5 February 2025

• Delhi votes: The Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held today. 70 seats contested; turnout recorded at 60.54 per cent. Results due February 8.
• Household survey: NSO published Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24 data. Rural-urban gap in spending has narrowed.
• Election Commission: Institutional design of the ECI came under scrutiny following the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling on appointment procedure.
• Cooperative university: India's first national cooperative university notified, to be housed at IRMA, Anand.

GS area: Polity (elections, governance)

Voting was held today across all 70 seats of the Delhi Legislative Assembly. Constitutional facts that examiners test:

• Constitutional status: Article 239AA grants Delhi special status as the National Capital Territory. It was inserted by the 69th Amendment Act of 1991.
• Assembly composition: 70 seats. A party needs 36 to form a majority government.
• Cabinet limit: The Constitution (and the GNCT Act 1991) caps the Delhi cabinet at 7 ministers, which is 10 per cent of assembly strength.
• Restricted legislative powers: The Delhi assembly cannot legislate on public order, police or land. These three remain under entries 64, 65 and 66 of the State List and continue to vest with the Central Government.
• Governor's role: The Lieutenant Governor acts as administrator. The Chief Minister is appointed by the President on the advice tendered through the LG.

The GNCT of Delhi Act 1991 governs the detailed power-sharing arrangement between the elected government and the LG. Multiple Supreme Court judgments (2018 Constitution Bench, 2023 five-judge Bench) have shaped the balance.

Static linkage: Parliament and state legislatures, union territories (Polity).

GS area: Polity (constitutional bodies)

The Election Commission of India draws its authority from Article 324 of the Constitution:

• Article 324: Vests superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections in the Election Commission.
• Composition: A three-member body comprising the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.

The Supreme Court in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (March 2023) directed that until Parliament legislates, the selection of CEC and ECs must be made by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. Parliament subsequently enacted the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act 2023:

• New selection committee: Prime Minister (chair), a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM, and the Leader of the Opposition (or of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha).
• The CJI was excluded from the statutory committee, which drew criticism.
• Term: Six years or until age 65, whichever is earlier.
• Salary: Equivalent to the Cabinet Secretary.

Gyanesh Kumar was appointed as the new Chief Election Commissioner. Dr Vivek Joshi became an Election Commissioner. Rekha Gupta took oath as Chief Minister of Delhi on 20 February.

Static linkage: Constitutional bodies (Polity).

GS area: Economy (poverty, consumption)

The National Statistical Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the HCES 2023-24 data:

• Sample size: 2,61,953 households (1,54,357 rural; 1,07,596 urban).
• Survey period: August 2023 to July 2024.
• Rural monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE): 4,122 rupees in 2023-24 against 3,773 rupees in 2022-23.
• Urban MPCE: 6,996 rupees against 6,459 rupees in 2022-23.
• Urban-rural gap: Declined to 70 per cent from 71 per cent in 2022-23 and 84 per cent in 2011-12. The gap is narrowing over time.
• Gini coefficient: Declined in both rural and urban areas, indicating lower consumption inequality.
• Rural food share: 47 per cent of MPCE spent on food.
• Urban food share: 40 per cent of MPCE.

The Gini coefficient ranges from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (maximum inequality). A declining coefficient means consumption is distributing more evenly.

Static linkage: Indian economy (poverty, inequality).

GS area: Economy (cooperatives), Governance

India's first national cooperative university was notified. Key facts:

• Location: Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA), Gujarat.
• Status: Declared an institution of national importance.
• Coverage sectors: Dairy, fishery, sugar, banking, rural credit and cooperative finance.
• IRMA background: Established in 1979 by Verghese Kurien, the architect of the White Revolution and Operation Flood. IRMA trained generations of professionals who built dairy cooperatives such as Amul.

Cooperatives are a concurrent-list subject (Entry 43 of the Concurrent List). The 97th Constitutional Amendment (2011) added Article 43B directing the state to promote cooperative societies and inserted Part IXB on cooperatives.

Static linkage: Indian economy (cooperative sector).

GS area: Polity (symbols, governance)

A case of misuse of the State Emblem was reported this week. The statutory framework:

• Adoption: January 26, 1950.
• Source: Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka. Three lions are visible in the emblem (the fourth faces away).
• Motto: Satyameva Jayate, taken from the Mundaka Upanishad.
• Depictions below the abacus: Dharma Chakra in the centre, a bull on the right, a horse on the left.
• Legal framework: State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act 2005 and Rules 2007.
• Penalty: Up to two years imprisonment or a fine of 5,000 rupees or both.

Static linkage: Polity (national symbols).

• Jevons Paradox and AI: Covered again as AI energy consumption data entered mainstream coverage. More efficient chips lower cost per computation and drive higher total adoption.
• Santorini, Greece: Over 200 undersea earthquakes in four days, reaching magnitude 4.6. Santorini sits on the boundary of the African and Aegean Sea tectonic plates. Home to the Santorini Caldera and the Minoan eruption that occurred roughly 3,600 years ago.
• USAID: India receives 0.2 to 0.4 per cent of USAID's global budget. The 90-day freeze announced by the Trump administration did suspend operations in India.