Ias Parliment Polity & Ir 2022

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INDEX
3.13 Supreme Court’s Ruling on Insolvency

1. Rights Issues .................................... 4 Resolution Plan ............................................................ 26
1.1 Right to be Forgotten - Delhi HC Order ............ 4 3.14 Error Corrected on Interpreting POCSO Act ... 26
1.2 Right to Healthcare ............................................ 4 3.15 Sonu Kushwaha vs State of U.P. ....................... 26
1.3 Right to Protest................................................... 5 3.16 Transfer as Punishment .................................... 27
1.4 Fundamental Rights vs. Duties ........................... 5 3.17 Revival of All-India Judicial Service Proposal . 28
1.5 Tulu Language.................................................... 6 3.18 Supreme Court on RERA Act 2016 ................... 28
1.6 Final Draft of National Register of Citizens ....... 6 3.19 Limitations of Sessions Court ........................... 29
1.7 Definition of Minority ......................................... 7 3.20 Punishing a Doctor........................................... 30
1.8 Inequality within Intermediate Castes ................ 7 3.21 Draft Model Rules for Live-Streaming and
1.9 OBC Reservation in Medical Seats .................... 8 Recording of Court Proceedings .................................. 30
1.10 Economic Criterion & Creamy Layer ................ 9 3.22 Dying Declaration ............................................ 30
1.11 Refining the Reservation Policy ....................... 10 3.23 Appointment of Supreme Court Judges ............ 31
1.12 The EWS Quota in NEET Admissions .............. 10 3.24 FASTER System ................................................ 32
1.13 No Quota without Quantifiable Data ............... 11
4. Constitutional & Non-Constitutional
2. Parliament and State Legislature .... 12 bodies ................................................... 33
4.1 Concerns with Tribunals .................................. 33
2.1 Electing Speaker and Deputy Speaker.............. 12
4.2 National Commission for Safai Karamcharis ... 33
2.2 Deputy Speaker................................................. 12
4.3 National Commission for Backward Classes .... 33
2.3 Process for Repealing a Law ............................ 12
4.4 National Medical Commission ......................... 34
2.4 Committee on Privileges................................... 13
4.5 National Security Council ................................ 34
2.5 Governor’s role in State, Central Universities . 14
4.6 Chief Labour Commissioner ............................. 34
2.6 Failure of Anti-defection Law to Discourage
Defection ...................................................................... 15 4.7 National Commission for Minorities ................ 35
2.7 Dilution of the Lok Ayukta Law ........................ 16 4.8 National Commission for Women ..................... 35
2.8 Greater Tipraland ............................................ 17 4.9 Extension of Tenure of ED and CBI Directors . 36
2.9 Karbi Anglong Agreement ................................ 17 4.10 General Consent for the CBI ............................ 36
3. Judiciary ........................................ 18 5. Elections ........................................ 37

3.1 Class Action Suit .............................................. 18 5.1 Constitutionalisation of Political Parties ......... 37
3.2 Recusal of Judges ............................................. 18 5.2 ECI’s Power on Party Symbol .......................... 39
3.3 English is the Language of Court ..................... 19 5.3 Recasting the Selection Process of the ECs ...... 39
3.4 SC Verdict on 97th Constitutional Amendment . 19 5.4 Secrecy of Vote ................................................. 41
3.5 Collegium Recommendations ........................... 21 5.5 Model Code of Conduct during Bye-election ... 41
3.6 SC Order on Govt's’ Power to Withdraw Cases 5.6 Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 ............ 41
Against MPs-MLAs ...................................................... 22 5.7 Delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir ................ 42
3.7 Kedar Nath Singh Sedition Ruling.................... 22 5.8 Forum of Election Management Bodies of South
3.8 Delhi HC Ruling on UAPA - Terrorist Act ....... 23 Asia (FEMBoSA) .......................................................... 43
3.9 Misuse of UAPA ............................................... 24 5.9 Ranked Choice Voting ...................................... 43
3.10 SC Ruling on Antitrust Investigations .............. 24
6. Governance ..................................... 44
3.11 Fast Track Special Courts ................................ 25
6.1 IAS Officers and Central Posting ..................... 44
3.12 Supreme Court’s Stance on Presumption of
Innocence ..................................................................... 25 6.2 PM CARES: A fund without a care for the RTI 45
6.3 Twitter - Not a Social Media Intermediary ....... 45
CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

6.4 Central Deputation of IAS officers ................... 46 7.19 Amendment to Food security (Assistance to State
6.5 Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, Government Rules) 2015 .............................................. 77
1971…. ......................................................................... 46 7.20 AERA (Amendment) Bill, 2021 ......................... 77
6.6 SDG India Index 2020-21 ................................. 47 7.21 Draft National Aerosports Policy 2022 ............ 78
6.7 Performance Grading Index ............................. 48
8. India & its Neighborhood ................ 78
6.8 Model Panchayat Citizens Charter .................. 49
8.1 China’s Red Tourism ........................................ 78
6.9 Features of the National Education Policy ...... 49
8.2 No-patrol Zones ................................................ 79
6.10 Swachh Survekshan 2021 Awards .................... 50
8.3 China-Myanmar New Passage ......................... 79
6.11 A Close Reading of the NFHS-5 ....................... 51
8.4 Pangong Lake ................................................... 79
6.12 Project Sampoorna : Bongaigaon’s Response to
Malnutrition ................................................................. 52 8.5 Strategic Significance of Bridge China is
building on Pangong Tso.............................................. 80
6.13 India’s Income Inequality ................................. 53
8.6 Ladakh Standoff - India, China talks at an
6.14 The Efficiency Myth of Aadhaar Linking .......... 54 impasse ......................................................................... 80
6.15 NIRF’s Rankings .............................................. 54 8.7 South China Sea ............................................... 81
6.16 E- Shram Portal................................................ 55 8.8 China’s New Land Border Law and Indian
6.17 Restrictions on Government Servants............... 56 Concerns....................................................................... 81
6.18 In NFHS Report Card- The Good, The Sober and 8.9 China’s New Maritime Rules ............................ 82
The Future .................................................................... 57 8.10 Belt and Road Initiative .................................... 82
6.19 Fertility Rate Decline in India .......................... 58 8.11 China Pakistan Economic Corridor ................. 83
6.20 Global Hunger Index & India .......................... 58 8.12 China’s Three Child Policy .............................. 83
6.21 PM POSHAN Scheme ....................................... 59 8.13 Pakistan to Remain on FATF Grey List ........... 83
6.22 Crime in India Report....................................... 60 8.14 Gilgit-Baltistan Dispute .................................... 84
6.23 Ministry of Co-operation .................................. 61 8.15 Border Fencing ................................................. 85
6.24 Compliance Information Portal ....................... 62 8.16 Child Soldier Recruiter List .............................. 85
7. Bills, Acts and Policies .................... 62 8.17 India’s Engagement with Taliban ..................... 86
8.18 Durand Line...................................................... 86
7.1 U.P.’s New Population Policy .......................... 62
7.2 National Litigation Policy ................................ 62 8.19 Sri Lanka’s National ‘food emergency’ ............ 87
8.20 Exclusion of Myanmar’s Military Junta ........... 87
7.3 Model Tenancy Act ........................................... 63
7.4 Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 .................................. 63 8.21 Tax Inspectors Without Borders ....................... 88
8.22 ‘India Out’ Campaign ...................................... 89
7.5 Section 66A of the IT Act .................................. 64
7.6 Government of NCT of Delhi Act, 2021............ 64 9. Bilateral Relations .......................... 89
7.7 Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of 9.1 Italian Marines Case ........................................ 89
Children) Amendment Bill, 2021 .................................. 65
9.2 Indo-US Nuclear Deal ...................................... 90
7.8 Anti-Trafficking Bill, 2021................................ 66
9.3 Greater Malé Connectivity Project .................. 90
7.9 Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order
(Amendment) Bill 2021 ................................................. 67 9.4 India and U.S.’s Tariff and Visa Issues ............ 90
7.10 Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 ........................... 67 9.5 S-400 Triumf Defence System ........................... 91
7.11 Compulsory Registration of Child Marriages .. 69 9.6 India Russia 2+2 Summit ................................. 92
7.12 Personal Laws in Marriage .............................. 69 9.7 India-Sweden Collaborative Industrial Research
& Development Programme ......................................... 92
7.13 Legalising Bonded Labour ............................... 70
9.8 Operation Sankalp ............................................ 93
7.14 Multistate cooperative Societies ....................... 71
7.15 JCP prescription for Data Bill ......................... 72 10. International Issues ........................ 93
7.16 What’s in ART and Surrogacy Bills? ................ 74 10.1 Carbis Bay Declaration - G7 Summit ............... 93
7.17 The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020 ........... 76 10.2 Terror in the Sahel............................................ 94
7.18 Amendment to Consumer Protection (E- 10.3 Biden-Putin Summit in Geneva ......................... 95
commerce) Rules, 2020 ................................................ 76
10.4 Operation Pangea XIV ..................................... 95

10.5 New Atlantic Charter........................................ 95 10.20 The Geneva Talks: The US-Russia Conflict ... 103
10.6 Tigray Crisis ..................................................... 96 10.21 The Geo-Politics of Gas Pipelines .................. 103
10.7 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification 10.22 WTO’s Joint Initiatives ................................... 104
Scale….......................................................................... 96
10.23 Nord Stream Pipeline ..................................... 105
10.8 The EAGLE Act ................................................ 97
10.24 Iran Nuclear Talks echoes in the Gulf ............ 106
10.9 Birthing People................................................. 97
10.25 Turkey’s Currency Crash ............................... 107
10.10 Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate .............. 97
10.26 Israel’s Missile Strike on Syria ....................... 108
10.11 Opposition to Critical Race Theory - U.S. ....... 98 10.27 South-South Innovation Platform ................... 108
10.12 White Flag Campaign ...................................... 98
10.28 Polexit ............................................................. 108
10.13 ‘Right to Repair’ Movement ............................. 99 10.29 Pandora Papers: How US states help rich
10.14 Greece’s Wall - Afghan Refugee Crisis ............ 99 foreigners shield assets............................................... 109
10.15 Citizen Arrester .............................................. 100 10.30 China-Taiwan Tussle ...................................... 110
10.16 The AUKUS Agreement .................................. 101 10.31 EU Digital Covid Certificate .......................... 111
10.17 UAE's Green Visa ........................................... 101 10.32 Cairo International Conference on Population
10.18 Havana Syndrome .......................................... 101 and Development ........................................................ 112
10.19 Russia-Ukraine Border Conflict ..................... 102

POLITY
1. RIGHTS ISSUES
1.1 Right to be Forgotten - Delhi HC Order

The Delhi High Court recently ordered the removal of one of its own judgments from easy access. It comes as an
important development for the ‘right to be forgotten.’
• The right to be forgotten is, generally, the right to have information about a
person removed from public access.
• The idea is that individuals should be able to determine the development of
their life in an autonomous way.
• Persons cannot be perpetually stigmatised for past conduct. Case - The
petitioner was acquitted of certain crimes by the court. The judgment was freely
accessible on the Internet, which the petitioner was unhappy of.
• The petitioner thus sought removal of the judgment from a leading database platform and search engines.
• The court, as a temporary relief, asked search engines to remove this order from search results. It also ordered
the database platform to block the judgment from being accessed by search engines.
• SC Ruling - In 2017, the Supreme Court recognised the right to be forgotten as being under the ambit of the
right to privacy (specifically, informational privacy) under the Constitution.
• It observed that if someone desired to remove personal data from the virtual space, it ought to be respected.
• However, the right to be forgotten was subject to reasonable restrictions based on countervailing rights such
as free speech.
• Fundamental right - In 2017, the Right to Privacy was declared a fundamental right by the Supreme Court
in its landmark verdict.
• It held that the right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right
to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• It is thus part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution.
• Section 20 of the Personal Data Protection Bill - The data principal
shall have the right to restrict or prevent the continuing disclosure of
his/her personal data by a data fiduciary where such disclosure -
1. has served the purpose for which it was collected or is no longer
necessary for the purpose;
2. was made with the consent of the data principal under section 11 and such consent has since been
withdrawn; or
3. was made contrary to the provisions of this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
1.2 Right to Healthcare

The demand for the enactment of legislation on the right to healthcare has been revived in Rajasthan, as such a law
would streamline medical services and guarantee the availability of essential facilities to citizens.

• Constitutional Provisions - Article 21 (Fundamental Right) says that a right to health is inherent to a life
with dignity.
• Articles 38, 39, 42, 43 and 47 (DPSP) are related to the right to health.
• India is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
• The Supreme Court (SC) of India held that Article 21 of the Indian Constitution in relation to human rights
has to be interpreted in conformity with the international law.
• While upholding the right to health by a worker, the SC cited,
a. Article 25 [2] of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
b. Article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
• Statutory Provisions - These covenants find statutory acceptance in the Protection of Human Rights Act,
1993.
1.3 Right to Protest

The Supreme Court said that the public roads could not be blocked to hamper free movement even as farmers and
the Government verbally clashed during the hearing, over who is responsible for the 2-year blockade in New Delhi.
• The court noted that it had laid down the law in the Shaheen Bagh protests case that, Right to protest
should not hamper the right to movement of the public.
• In the end, the court concluded that the roads cannot be blocked.
• It found that the indefinite occupation of a public road by the Shaheen Bagh protestors unacceptable.
1.4 Fundamental Rights vs. Duties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that people have been talking about rights since India's Independence while
ignoring their duties, which has kept the country weak.
Fundamental Rights
• Fundamental rights are the basic human rights enshrined in the Constitution of India which are guaranteed to
all citizens.
• Fundamental rights are enforceable by the courts, subject to certain conditions.
• Articles 12-35 of Part-3 of Indian Constitution deal with Fundamental Rights.
1. Right to Equality (Article 14-18)
2. Right to Freedom (Article 19-22)
3. Right against Exploitation (Article 23-24)
4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25-28)
5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Article 29-30)
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32)
• Fundamental rights are not absolute as they have reasonable restrictions subjected to the conditions of state
security, public morality and decency and friendly relations with foreign countries.
• Fundamental rights can be amended by the Parliament by a constitutional amendment without altering
the basic structure of the Constitution.
• Fundamental rights can be suspended during a national emergency. However, the rights guaranteed
under Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended.
• The application of fundamental rights can be restricted in an area, which has been placed under martial
law, or military rule.
• Certain fundamental rights are available only to the citizens, namely:
1. Article 15- Right against discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth
2. Article 16- Right to equality of opportunity in matter of public employment

3. Article 19- Freedom of speech and expression, assembly, association, movement, residence and
profession
4. Article 29 and 30- Cultural and Educational rights
Fundamental duties
• Fundamental duties basically imply the moral obligations of all citizens of a country.
• Originally, the fundamental duties of India was not a part of the Indian Constitution.
• The Fundamental Duties were added in 1976, upon recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee that
was constituted by Indira Gandhi just after the declaration of national emergency.
• 10 duties were added by the 42nd Amendment and 11th duty was added by the 86th Amendment in 2002.
• Currently there are 11 fundamental duties under Article 51A, Part IV-A of the Constitution.
• Fundamental Duties are non-justiciable and hence can’t be taken to the court of law (non-
enforceable).
1.5 Tulu Language

A Twitter campaign demanding official language status to Tulu in Karnataka and Kerala received an overwhelming
response.
• Tulu speakers have been requesting the governments to give Tulu the official language status and include it in
the eighth schedule to the Constitution (Presently, there are 22 official languages).
• Tulu is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in regions of Karnataka (Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts)
and Kerala (Kasaragod district). This region is informally known as Tulu Nadu.
• Robert Caldwell (1814-1891), in his book, A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of
Languages, called Tulu as one of the most highly developed languages of the Dravidian family.
• Tulu is not an official language in the country. But the Karnataka government introduced Tulu as a language in
schools a few years ago.
1.6 Final Draft of National Register of Citizens

The State Coordinator, National Register of Citizens (NRC), Assam said that 1032 doubtful cases in the final draft of
NRC have been referred to the concerned district commissioners for necessary action.
• Assam is the only state in India to have a register of its citizens, due to the issue of
illegal migration from Bangladesh.
• NRC was first created in 1951 in Assam to determine those born there, therefore
Indian, and who might be a migrant from erstwhile East Pakistan, now
Bangladesh.
• It was updated on August 31, 2019. Out of 3.29 crore applicants, 19.06 lakh were
excluded from the final draft NRC.
• The final NRC is yet to be notified by the RGI under Union Home Ministry, as those excluded will get an
opportunity to present their case before Foreigners Tribunals (FT), quasi-judicial bodies of the State.
o FTs can begin hearing only when the excluded applicants receive “rejection slips” from the authorities.
This process is yet to start.
• Non-inclusion of a person’s name in NRC does not by itself amount to him/her being declared as a foreigner
as they would be given adequate opportunity to present their case before the FTs.
• Background to update NRC - It was a culmination of the Assam Accord signed in 1985 for detection,
disenfranchisement and deportation of foreigners.
• NRC was updated as per the provisions of
1. The Citizenship Act, 1955 and
2. The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
• To get their names included in the register, Assamese had to produce documents that proved their family
resided in Assam before March 24, 1971, that is, from a day before the Bangladesh Liberation War began.

1.7 Definition of Minority

• The Central Government notifies minority communities at the national level under the National Commission
for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992.
o The Government has enacted the NCM Act, 1992 to constitute a National Commission for Minorities.
• The term "minority" is not defined in the Indian Constitution. However, the Constitution recognises religious
and linguistic minorities.
Religious Minorities
• Six communities notified as minorities under the Section 2 (c) of NCM Act are Christians, Sikhs, Muslims,
Buddhists, Parsis and Jains.
• Notification of any community specific to a State as minority community within a State comes under the
purview of the State concerned.
• Article 25 (1) - People’s freedom of conscience and right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion.
• Article 26 - Right of every religion or any section to establish and maintain institutions for religious and
charitable purposes, manage its own religious affairs, and own, acquire and administer property.
• Article 28 - People’s freedom to attend religious instruction or religious worship in educational institutions.
Linguistic Minorities
• As per the Commissioner for linguistic minorities, Linguistic Minorities are group of people residing in the
territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language or script of their own.
• The language of the minority group need not be one of the 22 languages mentioned in the Eighth Schedule of
the Constitution.
• In other words, linguistic minorities,
o At the State level mean any group of people whose mother tongues are different from the principal
language of the State, and
o At the district and taluka/tehsil levels, different from the principal language of the district or
taluka/tehsil concerned.
• Linguistic minorities are identified by the respective States/UTs.
• Article 350-B inserted by the 7th Constitutional (Amendment) Act 1956 to provide for a Special Officer for
Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of India.
• This Special Officer would investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities
under the Constitution.
Common Provisions
• Article 29 - Right of any section of the citizens residing in India with a distinct language, script or culture of
its own to conserve it.
• It grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities.
• Also, the Supreme Court held that the scope of this article includes minorities as well as the majority, as the
word ‘section of citizens’ is used.
• Article 30 - All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their
choice.
• The protection under Article 30 is confined only to minorities and does not extend to any section of citizens
(as under Article 29).
RESERVATIONS
1.8 Inequality within Intermediate Castes

The Supreme Court recently struck down the Maharashtra law granting reservation to the Maratha community in
admissions and government jobs.

• Court’s observations - The court held that the classification of Marathas as a socially and educationally
backward class was unreasonable.
• The Marathas belonged to a politically dominant caste with significant economic resources.
• The majority opinion in the Indra Sawhney case was correct.
• The limit of 50% for caste-based reservation did not need consideration by a larger bench.
• The court said the fixed quantitative limit on caste-based reservation was intrinsic to the fundamental
principle of equality.
• It rejected the state’s argument that the breach of the limit was necessitated as the population of backward
classes was over 80%.
• The Court also stressed the need to safeguard the interests of the unreserved sections.
• Concerns - The court ignored the cautionary note struck in Indra Sawhney case.
• It had expressed doubts about judicial supremacy in the broad area of social policy, which could lead to
undesirable exclusion of beneficiaries.
• In the same line, the Court now fails to admit the complexity that the role of class has introduced in post-
liberalisation India.
• The dated approach to social realities and a purely arithmetic limit finds no expression in the Constitution.
• Clearly, a section of the Maratha community had faced backwardness and exclusion akin to SC/STs.
• There is a strong need for positive discrimination of the lower classes of the dominant castes.
• The Court may recognise the growing social differentiation of dominant castes if a proper caste census was
organised and made public.
1.9 OBC Reservation in Medical Seats

The Union Health Ministry has announced 27% reservation for the OBCs and 10% quota for the Economically
Weaker Sections (EWS) in the All-India Quota (AIQ) scheme for UG and PG medical / dental courses from 2021-22
onwards.
• All-India Quota scheme - It was introduced in 1986 under the directions
of the Supreme Court.
• The aim was to provide for domicile-free merit-based opportunities to
students from any State to study in a medical college located in another
State.
• It comprises 15% of UG seats and 50% of PG seats surrendered by the States
for admission through a central pool in government medical colleges.
• Initially, there was no reservation in the AIQ.
• The Supreme Court in 2007 introduced the reservation of 15% for SCs and
7.5% for STs in the scheme.
• Meanwhile, the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act became effective in 2007.
• It provided for uniform 27% reservation to the OBCs in all the Central Educational Institutions.
• However, this reservation was not extended to the AIQ seats of State medical and dental colleges.
• Benefit - The OBC students from across the country shall now be able to take the benefit of the reservation in
AIQ to compete for seats in any State.
• Being a Central scheme, the Central List of OBCs shall be used for this purpose.
• The decision would benefit every year nearly 1,500 OBC (Other Backward Classes) students in MBBS and
2,500 such students in postgraduation.
• Among EWS students, around 550 in MBBS and around 1,000 in postgraduation will be benefitted.
• [The reservations will apply for undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) medical / dental courses (MBBS /
MD / MS / Diploma / BDS / MDS).]

• Significance - As AIQ seats originally belonged to the States, the quota policy applicable to the respective
States ought to be applied to them.
• There were OBC seats in medical institutions run by the Centre, as well as State-specific quotas in those run by
the States.
• But seats given up by the States to help the Centre redistribute medical education opportunities across the
country were kept out of the ambit of reservation.
• The Centre’s decision to extend its 27% reservation for OBCs to all seats under the AIQ thus puts an end to this
discriminatory policy.
• [In order to balance OBC interests with those of the socially advanced sections, the Centre has also decided to
provide 10% of the AIQ seats to EWS candidates.]
• The decisions are almost entirely the outcome of a Madras High Court verdict.
• The Madras HC, in July 2020, held that there was no legal impediment to OBC reservation.
• But the policy varied from State to State, and so it left it to the Centre to decide the modalities for quotas from
the current academic year (2021).
• Credits also go to the efforts of the DMK party in Tamil Nadu that approached the court with the demand.
1.10 Economic Criterion & Creamy Layer

The Supreme Court (SC) has clarified that economic criterion alone cannot be used to classify a member of a
Backward Class as belonging to the ‘creamy layer.’
• Based on the recommendation of Second Backward Classes Commission (Mandal Commission), the
government had notified 27% reservation for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs).
• Indira Sawhney case, 1992 upheld the 27% reservation for OBCs.
• But it directed the exclusion of those falling within the “creamy layer” from receiving quota benefits.
• It had mentioned the following criteria (not just economic) for exclusion from quota benefits:
1. Children of high-ranking constitutional functionaries,
2. Employees of a certain rank in the Union and State governments
3. Those affluent enough to employ others
4. Those with significant property and agricultural holdings
• Added to these was the annual income criterion.
• Present case - The SC ruling is in relation to a 2016 Haryana government notification.
• The notification mentioned monetary income of Rs.6 lakh as the only criterion to identify whether a family
belongs to the creamy layer.
• The Supreme Court has struck down this, stating that income cannot be the sole basis for deciding creamy
layer. It has directed the State to issue fresh notifications.
• Significance - The Constitution permitted special provisions in favour of ‘socially and educationally
backward classes’ through the 1st Amendment Act, 1951.
• The Indra Sawhney judgement, though clarified on the various criteria, is being used as a reference to bring in
the economic criterion into reservations.
• Also, the 103rd Constitution Amendment that brought in 10% reservation for the ‘economically weaker
sections’ (EWS) has significantly altered the affirmative action programme.
• [The current income ceiling is Rs.8 lakh per annum for availing of both OBC and EWS quotas. This is again
questionable as the size of the respective quotas vary.]
• Given these, the SC judgment now gains significance as it clarifies that that the creamy layer would be
identified only through a mix of social, economic and other factors, [and not merely economic].

1.11 Refining the Reservation Policy

Recently there has been series of changes to the way reservation is implemented.
• Recent Changes - Tamil Nadu Assembly
has adopted a Bill to provide 10.5%
reservation for Vanniyars within the quota
of MBCs and Denotified Communities
(DNCs) in admission to higher education
and government services.
• Relying on the 102nd Constitution
Amendment, Supreme Court reiterated that
States did not have the power to identify
“socially and educationally backward”
classes (SEBCs)
• This forced the Centre to pass the
105th Amendment which again empowers
States or Union Territories to prepare their
own lists of SEBCs
• The Central Educational Institutions
(Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006
provided for uniform 27% reservation to OBCs which was implemented in all the Central Educational
Institutions
• However, this was not extended to the AIQ seats of State medical and dental colleges
• From this year onwards, 27% of all-India quota for admissions for medical and dental courses will be reserved
for OBCs and 10% for EWS
1.12 The EWS Quota in NEET Admissions

The government has informed the Supreme Court that it will review the criteria for determining economically
weaker sections (EWS) for reservation in NEET admissions for post-graduate medical courses.
• Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 16
guarantees equal opportunity in matters of public employment.
• The 103rd Constitutional Amendment, 2019 amended the Articles 15(6) and 16(6) to provide 10% reservation
to EWS in admission to educational institutions and government jobs.
• The criteria for the reservation is that
1. The annual income of the person should be less than 8 lakh.
2. The person should not own more than 5 acres of farmland.
3. People who have a house but less than 1000 square feet in a town.
4. Residential plot of less than 100 sq yards in notified municipalities
5. Residential plot of less than 200 sq yards in areas other than the notified municipalities
• Based on the recommendation of the Second Backward Classes Commission (Mandal Commission), 27%
reservation for OBCs has been provided in government jobs and higher educational institutions.
• The Supreme Court in 1992 (Indira Sawhney case) upheld 27% reservation for OBCs, subject to exclusion of
the creamy layer.
• It is a concept that sets a threshold within which OBC reservation benefits are applicable and those falling
within the “creamy layer” cannot get the benefits of this quota.
• The criteria for the reservation is that
1. For those not in government, the current threshold is an income of Rs 8 lakh per year.
2. For children of government employees, the threshold is based on their parents’ rank and not income.
• All-India Quota scheme - It was introduced in 1986 under the directions of the Supreme Court.
• AIQ is the portion of seats in the medical colleges under the state that is given to the union government.

• States are required to give 15% medical UG seats and 50% PG seats to the Centre.
• When the reservation for scheduled castes (SC) and scheduled tribes (ST) was implemented in this AIQ, there
was no OBC quota.
• In 2021, 27% reservation for OBCs and 10% quota for the EWS in the AIQ were provided in the AIQ scheme
including State medical and dental colleges.
• Case - The apex court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the government and a medical counselling
committee notice that provides 10% quota for the EWS category in NEET admissions.
• The petitions argued several issues like
1. Breach of 50% quota threshold directed by a 1992 Supreme Court ruling
2. Lack of study and justification on the EWS reservation criteria
3. The government decision on EWS reservation in admission through NEET.
4. The question on how could the income ceiling for OBC reservation and the EWS quota be the same at
Rs 8 lakh
• Rs 8 lakh ceiling - The Rs 8 lakh ceiling for OBC and EWS is different.
• OBC creamy layer is an exclusionary provision, while EWS is an inclusionary provision.
• The one for EWS is more stringent as it includes income from all sources including “salary”, while the income
ceiling for OBC does not include “salary” and “agricultural income”.
• The Supreme Court questioned the government about the parity between the OBC and EWS, and asked if
there was any study done to arrive at Rs 8 lakh for the EWS.
• The government has decided to revisit the criteria for determining the EWS within a period of four weeks.
• The Constitution Bench should resolve the issue of whether reservation can be treated as a poverty alleviation
measure and those not well-off but belonging to socially advanced communities can be given a share of the
reservation pie.
1.13 No Quota without Quantifiable Data

The Madras High Court has recently quashed the 10.5% special reservation for Vanniyakula Kshatriyas within the
overall 20% quota for MBC and DNC.
• The 102nd Amendment to the
Constitution created the National
Backward Class Commission and
empowered the President to notify the
backward classes list for each State.
• The Supreme Court had ruled, in the
Maratha reservation case, that the
Amendment took away the power of the
States to notify or identify OBCs.
• Later, the 105th Amendment made it
explicit that the States could make changes
in their lists.
• BC Commission stance - The first BC
Commission (1969-70), headed by A.N.
Sattanathan, talked of having a device for
removing the top layers of the
communities periodically (creamy layer
concept).
• The second BC Commission headed by Ambasankar advocated compartmental reservation by grouping the
BCs on the basis of backwardness.
• The concept of quota within quota is already in place in Tamil Nadu.
o In 1989, a new category called MBC and DNC was carved out of the BCs and given 20% exclusively
from the then quantum of 50%.

o In 2007, Muslims in the BCs were provided with 3.5% reservation.

o In 2009, 3% reservation was provided for Arunthathiyars out of 18% quota for the SCs.
2. PARLIAMENT AND STATE LEGISLATURE
2.1 Electing Speaker and Deputy Speaker

The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly has been without a Speaker for most of this year.
• The Maharashtra Governor has forwarded the demand of the Leader of Opposition to fill the post of the
Speaker to Chief Minister (CM).
• The CM has responded that the Constitution and the Assembly rules do not specify a time-frame for filling a
vacancy in the post of Speaker.
• Election - Article 93 of the Constitution for Lok Sabha and Article 178 for state Assemblies state that these
Houses “shall, as soon as may be” choose two of its members to be Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
• The Constitution neither sets a time limit nor specifies the process for these elections.
• It leaves it to the legislatures to decide how to hold these elections.
• In Lok Sabha and state legislatures, the President/Governor sets a date for the election of the Speaker, and it is
the Speaker who decides the date for the election of the Deputy Speaker.
• The legislators of the respective Houses vote to elect one among themselves to these offices.
• The Constitution provides that the office of the Speaker should never be empty. So, he continues in office until
the beginning of the next House, except in the event of death or resignation.
2.2 Deputy Speaker

Delhi High Court has asked the central government to explain its stand on a petition that claims vacancy of Deputy
Speaker’s post is a violation of the constitution.
• Petitioner pointed out that position had been vacant for the last 830 days
and the office is a constitutional mandated and not a ceremonial one.
• Article 93 of the constitution provides for the election of both the
Speaker and the Deputy Speaker.
• Deputy Speaker is elected by the LokSabha from amongst its members.
The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker. (For
Speaker’s election, the date of election is fixed by the President.)
• He/She remains in the office during the life of LokSabha.
• He/She assumes the power of speaker when the office is vacant or speaker
is absent.
• When he/she appointed as a member of the parliamentary committee, he/she automatically becomes its
chairman.
• He/She can vote at the first instance.
• But when acts as the Speaker, he/she have the privilege of the Casting vote in case of tie.
• Deputy Speaker gives the resignation letter to the Speaker and can be removed in the same manner as
Speaker.
• Upon the vacancy of the office, election should be held as soon as possible.
2.3 Process for Repealing a Law

Prime Minister announced that the process of repealing the three contentious farm laws will take place in the
upcoming Winter Session of Parliament.

• Repealing a law is one of the ways to nullify a law. A law is reversed

when Parliament thinks there is no longer a need for the law to exist.
• Sometimes, legislation can also have a “sunset” clause, a particular date
after which they cease to exist.
• For laws that do not have a sunset clause, Parliament has to pass
another legislation to repeal the law.
• Article 245 of the Constitution gives Parliament the power to make
laws for the whole or any part of India, and State legislatures the power to make laws for the state.
• For repeal, the power of Parliament is the same as enacting a law under the Constitution (Article 245)
• A law can be repealed either in its entirety, in part, or even just to the extent that it is in contravention of other
laws.
• Two Ways - Laws can be repealed in two ways through Ordinance, or Legislation.
• Ordinance - In case an ordinance is used, it would need to be replaced by a law passed by Parliament within
6 months.
• If the ordinance lapses because it is not approved by Parliament, the repealed law can be revived.
• Legislation - The government can also bring legislation to repeal the laws. The Repealing and Amending
(Amendment) Bills are introduced for this purpose.
• It will have to be passed by both Houses of Parliament, and receive the President’s assent before it comes into
effect. When a repeal bill is passed, it is also a law.
2.4 Committee on Privileges

A BJP State President appeared before the Privileges Committee of Lok Sabha to explain how the police manhandled
him.
• Privileges Committee is a Parliamentary Committee present in both the Houses of the Parliament.
• It is one of the Standing Committees to Inquire.
• The functions of the Committee of Privileges are semi-judicial in nature.
• It examines the cases of breach of privileges of the House and its members and recommends appropriate
action.
• The Lok Sabha committee has 15 members, while the Rajya Sabha committee has 10 members.
• Head - The Speaker of the Lok Sabha heads the committee of privileges, and nominates the members as per
respective party strengths.
• The Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha heads the committee in RS.
• A member of the House may, with the consent of the Chairman of the RS or Speaker of the LS, raise a question
involving a breach of privilege either of a member or of the Council or of a Committee thereof.
• Conditions of admissibility - The right to raise a question of privilege shall be governed by the following
conditions, namely:-
1. The question shall be restricted to a specific matter of recent occurrence;
2. The matter requires the intervention of the Council.
Parliamentary Privileges
• Each House of Parliament and its Committees collectively and members of each House individually enjoy
certain rights, privileges and immunities.
• Without these rights, privileges and immunities, these members cannot perform their functions efficiently and
effectively.
• The object of parliamentary privilege is to safeguard the freedom, the authority and the dignity of Parliament.
• But they do not exempt the members from the obligations to the society which apply to other citizens.

Parliamentary Committees
• Parliamentary Committees present in both the Houses of the Parliament.
• Broadly, parliamentary committees are of two kinds -
Standing Committees Ad Hoc Committees
They are permanent, which is constituted every year or

They are temporary.
periodically.
They cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to

They work on a continuous basis.
them.
On the basis of the nature of functions performed by them,

standing committees can be classified into 6 categories:
1. Financial Committees
2. Departmental Standing Committees (24) Ad hoc committees can be divided into two categories,
3. Committees to Inquire 1. Inquiry Committees and
4. Committees to Scrutinise and Control 2. Advisory Committees
5. Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of
the House
6. House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees
2.5 Governor’s role in State, Central Universities

The Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has asked Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to take over as the
chancellor of the universities, a post held by the Governor in respective states.
• Reappointment of Kannur University Vice Chancellor- Last month, the Vice-Chancellor of Kannur
University Prof Gopinath Ravindran was re-appointed for another 4 years even after issuing a notification for
a fresh appointment.
• The Kannur University Act says no person above the age of 60 shall be appointed as Vice-Chancellor but the
re-appointment is a violation of the law as Prof Gopinath has crossed the age of 60 years.
• The Governor has stated that he had tried to convince the legal advisor to the chief minister that re-
appointment is not an extension of the term of an incumbent VC.
• Salary dues of V-C- Sree Narayana Guru Open University Vice-Chancellor Prof Mubarak Pasha is yet to
receive a salary even a year after his appointment.
• The Governor’s office took up the matter with the Higher Education Department and sent 3 letters and 2
reminders this year but there was no acknowledgement from the department for the communications from the
chancellor’s office.
• Selection of Sanskrit University V-C- The Governor had appointed a selection committee, which, as per
the UGC guidelines, should shortlist three names for the post of V-C.
• However, the selection committee recommended only a single name, which is against the norms laid down by
the UGC.
• The Governor turned down the recommendation as it deprived the Governor’s opportunity to handpick.
• Curtailing the Chancellor’s power- Recently, the state government amended the University Act, which
took away the power of the Governor as chancellor to make appointments to the University Appellate
Tribunal.
• Also, the amendment did not consult the high court with regard to the appointments.
• Faculty appointment at Sree Narayanaguru Open University- Due to the delay in the appointment of
faculty, it would not be possible for the university to begin the academic programme even in the second year of
its existence.

• The Governor has said the process of appointment would take 3 months and the details have to be uploaded in
the UGC portal but the portal would be closed in January, 2021, and it would be opened again only in October,
2021.
• Governor Khan-Kerala government standoff- In 2020, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan had turned
down the recommendation of the state cabinet to convene a special session of the Assembly to discuss the new
farm laws of the Union Government.
• He had also criticised the government when the assembly passed a resolution demanding the Centre to revoke
the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
• Role of Governors in state universities - In most cases, the Governor of the state is the ex-officio
chancellor of the universities in that state.
• The Governor’s powers and functions as the Chancellor are laid out in the statutes that govern the universities
under a particular state government.
• Their role in appointing the Vice Chancellors has often triggered disputes with the political executive.
• In Kerala’s case, the Governor’s official portal asserts that “while as Governor, he functions with the aid and
advice of the Council of Ministers and as Chancellor, he acts independently of the Council of Ministers and
takes his own decisions on all University matters.
• But the website of Rajasthan’s Raj Bhawan states that the “Governor appoints the Vice Chancellor on the
advice/ in consultation with the State Government”.
• Central Universities - Under the Central Universities Act, 2009, and other statutes, the President of
India shall be the Visitor of a central university.
• With their role limited to presiding over convocations, Chancellors in central universities are titular heads,
who are appointed by the President in his capacity as Visitor.
• The VCs too are appointed by the Visitor from panels of names picked by search and selection committees
formed by the Union government.
• The Act adds that the President, as Visitor, shall have the right to authorise inspections of academic and non-
academic aspects of the universities and also to institute inquiries.
2.6 Failure of Anti-defection Law to Discourage Defection

There have been accusations on anti-defection law being failed to discourage defection with varying suggestions
from Former Vice President Hamid Ansari, ECI and Supreme Court.
• The anti-defection law punishes individual MPs/MLAs for leaving one party for another.
• It was added by 52 nd Constitutional Amendment
Act as the Tenth Schedule in 1985.
• Its purpose was to bring stability to governments by
discouraging legislators from changing parties.
• It was a response to the toppling of multiple state
governments by party-hopping MLAs after the general
elections of 1967.
• The Presiding Officers of the Legislature (Speaker,
Chairman) are the deciding authorities in such cases.
• The decision can be challenged before the higher
judiciary.
• The law covers three kinds of scenarios.
1. When legislators elected on the ticket of a political party voluntarily give up membership of that
party or vote in the legislature against the party’s wishes.
2. When an MP/MLA who has been elected as an independent joins a party later.
3. When nominated legislators join a political party after six months of being appointed to the House.
• Violation of the law in any of these scenarios can lead to a legislator being penalised for defection.

• But it allows a group of two-third MP/MLAs to join (i.e. merge with) another political party without inviting
the penalty for defection.
• Loopholes - The law does not provide a time-frame within which the presiding officer has to decide a
defection case.
• There have been many instances where a Speaker has misused this in not determining the case of a defecting
MLA until the end of the legislature term.
• Parties often sequester MLAs in resorts to prevent them from changing their allegiance or getting poached by
a rival party.
• Recent examples are Rajasthan (2020), Maharashtra (2019), Karnataka (2019 and 2018), and Tamil Nadu
(2017).
• Recent Developments - The Supreme Court of India put on hold a petition to frame guidelines for fixing
time limits by which the Speakers of Parliament and the Assemblies should decide defection petitions against
MLAs.
• It said that the court cannot legislate (i.e. cannot fix time limits). It said that this is the prerogative of the
Legislature.
• However, it asked the lawyer for the petitioner to study a judgment of the Supreme Court in the Karnataka
MLAs’ case on the point.
• The 2019 Karnataka judgment had said Speakers who cannot veer away from their constitutional duty to
remain neutral don’t deserve the chair.
• The court had urged Parliament to re-consider strengthening certain aspects of the Tenth Schedule [Anti-
defection law], so that such undemocratic practices are discouraged.
2.7 Dilution of the Lok Ayukta Law

The Kerala government’s proposal to amend its Lok Ayukta Act through an ordinance appears questionable and
hasty.
• The Lok Ayuktas are the state equivalents of the central Lokpal that deal with complaints on corruption
against certain public functionaries in the states.
• The first state in India to establish Lok Ayukta was Maharashtra in 1971.
• The first state in India to pass Lok Ayukta act was Odisha in 1970.
• Functions
o Investigating grievances of the citizens caused by maladministration.
o Inquiry into allegations of abuse of office, corruption, or lack of integrity against public servants.
o Keep a check on the investigation of anti-corruption agencies and authorities.
• Kerala Lok Ayukta Act, 1999 - At present Lok Ayukta has the power to remove a public servant if it finds
malpractices or corruption.
• It can issue an order in this regard by submitting to the concerned authority (Governor, CM, State
government) under which the respective individual comes.
• The notion is that the authority should approve it.
• Proposed ordinance - The amendments give authority to the government to reject or approve Lok Ayukta
verdict.
• It has turned the quasi-judicial institution into a toothless advisory body, whose orders will no longer be
binding on the government.
• As per the ordinance, the authority concerned has to take a decision on the verdict within three months. Or
else it will be considered approved.
• It also seeks to provide for an appeal.
• Opposition - There are allegations that the Lok Ayukta has been targeted by the government as there are
many cases before it which may put the administration in badlight.

• It is important to note that during the last government’s tenure, Minister KT Jaleel had to resign due to Lok
Ayukta’s verdict, which was a major blow to the administration.
• The adoption of the ordinance route to amend the act has raised questions.
Government’s stand
• Violation of Articles 163 and 164- The Government has defended the proposed ordinance on the ground
that the act pave way for removal of a Minister duly appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief
Minister, and violates Articles 163 and 164 of the Constitution.
• No appeal- There is no provision for appeal in the current act.
2.8 Greater Tipraland

Several tribal outfits in Tripura are demanding for a separate state of ‘Greater Tipraland’ for indigenous
communities in the region.
• Article 2 of the Constitution allows the Parliament by law to admit into the Union, or establish, new States on
such terms and conditions, as it thinks fit.
• Article 3 comes into play in the case of “formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names
of existing States” by the Parliament.
• ‘Greater Tipraland’ envisages a situation in which the entire Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council
(TTADC) area will be a separate state.
• Among the 19 notified Scheduled Tribes in Tripura, Tripuris (or Tipra or Tiprasas) are the largest in the state,
followed by Reangs and Jamatias.
• The parties demanding ‘Greater Tipraland’ want the Centre to carve out the separate state under Article 2 and
3 of the Constitution.
• Under the ‘Greater Tipraland’ concept, a Sixth Schedule council would be constituted for the all-round socio-
economic development of the tribals residing in the north-eastern states and neighbouring countries.
• The Sixth Schedule council is considered as a mini-legislative assembly of Tripura in terms of its jurisdiction
and constitutional power.
• This concept also proposes dedicated bodies to secure the rights of the Tripuris and other aboriginal
communities living outside Tripura.
• Origin of the demand - Tripura was a kingdom ruled by the Manikya dynasty from the late 13th century
until the signing of the Instrument of Accession with the Indian government on October 15, 1949.
• The demand mainly stems from the anxiety of the indigenous communities in connection with the change in
the demographics of the state, which has reduced them to a minority.
• It happened due to the displacement of Bengalis from the erstwhile East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971.
• In the intervening decades, ethnic conflict and insurgency gripped the state, which shares a nearly 860-km
long boundary with Bangladesh.
2.9 Karbi Anglong Agreement

This Agreement ensuring Assam’s territorial integrity was signed to end the decades old crisis.
• This Agreement will ensure greater devolution of autonomy to the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council
(KAAC).
• [KAAC is an autonomous district council in Assam for development and protection of tribals of Karbi Anglong
and West Karbi Anglong district.]
• It proposed to notify Karbi as the official language of KAAC. But English, Hindi & Assamese will continue to be
used for official purposes.
• A Special Development Package of Rs. 1000 crores over 5 years will be given by the Union Government and
Assam Government to undertake specific projects for the focussed development of KAAC areas.
• The Agreement provides for rehabilitation of cadres of the Karbi armed groups, who have agreed to renounce
violence and join the peaceful democratic process as established by law of the land.

• Assam Government shall set up a Karbi Welfare Council for focussed development of Karbi people living
outside KAAC area.
• The Consolidated Fund of the State will be augmented to supplement the resources of KAAC.
3. JUDICIARY
3.1 Class Action Suit

• It is a legal action that allows one or many plaintiffs to file and appear for a group of people with similar
interests. Such a group forms a “class”.
• This suit derives from representative litigation, to ensure justice to the ordinary individual against a powerful
adversary.
• While class action suits have a history dating back to the 18th century, these were formally incorporated into
law in the United States in 1938 under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
• Over the years, class action has become successful at curbing negligence, that it is now a part of US corporate
and consumer laws, environmental litigation, etc.
Indian Equivalent to US Class Action Suits
• India has legal provisions for filing class action suits, but under four laws. They are,
• Order 1 Rule 8 of the Civil Procedure Code refers to representative suits, which is the closest to a classic class
action suit in a civil context in India. It does not cover criminal proceedings.
• Section 245 of the Companies Act allows members or depositors of a company to initiate proceedings against
the directors of the company in specific instances.
• There are threshold limits, requiring a minimum number of people or holders of issued share capital before
such a suit can proceed.
• This type of suit is filed in the National Company Law Tribunal.
• Section 53(N) of Competition Act allows a group of aggrieved persons to appear at the National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in issues of anti-competitive practices.
• The Supreme Court in certain complaints under the Consumer Protection Act has considered them as class
action suits. (Rameshwar Prasad Shrivastava and Ors v Dwarkadhis Project Pvt Ltd and Ors)
• Class action suit and Public Interest Litigation - For filing a Public Interest Litigation (Article 32 or
Article 226 of the Constitution), the plaintiff need not have a personal interest or claim in the matter.
• A crucial difference is that unlike a class action suit, a PIL cannot be filed against a private party (but only for a
matter of public interest.)
3.2 Recusal of Judges

• Recently, two Supreme Court judges have recused themselves from hearing cases relating to West Bengal.
• Reasons for recusal - When there is a conflict of interest, a judge can withdraw from hearing a case to
prevent creating a perception that s/he carried a bias while deciding the case.
• The practice stems from the cardinal principle of due process of law that nobody can be a judge in his/her own
case.
• Another instance for recusal is when an appeal is filed in the Supreme Court against a judgement of a High
Court that may have been delivered by the SC judge when she was in the HC.
• Process for recusal -The decision to recuse generally comes from the judge herself as it rests on the
conscience and discretion of the judge to disclose any potential conflict of interest.
• In some circumstances, lawyers or parties in the case bring it up before the judge. If a judge recuses, the case is
listed before the Chief Justice for allotment to a fresh Bench.
• Rules - There are no formal rules governing recusals, although several Supreme Court judgments have dealt
with the issue.

• In Ranjit Thakur v Union of India (1987), the Supreme Court held that the tests of the likelihood of bias are
the reasonableness of the apprehension in the mind of the party.
• The 1999 charter ‘Restatement of Values in Judicial Life’ is a code of ethics adopted by the Supreme Court.
• It states, “A Judge shall not hear and decide a matter in a company in which he holds shares, unless he has
disclosed his interest and no objection to his hearing and deciding the matter is raised.”
• Decision - Once a request is made for recusal, the decision to recuse or not rests with the judge.
• The judges can recuse even if they do not see a conflict but only because such an apprehension was cast. They
can refuse to withdraw from a case.
• Record - Since there are no formal rules governing the process, it is often left to individual judges to record
reasons for recusal.
• Some judges disclose the reasons in open court; in some cases, the reasons are apparent.
3.3 English is the Language of Court

A Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court has asked a journalist facing contempt of court proceedings to speak
only in English as that was the language in the higher judiciary.
• In the High Court, there is a rule that even if any party who does not hire a lawyer and appears in person, he
has to speak in English only.
• The Bench also underlined that the Article 348 of the Constitution mandates that the language of the High
Court would be English.
• Article 348 (1) of the Constitution of India provides that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every
High court shall be in English Language until Parliament by law otherwise provides.
• But, Article 348 (2) provides that, with the consent of the President, the Governor of the State may
authorize the use of Hindi or other official language of the State in the proceedings of the High Court provided
that decrees, judgments or orders passed by such Courts shall be in English.
• Section 7 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, provides that the use of Hindi or official language of a State in
addition to the English language may be authorized in the High Court for that State.
• This authorization can be done with the consent of the President of India, by the Governor of the State for
purpose of judgments etc. made by the High Court for that State.
• The provision of optional use of Hindi in proceedings has already been made in the High Courts of Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
3.4 SC Verdict on 97th Constitutional Amendment

The Supreme Court in a majority verdict quashed Part IX B of the Constitution on cooperatives inserted by 97th
constitutional amendment.
• The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act dealt with issues related to effective management of co-operative
societies in the country.
• It was passed by the Parliament in 2011 and had come into effect from 2012.
• The change in the Constitution has amended Article 19(1)(c).
• The Act gave protection to the cooperatives and inserted Article 43 B and Part IX B, relating to them.
• Recent case - Part IXB delineated the jurisdictions of what State legislation on cooperative societies ought to
contain.
• This applied to provisions on -
i. the maximum number of directors in each society
ii. reservation of seats for SCs, or STs, and women
iii. the duration of the terms of elected members, among others
• The question before the Court was whether the 97th Amendment impacted the legislative domain of the State
Legislatures.

• If so, then it would require ratification by half of the states’ legislatures, in addition to the required two-thirds
majority in Parliament.
• The Gujarat High Court had found the amendment invalid for want of such ratification.
• It struck down certain provisions of the amendment.
• It held that the Parliament could not enact laws with regard to cooperative societies as it was a State subject.
• The Centre challenged this 2013 decision of the Gujarat High Court in the Supreme Court.
• It believed that the subject of ‘cooperative societies’ in the State List was not altered in any way by the 97th
Amendment.
• It only outlined the guidelines on any law on cooperatives that the State Assemblies may enact.
• The provision does not denude the States of its power to enact laws with regard to cooperatives.
• So, it felt the ratification by states was not necessary.
• SC verdict - The Supreme Court, by a 2:1 majority, upheld the Gujarat HC judgment holding the amendment
invalid.
• But this is only in relation to cooperatives under the States.
• The elaborate amendment would hold good for multi-State cooperative societies, on which Parliament was
competent to enact laws.
• So, the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the 97th constitutional amendment.
• It has however struck down part IX B of the Constitution.
• Implications - Significantly, the 97th Constitutional Amendment infused autonomy, democratic functioning
and professional management into the cooperatives.
• But the recent verdictimplies that even well-intentioned efforts towards reforms cannot be at the cost of the
quasi-federal principles.
• In other words, reforms in cooperative sector should not be at the cost of federal principles.
• The ratification requirement will apply if there is any attempt to constrain the State legislatures in any way.
• In the absence of States’ ratification, the amendment that sought to prescribe the outlines of State laws on a
State subject becomes invalid.
• The judgment may also mean that the concern expressed, that the formation of a new Ministry of Cooperation
would affect federal principles, could be true.
• Having said all these, undeniably, the cooperative movement needs reform and revitalisation, (within
constitutional parameters).
97th Constitutional Amendment, 2011
• It dealt with issues related to effective management of co-operative societies in the country. It had come into
effect from February 15, 2012.
• The changes made in the Constitution are,
1. Amendment to the Article 19(1)(c) by adding the words “or cooperative societies” to expand the
fundamental right to form associations or unions to cover cooperative societies too and
2. Inserted Article 43 B and Part IX B, relating to the cooperatives.
• Recognising that ‘cooperative societies’ came under Entry 32 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule, the
Amendment proposed to create a framework for the functioning of cooperative societies.
• State laws on cooperatives should conform to this framework.
• The 97th Constitutional Amendment empowers,
1. Parliament to frame laws for cooperative societies that function across States (multi-State cooperative
societies) and
2. State legislatures to make laws for all other cooperative societies falling under their jurisdiction.
• The Amendment set out basic rules such as

1. A maximum of 21 directors in a society,

2. A fixed term of five years for elected members,
3. A six-month cap on the time limit for which a society’s board of directors can be kept under
supersession or suspension, and
4. Reservation of one seat for the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes, and two seats for women on
the board of every cooperative society, that is, every society that has members from these sections.
3.5 Collegium Recommendations

For the first time ever, the Supreme Court Collegium led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) has recommended as
many as 9 persons at one go to be appointed as Supreme Court judges.
• Collegium - Currently, the Supreme Court of India comprises the CJI and 30 other Judges (totally 31).
• The Constitution mandated consultation by President with the CJI for appointments and transfers of judges.
• The collegium is an evolved model in this “consultation” process, brought in after various Supreme Court
judgements in three ‘Judges Cases’.
• The collegium consists of the CJI who heads it and 4 senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.
• In case of difference of opinion, the majority view will prevail.
• If the 9 judges are appointed, barring one vacancy (which arose after the Collegium met), all the vacancies in
the Supreme Court will be filled up.
• The selections break the 22-month-long impasse, as no consensus could emerge within the Collegium even as
vacancies remained unfilled
• Significantly, the recommendations of the collegium include -
1. three women judges, with one of them having a chance to get to be the CJI
2. a judge belonging to the Scheduled Caste
3. a judge from a backward community
• Also, the 9 selected persons belong to 9 different States (Kerala, TN, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, MP, UP, Delhi and Gujarat)
• Notably, many of those selected have distinguished records of upholding citizens’ freedoms and public
interest.
• Reportedly, the selection process, a complex one, was concluded in the first ever formal meeting of the
Collegium.

• The current CJI, Justice N.V. Ramana, being the first among the equals, deserves credit for taking along the
members and building consensus for selecting as many as 9 judges.
3.6 SC Order on Govt's’ Power to Withdraw Cases Against MPs-MLAs

The Supreme Court has spelled out limitations on governments’ power to withdraw cases against MPs-MLAs.
• Case - In August 2020, Karnataka government decided to drop charges in 61 criminal cases, several of which
involved elected representatives and ministers.
• Karnataka HC restrained the state government from acting on that order.
• The High Court rejected on the ground that the courts are duty-bound to assess whether prima facie a case is
made or not.
• Principles behind HC’s order
1. Due process to be followed in criminal cases involving members of the political class.
2. Public prosecutors had the right to disagree when governments invoked Article 21 of the CrPC to
withdraw criminal cases.
• SC endorsed the HC’s stance in restoring public prosecutor’s
autonomy and has held the following limitations
1. Power to withdraw cases "cannot be used for political purposes.”
2. No prosecution against a sitting or former MP/MLA shall be
withdrawn without the leave of the high court.
3. The court can scrutinize the nature and gravity of the offense to
determine if the withdrawal of the prosecution would subserve the
administration of justice.
• Significance - Governments often overlook the primacy of public interest in favoring members of ruling
parties or alliances.
• Money and muscle power in politics continue to undermine democracy.
• Various governments in the States and Centre have failed to abide by the SC’s 2020 directive.
• This directive enables voters to have all necessary information, for them to exercise their right to franchise in
an effective manner.
• Recommendation - Addressing the “malignancy of criminalization of politics” and ensuring cleaner politics
call for far-reaching changes in the system.
3.7 Kedar Nath Singh Sedition Ruling

The Supreme Court (SC) quashed the sedition case filed against journalist Vinod Dua in Himachal Pradesh.
• Recent case - Journalist Vinod Du0 allegedly made remarks against Prime Minister Modi. He also criticized
the government’s handling of the migrant crisis during the 2020 lockdown.
• Section 124A of the IPC penalizes sedition.
• It is punishable with either imprisonment ranging from 3 years to a lifetime, a fine, or both.
• The Himachal Pradesh government argued in the Supreme Court against Dua.
• It was said that Dua had attempted to spread misinformation and cause panic among the general public.
• Court ruling - The Supreme Court shielded Dua from arrest earlier, and now the case itself is quashed.
• The SC held that his remarks constituted genuine criticism of the government. So, it could not be labeled
seditious.
• In doing so, the court also reiterated the principles in the landmark case on sedition - Kedar Nath Singh v
Union of India (1962). [Both the state and the Centre argued against quashing the FIR.]
• Kedar Nath Singh guidelines - In the 1962 Kedar Nath Singh case, the SC upheld the constitutional
validity of the sedition law.

• It also attempted to restrict its scope for misuse.

• So, unless accompanied by an incitement or call for violence, criticism of the government cannot be labeled
'sedition'.
• Seven principles in the Kedar Nath Singh ruling specify situations in which the charge of sedition cannot be
applied.
• Key principles in Kedar Nath Singh ruling - The expression ‘the Government established by law,’ in the
Sedition law, has to be distinguished from the persons engaged in carrying on the administration for the time
being.
• [‘Government established by law’ is the visible symbol of the State.]
• Any acts within the meaning of Section 124-A which have the effect of subverting the Government established
by law, or creating disaffection against it, would be within the penal statute.
• Commentson Government actions, however strongly worded, would not be penal, without exciting those
feelings which generate the inclination to cause public disorder by acts of violence.
• Sedition is limited only to such activities that come within the ambit of the observations of the Federal Court.
• This covers "activities involving incitement to violence or intention or tendency to create public disorder or
cause disturbance of public peace.”
3.8 Delhi HC Ruling on UAPA - Terrorist Act

The Delhi High Court granted bail to three student activists, who were arrested under the stringent Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and ruled that “terrorist activity” cannot be broadly defined to include ordinary
penal offences.
• Case - The three accused were JNU students Natasha Narwal and DevanganaKalita, and Jamia Millia Islamia
student Asif Iqbal Tanha.
• They were arrested in May 2020 in connection with the riots in north east Delhi.
• Communal clashes had broken out in north east Delhi on 24 February 2020 after violence between citizenship
law supporters and protesters.
• Court observation - Section 15 of the UAPA defines the phrase ‘terrorist act’ in a very wide and detailed
manner. The Court thus stressed on how terrorism was different even from conventional, heinous crime.
• The UAPA is meant to deal with matters of profound impact on the ‘Defence of India’ and address threats to
the very existence of our Nation.
• So, the extent and reach of terrorist activity must travel beyond the effect of an ordinary crime.
• It must not arise merely by causing disturbance of law and order or even public order.
• It must be such that it travels beyond the capacity of the ordinary law enforcement agencies to deal with it
under the ordinary penal law.
• The Court clarified this, citing a 1992 SC ruling in the case of Hitendra Vishnu Thakur v State of Maharashtra.
• Significance - This is perhaps the first instance of a court calling out alleged misuse of the UAPA.
• UAPA relaxes timelines for the state to file chargesheets and has stringent conditions for bail.
• So, it gives the state more powers compared to the Indian Penal Code.
• But the Act is being used against individuals even in cases that do not necessarily fall in the category of
“terrorism.”
• A total of 1126 cases were registered under UAPA in 2019, a sharp rise from 897 in 2015.
• It was frequently used against tribals in Chhattisgarh, those using social media through proxy servers in
Jammu and Kashmir, and journalists in Manipur among others.
• The Court ruling has now, in effect, raised the bar for the State to book an individual for terrorism under the
UAPA.

3.9 Misuse of UAPA

The Supreme Court’s judgment in Thwaha Fasal vs Union of India, has deconstructed the provisions of the UAPA
against blatant misuse.
• The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA ) was enacted in 1967 and was strengthened by the Union
government in 2008 and 2012.
• The UAPA is meant to deal with matters of profound impact on the ‘Defence of India’ and address threats
to the very existence of our Nation.
• The Act introduces a vague definition of terrorism to encompass a wide range of non-violent political activity
including political protest.
• The Act empowers the government to declare an organisation or an individual as "terrorist" and ban it.
• Even being a member of such a proscribed organisation becomes a criminal offence.
• It deprives the accused of the right to bail and this made them to live long under detention.
• Unlike the Criminal Procedure Code, the UAPA under Section 43D(2), permits keeping a person in prison for
up to 180 days, without even filing a charge sheet.
• Case background - A charge sheet filed against Thwaha Fasal and Alan Shuhaib of Kerala for harbouring
and associating with a banned Maoist outfit.
• The third accused absconded and later the investigation was handed over to the National Investigation Agency
(NIA)
• The provisions of the UAPA were invoked and offences under Sections 38 and 39 of the UAPA and 120B of the
Indian Penal Code (IPC) were alleged.
• Section 38 deals with “offence relating to membership of a terrorist organization.”
• Section 39 deals with “offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation.”
• Section 120B of the IPC is the penal provision on criminal conspiracy.
• Section 13 of the UAPA is the provision about punishment for unlawful activities.
• Section 43D(5) of the UAPA says that for many of the offences under the Act, bail should not be granted, if
there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation is prima facie true.
• Significane of the Judgement - presumption of guilt - Instead of presumption of innocence, the UAPA
holds presumption of guilt of the accused.
• According to Section 43D(5), jail is the rule and bail is often not even an exception.
• Many individuals including Sudha Bharadwaj,Siddique Kappan and Stan Swamy were denied bail based on a
narrow interpretation of the bail provision.
• The Court in this case has refused to construct this Section in a narrow and restrictive sense.
• It has tried to mitigate the error committed in NIA vs Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali (2019) which ruled that the
burden is on the accused to show that the prosecution case is not prima facie true.
• The Court also relied on the Union of India vs K.A. Najeeb (2021) which noted that the provisions under
Section 43D(5) do not curtail the power of the court to grant bail on the ground of violation of fundamental
rights.
• In 2021, the Delhi High Court granted bail to student activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif
Iqbal Tanha who were charged under the UAPA for alleged connections with the Delhi riots.
• This judicial radicalism can release other political prisoners in the country who have been denied bail either
due to the harshness of the law or due to the lack of understanding the law.
3.10 SC Ruling on Antitrust Investigations

The Supreme Court has ruled that India’s competition regulator (Competition Commission of India) would proceed
with antitrust investigations into Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart.
• Amazon and Flipkart allegedly had exclusive agreements with smartphone brands for the sale of certain
devices on their platforms.

• These platforms had given preferential treatment to certain sellers by giving them higher search rankings and
offerings.
• The platforms would incur part of the discount that such sellers would offer during key sales periods.
• The CCI had in 2020 ordered an investigation based on such allegations by trade body Delhi Vyapar
Mahasangh.
• Stance of Flipkart and Amazon - Amazon and Flipkart had approached the Karnataka HC to quash the
order by the CCI, on the following grounds:
• It was the choice of the manufacturer if they wanted to sell a smartphone exclusively on one platform.
• There were no agreements between them and sellers on record that were shown to likely have a negative
impact on competition.
• The CCI did not have enough evidence to pursue the matter.
• It had not formed a prima facie opinion on the potential impact on the competition while passing the orders.
• Courts ruling - The High Court and Supreme Court have rejected the petitions by Amazon and Flipkart that
a probe into the companies be quashed.
• The high court concluded that orders by the CCI initiating an investigation were administrative directions.
• So, the CCI was not bound to enter an adjudicatory process or form an opinion before ordering an
investigation.
• Significance - Amazon and Flipkart are leading players in e-retail market in India.
• The increasing dependence of sellers on online platforms meant that certain platforms were becoming
essential facilities and had to treat sellers in an unbiased manner.
• But “opacity in platform rankings” had become a cause for competition concern in the recent period.
3.11 Fast Track Special Courts

• The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of Fast Track Special Court (FTSCs) including exclusive
POCSO Courts from 2021 to 2023.
• The Central Share is to be funded from Nirbhaya Fund.
• The enactment of Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 by the Central Government led to the establishment
of FTSCs in 2019 as Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• FTSCs are dedicated courts that ensure swift dispensation of justice and, it strengthens the deterrence
framework for sexual offenders.
• Currently covering 28 States, it is proposed to be expanded to cover all 31 states which are eligible to join the
Scheme.
3.12 Supreme Court’s Stance on Presumption of Innocence

The Supreme Court has now ruled that there shall be no presumption of innocence once a person is convicted by a
learned trial court.
• The SC has also asked the High Courts to be ‘very slow in granting bail to the accused pending appeal who are
convicted’ of the serious offences like murder.
• Basic elements - The court said that every judgment should contain 4
basic elements,
1. Statement of material (relevant) facts,
2. Legal issues or questions,
3. Deliberation to reach a decision and
4. Ratio or conclusive decision.
• A judgment should be coherent, systematic and logically organised. It should enable the reader to trace the
fact to a logical conclusion on the basis of legal principles.

3.13 Supreme Court’s Ruling on Insolvency Resolution Plan

The Supreme Court has ruled that an Insolvency Resolution Plan of the companies, once approved by the Committee
of Creditors (CoC), cannot be modified or withdrawn.
• The SC has also categorically said that the only process of withdrawal from IBC is by following the procedure
detailed in Section 12A.
• [Section 12A says that the corporate debtor must get approval of more than 90% of creditors to take the
company out of the resolution plan.]
• Also, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) said that the National Company Law Tribunal
(NCLT) does not have the jurisdiction to permit withdrawal after the plan had been approved by the CoC.
• Further, NCLAT also said that the financial wisdom of the CoC was final.
• It further held that since Section 32A of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) grants full immunity to the
resolution applicant from any offences of the corporate debtor, the companies had no grounds to withdraw.
3.14 Error Corrected on Interpreting POCSO Act

The Supreme Court quashed a Bombay High Court decision to acquit a man charged with assault under the POCSO
solely on the grounds that he groped the child over her clothes without ‘skin-to-skin’ contact.
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was enacted in 2012 especially to protect
children aged less than 18 from sexual assault.
• It admitted that a number of sexual offences against children were neither specifically provided for in existing
laws nor adequately penalised.
• Therefore an offence against children needs to be explicitly defined and countered through proportionate
penalties so that it acts as an effective deterrence.
• The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which was ratified by India in 1992 requires sexual
exploitation and sexual abuse to be addressed as heinous crimes.
• Case of sexual assault - In IPC the definition of assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage
her modesty is very generic.
• In POCSO, the acts of sexual assault are explicitly mentioned such as touching various private parts or doing
any other act which involves physical contact without penetration.
• However it excludes rape which requires penetration; otherwise the scope of ‘sexual assault’ under POCSO and
‘outraging modesty of a woman’ under the IPC is the same.
• IPC provides punishment for the offence irrespective of any age of the victim but POCSO is specific as it is for
the protection of children.
• Section 7 of the POCSO Act says that whoever with sexual intent touches the private parts of the child is
said to commit sexual assault & the Section 8 of Act provides minimum imprisonment of 3 years.
• Whereas Section 354 of the IPC lays down a minimum of one year imprisonment for outraging the modesty of
a woman.
• Intrepretation of SC - The Supreme Court has set aside the two judgments that acquitted two offenders
against children from the graver charge of sexual assault.
• The court has said that narrow interpretation of the words ‘touch’ or ‘physical contact’ to ‘skin to skin contact’
of Section 7 would frustrate the very object of the Act.
• The court ruled that the act of touching the sexual part of body or any other act involving physical contact, if
done with sexual intent would amount to sexual assault within the meaning of Section 7 of POCSO Act.
3.15 Sonu Kushwaha vs State of U.P.

Recently, Allahabad High Court has said that a penetrative sexual assault on a 10-year-old boy by an offender did
not amount to an aggravated form of the crime.
• A case was registered against Sonu Kushwaha under Section 377, 506 IPC and Section 3 and 4 of POCSO Act
for performing oral sex with a minor boy when he was 10 years old (2016).
• The trial court convicted and sentenced him under Section 377, 506 IPC and Section 6 of POCSO Act.

• The court sentenced the appellant to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment along with fine.
(Note: The incident and registration of complaint happened in 2016. Hence the judgment was based on POCSO Act,
2012 and not on the POSCO (Amendment) Act, 2019 as its provisions does not apply retrospectively)
• Important provisions of POCSO Act, 2012 - The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO)
Act was enacted in 2012 especially to protect children aged less than 18 from sexual assault.
• The Act defines a child as any person below 18 years of age and defines different forms of sexual abuse
including penetrative, non-penetrative assault as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
• Section 4 deals with penetrative sexual assault and imposes a minimum imprisonment of 7 years.
• Sections 5 and 6 of the POCSO Act deals with aggravated penetrative sexual assault punishable with a
minimum prison term of 10 years that can go up to life.
• Section 5(m) says that whoever commits penetrative sexual assault on a child below 12 years would be
punishable with the offence of aggravated penetrative sexual assault.
• Section 9 and 10 deals with aggravated sexual assault with imprisonment which shall not be less than 5
years but which may extend to 7 years and shall also be liable to fine.
• POCSO (Amendment) Act, 2019 - The Act has enhanced punishment under various sections including
punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault to be increased to include death penalty.
• The minimum punishment for penetrative sexual assault has been increased from 7 years to 10 years.
• POCSO Rules, 2020 - New rules include the provision of
o Mandatory police verification of staff in schools and care homes
o Procedures to report sexual abuse material (pornography)
o Imparting age-appropriate child rights education among others
• Allahabad high court’s observation - The Court observed that the offence committed by the appellant
neither falls under Section 5 or 6 of the POCSO Act nor under Section 9(M) of the Act as penetrative sexual
assault is involved in the present case.
• The penetrative sexual assault under Section 4 is a lesser offence than aggravated penetrative sexual assault
under Section 6.
• So the Court reduced the sentence of the appellant from 10 years of rigorous imprisonment to 7 years and
further imposed a fine of Rs 5,000.
• The court has neglected Section 5(m) that penetrative sexual assault on a child below 12 years can be added to
aggravated penetrative sexual assault list.
• The High Court’s view that a particular act amounting to a penetrative sexual act does not attract the
punishment prescribed for its aggravated form will have on lower courts trying similar cases.
• The Supreme Court’s broader interpretation of the POCSO Act seems to be an error correction made by the
High Courts that narrowly interpretated the words ‘touch’, ‘physical contact’ and ‘skin to skin contact’.
• In this regard, the verdict in Sonu Kushwaha vs State of U.P. has to be reviewed as it seems to be based on an
error of law.
3.16 Transfer as Punishment

Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Sanjib Banerjee has been abruptly transferred to head the Meghalaya High
Court.
• The transfer of Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Sanjib Banerjee is the second such instance of the head
of a court with a sanctioned complement of 75 judges being asked to take over a court with a strength of 4.
• Article 222 of the Constitution deals with the transfer of judges and states that the President may, after
consultation with the Chief Justice of India transfer a judge from one high court to another.
• The Chief Justice of India is justly empowered to transfer the head of any High Court in the interest of the
“better administration of justice”.
• A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court interpreted Article 222 in the Sankalchand H Sheth case and held
that the transfer of a judge from one court to another inflicts many injuries on the individual.

• The court held that the consent of the judge proposed to be transferred was part of the scheme and language of
Article 222.
• Italso said that if the power of transfer is vested solely with the executive, it undermines judicial independence
and eats into the basic features of the Constitution.
• The First and Second Judges’ cases resulted in the formation of the Collegium System by interpreting
“consultation” with the CJI to really mean “concurrence” which is arrived at by the CJI upon discussion with
the two senior-most judges.
• The Third Judges’ case expanded the collegium to include the five senior-most judges, including the CJI.
• The K Ashok Reddy case relied on the decision of the Second Judges’ case and held that the primacy of the
judiciary in the matter of appointments.
• Concerns - In Justice Banerjee’s case, the transfer has come within 10 months of his assuming office, raising
the question whether he was being punished for some uncertain reason.
• There is bound to be speculation on whether his transfer has anything to do with his stern approach and
observations while seeking accountability from the Government and other institutions.
• This could be seen as degrading the work a judge is doing.
3.17 Revival of All-India Judicial Service Proposal

The Centre has revived the proposed All India Judicial Service (AIJS) to centrally recruit judges on the lines of civil
services.
• At present, various high courts and State service commissions hold exams
to recruit judicial officers.
• The proposal for an AIJS was first suggested in the early 1960s. While the
proposal was revived a few times, it could not be implemented due to
opposition from some high courts and states.
• The proposed judicial service will be similar to the IAS and the IPS.
• This service will incentivise aspirants becoming a lower court judge and
hence ameliorate the administration and delivery of justice.
• This will supply a competent and efficient pool of judicial officers, as the
process of intake of judges will solely be focused on their competence.
• It will also address the issue of social inclusion by enabling suitable representation to marginalised and
deprived sections of society.
• Procedure - The provision of AIJS was included in Article 312 of the Constitution through the 42nd
amendment in 1976.
• But it would still require a bill to decide on its broad contours.
• If the bill is passed, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) could hold a standardised entrance test to
recruit judges for lower courts.
• Need for Social Inclusion - As per the Law Ministry, Other Backward Classes (OBC) accounted for only
12% of the judges in the lower judiciary in 12 states.
o That is far below the estimated share of OBCs in the Indian population, which is more than 40%. The
decennial Census in India does not compile caste numbers.
• Dalits and tribals made up less than 14% and about 12%, respectively, of the judges in the lower judiciary.
o Per Census 2011, Dalits and tribals accounted for more than 16% and little under 9% of the population
respectively.
3.18 Supreme Court on RERA Act 2016

The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the jurisdiction of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016, or RERA,
in two different matters.
• Aimed at protecting homebuyers, the court

1. Brings a major relief for the homebuyers,

2. Speeds up the resolution process, and
3. Makes it difficult for state governments to dilute the law’s intent.
• The Supreme Court affirmed that the RERA Act, 2016 is retroactive in character.
• It said that RERA Act is applicable to projects that were ongoing and for whom completion certificates weren’t
obtained at the time of enactment of law, in effect interpreting that the law.
• The Act will also apply after getting the on-going projects and future projects registered under Section 3 to
prospectively follow the mandate of the Act.
• However, the projects already completed or to which the completion certificate has been granted prior to
enactment of RERA aren’t affected in any manner covered by the law.
• Genuine Appeals - The real estate developers must deposit at least 30% or the full amount of the penalty (as
the case may be) ordered by the regulator, before they challenge any RERA order under Section 43(5).
• This is expected to ensure that only genuine appeals are filed and homebuyers’ interests are protected.
• Recovering the homebuyers’ investment - This comes under Section 40(1) of the Act.
• The court has ruled against the contention of the builders that under Section 40(1), homebuyers are only
entitled to recover interest or penalty as arrears of land.
• It said that the amount invested by the allottees, with interest as quantified by the regulatory authority or
adjudicating officer becomes recoverable (by law) as arrears of land revenue from the builders.
3.19 Limitations of Sessions Court

The NIA has moved the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court order granting default bail to lawyer-
activist Sudha Bharadwaj, who was arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case in August 2018.
• The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune in
2017.
• The Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, extended the period of detention of Ms. Bharadwaj by 90 days.
• A default bail was filed on the ground that Session Court was not competent to extend the detention by 90
days under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act.
• The second ground was that Ms. Bharadwaj had the right to be released on default bail and ought to have been
released on January 25, 2019 as the chargesheet was filed only on February 21, 2019.
• The Code of Criminal Procedure sets deadlines for investigative agencies to complete an investigation during
which the accused can be kept in custody.
• If the agency fails to comply with these deadlines, the accused becomes entitled to what is commonly referred
to as ‘default’ or ‘regular’ bail.
• Under Section 167 in the CrPC, 1973, the maximum period of detention is 90 days for the highest class of
offences.
• However, under the UAPA, a court can extend custody of an accused up to 180 days if the investigating agency
seeks more time to probe the case.
• HC ruling - The Bombay High Court affirmed that when a special court designated under the NIA Act, 2008,
the sessions judge had no jurisdiction to extend the detention beyond the stipulated 90 days.
• The accused relied on the Supreme Court’s 2020 verdict in Bikramjit Singh v State of Punjab which held that
only a special court had jurisdiction to extend detention up to 180 days under the UAPA.
• The High Court had said in its order that Ms. Bharadwaj was entitled to bail and its denial would be in breach
of her fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• The court granted her bail on the ground that her detention under the UAPA was extended by a sessions court,
which had no power to do so.
• The High Court had directed that Bharadwaj be produced before the special NIA court in Mumbai and
conditions of her bail and date of release be decided.

• Special judge - In 2008, the NIA Act was passed and the UAPA was also amended and all Scheduled
Offences are to be tried exclusively by the special courts under the NIA Act, whether investigated by the NIA or
the state government investigation agency.
• If there are no designated courts, then the sessions court, which is the highest court to try criminal offences,
would have jurisdiction.
3.20 Punishing a Doctor

The Madras High Court has disapproved the suspension imposed by Tamil Nadu Medical Council (TNMC) against a
doctor who was only a witness in disciplinary proceedings initiated against another doctor.
• The court has insisted the Council lay down a standard operating
procedure (SOP) to ensure that no doctor gets punished without following
the principles of natural justice.
• It also said that the responsibility of the medical council includes,
1. Conducting proceedings against medical practitioners, if there is
any breach or violation, and also
2. Protecting the medical practitioners who are rendering yeomen
service for the betterment of the general public from unjust
penalisation, targeting or punishment.
3.21 Draft Model Rules for Live-Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings
• The e-Committee, Supreme Court of India has released the Draft Model Rules for Live-Streaming and
Recording of Court Proceedings.
• It has invited inputs and suggestions on it from all the stakeholders.
• The e-Committee of Supreme Court of India along with the Department of Justice, Government of India is
working under the National Policy and Action Plan for implementation of ICT in the Indian Judiciary.
• [ICT - Information and Communication Technology]
• The right of access to justice, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution encompasses the right to access
live court proceedings.
• To imbue greater transparency, inclusivity and foster access to justice, the e-Committee has prioritised the
project of live streaming of court proceedings.
• This will enable access to live court proceedings, including on matters of public interest to citizens, journalists,
civil society, academicians and law students on a real time basis.
• These model rules were framed by a sub-committee consisting of judges of the Bombay, Delhi, Madras and
Karnataka High Courts.
• They provide a balanced regulatory framework for live streaming and recording of court proceedings.
3.22 Dying Declaration

• A special CBI court awarded life sentences to two policemen for the custodial death of a murder accused. The
judgment relied heavily on the ‘dying declaration’ made by the victim prior to his death.
• Section 32 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 deals with cases in which statement of relevant fact is made
by a person who is dead or cannot be found.
• The law presumes that no person will meet their maker with a lie in their mouth, and so it accepts the veracity
of the person’s statement, dispensing with the requirements of oath and cross-examination.
• An exclusion of this dying declaration would also leave the court without a scrap of evidence.
• Rules - The general rule under Section 60 of the Act is that all oral evidence must be direct - he heard it, saw
it or perceived it.
• The grounds of admission under a dying declaration have been based on two broad rules,
1. The victim being generally the only principal eye-witness to the crime; and

2. The sense of impending death, which creates a sanction equal to the obligation of an oath.
• Reasons to set aside dying declaration - Though a dying declaration is entitled to great weight, it is
worthwhile to note that the accused has no power of cross-examination.
• This is why the courts say that the dying declaration be of such a nature as to inspire full confidence of the
court in its correctness.
• Duty of the Court - The courts must check if the deceased’s statement was a result of either tutoring, or
prompting or a product of imagination.
• The Court must be further satisfied that the deceased was in a fit state of mind after a clear opportunity to
observe and identify the assailant.
• The Supreme Court had noted that the dying declaration made through signs, gestures or by nods are
admissible as evidence.
• But in the case of Orissa vs Parasuram Naik (1997), the accused was alleged to have poured petrol on his wife’s
body and lit a fire causing extensive burns.
• It was held that the oral dying declaration cannot be accepted because there was no medical officer certifying
that the deceased was medically fit to make a statement.
• Recording of dying declarations - Anyone can record the dying declaration of the deceased as per law.
The law does not compulsorily require the presence of a Judicial or Executive Magistrate to record it.
• A dying declaration recorded by a Judicial or Executive Magistrate will muster additional strength to the
prosecution case though.
• It can form the sole basis of conviction. The rule requiring corroboration is merely a rule of prudence.
• It is not to be rejected, equally merely because it is a brief statement. On the contrary, the shortness of the
statement itself guarantees truth.
• A dying declaration which suffers from infirmity cannot form the basis of conviction and merely because a
dying declaration does not contain the details as to the occurrence.
3.23 Appointment of Supreme Court Judges

9 judges of the Supreme Court including one third women have taken the oath, the biggest ever number at one go. It
takes the total SC strength to 33, of whom 4 are women.
• Articles 124(2) and 217 of the Constitution govern the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court (SC)
and High Courts (HC) respectively.
• Under this, the President has the power to make the appointment after “consultation” with such judges of SC
and HC as the president may deem necessary.
• The word “consultation” has been at the centre of the tussle between the executive and the judiciary power
over judges’ appointment.
• Its meaning has been evolved over the period of time by various SC judgments.
• Its interpretation began in 1973 following the Indira Gandhi-led government’s move to supersede 3 senior
judges and appoint Justice A N Ray as the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
• First Judges Case (1981) - In “S P Gupta v Union of India”, the SC ruled that the President does not require
the “concurrence” of the CJI in appointment of judges.
• It however affirmed the pre-eminence of the executive in making appointments.
• Second Judges Case (1993) - In Advocates-on-Record Association v Union of India, a 9-judge constitution
bench evolved the ‘collegium system’ for appointment and transfer of judges in the higher judiciary.
• Third Judges Case (1998) - President K R Narayanan issued a Presidential Reference to the SC over the
meaning of the term “consultation”.
• The ruling on this established a quorum and majority vote in the collegium to make recommendations to the
President
• Overall, all these 3 cases shrank the executive say in proposing a candidate for judgeship and also took away
the executive’s veto power.

• National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) – In 2014, the government attempted to gain
control on judicial appointments through constitutional amendments, but SC struck it down as
unconstitutional.
• HC Judges Appointment – It is
initiated by the HC collegiums and
then moves to the state government,
the central government and then to
the SC collegiums.
• Number of Judges - In 1950, when
it was established, it had 8 judges
including the CJI.
• Parliament has the power to increase
the number of judges.
• It gradually increased the number by
from 8 to 34 in 2019 by amending the
Supreme Court (Number of Judges)
Act.
• Vacancy – The SC continues to have
one vacancy whereas the HCs on
average have over a 30% vacancy.
• Retirement - The age of retirement
is 65 years for SC judges and 62 for HC
judges. (In US, the Supreme Court
judges serve for life.)
• Representation of Women - In
1989, Justice Fathima Beevi became
the first judge to be appointed to the
Supreme Court.
• Since then, however, the SC has had
only 11 women judges, inducing the
three women appointed recently.
• Before the recent appointment, Justice
Indira Banerjee was the only woman
judge in the Supreme Court.
• Justice B V Nagarathna is in line to
become India’s first woman CJI - 80
years after Independence.
3.24 FASTER System

The Supreme Court introduced the Fast and
Secured Transmission of Electronic Records
(FASTER) system.
• This system will help in
communicating crucial decisions
including orders on bail and stay of
arrest electronically to prison
authorities and investigating agencies
through a secure channel.
• The system is meant to ensure that
undertrials aren’t made to wait for
days on end behind bars to be released
because the certified hard copies of
their bail orders took time to reach the
prison.

• It would also prevent unnecessary arrests and custody of people even after the court had already granted them
its protection.
• It may even communicate a stay on an execution ordered by the final court on time.
• The FASTER system will be a big fillip to the fundamental rights of life, dignity and personal liberty.
4. CONSTITUTIONAL & NON-CONSTITUTIONAL BODIES
4.1 Concerns with Tribunals

Parliament enacted the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 which contained provisions that had been struck down by the
Supreme Court in an ordinance issued earlier.
• Tribunals were not mentioned in the original constitution.
• They have been added by the 42nd constitutional amendment
act based on the recommendations of Swaran Singh Committee.
• Part XIV-A has been added to the constitution with respect to
tribunals.
• Article 323A deals with administrative tribunals which can be
established only by the Parliament.
• Article 323B deals with other types of tribunals which can be established by both the Parliament and the
State Legislature.
4.2 National Commission for Safai Karamcharis

The Union Cabinet approves the extension of tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis for three
years.
• The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) was established as a statutory body in 1994 as per
the provisions of the NCSK Act 1993.
• It was initially established for the period upto 1997. Later the validity of the Act was extended upto 2004.
• The NCSK Act ceased to have effect from 2004.
• After that the tenure of the NCSK has been extended as a non-statutory body from time to time through
resolutions.
• Now, the Commission acts as a Non-Statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• NCSK is mandated to monitor the implementation of the Prohibition of employment as manual scavengers
and their rehabilitation Act, 2013.
• It also receives complaints/petitions from Manual Scavengers (Safai Karamcharis) from all over the Country.
• It calls for the factual reports in connection with these complaints/petitions from the concerned authorities
and impress upon them to redress the grievances of the affected Safai Karamcharis.
• Based on the information received through print or electronic media, the Commission suo motu takes
cognizance of problems of Safai Karamcharis and try to resolve them by playing a pro active role.
• The number of Manual Scavengers (Safai Karamcharis) identified under the Manual Scavengers Act Survey as
on 31.12.2021 is 58098.
4.3 National Commission for Backward Classes

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Eleventh Extension of the term of the Commission constituted under
Article 340 of the Constitution by 6 months beyond 31st July 2021 up to 31st January 2022.
• [Article 340 deals with the need to identify those socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs),
understand the conditions of their backwardness, and make recommendations to remove the difficulties they
face.]

• This Commission examines the issue of Sub-categorization within Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the
Central List.
• This Commission is called the National Commission for Backward Classes, which was established under the
102nd Amendment Act, 2018.
4.4 National Medical Commission

• It has been established by an Act of Parliament known as National Medical Commission Act, 2019. The
objective of the Commission is to,
1. Improve access to quality and affordable medical education,
2. Ensure adequate and high-quality medical professionals in all parts of India and
3. Provide equitable and universal health care.
• The NMC will function as the country’s top regulator of medical education. It will have four separate
autonomous boards for:
1. Undergraduate medical education.
2. Postgraduate medical education.
3. Medical assessment and rating.
4. Ethics and medical registration.
• Functions of NMC include laying down policies for
1. Maintaining a high quality and high standards in medical education and making necessary
regulations;
2. Regulating medical institutions, researches and professionals;
3. Assessing the requirements in healthcare and developing a road map for meeting such requirements;
4. Coordinating and framing guidelines and laying down policies by making necessary regulations for the
proper functioning of the Commission, Autonomous Boards and State Medical Councils.
• It also ensures coordination among the Autonomous Boards. It acts as appellate jurisdiction with respect to
decisions of Autonomous Boards.
• It lays down policies and codes to ensure observance of professional ethics in the medical profession and
promotes ethical conduct during the provision of care by medical practitioners.
• The common final year MBBS exam will now be known as the National Exit Test (NEXT), according to the
new medical education structure under the NMC.
4.5 National Security Council

• The Budget allocation for the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) increased 10 times from ₹33.17
crore in 2016-17 to ₹333.58 crore in 2017-18.
• Formed in 1999, NSC is a three-tiered organization that oversees political, economic, energy and security
issues of strategic concern.
• NSC comprises the three tier structure –
1. Strategic Policy Group (SPG),
2. National Security Advisory Board (NSAB) presides over the NSC, and is also the primary advisor to
the Prime Minister and
3. National Security Council Secretariat.
• To know more about the National Security Council (NSC), click here.
4.6 Chief Labour Commissioner

• Recently, Chief Labour Commissioner of India reviewed the status of sensitization and implementation of
labour laws in labour codes in various developmental projects in Srinagar.

• The organization of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) is also known as Central Industrial Relations
Machinery (CIRM).
• It is an apex organization responsible for maintaining harmonious industrial relations mainly in the sphere of
central Government.
• In pursuance of the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Labour in India, the organization was set up
in April, 1945 by combining,
1. The former organizations of the conciliation Officer (Railways),
2. The Supervisor of Railway Labour and
3. The Labour Welfare Advisor.
• Duties - It was then charged mainly with duties of
1. Prevention and settlement of industrial disputes,
2. Enforcement of labour laws and
3. Promotion of welfare of workers in the industrial establishments falling within the sphere of the
Central Government.
4.7 National Commission for Minorities

• It is a forum for appeal, set up by the Government to safeguard the rights and interests of India’s minority
communities.
• This statutory body was set up in 1993 under the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act, 1992.
• Section 2 (c) of NCM Act, 1992 stipulates that ‘Minority’ for the purposes of the Act, means a community
notified as such by the Central Government.
• NCM consists of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and five members and all of them shall be from amongst
the minority communities.
• Functions of the Commission as laid down in Section 9(1) of the Act are related to the six notified minority
communities i.e. Jain, Parsi, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist and Muslim.
• The functions of NCM broadly include
1. Evaluate the progress of the development of minorities under the Union and States;
2. Monitor the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution and in laws enacted by Parliament
and the State Legislatures;
3. Make recommendations for effective implementation of safeguards for the protection of the interests
of minorities by the Central Government or the State Governments;
4. Look into complaints on deprivation of rights and safeguards of minorities and take up such matters
with appropriate authorities;
5. Cause studies to be undertaken into problems arising out of any discrimination against minorities and
recommend measures for their removal;
6. Conduct studies, research and analysis on the issues relating to socio-economic and educational
development of minorities;
7. Suggest appropriate measures in respect of any minority to be undertaken by the Central Government
or the State Governments;
8. Make periodical or special reports to the Central Government on any matter pertaining to minorities
and in particular difficulties confronted by them; and
9. Any other matter which may be referred to it by the Central Government.
4.8 National Commission for Women

• The Central Government nominated the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), as per
the Section 3 of NCW Act, 1990,
1. For another term of 3 years or

2. Till the age of 65 years or

3. Until further orders, whichever is the earliest
• NCW is a statutory body in 1992 under the NCW Act, 1990, based on the recommendations of the Committee
on Status of Women in India (1974).
• Its functions are to:
1. Review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women.
2. Recommend remedial legislative measures.
3. Facilitate redressal of grievances.
4. Advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.
• NCW publishes a monthly newsletter, Rashtra Mahila, in both Hindi and English.
• Subjects of their campaigns have included dowry, politics, religion, equal representation for women in jobs,
and exploitation of women for labour.
4.9 Extension of Tenure of ED and CBI Directors

The Centre promulgated two ordinances to extend the tenures of the Directors of CBI and Enforcement Directorate
from 2 years to upto 5 years and issued an order to amend the Fundamental Rules, 1922.
• Director of CBI is appointed under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 and Director of
Enforcement in the Directorate of Enforcement is appointed under the Central Vigilance Commission
Act, 2003.
• The fifth proviso of Clause (d) of Rule 56 of the Fundamental Rules, 1922 was amended to extend the
services of the Defence Secretary, Home Secretary, Director of IB, Secretary of RAW, the Director of CBI and
ED in “public interest”.
• The previous list comprised Defence Secretary, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary, Director of Intelligence
Bureau and Secretary of Research and Analysis Wing.
• Though Director of CBI was mentioned in the previous order, the new notification adds the Delhi Special
Police Establishment Act, 1946 under which the investigation agency’s head is appointed.
• Judiciary’s view - The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the one-year addition to the original term of
appointment in Mishra’s case.
• It also said that extension of tenure granted to officers who have attained the age of superannuation should be
done only in rare and exceptional cases and only for a short period.
• It also made it clear that no further extension shall be granted to him.
• The protection given by a fixed tenure is meant to dilute the ‘doctrine of pleasure’ implicit in civil service
but it may be breached, if the extension allowed in exceptional circumstances becomes the rule.
The Doctrine of Pleasure is one of the concepts which has been inherited from the British rule. Under this doctrine,
the civil servants were regarded as servants of the crown and these civil servants served at their pleasure.
4.10 General Consent for the CBI

The Supreme Court is concerned over the CBI’s submission that since 2018, 150 requests for sanction to investigate
have been pending with 8 state governments that have withdrawn general consent to the agency.
• The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is governed by The NIA Act, 2008, has jurisdiction across the
country.
• But the CBI is governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946.
o This law makes the CBI a special wing of Delhi Police and thus its original jurisdiction is limited to
Delhi.
• So, the CBI must obtain the consent of the state government concerned before beginning to investigate a crime
in a state.
• Types of Consent - The consent of the state government can be either case-specific or general.

• When a state gives a general consent to the CBI for probing a case, the agency is not required to seek fresh
permission every time it enters that state in connection with investigation or for every case.
• When a general consent is withdrawn, CBI needs to seek case-wise consent for investigation from the
concerned state government.
• If specific consent is not granted, the CBI officials will not have the power of police personnel when they enter
that state.
• A general consent is given to facilitate that seamless investigation in a case of corruption or violence.
• Section 6 of the DSPE Act says that nothing contained in section 5 shall enable any member of the DSPE to
exercise powers and jurisdiction in any area in a State, not being a UT or railway area, without the
consent of the Government of that State.
o Section 6 (“Consent of State Government to exercise of powers and jurisdiction”)
o Section 5 (“Extension of powers and jurisdiction of special police establishment to other areas”)
• Withdrawal of general consent means the CBI cannot register any fresh case involving officials of the
central government/ a private person in the state without the state government’s consent.
• The CBI officers will lose all powers of a police officer as soon as they enter the state unless the state
government has allowed them.
• Without the general consent, the CBI could continue to probe in old cases until specifically taken back by the
state government.
• Further, it continues to investigate cases that were given to it by a court order.
• In Vinay Mishra vs the CBI, Calcutta High Court ruled that,
1. Corruption cases must be treated equally across the country,
2. A central government employee couldn’t be distinguished just because his office was located in a state
that had withdrawn general consent, and
3. Withdrawal of consent would apply in cases where only employees of the state government were
involved.
5. ELECTIONS
5.1 Constitutionalisation of Political Parties

Political parties are the breathing air of the political system and they need to be constitutionalized to ensure in-party
democracy and to make them transparent.
• A political party is an organised group of citizens who hold common views on governance and act as a political
unit that seeks to obtain control of government with a view to further the agenda and policy they profess.
• They are indispensable links between the people and the representative machinery of government.
• Political parties maintain a continuous connection between the people and those who represent them either in
government or in the opposition.
• Political parties are important institutes in almost every democratic country.
• Legal provisions - Political parties in India are extra-constitutional.
• The right to form political parties is not mentioned in the Constitution of India.
• Section 29A (5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 – It is the only major statutory provision
dealing with political parties in India.
• It sets down certain conditions for a political party for the formation and registration by ECI.
1. It must consist only of Indian citizens
2. It must call itself a political party set up for the purpose of contesting elections to the Parliament and
State Legislatures and for no other purpose.
3. It must have at least 100 registered electors as its members.

• It orders that a political party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law
established, and to the principles of socialism, secularism, democracy, and would uphold the sovereignty,
unity and integrity of India
• Procedure - Election Commission has provided that any party seeking registration has to submit an
application to the Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation.
• The applicant has to publish a proposed party name in two national daily newspapers and two local daily
newspapers.
• The notice for publication is also displayed on the website of the Election Commission.
• An application for registration has to be sent to the Secretary to the Election Commission within 30 days
following the date of formation of the party in the prescribed format.
• The application must be accompanied by a demand draft for Rs.10,000, printed copy of the memorandum,
rules and regulations or constitution of the party.
• It also needs to have the latest electoral rolls in respect of at least 100 members of the party to show that they
are registered electors.
• The application would also need an affidavit duty signed by the President or General Secretary of the party
and sworn before a First Class Magistrate/Oath Commissioner)/ Notary Public.
• Individual affidavits from at least 100 members of the party would also be needed to ensure that they are not a
member of any other political party registered with the Commission.
• Significance - It is not mandatory to register with the Election Commission
• Registering a political party with the EC has its advantage under the provisions of the Representation of the
People Act, 1951.
• The candidates of the registered political party will get preference in the matter of allotment of free symbols
over independent candidates.
• These registered political parties can get recognition as a ‘state party’ or a ‘national party’ subject to the
fulfilment of the conditions prescribed in the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order,
1968.
• Recognition - Several conditions are followed by the Election Commission to recognise the parties as a state or
national party.
• State Party – The registered party has to satisfy any of the 5 conditions.
1. Secure at least 6% of the valid vote & win at least 2 seats in an Assembly General Election
2. Secure at least 6% of the valid vote & win at least 1 seats in a Lok Sabha General Election
3. Win at least 3% of the seats or at least 3 seats , whichever is more, in an Assembly General Election
4. Win at least 1 out of every 25 seats from a state in a Lok Sabha General Election
5. Secure at least 8% of the total valid vote in an Assembly or a Lok Sabha General Election
• National Party - The registered party has to satisfy any of the 3 conditions.
1. Secure at least 6% of the valid vote in an Assembly or a Lok Sabha General Election in any four or
more states and won at least 4 seats in a Lok Sabha General Election from any State or States
2. Win at least 2% of the total Lok Sabha seats in a Lok Sabha General Election and these seats have to
be won from at least 3 states
3. The party is recognized as a State Party in at least four states
• These conditions have to be fulfilled by the parties before every Lok Sabha and Assembly elections to make
sure they don’t lose their status.
• Perks of recognition - A party recognized as a state party gets a reserved symbol within the state wheareas
for a national party, the reserved symbol can be used across the country by its contesting candidates.
• Such parties need only one proposer for filing the nomination.
• They are also entitled for two sets of electoral rolls free of cost.

• They are entitled to broadcast/telecast facilities over state-owned Akashvani/Doordarshan during the general
elections.
• There are also other advantages to the recognized parties like subsidized land for party offices,etc.
• Deregistration of parties - The ECI is not empowered to de-register parties on the grounds of violating the
Constitution or breaching the undertaking given to it at the time of registration.
• A party can only be de-registered
1. if its registration was obtained by fraud;
2. if it is declared illegal by the Central Government;
3. if a party amends its internal Constitution and notifies the ECI that it can no longer abide by the
Indian Constitution.
5.2 ECI’s Power on Party Symbol

Election Commission of India (ECI) has frozen an election symbol of a party from Bihar, so that neither of the two
factions of the party will be able to use it in the coming Assembly by-elections.
• Para 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968 talks about the powers of the ECI on the question of a split in a political
party outside the legislature.
• The ECI can decide whether the rival groups or none of such groups of a recognised political party is eligible to
get the party symbol.
• This decision shall be binding on all such rival sections or groups. This applies to disputes in recognised
national and state parties.
• For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the ECI usually advises the warring factions to resolve their
differences internally or to approach the court.
• The first case decided under Para 15 of the 1968 Order was the first split in the Indian National Congress in
1969.
• Before 1968, the EC issued notifications and executive orders under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
• Testing - In almost all disputes decided by the EC so far, a clear majority of party delegates/office bearers,
MPs and MLAs have supported one of the factions.
• Whenever the EC could not test the strength of rival groups based on support within the party, it fell back on
testing the majority only among elected MPs and MLAs.
Splinter group
• Splinter group of a party is the group other than the one that got the party symbol.
• Until 1997, the Splinter groups were not recognised either state or national parties by the ECI.
• This is because the ECI has felt that merely having MPs and MLAs isn’t enough, as the elected representatives
had fought and won polls on tickets of their parent (undivided) parties.
• The EC introduced a new rule under which,
1. The splinter group of the party had to register itself as a separate party, and
2. The splinter group could lay claim to national or state party status only on the basis of its performance
in state or central elections after registration.
5.3 Recasting the Selection Process of the ECs

Reports of the CEC and the ECs attending an informal meeting with the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister
last year has brought the focus on the independence and the impartiality of the ECI.
• The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering
Union and State election processes in India.
• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the
offices of the President and Vice President in the country.

• Part XV (Article 324-329) of the Indian Constitution deals with elections, and establishes a commission
for these matters.
• At present, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is a three-member body, with one Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) and two Election Commissioners (EC).
• Under Article 324(2) of the Constitution of India, the President of India is empowered to appoint the CEC
and the ECs.
• The president may also appoint after consultation with the election commission such regional commissioners
as he may consider necessary to assist the election commission.
• Article 324(2) also empowers the President of India to fix from time to time the number of Election
Commissioners other than the CEC.
• They draw salaries and allowances at par with those of the Judges of the Supreme Court of India.
• The CEC or an EC holds office for a term of six years from the date on which he assumes his office or until he
attains the age of 65 years before the expiry of six years term.
• They can resign anytime or can be removed before the expiry of their term.
• The CEC can be removed from office only through a process of removal similar to that of a SC judge by
Parliament.
• If the CEC and other ECs differ in opinion on any matter, such matter shall be decided by according to
the opinion of the majority.
Administrative functions
• ECI determines the territorial areas of the electoral constituencies throughout the country on the basis of
the Delimitation Commission Act of Parliament.
• It prepares and periodically revises electoral rolls and registers all eligible voters.
• ECI grants recognition to political parties and allot election symbols to them.
• Election Commission ensures a level playing field for the political parties in election through strict observance
of a Model Code of Conduct by the political parties.
Advisory Jurisdiction & Quasi-Judicial Functions
• The Commission also has advisory jurisdiction in the matter of post election disqualification of sitting
members of Parliament and State Legislatures.
• The cases of persons found guilty of corrupt practices at elections which come before the courts are referred to
the ECI for its opinion on the question of disqualified and, if so, for what period.
• The opinion of the Commission in all such matters is binding on the President or the Governor to whom such
opinion is tendered.
• The Commission has the power to disqualify a candidate who has failed to lodge an account of his
election expenses within the time and in the manner prescribed by law.
• The Commission has also the power for removing or reducing the period of such disqualification as
also other disqualification under the law.
• The decisions of the Commission can be challenged in the High Court and the Supreme Court of the India by
appropriate petitions.
To strengthen EC
• Changes in the appointment process for Election Commissioners can strengthen the ECI’s independence,
neutrality and transparency.
• Appointments- In 1975, the Justice Tarkunde Committee recommended that Election Commissioners
be appointed on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Lok Sabha Opposition Leader
and the Chief Justice of India.
• This was reiterated by the Dinesh Goswami Committee in 1990 and the Law Commission in 2015.
• The Fourth Report of the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission additionally recommended that the
Law Minister and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha be included in such a Collegium.

• Establishing a multi-institutional, bipartisan committee for the fair and transparent selection of Election
Commissioners similar to the appointment of CIC, Lokpal, CVC, and the Director of the CBI is the need of the
hour.
5.4 Secrecy of Vote

• The Supreme Court held that in any election, be it to Parliament or State legislature, the maintenance of
secrecy of voting is “a must”. It reiterated judgement in People's Union for Civil Liberties case (2013).
• It stated that Secrecy is a part of the fundamental right of freedom of expression. The confidentiality of
choice strengthened democracy.
• In direct elections to Lok Sabha or State legislature, the secrecy of vote would ensure that a voter casts his vote
without any fear or being victimised if his vote is disclosed.
• It also stated that Democracy and free elections were a part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution.
• [The ‘basic structure’ doctrine was framed in the judgment in Kesavananda Bharati vs State of Kerala case
(1973).]
• The Court also said that any attempt at booth-capturing or bogus voting were crimes against democracy
and should be dealt with iron hands, because it ultimately affects the rule of law and democracy.
5.5 Model Code of Conduct during Bye-election

The Election Commission (EC) noticed that certain political parties/ candidates are organizing electioneering
activities in the areas adjoining the district/ constituency where the bye-election is being conducted.
• The applicability of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during bye-
election would be only to the concerned district(s) comprising the
Parliamentary/ Assembly Constituency going to such bye-election.
• This was mentioned in the existing instructions of the EC regarding
enforcement of the MCC during elections.
• The only relaxation in these instructions has been given in case the
constituency is comprised in State Capital/ Metropolitan Cities/ Municipal Corporations.
• In such cases, MCC instructions would be applicable in the area of concerned Constituency only.
• In all other cases, aforesaid instructions would be enforced in the entire district(s) covering the Constituency
going for bye-election(s).
• The above relaxation has been given with an objective that the operation of MCC doesn’t hamper normal
developmental and administrative functioning in the State and districts.
• District Election Officers concerned will ensure that the MCC instructions & COVID guidelines are followed in
the districts adjoining to the poll going district/ constituency.
5.6 Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021

The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021 has been passed in both houses of Parliament enabling the linking of
electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem.
• The bill proposes to amend the provisions of the Representation of Peoples (RP) Act, 1950 and the RP Act,
1951.
• Section 23 of the RP Act, 1950 – The amendment enables linking of electoral roll data with the Aadhaar
ecosystem.
• The objective is to curb the menace of multiple enrolment of the same person in different places.
• Section 14(b) of the RP Act, 1950 – It specify the 1st day of January, 1st day of April, 1st day of July and
1st day of October in a calendar year as qualifying dates in relation to the preparation or revision of electoral
rolls.
• Section 20 of the RP Act, 1950 and section 60 of the RP Act – The amendment substitutes the word
"wife" with the word "spouse" making the statutes gender neutral.
• Now any women officer’s husband can act as service voter.

• Section 160 of the RP Act, 1951 – The amendment enables the requisition of premises that are needed for
being used as polling stations, for counting, for storage of ballot boxes, voting machines and poll related
material after a poll has been taken accommodation for security forces and polling personnel for such period
as are notified under section 30 of the said Act.
• Advantages - The new applicant may voluntarily provide Aadhaar number along with the application for the
purpose of identity.
• However no application will be rejected on the grounds that Aadhaar number has not been provided.
• Aadhaar linking with electoral roll will solve one of the major problems in electoral database management
which is multiple enrolments of the same person at different places.
• This may be due to the frequent shifting of residence by electors and getting enrolled in the new place without
deleting the previous enrolment.
• Once Aadhaar linkage is achieved, the electoral roll data system will instantly alert the existence of previous
registration whenever a person applies for new registration.
• This will help in cleaning the electoral roll to a great extent. It will also facilitate elector registration in the
location at which they are 'ordinarily resident'.
• Criticisms - One of the concerns is whether the Bill’s implementation will be successful if the linkage is not
compulsory.
• According to the bill providing Aadhaar data is voluntary and not mandatory.
• Even though the Aadhaar requirement is said to be voluntary,there ia a concern that in practice it can be made
mandatory.
• The reasons on the basis of which a person can choose not to link my Aadhaar will be prescribed by the
government. The choice not to submit is linked to a “sufficient cause”
• However the “sufficient cause” is not mentioned in the Bill.
• Complaints of wrongful enrolment in UIDAI have come up even though the unique identity number has been
allotted to more than 90% of the population.
• Exclusion of foreigners - There is a conceptual confusion whether Aadhaar linkage will enable non-citizens
to vote as Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship.
• Also the goal of preventing non-citizens from voting will not be solved.
• Profiling of citizens - Individual identification of voting choices is not be possible with the linkage of
Aadhaar. However it may lead to profiling.
• Verification of a person’s identity when a person goes to vote is separate from the capturing of the identity.
• It could lay the foundation of targeted political propaganda which is against the model code of conduct.
• Security Vulnerabilities - In 2019 UIDAI accused IT Grids (India) Private Ltd of illegally procuring details
of Aadhaar holders in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and storing these in its databases.
• This raises concern regarding the security vulnerabilities of UIDAI servers.
5.7 Delimitation in Jammu and Kashmir

• The Union government has invited political leaders from Jammu and Kashmir for a meeting with the Prime
Minister in Delhi. This may be related to the delimitation process that needs to be held in J&K.
• Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in
population over time.
• This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders has the force of law and cannot be
questioned before any court.
• The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of
all seats be the same throughout the State.
• Aside from changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in change in the number of seats in a
state.

• Frequency - Delimitation exercises in J&K in the past have been slightly different from those in the rest of
the country because of the region’s special status - which was scrapped by the Centre in 2019.
• Until then, delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India, but the
delimitation of the state’s Assembly seats was governed by
1. Jammu and Kashmir Constitution and
2. Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
• Assembly seats in J&K were delimited in 1963, 1973 and 1995.
• Now - In March 2020, the government set up the Delimitation Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court
judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, which was tasked with winding up delimitation in J&K in a year.
• Apart from Desai, Election Commissioner and J&K State Election Commissioner are the ex-officio members of
the delimitation panel. That apart, there are five associate members.
• After the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019, delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the
newly-created Union Territory would be as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
• As per the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, the number of Assembly seats in J&K would increase
from 107 to 114, which is expected to benefit the Jammu region.
5.8 Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA)

Chief Election Commissioner of India (Chairman of FEMBoSA) inaugurated the 11th Annual meeting of the
FEMBoSA for the year 2021.
• Election Commission of India (ECI) handed over Chair FEMBoSA role to Election Commission of Bhutan for
2021-22.
• Thimphu Resolution was unanimously adopted by the FEMBoSA members to extend tenure of
chairmanship to 2 years during the current pandemic situation.
• FEMBoSA is a regional cooperation association of Election Management Bodies (EMBs).
• It was established at the 3rd Conference of Heads of EMBs of South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) Countries in 2012.
• Objectives of FEMBoSA are,
1. To promote contact among the Election Management Bodies of the SAARC countries;
2. To share experiences with a view to learning from each other and
3. To cooperate with one another in enhancing capabilities of the Election Management Bodies towards
conducting free and fair elections.
• FEMBoSA has 8 Member EMBs from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and
Sri Lanka.
5.9 Ranked Choice Voting

• Ranked choice voting system made its debut in New York City’s mayoral primary.
• The system is based on a simple premise - Democracy works better if people aren’t forced to make an all-or-
nothing choice with their vote.
• Rather than pick just one candidate, voters get to rank several in order of preference.
• Even if a voter’s top choice doesn’t have enough support to win, their rankings of other candidates still play a
role in determining the victor.
• Working - If one candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters (more than 50%) that person wins the
race outright, just like in a traditional election.
• If nobody hits that threshold, ranked choice analysis kicks in.
• Vote tabulation is done in rounds. In each round, the candidate in last place is eliminated. Votes cast ranking
that candidate first are then redistributed to those voters’ second choices.
• That process repeats until there are only two candidates left. The one with the most votes wins.

• Benefit - Nobody “wastes” their vote in this system by picking an unpopular candidate as their first choice. If
that person is eliminated, you still get a say in who wins the race based on your other rankings.
• Another benefit is that it’s tough for someone to get elected without broad support, unlike the traditional
election.
6. GOVERNANCE
6.1 IAS Officers and Central Posting

The Centre has proposed amendments to the IAS (Cadre) Rules in order to exercise greater control in central
deputation of IAS officials.
• All India Services - It was Sardar Patel who had championed the creation of the Indian Administrative
Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS) as All India Services (AIS).
• AIS members would be recruited and appointed by the Centre and allotted to various States and could serve
both under the State and the Centre.
• Patel considered the AIS essential to provide a connecting link between implementation at the field level and
policymaking at the top.
• Current rule on deputation - Central deputation in the IAS is covered under Rule-6 (1) of the IAS
(Cadre) Rules-1954.
• As per the rules, AIS officers are made available for central deputation through a consultative process
involving the Centre, the States and the officers concerned.
• In case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central Government.
• Every year, the States would prepare an “offer list” of officers who had opted for central deputation and the
Centre would choose officers only from among those “on offer” from the States.
• Proposed Amendments - The Department of Personnel and Training wrote to state governments that
various state/joint cadres are not sponsoring adequate number of officers for central deputation, as part of
Central Deputation Reserve.
• As a result of this, the number of officers available for central deputation is not sufficient to meet the
requirement at Centre.
• The Central Government has proposed amendments to Rule 6(1) of the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954 and has
sought the views of State governments before January 25, 2022.
• It has said that it is mandatory for the State government to provide certain fixed number of IAS
officers for central deputation every year.
• It requires the State government to release such officers whose services may be sought by the Central
Government in specific situations.
• In case of any disagreement, the State Government concerned shall give effect to the decision of the Central
Government within a specified time.
• States Response - States perceive the proposed amendments as a serious infringement of their right to deploy
IAS officers since the cutting edge of policy implementation is mostly at the State level.
• West Bengal has objected that the proposals are against the spirit of cooperative federalism and will affect
administration of the state.
• The proposed amendment more or less compels a State government to offer IAS officers for central deputation
even when these officers themselves may not wish to go on central deputation.
• In S.R. Bommai vs Union of India (1994), the Supreme Court held that States have an independent
constitutional existence and are neither satellites nor agents of the Centre.
• In a federal setup, differences between the Centre and States are inevitable but it should be resolved in the
spirit of cooperative federalism keeping the larger national interest in mind.

6.2 PM CARES: A fund without a care for the RTI

The Government has recently claimed that the PM CARES Fund is not a public authority.
• In March 2020, Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund or PM CARES
Fund was set up to tackle distress situations such as that posed by COVID-19 pandemic.
• The fund receives voluntary contributions from individuals and organizations and does not get any budgetary
support.
• Donations have been made tax-exempt, and can be counted against a company’s corporate social
responsibility (CSR) obligations.
• It is also exempt from Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, and accepts foreign contributions,
although the Centre has previously refused foreign aid to deal with disasters such as the Kerala floods.
• The Prime Minister chairs the fund in his official capacity, and can nominate three eminent persons in
relevant fields to the Board of Trustees.
• The Ministers of Defence, Home Affairs and Finance are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund.
• Issues - Neglection of other funds such as National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF),Prime Minister’s
National Relief Fund (PMNRF), etc.
• The PM CARES Fund was neither created by Constitution of India nor by any statute raising questions on
what authority does it use the designation of Prime Minister, designated symbols of the nation, official (gov.in)
website of PMO, tax concessions through an ordinance,etc.
• The amount collected by it does not go to the Consolidated Fund of India and hence it is not audited by CAG
raising suspicions on accountability and transparency.
• There is no control of either the Central Government or any State Government in the functioning of the trust.
• If PM CARES Fund is unconnected with the Government, then the Fund could become an office of profit and
could disqualify Prime Minister and the three Ministers from holding the constitutional offices.
• Section 19 of Indian Trusts Act mandates the trustees to present information regarding the trust property to
the beneficiaries, thus PM CARES Fund should be accessible as per Section 2(f) of RTI Act.
• The substantial control exerted by the trustees is a test to determine its character as a public authority under
the RTI Act as highlighted in Thalappalam Service Coop. Bank Ltd. vs State of Kerala case.
• The PMO is a public authority and has to give us answers about the fund under the RTI.
6.3 Twitter - Not a Social Media Intermediary

• The government withdraws the protection given to Twitter, which is given to it for being a social media
intermediary under Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) says that Twitter has not adhered to norms
while appointing executives as Resident Grievance Officer, Nodal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.
• Protection - Section 79 of IT Act says that any intermediary shall not be held legally or otherwise liable for
any third party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted on its platform.
• This protection shall be applicable if the said intermediary,
1. Doesn’t initiate the transmission of the message in question,
2. Doesn’t select the receiver of the transmitted message, and
3. Doesn’t modify any information contained in the transmission.
• So, if a platform acts as the messenger carrying a message from point A to B, without interfering with its
content in any manner, it will be safe from any legal prosecution due to the message being transmitted.
• Impact - As the protection accorded to Twitter under Section 79 of the IT Act is gone, it opens up the
platform to the possibility of any and all penal action that is likely to be taken against it as a publisher of
content.
• This means that if someone puts out any content on Twitter that leads to some form of violence, or violates
any Indian law with respect to content, the person along with Twitter will be legally liable for the content.

6.4 Central Deputation of IAS officers

• The outgoing West Bengal Chief Secretary Bandyopadhyay has been the subject of a tussle between the Centre
and the West Bengal government as the state government appointed him as Chief Advisor to the CM.
• He was due to begin an extension of three months after retiring as Chief Secretary, but the Centre instead
asked him to join the Government of India. But he did not join.
• Extension - Rule 16(1) of Death-cum-Retirement Benefit (DCRB) Rules provides the conditions for the
extension of service.
• A member of the Service dealing with budget work or working as a full-time member of a Committee which is
to be wound up within a short period may be given extension of service for a period not exceeding 3 months in
public interest, with prior approval of Central Government.
• For an officer posted as Chief Secretary of a state, this extension can be for six months.
• Central deputation - In normal practice, the Centre asks every year for an “offer list” of officers of the All
India Services willing to go on central deputation, after which it selects officers from that list.
• Rule 6(1) of the IAS Cadre Rules - An officer may, with the concurrence of the State Governments concerned
and the Central Government, be deputed for service under the Central Govt or another State Govt.
• It says “In case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central Government and the State
Government(s) concerned shall give effect to the decision of the Central Government.”
• Punishment - The Centre cannot take action against civil service officials who are posted under the state
government, unless the latter agrees.
• All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969 - The authority to institute proceedings and to impose
penalty will be the state government if the officer is serving in connection with the affairs of a state.
• For any action to be taken against an officer of the All India Services, the state and the Centre both need to
agree.
• The first national flag (with 3 horizontal stripes of red, yellow and green) was hoisted on August 7, 1906, at the
Parsee Bagan Square, Calcutta.
• In 1921, Pingali Venkayya met Mahatma Gandhi and proposed a basic design of the flag, consisting of two red
and green bands.
• After undergoing several changes, the Tricolour was adopted as our national flag at a Congress Committee
meeting in Karachi (1931).
• The Indian flag in its present form was adopted during a meeting of the Constituent Assembly held on July 22,
1947.
• The earliest rules for the display of the national flag were governed by,
1. Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 and
2. Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
6.5 Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971

• This Act prohibits desecration of or insult to the national symbols - National flag, national anthem, Indian
map and the Constitution.
• It punishes those who disrespect or bring in contempt to National Flag or Constitution of India with upto 3
years imprisonment, or fine, or both.
• Among the other acts which are considered to be of disrespect to the national flag are,
1. Dipping the Tricolour in salute to any person or thing,
2. Waving it at half-mast except on specific occasions, or
3. Using it as a drapery in any form, except in state funerals or for the last rites of armed forces or other
paramilitary forces,
• Putting any kind of inscription upon the flag, using it to cover a statue, a monument or platform, is considered
disrespect to the Tricolour.
• The flag shouldn’t be allowed to touch the ground or trail in water, or be put up in an inverted manner.

Flag Code of India 2002

• This Code allowed the unrestricted display of the Tricolour as long as the honour and dignity of the flag were
being respected.
• Flag Code did not replace the pre-existing rules.
• But, it brings together all previous laws, conventions and practices.
• Restrictions - The Code has rules on display of the flag by public and private bodies and educational
institutions, and rules for display of the flag by governments and government bodies.
• There will be no restriction on the display of flag by public and private bodies and educational institutions
except to the extent as laid down in the above two laws (Acts).
• The Code mentions that the tricolour cannot be used for commercial purposes, and cannot be dipped in salute
to any person or thing.
• It further states that whenever the flag is displayed, it should be distinctly placed and should “occupy the
position of honour”.
• Damaged flag should be destroyed in private, preferably by burning or by any other method consistent with
the dignity of the Flag.
• For official display, only flags that conform to the specifications of the Bureau of Indian Standards and bearing
their mark can be used.
6.6 SDG India Index 2020-21

SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) India Index 2020-21 was recently released by the NITI Aayog.
• The SDG India Index was first launched in December 2018 in collaboration with the United Nations in India.
• It tracks the progress of all states and UTs on 16 Goals and 115 indicators.
• These are aligned with the National Indicator Framework (NIF) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation.
• It considers parameters including health, education, gender, economic growth, institutions, climate change
and environment.
• The SDG India Index scores range between 0–100.
• States and UTs are classified into four categories based on their score as aspirant: 0–49, performer: 50–64,
front-runner: 65–99, achiever: 100.
• Highlights - The country’s overall SDG score improved by 6 points — from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2020-21.
• Kerala has retained the top rank with a score of 75.
• Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu both took the second spot with a score of 74.
• Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam were the worst performing states.
• Chandigarh maintained its top spot among the UTs with a score of 79, followed by Delhi (68).
• Mizoram, Haryana, and Uttarakhand are the top gainers in terms of improvement in their rankings from
2019.
• In 2019, 10 states/UTs belonged to the front-runners category.
• In 2020-21, 12 more states/UTs graduated to this category.
• These are Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Punjab, Haryana, Tripura, Delhi, Lakshadweep, A&N
Islands, J&K, and Ladakh.
• 15 states/UTs are in the performer category.
• Currently, there are no states in the aspirant and achiever category.
• Key concern - There were stark differences between the southern and western States on the one hand and
the north-central and eastern States on the other.

• This points to the persisting socio-economic and governance disparities. These, if left unaddressed, will
exacerbate federal challenges and outcomes.
• It is already visible in public health challenges during the second wave of COVID-19 across some of the worse-
off States.
• The Index has also made some methodological changes.
• Impact of Methodological changes - The SDG on inequality shows an improvement over 2019, but the
indicators used to measure the score have changed.
• The 2020-21 Index drops several economic indicators.
• It gives greater weightage to social equality indicators such as -
i. representation of women and people from marginalised communities in legislatures and local
governance institutions
ii. crimes against SC/ST communities
• The index has dropped the well-recognised Gini coefficient measure.
• It has also dropped the growth rate for household expenditure per capita among 40% of rural and urban
populations.
• Instead, only the percentage of population in the lowest two wealth quintiles is used.
• The SDG score on inequality thus seems to have missed out on capturing the impact of the pandemic on
wealth inequality.
• A UN assessment of the impact of COVID-19 had notably said that the South Asian region may see rising
inequality.
• While the better score for India will bring some cheer, governments must work on addressing issues such as
increased inequality and economic despair.
6.7 Performance Grading Index

The Education Ministry recently released the latest edition of the Performance Grading Index (PGI).
• The Education Ministry released the first PGI in 2019 for the reference year 2017-18, to measure the
performance of states in school education.
• The objective is to help the states prioritise areas for intervention in school education.
• States are only graded and not ranked.
• This is to avoid discouraging the practice of one improving only at the cost of others and casting a stigma of
underperformance on some.
• Working - The PGI assesses states’ performance in school education based on data drawn from several
sources including -
i. the Unified District Information System for Education Plus
ii. National Achievement Survey
iii. Mid-Day Meal
• States are scored on a total of 1,000 points across 70 parameters.
• The parameters are grouped under five broad categories:
1. access (eg. enrolment ratio, transition rate and retention rate)
2. governance and management
3. infrastructure
4. equity (difference in performance between scheduled caste students and general category students)
5. learning outcomes (average score in mathematics, science, languages and social science)
• The PGI grading system has 10 levels.
• Level 1 indicates top-notch performance and a score between 951 and 1,000 points.

• Level II, also known as Grade 1++, indicates a score between 901 and 950.
• Level III, or Grade 1+, indicates a score between 851 and 900.
• The lowest level is Grade VII, and it means a score between 0 and 550 points.
• Highlights - In PGI 2019-20 too, no state/UT could achieve the highest grade/Level I, same as in 2017-18
and 2018-19 editions.
• Chandigarh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar and Kerala have scored more than 90%.
• They have obtained Grade 1++ (or Level II), which makes them the best performing states.
• This is the first time that any state has reached Level II.
• Only the UT of Ladakh has been placed in the lowest grade, that is Grade VII.
• But this is because it was the first time it was assessed after it was carved out of J&K in 2019.
• Progress - A total of 33 States and UTs have improved their total PGI score in 2019-20 as compared to 2018-
19.
• However, there are still 31 states/UTs placed in Level III (Grade 1) or lower.
• The biggest improvement in PGI this year has been shown by Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Punjab, and
Arunachal Pradesh.
• All three have improved their score by 20%.
6.8 Model Panchayat Citizens Charter

• A Model Panchayat Citizens Charter or framework for delivery of the services across the 29 sectors, aligning
actions with localised Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• It is prepared by Ministry of Panchayati Raj in collaboration with National Institute of Rural Development &
Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR).
• [NIRDPR is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Rural Development.]
• The aim of establishing a Citizen charter is to provide services to the people in a time bound manner without
any prejudice, redressing their grievances and improving their lives.
• The Gram Panchayat Citizen Charter would ensure,
1. Transparent and effective delivery of public services for sustainable development and enhanced
citizen service experiences;
2. Deepening inclusive and accountable Local Self Governments by incorporating diverse views;
designing and delivering services.
• It will make the citizens aware of their rights, and make the Panchayats and their elected representatives
directly accountable to the people.
• The Panchayats will utilise this framework to draw up a Citizens Charter and adopt it through a Gram Sabha
resolution by 15th August, 2021.
6.9 Features of the National Education Policy

The Delhi University (DU) has approved a 4-year undergraduate (UG) programme as part of the reforms under the
new National Education Policy.
Key features of the NEP
Multi-disciplinarity
• Higher education in India is focused on producing disciplinary experts.
• But the new NEP proposes to break disciplinary boundaries.
• E.g., B Tech students, beyond their core subject limits, will have significant component of arts and humanities.
And arts and humanities students will learn more science too.

4-year Undergrad Programme

• UG programmes in Indiausually are for 3 years, except for professional degrees (B Tech & MBBS).
• NEP proposes to “adjust” the length of the programmes to accommodate different subjects along with the
chosen major and minor subjects.
• 4-year UG program is thus a means to achieve multidisciplinarity in education.
• However, the student will have the option to leave the program midway.
Academic Bank of Credit (ABC)
• Higher education institutions will digitally deposit
credits earned by students for courses they studied;
prior learning represented in course units.
• A student’s deposit of credits in the ABC helps her
move laterally from one higher education institution
to another, if needed.
• Credits would also include that for courses or projects
in areas such as community engagement and service,
environmental education, etc.
• So, the ABC is expected to aid the multiple entry and
exit system as well as multidisciplinarity in higher
education.
Regional languages
• Promoting Indian languages, arts and culture through education.
• Higher education institutions are recommended to adopt regional languages as the medium of instruction.
• This will help increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education and add to its inclusiveness.
National Entrance Test
• A single university entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency, instead of the multiple entrance
tests that students now face.
• The high quality, range, and flexibility of the NTA testing services will enable most universities (optional) to
use the NTAassessments as the basis for student admissions.
6.10 Swachh Survekshan 2021 Awards

President Ramnath Govind presented the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2021 and the winners were honoured at the
Swachh Amrit Mahotsav organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).
• Swachh Survekshan is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in cities and towns across India.
• It was launched as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan which aimed to make India clean and free of open
defecation by 2nd October 2019.
• The first survey was undertaken in 2016 and covered 73 cities.
• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) ranks all cities under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban
(SBM-U) with Quality Council of India (QCI) as its implementation partner.
• The objective of the survey is to
o Encourage large scale citizen participation
o Ensure sustainability of initiatives taken towards garbage free and open defecation free cities
o Provide credible outcomes which would be validated by third party certification
o Institutionalize existing systems through online processes
o Create awareness amongst all sections of society towards making towns and cities more habitable and
sustainable
o Foster a spirit of healthy competition amongst towns and cities to improve their service delivery to
citizens

• Cleanest City – Indore, Madhya Padesh for the fifth consecutive year (in the more than 1 lakh
population category ) and, Vita, Maharashtra (in the population category of less than 1 lakh)
• Best Ganga Town - Varanasi
• India’s Cleanest Cantonment - Ahmedabad Cantonment
• Fastest Mover City - Hoshangabad (Madhya Pradesh)
• Fastest Mover States – Karnataka in the big (more than 100 ULBs) and Mizoram in the small (less than
100 ULBs) category
• Cleanest State – Chhattisgarh for the third consecutive year (in the category of more than 100 Urban
Local Bodies) and Jharkhand for the second time (in the “less than 100 ULBs category)
• Under Prerak Daaur Samman, a new performance category introduced under Swachh Survekshan 2021 to
assess solid waste management, 5 cities – Indore, Surat, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi Municipal Council and
Tirupati were categorized as ‘Divya’ (Platinum).
• Indore, Navi Mumbai, Nellore and Dewas emerged as the top performers in the Safaimitra Suraksha
Challenge.
• Chhattisgarh and Chandigarh bagged the award for best performing State and Union Territory under the
Challenge.
• Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge was launched in 2020 by MoHUA to eradicate human fatalities from
hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
• A total of 9 cities – Indore, Surat, New Delhi Municipal Council, Navi Mumbai, Ambikapur, Mysuru, Noida,
Vijayawada and Patan have been certified as 5 star cities while 143 cities have been certified as 3 star.
• The Star Rating Protocol of Garbage Free Cities was introduced as a SMART framework by MoHUA in 2018,
to holistically evaluate cities across solid waste management parameters.
6.11 A Close Reading of the NFHS-5

The findings of Phase-II of the 2019-21 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) was released by the Union
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-
round survey conducted in a
representative sample of
households throughout India.
• This year, over 6 lakh households
across the country were surveyed
for this exercise.
• The NFHS provides estimates on
key indicators related to
population, family planning, child
and maternal health, nutrition,
adult health, and domestic
violence, among others.
• The Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare, Government of India, has
designated International
Institute for Population
Sciences (IIPS) as the nodal
agency for the NFHS.
• NFHS was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with supplementary
support from UNICEF.
• The First National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1) was conducted in 1992-93.
• Key Findings - Population - The Total Fertility Rates (TFR) has declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national
level, even below the replacement rate of 2.1.

• This means that the total population has stabilised and therefore politicians need to devote their energies to
urgent health matters, instead of pointing out the population explosion.
• TFR is the average number of children born to a woman during her lifetime
whereas Replacement Fertility Rate is the level of fertility at which a population exactly replaces itself
from one generation to the next.
• Sex ratio - Nationally, there are 1,020 adult women per 1,000 men portraying that women outnumber men
in India for the first time but this raises question on whether this signals the beginning of the end of a
tenacious problem of deep-rooted son preference.
• Nationally, the SRB has improved from 919 in 2015-16 to 929 in 2019-21, but it is still short of the natural
SRB.
• The adult sex ratio is shaped by many factors other than sex selective abortions and in household surveys, the
adult sex ratio might also be affected by sampling errors.
• Therefore, there is a need to recognise that the move to a small family size combined with persistent son
preference is likely to impede the improvements in SRB.
• Anaemia - The incidence of anaemia has increased from 58.6 to 67% in under-5 children, from 53.1 to 57% in
women and from 22.7 to 25% in men.
• Anaemia which is characterised as a serious public health concern by WHO has to be focussed as it is as
worsening as the COVID-19 effect.
• Malnutrition - The three indicators of malnutrition - stunting, wasting and underweight showed an overall
improvement.
• There is also increase in the proportion of overweight children, women and men with serious health
consequences in the form of non-communicable diseases.
• Breastfeeding - Exclusive breastfeeding to children under age 6 months has shown an improvement in all-
India level from 55 percent in 2015-16 to 64% in 2019-21
Child Nutrition indicators All-India level data
Stunting (low height-for-age) Declined from 38% to 36%
Wasting (low weight-for-height) Declined from 21% to 19%
Underweight (low weight-for-age) Declined from 36% to 32%
• IMR – Infant Mortality Rate has declined marginally across states which can be attributed to the increased
institutional births.
• IMR is the number of infants who die before reaching the age of one year, per 1,000 live births.
• Gender related indicators - Indicators on use of hygienic methods of protection during menstrual period
among women between 15-24 years of age, and spousal violence among married women were included
6.12 Project Sampoorna : Bongaigaon’s Response to Malnutrition

Project Sampoorna which was successfully implemented in Bongaigaon district of Assam is a model that can be
easily implemented anywhere in reducing child malnutrition
• The Bongaigaon district has 2,416 malnourished children, 246 cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and
2,170 instances of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM).
• Project Sampoorna was launched to target the mothers of SAM/ MAM children with the tagline being
‘Empowered Mothers, Healthy Children’.
• It was based on the success of the community-based COVID-19 management model (Project Mili Juli).
• Under this project, the mother of a healthy child of an Anganwadi Centre was paired with the target mother
and they would be Buddy Mothers.
• They were given diet charts to indicate the daily food intake of their children and would have discussions on
all Tuesdays at the AWC.

• Since the major hindrance to the

project was patriarchy, the mothers
were enrolled in Self Help Groups
(SHGs) under the National Rural
Livelihoods Mission (NRLM).
• Meanwhile, 100 millilitres of milk and
an egg on alternate days for the
children for the first 3months were
provided so that their mothers could
stabilise themselves in the newly found
jobs.
• It complements in achieving the
‘Kuposhan mukt
Bharat’ (Malnutrition Free India) and the National Nutrition Mission - POSHAN Abhiyaan.
• It was during Poshan Maah (Nutrition Month) in September 2020 that 2,416 children were identified to be
malnourished in the district of Bongaigaon.
• The National Family Health Survey (NHFS)-5) has documented the stunted, wasted, underweight and the
number of anaemic women and children in the district.
• Project Saubhagya that was designed to reduce the maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate of the
district was utilized to endorse these figures.
• A real time data sheet is updated by field-level doctors as and when a high risk pregnancy is identified, which
is then followed up till safe delivery.
6.13 India’s Income Inequality

The latest edition of the World Inequality Report has confirmed that the world continues to run down the path of
inequality.
• As per the World Inequality Report, in global level, the top 1% took 38% of all additional wealth
accumulated since the mid-1990s, whereas the bottom 50% captured just 2% of it.
• India’s middle class is holding 29.5% of the total national income, compared with the top 10% who own 65%.
• As per the recent Multi-dimensional Poverty Index prepared by Niti Aayog, one in every four people
in India was multi-dimensionally poor.
• The Nobel laureate economists, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo said that India is now among the most
unequal countries in the world.
• The gap between the top 1% and the bottom 50% is wider for India than the United States, the United
Kingdom, China, Russia and France.

6.14 The Efficiency Myth of Aadhaar Linking

Aadhaar was meant to improve efficiency in welfare programmes but there are important lessons to learn from the
dubious claims made by the Government in Aadhaar linking for welfare delivery.
• Launched in 2009, Aadhaar, which means ' foundation', is a 12 digit unique-
identity number issued to all Indian residents.
• It was created under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of
Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016.
• Aadhar is based on the biometric and demographic data, and notably is a proof
of residence and not a proof of citizenship.
• The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a
statutory authority established under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• Data of all Aadhaar holders is safe and secure in the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) of UIDAI.
• The Aadhaar was first challenged in the Supreme Court in 2012. In 2013, the SC issued an interim order that
said nobody shall be denied any benefit for want of Aadhaar.
• In 2015 the court partially modified its order to allow the Centre to use Aadhaar for the public distribution
system (PDS scheme), particularly for the distribution of foodgrains and cooking fuel such as kerosene.
• A 2018 judgment upheld Section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies,
Benefits and Services) Act, which made Aadhaar mandatory for availing of state subsidies, benefits
and services, while striking down a few other provisions.
• It stated that Aadhaar could not be made mandatory for children under the
Sarva Shiksha Scheme, as elementary education is not a state benefit but an
entitlement.
• Current status of Aadhar linking - Bank accounts- As per the
Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Third
Amendment Rules, 2019, to receive any benefit or subsidy under any scheme
notified under section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, it is mandatory to submit
Aadhaar number to the banking service provider.
• For other banking services, Aadhaar is a preferred KYC document.
• Getting mobile SIM- As per the amendments of the Telegraph Act, 1885, telecom users can use their
Aadhaar number as a KYC documents along with authentication on voluntary basis to obtain a new mobile
connection.
• School admissions- Aadhaar is not mandatory for school admissions or for the examinations conducted by
the CBSE, NEET for medical entrance or the University Grants Commission.
• Essential services like pension & ration- Aadhaar is mandatory for availing of state subsidies, benefits
and services but until a person is assigned an Aadhaar number, he/she cannot be denied ration or pension or
such other entitlements for want of Aadhaar.
6.15 NIRF’s Rankings

The NIRF’s ranking of State-run and centrally-funded higher education institutions on a common scale have become
problematic.
• The NIRF was approved by the MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development) and launched in 2015.
• The framework outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country.
• The ranking framework evaluates institutions on five parameters:
1. Teaching, Learning & Resources
2. Research & Professional Practice (RP)
3. Graduation Outcomes
4. Outreach & Inclusivity (OI)
5. Perception (PR)

Key Highlights of India Rankings 2021

• IIT Madras retains 1st Position in overall category as well as in Engineering for the third consecutive year.
• Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru tops the University as well as Research Institution category in India
Rankings 2021.
• IIM Ahmedabad tops in Management subject and AIIMS, New Delhi occupies the top slot in Medical for the
fourth consecutive year.
• Jamia Hamdard tops the list in Pharmacy subject for the third consecutive year.
• Miranda College retains 1st position amongst colleges for the fifth consecutive year.
• IIT Roorkee takes the top slot for the first time in Architecture subject displacing IIT Kharagpur.
• National Law School of India University, Bangalore retains its first position for in Law for the fourth
consecutive years.
• Colleges in Delhi dominate ranking of colleges with five colleges out of first 10 colleges from Delhi.
• Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, secure 1st position in “Dental” category.
6.16 E- Shram Portal

e-Shram registration is a stepping stone towards protection of informal workers. It needs to be followed by
restructuring social security and social protection programme and simplifying them
• The e-Shram portal is expected to create a
unified database for unorganised workers to
help them access various benefits of central
and state government welfare schemes.
• The portal has by now registered more than
120 million workers, 61% from just 4 states
— UP, West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.
• Due to emergency requirements dictated by
the pandemic Supreme Court ordered a
time-bound inclusive and universal
registration system for informal workers
and circular migrants.
• It had also been recommended by the
National Commission for Enterprises in the
Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) and was
already mandated under Unorganised
Workers’ Social Security Act.
• The e-Shram portal merely lists 13 existing
social security and social protection schemes
and 6 other employment generation
schemes for which some section of workers could be eligible.
• So far workers registered in the portal are entitled only to a pre-existing accident insurance policy that carries
a tiny premium.
• Beyond this, no expansion of social security/protection presently appears to be on the cards.
• MGNREGA and the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in the above list are already covered by central
legislations.
• NFSA has the widest coverage among social protection programmes.
• Despite cynicism in certain circles, both within and outside government, these two programmes have formed
the major bulwark against joblessness and hunger in the pandemic period.
• All other schemes are non-statutory and carry differing eligibility criteria, some drawn from the Socio-
economic Caste Census carried out in 2011, others related to poverty status, age etc.
• These criteria are far more demanding, and often quite different from the information, based on self-
declaration, which is required for worker’s registration on the portal.

6.17 Restrictions on Government Servants

With a notification dated May 31, 2021, the Centre has amended its pension rules. It has put new restrictions on
officials of intelligence and security organisations after retirement.
• The government has amended the CCS (Central Civil Services) Pension Rules-1972.
• Amended Rule-8(3)(a) talks about officials retired from any intelligence or security-related organisation
included in the Second Schedule of the RTI Act.
• With the new provision, they are barred from writing anything about their organisation without permission.
• [The Second Schedule of the RTI Act covers 26 organisations.
• These include the Intelligence Bureau, R&AW, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, CBI, NCB, BSF, CRPF,
ITBP and CISF.]
Existing provisions after retirement
• Pension - The pension of government servants is already subject to their good conduct after retirement.
• The appointing authority may, by order in writing, withhold or withdraw a pension or a part thereof.
• This applies if the pensioner is convicted of a serious crime or is found guilty of grave misconduct.
• The expression ‘grave misconduct’ includes the communication or disclosure of any sensitive information
obtained while holding office.
• Employment - Rule 26, Death-cum-Benefits Rules, restricts a pensioner from any commercial employment
for one year after retirement.
• This cooling-off period was 2 years until 2007, when an amendment reduced it to one year.
• Exceptions are allowed with previous sanction of the central government.
• Non-compliance may have implications on receiving pensions.
• The CCS (Central Civil Services) Conduct Rules deal with this.
• Rule 7 restricts government servants from resorting to or abetting any form of strike or coercion.
• Rule 8 restricts them, except with government sanction, from owning or participating in the editing or
management of any newspaper.
• It applies to other periodical publication or electronic media as well.
• They can publish book or participate in public media.
• But, they shall at all such times clarify that the views expressed are their own and not that of the Government.
• Rule 9 restricts them from making statements or opinion that adversely criticize any current or recent policy
or action of the Central Government or a State Government.
• Rule 9 of the CCS Pension Rules deals with any government official committing any misconduct and retiring.
• In that case, he or she may face departmental proceedings only until 4 years of the date of committing that
misconduct.
• While in service- The Conduct Rules bars government servants from being associated with any political
party or organisation.
• They can also not take part or assist any political activity.
• Every government employee shall at all times maintain political neutrality.
• After retirement - There is no rule to stop them from joining politics after retirement.
• In 2013, the Election Commission wrote to the DoPT and Law Ministry in this regard.
• It suggested a cooling-off period for bureaucrats joining politics after retirement.
• But this was rejected, saying "it may not stand the test of valid classification under Article 14 of the
Constitution."
Amendment
• Some high-profile retired officers had written books on their tenure as officials.

• Some of these had revealed some confidential information.

• The move was thus prompted by concerns arising out of these.
• The Committee of Secretaries recommended, and the amendment was in process for around 4 years.
• It was approved recently and notified on May 31, 2021.
6.18 In NFHS Report Card- The Good, The Sober and The Future
Against the backdrop of the looming Omicron threat , the recently released fifth edition of the National Family
Health Survey (NFHS)-5 brings some positive news.
• The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout
India.
• This year, over 6 lakh households across the country were surveyed for this exercise.
• The NFHS provides estimates on key indicators related to population, family planning, child and maternal
health, nutrition, adult health, and domestic violence, among others.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, has designated International Institute
for Population Sciences (IIPS) as the nodal agency for the NFHS.
• NFHS was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with supplementary
support from UNICEF.
• The First National Family Health Survey (NFHS-1) was conducted in 1992-93.
Outcomes
• Population stabilisation- The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) (the average number of children born per woman)
has declined from 2.2 to 2.0 at the national level.
• A total of 31 States and Union Territories have achieved fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1.
• Reasons for decline in fertility
o Increase in adoption of modern family planning methods
o Reduction in unmet need for family planning
o Improvements in access to family planning related information and services
o Improvements in female literacy
• Improved health delivery- Maternal health services are steadily improving.
• Reasons for improved health delivery
o Increase in antenatal care in the first trimester
o The recommended four antenatal care check-ups have increased
o Increase in postnatal care visits
o Improvement in accessing institutional births
o Increase in institutional deliveries in public health facilities
o Reduction in teenage pregnancy
• Concerns
o Still 11% of pregnant women were still either unreached by a skilled birth attendant or not accessing
institutional facilities.
o A very small segment of the population is currently accessing the full range of sexual and reproductive
health services such as screening tests for cervical cancer and breast examinations.
• Discriminatory social norms- There have been significant progress where women have the right to bodily
autonomy and integrity, and the ability to take decisions about their lives.
• Reasons for improvement in gender related indicators
o The proportion of women (aged 15-24 years) who use menstrual hygiene products has increased.

o The proportion of women who have their own bank accounts has gone up.
o Around 54% of women have their own mobile phones and about one in three women have used the
Internet.
o There has been significant increase in the proportion of women with more than 10 years of schooling.
o The prevalence of child marriage has gone down marginally.
o Sex ratio at birth has shown slight improvement (from 919 in 2015-to 929 in 2019-21)
• Concerns
o Domestic violence- One in three women continues to face violence from their spouse
• Promoting gender-equal values- The survey also highlights the importance of gender equal values.
• Concerns
o Women’s participation in the economy continues to remain low (only 25.6% women engaged in paid
work)
o Women still bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid domestic and care work which affects their
ability to access gainful employment.
6.19 Fertility Rate Decline in India

National Family Health Survey 2019-21 (NFHS-5) has recorded a decline in the total fertility rate and public health
experts are taking a moment to let this sink in, as it indicates
the population is stabilising.
• The total fertility rate (TFR) in a specific year is
defined as the total number of children that would be
born to each woman if she were to live to the end of
her child-bearing years and give birth to children in
alignment with the prevailing age-specific fertility
rates.
• It is calculated by totalling the age-specific fertility
rates as defined over five-year intervals.
• As per the NFHS-5, the TFR has declined from 2.2 in
2015-16 to 2.0 in the latest one.
• The TFR was 1.6 in an urban population and 2.1 in a
rural setting.
• The latest NFHS done in two phases provides
information on population, health, and nutrition
across India, down to the state and union territories.
• According to reports, five states with TFR above 2
were Bihar, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and
Manipur. States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu has a
TFR at 1.8.
• The state with lowest TFR in this survey is West
Bengal which is at 1.6.
6.20 Global Hunger Index & India

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) has ranked India at 101 out of 116 countries in the category of having a ‘serious’
hunger situation.
• The GHI is a tool that measures and tracks hunger globally as well as by country and is prepared by European
NGOs of Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.
• GHI rankings are based on Hunger Index Scores, which are a weighted normalised average of four indicators.
1. Percentage of undernourished in the population - PoU
2. Percentage of children under five years who suffer from wasting – CWA (low weight-for-height)

3. Percentage of children under five years who suffer from stunting – CST (low height-for-age)
4. Percentage of children who die before the age of five – CM (child mortality)
• The respective thresholds for PoU, CWA, CST
and CM are 80, 30, 70 and 35, respectively.
• The standardized scores take a value from zero
to 100, where zero is the lowest level of a given
measure of undernourishment and 100 the
highest.
• The aggregate GHI score is a weighted average
of the four indicators where PoU and CM have
a weight of one-third and CWA and CST have a
weight of one-sixth each.
• Looking at each of these indicators separately,
India shows a worsening in PoU and CWA in
comparison with 2012.
• The Government has objected to the
methodology of the Global Hunger Index
stating that it is not based on facts.
• The assessment has been made based on the
results of a opinion poll which was conducted
telephonically by Gallup and not based on
facts.
• All the data used are from official data sources
of respective national governments.
• In the absence of food consumption data in most countries, this indicator is estimated based on a modelling
exercise using available data and therefore subjected to some margin of error.
• Most of the criticism of the FAO’s PoU data has been about how it underestimates hunger.
6.21 PM POSHAN Scheme

The existing Mid-Day Meal scheme which provides hot meals to students will be renamed as the National Scheme
for PM Poshan Shakti Nirman.
• It is a Centrally-Sponsored Scheme
that aims to enhance the nutrition
levels of schoolchildren
• Eligibility - All school going students
of classes I to VIII studying in
government and government-aided
schools are eligible to avail the
benefits.
• Duration - For a period of five years (
2021-22 to 2025-26)
• The total budget of the scheme will
amount to Rs. 1, 30,794.90 crore.
• The scheme will be extended to pre-
primary students or Bal Vatikas of Government and Government-aided primary schools.
• The concept of TithiBhojan (community participation programme in which people provide special food to
children on special occasions) will be encouraged extensively.
• Government is also promoting the development of Nutrition Gardens in schools.
• Social Audit of the scheme is made mandatory in all the districts.
• Special provision is made for providing supplementary nutrition to children in aspirational districts and
districts with high prevalence of Anemia.

• Cooking competitions will be encouraged at all levels right from village level to national level to promote
ethnic cuisine.
• Involvement of Farmers Producer Organizations (FPO) and Women Self Help Groups in implementation of
the scheme will be encouraged.
• While Centre bears the entire cost of food grains, their transportation, management, monitoring and
evaluation, components such as cooking costs, payments to cooks and workers are split in a 60:40 ratio with
states.
6.22 Crime in India Report

The annual report, ‘Crime in India’ was released by NCRB to provide insights on the patterns of crimes that were
registered in 2020.
• Crime rate - States/UTs such as Tamil Nadu
(1808.8), Kerala (1568.4) and Delhi (1309.6) recorded
the highest crime rate (crimes per one lakh people)
overall.
• Crime against women - There was an 8.3% decline
and out of the total registered cases, 30.2% were of the
category “cruelty by husband or his relatives”.
• Crime against Children- A decline of 13.2% has
been reported in cases registered for committing
crimes against children.
• Crime against SCs and STs - An increase of 9.4%
and 9.3% respectively have been reported in 2020.
• Economic offences - There was a reduction in the
registered number of economic offences (by 12% since 2019) but cybercrimes recorded an increase of 11.8%.
• Sedition - Cases related to sedition declined from 93 in 2019 to 73 last year having Manipur and Assam with
leading cases.
• Communal riots - communal riots registered an increase of 96% in 2020 over the previous year and caste
riots saw an increase of close to 50%.
• Violent crimes - violent crimes decreased by 0.5% but murder has registered a marginal increase of 1%.
• Offences against the State – It include cases related to sedition, waging war against the nation, provisions
of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Official
Secrets Act and Damage to Public Property Act.
• 2020 saw a 27% drop in cases over 2019 related to
offences against the state.
• Agrarian riots - It saw a 38% increase over 2019
due to unprecedented protests against the three farm
laws passed by the Centre.
• 2020 saw prolonged lockdowns which coincided with
a high number of complaints of domestic violence.
• The lockdown also led to an overall fall in crime
related to theft, burglary and dacoity.
• The COVID-19 related disruption led to a greater
registration of cases due to disobedience to
government order and violations of other State local
laws.
• As lockdown has led to increase in digital
transactions, cybercrimes also saw a rise.

6.23 Ministry of Co-operation

• A separate ‘Ministry of Co-operation’ has been created
by the Government for realizing the vision of ‘Sahkar
se Samriddhi’. It was a subject that till date was looked
after by the Ministry of Agriculture
• This ministry will provide a separate administrative,
legal and policy framework for strengthening the
cooperative movement in the country.
• It will work to streamline processes for ‘Ease of doing
Business’ for co-operatives and help in development of
Multi-State Co-operatives.
Cooperation Movement
• Cooperatives, by definition, are organisations
formed at the grassroots level by people to harness the
power of collective bargaining towards a common goal.
• According to the ILO, a cooperative is an autonomous
association of persons united voluntarily to meet their
common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations.
• These needs and aspirations are met through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise.
History of the Cooperative Movement in India
• Before independence - The cooperative movement has its roots in 19th century Europe. It wad developed
in pre-Independence India in response to agricultural distress and indebtedness.
• The first credit cooperative society was formed in Banking in 1903 with the support of the Government of
Bengal. It was registered under the Friendly Societies Act of the British Government.
• But, the formal launch of the cooperative movement in India occurred with the introduction of the
Cooperative Societies Act in 1904. Another Cooperative Societies Act was passed in 1912.
• In 1919, cooperation was made a provincial (state) subject. This allowed the various provinces to come up with
their own legislation governing cooperatives under the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms.
• The categorization carried on to the Government of India Act, 1935.
• In 1942, the Multi-Unit Cooperative Societies Act was enacted to cover Cooperative Societies with membership
from more than one province.
• After independence - The cooperatives became an integral part of Five-Year Plans.
• National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) was set up under National Cooperative Development
Corporation Act, 1962.
• In 1984, the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act was enacted to remove the plethora of different laws
governing the same types of societies.
• The Government of India announced a National Policy on Co-operatives in 2002.
Laws governing Cooperative Societies
• Cooperation is in the concurrent list, which means both the central and state governments can govern them.
• A majority of the cooperative societies are governed by laws in their respective states, with a Cooperation
Commissioner and the Registrar of Societies as their governing office.
• In 2002, the Centre passed a Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act that allowed for registration of societies
with operations in more than one state.
• These are mostly banks, dairies and sugar mills whose area of operation spreads across states.
• The Central Registrar of Societies is their controlling authority, but on the ground the State Registrar takes
actions on his behalf.

6.24 Compliance Information Portal

• The Central Board for Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) launched the Indian Customs Compliance
Information Portal (CIP).
• CIP provides free access to information on all Customs procedures and regulatory compliance for nearly
12,000 Customs Tariff Items.
• It would provide complete knowledge of all import and export related requirements for all items covered
under the Customs Tariff thereby improving the ease of doing cross border trade.
• Another important feature of CIP is a pan India map showing all the Customs seaports, airports, land customs
stations etc.
7. BILLS, ACTS AND POLICIES
7.1 U.P.’s New Population Policy

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the State’s population policy for 2021-2030. Also, draft of
the Uttar Pradesh Population (Control, Stabilisation and Welfare) Bill, 2021 was published earlier.
Key features of the policy
• The new policy aims to achieve the following targets:
i. decrease the Total Fertility Rate from 2.7 to 2.1 by 2026 and 1.7 by 2030
ii. increase Modern Contraceptive Prevalence Rate from 31.7 to 45 by 2026 and to 52 by 2030
iii. increase male methods of contraception use from 10.8 to 15.1 by 2026 and to 16.4 by 2030
iv. decrease Maternal Mortality Rate from 197 to 150 to 98
v. decrease Infant Mortality Rate from 43 to 32 to 22
vi. decrease Under 5 Infant Mortality Rate from 47 to 35 to 25
• The state would attempt to maintain a balance of population among the various communities.
• Awareness and extensive programmes would be held among communities, cadres and geographical areas that
have a higher fertility rate.
Draft Bill
• Under the draft bill, a two-child norm would be implemented and promoted.
• A person who will have more than two children after the law comes into force would be debarred from the
benefits of government welfare schemes.
• Ration card units would be limited to four.
• The person will be barred from contesting elections to local authority or any body of the local self-government.
• Such persons would also become ineligible to apply for government jobs under the State government.
• They will be barred from promotion in government services and will not receive any kind of subsidy.
• The provisions would come into force one year after the date of publication of the gazette.
• The draft also proposes to incentivise one-child and two-child families.
• These include perks in government schemes, rebates in taxes and loans, and cash awards if family planning is
done, among other sops.
7.2 National Litigation Policy

National Litigation Policy is under consideration in order to lay down guidelines for preventing, controlling and
reducing litigation, keeping in view the policy & plans of the Government, in an organized manner.
• National Litigation Policy (NLP) was formulated by the Department of Legal Affairs, the Ministry of Law and
Justice in 2010.

• NLP was floated to "curtail" filing of cases before the courts or tribunals again and again on the same issue.
• This policy was formulated to bring down pendency and litigation from government agencies by making them
more efficient and responsible in filing cases.
• [The Government and its agencies are the predominant litigants in courts and tribunals of the country.]
• Salient features of the policy
1. Ensures government agencies being responsible while filing cases.
2. Instructs to place correct facts, all relevant documents before the court/tribunal and not to mislead
them.
3. Reviews the pending cases with government as party on priority basis to enable quick disposal.
4. Proposed a monitoring & review mechanism to sensitize the government in important cases and avoid
delay and neglect of the same.
7.3 Model Tenancy Act

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister, approved the Model Tenancy Act (MTA) to be sent to the
States and Union Territories to enact legislation or amend laws on rental properties.
• The MTA would prescribe the norms for lease agreements, deposits, dispute handling and other aspects of
rental properties.
• The Act will be applicable prospectively and won’t affect the existing tenancies.
• It would set up separate rent authorities, courts and tribunals in each district to settle disputes.
• It also makes it mandatory for there to be a written agreement between the property owner and the tenant. It
would be submitted to the concerned district 'Rent Authority'.
• It puts a maximum limit for security deposits paid by tenants at 2 months’ rent for residential properties and 6
months’ rent for non-residential spaces (Commercial property).
• Tenant will not be evicted during the continuance of tenancy agreement unless otherwise agreed to in writing
by both the parties.
• Significance - The Act will create adequate rental housing stock for all the income groups thereby addressing
the issue of homelessness.
• It will enable institutionalisation of rental housing by gradually shifting it towards the formal market.
7.4 Inland Vessels Bill, 2021

• The Union Cabinet gave the nod to the Inland Vessels Bill, 2021, which will replace the Inland Vessels Act,
1917.
• Total 4,000 km inland waterways have been operationalised. The Bill will regulate safety, security and
registration of inland vessels.
• Unified law - A key feature of the Bill is a unified law for the entire country, instead of separate rules framed
by the States.
• The certificate of registration granted under the proposed law will be deemed to be valid in all States and
Union Territories. There will be no need to seek separate permissions from the States.
• Central database - The Bill provides for a central database for recording the details of vessel, vessel
registration, crew on a portal.
• It requires all mechanically propelled vessels to be mandatorily registered. All non-mechanically propelled
vessels will also have to be enrolled at district, taluk or panchayat or village level.
• Definitions - The Bill enlarges the definition of ‘inland waters’, by including tidal water limit and national
waterways declared by the Central Government.
• Pollution Control - This Bill directs the Central Government to designate a list of chemicals, substances, etc.
as pollutants. This deals with pollution control measures of Inland Vessels.

7.5 Section 66A of the IT Act

Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, scrapped in 2015 by the Supreme Court, is still being used by
law enforcement agencies of various states.
• Sec66A of the IT Act relates to sending messages through computer or any other communication device like a
mobile phone or a tablet.
• Sending messages that were “offensive” or “menacing” or for the purposes of causing annoyance,
inconvenience, etc. was made a criminal offence.
• The police had the discretion to decide upon such cases and were empowered to make arrests.
• The conviction could fetch a maximum of 3 years in jail.
• In its landmark judgment in Shreya Singhal (2015), the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A.
• It called the provision “open-ended and unconstitutionally vague.”
• The provision upset the balance between the exercise of the free speech right and the imposition of reasonable
restrictions on it.
• The judgement thus expanded the boundaries of free speech to the Internet.
• Recent case - A petition by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) came up for hearing.
• The invalidated Sec 66A is being used by the police to register cases based on complaints.
• Police headquarters and prosecutors in various States had not disseminated the effect of the Court ruling
among officers manning police stations.
• There were also instances of courts framing charges under Section 66A even after lawyers had cited the 2015
judgment.
• Possibly, police officers may not be aware of the judgment.
• But it cannot be ruled out that the section was also being invoked deliberately as a tool of harassment.
• In January 2019, too, the Court’s attention was drawn to the same problem.
• The PUCL has said as many as 745 cases are still pending in district courts in 11 States.
• The Supreme Court termed the continued use of an invalid law as “a shocking state of affairs” and sought a
response from the Centre.
7.6 Government of NCT of Delhi Act, 2021

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD)(Amendment) Act, 2021 was passed recently. It has
been extensively criticised as a retrograde law that backtracks on representative democracy.
• The GNCTD (Amendment) Act prohibits the exercise of free speech in the Assembly and its committees.
• It reduces the autonomy of the elected government.
• Also, it vests several crucial powers in the unelected Lieutenant Governor (LG).
• The Act thus undermines the functioning of Delhi’s Legislative Assembly, which has been sought to be reduced
to a lame duck.
• The Assembly has no more functional independence worth its name.
• Its standards of procedure and conduct of business have been firmly tethered to that of the Lok Sabha.
• It deprives Delhi’s elected MLAs of an effective say in how their Assembly should be run.
• The Act also prohibits the Assembly from making any rule enabling either itself or its committees -
i. to consider any issue concerned with “the day-to-day administration of the capital” (or)
ii. to “conduct inquiries in relation to administrative decisions”
• Also, any rule made before the Amendment Act came into effect that runs counter to this formulation shall be
void.

• Earlier Provisions - The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act was originally
enacted in 1992.
• Under it, the Legislative Assembly was given the power to regulate its own procedure.
• It could as well regulate the conduct of its business.
• This was subject to very limited exceptions.
• The exceptions concerned financial matters and scrutiny over the LG's discretionary role.
• The Act thus sought to realise a delicate balance reflecting Delhi’s unique constitutional position.
• [It was neither full state nor a centrally governed Union Territory.]
• Amendment implication - The most dangerous impact could be to the exercise of free speech in the
Assembly and its committees.
• The Assembly might fall short of performing its most basic legislative function of holding the executive to
account.
• Because, it cannot guarantee itself the ability to freely discuss the happenings of the capital and articulate the
concerns of the electorate.
• Committees - The deliberations and inputs of the Assembly committees often pave the way for intelligent
legislative action.
• It would be impossible for committees to perform this function without the power to conduct inquiries.
• This negates the ability of committees to function effectively as the Assembly’s advisors and agents.
• The quality of legislative work emanating from the Assembly is thus ultimately bound to suffer.
7.7 Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021, was passed in Rajya Sabha. It was
earlier passed in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
• The 2015 Act replaced the Juvenile Delinquency Law and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act 2000.
• Crime - It allows the trial of juveniles in conflict with law in the age group of 16-18 years as adults, in cases
where the crimes were to be determined.
• The nature of the crime, and whether the juvenile should be tried as a minor or a child, was to be determined
by a Juvenile Justice Board.
• Adoption - The Act brought more universally acceptable adoption law instead ofthe Hindu Adoptions and
Maintenance Act (1956) and Guardians of the Ward Act (1890) which was for Muslims.
• The Act however did not replace these laws.
• The existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) was given the status of a statutory body to enable it
to perform its function more effectively.
• With more powers, the District Magistrates (DMs), including Additional DMs (ADMs), can now issue adoption
orders under Section 61 of the JJ Act.
• DMs and ADMs will also monitor the functioning of various agencies under the JJ Act in every district.
• These include the Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), Juvenile Justice Boards, District Child Protection Units
and Special Juvenile Protection Units.
• The changes will ensure speedy trials and increased protection of children at the district level, and will also
enhance accountability.
• [Adoption processes are currently under the purview of courts. With an overwhelming backlog, each adoption
case could take years to be passed.]
• The DMs will also carry out background checks of CWC members to check for possible criminal backgrounds.
• This is to ensure that no cases of child abuse or child sexual abuse is found against any member before they
are appointed.

• [CWC members are usually social welfare activists with educational qualifications.]
• The CWCs should report regularly to the DMs on their activities in the districts.
• Concern - The DM is in charge of all processes in a district including all task forces and review meetings.
• So, it is felt that the too many responsibilities given to DMs under the amendment may not be given a priority.
Changes made
• Under the 2015 Act, offences committed by juveniles are categorised as heinous offences, serious offences, and
petty offences.
• Most heinous crimes have a minimum or maximum sentence of 7 years, and juveniles between 16-18 years age
would be tried as adults for these.
• Serious offences generally include offences with 3 to 7 years of imprisonment.
• The 2021 Bill adds that serious offences will also include offences for which maximum punishment is
imprisonment of more than 7 years, and minimum punishment is not prescribed or is less than 7 years.
• Presently, there is no mention of a minimum sentence in the JJ Act.
• So, juveniles between the ages of 16-18 years could also be tried as adults for a crime like the possession and
sale of an illegal substance.
• Such offences will now fall under the ambit of a “serious crime’’.
• The provisions thus ensure that children, as much as possible, are protected and kept out of the adult justice
system.
• The Act also provides that offences against children that are punishable with imprisonment of more than 7
years, will be tried in the Children’s Court.
• And offenses with punishments of less than 7 years imprisonment will be tried by a Judicial Magistrate.
7.8 Anti-Trafficking Bill, 2021

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development placed the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and
Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021, in the public domain to get stakeholders' comments.
• Investigating and coordinating agency - The Bill empowers the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to
carry out investigation and prosecution in cases of trafficking, including child-trafficking.
• Definition - The Bill does away with the provision that a victim necessarily needs to be transported from one
place to another to be defined as a victim.
• It extends beyond the protection of women and children as victims to now include transgenders as well as any
person who may be a victim of trafficking.
• It defines ‘Exploitation’ of the prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation, any act of physical
exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or forced removal of
organs, illegal clinical drug trials or illegal bio-medical research.
• Offenders will also include defence personnel and government servants, doctors and paramedical staff or
anyone in a position of authority.
• Categorisation - The Bill categorises offences into trafficking and aggravated forms of trafficking, with
o The trafficking carrying a maximum punishment of 10 years in jail and fine of ₹1 lakh and
o The aggravated forms of trafficking carrying death penalty and fine of upto ₹30 lakh.
• It expects a tribal or a dalit migrant worker to take on his employer.
• Sex Workers - The Bill equates sex work with sexual exploitation, and it renders the consent of a sex worker
immaterial in the determination of whether she was trafficked or practising sex work of her own volition.
• Rehabilitation - The Bill says that there is no need for the consent while rescuing, rehabilitating or
repatriating a person.
• It provides for an institution-based rehabilitation instead of family and community based rehabilitation.
• Applicability - It extends to all citizens inside as well as outside India,

o Persons on any ship or aircraft registered in India wherever it may be or carrying Indian citizens
wherever they may be,
o A foreigner or a stateless person who has his or her residence in India at the time of commission of
offence under this Act, and
• It will apply to every offence of trafficking in persons with cross-border implications.
• National Anti-Human Trafficking Committee - This Committee will be established by the Centre for
ensuring overall effective implementation of the provisions of this law.
• It will have representation from various ministries with the Home Secretary as the chairperson and secretary
of the women and child development ministry as co-chair.
• State and district level anti-human trafficking committees will also be constituted.
7.9 Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2021

Parliament has passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill 2021. The Bill seeks to amend
the nomenclature of certain tribes from Arunachal Pradesh mentioned in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order,
1950.
• Part-XVIII of the 1950 Order lists 16 tribes of Arunachal which are - Abor, Aka, Apatani, Nyishi, Galong,
Khampti, Khowa, Mishmi [Idu, Taroon], Momba, Any Naga tribes, Sherdukpen, Singpho, Hrusso, Tagin,
Khamba and Adi.
• The Bill -
1. modifies Part-XVIII of the Schedule to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.
2. corrects the names of tribes spelt incorrectly
3. adds names of a few tribes that were either named ambiguously or had only their parent group named.
• The five key changes are:
1. Deleting ‘Abor’ (tribe), because ‘Adi’ tribe in the list is same as ‘Abor’
2. Changing ‘Khampti’ to ‘Tai Khamti’
3. Including ‘Mishmi-Kaman (Miju Mishmi)’, ‘Idu (Mishmi)’ and ‘Taraon (Digaru Mishmi)’ in lieu of
Mishmi [Idu, Taroon]
4. Including ‘Monpa’, ‘Memba’, ‘Sartang’, ‘Sajolang (Miji)’ in place of ‘Momba’
5. Replacing ‘Any Naga Tribes’ with names of four tribes: ‘Nocte’, ‘Tangsa’, ‘Tutsa’, and ‘Wancho’.
7.10 Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021

The Lok Sabha recently passed the Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021to dissolve at least eight tribunals.
• It dissolves 8 tribunals that functioned as appellate bodies to hear disputes under various statutes, and
• Transfer their functions to existing judicial forums such as a civil court or a High Court
• The Chairpersons and Members of the tribunal being abolished shall cease to hold office, with compensation
equivalent to 3 months’ pay and allowances for their premature termination.
Key provisions
• It amended Finance Act, 2017 that merged the tribunals based on domain
• Earlier, the Finance Act, 2017 had empowered the central government to notify rules on search-cum-selection
committees and term of office.
• Now, these provisions have been included in the Bill itself.
• However, the qualification of members and other terms and conditions of service will still be notified by the
central government.
• The Chairperson and Members of the Tribunals will be appointed by the central government on the
recommendation of a Search-cum-Selection Committee that will consist of:
1. CJI, or a Supreme Court Judge nominated by him, as the Chairperson (with casting vote),

2. two Secretaries nominated by the central government,

3. the sitting or outgoing Chairperson, or a retired Supreme Court Judge, or a retired Chief Justice of a
High Court, and
4. the Secretary of the Ministry under which the Tribunal is constituted (with no voting right).
• The central government must decide on the recommendations of selection committees preferably within 3
months.
• State administrative tribunals will have separate search-cum-selection committees which will consist of:
1. the Chief Justice of the High Court of the concerned state, as the Chairperson (with a casting vote),
2. the Chief Secretary of the state government and the Chairperson of the Public Service Commission of
the concerned state,
3. the sitting or outgoing Chairperson, or a retired High Court Judge, and
4. the Secretary or Principal Secretary of the state’s general administrative department (with no voting
right).
• Also, the central government shall, on the recommendation of the Search-cum-Selection Committee, remove
from office any Chairperson or a Member, who-
1. has been insolvent, or convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude; or
2. has become physically/mentally incapable
3. has acquired such financial or other interest, or abused the official position compromising public
interest
• Age criterion and tenure of office -
1. Four-year term of office for Chairperson and Members
2. Upper age limit of 70 years for the Chairperson, and 67 years for members
3. Minimum age requirement of 50 years for appointment of a chairperson or a member
• The Supreme Court had earlier struck down the Minimum age and the four-year tenure provisions.
• The Court had suggested that advocates with a minimum of 10 years of experience should be entitled to be
appointed as members.

• Concerns - Questions arise over the independence of the Tribunals (given the changed new composition &
government’s influence in ita)
• Lack of specialization in regular courts, affecting the decision-making process. E.g., the Film Certification
Appellate Tribunal required expertise in art and cinema
• Vacancies in existing Tribunals.
• Legislature-Judiciary - Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021
that the bill replaces was earlier struck down by the Supreme Court.
• Legislations overriding the court’s directions, in effect, undermine the Rule of Law.
• So, the Court has now challenged the government to produce materials justifying the reasons for introducing
the new Tribunal Reforms Bill.
7.11 Compulsory Registration of Child Marriages

Rajasthan’s amendment to Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act, 2009, which provides for mandatory
registration of marriages, including child marriages has created a lot of controversy.
• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 is enacted for the prohibition of solemnisation of child
marriages.
• A male who has not completed 21 years of age and a female who has not completed 18 years of age is a 'child'
for the purpose of this Act.
• Section 3 of the Act makes the child marriages voidable at the option of contracting party being a child.
• Delhi High Court in Lajja Devi vs. State NCT of Delhi said that the 2006 Act does not make a child
marriage void per se but only declares it as voidable.
• The Supreme Court in Independent Thought vs. Union of India found that the 2006 Act while
prohibiting a child marriage and criminalizing it does not declare it void.
• The Supreme Court in SeemavsAshwani Kumar case held that marriages of all citizens of India
belonging to various religions should be made compulsorily registrable in their respective States where the
marriage is solemnized.
• So, Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act, 2009 was enacted for compulsory registration of
marriage and procedure.
• The act makes it a duty of the parties to submit such a memorandum within a period of thirty days from the
date of solemnization of the marriage to the Registrar.
• If the parties have not completed the age of 21 years, the parents or guardian of the parties shall be responsible
to register the marriage.
• Penalty for non-registration is punishable with fine.
• New Amendment - The amendment provides that if the bride hasn't completed 18 years of age and/or the
groom hasn't completed 21 years of age, then their parents or their guardians should register the marriage
within 30 days.
• It was alleged by opposition that it justifies child marriage for the state giving certificates to minor kids.
• But the government argues that the bill doesn’t make the marriage legal and the District Collector can take
action against them.
• Kerala High Court, can intimate the Child Marriage Prohibition Officers and help prosecution of offenders.
7.12 Personal Laws in Marriage

The proposed amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 have raised a debate on female autonomy
and the application of personal laws in marriage.
• The key argument in favour of rising the minimum age for marriage is in correlation to health and social
indices such as infant mortality, maternal mortality, and nutrition levels among mothers and children.
• Minimum age of marriage - Currently, the minimum age of marriage is 18 years for women and 21 for
men.

• The bill proposes to amend the definition of a “child” to mean a male or a female who has not completed 21
years of age thus making the minimum age of marriage same for both men and women.
• Declaring child marriage void- Under the law, child marriages, although illegal, are not void but voidable.
• This means that child marriage can be declared null and void by a court if the child files a petition before
completing two years of attaining majority (Currently, a woman can file the petition before she turns 20 and
for a man before he turns 23).
• After that, the marriage would be deemed valid and the couple can file for divorce.
• A void marriage means as if the marriage had never taken place in the first place, unlike a divorce.
• The Bill proposes to extend this window for both the woman and the man to 5 years after attaining majority.
• Since the age of majority is 18 for both, the man or the woman can file a petition to declare the child marriage
void before they turn 23, or until two years after reaching the new minimum age of marriage.
• Introduction of a “notwithstanding” clause- This essentially paves way for equal application of the
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act across religions, notwithstanding any customs.
Overriding of Personal laws
• Transfer of property- In a 1960 case, the Supreme Court held that the Transfer of Property Act, 1882 would
apply over Muslim law on transfer of property.
• Solemnising a second marriage- In 1996, the Supreme Court said that even though the Ecclesiastical
Court (a church court) can grant a divorce or nullify a Christian marriage, the Church cannot solemnise a
second marriage of a party till the marriage is dissolved by the judiciary.
• Maintenance after divorce-.Under Muslim law, a divorced Muslim woman can claim the maintenance
from her husband only during the iddat(mourning) period.
• In Shabana Bano v Imran Khan (2009), the Supreme Court held that the maintenance can be awarded under
Section 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code even after the expiry of iddat period, as long as she does not
remarry.
• Triple talaq- In Shayara Bano v Union of India (2017), the Supreme Court declared the practice of instant
triple talaq as unconstitutional although it is provided for under Muslim law.
7.13 Legalising Bonded Labour

The Code on Wages, 2019 gives legal sanction to debt bondage by allowing employers to extend limitless credit
advances to their workers and charge an unspecified interest rate on them.
• The Code on Wages, 2019 seeks to consolidate and simplify four pieces of legislation into a single code. The
legislations are,
o Payment of Wages Act, 1936
o Minimum Wages Act, 1948
o Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
o Equal Remuneration Act, 1976
• It was based on the recommendations of 2nd National Commission on Labour, 2002.
Key features of the code
• Coverage- The Code will apply to all employees.
• The central government will make wage-related decisions for employments such as railways, mines, and oil
fields while State governments will make decisions for all other employments.
• Wages include salary, allowance, or any other component expressed in monetary terms but excludes bonus
payable to employees, travelling allowance, among others.
• Fixing the minimum wage- The Code prohibits employers from paying wages less than the minimum
wages which will be notified by the central or state governments.
• The minimum wages will be revised and reviewed at an interval of not more than five years.

• While fixing minimum wages, the central or state governments may take into account factors such as skill of
workers, and difficulty of work.
• Floor wage- The central government will fix a floor wage, taking into account living standards of workers
and different floor wages may be set for different geographical areas.
• The minimum wages decided by the central or state governments must be higher than the floor wage.
• Overtime- The central or state government may fix the number of hours that constitute a normal working
day.
• For employees working in excess of a normal working day, they will be entitled to overtime wage, which must
be at least twice the normal rate of wages.
• Payment of wages- Wages will be paid in coins, currency notes, cheque, crediting to the bank account, or
through electronic mode.
• The wage period will be fixed by the employer as daily, weekly, fortnightly, or monthly.
• Deductions- An employee’s wage may be deducted on certain grounds including - fines, absence from duty,
accommodation given by the employer, or recovery of advances given to the employee, etc.
• These deductions should not exceed 50% of the employee’s total wage.
• Determination of bonus- All employees whose wages do not exceed a specific monthly amount, notified by
the central or state government, will be entitled to an annual bonus.
• An employee can receive a maximum bonus of 20% of his annual wages.
• Gender discrimination- The Code prohibits gender discrimination in matters related to wages and
recruitment of employees for the same work or work of similar nature.
• Advisory boards- The central and state governments will constitute advisory boards to advise the respective
governments for fixation of minimum wages and increasing employment opportunities for women.
• One-third of the total members on both the central and state Boards will be women.
• Offences- Penalties vary depending on the nature of offence, with the maximum penalty being imprisonment
for three months along with a fine of up to 1 lakh rupees.
7.14 Multistate cooperative Societies

The Centre has decided to amend the Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002 to plug the loopholes in the
Act.
• Cooperatives are a state subject. But many societies have their members and areas of operation spread across
more than one state.
• For example, sugar mills along the districts on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border. They are thus registered
under the MSCS Act.
• Their board of directors has representation from all states they operate in.
• The Act was passed to govern Multi State Cooperative Societies.
• Administrative and financial control of these societies is with the central registrar. No state government
official can wield any control on them.
• So far 1,479 such societies have been registered. Maharashtra has the highest number (567) followed by Uttar
Pradesh (147) and New Delhi (133).
• Credit societies constitute the bulk of registered societies followed by agro-based ones. (96 multistate
cooperative dairies and 66 multistate cooperative banks)
• For state-registered societies, financial and administrative control rests with state registrars who exercise it
through district- and tehshil-level officers.
• Purchasing new machinery first requires permission from the sugar commissioner. Then, the proposal goes to
the state-level committee that would float tenders and carry out the process.
• Such checks and balances at multiple layers do not exist in the case of multistate societies.

• In multi state society’s exclusive the control lies with central registrar, who is also the Central Cooperative
Commissioner.
• What was supposed to facilitate smooth functioning, however, has created obstacles.
• Instead of includes checks and balances at multiple layers, the board of directors has control of all finances
and administration.
• Only for expenditure above a certain level, the annual general body meeting of the society has to be called.
• Many experts have noted there is an apparent lack of day-to-day government control on such societies.
• Office location - For central registrar there are no officers or offices at state level.
• The members of multi state societies can seek justice only in Delhi.
• State authorities can only forward their complaints to the central registrar.
• Reports - Unlike state cooperatives which have to submit multiple reports to the state registrar, multistate
cooperatives need not.
• Inspection - The central registrar can only allow inspection of the societies under special conditions.
• A written request has to be sent to the office of the registrar by not less than 1/3 rd of the members of the board,
or not less than 1/5th of the number of members of the society.
• Inspections can happen only after prior intimation to societies.
• Ponzi schemes - There have been instances across the country when credit societies have launched ponzi
schemes taking advantage of these loopholes.
• Fly-by-night operators mostly target small and medium holders with the lure of high returns. After a few
instalments, they wind up their operations.
• The state commissioner could not take any action, due to lack of ground staff necessary for verifying the
antecedents of such societies.
• Declaring itself Sick - Sugar mill in Sangli, which was registered under the central Act was privatised after
board of directors passed a resolution.
• Taking advantage of the multistate status, the mill declared itself as a sick unit before it was auctioned off.
• This mill was among the 68 sold off by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank for defaulting on loans.
7.15 JCP prescription for Data Bill

The Joint Committee of Parliament (JCP) on the Personal Data Protection Bill has tabled its report.
• With the growth of the Internet, consumers have been generating a lot of data, which has allowed companies
to show them personalised advertisements based on their online behaviour.
• Companies began to store a lot of these datasets without taking the users’ consent
• They also fail to take any responsibility when the data leaked.
• To hold such companies accountable, the government in 2019 tabled the Personal Data Protection Bill for the
first time.
• The JCP was formed to deliberate on issues surrounding personal data protection.
• It expanded its mandate to include discussions on non-personal data, thereby changing the mandate of the
Bill from personal data protection to broader data protection.
• In all, the committee has made 99 recommendations, of which 12 are in connection with the provisions made
in the Bill, and the rest are in the form of modifications.
• In its report, the committee stressed a need to set up new processes to unify such data present across
spectrums and organisations such as public and private sector companies, research organisations and
academic institutions.
Major recommendations
• Non-Personal Data Too - The key recommendation that changes the nature of the Bill itself is for inclusion
of non-personal data within the larger umbrella.

• The reason, the committee said, was that it was impossible “to distinguish between personal data and non-
personal data, when mass data is collected or transported”.
• This means that all issues under the new legislation will be dealt with by a single Data Protection Authority
(DPA) instead of separate ones for personal and non-personal.
• Transition Period - As technology has become an inseparable part of everyone’s life, companies, firms and
even government organisations deal with various kinds of data.
• For data aggregators to comply with the rules under the new Bill, the JCP suggested that up to 24 months be
given from the date of notification of the Act.
• All data fiduciaries that deal exclusively in children’s data have to register themselves with the DPA.
• For this, a period of 9 months from the notification of the Act has been suggested.
• Social Media Liability - Social media platforms that do not act as intermediaries should be treated as
publishers.
• They will be held liable for the content they host.
• Confusion among stakeholders entails regarding these recommendation.
• As most social media companies are treated as intermediaries, a general consensus is that this would strip
these companies of protections they are accorded under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.
Section 79 in The Information Technology Act, 2000
• It provides for exemption from liability of intermediary in certain cases.
• An intermediary shall not be liable if
o The function of the intermediary is limited to providing access to a communication system over which
information made available by third parties is transmitted or temporarily stored or hosted.
o the intermediary does
not-
▪ Initiate the
transmission.
▪ Select the
receiver of the
transmission,
and
▪ Select or modify
the information
contained in the
transmission.
• However an intermediary shall
be liable if
o The intermediary has
conspired or abetted or
aided or induced,
whether by threats or
promise or authorise in
the commission of the
unlawful act.
o or on being notified by
the appropriate
Government if the
intermediary fails to
expeditiously remove or
disable access to that
material.
• Penalty - The committee has
recommended

o A fine of up to Rs 15 crore or 4% of the total global turnover of the firm for data breaches.
o A jail term of up to 3 years if de-identified data is re-identified.
• Timely Alert - In case of any data breach, the data aggregator or fiduciary must notify the DPA within 72
hours of becoming aware of it.
• The DPA shall then decide the quantum of severity of the data breach and accordingly ask the company to
report it and “take appropriate remedial measures”.
Factors taken into consideration
• Among the major concerns that the JCP recommendations sought to address are
o Data protection,
o Minimal user trust in companies handling data,
o Impact of data breaches on health and well-being of individuals,
o Proliferation of bots
o Fake accounts
o Data localisation.
• The JCP said there was a sense of unease in the general public about what companies handling their data
knew about them.
• This has resulted in undermining the end user trust and confidence.
• Concerns and tensions about misuse of sensitive and critical personal data are rising exponentially.
• To deal with such situations it was important to build a “legal, cultural, technological and economic
infrastructure” for a secure and user-friendly data ecosystem.
• The JCP report also discusses the impact on mental health and emotional well-being that a user experiences
due to a data breach.
• As much as 86% felt worried, angry and frustrated, while 85% experienced disturbed sleeping habits.
7.16 What’s in ART and Surrogacy Bills?

Lok Sabha has passed the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, 2020 after the Surrogacy (Regulation)
Bill, 2019.
Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019
• The Bill defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the
intention to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple.
• Regulation of surrogacy - The Bill prohibits commercial surrogacy, but allows altruistic surrogacy
• Altruistic surrogacy involves no monetary compensation to the surrogate mother other than the medical
expenses and insurance coverage during the pregnancy.
• Purposes for which surrogacy is permitted - Surrogacy is permitted when it is:
o For intending couples who suffer from proven infertility
o Altruistic
o Not for commercial purposes
o Not for producing children for sale, prostitution or other forms of exploitation
o For any condition or disease specified through regulations
• Eligibility criteria for intending couple - The intending couple should have a ‘certificate of essentiality’
and a ‘certificate of eligibility’ issued by the appropriate authority.
• Eligibility criteria for surrogate mother: To obtain a certificate of eligibility from the appropriate
authority, the surrogate mother has to be
o A close relative of the intending couple
o A married woman having a child of her own

o 25 to 35 years old
o A surrogate only once in her lifetime
o Possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy
• Appropriate authority- The central and state governments shall appoint one or more appropriate
authorities within 90 days of the Bill becoming an Act.
• Registration of surrogacy clinics - Clinics must apply for registration within a period of 60 days from the
date of appointment of the appropriate authority.
• National and State Surrogacy Boards - The central and the state governments shall constitute the
National Surrogacy Board (NSB) and the State Surrogacy Boards (SSB), respectively.
• Parentage and abortion of surrogate child - A child born out of a surrogacy procedure will be deemed to
be the biological child of the intending couple.
• An abortion of the surrogate child requires the written consent of the surrogate mother and the authorisation
of the appropriate authority in compliant with the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.
• Offences and penalties - The penalty for offences is imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine up to 10 lakh
rupees.
Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020
• The Bill defines ART to include all techniques that seek to obtain a pregnancy by handling the sperm or the
oocyte (immature egg cell) outside the human body and transferring the gamete or the embryo into the
reproductive system of a woman.
• Regulation of ART clinics and banks - The Bill provides that every ART clinic and bank must be
registered under the National Registry of Banks and Clinics of India.
• The National Registry will be established under the Bill which will act as a central database with details of all
ART clinics and banks in the country.
• The registration will be valid for 5 years and can be renewed for a further 5 years.
• Conditions for gamete donation and supply - Screening of gamete donors, collection and storage of
semen, and provision of oocyte donor can only be done by a registered ART bank.
• A bank can obtain semen from males between 21 and 55 years of age, and oocytes from females between 23
and 35 years of age.
• Conditions for offering ART services - ART procedures can only be carried out with the written informed
consent of both the party seeking ART services as well as the donor.
• Pre-implantation genetic testing - The Bill mandates that pre-implantation genetic testing shall be used
to screen the embryo for known, pre-existing, heritable, or genetic diseases.
• Rights of a child born through ART - A child born through ART will be deemed to be a biological child of
the commissioning couple and will be entitled to the rights and privileges available to a natural child of the
commissioning couple.
• National and State Boards - The Bill provides that the National and State Boards for Surrogacy
constituted under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 will act as the National and State Board respectively
for the regulation of ART services.
• Offences and penalties - The offences will be punishable with a fine between 5 and 10 lakh rupees for the
first contravention. For subsequent contraventions, these offences will be punishable with imprisonment for a
term between 8 and 12 years, and a fine between 10 and 20 lakh rupees.
Difference between the two bills
• Involvement of third party - The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill relates to surrogacy, an infertility treatment,
where a third person, a woman, is the surrogate mother.
• In ART, treatments can be availed by the commissioning couple themselves and it is not always necessary that
a third person is involved.
• Applicability - Surrogacy is allowed for only Indian married couples whereas ART procedures are open to
married couples, live-in partners, single women, and also foreigners.

• A 2015 notification prohibits commissioning of surrogacy in India by foreigners or OCI or PIO cardholders,
but NRIs holding Indian citizenship can avail surrogacy.
7.17 The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020

• The bill is an amendment to the earlier 2003 version of the Act that aims to transform the power sector.
• Delicensing the power distribution - It aims to de-license power distribution and increase competition,
thereby unleashing next-generation power sector reforms in India.
• It will provide the consumers with an option of choosing the service provider and to switch their power
supplier.
• Dismantling state monopoly - Union Finance Minister has proposed to open up the distribution sector to
end the monopoly of state-run distribution companies.
• Tariffs - Cost reflective tariffs are to be provided that will facilitate reduction in cross subsidies.
• Electrical energy should be covered under GST, with a lower rate of GST, as this will make it possible for
power generator/transmission/distribution utilities to get a refund of input credit, which in turn will reduce
the cost of power.
• Technological upgrades - Smart metering and infrastructure advancements will reduce the huge AT&C
losses the industry is currently suffering from.
• DBT of power subsidies - Introduction of DBT of power subsidies will ensure greater transparency and
accountability and ensure that the subsidy reaches people who are entitled to it.
• Promotion of indigenisation - The reduction in power costs through higher indigenisation will give a
boost to the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign.
• Strengthening the regulatory regime - Appointing a member with a legal background in every electricity
regulatory commission and strengthening the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity will ensure faster resolution of
long-pending issues.
• Renewable Energy – The bill encourages roof-top solar plants and imposes penalty for not meeting
renewable energy purchase obligations thus stressing the importance of green energy adoption in mitigating
climate change.
• Enforcement Authority - Creation of an Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority ensures the
supervision of the fulfillment of contractual obligations.
• The Electricity (Amendment) Bill will be a game-changer and its early passage is critical to unleash a path-
breaking reform for bringing efficiency and profitability to the distribution sector.
7.18 Amendment to Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020

• The Government of India is sharing a draft of the proposed amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-
commerce) Rules, 2020.
• These amendments aim to bring transparency in the e-commerce platforms and strengthen the regulatory
regime to curb the prevalent unfair trade practices.
• It aims to ensure compliance of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and Rules, and to strengthen the grievance
redressal mechanism on e-commerce entities, there is a proposal for the appointment of,
1. Chief Compliance Officer,
2. A nodal contact person for 24x7 coordination with law enforcement agencies, officers to ensure
compliance to their orders
3. Resident Grievance Officer for redressing of the grievances of the consumers on the e-commerce
platform.
• Putting in place a framework for registration of every e-commerce entity with the Department for Promotion
of Industry and Internal Trade for,
1. Allotment of registration number,
2. Invoice of every order placed the e-commerce entity.
• To protect the interests of consumers, mis-selling has been prohibited.

• [Misselling means goods and services entities selling goods or services by deliberate misrepresentation of
information by such entities about such goods or services.]
• All sellers on marketplace e-commerce entities and all inventory e-commerce entities must provide best before
or use before date to enable consumers to make an informed purchase decision.
• The e-commerce entities that sell imported goods or services shall,
1. Incorporate a filter mechanism to identify goods based on country of origin and
2. Suggest alternatives to ensure fair opportunity to domestic goods.
• The amendment ensures that consumers are not adversely affected in the event where a seller fails to deliver
the goods or services due to negligent conduct by such seller in fulfilling the duties and liabilities in the
manner as prescribed by the marketplace e-commerce entity
• This is ensured by the provisions of Fall-back liability for every marketplace e-commerce entity.
7.19 Amendment to Food security (Assistance to State Government Rules) 2015

• The Department of Food & Public Distribution notifies amendment in Food security (Assistance to State
Government Rules) 2015.
• This amendment would ensure right quantity to beneficiaries in distribution of subsidized foodgrains as per
their entitlement under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
• This would incentivise States who are operating their ePoS devices in a judicious manner and are able to
generate savings from the additional margin of Rs.17.00 per quintal provided to them.
o Distribution through ePoS devices ensures that subsidised foodgrains are provided to the rightful
beneficiary through biometric authentication.
• Any savings accrued by State/UT from the additional margin provided towards the cost of purchase, operation
and maintenance of the ePOS can be utilised for purchase, operations and maintenance of electronic weighing
scales and their integration with the ePOS devices.
o Integration of ePoS devices with electronic weighing scales would ensure that the beneficiary is given
the right quantity of foodgrains by the Fair Price Shop dealer as per his entitlement.
• Food security Rules 2015 provides for additional margin to Fair Price Shop (FPS) Dealers for sale through
ePoS devices as an incentive to ensure transparent recording of transactions at all levels.
o The additional margin is payable for FPS which has installed a PoS device and shall be limited to the
transactions made through it.
7.20 AERA (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that seeks to amend the AERA
Act, 2008 was passed by the Parliament.
• This bill would help in monetising airports in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
• Major airports - The AERA regulates tariffs and other charges for aeronautical services rendered at ‘major’
airports.
• Under the AERA Act, 2008, a major airport is,
1. One that has, or is designated to have, passenger throughput in excess of 3½ million per annum or
2. Any other airport as the Central Government may specify, by notification.
• This Bill will broaden the category of airports for which the AERA can determine tariff by amending the
definition of major airports - to include “a group of airports” after the words “any other airport”.
• The Bill adds that the central government may group airports and notify the group as a major airport.
• Profitable Clubbing - The Bill seeks to club profitable airports with non-profitable ones and offer them as a
package for development in public-private partnership mode to expand connectivity.
Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India
• It is a statutory body constituted under the AERA Act, 2008.

• Head-quartered at Delhi, AERA was set up by the Government in 2009.

• AERA seeks to determine the following for the major airports,
1. Tariff for the aeronautical services,
2. Airport Development Fees, and
3. Passengers Service Fee (levied under Aircraft Act, 1934).
• [For the remaining non-major airports owned by Airports Authority of India, the Ministry of Civil Aviation
approves the charges for aeronautical services.]
• AERA monitors the set Performance Standards relating to quality, continuity and reliability of service as may
be specified by the Central Government or any authority authorized by it in this behalf.
7.21 Draft National Aerosports Policy 2022

The Ministry of Civil Aviation releases draft ‘National Air Sports Policy (NASP)’ for public feedback.
• NASP 2022 covers sports like aerobatics, aeromodelling, amateur-built and experimental aircraft, ballooning,
drones, gliding, hang gliding and paragliding; microlighting & paramotoring; skydiving & vintage aircraft.
• It seeks to leverage India’s huge potential for air sports given its large geographical expanse, diverse
topography and fair weather conditions.
• The vision is to make India one of the top air sports nations by 2030.
• The mission is to provide a safe, affordable, accessible, enjoyable and sustainable air sports ecosystem in
India.
• Air Sports Federation of India (ASFI) will be established as the apex governing body.
• Associations for each air sport will handle day to day activities. These air sports associations shall be
accountable to ASFI.
• ASFI shall represent India at Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and other global platforms related
to air sports.
• [Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, the FAI is the world governing body for air sports.]
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
8. INDIA & ITS NEIGHBORHOOD
8.1 China’s Red Tourism

• As the Chinese Communist Party celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, the popularity of ‘red tourism’ is at
an all-time high in the country and is bringing in huge revenues for China.
• Launched in 2004, Red Tourism involves visiting places that are of historical and cultural importance to the
Communist Party’s history, while also providing an impetus to tourism and local businesses.
• It reminds people of the sacrifices made by the leaders of the Communist party to forge a modern China.
• Some of the famous sites covered by ‘red tourism’ are,
1. Shaoshan - Birthplace of Mao;
2. Yan’an - Mao Zedong’s revolutionary base area where the Red Army arrived after the Long March;
3. Jinggangshan where leading members of the Communist Party of China established their first rural
base for the revolution in 1927;
4. Nanchang (Capital city of Jiangxi Province) which witnessed a significant Uprising in 1927 led by
Zhou Enlai and He Long;

5. Nanhu Lake in China’s Zhejiang, where the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party
was held on a boat in 1921.
8.2 No-patrol Zones

• The details of a temporary no-patrol zone along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China
differ from location to location.
• The new face-offs will be prevented by creating the ‘no-patrolling zones’ in which troops from neither side are
allowed for a certain length of time.
• Origin - The idea of no-patrolling zone can be traced back to the border war of 1962 when China created a
sort of buffer zone extending from where its forces were to where the LAC was.
• Again, it was used by India in 2013. Patrolling was suspended temporarily in 2014, again in Chumar, to resolve
another standoff.
• Zones - Since 2020, patrolling point 17A (PP17A) will become the third region where Indian troops used to
patrol before the standoff began in May 2020, and will temporarily not do so.
• The first such no-patrol zone had come up in Galwan Valley (PP14).
• These no-patrol zones cannot be kept fixed. It is guided by what infrastructure you have at any point of time.
• Replication of the zones could not be done blindly, as at a particular point either side could have a traditional
permanent structure within the range decided for another point, beyond which they would not go.
• Only Temporary -The suspension of patrolling is not permanent. However, patrolling has been suspended
till the standoff throughout eastern Ladakh is resolved.
• This means not only disengaging from the friction points, but also de-escalation.
o De-escalation means both sides will pull back the additional troops that have been stationed in the
region since last year.
8.3 China-Myanmar New Passage

• China opens its 1st sea-road-rail transport link to Indian Ocean, called the China-Myanmar New Passage.
• It is a transport corridor that connects the logistics lines of Singapore, Myanmar and China.
• This route, which is the 1st to link western China with the Indian Ocean, is a sea-road-rail link.
• This passage is currently the most convenient land and sea channel linking the Indian Ocean with southwest
China.
• The railway line of the route currently ends in Lincang on the Chinese side opposite the Myanmar border trade
town of Chin Shwe Haw.
8.4 Pangong Lake

China is constructing a bridge in Ladakh
connecting the north and south banks of Pangong
Tso (lake), which will significantly bring down the
time for the Chinese Army to move troops and
equipment between the two sectors.
• Pangong Tso, which means ‘high grassland
lake’, is an endorheic lake spanning eastern
Ladakh and West Tibet.
• This boomerang-shaped lake is situated at a
height of more than 14,000 ft in the
Ladakh, Himalayas.
• This landlocked lake is the world’s highest
saltwater lake.
• More than two-thirds is under Chinese

control, while the remaining one-third of the Lake lies in India.

• Khurnak Fort, close to where China is building the new bridge, is near the halfway mark of the lake. It is also
under the Chinese control.
8.5 Strategic Significance of Bridge China is building on Pangong Tso

The ongoing standoff in eastern Ladakh has led to one of the latest constructions of bridge being built by China on
the Pangong Tso.
• China is building a 400 m long and 8 m wide bridge, close to the friction points on the north bank of
the Pangong Tso, and the Chushul sub-sector on the south bank.
• The bridge is around 20 km east of Finger 8 on the north bank.
• In India’s perception, the Line of Actual Control lies at Finger 8.
• The site of the bridge is within India’s claim line, although the area has been under Chinese control since
1958.
• Pangong Tso is a 135-km-long landlocked lake with more than two-thirds under Chinese control.
Importance
• Frequent clashes- The Fingers on the north bank have seen frequent clashes.
• Finger 4 was one of the first friction areas in the current standoff.
• Sensitive friction points- The banks of the lake were among the most sensitive friction points in 2020.
• Troops and tanks faced each other just a few hundred metres apart in some places, until the disengagement in
2021.
• Quicker troop mobilisation- The main objective of the bridge is quick mobilisation of PLA troops between
the two banks.
• Reach the Kailash Range- The Kailash range is around 35 km west of the bridge site.
• The bridge will enable Chinese troops to simply cross over, slashing travel time to the Kailash range from
about 12 hours to about 4 hours.
• Strengthen the permanency- The development of this bridge appears to strengthen the idea of
permanency being established by Beijing in the region, committing to its territorial claims with India.
8.6 Ladakh Standoff - India, China talks at an impasse

Talks between senior military commanders of India and China to find a solution to the 17-month long Ladakh
standoff have run into rough weather.
• Until 1960, China used
to have a company
stationed at Kongka La
and Hot Springs which
they increased to a
regiment in the Hot
Springs area by 1962.
• In 1962, China
attacked India’s
position in Hot
Springs and Galwan
Valley.
• In June 2020, 20
Indian and at least
four Chinese soldiers
died in Galwan valley
clashes.
• This is the first time
after the 1962 War that soldiers have died in clashes on the India-China border in Ladakh.

• Hot Springs is the last of the friction points that the Army came up last year when China moved its troops
across the LAC.
• Disengagement has been completed in other places like PP14 in Galwan Valley, PP17A in Gogra Post, and the
north and south banks of Pangong Tso.
• Kongka La pass marks the border between two of China’s most sensitive provinces — Xinjiang to the north
and Tibet to the south.
• The 13th round of talks held on the Chinese side of Line of Actual Control (LAC) on Sunday were aimed at
discussing disengagement of troops at Hot Springs area of eastern Ladakh.
• However, the two sides blamed each other for the deadlock.
• India pointed out that the situation has been caused by unilateral attempts of Chinese side to alter the status
quo in violation of bilateral agreements.
• New Delhi says that the Chinese delegation made no constructive proposals while Beijing says that the Indian
side made unreasonable demands.
• It means that Indian soldiers will spend a second winter in the icy heights of Ladakh Mountains where
temperatures plummet to minus 30 degree Celsius.
• It is set to deepen the chill in India-China ties, given Beijing’s refusal to move its troops back from their
current positions.
• Concerns are mounting over the military build-up and new infrastructure development along the disputed
border by China.
• It creates a major hurdle in eventual de-escalation from the region where both sides have around 50,000
troops each, along with tanks, artillery guns, air defence assets.
8.7 South China Sea

The U.S. State Department says that China’s claims in the South China Sea is inconsistent with international law as
reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982.
• South China Sea is an arm of the western Pacific Ocean that borders the Southeast Asian mainland.
• South China Sea is connected by Taiwan Strait with the East China Sea and by Luzon Strait with the Philippine
Sea.
• It is bounded by the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan, the Philippines, Borneo, the Gulf of Thailand, the Malay
Peninsula, and the Asian mainland.
• South China Sea and East China Sea together form the China Sea.
• Dispute in the South China Sea go back decades. They involve Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Taiwan and Vietnam, all with contesting claims.
Area Disputed between
Paracel Islands China, Taiwan and Vietnam
Spratly Islands China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei and Philippines
Scarborough Shoal Philippines, China and Taiwan
8.8 China’s New Land Border Law and Indian Concerns

China passes a new border law for the “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas” amid a
continuing stalemate in negotiations with India.
• The law which will take effect on January 1 designates the responsibilities of various agencies in China, from
the military to local authorities, in guarding the frontiers.
• It states that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the People’s Republic of China are sacred and
inviolable.

• The law asks the state to take

measures to safeguard territorial
integrity and land boundaries.
• The law says that the Chinese
military shall carry out border
duties to prevent, stop and combat
invasion, encroachment,
provocation and other acts.
• It suggests a push to settle civilians
in the border areas.
• It also asks the state to follow the
principles of equality, mutual
trust, and friendly consultation
and handle land border related-
affairs with neighbouring countries
through negotiations.
• China shares its 22,457-km land boundary with 14 countries including India, the third longest after the
borders with Mongolia and Russia.
• Unlike the Indian border China’s borders with these two countries are not disputed.
• The only other country with which China has disputed land borders is Bhutan (477 km).
8.9 China’s New Maritime Rules

China’s New Maritime Rules are likely to escalate the existing tension with the US and its neighbouring countries in
the region.
• It is designed to control the entry of foreign vessels in
China’s disputed territorial waters covering South China
Sea, East China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
• Both military and commercial foreign vessels will be
required to report their detailed information upon their
visits to these regions.
• It covers submersibles, nuclear vessels and ships carrying
radioactive materials, bulk oil, chemicals, liquefied gas and
other toxic harmful substances.
• The range of information to be provided varies based on
the kind of vessels.
1. The vessels viewed as endangering China’s maritime traffic safety should report their name, call sign,
current position, next port of call and estimated time of arrival.
2. The name of shipborne dangerous goods and cargo deadweight will also be required.
• This is seen as violating the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) guidelines.
8.10 Belt and Road Initiative

Silk Road is an ancient network of trade routes that connected China to the Mediterranean via Eurasia for centuries.
• It is often described as a ‘21st Century Silk Road’ or ‘One Belt One Road (OBOR)’.
• It seeks to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks to improve regional
integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth.
• BRI is made up of
1. Belt (Land-based ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’) - Trans-continental passage that links China with
Central and South Asia, the Middle East, and Europe
2. Road (Sea-based ‘21st century Maritime Silk Road’) - Route that connects China to Southeast Asia,
Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

• The initiative defines 5 major priorities,

1. Policy coordination;
2. Infrastructure connectivity;
3. Unimpeded trade;
4. Financial integration; and
5. Connecting people.
8.11 China Pakistan Economic Corridor

Gwadar port in Pakistan is being developed by China as
another key outlet to the Indian Ocean that will bypass
the Malacca Straits.
• It is being developed as part of the CPEC.
• Announced in 2013, the CPEC, a part of BRI, is
a developmental project between Pakistan
and China that consists of highways, railways,
and pipelines.
• The goal of 3,000 km-long CPEC is,
1. To transform Pakistan’s economy by modernizing its road, rail, air, and energy transportation systems
and
2. To connect the deep-sea Pakistani ports of Gwadar and Karachi to China’s Xinjiang province and
beyond by overland routes.
• It aims to circumvent the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea.
• CPEC has been compared to the Marshall Plan for the rebuilding of post-World War II Europe in its potential
impact on the region.
8.12 China’s Three Child Policy

• After China’s census data showed population growth slipping to its slowest rate since the 1950s, China has
announced that it will now allow three children per married couple.
• From 1980 to 2016, China had a one-child policy enforced by then-leader Deng Xiaoping. This policy was
enforced as China’s growing population at that time was approaching one billion.
• The policy, which was implemented more effectively in urban areas, was enforced through several means,
1. Incentivising families financially to have one child,
2. Making contraceptives widely available,
3. Brutal tactics of the state like forced abortions and sterilisations,
4. Imposing sanctions against those who violated the policy.
• The one-child policy was relaxed to two-child policy in 2016, when fears of a rapidly ageing population
undermining economic growth forced the ruling Communist Party to allow two children per married couple.
• Reality - China’s 2020 census data shows the country’s rate of population growth falling rapidly despite the
2016 relaxation.
• By 2025, the country is set to lose its ‘most populous’ tag to India, which in 2020 had an estimated 138 crore
people, 1.5 per cent behind China.
8.13 Pakistan to Remain on FATF Grey List

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has refused to take Pakistan out of the ‘Grey List’ again.
• Pakistan has now completed 26 of the 27 action items given to it in 2018.
• But, it had failed to take appropriate action against UN-designated terrorists such as 26/11 accused LeT
founder Hafiz Saeed and its commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and JeM chief Masood Azhar

Financial Action Task Force

• Headquartered in Paris, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was set up in 1989 by the G7 countries.
• Objective - FATF is an inter-governmental body that acts as an international watchdog on issues of money
laundering and financing of terrorism.
• It is empowered to curtail financing of UN-designated terrorist groups.
• It is to limit the concerned countries from sourcing financial flows internationally and thereby constraining
them economically.
• Members - FATF has 39 members, which comprise 37 member jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations.
• Two regional organisations are the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Commission (EC).
• All 5 permanent members of the Security Council are members of FATF. India became a full member in 2010.
• Grey list - A country is put on the grey list when it fails to curb terrorism financing and money laundering.
• Grey list countries are Pakistan, Myanmar, Mauritius, Cambodia, Panama, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Syria
and Yemen along with few other countries.
• Blacklist now called the "Call for action" - Putting a country on the blacklist means shutting all doors to
international finance for that country. E.g.: North Korea.
8.14 Gilgit-Baltistan Dispute

Pakistan’s Law and Justice Ministry has finalised a draft legislation to incorporate Gilgit-Baltistan, the region
known before 2009 as Northern Areas, as a province of the country.
• Gilgit was part of the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir, but was ruled directly by the British.
• When Hari Singh (the Hindu ruler of the Muslim-majority J&K state) acceded to India in October, 1947, the
Gilgit Scouts rose in rebellion, led by their British commander.
• The Gilgit Scouts also moved to take over Baltistan, which was then part of Ladakh, and captured Skardu,
Kargil and Dras.
• In battles thereafter, Indian forces retook Kargil and Dras in August 1948.
• Before that, in November, 1947, a political outfit called the Revolutionary Council of Gilgit-Baltistan had
proclaimed the independent state of Gilgit-Baltistan.
• It also declared it was acceding to Pakistan.
• Pakistan accepted the accession only to the extent of full administrative control.
• It chose to govern it directly under the Frontier Crimes Regulation, a law devised by the British to keep control
of the restive tribal areas of the northwest.
• Following the India-Pakistan ceasefire of January, 1949, Pakistan entered into an agreement with the
“provisional government” of “Azad Jammu & Kashmir” to take over its defence and foreign affairs.
• [The AJK covers the parts that had been occupied by Pakistani troops and irregulars.]
• Under this agreement, the “AJK” government also ceded the administration of Gilgit-Baltistan to Pakistan.
• In 1974, Pakistan adopted its first full-fledged civilian Constitution, which lists four provinces - Punjab, Sindh,
Balochistan, Khyber Pakthunkhwa.
• The Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan were not incorporated as provinces.
• [This was because Pakistan wanted the resolution of the Kashmir issue to be in accordance with UN
resolutions that called for a plebiscite.]
• In 1975, PoK got its own Constitution, making it a self-governed autonomous territory and the people having
rights and freedoms.
• However, Northern Areas continued to be administered directly by Islamabad (the Frontier Crimes Regulation
was discontinued in 1997 but repealed only in 2018).
• The people of the minority Shia-dominated ‘Northern Areas’ did not have any political representation.

• They were considered Pakistani, but remained outside the ambit of constitutional protections available to
those in other provinces and PoK.
8.15 Border Fencing

• It is being erected on Indo-Pakistan border, Indo-Bangladesh border and Indo-Myanmar border by the
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• So far, 5187 km length of International border has been fenced. Fencing lengths along Indo-Pakistan and
Indo-Bangladesh Border are 2041 km and 3141 km respectively.
• Unfenced area includes non-feasible stretches, where fencing could not be constructed due to riverine and
marshy land, are being covered through technological solution.
8.16 Child Soldier Recruiter List

• The United States of America has
added Pakistan and 14 other countries
to a Child Soldier Recruiter List.
• [Child Soldier is a human being less
than 18 years old, recruited by an army
or simply participating in an armed
conflict.]
• The Child Soldier Recruiter List
identifies foreign governments having
government-supported armed groups
that recruit or use child soldiers.
• Restrictions - The following types of
security assistance are prohibited for
countries that are in the Child Soldier
Recruiter list:
1) Licenses for direct commercial
sales of military equipment
2) Foreign military financing for
the purchase of defense
articles and services, as well as
design and construction
services
3) International military

education and training

4) Excess defense articles
5) Peacekeeping operations
• The countries will not be eligible for the US Department of Defence’s “Train and Equip” authority for building
the capacity of foreign defense forces.
• The US Child Soldiers Prevention Act requires the publication in the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
report a list of foreign governments that have recruited or used child soldiers during the previous year.
International Convention
• The recruitment or use of children below the age of 15 as soldiers is,
a) Prohibited by both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the additional protocols
to the Geneva Conventions, and
b) Considered a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
• Optional Protocol to CRC on the involvement of children in armed conflict prohibits kids below the age of 18
from being compulsorily recruited into state or non-state armed forces or directly engaging in hostilities. The
United States is a party to the Optional Protocol.
• The United Nations, too, has identified the recruitment and use of child soldiers as among six “grave
violations” affecting children in war.
• It verified that over 7,000 children had been recruited and used as soldiers in 2019 alone.
8.17 India’s Engagement with Taliban

India adopted UN Security Council's (UNSC's) resolution 2593 that aims to address the New Delhi’s key concerns
regarding the country
• The resolution demands that Afghan territory should not be used
to threaten/attack any country or to shelter/ train terrorists or
plan/finance terrorist acts
• It was put forward by US, UK, and France and adopted after 13
council members voted in favour
• The permanent members Russia and China abstained from
voting
• It specifically mentions individuals and entities designated by
UNSC Resolution 1267, i.e., Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-
Mohammed (JeM)
• Significance - Strong signal from the UNSC and the
international community on its expectations in respect of
Afghanistan
• Called on the Taliban to keep its commitments on preventing
terror groups in Afghanistan
• Urged Taliban to assist the safe evacuations of Afghan nationals wishing to leave the country
• Addressed the concerns of anti- Indian terror outfits like LeT and JeM
• Russia and China abstained from voting.
8.18 Durand Line

The fence erected by Pakistan along the 2,640-km Durand Line which is opposed by Taliban is a potential flashpoint
in relations between the Taliban and Pakistan
• In 19th century Afghanistan was used as a buffer by the British against the fear of Russian expansionism to its
east.

• Hence the British civil servant Sir Henry Mortimer Durand signed an agreement with Afghan ruler Amir
Abdur Rahman on November 12, 1893 demarcating the Durand line.
• The line stretches from the border with China to Afghanistan’s border with Iran.
• This line demarcated the limits of Afghanistan’s and British India’s “spheres of influence” on the Afghan
“frontier” with India.
• The line puts the strategic Khyber Pass on the British side.
• It cuts through Pashtun tribal areas, leaving villages, families, and land divided between the two spheres of
influence.
• Some historians believe it was a part of British’s divide and rule policy.
• Hence, Pashtuns rejected the line after independence.
• When the Taliban seized power in Kabul the first time, they also rejected the Durand Line.
• The cross-border tensions peaked in 2017 with several attacks on Pakistani border posts by militants.
• Pakistan accused Afghanistan of sheltering – while the Afghan government accused Pakistan of giving safe
haven to Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network.
• So Pakistan began erecting a $500mn fence fitted with surveillance cameras and infrared detectors, and
punctuated by 1,000 watchtowers along the Durand Line.
• Cross-border movement will only be allowed through 16 formally designated points after the completion of the
project.
• The fence has been a source of more tensions and seen as a move by Pakistan to formalise the boundary,
making their division permanent.
• But Pakistan believes that the fence will help control any spill over from unrest and chaos there.
8.19 Sri Lanka’s National ‘food emergency’

Sri Lankan government has announced food emergency to check the soaring prices of food and hoarding of
essentials by a food mafia.
• The emergency has been declared under the legal framework of the Public Security Ordinance (PSO).
• It empowers the President to declare a State of Emergency in two situations when the President is of the
opinion that it is
1. in the interest of public security and the preservation of public order
2. for the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community
• President is now able to promulgate Emergency Regulations dealing with any subject at any given time
• While the emergency has to be taken to Parliament for renewal every three months, the President is
empowered to bring in regulations that do not need parliamentary oversight or approval
• It must be recognised as a temporary conferral of extraordinary power for the government during times of
acute crisis and not a substitute for the normal legal regime
8.20 Exclusion of Myanmar’s Military Junta

ASEAN has decided to exclude Myanmar’s military junta from its annual summit which is a major setback for the
Generals’ attempt to gain regional legitimacy for their brutal regime.
• The Military had a tight grip on Myanmar as the constitution guarantees it a quarter of all seats in parliament
and control of its most powerful ministries.
• In the last November's general election, military-backed party- USDP-performed poorly whereas the NLD did
even better than in 2015.
• This created tensions between the armed forces and the government.
• The opposition raised allegations of widespread fraud in the election which was not backed by the electoral
commission.

• Later, Myanmar's military

seized power after detaining
Aung San Suu Kyi and other
democratically elected
leaders.
• The junta has unleashed a
reign of terror claiming an
estimated 1,000 lives.
• Ms. Suu Kyi who had been
the State Councillor for five
years from 2015 heading the
quasi-democratic
government has been in
detention.
• Thousands of others were
arrested by the military for
their democratic protests.
• In cities, protests turned into
armed fighting between pro-
democracy protesters and
security personnel, while in
the jungles, anti-junta groups
joined hands with rebels for
military training.
• The situation was so grave
that the UN Special Envoy
warned that Myanmar had
descended into a civil war.
• Recently, Myanmar's military
sentenced a close aide of
ousted civilian leader Aung
San Suu Kyi to 20 years in
prison.
• US Secretary of State Antony
Blinken has accused the
security forces of a "reign of
terror".
• The US, UK and European Union have all responded with sanctions on military officials.
• South East Asian countries have been pursuing diplomatic efforts to end the crisis.
• China blocked a UNSC statement condemning the coup, but has backed calls for the release of Ms Suu Kyi and
a return to democratic norms.
8.21 Tax Inspectors Without Borders

• Bhutan’s Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme was launched in partnership with India.
• TIWB is a capacity-building programme, which is joint initiative of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
• TIWB was launched in July 2015 to strengthen developing countries' auditing capacity and multinationals'
compliance worldwide.
• It deploys qualified experts in developing countries across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the
Caribbean,
1. To build tax capacity in areas of audit, criminal tax investigations
2. For effective use of automatically exchanged information.

• Bhutan’s TIWB - India was chosen as the Partner Jurisdiction and has provided the Tax Expert for the
TIWB programme in Bhutan.
• This programme is expected to be of about 24 months’ duration.
• Through this program, India aims to aid Bhutan in strengthening its tax administration by transferring
technical know-how and skills to its tax auditors, and through sharing of best audit practices.
• The focus of the programme will be in the area of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing.
8.22 ‘India Out’ Campaign

Recently, in Maldives, the ‘India Out’ campaign has gained momentum with their former President Abdulla Yameen
leading it.
• Story Behind - Over the last 3 years since Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was elected to office,
an ‘India Out’ campaign has cropped up every now and then within Maldives, mostly on social media.
• The campaign is led by government critics who accuse their government of “allowing Indian boots on the
ground”, and thereby “compromising the sovereignty” of the Indian Ocean island nation.
• But the ruling administration has denied there is any Indian military presence in the country, or a threat to
Maldives’ sovereignty.
• Recent development - Recently, the campaign has gained momentum with former President Abdulla
Yameen leading it.
• [During Mr. Yameen’s term as President, New Delhi-Male relations deteriorated drastically. He is perceived as
a friend of China.]
• The campaign has got louder around key bilateral developments such as the signing of the Uthuru Thila Falhu
harbour development deal with India.
• New Delhi is helping Male develop the Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard Harbour.
• Factors that have led to such anti-India sentiments in Maldives are controversy over India’s gift of Dhruv
Advanced Light Helicopters, Domestic Politics, Perception of interference in Domestic Affairs, etc
9. BILATERAL RELATIONS
9.1 Italian Marines Case

The Supreme Court ordered the closure of proceedings in India against two Italian marines, accused of killing two
fishermen off the Kerala coast in February 2012.
• On February 15, 2012, two Indian fishermen were returning from a fishing expedition near Lakshadweep
islands onboard fishing vessel St Antony.
• They were gunned down by two Italian marines on board oil tanker Enrica Lexie.
• The incident occurred around 20 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala.
• Shortly after the incident, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted Enrica Lexie.
• They detained the two Italian marines, Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre.
• The challenges in dealing with the case had to do with -
i. the legal tangles over jurisdiction
ii. the lawfulness of their arrest and the location of their trial
iii. the provisions of law under which they should be tried
iv. legal accountability through a criminal trial
Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling
• [Permanent Court of Arbitration - a tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea]

• The Permanent Court of Arbitration had clarified that India and Italy had concurrent jurisdiction to try
the case.
• However, it said that the Italian marines enjoyed immunity from Indian jurisdiction.
• This is because they were acting on behalf of a state.
• The UN tribunal had also ruled that the Indian fishing boat, St. Antony, and the victims were entitled to
compensation.
• This is on the ground that Enrica Lexie had violated the boat’s right of navigation under the Law of the
Sea.
9.2 Indo-US Nuclear Deal

• This deal, also known as the 123 Agreement or the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, was signed between the
USA and India in 2005.
• India - Under the agreement, India agreed to separate its civilian and military nuclear activities.
• It also agreed to open up the civilian part to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
• US - In return, the US offered to resume full nuclear trade i.e selling of reactors, Transfer of Technology,
Uranium sale with India.
• The deal went through several complex stages including:
1. Amendment of U.S. domestic law (Atomic Energy Act of 1954),
2. Civil-military nuclear Separation Plan in India,
3. India-IAEA safeguards agreement.
• It enabled American companies to build nuclear power reactors in India.
• Despite the agreements, there is no sign yet of any contract between an American company and the Indian
authorities.
9.3 Greater Malé Connectivity Project

Maldives government signed an agreement with Indian company AFCONS, for the construction of the Greater Malé
Connectivity Project by 2023.
• This is a follow-up agreement worth of 500 million US Dollar signed by India and Maldives in 2019.
• This project was funded by India in a grant of $100 million, with a line of credit of $400 million.
• [Line of Credit is not a grant but a ‘soft loan’ provided on concessional interest rates to developing countries,
which must be repaid by the borrowing government.]
• This infrastructure project is the largest-ever by India in the Maldives, and also the biggest infrastructure
project in the Maldives overall.
• It involves the construction of a 6.74-km-long bridge and causeway link that will connect the Maldives capital
Malé with the neighbouring islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.
• Significance - This project is significant because it facilitates inter-island connectivity in the country.
9.4 India and U.S.’s Tariff and Visa Issues

In the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum which was reconvened after a gap of 4 years, both countries exchanged views on
‘potential targeted tariff reductions’ and decided to activate the forum’s working groups.
• The India-US Trade policy Forum (TPF) was established in July 2005 to discuss about trade and investment
issues.
• The Minister of Commerce and Industry for India and the United States Trade Representative of the USA are
the co-chairs of the Trade Policy Forum.
• The India-US Trade Policy Forum has five focus groups.
1. Agriculture

2. Investment
3. Innovation and Creativity
(intellectual property rights)
4. Services
5. Tariff and Non-tariff barriers
• Agreement on digital services - Both
countries had reached an agreement on a
transition from the existing Indian
equalisation levy on digital services as part
of the new multilateral tax solution under
the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework
• This would allow the U.S. to terminate
measures adopted in response to the
Indian equalisation levy.
• The Special 301 Report released by United
States Trade Representative (USTR)
identifies trade barriers to US companies
due to IP laws of other countries.
Currently 9 countries- Argentina, Chile,
China, Russia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia,
Ukraine, Venezuela and India are in the list.
9.5 S-400 Triumf Defence System

Russia has started supplying S-400 air defence system to India and the first division will be delivered by the end of
2021.
• Named SA-21 Growler by NATO
and developed by Russia’s Almaz
Central Design Bureau,S-400
Triumf is one of the world’s most
advanced air defence systems.
• It is a surface-to-air missile
system that can simultaneously track
and neutralise a range of incoming
objects spanning aircraft, missiles
and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
(UAV) over very long ranges.
• It can provide air interception
against early warning aircraft,
airborne missile strategic carriers,
tactical and theatre ballistic missiles,
medium-range ballistic missiles, etc.
• The S-400 is fully mobile and each
system has a 3D phased array
acquisition radar that can track
around 300 targets up to 600 km.
• It has a command and control
centre, automatic tracking and
targeting systems, launchers and
support vehicles.
• The missile system is tackle any aerial target within a range of 400km and can simultaneously engage 36
targets.
• Each system has four different types to missiles for up to 40 km, 120 km, 250 km and 400 km and up to 30
km altitude.

• It can be activated within five minutes and has the flexibility to be integrated into the existing and future air
defence units of the air force, army and navy.
• The S-400 also comes with improved electronic counter-countermeasures to tackle the attempts at jamming.
• Another capability of S-400 is its “fire-and-forget capability" which does not require further guidance
after the launch and can hit the target without the launcher being in line-of-sight of the target.
• The S-400 fills the gaps in India’s national air defence network and would complement India’s
indigenous Ballistic Missile Defence System developed by the DRDO to create a multi-tier air defence
over the country.
• The S-400 would be seamlessly integrated into the country’s existing air defence network of Indian Air Force.
• If it is deployed towards the Western borders, the system can track movements of Pakistan Air Force aircraft
as soon as they take off from their bases.
• The S-400 air defence systems and Rafale fighter jets are “game-changers” for the IAF and said they were
like a booster dose to the force.
• Countries such as Algeria, Belarus, China, Turkey, etc. have already procured the S-400 defence system.
9.6 India Russia 2+2 Summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin has concluded a short summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in
New Delhi, highlighting the “all-weather” partnership between the two countries.
• A clutch of 28 agreements were signed, 19 of which are commercial in nature, ranging from defence to
scientific cooperation.
• Defence- The two nations signed an agreement for joint production of over 6 lakh AK-203 assault rifles at a
manufacturing facility in Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi .
• Moscow has agreed on a 10-year military-technical plan that includes technology transfer to India.
• The two nations were ready to go ahead with the S-400 missile deal despite the threat of USA’s Countering
America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
• Afghanistan issue- Russia has pitched for inducting India into the extended group on Afghanistan
comprising the US, Russia, China and Pakistan.
• New Delhi has been kept out of meetings of this grouping earlier this year.
• Nuclear energy- Russia is building the 6,000-MW project at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu, which will have
six VVER-1000 nuclear reactors, and is in talks with India to construct more reactors at a new site that is yet
to be identified
• Both countries have an ambitious vision for building at least 10 more reactors with the highest standards of
safety in India.
• Others- India and Russia are also putting their best foot forward to enhance collaboration in the fields of
space, transport and connectivity, energy, trade and health.
• This friendship is being witnessed in the golden jubilee year of the landmark Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace,
Friendship and Cooperation which makes it more special.
9.7 India-Sweden Collaborative Industrial Research & Development Programme

• There is a call for Global Scientific Collaboration for bringing “Ease of Living” for common man.
• Recently, Prime Ministers of India and Sweden signed the India-Sweden Collaborative Industrial Research &
Development Programme.
• The program aims to foster and support the development of collaborative R&D projects that bring together
companies, and other collaborators from both countries for the joint development of innovative products or
processes in the following technology sectors:
1. Smart and sustainable cities and transport systems
2. Clean technologies, IoT and digitalization
• This may include, but is not limited to:

1. Transport & Mobility; Electrical vehicles, Autonomous vehicles, Traffic safety, Mobility as a service,
Reduction in traffic congestion, Digital solutions, etc.
2. Environmental technologies (Eco–system services, clean water and air, Waste management,
Renewable energy, etc.)
3. Circular and bio-based economy (Bio-based materials, Bio-fuels, Resource efficiency in consumption
and production, Waste-to-wealth, etc.)
4. Energy (Reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions, Alternative fuels, Renewable energy,
Energy storage, etc.)
5. City planning (ICT for urban technical supply, Geodata, tools for dialogue with citizens, etc.)
9.8 Operation Sankalp

As part of Operation Sankalp, INS Trikand is currently deployed by the Indian Navy in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of
Oman.
• Indian Navy's effort to maintain a frontline ship
in the region to ensure safe and secure movement
of trade instill confidence in the maritime
community and contribute to regional maritime
security.
• Operation Sankalp was started in 2019 after
there were explosions in oil tanker ships in the
Gulf of Oman amid tensions between Iran and
the US
• Since then, an Indian Navy ship with an integral
helicopter embarked has been continuously
deployed in the north-west Arabian Sea, Gulf of
Oman and Persian Gulf.
• Need - Operation Sankalp ensure safety of
India's Mercantile Marine in the Persian Gulf
and the Gulf of Oman.
• India is dependent for about 85% of its demand
for oil on imports.
• So, this operation will help India in building a
strategic bilateral relationship and enhancing
maritime security in the region.
INS Trikand
• INS Trikand is a state-of-the-art guided missile stealth frigate.
• It is part of the Western Fleet that operates under the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval
Command (Mumbai.)
10. INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
10.1 Carbis Bay Declaration - G7 Summit

The G-7 summit recently took place in the U.K., and the leaders jointly signed the Carbis Bay Declaration.
• Vaccine - The G7 pledged over the next 12 months to secure a further one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses.
• This will be either through donating surplus supplies or providing further finance to Covax.
• [Covax is the UN-backed scheme charged with distributing vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.]
• The G7 also committed to invest $12 trillion in the combined pandemic recovery plan.
• It also pledged to reinforce global surveillance for potentially dangerous diseases.

• Economy - The joint statement set out plans to reduce roadblocks to production in Africa.
• On the controversial issue of enforced temporary waivers of patents, it said the leaders will support
manufacturing in low income countries.
• They would engage constructively on the issue of intellectual property waivers in discussions at the WTO.
• The G7 also agreed to increase the special drawing rights (SDRs) in IMF of low-income countries by
$100bn.
• Consensus amongst the seven-member countries on countering China was an important message from the
meet.
• The final G-7 communiqué holds no less than four direct references to China, each negative.
• It includes criticising Beijing for its -
i. rights record in Xinjiang and democratic freedoms in Hong Kong
ii. “non-market policies and practices”
iii. concerns over its actions in the China Seas
• The G7 also underscored “the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.
• Besides, there was a demand for a transparent investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 virus.
• The G7 also vowed to cooperate with China on issues such as the climate.
• India is a special guest to the G-7/G-8 since 2003.
• It has maintained its independent course, especially on political issues.
• At the recent meet, India voiced concerns about some clauses in the joint communiqué on Open Societies.
• The communiqué condemned “rising authoritarianism”, net shutdowns, manipulation of information, and
rights violations.
• These are areas the Indian government has often been criticised for in the recent years.
• However, India signed off on the joint statement by G-7 and guest countries on “open societies.”
• The statement reaffirms and encourages the values of “freedom of expression, both online and offline".
• In the present, India will be expected to walk the talk on its commitments at the G-7 outreach, especially in the
areas of information clampdowns.
• [Notably, India had the largest number of Internet shutdowns in 2020.]
10.2 Terror in the Sahel

The recent massacre of at least 160 people in a border village in Burkina Faso is a grim reminder of the threat the
Sahel region faces from Islamist terrorism.
• The attack took place in Solhan village, in the
Sahel's Yagha province.
• Nobody has claimed responsibility.
• But Burkinabe authorities have named the Islamic
State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
• The ISGS has carried out hundreds of terror strikes
in recent years.
• The Burkina Faso attack (June 2021) occurred after
137 people were killed by jihadists in Niger, in
March 2021.
• Terror groups - Four main terror outfits operate
in the region:
1. the ISGS

2. the Islamic State West Africa Province

(ISWAP)
3. the Jama’at Nasr al-Islam walMuslimin,
the local al-Qaeda branch in Mali
4. Boko Haram
• Of these, the ISGS and Jama’at Nasr are
reportedly in alliance.
• Their aim is to expand the influence in the
Burkina-Mali-Niger border region.
• They shoot down anyone in the region who does
not declare their loyalty to the jihadists.
• Boko Haram and the ISWAP are fighting each
other but control territories in northeastern
Nigeria.
• States - France has deployed troops in the
region for counter-insurgency operations.
• It is being helped by the U.S., which has a drone
base in Niger.
10.3 Biden-Putin Summit in Geneva

The Geneva summit between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin has set a
pragmatic tone for engagement between the two competing great powers.
• key outcomes - Despite the differences, the leaders held talks on all critical issues, bringing diplomacy to the
centre-stage.
• Mr. Biden sought a more predictable, rational engagement, while Mr. Putin said relations were “primarily
pragmatic”.
• They have decided to return their Ambassadors to the Embassies.
• The leaders also announced “a strategic stability dialogue” to discuss terms of arms control measures.
• While there was no major breakthrough, they could at least demonstrate a willingness to strengthen
engagement and reduce tensions.
10.4 Operation Pangea XIV

• International Criminal Police Organization-led (Interpol-led) Operation Pangea XIV targeted the sale of fake
medicines and products online.
• More than 1.10 lakh web links have been taken down in an operation involving the police, customs and health
regulatory authorities of 92 countries against the sale of fake medicines and medical products.
• This is the largest since the first “Operation Pangea” conducted in 2008.
• Indian agencies also participated in the operation. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that is the nodal
body for the Interpol in the country.
10.5 New Atlantic Charter

• US President has signed a “New Atlantic Charter” with the British Prime Minister.
• The charter promises to work closely with all democratic partners in resolving contemporary global problems.
• Eighty years ago, the Atlantic Charter provided the basis for the construction of a new global order after the
Second World War.
• The current declaration is a reprise of the Atlantic Charter and is based on the conviction that the West needs
to reboot itself to cope with the rise of authoritarian powers like China, the devastating Covid-19 pandemic,
and the expansive threat of climate change.

10.6 Tigray Crisis

• The United Nations emergency relief
coordinator said that Tigray region in the
Ethiopa’s north was witnessing a
widespread full scale famine.
• This famine is a result of the military
conflict between Ethiopia’s federal
government and the ruling party in the
Tigray since September, 2020.
• The term ‘famine’ was used after the
release of an Integrated Food Security
Phase Classification (IPC) analysis update,
which uses a standardised scale originally
developed by the UN.
• As per the IPC scale, famine conditions in
Tigray are in phase 5, which starts with a
catastrophe warning and ends in famine in a region.
10.7 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Scale

• The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification scale (IPC scale), is a tool for improving food security
analysis and decision-making.
• This standardised scale integrates food security, nutrition and livelihood information into a statement about
the nature and severity of a crisis and implications for strategic response.
• The IPC was originally developed for use in Somalia by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Food
Security Analysis Unit (FSAU).
• Several national governments and international agencies, including CARE International, FAO, UN World
Food Programme (WFP), etc have been working together to adapt it to other food security contexts.
IPC Phase
Phase Description
Number
More than 80% of households can meet basic food needs

1. Generally Food Secure
without atypical coping strategies
For at least 20% of households, food consumption is reduced

but minimally adequate without having to engage in
Borderline Food irreversible coping strategies.
2.
Insecure
These households cannot fully meet livelihoods protection
needs.
At least 20% of households have significant food

consumption gaps OR are marginally able to meet minimum
Acute Food and food needs only with irreversible coping strategies such as
3.
Livelihood Crisis liquidating livelihood assets.
Levels of acute malnutrition are high and above normal.
At least 20% of households face extreme food consumption

gaps, resulting in very high levels of acute malnutrition and
Humanitarian
4. excess mortality; OR households face an extreme loss of
Emergency
livelihood assets that will likely lead to food consumption
gaps.
At least 20% of households face a complete lack of food

Famine/Humanitarian and/or other basic needs and starvation, death, and
5.
Catastrophe destitution are evident; and acute malnutrition prevalence
exceeds 30%; and mortality rates exceed 2/10000/day

10.8 The EAGLE Act

• The Equal Access to Green cards for Legal Employment (EAGLE) Act of 2021 was introduced in the US House
of Representatives. It will remove the per-country cap on permanent residency visas, or green cards.
• It seeks to phase out the 7% per-country limit on employment-based immigrant visas and raises the per-
country limit on family-sponsored visas from 7% to 15%.
• It provides for a nine-year period for the elimination of this limit.
• The 7% limit was introduced in the mid-20th century, which has led countries with relatively small
populations to be allocated the same number of visas as a relatively large-population country.
• However, since the highest number of applicants is from India and China, the EAGLE Act also seeks to reserve
visas for ‘Lower Admission States’ for nine fiscal years (FY).
• While 30% of employment-based visas will be reserved in FY1, this would be reduced to five% in FY 7, 8 and 9.
• The bill also ensures that “no country may receive more than 25% of reserved visas and no country may
receive more than 85% of unreserved visas,” in the nine fiscal years.
• Significance - The EAGLE Act may speed up the petitions for those applying for employment-based green
cards.
• The Act will benefit the US economy by allowing American employers to focus on hiring immigrants based on
their merit, not their birthplace.
• Think-tank Cato Institute had reported in March 2020 that 75% of the backlog for employment‐based visas
was made up of Indians.
• So, this act will be advantageous for Indian job-seekers who currently rely on temporary visas or await green
cards to work in the US.
10.9 Birthing People

• In its 2022 fiscal year budget released, the US government has replaced the word ‘mothers’ with ‘birthing
people’ in a section that deals with bringing down maternal mortality rates.
• The policy document lists a range of measures to help end the highest maternal mortality rate and race-based
disparities in outcomes among birthing people in the US.
• Reason for replacement - The term ‘birthing people’ is from the realm of trans-rights activism.
• It is a step towards making vocabularies less rigid in terms of gender, so that people beyond binary gender
identities can be represented.
• Another argument for the use of ‘birthing people’ is that a surrogate can give birth, who is not the ‘mother’ of
the child.
• Other such terms are Chest-feeding instead of breast-feeding, and ‘menstruating people’ or ‘menstruators’
instead of ‘menstruating women’.
10.10 Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate

• The Group of Seven (G7) Finance Ministers reached a landmark accord setting a global minimum corporate
tax rate at 15% (least), an agreement that could form the basis of a worldwide deal.
• [G7 countries - UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and US. All of them are part of G20]
• Corporation tax is a direct tax imposed on the net income or profit that enterprises make from their
businesses.
• The Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate will ensure taxes were paid in the countries where businesses
operate. It may apply to overseas profits.
• Governments could still set whatever local corporate tax rate they want, but if companies pay lower rates in a
particular country, their home governments could “top-up” their taxes to the minimum rate.
• This will eliminate the advantage of the companies’ shifting profits and tax revenues to low-tax countries
regardless of where their sales are made.

10.11 Opposition to Critical Race Theory - U.S.

Many state legislatures in the U.S. controlled by the Republican party are passing laws against the ‘critical race
theory.’
• Critical race theory (CRT) is a way of thinking about America’s history through the lens of racism.
• It is an approach to grappling with a history of White supremacy.
• It began as a left-wing academic discussion in the 1970s and 1980s.
• These scholars were studying the lack of racial progress following the passing of landmark civil rights laws in
the decade preceding.
• The CRT acknowledges that systemic racism is still part of the country’s society.
• Key ideas - Race is culturally invented, not biological.
• Racism maintains the dominance of affluent White people.
• So, many are not interested in doing away with it.
• And so, racism is an everyday experience for most people of colour in the US.
• Laws and institutions have, for years, promoted racial inequality.
• The CRT thus attends to law’s role in establishing the rights and privileges.
• The CRT kept expanding slowly in academic journals and books over the decades.
• But it became suddenly exposed to a large audience after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by
police.
• [Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker, was shot and killed by Louisville police officers in March 2020
during a raid on her apartment.]
• These events sparked nationwide protests and discussions on racism.
• The following debates around CRT angered many conservatives, who saw it as an attempt to rewrite American
history.
• Trump too lashed out against the educational curriculum teaching the impact of slavery in the US as
“revisionist history” and “a crusade against American history”.
• Recent moves - Eight Republican-ruled states have passed laws or brought administrative actions to limit
how CRT or related concepts can be taught in the classroom.
• As many as 25 states have considered laws or steps to restrict how race and racism can be taught.
• Republican senators introduced a resolution that condemns the practice of requiring teachers to receive
Critical Race Theory education.
10.12 White Flag Campaign

• In Malaysia, some residents of low-income families have started waving white flags as part of the “White Flag
(benderaputi) Campaign”.
• They are doing this to convey distress about the financial crunch they have had to deal with amid the
lockdowns due to Covid-19.
• As part of the movement, families that are facing hunger or need any other kind of assistance are encouraged
to wave a white flag or put a piece of white cloth outside their homes to signal that they need help.
• The idea is that by spotting the white flag, neighbours and good samaritans can reach them.
• On the Sambal SOS app, which was initially called the Bendera Putih app, people can see the map of Malaysia
where active food banks are marked. This is to help people easily track down food banks.
Red Flag Campaign
• There is yet another movement called the red flag campaign or #benderamerah that works in the same way as
the white flag movement.

• It was started by the Malaysian Animal Association as many families were abandoning pets they couldn’t
afford to feed.
Black Flag Movement
• Alongside the white flag movement, there is the black flag movement in order to express dissatisfaction of the
public with the Malaysian government against the government’s management of the pandemic.
• Specifically, this movement is demanding that Prime Minister resign.
10.13 ‘Right to Repair’ Movement

• In recent years, countries around the world have been attempting to pass effective 'right to repair' laws. But
the movement is facing tremendous resistance from tech giants such as Apple and Microsoft over the years.
• The movement traces its roots back to the very dawn of the computer era in the 1950s.
• The goal of the movement is to get companies to make spare parts, tools and information on how to repair
devices available to customers and repair shops,
1. To increase the lifespan of products and
2. To keep them from ending up in landfills i.e., electrical waste (e-waste) generation.
• It will contribute to circular economy objectives by improving the life span, maintenance, re-use, upgrade,
recyclability and waste handling of appliances.
• US - The US President called on the Federal Trade Commission to force tech companies to allow consumers to
fix their own electronic devices - either themselves or using a technician of their choice.
• As of 2021, almost all of the 50 US states have proposed a right to repair bill.
UK - The UK government introduced right-to-repair rules with the aim of extending the lifespan of products by up to
10 years.
10.14 Greece’s Wall - Afghan Refugee Crisis

Greece has built a 40-km long wall and installed a hi-tech surveillance system on its border with Turkey.
• The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has given way to a new refugee crisis.

• 400,000 Afghans have fled their homes since the start of 2021, including
almost 300,000 since May 2021.
• Afghan nationals enter Turkey from Iran and then, via land or sea enter
Greece to eventually get into Europe.
• The European Union and Greece have been in talks to help each other in
the possibility of massive migration from Afghanistan.
• EU nations should collectively act towards supporting the countries in the
region “which will be affected by the migration wave”.
• EU should help the Afghan citizens in Afghanistan and in neighbouring
countries like Iran.
• But the cooperation on migration should be promoted based on mutual understanding and interests.
• Because, the EU is not ready and does not have the capacity to handle and afford another major migration
crisis like the one in 2015.
• 2015 migrant crisis faced by
Greece - The European Union
faced a huge inflow of migrants
from neighbouring countries,
especially the middle-east,
during the 2015 Syrian war.
• More than 1.3 million people
fled to Europe, seeking asylum
in the EU, Norway and
Switzerland.
• Over 75% of those arriving in
Europe had fled conflict and
persecution in Syria,
Afghanistan or Iraq.
• Most of these people arrived in
Greece and Italy.
• 800,000 refugees had entered Greece from Turkey via sea, which was 80% of migrants arriving in Europe by
the sea in 2015.
• Of this, only 150,000 had entered Italy; the rest remained in Greece.
• In addition to the sea crossings, 34,000 crossed from Turkey into Bulgaria and Greece by land.
• Thereafter, any migrants who had not applied for asylum or whose applications were rejected were sent back
to Turkey.
• In 2020, Turkey had opened its borders for migrants to move towards Greece, stating that it had “reached its
capacity”.
• The wall at the Greece-Turkey border now comes after a discussion on the Afghanistan crisis between Greek
PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
10.15 Citizen Arrester

• It is a form of the vigilante in the United States, which is supported by a
law that makes vigilantism respectable.
• A ‘citizen arrester’ enjoys legal status and whose actions are protected
by a law that permits him or her to pursue and arrest a person accused of
breaking the law.
• Because of its potential for abuse in the US, there is a debate on the need
to circumscribe the scope, and eligibility, of who can be a citizen arrester.
• The concept of ‘citizen arrester’ draws on a legal convention that comes
from the Common Law tradition in England (dating from 12th Century.)

10.16 The AUKUS Agreement

The United States, United Kingdom, and Australia announced a new trilateral security partnership called the
AUKUS
• The agreement aims to ensure that
there will be enduring freedom and
openness in the Indo-Pacific
region.
• Under the agreement, America and
Britain proposed to transfer
technology to build a fleet of
nuclear-powered submarines for
Australia within 18 months.
• With this Australia becomes the
second nation after U.K. that the
U.S. has ever shared its nuclear
submarine technology with.
• The submarines are to be
conventionally armed and are
powered are powered by nuclear
reactors.
• It will give Australia naval heft in
the Pacific, where China has been
particularly aggressive.
• The partnership complements
several pre-existing similar arrangements for the region like Five Eyes intelligence cooperation initiative,
ASEAN, Quad, etc.
• The Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing alliance consisting of the US, UK, Australia, Canada & New Zealand.
The origins of the Five Eyes can be traced back to WW II.
10.17 UAE's Green Visa

The United Arab Emirates has announced a new class of visas called “green visa” intended to ease the restrictions
faced by foreigners in pursuing employment opportunities in the country.
• The green visa will allow foreigners to work in the UAE without being sponsored by an employer.
• This will be a marked change from the norm that requires a prospective worker to be sponsored via an
employer, who, in turn, applies for a work permit from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation.
• The green visa will enable visa holders to sponsor their parents. It will increase the cap on the age of children
who can be sponsored by the holder from 18 to 25.
• It will allow the holder to stay in the country up to 3 months to look for a new job if they are fired from older
one. Previously, it was only 30 days.
• This visa targets “highly skilled individuals, investors, business people, entrepreneurs, as well exceptional
students and postgraduates”.
10.18 Havana Syndrome

The CIA director and a US intelligence officer have reported symptoms of Havana Syndrome while the two were in
India recently.
• Havana Syndrome is a set of mental health symptoms that are experienced by US intelligence and embassy
officials in other countries.
• This Syndrome traces its roots to Cuba (2016), where the US officials in their embassy began experiencing the
symptoms.
• Symptoms are hearing certain sounds without any outside noise being present, nausea, vertigo and
headaches, memory loss and issues with balance.

• The injuries in the brains of the victims resembled concussions, like those suffered by soldiers struck by
roadside bombs in Iraq.
• Causes - No one is entirely sure of the causes of Havana Syndrome.
• But, some studies suggest that the victims may have been subjected to high-powered microwaves that
interfered with the nervous system. It has had lasting impact on mental health.
Microwave weapons
• They are a type of direct energy weapons, which aim highly focused energy in the form of sonic, laser, or
microwaves, at a target.
• People exposed to high-intensity microwave pulses can have both acute and long-term mental
effects, without any physical damage.
• Greater exposure to high-powered microwaves is said to
1. Interfere with the body’s sense of balance, and
2. Impact memory and cause permanent brain damage.
10.19 Russia-Ukraine Border Conflict

The massive mobilisation of Russian troops on the Ukraine border and occasional outbreak of violence in the
contested Donbass region has pushed both countries to the brink of
an open conflict.
• Annexation of Crimea - Ukraine was one of the republics
within the USSR during the cold war days, and has remained
a strong ally of Russia till 2013.
• While it was planning to sign an association agreement with
the European Union in 2013, Russia sternly objected to it
leading to tensions.
• Russia subsequently annexed “Crimea” (Russian speaking
province in Ukraine) by force and declared its sovereignty
over it with people’s support.
• The resultant conflict has so far claimed about 10,000 lives
and displaced millions with no lasting resolution in sight.
• Naval skirmish over the Sea of Azov - After Crimea’s
annexation in 2014, Russia gained control over both sides of
the Kerch strait.
• In May 2018, Russian opened a 12-mile-long bridge over the Kerch Strait, which has also become the physical
gateway to the Sea of Azov.
• To prevent the Ukrainian boats from passing under the bridge, Russia placed a cargo ship below it.
• Later, the Ukrainian vessels’ attempt to travel from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov was denied by the
Russian coast guard.
• However, Ukraine insists that the patrol of the Kerch Strait was authorised under a bilateral agreement with
Moscow.
• Thus the naval skirmish over the Sea of Azov proves again the Russia’s irreversibility of its annexation of
Crimea.
• Russian backed rebels - Russia has been criticised for its involvement in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions
in eastern Ukraine.
• There, Russian-backed separatists have been fighting with Ukrainian troops.
• In May 2021, Moscow has allegedly deployed thousands of troops as well as tanks and artillery near Ukraine’s
eastern border and has mobilised troops in the annexed Black Sea region of Crimea.
• Current conflict - Belarus, a Russian ally was blamed for the migration crisis in the EU’s Polish border.
• Russia flew bombers near Poland’s borders earlier this month.

• In the Black Sea, Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched vessels to shadow U.S. warships.
Minsk Agreements
• The Minsk Protocol (Minsk-1) with the Minsk Memorandum was signed in 2014 to prevent war in the
eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas.
• The representatives of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine (TCG – Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE) and
the representatives of Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics (DNR,LNR) signed the agreement.
• The Protocol was followed by an additional Memorandum, which detailed the conditions of a ceasefire.
• The agreement failed to stop fighting, however, it significantly reduced fighting in the conflict zone for
months.
• The Minsk-2 (Package of measures for the Implementation of the Minsk agreements) was signed
in 2015 under the mediation of France and Germany to prevent an open conflict.
• It was designed to end the fighting in the rebel regions and hand over the border to Ukraine’s national troops.
• Ukraine was required to delegate more power to the breakaway regions and introduce constitutional reforms,
codifying their special status.
10.20 The Geneva Talks: The US-Russia Conflict

The Geneva talks that was held recently between the United States and Russia were inconclusive.
• Ukraine crisis- Russia has mounted troops near Ukraine's border.
• It has demanded the U.S.-led NATO alliance rule out admitting the former Soviet state or expanding further
into what Moscow sees as its back yard.
• The U.S. accuses that Russia could be preparing a new invasion, eight years after it seized the Crimean
peninsula from its neighbour.
• Russia denies any such plans and says it is responding to the aggressive behaviour from the NATO and
Ukraine which has tilted toward the West.
• Expansion of NATO- Russia repeated a set of demands including a ban on further NATO expansion and an
end to its activity in the central and eastern European countries that joined after 1997.
• Russia responded militarily in 2008 when Georgia was considering joining NATO.
• INF treaty-Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) is a nuclear arms-control accord reached
by the U.S. and the Soviet Union in 1987.
• The two countries agreed to eliminate their stocks of intermediate and shorter-range (between 500 and 5,500
km) land based missiles which could carry nuclear warheads.
• The United States formally withdrew from the INF pact in August 2019 after determining that Moscow was
violating the treaty.
• The U.S. is now open to discuss a possible deal on INF missiles along the lines of the now-defunct INF treaty
and Russia's proposal to set limits on the size and scope of military exercises.
10.21 The Geo-Politics of Gas Pipelines

While world’s attention has been focussed on the controversy of European and US opposition to Nord Stream II
pipeline from Russia to Germany, it was a European Pipeline project (EastMed) that met a quiet death.
• Eastern Mediterranean (EastMed) is a 1,900km natural gas pipeline project to connect the gas reserves of
the eastern Mediterranean to Greece.
• In 2013, the European Commission designated the pipeline a "Project of Common Interest" and was
estimated to send as much as 20 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe annually.
• The pipeline includes 1,300km of offshore and 600km of onshore sections.
• It will transport natural gas from the Levantine Basin in Israel as well as from the gas fields in Cypriot waters
to Greece and Italy.

• The energy ministers of Greece, Israel, and Cyprus signed the final agreement for the pipeline project in
January 2020.
• At the end of 2020, Congress passed legislation that included support for constructing pipelines and liquified
natural gas terminals, and created a United States-Eastern Mediterranean Energy Center.
• The EastMed pipeline project will improve Europe’s energy security by diversifying its routes and sources and
providing direct interconnection to the production fields.
• It will provide an opportunity for Cyprus to merge with the European gas system, which will further enhance
gas trading in the south-east European region.
• The project will also support the economic development of Cyprus and Greece by providing a stable market for
gas exports.
• It will enable the development of gas trading hubs in Greece and Italy and facilitate gas trading in south-east
Europe.
10.22 WTO’s Joint Initiatives

Several countries, including India, have so far stayed out of the JI negotiations that these initiatives lack a
multilateral negotiating mandate and are an attack on the fabric of multilateralism underlying WTO.
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of
trade between nations.
• It came into being in 1995 as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
• Virtually all decisions in the WTO are taken by consensus among all member countries and they are ratified by
members' parliaments.
• Trade friction is channeled into the WTO's dispute settlement process where the focus is on interpreting
agreements and commitments.
• Major concerns in WTO - Appellate Body – The legally binding dispute settlement process comprises of
a two-tier structure of “panel” and “appellate body”.
• It is now two years since the US blocked the appointment of Appellate Body members which has undermined
the functioning of the enforcement.
• There are currently 21 appeals pending before the presently defunct Appellate Body.
• Compromise on WTO’s role - The WTO’s role as the arbiter of rules has been compromised and there is
increasing pressure for new rules and new agreements.
• The multilateral format for rule-making that the WTO provided is also under threat.

• Lack of consensus – WTO has faced severe criticism for its inability to conclude any major negotiations in
over two decades.
• There has been lack of consensus among its diverse membership, who differ considerably in terms of their
economic, socio-political structures, and interests.
• Joint initiatives - Some like-minded Members proposed an innovative approach called Joint Initiatives
(JIs), during the 11th Ministerial Conference held in Buenos Aires in December 2017.
• JSIs can be broadly defined as a plurilateral negotiating tool initiated by a group of WTO Members who start
negotiations on certain issues without adhering to the rule of consensus decision-making.
• The initiatives were on
o E-commerce
o Investment facilitation for development
o Services domestic regulation
o Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)
• Of the 164 WTO members, 136 are participating in the JI on investment facilitation, 86 in e-commerce, 65 in
services domestic regulation and 70 in MSMEs.
• Given the divide in how the membership views JSIs, there appear to be two most feasible options on how to
include JSIs into the WTO system.
• Through Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) – It is preferred by some developing countries and least
developing countries.
• In order to form an RTA, members would have to meet the legal condition of liberalising “substantially all the
trade” under GATT Art. XXIV and the “substantial sectoral coverage” condition under GATS Art. V.
• Through an amendment to the Members’ schedules – It is preferred by developed countries.
• With regards to JIs on trade in services, GATS schedules can be amended under GATS Art. XXI to include
conditions of market access and national treatment.
• The negotiated disciplines on “Services domestic regulation” have been incorporated into WTO commitments
on a Most favoured nation (MFN) basis.
• But, the JIs on e-commerce and investment facilitation are still exploring the issue of possible legal
architecture.
• Other than Services domestic regulation, none of the other JIs have been comprehensively blended into
existing WTO commitments.
• They also can’t be incorporated into the WTO fold as new plurilateral agreements that create rights and
obligations only among participating members because consensus of all members is necessary for this to
happen.
• Several countries, including India, have so far stayed out of the JI negotiations that these initiatives lack a
multilateral negotiating mandate and are an attack on the fabric of multilateralism underlying WTO.
10.23 Nord Stream Pipeline

What was meant to be an ordinary energy project from Russia to Germany is now a powerful geopolitical tool.
• It is a natural gas pipeline project (1,225 km ) under the Baltic Sea from the Russian city of Ust-Luga to the
German city of Lubmin
• The construction began in 2015 by Russia.
• This avoids transit through Ukraine and other European countries.
• Russia’s main energy company Gazprom took ownership of the project’s operator, the Switzerland-based
company Nord Stream 2 AG.
• The project was expected to double the capacity of the existing pipeline, Nord Stream 1.
• There is a strong opposition from USA and European countries of Austria, Germany, Hungary and the
Netherlands.

• They view the project as a political weapon.

• They believe that it would render more bargaining
power to Russia while dealing with Europe and its
energy market.
• E.g Russia is blamed for an intentional decrease in gas
supplies to Europe during winter, aiming to speed up
the Nord Stream 2 pipeline by European Union (EU)
market regulators.
• However, Russia says that project is purely a
commercial, which is shorter, cheaper, and
economically more viable, compared to the gas transit
through multiple European countries.
Importance for Germany
• Germany imported about 40% of natural gas from
Russia, 34% from Norway, 29% from the Netherlands,
with only around 10% from Germany’s own gas fields.
• Of Germany’s electricity production
o 25% comes from coal
o 25% from renewable sources,
o 16% from natural gas
o 11% from nuclear energy.
• The dispute takes place at a time when Germany is gradually moving towards renewable sources of energy.
• Germany plans to shut down its nuclear and coal power plants.
• This winter Europe is facing a huge demand in its energy market
• The wholesale energy prices have more than doubled in 2021, and there is a limited supply of fossil fuels
altogether.
Latest developments
• In November 2021, Germany suspended the certification procedure for Nord Stream 2.
• The suspension comes as Nord Stream 2 AG plans to establish a subsidiary under German law only for the
German section of the pipeline.
• According to Germany's Federal Network Agency the company fails to meet conditions to be an "independent
transmissions operator"
• It could be certified only if that operator was organized in a legal form under German law.
• This means further delays in project commencement.
• Meanwhile, tensions have been growing between Russia and the NATO allies, amidst fears of Russia’s invasion
into Ukrainian territories
• The new German Chancellor will have to make difficult choices going forward.
• Some EU leaders have called for termination of project from Germany in the event of further military
escalation.
• What was meant to be an ordinary energy project has transformed itself into a powerful geopolitical tool,
available to every stakeholder involved, and even beyond.
10.24 Iran Nuclear Talks echoes in the Gulf

Israel and the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are watching the developments of JCPOA talks very
closely as their interests directly have an effect on the outcome of the discussions.

• The Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as

the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
(JCPOA), is a landmark accord that was signed
in July 2015 between P5+1 (China, France,
Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States
plus Germany) and Iran.
• The agreement aimed to restrict Iran's ability to
develop nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting
economic sanctions against Tehran.
• As part of the deal, Iran agreed to reduce its
stockpile of enriched uranium by 98% and limit
uranium enrichment to 3.67%.
• It also agreed to give access to inspectors from
the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, to
its nuclear facilities.
• Eventually, the deal has been withdrawn by
Trump in 2018.
• This led to Tehran effectively abandoning the
JCPOA altogether by gradually violating the pact since 2019.
• By November 2020, the UN's nuclear watchdog said Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium was more than
12 times the limit set under the JCPOA.
• Iranian authorities confirmed that it had produced 55 kg of uranium enriched up to 20%, well above the limits
under the 2015 deal and closer to weapons-grade levels (roughly 90%).
Progress of the Vienna negotiations
• Iran is engaged in negotiations in Vienna on matters relating to the JCPOA.
• Iran’s demands
o Return of the U.S. to the JCPOA
o Removal of the U.S. sanctions
o Assurance that a future U.S. administration will not withdraw from the agreement
• The U.S.’s stand- It is it impossible for the U.S. to accept Iran’s demands because of the following situation.
o The polarised political environment in the U.S.
o Mr. Biden’s weak political position in Congress
o The pervasive hostility to the Islamic Republic
10.25 Turkey Currency Crash

Inflation has soared by more than 21% in Turkey and many people in this country are struggling make both the ends
meet.
• Turkey’s currency (Lira) has been plunging to all-time lows against the U.S. dollar and the euro in recent
months.
• Turkish lira has lost around 40% of its value since the start of the year, becoming one of the world’s worst-
performing currencies.
• As a result, families are struggling to buy food and other goods.
• However, President Erdogan presses ahead with a widely criticized effort to cut interest rates despite surging
consumer prices.
Present situation in Turkey
• Erdogan’s Policy – Erdogan, the long standing president, is of the religious view that interest rates as “evil.”
• He had argued that high interest rates cause inflation contrary to what economists generally say.

• He has been pushing for low borrowing costs to stimulate the economy, boost growth and exports, and create
jobs.
• Banks response - Turkey’s Central Bank has repeatedly cut borrowing costs in line with Erdogan’s wishes.
• As a result, the Turkish lira, which had barely recovered from a currency crisis in 2018, has been weakening to
record lows against the dollar and the euro.
• Inflation is especially acute in Turkey because of the government’s unorthodox policies.
• Lira plummeted to an all-time low of 14 Lira against one US dollar.
10.26 Israel’s Missile Strike on Syria

The missile strike at Syria’s Latakia port by Israel is yet another reminder that the conflict in the Arab country is far
from over.
• In 1967 war- Israel captured the strategic “Golan Heights” on the Israeli-
Syria border from Syria and continues to occupy the region even now.
• In 1980s- Syria intervened in Lebanon and helped militants like Hezbollah
who were resisting Israeli occupation of Lebanon.
• In 1991- Middle East peace negotiations began and talks between Syria and
Israel continued for five years with little resolution on the main issues of
borders and water rights.
• Syrian civil war- When the crisis broke in Syria in
2011, Israel followed a wait and watch approach as it
didn’t want to displace the stable secular dictatorship of
Assad.
• But as the Syrian civil war evolved into a regional
conflict over the years, Israel got itself involved in the
Syrian war in order to contain increasing Iranian
influence in Syria.
• Present attack - Israeli warplanes fired a number of
missiles at the port of the coastal city
of Latakia causing large explosions and fires and this is
the second strike on Latakia.
• Russia, whose primary focus in Syria is on the survival
of the Assad regime and the protection of its own troops
and assets deployed there, has largely stayed away from
the Iran-Israel cold war.
• This gives Israel a free hand in Syria to target the
Iranian and Hezbollah shipments.
10.27 South-South Innovation Platform

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) rolled out
their first AgriTech Challenge cohort under the South-South Innovation Platform.
• South-South Innovation Platform was launched by the AIM, NITI Aayog, UNCDF, Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation and Rabo Foundation in 2021.
• This Platform was launched to enable cross-border exchange of innovations, insights and investments.
• Through this platform, cross-border collaborations among emerging markets across India, Indonesia, Malawi,
Malaysia, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia would be enabled.
10.28 Polexit
A Polish court in its ruling rejected the primacy of EU law over Polish national legislation in certain matters.
• Ruling of the Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal - Some articles of one of the EU’s primary treaties were
not compatible with the Polish Law.

• EU law should not have primacy over every national legislation in Poland.
• Polish Judges should not use EU law to question their peers.
• Course of events - Since the power change in 2015, the ruling Poland’s nationalist Law and Justice party
brought new changes in the Polish Judiciary.
• Amendments to the legal system increased more government control and political interference over the
judiciary, thereby reducing its independence in some aspects.
• The changes were condemned by the European Commission as well as other international legal bodies.
• Poland also introduced a new Supreme Court chamber which had the power to sanction judges for specific
rulings.
• The chamber was also being used to silence and punish those judges who had spoken against the government.
• The Commission asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to levy daily fines to Poland for not suspending
the activities of this new SC chamber.
• The ECJ also ruled that the new system of appointing Polish judges infringes EU law.
• It was after this ruling that prime minister Morawieck brought the legal challenge.
• It is the first time since the formation of the EU that a leader of a member state has questioned its treaties
openly in a constitutional court.
• Effects - Challenge to the EU’s legal framework [The founding principles of the EU’s legal order clearly
establish the EU’s primacy over national laws of all its member states.]
• Setback in relations between Poland and the European Union
• Possible impact on trade, jobs and other benefits flowing from EU to Poland
• Demands for freeze of all kinds of financial flows from EU to Poland
• A possible “legal Polexit” (much in line with the Brexit - the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU)
• But several thousand Poles have taken to the streets to reaffirm their demand to stay in the bloc.
• After the widespread backlash, the PM reiterated the fact that Poland wants to stay in the EU.
European Court of Justice (ECJ)
• The ECJ is the supreme court of the European Union (EU) in matters of the EU law.
• It is a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
• The Luxembourg-based court was found in 1952 after the Treaty of Paris.
• It ensures that EU law is interpreted and applied the same in every EU country, and that the countries and EU
institutions abide by the EU law.
• It settles the legal disputes between national governments and EU institutions.
• In terms of hierarchy, the national courts of member countries are below the ECJ in matters of EU law.
European Commission
• The European Commission is the executive of the European Union.
• It is responsible for initiating laws, enforcing the laws of the EU and managing the EU’s policies.
• The Commission is steered by a group of 27 Commissioners, known as 'the college,' who together take
decisions on political and strategic matters.
• A new college of Commissioners is appointed every 5 years.
10.29 Pandora Papers: How US states help rich foreigners shield assets
The release of the Pandora Papers report by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has shed
light on the financial dealings of the elite and the corrupt.

• The report mentions how the elite and the corrupt have used offshore
accounts and tax havens to shield trillions of dollars in assets.
• It has disclosed secret accounts in trusts scattered throughout the United
States, including 81 in South Dakota, 37 in Florida and 35 in Delaware.
• Among those who have used South Dakota trusts as tax havens are Guillermo
Lasso, president of Ecuador, and family members of Carlos Morales Troncoso,
former vice president of Dominican Republic.
• Elimination of rule against perpetuities by tax havens allow the
establishment of so-called dynasty trusts in which wealth can be passed across
generations while avoiding federal estate taxes.
• Rule against perpetuity limits the maximum time period beyond which property cannot be transferred.
• Laws in South Dakota and Delaware allow asset protection trusts which aid wealthy lawyers and doctors to
shield their assets from malpractice claims.
• They can be used to protect assets from ex-spouses, future spouses, disgruntled business partners or angry
clients.
• They also provide wealthy people with considerable flexibility in establishing, controlling and modifying trusts
as they see fit.
• Trusts established in Delaware are not subject to state income tax if the beneficiaries are not Delaware
residents.
• South Dakota does not tax personal income, corporate income or capital gains.
• South Dakota provides extensive privacy protections for assets held in trusts while Delaware registers limited
liability companies, including shell companies to hide assets or financial transactions.
• Delaware collected almost $81 million in franchise taxes from banks and trust companies in fiscal 2020.
• A 2011 report estimated that out-of-state trusts had contributed between $600 million and $1.1 billion per
year to Delaware’s economy.
10.30 China-Taiwan Tussle

Coinciding with the 72nd anniversary celebrations, China flew over 100 fighter jets into Taiwan’s air defence
identification zone setting off alarm around the world that it was prepping to take over the island by force.
• Taiwan earlier known as Formosa and formally as the
Republic of China (ROC) is a self-ruled island that lies
about 161 kilometres off the coast of mainland China. It is
a democracy with a separate government and a military.
• The Republic of China (ROC) was founded in 1912 in
China.
• At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule as a
result of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which the
Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan.
• The ROC government began exercising jurisdiction over
Taiwan in 1945 after Japan surrendered at the end of
World War II.
• The ROC government relocated to Taiwan in 1949 while
fighting a civil war with the Chinese Communist Party.
• The ROC, the non-communist frontier against China was
the only China recognised at the UN until 1971.
• In 1971, the UNGA recognised the People’s Republic of
China (PRC) as the only legitimate representative of China
to the global body which led to the withdrawal of ROC from the U.N.
• The PRC believed that Taiwan must be reunified with the mainland while the ROC has held out as an
independent country.

• The US backs Taiwan’s independence, maintains ties with Taipei, and sells weapons to it but officially
subscribes to PRC’s “One China Policy”.
• The "One-China policy" is a policy asserting that there is only one sovereign state under the name China, as
opposed to the idea that there are two states, the PRC and the ROC.
• As the British prepared to exit Hong Kong in 1999 the “One Country, Two Systems” solution was offered
to Taiwan but it was rejected by the Taiwanese.
• The One Country Two Systems policy was originally proposed by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s. Currently
Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions have been placed under this system.
• In 2004, China started drafting an anti-secession law aimed at Taiwan.
• In 2009, Taiwan attended the World Health Assembly as an observer, marking its first participation in an
activity of the U.N. since its withdrawal in 1971.
11.1Juneteenth
• A bill to establish Juneteenth National Independence Day received bipartisan support in both houses of the
US Congress, and now needs to be approved by the White House to become law.
• Juneteenth - the portmanteau of June and nineteenth - is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of
the ending of slavery in the US after the American Civil War (1861-65), observed on June 19 every year.
• It is also known as Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day.
• At present, Juneteenth is recognised as a holiday in 47 US states and the District of Columbia.
• On January 1, 1863, then-president Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared
that all persons held as slaves within the states in rebellion are, and henceforward shall be free.
• Even so, more than two years after Lincoln’s proclamation, many slave owners continued to hold their slaves
captive.
10.31 EU Digital Covid Certificate

• Covishield is not among the vaccines which have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for
its “vaccine passport” programme that allows free movement of people in and out of Europe.

• Four vaccines that are approved by EMA for this purpose - Vaxzevria (Oxford-AstraZeneca), Comirnaty
(Pfizer-BioNTech), Spikevax (Moderna) and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).
• The EU Digital Covid Certificate or the “green pass” has been created to ensure that restrictions currently in
place due to the pandemic can be lifted in a coordinated manner.
• This document, which is valid across all EU countries, is a digital proof that a person has either been,
1. Vaccinated against Covid-19, or
2. Received a negative test result, or
3. Recovered from the viral infection.
• This new passport system is coming into effect across EU from July 1, 2021. National authorities are in charge
of the programme.
• The document can be issued by test centres or health authorities, or via an eHealth portal.
• The certificate has a digital signature which is verified when the QR code is scanned and it is available in both
digital and paper formats.
• The “green pass” is not compulsory. However, those who don’t possess the certificate will be subject to the
usual travel restrictions and quarantine rules which are in effect in every country.
10.32 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development

• The Uttar Pradesh CM has announced measures to control population growth. These measures aim to reduce
UP’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) recorded as 2.7 by the National Family Health Survey-4 in 2016.
• The aims in this direction are,
o Increasing the rate of modern contraceptive prevalence, male contraception,
o Decreasing maternal mortality and infant mortality rates significantly by 2026.
• These aims are in line with what was stressed at the Cairo International Conference on Population
and Development (Cairo ICPD) in 1994.
• The Cairo ICPD was convened under the auspices of the United Nations.
• It was organized by a secretariat composed of the Population Division of the then UN Department for
Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (now Dept of Economic and Social Affairs) and UNFPA.
• The ICPD was the largest intergovernmental conference on population and development ever held, with 179
governments participating and other participants from governments, UN agencies, NGOs, etc
• The Conference adopted the Programme of Action by Consensus in 1994. This Cairo Consensus had
o Called for promotion of reproductive rights of women, empowering women, universal education,
maternal and infant health to untangle the knotty issue of poverty and high fertility.
o Introduced the concepts of sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.
• It emphasizes the integral linkages between population and development and focuses on meeting the needs of
individual women and men, rather than on achieving demographic targets.

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3.13 Supreme Court’s Ruling on Insolvency

3. Judiciary ........................................ 18 5. Elections ........................................ 37

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

10.19 Russia-Ukraine Border Conflict ..................... 102

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

1.1 Right to be Forgotten - Delhi HC Order

1.2 Right to Healthcare

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

1.3 Right to Protest

1.4 Fundamental Rights vs. Duties

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

1.5 Tulu Language

1.6 Final Draft of National Register of Citizens

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1.7 Definition of Minority

1.8 Inequality within Intermediate Castes

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

1.9 OBC Reservation in Medical Seats

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

1.10 Economic Criterion & Creamy Layer

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

1.11 Refining the Reservation Policy

1.12 The EWS Quota in NEET Admissions

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

1.13 No Quota without Quantifiable Data

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

o In 2007, Muslims in the BCs were provided with 3.5% reservation.

2. PARLIAMENT AND STATE LEGISLATURE

2.1 Electing Speaker and Deputy Speaker

2.2 Deputy Speaker

2.3 Process for Repealing a Law

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

• Repealing a law is one of the ways to nullify a law. A law is reversed

2.4 Committee on Privileges

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Standing Committees Ad Hoc Committees

They are permanent, which is constituted every year or

They cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to

On the basis of the nature of functions performed by them,

2.5 Governor’s role in State, Central Universities

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

2.6 Failure of Anti-defection Law to Discourage Defection

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

2.7 Dilution of the Lok Ayukta Law

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

2.8 Greater Tipraland

2.9 Karbi Anglong Agreement

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

3.1 Class Action Suit

3.2 Recusal of Judges

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

3.3 English is the Language of Court

3.4 SC Verdict on 97th Constitutional Amendment

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

1. A maximum of 21 directors in a society,

3.5 Collegium Recommendations

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

3.6 SC Order on Govt's’ Power to Withdraw Cases Against MPs-MLAs

3.7 Kedar Nath Singh Sedition Ruling

CHENNAI | SALEM | MADURAI | COIMBATORE DELHI | BANGALORE | THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

Ias Parliment Polity & Ir 2022

Ias Parliment Polity & Ir 2022