audience statistics UPSC Preparation Guidance for Civil Services Exam

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• SBI the issuing bank of electoral bonds will henceforth stop the issue of electoral bonds and furnish the details donations through electoral bonds include name of donors, political parties receiving, and sums involved. • ECI will publish the information received from SBI on its website.

Grounds on which SC held Electoral Bonds to be unconstitutional. • Anonymity of electoral bonds violates the right to information of voters and citizens & transparency of political funding implicit in Article 19 (a) of the Constitution. a. As information about funding of political parties was essential for voters to make right and effective choices in a democracy. b. Opaque financial support for political parties can result in quid-pro-quo arrangements because of close nexus between money and politics. • Electoral bonds fails the restrictive means test of doctrine of proportionality, as there are means other than electoral bonds to achieve curbing black money. • Electoral bonds tilts the balance in favour of right to informational privacy. Thus, the electoral bonds is not the least restrictive measure to balance the right to privacy of donors and right to information of voters in a democracy. • Amendments to Companies Act, 2013 declared unconstitutional: a. Earlier loss-making companies could not donate to political parties. However, amendments allowed even loss-making companies to donate allowing even shell companies to indulge in quid-pro-quo political donations. b. Unlike individual’s donations, political contributions by companies are purely business transactions. Thus, treating individual and companies.

Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India Electoral Bonds scheme was introduced by the Finance Act, 2017 which allowed by donor corporates and individuals to purchase electoral bonds from SBI which could be cashed only by political parties. Rationale for introduction of Electoral Bonds • Keeping the identity of donors confidential to protect them from retribution from political parties as guaranteed by Right to Privacy to political affiliations. • Curbing of black money in political funding

Constitution Bench of Supreme Court in an unanimous verdict has pronounced the Electoral Bond Scheme for political funding as unconstitutional.

Good Morning!!! Somewhere inside all of us is the power to change the world. Roald Dahl

Good Morning!!! Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. -Lao Tzu

Good Morning!!! For what it's worth, it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. -F. Scott Fitzgerald

•Who can Invest? o The minimum subscription limit for InvITs is 1 lakh. Hence apart from institutional investors like Banks, Insurance companies, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, Retail investors also can invest in InviTs. The investors receive units for their investment, hence they are also referred as Unit holders. o Some part of the investment is used by the InvIT as loan while other portion is used as capital. Hence, the unit holders receive returns in the form of Dividend and Interest. Both the dividend and interest are taxed. oIf the investor receives profit upon selling his units, Capital gains tax is imposed on any such gain. •Low Risk: o As per the SEBI regulations, InvITs must invest at least 80% of their assets in projects that are completed and revenue-generating. This lowers the risk for investors as this reduces the typical risk associated with the infrastructure sector i.e. delay in completion, due to lack of regulatory approvals, poor project management etc. o InvITs and REITs are recognised as borrowers under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act. This enables the investors, especially banks, to initiate action against the trustees of InvITs in case of any default.

Design and Features of InvITs: The InvITs designed as a tiered structure with a sponsor setting up the InvIT which in turn invests into the eligible infrastructure projects either directly or via special purpose vehicles (SPVs).

Infrastructure Investment Trusts (‘InvITs’) are pooled investment vehicles similar to mutual funds which were introduced to make investment in infrastructure assets accessible to private and retail investors. InvITs invest in long-term infrastructure projects such as roads, gas pipelines, transmission lines, renewable assets, etc. They are regulated by SEBI.

What are InvITs?

Good Morning!!! Courage is grace under pressure. - Emest Hemingway

Explanation: ● Statement 1 is incorrect: Wolbachia is a type of bacteria that is commonly found in many arthropods, including insects. It has evolved to naturally infect these insects and manipulate their reproductive biology. ● Statement 2 is incorrect: Wolbachia method does not involve genetic modification of the target insect species itself. It is considered a form of biological control rather than genetic engineering. ○ In this method, naturally occurring Wolbachia bacteria can be introduced into male population by infecting insects in a laboratory setting and then releasing them into the wild. ○ When these Wolbachia-infected insects male mate with females that are not infected with the same strain of Wolbachia, Wolbachia bacteria are passed on to their offspring through the normal reproductive process and their offspring are less likely to survive or reproduce.

A continuous surge in the cases of dengue disease is a worldwide concern. Scientists claim that the Wolbachia Method can help curb the spread of dengue by 77%.

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