28 April 2024

• Elections: ECI releases Phase 2 preliminary turnout: approximately 66.71 per cent across 88 constituencies. Phase 3 is scheduled for 7 May 2024.
• Polity: The Supreme Court reserves judgment in the EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) case. Petitioners demand a return to paper ballots.
• Foreign Policy: India and Germany hold the 7th Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC), signing agreements on renewable energy, green hydrogen, and skill development.
• Environment: The Global Risks Report notes that five of the top ten global risks by severity over 10 years are environmental.
• Health: World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (last Sunday of April): India accounts for about 11 per cent of global road deaths.

GS area: Polity (elections, judiciary)

The Supreme Court bench (Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta) reserved judgment on petitions demanding the restoration of paper ballots or a 100 per cent VVPAT count across all booths.

Key facts:

• EVM: Electronic Voting Machine. Used in India since 1982 (first pilot, Parur by-election, Kerala). Nationally deployed from 2004.
• VVPAT: Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail. A paper slip is printed showing the party voted for, visible for 7 seconds through a glass window before falling into a locked box. Introduced in all elections since 2019.
• Current VVPAT count: ECI counts VVPAT slips from 5 randomly selected EVMs per assembly segment. Petitioners demand counting of all VVPAT slips.
• ECI's position: The EVM-VVPAT system is tamper-proof. EVMs are not connected to any network. Administrative, technical, and procedural safeguards are robust.
• Petitioners' argument: An expanded VVPAT count is needed for public trust. The current 5-booth sample is statistically inadequate, they argue.
• Outcome (April 26, 2024): The SC dismissed the petition. It declined to order a return to paper ballots or increase the VVPAT count mandatorily, upholding the ECI's existing protocol. (The judgment was delivered on 26 April 2024 based on the reserved judgment from the earlier hearing.)

Static linkage: elections, Supreme Court, Election Commission.

GS area: International Relations, Environment

India and Germany held the 7th Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) in April 2024. Germany is India's largest European trading partner and development finance partner.

Key facts:

• IGC format: Joint Cabinet-level meetings between two countries at the highest level, covering the entire bilateral relationship. India holds IGCs with Germany, France, Russia, UK, and a few other partners.
• German development finance: KfW (Germany's state development bank) is the largest bilateral development finance institution active in India, financing metro rail, renewable energy, and afforestation projects.
• Green Hydrogen: Germany has committed to import green hydrogen. India is developing a Green Hydrogen Mission (target: 5 million metric tonnes production by 2030). A bilateral green hydrogen partnership was reinforced at the IGC.
• Skill development: Germany faces a skilled labour shortage. The Germany-India Migration and Mobility Partnership (2022) facilitates migration of Indian skilled workers.
• Indo-Pacific partnership: Germany published its first Indo-Pacific guidelines in 2020, signalling engagement with the region. India and Germany have converging interests in rules-based order and trade routes.

Static linkage: India's foreign policy, trade, environment.

GS area: Society, Health (Governance)

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is observed on the last Sunday of April each year. India accounts for about 11 per cent of global road fatalities.

Key facts:

• India's road deaths: Approximately 1.68 lakh people died in road accidents in India in 2022, the highest globally by absolute number.
• Global picture: WHO's Global Status Report on Road Safety (2023) estimated 1.19 million road deaths globally per year.
• Vulnerable road users: In India, two-wheeler riders (44 per cent) and pedestrians (20 per cent) account for the largest share of road deaths.
• iRAP (International Road Assessment Programme): India is undertaking road safety star ratings under iRAP for national highways.
• Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019: Increased fines for traffic violations, introduced hit-and-run compensation, and enabled automated enforcement. Aims to reduce deaths by 50 per cent by 2030 (in line with the Brasilia Declaration, 2015).
• Good Samaritan Law: Section 134 of the Motor Vehicles Act protects those who help accident victims from harassment.

Static linkage: governance, health, social issues.

GS area: Environment, International Relations

The World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report consistently finds environmental risks among the most severe over a 10-year horizon.

Key facts:

• Top environmental risks: Failure to mitigate climate change, failure of climate change adaptation, natural disasters and extreme weather events, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, and pollution.
• Interconnected risks: Environmental risks are interconnected with economic, social, and technological risks. A climate shock can trigger food insecurity, migration, and political instability simultaneously.
• Tipping points: Possible irreversible tipping points include collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, dieback of the Amazon rainforest, permafrost thaw releasing methane, and weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC).
• AMOC concern: Slowing of AMOC (the ocean circulation system that warms Europe) could cause dramatic climate shifts. Studies in 2023-24 suggested AMOC may be approaching a tipping point.

Static linkage: environment, climate change, disaster management.

GS area: International Relations, Economy (Trade)

India-EU FTA negotiations resumed in 2022 after a nine-year gap. Talks are ongoing across trade in goods, services, investment, and the geographical indications (GI) chapter.

Key facts:

• History: India-EU FTA talks started in 2007. They stalled in 2013 over disagreements on market access, data protection, and intellectual property.
• 2022 restart: Resumed following the India-EU Leaders' Meeting in May 2021. The goal is a comprehensive FTA covering goods, services, and investment.
• Key India asks: Greater recognition of Indian professionals for work visas (Mode 4 services), market access for generic pharmaceuticals, and information technology products.
• Key EU asks: Stronger intellectual property rights (limiting compulsory licensing of patents), access for automobiles and wines, and data localisation flexibility.
• Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): The EU's CBAM (effective 2026) will impose a carbon price on imports of steel, cement, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity, and hydrogen. Indian exporters are concerned about its trade impact.

Static linkage: international trade, India's foreign policy, economy.

• Phase 3 schedule (7 May 2024): Phase 3 covers 93 constituencies in Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
• Wayanad by-election: Following Rahul Gandhi's election from two seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha, Wayanad (Kerala) by-election was mandated by the Representation of the People Act for the vacated seat.
• National Immunisation Week: The last week of April is National Immunisation Week in India, marked by intensified outreach for routine childhood immunisation.