Finfluencers are under SEBI’s scrutiny

GS Paper - 3 (Economy)

A front page advertisement in a business daily featuring a financial influencer (or finfluencer) and a logo of the IT Ministry next to that of YouTube, which has drawn sharp criticism from people on the Internet – who have questioned whether the ad is an endorsement of expertise of finfluencers or a particular social media platform. The country’s markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, is looking at cracking down on finfluencers.

Who are finfluencers?

• Finfluencers are people with public social media platforms offering advice and sharing personal experiences about money and investment in stocks.
• Their videos cover budgeting, investing, property buying, cryptocurrency advice and financial trend tracking.

Why did the ad attract criticism?

• Finfluencers have drawn the ire of the investors’ community, given that they provide unsolicited ‘stock’ tips on various social media platforms without being registered investment advisers.
• SEBI has taken note of it and is working on guidelines for content creators in the sector.
• Recently, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked people to exercise caution while following the advice of finfluencers.
• More often than not, it is unclear if these influencers have any educational or professional qualifications to offer such financial advice, and if there is any kind of monetary transaction that happens between them and the entity they are promoting.
• Some of them have lakhs of followers with their investment advice being closely followed by millions of people across the country.

Rath Yatra in Puri

GS Paper - 1 (Art and Culture)

Millions of visitors from across the globe throng the beach town of Puri in Odisha to take part in the annual Rath Yatra (car festival) of Lord Jagannath, which this year began on 20 June 2023. According to Hindu mythology, the Lord along with his siblings — elder brother Lord Balabhadra and sister Devi Subhadra — embarks on a nine-day annual sojourn to his birthplace. The idols are taken to the Gundicha Temple, where they stay till the ‘Bahuda Yatra’ (returning car festival), on 28 June 2023.

Significance of the Rath Yatra

• The Rath Yatra takes place on the second day of the Odia month of Ashadha Shukla Tithi (bright fortnight) every year to commemorate the journey of Lord Jagannath and his two siblings from their abode —the 12th century Jagannath Temple, to the Gundicha Temple, believed to be their aunt’s home. Goddess Ardhasini, also known as Mausima, is believed to be the deities’ aunt.
• The deities board three huge decorated chariots following the Pahandi ritual (ceremonial procession), before marching for around 3 km to the Gundicha Temple. Millions of devotees pull the chariots on the Bada Danda (Grand Road) of Puri town.
• It is also believed that as non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the Jagannath temple, Lord Jagannath, believed to be the Lord of the Universe, steps out of his sanctum sanctorum during Rath Yatra to meet all his devotees.

About the three chariots

• The three chariots — Taladhwaja Rath for Lord Balabhadra, the Darpadalan Rath for Goddess Subhadra, and the Nandighosa Rath for Lord Jagannath, have their own colours, height, diameter, wooden horses, guardian deities and even charioteers.
• They are made from the wood of locally available trees. Over 150 carpenters, labourers, woodcarvers, artists, and painters work for around 12 hours a day from Akshaya Tritiya onwards, nearly two months before the much-awaited event, to shape the chariots.
• These workers call working on the chariots “hereditary service”. They don’t have any formal training in woodcarving or using modern machinery or equipment but rely on what they have learnt from family elders. Traditional methods and techniques are used to build the chariots.

Chhera Panhara ritual

• Before the chariots are pulled on Rath Yatra, the scion of the erstwhile Puri royal family, who call themselves the first servitor of the Lords, performs a special ritual called “Chhera Panhara”, as part of which he sweeps the floor of the chariots with a golden broom.
• The king arrives in a palanquin from his palace, located around 500 metres away from the temple, in a ceremonial procession and conducts the ritual. The ritual is said to stress the dignity of labour and show that no task is low or high in the eyes of the Lord.
• Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, who ascended the throne in 1970 at the age of only 17, has been performing the Chhera Panhara ritual since 1971.

Bahuda Yatra

• The return festival or Bahuda Yatra is organised on Ashadha Shukla Dasami (10th day).
• On their way back to the 12th-century shrine, the deities are offered a special cake called ‘Poda Pitha’, made of rice, coconut, lentils and jaggery at the Mausimaa Temple (their aunt’s temple).
• When the chariots reach Singhadwara (the Lion’s Gate) of the temple, some special rituals are conducted by the servitors.

Suna besha

• Day after the Bahuda Yatra, the deities are adorned with gold ornaments including crowns, and hands and legs made of gold on the chariots in front of the Lion’s Gate, which is called Suna Besha.
• This marks the last part of the annual Rath Yatra. The servitors carry the gold ornaments from the Ratna Bhandara (treasure chamber) of Jagannath Temple to decorate the lords on Suna Besha. Lakhs of devotees rush to Puri to witness the golden attire of the deities on the day.

Homecoming

• The homecoming of the deities is called “Niladri Bije”, celebrated on the 12th day of the Ashadha month, which also marks the end of the Rath Yatra festival.
• The sibling deities are taken to the sanctum sanctorum again in pahandi (ceremonial ritual).
• As per rituals, devotees offer Rasagola (a sweet dish made of cheese) to Goddess Laxmi on behalf of Lord Jagannath to appease her, as she gets angry for not being taken on the Raths to the Gundicha Temple.
• For the past few years, people in Odisha also celebrate the day of Niladri Bije as the Rasagola Divas.

Assam delimitation draft

GS Paper - 2 (Polity)

The Election Commission (EC) released a draft delimitation document for Assam, proposing a change in boundaries of several Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies of the state. The proposal has run into controversy in Assam. While the government has welcomed it for “protecting indigenous interests”, Opposition parties which represent the state’s Bengali-origin Muslims are unhappy, alleging that the draft divides voters on religious lines.

What is delimitation, why is it being done in Assam?

• Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats to represent changes in population.
• Its aim is to provide equal representation for equal population segments, to ensure that no political party has an advantage.
• Delimitation is a constitutional exercise carried out based on preceding Census figures (year 2001 in this case).
• While the slated delimitation process was done in the rest of the country in 2008, it was deferred in Assam (as well as some other Northeastern states) citing security concerns of the time.
• A 2020 notification from the Law Ministry officially revived the exercise in Assam. Following that, in December 2022 the EC announced that it would initiate the exercise.

What are the highlights of the proposal?

• While the number of seats (126 Assembly and 14 Lok Sabha) are being retained, the EC has proposed not just changes in geographical boundaries, but also an increase in the number of reserved constituencies for Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Scheduled Castes (SC).
• Reserved seats increased: SC assembly seats have increased from 8 to 9; ST assembly seats have increased from 16 to 19
• Districts with autonomous councils (administered under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution) get more seats: one assembly seat increased in West Karbi Anglong District; three assembly seats increased in the Bodo Territorial Region
• Change in nomenclature: Kaliabor Lok Sabha constituency now named ‘Kaziranga’

How was the process carried out?

• While the constituencies were delimited on the basis of census figures of 2001, the EC also took in the views and suggestions of 11 political parties and 71 organisations they had met during their visit to Assam in March.
• Chief among the representations made by these parties included using 2001 census as the basis (the EC noted that some parties were for it and some against), protection of the rights of the “indigenous” people in Assam, and accounting for the “change in demographic pattern”, among others.
• The poll body said suggestions and objections to the draft proposal were open till 11 July 2023.