IAS Current Affairs

Recent issue The controversial collegium system of judicial appointments is under public scrutiny once again. The collegium’s unusual action of revisiting decisions made at an earlier meeting, and recommending the elevation to the apex court of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, instead of two judges whose names had been considered earlier is the issues recently surfaced. The allegation is not merely one concerning the seniority or the lack of it of the two appointees; rather, it is the much graver charge of arbitrarily revoking a decision made on December 12 last year. The appointment of Sanjiv Khanna to the Supreme Court on saw controversy as former Delhi High Court judge Kailash Gambhir wrote to the President objecting to the move since it “superseded almost 32 judges”. There is no communication from the Supreme Court on why it scrapped its decision of December 12 and went with the choices it did. The lack of clarity shines a spotlight on the opaque collegi...

For the second time, the Supreme Court refused to stay amendments to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which rules out any provision for anticipatory bail for the accused. A bench said it would hear a batch of petitions challenging the amendments to the Act along with the Centre’s review plea for final disposal. The petitions have sought the declaration of the new amendments to the SC/ST Act as ultra vires. Guidelines issued by the Supreme Court on SC/ST Act in Kashinath Mahajan case: The court referred to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2015, which said that closure reports had been filed in 15-16 percent of the complaints under the Act. Over 75% of such cases taken up by the courts had resulted in acquittals/ withdrawal or compounding of the cases. Supreme Court gave the judgement on the pretext that Innocents cannot be terrorized by the provisions of the SC/ST Act and their fundamental rights need to be protected....

Why is it in news? Pakistan violated the Geneva Convention What is Geneva Conventions? The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties on the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers. It is also known as the Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts. It was adopted in 1949. It includes four conventions, with three protocols added on since 1949. Their purpose is to provide minimum protections, standards of humane treatment, and fundamental guarantees of respect to individuals who become victims of armed conflicts. These Conventions and their Additional Protocols set out how soldiers and civilians should be treated during armed conflict. What are the four conventions? Convention I: This convention protects wounded soldiers and ensures humane treatment without discrimination based on race, colour, sex, religion or faith, birth or wealth, etc. The convention prohibits torture, assaults upon personal dignity, and execution without judgment. It also grants the ri...

Recent Development: Legal opinion was sought by the Union Government. What do Section 124-A of IPC deals with? The section deals with the offence of sedition. The term “Sedition” covers speech, writing or any form of visible representation, which brings the government into hatred or contempt, or excites disaffection towards the government, or attempts to do so. It says that the term “Disaffection” includes disloyalty and feelings of enmity. It is punishable with three years in prison or a life term. However, it also says expressing disapproval of government measures or actions, with a view to getting them changed by lawful means, without promoting hatred or disaffection or contempt towards the government will not come under this section. Why it was needed? Sedition was introduced in the penal code in 1870; a decade after the Indian Penal Code came into force. It was a colonial law directed against strong criticism of the British administration when it felt the need fo...

Context: The International Court of Justice (ICJ)  dismissed the UK’s right to govern the Chagos Islands  in the Indian Ocean and called on its government to withdraw from the archipelago. What is the issue? The Chagos Archipelago is a group of seven atolls comprising more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean about 500 km south of the Maldives. It had been part of Mauritius since the 18th century when the French first settled the islands. All of the islands of French colonial territory in the region were ceded to the British in 1810. Before Mauritian independence, in 1965, the UK split the archipelago from the territory of Mauritius to form the British Indian Ocean Territory and permitted the US to use it for defence purposes for 50 years (until December 2016) followed by a 20-year optional extension and US Military Base was setup in Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands. 2,000 inhabitants were resettled in Mauritius and the Seychelles. The UN resolutions ba...

Why in news? SAUDI’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited New Delhi, India. Importance of Saudi Arabia for India: Economic Importance: The kingdom is India’s fourth largest trading partner, and India is the fourth largest market for Saudi exports. Bilateral trade is in the region of $28 billion, Saudi Arabia is the key pillar of India’s energy security, being a source of 17% or more of crude oil and 32% of LPG requirements of India. That the two countries are moving beyond the traditional buyer-seller relationship is best exemplified by the joint venture for the $44 billion worth Ratnagiri refinery and petrochemical project. The Saudi Arabian oil major Armaco and a partner UAE company had decided to invest half in a planned $ 44 bn in a refinery-cum-petrochemical project in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. The 2.7 million strong Indian community is the largest expatriate group in Saudi Arabia. They send remittances of over US $11 billion annually. This expatriate group act...

The Department of Industry and Internal Trade has released the draft National e-commerce Policy. The primary focus of the draft policy is centralisation of data arising in India and promotion of its use for the country’s development. It sends a clear message that India and its citizens have a sovereign right to their data, with emphasis on securing data arising in India and treating it as a ‘national asset’. The policy makes a strong case for championing ‘Indian’ online enterprise and may have major implications for foreign-owned ecommerce majors operating in India. E-commerce –  E-commerce means buying and selling of goods and services including digital products over digital & electronic network. E-commerce business have two models: Inventory based model of e-commerce-  Inventory based model of e-commerce means an e-commerce activity where inventory of goods and services is owned by e-commerce entity and is sold to the consumers directly. Marketplace based mo...

Context: Government recently proposed in tax rules for investments made by Indian residents in startups, also known as Angel Tax. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) issued notification in April 2018 for easing the norms for providing tax exemption to the Startup companies and further amended the notification recently. Angel Tax Angel Tax is a 30% tax that is levied on the funding received by startups from an external investor. However, this 30% tax is levied when startups receive angel funding at a valuation higher than its ‘fair market value’. It is counted as income to the company and is taxed. It was introduced by in 2012 to fight money laundering. The stated rationale was that bribes and commissions could be disguised as angel investments to escape taxes. But given the possibility of this section being used to harass genuine startups, it was rarely invoked. In a notification dated May 24, 2018, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) ha...

Recent news and Governments Stance The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an order authorising ten security and intelligence agencies of the country to access any information stored in any computer for the purpose of monitoring, decrypting and interception. The 10 agencies include Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence;, Central Bureau of Investigation, National Investigation Agency Cabinet Secretariat (RAW), Directorate of Signal Intelligence (For service areas of Jammu & Kashmir, North-East and Assam only), and Commissioner of Police, Delhi. The ministry has vested the authority on the agencies under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Rule 4 of the Information Technology Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009. The order mandates for a subscriber or service provider or any person in charge ...

Context: The President recently gave assent to The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019 (124th Constitution Amendment Bill) to provide 10% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to the economically weaker sections (EWS) among those who are not covered under any reservation plan. Key features of the amendment: The Act amends Article 15 to enable the government to take special measures (not limited to reservations) for the advancement of “economically weaker sections” (EWS). Upto 10% of seats may be reserved for such sections for admission in educational institutions. Such reservation will not apply to minority educational institutions. The amendment adds Article 16(6) which permits the government to reserve up to 10% of all posts for the “economically weaker sections” of citizens. The reservation of up to 10% for the EWS will be in addition to the existing reservation cap of 50% reservation for SC, ST and OBCs. The central government will notify...

Context: Afghanistan has begun exporting goods to India for the first time through Iran’s Chabahar port, bypassing the Pakistan route. Twenty-three trucks with dried fruits, textiles, carpets and mineral products were dispatched from the western Afghan city of Zaranj to Chabahar in Iran. Chabahar port is the result of healthy cooperation between India, Iran and Afghanistan this will ensure economic growth. The Iranian port provides easy access to the sea to Afghanistan and India has helped developed this route to allow both countries to engage in trade bypassing Pakistan. Iran is due to handover the strategic Chabahar port to Indian company soon. Earlier India and  Iran had signed an  agreement. Under  this agreement,  India is to equip and  operate two  berths in  ChabaharPort. Phase-I with capital  investment of  $85.21 million and  annual revenue  expenditure of  $22.95 million on  a 10-year lease.  T...

The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was introduced by the Minister of Law and Justice, and Electronics and Information Technology. The Bill amends the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The Aadhaar Act provides targeted delivery of subsidies and benefits to individuals residing in India by assigning them unique identity numbers, called Aadhaar numbers. Features of the Bill Offline verification: Offline verification means use of Aadhaar number to establish identity without authentication using biometric data or other electronic means. The Bill permits offline verification of Aadhaar number for identification purposes. As per the present Act, Aadhaar number without electronic authentication cannot be used to verify identity. Virtual ID : The Bill changes definition of ‘aadhaar number’ to include ‘virtual ID’, in addi...

Context: The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 which recently lapsed saw opposition from various quarters of the country. Provisions of the bill Definition of Illegal Migrants: The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to provide that ‘persecuted’ non-Muslim minorities (Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi & Christian communities) from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who have arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014 & living in India without validtravel documents to obtain Indian citizenship, will notbe treated as illegal migrants. However, to get this benefit, they must also be exempted from provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920, and the Foreigners Act, 1946 by the central government. Citizenship by naturalization: The amendment reduces the aggregate period of residential qualification for acquiring citizenship by naturalization from 11 years to 6 years, along with continuous stay for last 12 months. Cancellation of registration of Ove...

Context: 1st India-Central Asia Dialogue was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan and was co-chaired by the Minister of External Affairs of India Summit outcomes The ministerial level summit saw the participation of External Affairs Ministers of Afghanistan, Kyrgyz Republic,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. India also invited Central Asia Republics (CAR) to participate in the Chabahar Port project jointly undertakenby India and Iran to move Indian goods to landlocked Afghanistan. India also proposed the creation of a Regional Development Group for better coordination on economic andpolicy issues. India also proposed a dialogue on air corridors with the countries of landlocked Central Asia. India already hasopened air corridors for the transport of goods and perishables between India and several Afghan cities mainlyto circumvent Pakistan that controls the overland trade. Read more best ias coaching in kerala ias academy in trivandrum civil service academy tr...

Context: Recently, there have been calls for introduction of Minimum BasicIncome (MBI) in the country. What is it? The Minimum Basic Income is a social welfare system that guaranteesa basic income to households, provided they meet certain conditions.This is different from Universal Basic Income (UBI) scheme, which is aperiodic, unconditional cash transfer to all citizens on individual basis,without means-test or work requirement. To that extent, the MinimumBasic Income is a conditional UBI or a quasi UBI (targeted). Advantages: Social Justice & Equity: There is a need for such ways to ensure ajust society that needs to provide every individual a minimumincome to provide for basic necessities. Freedom of choice: The poor in India are treated as subjects of Government’s welfare policies, rather thaneconomic decision makers. MBI treats them as agents and entrusts them with the responsibility of usingwelfare spending as they see best. Poverty alleviation: According to E...

Context: Recently, Constitution (125th Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Rajya Sabha to increase the financial and executive powers of the 10 Autonomous Councils in the Sixth Schedule areas. About 6th schedule: 6th schedule deals with the administration of the tribal areas in four north-eastern states of Assam,Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. They are treated differently by the constitution because the tribes in these states have not assimilatedmuch the life and ways of the other people in these states. The tribal areas in these states have been constituted as autonomous districts, each of which has anautonomous district council consisting of 30 members. Currently, there are 10 such councils. Some of the powers and functions of autonomous councils include: They can make laws on certain specified matters like land, forest, canal water, shifting cultivation, inheritance of property, marriage, divorce etc. These require assent of the governor. They can constitute vill...

Context: Venezuela is reeling under political turmoil fuelled by an economic crisis due to falling oil prices, and President Nicolas Maduro’s attempts to restrain the Opposition. Origin of economic crisis: In Venezuela, socialist governments have been in power since 1999, taking over the country at a time when it had huge inequality. The socialist policies which aimed to help the poor backfired. Take price controls, for example. They were introduced by President Chávez to make basic goods more affordable to the poor by capping the price of flour, cooking oil and toiletries. But this meant that the few Venezuelan businesses producing these items no longer found it profitable to make them. The foreign currency controls brought in by President Chávez in 2003 led to flourishing black market in dollars. Since then, Venezuelans wanting to exchange bolivars for dollars have had to apply to a government-run currency agency. Only those deemed to have valid reasons to buy dollars, for...