Whip in Polity
- A Whip is a ‘written order’ which demands party members to be present in Parliament or a state assembly if an important vote is scheduled.
- It also asks them to vote in a particular way.
- A senior member is appointed a ‘Chief Whip’ & is assisted by additional Whips.
- This is not a constitutional post.
- There are three types of whips,
- One-line whip - It is underlined once.
- It is to inform its members of an important vote in the assembly.
- It allows the legislators to abstain from voting
- Two-line whip - It is underlined twice.
- It directs its members to be present during the vote.
- Abstention from voting invites more scrutiny from party.
- Three-line whip – It is underlined thrice.
- It is employed on important occasions like no-confidence motion.
- Party members has to oblige to this whip.
- Defying a ‘three-line whip’ can lead to expulsion of the member from the party.
- Under “The anti-defection law” (X Schedule), the Speaker of the House can disqualify such a defying member.
- The only exception is when at least two-thirds of a party legislators are in favour of the merger with another party.
- In the UK, defying the whip can lose membership of the party, but not the House seats.
- In the US, politicians have considerably more freedom to diverge from the party line and vote according to their own.
- The influence of the whip in US is weaker than in the UK system.
Government Bond
- It is a debt security issued by a government to support government spending.
- It is also called ‘Government securities’ or ‘G-secs’.
- It is the government’s vehicle to borrow from the public.
- The bonds can pay periodic interest payments called ‘Coupon payments’.
- It is a tradeable instrument, issued by the central government or state governments.
- They are considered as low-risk investments since the issuing government backs them.
- Their prices fluctuate sharply in the secondary markets, as it is determined by demand and supply of the securities.
- Every G-sec has a ‘face value’ and a ‘coupon payment’(interest).
- e.g The face value of a 10-year G-sec is Rs 100, and its coupon payment is Rs 5.
- The government will pay the buyer Rs 5 every year for the next 10 years.
- It will pay back their Rs 100 at the end of the tenure(10yr).
- The price is influenced by the level and changes in interest rates and other macro-economic factors such as inflation.
- e.g If the prevailing interest rate is 4% and the government announces a bond with a yield of 5%,
- Then a lot of people will rush to buy such a bond to earn a higher interest rate.
- This increased demand will start pushing up bond prices, even as the yields fall.
- The yields of G-secs have been falling, and are now at the lowest level.
- The fall is after the announcement in the Budget that the government would limit its borrowing.
ZED Scheme
- “Zero Defect and Zero Effect”(ZED) manufacturing is a scheme of ‘Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises’(MSME).
- It is an integrated and comprehensive certification system that will account for productivity, quality etc.
- Two components in ‘ZED’ culture,
- Zero Defect - Zero non-conformance/non-compliance & Zero waste
- Zero Effect - Zero air pollution/liquid discharge/solid waste & Zero wastage of natural resources
- It will enable our industry to build reputation in the global marketplace.
- The objectives of the scheme are,
- Develop an Ecosystem for Zero Defect Manufacturing.
- Promote adaptation of Quality tools and Energy Efficient manufacturing.
- Enable MSMEs for manufacturing of quality products.
- Encourage MSMEs to constantly upgrade their quality standards.
- To adopt Zero Defect production processes, without impacting the environment.
- Support ‘Make in India’ campaign.
- There are 50 parameters for ZED rating and additional 25 parameters for ZED Defence rating.
- The MSMEs are provided financial assistance for the activities to be carried out for ZED certification.
- The Rating will be based on the weighted average level and it will be valid for four years.
- ‘Quality Council of India’(QCI) is the National Monitoring & Implementing Unit (NMIU) for implementation of ZED.
- The surveillance audit will be carried out by QCI.
- The benefits for ZED rated MSMEs
- 0.5% interest rate on the concession on loans.
- 50% concession in processing fee.
- Government provides Rs.25 lakhs for adopting technology,
- Rs.10 lakh for domestic patent and Rs.20 lakhs for international patent registration.
- Rs. 5 lakhs for purchase of testing equipment.
- Rs.10 lakhs for ZED certification and handholding
- This will address the quality and ecological needs of customers, society, employees, regulators, and investors.
Sagar Maitri Mission-2
- It is a unique initiative of DRDO which aligns with the objective of “Safety And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)”.
- Marine & Allied Interdisciplinary Training and Research Initiative (MAITRI) is the specific scientific component of DRDO.
- It is to promote greater scientific interaction especially in ocean research among ‘Indian Ocean Rim’ (IOR) countries.
- INS Sagardhwani, will embarks on a two-month long mission.
- The mission commemorates the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of India’s lone research ship INS Kistna’s mission.
- INS Sagardhwani will revisit the selected tracks of INS Kistna.
- The prime objectives of the mission are,
- data collection from the entire North Indian Ocean,
- focussing on the the Andaman Sea and adjoining seas and
- establishing long-term collaboration with IOR countries in the field of ocean research and development.
- It will promote closer co-operation in socio-economic aspects with IOR countries.
- The IOR countries, includes Oman, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Myanmar.
INS Sagardhwani
- It is the Oceanographic research vessel of DRDO.
- It is maintained and operated by the Indian Navy.
- It is a ‘Marine Acoustic Research Ship’ (MARS) designed and developed by ‘Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory’ (NPOL), Kochi.
- NPOL is a premier systems laboratory of DRDO.
- The ship is fitted with state-of-the-art equipments like the latest wave height measuring radars, marine radio etc.
- It is exclusively used for the scientific and research programmes of NPOL.
Source: PIB, The Indian Express
