It is a busy day in the Indian subcontinent today eighty-eight constituencies go to polls as part of the second phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Hundreds of candidates are contesting for a seat in the lower house of parliament.

Also in India, the government had announced the auction of government bonds worth more than 30,000 crore rupees.

We take a deeper look at the events of the day:

India votes in the second phase

Scheduled for today, 88 seats spread across 12 states and Union Territories will be up for voting. By the day’s end, approximately one-third of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats will have completed polling. This includes all seats in Kerala, Rajasthan, Manipur, and Tripura, as well as 14 out of 28 seats in Karnataka.

Notably, in Outer Manipur, 13 Assembly segments will participate in the second phase of voting, with the remaining 15 having already voted in the first phase alongside the Inner Manipur seat.

Among the 88 seats, 8 are reserved for Scheduled Castes and seven for Scheduled Tribes.

Originally 89 constituencies were going to polls today but voting in 29 Betul (ST) constituency in Madhya Pradesh was postponed to Phase 3 because of death of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate.

Supreme Court’s verdict on VVPATs

The Supreme Court will give its verdict on petitions seeking 100 per cent verification of VVPATs with votes punched into electronic voting machines (EVMs).

A Bench of Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta will give the verdict around 10.30 am.

The clutch of petitions alleged the EVMs can be tinkered with to manipulate the results. The court, however, said it cannot change the thought process of those doubting the advantages of EVMs and calling for a return to ballot papers.

32,000 crore rupees worth of bonds on sale

The Government of India (GoI) has announced the re-issue of two Government Securities: (i) 7.10 per cent Government Security 2034 with a notified amount of Rs 20,000 crore (nominal), to be auctioned through a price-based auction using the multiple price method, and (ii) 7.46 per cent Government Security 2073 with a notified amount of Rs 12,000 crore (nominal), also to be auctioned through a price-based auction using the multiple price method.

GoI reserves the right to accept additional subscriptions up to Rs 2,000 crore for each of the mentioned securities. These auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India on 26 April 2024 (Friday). Furthermore, up to five per cent of the notified amount of the securities sale will be allocated to eligible individuals and institutions in accordance with the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding Facility in the Auction of Government Securities.

Delhi also goes to polls, to elect its Mayor

On Wednesday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) granted approval to proceed with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) mayoral polls slated for Friday, 26 April, despite the office of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena being yet to appoint a presiding officer for the election.

The Election Commission’s clearance follows a request from the Municipal Secretary to conduct the mayoral and deputy mayoral polls, considering the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct during the ongoing seven-phased Lok Sabha elections.

Paris Olympics 2024 ignited!

Friday marks a significant moment as the Olympic flame for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be formally transferred to a delegation from the Paris 2024 Organising Committee in a symbolic ceremony held in Athens, Greece.

This ceremony, known as the Olympic flame handover ceremony, takes place at the historic Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, where the modern Olympics were inaugurated in 1896. During this event, the Olympic flame is passed on to representatives of the host country for the upcoming Games, which, for 2024, is France.

The occasion signifies the conclusion of the 11-day Olympic Torch Relay across Greece, which commenced on 16 April with the lighting of the flame at the ancient site of Olympia, the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games.

As the flame enters the stadium, the final torchbearer, Ioannis Fountoulis, a silver medalist in water polo at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, will light a cauldron. This flame will then be used by the “high priestess” to ignite a final torch, which will be passed to Spyros Capralos, the President of the Hellenic Olympic Committee. Capralos will then transfer the torch to the Organising Committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This symbolic gesture marks the culmination of the 11-day relay across Greece and simultaneously heralds the commencement of the countdown to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, scheduled for 26 July, 2024.

Today in History: Chernobyl disaster

Commemorating the tragic events of the Chernobyl disaster, a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, leading to widespread environmental and health consequences

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FirstUp: Phase 2 of Lok Sabha polls, SC verdict on VVPATs… The news today