PIB Summary- 22th January, 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

ECI – Use of Technology & Elections Integrity

Context
ECI to host 2nd International Conference on “Use of Technology & Elections Integrity” as the lead for the cohort on Election Integrity.

Details

• The Election Commission of India ECI will organise a two-day, January 23-24 2023,  international conference with the participation of election management officials from various countries. Officials from 17 countries will participate in the conference on the theme ‘Use of Technology and Election Integrity’. This will be the second conference hosted by ECI under the US-led Summit for Democracy platform, the first of which was held in October, 2022 with 50 delegates from 11 countries.
• The conference will be inaugurated by the Chief Election Commissioner Shri Rajiv Kumar.
• 17 countries/ EMBs (Election Management Bodies) participating in the conference include Armenia, Australia, Argentina, Angola, Croatia, Chile, Dominica, Fiji, Indonesia, Georgia, Kiribati, Mauritius, Nepal, Peru, Paraguay, Philippines and Suriname.
• Also, 6 participants from international organisations – IFES (International Foundation for Electoral Systems) and international IDEA are expected to join the conference.

Summit for Democracy

• Summit for Democracy was a U.S led initiative held in December 2021.
• Following this Summit, a “Year of Action” was proposed with events and dialogues on themes related to Democracy. The Summit also developed two platforms – ‘Focal Groups’ and ‘Democracy Cohorts’ to facilitate participation in the Year of Action. ECI is leading the ‘Democracy Cohort’ on Elections Integrity 
• The 2nd Summit for Democracy will be held on 29-30 march, 2023. It will be co-hosted by the governments of Costa Rica, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Zambia and the U.S.

National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG)

Context
NCGG held a two-week capacity-building programmes for the civil servants of Bangladesh, Maldives and state of Arunachal Pradesh from January 9 to  January 20, 2023.

Details

• NCGG is expanding  and scaling up its activities in accordance with the Prime Minister’s vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas to better the quality of life of the citizens of India as well as its neighbourhood.
• A two week capacity building programme was attended by 87 officers -the civil servants of Bangladesh, Maldives and the state of Arunachal Pradesh. As per the MoU signed with NCGG in 2022, 500 officers are to be trained over the next five years 
• For the first time, sessions were held jointly to facilitate intellectual interactions and deliberations among participants from three countries. The two-week capacity building programme was scientifically tailored by the NCGG team and included the exchange of vast information, knowledge, new ideas, and best practices that promote citizen-centric governance.
• Topics discussed in the programmes included- the vision of India @2047, e-governance, role of civil servants, Digital India , decentralised municipal solid waste management, LiFE , circular economy, potential and challenges of power sector in Arunachal Pradesh and others. 
• So far, NCGG has imparted training to civil servants of 15 countries viz, Bangladesh, Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Tunisia, Maldives, Gambia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bhutan and Myanmar.