Headlines

Muizzu sets March 15 deadline for India to withdraw troops - Page No.1 ,
GS 2
A Speaker’s flawed move to determine the real faction - Page No.6 , GS 2
Prohibitive gains - Page No.6 , GS 3
Regulating India’s online gaming industry - Page No.7 , GS 3
Ganga Sagar Mela - Page No.12 , Prelims

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 Pg no. 1 GS 2

Muizzu sets March 15 deadline for India to withdraw

troops - Page No.1 , GS 2
• Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has asked India to withdraw
its troops from the island nation by March 15, a top official said on
Sunday, posing the latest in a series of diplomatic challenges from
Male to New Delhi since his September election win.

• Abdullah Nazim Ibrahim, the Principal Secretary to President

Muizzu on Public Policy, told a media conference at the Presidential
Palace in Male that Indian military personnel will no longer be
permitted to reside in the Maldives, according to Male-based media.

• The senior official’s announcement was made even as the India-

Maldives High-Level Core Group — set up when Mr. Muizzu and
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the UN
climate summit (COP-28) in Dubai — held its first meeting in Male.
 Pg no. 6 GS 2

A Speaker’s flawed move to determine the real faction

- Page No.6 , GS 2
• Voluntarily giving up the membership of their original party or voting against the
whip of the party are treated as defection and the Members of the legislature who
do either of these things are liable to be disqualified under the anti-defection law
contained in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

• Whether a member of the legislature has voluntarily given up the membership of

his party is to be determined on the basis of the facts and circumstances of each
case. The Supreme Court of India has on several occasions explained the scope
of this term used in paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule.

• In Rajendra Singh Rana vs Swami Prasad Maurya (2007), the Court had said that
when a member or a group of members of the ruling party joins hands with the
Opposition party and meet the Governor along with the Members of the
Opposition and try to form an alternative government, they can be said to have
voluntarily given up the membership of their original party.
 Grounds for Defection
• If the elected member voluntarily gives up his membership of a political
party
• If he votes or abstains from voting on any issue against the direction issued by
his political party
• If any independently elected member joins any political party.
• If any nominated member joins any political party after the expiry of six
months.

• But when two-thirds of elected members of a party agree to “merge” with

another party, they become exempt from disqualification.
• Before 2003, there was a provision where, if as a result of a split in the original
party, one-third of the members of the legislature moved out of the party,
they were exempt from disqualification.
• However, given its excessive misuse, the provision was omitted by the 91st
Amendment to the Constitution.
PRELIMS: Role of the Speaker
• Article 93 of the Constitution mentions the positions of the Speaker and
Deputy Speaker of the House of the People (Lok Sabha)

• Article 178 contains position for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the
Legislative Assembly of a state.

• Article 95(1) says: “While the office of Speaker is vacant, the duties of the
office shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker”.

The decision on questions as to disqualification on ground of defection are

referred to the Chairman or the Speaker of such House, which is subject to
‘Judicial review’.

• However, the law does not provide a timeframe within which the presiding
officer has to decide a defection case.
PRELIMS: Role of the Speaker in Parliamentary Democracy
• He chairs the sessions of the Lok Sabha, overseeing debates and ensuring orderly
and respectful discussions. This involves making decisions on points of order and
enforcing parliamentary rules.
• He acts as a spokesperson for the Lok Sabha, representing it in public and
international events.
• Maintaining impartiality is a key duty for him, necessitating fair treatment of all
Lok Sabha members without bias.
• He is responsible for fostering transparency in Lok Sabha proceedings, ensuring
public access to information about parliamentary activities.
• In the legislative process, he plays a pivotal role by assigning bills to committees,
determining the order of consideration, and certifying the final text before
submission to the President for assent.
• In addition, he represents the Lok Sabha in its interactions with other
parliamentary bodies and institutions.
MAINS: Issues surrounding the office of the Speaker
• Partisanship: Instances of the Speaker being accused of partisan bias,
compromising the neutrality and credibility of the office.

• Use of Discretion: Criticisms of the Speaker using discretion arbitrarily,

leading to perceptions of unfairness and lack of transparency.

Example: Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachilhu and Others (1992) emphasized the

need for the Speaker to act impartially, and the decision is subject to judicial
review.

• Handling of Disruptions: Criticism of the Speaker's handling of

disruptions in the Lok Sabha, raising concerns about maintaining order
and decorum.
MAINS: Issues surrounding the office of the Speaker
• Relations with the Media: Instances where the Speaker faced criticism for
relations with the media and perceived inadequacy in providing
information about house proceedings.

• Handling of Disqualification Cases: Criticisms regarding the Speaker's

decisions on disqualification cases, with calls for more transparent and
impartial handling.

Example: Apart from Maharashtra example, Karnataka MLAs

disqualification case, 2019 is also there.
- The Supreme Court recommended the Parliament to amend the
Constitution regarding the role of the Speaker as a quasi-judicial
authority while dealing with disqualification petitions.
MAINS: Foreign models to make Office of Speaker more effective
To make it more effective following international examples can be looked
into:

• United Kingdom: To ensure the office's impartiality, the Speaker of the

House of Commons in the United Kingdom is traditionally required to
resign from his or her political party upon being elected to the position.

• Canada: The Speaker in Canada has the authority to call ministers to

appear before the house to answer questions and to hold investigations
into matters of public concern.

• This could expand the Speaker's oversight role over the executive branch
and hold it accountable to parliament.
 Pg no. 6 GS 3
Prohibitive gains - Page No.6 , GS 3
• Inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index expectedly quickened to
a four-month high in December, with the measure of gains in food prices
accelerating at a relatively faster pace as inflation in cereals and pulses
stayed stubbornly sticky.

• While headline retail inflation ticked up by 14 basis points from

November’s level to 5.69%, price gains measured by the Consumer Food
Price Index accelerated by 83 basis points from the preceding month’s
reading to 9.53% in December.

• With households likely to spend larger shares of their incomes on food as

these costs continue to rise, there is a real risk that the knock-on impact
on already weak consumption can derail the broader growth momentum
in the economy. And with the spiralling crisis in West Asia infusing a new
level of uncertainty over global trade and energy costs, policymakers
have their task cut out.
Impact:
• Consumer price inflation is now above the 4% midpoint of the RBI’s 2-6%
target range.

• This could make it challenging for the RBI to cut interest rates to stimulate
economic growth.

• The central bank is focused on controlling inflation to maintain stability.

Centre, under section 45ZA of the RBI Act, 1934, has fixed the CPI inflation target at 4%
with an “upper tolerance limit” of 6%.

According to section 45ZN: If inflation remains more than the upper tolerance level of the
target (6%) for any three consecutive quarters, RBI has to submit a report to the Centre.
PRELIMS: Retail Inflation

Categories of Retail Inflation:

• Headline Inflation: Reflects overall inflation in the economy, considering

all goods and services.

• Core Inflation: Excludes volatile components like food and energy to

provide a more stable measure of underlying inflation trends.
 Pg no. 7 GS 3
Regulating India’s online gaming industry - Page No.7
, GS 3
• The meteoric rise of online gaming has brought with it an array of
concerns such as addiction, mental illness, suicides, financial
frauds, privacy and data security concerns

• Online services have become central to how most of us live our

lives. With a staggering 692 million Internet users, India has the
world’s second-largest Internet user base and ranks eighth globally
in terms of time spent on mobile apps.

• The online gaming industry in India is predominantly a home-grown

start-up ecosystem growing at 27% CAGR. It is widely estimated
that AI and online gaming can add up to $300 billion to India’s GDP
by 2026-27.
• These challenges call for an urgent need for robust regulation of the online
gaming industry. Some State governments attempt to ban online gaming.
However, the inherent cross-border nature of the Internet makes enforcing
such a ban almost impossible, leading to the unintended consequence of
legitimate, regulated platforms being replaced by unregulated and potentially
harmful ones.

• The U.K. has a centralised government regulator.

• An unregulated market may not deliver the greatest benefit to society overall.

• According to the International Monetary Fund, a combination of high taxes

and a weak, discretionary approach to regulatory enforcement creates the
most fertile ground for the proliferation of a shadow economy — an
environment in which the Indian online gaming industry is operating.
 Pg no. 12 Prelims

Ganga Sagar Mela - Page No.12 , Prelims

• Rising sea level and erosion of the beach in front of the Kapil Muni temple on
Sagar Island are turning out to be a damper on the Ganga Sagar Mela as the
West Bengal government is desperately seeking a “national fair” status for
the annual religious congregation.

• As thousands of pilgrims descend on the island in the southernmost tip of

West Bengal for the dip on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, about one
kilometre of the beach in front of the temple is covered with mud. The
administration has put up warning signs and diverted pilgrims to other
beaches on the island, away from the temple, for the holy dip.

About Gangasagar Mela:

• It is known as the world’s second largest human congregation after Kumbh.
• It happens every year during Makar Sankranti.
• The mela is held at Sagar Island.
• It has been mentioned in Indian epics such as the Ramayana and
Mahabharata, putting its existence as early as 400 BCE.
• The pilgrims after taking a dip in Ganga also visit the temple of Kapil Muni.
Who is Kapil Muni:

• Kapila or Maharishi Kapila is a Vedic sage (rishi) traditionally considered to be

the original proponent of the Samkhya system of Indian philosophy.
• He is said to have lived in the Indian subcontinent, around the sixth or
seventh century C.E.
• Kapila is described within the Puranas as an incarnation of Vishnu.
• He is known for teaching a process of liberation known as bhakti yoga.
• Buddhist sources present Kapila as a well-known philosopher whose students
built the city of Kapilavastu
• He is not only renowned in Hinduism, but also in Buddhism.
• Kapila shared many similarities with Buddha, including an emphasis on
meditation as a technique for removing suffering, belief that the Vedic gods
were subject to limitations and conditions, and dislike for ritual and
Brahmanic doctrines.
Where is Sagar Island Located?

• Sagar Island, westernmost island of the Ganges-

Brahmaputra delta lies in West Bengal
• It lies at the mouth of the Hugli (Hooghly) River, an arm
of which separates it from the mainland to the east.
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