Polity Notes

TNPSC GROUP 1 MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS
POLITY MODULE
JULY 2018-MAY 31ST
FRESH CLASS FOR GROUP 1 & 2 MAINS START
FROM SEPTEMBER
National Register of Citizens
 National Register of Citizens, 1951 is a register prepared after the
conduct of the Census of 1951 in respect of each village, showing the
houses or holdings in a serial order and indicating against each house or
holding the number and names of persons staying therein.
 The NRC was published only once in 1951.
NRC in Assam
 The issue of its update assumed importance as Assam witnessed large-
scale illegal migration from erstwhile East Pakistan and, after 1971, from
present-day Bangladesh.
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 This led to the six-year-long Assam movement from 1979 to 1985, for
deporting illegal migrants.
 The All Assam Students' Union (AASU) led the movement that demanded
the updating of the NRC and the deportation of all illegal migrants who
had entered Assam after 1951.
 The movement culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985.
 It set March 25, 1971, as the cut-off date for the deportation of illegal
migrants.
 Since the cut-off date prescribed under articles 5 and 6 of the
Constitution was July 19, 1949 - to give force to the new date, an
amendment was made to the Citizenship Act, 1955, and a new section
was introduced.
 It was made applicable only to Assam.
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 There had been intermittent demands from AASU and other
organisations in Assam for updating the NRC, an Assam based NGO filed
a petition at the Supreme Court.
 In December 2014, a division bench of the apex court ordered that the
NRC be updated in a time-bound manner.
 The NRC of 1951 and the Electoral Roll of 1971 (up to midnight of 24
March 1971) are together called Legacy Data. Persons and their
descendants whose names appeared in these documents are certified as
Indian citizens.
Legalising of Betting
Cricket is the most popular game in India today, and the game has a
glorious history in the country. However, the current decade has also
witnessed controversies relating to Indian Premier League (IPL) matches,
along with its glory. In 2013, there arose the case of spot-fixing and betting
by three players of a team in IPL.
Should be legalised
 It will generate considerable revenue;
 It will generate employment;
 Development of tourism as it may work as a complimentary industry;

 It will protect the vulnerable sections of the society;
 Prevent any kind of inconvenience at the hands of the law
enforcement authorities.
Should not be legalised
 As a poor country India is still not ready for its legalization. It can
make poor more poorer and rich more richer.
 As money can be gained quickly interest in productive work will
decrease and thus productivity of country will decrease.
 It is waste of money as there is a ' chance' of gain more money and
less security.
 Black money will be increased . Money laundering increased.
 It will promote free alcoholism.
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 Leads bankruptcy.
Sabarimala Issue
Supreme Court delivered a 4:1 verdict, in Indian Young Lawyers Association
v. State of Kerala, opening the doors of the Sabarimala temple to women of
all ages. The temple practice violates the rights of Hindu women and that
banning entry of women to shrine is gender discrimination
Freedom of Religion
 Article 25: Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and
propagation of religion. According to it, all persons are equally entitled
to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and
propagate a religion.
 Article 26: Freedom to manage religious affairs. Subject to public
order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any
section thereof shall have the right to establish and maintain religious
institutions and manage its own affairs in matters of religion.
Gender Equality
 Article 14: Equality before law: The State shall not deny to any person
equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the
territory of India.
 Article 15: Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race,
caste, sex or place of birth, states that ―The State shall not
discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.‖
 Article 51A(e) makes it a fundamental duty of every citizen of India
to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women
The ban on the entry of women of certain age groups was violative of
various fundamental rights including Article 17 which deals with
untouchability.
 Article 25(2)(b) enables the state ―(to provide) for social welfare and
reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public
character to all classes and sections of the Hindus.‖ In such case, the
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state ought to have brought an appropriate legislation to facilitate the
constitutional direction.
 Discriminating against women on the basis of a biological process i.e.
menstruation is unscientific and is against Article 51A(h) with states
that it is the duty of every citizen of India to develop scientific
temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.
 Besides the gender inequality argument, the idea of individual liberty
is also at stake here. Monopolisation of religious rights by a few,
under the guise of management of religious institutions, corrupts the
idea of individual liberty.
 From the societal point of view, such regressive practices in any
sphere would inevitably constrict the natural development of human
potential.
Delhi Govt vs Lieutenant Governor power struggle
A five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that decisions of the elected
government of Delhi do not require the concurrence of the Lt Governor who
only needs to be informed.
Significance
 In a democratic republic, collective is the supreme and the elected

representatives reflects the will of the collective.
 Parliamentary form of government is based on principle of collective
responsibility of the cabinet.
 If a well deliberated legitimate decision of the Council of Ministers is
not given effect then the concept of collective responsibility would
stand negated.
 The verdict is an appeal to a sense of constitutional morality and
constitutional trust among high functionaries.
 The court having stressed that the elected government is the main
authority in Delhi‘s administration.
 The controversies over the arbitrary withholding of Cabinet decisions
may end.
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 The basic message is that an elected government cannot be
undermined by an unelected administrator.
 The Union and the State Governments must embrace a collaborative
federal architecture by displaying harmonious coexistence and
interdependence so as to avoid any possible constitutional discord
Constitutional provisions
 69th CAA 1991 provided special status to Delhi.
 Article 239AA deals with Special Status of Delhi
 Under Article 163, the governor has to act on the aid and advice of the
council of minister except in the case where he has to exercise his
discretion.
 State can make laws regarding matters in state list &concurrent list
except three matters on state list that is, Public order, police and land.
 Laws of Parliament prevail over those of made by the state assembly.
 Presidential rule can impose on Delhi based on the report of Lt.
Governor or otherwise.
 No ordinance can be promulgated by the Lt. Governor without the
prior permission of the president.
Election of Deputy Chairman of Rajya sabha

The Deputy Chairman is a constitutional position created under Article 89 of
the Constitution, which specifies that Rajya Sabha shall choose one of its
MPs to be the Deputy Chairman as often as the position becomes vacant.
Role of Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha:
The Deputy Chairman is the one position that is elected solely by members
of Rajya Sabha. It is a critical position not just because s/he steps in when
there is a vacancy in the office of Chairperson/Vice President but also
because s/he plays a critical role in ensuring the smooth running of the
House.
BRICS
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The heads of state and government of all five BRICS nations including
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa convened for the 10th BRICS
Summit from July 25-27, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa
Theme ―Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th
Industrial Revolution‖.
Johannesburg declaration
Johannesburg declaration has called for definite stand on corruption and
extradition of economic offenders and fugitives and their asset recovery. It
also called for fighting international terrorism and early implementation of
the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
Key Points of the Declaration
 Energy
 Sustainable Development
 Population
 Terrorism
 Climate Change
 Agriculture
 Environment
 Economy
 Corruption
 Trade
Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2018
The Lok Sabha has passed the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill,
2018. Punishment for both bribe givers and takers has been enhanced to
make it a deterrent for the corrupt.
Highlights of the Bill:
 Punishment for bribe-taking enhanced: Minimum punishment of 3
yrs, extendable up to 7 yrs with fine; from the earlier 6 months, with
extension up to 3 yrs.
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 ‗Undue Advantage‘ expanded: The earlier limited definition of ―undue
advantage‖ expanded to now include ―anything other than legal
remuneration‖.
 Gifts criminalised: Gifts received for established undue
advantage/mala-fide motive are now considered an act of corruption.
 Collusive bribe-givers criminalised: For the first time, the giving of
bribe has now been made a direct offence on par with taking of bribe.
At the same time, protection has been built-in against coercive
bribery, as long as the victim comes forward within 7 days.
 Corporate bribery criminalised: Superiors to be held if employee/agent
has bribed with their approval, for advancement of the organisation‘s
interests.
 Immediate forfeiture: Law enforcement empowered for immediate
attachment & forfeiture of illegal property of a public servant, invoking
provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Timely
trial mandated: To conclude the investigation and trial within 2 yrs,
extendable up to 4 yrs
Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2018

Kerala tops in governance, Tamil Nadu second, says report .released by the
think tank Public Affairs Centre (PAC). While Telangana, Karnataka and
Gujarat are ranked third, fourth and fifth among the top five states
delivering good governance, according to the report
TN Lokayukta Act, 2018
The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed the Lokayukta bill through
voice vote on 9/7/18. The act would be known as the Tamil Nadu Lokayukta
Act 2018.
Objective
Lokayukta will now act like an ombudsman for anti-corruption in the state
level. The Lokayukta Act was enacted to probe corruption charges against
elected representatives.
Features of the TN Lokayukta Act, 2018
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 The Lokayukta will consist of a chairman and four members. The
chairman and two of the four members will be persons experienced in
the legal system of India.
 Chairman will be current or former judge of high court or had served
at least 25 years in any of fields of anti-corruption, public
administration, awareness, finance or law
 As per the act passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the chairman and
the members of the Lokayukta
 should not be an elected Member of Parliament (MP) or a
Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA)
 should not have been convicted by a court of law
 should not be less than 45 years of age
 should not be a member of the local administration or
corporation
 should not have been removed from a state or central
government service
 should not hold an office of profit and should not have any
relationship with political parties
 The appointments shall be made by the Governor based on the

recommendations by a select committee consisting of the Chief
Minister, the leader of the Assembly and the leader of the opposition
in the Assembly.
 As per this Act, people who are found to have filed false complaints
can be punished with a penalty of Rs 1 lakh and an imprisonment of
upto one year.
 The Chief Minister and cabinet comes under the purview of the Act,
but local administration and government contracts do not.
 The Retirement age is 5 years or 70 year at the time of Appointment
and whichever is earlier
Evolution of Lokpal
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The basic idea of the Lok Pal is borrowed from the office of ombudsman in
Scandinavian (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway) countries. The office of
the ombudsman originated in Sweden in 1809 A.D. Ombudsman is a
Swedish word and refers to an official whose job is to investigate complaints
from the public against government officers.
 1963: The idea of an ombudsman first came up in parliament
during a discussion on budget allocation for the Law Ministry. L.M
Singhvi Termed Lokpal
 1966: The First Administrative Reforms Commission recommended
the setting up of two independent authorities- at the central and
state level, to look into complaints against public functionaries,
including MPs.
 1968: The Lokpal Bill was introduced in parliament but was not
passed. Eight attempts were made till 2011 to pass the Bill, but in
vain.
 Subsequently, Lokpal bills were introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985,
1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and most recently in 2008.
However, the Bill lapsed each time except in 1985 when it was
withdrawn
 The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, stands as the base for the
Lokpal Act in the present form. A Group of Ministers chaired by
Pranab Mukherjee proposed this Bill, to which the Standing
Committee made substantial modifications. The modified Bill,
called as Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2013, was passed by the
Parliament with the support of all major political parties, making it
the Lokpal Act of 2013.
Maharashtra was the first state to introduce the institution of Lokayukta
through The Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act in 1971. So far 19 states
have been passed lok ayukta Act.
No-confidence motion
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In a parliamentary democracy, a government can be in power only if it
commands a majority in the directly elected House. Article 75(3) of our
Constitution embodies this rule by specifying that the Council of Ministers
are collectively responsible to Lok Sabha. The rules of Lok Sabha provide a
mechanism for testing this collective responsibility. They allow any Lok
Sabha MP who can garner the support of 50 colleagues, to introduce a
motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers.
Even then, not a single no-confidence motion was moved during the term of
the first two Lok Sabhas. It was during the third Lok Sabha in 1963 that the
first one was moved by Acharya J B Kripalani against the government
headed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
Increasing the Retirement Age of Judges
A parliamentary committee has urged the government to hike
the retirement age of Supreme Court and high court judges
 The Venkatachaliah Report (Report of the National Commission to
review the working of the Constitution, 2002)recommended that the
retirement age of the Judges of the High Court should be increased to
65 years and that of the Judges of the Supreme Court should be
increased to 68 years.
 The Constitution (114th Amendment) Bill was introduced in 2010 to
increase the retirement age of High Court judges to 65. However, it
was not taken up for consideration in Parliament and lapsed with the
dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha.
 Recently Justice Kurian Joseph of Supreme Court also recommended
increasing retirement age of judges in higher judiciary to decrease the
pendency of cases.
Positive Consequences
 This will have significant benefits. Senior serving judges will bring
with them years of experience.
 It will ensure the continued presence of a strong talent pool of
experienced judges.
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 New judges can be appointed without displacing existing judges.
 It will address the problem of mounting arrears.
 It will be a buffer against impending litigation explosion.
 It will render post-retirement assignments unattractive and, as a
consequence, strengthen the rule of law and the independence of the
judiciary, both of which are crucial to sustain democracy.
Prison Reforms
The Supreme Court has constituted a three-member committee to look into
the problems of jails in India and suggest reform measures. The committee
headed by former SC judge Justice Amitava Roy will look into the aspect of
jail reforms across the country and suggest measures to deal with them.
Terms of reference:
 The committee‘s duties will include looking into the problems of jails
across the country including overcrowding in prisons, issue of human
rights of prisoners and issues concerning women prisoners
languishing in cells for years.
 After studying the problems, the committee would be required to
suggest measures to deal with them.
 The Supreme Court had said on August 8, 2018 that it would

constitute a committee under the chairmanship of its retired judge to
look into the problems in jails, on a day-to-day basis and suggest
measures to tackle the problems.
 The SC had expressed its displeasure saying that the government had
collected a huge amount under the orders of the apex court but the
funds were not being utilised properly.
Need for reforms:
 NHRC figures show that prisoners cut off from family and friends had
a 50% more chance of committing suicide than those outside. The
average suicide rate among the general public for this period is 11 (per
100,000) whereas the average suicide rate in prison is 16.9 (per
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100,000). In other words, the average suicide rate in prisons is over
50% more than in normal conditions.
 Indian prisons face three long-standing structural constraints:
overcrowding, thanks to a high percentage of undertrials in the prison
population, understaffing and underfunding. The inevitable outcome
is sub-human living conditions, poor hygiene, and violent clashes
between the inmates and jail authorities.
 Besides, while 33% of the total requirement of prison officials still lies
vacant, almost 36% of vacancy for supervising officers is still
unfulfilled. In the absence of adequate prison staff, overcrowding of
prisons leads to rampant violence and other criminal activities inside
the jails.
 Indian jails have often been dubbed as a university for grooming
criminals due to pathetic and inhumane conditions. In the absence of
a robust Whistleblower Protection Act and structural changes to
address the issues of overcrowding and understaffing, India‘s prisons
will continue to be heaven for politically connected criminals and hell
for socio-economically disadvantaged undertrials, some regular media
uproars notwithstanding.
 Fundamental rights of prisoners cannot be placed in the back-burner
and the Centre and the states need to be more pro-active in
sensitising staff about the need to treat prisoners as humanely as
possible
Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018
 It provides for stringent punishment including death penalty for those
convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years.
 The minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been
increased from rigorous imprisonment of seven years to 10 years,
extendable to life imprisonment. In case of rape of a girl under 16
years, the minimum punishment has been increased from 10 years to
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20 years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of life, which means jail
term till the convicts‘ ―natural life‖.
 The punishment for gang rape of a girl below 16 years will invariably
be imprisonment for the rest of life of the convict, another official said.
 Stringent punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years has been
provided with the minimum jail term being 20 years which may go up
to life in prison or death sentence. Gang rape of a girl under 12 years
of age will invite punishment of jail term for the rest of life or death.
 The measure also provides for speedy investigations and trial. The
time limit for investigation of all cases of rape has been prescribed,
which has to be mandatorily completed within two months.
 The deadline for the completion of trial in all rape cases will be two
months. A six-month time limit for the disposal of appeals in rape
cases has also been prescribed.
 There will also be no provision for anticipatory bail for a person
accused of rape or gang rape of a girl under 16 years. It has also been
prescribed that a court has to give notice of 15 days to a public
prosecutor and the representative of the victim before deciding bail

applications in case of rape of a girl under 16 years of age.
NRI Proxy Voting
Lok Sabha has passed a bill to amend the Representation of the People Act
which proposes that overseas Indians, who are entitled to vote in India,
could now appoint a proxy voter to cast their votes
What is Proxy Voting
The person can authorise another residing in the same polling booth area to
cast a vote on his/her behalf.
NOTA option for Rajya Sabha polls
Supreme Court scraps NOTA option for Rajya Sabha polls
''NOTA'' or ''none of the above'' is a ballot option provided in the elections to
Indian voters. Through NOTA, a citizen has the right to not vote for any
candidate contesting the elections.
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The NOTA option was first used in the 2013 assembly elections held in four
states -- Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and the
Union Territory, Delhi. More than 15 lakh people exercised the option in the
state polls.
Data protection bill
The draft data protection bill was submitted by Justice BN Srikrishna
committee in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
to provide for a solid legal framework on data protection in India. The bill
recognizes privacy as a fundamental right with provisions to protect
personal data.
Objective
The bill seeks to safeguard privacy by organizing the relationship between
citizens and firms/state agencies based on data principals
Key features of the bill
 Rights of the individual
 Grounds for processing personal data
 Grounds for processing sensitive personal data

Data Protection Authority

 Transfer of data outside India
 Exemptions
2+2’ dialogue
India and the US held the first edition of the 2+2 dialogue in New Delhi, in
which the major takeaways were the signing of the long-pending
Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) and
setting up of a hotline between External Affairs Minister and Defence
Minister with their American counterparts.
COMCASA
COMCASA will provide a legal framework for the transfer of communication
security equipment from the US to India that would facilitate
―interoperability‖ between their forces — and potentially with other militaries
that use US-origin systems for secured data links. It will also allow the
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installation of high-security US communication equipment on defence
platforms being sourced from the US.
The theme of the fourth BIMSTEC summit is 'Towards a peaceful,
prosperous and sustainable Bay of Bengal region.' held in Nepal,
Kathmandu for two days, August 30 and 31, 2018,
About BIMSTEC
This sub-regional organisation came into being on June 6, 1997, through
the Bangkok Declaration. It is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The
Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising of seven
member states in South Asia and Southeast Asia lying in littoral and
adjacent areas of Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.
Supreme Court Verdict on Aadhaar
The Supreme Court (SC) of India has given its verdict on the constitutional
validity of the ‗Aadhaar Act‘ in which it upheld the constitutional validity of
Aadhaar but has put restrictions on which entities can access the data.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE JUDGEMENT
 The constitutional bench struck down section 57 of the Aadhaar Act,
which allows private entities to use Aadhaar for verification purposes.

 Section 33(2): Section 33(2) of the Act was also struck down, that
allows UIDAI to share data with specially authorized officers in the
interest of national security.
 Section 7: Section 7 of the Act which makes Aadhaar mandatory for
state subsidies, as unconstitutional.
 Rule 9 of PMLA: Rule 9 of the Prevention of Money Laundering
(Maintenance of Records) Act (PMLA), which had mandated linking
Aadhaar with bank accounts and also the need for Aadhaar to open
new bank accounts, has been struck down.
 KYC norms: In view of the PMLA‘s Rule 9, the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) had issued notification for mandating Aadhaar for Know Your
Customers (KYC) purposes. Now, subject to the Aadhaar verdict, it will
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be withdrawn. Therefore, mandatory Aadhaar for KYC processes will
no longer be valid.
 Aadhaar requirement by CBSE, NEET, and UGC has been struck
down. Also, seeding Aadhaar with mobile numbers and bank accounts
is not required and schools can not insist on Aadhaar.
A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has upheld the

application of "creamy layer" principle relating to reservations for
Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in promotions.
Analysis
Arguments in favour of reservation:
 Constitutional Status of STs and SCs: Supreme Court‘s suggestion
in Nagraj verdict that the SC/ST beneficiaries of quotas in promotions
must be ‗backward‘ is without merit. The constitutional position is
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that all SCs/STs are deemed to be backward and there cannot be a
further determination of ‗backwardness‘ among them.
 Entry level and after: Inclusion through recruitment is the mere
beginning of an empowerment process. It needs to be carried forward
in the form of parity and equality at the highest decision-making level.
There is hardly any presence of STs and SCs at secretary, joint
secretary and additional secretary in the government. Around 40 % of
SCs are in the ‗Group D‘ services and below.
 Arguments against reservation:
 Treating equals unequally: Reservations seek to remedy unequal
starting positions, but once introduced, during promotions they serve
inverse purposed as they treat equals unequally. The argument for
promotions, and reservations based on caste/community, and not on
merit, is clearly has weak ground.
 Incentivizing backwardness: More than six decades are enough to
study the efficacy of reservation. With limited success, if reservation in
promotion is to be continued, it needs to be regularly tweaked to keep
the purpose of its introduction alive.
 Enhances caste consciousness: Reservation in promotion will

further enhance caste consciousness.
 Late entrants of STs/SCs in Government services: Average
admissible age of STs/SCs aspirants in civil services and other
competitive exams is 29-34 whereas for other candidates it is in
the range of 24-28 years. This impedes the candidates from SCs and
STs to reach at the higher levels of the governments services. The
solution is clearly not reservation in promotion but lowering the entry
age of SC/ST candidates.
Odisha Upper House
A resolution seeking creation of a Legislative Council in Odisha was passed
in the State Assembly
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Bicameralism is the practice of having two Houses of Parliament. At the
State level, the equivalent of the Lok Sabha is the Vidhan Sabha (Legislative
Assembly), and that of the Rajya Sabha is the Vidhan Parishad (Legislative
Council)
Under Article 169, Parliament may by law create or abolish the second
chamber in a State if the Legislative Assembly of that State passes a
resolution to that effect by a special majority. At present, seven Indian
States have bicameral legislatures.
Article 161 in constitution
Article 161 in constitution deals with the judicial powers of the governer of
a state. It gives governer, the power to pardon a person who has been
proved guilty in court. It is like the mercy petition to the president but
less powerful. Governor's power to pardon has its limitations which are-
 He can only pardon in the cases which are related to state's law not
the central law.
 Governor can reduce the sentence or can completely pardon it. It is
up to him but remember case must be within that state's law.
 He doesn't have any power if the offender has been awarded with the
death sentence, whether by the state's law or central law. if the
capital punishment has been given then only president of India can
pardon it however governor can delay it .
 Governor doesn't have any power on the matters related to military
rules like court-martial however president can pardon or alter them
too.
UNHRC Election
India was elected to the United Nations‘ top human rights body for a period
of three years beginning January 1, 2019, getting 188 votes in the Asia-
Pacific category, the highest number of votes among all candidates.
About United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
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 United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is an inter-
governmental body within the United Nations system
 It is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of
human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of
human rights violations and make recommendations on them.
 It was created by UNGA on 15 March 2006 by adopting resolution
60/251 to promote human rights globally.
 It had replaced former UN Commission on Human Rights.
 It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
 Members are elected by the UNGA with 3-year terms, with a
maximum of 2 consecutive terms.
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016
 The Citizenship Amendment Bill was proposed for amending the
Citizenship Act, 1955. By this bill, the government plans to change
the definition of illegal migrants.
 By this Bill, illegal migrants belonging to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist,
Jain, Parsi or Christian religious communities coming
from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan will be eligible for Indian
citizenship.
 These citizens will gain permanent citizenship after six years of
residency in India instead of 11 years as mentioned in the Citizenship
Act, 1955.
 Under the Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by
naturalization is that the applicant must have resided in India during
the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years.
 The Bill allows cancellation of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)
registration for violation of any law.
Issues in the Bill
 The Bill makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of
religion; violating Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees right
to equality.
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 The Bill allows cancellation of OCI registration for violation of any law.
This is a wide ground that may cover a range of violations, including
minor offences (e.g. parking in a no parking zone).
 The bill would significantly affect Northeastern states that are
grappled by the problem of illegal migration from neighboring
countries.
 The bill undermines the Assam Accord which was signed to deport all
the illegal migrants, majority being from Bangladesh, who entered
Assam after 1971.
Citizenship as per Constitution
 The Constitution deals with the citizenship from Articles 5 to 11 under
Part II.
 It empowers the Parliament to enact a law to provide for such matters
and any other matter relating to citizenship.
 Following the constitutional requirement parliament enacted the
citizenship Act of 1955.
CBI
 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating

police agency in India.
 It functions under the superintendence of the Deptt. of Personnel,
Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public Grievances, Government of
India - which falls under the prime minister‘s office.
 However for investigations of offences under the Prevention of
Corruption Act, its superintendence vests with the Central Vigilance
Commission.
 It is also the nodal police agency in India which coordinates
investigation on behalf of Interpol Member countries.
 Its conviction rate is as high as 65 to 70% and it is comparable to the
best investigation agencies in the world.
Appointment of CBI Director
20
 Till 2014, the CBI Director was appointed on the basis of the DSPE
Act, 1946.
 In 2003, DSPE Act was revised on Supreme Court‘s recommendation
in the Vineet Narain case. A committee that had members from
Central Vigilance Commission, Secretaries from Home Ministry,
Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances would send
recommendations to Central Government for the appointment of CBI
Director.
 In 2014, the Lokpal Act provided a committee for appointment of CBI
Director:
o Headed by Prime Minister
o Other members - Leader of Opposition/ Leader of the single
largest opposition party, Chief Justice of India/ a Supreme
Court Judge.
o Home Ministry sends a list of eligible candidates to DoPT. Then,
the DoPT prepares the final list on basis of seniority, integrity,
and experience in the investigation of anti-corruption cases, and
sends it to the committee.
Cases Handled by the CBI

 Anti-Corruption Crimes - for investigation of cases under the
Prevention of Corruption Act against Public officials and the
employees of Central Government, Public Sector Undertakings,
Corporations or Bodies owned or controlled by the Government of
India.
 Economic Crimes - for investigation of major financial scams and
serious economic frauds, including crimes relating to Fake Indian
Currency Notes, Bank Frauds and Cyber Crime, bank frauds, Import
Export & Foreign Exchange violations, large-scale smuggling of
narcotics, antiques, cultural property and smuggling of other
contraband items etc.
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 Special Crimes - for investigation of serious and organized crime
under the Indian Penal Code and other laws on the requests of State
Governments or on the orders of the Supreme Court and High Courts
- such as cases of terrorism, bomb blasts, kidnapping for ransom and
crimes committed by the mafia/the underworld.
 Suo Moto Cases - CBI can suo-moto take up investigation of offences
only in the Union Territories.
o The Central Government can authorize CBI to investigate a
crime in a State but only with the consent of the concerned
State Government.
o The Supreme Court and High Courts, however, can order CBI to
investigate a crime anywhere in the country without the consent
of the State.
Tamil Nadu sets up special court to try MLAs, MPs in criminal cases
WHAT ARE SPECIAL COURTS
 Special Courts can be considered as a quick remedy for questions of
delays in the trial.
 PRESIDING OFFICER- A Judge of High Court of India or a person
who has held office as a judge of HC in India and nominated by the

Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India
 JURISDICTION- A Special Court has the jurisdiction to try any
person concerned in offence in respect of which a declaration is made
under Section 4 and other offences and accused persons can also be
jointly tried in accordance with the CrPC, 1973.
Dissolution of the State's Legislative Assembly
Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik, announced
the dissolution of the State's Legislative Assembly
AS PER THE CONSTITUTION
As per the provisions of Article 356 of Indian Constitution, the state
Assembly can be dissolved when any of the following factors prevent the
state government from functioning as per the Constitution:
22
 When the state Assembly fails to form a government and elect a leader
as Chief Minister
 Whenever there‘s a breakdown of a coalition
 If Assembly elections are postponed for unavoidable reasons
Although the power of dissolution of state Assembly is vested with the
Governor, yet such a power can be exercised only after both Houses of
Parliament approve the decision. If the proclamation made by the President
under Article 356 to dissolve the Assembly is approved by both the Houses
within two months, the government does not revive on the expiry of period of
dissolution.
Privilege motion
Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by
members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can
―effectively discharge their functions‖. When any of these rights and
immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is
punishable under law of Parliament. A notice is moved in the form of a
motion by any member of either House against those being held guilty of
breach of privilege. Each House also claims the right to punish as contempt
actions which, while not breach of any specific privilege, are offences against
its authority and dignity.
G20 Summit
G20 (Group of Twenty) Summit was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
India’s 9-point agenda against fugitive economic offenders
 Strong and active‖ cooperation among the G-20 nations. The
document highlights the importance of cooperation in legal processes
such as ―effective freezing of the proceeds of crime; early return of the
offenders and efficient repatriation of the proceeds of crime should be
enhanced and streamlined‖.
 Joint efforts to be made by the G20 nations to form a mechanism that
denies entry and safe havens to all fugitive economic offenders.
23
 There is need for the ―effective‖ implementation of the principles of the
United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the
United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime
(UNOTC).
 The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) should be called upon ―to
assign priority and to focus on establishing international co-
operation that leads to a timely and comprehensive exchange of
information between the competent authorities‖.
 The FATF should be tasked to formulate a standard definition of
fugitive economic offenders.
 The FATF should also develop a set of commonly agreed and
standardised procedures related to identification, extradition and
judicial proceedings for dealing with fugitive economic offenders to
provide guidance and assistance to G-20 countries, subject to their
domestic law‖.
 There is need for setting up of a common platform ―for sharing
experiences and best practices including successful cases of
extradition, gaps in existing systems of extradition and legal
assistance.‖
 The G20 forum should consider initiating work on locating properties
of economic offenders who have a tax debt in the country of their
residence for its recovery.
Group of Twenty (G20)
 Founded 1999
o Initially, G20 was a forum of Finance Ministers and Central
Bank Governors of industrialized and developing economies to
discuss key issues in the global economy.
o The group has expanded its agenda since 2008 and head of
government and states along with their finance and foreign
ministers also meet at the summits.
24
o Collectively, the G20 members make up 85% of the world’s
economic output, two-thirds of its population, 75% of
international trade and 80% of global investments in
research and development.
cVIGIL
Election Commission of India has launched the Mobile App ―cVIGIL‖ to
enable citizens to report on violation of election code of conduct.
West Bengal
The West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution on Thursday to change the
state's name to Bangla.
Procedure of changing a name of state
Process for changing the name of a state can be initiated by state itself.
However, by virtue of article 3, the parliament has power to change the
name of a state even if such proposal does not come from the concerned
state.
13th East Asia Summit
The 13th East Asia Summit was held on November 15, in Singapore. The
Meeting was chaired by Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore - H.E.
Lee Hsien Loong.

East Asia Summit
The East Asia Summit (EAS) established in 2005 is a forum of 18 regional
leaders for strategic dialogue and cooperation on the key political, security,
and economic challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.
Areas of Cooperation
 Environment and Energy
 Education
 Finance
 Global Health Issues and Pandemic Diseases
 Natural Disaster Management
 ASEAN Connectivity
India endorses regional collaboration in all six priority areas.
25
Death Penalty
There is growing support for abolishing capital punishment in India and it
needs serious consideration since, on the other side, there has been a
nationwide outrage over the series of incident of sexual assaults of minor
girls,. The Supreme Court itself admitted on many occasions that there are
confusion and there needs a law
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 provides for the provision of a death sentence
for various offenses like criminal conspiracy, murder, waging war against
the nation, dacoity etc. Various other legislation like Unlawful Activities
Prevention Act, 1967 also provides for the death penalty.
Under Article 72, the Constitution has created a provision for clemency of
capital punishment. Under this Article, the President of India has the power
to grant pardon or commute or remit the death sentence in certain cases.
Similarly, Article 161 provides for powers of the Governor of the State to
grant clemency.
Why it is Time to Abolish the Death Penalty?
 Most of the civilized world has abolished it. India certainly does not
need it as it doesn‘t serve any purpose.
 No study has shown that the death penalty deters murder more than
life imprisonment. The evidence is all to the contrary. For deterrence
to work, the severity of the punishment has to coexist with the
certainty and swiftness of the punishment. The death penalty has not
deterred terrorism, murder or even theft.
 Based on the evidence collected, the legal system cannot be trusted to
take one‘s life. For example, between January 1, 2000 and June 31,
2015, the Supreme Court imposed 60 death sentences. It
subsequently admitted that it had erred in 15 of them (25%).
 Those without ‗capital‘ get the punishment. Poor prisoners on legal aid
won‘t get good lawyers to defend them. Hence, the death penalty
unfairly targets the poor and marginalized.
26
 The death penalty is impossible to administer fairly or rationally. The
Supreme Court has repeatedly admitted that it has arbitrarily
imposed this most extreme punishment. It depends overwhelmingly
on the adjudicator‘s personal beliefs. Judges opposed to it never gave
a death sentence; those in favor doled it out.
Why is it NOT the Time to Abolish the Death Penalty?
 Its constitutionality has not only been upheld in India but also in
liberal democracies like that of the U.S. Therefore, the retention of the
death penalty is not a reflection of ―uncivilized‖ polity in theocratic
states [a political unit governed by a deity or by officials thought to be
divinely guided] that have come to be defined by violence but also by a
creation of the individual geopolitical circumstances of each state.
 While the 35th Report (Law Commission) correctly called for its
retention in order to see its impact on a new republic, the more recent
262nd Report could not recommend the punishment‘s absolute
abolition despite a rather desperate attempt to do the same.
 The exception to abolition in cases of terror will also not work. Unlike
Scandinavia, India‘s neighborhood is not peaceful, and, it does not
form the group of nations that facilitate common growth, unlike the
European Union. On the contrary, every day, vested interests attempt
to destabilize the very idea of our nation from across every border it
shares, which makes it difficult to abolish this deterrent named death
penalty.
 As noted by the Law Commission itself, cases of violent terror are
constant reminders of the need to protect national stability by
ensuring appropriate responses to such actions, and the death
penalty forms part of the national response.
 A punishment cannot be judged by its impact on criminals but by its
impact on those who are still innocent.
27
 Those who defend the death penalty often do it on the basis of
retributive justice (a system of criminal justice based on the
punishment of offenders rather than on rehabilitation).
 It determines that there are certain acts which the society so
essentially detest that they justify the taking of the most crucial of
rights – the right to life. For, the state acknowledges that the
sacredness of life can only be seen to be protected if those who take it
away are proportionately punished. The hanging of Ajmal Kasab and
Yakub Memon strongly affirms India‘s commitment to the protection
of life.
Separate High Court for Andhra Pradesh
President Ramnath Kovind issued orders constituting a separate High Court
for Andhra Pradesh with effect from January 1, 2019. The High Court of
Judicature at Hyderabad will now become the High Court for Telangana.
The principal seat of the Andhra Pradesh High Court is Amaravati, the
capital of the State.
Constitutional Provision of creation of new high Court
 Article 214 provides that every State shall have a High Court,
however, Article 231 states that Article 214 shall not be a bar for
constituting a common high court for two or more States.
 Only Parliament may by law establish a Common High Court for two
or more States. This means that, unless Parliament by law establishes
a Common High Court for two or more States, every State has to have
a High Court, i.e., upon formation of a new State a new High Court is
also formed.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016
Provisions in the bill
 Definition of a Transgender Persons: In the amended bill transgender
person means a person whose gender does not match with the gender
assigned to that person at birth and includes trans-man (whether or
not such person has undergone sex reassignment surgery or hormone
28
therapy or laser therapy or such other therapy), person with intersex
variations, gender-queer and person having such socio-cultural
identities as kinnar, hijra, aaravani and jogta.
 Prohibition against discrimination: The Bill prohibits the
discrimination against a transgender person, including denial of
service or unfair treatment in relation to: (i) education (ii) employment
(iii) healthcare (iv) public goods (v) right to movement (vi) right to
reside, rent, own or occupy property (vii) opportunity to hold public or
private office; and (viii) access to a government or private
establishment.
 Offenses and Penalties: The Bill recognizes the following offenses: (i)
begging, forced or bonded labor (ii) denial of use of a public place; (iii)
denial of residence in the household, village, etc.; (iv) physical, sexual,
verbal, emotional and economic abuse.
o These offenses will attract imprisonment between six months
and two years and a fine.
 Certificate of identity for a transgender person: A transgender person
may make an application to the District Magistrate for a certificate of
identity, indicating the gender as ‗transgender‘.

o The District Magistrate will issue such certificate based on
the recommendations of a District Screening Committee.
 The right of residence: If the immediate family is unable to care for the
transgender person, the person may be placed in a rehabilitation
center, on the orders of a competent court.
 Welfare measures by the government: The Bill states that the
government will take measures to ensure the full inclusion and
participation of transgender persons in society.
o It must also take steps for their rescue and rehabilitation,
vocational training and self-employment, create schemes that
are transgender-sensitive.
 Setting up of National Council for Transgender persons (NCT)
29
 Union Minister for Social Justice (Chairperson);
 Minister of State for Social Justice (Vice-Chairperson);
 Secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice;
 One representative from ministries like Health, Home
Affairs, Minority Affairs, Housing and Poverty Alleviation,
Human Resources Development, etc.
 Other members include representatives of the NITI Aayog,
National Human Rights Commission, and the National
Commission for Women. State governments will also be
represented.
 The Council will also consist of five members from the
transgender community and five experts from non-
governmental organizations.
103rd Amendment Act (124th Amendment Bill)
 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act reserves 10 per cent of jobs and
places in educational institutions for citizens who fall into the ‗general‘
category — those not specifically included in other categories such as
SC, ST or OBC.
 It amends Article 15 to additionally permit the government to provide

for the advancement of ―economically weaker sections‖.
 It also amends Article 16 to permit the government to reserve up to
10% of all posts for the ―economically weaker sections‖ of citizens.
 The 10 per cent reservation will be in addition to the existing cap of 50
per cent reservation for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and
the Other Backward Classes, taking the total reservation to 60 per
cent.
 The quota is targeted at economically weaker sections among the
upper castes, with a family income ceiling of Rs 8 lakh per annum and
who have less than five acres of agricultural land.
Why reservation demand has been growing rapidly
• Agriculture crisis:
30
• Unemployment
• Privilege
• Salaries and Wages:
• Demands of Upper caste
Arguments in favour of reservation
• Historical injustice: Caste based reservation is a necessity in India
because of historical negligence and injustice caused to those
backward communities.
• Level Playing field: Reservation provides a level playing field as it is
difficult for the backward sections who were historically deprived of
education, skills and economic mobility to suddenly start competing
with those who had access to those means for centuries.
• Meritocracy Vs Equality: Meritocracy is important, however, it will
have no meaning without equality. The caste-based reservation also
minimized the gap between upper and lower castes to a great extent.
• Administration quality: A study revealed that reservations have not
affected the efficiency of administration, but enhanced quality. The
best example is the Indian Railways in which the SC/ST employees
comprise more in number, and the results have been better.

Arguments in favour of reservation
• Majority of lower castes have stepped up the social ladder and are now
on an equal status compared to the general population. Hence, there
is no need for reservation anymore.
• Reservation only provides a limited and short-term solution to the
historical injustice issues.
• Reservation is obviously a tool to address social and educational
backwardness, however, it does not have solutions for all social and
economic ailments. There are much better and innovative ways tosolve
those issues. However, reservation prevents the leadership to come up
with viable solutions.
31
• As the reservation grows larger, it becomes a mechanism of exclusion
rather than of inclusion. Because, nowadays, the previously
advantaged communities has becoming disadvantaged to a large
extent due to the reservation conundrum. Many upper castes are still
plagued by poverty and illiteracy. Why equality and justice don't work
for them?
• Reservation brings down the economic growth rate of the country as
it reduces the efficiency of its labour
Section 124-A of the IPC
The section deals with the offence of sedition, a term that covers speech or
writing, or any form of visible representation, which brings the government
into hatred or contempt, or excites disaffection towards the government, or
attempts to do so. It is punishable with three years in prison or a life term.
―Disaffection‖, it says, includes disloyalty and feelings of enmity. However, it
also says expressing disapproval of government measures or actions, with a
view to getting them changed by lawful means, without promoting hatred or
disaffection or contempt towards the government will not come under this
section.
Collegium
The Collegium system is one where the Chief Justice of India and a forum of
four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court recommend appointments
and transfers of judges. However, it has no place in the Indian Constitution.
The system was evolved through Supreme Court judgments in the >Three
Judges Cases (October 28, 1998)
99th Amendment
The Supreme Court rejected the National Judicial Appointments
Commission (NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment which
sought to give politicians and civil society a final say in the appointment of
judges to the highest courts.
What is the NJAC?
32
The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) is a constitutional
body proposed to replace the present Collegium system of appointing judges.
The NJAC was established by amending the Constitution [Constitution
(Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014] passed by the Lok Sabha on August
13, 2014 and by the Rajya Sabha on August 14 2014. Alongside, the
Parliament also passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act,
2014, to regulate the NJAC‘s functions. Both Bills were ratified by 16 of the
State legislatures and the President gave his assent on December 31, 2014.
The NJAC Act and the Constitutional Amendment Act came into force from
April 13, 2015
NJAC
It will consist of six people — the Chief Justice of India, the two most senior
judges of the Supreme Court, the Law Minister, and two ‗eminent persons‘.
These eminent persons are to be nominated for a three-year term by a
committee consisting of the Chief Justice, the Prime Minister, and the
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and are not eligible for re-
nomination.
National Voters' Day (
National Voters' Day (NVD) celebrations at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi on

25th January 2019. The theme for this year's NVD was 'NoVoter to be Left
Behind
Electoral bond
An electoral bond is designed to be a bearer instrument like a Promissory
Note — in effect, it will be similar to a bank note that is payable to the
bearer on demand and free of interest. It can be purchased by any citizen of
India or a body incorporated in India.
The bonds will be issued in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹1 lakh, ₹10 lakh
and ₹1 crore and will be available at specified branches of State Bank of
India. They can be bought by the donor with a KYC-compliant account.
Donors can donate the bonds to their party of choice which can then be
cashed in via the party's verified account within 15 days.
33
lateral entry
The central government has recently announced opening up of 10 senior-
level positions in several departments through lateral entry to people
working in the private sector.
Advantages of Lateral Entry
 Complexity: Governance is becoming more and more complex
requiring specialised skills. Generalist officer cannot be always
expected to be up-to-date with the specialized knowledge. Therefore,
people with expertise and specialist domain knowledge are required to
navigate the complex needs of present day administrative challenges.
 Personnel shortage: According to Department of Personnel and
Training data there is shortage of about 1500 IAS officers. Lateral
entry will help bridge this gap.
 Organisation culture: It will help in bringing change in organisation
culture in Government sector culture. It will help in bringing the
values of economy, efficiency and effectiveness in Government sector.
It will help in building culture of performance with in Government
sector.
 Liberalisation Policy and Civil services: The generalist Civil Services

was designed for a time when the State was all-powerful. After
liberalisation in 1991, markets are playing critical role in
administration. In such environment, regulatory capacity of govt. is
critical which depend upon the up to date knowledge of
administrators, which require fresh intake from private sector.
 Participatory Governance: In the present times governance is
becoming more participatory and multi actor endeavour, thus lateral
entry provides stakeholders such as the private sector and non-profits
an opportunity to participate in governance process.
Disadvantage
 Lateral entrants from the private sector and academia may not work
well with the bureaucracy. The same pretty much goes for any inter-
34
sector scenario. Differences in work culture, turf wars and systemic
inertia often come in the way.
 It‘s important to gauge what processes the Centre has put in place to
ease the transition and establish authority. Candidates coming from
the outside may not know the nuances of the system which can be
exploited against them in any number of ways.
 The IAS establishment is likely to baulk at lateral entrants who
haven‘t made it through probably the hardest open competitive exam
in the world, but because of privilege and social networks.
 One of the distinguishing aspects that the current crop of IAS officers
can hold up is their experience in the field, serving some of the
poorest districts in our hinterlands. Those entering from privileged
backgrounds and the private sector may have never seen a village
school.
Umesh Sinha Committee
The Committee constituted under the chairmanship of Sr. Deputy Election
Commissioner Sh. Umesh Sinha to review and suggest modifications and
changes in the provisions of the Section 126 and other sections of the
Representation of the People Act 1951,

key recommendations of the panel are:
 Social media platforms should work with the EC to evolve a
mechanism by which the latter can flag content violating electoral law
and social media sites can take it down as soon as possible.
 EC should issue directions to private cable TV channels to follow
NBSA guidelines for election broadcasts during the poll period.
 The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) should be amended to ensure that
political parties release their manifesto at least 72 hours before voting
ends in the first phase of polls, a committee set up by the Election
Commission has recommended.
National Legal Services Authority
35
President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday nominated Supreme
Court JusticeSharad Arvind Bobde as the Executive Chairman of National
Legal Services Authority (NALSA)
Objectives of Legal Services Authorities are:
 Provide free legal aid and advice.
 Spread legal awareness.
 Organise lok adalats.
 Promote settlements of disputes through Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) Mechanisms. Various kinds of ADR mechanisms
are Arbitration, Conciliation, Judicial settlement including
settlement through Lok Adalat, or Mediation.
 Provide compensation to victims of crime.
Private Bills
Any MP who is not a Minister is referred to as a private member.
Parliament‘s key role is to debate and make laws. Both Ministers and private
members contribute to the lawmaking process. Bills introduced by Ministers
are referred to as government bills. They are backed by the government, and
reflect its legislative agenda. Private member‘s bills are piloted by non-
Minister MPs. Their purpose is to draw the government‘s attention to what

individual MPs see as issues and gaps in the existing legal framework, which
require legislative intervention.
Vote on account
Vote on account is just an interim permission to spend money as against a
full Budget which is an elaborate financial statement of expenditure and
receipts. ... The constitution says that no money can be withdrawn by the
government from the Consolidated Fund of India except under appropriation
made by law.
M.P. Bezbaruah Committee
Former Tourism Secretary M.P. Bezbaruah, who was named to head a High
Level Committee on how to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, has
withdrawn his consent to head the committee.
36
Clause 6 of the Assam Accord deals with the aspect of protecting the culture
of the indigenous people in Assam.
Assam Accord
The Assam Accord, a tripartite agreement signed in 1985 between the
Centre, the State government and AASU, had set March 25,1971 as the cut
off date to grant citizenship to people who had migrated from Bangladesh.
law against lynching
Manipur became the first to pass a remarkable law against lynching, late
last year. The Manipur law closely follows the Supreme Court‘s
prescriptions, creating a nodal officer to control such crimes in every State,
special courts and enhanced punishments.
Raisina Dialogue
The Raisina Dialogue is a multilateral conference committed to addressing
the most challenging issues facing the global community. Every year, global
leaders in policy, business, media and civil society are hosted in New Delhi
to discuss cooperation on a wide range of pertinent international policy
matters
Aadhaar cards are now valid travel documents for Indians under 15 and
over 65 years travelling to Nepal and Bhutan, according to a Home Ministry

communiqué.
Fiscal federalism
Fiscal federalism can best be understood as the economic counterpart to
political federalism. It is concerned with assigning functions to different
levels of government, and providing appropriate fiscal instruments for
carrying out these functions.
It is generally believed that the Central government should provide national
public goods that render services to the entire population while sub-national
governments are expected to provide goods and services whose consumption
is limited to their own jurisdictions.
Centre State Financial Relations
37
 Indian Constitution has made elaborate provisions, relating to the
distribution of taxes as well as non-tax revenues and the power of
borrowing, supplemented by provisions for grants-in-aid by the Union
to the States.
 Article 268 to 293 deals with the provisions of financial relations
between Centre and States.
The Constitution divides the taxing powers between the Centre and the
States as follows:
 The Parliament has exclusive power to levy taxes on subjects
enumerated in the Union List,
 The state legislature has exclusive power to levy taxes on subjects
enumerated in the State List,
 Both can levy taxes on the subjects enumerated in Concurrent List
whereas residuary power of taxation lies with Parliament only
Recent Developments
 Central governments have tried to address these issues of vertical and
horizontal imbalances through various Finance Commissions, taking
into account the prevailing set of circumstances.
 The Fourteenth Finance Commission has broken new ground in terms

of allocation of resources. It has recommended increasing the share of
tax devolution to 42% of the divisible pool.
 It does not necessarily affect the overall transfers but only enhances
the share of unconditional transfers as it looks to address the
increasing central encroachment in states through conditional and
centrally sponsored schemes.
 Increased allocation in unconditional transfers however suffers from
two challenges; firstly the total transfers that need to be made to the
states, secondly who will be suggesting all the transfers.
 Replacement of Planning Commission (entrusted to allocate resources
to states) with NITI Aayog, which is simply a think-tank with no
powers of resource allocation makes the process all the more difficult.
38
corruption index
India has improved its ranking on a global corruption index in 2018 India
rose by three points to 78 in the list of 180 countries in the world,
Transparency International,
Transparency International e. is an international non-governmental
organization which is based in Berlin, Germany, and was founded in 1993.
Its nonprofit purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil
societal anti-corruption measures and to prevent criminal activities arising
from corruption
125th Amendment Bill,
The government quietly introduced a Constitution Amendment Bill in Rajya
Sabha to increase the financial and executive powers of the 10 Autonomous
Councils in the Sixth Schedule areas of the northeastern region.
Electronic Voting Machine

Evolution of EVM
The Commission in December, 1977 mooted the idea of EVM to overcome
certain problems associated with use of ballot papers and taking advantage
of development of technology so that voters cast their votes correctly without

any resultant ambiguity and removing the possibilities of invalid votes
totally.
MB Haneefa invented the first Indian voting machine in 1980. It was first
used in 1981 in the by-election to North Paravur Assembly Constituency of
Kerala in 50 polling stations. The EVMs were commissioned in 1989 by
Election Commission of India in collaboration with Bharat Electronics
Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited.
The law was amended by the Parliament in December, 1988 and a new
section 61A was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1951
empowering the Commission to use voting machines. The amended
provision came into force with effect from 15th March, 1989.
Significance
39
 Electronic Voting Machine was introduced in India to solve the problem
of Ballot Box capturing and casting of false vote,which was a common
scenario in India while using the Ballot Paper.
 Another constraint of the pre-EVM era was the high proportion of invalid
votes. Many people found it difficult to put the stamp in the allocated
space.
 In addition, the cost of paper ballots and the prolonged drudgery of the
polling staff was an additional burden.
 Hence, the Indian Parliament decided to use Electronic Voting Machine
by Election Commission of India to Conduct General and State elections
in India.
 EVMs in India consists of a Ballot Unit, buttons in front of the name of
respective Candidates or Political Parties, for the voters and a Control
Unit which is operated by the booth officer.
 Studies have been conducted which have shown that EVMs have reduced
electoral fraud and re-polling due to electoral rigging, and made elections
a safe affair, thereby enhancing voter turnout.
Democracy Index
India slipped from the 27th rank in 2014 to 41st in the Democracy Index
2019 released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The index ranks 167
countries on as many as 60 indicators including the country‘s electoral
process, pluralism, civil liberties, democratic culture and political
participation. Each category gets a score ranging between 0 and 10, with the
final score being the average.
National Security Act
The National Security Act of 1980 is an act of the Indian Parliament whose
purpose is ―to provide for preventive detention in certain cases and for
matters connected therewith‖. The act extends to the whole of India except
the State of Jammu and Kashmir
 National Security Act allows Central or State governments to prevent
any person from acting as a threat to national security.
40
 The Act also allows the government to preventively detain any person
from disrupting supply or maintenance of essential commodities and
services to the community or disrupting public order.
 As per the act, a person can be detained for a maximum of 12 months
but can be extended when fresh evidence is produced by the
government.
Official Secrets Act
The Official Secrets Act was first enacted in 1923 and was retained after
Independence. The law, applicable to government servants and citizens,
provides the framework for dealing with espionage, sedition, and other
potential threats to the integrity of the nation. The law makes spying,
sharing ‗secret‘ information, unauthorised use of uniforms, withholding
information, interference with the armed forces in prohibited/restricted
areas, among others, punishable offences. If guilty, a person may get up to
14 years‘ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
Lokpal
Retired Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra Ghose has been appointed
the first Lokpal of India or anti-corruption watchdog.
Structure of Lokpal
 Lokpal is a multi-member body, that consists of one chairperson and
a maximum of 8 members.
 Chairperson of the Lokpal should be either the former Chief Justice of
India or the former Judge of Supreme Court or an eminent person
with impeccable integrity and outstanding ability, having special
knowledge and expertise of minimum 25 years in the matters relating
to anti-corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance
including insurance and banking, law and management.
 Out of the maximum eight members, half will be judicial members
and minimum 50% of the Members will be from SC/ ST/ OBC/
Minorities and women.
41
 The judicial member of the Lokpal either a former Judge of the
Supreme Court or a former Chief Justice of a High Court.
 The non-judicial member should be an eminent person with
impeccable integrity and outstanding ability, having special knowledge
and expertise of minimum 25 years in the matters relating to anti-
corruption policy, public administration, vigilance, finance including
insurance and banking, law and management.
 The term of office for Lokpal Chairman and Members is 5 years or
till the age of 70 years.
 The members are appointed by the president on the
recommendation of a Selection Committee.
 The selection committee is composed of the Prime Minister who is the
Chairperson; Speaker of Lok Sabha, Leader of Opposition in Lok
Sabha, Chief Justice of India or a Judge nominated by him/her and
One eminent jurist.
 For selecting the chairperson and the members, the selection
committee constitutes a search panel of at least eight persons.
Lokpal Search Committee
 Under the Lokpal Act of 2013, the DoPT is supposed to put together a
list of candidates interested to be the chairperson or members of the
Lokpal.
 This list would then go to the proposed eight-member search
committee, which would shortlist names and place them before the
selection panel headed by the Prime Minister.
 The selection panel may or may not pick names suggested by the
search committee.
 In September 2018, the government had constituted a search
committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ranjana
Prakash Desai.
 The 2013 Act also provides that all states should set up the office of
the Lokayukta within one year from the commencement of the Act.
42
Lokpal Jurisdiction and Powers
 Jurisdiction of Lokpal includes Prime Minister, Ministers, members of
Parliament, Groups A, B, C and D officers and officials of Central
Government.
 Jurisdiction of the Lokpal included the Prime Minister except on
allegations of corruption relating to international relations, security,
the public order, atomic energy and space.
 The Lokpal does not have jurisdiction over Ministers and MPs in the
matter of anything said in Parliament or a vote given there.
 Its jurisdiction also includes any person who is or has been in charge
(director/ manager/ secretary) of anybody/ society set up by central
act or any other body financed/ controlled by central government and
any other person involved in act of abetting, bribe giving or bribe
taking.
 The Lokpal Act mandates that all public officials should furnish the
assets and liabilities of themselves as well as their respective
dependents.
 It has the powers to superintendence over, and to give direction to
CBI.
o If Lokpal has referred a case to CBI, the investigating officer in
such case cannot be transferred without the approval of Lokpal.
 The Inquiry Wing of the Lokpal has been vested with the powers of a
civil court.
 Lokpal has powers of confiscation of assets, proceeds,
receipts and benefits arisen or procured by means of corruption in
special circumstances.
 Lokpal has the power to recommend transfer or suspension of public
servant connected with allegation of corruption.
 Lokpal has the power to give directions to prevent the destruction of
records during the preliminary inquiry.
Indus Waters Treaty
43
In the year 1960, India and Pakistan signed a water distribution agreement -
- came to be known as Indus Waters Treaty
 It was brokered by the World Bank.
 The treaty administers how river Indus and its tributaries that flow in
both the countries will be utilised.
 According to the treaty, Beas, Ravi and Sutlej are to be governed by
India, while, Indus, Chenab and Jhelum are to be taken care by
Pakistan.
Seoul Peace Prize
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the prestigious Seoul Peace Prize for
2018 for his contribution to international cooperation and fostering global
economic growth. The award was presented to him by the Seoul Peace Prize
Foundation at a grand ceremony in Seoul. The Prize was established in 1990
to commemorate the success of the 24th Olympic Games held in Seoul
mediation in Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi
The Supreme Court ordered mediation in Ayodhya‘s Ram Janmabhoomi-
Babri Masjid title suit and set up a three-member panel for resolution of the
long-pending issue. The panel headed by retired Supreme Court judge,
Justice FMI Kalifulla . Other members of the Ayodhya case mediation panel
are Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and lawyer Sriram Panchu.
15th Finance Commission
Former finance secretary Ajay Narayan Jha joined the 15th Finance
Commission as a member, pursuant to the resignation of Shaktikanta Das
France reiterates support for India's permanent seat in UN Security
Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the organs of the
United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace
and security. Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping
operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the
authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions; it is
44
the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member
states.
The Security Council consists of fifteen members. Russia, the United
Kingdom, France, China, and the United States—serve as the body‘s five
permanent members. These permanent members can veto any substantive
Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new
member states or candidates for Secretary-General.
The Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a
regional basis to serve two-year terms. The body’s presidency rotates
monthly among its members.
Why India should be given a permanent seat in the council?
1. India was among the founding members of United Nations.
2. It is the second largest and a one of the largest constant contributor of
troops to United Nations Peacekeeping missions.
3. Today, India has over 8,500 peacekeepers in the field, more than twice
as many as the UN‘s five big powers combined.
4. India, since long time, has been demanding expansion of UNSC and
its inclusion as permanent member in it. It has been a member of
UNSC for 7 terms and a member of G-77 and G-4, so permanent

membership is a logical extension.
India-Maldives Relations
India has turned the page in its relationship with the Maldives. The three-
day official visit of newly-elected Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed
Solih to India
As close and friendly neighbours, India and Maldives share ethnic,
linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity and
enjoy cordial and multi-dimensional relations. India was among the first to
recognise Maldives after its independence in 1965 and to establish
diplomatic relations with the country. India established its mission at Malé
in 1972.
Political Relations
45
Bilateral relations have been nurtured and strengthened by regular contacts
at all levels. Since establishment of diplomatic relations, almost all Prime
Ministers of India visited the Maldives. From the Maldivian side, former
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and former President Mohamed Nasheed
made a number of visits to India during their Presidencies.President Abdulla
Yameen visited India with a high level delegation on a State visit from
January 1-4, 2014, which was his first official visit abroad. There is a
regular exchange of high level ministerial visits also. Recently MEA Sushma
Swaraj also visited. PM Modi Plans to visit Maldives from june 8
Bilateral Assistance
India is a leading development partner of Maldives and has established
many of the leading institutions of Maldives including the Indira Gandhi
Memorial Hospital (IGMH), Faculty of Engineering Technology (FET) and
Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Studies(IMFFHTS).
Currently, India has provided US $ 100 million Stand-by Credit facility
(SCF) to Maldives, including long-term loans and revolving credit for trade.
Under new Line of Credit worth US$40 million offered by the Government of
India to Maldives, the Overseas Infrastructure Alliance (OIA) of India has
been given a contract to construct485 housing units in Maldives.

Economic and Commercial Relations
India and Maldives signed a trade agreement in 1981, which provides for
export of essential commodities. Growing from modest beginnings, India-
Maldives bilateral trade now stands at Rs.700 crores. Indian exports to the
Maldives include agriculture and poultry produce, sugar, fruits, vegetables,
spices, rice, wheat flour (Atta), textiles, drugs and medicines, a variety of
engineering and industrial products, sand and aggregate, cement for
building etc. Indian imports primarily scrap metals from the Maldives.
Under the bilateral agreement, India provides essential food items like rice,
wheat flour, sugar, dal, onion, potato and eggs and construction material
such as sand and stone aggregates to Maldives on favourable terms.
Indian Business in Maldives
46
State Bank of India has been playing a vital role in the economic
development of the Maldives since February, 1974 by providing loan
assistance for promotion of island resorts, export of marine products and
business enterprises. Taj Group of India runs two resorts in Maldives,
namely Taj Exotica Resort & Spa and Vivanta Coral Reef Resort.
People-to-People contacts
Air India operates daily flights to Malé from Thiruvananthapuram,
Bangalore and Chennai; Spice Jet of India runs daily flights between Male
and Cochin. Island Aviation Service (Maldivian Aero) is operating daily
flights to Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai.
Cultural Relations
Both the countries share long cultural links and continuous efforts are
underway to further strengthen these linkages. Three historical mosques
(Friday Mosque and DharumavanthaRasgefaanu Mosque - Male‘, Fenfushi
Mosque - South Ari Atoll) were successfully restored by Indian experts from
NRLCCP, Lucknow. Exchange of cultural troupes takes place regularly
between the countries. Hindi commercial films, TV serials and music are
immensely popular in Maldives. The India Cultural Center (ICC), established
in Male in July 2011, conducts regular courses in yoga, classical music and
dance. ICC programmes have become immensely popular among Maldivians
of all ages.
Indian Community
Indians are the second largest expatriate community in the Maldives with
approximate strength of around 26,000. Indian expatriate community
consists of workers as well as professionals like doctors, teachers,
accountants, managers, engineers, nurses and technicians etc. spread over
several islands. Of the country‘s approximately 400 doctors, over 125 are
Indians. Similarly around 25% of teachers in Maldives are Indians, mostly at
middle and senior levels
Apostle Andrew the First
47
Russia announced o that President Vladimir Putin will confer its highest
civilian award, the ―Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First,‖ on Prime
Minister Narendra Modi for his work on bilateral ties.
first-past-the-post
The first-past-the-post (FPTP) system is also known as the simple majority
system. In this voting method, the candidate with the highest number of
votes in a constituency is declared the winner. This system is used in India
in direct elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. While
FPTP is relatively simple, it does not always allow for a truly representative
mandate, as the candidate could win despite securing less than half the
votes in a contest. In 2014, the National Democratic Alliance led by the
Bharatiya Janata Party won 336 seats with only 38.5% of the popular vote.
Also, smaller parties representing specific groups have a lower chance of
being elected in FPTP.
Benefits of FPPS
Stability: FPPS has been known for providing stability in the electoral
system of India. Thus, assures stable terms for the party in power, with the
requisite numbers in the House to ensure implementation of its policies
Tried and tested system: The FPPS is used not just in India, but also many
other major democracies like the US, UK and Canada. Moreover, since the
Indian system is so much inspired from these three, it is not surprising that
the Indian framers went for a more tried and tested system
Simple: FPPS is also useful because it is simple to use and easy to
understand. Thus, makes it uncomplicated
Assess individual candidate: FPPS allows voters an opportunity to assess
the performance of a candidate rather than having to accept a list of
candidates presented by a party, as under the PRS.
Better focus on constituency: It also ensures that there is a link between a
constituency and its representative in the legislature and incentivizes
representatives to serve their constituents well
Disadvantages of FPPS
48
Exclusion of smaller parties: The principal criticism leveled against the FPPS
is that it leads to the exclusion of small or regional parties from the
Parliament
Not true representative: There is common discrepancy in the vote share and
seat share in results. For ex- in 2014 election, NDA won only 31% of the
total votes cast and therefore 69% of those who voted did not vote in favor of
it.
Encourages election vices: FPPS often encourages caste, religion, ethnicity
and regional politics.
Low election expenditure: In FPPS the election expenditure is higher, this
leads to issue such as higher corruption etc
Anti-Defection Law
The 52nd Amendment Act of 1985 provided for the disqualification of the
members of Parliament and the State legislatures on the ground of defection
from one political party to another. For this purpose it added the Tenth
Schedule to the Constitution. This act is often referred to as ―Anti-defection
law‖. Later the 91st Amendment Act of 2003 made one change in the
provision i.e., disqualification on ground of defection not to apply in case of
split
Provisions of the Act
Disqualification:
A member of a house belonging to any political party becomes disqualified if
he voluntarily gives up his membership or if he votes or abstains from voting
contrary to any direction issued by his political party without obtaining prior
permission of the party.
 An independent member of the house becomes disqualified to remain
a member of the house if he joins any political party after such
election.
 A nominated member of the house gets disqualified if he joins any
political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which he
takes his seat in the house.
49
Exceptions:
Disqualifications on the ground of defection does not apply, if a member
goes out of his party as a result of a merger of the party with another party;
if a member, after being elected as the Presiding officer of the house,
voluntarily gives up the membership of his party or rejoins after he ceases to
hold that office.
Deciding Authority:
Any question regarding disqualification arising out of defection is to be
decided by the Presiding officer of the house.
Rule making power:
The Presiding officer of a house is empowered to make rules to give effect to
the provisions of the tenth schedule. All such rules must be placed before
the house for 30 days. The house may approve or disapprove them. Further
he may direct that any willful contravention by any member of such rules
may be dealt with in the same manner as a breach of privilege of the house.
Evaluation of the Act
 The tenth schedule of the constitution is designed to prevent the
mischief of political defections motivated by the lure of office or
material benefits
 It is intended to strengthen the fabric of Indian Parliamentary
democracy by curbing unprincipled and unethical political defections
 It provides for greater stability in the body politic by checking the
propensity of the legislators to change parties
 . It facilitates democratic realignment of parties in the legislature by
way of merger of parties
 It gives a clear cut constitutional recognition to the existence of
political parties
Electoral Process in India
 Delimitation of Constituencies
 Notification of the Election
50
 Notification by the Election Commission regarding Nomination and
withdrawal
 Filing of nomination papers by the intending candidates
 Verification and the acceptance or rejection of the nomination papers
 Election campaign
 Polling process
 Counting of votes and announcement of Election Results
Cooperative Federalism & Competitive Federalism

Federalism
This is a characteristic or nature of a government. Union and States form
together Indian Union. Federalism is basically division of power between the
government at centre and the state. Their powers are divided equally in the
constitutional of India as centre list, state list and concurrent list
Co-operative federalism
Co-operative federalism, in general terms, is a concept wherein the federal
government, state government, and local government interact co-operatively
and share their responsibilities in the governance. Corwin defines co-

operative federalism thus: ―The States and National Governments are
regarded as mutually complementary parts of a single governmental
mechanism all the whose powers are intended to realise the current
purposes of government according to their applicability to the problems in
hand‖
Our Constitution, several provisions and features have been deliberately
designed to promote the concept of Centre-State cooperation.
 Article 252(1) provides for delegation of powers by two or more states
to Parliament so as to enable it to legislate with respect to a matter in
the State List in relation to such states.
 The Indian Constitution provides for a scheme of tax sharing between
the Centre and the State. This means that the Centre should share
some taxes collected with the States. The taxes which are collected by
51
the States are used by them but the taxes levied by the Centre cannot
be exclusively used by it. It should share some of the taxes.
 Apart from the scheme of tax sharing, there is another way of transfer
of revenue from the Centre to the State and that is the system of
grants-in-aid. Article 282 provides for the making any grants by the
Union for any public purpose.
 Article 312 introduces an important feature to the Indian
Constitution, which provides that besides having separate services for
the Centre and State, the Centre can create certain services common
to both the Centre and State.
 Article 263 provides that the President may be by order appoint an
Inter-State Council if it appears to him that the public interests would
be served by the establishment of a Council.
 Zonal Council have been introduced in India by the State Re-
organisation Act, 1956. These Zonal Councils were created to promote
the mechanism of intergovernmental consultation and coordination in
socio-economic fields.
 Passing of GST is a shining example of cooperative federalism where

States and Centre have ceded their power to tax and come up with a
single tax system to realize the dream of one Economic India with ‗One
Market‘.
 NITI Aayog will seek to provide a critical directional and strategic
input into the vision of national development priorities, and
foster cooperative federalism. As the premier policy ‗Think Tank‘ of the
Government of India, NITI Aayog aims to evolve a shared vision of
national development with the active involvement of States.
Issues in Cooperative Federalism /
Centre-State Relations /
52
Since the 1990s, Congress dominance has largely ended and we have
entered an era of coalition politics especially at the centre. In the States too,
different parties, both national and regional, have come to power. This has
resulted in a greater say for the States, a respect for diversity and the
beginning of a more mature federalism. Thus, it is in the second phase that
the issue of autonomy became very potent politically
Demands for Autonomy /
Many States and even many political parties have, from time to time,
demanded that States should have more autonomy vis---vis the central
government.
Role of Governors and President’s Rule /
The role of Governors has always been a controversial issue between the
States and the central government. The Governor is not an elected office-
holder. Many Governors have been retired military officers or civil servants
or politicians. Besides, the Governor is appointed by the central government
and therefore, actions of the Governor are often viewed as interference by

the Central government in the functioning of the State government. When
two different parties are in power at the centre and the State, the role of the
Governor becomes even more controversial.
One of the most controversial articles in the Constitution is Article 356,
which provides for President‘s rule in any State. This provision is to be
applied, when ‗a situation has arisen in which the Government of the State
cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.‘
It results in the takeover of the State government by the Union government.
Demands for New States /
The other dimension of tension in our federal system has been the demand
to create new States
Interstate Conflicts /
53
While the States keep fighting with the centre over autonomy and other
issues like the share in revenue resources, there have been many instances
of disputes between two States or among more than two States. For example
water Sharing
Special provisions/
The most extra-ordinary feature of the federal arrangement created in India
is that many States get a differential treatment. Most of the special
provisions pertain to the north eastern States (Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal
Pradesh, Mizoram, etc.) largely due to a sizeable indigenous tribal
population with a distinct history and culture, which they wish to retain (Art
371). However, these provisions have not been able to stem alienation and
the insurgency in parts of the region. The other State which has a special
status is Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) (Art. 370).
Competitive federalism
 States compete with each other to attract funds and investment,
which facilitates efficiency in administration and enhances
developmental activities Eg. to improve the ease of doing business
state wise.
 States are given more responsibility and autonomy in the matters of
policy planning and implementation.This help states to learn from
each other and implement the best practices as per their specific
needs.
123rd Constitutional Amendment Bill
The Lok Sabha has passed the 123rd Constitutional Amendment Bill
providing for a National Commission for Backward Classes as a
constitutional body.
 The bill provides for the grant of constitutional status to the National
Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) on par with the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for
Scheduled Tribes.
54
 Powers of the President: It states that the President may specify the
socially and educationally backward classes in the various states and
union territories. He may do this in consultation with the Governor of
the concerned state.
 The duties of the NCBC include investigating and monitoring how
safeguards provided to the backward classes under the Constitution
and other laws are being implemented and probe specific complaints
regarding violation of rights.
 Report: The NCBC will be required to present annual reports to the
President on working of the safeguards for backward classes. These
reports will be tabled in Parliament, and in the state legislative
assemblies of the concerned states.
 Powers of a civil court: Under the Constitution Amendment Bill, the
NCBC will have the powers of a civil court while investigating or
inquiring into any complaints. These powers include: (i) summoning
people and examining them on oath, (ii) requiring production of any
document or public record, and (iii) receiving evidence.
Section 377 of the IPC

 The Supreme Court has pronounced its much-awaited verdict on a clutch
of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of section 377 of the
IPC which criminalises consensual gay sex.
 The Court said gay sex among consenting adults is not an offence. The
verdict assumes significance as in the earlier round of litigation in 2013
the Supreme Court had reversed the Delhi high court ruling
decriminalising homosexuality or same sex relationship.
 However, bestiality will continue as an offence. Any kind of sexual activity
with animals shall remain penal offence under Section 377 of the IPC
 The judgement is based on the interpretation of Article 14 (Right to
Equality); Article 15 (prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion,
race, caste, sex or place of birth); Article 19 (Freedom of Speech and
55
Expression); and Article 21 (Right to Life and Right to Privacy) of the
Indian Constitution.
 Section 377 of IPC – which came into force in 1862 – defines unnatural
offences. It says, ―Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the
order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with
imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to 10 years, and shall also be liable to fine.‖
 Delhi HC legalises homosexuality in July 2009 de-criminalised
consensual homosexual acts in private by declaring as unconstitutional a
part of Section 377 of IPC that criminalises unnatural sex, saying ―the
section denies a gay person a right to full personhood…‖
 SC re-criminalises homosexuality: to reverse the verdict in December
2013. Upholding the constitutional validity of Section 377 IPC, an SC
bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi (since retired), put the ball in the
Parliament‘s court, saying it was for the legislature to take a call on the
desirability of the controversial provision.
 Law and morality: Those against legalising gay sex argue that it is
against the moral values of the society. However, activists arguing for it
say what is forbidden in religion need not be prohibited in law. They
argue that morality cannot be a ground to restrict the fundamental rights
of citizens.
 A legal wrong is necessarily a moral wrong but vice versa is not correct. A
moral wrong becomes a legal wrong only when its consequences are for
society and not just the person/s committing it.
 Challenges ahead: The Supreme Court judgment only deals with a
narrow interpretation of Section 377. Besides decriminalising
homosexuality, the judgment does not confer any further rights.
 Gay marriages: Marriages between same-sex partners are not recognised
in india, but this can be changed by inserting a provision in the Special
Marriage Act.
 Adoption: Law prohibits adoption of a child by a gay couple.
56
 Inheritance: One partner cannot inherit properties left behind by their
same-sex partner, unless a will is drawn in favour of the person. A will,
too, can be contested by family members of the partners.
 On pending criminal cases: The judgment will have a bearing on
criminal cases pending trial, appeal or revision on disposed off cases. The
judgment will have no bearing on disposed off cases and old cases cannot
be reopened. It opens the flood gates for securing other civil rights.
SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989

Union Cabinet has approved the amendment to SC/ST (Prevention of
Atrocities) Act, 2018
Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989
Owing to the ineffectiveness of Protection of civil right act and Indian penal
code, ‗Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act‘ in
1989 and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Rules in 1995 came into existence
Salient Features
 Creation of new types of offences not in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or
in the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955.

 It punishes crimes against people belonging to Scheduled Castes and
Tribes.
 It gives special protections and rights to victims.
 It sets up courts for fast completion of cases.
 Commission of offences only by specified persons (by non-SCs on SCs
and non-STs on STs).
 Punishment for neglect of duties for public servant
 Denial of anticipatory bail
 Provides compensation, relief and rehabilitation for victims of
atrocities or their legal heirs.
 Creation of Special Courts and special public prosecutor
57
 Mandatory, periodic monitoring system at District, State and National
level
 Identification of atrocity prone areas
SC judgment On SC/ST act, 2018
 In SubhashKashinath Mahajan vs The State of Maharashtra (Review
of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act) Case, Supreme Court opined
that SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act (PoA act) is being misused and
checks are needed to prevent such misuse.
 Apex court also observe that the act has become a tool to persecute
innocents and public servants for political and personal gains.
 This claim has been validated by Parliamentary Standing Committee
report, which has sought an inbuilt provision in the PoA act to
safeguard those who are falsely accused
58

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TNPSC GROUP 1 MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS

 Development of tourism as it may work as a complimentary industry;

 In a democratic republic, collective is the supreme and the elected

Election of Deputy Chairman of Rajya sabha

Public Affairs Index (PAI) 2018

 The appointments shall be made by the Governor based on the

 The Supreme Court had said on August 8, 2018 that it would

prosecutor and the representative of the victim before deciding bail

Data Protection Authority

which allows private entities to use Aadhaar for verification purposes.

A five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has upheld the

 Enhances caste consciousness: Reservation in promotion will

 Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the premier investigating

Cases Handled by the CBI

who has held office as a judge of HC in India and nominated by the

Lee Hsien Loong.

identity, indicating the gender as ‗transgender‘.

 It amends Article 15 to additionally permit the government to provide

comprise more in number, and the results have been better.

National Voters' Day (NVD) celebrations at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi on

 Liberalisation Policy and Civil services: The generalist Civil Services

Representation of the People Act 1951,

Minister MPs. Their purpose is to draw the government‘s attention to what

over 65 years travelling to Nepal and Bhutan, according to a Home Ministry

 The Fourteenth Finance Commission has broken new ground in terms

Electronic Voting Machine

of development of technology so that voters cast their votes correctly without

UNSC for 7 terms and a member of G-77 and G-4, so permanent

been given a contract to construct485 housing units in Maldives.

Cooperative Federalism & Competitive Federalism

and share their responsibilities in the governance. Corwin defines co-

 Passing of GST is a shining example of cooperative federalism where

Issues in Cooperative Federalism /

and therefore, actions of the Governor are often viewed as interference by

Section 377 of the IPC

SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989

in the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955.

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