State Election Commission

• Following Supreme Court directions, Maharashtra will hold local body elections in three phases, starting December 2, with all elections to be completed by January 31, 2026.
• Article 243 K & Article 243 ZA were inserted via the 73rd & 74th Amendments to establish a State Election Commission in every state as a constitutional body with powers of ‘superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State. 
• State Election Commission consists of a State Election Commissioner, who is appointed by the Governor for a fixed tenure of 5 years and cannot be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of a High Court.
• The State Election Commission (SEC) cannot add or delete names from the voters’ lists.
• The SEC uses the electoral rolls prepared by the Central Election Commission under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and bifurcates them for the relevant wards of local bodies.
• The SEC is responsible for the delimitation (division) of Assembly constituency voters into the respective local body wards.
• The SEC invites objections and suggestions on the draft voters’ lists for municipal corporation elections. Types of Objections:
  • Name missing from the local body list but present in the Assembly list.
  • Voter’s name assigned to the wrong ward.
  • Duplicate entries.
  • Multiple voters registered at the same address.

• Identification of Duplicates: The SEC will use a tool to identify duplicate names on the Assembly voters’ list using four filters: first name, middle name, last name, and gender.
• Field Verification: The Chief Electoral Officers will receive the list of duplicate names, mark them with stars, and undertake a field verification.
• Undertaking to Prevent Multiple Voting: Marked voters must provide an undertaking stating the single booth at which they will vote. This undertaking will be kept with the marked copies of the electoral rolls at that polling centre to ensure they do not vote in more than one place.

Precision Biotherapeutics

• Precision biotherapeutics are medical interventions designed and optimized based on a patient’s unique genetic, molecular, or cellular profile.
• Goal: To move beyond symptomatic management and identify and rectify the causative issue of an illness enabling a shift to predictive, preventive, and personalized healthcare.
• By identifying genetic predispositions and molecular dysfunctions early, treatments can be customized to rectify the cause of the illness before it fully develops, rather than just managing symptoms.
• Key Technologies Utilized:
  • Genomic and Proteomic Analysis: Decoding a person’s genetic and protein signatures to find disease-causing mutations or dysfunctions.
  • Gene Editing Therapies: Directly modifying genes to correct underlying problems (e.g., CRISPR for blood disorders).
  • mRNA and Nucleic Acid Therapeutics: Using RNA molecules to instruct cells to produce specific proteins or suppress harmful ones.
  • Monoclonal Antibodies and Biologics: Laboratory-engineered molecules that bind to precise disease targets (e.g., cancer cells).
  • AI-Driven Drug Discovery: Using big data and machine learning to predict molecular interactions.

India’s Current Landscape

• Non-communicable diseases (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular illness, cancers) account for nearly 65% of deaths in India.
• India’s highly diverse population makes it a complex testing ground, where pharmaceuticals tested abroad may not work effectively locally.
• Leveraging India’s growing genomic research base (like the IndiGen programme and Genome India) allows treatments to be customized for local genetic profiles.
• Government Focus: The Department of Biotechnology has identified precision biotherapeutics as a focus area under the Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment policy.
• Private Sector Involvement: Several biopharma companies are exploring precision therapies, including:
  • Investing in biosimilars and monoclonal antibodies.
  • ImmunoACT (India’s first to bring CAR-T technology).

Opportunities and Challenges

The Green Climate Fund (GCF)

• The GCF was established in 2015 under the UNFCCC framework to fund projects in developing countries for climate change adaptation and clean energy investment and support the vision of the Paris Agreement.
• Scale: It is the world’s largest institutional mechanism for climate finance, with commitments totaling $19 billion.
• The GCF aims to ensure its funds are evenly split between adaptation and mitigation projects.
• Criticism and Disbursal Issues:
  • Despite its size, only about a quarter of the committed funds were properly allocated as of 2024.
  • Developing countries criticize the GCF’s complex disbursal mechanisms and limited technical support for accessing the funds.
• New ‘Country Platform’
  • India was among 13 countries and one regional alliance that announced plans to set up a national platform for “climate and nature finance” at the COP30 ministerial event in Belem, Brazil.
  • This platform will be coordinated through the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
• Focus on Article 9.1: India is leading the developing countries’ push for a focused discussion and roadmap on Article 9.1 of the Paris Agreement, which mandates developed countries to provide mitigation and adaptation funds.
• Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA): The announcement aligns with expectations that negotiators might finalize a list of indicators to measure progress towards the GGA. India, among other countries, is expected to announce National Adaptation Plans, showing greater vocal support for a concrete GGA outcome.
• Current GCF Commitment to India: As of August 2024, the GCF has committed $782 million for 11 projects in India, including water, clean energy, coastal, livelihood, transport, medium and small enterprises, and climate start-ups.
• Type of Financing: A bulk of this financing is in the form of concessional loans.
• Nodal Authority: India’s Environment Ministry serves as the Nodal Designated Authority for GCF-linked funding.

Tier II Bonds

• Tier II bonds are subordinated debt instruments issued for a minimum of 5 years that form part of a bank’s supplementary capital.
• Subordinated debt instruments are loans or bonds that rank lower than senior debt in terms of repayment priority, meaning they are paid back only after senior debt holders are fully compensated in the event of a company’s liquidation. 
• Shareholders are paid last, if any funds are left after all debts are settled. 
• Hence they are considered riskier than senior debt and they offer higher interest rates (coupon rates) to compensate investors for this risk. 
• They are an attractive option for banks as they allow them to raise capital without diluting existing equity and also allow banks to add some extra buffers to their CRARs (capital to risk-weighted assets ratio),
• Bank Capital – A bank must keep some amount of its own money aside to absorb losses and protect depositors. Bank capital is divided into:

1. Tier I Capital (Core Capital)
2. Tier II Capital (Supplementary Capital) 
   • It includes Tier II bonds (subordinated debt), Revaluation reserves, General provisions, Hybrid debt instruments.

• Both together form the CRAR (Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio) under Basel III norms.
• CRAR – This ratio compares a bank’s capital to its risk-weighted assets to gauge its ability to absorb losses and protect depositors. 

•  The ratio ensures a bank has enough capital to cover potential losses from its assets and other risks, such as credit, market, and operational risks. A higher ratio indicates a more financially stable bank that is better able to protect depositors’ funds.
• Risk-Weighted Assets (RWA): These are the bank’s total assets, but each asset is assigned a risk weight based on its riskiness (e.g., a government bond is less risky than a corporate loan). This determines the minimum capital a bank must hold. 

Legal Status of Cannabis in India

• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, enacted in 1985, governs cannabis and related substances.
• No Blanket Ban: The law does not impose a blanket ban on every part of the cannabis plant; it specifically defines the prohibited parts.
• “Ganja” Defined: Section 2(iii) defines ganja as the “flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant.” This is classified as a narcotic drug.
• “Charas” Defined: Charas (including hashish oil) is defined as the “separated resin” obtained from the plant.
• The definition of ganja excludes “the seeds and leaves [of the plant] when not accompanied by the tops.”
• Bhaang, an edible preparation made from the leaves of the cannabis plant, is legal because the NDPS Act excludes leaves and seeds from the definition of “cannabis” (narcotic drug).
• Bhaang is not unregulated; the National Policy on NDPS specifies that it is subject to State laws.
  • States like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan license authorized bhaang dealers, while others, like Assam, have banned it entirely.
• Prohibition of Cultivation: Section 8(b) of the NDPS Act explicitly prohibits the cultivation of any cannabis plant except for authorized medical or scientific purposes.
• Kerala High Court Ruling: A recent Kerala HC ruling dismissed a petition by a man seeking to quash proceedings for growing plants.
  • The Argument Rejected: The petitioner’s defense—that the plants had not developed “flowering or fruiting tops” (i.e., ganja)—was rejected.
  • Clear Distinction: The NDPS Act draws a clear line: it bans the product (ganja, defined by its flowering tops) and separately bans the source (the cultivation of the cannabis plant).

Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands

• Known as Senkaku Islands in Japan, Diaoyu Islands in China, and Diaoyutai Islands in Taiwan.
• They are a group of eight uninhabited islets and rocks in the East China Sea.
• They are located northeast of Taiwan, east of China, and west of Okinawa Island (Japan).
• The islands are currently administered by Japan as part of Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture.
• The islands are the subject of a territorial dispute between Japan, China, and Taiwan, all of whom claim sovereignty.
• The waters surrounding the islands are considered to contain potential oil and natural gas reserves (sparked renewed interest in the 1970s).
• They are near strategically important shipping lanes and offer rich fishing grounds.
• The increased tensions stem from a diplomatic spat following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.