09 October 2018: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

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Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act 1951

• Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 mandates the Election Commission to fill the casual vacancies in the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures through bye elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more. 

Issue in News:

• The term of sixteenth Lok Sabha is upto 3^rdJune, 2019. As the vacancies from Karnataka have occurred more than one year before the expiration of the term of House, bye elections are required to be held under Section 151A of R. P. Act 1951 to fill these vacancies within six months from the date of occurrence of vacancies that is 18^th& 21^st May, 2018.
• Whereas, in case of vacancies from Andhra Pradesh, there is no need to hold bye elections as the remaining term of the Lok Sabha is less than one year from the date of occurrence of vacancies that is 20^thJune, 2018.

Background:

• Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 states:

151A. Time limit for filling vacancies referred to in sections 147, 149, 150 and 151.—Notwithstanding anything contained in section 147, section 149, section 150 and section 151, a bye-election for filling any vacancy referred to in any of the said sections shall be held within a period of six months from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy: Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply if— (a) the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is less than one year; or (b) the Election Commission in consultation with the Central Government certifies that it is difficult to hold the bye-election within the said period.

India–West Africa conclave in Nigeria

• Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, C. R. Chaudhary, is leading the Indian delegation to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)- EXIM Bank, Regional Conclave on India-West Africa Project Partnership being held in Abuja, Nigeria.
• The key areas for collaborative projects between India and Cape Verde are:
  • Climate change,
  • Electric mobility,
  • Renewable energy,
  • Tourism,
  • Infrastructure development and
  • HR building capacity.
• Niger has appreciated India’s support to build Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre (MGICC) in Niamey in Niger at the cost of USD 35.5 million on grant basis.
• India has offered to establish Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre in more than 20 counties of Africa, of which, Centres in 9 countries are being taken up in the immediate future.

About:

• The Conclave is a two-day event with focus on business deliberations, Business to Government (B2G) and Business to Business (B2B) engagements.
• It will be an opportunity for the Indian private sector and key institutions, like EXIM Bank of India, to identify priority areas and key projects for Indian investment and partnership with long term commitment to the region.

MedWatch

• The Indian Air Force has launched an innovative mobile health App named ‘MedWatch’ in keeping with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital India, Ayushman Bharat and Mission Indradhanush’ on the occasion of 86^th
• The app is conceived by the doctors of IAF and developed in house by Directorate of Information Technology (DIT) with ZERO financial outlay.

About:

• ‘MedWatch’ will provide correct, Scientific and authentic health information to air warriors and all citizens of India.
• The app is available on www.apps.mgov.gov.inand comprises of host of features like information on basic First Aid, Health topics and Nutritional Facts; reminders for timely Medical Review, Vaccination and utility tools like Health Record Card, BMI calculator, helpline numbers and web links.
• ‘MedWatch’ is the first mobile health app in the three Armed Services.
• The MedWatch mobile health app is an Indian Air Force initiative and a small contribution to our citizen.

2nd World Conference on Access to Medical Products: Achieving the SDGs 2030

• “India is deeply committed nationally and globally to achieving all public health goals. Together we are working towards providing highest possible standards of health care for our citizens. Universal health coverage is key to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 agenda and to which India is firmly committed”, this was stated by Shri J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
• The Government has launched Ayushman Bharat, a National Health Protection Scheme, which envisions health assurance of 5 lakh rupees (6815 USD) per family per year, will benefit over 50 crore (i.e. 500 million) people, and is the world’s biggest health assurance scheme.

Objective:

• To take forward the recommendations from the 1st World Conference 2017 and build on the work done for access to medical products in the context of SDGs (including trade agreements) in line with GPW 13 of WHO, foster new approaches in innovation landscape for medical products and health technologies for accelerating research and innovation and identify knowledge, information and policy options on the interface of international trade and health to achieve SDG 2030 goals.

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