Sunday, May 25, 2014

General Elections 2014: Highest Ever Voter Turn-Out

General Election 2014 has seen the highest ever voter-turnout in India with 66.4 % of the electorate casting vote. The previous highest was 64.01%, recorded in 1984. In the previous General Elections held in 2009, voter turnout was 58.21%. In absolute numbers, out of the total 834,101,479 electors, 553,801,801 people cast their vote in General Election 2014. Out of this, 65.3% were female voters and 67.09 % were male.

Table 1. Voting Percentage in General Elections 1951-52   ̶  2014


General Elections
Year
Male %
Female %
Total %
First
1951 - '52
NB: Gender-wise break-up of electors of General Elections conducted before 1971 is not available.
61.16
Second
1957
63.73
Third
1962

46.63
55.42
Fourth
1967
66.73
55.48
61.33
Fifth
1971
60.09
49.11
55.27
Sixth
1977
65.63
54.91
60.49
Seventh
1980
62.16
51.22
56.92
Eighth
1984 -'85
61.2
58.6
64.01
Ninth
1989
66.13
57.32
61.95
Tenth
1991 -'92
61.58
51.35
55.88
Eleventh
1996
62.06
53.41
57.94
Twelfth
1998
65.72
57.88
61.97
Thirteenth
1999
63.97
55.64
59.99
Fourteenth
2004
61.66
53.3
58.07
Fifteenth
2009
60.24
55.82
58.21
Sixteenth
2014
67.09
65.30
66.40
Source: Election Commission of India


Figure 1: Gender–wise Voter turn-out in General Elections 1951-52  ̶  2014


Figure 2: Difference (%) in Male & Female Voter Turnout GE 1951-52 - 2014

Top and Bottom Parliamentary Constituencies in Terms of Voter Turnout in General Elections 2014

The 16th General Elections witnessed a record voter turnout of 66.4%. Dhubri of Assam is the parliamentary constituency that recorded the highest turnout at 88.22% followed by Nagaland at 87.82%; Srinagar of J&K recorded the lowest turnout at 25.90%, followed by Anantnag of the same state.
Table 1: Top 10 Parliamentary Constituencies in terms of Voter Turnout
Sl. No
Parliamentary Constituency
State/UT
Voter Turnout
1
Dhubri
Assam
88.22%
2
Nagaland
Nagaland
87.82%
3
Tamluk
West Bengal
87.59%
4
Bishnupur
West Bengal
86.72%
5
Lakshadweep
Lakshadweep
86.61%
6
Kanthi
West Bengal
86.61%
7
Bardhaman Purba
West Bengal
86.21%
8
Tripura West
Tripura
85.92%
9
Basirhat
West Bengal
85.45%
10
Birbhum
West Bengal
85.33%
Source: Election Commission of India

Table 2: Bottom 10 Parliamentary Constituencies in terms of Voter Turnout
Sl. No
Parliamentary Constituency
State/UT
Voter Turnout
1
Srinagar
Jammu & Kashmir
25.90%
2
Anantnag
Jammu & Kashmir
28.84%
3
Baramulla
Jammu & Kashmir
39.13%
4
Kalyan
Maharashtra
42.88%
5
Patna Sahib
Bihar
45.33%
6
Bhind
Madhya Pradesh
45.62%
7
Nalanda
Bihar
47.22%
8
Mumbai North Central
Maharashtra
48.61%
9
Arrah
Bihar
48.75%
10
Bansgaon
Uttar Pradesh
49.88%
Source: Election Commission of India

464 Political Parties Participated in General Elections 2014

The 16th General Elections saw participation of 464 political parties. This comprises 6 national parties, 39 state parties and 419 unrecognized parties. In the 2009 General Elections, 363 parties participated, comprising 7 national parties, 34 state parties and 322 unrecognized parties.
The total number of registered parties was 1,687 before General Elections 2014; this comprised 6 national parties, 47 state parties and 1,634 unrecognized parties. The total number of registered parties was 1,060 in 2009. The increase in the total number of parties from 764 in 2004 to 1,687 in 2014 has been largely due to the rise in the number of unrecognized parties from 702 in 2004 to 1,634 in 2014.
Participation of Political Parties in General Elections
Year
Party Type
Registered
Participated
2004
National Parties
6
6
State Parties
56
36
Unrecognized Parties
702
173
Total Registered Parties
764
215
2009
National Parties
7
7
State Parties
39
34
Unrecognized Parties
1014
322
Total Registered Parties
1060
363
2014
National Parties
6
6
State Parties
47
39
Unrecognized Parties
1634
419
Total Registered Parties
1687
464

Monday, May 5, 2014

India ranks third in LEED outside America

According to the latest US Green Building Council report India has been ranked third in leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) outside America. Canada tops the list, with 17.74 million followed by China with having 14.30 million GSM (gross square meters) of LEED space.

Other Asian nations in the top 10 included South Korea at number four with 3.84 million GSM of LEED-certified space and Singapore at number with 2.16 million GSM.

In Europe, Germany and Finland secured the sixth and tenth spot respectively -- Germany with 2.90 million GSM of LEED-certified space and Finland with 1.45 million.

In South America, Brazil stood at number 7 on the list, with 2.85 million GSM while the United Arab Emirates represented green building success in the Middle East at Number 9 with 1.82 million GSM of LEED-certified space.

Other Asian nations in the top 10 included South Korea at number four with 3.84 million GSM of LEED-certified space and Singapore at number with 2.16 million GSM.

In Europe, Germany and Finland secured the sixth and tenth spot respectively. In South America, Brazil stood at number 7 on the list while the United Arab Emirates represented green building success in the Middle East at Number 9 with 1.82 million GSM of LEED-certified space.

Other Asian nations in the top 10 included South Korea at number four and Singapore at number fifth with 2.16 million GSM.

The report said the list demonstrates the global adaptability of the world's most widely used and recognised system guiding the design, construction, operations and maintenance of green buildings that benefit the planet and its people.

According to Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of USGBC "LEED's success across a wide variety of cultures, climates and communities represents not only a growing recognition of its demonstrated benefits for human health and operational cost savings, but also its unparalleled potential to be part of the solution to a warming planet and rising sea levels".

India ranks 83rd in Networked Readiness Index

A World Economic Forum recently released its 13th edition of Global Information Technology Report. In the report’s networked readiness index Scandinavian countries dominated the top 10, with Finland grabbing the top spot, followed by Singapore, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the United States, Hong Kong, Great Britain  and the Republic of Korea.

The U.S. moved up two spots this year, while Hong Kong leaped six spots, and Korea inched up one spot. The U.K. fell 2 spots, while the other top six countries held their rankings. In the developing world, China fell four spots to No. 62, Brazil fell nine spots to No. 69 and India dropped 15 spots to No. 83 in terms of leveraging information and communications technologies for growth and well being.

According to the report little progress has been made in bridging the gap between the world's most networked economies and the rest of the world. It also said that large organizations, in particular governments and corporations, may be tempted to abuse the power of the data that they hold. To address this concern, World Economic Forum advocates establishing best practices that are in the interest of both large organizations and individuals. Besides it also recommends to categorise the large data systems by type (e.g., financial vs. health) and real-world categories (e.g., individual vs. corporate). And a department should be created as custodian of these data.

UN, IOC sign pact on sport for peace

A historic deal was signed between the United Nations (U.N.) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to channelize the power of sports to promote peace and economic development.

The agreement calls for joint sporting initiatives between the IOC, national Olympic committees, international sports federations, organizing committees and international athletes and the 193 U.N. member states, U.N. agencies, envoys and goodwill ambassadors.

Under the agreement two organizations will endeavour to promote education for youth through sport without discrimination of any kind, access to sport for all communities especially the most disadvantaged and marginalized, healthy lifestyles and peace-building and community dialogue.

Sports teach values such as teamwork, fairness and respect for opponents and the rules of the game which are useful to lead successful personal and professional lives. Hence, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed the importance of sport in reducing stigma and increasing the social and economic integration of marginalized people and in bridging cultural, religious, ethnic and social divides.

India bags 8 medals in USA Open Karate Championships

India's 8 member team consisting of six players and two coaches returned with eight medals comprising two gold and six bronze in the USA Open Karate Championship held at Las Vegas from April 18 to 21. Karl Vatcha of Mumbai won one gold and one bronze medal while Toyesha Khatau of Mumbai bagged one gold and three bronze medals in the women's category. Pranay Sharma of Delhi and Mumbai's Akash Samir Shah pocketed the other two bronze medals.

More than 3,000 players from 15 countries participated in the event.

Philippines & US sign security Pact

The U.S. and Philippines signed a defence pact to promote peace and security in the region. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement will give American millitary temporary access to selected military camps and allow them to preposition fighter jets and ships. It will also allow the military of both the nation to respond faster to disasters and other contingencies.

Under the 10-year agreement the U.S. military will not pay rent for local camp areas; and the Philippines will own buildings and infrastructure to be built or improved by the Americans and reap economic gains from the U.S. presence. Further, the agreement says the U.S. will not establish a permanent military presence or base in the Philippines in compliance with Manila's constitution. And Filipino base commander will have access to areas to be shared with American forces.

But the agreement is not clear about the number of additional US troops would be deployed on temporary and rotational basis. It said the number would depend on the scale of joint military activities to be held in the camps.

The Philippines signed the pact with the intention to strengthen its pitiful military, while US has signed the deal as it is looking for a re-entry to Asia, where its superpower status has been put in doubt. Hence, the convergence could work to prevent China’s growing maritime presence in disputed South China Sea. But, the deal could further provoke Beijing as it is averse to Philippine government’s initiative to involve the US in its security agenda. This, in turn, may encourage china to intensify its massive military buildup.

American military have been deployed in the southern Philippines since 2002 to provide counterterrorism training and serve as advisers to Filipino soldiers, who have battled Muslim militants for decades. But this time the Philippines government sought US help to tackle external threats as its territorial spat with China in the potentially oil-and gas-rich South China Sea heated up in recent times.