, endorsing DMH-11, a variety of mustard developed by Deepak Pental of Delhi University, a NAAS Fellow, that employs genes from soil bacterium
• If approved, it would be the first transgenic edible crop to be grown in Indian fields. 
• The plant had gone through adequate tests and was declared “safe” and passed regulatory muster
• The NAAS — a 625-member body of agricultural scientists — had about 200 scientists in its quorum when it passed a resolution endorsing the GEAC’s decision to clear DMH-11 for commercial field trials.  

Guardian UAV deal with U.S. still a work in progress

• At present,The Navy currently operates Israeli Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) UAVs
• The NAVY is keen on acquiring High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) to augment its maritime surveillance capabilities
•  The other option is to go for Israeli HALE drones, which India is quite familiar with
•  Last year, the Navy asked General Atomics for the details of the Guardian, following which company officials made presentations on its capabilities
•  Given the Sea Guardian’s capabilities, such a U.S. response to the Indian Navy’s request demonstrates a major change in U.S. policy as this type of aircraft capability is only exported to a very select few of America’s closest defence partners.

Govt. clears three export infra plans under TIES  

• Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) seeks to bridge the infrastructure gap and provide forward and backward linkages to units engaged in trade activities.
• The TIES which is being implemente from 2017-18 till 2019-20 has a budgetary allocation of Rs.600 crores.The Scheme's annual outlay is 200 crores.

Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme

• The scheme would provide assistance for setting up and up-gradation of infrastructure projects with overwhelming export linkages like the Border Haats, Land customs stations, quality testing and certification labs, cold chains, trade promotion centres, dry ports, export warehousing and packaging, SEZs and ports/airports cargo terminuses.
• First mile and last mile connectivity for export-oriented projects and addressing quality and certification measures
• The Central and State Agencies, including Export Promotion Councils, Commodities Boards, SEZ Authorities and Apex Trade Bodies recognised under the EXIM policy of Government of India; are eligible agencies for financial support under this scheme. 

Funding Pattern

• The Central Government funding will be in the form of grant-in-aid, normally not more than the equity being put in by the implementing agency or 50% of the total equity in the project. 
• In case of projects located in North Eastern States and Himalayan States including J&K, this grant can be upto 80% of the total equity.
• The grant in aid shall, normally, be subject to a ceiling of Rs 20 Cr for each infrastructure project.