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RaghukulCS
March 27, 2021

Daily Prelims Newsletter For UPSC
| RaghukulCS

27 March 2021

Polity and Governance

Termination of Legislative Session

International Relations

World Health Organisation

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

Places in News

Sri Lanka

Israel

News in Short

Yakshagana

Polity and Governance

Termination of Legislative Session

Why in News?

Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die recently nearly two weeks priothe schedule due to request by MPs from poll bound states.

Key Terms in Termination of Legislative Session

Adjournment suspends the work in the sitting for thespecified time, which can be hours, days or weeks.
Adjournment sine dierefers to terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period, i.e., the House is adjourned without naming a day for its reassembly.

NOTE: The power of both adjournment and adjournment sine die lies with the presiding officer (Speaker or Chairman) of the House.

Prorogation: The Presidentby a notification can prorogue the session after the business of the session is completed and presiding officer declares the House adjourned sine die.
- The President is also empowered to prorogue the House while it is in session.
Dissolution ends the life of the existing House, and a new House is to be constituted after general elections are held.
- Only the lower house, i.e.,Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution. Rajya Sabha is a permanent House not subject to dissolution.
The President is empowered to dissolve the Lok Sabha.

International Relations

World Health Organisation

Why in News?

WHO head is asking rich countries to donate at least 10 million coronavirus vaccines so that it can reach its goal of vaccination in all countries within the first 100 days of 2021.

About WHO:

World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations specialized agencythat looks into matters of public Health.
During it’s establishment in 1948, it became the first specialized agency of the UN to which every member subscribed.
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
It is an inter-governmental organization, presentlyhaving 194 member states.
India became a memberof the WHO in 1948.
Funding of WHO:
- WHO depends on donor funds – mainly from rich countries and foundations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
- It does not have secured funding from its member countries.
Hence, currently most of WHO’s funding is tied to programs that donors choose, debilitating its ability to take independent actions. This is one of the criticism of WHO.

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

Why in News?

The grants from SAARC Development Fund crossed $50 million recently for projects undertaken in the eight SAARC member States.

About SAARC:

SAARC was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.
Members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
Afghanistan became member of SAARC in 2005.
Nine Observers to SAARC, are (i) Australia; (ii) China; (iii) the European Union; (iv) Iran; (v) Japan; (vi) the Republic of Korea; (vii) Mauritius; (viii) Myanmar; and (ix) the USA.

Specialized Bodies of SAARC:

SAARC Development Fund (SDF):It funds of project-based collaboration in social sectors like poverty alleviation, development, etc.
South Asian University (SAU): is an international university, situated in India. Degrees and Certificates awarded by the SAU are considered at par with the respective Degrees and Certificates awarded by the National Universities.
South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO):Based in Dhaka, aims to achieve and enhance cooperation in the fields of standardization and conformity assessment aimed to facilitate intra-regional trade and to have access in the global market.
SAARC Arbitration Council: An Inter-governmental body based in Pakistan, mandated to provide a legal framework within the region for fair and efficient settlement of industrial, commercial, banking, trade, investment and other disputes, as may be referred to it by the member states and their people.

Places in News

Sri Lanka

Why in News?

The rich cross-border cultural collaboration and exchange between Sri Lanka and India has been halted by the pandemic.

About Sri Lanka

India is Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner.
India is separated from Sri Lanka, by the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar.

Regional Organisations both are members of:

SAARC: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
SASEC (South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme): Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka
The key ports in Sri Lanka are indicated above.BIMSTEC: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand.

Israel

Why in News?

Post poll results, there was no clear winner in Israel’s election, making the road to the government formation even more difficult for PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

About Israel:

Neighbouring Countries: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt.
Neighbouring oceans: Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.

Related Information:

Key Defence technologies imported by India from Israel are:

BARAK missile: The surface-to-air missile is a low-range air defence interceptor. Indian version of BARAK is called BARAK-8.
Phalcon Sensors: This airborne warning and control system (AWACS), is hailed as Indian Airforce Force’s “eyes in the skies”.It performs surveillance and intelligence gathering beyond visual range to warn against the incoming missiles or aircrafts in the airspace.

News in Short

Yakshagana

It is a traditional theatre art form associated with Karnataka.
It is also depicted intemple art form that states mythological stories and Puranas.
It is performed with vibrant costumes,massive headgears, elaborate facial make-up with ornaments.
Recitation is usually in Kannada, although some performances also use MalayalamandTulu (the dialect of south Karnataka) languages.
Percussion instruments are used likechenda, maddalam, jagatta or chengila (cymbals) and chakratala or elathalam (small cymbals).