21 April 2024

• Elections: Lok Sabha Phase 2 campaign runs across 88 constituencies ahead of polling on 26 April 2024. Star campaigners from all major parties actively canvassing in Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra.
• International: G7 leaders discuss a loan of up to $50 billion to Ukraine, backed by interest from frozen Russian sovereign assets.
• Science: PIB confirms ISRO's Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) "Pushpak" successfully conducted its second landing experiment on 22 March 2024 from the Aeronautical Test Range in Chitradurga, Karnataka.
• Environment: Cyclone Asna warning issued for the Arabian Sea.
• Economy: RBI releases data: India's forex reserves touch $643.16 billion, the fifth-highest ever.

GS area: Polity (elections)

Phase 2 of the 2024 Lok Sabha election is scheduled for 26 April 2024, covering 88 constituencies across 13 states and union territories.

Key facts:

• Phase 2 states and seats:
  • Kerala: 20 seats (all in one phase)
  • Karnataka: 14 seats
  • Rajasthan: 13 seats
  • Maharashtra: 8 seats
  • Uttar Pradesh: 8 seats
  • Madhya Pradesh: 7 seats
  • Assam: 5 seats
  • Bihar: 5 seats
  • West Bengal: 3 seats
  • Chhattisgarh: 3 seats
  • Manipur: 1 seat
  • Jammu and Kashmir: 1 seat
  • Tripura: 1 seat
• Star campaigners: The RPA, 1951, allows recognised national parties to designate up to 40 star campaigners and state parties up to 20. Expenditure of a star campaigner does not count against a candidate's ceiling.
• Model Code of Conduct has been in operation since the announcement of the election schedule on 16 March 2024.

Static linkage: elections, Model Code of Conduct, RPA 1951.

GS area: Economy (monetary policy, external sector)

India's foreign exchange reserves reached $643.16 billion in April 2024, among the highest ever.

Key facts:

• Components of forex reserves:
  1. Foreign Currency Assets (FCA): The largest component, held in major currencies (US dollar, euro, pound sterling, Japanese yen).
  2. Gold reserves.
  3. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) with the IMF.
  4. Reserve Tranche Position with the IMF.
• Adequacy benchmark: Import cover. India's reserves cover more than 10 months of imports, well above the conventional 3-month safety threshold.
• Role of RBI: The Reserve Bank of India manages reserves. It intervenes in the foreign exchange market to prevent excessive volatility, not to target a specific exchange rate.
• Why reserves matter: Buffer against balance of payments crises, currency defence, and confidence signal for foreign investors.
• India's ranking: India is among the top 5 countries by forex reserves, alongside China, Japan, Switzerland, and the US.

Static linkage: economy, monetary policy, RBI.

GS area: Science and Technology

ISRO successfully completed the second landing experiment of its Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) named "Pushpak" on 22 March 2024 at Chitradurga, Karnataka.

Key facts:

• Purpose: RLVs reduce launch costs by allowing the rocket's first stage or the entire vehicle to be recovered and reflown. ISRO aims to reduce launch costs by a factor of 10 with full reusability.
• Pushpak experiment: A scaled-down (1:6) winged vehicle dropped from a Chinook helicopter at 4.5 km altitude, autonomously navigating to and landing on a runway with 3-metre accuracy.
• Comparison: SpaceX's Falcon 9 recovers its booster stage vertically. ISRO's RLV uses a horizontal runway landing approach, similar in concept to the US Space Shuttle.
• Landing test significance: The second test validated guidance, navigation, and control systems. Future tests will include return-from-orbit flights.
• Aeronautical Test Range: Located in Chitradurga, Karnataka. Managed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and shared by ISRO.

Static linkage: science and technology, ISRO, space.

GS area: International Relations

G7 nations are discussing a loan of up to $50 billion to Ukraine, to be backed by the interest generated from approximately $300 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets held in Western financial institutions.

Key facts:

• Frozen Russian assets: Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, G7 nations froze about $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets. The bulk ($270 billion) is held by Euroclear in Belgium.
• Interest mechanism: Rather than seizing the principal (which raises legal and geopolitical concerns), the G7 proposes directing the interest income (approximately $5 billion annually) to secure a loan to Ukraine.
• Legal debate: Seizing state sovereign assets violates established norms of international law (state immunity). Interest diversion is argued to be on firmer legal ground.
• India's position: India has maintained a position of strategic autonomy. India has not sanctioned Russia and has continued to import Russian oil at discounted rates.

Static linkage: international relations, Russia-Ukraine conflict, G7, India's foreign policy.

GS area: Physical Geography, Disaster Management

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued watches for a low-pressure area in the Arabian Sea in April 2024, typical of the pre-monsoon period.

Key facts:

• Cyclone season in the Arabian Sea: Two main seasons: pre-monsoon (March-May) and post-monsoon (October-December). October-November is the most active period for both the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
• Classification by IMD: Low pressure area, depression, deep depression, cyclonic storm, severe cyclonic storm, very severe cyclonic storm, extremely severe cyclonic storm, and super cyclonic storm.
• Naming: Cyclones in the North Indian Ocean are named by the IMD under a regional naming protocol. India's contributed names include Biparjoy, Tej, and Hamoon (used in 2023).
• Vulnerable coastline: Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Kerala are the states most exposed to Arabian Sea cyclones.

Static linkage: physical geography, disaster management, climate change.

• Civil Services Day (21 April): Celebrated annually to honour public servants who administer the country. 21 April marks the date when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the first batch of IAS officers in 1947, calling civil servants the "steel frame of India."
• Rashtriya Ekta Diwas: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth anniversary (31 October) is celebrated as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas. Civil Services Day (21 April) is distinct.
• Iranian President Raisi's Iran: President Ebrahim Raisi stated Iran would respond with greater force to any future Israeli attack, signalling continued escalation risk in the Middle East.