UPSC Podcasts

This year, India is celebrating its 9th National Voters Day on January  25. The voters' day celebration was initiated in 2011 by the then  President of India, Pratibha Devi Patil, on the 61st foundation day of  Election Commission of India. Established in 1950, the Election  Commission of India is an organisation that aims to increase the  participation of number of voters and to encourage newly eligible  voters. National Voters' Day 2019 was celebrated in over six lakh  locations covering about ten lakh polling stations all over the country.  President Ram Nath Kovind was the chief guest at the main function,  organised by the Election Commission of India in the Capital. The best  electoral practices and national awards were conferred to officers for  their exceptional performance in conducting elections. 'No voter to be  left behind' is the chosen theme for this year's celebration and it is  also the focus in the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections.  

Anchor- Frank Rausan Pereira

Guest-  Akshay Rout, Former DG, Election Commission of India 

Ashok Tandon, Senior Journalist 

Prof. Rajvir Sharma, Political Commentator 

Sanjay Kumar, Director, CSDS

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 23 January said countries like India  and China have begun affecting the world economy much more today and  that needs to be taken into account for having a relook at the global  trade and financial systems. In a veiled attack at policies being  adopted by countries like the US, she said, "There is a new approach in  the world that says shouldn't we look after our own, and ensure that our  own are looked after." Speaking at the World Economic Forum Annual  Meeting in Davos, she said there are a number of disturbances around the  world and the IMF has painted a rather gloomy picture of the global  economy. She said there is a wakeup call for the world and we need to  find out how to move forward. Merkel said compromise these days has a  bad reputation, but a global architecture is only possible if we are  able to compromise.

Guest - Jayant Dasgupta, Former Ambassador of India to WTO/ Economist,             

Dr. Arvind Virmani, Chairman, Foundation For Economic Growth & Welfare,             

Sheel Kant Sharma, Former Ambassador,  

Anchor - Frank Rausan Pereira

India is among the most trusted nations globally when it comes to  government, business, NGOs and media but the country’s brands are among  the least-trusted, according to a report. The 2019 Edelman Trust  Barometer report was released on Monday ahead of the World Economic  Forum (WEF) meet. China topped the Trust Index among both the informed  public and the general population segments, with scores of 79 and 88  respectively. India was at the second place in the informed public  category and third place in the general population category. The Index  is the average per cent of trust in NGOs, business, government and  media. The findings are based on an online survey in 27 markets covering  over 33,000 respondents. The fieldwork was conducted between October 19  and November 16, 2018. In terms of trust in companies, those  headquartered in India, Mexico and Brazil are the least trusted, as per  the report. 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 January described NRIs as India's  brand ambassadors and said they were the symbols of the country's  capabilities. The prime minister was inaugurating the 15th Pravasi  Bharatiya Diwas convention in his parliamentary constituency of  Varanasi. For the first time, the three-day-long convention is being  organised from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow  participants to visit the Kumbh mela in Prayagraj and attend the  Republic Day parade in the national capital. The theme of this year's  convention is 'role of Indian diaspora in building new India'. The Prime  Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth is the chief guest of the  convention, while Himanshu Gulati, Member of Parliament of Norway, is  the special guest.  

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