·         A significant step toward strengthening Uttarakhand's power infrastructure is the agreement between the Indian government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a loan of $200 million.

·         The project will introduce a modernized underground cable system that spans 537 kilometers, as well as substations and power lines, with the goal of improving quality, efficiency, and reliability. It will also ensure a smoother integration of renewable energy and meet rising electricity demand.

·         The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank that was established in 1966 with the goal of supporting social and economic growth in Asia and the Pacific.

·         There are 68 members; 49 are from inside Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside. India is an establishing part. Manila, Philippines, is home to ADB's headquarters.

·         The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act of 2023, which provides 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State legislatures, was recently extended to the Union Territories of Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir by two bills passed by the Lok Sabha.

·         The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2023 were both introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

·         In the legislative assemblies of Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, the two Bills aim to increase women's representation and participation as public representatives.

Reservations for women in the Puducherry Legislative Assembly must be established by Parliament by amending the Government of Union Territories Act of 1963.

·         The Indian Naval force as of late charged INS Tarmugli, a quick assault makes (FAC), displaying oceanic discretion and strength.

·         In 2006, as part of India's diplomatic outreach in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the ship, which was commissioned in the Indian Navy as INS Tillanchang and belongs to the Trinkat class, was given to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) government as a gift.

·         The boat was gotten back to the Indian Naval force in May 2023, the warship is fitted with MTU motors, the most recent correspondence gear, and a high level Radar framework and will be broadly utilized for seaside observation and security along the east bank of India.

·         Tarmugli Island, a small Andaman group island, is the ship's name.

·         Researchers at IISER Bhopal carried out the first-ever genome sequencing of the jamun tree (Syzygium cumini) and discovered the species' pharmacological properties. The Jamun tree is a popular evergreen tree in India due to its ornamental value, medicinal properties, and fruit.

·         The bioactive compounds that give Jamun its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-diabetic properties can be found in its genetic code.

·         The concentrate likewise features the presence of qualities connected to terpenoids and glucosides, key supporters of its guard components and hostile to diabetic capacities individually.

·         Genome sequencing is the most common way of deciding the specific request of DNA building blocks in a creature, disclosing its finished hereditary plan.

·         The Rajya Sabha as of late endorsed the Central Political race Magistrate and Other Political decision Magistrates (Arrangement, States of Administration and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, which frames the strategies for naming the Main Political decision Chief (CEC) and Political decision Magistrates (EC).

·         The regulation expects to carry straightforwardness to the arrangement cycle, answering a mandate from the High Court of India.

What are the Bill's Most Important Provisions?

·         The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act of 1991 has been superseded by the Bill.

It discusses the CEC and ECs' appointment, pay, and removal.

Arrangement Cycle:

·         On the basis of a Selection Committee's recommendation, the President will select the CEC and ECs.

·         The Prime Minister, a minister from the Union Cabinet, and the Leader of Opposition and leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha will make up the Selection Committee.

·         Suggestions of the Choice Panel will be legitimate in any event, when there is an opening in this Board of trustees.

·         A group of names will be submitted to the Selection Committee by a Search Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

·         A position equivalent to Secretary to the central government must be held to be eligible for the positions.

Conditions and Salary Modifications:

·         The compensation and states of administration of the CEC and ECs will be comparable to that of the Bureau Secretary.

·         Under the 1991 Demonstration, it was comparable to the compensation of a Justice for the highest court.

Expulsion Interaction:

·         The Bill holds the protected arrangement (Article 324(5)) that permits the CEC to be eliminated like a Justice for the nation's highest court, while ECs must be taken out on the suggestion of the CEC.

CEC and EC protection:

·         Bill shields CEC and ECs from legal procedures connected with moves made during their residency, gave such activities were completed in the release of true obligations.

·         The goal of the amendment was to keep these officials out of civil or criminal cases involving their official duties.

Currently, how are the CECs and ECs appointed?

Provisions of the Constitution:

·         The Constitution's Part XV (Elections) contains just five Articles (324-329).

The Constitution doesn't set out a particular regulative cycle for the arrangement of the CEC and ECs.

·         An Election Commission made up of "the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix" is given the "superintendence, direction, and control of elections" by Article 324 of the Constitution.

·         The Union Council of Ministers, led by the Prime Minister, provides the President with advice before making the appointment.

·         The Law Minister presents the Prime Minister with a list of potential candidates for consideration. The President makes the arrangement on the counsel of the PM.

Removal:

·         They can resign at any time or be removed before their term ends.

·         The CEC can be eliminated from office just through a course of evacuation like that of a SC judge by Parliament.

·         Some other EC can't be eliminated besides on the proposal of CEC.

What are the objections to the bill?

Independence and transparency:

·         In some cases, allowing the Selection Committee's recommendations to stand despite a vacancy could lead to a monopoly of members of the ruling party, compromising the committee's diversity and independence.

Shift from Legal Benchmark to Leader Control:

Comparing the compensation of the CEC and ECs with that of the Bureau Secretary, whose not set in stone by the chief, raises worries about potential government impact.

·         This change may jeopardize the EC's financial independence, in contrast to the Supreme Court Judge's salary, which is established by an Act of Parliament.

Eligibility Restrictions for Civil Servants:

·         Confining qualification to people who have stood firm on a footing comparable to the Secretary to the public authority might reject possibly qualified competitors, restricting the variety of foundations and mastery in the ECI.

Worries About Absence of Equality:

·         While ECs can only be removed on the recommendation of the CEC, the Bill keeps the constitutional provision that allows the CEC to be removed in the same manner as a Supreme Court Judge.

·         This absence of equality in expulsion cycles might bring up issues about reasonableness.