Your SandeshBox for the week

India

• Election commissioner resigns

  1. Arun Goel, Election commissioner, has resigned from the Election Commission a week before the Lok Sabha election dates are expected to be announced. Reportedly, his departure comes after a disagreement with Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar during their oversight of poll preparations in West Bengal.

  2. This leaves only CEC Rajiv Kumar as the only member of a 3 person committee as the other commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey retired last month.

  3. The two new candidates have been appointed through the government's recently introduced process, involving the final decision by a three-person selection committee consisting of the PM, Leader of Opposition, and a Union Cabinet Minister with the majority winning. This recently introduced process replaces the Chief Justice of India with a Union Cabinet Minister giving the ruling government the power to appoint anyone they deem fit.

  4. The 2 new commissioners appointed are Sukhbit Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar and they have deep ties to the government. Kumar spearheaded the repeal of Article 370 and participated in the formation of the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust. Sandhu has ties to the enactment of the Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand.

  5. The lone opposition member - the Leader of opposition - Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was outvoted by the 2 members of the ruling party and claims he was given the shortlist of six names just ten minutes before the meeting.

• Government notifies CAA

  1. Context: In December 2019, the government passed the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), allowing individuals persecuted on religious grounds in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to attain citizenship in India, with Muslims notably excluded. The passing of the bill sparked extensive demonstrations nationwide, highlighting objections to the marginalization of Muslims, who are left outside its scope.

  2. Despite being passed by the government, the CAA remained unimplemented as the Home Ministry repeatedly sought extensions to draft the necessary rules. However, the rules finally came into effect on 10 March, four years after the bill's approval by the president.

  3. Applicants under the CAA from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh can submit identity documents along with an "eligibility certificate" from a local community institution confirming their religious affiliation

  4. Despite facing over a hundred petitions in the Supreme Court, challenging the law for its alleged discrimination against Muslims who migrated to India and have resided there for decades, the court did not issue a stay on the act.

• The Election Bond Reveal!

  1. Context: Introduced in 2017, Electoral bonds are a financial tool allowing NGOs, trusts, or companies to make political donations. You can buy these bonds from any SBI branch, hand them over to your chosen political party, and they have 15 days to cash it. The bond is like cash, not recording the owner's details, making it anonymous. SBI keeps this information confidential, revealing it only if legally required.

  2. More Context: What did the SC say? On 15 Feb, The SC Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud concluded the electoral bonds violated the right to freedom of speech and expression. The court ordered the immediate halt of electoral bond issuance by SBI and the disclosure of all electoral bond donations made to be shared with the Election Commission(EC) and published on its website.

  3. Finally, after a long struggle the details are up on the EC website for everyone to see. Two lists have been published: one of who bought the bonds and when, and another of who encashed them and when. The key to matching the two, however, is still missing. These lists have been published for the period April 2019 to February 2023

  4. What does it reveal? During the period, electoral bonds worth ₹12,000 crore were sold. Future Gaming and Hotel Services, belonging to Santiago Martin, renowned as the lottery king, purchased bonds of ₹1,368 crore, which is over 11% of the total. He has a history of donating to the left in Karala and the DMK in Tamil Nadu. Vedanta was the top listed company with a donation of ₹402 crore..The BJP received slightly more than half of the total funds, while the Trinamool Congress(Bengal CM;s party) acquired ₹1,609 crore with the Indian National Congress (Rahul Gandhi’s party) got ₹1,609 crore.

  5. There are still several questions lingering - Why does big name corporates like Reliance and Adani’s name not show up? Why did SBI hold back the unique bond number in the data which could be used for matching? There also come speculations why do 3 out of the Top 5 donators have ED investigations on them.

• Election Dates announced!

  1. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has shared the schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and some Assembly elections. Voting starts on April 19 and the results will be out by June 4, 2024.

  2. The elections will happen in seven phases, starting from April 19 and ending on June 1, 2024. There's a huge setup with 97 crore registered voters, 10.5 lakh polling stations, 1.5 crore staff, and 55 lakh EVMs.

  3. It's interesting to note that the voter list includes 82 lakh people above 85 years old and 2.18 lakh who are over 100. Special arrangements are made for those aged above 85 and people with disabilities (PWD) with 40 percent or more disability to vote from home.

  4. The announcement of election dates also mean that the model code of conduct will apply not allowing the ruling government to make any significant change and regulating several issues issues related to speeches, polling boths etc.

• Glimpses from India

  1. The ‘One Nation One Election’ committee, chaired by former president Ramnath Kovind, has submitted its report on the proposal, strongly endorsing the concept and asking the government to set a date which could be as soon as 2029.

  2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Haryana section of Dwarka Expressway, which will help improve traffic flow and ease congestion between Delhi and Gurugram.

  3. A News18 ‘Mega poll’ predicts the BJP will win 411 seats out of the total 543 seats in 2024 elections.

  4. Haryana's CM Manohar Lal Khattar surprisingly resigned with relatively unknown Nayab Singh Saini becoming the new CM after passing the floor test. BJP also ended it’s alliance with Dushyant Chautala's Jannayak Janta Party whose support was critical in the first place to form the government. The BJP not only ended its alliance with the JJP but also weakened it, with the possibility of some JJP legislators joining the BJP.

Business

• Business Shots

  1. India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland, have signed a historic free trade agreement. The deal entails a substantial $100 billion investment in India over 15 years, promising the creation of one million jobs.

  2. In a series of cost-cutting measures, edtech company Byju's has closed all its offices except for its headquarters in Bengaluru's IBC Knowledge Park. Employees have been asked to work from home indefinitely, with no clear timeline for office reopening provided by the company.

  3. Flipkart is re-entering quick commerce while, BigBasket is offering two-hour delivery.

  4. The US House of Representatives (kinda like Lok Sabha) has approved a bill mandating that TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has six months to sell its controlling stake or the app would be blocked in the US. This bill received support from both Democrats and Republicans in the house underscoring the national security concerns over a Chinese companies having access to tons of American data. It still needs to clear the Senate and be signed by the president to become law.

  5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated three semiconductor projects virtually, including Tata Group's full fledged semiconductor fabrication unit in Dholera, Gujarat, and outsourced assembly and test facilities(OSAT’s) being set up by CG Power in Sanand, Gujarat, and Tata Group in Morigaon, Assam. The Tata group is projected to spend 1 lakh crore on this project.

  6. Perfios, a fintech SaaS firm, has received an $80 million investment from Teachers’ Venture Growth, part of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. This funding values Perfios at over $1 billion, making it India’s second unicorn of 2024 after Ola’s Krutrim AI. Established in 2008, Perfios offers B2B credit decisioning and analytics services to banking, financial, and insurance companies

Sports, Culture & Everything else

• And the Oscar goes to 

  1. Best picture - "Oppenheimer"

  2. Best director - Christopher Nolan, "Oppenheimer"

  3. Best actor - Cillian Murphy, "Oppenheimer"

  4. Best actress - Emma Stone, "Poor Things" — Winner

  5. Best supporting actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, "The Holdovers"

  6. Best supporting actor: Robert Downey Jr., "Oppenheimer"

     See here for the full list.

• Interesting tidbits

  1. Simon Stephenson, known for his work on 'Luca' and 'Paddington 2,' has accused the Oscar-winning movie 'The Holdovers' of plagiarism. According to Stephenson, the script of 'The Holdovers' closely resembles his unpublished work, 'Frisco.'

  2. During a Batik Air flight carrying 153 passengers, both pilots fell asleep, with the captain taking a nap and the sleep-deprived co-pilot unintentionally following suit. The plane deviated off course for 28 minutes, ignoring multiple attempts at communication, before the co-pilot finally woke up.

  3. The Academy provides elaborate gift bags worth more than $150,000 to important nominees like actors and directors, featuring vouchers for luxurious accommodations and wellness retreats, offering both nominees and brands a remarkable experience and promotional opportunity.

  4. Kate's two-month absence post-surgery sparked conspiracy theories, prompting the Palace to release a photo of her and her children for reassurance. However, major news agencies retracted the photo, alleging editing in the photo. The attempt to provide "proof of life" backfired, leading to a debacle. The Princess of Wales issued a tweet apologizing for any confusion caused by the photograph, but suspicions remained.

  5. Cognition AI unveils Devin, its advanced software coding assistant, outperforming competitors like GPT-4, Copilot, and Llama by three times. In tests, Devin builds a website from scratch in just 5 to 10 minutes.

Global

• Crisis in Haiti

  1. Context: The ongoing crisis in Haiti traces its roots to the assassination of President Moïse in July 2021 by Colombian mercenaries, with the mastermind still unknown. The subsequent earthquake which killed 2,200 people only compounded the turmoil. Ariel Henry assumed power, but his unelected and unpopular caretaker government, coupled with controversial policies leading to soaring fuel prices, has left Haiti in a state of worst-ever famine and political instability.

  2. Following Moïse's assassination, the power vacuum in Haiti has emboldened gangs, leading to a surge in violence over the past year. Gang-related incidents claimed almost 4,000 lives and resulted in 3,000 kidnappings, with half of Haiti's population struggling to find enough to eat. Basic services like electricity, clean water, and waste collection are unreliable, amplifying the crisis.

  3. On February 29, coordinated gang attacks paralyzed Port-au-Prince. Subsequent prison raids released over 4,000 inmates, intensifying turmoil. With gangs controlling 80% of the capital, citizens faced severe shortages without access to essential supplies.

  4. It isn’t exactly clear what the gangs want but a gang leader president is certainly not what the UN, Haitian people or any foreign government wants. However, there's a potential ray of hope in Guy Philippe, a former police officer with a history in drug trafficking, who could navigate various factions including the gangs & politicians in the country.

  5. In response to escalating violence and looting, Ariel Henry, the unelected leader of Haiti, has agreed to international demands for his resignation. Stranded in Puerto Rico due to threats from gangs, Henry has stepped down with Haitian leaders gathering in Jamaica are tasked with forming a transitional government, yet the absence of a clear leader raises questions about the future direction of the nation.

• International Snippets

  1. In January, according to a report by the Financial Times, the United States and Iran engaged in undisclosed discussions in Oman regarding the Houthis' attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The talks also addressed American apprehensions regarding Iran's nuclear program.

  2. Russia's presidential election is underway, widely expected to secure Vladimir Putin another term. Despite three other candidates, Putin faces no significant challenge. Putin, 71, has done minimal campaigning, potentially extending his rule until 2030. He has held power for longer than any Russian leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin by changing the rules to allow himself to run for reelection.