GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

The Election Commission of India (ECI) says that it has developed a prototype for a Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine which would enable remote voting by migrant voters.

More about the news

• EC has developed a prototype for a Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM).
  • It can handle multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
• EC has invited all recognized eight national and 57 state political parties to demonstrate the functioning of the RVM.
• If the pilot is successful then in the 2024 general elections voter portability can be fully implemented.

The problem: migration-based disenfranchisement

• Domestic migration: It has been a big reason why registered voters do not end up voting.
• Increasing numbers: As per the 2011 census, there are nearly 45.36 crore migrants in India (both intra and interstate).
  • It amounts to approximately 37 per cent of the country’s population.
• Voting denied: For a large chunk of the population, its franchise gets denied due to exigencies of work or lack of resources to travel.
  • This goes directly against the EC’s “No voter left behind” goal.

The proposed solution: Remote EVMs

• Committee of Officers on Domestic Migrants: The EC has formed this committee to consider various solutions:
  • Internet voting
  • Proxy voting
  • Early voting and
  • Postal ballots for migrant workers
• All of these ideas were rejected due to reasons such as the lack of secrecy of the vote, the lack of sanctity of one person one vote principle, issues of accessibility for unlettered voters, etc.
• Thus, a technological solution was proposed: Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM).

Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM)

• Development: The RVM was developed with the assistance of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL).
• Technology: It is based on the currently used EVM system.
  • RVMs are “stand-alone, non-networked systems”.

• Procedure: RVM will be set up in remote locations outside the state under similar conditions as current polling booths.

Working of RVM

• A single Remote Ballot Unit (RBU) will be able to cater to multiple constituencies (as many as 72).
• It uses a “dynamic ballot display board” instead of the usually printed paper ballot sheet on EVMs.
• The Ballot Unit Overlay Display (BUOD) will show the requisite candidates based on the constituency number read on the voter’s Constituency card.
• A barcode scanning system will be used to read these cards.

The voting process will be as follow:

• After verifying a voter’s identity, their constituency card will be read with a public display showing the constituency details and candidates.
• This will also be displayed privately, on the BUOD in the RVM’s RBU.
• The voter will then vote and each vote will be stored constituency-wise in the control unit of the voting machine.
• The VVPAT system is expected to work along the same lines as the new technology.

Voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or verified paper record (VPR) is a method of providing feedback to voters using a ballotless voting system.

Significance:

• Domestic migrants don’t have to travel back to their home states to vote.
• It can lead to a social transformation for the migrants
• It will help to boost voter turnout.
• It will also help in strengthening India’s democratic process as voters will be connected with their roots.

Despite outlawing caste-based discrimination in 1950, Dalits still get discriminated against when applying for programs established to help them.

Challenges faced by Dalit Women

• Failure of policies: Dalit women continue to suffer from a high degree of poverty, gender discrimination, caste discrimination, and socioeconomic deprivation.
• Violence: Girls face violence at a younger age and at a higher rate than women of other castes.
• Caste System
• Exploitation by dominant castes
• Cases are withdrawn and lack of justice
• Workplace violence
  
  
  

Rigid Occupational Hierarchy

• Caste is essentially the stratification of people into a rigid occupational hierarchy.
• The origins of India’s caste system go back thousands of years.
• It is deeply entwined with Hinduism.

Problem with microloans

• A microloan from a government bank:
  • It was pioneered by economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in the 1970s.
  • In India, it is backed by the Reserve Bank of India.
  • It is offered to people who lack the collateral that institutional lenders usually require.
• Role of RBI in Microloans:

• • Regulating the sector
  • Guarantor of microloans given by banks
• Provision for Dalit women: The Reserve Bank of India underwrites incentives including interest rates about half that offered to other women.
• Poor Implementation: 66 per cent of rejected applications were from Dalit women.
• Discrimination at the branch level.

The problem faced while issuing Caste certificates

• To qualify for a program to assist Dalits, they had to prove they were Dalits by supplying a government-issued caste certificate.
• But this certificate then became the means for them to be identified as Dalits and discriminated against.

Initiatives Taken to Promote Transformation

• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
• Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood (SANKALP) Scheme
• Stand Up India Scheme
• Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana

India must strengthen ties with the Maldives without taking sides in domestic politics, given the political turmoil the Maldives is experiencing.

Background:

• Former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen has been convicted by a Maldivian criminal court
• As opposition leader, he has spearheaded the “India Out” campaign.
• Yameen has been alleged of having close links with China.

How are these developments relevant to India?

• Abdulla Yameen is trying to link his incarceration to pressure from India.
• India needs to tread carefully regarding the domestic politics of the Maldives.

How have India’s Relations with the Maldives been?

• Security Partnership: Recently, the National College for Policing and Law Enforcement (NCPLE) was inaugurated by India’s External Affairs Minister.
• Economic Cooperation: Tourism is the mainstay of the Maldivian economy. The country is now a major tourist destination for some Indians and a job destination for others.
  • In August 2021, Afcons, an Indian company, signed a contract for the largest-ever infrastructure project in Maldives which is the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP).
• India is Maldives' 2^nd largest trading partner – rising from its 4^th position in 2018.
  • In 2021, bilateral trade registered a growth of 31% over the previous year – overcoming the pandemic-related challenges.

Recent developments in India-Maldives Relations

• The Government has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of judicial cooperation between India and the Judicial Service Commission of Maldives.
• It is the eighth MoU signed between India and other countries in the field of Judicial Cooperation.
• Male connectivity project: The Greater Male Connectivity Project launch, a USD 500 million project funded by New Delhi.
• Agreements: The countries have signed six agreements to expand cooperation in a range of areas in the Maldives, including:
  • Cybersecurity
  • Capacity Building
  • Housing
  • Disaster Management
  • Challenges in India-Maldives Relations

Challenges:

• Political Instability: India’s primary concern has been the impact of political instability in the neighbourhood on its security and development.
• The February 2015 arrest of Maldives’ opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges and the consequent political crisis have posed a real diplomatic test for India’s neighbourhood policy.
• Radicalization: In the past decade or so, the number of Maldivians drawn towards terrorist groups like the Islamic State (IS) and Pakistan-based jihadist groups has been increasing.
• This gives rise to the possibility of Pakistan-based terror groups using remote Maldivian islands as a launch pad for terror attacks against India and Indian interests.
• China Angle: China’s strategic footprint in India’s neighbourhood has increased. The Maldives has emerged as an important 'pearl' in China’s “String of Pearls” construct in South Asia.
• Given the uncertain dynamics of Sino-Indian relations, China’s strategic presence in the Maldives remains a concern.
• Also, the Maldives have started using the China card to bargain with India.
  • Anti-India sentiments: The ‘India Out’ campaign has been effective in coordinating between different sources—political parties, social media, media, and China—and intensifying the anti-India sentiments more than ever.

India's current account deficit (CAD) surged to an all-time high of $36.4 billion in July-September, as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

• For 2021-22 as a whole, the CAD was $38.77 billion.

What is a Current Account Deficit (CAD)?

• The current account balance is the difference between the value of exports of goods and services and the value of imports of goods and services, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• A deficit means that India is importing more goods and services than it is exporting.
• The current account also includes net income, such as interest and dividends, and transfers from abroad such as foreign aid, which are usually a small fraction of the total, according to the IMF.
• India typically runs a current account deficit as it is a developing economy which relies on imports of several commodities like crude oil.

Causes

• Dis-balance between the import and export values
• Higher currency value, cheaper imports: As the domestic currency value is higher, importing products is inexpensive, so the nations prefer buying from other economies. 
• Higher national income: In such a situation, consumers spend more and if the domestic products do not satisfy their requirements, they would demand goods from overseas, leading to increased imports.
• Inflation: During inflation, people refrain from buying them from their own nation. 
• Deteriorating dominance of the export sector: When a country’s manufacturing sector cannot beat the developing nations, it disturbs the balance of trade, causing CAD.

What are the effects of such an economic phenomenon?