7 June 2024

GS 01 – Social Issues : Issues related to women and child

Nata Pratha

• Nata Pratha is a harmful traditional practice prevalent in certain communities in states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat.
• It involves the selling of girls, either on stamp paper or through informal means, under the pretext of illegal or child marriage.
• Often, these transactions are orchestrated by the girls’ own families.
• The practice results in severe violations of human rights and contributes to the perpetuation of gender inequality and exploitation.
• Girls subjected to Nata Pratha face physical, emotional, and psychological trauma, as they are essentially treated as commodities.
• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has deemed the practice immoral and called for its immediate eradication and abolition.
• It has directed concerned states to submit reports on measures taken or proposed to address Nata Pratha within eight weeks.
• The NHRC recommends prosecuting individuals involved in forcing women into Nata Pratha under laws related to human trafficking to combat this egregious violation of human dignity.

GS 2 : Indian Polity

Highlights

• The recently concluded 2024 Lok Sabha election had a turnout of 65.79%, slightly lower than 2019’s 67.4%.
• Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar stated that approximately 64.2 crore voters participated.
• Lakshadweep recorded the highest turnout at 84%, followed by Assam at 81%, while Bihar had the lowest at 56.19%.
• Uttar Pradesh and Mizoram also had low turnouts, with 56.92% and 56.87% respectively.
• The final figures may change pending inclusion of postal ballots.
• The overall voter turnout for the seventh phase was 63.88%.
• The Election Commission submitted the list of elected MPs to President Droupadi Murmu as per the Representation of People’s Act.
• Narendra Modi, after the BJP-led NDA’s majority win, is set to take oath for a third consecutive term on June 9.

GS 3 : Economy : Infrastructure – Energy

• India will have to invest as much as $385 billion to meet its target of 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy (RE) by 2030, but coal will remain a key source of electricity generation for the next decade, Moody’s Ratings said.
• India, a major greenhouse gas emitter, said it aims to ramp up non-fossil fuel capacity set by 50 GW each year to help meet 500 GW target. It missed its target of 175 GW by 2022.
• Moody’s, however, estimates an annual capacity addition of about 44 GW will help achieve the goal.
• For that, India will have to spend $190 billion to $215 billion on capacity over the next six to seven years and another $150 billion to $170 billion for transmission and distribution, the credit ratings agency estimates.
• India’s strong policy support boosted the RE share to about 43% in its power capacity mix in fiscal 2023-24, attracting private investments.

GS 3 : Economy 

The stock exchanges have broadened the definition of promoters for companies going public, now including founders collectively holding 10% or more and their immediate relatives if they are on the board or key managerial personnel.

• Old Definition:

• Under current SEBI regulations, a promoter is someone who controls the company’s affairs, appoints the majority of directors, or is named as such in an offer document.
• Founders holding 25% were considered promoters due to their negative control and power to block special resolutions.

• New Definition:

• SEBI now insists that founders holding 10% or more classify themselves as promoters for IPO-bound companies.
• The new guidelines extend to founders collectively holding 10% if they are key managerial personnel (KMP) or directors.
• Immediate relatives of promoters will also be deemed promoters if they hold 10% or more in the company, directly or indirectly.
• This expansion of the definition encompasses relatives who are not involved in management or board roles but hold significant shares, significantly broadening the promoter group’s scope.

GS 2 : International Relations

OPEC+

• It is a group of oil-exporting countries which meets regularly to decide how much crude oil to sell on the world market.
• Origin: These nations came to an accord towards the end of 2016 “to institutionalize a framework for cooperation between OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries on a regular and sustainable basis.”
• These nations aim to work together on adjusting crude oil production to bring stability to the oil market.
• OPEC+ controls about 40% of global oil supplies and more than 80% of proven oil reserves. 
• At the core of this group are the members of OPEC (the Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries), which are mainly Middle Eastern and African countries.
• Members: It comprises OPEC countries plus Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Oman.

Highlights of the news

OPEC+ is balancing oil supply and demand by extending output cuts into 2025, with some members phasing out voluntary cuts gradually. Brent crude prices dropped below $80 per barrel, a critical level for many members’ budgets.

• OPEC+ is extending most of its oil output cuts into 2025, aimed at balancing oil supply and demand and providing market stability.
• Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak emphasized the group’s readiness to adjust the agreement if necessary to support the market.
• Following the extension announcement, Brent crude oil prices fell below $80 per barrel, a key price level for many OPEC+ members to balance their budgets.
• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia, have been implementing deep output cuts since late 2022.
• Currently, OPEC+ members are cutting production by 5.86 million barrels per day (bpd), approximately 5.7% of global demand.
• In addition to these cuts, some members, including Russia, agreed to phase out voluntary cuts of 2.2 million bpd from October 2023 to September 2025.
• Alexander Novak stated that Russia is working on establishing its oil production capacity by autumn 2025.
• OPEC+ aims to agree on oil production capacity for member countries by the end of 2024, addressing a historically contentious issue since each nation’s output target is based on its notional capacity.