15 March 2024

• Finance: The SEBI Board met and approved measures to ease Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) regulations, allowing Category I and II AIFs to create encumbrances on investee company equity in the infrastructure sector.
• Polity: Two new Election Commissioners, Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, were appointed ahead of the expected election schedule announcement the next day.
• Economy: The Human Development Report 2023-24 data, released on 13 March, continued to anchor policy debate: India at rank 134 with an HDI of 0.644.
• Health: India's UCPMP 2024 (Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices) extended to block gifts, foreign conference trips and unqualified claims of drug safety or novelty.

GS area: Polity (constitutional bodies)

The Centre appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as Election Commissioners on 14-15 March 2024, following the resignation of Arun Goel. This was the first appointment under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act 2023.

The 2023 Act replaced the previous convention whereby the President appointed Election Commissioners on the advice of the Prime Minister. Under the new Act:

• A Search Committee comprising the Law Minister and two secretaries nominates candidates.
• A Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM makes the final recommendation.
• The Supreme Court's concern: in Anoop Baranwal vs Union of India (2023), the Court had directed that until Parliament enacted a law, a committee including the Chief Justice of India should select Election Commissioners. Parliament passed the 2023 Act, which excludes the CJI from the committee.

ECI background: established 25 January 1950. Administers elections to Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state legislatures, and presidential and vice-presidential offices. Currently headed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

Static linkage: Polity (Election Commission, constitutional bodies).

GS area: Economy (financial markets, regulation)

The SEBI Board approved several regulatory changes at its 15 March 2024 meeting. Key measure:

• AIF encumbrance: Category I and II Alternative Investment Funds can now create encumbrances (pledges or charges) on the equity of their investee companies in the infrastructure sector. This allows AIFs to use their portfolio assets as collateral for debt, improving capital efficiency.

AIF background:

• Category I AIFs: invest in start-ups, social ventures, SMEs, infrastructure. Enjoy government incentives or concessions.
• Category II AIFs: real estate funds, private equity, debt funds. No specific government incentives.
• Category III AIFs: hedge funds using complex or leverage strategies.
• SEBI's role: regulates AIFs under the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations 2012.

Static linkage: Economy (financial markets, SEBI).

GS area: Economy, Society

The UNDP Human Development Report 2023-24 (titled "Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarised World") placed India at:

• Global rank: 134 of 193 countries (improved from 135 in 2021).
• HDI value: 0.644 (medium human development category).
• Life expectancy: 67.7 years.
• Expected years of schooling: 12.6 years.
• GNI per capita: USD 6,951.

Regional context:

• Sri Lanka: 78; China: 75; Bhutan: 125; Bangladesh: 129.

The HDI combines three dimensions: health (life expectancy), education (mean and expected schooling years) and income (GNI per capita). It was created by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq in 1990, drawing on Amartya Sen's capabilities approach.

India's Gender Inequality Index rank improved significantly: to 108 from 122 in 2021.

Static linkage: Economy (human development), society (gender inequality).

GS area: Governance (health regulation)

The Union Ministry of Health notified the Uniform Code for Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices 2024. Key prohibitions:

• No gifts: drug companies cannot give doctors or other healthcare professionals any gifts, cash, travel or hospitality.
• No foreign conferences: sponsoring doctors to attend international conferences is barred.
• No unqualified claims: words like "safe," "new" or "proven" cannot be used without evidence.
• CEO accountability: the CEO of the company must sign an annual self-declaration of compliance.
• Enforcement: Ethics Committees for Pharma Marketing Practices (ECPMP) handle violations.

The code is voluntary in nature (not backed by a statute), which limits enforcement.

Static linkage: Governance (health regulation, ethics).

• INFAAR 2019-22 Report: the Indian Network for Fishery and Animal Antimicrobial Resistance reported that Staphylococcus showed 60 per cent or higher resistance to penicillin in fisheries samples. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing crisis in both human health and food systems.
• SEBI Index Providers Regulations 2024: domestic index providers managing significant indices based on Indian securities must register with SEBI and publish their methodology. Global providers like MSCI, NASDAQ and FTSE Russell are exempt unless widely used by domestic asset managers.