25 May 2024

• Elections: Lok Sabha Phase 6 was held across 58 constituencies in 8 states. Campaigning ended 48 hours prior per the Model Code of Conduct.
• Tragedy: A fire at the TRP Game Zone (Rajkot Gaming Zone) in Rajkot, Gujarat, killed 27 people, including several children.
• Space governance: Twelve European nations and ESA signed the Zero Debris Charter, committing to eliminating net orbital debris by 2030.
• Diplomacy: Ireland, Norway, and Spain formally recognised Palestine as an independent state, effective 28 May.

GS area: Polity (Elections)

Lok Sabha Phase 6 was held on 25 May 2024.

• Constituencies: 58 Lok Sabha seats across 8 states: Delhi (7 seats), Haryana (10 seats), Bihar (8 seats), Odisha (6 seats), Jharkhand (4 seats), Uttar Pradesh (14 seats), West Bengal (8 seats), and Jammu and Kashmir (1 seat).
• Delhi specific: All 7 Delhi constituencies voted in Phase 6. This was significant given Delhi's high political salience.
• Model Code of Conduct: Campaign silence applies from 6 PM on the eve of polling (48 hours before). No canvassing, rallies, or loudspeakers within 100 metres of polling stations.
• ECI enforcement: The Election Commission of India has the power under Article 324 to take all necessary measures to ensure free and fair elections. Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 prohibits election propaganda 48 hours before polls.
• Total election arc: The 2024 General Election was a 7-phase process from 19 April to 1 June 2024, with results on 4 June.

Static linkage: ECI, Article 324, MCC, election phases.

GS area: Governance (Disaster Management, Urban Safety)

A major fire at the TRP Game Zone (Rajkot Gaming Zone) in Rajkot, Gujarat, on 25 May 2024 killed at least 27 people.

• Cause: A fire broke out due to welding work on the premises. The structure involved tarpaulins, polythene covers, and wooden elements, all of which contributed to the rapid spread.
• Absence of NOC: The gaming zone lacked a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the fire department, as required under Gujarat Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act.
• National Building Code (NBC) 2016: The National Building Code, published by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), mandates fire safety provisions including fire exits, sprinklers, fire-retardant materials, and emergency evacuation plans. The gaming zone had none of these.
• Legal action: FIRs were registered under IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), which carries up to 10 years imprisonment.
• Context: Similar incidents: Uphaar Cinema fire (Delhi, 1997, 59 dead), Kumbakonam school fire (Tamil Nadu, 2004, 94 children dead). Both triggered major reforms in fire safety regulation.
• NDMA guidelines: The National Disaster Management Authority has issued guidelines on fire prevention. States are responsible for building safety regulation under the State List (Entry 6: Public health; Entry 18: Land; Concurrent List Entry 6: Transfer of property).

Static linkage: Disaster management, urban governance, NBC, building safety regulation.

GS area: Science and Technology (Space Governance)

Twelve European nations and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed the Zero Debris Charter at the ESA Ministerial Council meeting.

• Zero Debris Charter: A commitment to achieve a "zero debris" standard in space by 2030. Signatory organisations commit to releasing no new debris in orbits below 2,000 km and to responsibly disposing of their satellites at the end of life.
• Kessler Syndrome: A scenario proposed by NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978 in which the density of objects in Low Earth Orbit becomes high enough that collisions generate debris, causing a cascade of further collisions, eventually making LEO unusable. The Zero Debris Charter directly addresses this risk.
• Current debris situation: Approximately 36,500 objects larger than 10 cm orbit Earth. India is also affected: Chandrayaan-3 and other Indian satellites operate in orbits where debris is a growing hazard.
• IADC: The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee is the main international forum addressing debris. Its guidelines recommend satellites in LEO should re-enter within 25 years (a standard now being tightened to 5 years by ESA).
• India's space debris policy: ISRO has adopted space debris mitigation guidelines in line with IADC standards. The IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre) oversees India's commercial space sector and debris compliance.

Static linkage: Space governance, ISRO, space law.

GS area: International Relations

Ireland, Norway, and Spain formally recognised Palestine as an independent state, with the recognition effective from 28 May 2024.

• Number of recognising states: With these three additions, 143 of 193 UN member states recognised Palestine. Nine more European nations, including Sweden (2014), had previously recognised Palestine.
• India's recognition: India recognised Palestine in 1988 at the Extraordinary Arab Summit in Algiers, making it one of the early recognising states. India has consistently supported the two-state solution.
• Palestine's UN status: Palestine is a Non-Member Observer State at the UN (since 2012, through General Assembly Resolution A/RES/67/19 passed 138-9). This status allows participation in debates but not voting.
• EU and Palestine: The European Union as a whole does not recognise Palestine. Recognition is a decision of individual member states.
• Significance of May 2024 wave: Coming during the Gaza conflict, the recognitions were explicitly framed by these governments as support for Palestinian statehood independent of the conflict.

Static linkage: India's foreign policy, UN Observer status, Middle East diplomacy.

GS area: Geography (Water Resources)

Maharashtra's reservoirs, including Ujani, continued to record below-normal storage as summer 2024 progressed.

• Ujani Dam storage: Located on the Bhima River, Ujani is the lifeline of Solapur, Osmanabad, and Latur districts. Below-normal storage directly affects drinking water supply and Kharif planting decisions.
• Maharashtra's water scarcity: Maharashtra declared water scarcity in hundreds of villages in Marathwada and Vidarbha. The state's 3,000-plus major and medium reservoirs collectively held below 20 per cent of their total capacity by late May.
• IMD's forecast: The India Meteorological Department projected a normal-to-above-normal southwest monsoon for 2024, offering relief for the September-onward outlook.
• Bhima and Krishna basin: The Bhima flows into the Krishna, which flows through Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to the Bay of Bengal. Inter-state water sharing disputes (Mahadayi, Krishna) are governed by Tribunals established under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.
• Jal Jeevan Mission: The national programme for rural piped water supply (100% household coverage target by December 2024). Scarcity in Maharashtra highlighted gaps in implementation.

Static linkage: Maharashtra water, river basin management, drought.

• Sub-Saharan Africa locust threat: The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) warned that conditions in the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya) were conducive to a new Desert Locust upsurge. Locusts had devastated East African and South Asian crops in 2020-21, with India affected in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• ESA's Earth Observation: The Copernicus programme, which activated during the Iran helicopter crisis, also released data on Indian Ocean sea-surface temperatures relevant to Bay of Bengal cyclone formation, consistent with IMD's tracking of the system that became Cyclone Remal.
• India Post Payments Bank (IPPB): The government expanded IPPB doorstep services for senior citizens and specially-abled individuals, part of the larger vision for India Post's network (1.5 lakh post offices) serving unbanked populations.