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Legal & Constitutional Current Affairs [PDF E-Book / 1 Year]
Contents
......................... ..... ....... ... ........ ....... ................................................
Himanta Biswa Sarma: 15th Assam CM .................................................................................................................................................... 3
Supreme Court: Only Centre can identify SEBC ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Denmark laws to screen Foreign Investment .......................................................................................................................................... 4
What is Section 142 of Social Security Code? ......................................................................................................................................... 4
SC strikes down Maratha reservation ........................................................................................................................................................ 5
What is Article 164? ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Public Building and Fire Safety Rules in India ......................................................................................................................................... 6
Import of 17 medical devices allowed ....................................................................................................................................................... 7
GNCTD (Amendment) Act comes into force in Delhi ......................................................................................................................... 7
US passes bill to fight hate crimes against Asian Americans ................................................................................................................ 8
Statehood Movement in Columbia ............................................................................................................................................................. 8
SC asks for National plan on COVID-19 situation ................................................................................................................................. 9
US House passes No Ban Act ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9
George Floyd: Ex-policeman found guilty of murder .......................................................................................................................... 10
Drugs and Cosmetics Act: New Regulatory Regime for eight medical items ................................................................................. 11
Ecocide Bill of France ................................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Tribunal Reforms Ordinance, 2021 .......................................................................................................................................................... 12
Right to Privacy, Reputation extinguishes after death: Madras High Court .................................................................................... 13
ISRO Espionage Case ................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
New Zealand Climate Change law for Financial firms ........................................................................................................................ 14
Mandatory Gold Hallmarking from June 1 ............................................................................................................................................. 15
Sushil Chandra: Next Chief Election Commissioner ............................................................................................................................. 15
Draft Electricity (Rights of Consumers) (Amendment) Rules, 2021 ................................................................................................ 16
Supreme Court: Adults are free to choose their religion .................................................................................................................... 16
Central Mine Planning and Design Institute gets Drone Use Permission ........................................................................................ 17
Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021 ...................................................................................................................................................... 18
Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy (second) Ordinance 2021 ........................................................................ 18
SEBI: India should separate the roles of Chairperson and Managing Director .............................................................................. 19
Chief Justice of India: Justice Ramana to assume charge .................................................................................................................... 20
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Amendment Ordinance, 2021 ..................................................................................................... 20
Police and Crime Bill: Why are people protesting in UK? ................................................................................................................... 21
National Register for Driving Licenses: Key Facts ................................................................................................................................ 22
What is Article 244(A) of the Constitution? .......................................................................................................................................... 22
Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021 gets Presidential Assent .................................. 23
Supreme Court refuses to Stay Sale of Fresh Electoral Bonds .......................................................................................................... 24
New Zealand passes Miscarriages Bereavement Leave Law .............................................................................................................. 24
Parliament passes ‘National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill’ ............................................................... 25
Rajya Sabha passes GNCTD amendment Bill ........................................................................................................................................ 25
Parliament passes Finance Bill 2021 ......................................................................................................................................................... 26
SC waives Interest in Loan Moratorium Scheme ................................................................................................................................. 27
Haryana passes Bill to Recover Damages from Protesters ................................................................................................................. 27
New Vehicle Scrapping Policy- Highlights ............................................................................................................................................. 28
Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 ........................................................................................................... 28
Rajasthan Passes Demand for Higher Education Grants .................................................................................................................... 29
National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020 ......................................................................................... 29
Govt of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 introduced in Lok Sabha .................................................................................... 30
Marine Aids to Navigation Bill Introduced ............................................................................................................................................. 30
Supreme Court’s Suggestion on saving Great Indian Bustard ........................................................................................................... 31
Rajya Sabha passes National Institute of Food Technology Bill 2019 .............................................................................................. 31
Ayush Export Promotion Council to be set up ...................................................................................................................................... 32
Bill to amend Electricity Act sent for consultation ................................................................................................................................ 32
India to Propose Cryptocurrency Ban ..................................................................................................................................................... 33
Draft National e-commerce Policy-Highlights ...................................................................................................................................... 34
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Centre’s Panel for Air Quality Management in NCR Dissolved ........................................................................................................ 34
AICTE: Mathematics & Physics not join usmandatory for Engineering Aspirants
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65th,66th and 67th) 35
UP: Government orders to Remove all Roadside Religious Structures ............................................................................................ 35
Tirath Singh Rawat sworn in as Uttarakhand CM ............................................................................................................................... 36
Rajya Sabha passes Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 .................................................................................... 36
J&K: Draft Excise Policy to allot Retail Liquor Vends ........................................................................................................................... 37
Odisha's first survey of backward classes ............................................................................................................................................... 38
India-Fiji: Union Cabinet Approves pact for Co-operation in Agriculture ...................................................................................... 38
Haryana approves Bill to Reserve 75 Per Cent Private Jobs for Locals ........................................................................................... 39
Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill Introduced in MP Assembly ......................................................................................... 39
Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV merged into “Sansad TV” ....................................................................................................... 40
MP approved Penal Law (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2021 ............................................................................................... 40
Task force on river-linking approves the Mahanadi-Godavari link .................................................................................................. 41
Centre's New Guidelines on Social Media Regulation ......................................................................................................................... 41
Cabinet approves President’s Rule in Puducherry ................................................................................................................................. 42
Rajasthan Government Presents First Paperless Budget ...................................................................................................................... 43
Hoshangabad City to be renamed as Narmadapuram ........................................................................................................................ 43
Uttarakhand Brings Ordinance to Give Co-ownership Rights to Women ..................................................................................... 44
NCBC Chairman on sub-categorisation of OBCs ................................................................................................................................ 44
Amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 approved ................................................................................................................... 45
Cabinet approved PLI scheme for Telecom Sector ............................................................................................................................. 46
Ministry of Earth Sciences invited suggestion on Draft Blue Economy Policy .............................................................................. 46
Rajasthan Prison Rules, 1951- Recent Amendments ............................................................................................................................ 47
Is Inter-caste marriage a way forward to reduce communal tensions? .......................................................................................... 48
What is Breach of Privilege Motion? ....................................................................................................................................................... 48
Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2021 ......................................................................................................................... 49
7th Pay Commission: Family Pensions Ceiling Enhanced ................................................................................................................... 50
Goa- 6th State to complete Urban Local Bodies reforms .................................................................................................................. 50
Twitter-GOI Crossfire: GOI asks Twitter to Respect Indian Laws ................................................................................................... 51
Approved Standardised Deep-Sea Fishing Vessels Design and Specifications ................................................................................ 51
SC stays dismantling of INS Viraat .......................................................................................................................................................... 52
Major Ports Authorities Bill, 2020 ........................................................................................................................................................... 53
Budget 2021- Provision of Rs 913.43 crores made for MoPR .......................................................................................................... 53
Anganwadi beneficiaries dropped by 2 crores in 7 years ................................................................................................................... 54
Rajya Sabha Passes Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 ...................................................................... 55
Judicial Activism: NITI Aayog orders to study the 'Economic impact of Judicial Decisions' ...................................................... 55
Digital Banking: Over 2.9 lakh Cyber Security incidents reported in 2020 .................................................................................. 56
PayPal To Stop Domestic Payment Services ......................................................................................................................................... 57
Redevelopment of Central Vista Avenue began .................................................................................................................................... 57
Andhra Pradesh: 2nd State to undertake Power Sector reforms ...................................................................................................... 58
Parliamentary Proceedings: Chairman warns against using mobile phones in RS ........................................................................ 59
Future-Amazon Dispute: Future Group challenges Delhi HC order ............................................................................................... 59
National Infrastructure Pipeline: Financing Bank to be set up .......................................................................................................... 60
Paperless Budget: Mobile app launched ahead of Budget 2021 ........................................................................................................ 61
Section 32A of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code ................................................................................................................................. 61
Special Marriage Act ................................................................................................................................................................................... 62
Jallikattu event in Tamil Nadu ................................................................................................................................................................... 63
Impeachment of Donald Trump .............................................................................................................................................................. 63
Legal Entity Identifier System ................................................................................................................................................................... 64
Supreme Court approves Central Vista Project ..................................................................................................................................... 65
Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act ............................................................................................................................................................. 65
National Defence Authorisation Act, 2021 ............................................................................................................................................ 66
Argentina Abortion Laws ........................................................................................................................................................................... 66
Assam Ease of Doing Business (Amendment) Bill, 2020 .................................................................................................................. 67
Turkey's New bill to monitor civil join ussociety groups ...............................................................................................................................
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Assam’s Bill to abolish State-run Madrassas .......................................................................................................................................... 68
Trump signs package to fund Government and COVID-19 relief ...................................................................................................
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Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Bill, 2020 .................................................................................................................................... 69
Tibetan Policy and Support Act, 2020 ................................................................................................................................................... 70
Assam Official Language Amendment Bill .............................................................................................................................................. 71
Parliamentary Panel calls for Public Health Act .................................................................................................................................... 72
Stopgap Funding Bill ................................................................................................................................................................................... 72
Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 ..................................................................................................................................... 73
Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2020 ............................................................................................................................. 73
Pakistan to create National Sex Offenders Register ............................................................................................................................. 74
Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020 .................................................................................................................................. 75
Breach of Privilege Motion ........................................................................................................................................................................ 75
Pakistan’s anti-rape law .............................................................................................................................................................................. 76
Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act ........................................................................................................................................ 77
Fight against climate change in French Constitution .......................................................................................................................... 78
Maharashtra Shakti Bill .............................................................................................................................................................................. 79
Sherman Anti-trust Act .............................................................................................................................................................................. 79
What is E-Courts Project? .......................................................................................................................................................................... 80
France Law against Islamism ..................................................................................................................................................................... 81
What is Emergency Use Authorization? .................................................................................................................................................. 81
Child-friendly Police Station: Key Facts .................................................................................................................................................. 82
Thai Mangur: Banned Cat fish of India .................................................................................................................................................. 83
NGT directs States to Establish Nodal Agency to protect Water Bodies ........................................................................................ 83
State Consent must to extend CBI Jurisdiction: Supreme Court ...................................................................................................... 84
Why did Supreme Court issue notice over election of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Rajya Sabha? .................... 84
What is Mahajan Commission report on Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute? ..................................................................... 85
Cow Cabinet: A new cabinet in Madhya Pradesh to conserve cows ............................................................................................... 85
Nitish Kumar appointed as Chief Minister of Bihar ............................................................................................................................ 86
Labour Ministry announces Draft Rules under Code on Social Security ........................................................................................ 87
Internal Market Bill of UK: Key Facts ..................................................................................................................................................... 87
What is ‘Sarna Code’ Resolution passed in Jharkhand Assembly? How is it related to Census 2021? .................................... 88
Punjab withdraws general consent to CBI ............................................................................................................................................. 89
All DISCOMS to comply Energy Conservation Act, 2001 ................................................................................................................ 89
Himachal Pradesh anti-conversion law: Key Facts ............................................................................................................................... 90
Krishi Upad Mandi (Amendment) Bill 2020: Key Facts ..................................................................................................................... 91
“Who Created Arogya Setu” issue: NIC rejects its role in creation in a RTI query ...................................................................... 91
President promulgates Ordinance to constitute Air Quality Management Commission in NCR .............................................. 92
20th Amendment of Sri Lankan Constitution: Key Facts ................................................................................................................... 93
Election Commission sets up panel to revise Expenditure Limit for candidates ............................................................................ 93
Union Cabinet approves adoption of Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act ............................................................................ 94
What is anti-trust case against Google? .................................................................................................................................................. 94
Why is UNHCR insisting India to revise FCRA regulations? ............................................................................................................. 95
Gujarat Disturbed Area Act (Amendment) bill, 2020: Key Facts .................................................................................................... 96
Ravi Chopra Committee: SC Orders violated in Chardham Project ................................................................................................ 97
25th Amendment of US Constitution ..................................................................................................................................................... 97
Supreme Court: Overtime Wages should not be denied to labourers during COVID-19 .......................................................... 98
GoI to revamp Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ......................................................................................................... 99
National Medical Commission: Country’s apex regulator of medical education comes into existence .................................... 99
Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 ........................................................................................................................................................... 100
Parliament passes Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain provisions) bill ................................... 101
Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) bill passed in Lok Sabha .............................................................................................................. 101
No Confidence Resolution in Rajya Sabha: Constitutional Provisions, voice vote, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha ........ 102
GoI to amend FCRA: Bill Introduced in Lok Sabha ........................................................................................................................... 103
Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Second Amendment) passed in Rajya Sabha .................................................................................. 104
Lok Sabha passes Farm Reform joinbills: Facts, Concerns and Benefits ..............................................................................................
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President accepts Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s resignation .......................................................................................... 105
Parliament passed Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill,
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CCE 65th,66th and 67th) 106
Lok Sabha Passes Bill to reduce salaries of MPs by 30% ................................................................................................................. 107
Bills Introduced in Lok Sabha to Transform the Agriculture .......................................................................................................... 108
The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 ............................................................ 108
Lok Sabha passes National Commission for Homeopathy Bill, 2019 ............................................................................................ 109
Virtual Courts in India Should Stay: Panel ............................................................................................................................................ 110
Plea for Legal Entity Status to Animals ................................................................................................................................................... 111
Railways propose to Decriminalise Begging .......................................................................................................................................... 111
11 Ordinances in queue for Parliament Monsoon Session ................................................................................................................. 112
SC rules 'Daughters have equal heirship rights in joint Hindu family property' ........................................................................... 112
Patanjali Cannot Use the Trademark ‘Coronil’: Madras HC Interim Order .................................................................................. 113
Shipping Ministry issues “Aids to Navigation Bill 2020” ................................................................................................................... 113
Ranbir Singh Committee formed for reforms in criminal law ......................................................................................................... 114
Yusuf Memon: 1993 Mumbai Serial Blast Convict dies in Nashik Prison ..................................................................................... 114
Electricity (Amendment) bill, 2020 to bring about reforms in power sector ............................................................................... 115
SC issues Notice over health insurance for Mental Illness ................................................................................................................. 115
Panel formed by Delhi LG to advise Delhi Disaster Management Authority ................................................................................ 115
18th Bench of CAT in UTs of Ladakh and J&K .................................................................................................................................. 116
To Change India’s Name to Bharat ........................................................................................................................................................ 116
Union Cabinet approves farmer friendly Essential Commodities Act ............................................................................................. 117
Supreme Court's suo motu cognisance of Migrant Workers' plight .............................................................................................. 117
What is “Collective Conscience” invoked by Indian Courts in Death Penalty cases? .................................................................. 117
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to enter Legislature: The Constitutional Features ........................................................... 118
NGT Order of Vizag Gas Tragedy: What is Strict Liability Vs Absolute Liability? ...................................................................... 118

Himanta Biswa Sarma: 15th Assam CM
Published On May 10, 2021
Himanta Biswa Sarma is to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Assam on May 10, 2021. He is to replace
Sarbananda Sonowal. Both the candidates are from BJP. Sarbananda recently resigned.
Chief Minister of the state
The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor. It is to be noted that only Members of the Legislative
Assembly or Members of the Parliament are elected by the people. The Chief Minister and the Prime
Minister are appointed by the Governor and President respectively.
After the election, the party that secures majority in the house elects its leader. The leader’s name is then
communicated to the Governor. The Governor appoints the CM and then asks the CM to appoint his council
of ministers. The Governor can ask the single largest party to form the government when no party gets
majority in the state.
The State Assembly shall remove him from power by passing Vote of No Confidence against him. Also, the
Governor shall dismiss him if he loses his majority support.
A person not belonging to the Legislative Assembly or to the Legislative Council shall also be appointed as
the Chief Minister. However, he or she should be elected to either of the houses within six months of his or
her tenure. Like Mamta Banerjee was sworn in as the Chief Minister of West Bengal. She was sworn in as
the CM of West Bengal even though she lost in the Assembly elections to Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of
1956 votes.
Constitutional Provisions
Article 163: The Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers advise the Governor
Article 164: Governor appoints the Chief Minister. The Governor then appoints the ministers based on
the recommendation of the Chief Minister.
Article 166: Conduct of Business of the State Government
Article 167: Duties of Chief Minister
The Chief Minister and Prime Minster provisions are not mentioned in the constitution.
Supreme Court: Only Centre can identify SEBC
The Supreme Court recently pronounced that only President can take decisions in declaring the Socially and
Economically Backward Community. The judgement was pronounced upholding the 102nd constitutional
amendments.
About the Judgement
The Apex court said that the 102 nd constitutional amendment has taken away the powers of state
governments to designate Socially and Economically Backward Classes.
What is the issue?
The State Governments have been expanding the list of Socially and Economically Backward Classes to
entitle the recipient communities with quota benefits.
Indra Sawhney Case
The State Government has full powers to identify a backward class. The Sawhney Case verdict directed the
appointment of National Backward Classes Commission and State Backward Classes Commission. Thus,
102nd constitutional amendment was brought in and the commissions were established.
102nd Constitutional Amendments
The 102nd Constitutional Amendment inserted Articles 338 B and Article 342 A, The Article 338 B deals with
the structure, powers and duties of National Commission for Backward Classes and the Article 342 A deals
with the power of the president to notify a particular caste as Socially and Economically Backward.

Article 366 and Article 342 says that only President shall identify SECC.
Why did the issue pop up?
The Maharashtra State Government declared the Maratha Community as the Socially and Economically
Backward Class. The Supreme court has struck down the Maratha reservation provided by the State
Government under SEBC act, 2018..
The Bombay High Court recently upheld the Maharashtra Socially and Economically Backward Classes Act,
2018. This was challenged in Supreme Court by various petitions.
Denmark laws to screen Foreign Investment
Denmark has passed a law to allow the screening of foreign investments so that they do not pose any
threats to the National Security.
Why the new law?
The new law has been legislated to protect the country against Huawei of China and its objectives to build
5G network in the country. However, the law does not mention China.
About the law
Under the law, the foreign investors will be assessed on their potential link to foreign governments and
armed forces. They will also be assessed for connection to criminal activities.
The law is not applicable to Greenland and Faroe Islands. They are sovereign territories under the Kingdom
of Denmark.
Why is Huawei a threat to National Security?
Several countries in the world are making new legislation and other key measures to protect their National
security against Huawei. This includes US, Australia as well. The UK has ordered to strip Huawei technology
from UK by 2027. India and Germany too have raised concerns against Huawei.
Huawei manufactures kits such as gateways, network switches and bridges. They are core infrastructure
devices that touch everything traversing the internet. They are critical for proper functioning of the system.
This means that the Governments should take extra care in protecting their data.
Huawei was founded in 1987 in China by Ren Zhengfei. He was a former engineer in the People’s Liberation
Army. He has strong connections with the Communist Party of China and also to the military. This is being
cited as a security concern. Countries fear that the Chinese Government might use Huawei as a backdoor to
breach into the national security system.
What is Section 142 of Social Security Code?
The Ministry of Labour and Employment recently notified Section 142 of the Social Security Code, 2020. The
Section covers applicability of the Aadhhar.
Why was Section 142 notified?
The notification will enable the Ministry of Labour and Employment to collect Aadhaar details from the
beneficiaries of various social security schemes. This includes migrant workers as well.
Why are Aadhaar details collected?
The National Informatics Centre is creating a National Database for unorganised workers. The portal aims
to collect data of migrant workers as well. This data will be used by various schemes of the Government. An
inter-state migrant worker can register himself in the portal by submitting Aadhaar alone.
Section 142
It says that Aadhaar details are compulsory for an employee or unorganised person or any other person to
get benefits of government schemes. The benefits can be in kind of cash for medical sickness, availing
services of career centre, maternity benefits, receiving payment as insured person, etc.

Social Security Code
The Social Security Code was introduced in 2019. The main objectives of the code was to club the existing
laws. It introduced universal social security for unorganised workers and also health and insurance benefits
for gig workers.
It merged eights existing laws. This included Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, Employment Provident Funds and
Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, Compensation Act, 1923.
It also established a social security fund and also tapped the corporate social responsibility fund to offer
medical, disability and pension benefits to the unorganised sector workers.
SC strikes down Maratha reservation
The Supreme Court of India recently struck down Maratha reservation in the state as it breaches 50% ceiling
of reservation. This was done by striking down the Maharashtra law that guaranteed reservation for the
Maratha community their quota in employment and public education.
Inception
In 2016, several Marathas came together under the “Maratha Kranti Morcha”. They joined hands to protest
the rape and killing of a fifteen-year-old girl in Kopardi village, Ahmednagar. Though Kopardi incident was a
trigger, it was later centred on reservation for the Maratha community in educational institutions and
government jobs. In 2017, silent, massive rallies were held that consolidated more and more Marathas
towards this cause. They also demanded for loan waiver to farmers, justice for the Kopardi girl.
In 2018, street protests turned violent. Some even committed suicides. “Ek Maratha Lakh Maratha” was
their slogan.
M G Gaikwad Commission
The then CM Fadnavis (BJP) set a eleven member commission under retired justice N G Gaikwad. The
commission recommended that the Marathas should be given reservation as it was a Socially and
Educationally Backward Class (SEBC). The commission did not specify quota percentage. It was left to the
State Government to decide upon.
Reservation provided
In 2018, the State Government of Maharashtra provided reservation to the Marathas under the Maharashtra
Socially and Educationally Backward Act. The act was approved in both the assembly and the council.
Reservation challenged in High Court
A Public Interest Litigation challenged the reservation under SEBC in Bombay High Court. The High Court
upheld the reservation and pronounced that the reservation should be 12% in education and 13% in jobs
instead of 16%.
Impact on Socio-Political Order
Marathas constitute 32% of population of Maharashtra. They are a major political force in Maharashtra. The
SC’s order is to deepen the divide between OBCs and Marathas that was created by reservation politics.
What is Article 164?
The West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost in Nandigram. She lost the seat to her former
protégé-turned-BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari by a margin of 1956 votes. Protégé is a person supported by a
more experienced person. However, she can still take over as the Chief Minister of the State. This is
permitted under Article 164 (4).
Article 164
The Article 164 lists the following:
Article 164 (1): The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor of the state.
Article 164 (2): The Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the

state.
Article 164 (3): The Governor administers the oaths of the minister.
Article 164 (4): A Minister who is a not a member of the Legislative Assembly shall cease to be a minister
at the end of six months.
Article 75
As that of the provisions provided for the State Legislature under Article 164, Article 75 provides the
provisions for the Central Legislature.
Article 75 (1): PM and other ministers shall be appointed by the President.
Article 75 (2): Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.
Article 75 (3): The Ministers are collectively responsible to Lok Sabha
Article 75 (4): The President administers oaths to the ministers
Article 75 (5): A member who is not a member of both the houses for six months will cease to be a member
of either of the house.
Chief Minister and Prime Minister
According to Article 164 (4) and Article 75 (5), the CM and PM shall hold their offices even if they are not
members of their respective houses. By this law, Mamta is to be appointed as the Chief Minister of West
Bengal even if she has lost the election. However, she has to become the member of the West Bengal State
Legislature within six months.
Public Building and Fire Safety Rules in India
There have been deadly fires in the hospital buildings of India. This includes hospitals treating COVID-19 as
well. The recent fires in hospital buildings of Virar region of Mumbai, Bharuch in Gujarat and in Mumbra near
Thane has brought the spotlight to the Public Building and Fire Safety rules.
Root Cause of the problems
The public building and fire safety rules are not abided during the construction of buildings. According to
National Crime Records Bureau more than 330 people died in commercial fires in 2019.
Electrical faults have been identified as the main reason behind recent fires in the hospitals. The State
Governments fail to implement building safety laws that make installation of modern technologies
mandatory.
National Building Code of India
It is the main standard fire safety compliance in public buildings. It provides the technical
requirements for special buildings. Part 4 of the code deals with Fire and Line Safety.
They recommend the location of buildings. They ensure that industrial and hazardous structures do
not coexist with residential and business buildings.
It provides specifications for use of certified fire-resistant materials and guidelines to design
buildings. The code makes it mandatory to set up automatic fire detection system, dry riser pipelines,
automatic sprinklers, fireman’s lift escape routes, etc. The dry riser pipelines are used by the fire
fighters to douse (pour a liquid) upper floors.
Recent measures
In September 2020, the Health Ministry circulated strict guidelines demanding for a third-party
accreditation for fire safety.
The Supreme Court in December 2020 directed all the states to carry out fire safety audits.
The National Disaster Management Authority recently stipulated requirements for fire safety in
hospitals and other public buildings.

Import of 17 medical devices allowed
Published On Apr 30, 2021
The Government of India recently allowed import of seventeen medical devices to provide relief to the
COVID-19 patients. However, the importer should make mandatory declarations under Legal Metrology
Rules, 2011.
Which devices were allowed?
The Department of Consumer Affairs has allowed the import of the following devices:
Nebulizers
oxygen concentrators
CPAP and BIPAP devices
Vacuum Pressure Swing Absorption
Pressure Swing Absorption
Oxygen Plants
Cryogenic Oxygen Air Separation Unit
oxygen canister
oxygen filling systems
oxygen cylinders including cryogenic cylinders
Ventilators
About the Notification
The notification issued by GoI says that the imported items should comply Rule 33(1) and Rule 6 of the
Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodity) Rules, 2011. These rules makes it mandatory for the importers to
put proper stamping or stickers or online printing revealing required information.
What are Legal Metrology Rules?
The Legal Metrology Rules were framed to regulate pre-packaged commodities. Under the rules, the pre
packaged commodities have to comply mandatory labelling requirement.
The laws related to Metrology in India are as follows:
Legal Metrology Act, 2009
Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011
Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011
About Import of Medical Devices in India
A person having license under the Drug and Cosmetics Act, 1940 can import medical devices in the country.
Import, sale, manufacturing and distribution of medical devices are regulated by the same act. The Central
Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) governs the regulations of import of medical devices in the
country.
CDSCO
It is responsible for approval of drugs. However, recently GoI included some of the medical devices under
the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Currently, there are thirty seven medical devices regulated under the act.
GNCTD (Amendment) Act comes into force in Delhi
On April 27, 2021, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021 came into
effect. The act was passed by the Parliament during the budget session. The act gives more power to
Lieutenant Governor (LG).
Key Provisions
The act proposed that the word “Government” in National Capital Territory of Delhi meant the LG of
Delhi.
It provides discretionary powers to the LG even in matters where the Delhi Legislature is empowered

to make laws.
The act seeks to ensure that the LG is granted an opportunity to give his opinion before a decision
made by the Council of Ministers is implemented.
The LG opinion should be obtained before the Delhi Government takes action based on decisions
taken by the Cabinet.
It bars the Legislative Assembly of Delhi from making rules related to day-to-day administration.
Administration inf Delhi
The National Capital Region is administered with a legislature that came in to existence in 1991. The Delhi
Legislature was constituted under Article 239AA of the Constitution. By law, the Delhi Legislature has all
powers to make laws in matters except public order, land and police.
Concerns
The law will take away the autonomy of the Delhi Government.
Supreme Court on Delhi Legislative Assembly
In 2018, the Supreme Court pronounced that the LG’s concurrence is not required on issues other
than police, land and public order.
The SC had also said that the LG of Delhi is not like a Governor in other states. He is an administrator.
US passes bill to fight hate crimes against Asian Americans
The US Senate recently passed a bill to help combat the rise of hate crimes against the Pacific Islanders
and Asian Americans. The bill will support the local law enforcements in controlling the hate crimes.
Need for the Bill
The COVID-19 increased the hate crimes against the Asian Americans in the US. According to the Federal
Crime Data, the hate crimes were at the highest level in over a decade in 2019. This has increased further in
2020 after COVID-19.
The discrimination being reported in the US are Verbal harassment, physical assault, shunning, coughed or
spat on, workplace discrimination or refusal of service.
Situation in California
Of all the states, California is facing a greater number of hate crimes. More than six million Asian
Americans live in California. They make up more than 15% residents of the state. Between March, 2020 and
May 2020, California had reported more than 800 COVID-19 related hate crimes. According to a study, these
incidents have now increased by 1200%.
Hate Crimes in India
The Indian Penal Code makes hate crimes punishable. Sections 153 A, 153 B, 295 A, 505 (1), 298 and 505
(2) of the Indian Penal Code says that words spoken or written that promotes disharmony, insults, hatred on
the basis of ethnicity, religion, culture, region, community, caste, race, etc is punishable under law.
Other Indian laws that contain provisions related to hate speech are Information Technology Act, 2000,
Representation of People Act, 1951 and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Hate Crimes in India due to COVID-19
In India, the hate crimes against Muslims are increasing due to COVID-19. Rumours are spreading in the
country, especially in Jharkhand that Muslim men are deliberately splitting in public places to spread the
virus. This has even created group clashes in Gumla district of Jharkhand.
Statehood Movement in Columbia
The House of Representatives in the US recently passed a bill to make Washington DC, the fifty first US
state. The Washington DC Admission bill is being passed for the second time in a year. The bill will create
the state of “Washington, Douglas Commonwealth”. It has been named after Frederick Douglass.

The Washington DC is formally known as Columbia. It is the capital of United States. It is located on the
Potomac river. It borders Maryland and Virginia.
Statehood Movement in Columbia
The District of Columbia Statehood Movement aims to make the Columbia District a US state. This will
provide the taxpayers with voting representation in the Congress. Eventually they will receive full control
over the local affairs. Currently, the Columbian district is under the direct jurisdiction of the US Congress.
How can the Statehood be achieved?
The Statehood shall be achieved in the US if the US Congress passes a law. The Article IV of the US
Constitution empowers the US Congress to admit new states to the Union by passing a law.
About Columbia
If Columbia becomes a state, it will rank 49th in population. But in terms of GDP, it will rank first. And also,
first in terms of median household income.
Frederick Douglass
He was the first African American to be nominated for Vice President of USA. He was a social reformer,
orator and abolitionist. He once served as a slave in Maryland. He escaped slavery and became a national
leader of the Abolitionist movement. The Abolitionist movement sought to end slavery in the US.
SC asks for National plan on COVID-19 situation
The Supreme Court recently asked the Government of India to submit a National Plan on the COVID-19
situation. Supreme Court took a Suo moto cognisance and issued a notice to the central government on the
supply of COVID-19 supplies such as oxygen, COVID care essentials and medicines.
Why did SC step in?
There are several high court hearings underway regarding COVID-19 preparedness. Some are even dictating
lock down rules. Thus, SC has stepped in to control the actions of these courts and to establish that the
lock down protocol and imposition should be left to the central and state governments. The courts shall
only observe and guide them.
What did the Supreme Court say?
The Supreme Court said that the right to impose lock down should be reserved with the states and not with
the courts. The Supreme Court recently stayed an order issued by the Uttar Pradesh High Court to impose
lock down in several cities in the state.
About the Notice Issued
The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the centre on four issues. They were on supply of essential drugs,
supply of oxygen, power to declare lock down and method of vaccination.
Suo Motu Cognizance
Suo Moto Cognizance is when an Indian Court takes a case on its own. The Suo Moto Cognizance has been
awarded to the courts under Article 32 and Article 226 of the constitution.
Article 32
The Article provides powers to the Supreme Court to issue directions, orders, writs to enforce rights
conferred to the court. In simple terms, Article 32 empowers the Supreme Court to issue Suo Moto
Cognizance.
Article 226
The article empowers the High Courts to issue to persons, authorities, orders, directions, mandamus, quo
warranto, prohibition.
US House passes No Ban Act
The US House of Representatives recently passed a bill that will limit the ability of the President to impose

religion-based travel ban. It is informally called “No Ban Act”.
Why was the act passed?
The No Ban Act was passed in response to the controversial “Muslim ban” passed by the former US
President Donald Trump. The Muslim ban barred the travel from Muslim-majority countries to the US.
Full Form of NO BAN Act
NO BAN Act is the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Non-Immigrants Act.
Key Features of No Ban Act
Before imposing a restriction, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department should
report to Congress about the restriction.
The President should present his evidence of credible threat that initiated travel ban to the
Department of Homeland Security and Secretary of the State. He shall impose the ban only after
getting approval from DHS And the Secretary.
Background
In 2017, the former President Trump imposed travel ban shortly after becoming the President of United
States. It was struck down twice by the US courts. However, in 2018, the US Supreme Court upheld the act.
The travel ban was initially applied only to countries such as Yemen, Syria, Iran, Libya and Somalia.
However, it was later expanded to Eritrea, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan, Nigeria and Tanzania.
Muslims in the US
There are more than 3.45 million Muslims living in the US. This is 1.1% of the total US population.
Around 25,000 US citizens convert to Islam annually.
50% of the Muslims are foreign born and 50% are native born.
The origin of Muslims in the US soil dates back to the slave era. Muslims were brought as slaves to
the American soil from Africa.
George Floyd: Ex-policeman found guilty of murder
On April 20, 2020, the former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of manslaughter and murder
in George Floyd case. He has now found guilty (arrested for proven charges of murder).
The George Floyd’s case created worldwide protests and violence. It led to re-examination of racism and
policing in the United States.
What is George Floyd case?
George Floyd was an African American. A store clerk alleged that George had passed a counterfeit 20 USD.
Following the complaint, the police arrested George. During the arrest, one of the four police officers, Derek
Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck and back for nine minutes and 29 seconds. This killed George. His death was
captured on a cell phone camera.
The death of George Floyd led to worldwide protests.
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, 2021
It is a police reform bill that was drafted by the Democrats in the US Congress. It aims to combat excessive
force by police, police misconduct, racial bias in policing. It was passed at the House of Representatives
and is yet to be voted by the Senate.
Powers of Police Officers in the US
A law enforcement officer shall handcuff and arrest a person.
The arrested person will be held in a police station.
The police officer can use force only for self defence.
Use of Deadly Force by Police in the US
In 2019, more than 1004 people were shot and killed by police.

Legal US Terms used to file Charges against Chauvin
The following are the breakdown of charges against Chauvin:
Second Degree Unintentional Murder
It is also called felony murder. According to this, Chauvin applied unlawful force that caused bodily harm to
Floyd.
Third Degree Murder
The action was “eminently dangerous”. Eminently means to a notable degree. And the action was carried
out with a reckless disregard, that is, the action that is carried out without thinking about the consequences.
Second-Degree Manslaughter
Attacking consciously and taking the chance of causing the death.
Drugs and Cosmetics Act: New Regulatory Regime for eight medical items
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently notified eight items to be regulated under the Drugs and
Cosmetics Act. According to the ministry, this had come into effect on April 1, 2021 under the Medical
Devices Rules, 2017 that was enacted in 2017.
What are the new eight medical items?
The new eight medical items that has come under the regulation of Drugs and Cosmetics Act are as follows:
Bone Marrow Cell Separator
X-Ray machine
Dialysis machine
PET Equipment
Defibrillators
MRI Equipment
CT Scan Equipment
All Implantable Medical Devices
What are the new regulations?
According to the new order, the manufacturers and importers are required to take manufacturing license
from Central Licensing Authority or State Licensing Authority.
Earlier Developments
In 2020, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced that the medical equipment will be qualified
as “Drugs” under Section 3 of Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
It regulates the import, manufacture and distribution of drugs in the country.
The main objective of the act is to make sure that the drugs and cosmetics sold in the country are
safe.
The Drugs Technical Advisory Board is the highest decision-making body in matters related to the
technical details of the drugs. The board was constituted under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
Importance of bringing more medical devices under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act
The import of medical devices in India is more than 75% of the total medical device sale in the
country.
By bringing more medical devices under the regulations of Drugs and Cosmetics Act, the Indian
companies shall raise their products to International standards.
It increases the accountability of the manufacturers and the importers.
It provides an assurance of safety to the customers.

Ecocide Bill of France
The French National Assembly recently approved the bill that makes “Ecocide” an offence.
Key Features
Under the law, the transgressors are liable up to ten years in prison and a fine of 4.5 million Euros
(that is 5.4 million USD). Transgressor is person who violates a rule or law or has done something
unacceptable.
The law mainly punishes those who endanger the environment or commit a general crime of pollution.
Such persons will be punished with three years in prison and a fine of 300,000 Euros.
Background
In April 2015, the French President Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of Citizens Convention for
Climate. The convention aimed to reduce the Green House Gas Emissions by 40% as compared to their
levels in 1990.
The convention proposed the idea of making ecocide a crime.
Apart from creating a law against Ecocide, around 149 proposals were made in the convention. Some of
them were cutting VAT in train tickets, banning domestic flights, regulating advertising on polluting
products, banning domestic flights on journey that can be done by train in less than four hours.
The Convention was launched as result of Gillet Jaunes Crisis. It is also called the Yellow Vests Movement.
Yellow Vests Movement
The movement mainly began condemning the fuel price rise in France. According the French President the
fuel tax was imposed to discourage the use of fossil fuels to combat climate change.
The movement called for redistributive economic policies such as increased pensions, wealth tax, higher
minimum wages and reduced salaries for politicians.
Definition of Ecocide
The Citizens Convention for Climate defined Ecocide as “Any action that causes serious environmental
damage by contributing to overstepping the limits of the planet”.
Tribunal Reforms Ordinance, 2021
The President of India recently promulgated “The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and conditions of
Service)” Ordinance, 2021. It dissolved appellate authorities under nine acts and transferred their functions
to high courts.
Amendments
The ordinance dissolved appellate tribunals under nine acts as follows:
Cinematograph Act, 1952
Copyrights Act, 1957
Trade Marks Act, 1999
Customs Act, 1962
Airports Authority of India Act, 1994
Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act, 2001
Patents Act, 1970
Also, the ordinance said that the chairperson and members of tribunals will be appointed by the Central
Government based on the recommendations made by a Search-cum Select Committee. The committee will
consist of Chief Justice of India, secretaries nominated by the central governments, secretary of the
ministry under which the tribunal is constituted and the outgoing chairperson or a retired CJI or a retired

supreme court judge.
Section 184 of Finance Act, 2017
Apart from these nine acts, the Tribunal Reforms Ordinance, 2021 also amended Section 184 of the Finance
Act, 2017. It has added the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission within the purview of
Finance Act, 2017. It has removed the following bodies from the purview of Finance Act, 2017:
Airport Appellate Tribunal established under the Airports Authority of India act, 1994
the Film Certification Appellate Authority established under the Cinematograph Act, 1952
the Authority of Advanced Ruling established under the Income Tax Act, 1961
the Appellate Board established under the Trade Marks Act, 1999,
Article 123
The Article 123 of the Indian Constitution provides powers to president to promulgate an ordinance. An
ordinance laid under the act has the same effect as that of an act.
Right to Privacy, Reputation extinguishes after death: Madras High Court
The Madras High court recently pronounced that the Right to Privacy of a deceased person cannot be
inherited.
What is the issue?
J Deepa, niece of former Chief Minister J Jayalalitha filed a plea in the High Court to stop the release of a
biopic “Thalaivi”. The movie is based on the life of the former CM. According to the petitioner, the movie is
defaming her reputation. Also, life story of Jayalalitha cannot be filmed without adding the life of her
relatives into it. By this it will amount to invade her (Deepa’s) privacy as well.
Judgement
The High Court pronounced that the movie is subjected to the certifications given by CBFC. And the CBFC is
yet to go through the contents of the movie. Also, personality, privacy and reputation enjoyed by a person
during his or her life time ends with his or her death.
CBFC
CBFC is Central Board of Film Certification.
It is a statutory body that operates under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
It regulates the provisions of Cinematograph Act, 1952.
The films that are streamed in India shall be exhibited only after being certified by CBFC.
Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021
The rules were recently released in February 2021. After COVID-19, the movies were released in digital
platform like amazon prime, Netflix. These new rules largely cover Over the Top (OTT) media services.
There are currently forty OTT service provides in India. OTT market in India is growing largely. In 2018, the
OTT market value was Rs 21.5 billion and in 2019 it grew to Rs 35 billion.
ISRO Espionage Case
On April 15, 2021, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) probe into the role of
Kerala Police officers in framing Nambi Narayanan in the 1994 Espionage Case. Nambi Narayanan was a
scientist at the Indian Space Research Organisation.
When did ISRO Espionage case begin?
The case began with the arrest of Maldivian woman Mariam Rashida in 1994. She was arrested on the
charges of overstaying her visa. Her arrest led to the arrest of Narayanan. Nambi Narayanan was the
director of the cryogenic project lab of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Why was Nambi Narayanan arrested?
In 1994, Nambi Narayanan was charged for leaking vital defence secrets to Maldivian intelligence

officers Fauzia Hassan and Mariam Rashida. He was accused of selling confidential flight test data
from the experiments with satellite and rocket launches. He was arrested and he spent fifty days in
jail.
In May 1996, the charges against the scientist were dismissed. It was later dismissed in Supreme
Court in April 1998.
In 1999, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) passed strictures against the Kerala
Government for damaging Narayanan’s career in space research. He was then given desk job at ISRO.
In 2001, the National Human Rights Commission ordered the Kerala Government to pay a
compensation of Rs 1 crore. He then retired in 2001.
Narayanan’s fight for Justice
In 2013, Narayanan pushed to get justice and bring out the people involved in framing a false case on him.
In 2018, the Supreme court appointed a three-member panel to probe the case. Later a three-judge bench
headed by Justice Dipak Misra ordered to award Rs 50 lakh compensation for the mental cruelty suffered by
the scientist all these years.
In 2019, GoI conferred Padma Bhushan to Nambi Narayanan.
New Zealand Climate Change law for Financial firms
New Zealand recently introduced a bill on Climate Change for financial firms. The bill is the first of its kind
in the world. New Zealand has fixed 2050 as the deadline to become carbon neutral.
Key Features of the Bill
It will require the insurers, banks and investment managers to report the impacts of their funding on
the effect of climate change.
It will also force the financial firms to evaluate the companies they are lending in terms of
environmental impacts.
All the banks in New Zealand with total asset more than 1 billion New Zealand dollars (703 million
USD) will now have to make disclosures about their asset management.
The financial firms will now have to explain how they will manage climate related risks and
opportunities.
Other New Zealand Legislations on Climate Change
The New Zealand Government has lately taken several climate changes measures to lower green house gas
emissions in the country. Some of them are as follows:
In 2019, the Climate Change Response Act, 2002 was amended. According to the amendment, New
Zealand intended to implement climate change policies in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
Carbon Neutral Government Programme was set up to accelerate the reduction of emissions within
the public sector.
New Zealand Green Investment Finance was launched to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions. The
main objective of the finance is to accelerate funding of projects that have the potential to reduce
emissions.
Nationally Determined Contributions of New Zealand
In 2015, New Zealand ratified the Paris Agreement. The Nationally Determined Contributions of New
Zealand under the agreement are as follows:
To reduce green house gas emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.
US Climate Change targets
More than three hundred investors and businesses have called on the Biden administration to set an
ambitious climate change join goal. They aim to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% below 2005
us http://telegram.me/bpsc65thmains66thprelims (BPSC CCE 65th,66th & 67th)

levels. This is to be achieved by 2030.
Mandatory Gold Hallmarking from June 1
The Government of India recently announced that it is fully prepared to implement mandatory hallmarking of
gold artefacts and jewellery from June 1, 2021. Currently, Gold Hallmarking is voluntary in the country.
What is Gold Hallmarking?
Gold Hallmarking is providing purity certification to the gold jewellery and artefacts.
Only three grades of jewelleries will now be hall marked under the new regulations. They are 14-carat,
18-carat and 22-carat. Earlier, ten grades of gold jewelleries were hall marked.
The new Gold Hallmark will contain four marks. They are purity in carat, BIS mark, assay centre’s
name and the identification mark of the jeweller.
The system is also available for consumers who want their old jewelleries hallmarked.
A person found violating the provisions will have to pay a minimum fine of Rs 1 lakh or five times the
price of the article.
Importance of Gold Hallmarking
The mandatory hallmarking of gold will protect the public against lower carat. This will ensure that
the consumers are not cheated.
It will bring in transparency and will assure quality to the consumers.
It will remove corruption in the system of manufacturing of jewellery.
Legality of Gold Hallmarking
The BIS Act, 2016 made gold hallmarking mandatory in India. The act has also identified new areas in
standardisations such as E-mobility, alternate fuels, medical devices, digital technologies, smart
cities and new renewable energy.
The Hallmarking scheme for gold artefacts is run by BIS since 2000.
Also, the BIS Hallmarking Regulations, 2018 called for hallmarking of silver jewellery and silver
artefacts and also gold jewellery and gold artefacts. Uhe regulations, the penal provisions were made
stringent.
Sushil Chandra: Next Chief Election Commissioner
Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra recently took over as the new Chief Election Commissioner of India.
About Sushil Chandra
Sushil Chandra was appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner by the President of India, Shri Ram
Nath Kovind.
He was appointed as the Election Commissioner along with Ashok Lavasa and Arora in 2019.
He will oversee the completion of the ongoing assembly elections.
His term will end in 2022. Before that assembly elections will be held in the states of Uttar Pradesh,
Punjab, Goa, Manipur, and Uttarakhand.
Earlier he had served as the Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
In 2017, he launched “Operation Clean Money” to curb illegal wealth and black money in the country.
Article 324 of the Constitution provides the provisions of Chief Election Commissioner. The provisions
under the article are as follows:
Article 324 provides powers to the Chief Election Commissioner to control and direct elections to the
state legislature, parliament and to the offices of President and Vice President of the country.
The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election commissioners shall be appointed by the
President of India.

It also says that, the Chief Election Commissioner shall be removed from office only on the like
grounds of the Supreme Court Judge.
The State Election commissioner shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief
Election Commissioner.
The staff requested by the Election Commission to discharge its functions shall be provided by the
Governor of the state and by the President of India.
Election Commissioner Amendment Act
The Election Commissioner Amendment Act, 1989 made the Election Commission a multi-member body.
Under the act, two additional election commissioners were appointed to the Election Commission. However,
the decision of the Chief Election Commissioner is final.
Draft Electricity (Rights of Consumers) (Amendment) Rules, 2021
The Ministry of Power recently issued a Draft Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2021. These new
rules allow net metering of roof top solar systems.
About the new Rules
The net metering of roof top has been allowed up to 500 KW in the new rules.
The following definitions were added:
Gross Metering means a mechanism where the total solar energy generated from a grid
interactive rooftop solar system and the energy consumed are accounted separately.
Net metering is defined as the mechanism where solar energy is exported to the grid from grid
interactive rooftop solar PV (Photo Voltaic) system.
The energy imported from the grid and the energy exported to the grid are valued at two
different tariffs.
These amendments have been made to the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020. Electricity is a
concurrent subject.
Electricity (Right of Consumers) Rules, 2020
The rules mainly cover aspects of power supply to the consumers. It mainly includes metering
arrangements, obligations of distribution licenses, release of new connections, grievance redressal,
modifications of existing connections and compensation mechanisms.
No connection shall be provided without meters.
The meter used should be prepayment meter or smart prepayment meter.
The meters should have provisions for testing.
The consumer shall have the option to pay bills offline or online. Also, he shall be provided with
advance payment of bills.
A prosumer will enjoy the same rights as that of a consumer. A prosumer is a person who produces
and consumes power.
Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum should include prosumer and consumer representations.
Supreme Court: Adults are free to choose their religion
The Supreme Court recently refused to entertain a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) of a BJP leader that
sought directions to ban superstition, black magic, and fraudulent religious conversions.
SC Judgement
The Apex court pronounced that the PIL violates Article 25 of the Constitution. According to the bench
headed by Justice R F Nariman, that pronounced the judgement, the word “propagate” in Article 25 of the
Constitution guarantees right to religion.

Constitution on religion
The Right to Freedom is guaranteed to all religious followers under the following articles:
Article 25
Article 26
Article 27
Article 28
Article 25
Article 25 guarantees freedom to propagate, practice and profess religion to all citizens. The article allows
the states to make laws:
Regulating and restricting economic, financial, political, and secular activities associated with
religious practices.
To provide social welfare and reform or opening Hindu religious institutions to all classes of Hindus.
Article 26
Article 26 speaks about Freedom to manage religious affairs.
Every religion has the right to form and maintain institutions for charitable intents.
Every religion has the right to acquire movable and immovable property.
Every religion has the right to manage its own affairs in the matter of religion.
Every religion has the right to administer properties according to law.
Article 27
The Article 27 of the constitution prevents payment of taxes for promotion of a particular religion.
According to the article, there shall be no taxes imposed by any institution or organisation or by the
Governments (both state and centre) for the promotion or maintenance of a particular religion.
Article 28
The Article 28 of the Constitution speaks about freedom to attend any religious instructions or religious
worships in educational institutions. No religious instructions shall be issued in state run educational
institutions.
Central Mine Planning and Design Institute gets Drone Use Permission
The Ministry of Civil Aviation recently granted permission to the Central Mine Planning Design Institute to
survey the coal field areas of Coal India Limited. According to the permission granted, the drones shall be
deployed to monitor the mapping and surveying activity, inspection of coalfield. This is a conditional
exemption and is valid till April 4, 2022.
The Standard Operating Procedure to the Central Mine Planning Design Institute for flying the Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle in the coalfield areas says that exemption from Ministry of Civil Aviation must be obtained
from UAS Rules, 2021 before operation.
UAS Rules, 2021
No Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) shall carry payload except as permitted by DGCA.
No person shall drop from a UAS in motion.
Only Nano class drones can operate in India. However, a qualified remote pilot will be permitted to
operate heavy drones.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has full powers to inspect the manufacturing of
Unmanned Aerial System or its maintenance facility.
One must be at least eighteen years old to own a drone.
The Food Startups have been permitted to conduct trials for drones.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation will issue a separate set of rules to enable use of drones for

delivering medical supplies or e-commerce.
Central Mine Planning and Design Institute
It is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited. It is a Public Sector Undertaking. It has been rated as a Schedule B
and Mini Ratna-II company. It is engaged in field of environmental engineering and provides consultancy
and engineering services all over the world.
Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently notified Copyright (Amendment) rules, 2021. The
amendment has been made to bring the existing Copyright rules in the country with parity with the other
relevant legislations.
Current Scenario
Currently, the Copyright regime of India is governed by Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright rules 2013.
Why were the amendments made?
The main objective of the amendment of Copyright Rules is to ensure smooth and flawless compliance in
the light of technological advancement in digital era. The new rules will help India adopt towards electronic
means as primary mode of communication. It is highly important to achieve the goals of Digital India.
What are the amendments made?
The Copyright societies will have to make an Annual Transparency Report for each financial year.
The amendments have harmonised the Copyright rules with the provisions of Finance Act, 2017. This
has been achieved by merging Copyright Board with the Appellate Board.
The compliance requirements of registration works have been largely reduced. The applicant now has
the liberty to file the first ten and last ten pages of source code with no blocked out or redacted
portions.
The time limit of the Central Government to respond to an application has been extended. When an
applicant applies to get registered as a copyright society, the central government shall now respond
in one hundred and eighty days. This has been done to provide enough time so that the application
can be comprehensively examined.
What is Copyright?
Copyright is a type is intellectual property.
It gives the owner exclusive right to make copies of his or her creative work. It can be education,
artistic, literary or music.
According to World Intellectual Property Organisation, Copyright protects two types of rights. They
are Economic rights and moral rights. Economic rights allow the owners to derive financial reward
from the use of their works. On the other hand, the moral rights allow authors to take certain actions
to protect their link with their work.
Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy (second) Ordinance 2021
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet recently approved the Uttar Pradesh Regulation of Urban Premises Tenancy
(second) Ordinance, 2021. The ordinance will reduce the tenancy disputes.
Key Features of the Ordinance
The ordinance makes it mandatory to sign contract will to rent out a property. This is being done to
safeguard the interests of both the tenant and the owner.
The ordinance will establish rent authority and rent tribunal to solve disputes. Currently there are no
clear mechanisms for conflict resolution.
Significance
The ordinance will help 1.1 crore vacant homes in the urban region to get suitable tenants in the state

of Uttar Pradesh.
It will encourage people to invest in more properties for renting purposes.
It will help in bringing robustness and dynamism to the real estate market. This is because the
provisions in the ordinance will reduce the friction between property owners and tenants.
The ordinance is very much similar to the Draft Model Tenancy Act.
Model Tenancy Act
The Model Tenancy Act was framed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. It is yet to be passed in
the parliament. The key features of the Model Tenancy Act are as follows:
Formation of Rent Authority. Every tenancy agreement should be reported to this rent authority.
For non-residential tenancy, the residential housing security deposit is to be capped at one month
interval and for residential-housing security deposit is to be capped at two months interval.
The landlords should provide access to basic amenities.
The landlords cannot hike the property rent in the middle of a tenancy term.
The tenants shall not sublet the property without the permission of the landlord.
SEBI: India should separate the roles of Chairperson and Managing Director
The Securities and Exchange Board of India recently announced that it will not extend the deadline to
separate the posts of Managing Director and Chairperson. In April 1, 2020, SEBI asked the Indian companies
to separate the roles of chairperson and Managing Director. However, a time period of two years was
provided for compliance. Now the regulator has issued a warning that this deadline will not be extended.
The announcement comes as by the end of December 2020, only 53% of top 500 entities had complied with
this provision.
Why should the roles be separated?
The main objective in separating the roles is to provide a better and more balanced governance structure.
Separation of roles in other countries
Globally, the world seems to move towards separation of the posts. UK and Australia have already moved in
favour of the separation. Germany and Netherlands have a two-tier board structure that separates the roles
of the board and management.
Legal Provisions
The Section 203 of the Companies Act, 2013 says that an individual shall not be appointed as the
chairperson of a company as well as the Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer.
Chairman
Chairman is the person responsible for leading the board. He focuses on strategic matters, sets governance
standards and oversees group’s businesses. He plays a crucial role in bringing the effectiveness of the
board and individual directors.
Managing Director
A Managing Director is a whole-time director controlling the day-to-day affairs of the company.
SEBI
SEBI is a statutory body established on 1992 under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
The main objective of SEBI is to protect the interests of the investors and regulate securities market. SEBI
has the power to appoint committees. A Securities Appellate Tribunal has been constituted to protect the
interest of entities that feel aggrieved by SEBI’s decision.
Under the Securities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014, SEBI shall regulate any money scheme of worth Rs 100
crores.

Chief Justice of India: Justice Ramana to assume charge
Justice N V Ramana, who was recently appointed as the Chief Justice of India is to assume charge on April
24, 2021. He is to take charge a day after the retirement of CJI Sharad Arvind Bobde. Justice Ramana is to
take over as the 48th Chief Justice of India.
Justice Ramana
Justice Ramana was born in 1957 in Ponnavaram village of Andhra Pradesh. He was enrolled as an
advocate in 1983. He became the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court in 2013. In 2014, he was appointed as
the judge of the Supreme Court. Justice Ramana had been a part of the following popular cases:
Justice Ramana was a part of a five-judge constitution bench that declined to refer to a seven bench,
a batch of pleas that challenged the constitutional validity of GoI decision to abrogate Article 370.
In November 2019, he was a part of a five judge Constitution bench that held that the office of Chief
Justice is a public authority under Right to Information Act.
In January 2020, Justice Ramana led bench had pronounced that freedom of speech and conducting
business on internet are protected under the Constitution. The bench had directed the Jammu and
Kashmir administration to review the curb orders.
In 2016, he was a part of the five-bench Constitution bench that ordered restoration of Congress
Government in Arunachal Pradesh.
In November 2019, Justice Ramana led bench ordered floor test for the then Chief Minister Devendra
Fadnavis to prove his majority in the house.
According to Clause (2) of Article 124, the President appoints the Chief Justice of India.
The Clause (3) of Article 124 provides the eligibility criteria for a person to become the Chief Justice
of India. They are as follows:
He or she should be a citizen of India
He should have acted as the Judge of High Court for at least five years. Or he should have
acted as an advocate in High Court for at least ten years.
He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President
The Clause (4) of Article 124 provides regulations for removal of Supreme Court Judge.
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Amendment Ordinance, 2021
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind recently promulgated the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2021. The ordinance will allow pre-packaged insolvency resolution process for
MSMEs. The Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution Process is called PIRP.
About the Ordinance
The ordinance introduces a pre-packaged insolvency resolution process for corporate persons classified as
MSMEs under the MSME Development Act, 2006. Chapter III-A has been introduced to the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code, 2016 under the amendment. It explains the initiation of resolution, duties of resolution
professional and eligibilities to take the benefits of pre-packaged insolvency resolution processes, etc.
What is the main objective of the ordinance?
The ordinance aims to provide an efficient alternative insolvency resolution process for the corporate
persons classified as MSMEs.
How will the ordinance benefit the corporates?
The ordinance allows the corporate debtor to submit a “base resolution plan” to the resolution professional.
However, the debtor should have the plan ready before approaching the creditors to initiate PIRP. If the
committee of creditors did not approve the plan, then the resolution professional shall invite applicants to

submit different plans.
Applicability
The new pre-pack framework is applicable to MSMEs with a maximum default value of Rs 1 crore.
A PIRP cannot run in parallel to a CIRP. CIRP is Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.
The PIRP should have a three-year cooling off period from the closure of the other PIRP or CIRP.
Control of Company during PIRP
During the PIRP framework, the management of affairs of the corporate debtor will continue to vest with the
Board of Directors.
What is the difference between PIRP and normal IBC process?
PIRP is applicable only to MSMEs. On the other hand, IBC is applicable to all the corporate debtors.
PIRP has a default threshold of Rs 1 crore. IBC deals with threshold greater than Rs 1 crore.
PIRP provides 90 days of timeline to submit a resolution plan. On the other hand, the IBC provides
180 days.
The management control lies with the corporate debtor in possession with creditor in control. On the
other hand, the management control in IBC lies with the creditor in control.
Police and Crime Bill: Why are people protesting in UK?
In the United Kingdom, thousands are protesting against the new legislation introduced in the British
Parliament. The new legislation is called the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, 2021. The protests
against the bill have been named as “Kill the Bill” protest.
Why is Police and Crime Bill being passed?
Currently, the British Police is using public order legislation called the Public Order Act passed in 1986 to
manage the protests in the country. However, according to the British Government, this legislation is no
longer fit to manage the types of protests that are faced in the country. The “April Uprising” is being cited as
an example where the protests went out of control. The British Police spent 16 million USD to control the
April Uprising.
Police and Crime Bill features
The bill widens the range of conditions that the police shall impose on protests. They can impose
conditions such as start and finish times. Also, they can fix maximum permissible noise in static
protests.
The bill will introduce a statutory offence of public nuisance. This means that it will provide clarity on
forbidden conducts such as producing smells or noise, dangerous behaviour in public (like hanging
from bridges, etc).
If the protestors fail to follow police directions in conducting the protests, they shall be fined up to
2,500 Euros.
Maximum sentences for assaults against the emergency service workers.
The bill provides powers to closely monitor offenders released from prison.
Why are people protesting against the bill?
According to the critics, the provisions of the bill will provide more rights to the police to control and
monitor the protests.
The Labour Party of UK opposes the following provisions of the bill:
The bill criminalises protestors even for making noise.
It also accuses persons for creating serious annoyance or serious inconvenience. Such
persons can be imprisoned for a period for ten years.

National Register for Driving Licenses: Key Facts
The Ministry of Road Transport recently announced that the National Register for Driving Licenses is to be
created. This is being done to remove duplication of driving licenses in the country. Most of the states are
already on the SARATHI portal of National Informatics Centre. These states have been instructed to migrate
to the newly created national register.
About the register
Around 1.5 lakh deaths occur in India annually due to road crashes. Most of these accidents are due to
driver’s fault. The register will include separate section to show the names of the people whose driving
licenses were revoked. Also, the register will red-flag them. This will help to minimise rash driving in the
country.
Driving License in India
Indian driving license norms permit use of electronic document for a learner’s license, medical
certificate and renewal of driving license.
The complete process of obtaining the learner’s license has been made online.
The driving licenses shall be renewed one year before the date of expiry.
The need to furnish vehicles for inspection at the RTO (Regional Transport Office) for registration has
been cancelled.
Types of Driving License in India
The different types of permanent driving license in India are as follows
Motorcycle without gear: The applicant should be at least sixteen years old to get this license. Also,
he or she should get a consent from his or her parent or guardian.
Motorcycles with gear: The applicant should be at least eighteen years old to get this license.
Commercial Heavy Vehicles: The applicant should have completed eighth standard and should be at
least eighteen years old.
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
The eligibilities and rules to obtain a driving license have been provided under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
According to the act, a theoretical test (15 multiple choice questions) on basic driving and traffic rules
should be conducted at the RTO when a person applies for license.
Section 130 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 allows a police officer to ask for vehicle related documents.
When asked, the driver should produce the documents within fifteen days at the police station or at the
concerned department.
Speed Limits in India
In April 2018, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways fixed the maximum speed on expressways as
120 km/hr. The speed limit for national highways is 100 km/hr. The speed limit for urban roads is 70 km/hr
for M1 category vehicles. The M1 category vehicles are those that have less than eight seats.
What is Article 244(A) of the Constitution?
Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a video message promised to implement Article 244 (A) of the
Constitution in order to safeguard the interests of the people in tribal-majority districts of Assam.
What is Article 244(A) of the Constitution?
Article 244(A) of the Constitution allows the creation of an ‘autonomous state’ within Assam in certain tribal
areas. It was inserted into the Constitution by the Congress government in the year 1969. It also includes a
provision for a Legislature and a Council of Ministers.
How the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution is different from Article 244(A)?
The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution — Articles 244(2) and 275(1) — is a special provision that allows

decentralized governance and greater political autonomy in certain tribal areas of the Northeast through
autonomous councils that are administered by elected representatives. If we talk about Assam, the hill
districts of Karbi Anglong, West Karbi, Dima Hasao, and the Bodo Territorial Region are under the provision
of the 6th schedule.
On the other hand, Article 244(A) provides more autonomous powers to tribal areas.
Why is the demand for implementing Article 244(A) in Assam?
Initially, a demand for a separate hill state came up in certain sections of the tribal population of undivided
Assam in the 1950s. In the year 1960, several political parties of the hill areas came together to form the All
Party Hill Leaders Conference and put forward the demand for a separate state. As a result of these
prolonged agitations, Meghalaya was formed in the year 1972.
At that time, the leaders of the North Cachar Hills and Karbi Anglong were also part of this movement. They
were given an option to stay in Assam or join Meghalaya. They stayed in Assam on the promise of the
Congress government of providing greater powers, including Article 244 (A).
Since then, there has been a demand for implementing Article 244 (A) in the state. In the 1980s, a violent
movement also took place for the demand.
Recently in February 2021, around 1,040 militants of five militant groups of Karbi Anglong district laid down
arms at an event in Guwahati in the presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021 gets
Presidential Assent
Published On Mar 30, 2021
On March 28th 2021, the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021, which
gives primacy to the Lieutenant Governor over the elected Government, got assent from President Ramnath
Kovind.
What is the Act all about?
The Act has amended sections (21, 24, 33 and 44) of previous act of 1991. In summary, it says that
the ‘Government’ in NCT of Delhi means the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi.
The Bill says that the opinion of LG should be obtained before making any executive decision based
on decisions taken by the Cabinet or any minister. The Act also empowers the LG with discretionary
powers in matters where the Legislative Assembly make laws.
It prohibits the Assembly and its committees from making rules to commence matters concerning
everyday administration or to have inquiries in relation to administrative decisions.
Present Delhi administration
The Existing Act of 1991 allows the Legislative Assembly to make laws in every matter except the
Public order, Police and Land.
Under Article 239AA of the Constitution given by the 69th Amendment Act, 1991, Delhi is a Union
territory with a legislative assembly.
Changes after the President Assent
Earlier, elected government was not sending the files of any executive decisions to L-G before
implementation. It has been keeping the L-G alongside in administrative developments, but it was not
always before implementing or executing any decision.
After the assent, the elected government is bound to take the L-G’s advice before taking any decision.
Why state government is unhappy?
The continuous tussle between the centre and elected government was mostly regarding the decision
making policy and the L-G’s powers. In 2018, the Supreme Court judgment gave the Delhi Government an
upper hand in policy decisions. The Elected government(BPSC
join us http://telegram.me/bpsc65thmains66thprelims sources always
CCE 65th,66th said that due to the SC’s
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judgments, the Delhi government is able to clear policies easily. As per the state government, the
amendment will substantially take away the government’s autonomy and the desire of full statehood to
Delhi.
Supreme Court refuses to Stay Sale of Fresh Electoral Bonds
Supreme Court of India, on March 26, 2021, refused to stay sale of fresh set of electoral bonds from 1 April.
This decision was taken ahead of assembly elections across four states; Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and
Tamil Nadu and in Union Territory of Puducherry.
Highlights
Supreme Court, while refusing the stay, underlines that these bonds were allowed to be released in 2018
and 2019 without any interruption. There exists no justification to stay these bonds as sufficient safeguards
are there. Apex Court also highlighted that; electoral bonds not only benefit the ruling party.
Background
Supreme Court Bench; comprising of Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde, Justices AS Bopanna and V
Ramasubramanian; was hearing the plea filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) which was
asking to stay the electoral bonds ahead of assembly polls. NGO claimed that any further sale of electoral
bonds ahead of upcoming assembly polls in Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry will
increase illegal and illicit funding for political parties through shell companies.
Arguments made by ADR
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for ADR, argued against electoral bonds. He argued that, electoral
bonds had turned into a tool to receive bribes in the name of donations for ruling party. He also cited that
misgivings of Reserve Bank of India about these bonds. RBI termed these bonds as the type of weapon or
medium for financial scams. He further added that; electoral bonds were proof of real approach to black
money as against its official stance.
Electoral Bond
Proposal to issue Electoral Bond was announced in 2017-28. It is a financial instrument similar to
promissory note which is used to make donations to political parties and is issued by Scheduled
Commercial banks after authorisation from Central Government. It is issued only against cheque and digital
payments which is redeemable in designated account of a registered political party within the prescribed
time limit.
New Zealand passes Miscarriages Bereavement Leave Law
Parliament of New Zealand passed the ‘Miscarriage bereavement leave law’. This legislation provides
mothers and their partners a “right to paid leave” after a miscarriage or stillbirth. New Zealand has become
the second country, following India, across the world to pass such legislation.
Bereavement Leave Law
The bereavement leave law was passed unanimously in parliament on March 24, 2021. It provides the
employees three days leave after a pregnancy ends with a stillbirth. They do not require to tap into sick
leave now. Bill will provide women and their partners time to come to terms with their loss. Leave provisions
apply to mothers, their partners and the parents who are planning to have a child through adoption or
surrogacy.
Background
This legislation was passed by considering the fact that, one in four New Zealand women have had a
miscarriage. Further, the country has been a pioneer on issues related to woman’s rights. It was the first
country to give “voting rights to women”. It also passed a law in 2020 to decriminalise abortion.
Government of New Zealand under Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is regarded as a global champion for

women.
Maternity Leave Law in India
Maternity leave in India is a paid leave in case of absence from work. Thus, this provision allows women
employees the benefit to take care of their newborn besides retaining their jobs. Maternity leave Benefit Act
1961 was the first maternity leave law. It provided women employees a paid leave of 12 weeks post-
delivery. The act was applicable to establishments with ten plus employees. provisions of this act were
applicable to women employees on a permanent basis, contract or engaged with agencies. However, this
act was revised as Maternity leave (Amendment) Bill 2017.
Maternity Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017
Maternity leave Act is applicable to establishments such as corporates, mines, factories, shops &
establishment act, plantations, and government establishments. To be eligible under this Act, women
employee should have completed working for 80 days in current establishment in last 12 months. Paid
leave is based on average daily wage during the period of absence. It has extended 12 weeks’ leave to 26
weeks which can be bifurcated as post and pre-delivery leaves.
Parliament passes ‘National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill’
Parliament passed “National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill, 2021” (NBFID Bill)
after Rajya Sabha approves it on March 25, 2021. Bill was passed in Lok Sabha on March 24, 2021.
NBFID Bill
The bill seeks to establish a National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development to support
‘infrastructure financing’ across the country. NBFID would work as a principal development financial
institution (DFIs). It includes development of bonds and derivatives markets which are required for
infrastructure financing.
National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NBFID)
NBFID will be set up as a corporate statutory body. It will have the authorized share capital of one lakh crore
rupees along with financial and developmental objectives. It will act as a catalyst for the ecosystem of
infrastructure funding. NBFID will be answerable to Parliament. It will be managed by chairman & board
nominated professionals who will be appointed by Government. Shares of NBFID can be held by central
government, financial institutions, pension funds, insurers, multilateral institutions, Banks, sovereign wealth
funds, and other institution prescribed by central government.
Financial objectives of NBFID
Financial Objectives includes- to lend, invest or pull investments directly or indirectly for infrastructure
projects entirely or partly in India.
Developmental objectives of NBFID
Developmental objectives include- to facilitate development of market for bonds, loans and derivatives to
finance the infrastructure.
Development Financial Institution (DFIs)
DFIs are set up to provide long-term finance for those segments of economy where risks involved are
beyond acceptable limits of commercial banks and other financial institutions. DFIs do not accept deposits
from people. Instead, they source funds from market, government and multi-lateral institutions. They are
often supported by government guarantees.
Rajya Sabha passes GNCTD amendment Bill
Rajya Sabha passed the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 on March
24, 2021. It amends the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, 1991 which provides for
certain provisions regarding functioning of Legislative Assembly and government of Delhi.

Highlights
The bill was passed amid uproar by opposition and walkout by MPs of several parties. It was passed in
Rajya Sabha by a voice vote. However, opposition asked for division when the government moved bill for
consideration. 83 members voted favour while 45 members opposed it. Just before the passage of the bill,
Congress party too walked out. Lok Sabha had passed the Bill on 22 March, 2021.
Provisions of the Bill
The Bill amends certain powers and responsibilities of Legislative Assembly and Lieutenant Governor.
According to the Bill, “government” in Delhi means Lieutenant Governor (LG). Bill provides that Rules
related to procedure and conduct of the business in assembly must be consistent with Rules of Procedure
and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. It prohibits Legislative Assembly from making any rule to enable
itself or its Committees to consider matters of day-to-day administration of Delhi or conduct any inquiry into
administrative decisions. Bill makes all such rules made before its enactment void. Bill also provides that,
LG’s opinion must be obtained before taking any executive action on the decisions of Minister or Council of
Ministers. It also requires for LG to reserve those bills for President which cover any matter outside the
purview of powers of Legislative Assembly.
Parliament passes Finance Bill 2021
Parliament has passed the “Finance Bill 2021” on March 23, 2021. Bill seeks to bring financial proposals of
central government in effect for the financial year 2021-22.
Highlights
Bill was passed by lower house of the Parliament with several amendments. It proposes for some changes
in proposals which were made in union budget 2021 with the objective of boosting the ease of doing
business and easing compliance burden.
Finance Bill 2021
The bill provides 10-year income-tax exemption to National Bank in order to Finance the Infrastructure and
Development. It also provides for 5-year tax exemption to the private sector development finance
institutions. The exemption is extendable to another five years. Bill amends the Finance Act, Income Tax
Act, 1961; Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956; Central Sales Tax Act, 1956; Life Insurance
Corporation Act, 1956 and SEBI Act, 1992. According to the bill, senior citizens who gets pension and
interest income have exempted from filing tax returns. However, no changes have been made in the income
tax rate.
New provisions to the Income Tax Act, 1961
This provision will discourage the practice of not filing returns by ‘specified person’ whose case has been
deducted or collected. Further, person in whose case TDS/TCS of Rs. 50,000 has been made for past two
years and who has defaulted in filing return of income then the rate TDS/TCS will be deducted at higher
rates.
Limited liability partnership Act, 2008
Finance Minister also proposed to take up decriminalisation of Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008
on the lines of decriminalisation of procedural and technical compoundable offences under Companies Act,
2013.
Small Companies’ definition
The minister also proposed to revise definition of small companies under Companies Act, 2013 for the
small Companies by increasing their thresholds of Paid-up capital. Threshold has been increased from “not
exceeding Rs 50 lakh” to “not exceeding Rs 2 crore”.

SC waives Interest in Loan Moratorium Scheme
The Supreme Court of India has refused to interfere with the decision of the government and Reserve Bank
of India (RBI) on the loan moratorium scheme declining to extend moratorium period of six-months.
Highlights
The supreme court has also highlighted that the additional reliefs like total waiver of interest cannot be
allowed because it will affect the depositors. The apex court also added that no interest on interest will be
charged on the borrowers during moratorium period irrespective of loan amount. If any amount has been
collected will be refunded.
Background
The Supreme Court pronounced its verdict following a batch of pleas by several trade associations from the
real estate and power sectors who were seeking an extension of the loan moratorium and other reliefs in
light of the coronavirus pandemic. The bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan had reserved the verdict on
December 17, 2020.
Centre’s Take
The Centre had submitted in the court that, if it were to consider the waiving interest on all the loans &
advances of all the categories of borrowers for six-month moratorium period, then the amount foregone will
account for more than Rs 6 trillion. If banks were to bear the burden of this amount then, it would
necessarily wipe out the substantial part of their net worth. It will also render most of the lenders unviable.
Loan Moratorium
Loan Moratorium is the period of time wherein the lenders do not have to pay an EMI on the loan they have
taken. This period is also EMI holiday. Such breaks are offered to help the individuals who are facing the
temporary financial difficulties to plan their finances in a better manner. In India, the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) had announced the loan moratorium scheme which allowed the lending institutions to grant the
temporary relief to the borrowers in their installments of term loans amid the covid-19 pandemic. This was
announced with the aim of providing the borrowers more time to pay their EMIs because of the economic
fallout.
Haryana passes Bill to Recover Damages from Protesters
Haryana Assembly has passed the “Haryana Recovery of damages to property during disturbance to public
Bill, 2021” on March 18, 2021 to recover the compensation from the protesters if they cause damage to
property.
The bill was passed by a voice vote. The Bill provides for the recovery of damages to properties which is
caused by the persons during disturbances to public order by the assembly, lawful or unlawful means like
riots and violent disorder. The bill also comprises of the provision to constitute the Claims Tribunal in order
to determine the liability, assess the damages caused and to compensate for the damage. The bill is not
meant for people’s democratic right of holding protest but for the people who damage the public and private
property.
Background
The Uttar Pradesh was the first state that passed a bill for the recovery from the people who damage the
public property during agitation and protests. As per the “Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and
Private Property Bill, 2021” if the protesters found guilty of damaging the government or private properties
will be facing the legal imprisonment for one year or fine of ₹5,000 to ₹1 lakh. This bill was passed to
empower the joint and deputy commissioners of police in order to act under the legislation.

New Vehicle Scrapping Policy- Highlights
The Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has introduced the Vehicle Scrapping
Policy on March 18, 2021 in the Lok Sabha which will come into effect from April 1, 2021. It was first
announced by Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget Speech 2021-2022 on February 1,
2021.
Highlights
The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways highlighted that; 51 lakhs of the light motor vehicles
which are 20 years old and more will be scrapped under this policy. He further stated that, 34 lakhs of light
motor vehicles are older than 15 years while around 51 lakhs of light motor vehicles are older than 20
years. According to him, 17 lakh medium & heavy commercial vehicles are older than 15 years.
About Vehicle Scrapping Policy
The Union Minister highlighted that this scrapping policy will bring the transformational changes in
automobile sector by reducing the vehicular emission of pollutants. The policy was introduced with the aim
of creating an ecosystem to phase out the unfit, old and polluting vehicles. Under the policy, personal
vehicles will have to undergo the fitness tests at the automated centres after 20 years. On the other hand,
the commercial vehicles will have to undergo the fitness test after 15 years. If the vehicles failed to pass
the fitness test for three times, the owner would not be able to drive it on the road.
Significance of the policy
The policy will help to encourage the environment-friendly, fuel-efficient vehicles. Thus, it will reduce the
vehicular pollution and oil import bill. It will also improve the road safety. With the implementation of the
new vehicles, recyclable materials such as steel, plastic and copper can be reused. Thus, the overall vehicle
cost will be reduced. Once the old vehicles are scrapped, sale of the new vehicles will boost which will
provide boost to the automobile industry of the country. It will also boost the fuel efficiency of the vehicles
and would attract the investments.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020
The Parliament has cleared the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The bill was
approved in the Rajya Sabha March 16, 2021. The bill was already passed in the Lok Sabha on March 17,
2020.
Highlights
The bill was passed with the objective of amending the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. It
seeks to increase the upper limit of legal abortions to 24 weeks for the special categories of women. This
increase in the upper limit of the abortions was done in light with the advancement of the medical
technologies which has made it possible to allow removal of foetus even at the advanced stage of
pregnancy.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 proposes for the opinion from one provider to
terminate the pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation. It has introduced the requirement of opinion from the
two providers in order to terminate the pregnancy up to 20-24 weeks. The bill also increases the upper
gestation limit from 20 weeks to 24 weeks for the special categories of women like survivors of rape,
differently-abled women, minors and victims of incest. The bill proposes that the upper gestation limit will
not be applicable in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities if it is diagnosed by Medical Board. The
composition, functions and other details of the Medical Board will be provided under the Act. The bill also
proposes that, the name and other such details of woman whose pregnancy has been terminated should
only be revealed to the person authorised by law.

Aim of the Bill
The amendments in the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Bill was brought about with the objective of
expanding the women’s access to safe and legal abortion services on eugenic, therapeutic, social &
humanitarian grounds.
Rajasthan Passes Demand for Higher Education Grants
The Rajasthan Assembly has passed the demand for grants of Rs 370.60 for the higher education by voice
vote on March 16, 2021.
Highlights
The bill was passed amid the protest by the opposition legislators. They stormed into the well of the House
and staged a sit-in against the government even though the Higher Education Minister, Bhanwar Singh Bhati,
had replied to the issue. The bill was passed in line with the government’s focus on the skill development
and quality education.
Demand for Grants
Demand for Grant is a form where the estimates of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund are included in
annual financial statement or the Budget. The demand for grant is required to be voted upon in Lok Sabha
or in the state assembly. The demand for grants is submitted in light with Article 113 of the Constitution. It
comprises of the provisions with respect to the revenue expenditure, grants to state & Union Territory
governments, capital expenditure along with the loans and advances. The demand for grant is presented
with respect to each ministry or department. On the other hand, for the large ministries and departments
more than one demand is put forward. It includes both the voted as well as the charged expenditure.
Article 113
This articles states that, proposal or estimate seeking the withdrawal of money from Consolidated Fund of
India shall be presented to the Lok Sabha in the form of demand for grants. It is presented to Lok Sabha
only after approval is given by the President of India.
Who proposes Demand for Grants?
The demand for grants is proposed and prepared by the ministry for the expenditure which will be incurred
in next financial year. These demands for grants are collectively presented in the Lok Sabha under the Union
Budget.
National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020
Rajya Sabha has passed the “National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professional Bill, 2020” by
voice vote on March 16, 2021. The Bill seeks to regulate & maintain the standards of education & services
by allied & healthcare professionals.
Key Provisions of the Bill
The bill was passed with the aim of fulfilling the long-pending demands for the sector. The bill will create an
institutional structure in order to enhance the employability. It will benefit around 8 to 9 lakh existing allied
and healthcare professionals. With the implementation of the bill, these professionals will be more ready to
cater the global shortage and demand of 1.80 crore professional by 2030 which was predicted by WHO
global workforce report. It also provides for regulation and maintenance of the standards of education &
services by allied & healthcare professionals. It also provides for the assessment of institutions and
maintenance of the central and state register. The bill also seeks to create the system in order to improve
the research & development and adoption of the latest scientific advancement.
Allied & Healthcare Professional
Allied and healthcare professions include a huge range of workers to diagnose, evaluate and treat the acute
and chronic diseases. These health professions further work to optimise the patient outcomes. They also

look after the overall prevention, promotion, wellness and management of the diseases.
Why this bill was tabled?
The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill stated that, advancement in the health sector, changing
preferences of the consumers & service providers led to the creation of a new vision of healthcare delivery.
This healthcare delivery is following more of the patient-centric approach. It also focuses on moving
towards the multi-disciplinary team-based care.
Background
The Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2018, was introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2018. It then referred to
the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee. The committee recommended several
amendments. Thus, the bill was withdrawn and a new Bill called the National Commission for Allied and
Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020 was introduced which incorporated the recommendations made by the
panel.
Govt of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 introduced in Lok Sabha
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) introduced the “Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in
the Lok Sabha on March 15, 2021.
Provisions of the bill
The bill proposes that the “Government” in the national capital territory of Delhi means “Lieutenant
Governor” (L-G) of Delhi. It provides for the discretionary powers to L-G of Delhi even in matters where the
law-making power rests with the Legislative Assembly of Delhi. The proposed bill further seeks to ensure
that the L-G is “necessarily granted an opportunity” in order to give opinion before any decision of the
Council of Ministers or Delhi Cabinet is implemented. The Bill was introduced in order to amend sections
21, 24, 33 and 44 of Act of 1991.
Background
Delhi is a Union Territory with legislature. The UT was established in the year 1991 in accordance with
Article 239AA of the Constitution. This article was inserted by the Sixty-ninth (Amendment) Act, 1991 of the
constitution. The existing laws provides that the Legislative Assembly of Delhi has the power to make laws
in all matters excluding the police, public order and land.
Section 44 of the 1991 Act
This section of the act states that; all the executive actions of the L-G, whether it is taken on the advice of
his Ministers or any other ways, shall be taken in the name of L-G.
Article 239AA
This of the Constitution mandates that the Council of Ministers will aid and advise the L-G in matters where
the Legislative Assembly has been empowered to make laws except those matters where the L-G exercises
his discretion.
Marine Aids to Navigation Bill Introduced
The Marine Aids to Navigation Bill 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 15, 2021. The bill was
moved by Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Mansukh Mandaviya.
Highlights
This initiative is part of the proactive approach which was adopted by Ministry of Shipping by repealing the
archaic colonial laws and replacing them with the modern and contemporary needs in the maritime industry.
Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021
The bill seeks to provide a fresh framework so as to establish and manage the vessel traffic services. It
also seeks to use the term “marine aids to navigation” instead of “lighthouse” in order to enable the use of
modern forms of aids in the navigation. The bill seeks to replace the nine-decade-old law governing the

lighthouses. The bill was introduced in line with the technological changes which are taking place at fast
speed in the marine navigation. It also seeks to rename the “Director General of Lighthouse and Lightships”
as the “Director General” so as to provide a framework to establish, operate and manage the vessel traffic
services and other functions such as wreck flagging, training & certification. The bill also proposes to
incorporate technological developments, global best practices and international obligations of India in
marine navigation field. The bill also seeks to identify and develop the heritage lighthouses.
Aim of the Bill
The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha with the aim of repealing the colonial Lighthouse Act, 1927. It also
aims to empower the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL) by providing the additional
power and functions.
Supreme Court’s Suggestion on saving Great Indian Bustard
The Supreme Court of India has given its suggestion in the behalf of the critically endangered Great Indian
Bustards after the number of birds falling dead due to collision with power lines is increasing over time.
These power line run through the dwindling natural habitats of the Indian Bustards in the states of Gujarat
and Rajasthan.
Supreme Court’s Take
The Bench led by Chief Justice, Sharad A. Bobde, will examine whether the overhead power lines could be
replaced with the underground cable lines in order to save the heaviest flying birds. The court also found an
alternative mechanism that is to install the flight bird diverters in order to guide the birds away from power
lines would not be a cost-effective method. In fact, such diverters are of the nature of recurring costs and
will cost more than installing and maintaining the underground lines.
Centre’s Take
However, the Attorney General K.K. Venugopal appeared for the Power Ministry and submitted that only low
voltage lines can be replaced but not the high voltage cables.
Great Indian bustard
The scientific name of the Indian Bustard is Ardeotis nigriceps. This bustard is found on Indian
subcontinent. It is a large bird having a horizontal body and long bare legs. It has an ostrich like
appearance. It is one among the heaviest flying birds. The bird was once common along the dry plains of
Indian subcontinent. But it reduced to 250 in 2011 which further reduced to 150 in 2018. The bird is listed
as “Critically Endangered” and is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 in India.
Rajya Sabha passes National Institute of Food Technology Bill 2019
The Rajya Sabha has approved the “National Institute of Food Technology Bill, 2019” on March 15, 2021.
Provision of the Bill
This bill declares the National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, Kundli in
Haryana and Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology, Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu as the “National
Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management”. Bill also establishes a board of
Governors which will act as the principal executive body in the institute. This board would be responsible
for general direction, superintendence, and control of the affairs in institutes.
Functions of institutes
The bill also provides for the functions of the institutes. The functions include:
1. To provide instruction, research, and knowledge dissemination in the areas of food science and
technology.
2. To hold the examinations and grant degrees, diplomas, certificates and other academic distinctions
and titles

3. To determine and collect fees & other charges
4. To institute and make appointments for the academic and other posts excluding Director.
Highlights
While addressing the doubts of the members, the Agricultural minister also said that “Reservation policy will
also be applicable on these institutes”. The minister also assured that people who are working in the food
technology will be given representation in these institutes. The bill was introduced in the light that, India is
currently facing the challenges in food storage, cold chain and processing of the food. As per a report,
Further, food worth USD 14 billion is wasted in India while every third child is suffering from malnutrition.
Thus, more such institutes are required to manage the entire food chain and skill development & training of
the food processing units. Further, the law will create jobs and will make the farmers an entrepreneur.
Background
The “National Institute of Food Technology Bill” was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in the month of February
2019 by the Minister of Food Processing Industries, Ms. Harsimrat Kaur Badal. After that, it was referred to
the Standing Committee. Several amendments of the bill were approved by the Cabinet. Following which,
the bill is being discussed in the house.
Ayush Export Promotion Council to be set up
The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, informed the Parliament that AYUSH ministry is
holding consultations with the stakeholder to explore the setting up of an AYUSH Export Promotion Council
(EPC). The government is also exploring the procedural steps which would be involved in setting up the
council.
Highlights
In a reply, the minister said that, the “Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)” has
been tasked to coordinate with the Department of Commerce and the Indian Industry members who have
shown their interest in forming the corpus for AYUSH export promotion council. Ministry of AYUSH has also
set up a task force to expand the trade classification, quality control and standardization of Indian Systems
of Medicine (ISM) & Herbal Products. The recommendations provided by the task force are under
examination by the government current.
HS Codes
The minister also highlighted that, most of the products of Ayurveda, Homoeopathic, Siddha, Unani
systems, Sowa Rigpa, Medicinal plant products and Herbal Products are not identified under the specific HS
Codes. Thus, the government is taking several steps to standardize the of HS Code for AYUSH in order to
achieve price and quality competitiveness which in turn will boost the exports. HS Code is an International
Harmonised Commodity Description & Coding System and an international nomenclature to classify the
products. This code allows the participating countries to classify the traded goods on common basis for the
purposes of customs.
Why this council is being set up?
The AYUSH product is gaining popularity across the world because of which the exports of AYUSH products
have also increased. Thus, there is a need to upscale the AYUSH sector so as to meet the growing demands
from India and world. Thus, the export promotion council is being set up to manage the export related
aspects of the AYUSH Products.
Bill to amend Electricity Act sent for consultation
The Union power ministry has sent the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2021, for the inter-ministerial
consultation.

Highlights
The bill was also sent to the law and justice ministry for its critical examination and evaluation. After the
cabinet approves the bill, it will be introduced in the current session of parliament with the aim of passing it
in the same session.
Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2021
The amendments proposed through the bill aims to de-license the power distribution and increase
competition among them. The bill is being regarded as the next-generation power sector reforms across the
country. The amendment bill was proposed in line with what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said with
respect to the electricity suppliers. The prime minister had said that the electricity consumers should be
able to choose their supplier like the retail commodity. The amendments also propose to appoint a member
with the legal background to every electricity regulatory commission. It also seeks to strengthen the
Appellate Tribunal for Electricity. The electricity regulator will spell out the penalty for not meeting the
renewable purchase obligations. These obligations require the power distribution companies (DISCOMS) to
buy fixed amount of renewable energy in order to reduce their reliance on the fossil fuels. The bill might
also prescribe the rights and duties of the power consumers in line the government’s plan of ensuring round
the clock supply.
Background
The framework to allow the consumers to choose their electricity suppliers was proposed in the Union
budget 2021-2022.
India’s energy Target
India has set the target to achieve the 450GW renewable energy capacity by the year 2030. The current
installed renewable energy capacity of India stands at 89.63GW. The energy of 49.59GW capacity is
currently under execution while energy requirement of 27.41GW has been tendered.
India to Propose Cryptocurrency Ban
India is preparing to propose for a law to ban the cryptocurrencies, to fine anyone who is trading in India or
to fine anyone even for holding such digital assets. India will be rolling out the rule in a potential blow to
millions of the investors who are piling into red-hot asset class.
Highlights
The bill that will be proposed would be one of the strictest policies in the World against cryptocurrencies.
The bill would be criminalising the possession, issuance, mining, trading and transferring of the crypto-
assets. The bill would provide the holders of cryptocurrencies up to six months to liquidate. After six
months, penalties would be imposed. If this bill would become a law, then India will become the first major
economy that will hold the cryptocurrency illegal. The other major economy, China, though have banned
mining & trading of the cryptocurrency but it has not penalised its possession.
Background
The central government will propose this bill in line with the government agenda of banning the private
virtual currencies like bitcoin apart from building a framework for the official digital currency.
Bitcoin Transaction across world
Bitcoin is the world’s biggest cryptocurrency. The currency hit a record high of $60,000 on March 13, 2021.
This volume accounts for the double than what it was in previous years. The amount has doubled because
its acceptance for payments has increased with the support of high-profile backers like CEO of Tesla Inc,
Elon Musk. Indian government is to ban the use of cryptocurrency in India, despite that the transaction
volume in India are increasing. In India, nearly 8 million investors are holding 100 billion rupees as per the
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Cryptocurrency
It is a digital asset which works as a medium of exchange where individual coin ownership records are
stored in the ledger in the form of computerized database. These records are stored using a strong
cryptography so as to secure the transaction records. It also helps in controlling the creation of additional
coins and also verify the transfer of coin ownership.
Draft National e-commerce Policy-Highlights
The government discussing and is in process of developing regulations for the personal and non-personal
data through the Draft National e-commerce policy. The policy highlights that the government have laid
down the principles regarding the usage of data for development of any of the industry where such norms
are not in effect. With the draft policy, the government put an adequate safeguard that seeks to prevent
misuse and access of data by the unauthorized persons.
Highlights
The draft policy states that, sharing of data for the industrial development will be encouraged and it will
also provide for a sharing mechanism to regulate the data. Government will lay down the principles to use
data for the purpose of developing any e-commerce, industry, consumer protection, economic security,
national security and law enforcement. The draft policy seeks to safeguards the misuse and access of data
by any unauthorized persons. The draft highlights that, government recognises the importance of data and
needs to use data initiating from India for Indian entities first.
About e-commerce policy
The draft e-commerce policy was drafted and released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade (DPIIT). The e-Commerce Policy lays down several regulating strategies in order to address
the issues regarding the data privacy, maintenance of level playing field and sector-Consumer protection.
What was the need for policy?
The average internet usage of the users in India have increased over time. In the year 2014, average monthly
data consumption in India stood at just 0.26 GB per person which had increased to 4GB by 2017. This
increase in the internet usage means that more data is being generated. Thus, the need for greater
regulation was felt by prioritizing the privacy and consumer protection which in turn benefit the domestic
economy. This policy was needed to ensure a competition in market in order to encourage entrepreneurship
and innovation.
Centre’s Panel for Air Quality Management in NCR Dissolved
The Panel for Air Quality Management set by the Central government in around the National Capital Region
has now been dissolved after five months of its constitution.
Highlights
The Panel was set by the Centre government in the month of October 2020. Now the panel stands dissolved
because the ordinance which was passed to set up the panel has lapsed. Ordinance had to be introduced in
Parliament within six weeks. But it was not introduced within the prescribed time because of which the
ordinance lapsed. The panel was headed by a former secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Gas, M.M. Kutty.
About Panel for Air Quality Management
The statutory authority called the commission for Air Quality Management was set after the President
signed the “Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region (NCR) and Adjoining Areas
Ordinance, 2020”. This panel was constituted to monitor the Air Quality in NCR and the Adjoining Areas.
This ordinance also dissolved the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA). The
ordinance was passed in a bid to consolidate all the monitoring bodies and to bring a uniform platform in

order to carry the air quality management in a comprehensive and efficient manner.
Background
The air quality monitoring and management in Delhi NCR region has been done by multiple bodies such as
EPCA, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), state pollution control boards and the state governments in
Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan & Uttar Pradesh. They are monitored by the Union Ministry of Environment,
Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC) and Supreme Court. The supreme court monitors the air quality in
accordance with ‘M C Mehta vs Union of India’, 1988 case judgement.
Composition of Commission
The Commission was headed by full-time chairperson who happens to be the Secretary to Government of
India or the Chief Secretary to State government. It was also composed of the members from various
ministries and representatives from stakeholder states. It also comprised of experts from civil society,
Indian Space Research Organisation and CPCB.
AICTE: Mathematics & Physics not mandatory for Engineering Aspirants
All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has released the approval process handbook for academic
year 2021-22.
Highlights
The AICTE Handbook highlights that; Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics will continue to be important
subjects for core streams of engineering such as mechanical engineering. However, for streams such as
Textile Engineering, Agriculture or Biotechnology, students will be given an option of not studying these
three subjects in class 12th. Those who does not opt for these subjects will have to make up through bridge
courses in college.
What does the rule say?
The rule is all set to be implemented from the academic year 2021-22. As per the rule, the students who are
seeking admission to certain engineering courses like Textile engineering etc will have to pass 10+2 by
taking any of the three subjects out of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Electronics & IT, Computer
science, Technical Vocational Subject, Information practices, Biotechnology, Agriculture, Engineering and
Business studies. The new rule also mandates that, the unreserved category students will have to score
45% marks and the reserved category should score 40% marks in order to pass the class 12th level.
Alternatives suggested
Since, Maths, physics and Chemistry will not be compulsory for students of class 12 to opt for streams like
Textile engineering, Agriculture or Biotechnology. So, the AICTE have suggested to introduction a bridge
courses in maths and physics in the engineering colleges in order to strengthen base of these subjects in
initial semesters for the students coming from diverse backgrounds.
All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)
AICTE is a statutory body and a national-level council for the technical education. It works under the
Department of Higher Education. The council was set up in the month of November 1945. It was earlier an
advisory body. The council was given the statutory status in the year 1987 by an Act of Parliament.
UP: Government orders to Remove all Roadside Religious Structures
Yogi Aditya Nath led Uttar Pradesh government has ordered to remove all the religious structures on public
roads on March 11, 2021.
Highlights
The Home Department released the official notification which stated that no structure or construction of
religious nature shall be allowed on the public roads, streets, roadside or pavements. The official press
release also states that, if any such construction of the structure has come up on or after January 1, 2011 it

shall be removed with the immediate effect. These instructions were issued by state government in line with
the order of supreme court.
What does the home department direct?
The home department of the Uttar Pradesh government has directed the district magistrates and
Mandalayukt across all the districts to remove all religious places that have encroached the roads. The
senior administrative and police officials at district level have also been informed that if any such religious
construction or encroachment has been done on public roads on or after January 1, 2011, then those
constructions should be shifted to land offered by followers of that religion or any private land proposed by
people who are responsible for its management within six months. The order further states that, the
concerned officials will be personally responsible if these instructions are not followed. Disobedience of the
orders will be taken up as the contempt of orders of high court and it will be considered as criminal
contempt. The district magistrates have been asked to submit the report by March 14 stating the number of
religious places that were removed after the order.
Background
In April 2016, the Supreme Court of India had put the states in questions for not removing the
encroachments in public places because of illegal religious structures. The court had stated that such
unauthorised religious structures on roads or near drains is an insult to God.
Tirath Singh Rawat sworn in as Uttarakhand CM
Tirath Singh Rawat has become the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on March 10, 2021. He took the oath
as CM a day after the former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned from the post.
Highlights
Tirath Singh is the Lok Sabha MP from Garhwal. He was elected as the leader of BJP Legislature Party and
it made him to take over as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. This news was announced by Trivendra Singh
Rawat after the meeting of BJP legislature party. The choice of making Mr Rawat the new CM of the state
was also taken up as a surprise because he was not among the favourite candidate for many. The other key
names for the post of CM were Dhan Singh Rawat, Ajay Bhatt and Anil Baluni.
About Tirath Singh Rawat
He was the BJP party chief in the state of Uttarakhand from 2013 to 2015. Presently, he is the national
secretary of BJP. He was also elected as an MLA from the Chaubattakhal Constituency and remained in the
position from 2012 to 2017. He also acted as the first education minister of the Uttarakhand when it was
carved out as a separate state. He has also been the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttarakhand and a state
membership chief. He also served as the state vice president of the Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Yuva
Morcha.
Chief Minister
The chief minister is the elected head of government in each state. The constitution provides that, the
Governor is a head of the state but but de facto executive authority lies with the chief minister. He is the
head of the government. The CM is elected through a majority in state legislative assembly by a vote of
confidence in legislative assembly. He is elected for five years and hold office during the pleasure of
Governor. He is appointed by governor and swearing in is also done before the governor.
Rajya Sabha passes Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021
The Parliament has passed the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 after the Rajya Sabha
cleared it on March 10, 2021. This bill was already passed in the Lok Sabha in February, 2021.
Key Points
The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill seeks to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act,

1996. The legislation comprises of the provisions of dealing with the domestic and international arbitration.
It defines the law to conduct conciliation proceedings. It replaces the Ordinance comprising of the same
provisions that was promulgated on November 4, 2020. The legislation deals with the domestic and
international arbitration.
1. The bill comprises of the provision of “Automatic stay on awards”. Earlier, the act of 1996 had
allowed the party to file application in order to set aside the order given in the arbitration proceeding.
2. It specifies that the count can stay the arbitral award, even if there is pendency of setting aside of
application, when the court is satisfied that relevant arbitration agreement or contract or making of
award was induced by fraud or corruption.
3. Schedule seven of the principal act (Act of 1996) specifies some qualifications, experience, and
accreditation norms for the arbitrators. The arbitrator must be:
An advocate under the Advocates Act, 1961 along with the 10 years of experience
An officer of Indian Legal Service.
The bill of 2021 removes the Schedule seven for arbitrators and mention that these qualifications,
experience, and norms will only be specified under regulations by the regulators.
Background
The Arbitration and Conciliation Act of 1996 is the main governing law of the arbitration. This act was
enacted with the aim of consolidating and amending the law related to the international commercial
arbitration, domestic arbitration and enforcement of the foreign award. It also seeks to define the law
related to the conciliation.
J&K: Draft Excise Policy to allot Retail Liquor Vends
The government has put a “Draft Excise Policy” in public domain with respect to the government’s proposal
to allot the retail liquor vends through e-auction. This move was taken by the government in order to
generate more revenue for the exchequer in the Union territory. It will also remove the possibility of
cartelization and monopolistic practices.
Excise Policy 2021-22
This policy will be finalized soon by the government. This policy has been drafted with the aim of
rationalizing the number of taxes or duties and other levies. This will help in optimizing the revenue for
common good and encouraging the transition from high alcoholic content beverages to low. It will also
bring about a greater social consciousness regarding the harmful effects of consumption of liquor and
alcoholic beverages. Finally, it will check bootlegging or smuggling of liquor in Union Territories from
neighbouring States or Union Territories.
Provisions of the policy
According to the Excise Policy, the vends will be allotted for the period of one year in accordance with the
provisions of J&K Excise Act and Rules. Further, total number of shops which will be allocated will be the
same as the existing numbers of shops. The policy also comprises no provisions for increasing the number
of vends to be auctioned.
How the vends will be allocated?
The vends will be allotted in those areas where these shops are operational currently. Vends will be allotted
through e-auction portal in a secured and transparent manner. One can apply for any number of locations
for vends, but they will be allocated only one location to negate the cartelization and monopolistic
practices. Further, the bidder must be above the age 21 and should have a domicile of Jammu & Kashmir.
The bidder should not be convicted or charge-sheeted for any offence in accordance with J&K Excise Act.

Odisha's first survey of backward classes
The Odisha government will start the first state survey of “social and educational conditions” of people
belonging to the backward classes from May 1 to May 20, 2021.
Highlights
In the state of Odisha, there are around 209 communities which are identified as the socially and
educationally backward classes (SEBCs). They account for 54% of the Population in Odisha.
Background
The proposal to carry the survey on SEBCs was approved by the Odisha State Commission for Backward
Classes (OSCBC) February 26, 2021.
About the Survey
The Survey will be conducted with respect to the social and educational conditions of the people who
belongs to the backward classes in the state. It will cover the details like their occupation, and education
standard etc. The state minister for SC/ST development stated that this move will be of transformative
nature and it will have a transformative impact in the backward population in the state.
What is centre’s take?
The state government had reached out to the Centre and demanded to conduct a socio-economic caste
survey along with the general census in 2021. However, this proposal was turned down by the central
government.
Significant of the move
The decision by the Odisha government is significant in the light that there is a growing demand of the
“Caste-Based Census”. A commission headed by former Delhi Chief Justice G Rohini is working towards the
sub-categorisation of the OBCs. But this is unscientific and illegal without obtaining such backward class
data or the caste census.
Growing demand of Caste Census
The supreme court of India recently agreed to examine a plea that seeks for directions to the central
government to conduct “caste-based” census in the year 2021 in order to collect data on the other backward
classes. Following this, the bench comprising of Chief Justice of India, S A Bobde and others have issued
notice to centre and the national commission of backward classes.
India-Fiji: Union Cabinet Approves pact for Co-operation in Agriculture
The Union Cabinet Chaired by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has approved an agreement between India
and Fiji for their cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors.
Highlights
The agriculture pact was signed between Ministry of Agriculture of India and Agriculture Ministry of the
Republic of Fiji. This agreement between the countries will come into force from the date of its signing. It
will continue for five years.
About Memorandum of Understanding
The Memorandum of Understanding that was signed in the field of agriculture will help the private sectors
of both the countries, India and Fiji, to cooperate in areas which includes the promotion of joint ventures. It
will also provide the Exchange of scientific experts, technical trainees, research personnel & specialists;
Technology transfer; Development of infrastructure for agriculture; Development of human resources with
the help of training officers & farmers through the means of workshops and seminars.
Joint Working Group
Both the countries will also constitute a Joint Working Group in accordance with the MoU. The joint working
group will be setting out the plan, procedures and will also be recommending the programmes of

cooperation in order to achieve their objective with the help of executing agencies. The group will held the
meeting once in every second year.
Significance of the MoU
With the signing of the agreement, the countries will be involved in the promotion of investment and
marketing of the agricultural commodities. The agriculture ministries of both the nations have agreed to
promote the capacity building in all the areas of agriculture besides establishing a direct trade of agriculture
products. The countries would also do the joint planning & development of research proposals and
execution of research & programmes projects.
Haryana approves Bill to Reserve 75 Per Cent Private Jobs for Locals
The Governor of Haryana, Satyadev Narayan Arya, has approved a bill to reserve 75 per cent jobs in Private
sector jobs for the people of the state. Reservation will be provided in every company, trust and society.
Thus, the “Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020” has now come into force in the State
of Haryana from March 2, 2020.
Background
The state assembly had passed the “Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020” in the year
2020. The bill seeks to provide a quota for local people for the jobs in private sector offering the monthly
salary of less than rupee 50,000. The state government have passed this bill stating that the reservation will
be socially, economically and environmentally desirable. Further, to provide reservations in private sector
jobs for locals was main election promise of the Jannayak Janata Party. This party in in power with its
alliance with BJP after winning 10 seats out of 90 seats.
Key provisions of the bill
The bill which was tabled by the Deputy Chief Minister of Haryana, Dushyant Chautala, provides for
following provisions:
1. The bill provides for the private sector companies to compulsorily reserve 75% of the jobs for the
people with a salary up to 50,000 in the state.
2. The bill also comprises of a clause that companies can invoke if they do not find any suitable
candidates. In such cases, companies can hire people from outside. However, for this purpose, they
need to inform this to the government.
3. As per the bill, the companies are required to register the details of the employees who are getting
Rs. 50,000 of salary per month. If the companies failed to do so within three months, they will attract
penalties.
Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill Introduced in MP Assembly
The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh has introduced the “Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill,
2021” in the assembly. This bill has replaced the ordinance that the government had brought to check the
religious conversions through any fraudulent means.
Highlights
The new bill has replaced the ordinance which the government cleared in December 2020 and promulgated
in January 2021. The bill comprises of the provisions of 10 years imprisonment for some cases and fine for
violators. The bill was presented by the Home Minister, Narottam Mishra. Now this bill will be put up for
consideration. Members can suggest amendments to the bill. The bill was passed in the assembly on the
line of law passed by Uttar Pradesh which have similar provisions.
Background
The Governor of the Madhya Pradesh, Anandiben Patel, given her assent to the “Madhya Pradesh Freedom
of Religion Ordinance, 2020” on January 9, 2021. This ordinance comprised of the provision of penalising

the religious conversions through fraudulent means and the marriage. Till date, 23 cases were registered
under this ordinance.
What does SC say on Marriage and Conversion?
The supreme court of India have pronounced in several judgements that state and courts have no
jurisdiction on the absolute right of adult to choose their life partner. The count has also confirmed in the
cases like Lily Thomas and Sarla Mudgal that religious conversions which is carried without a bona fide
belief and to derive some legal benefit is not logical.
Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV merged into “Sansad TV”
The Parliament of India have merged two of the TV channels namely, Lok Sabha TV and Rajya Sabha TV into
an integrated channel “Sansad TV”.
Highlights
This new platform will continue to live telecast the house proceedings, pack news and the current affairs
programme in Hindi as well as in English languages. The Rajya Sabha TV establishment is run from the
rented public property near the Talkatora stadium. Now this establishment will be merged with the
infrastructure of Lok Sabha TV in order to create a new entity. The former textiles secretary, Ravi Kapoor,
has been appointed as the CEO of the Sansad Tv on a contract basis for a period of one year.
Background
The proposal for the merger of two entities was put forward in 2019 by an expert committee headed by
Prasar Bharati CEO Surya Prakash.
Aim of the Merger
The two entities have been merged into an integrated channel with the aim of cutting the costs, to
streamline the management of the channel and to organise the content in order to make it more attractive
for the viewers and advertisers. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha TV were profit-making entities. Both the
channels bagged the advertisements primarily from the public sector giants and the central ministries.
About Sansad Tv
The Sansad TV will comprise of two platforms or channels and it will ensure smooth telecast of the live
proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament. During the recess in Parliament, the channel will be given the
two options viz., to run the current affairs channels in English & Hindi or to shut down one channel & run
programmes on other. The new channel will have its office in a small bungalow at Mahadev Road.
Significance of the merger
The merger of the entities will be a major cost-saving exercise. With the merger, the Rajya Sabha Tv will
shell out ₹10-12 crore on rent for its office and studio in the Talkatora Road.
MP approved Penal Law (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2021
Published On Feb 27, 2021
Madhya Pradesh Cabinet has approved the “Penal Law (Madhya Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2021” on
February 26, 2021. This bill was approved in order to give life imprisonment to food adulterers in states.
Background
In the month of December 2019, an awareness rally organised in Bhopal to fight against the adulteration.
The rally witnessed the participation of people from all age groups. It was held from Roshanpura to Lal
Parade in Bhopal.
Food Adulteration
It is a legal term which is used when a food product fails to meet any of the legal standards as prescribed
by the authorities. Food Adulteration can be done by addition of another substance to the food item so as
to increase the quantity of food item in either the raw form or prepared form. This results in the loss of
actual quality of the food products.

Who regulates the Food Standards?
The legal standards of the food us regulated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This ministry is
responsible to provide safe food to citizens. The ministry had laid down “The Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act, 1954” that provides pure and wholesome foods to citizens. This act was amended in the
year 1986. With this amendment, the punishments more stringent for the adulterers.
Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006
This act was passed by the FSSAI in 2006 for which the regulations were notified in 2011. Under this act,
FSSAI proposed to include new section to crack down on food adulteration. It mandates that, if the
adulteration is done which results into the death or any other serious injury to the person than, there shall
be punishment for the adulterers for a term not less than seven years which could also be extended to life
imprisonment.
Task force on river-linking approves the Mahanadi-Godavari link
The task force on Interlinking of Rivers has approved the Mahanadi-Godavari Link on February 25, 2021.
Approval was given to the preparation of final detailed project report on proposed Mahanadi -Godavari link.
Highlights
The linking project was approved by ensuring the utilisation of allocated Godavari waters by the
states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The decision was taken at the 13th meeting of the task force on interlinking of rivers which was held
in New Delhi.
In the meeting, three proposals were discussed and put forward by the task force chairman, Sriram
Vedire.
The proposals were based on draft detailed project report that was prepared with respect to the
diversion of water from Godavari basin to Cauvery basin.
The task force also emphasised on the several priority links under the interlinking of rivers
programme by the central government.
The draft detailed project report was prepared on Godavari-Cauvery link the National Water
Development Authority (NWDA).
National Water Development Agency (NWDA)
It is a Registered Society working under the Ministry of Irrigation which is now called as Ministry of Water
Resources. The agency was set up in 1982. The agency is involved in carrying out the detailed studies,
surveys and investigations with respect to the Peninsular Component of National Perspective for the Water
Resources Development. Later its function was modified to include the Himalayan Component of National
Perspective for Water Resources Development in the year 1994. The composition of Society and Governing
Body was also modified in the year 2003 & 2004 respectively. The NWDA was authorised to explore the
feasibility of linking sub-basins of rivers in States such as Bihar in the year 2006. It then worked for
preparation of Detailed Project Report of Ken-Betwa river link in accordance with the priority links under
Peninsular Component of National Perspective Plan.
Centre's New Guidelines on Social Media Regulation
The Central government has notified the new guidelines on social media regulations on February 25, 2021.
It is being called as “Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules
2021”.
Highlights
The new guidelines have been notified with the aim of regulating social media and OTT platforms.
These rules were put into public by the union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar.

The Union Ministers also said that social media platforms have empowered the ordinary Indians.
They praised these platforms for gaining popularity and huge users.
They also welcomed the move by social media platforms to do business in India.
Why new rules have been framed?
The government has notified the new rules on digital media and OTT with the aim of empowering the
ordinary users regarding the social media.
With the new rules, the government wants to set up a mechanism for redressal and timely resolution
of their grievance.
The new rules are progressive, liberal and contemporaneous.
It seeks to address varied concerns of people.
It also wants to remove any misapprehension with respect to the restrictions on creativity and
freedom of speech & expression.
The rules were framed depending upon the difference of the viewership in a theatre & television as
compared to viewership on Internet.
Facts regarding new rules
The new guidelines on social media were framed in accordance with the section 87 (2) of the
Information Technology Act, 2000.
These guidelines were released after having an elaborate consultation with the public as well as the
stakeholders. They were consulted to negate the concerns regarding accountability, transparency,
and rights related to digital media.
Part- II of the guidelines will be administered by Ministry of Electronics and IT.
Part-III of the guidelines will be administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This
part is related to the Code of Ethics & procedure. It also safeguards the relation with the digital
media.
Cabinet approves President’s Rule in Puducherry
The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal to impose President’s Rule in Puducherry. This proposal was
approved days after the Congress-led government in the union territory lost power after a vote of
confidence.
Highlights
This decision was taken because no party had claimed to form a government in Puducherry after the
chief minister resigned.
Following the resignation, Lieutenant General recommended President’s Rule in Puducherry which
was approved by the Union Cabinet.
The model code of conduct will also come into effect after the Election Commission announced the
dates for elections.
President’s Rule
The President’s Rule in India is the suspension of state government and imposition of Union government
rule. The President’s rule is imposed in accordance with the Article 356 of the Constitution. It is imposed
when a state government is unable to function as per the Constitutional provisions. Following this, the
executive authority is exercised by the centrally appointed governor. The governor can also appoint other
administrators to assist them. Under the President’s rule, the council of minister is dissolved and the office
of chief minister is vacated. Also, the Vidhan Sabha is either prorogued or dissolved and it is reconstituted
only after the election. As of now, Chhattisgarh and Telangana are the only states where President’s rule
has not been imposed. join us http://telegram.me/bpsc65thmains66thprelims (BPSC CCE 65th,66th & 67th)

Vote of no confidence
It is a statement or vote regarding a person in a position of responsibility when that person is no longer
deemed fit to hold that position. The person is declared unfit for the position when they are inadequate in
some aspect and are failing to carry out any obligations.
Rajasthan Government Presents First Paperless Budget
The Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Ashok Gehlot, led Congress government presented its third state budget
and the first paperless budget on February 24, 2021 in the state assembly. The Chief minister holds the
finance portfolio and he finalised the budget on February 23, 2021.
Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
The state legislative assembly of Rajasthan is the unicameral legislature. This assembly meets at the
Vidhan Bhavan in Jaipur. The members of the state Legislative assembly are directly elected by the people.
They are elected for a term of 5 years. Currently, the legislative assembly is comprising of 200 members.
Background
First Rajasthan Legislative Assembly was inaugurated in March 1952. Its tenure was from 1952 to 1957.
The assembly then had the strength of 160 members. In the year 1956, the strength of the assembly was
increased to 190 by merging the Ajmer State with Rajasthan. The second legislative assembly was
inaugurated in 1957 with 176 members. Following this, third legislative assembly was inaugurated in 1962
with 176. The fourth and the fifth assembly had 184 members. The strength of the assembly was increased
to 200 with the sixth legislative assembly that ran from 1977 to 1980. The Fourteenth Legislative Assembly
was started in January 2013. Umed Singh of Barmer became the youngest member of Rajasthan Legislative
Assembly in 1962.
Unicameral Legislature
Unicameral Legislature means the legislature which comprises of a single legislative or parliamentary
chamber or house. Almost half of the world’s sovereign states are unicameral. However, the People’s
Republic of China lies in between having a legislature and a formal advisory body.
State Budget
The state budget is laid down before the house of houses of legislatures in the state in accordance with
Article 202 of the Constitution. The budget comprises of the estimated statement of receipt and
expenditure for a financial year.
Hoshangabad City to be renamed as Narmadapuram
The Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has announced to rename the Hoshangabad
city of MP as Narmadapuram.
Highlights
This announcement was made by him while he was addressing the Narmada Jayanti programme that
was held in Hoshangabad.
He stated that, the proposal to change the name will be sent to the centre.
The decision was taken after asking the gathering on the banks of Narmada.
Background
Hoshangabad city was named after an attacker Hoshang Shah who was the first ruler of Malwa.
This district was the part of Nerbudda (Narmada) Division and Berar.
It became the state of Madhya Bharat and later the Madhya Pradesh after India attained its
independence in the year 1947.
Hoshangabad is famous for its beautiful ghats along the river Narmada river.
The major attraction is the Sethani ghat.

New Name of the city
The Hoshangabad will now be named as Narmadapuram named after River Narmada. River Narmada is the
lifeline of Madhya Pradesh. The river is the 5th largest river across India. It flows through the rift valley. It
also forms an estuary at its mouth. Cities like Jabalpur, Hoshangabad, Mandla, Maheshwar, Omkareshwar
Narsinghpur, Badwabuare and Jhabua, are situated on the bank of river Narmada.
Narmada River
The river is also known as Reva river. Earlier it was also known as Narbada (Nerbudda). It is located in
states of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. He river is often called as the “Life Line of Madhya Pradesh and
Gujarat”. T rises from the Amarkantak Plateau in the Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh. It forms a
boundary between North India and South India. It is a west flowing river. The total length of the river is 1,312
km. It drains into the Arabian Sea through the Gulf of Khambhat.
Uttarakhand Brings Ordinance to Give Co-ownership Rights to Women
The Uttarakhand government has put forward an ordinance providing the co-ownership rights to women in
the ancestral property of their husband.
Highlights
The ordinance was put forward in the backdrop of large-scale migration of men from hill areas of the
state to look for livelihood.
It was passed with the aim of providing financial independence to women who are left behind at
home and get dependent on agriculture to sustain themselves.
Uttarakhand has become the first state that provides co-ownership rights to women in ancestral
property of their women.
Significance of the decision
In the state, specifically in the hilly regions, husbands and wives both are involved in farming for their
livelihood.
But it is usually observed that husbands do the heavy-labour intensive work like ploughing the field.
On the other hand, women are involved in the 90 percent of farming-related work. Despite that,
women’s hard work is not recognised and they don’t get any form of ownership right on the land.
Thus, the decision of the Uttarakhand government will facilitate the ownership right to the women
who works in the fields owned by their husbands which usually was transferred to the men and then
to their sons.
Further, it will help the women to get loan for farm related work since when they had no ownership
rights, they were not able to take any form of loan.
Women’s property rights in India
The property rights of women in India vary with respect to the religion and tribe. Usually, the right is subject
to a complex mix of law and custom. However, Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 is a step towards
granting the women equal legal property rights. Further, the Hindu personal laws of 1956 which is
applicable to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains provides the women rights to inheritances.
NCBC Chairman on sub-categorisation of OBCs
The chairman of National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), Bhagwan Lal Sahni, said that the
NCBC is in favour of four subcategories of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). This move complies with
the recommendation of the Justice Rohini Commission.
Justice Rohini Commission
It was constituted on October 2, 2017. This commission has been appointed in order to study and report
about the sub-categorisation of OBCs. The commission will be submitting the report by July 2021. The

panel’s terms of reference are to study the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation
among castes or communities. The panel will also work out on the mechanism, criteria and parameters for
sub-categorisation within the OBCs.
Sub-Categorisation of OBCs
The sub-categories of the OBCs will be done by keeping those sections in mind which have either
benefited adequately or less benefited from the reservation.
While the two other categories will be for the least benefited and those who have not been benefited
from present reservation structure of the OBCs.
Existing OBC categorisation
The subcategorization of OBCs is already in place in Bihar. Bihar has subcategorised it as OBCs and EBCs.
National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC)
NCBC was constituted on August 14, 1993 in the aftermath of commission was the outcome of Indra
Sawhney & Ors. Vs. Union of India case. It was given the status of constitutional body in accordance with
the 123rd constitutional amendment bill 2017 and the 102nd amendment of 2018. Article 338B of the Indian
Constitution deals with the NCBC. The body works under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
NCBC was established to pursue the provisions of National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993.
Article 338 B
As per this article, the commission comprises of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and three other Members.
The appointment, conditions of service and tenure of office of all of them is decided by the President.
Amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 approved
The Union Cabinet has approved the amendments to the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children
Act, 2015 on February 17, 2021.
Key Facts
The amendment proposes that, the DMs, ADMs will monitor the functioning of agencies which are
implementing this act in each district.
After this amendment, the Child Protection Unit of districts will function under the District Magistrate
(DMs).
Now, the DMs can independently evaluate Child Welfare Committee, and the Specialised Juvenile
Police Unit.
He can check the capacity and background of the Child Care Institute, following which they will be
recommended for registration.
The amendments authorise the District Magistrate along with Additional District Magistrate to issue
the adoption orders in accordance with Section 61 of the Juvenile justice act.
It will now ensure the speedy disposal of cases and also enhance the accountability.
The amendments also empower the District Magistrates to ensure its smooth implementation and
garner the synergized efforts to support the children in distress conditions.
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
The act was passed by Parliament of India by replacing the Indian juvenile delinquency law called the
Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000. This act allows the juveniles, aged 16 to 18
who are in conflict with Law and are involved in Heinous Offences, to be tried as adults. It also seeks to
create a universally accessible adoption law in India. The Act came into force in 2016. In order to smoothen
the procedures for orphan, abandoned and surrendered children the Central Adoption Resource Authority
(CARA) was given the status of statutory body.

Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)
It is an autonomous and statutory body under the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It was
established in 1990. CARA is the nodal body of the adoption of Indian children. It also monitors and regulate
the in-country and inter-country adoptions.
Cabinet approved PLI scheme for Telecom Sector
The government of India has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) norms for the telecom sector
on February 17, 2021.
Key Facts
The approval of the PLI scheme was given for telecom and network equipment manufacturing in a bid
to boost the local manufacturing of the components.
PLI scheme on telecom sector will be effective from April 1, 2021.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) now be given the final approval from the Union cabinet.
Now, the DoT will invite the companies for applications.
Prasad also said 20,000 jobs are already given by one mobile manufacturer, 1 lakh direct and 3 lakh
indirect jobs will be created by a mobile manufacturer next year.
Under the PLI scheme, Telecom manufacturing will be boosted for over 5 years in order to enhance
the production of more than Rs 2.4 lakh crore.
Objectives of the Decision
The Cabinet decision to approve the PLI scheme for telecom sector aims to make India a global hub
of manufacturing telecom equipment.
The government also aim to make India a hub of 4G/5G Next Generation Radio Access Network, core
transmission equipment, and Wireless Equipment as well.
This move will also boost the local manufacturing of telecom gear in the domestic market as well as
for exports.
The scheme will cater to the core transmission equipment, 4G/5G and next-generation radio access
network & wireless equipment, Internet of Things (IoT) access devices, access and customer premise
equipment (CPE) and enterprise equipment like switches and router.
It will also pull the Intellectual Property (IP) and design-led manufacturing in order to make the Indian
industry globally competitive.
The policy also seeks to boost the research and development pool and talent across India.
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme
This scheme was launched in the March 2020 in a bid to boost the domestic manufacturing. It also seeks to
cut down on import bills. The scheme was launched with the aim of giving the companies incentives on
incremental sales of the domestically manufactured products. This scheme does not stop any foreign
companies to set shop in India. But, it also encourage the local companies to set up or expand the existing
manufacturing units.
Ministry of Earth Sciences invited suggestion on Draft Blue Economy Policy
The Ministry of Earth Sciences has asked for suggestions on the Draft Blue Economy Policy for India. The
stakeholders such as NGOs, industry, academia and citizens have been asked to submit their inputs and
ideas by 27th February 2021.
Key Facts
The Draft Blue Economy Policy was created by the government outlining the vision and strategy that
can be adopted to utilize the oceanic resources that are available with the country.
The policy was drafted with the aim of enhancing the contribution of the blue economy to India’s

GDP.
It also seeks to improve the lives of coastal communities and preserve the marine biodiversity.
It will also maintain the national security of the marine areas and resources.
The draft blue economy document has recognised the seven thematic areas such as:
1. National accounting framework of the blue economy and ocean governance;
2. Coastal marine spatial planning and tourism;
3. Marine fisheries, fish processing, and Aquaculture
4. Manufacturing, services, trade, technology, and skill development;
5. Logistics, infrastructure and shipping
6. Coastal & deep-sea mining and
7. Offshore energy & security, strategic dimensions and international engagements.
Thus, the blue economy of India is a subset of national economy that caters to the entire ocean
resources system.
The policy also caters to the human-made economic infrastructure in marine, maritime, and onshore
coastal zones in India’s jurisdiction.
The policy is also linked with the production of goods and services which is ultimately linked with the
economic growth, environmental sustainability, and national security.
The draft policy also suggests to offer the Blue Economy related educational programs comprising of
various technical and managerial skills in universities and technical institutes along the coastal
states of India.
What is Blue Economy?
The concept of the blue economy aspires to promote the economic growth and social inclusion. It is also
involved in the preservation or improvement of livelihoods. It also seeks to ensure the environmental
sustainability in the oceans and coastal areas. It comprises of the sectors for which the returns are linked
to living renewable resources in the oceans like fisheries. It also comprises the sectors whose return comes
from non-living & non-renewable resources including the seabed mining, dredging and offshore oil & gas
extractions.
Rajasthan Prison Rules, 1951- Recent Amendments
The Rajasthan government has amended the Rajasthan Prison Rules, 1951 recently. The move was aimed to
do away with the caste-based assignment of labour.
Highlights
The state government has made three changes in these rules.
These amendments were made following the Suo motu cognizance by the Rajasthan High Court took
over a media report on caste practices which are prevalent in prisons of Rajasthan.
The media reported that, every person entering to the prison are asked about his caste. Once their
caste is identified menial jobs such as cleaning toilets, sweeping the prisons etc are assigned to
them.
What are the amendments?
1. Rule 67 under Section 2– This rule comprises norms regarding the “cooking of food”. The rule earlier
read as “any Brahmin or sufficiently high caste Hindu prisoner from this class is eligible for
appointment as cook”. Amendment has been made that now reads as “No inmate shall be selected
for cooking on the basis of his caste or religion.”
2. Rule 13 of Section I of Part 10- This section comprises of the restriction on the employment of
convicts as tradesman- This section of the rule earlier stated that,

Barber shall be a non-habitual prisoner.
Sweepers shall be chosen from among those who perform sweeper’s work by the custom of the
district in which they reside
Anyone who is not a professional sweeper may also volunteer to do this work. However, the person
who is not a profession sweeper shall not be compelled to do the work’
After amendments, the paragraph now states that “No tradesman shall be chosen on the basis of his
caste or religion.”
3. Rule 17, Clause (d) of Section 1 in Part 15: This section defines a habitual offender as “any member
of a criminal tribe subject to the discretion of the Government”. The clause (d) has now been deleted.
Is Inter-caste marriage a way forward to reduce communal tensions?
The Supreme Court of India in a recent judgement said that, the educated youngsters are showing a way
forward to reduce caste and community tensions across India by involving into the Inter-caste marriage.
Background
Supreme court made this judgment in the backdrop of a case filed by a woman who tied the knot with a man
against her family’s wishes. The investigating officer had directed her to leave her husband and be present
at the police station. The investigating officer directed her to so following a complaint filed by her relatives.
What did the court say?
The court rejected the case against the couple.
The apex court further directed the police authorities to counsel the investigating officers.
SC also asked the authorities to devise a training programme in order to deal with such cases in a
way that it benefits the police personnel.
The SC Bench while hearing the judgement, referred to the Hadiya case. In this case, privacy of an
individual was declared a fundamental right under Article 21 (Right to life) of Constitution.
As per the judgement, Consent of the family or community or clan is not required, once two adult
individuals have agreed to enter into knot. Further, their consent has to be given primacy.
SC also quoted B. R. Ambedkar’s Annihilation of Caste where he agrees with the fact that, “real
remedy is intermarriage”.
Special Marriages Act, 1954
This legislation is used to register the inter-religious and inter-caste marriages in the country. It includes all
the marriages belonging to Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. The act also allows
two individuals to solemnise their marriage by a civil contract.
What is Breach of Privilege Motion?
Recently, Rahul Gandhi led his party members and others for a 2-minute silence in the light of the death of
farmers who lost their life in the ongoing protest by farmers against the firm laws. Following this, the BJP
MP Sanjay Jaiswal and P.P Chaudhary alleged Rahul Gandhi with the claim that he has shown an
unparliamentary behaviour and passed the breach of privilege motion against him.
What is Breach of Privilege?
Breach of Privilege means violation of any of the privileges of Members of Parliament (MPs). It includes any
action that casts reflections on MPs, parliament or its committees. The actions include publishing any news
items or editorials; any statements made in newspaper or magazine or TV interviews or any statements
made in public speeches by the MPs.
How Breach of Privilege is checked?
The breach of privilege is checked upon in accordance with the Article 105 of the constitution in
Parliament while in case of state legislature the motion is passed in accordance with the Article 194.

It is also governed by the Rule no.222 of chapter 20 in the Lok Sabha. While in case of Rajya Sabha, it
is governed by Rule no.187 in chapter 16 of the rule book.
These rules governing the Breach of Privilege mandates that the notice should be related to the
incident of recent occurrence. It should also need the intervention of the House.
The member can raise question on the motion of breach of privilege or contempt of member of
contempt of the house after having consent of the Speaker.
The notice regarding it should be given before 10 am to the Speaker or the Chairperson.
How the motion is scrutinized?
The Speaker or the Rajya Sabha chairperson at first do the scrutiny of any privilege motion. They can either
decide on the privilege motion or refer it to privileges committee of Parliament for further considerations. In
Lok Sabha, the privilege committee is nominated by the Speaker consisting of 15 members. While in Rajya
Sabha, Chairperson nominates the privilege committee comprising of 10 members.
Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2021
The Lok Sabha gave has passed the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2021. The bill was
passed on February 12, 2021 by voice vote.
Background
The Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the bill in the Lok Sabha on February 4, 2021. The
provisions of the bill were, however, already into force through an ordinance that was promulgated on
November 4th, 2020.
Highlights
The law minister highlighted that; India wants to be an excellent hub for the arbitration. So, the government
has passed the bill and is working in direction of making India a big hub for domestic and international
arbitration.
The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill 2021 deal with the domestic and international
arbitration.
It also defines the law to conduct the conciliation proceedings.
It replaces the ordinance containing same provisions that was promulgated on 4th November, 2020.
The bill will amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
With the amendment, the bill will enable automatic stay on awards in some cases.
The bill will also omit the eighth schedule of the act that specify through the regulations of
qualifications, experience and norms of the accreditation of arbitrators.
Under the amendments, a stay on the arbitral award may be provided by the Court. It can be provided
even during the pendency of the setting aside application.
The bill also amends the section 36 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996
This act regulates the domestic arbitration in India. This act was amended in the year 2015. It’s another
amendment was passed in Lok Sabha in August 2019.
Arbitration
It is a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). In this mechanism, the disputes are resolved outside the
courts. The disputes are decided by one or more persons called the ‘arbitrators’. The arbitrators give the
arbitration award which stands legally binding on both sides. The award is also enforceable in the courts. It
is often used to resolve the commercial disputes particularly related to international commercial
transactions. join us http://telegram.me/bpsc65thmains66thprelims (BPSC CCE 65th,66th & 67th)

7th Pay Commission: Family Pensions Ceiling Enhanced
The Union Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office and Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Dr.
Jitendra Singh, stated on February 12, 2021 that the upper ceiling for family pension has been increased
from Rs 45,000 to Rs 1,25,000 per month.
Highlights
This decision was taken in order to bring Ease of Living for the family members of the deceased
employees.
It would help in providing adequate financial security to the family members.
The Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW) has also clarified the amount admissible
when child is eligible to draw two family pensions after death of parents.
The notification says that the amount of both the family pensions will be restricted to Rs 1,25,000 per
month. This amounts to two and half times more than the earlier limit.
Further the sub-rule (11) of rule 54 under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules 1972 states that if
both wife and husband are Government servants and are governed by the provisions of that rule, then,
on their death the surviving child will be eligible for two family pensions.
Pay Commission
This commission is set up by Government of India. It is set up in order to provide recommendations with
respect to the changes in salary structure of the employees. The 1st pay commission was set in the year
1947. Since then, seven pay commissions have been set up on a regular basis to review and recommend on
the work and pay structure. It is headquartered in Delhi. The pay commission is given a time limit of 18
months after its constitution to make any recommendation.
7th Central Pay Commission
The 7 t h pay commission was set up in September 2013. The pay commission submitted its
recommendations with its implementation effect from 1 January 2016. It was headed by Justice A.K
Mathur.
Goa- 6th State to complete Urban Local Bodies reforms
Goa has become the 6th State in the country that have successfully completed the Urban Local Bodies
reforms.
Highlights
These Urban Local Bodies reforms were set up by the Department of Expenditure.
Finance Ministry highlighted that the state of Goa will now eligible to mobilise the additional financial
resources of 223 crore rupees with the help of Open Market Borrowings.
Apart from Goa, five other states namely Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Manipur and
Telangana have already completed the Urban Local Bodies reforms.
These five states have also been granted a total additional borrowing permission of ten thousand 435
crore rupees.
What are the reforms?
The Department of Expenditure have set following reforms:
1. Under the reforms, the states are required to notify floor rates of property tax in ULBs in accordance
with the guideline rates for property transactions.
2. The states are also required to notify the floor rates of user charges with respect to the provision of
water-supply, drainage and sewerage.
3. State will also launch a system of periodic increase in the floor rates of property tax or the user
charges with respect to the price increases.

Apart from these reforms, the centre has also identified four citizen centric areas for reforms namely, the
Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card, Urban Local body or utility reform, Ease of doing business
reform and Power Sector reforms.
What are the implications?
After undertaking the reforms,
1. Goa has become eligible to get the additional reform linked borrowing.
2. It will now be granted permission to mobilise financial resource of RS 2,731 by the Department of
Expenditure.
What is the aim of Urban Local Bodies reforms?
Reforms in Urban Local Bodies and the urban utilities reforms are being undertaken with the aim of
strengthening the finance of the Urban Local Bodies in States. These reforms would enable the ULBs to
provide better public health and sanitation services to its citizens.
Twitter-GOI Crossfire: GOI asks Twitter to Respect Indian Laws
The Indian Government on February 11, 2021 have categorically warned the Social Media platforms from the
Rajya Sabha. The government said it will take action against Social Media platforms, like Twitter and
Facebook, if fake news and violence is spread through it.
Highlights
While warning these platforms the Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information
Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said that though there is freedom of speech but Article 19A states
this right is subject to reasonable restrictions.
He further said, India respects social media since it has empowered common people. It also plays a
major role in Digital India programme. But, if these platforms are misused to spread fake news and
violence, then strict action will be taken.
He asked the social media platforms to comply with the constitution of India.
He also said, the Indian constitution allows criticism of the government and the Prime Minister. But it
does not allow spreading fake news.
The Indian government also expressed displeasure on Twitter’s delayed compliance regarding its
order to remove the provocative tweets on the ongoing farmers’ protests.
The government also warned that the twitter officials in India would be arrested over the
Inflammatory content on the platform specially with the hashtag of farmer’s genocide.
The government also said, the platform is not complying with the section 69A of the IT Act.
Section 69A of IT Act
This section gives powers to the authorities to intercept and monitor any information which are generated,
transmitted, received or stored in the computer resource if it is necessary to do. This can be done in the
interest of sovereignty or integrity of India, defence & security of the country and for preventing incitement
of any cognizable offence etc. The act also gives power to the government to block internet sites to
safeguard the interests of the nation. However, the act does not impose any public emergency restriction
for the government.
Approved Standardised Deep-Sea Fishing Vessels Design and Specifications
The government of India has set up a Nodal Authority in order to frame the Approved Standardised Deep-
Sea Fishing Vessels Design and Specifications (ASDDS). It would help the fisheries departments of states
to implement the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).
About ASDDS
ASDDS will provide a framework of minimum basic design parameters. The vessels would be

constructed under the prescribed framework.
It will cover the basic design aspects including the Outline Specifications, Basic Calculation, General
Arrangement and Basic Structural Drawings.
ASDDS will be prepared by Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL).
It will technically be vetted by Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT).
The ‘In Principle’ approval will be given by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).
About DSFV
Deep-Sea Fishing Vessels (DSFV’s) was also constructed in compliance with the ASDDS.
DSFV was promulgated by the ministry of ports, shipping and waterways.
DSFV will also be eligible for subsidy under the PMMSY scheme.
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana
It is a flagship scheme that focuses on the sustainable development of the fisheries sector. It will be
implemented for a five-year period. The scheme was launched on April 1, 2020 in all States and Union
Territories under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package.
Budget outlay
The PMMSY was launched with an estimated investment of Rs 20,050 crores. Out of this amount, an
investment of about Rs 12,340 crores is allocated for the beneficiary-oriented activities in Inland fisheries,
Marine and Aquaculture. Rs 7,710 crores was allocated for fisheries infrastructure.
Nodal Authority
The nodal authority will be headed by the director of CIFT. It would also comprise of the representatives
from the Naval Architecture Department of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur or IIT Madras;
Cochin Shipyard Ltd and the Indian Register of Shipping.
SC stays dismantling of INS Viraat
The Supreme Court have put a stay on the dismantling of the INS Viraat that was decommissioned recently.
This decision was taken in the backdrop to restore the everlasting glory of this legendary warship of the
Indian Navy.
Background
The SC’s stay on the dismantling while hearing a petition filed by a firm. The firm filed the petition seeking a
permission to convert INS Viraat into a maritime museum and a multi-functional adventure centre. The
centre had informed the Parliament in July 2019 about their decision to dismantle the INS Viraat after
holding due consultation with the Indian Navy.
SC’s Take
The petition was heard by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde.
The bench issued the notice to the Centre and others and asked for their responses on the plea.
This order came from SC after a portion of the legendary vessel has already been scrapped following
the government’s decision in December 2020.
Firm’s take
The firm that filed the petition has proposed to buy the aircraft carrier for Rs 100 crore.
INS Viraat
It was a Centaur-class aircraft carrier in the Indian Navy. The aircraft carrier was the flagship of Indian Navy
till 2013 before INS Vikramaditya was commissioned into services. INS Viraat was completed and
commissioned in the year 1959 as the Royal Navy’s HMS Hermes. In the year 11984 it was
decommissioned. The aircraft carrier was sold to India in the year 1987. Following that, it was
commissioned into the Indian Navy on May 12, 1987.The carrier has served the Indian Navy for 29 years and

decommissioned in 2017. This was the last British-built ship that was serving the Indian Navy.
Major Ports Authorities Bill, 2020
The “Major Ports Authorities Bill, 2020” was passed in the Rajya Sabha on February 10, 2021. The bill was
passed using the ballot votes. 84 votes were in favour while 44 votes were against it. The bill was passed in
the Lok Sabha in September 2020.
Significance of the Bill
The Union minister of state for ports, shipping and waterways, Mansukh Mandaviya, highlighted that
the bill will encourage the good competition with in the major private ports.
The bill also boost port land usage and it will amplify competition in port tariffs.
Provisions of the bill
1. The bill aims to provide more autonomy in decision-making.
2. It will provide autonomy to the 12 major ports of India, Namely’
Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla) port
Mumbai port
JNPT port
Mormugao port,
New Mangalore port,
Cochin port,
Chennai port,
Kamarajar (erstwhile Ennore) port,
V O Chidambaranar port,
Visakhapatnam port,
Paradip port, and
Kolkata (including Haldia) port.
3. The bill will also professionalise the governance of the port with the formation of boards.
4. The bill will replace the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963.
5. It comprises of the provisions of creating a Board of Major Port Authority for each major port that in
turn will replace the existing Port Trusts.
Composition of the board
The Board will consist of a Chairperson and a deputy Chairperson. Both will be appointed by the central
government following the recommendation of a selection committee. The board will also include one
member from each of the respective state governments, Railways Ministry, Defence Ministry, and Customs
Department. It will also have two to four independent members. Further, it will include two members who
will represent the interests of the employees from the Major Port Authority.
Criticism
The bill is being criticised and opposed alleging that it is aimed at privatising the ports. The bill will deplete
the powers of states with respect to the land use.
Budget 2021- Provision of Rs 913.43 crores made for MoPR
In the Union Budget 2021-2022, total of Rs.913.43 crores have been dedicated to the Ministry of Panchayati
Raj (MoPR). This amount to 32% increase in the revised estimate of budget 2020-21.
How Rs 913.43 crores have been distributed?
1. Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA)-
Out of the Rs. 913.43 crores, Rs.593 crores have been provided under the Scheme Rashtriya Gram
Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA).

Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
The aim of the scheme is to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in order to achieve the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The primary focus of the scheme is on its convergence with Mission Antyodaya by the capacity
building of the rural local governments.
The main components of the scheme include the infrastructure facilities such as Panchayat Bhawans,
trained manpower, computer & broadband connectivity.
It also seeks to provide the quality training to the elected representatives and other functionaries of
the PRIs.
2. SVAMITVA scheme–
200 crores has been allocated for scheme-SVAMITVA.
It seeks to provide the ‘record of rights’ to village household owners.
It will also issue the property cards for the property owners through survey of village areas.
Survey would be done using the drone technology by Survey of India.
Pilot phase of SVAMITVA
For the pilot phase of the scheme, Budget Outlay of Rs.79.65 crore have been allocated.
In this phase, the scheme is under implementation in 9 States namely, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
Under it, Drone Survey has been completed in about 23,300 villages by the end of January 2021.
In 1432 villages, the property cards have been prepared and distributed or is under distribution to
about 2.30 lakh property holders.
Continuous Operating Reference System (CORS) network
Under the SVAMITVA scheme, 210 CORS are being set up in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Madhya
Pradesh. SVAMITVA Scheme aims that the CORS network reaches all across the Country by 2022. The CORs
networks are used by any State agency or Department namely, the Revenue Department, Public Works
Department, Gram Panchayat (GP), Agriculture, Rural Development Department, Education, Drainage &
Canal, Water, Electricity, Health etc. to survey the works and implementation of schemes. This network uses
the GIS based applications to survey the works. It overhauls the traditional survey system in the rural areas.
The network provides accuracy up to 5 centimetre-level in real-time.
Anganwadi beneficiaries dropped by 2 crores in 7 years
As per data submitted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in the Parliament, the number of
beneficiaries under the government’s Anganwadi programme has declined in the number of by nearly two
crores.
Highlights
There were some 10.45 crore pregnant women, lactating mothers and children aged six months to six
years who were enrolled at nearly 14 lakh Anganwadi centres during 2014-2015.
This number has declined and dropped to 8.55 crore by March, 2020.
The number of children has also declined from 8.49 crore in 2014-2015 to 6.86 crore in March 2020.
The number of pregnant women and lactating mothers declined from 1.95 crore in 2014-15 to 1.68
crore in March 2020.
The reason for this decline was not highlighted by the government.
Why number of enrolled children has declined?
Though the actual reasons for the declines in the number of children is unknown, some of the possible
reasons for the decline could be:

1. Those children who were unable to submit Aadhaar might have been knocked out as ‘fake’.
2. The genuine fakes could have been identified with the help of Aadhaar.
3. Census 2011 shows that the absolute population in the younger age groups was declining in States
with a low fertility rate. So, the number might have declined because of changing demographics.
Anganwadi
It is a kind of rural child care centre in India. These centres were started by the Indian government in the
year 1975. The centres were established under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) program
to combat the child hunger and malnutrition.
Integrated Child Development Scheme
This scheme was launched in the year 1975. Though in 1978, Morarji Desai government had discontinued it
but in the Tenth Five Year Plan it was relaunched. The scheme comprises of a package of six services which
are administered at various Anganwadi centres. The services include the immunisation, supplementary
nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, health check-up, health education, and referral services.
Rajya Sabha Passes Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021
The Rajya Sabha have cleared The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 by voice
vote on February 8, 2021.
Highlights
The bill seeks to replace the ordinance to merge the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cadre and the
Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory (AGMUT) cadre of civil services officer.
This Bill was recently introduced in the Upper House of the parliament.
The bill will also increase the strength of officers in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and
Leh.
Background
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 has been passed in the line of the
enactment of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 in the Jammu & Kashmir after revocation
of the Article 370 in the region. The act of 2019 had reconstituted the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two
union territories namely, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, on 31 October 2019. It has reconstituted that
area of the J&K that has always been a part of the larger region of Kashmir which is the disputed between
India, Pakistan, and China
Voice Vote
Voice Vote is a voting method in parliamentary procedure in which vote is taken on a topic or motion orally.
It is the simplest and quickest of voting methods that are used by deliberative assemblies. Firstly, the
presiding officer or chair of the assembly puts the question to the assembly. Then ask for all those in favour
of the motion to say orally (“aye” or “yea”). Later, he asks for all those who opposed the motion to say orally
(“no” or “nay”). The presiding officer then count on each side and state the result. Voice votes have
disadvantages because the volume of the voices is only estimated but it is not actually measured with
sound level meters.
Judicial Activism: NITI Aayog orders to study the 'Economic impact of Judicial Decisions'
The NITI Aayog has ordered the Jaipur-based research organisation Consumer Unity and Trust Society
(CUTS) International to study the “economic impact” of judgments delivered by Supreme Court (SC), high
courts (HCs), and quasi-judicial bodies like the National Green Tribunal (NGT). It has also asked to study the
“judicial activism” of such courts and tribunals.
Highlights
The Judicial decisions have far-reaching economic impacts.

These impacts are usually not taken into account at the time of decision making.
This study will be completely funded by the NITI Aayog.
The study will be conducted with the aim of “sensitising the judiciary on the economic impact of their
decisions”.
The findings from the study will be used as the “training input for judges of the SC, HCs, commercial
courts and NGT”.
The total cost of the project initially was Rs 24.8 lakh. However, it is likely to go higher.
CUTS role
CUTS International will study the economic impact of five different decisions by the SC and the NGT.
The five judgement include:
1. Economic impact of the ban imposed by the SC in March 2019 on construction of a greenfield airport
at Mopa, Goa.
2. SC’s February 2018 ban on iron ore mining in Goa.
3. NGT ban on sand mining in the Yamuna river in Gautam Buddha Nagar in the year 2013.
4. SC ban on construction of buildings in Delhi and National Capital Region
5. SC’s decision to reject the opening of Vedanta’s Sterlite copper plant.
Purpose of the study
The study will provide an objective cost-benefit analysis of the economic impact of the decisions made by
the judiciary. The study is also a part of the umbrella project of the NITI Aayog under which the think tank
wants to establish a judicial performance index. This index will be used to measure the performance of
judges at district courts and subordinate levels.
Digital Banking: Over 2.9 lakh Cyber Security incidents reported in 2020
The Minister of State for the Electronics and IT, Sanjay Dhotre, highlighted in a written reply to the Rajya
Sabha that; more than 2.9 lakh digital banking cybersecurity incidents were reported in the year 2020.
Cases of cyber incidents
The data from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) reveals that, a total number
of 2,90,445 cybersecurity incidents were reported in the year 2020.
These incidents have increased as opposed to 2,46,514 incidents in 2019 and 1,59,761 incidents in
2018.
These cybersecurity incidents range from the network scanning probing, phishing attacks, viruses and
the website hacking.
Rising Digital Transactions
The ministry highlighted that, the digital transactions have increased by 46% in the year 2020 amid
the COVID-19 pandemic when compared to that of 2018 and 2019.
In the financial year 2019-20, the numbers of digital transactions have increased to 4,572 crores as
opposed to the 3,134 crores transactions in financial year 2018-19.
Ministry further said, the scope of digital payments has now expanded because of increasing
popularity of non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) along with the popularity of the e-commerce.
Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
It is an office under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The office is the nodal agency
that deals with the cyber security threats such as hacking and phishing. The agency works for strengthening
the security-related defence of the Indian Internet domain.
NCRB data on Cybercrimes
The data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that 6,233 cases were registered under

fraud and cheating in the year 2019. It involved that cases communication devices as medium or target as
per Information Technology Act 2000.
Information Technology Act 2000
It is an Act of the Indian Parliament that was notified in October 2000. This act deals with cybercrime and
electronic commerce. Section 69A of the IT Act empowers the government to block any information
transmitted, generated, received, hosted, or stored in any computer resource in the interest of sovereignty,
integrity, defence or security of the Nation.
PayPal To Stop Domestic Payment Services
The American Digital payment solutions provider PayPal announced that it will stop offering the domestic
payment services within India beginning from April 1, 2021.
Highlights
The PayPal has further said that it will now focus on enabling more international sales for the Indian
businesses.
It highlighted that; it had processed USD 1.4 billion international sales in the year 2020 for over 3.6
lakh Indian merchants.
Thus, the company has decided to shift the focus away from the domestic products in India.
Implications of the decision
With this decision, the PayPal will not be able to offer the domestic payment services within India. But the
company will now invest in the product development in order to enable the Indian businesses to reach 350
million PayPal consumers across the world and increase their sales internationally. This decision, in turn,
will help the Indian economy return to growth.
HC’s stand on the issue
Delhi High Court has asked for the response of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) India on American
online payment gateway PayPal’s plea.
In its plea, the PayPal had challenged Rs 96 lakh penalty imposed on for the violation of money
laundering law.
Justice Prathiba M Singh thus issued notice to FIU and has asked for its stand on PayPal”s plea by
February 26.
The court also stayed the FIU order subject to PayPal. The order asks to maintain the records of all its
transactions and deposits within two weeks in the High Court.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also been made a party in the matter.
Court has directed RBI and the Ministry of Finance to form a committee to take a policy decision on
whether entity like PayPal can be considered as a reporting agency.
Court also asked whether they be governed by the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
About PayPal
It is an American company that operates an online payments system. It also serves as an electronic
alternative to checks and money orders to do the transactions.
Redevelopment of Central Vista Avenue began
The redevelopment work of the central vista avenue has started with the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony. Central
Vista Avenue is the area surrounding Rajpath. The Bhoomi Pujan was performed by the Union Minister for
Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri.
Central Vista Avenue
The Central Vista Avenue starts from North and South Block to India Gate.
It also includes the Rajpath, lawns and canals adjoining the Rajpath, rows of trees, Vijay Chowk and

the India Gate plaza.
It is a three-km long stretch.
The Central Vista was designed as a grand processional pathway to the Viceroy’s House in the British
India.
Background
The area was retained by the Government of India after independence. Because of safety concerns
proposals for new structures started coming to forth after independence. In the line, the landscape of the
Central Vista Avenue was altered after Independence. In 1980s, new rows of trees were also added. Further,
in order to improve the north-south connectivity a new road Rafi Ahmad Kidwai Marg was constructed.
Central Vista Redevelopment Project
The project is the ongoing redevelopment plan to revamp the Central Vista which is the central
administrative area of India located near Raisina hill in New Delhi. The area comprises of the government
and parliamentary offices of India. It is called as the “Power Corridor” of India. The project has been started
with the objective of improving the infrastructure for the Government of India. The redevelopment plan also
comprises of the retrofitting and refurbishing some of the heritage buildings to make them functional and
safe for future. It will convert North and South Blocks to publicly accessible museums. A common Central
Secretariat will be created to house all ministries. Apart from that, a new Parliament building will also be
constructed and its seating capacity will be increased.
History of the Central Vista
The area was designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker at the time of British colonial rule. Its
foundation stone was put in the year 1921. In the year 1927 the building was inaugurated by the viceroy
Lord Irwin. In the year 1947, it became the seat of new government of India.
Andhra Pradesh: 2nd State to undertake Power Sector reforms
Andhra Pradesh has become the second State to implement the power sector reforms that was put forward
by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
Highlights
The state has implemented the one of the three reforms that was bought in 2020.
Under the reform, the state has started the Direct Benefit transfer (DBT) of electricity subsidy to
farmers with effect from September, 2020 itself.
After implementing the reform, State is now eligible to mobilise additional financial resources equal
to 0.15 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).
Andhra Pradesh has also completed One Nation One Ration Card reform, Ease of Doing Business
Reforms and Urban Local Bodies Reforms besides the power sector reforms.
Thus, Andhra Pradesh has been granted permission to raise a total additional amount of Rs. 9,190
crores as incentive.
This amount will be used by the state to carry out reforms in the four citizen centric areas.
Before Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh undertook the reforms in the power sector. It was given
additional borrowing permission of Rs. 1,423 crores which is equal to 0.15 percent of its GSDP.
About Power Sector Reforms
The Power Sector reforms were stipulated by the Ministry of Finance.
The reforms were put forward with the aim of creating a transparent and hassle-free provision of
power subsidy to the farmers.
It also seeks to prevent leakages.
These reforms alsojoinaim to improve the health of power distribution companies by lowering their

liquidity stress in a sustainable manner.
Guidelines to raise finance
The Department of Expenditure has made guidelines for the States who are undertaking reforms in power
sector. As per the guidelines, the states can raise additional financial resources of up to 0.25 percent of the
GSDP.
Background
The government of India has enhanced the borrowing limit of the States by 2 percent of the GSDP in the
backdrop of the challenges faced by the states amid the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. Further, the
states were allowed to raise additional fund amounting to 0.25% of GSDP. For that purpose, four citizen
centric areas were identified for reforms namely, Ease of doing business reform, Implementation of One
Nation One Ration Card System, (Urban Local body or utility reforms and Power Sector reforms.
Parliamentary Proceedings: Chairman warns against using mobile phones in RS
The Rajya Sabha Chairman, M. Venkaiah Naidu, recently warned MPs against using the mobile phones to
record the proceedings of the House.
Highlights
The chairman said that. unauthorised recordings and its circulation on social media are a breach of
Parliamentary privilege and it will be considered as contempt of the House. He also asked the media who
started telecasting the clips to stop doing the same since “it is not authorised”. He further said that the
media could be “liable for consequences”.
What is the issue?
Recently, in the Rajya Sabha, Some Opposition MPs used their mobile phones to record the disruption in
proceedings. There was disruption in the house proceedings over the farmer’s protest and the farm bills.
These videos then shared on social media and it was telecasted on television channels as well.
What does the rule say?
The Parliamentary rules does not allow the usage of mobile phones within Rajya Sabha chambers”.
Rajya Sabha or Council of States
It is the upper house of the Parliament of India. The house has a maximum membership of 245. Out of
them, 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories through the single transferable
votes while 12 members are appointed by the President. The 12 members are nominated for their
contributions in literature, art, science, and social services. The Rajya Sabha is the continuing chamber and
is not subjected to dissolution. However, one-third of its member are retired every second year. The Vice-
chairman of India is the ex-officio chairman of the upper house. Allocation of seats in Rajya Sabha is done
in accordance with the fourth schedule of the Indian constitution.
How Members are elected in RS?
The members are elected using the method of proportional representation by the elected members of state
legislative assemblies.
Future-Amazon Dispute: Future Group challenges Delhi HC order
The Future Group has challenged the Delhi high court order that banned the sale of its assets to Reliance
Industries Ltd (RIL). The Delhi HC had banned the sale on objections retail giant Amazon.
Background
The high court put a hold on Future Group’s the ₹24,713-crore retail deal with the Mukesh Ambani led
Reliance Industries
The court has ordered the Future Retail Ltd to maintain the status quo on the assets till the reverse
order is pronounced.

Competition Commission of India (CCI) had approved the Future-Reliance deal in November 2020.
The Securities Exchange Board of India also gave its conditional nodto the deal in January 2021.
Why amazon filed the petition?
The global retail giant Amazon had filed the petition recently in the Delhi HC.
Amazon thorough the petition was seeking the detention of Future Group founders including the
promoter Kishore Biyani.
It has also asked for the seizure of their assets alleging that it was violating the tribunal order.
Amazon maintains that the Future Group’s deal with Reliance Industries violates its investment
agreement with Kishore Biyani’s firm. The agreement had barred the company from selling its assets
to any specified entities including the reliance.
What does the court say?
The Singapore tribunal passed an interim order and favoured the Amazon in October 2020. The court order
barred the Future Retail from taking any steps to sell or encumber its assets. The Delhi HC also said, the
Singapore tribunal order of asking the Future Retail to not proceed with the deal is enforceable in India.
Delhi HC on the Issue
A single member bench of the Delhi high court had rejected Future Group’s plea in December 2021 that
asked to restrain the Amazon from writing to regulatory authorities about the Singapore International
Arbitration Centre (SIAC) arbitral order.
Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC)
It is a not-for-profit international arbitration organisation which is based in Singapore. The organisation
administers the arbitrations under its own rules of arbitration. The organisation was established on July 1,
1991. It is located at Maxwell Chambers. SIAC arbitration awards is enforceable in China, Australia, India,
Hong Kong SAR, UK, Thailand, Indonesia, Jordan, USA and Vietnam.
National Infrastructure Pipeline: Financing Bank to be set up
Published On Jan 30, 2021
The government is considering to introduce a new bill “National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and
Development Bill, 2021” in the ongoing budget session of the parliament. This bill will be passed with the
objective of setting up a new development finance institution (DFI) so as to finance the infrastructure
projects.
What is Development Finance Institution (DFI)?
The finance ministry had started working on the structure of a new DFI in the year 2020.
DFI will be a specialized institution to provide funds for the infrastructure projects. The DFI will be
backed by government.
The DFI will help in funding the projects under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).
The new DFI will act as a provider, enabler and catalyst for infrastructure financing.
It is also the principal financial institution and development bank to build and sustain a supportive
ecosystem during the life cycle of the infrastructure projects.
National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)
NIP is a group of social and economic infrastructure projects. The project has been launched for a period of
five years. The project has an initial sanctioned amount of ₹102 lakh crore. The pipeline project was first
announced by the Prime Minister of India during the 2019 Independence Day speech.
The Parliament of India
It is the supreme legislative body of India. Parliament is a bicameral legislature that comprises of the
President of India and the two houses namely the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President being the
head of legislature has powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament. He has also the power

to dissolve the Lok Sabha. However, he can exercise these powers only on the advice of the Prime Minister
and his Union Council of Ministers.
Sessions of the Parliament
The period for which the House of the parliament meets to conduct its business is called a session. The
Constitution of India has given power to the President to summon each House. The Gap between two
sessions of the parliament should not be more than a six-month. Thus, the Parliament must meet at least
twice in a year. The Parliament conducts three sessions every year in India:
1. Budget session that runs from January or February to May
2. Monsoon session that runs from July to August or September
3. Winter session that runs from November to December.
Paperless Budget: Mobile app launched ahead of Budget 2021
The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, has launched the “Union Budget Mobile App” ahead of
the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1, 2021. The mobile app was launched for hassle-free
access of Budget-related documents by Members of Parliament (MPs) and the public. The budget will
completely be paperless for the first time after. This decision was taken in the light of ongoing coronavirus
pandemic.
About Union Budget Mobile App
The mobile app will provide access to 14 Union Budget documents that includes the Annual Financial
Statement or the Budget, Demand for Grants (DG) and the Finance Bill.
The interface of the app has been designed in a user-friendly manner.
It comprises of the features like downloading, printing, search, zoom in and out, table of contents and
external links.
It is a bilingual app (English and Hindi).
National Informatics Centre (NIC) has developed the app under the guidance of the Department of
Economic Affairs (DEA).
Key Facts about Union Budget
The term Union Budget has not been mentioned in the constitution. But the “Annual Financial
Statement” is commonly known as Budget.
This annual financial statement is prepared in accordance with Article 112 of the Constitution of
India.
Union Budget was announced at 5:00 pm until 1999 on last working day February. Since the Budget
1999, the change in timing to 11 am was made.
In 2016, Narendra Modi shifted the date of Budget presentation to February, 1.
In 2016, the Rail Budget was also merged with union budget.
The printing of budget documents starts with the customary Halwa ceremony in which the Halwa is
served by the Finance Minister.
The tradition of carrying budget in a leather briefcase was also changed in July 2019 when the
finance minister carried the budget in a Bahi-Khata.
National Informatics Centre (NIC)
NIC works under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). It provides infrastructure
that support the delivery of IT services by the government and the delivery of initiatives under the Digital
India Mission.
Section 32A of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
The Supreme Court recently upheld the validity of Section 32 A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Under its judgement, the apex court pronounced that the successful bidders for a corporate debtor will be
immune from any investigations conducted by an investigating agency (like Enforcement Directorate or
other statutory bodies such as SEBI) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
Supreme Court Judgement
The SC said that it is important for IBC to attract bidders who will offer a fair value for the corporate debtor.
This is essential to ensure timely completion of corporate insolvency resolution process. The SC also said
that these bidders should be provided protection from misdeeds of the past. The protections should also
extend to the assets of the corporate debtor.
Section 32A of IBC
Under the section the corporate debtor who has committed an offence prior to the commencement of the
insolvency resolution process will not be prosecuted.
The Section 32A provides immunity to the corporate debtor and its property. However, the protection is
provided when there is an approval of resolution plan that leads to change of management of control.
The petitioner argued in the Supreme Court that this provision is constitutionally incorrect. This is because
it provides an undeserved immunity to the property.
Justification in Simple Words
According to the SC, the Section 32 A is essential to avoid delay in several big-ticket cases. For instance,
take the case of Bhushan Power and Steel. The company became bankrupt and admitted to insolvency in
2017. It owed more than Rs 47,000 crores to banks and Rs 780 crores to creditors. After hard prolonged
battle JSW Steel won the rights to take over Bhushan Power and Steel. Meanwhile, before JSW Steel could
take over, the Enforcement Directorate came in and alleged Bhushan Power with fraud of Rs 4,000 crores in
a bank loan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Ethically, the actions of ED are right! However,
the company is facing bankruptcy due to such wrong deeds and cannot be sued further. Therefore,
according to SC during Insolvency Resolution, focus should be on resolving the issue.
Special Marriage Act
The Allahabad High Court recently ruled that couples planning to marry under Special Marriage Act shall
choose not to publish thirty-day notice before registering their marriage. According to the judgement, the
provisions of the act invade the fundamental rights of liberty and privacy. That is, putting a prior notice that
provides the details of the bride and groom invades their privacy.
Special Marriage Act, 1954
It is an act that was enacted to provide special form of marriage in certain cases. This includes validating
and registering interreligious and inter caste marriages. The three main objectives of Special Marriage act
are as follows:
To provide registration for certain special marriages
To provide special form of marriage in certain cases
To provide divorce
Applicability of Special Marriage Act, 1954
The Special Marriage Act is applicable to:
Any person irrespective of his or her religion
All the Indians living abroad
Requirements under Special Marriage Act, 1954
The Special Marriage Act does not demand rites or ceremonies. Rather it is a civil contract. Both the parties
signing the contract have to file a notice of intended marriage to the Marriage Registrar of the district. In
this, one of the parties should have resided in the district for not less than thirty days. After thirty days of

such notice and if the marriage is not objected by any person the marriage may be solemnized. Now, this
formality of thirty-day notice has been cancelled by the Allahabad High Court under the Special Marriage
Act, 1954.
Conditions in Special Marriage Act, 1954
The conditions under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 are as follows:
The marriage should be monogamous for both the partners.
The bride should have attained the age of 18 years and the groom should be at least 21 years old.
Both the parties should be competent in regard to their mental capacity to give consent for the
marriage.
Jallikattu event in Tamil Nadu
With the assembly elections are to be held in Tamil Nadu in 2021, Jallikattu, a traditional bull-taming sport
of the state has caught the attention of the political parties in the country. The Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi recently attended the Jallikattu event.
About Jallikattu sport
The Jallikattu is a two-thousand-year-old competitive sport and an event that honours bull owners who rear
them for mating. It is a violent sport. During Jallikattu, the contestants try to tame the bull for a prize. If the
contestants fail, the bull owner wins the prize.
Why is Jallikattu important?
The sport is a traditional way of preserving pure breed native bulls for the peasant community. Currently,
cattle breeding has become an artificial process. The conservationists argue that Jallikattu is the best way
to protect the male animals which otherwise are used only for meat.
What are the popular native cattle breeds used in Jallikattu?
Pulikulam, Kangayam, Umbalachery, Malai and Bargur are the popular native cattle breeds used for
Jallikattu.
What were the issues related to Jallikattu?
In 2011, the central government added bulls to the list of animals whose training and exhibition were
prohibited. Later in 2014, the Supreme Court banned Jallikattu sport. Currently, the state government of
Tamil Nadu has legalised Jallikattu events. In 2018, the Supreme court referred the case of Jallikattu to a
constitutional bench. The case is still pending.
Concerns were raised under Article 29(1) against ban on Jallikattu. Article 29 (1) provides rights to Indian
citizens to preserve their script, language and culture.
Jallikattu in other states
In Karnataka Jallikattu is called Kambala. The Karnataka Government too passed a law to save the sport.
Except in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the sport is banned in other states such as Punjab, Andhra Pradesh
and Maharashtra.
Impeachment of Donald Trump
The US President Donald Trump has become the first president of the country to be impeached twice.
Impeachment of Donald Trump
The House of Representatives of the United States recently voted to charge President Trump with inciting
mob attack on US Congress. Recently President Trump instructed his supporters to March into the US
Capitol building to overturn the US Presidential elections held in 2020. This ended up in an armed standoff.
US Constitutional Provisions
The United States constitution says that there are two ways to punish an impeached official. One is to
remove the impeached official from his office and disqualify him to hold any office of honour, profit or trust

under the United States Government. The second way is to remove an official by convicting with two third
majority from the US Senate. Only a simple majority is needed for disqualification.
Grounds of impeachment of US President
The US President can be impeached based on accusation such as treasons, high crime, bribery and
misdemeanors.
On what grounds is an Indian President impeached?
Violation of constitution.
Process of impeachment of US President
Firstly, the House of representatives of the United States has to vote for the charges framed against
the president.
After the passage of votes with simple majority, the president is impeached. However, he is not
removed from the office.
In the next phase of the impeachment process, US Senate, that is, the upper house is convened like a
court. The hearings are held and the President shall be removed from office only if two thirds of the
Senate vote for it.
Process of impeachment of an Indian President
The impeachment charges of an Indian President are initiated either in Lok Sabha or in Rajya Sabha.
After the impeachment resolution is passed by majority of two thirds in one house, it is sent to the
other house. The other house investigates the charges.
If the other house also sustains the charges, an impeachment resolution is brought in.
If the impeachment resolution is passed with two-thirds majority, the president is said to be
impeached.
Legal Entity Identifier System
The Reserve Bank of India recently announced the introduction of Legal Entity Identifier System.
What is Legal Entity Identifier System?
The Reserve Bank of India introduced the Legal Entity Identifier system for all payment transactions
of fifty crores and above through NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) and RTGS (Real Time
Gross Settlement).
The system is being introduced to identify the legal entities involved in financial transaction. The
central bank has adopted the system to improve the quality and accuracy of the financial data
systems.
Under the system, the banks have to include information of the remitter and beneficiary.
Under which act has the Legal Entity Identifier system introduced in India?
Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
What is Legal Entity Identifier?
It is a twenty-digit unique number. It is a global identifier for entities participating in financial transactions.
It is developed by International Organization for Standardization.
What is the validity of Legal Entity Identifier?
One year from the period of registration.
Why was Legal Entity Identifier System introduced?
During the financial crisis of 2008, the international regulators realized that there was no single code to
each financial institution with which it can be identified in all countries universally. Every country had their
own set of identity numbers. This made it difficult to assess the risk exposures, analyzing and resolving
risks across the market. join us http://telegram.me/bpsc65thmains66thprelims (BPSC CCE 65th,66th & 67th)

When was the first LEI issued?
2012.
Does Legal Entity Identifier follow ISO?
Yes, it follows International Organization for Standardization.
What is the code structure of LEI?
It is an alpha-numeric string. The first four characters identify the local operating unit. The characters five
to eighteen are assigned by the Local Operating Unit. The last two characters are Checksum digits. The
Checksum digits are used to identified the errors that occur during the process of transaction.
Supreme Court approves Central Vista Project
On January 5, 2020, the Supreme Court allowed the Central Vista Project to go ahead.
What is the Central Vista Project?
The Central Vista project aims to renovate 86 acres of land in the Lutyen’s Garden in New Delhi. It includes
Landmark structures of Indian government such as Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament, India Gate and North
and South Block.
What is the background of recent Supreme Court judgement on Central Vista project?
In April 2020, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the centre’s decision to renovate the 86
acres of Lutyens Garden. According to the petitioner, the decision violated the Right to Life of citizens
guaranteed under article 21. This is because the plan deprived people of open and green spaces. Also, the
petition argued that the plan violated the Master plan of Delhi 2021.
What were the actions of Supreme Court in response to the petition against the central Vista project?
The Supreme Court heard the challenge on the basis of three main Grounds. They were violations of
Municipal Law, change of land use and violations of environmental law.
Why is a new Parliament required?
The current Parliament was built in 1927. It was not intended to house a bicameral legislature. Rather it was
built to house Legislative Council. Also, the current Parliament House signifies an Imperial origin. It is not in
accordance with the aspirations of independent Indian citizens.
The current parliamentary Complex was built by the British. There are International examples of Building
New parliamentary structures immediately after independence. For instance, USA constructed its capitol
building within 25 years of its independence. The existing building does not abide by safety norms and is
not earthquake proof. The 2001 parliamentary attack is the best example questioning the safety of the
current parliamentary building.
Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act
The United States recently passed the Malala Yousafzai Act for Pakistani Women.
What are the Key Features of the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act?
The Act requires the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to award at least
50% of scholarship to Pakistani women between 2020 and 2022.
It requires the USAID to leverage investments by Pakistani private sector in the United States. This is
being done to improve and expand access to education programs in Pakistan.
The act makes it mandatory for the USAID to brief the US Congress about the number of scholarships
provided under the programme. This includes percentage of recipients who are involuntarily pushed
out of the programme for their failure to meet programme requirements as well.
What is the role of USAID in the scholarship programme?
The USAID has so far awarded more than 6000 scholarship to the young women of Pakistan since 2010.
These scholarships help the Pakistani women to receive Higher Education in Pakistan. The Malala

Yousafzai Scholarship Act aims to expand this programme.
Who is Malala Yousafzai?
Malala is a Pakistani activist for female education. She is also the Youngest Nobel Prize Laureate. She
fought against the Taliban for women education. The Taliban had banned girls from attending schools.
On October 2012, Yousafzai was shot by Pakistani Taliban Gunman in retaliation for her activism. She was
hit in the head with bullet and remind unconscious. She was later transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in
United Kingdom.
What is Malala Day?
On July 12, 2013, Malala spoke at the United Nations to call for worldwide access to education. This was on
her 16th birthday coincidentally. The United Nations had dubbed the event as Malala Day.
What is USAID?
It is an interdependent agency of the United States that is responsible for administering foreign aid. It is one
of the largest aid agencies in the world with a budget of 27 billion USD.
National Defence Authorisation Act, 2021
The National Defence Authorisation act, 2021 was enacted by United States to specify budget, expenditure
and policies of United States Department of Defence for the fiscal year 2021. The act determined the annual
budget of United States as 740.5 USD. The first National Defence authorisation act, 2021 was passed in
1961. Since then, the act has been passed every year.
Why is the act named after William M Thornberry?
The act has been named the William M thornberry National Defence authorisation act. It has been named
after William m Thornberry to honour him. He served as the chair of the house armed services committee.
The committee is responsible for funding and oversight of department of Defence in the United States.
What is the recent issue in regard to National Defence authorisation act?
The outgoing US President Donald Trump recently vetoed the National Defence Authorisation act, 2021
arguing that the act affected national security. He also disagreed with its provisions of renaming military
installations after confederate general. However, the House of representatives voted to override the veto
power of President Trump.
What are Veto powers of the US President?
The President of United States may choose to veto or reject the legislation on rare occasions. However, the
lawmakers can override the Veto and enact bills into law by proving two-thirds of votes in both the
Chambers of Congress.
Every Bill for resolution approved by the United States Congress is presented to the president for his
approval. Once the bill is presented, the president may sign the bill into law within 10 days or may reject the
bill by returning to the Congress with reasons of objections. If the president does not do anything with the
bill, the bill automatically becomes a law after 10 days.
The term Veto does not appear in the Constitution of United States.
Argentina Abortion Laws
Argentina recently became the largest Latin American country to legalize abortion.
What are the key features of new Argentina abortion law?
Under the new law Argentina has legalised abortion up to the 14th week of pregnancy. In India, abortion is
legal till 24th week of pregnancy according to medical termination of pregnancy (Amendment) act, 2020.
Earlier it was 20 weeks.
Why is the new Abortion law of Argentina considered historic?
The new abortion laws of Argentina is considered historic because prior to the passing of the bill abortions

were permitted only in cases of rape or he’ll help. The activist of Argentina have been campaigning for a
new law to overturn this rule since 1921.
How will the new abortion law help the women of Argentina?
Prior to the new law the women and girls were forced to turn towards unsafe and illegal procedures. The
scope of access to safe medical procedures of abortion was even narrower to the women from
disadvantaged backgrounds. According to human rights watch, abortion was the leading cause of maternal
mortality in Argentina. Such was the ill effects of unsafe illegal abortion in the country.
What are the impacts of Argentina Abortion laws?
The passage of this law will have huge impact in other Latin American countries. Currently abortions are
illegal in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Dominic Republic. In some countries such as Cuba, Uruguay, Guyana,
women can request for abortion only in specific cases. Some of these countries even have imprisonment as
punishment to illegal abortion.
Why did Abortion laws face obstacles in Argentina?
The Catholic Church and the Evangelical community in Argentina hold immense power and influence in the
country. These communities strongly opposed the concept of abortions and steps taken to legalise
abortions.
Assam Ease of Doing Business (Amendment) Bill, 2020
The Assam assembly recently passed the Assam Ease of Doing Business (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The bill
makes amendments to the Assam ease of doing business act, 2016. The amendment will avail 0.25%
additional borrowing from the centre.
What are the key features of Assam Ease of Doing Business (Amendment) Bill, 2020?
The new bill will simplify procedures and bring transparency and efficiency in the system.
Under the new Amendment Bill, the government has committed to create an investor friendly
atmosphere in the state of Assam.
The Government of Assam is to do away with all types of renewal certificate, permissions and
licences under be Assam is of doing business Amendment Bill . This is being done because a large
number of renewable applications are pending at different levels in Assam. This causes unreasonable
delay .
A computerized Central random inspection system is to be implemented. Under the system allocation
of inspectors will be done centrally at random. The allocation is to be done by the competent
authorities. The amendment makes sure that same Inspector is not assigned to the same unit in the
subsequent year.
What is Assam Ease of Doing Business Act?
The Act was enacted in 2016. The Act aimed to streamline the regulatory structures and processes
and simplify the procedures related to renew license, certificate, permissions in setting up of
Enterprises and industries in the state of Assam.
Assam Bureau of Investment Promotion was established by the act. It oversees the overall
supervision and administration of speedy processing of applications.
How does Assam Ease of Doing Business Act facilitate doing business in the state?
After an application is received, the system will automatically forward it to the competent authority. The
system will then handover hard copies such as applications to the concerned officer of the competent
authority. The officer is responsible to get clearance within the stipulated time frame. Also, the system will
generate a report to the Bureau about the status of applications received, pending, disposal and the reasons
for pending on monthly basis.

Therefore, the act has created a monitoring mechanism and a tracking mechanism to facilitate ease of
doing business in the state.
Turkey's New bill to monitor civil society groups
Published On Dec 29, 2020
The Turkish Parliament recently passed the act called “Preventing Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of
Mass Destruction”. The bill would increase the monitoring of civil society groups.
About the Bill
The bill was passed following the 2019 report on Turkey prepared by the Intergovernmental body
Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF fights money laundering and terror financing.
The bill has made changes to seven laws on Law of Associations of Turkey. The bill consists of forty-
three articles and is meant to keep Turkey from being blacklisted by FATF, a Paris-based watchdog of
terror financing.
The bill provides powers to the Turkish Government to appoint trustees to non-governmental
organizations, to seize their assets, to suspend their activities and monitor their sources of funding.
It allows the interior ministries to replace members of associations if they are being investigated on
terrorism charges. This will now empower the interior ministries to restrict activities of any
organization and individuals in the country.
The law is applicable to the international civil society groups operating in Turkey as well.
Background
The Turkey Government has been targeting several journalists, academicians, bureaucrats and judges after
a failed coup in 2016. In 2020, the Turkish prosecutors ordered arrests of more than seven hundred military
and justice ministry personnel. They were accused that they were involved in the 2016 coup attempt to
overthrow Erdogan Government. The Turkish President Erdogan has been in power over a decade now. He is
an Islamist and conservative who has brought in series of reforms in Turkish society.
Terrorism in Turkey
The Kurdish-Turkish conflicts, involvement in Syrian Civil war are the main sources of terrorist incidents in
Turkey. Turkey was ranked 18th in the Global Terrorism Index (India ranked eighth). The Global Terrorism
Index is prepared by Institute for Economics and Peace.
Assam’s Bill to abolish State-run Madrassas
The Assam Government recently tabled a bill that will abolish all the state-run Madrassas and will convert
them into schools from April 1, 2021. The bill is called Assam Repealing Bill, 2020.
The bill will abolish two existing acts namely,
The Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialisation) Act, 1995.
Assam Madrassa Education (Provincialisation of Services of Employees and Reorganisation of
Madrassa Educational Institutions) Act, 2018.
There will be no change in allowances, change of status or service conditions of the teaching and
non-teaching staff.
Background
There are 610 state run Madrassas in Assam. According to the survey conducted by a Guwahati University
Professor found that the parents and guardians of most of the students of Madrassas are not aware that
the children are not taught regular subjects in Madrassas. Rather they are imparted lessons of theology.
Therefore, it is essential to convert the Madrassas into regular schools that provide primary and secondary
education.

Madrassas
Madrassas is a type of educational institution that teaches the religion of Islam. Madrassas were the hubs
of nationalism during the 1857 revolt. More than half a million clerics sacrificed their lives for India during
the revolt. The British needed Indian scholars to teach them Sanskrit and ancient laws. Therefore, they built
Madrassas in the country. Lord Warren Hastings opened the Madrassa at Calcutta. They follow the Hanafi
school of thought. Hanafi is one of the four principal Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence.
The first network of Madrassas was built in Iran, Khorasan and Mesopotamia by Nizam-al-Mulk. The
Madrassas mainly teach the holy book of Muslims, The Quran.
The Madrassas imparted education to female scholars as well. In the fifteenth century there were more than
8,000 female scholars who received education from the Madrassas.
Maharashtra Government
In 2015, the Maharashtra Government faced wide criticism for derecognising Madrassas. The Maharashtra
Government too brought up the same reason that Madrassas give student education only on religion
without imparting formal education such as maths, English and science.
Trump signs package to fund Government and COVID-19 relief
The US President Donald Trump recently signed the 900 billion USD relief package that will help in
Government funding and COVID-19 relief measures.
About the package
It is a part of the 2.3 trillion USD spending package. It also includes provisions that will allow the sanction
of 1.4 trillion USD that will be used to fund Government agencies. Without the bill, the government funding
was to run out on December 28, 2020. It also included end-of-session priorities such as money for cash
starved transit system and increase in food stamp benefits.
The relief package also provides 600 USD of direct stimulus checks to millions of Americans. The US
Congress is to vote to increase the stimulus from 600 USD to 2,000 USD. The package is the second largest
relief package after the 2 trillion USD CARES Act approved in March 2020.
What is in the 900 billion USD package?
The package will provide 300 USD per week to the unemployed.
It provides rental assistance to tenants with arrears in their rent. Around 25 billion USD of assistance
has been allocated as rental benefits.
10 billion USD has been allocated for Child-care providers.
The package includes 250 million USD allocated for the Head Start Programme.
The small businesses are to receive 325 billion USD of aid.
The package also includes schools and colleges.
Apart from these, the package also includes testing and tracing of COVID-19 and COVID-19 research.
The airline employees are to get their job back.
The package will also support bankers, farmers, rail and transit sector, US postal services.
Background
More than 14 million Americans faced lapse in unemployment benefit payments. With the bill being signed
by the President, the unemployment benefits are to be restored. Earlier, the United States passed the Stop
Gap Funding bill to extend the federal funds to avoid midnight government shutdown. Stopgap Funding Bill
is used by the US Government to make sure that the Government does not run out of funds.
Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Bill, 2020
The Madhya Pradesh cabinet recently approved the Religious Freedom Bill, 2020. Under the bill, forcing
religious conversions will attract fine of Rs 25,000 and one to five years of imprisonment.

Key Features of the bill
The bill is to replace the Religious Freedom Act, 1968. Once enforced the Religious Freedom Bill will
be the most stringent in the country.
The bill is also known as Anti-Love Jihad Bill.
The conversion of person from one religion to another on the basis of threats, marriage, force and
conspiracy has been made punishable.
An organization, mother or father can register a compliant.
If the victim is a woman, minor or belongs to Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe community, then
the accused will be punishable with imprisonment ranging from two to ten years and fine of Rs
50,000.
Religious Freedom in India
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recently downgraded India to
its lowest ranking in its 2020 report. India was categorized as Tier 2 country in the listing. This is the first
time India has been placed under “Countries of Particular Concern” category since 2004. The report placed
India along side Saudi Arabia, North Korea, China and Pakistan.
India received lowest ranking mainly due to the following reasons:
Citizenship Amendment Act
National Register of Citizens
Abrogation of Article 370
Anti-Conversion laws
Th report accused India of strengthening its Parliament majority to institute national level policies. In due
course, India has violated religious freedom.
The USCIRF is a federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act. The
main responsibility of USCIRF is to review facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom
internationally. Lately, the USCIRF has been criticized world wide for being biased towards focusing on
persecution of Christians, Muslim and Hinduphobic.
Article 25-28 guarantees Freedom of Religion. The articles provide freedom to the citizens to practice and
promote their religion peacefully.
Tibetan Policy and Support Act, 2020
The United States Senate has recently passed the Tibetan policy and support act of 2020. The bill was
already passed in the house of representatives of the United States in January, 2020.
Key features of the Act
The Tibetan Policy and Support Act, 2020 is based on the Tibet Policy Act of 2002.
The act addresses every aspect of the Tibetan people. This includes their fundamental rights,
environmental rights, Human Rights, religious freedom and Tibetan democracy in exile.
The act strengthens funding for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet.
The act commends His Holiness, the Dalai Lama to implement a democratic governance. Also, the
act commends the Tibetan exile community to successfully adopt a system of self-governance.
The act acknowledges the central Tibetan administration as a legitimate institution. The institution
reflects the aspirations of the Tibetan diaspora all around the world.
The act also has provisions to protect the environment and water resources of Tibetan plateau. It
recognises the importance of traditional Tibetan grassland in mitigating the negative effects of
Climate Change in jointheus http://telegram.me/bpsc65thmains66thprelims
region. To the contrary, the (BPSC Chinese government is pushing for forced
CCE 65th,66th & 67th)

resettlement of the nomads from the grasslands.
The act encourages the American citizens and companies engaged in business activities in Tibet to
practice corporate social responsibility other into the United Nations guiding principles on business
and Human Rights.
The act calls for the establishment of United States Consulate in the capital of Tibet, Lhasa.
Lohsang Sangay
Lohsang Sangay is the president of the government in exile of Tibet. Earlier to United States did not
recognise the Tibetan government in exile. Therefore, Lohsang Sangay was denied to enter the United
States administration buildings. However, in October 2020 the United States state department allowed the
first and official entry of Lobsang Sangay. The act is being framed following his visit.
Assam Official Language Amendment Bill
The Assam Cabinet recently approved the bill to make Bodo an official language of the state. The bill has
been framed in accordance to the Bodo Peace Accord signed between the Government of India, Assam
Government, four Bodo rebel groups and two Bodo organizations.
Official Language in India
There is no National language in India. The article 343 says that the official language of Union shall be Hindi
in Devanagari. Business in Indian Parliament shall be transacted only in Hindi or English. English is allowed
to use for official purposes such as parliamentary proceedings, communication between Central
Government and state government, Judiciary Communications in the country.
In addition to the official languages, constitution recognises 22 regional languages. This includes Hindi but
not English. Therefore, in India English is neither an official language nor a scheduled language. It is simply
a language for communication solving the official purposes.
Official language in Assam
The official language of Assam is Assamese. The additional official languages are Bengali and Bodo.
Bengali is official language in three districts of Barak Valley and Bodo in Bodoland territorial Council areas.
Assamese language movement
The Assamese language movement refers to a series of political activities that demanded the recognition of
Assamese language as an official language. The struggle began in 19th century when the region was under
British rule. The Assamese resented the use of Bengali language as a language of courts and also for
official purposes since the British rule. After the State Reorganisation Act, 1956, the Assam Sahitya Sabha
demanded the use of Assamese as official language in the state. The inclusion of Assamese language in
the 8th schedule of constitution helped to increase a sense of confidence for the movement.
In 1960, Assam official language Act was passed recognising Assamese as an official language in Assam.
The act also included provisions for the safeguard of linguistic minorities in the state. In 2019, the Assam
Cabinet approved to make Assamese the State Language.
Background
According to Census 2011, there are more than 14.16 lakh people speaking Bodo language in the state of
Assam. They account to 4.53 % of the total population of the state.
Other Approvals
The cabinet also approved to setup the Bodo Kachari Autonomous Council. This is also a part of
Bodo Accord signed in January 2020.
The cabinet also approved to increase the service age of all National Health Mission employees to 60
years.
The cabinet approved the Career Progression Scheme for doctors serving as faculty members in

Assam medical colleges.
The cabinet also approved a loan of 91 crores of rupees from NABARD under the Rural Infrastructure
Development Fund.
What are the issues associated with the Bodos?
The Bodos are ethnic communities demanding separate land. The entire Bodoland issue has its roots to
1930s.
Parliamentary Panel calls for Public Health Act
The Parliamentary Standing Committee under the leadership a senior congress leader, Anand Sharma
recently submitted its report, “Management of COVID-19 pandemic and related issues”. The report was
submitted to the Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu. The report has recommended to set up the
National Migrant Worker Database at the earliest. The committee has also recommended to frame “Public
Health Act” to keep the private hospitals under check.
Public Health Act
The Act should contain required legal provisions to support the Government in keeping checks and
control over the private hospitals. This is because there have been reports about selling of hospital
beds by these private hospitals. This issue emerged as there were shortage in beds in hospitals due
to COVID-19 pandemic.
The act should keep a check on black marketing of medicines and product standardisation.
The act should include provisions for awareness campaigns about effective and cheaper repurposed
medicines.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, only the Government hospitals bore the largest share of the burden of
the disease. The private hospitals were either inaccessible or not affordable. The act should address
this issue. The private hospitals should have a mandatory threshold level to take in patients during
pandemic.
Other Recommendations
The committee reported that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has not given
Emergency Use Authorisation. According to the report of the committee, trials on small animals and
human trials should be mandatorily undertaken on sufficient sample size.
More fund should be allocated to the government hospitals to equip them strong enough to handle
pandemics.
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 and the Epidemics Diseases Act should be amended. Especially,
the Epidemics Diseases Act should be amended as it is outdated. It was framed in the colonial era.
The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 should also be amended.
Stopgap Funding Bill
The US President Donald Trump recently signed the Stopgap Funding Bill. The bill provides the law makers
two more days to sort out few issues in the ongoing negotiations about the 900 billion USD aid package.
What is Stopgap Funding Bill?
A stopgap funding bill is used by the US Government to ensure that it does not run out of funds for running
federal programme after the deadline of an Appropriation Act. In a fiscal year, the US Congress passes 12
Appropriation Acts which gives budgetary authority to spend from the US Treasury for specific purposes.
These Acts have a deadline and the funds cannot be used to address new obligations after it. When the
Congress fails to fund the government, a government shutdown is declared and all non-essential services
are stopped.

How does the Federal Funding expire?
The Fiscal year in US begins on October 1. During a fiscal year, the Congress passes twelve annual
appropriation acts that provide the budget authority to expend funds from US Treasury for specific
purposes. The funds cannot be used to address new obligations. In other words, the funds expire after
specified deadline.
What is called Government Shutdown?
The Government Shutdown occurs when the Congress fails to fund the government. In such scenario, the
US Government stops all the non-essential services. On the other hand, the essential services such as
police departments, armed forces, etc continue of function.
The longest Government Shutdown in the US history happened under the Trump administration when the
Government was shut down for thirty-five days between December 2018 and February 2019. The shutdown
occurred over a dispute over the border wall funding.
Impacts on the Public
The Government Shutdowns in the United States have resulted in furloughs for several hundred thousand
Government Employees. The reduction in Government activities affected various sectors of the economy.
Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020
The Union Ministry of Power recently drafted the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020. These rules
are being drafted for the first time in the Indian history.
The Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules 2020 are as follow:
Reliability of services
The average number and duration of usages per consumer per year for the DISCOMs are to be fixed by the
State Electricity Regulatory Commission. What is Power Outage? It is the loss of electric power per year for
the DISCOM.
Timely and simplified procedure for connection
The procedure to get a new connection has been simplified greatly under the new rules. Only two
documents re required to set up a connection of 10 KW of load. The need to estimate the demand charges
for loads up to 150 KW has been removed. The time duration to provide a new connection in metro cities
has been fixed as seven days, in municipal areas it has been fixed as fifteen days, rural areas, it has been
fixed as thirty days.
Rebate
A rebate of 2% to 5% has been fixed on serving bills with delay of sixty days or more.
Bill Payment
The consumers can pay the bills in cash only if their bill amount is less than Rs 1000. Bills greater than Rs
1000 are to be paid online.
Prosumers
A new category of Prosumers has been identified under the new rule. Prosumers are those consumers who
have the right to produce electricity for self-use and inject excess to the grid. They are also consumer who
have set up rooftop units or solarised irrigation pumps. The excess power is fed into the grid using the
same point of connection. The limits to inject into the grid is set by SERC.
Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum
A Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum is to be established. The forum will have representatives of
consumers at various levels. It includes sub-division for ease of consumer grievance redressal.
Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2020
The Karnataka State Legislative Council recently passed the Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill 2020. The

2020 amendment bill seeks to amend the Karnataka Land reforms Act of 1961. The 1961 Act brought in
restrictions on ownership of agricultural lands in the state. The amendment removes 3 sections of the Act
to allow ownership of farmlands by non-agriculturists. It also removed the income barrier for purchasing
farmland i.e. the provision that only people with income of less than 25 lakh INR per annum. The Land
Reforms Act, 1961 is being diluted by successive state governments in the state to facilitate industrial
growth and agricultural land ownership by non-farmers.
What are the recent amendments?
The Karnataka Land Reforms (Amendment) bill, 2020 has repealed three main sections of the Karnataka
Land Reforms Act, 1961. They are all related to the ownership of the farmlands. They are as follows
The amendments have done away with Section 79A. This section allowed only those earning less
than Rs 25 lakhs per annum to buy agricultural land
Also, the amendment has done away with Section 79B. It said only people earning a living through
agriculture can buy agricultural land
The Section 79C of the act has been removed. This section allowed revenue departments to
investigate alleged violations of Section 79A and Section 79B.
Why are the amendments made?
The amendments are being made as according to the State Government, the sections being repealed are
facilitating corruption in the offices of tahsildars and registrars. Over 13,814 cases of violation are pending
under Section 79 A and B. Also, it will boost industrial investments.
Concerns of the Amendments
The amendments allow the non-agriculturists to buy agricultural land within the state of Karnataka. This will
lead to loss of agricultural land that are being cultivated to meet food requirements. The state is citing other
states such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh as examples where the curbs on sale and
purchase of agricultural land does not exist.
Pakistan to create National Sex Offenders Register
President Arif Alvi of Pakistan recently passed the Anti-Rape Ordinance 2020. The ordinance was passed
following the protests in the country after a mother was gang raped in front of her children when her car
broke down near Lahore. The ordinance proposed to create a National Sex Offenders Register. This has now
been approved by the President.
This is the first National Sex Offenders Register being created in the country.
Key Features
Apart from the creation of National Sex Offender Register, the ordinance will also create special courts.
Anti-rape cells are to be established to provide medical examination within six hours of the compliant. The
ordinance also has provisions of Chemical Castration.
Background
Pakistan is a patriarchal nation. The victims of sexual abuse are often too afraid to speak. Only 3% of rapes
and sexual abuse are reported in Pakistan. Also, Pakistan ranks third last or 151 in the Global Gender
equality Index. There are more than 2,000 honour killings occurring in the country. Pakistan rank-s 130 in
the United Nations Development Programme Gender Equality Index. For these reasons, it is essential bring
in strict legislations to protect the women in the country.
Women in Pakistan
The common problems faced by women in Pakistan are marital rape, honour killing, domestic violence,
forced marriage, induced abortions, abduction.

National Sex Offenders Register in India
India was the ninth country in the world to have a National Database on Sexual Offenders. The proposal to
create a National Sex Offenders Registry in India was mooted after the 2012 Nirbhaya Gang Rape case. In
India this database is maintained by the National Crime Record Bureau. It also includes offenders convicted
under charges of eve-teasing, POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act), gang rape, etc.
It has records of convicts from the year 2005. It has names and details of around 4.4 lakh people convicted
under various sexual crimes across the country.
Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020
The Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020 recently came into force in the state of Gujarat. The law
seeks to protect small farmers and citizens against land- grabbing through establishment of committees
and special courts in each district. It also has provisions of 14 years of imprisonment for land grabbers.
Persons illegally taking possession of land- both directly and indirectly will be considered land grabbers
under this law.
Key Features of the Act
According to the act the land grabber is defined as the person who illegally grabs the land, threatens
the owner, provides money for construction, extorts rents.
The persons found guilty under the act are liable for 10 to 14 years of imprisonment.
The act has included provisions to restore the possession of grabbed land
A committee of seven officials for each district has been set up under the act. This committee is to
be headed by the district collector. The other members of the committee are district Superintendent
of Police, District Development Officer, municipal commissioner, chief executive officer of Urban
Development Authority, police commissioner. This committee will meet once in 15 days. And
aggrieved persons can approach the committee with a written complaint. The committee in turn will
appoint an officer to inquire the complaint. The enquiry officer should submit a report and A
committee has to take a decision within 21 days. If the complaint was genuine the committee will
order registration of FIR against the accused person. The investigation will be done by the police
officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police. The police have to submit the charge
sheet within 30 days of the FIR.
The special courts set up under the act have been provided with a time frame of 6 months to dispose
these cases. These special courts have the powers of both criminal and civil courts.
The act allows the district collectors to take Suo Moto cognizance in situations of grabbing
government land.
Concerns
With the enforcement of the act the current system of special investigation team in each district of Gujarat
will come to an end. The team deals with land related disputes. According to the additional chief secretary
of the state, there are more than 400 FIR registered with the team.
Breach of Privilege Motion
The State Legislature of Maharashtra recently passed proposals stating that they will not reply to any notice
sent by Supreme Court or High Court in the breach of privilege motion against the Republic TV editor Arnab
Goswami. According to the Maharashtra government replying to such notices would mean that Judiciary
can keep a check on legislature. This is inconsistent with the basic structure of the constitution.
What is privilege motion?
The members of parliament are granted with privileges to perform their duties properly. However, if any of
the members mis uses these privileges it is considered as breach of privilege motion. Also, if an act

obstructs the legislature or the member of the house in performing its functions, is treated as breach of
privilege
Breach of privilege motion
The parliamentary privileges refer to the rights and immunities enjoyed by the parliamentarians.
Without these they cannot discharge their functions as and out upon them by the constitution.
The scrutiny of breach of privilege motion is managed by speaker in Lok Sabha and by the
chairperson in Rajya Sabha. Both chairperson and the speaker have the authority to consider the
occupations and call upon the members to explain themselves.
After the motion is passed, the Parliament (or Legislative Assembly) Speaker or Rajya Sabha (or
Legislative Council) Chairman constitutes a Privileges Committee, which will look into the motion and
recommend the punishment.
Cases of privilege motion
The most recent breach of privilege motion was passed against the Defence Minister and the Prime
Minister of the country. It claimed that the ministers have misled the country on Rafale fighter jet
deal.
In 1978 the most significant privilege motion was passed against Indira Gandhi. It was introduced by
the then home minister Charan Singh. Under the motion she was found guilty and was expelled from
the house.
in 1976 Subramanian Swamy a BJP MP was expelled from Rajya Sabha for disgracing Indian
government through his interview to foreign journals.
The powers, privileges and immunities of either House of the Indian Parliament and of its Members and
their committees are laid down in Article 105 of the Constitution. While, the powers, privileges and
immunities of the State Legislatures, their Members and their committees are described Article 194.
Parliamentary Privilege
Under Parliamentary privilege, the legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for
actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. The special privileges are granted
to maintain the dignity and authority of the Houses. But there are no clear notified rules to decide the
breach of privilege. The chapter 16 rule 187 of Rajya Sabha and the chapter 20 of rule 22 for Lok Sabha
have mentioned the privilege motion.
Pakistan’s anti-rape law
Pakistan government has recently passed a presidential decree to expedite cases of sexual abuse against
children and women. Decree has been passed after protest over a gang rape of a woman whose car ran out
of fuel. The woman was travelling along with her two children. Anti-rape ordinance is valid only for four
months after which it requires parliamentary approval.
Key features
The introduced law is basically an ordinance.
It will create special courts to try cases within four months. The courts are to be set up across the
country to expedite trials and cases of rape suspects as early as possible.
The law will establish anti-rape cells that will provide medical examinations within 6 hours of a
complaint.
A National Sex Offender registry is to be created.
The ordinance prohibits the identification of rape victims. It has been made a punishable offence.
The law is also expected to include death penalty and chemical castration as some of the

punishments.
Other proposals
The lawmakers had considered introducing public hanging of the persons convicted in the case. However,
the Prime Minister objected the proposal saying that it will affect the preferential trade status of Pakistan
with the European Union. The Prime Minister had suggested Chemical Castration instead of public hanging.
Background
Only 3% of rape cases or sexual assault result in conviction in Pakistan. The country ranks 130 in United
Nations development programmes gender equality index. It ranks 151 or third last in the Global gender gap
index of the world economic forum. According to Pakistani activist there are more than 2000 honour killings
happening in the country.
Preferential Trade Status with European Union
The Agreement will allow duty free access to the European Union. India has been trying to sign this
agreement since 2007. India is currently paying export duties of 4%, 5% and 9.6% to Indian Yarns, Fabrics
and Garments respectively. On the other hand, Pakistan and Bangladesh are exporting at Zero Duty.
Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act
The Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act are two recent landmark legislations from the European
Union. The draft legislation gives specific regulations to limit the powers of global internet companies like
Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon in the European market. Under the legislation, the larger firms are
designated as ‘digital gatekeepers’ and would be subject to stricter regulations. Violation of competition
rules could invite as much as 10% of the firm’s annual turnover.
Digital Services Act
Digital Services Act aims to create uniform framework throughout the European Union in handling
potentially harmful content online, protection of users’ fundamental rights online, liability of online
intermediaries for third party content and bridging the information asymmetries between online
intermediaries and their users.
Key features of Digital Services act
The act makes it mandatory for every host provider to put in a user-friendly notice that provides
permission to notify about illegal content.
The online platforms have to establish internal complaint handling systems. In order to resolve
disputes with their users, the online platforms should engage with out-of-court dispute settlement
bodies.
New transparency obligations have been included. When a content is removed, an explanation should
be provided to the person who uploaded the content.
The act imposes fine for non-compliance up to 6% of the annual income.
Advertisements
For every advertisement and to every user the online platform should provide clear information. It includes
the following
The user should be clear that he or she is watching or seeing an advertisement.
The advertisement should be very clear in conveying the fact that on whose behalf it is being
displayed.
It should provide meaningful information about main parameters so that the user is able to determine
why he or she is targeted by this ad.
Very Large Platforms
The Digital Services act defines the very large online platforms as those with more than 45 million
users. This is roughly equal to 10% of European Union population.

The very large platforms upon request, must allow access to the data required to monitor their
compliance within the Data Service Act.
The very large platforms should provide transparency on main parameters of decision making
algorithms. These algorithms are usually used to offer content on their platforms, basically the
ranking mechanism.
Digital Markets Act
The Digital Markets Act addresses the digital market imbalances in the European Union.
Digital market act is applicable only to provider of core platform services. This includes social
networking services, search engines, operating systems and online intermediation services.
Just like very large platform under Digital Services act, the digital market act brings upon the notion
of gatekeeper. The European Union will designate a provider of core platform services as a
gatekeeper if the provider fulfills the following conditions.
The provider should be active in multiple European Union countries. The provider should have
an annual turnover of at least 6.5 billion Euros in the last three financial years.
The provider should have strong intermediation position. The provider company should be
capable enough to link a large user base to a large number of businesses. In other words, the
company should operate with more than 45 million monthly active users in European Union.
The gatekeeper platforms should comply with defined set of obligations to avoid unfair practices. It
includes obligations to ensure interoperability within its own platform, obligations to share data
generated by their customers for business users.
Under the Act, The European Union shall impose fine till 10% of the annual turn over of the firms.
Fight against climate change in French Constitution
The French President Emmanuel Macron recently announced a referendum to add the fight against climate
change into the French Constitution. Also, the need to preserve the environment is to be added.
What is a Referendum?
It is a general vote by the electorate on a political question that has been referred to them for a direct
decision. The referendum is passed only if it is approved by a majority of the voters across a country. If the
referendum includes majority of the voters in majority of the states then it is called double majority.
Referendum in France
The concept of Referendum existed in France since the French Revolution. According to 1958 French
Constitution, the referendum can be organised in several situations such as constitutional revision, passage
of law and entry of a state into the European Union.
There are two types of referendums in France. They are legislative referendum and national level
referendum. The referendum allows only two types of responses namely ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
NDCs of France
The French Government submitted its Nationally Determined Contributions together with the European
Union. The NDCs of the European Union are as follows
To cut the Green House Gas emissions by 40% by 2030
To cut Green House Gas emissions by 75% by 2050
Background
The French Government recently acknowledged that it has not done enough to be in line with the
climate related commitments to curb the global warming. France is already missing its national
targets that were set under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The European Unionjoinhas set its target of reducing the greenhouse gases from 40% to at least 55% as

compared to 1990 levels.
The US President elect Joe Biden has pledged to re-join the Paris Agreement on the first day of his
Presidency.
Maharashtra Shakti Bill
The Maharashtra Government recently launched the Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law (Maharashtra
Amendment) Act, 2020 and the Special Court and Machinery for the implementation of the Maharashtra
Shakti Criminal Law, 2020.
The Maharashtra Shakti Bill has been framed in lines with the Andhra Pradesh Disha Act that was
passed in 2019.
The bill seeks to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure, Indian Penal Code and the Protection of
Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The bill seeks to add third explanation in Section 375 of Indian Penal Code. It deals with rape. It talks
about “Presumption of Consent”.
The acid attack victims shall be provided with a compensation of ten lakhs of rupees for plastic
surgery and facial reconstruction.
The court can sentence to death penalty if the accused is charged of gang rape, rape or penetrative
assault against children.
The bill seeks to complete the trial process within 30 days. Currently it is 60 days.
The bill suggests creation of “Women and Children Offenders Registry”, a separate registry. This
registry will be linked to the National Registry of Sexual Offenders.
The persons threatening and intimidating women on social media are to punished with two year of
imprisonment and one lakh rupees of fine.
The bill also includes provisions to punish persons filing false rape cases to threaten, extort or
defame the accused.
Justice Verma Committee
The Indian Penal Code had made several stringent provisions after Nirbhaya case in 2013 based on the
recommendations of Justice Verma Committee.
Crime Against Women in India
According to the National Crime Record Bureau, the crimes against women had increased by 7.3% in 2019
as compared to 2018. Around 88 cases of cases of crimes against women are being registered in the
country according to NCRB.
Sherman Anti-trust Act
Recently, the UC FTC (Federal Trade Commission) filed an anti-trust lawsuit against Facebook under
Sherman Anti-trust Act. The social media giant is under the scanner for its acquisition of Instagram and
Whatsapp.
Why was the lawsuit filed against Facebook?
According to the lawsuit, the actions of Facebook deny consumers the benefit of competition. The aim is to
roll back anti-competition conduct of Facebook and restore the competition so that innovation can thrive.
About the Sherman Act
The Sherman Act is an anti-trust Act of the USA, passed in 1890. It was a move to prevent the creation of
monopolies in the industries through use of contracts, conspiracies and other business practices that
restricted trade. Its main purpose was to promote healthy competition in the US economy.
The lawsuit has been filed under Section 2 of the Sherman Act. Section 2 prohibits companies from using

anti-competitive means to maintain monopoly.
In 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram for 1 billion USD and WhatApp for 19 billion USD. According to the
lawsuit, Facebook restricted the access to third party software developers access to valuable
interconnections to its platform.
Background
The accusation of the FTC is largely true. Facebook has shut down API access for Twitter video app Vine.
Instagram came at a time when users were switching from desktop computers to smartphones. Users were
embracing photo-sharing feature of Instagram. This was recognised by Facebook as threat to its monopoly
power. To eliminate the threat, Facebook chose to buy the application.
Facebook also made an unsuccessful attempt to buy Snapchat when Snapchat was rising as its potential
competitor. Later Facebook copied its most popular feature and created “Stories” feature in Instagram.
Today Instagram has billion users and Snapchat has only 250 million users.
Facebook did the same with Whatsapp too. Whatsapp dominated the mobile messaging space. It currently
has more than 2 billion users.
What is E-Courts Project?
The E-Courts Project is being implemented since 2007 as a part of the National E-Governance Plan. The
project is based on the National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and
Communication Technology in Judiciary. The main objective of the project is to leverage ICT to provide
designated services to lawyers, litigants and judiciary. So far, 2,927 courts have been connected by high-
speed wide area network all over the country under the project.
About the Project
The E-Courts project is currently being implemented in two phases. The Phase I was executed between
2010 and 2015. The Phase II is being implemented between 2015 and 2020 at an outlay of Rs 1670 crores.
The main objectives of the project are as follows
To provide time bound citizen centric services.
To install, develop and implement decision support systems in courts
To automate processes and provide transparency to its stakeholders.
To enhance judicial productivity and to make the justice delivery accessible, predictable, transparent
and reliable.
The project is funded by Ministry of Law and Justice.
Background
The E-Courts were conceptualized under the National Policy and Action Plan Implementation of Information
and Communication Technology in the Indian Judiciary, 2005. The policy was submitted by the E-Committee
of Supreme Court of India.
Recently, in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court of India passed directions to all the courts
of the country to use video conferencing for judicial proceedings. E-courts are not virtual courts.
What is E-court?
E-Courts are electronic courts where matters of law are adjudicated in the presence of a qualified judge.
They are different from a computerised court. In E-courts, the litigants can file their pliant electronically,
view their status of cases online, pay court fee and fines online.
Advantages of E-Courts
They make the courts affordable to all sections of the society
It makes litigation faster
The experience of E-courts is personalised and private.

Challenges of E-Courts
The staff are not well equipped to maintain e-court records
Cyber security is a huge concern.
Lack of confidence among the litigants still prevails in the E-Court system.
France Law against Islamism
The French Cabinet recently presented a draft law that targets “Radical Islamism”.
Key Features of the Proposed Law
The law aims to envisage range of measures that includes school education reforms to make sure
Muslim children do not drop out of school.
It aims to provide strict controls on preachers and mosques.
The law will provide rules against hate campaigns online.
When the law comes into force, the French mosques will see increased surveillance on their activities,
especially financing.
The French Government under the law will be empowered with greater powers to shut down places of
worship. These places of worship are those that receive public subsidies. They will be shut down if
they go against the republican principles such as gender equality.
The Community leaders being targeted by extremist PUTSCH will receive protection under the law.
PUTSCH is a violent attempt to overthrow a government.
The law will severely suppress the home-schooling of children over three years. This is because
through this, the parents enrol them in underground Islamic structures.
The law will punish doctors issuing virginity certificates.
The law will ban the officials from granting residency permits to polygamous applicants.
The law allows to interview couples separately prior to their weddings to find out if they are forced in
to marriage.
Reaction from the world
The Turkish President Recep Erdogan has strongly criticised the law calling it “An open provocation”. Egypt
top cleric has called the French President “Racist” for bringing up the law.
The French elections are due in 2022.
What is Emergency Use Authorization?
Recently, several drug makers are seeking Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Pfizer had applied for the EUA in UK and has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products
Regulatory Agency of the country. Also, the Serum Institute of India and Moderna have also applied for the
Emergency Use Authorisation of COVID-19 vaccine.
What is Emergency Use Authorisation?
Vaccines, medicines, diagnostic tests and medical devices require approval for their usage from a
regulatory authority, which is the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation in India. This approval is
granted after assessing its safety and effectiveness. This is generally a prolonged process. The emergency
use authorization (EUA) is a mechanism used by the regulatory bodies to grant interim approval in case of
emergencies. This is done only when there is sufficient evidence. The final approval, however, is given after
completion of trials.
When can Emergency Use Authorisation be granted?
In the United States of America, the Food and Drug administration grant the Emergency Use Authorisation
only after it has been proved that the potential benefits of the vaccine outweigh the potential risks. In other
words, the Emergency Use Authorisation is provided only after sufficient efficacy data has been generated

at the end of Phase III trials. The Emergency Use Authorisation cannot be provided based on the data
provided from Phase 1 or phase 2 trials.
For covid-19 vaccine, the Food and Drug administration of United States has specified that it will consider
an application for Emergency Use Authorisation only if the Phase 3 data proves at least 50% efficacy in
preventing the disease. The data has to be generated from more than 3000 volunteers.
Emergency Use Authorisation in India
The drug regulations in India do not have provisions for Emergency Use Authorisation. However, Central
Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has been granting restricted emergency approval to Covid-19
drugs. For instance, the CDSCO granted restricted emergency approval for Favipiravir and Remdesivir in
June and Itolizumab in July.
Child-friendly Police Station: Key Facts
“Child-friendly” police station was recently established in Pune as per the guidelines provided by the
National Commissioner for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). This police station will work towards
character building among children and will also create perception that police are not enemies but friends of
people. It aims to prevent juvenile crimes and ensure children reforms.
Key features
The child friendly police station will provide preventive approach at rehabilitating children in need.
It has a room designed for children who can come to the police station to report cases.
The main objective of the child friendly police station is to create an environment that will enable
children to report cases and crimes without fear.
The initiative also aims to eliminate gratitude eyes against the police among the public.
It will help the children who have committed offences. This is because child friendly police station
will ensure that the repeated offenders in the nearby communities are not engaged in criminal
activities. On the other hand, these offenders will help the police in prevention of crime.
The Hope For Children Foundation is to train the police on child friendly mechanism.
Child friendly police station has been established complying the Juvenile justice act.
Juvenile Justice Act
Juvenile justice act makes it mandatory to set up Juvenile justice boards in every district.
Under the act the Central Adoption Resource Authority was granted the status of statutory body.
The act makes it mandatory for the Child Care Institutions run by Non-Governmental organisations or
state governments to register under the act.
Juvenile Justice Board
It is a judiciary body to which the children accused of a crime are brought. It is a separate court for the
juveniles. It comprises of a Judicial Magistrate and two social workers.
Child welfare committee
Under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice act, the state government should set up these committees at
district level. The child welfare committee has the power to dispose cases for the protection, rehabilitation
of the children.
Recent amendments to Juvenile justice act
The Act was recently amended to provide an organised system for adoption of an orphan or an abandoned
child. According to the act, the minors in the age group between 15 and 18 years are to be treated as adults
in the case of heinous crimes.
Who is a juvenile?
A Juvenile in India is an individual below the age of 18 years.

According to the Indian laws, a child below the age of seven years cannot be convicted under any law for
any crime.
Thai Mangur: Banned Cat fish of India
Thai Mangur is a catfish that was banned by the National Green Tribunal as it was harming the local
ecosystem and the consumers’ health. It is favoured by the cultivators due to its ability to feed on anything
and survive in hostile conditions. It also has high demand because it is cheaper when compared to other
seafood. Recently, thousands of tons of this banned catfish were found to be illegally bred in over 125
artificial ponds in rural Thane, Maharashtra.
Why was Thai Mangur banned?
In 2000, the National Green Tribunal banned the cultivation of Thai Mangur. This was mainly because the
fish poses threats to other fishes in an ecosystem. According to a study, the Thai Mangur is responsible for
70% decline of native fish species of India. Also, the fish in certain states of India such as Maharashtra is
being cultivated in unhygienic conditions posing health risks to the consumers. Thus, the National Green
Tribunal banned the cultivation of Thai Mangur as it began to pose threats to the people and environment.
Why is Thai Mangur cultivated illegally?
The State Government of Maharashtra so far has destroyed more than 32 tonnes of Thai Mangur. In
September 2020, the Uttarakhand State Government pulled up several fish farmers for cultivating Thai
Mangur illegally.
In spite of several legal measures and bans, the species is being cultivated illegally and its sales are
popular mainly for its surviving capabilities. The fish can grow even in muddy waters between the rains.
Also, it grows three feet to five feet weighing three to four kilograms in just two to three months. It is a
freshwater air breathing fish. It has the ability to wiggle on dry land to find food or suitable environment. It
lives in stagnant or slow-moving waters. It has an omnivorous diet, ability to survive on land and ability to
hide in vegetation. These characteristics make the cultivation of the fish easy, highly profitable and
economical for farming.
NGT directs States to Establish Nodal Agency to protect Water Bodies
Published On Nov 23, 2020
The National Green Tribunal recently directed all the states and union territories to designate a nodal
agency to protect the water bodies in their regions. The nodal Agencies may hold their meetings under the
guidance of chief secretaries of the state. Also, the National Green Tribunal has further directed that the
meeting should be held on time.
The Nodal agency will adopt a mechanism to monitor and also address grievances. The National Green
Tribunal also asked the central monitoring committee to monitor 351 polluted river structures periodically.
Significance
The protection of water bodies are highly essential for protection of environment. It increases water
availability, microclimate, aquatic life, recharge of groundwater and maintaining regular flow of the rivers.
Polluted river stretches in India
The Central Pollution Control Board of India has identified 351 polluted river stretches on 323 rivers during
2018. According to CPCB, these river stretches are located in the states of Gujarat, Assam and
Maharashtra. The river stretches in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are less polluted than these three states.
In spite of Clean Ganga Mission of India, several stretches of the mighty Ganges are still polluted. The
Biological Oxygen Demand in the stretches of Ganges are in the range of 3.5 to 8.8 milligram per litre. And
therefore, Ganges is still put under priority 4 river category.
What is Biological Oxygen Demand?
The Biological Oxygen Demand is the amount of dissolved oxygen required to remove the waste organic

matter in the water body. The removal of the waste is done by the aerobic bacteria in the water. Therefore,
it is actually the amount of dissolved oxygen consumed by the bacteria in the water in the process of
removing the waste, that is in the process of decomposition. It is expressed in milligrams of oxygen per
litre.
Indian standards of Biological Oxygen Demand
For drinking water, the Biological Oxygen Demand should be less than five milligram per litre. For treated
wastewater to be disposed in water bodies the Biological Oxygen Demand should be 30 milligram per litre.
State Consent must to extend CBI Jurisdiction: Supreme Court
On November 19, 2020, the Supreme Court of India pronounced that the consent of State Government is
mandatory for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to extend its jurisdiction in the state. The verdict
has come after the eight non-BJP states withdrew their consent for CBI to probe fresh cases in the
jurisdiction of the state. The states were Jharkhand, Kerala, West Bengal, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Rajasthan,
Punjab and Chhattisgarh.
Legislation
The functioning of CBI is regulated by the DSPE (Delhi Special Police Establishment) Act. The Section 5 and
Section 6 of the act permits the Central Government to extend its powers to the state. However, Section 6 of
the act says that the Centre has powers to extend CBI investigation only when the state gives its consent.
This is unlike other Central Government Agencies. For instance, the National Investigation Agency on the
other hand, enjoys all-India jurisdiction. NIA was constituted after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. It mainly
focuses on investigation of terrorist attacks.
What types of cases does the CBI investigate in a state?
The CBI investigates three types of cases as follows
Cases of Corruption against public servants are handled by Anti-Corruption Division.
Bank Frauds, Black Money operations, black money operations are handled by Economic Offences
Division
Murder, Crimes related to internal security are handled by the Special Crimes Division.
Delhi Special Police Establishment Act
The act was not passed in the Parliament. CBI was created through an executive order of the Government.
CBI was established during World War II. It was established after the British India Government felt that there
is a need to probe cases of corruption in the war and supply department.
Thus, CBI is not a statutory body. It functions under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance and
Pensions of the central government. It is exempted from the purview of Right to Information Act.
Why did Supreme Court issue notice over election of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar
to Rajya Sabha?
On November 18, 2020, the Supreme Court of India issued notice on petition against the election of the
Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to Rajya Sabha.
What is the issue?
The Supreme Court bench comprising of Chief Justice S A Bobde, Justice Ramasubramanian and Justice A
S Bopanna issued notice challenging the election of the minister to Rajya Sabha from Gujarat. The petition
was filed by Congress leader Gaurav Pandya.
Why was the petition against the election of the minister?
The petition raises the issue of power of Election Commission to issue separate notification to hold by-polls
for casual and regular vacancies of Rajya Sabha. In 2017, Amit Shah was elected to Rajya Sabha from

Gujarat. Later, in 2019, Smriti Irani was elected to Rajya Sabha. When they were elected to Lok Sabha, two
seats fell vacant in the upper house. The Election Commission thus held two separate elections and
Jaishankar and Thakore were elected.
The petitioner claims that it is illegal for the Election Commission to treat two vacant seats to be of
different categories. It also violates Conduct of Election Rule, 1961.
The case was filed filed at Gujarat High Court. The Gujarat HC dismissed the case saying the Election
Commission has been conducting separate elections to Rajya Sabha members since 2009.
What are the legal provisions regarding the issue?
According to Section 147 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, the Election Commission should call
upon the MLAs of Gujarat Assembly to elect a person in order to fill up the vacancy.
Representation of People Act
According to Representation of People Act, the bye-election is required to be held within six months of
occurrence of vacancy. However, this factor need not be considered if the remainder of the term of the
member is less than one year.
The time limit is referred in sections 147, 149, 150 and 151 of the act.
What is Mahajan Commission report on Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute?
On November 18, 2020, the Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa condemned the comments made by
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar over the border dispute between the two states. Pawar
mentioned the dispute as an attempt to incite fire.
What is the border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka?
The border dispute between the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka is also called the “Belgaum border
dispute” or the Belagavi dispute. Belgaum is now a part of Karnataka and earlier was a part of Bombay
Presidency of British India. During British rule, the Bombay Presidency encompassed Maharashtra, Gujarat
and certain areas of North Karnataka.
When the states were divided based on linguistic and administrative lines under the State Reorganization
Act in 1956 Belgaum district was included under Mysore state (now Karnataka). This was done in spite of
the fact that Belgaum had majority of Marathi-speaking population. Hence, the dispute. However, according
to 1881 census, Belgaum had 64.39% of Kannada speaking individuals and 26.04% of Marathi speaking
individuals.
What is Mahajan commission report?
The Mahajan Committee was formed in 1966 by the Central Government with representatives from both the
states. The committee recommended in 1967 that 264 villages shall be transferred to Maharashtra. This
included some village in Haliyal, Karwar and Suparna Taluks as well. On the other hand, Belgaum and 247
villages were to remain with Karnataka.
The report was refuted by both Kerala and Maharashtra. Kerala on the other hand, refused to hand over
Kasaragod to Karnataka.
Maharashtra’s strand
Maharashtra is claiming all the 814 villages and the Belgaum city. Maharashtra invokes Article 131 (b) in
the Supreme Court to justify its claim. The case is still pending in front of the supreme court. According to
Article 131 of the Constitution, the SC shall have original jurisdiction in any dispute between the state
governments or between the state governments and the Government of India.
Cow Cabinet: A new cabinet in Madhya Pradesh to conserve cows
On November 18, 2020, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that the State
Government is to constitute ‘Cow Cabinet’ to conserve and promote cow cattle in the state. The first

meeting of the cabinet is to be held on November 22, 2020. The meeting is to be held at Gau Sanctuary
Salaria Agar Malwa.
Anti-Cow Slaughter Act, 2004
According to the act, no one in the state is allowed to transport cattle in the state. Special permission was
required even to transport cattle through the state. In 2019, the State Government (Congress) of Madhya
Pradesh amended the act. According to the amendment, jail term of six months and a fine of Rs 25,000 to
Rs 50,000 was imposed for those who were convicted of committing violence in the name of cow.
Cattle Slaughter Laws in India
In 2005, the Supreme Court of India upheld the constitutional validity of anti-cow slaughter laws enacted in
different states of India. Around 20 states in India currently have laws to regulate cow slaughter (it includes
cattle slaughter as well).
Which states in India have no restrictions on cow slaughter?
The states such as Assam, Kerala, Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura,
Nagaland and West Bengal have no restrictions on cow slaughter.
However, some states allow slaughtering of bulls and bullocks. They are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Goa, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar.
Religions and Cow Slaughtering
In India, cows are respected and worshipped by religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and
Buddhism. According to them cow slaughtering is sin. On the other hand, the cow is considered as an
acceptable source of meat by Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Islam in India. However, some of the
Zoroastrians worship cows and abstain from using it as a source of meat.
Bombay High Court on Beef consumption
In 2016, the Bombay High Court pronounced a judgement that consumption of beef is legal under Article 21
of Constitution of India. Article 21 is a Fundamental Right to Life.
Nitish Kumar appointed as Chief Minister of Bihar
On November 16, 2020, the President of Janata Dal was appointed as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the
fourth consecutive term. The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor.
Is the Chief Minister appointed or Elected?
The Chief Ministers and the Prime Ministers in India are appointed by the Governor and President
respectively. On the other hand, the Members of Legislative Assembly and Members of Parliament are
elected by the people. According to Article 164, the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor.
What are the powers of the Chief Minister?
The following are the powers of the Chief Minister with respect to Governor
The CM advises the Governor on the appointment of State Public Service Commission, Attorney
General, etc.
The Chief Minister has to provide the details regarding the administration whenever the Governor
asks for the information.
The Chief Minister has to communicate with Governor about decisions of council of ministers.
The following are the powers of the Chief Minister with respect to the State Legislature
The dissolution of legislative assembly is recommended by the Chief Minister.
He advises the Governor on proroguing, summoning the sessions of State Legislative Assembly.
The following are the power of Chief Minister with respect to the Council of Ministers
He allocates and reshuffles portfolios among ministers
He advises the Governor on the appointment of the ministers.

When there arises difference of opinion, the Chief Minister can ask the minister to resign.
When the Chief Minister resigns, the cabinet of ministers have to resign compulsorily.
He directs and controls the activities of the all the ministers.
Who is appointed as the Chief Minister?
After the State Legislative Assembly elections, a coalition group that secures majority in the house elects
its leader. This is conveyed to the governor and he appoints him as the CM. When no party has secured
majority in the election, the Governor shall ask the leader of the single largest party in the state to form the
government.
Labour Ministry announces Draft Rules under Code on Social Security
On November 15, 2020, the Labour Ministry released draft rules under Code on Social Security. The rules
provide for Aadhaar-based registration. This includes registration of gig workers, unorganized workers and
platform workers on the portal of Central Government.
Highlights
The draft rules have been linked to the Employees Provident Fund Organization, National Social Security
Board, Employees State Insurance Corporation, platform workers and gig workers outlined in Code on Social
Security. The rules also include construction workers. In order to avail the benefits of social security
schemes that are framed under the code, the workers have to register in the portal of labour ministry.
The Rules
When a worker migrates from one state to another, he is entitled to get the benefits from the states
where he is currently working. It is the responsibility of the Building Workers Welfare Board to make
sure the benefits reach the migrated workers.
The rules also include gratuity to an employee who was on fixed-term employment.
It also provides single electronic registration of an establishment and also single electronic
cancellation of registration in case of closure activities.
The rules provide procedure for self-assessment and payment of cess by the Building and Other
Construction Workers. For self-assessment, the employer shall calculate the cost of construction as
specified by the State Public Works Department or Central Public Works Department. The cost of
construction shall also be calculated based on the returns or the documents submitted to the Real
Estate Regulatory Authority.
The rate of interest for delayed payment has been reduced from 2% to 1% per month.
Under the rules, the assessing officer has powers to direct that no machinery or material shall be
disturbed or removed from the construction site. The rules have withdrawn the powers of the officer
to stop the construction work. Also, according to the new rules, the assessing officer shall visit the
site only with prior approval of Secretary of Building and Other Construction Workers Board.
Internal Market Bill of UK: Key Facts
United Kingdom’s Internal Market Bill is a public bill passed on September 9, 2020. The UK Internal Market
Bill aims to make trade arrangements for all four countries of UK- England, Scotland, and Wales and
Northern Ireland after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31, 2020. The bill is designed to
protect jobs and trade and wants to put common laws for trade across the whole of UK.
The Internal Market Bill has become very controversial as it is said to violate the provisions of Withdrawal
Agreement signed between UK and European Union.
Latest Updates
On November 9, 2020; the House of Lords voted against the controversial clauses of the Internal Market
Bill. The House voted by 433 to 165 against the bill will allows UK to go back on the obligations made in the

Withdrawal Agreement. The bill will not return to the house before the end of November.
What is Withdrawal Agreement?
Withdrawal Agreement is the agreement between the United Kingdom and European Union stating the terms
and conditions for leaving E, commonly known as Brexit. It was signed on January 24, 2020.
Why did the House of Lords vote against the bill?
The House of Lords voted against the bill due to many controversial clauses in the bill, mainly clauses
40 to 45. The House highlighted that the bill tends to break international law.
Clause 42 allows the ministers to modify and disapply the exit procedures of Article 5 of the Northern
Ireland Protocol.
Clause 43 also allows Secretary of State to interpret, modify and disapply Article 10 of the Protocol.
Because of these clauses, the Internal Market bill has been opposed at the house.
What is the Northern Ireland protocol?
The Northern Ireland protocol says that Northern Ireland will remain part of the customs territory of UK so if
it signs a free trade deal with another country, Northern Irish goods would also be included. However, the
Northern Ireland will have to follow some EU rules to allow the free movement of goods into the Republic.
Background
United Kingdom voted to leave European Union in a referendum in 2016. After many negotiations, UK left EU
on February 1, 2020 but agreed on the withdrawal agreement before the final transition on December 31,
2020.
What is ‘Sarna Code’ Resolution passed in Jharkhand Assembly? How is it related to
Census 2021?
On November 11, 2020, the Jharkhand General Assembly passed a resolution demanding a separate ‘Sarna
Code’ for Tribals. The proposal was tabled by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The resolution was passed
unanimously with voice vote.
The Resolution seeks a separate column for followers of Sarna religion in Census 2021.
Key Highlights
The resolution will seek a special column for the followers of Sarna religion in Census 2021. The Sarna
religion followers are worshippers of nature. They do not consider themselves as Hindus. They have been
fighting for a separate religious identity for decades. Currently, Sarna is not classified as a separate
religion.
Schedule V
In the last eight decades, the tribal population in Jharkhand has come down from 38.03% to 26.02%. The
decline in tribal population has impact on policies framed to benefit the tribal communities and also on
constitutional provisions. In 2019, there were demands to denotify Schedule V areas where the population
of the tribal has come down. The Sarna Code passed in the Assemble will address this problem.
Concerns
The Sarna religion is completely based on naturalistic worshipping. The major problem is that the term
Sarna is not common to all the adherers of naturalistic religions worshipping forests, mountains and rivers.
Claims by Sarna Tribes
There was separate Sarna Code between 1871 and 1951. However, it was removed in 1961 due to
conspiracy. Also, in 2011 the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes recommended to add Sarna Code
in the Census. However, this recommendation was not implemented.
Schedule V of Constitution of India
The Schedule V of Constitution of India deals with control (BPSC
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administration
65th,66th & 67th) of Scheduled Areas and

scheduled Tribes residing in states other than Meghalaya, Assam, Mizoram and Tripura. In Scheduled areas
the central government plays a direct role in safeguarding the economic and cultural interests of scheduled
tribes.
Punjab withdraws general consent to CBI
Punjab had revoked/withdrawn the general consent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). From now,
CBI will have to take permission from the state government to investigate any case. This comes within a
week after Jharkhand and Kerala decided to withdraw the general consent to CBI.
Key Points
The Punjab government released an official notification on November 8 stating that prior consent of
the state government will be required by CBI to probe any case.
The Punjab government has said in the official notification that it is revoking general consent from all
the members of Delhi Special Police Establishment. The notice further stated, with the general
consent revoked, permission will be required to investigate any offence under Section 3 of the Delhi
Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
The state government has revoked this consent by exercising its powers conferred by section 6 of the
Act.
CBI comes under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 and will therefore have to take
permission from the government for any investigation.
Before this also, the state government had withdrawn consent to CBI to investigate religious cases in
2015. A resolution was passed by the state assembly in this regard in the year 2018. Now, the probe
of such religious cases is under the special investigation team of Punjab.
Other States which have withdrawn general consent to CBI
Before Punjab many other states have revoked the consent to CBI to probe cases. These states are
Jharkhand, Kerala, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal.
About Central Bureau of Investigation
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is the central investigating agency of India. The agency works
under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and is headquartered in
New Delhi. Rishi Kumar Shukla is the present CBI Director.
All DISCOMS to comply Energy Conservation Act, 2001
The Ministry of Power, Government of India has released an official notification that mandates all the
Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) to comply Energy Conservation (EC) Act, 2001. As per the
official notice, all the DISCOMs will now be governed under the various provisions of EC Act like Energy
Accounting & Auditing, Implementation of energy conservation & efficiency measures, identification of
Energy Losses, Appointment of Energy Manager, etc.
This notification was prepared in in consultation with Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).
Key Points
The notification of the Power Ministry stated that all entities having issued distribution license by
State/Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission under the Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003) are now
notified as Designated Consumers (DCs).
With this, the number of DISCOMs covered under EC Act will increase to 102 to 44. Before this,
DISCOMs with annual energy losses equal to or above 1000 MU were only covered as DCs.
Now, this decision has made Energy Accounting & Auditing mandatory for all DISCOMs.
This amendment will help in improving the performance of DISCOMs by reducing their losses,
implementing solutions and thereby improving their financial state.

This amendment will also make the monitoring of DISCOMs easy. The government will collect the
quarterly data of DISCOMs and suggest measures for improving their efficiency. This amendment will
also bring transparency in the distribution sector.
About Bureau of Energy Efficiency
Established on March 1, 2002, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is a body under the Ministry of Power,
Government of India. BEE provides assistance in developing strategies and policies with a main aim of
reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy. It coordinates with designated consumers, agencies,
and organizations to identify and utilize the already available resources and infrastructure, in order to
perform the functions assigned to it under the EC Act.
Himachal Pradesh anti-conversion law: Key Facts
The recent murder in Faridabad’s Ballabhgarh has again ignited discussions over the forced religious
conversions. In the last few years, it is a topic of major debate that girls of a particular community are
forced to convert their religion and there is a need to curb it. After the murder of a girl in broad daylight,
Haryana’s Home Minister Anil Vij has highlighted that the state government is looking over the possibility of
making a new law for forced conversions. Not only this, but Vij has also sought information about a similar
law already in place in Himachal Pradesh- Anti Conversion Law.
What is Anti-Conversion Law?
Himachal Pradesh government enacted the Anti-Conversion Law in 2007 after passing Freedom of Religion
Bill, 2006. This law prohibits religious conversions through force or fraud. The state government has also
passed a new Freedom of Religion Bill in 2019 with an aim to repeal the 2006 bill. Himachal Pradesh CM Jai
Ram Thakur says that more stringent law is required on forced religious conversions.
What are the Key Features of the law?
The key features of Anti-Conversion Law of Himachal Pradesh are-
No person should convert or attempt to convert the religion of any other person through fraud,
deception or for the sole purpose of marriage.
This law does not cover conversion to parent religion.
Freedom of Religion Bill, 2019 states that a person needs to notify the district magistrate at least 1
month prior converting his/her religion. The magistrate will then conduct an inquiry to find out the
reason for conversion.
A person involved in forceful conversions can be jailed for a term upto 5 years. In case the victim is
minor, SC/ST or woman; the punishment can be extended upto 7 years.
All the offences under this act will be non-bailable. Also, failure of prior information about conversion
can lead to imprisonment of 2 years.
Religious Conversions in other states
The religious conversions are not limited to one or two states; its impact can be seen in many states of the
country. Details related to the conversions in some states are-
Gujarat- As per the available data, in last 5 years, 1,895 applications have been registered in the state
seeking religious conversion. Out of these applications, 54% were from Surat. 94 percent of the applications
were filed by Hindus; 4% by Muslims and a little more than 1% by Christians. Maximum Hindus in Surat wish
to convert to Buddhism and come from the Scheduled Castes.
Kerala- Most of the Dalits, Christians who converted to these religions from Hinduism are converting back
to Hindus. As per Vishva Hindu Parishad secretary-general Milind Parande, around 25,000 Muslims and
Christians were reconverted to Hindus in 2018. In Kerala also it is mandatory to get conversion notified in
the gazette to make it legal.join us http://telegram.me/bpsc65thmains66thprelims (BPSC CCE 65th,66th & 67th)

Krishi Upad Mandi (Amendment) Bill 2020: Key Facts
Published On Oct 29, 2020
Chhattisgarh Assembly passed an amendment Bill to invalidate the Centre’s recently-notified agriculture
legislations in one day session. The Assembly passed the Chhattisgarh Krishi Upad Mandi (Amendment) Bill
2020. It gives strength to the state government to control all agricultural produce markets.
What are Deemed Markets introduced in the bill?
The state government has launched the concept of deemed market. It gives state agencies control over
these. Deemed markets would comprise of cold storage, silos, warehouses, electronic trading and
transaction platforms. With the amendment, the state government desires to limit the entry of any corporate
or private entity as it would control all these operations. Simultaneously, if a private entity enters into
agreement with farmers, it would have to submit its accounts and stocks to state scrutiny.
Need for Deemed Market
The state consists of eighty percent small and marginal farmers. The small and marginal farmers do not
have the capacity to bargain on its prices in the market and to store food grains. Therefore, it became
necessary to establish ‘Deemed Mandi (Market)’ and electronic trading platform. It benefits farmers so that
they can get the right price for their produce without being impacted by market fluctuations.
What are the key provisions of the bill? (Include only the content under the heading KEY PROVISIONS)
The key provisions of the Chhattisgarh Agriculture Produce Market (Amendment) Bill, 2020 include
formation of deemed mandis (including acquisition of private produce markets as deemed markets) and
electronic payment systems as necessary.
What are the three farm bills passed by the centre?
The three farm bills passed by the centre are The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on
Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And
Facilitation) Bill,and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill.
Why were the farm bills passed?
The farm bills were passed:
To Spilt the monopoly of government-manage mandis. It also passed to permit farmers to sell directly
to private buyers.
To give a legal framework for farmers to enter into written contract with organization and produce for
them.
To allow agri-businesses to stock food articles. To remove the government’s ability to thrust
restrictions arbitrarily.
“Who Created Arogya Setu” issue: NIC rejects its role in creation in a RTI query
The National Informatics Centre recently claimed that it did not create the Arogya Setu mobile application.
NIC claimed so in its reply to a Right to Information Query.
Highlights
The Ministry of Electronics and IT had earlier claimed that the Arogya Setu Application was launched by
Government of India in Public-Private Partnership mode. According to the ministry, the application was
developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC) in association with a private firm. NIC is responsible for
handling Government websites.
Show Cause Notices
Following the issue, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has now issued a Show cause notice to the
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and National Informatics Centre. Also, the CIC has
asked the NIC to explain in writing on how Arogya Setu Application and its websites were created.
The Government of India had been encouraging the public at large scale to download the app before

entering theatres, hotels and other public places. At some of the Government offices, the application was
made mandatory as well.
Now, this has raised privacy issues as a vacuum has been created upon development of Arogya Setu
application.
Why the concerns?
Usually before an application is installed by a user, the developer asks for permission to access certain
information of the phone. The application uses only the user permitted data data obtained from the phone
for its functioning. Now, with the developer of the application become unknown, there are possibilities of
illegal data retrieval from the users of the applications. Thus, the concerns are being raised.
Arogya Setu Application
It is a contact tracing application. The application informs the user if he or she has crossed a COVID-19
positive patient. By this, the spread of the virus can be contained. It served as an e-pass for the workers to
commute. The students giving exams in a common exam centre were asked to download the app.
Since its launch, the GoI did not provide concrete assurance that the centralised data would not be used for
other purposes.
President promulgates Ordinance to constitute Air Quality Management Commission in
NCR
The President of India has promulgated an ordinance to constitute an air quality commission for Air Quality
Management in the National Capital Region and the areas adjoining it.
Highlights
The commission will work on research, better coordination, identification and resolution of problems in Air
Quality Index in the National Capital Region. The commission will consist of a chairperson, members from
the state of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Also, it will consist of members from ISRO
(Indian Space Research Organization) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
Functions of the Commission
The commission will take measures to entertain complaints, issue directions in order to protect and
improve the air quality in the NCR. Also, it will lay down parameters for discharging or emitting
environmental pollutant from various sources.
Sub-Committees
The Commission is to have three Sub-Committees. They are as follows
Monitoring and Identification
Research and Development
Safeguarding and Enforcement
Background
On October 26, 2020, the Government of India informed the Supreme Court that a permanent body will be
constituted to handle air pollution caused due to stubble burning in the National Capital Region. The
ordinance has been promulgated based on this.
The Supreme Court had earlier set up a one-man committee under retired Justice Madan Lokur. The
committee was set up to monitor stubble burning in Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Later the
committee was suspended upon the centre’s information about legislating a body. This permanent body will
replace the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority.
EPCA
The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority was set up in 1986 under the Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986. It was set
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65th,66th Plan
& 67th) in Delhi.

The EPCA is highly powerful like that of the GoI. It can take Suo Motu actions. It has powers to file criminal
complaints in courts, redressal of grievance and issuing directions to officers. However, it shall not stop
water supply or electricity or other services.
20th Amendment of Sri Lankan Constitution: Key Facts
The Sri Lankan Parliament recently passed the 20th Amendment of Sri Lankan constitution.
Highlights
The 20th amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution has expanded the powers of the President and
also have increased the immunity of the President.
Under the 20th amendment, the President gets the power to dissolve the parliament after two years
and six months after being elected. It has weakened the powers of the prime minister.
The amendment empowers the President to appoint any person to the Government office without
having need of getting consent from members of the parliament. This includes public services,
election officials, human rights, police, corruption investigation commissions, bribery, etc.
The amendment allows the president to hold any ministries and also appoint and fire ministers.
This amendment rolls back the 19th amendment of Sri Lanka.
Why was the 19th amendment introduced?
It was introduced to weaken the powers of the president. It weakened those powers that were expanded by
the 18th amendment. The 18th amendment introduced four main changes. They were
The President of Sri Lanka can seek for a re-election any number of times
He can bring in independent commissions under his authority
The Constitution Council that initially had 10 members was replaced with a 5-member council
The 18th amendment allowed the President of Sri Lanka to attend Parliament once in three months.
On the other hand, it entitled him will all privileges, powers and immunities as that of the other
member of parliament.
Sri Lanka President and Prime Minister
The current President of Sri Lanka is Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is
Mahinda Rajapaksa. They are brothers.
President Rajpaksa recently introduced a clause that lifted the ban on people with dual citizenship.
Election Commission sets up panel to revise Expenditure Limit for candidates
On October 21, 2020, Election Commission constituted a committee under Harish Kumar, the former
director general investigation and the election commission Secretary General Umesh Sinha. The two-
member committee will examine the expenditure limit of candidates contesting in Lok Sabha and Assembly
Elections.
Highlights
The need to increase expenditure has come up due to the increase in the size of electorate and increasing
inflation. Previously the expenditure sealing of a candidate was revised in 2014.
Background
The committee has been set up in the wake of GoI measure to enhance the expenditure limit by 10% as per
the suggestion of the election commission for bigger States such as a Gujarat Andhra Pradesh Haryana and
Bihar. This is because the candidates face difficulty in campaigning amidst covid-19 times.
On October 19, 2020, the Ministry of Law and Justice notified an amendment to the conduct of election
rules 1961. According to the amendment the expenditure limit of candidates contesting in elections of Bihar
and other states was increased by 10 percentage.

Legislation
The expenditure limit of elections by the candidates is specified under rule 90 of the conduct of election
rules. By rule 90, if a candidate spends more than the prescribed limit he is bound to have committed a
corrupt practice.
Expenditure limit
The expenditure limit of candidates contesting in elections vary from state to state. Accordingly, the recent
amendment notified that the states with expenditure limit of 20 lakh rupees will see an upward revision to
22 lakh rupees and the states with the cap of 28 lakh rupees such as Bihar will see an increase of 30.8 lakh
rupees.
The committee
The committee will assess the change in number of electors in the state and union territories. It will also
assess the change in cost inflation index. The committee will examine factors that will have bearings on
expenditure. The committee is to submit the report within 4 months office constitution.
Union Cabinet approves adoption of Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act
On October 21, 2020, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the adoption
of Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj act.
Key highlights
The adoption of Panchayati Raj act will now establish the three tier of Grass root level democracy in Jammu
and Kashmir. So far, the three-tier system was not in practice in the union territory.
After the abrogation of article 370, the people of Jammu and Kashmir will now have the right to elect their
local representatives just like the rest of the country. This is the first time in 73 years after independence
Grass root level democracy is to be implemented in Jammu and Kashmir region.
The Government of India has been implementing several reforms and schemes in order to bring in normalcy
in the Jammu and Kashmir region just like the rest of the country after the abrogation of article 370.
Other recent reforms
The Union Cabinet recently approved the extension of market intervention scheme to the union territory of
Jammu and Kashmir. Under this the procurement of Apple from the region will be done by the national
agricultural Cooperative marketing federation. So far 12 lakh metric tonnes of Apple ware procured by the
NAFED.
Panchayati Raj system
It is a rural local self-government. It was constitutionalised by the 73rd constitutional amendment act 1992.
Three Tier System
The three levels of Panchayati Raj system are gram panchayat at village level, Mandal Parishad or block
Samiti or Panchayat Samiti at block level and Zilla Parishad at district level
Exemptions
The areas that are exempted from the operation of Panchayati Raj act are the Scheduled areas in the states
of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha. Also, the
states such as Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram are exempted. This is due to socio-economic challenges
in these regions.
What is anti-trust case against Google?
The United States Justice Department recently sued Google alleging the company of illegally abusing it in
the internet search. According to the department, Google is illegally using its dominant position in the
internet market to advertise deals.

Highlights
The US government also alleges that Google has contracts with giant smartphone makers. These
smartphone makers use Android operating system of Google. Through these contracts Google makes it
mandatory to install its search engine as default. According to the US government these moves of Google
stifles the innovation and competition from smaller competitors.
What is anti trust law?
It Refers to the competition law. It protects trade in the country from unfair monopolies, restrains and price
fixing. The antitrust law ensures fair competition in open market economy. The competition act in India is
an anti trust law.
Scenario in India
The Competition Commission of India in May 2020, accused Google of abusing its market position. This
equation is similar to the one made by the US currently. There are three major antitrust challenges for
Google in India. The free applications in Google Play app of the company is giving unfair advantage over
the Other apps of the competitors.
In 2018, the Competition Commission of India fined 21 million USD to Google for search bias.
In 2019, the Competition Commission of India accused Google that it is misusing its dominant position to
reduce the ability of Smartphone manufacturers. The Smartphone manufacturers are unable to opt for an
alternate version of Android.
Competition act 2002
The act prohibits abuse of dominant position by Enterprises, anti-competitive agreements and regulate
combinations. The competition appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) was established under the act. In 2017, the
Government of India replaced COMPAT with National Company Law Appellate Tribunal.
Competition Commission of India
It was established under the competition Act 2002. The main objectives of the commission is to eliminate
practices that has adverse effects on competition to protect the interest of customers to promote and
sustain competition and to ensure freedom of trade in the Indian market.
Why is UNHCR insisting India to revise FCRA regulations?
The United Nations high Commissioner for human rights is insisting India to revise its foreign contribution
Regulation Act 2010.
Highlights
The high Commissioner Michelle Bachelet has raised concerns over the restrictions imposed by India over
foreign funding for the Non-governmental organisations. The commisioner also raised concerns on the
arrests of activists in the country.
What is the issue?
In September 2020, the union home ministry of India notified new FCRA rules on foreign funding. This was
done by making amendments to the FCRA act. The provisions of the amendments made were as follows
It empowers the Government of India to restrict the usage of foreign contribution.
The foreign contribution must be received only to accounts that are designated as fcra account full
stop the account shall be opened only in banks that are nominated by the Government of India for this
purpose.
Not more than 20 % of the foreign funds received shall be used for administrative expenses. Earlier
that is before the amendment it was 50%.
The public servants cannot receive foreign contributions.
The election candidates, publisher of a newspaper, members of Legislature, political parties are

others who cannot receive foreign contribution.
Aadhaar is mandatory for all persons receiving foreign contribution as an identification document.
FCRA Catch 22
The recent amendment of the act gives unbridled powers to the home ministry to disqualify any Non-
governmental organisation or Association. It can deny renewal of the organisation under the Recent
amendments.
Catch 22 is circumstances under which there is no escape as it is mutually conflicting.
India’s stand
The Government of India has made the amendments to the act in order to streamline the the inflow of
foreign currency. The annual inflow of foreign contribution in the name of Non governmental organisations
has almost doubled between 2010 and 2019. However these contributions were not utilised for the same
purpose for which they were registered or granted permission.
The union home ministry recently suspended the licences of six non-governmental organisations as they
used foreign contributions for religious conversion.
Such uncontrolled inflow of foreign funds for illegal and unethical practices could affect the internal
security of the country. Thus, the amendment were made to enhance the transparency and accountability of
foreign contributions.
Concerns of United Nations Human Rights
According to the United Nations no law should delegitimize or criminalize activities based on origin of
funding. The United Nations is also of the opinion that the amendment failed to comply with India’s
constitutional provisions and legal obligations towards protection of rights to freedom of expression,
Association and freedom of assembly.
Gujarat Disturbed Area Act (Amendment) bill, 2020: Key Facts
On October 12, 2020, the president Ramnath kovind assented the Gujarat Distributed Area act (Amendment)
Bill 2019. The amendment will prohibit transfer of assets that is the immovable property in disturbed areas.
Also, it will protect the tenants from vacating the property.
Gujarat prohibition of transfer of immovable property and provision for protection of tenants from eviction
from premises in disturbed areas act 1991 is commonly referred to as Disturbed Areas act.
Key features of the amendment
The main objective of the act is to check on elements that cause demographic imbalance and to stop
polarisation. The act will prohibit sale of property from one religious community to another religious
community in the disturbed areas. An area can be declared disturbed area by the district collector based on
a history of communal riots in the area. The transfer of assets cannot be done without the approval of the
district collector.
Penalty
An offender under the provisions of the act has to pay a fine of one lakh rupees or 10% of value of the
property. He can be imprisoned for 3 to 5 years for acquiring properties to illegal means in disturbed areas.
Background
The act is being amended as several complaints were received by the government officials on skirting the
provisions of the act and taking advantages of its loopholes. Earlier the collector only had to see the seller
sending the property personally. It has come to notice that several Anti-Social elements are buying and
selling properties in these regions by threatening people. Thus the act is being amended to pluck the legal
loopholes.

Disturbed areas in Gujarat
Currently the disturbed area act is applicable to certain regions of Gujarat such as Vadodara, Ahmedabad,
Surat, Himmatnagar, Godhra, Bharuch and kapadvanj.
The act was first introduced in Ahmedabad in 1986 due to large scale and continuous riots in the City.
Ravi Chopra Committee: SC Orders violated in Chardham Project
The Supreme Court appointed Ravi Chopra Committee has alleged that the Chardham road project has
violated court order.
What is the issue?
The Supreme Court had ruled that width of roads constructed under Chardham project shall be 5.5 metres.
This was ruled based on the recommendation of Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) for
mountain roads.
To the contrary, the GoI had sanctioned road width of 10-12 metres. The MoRTH has allowed the 700 km
road project to continue with 10-metre width. This according to the Committee is a contravention of the SC.
Chardham Pariyojana
The project aims to provide connectivity to the four Hindu pilgrimages such as Kedarnath, Badrinath,
Gangotri and Yamunotri. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 12,000 crores. The National Highway and
Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, Uttarakhand State Public Works, Border Road
Organization.
The project is being implemented under EPC mode. EPC mode is Engineering, Procurement and
Construction Mode. Under this mode, the cost is completely borne by the Government.
About the Pilgrimage sites
Gangotri is dedicated to Goddess Ganga and Yamunotri to Goddess Yamuna. The Kedarnath is dedicated to
Lord Shiva and Badrinath temple to Lord Vishnu.
Ravi Chopra Committee
A petition was filed with National Green Tribunal. The Petition said that the project violated the
Environmental Impact Assessment Notification, 2006. On the other hand, according to MoRTH, the length of
the highways are less than 100 km and hence do not require environmental clearance. The project has been
segregated into 57 parts and each part is less than 100 km. Thus, NGT cleared the project.
However, the project stopped by the Supreme Court. The apex court also constituted Ravi Chopra
Committee to assess the environmental violations if any. Ravi Chopra is the Director of Dehradun People’s
Science Institute and has been strongly critical about the project and other construction works in the
Himalayan region.
25th Amendment of US Constitution
The US President Donald Trump and the first lady have tested positive to COVID-19. He is currently treated
at the Walter Reed Medical Centre.
Highlights
The 74-year-old President is working from the centre. If his health deteriorates, the vice president will take
over his role. The provisions to the scenario was provided by the 25th Constitutional Amendment of the US.
Before the amendment there was no clarity over the scenario such as vacancy of office of vice president
and also over inability of president to discharge his duties and power.
25th amendment of US Constitution
The amendment was proposed in 1965 and was adopted in 1967. The amendment was submitted to the
states in 1965 and the requisite number of 38 individual states ratified the amendment in 1967.
The amendment clarifies that the vice president succeeds when the president dies, removed from office or

resigns.
Key Features of the amendment
Section 1: The Vice President becomes the President instead of assuming his powers and duties
Section 2: Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of Vice President, the President shall appoint a
new Vice President
Section 3: Whenever the President writes to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President pro tempore of the Senate about his inability to discharge his powers and duties, his
powers and duties will be discharged by the Vice President.
Section 4: The section allows the vice president to declare that the president is unable to discharge
his powers and duties along with the majority of principal officers of the executive departments. The
principal officers are the fifteen secretaries.
Among these sections, only section 4 has not been invoked so far in the history of US.
1973: President Richard Nixon
In 1973, President invoked the amendment to appoint vice president. Gerald Ford was appointed as the Vice
President as Spiro Agnew resigned.
1974: Gerald Ford succeeds Richard Nixon
The amendment was invoked again when Nixon resigned in 1974 and Gerald Ford succeeded as president.
1985: George W Bush
Section 3 was invoked when George W Bush had to undergo a colonoscopy. It was again invoked in 2002
and 2007 by George W Bush when he had to undergo colonoscopy again (both the times).
Supreme Court: Overtime Wages should not be denied to labourers during COVID-19
On October 1, 2020, the Supreme Court quashed the notification of Gujarat Government to exempt factories
from paying overtime wages to workers. The apex court said that the burden of economic slowdown shall
not be put on workers who are the backbone of the economic activity. Lately, the country has been facing
severe economic losses and slow down due to the pandemic and the lock down.
Highlights
The judgement was pronounced by a bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud.
What is the issue?
The Gujarat government had decided to exempt industries in the state from certain provisions of Factories
Act, 1948. The exemptions were related to payment of overtime wages. According to the exemption a
worker shall be made to work for 12 hours a day with a 30-minute break after every 6 hours. The exemption
also did away with the necessity to double the wages for overtime work.
A Plea was filed by the Gujarat Mazdoor Sabha (registered trade union) in the Supreme Court against the
decision of the Gujarat government.
Judgement
The Supreme Court pronounced that the right to life of workers is not conditional. The claims to decent
working conditions and overtime wages must not be denied due to covid-19 outbreak and the economic
slowdown caused by it.
Factories act 1948
The notification of exemption was issued under Section 5 of factories act 1948. The Section 5 of the act
empowers a government to exempt industries from the purview of the act on grounds of public emergency.
According to the act, public emergency is defined as a Grave emergency. This is a scenario that threatens
internal security of the country by external aggression or internal disturbances or war.
The supreme court held that this cannot be invoked to relieve the economic slowdown caused by covid-19

pandemic.
What is a Plea filed in a Court?
It is a request or appeal made in an intense or emotional way.
GoI to revamp Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has framed a Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
The bill introduces 70 amendments in the FSSAI act, 2006. It intends to revamp the functioning and
jurisdiction of the FSSAI.
Key Features
The amendment will give more powers to FSSAI.
The jurisdiction of FSSAI is to be extended towards animal feed as well
It will simplify the processes and enhance penalties imposed for violations. This will include
manufacture and sale of unsafe food, businesses that are carried out without licenses, adulteration
of food that leads to death. The punishment of sale of unsafe food under the new amendment has
been extended till life imprisonment.
The amendment will specify standards for food packaging material. The food packaging material has
been mentioned as “food contact material” in the bill.
A Chief Executive Officer is to be appointed at FSSAI. Earlier, the chairperson and the members were
selected based on the recommendations made by the Selection Committee. However, now there
would be no role of selection committee.
The process of serving notices to a food business operator has been simplified. The notice shall be
issued to those running unsafe restaurants.
Challenges in the current FSSAI act, 2006
The FSSAI was established under FSSAI, 2006. The shortcomings and challenges with the act are as follows
The hawkers, retailers and petty manufacturers are exempted from the ambit of FSSAI. They
contribute largely to unorganized food sector
There are no enough food testing laboratories in the country for the authority to scrutinize the food
processing industries.
The body has failed to ensure quality, safety and hygiene in the food industry.
There are shortages in enforcement and licensing officers. This severely affects food safety
measures and thus it requires a structural reform. This is to be achieved through the current
amendment.
The FSSAI has only 377 regulations mentioned. On the other hand, foreign countries have more than
10,000 foods and detailed standards. The list is not reviewed regularly.
National Medical Commission: Country’s apex regulator of medical education comes into
existence
Published On Sep 25, 2020
On September 25, 2020, the National Medical Commission began its operation. The Commission has
replaced Medical Council of India. It is now the apex regulator of medical education and profession.
Highlights
The MCI was replaced with the NMC based on the recommendation made by NITI Aayog. Earlier, the
planning commission had also made similar recommendations.
About the National Medical Commission
The commission is made of 33 members. It is headed by a chairperson who is a medical professional. Also,

the commission will have 10 ex-officio members and 22 part time members. The main functions of the
commission are as follows
Laying down policies to regulate medical professionals and medical institution
Assessing requirements of healthcare infrastructure and human resources
Ensuring if the State Medical Councils comply to rules and regulations
Framing guidelines to determine fee structure of private medical institutions.
Key Features
Four Autonomous boards will operate under the commission. They are as follows
Undergraduate Medical Education Board
Medical Assessment and Rating Board
Postgraduate Medical Education Board
Ethical and Medical Registration Board
Under the NMC, the medical colleges will have to seek permission only once for establishment and
recognition. There will be no necessity of renewal.
The fines of violations were increased from 1.5 times to 10 times the total annual fee charged.
Medical Council of India
It was established in 1934. Several concerns were raised on the statutory body. They were as follows
Poor maintenance of standards in medical education, inspections, curriculum guidelines, courses, etc
Poor recognition of medical qualification
The system of registration of doctors and maintenance of All India Medical Register carried several
issues
Legislation
The National Medical Commission was set up under National Medical Commission act. The act made the
National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) compulsory to get admitted to under graduate and post graduate
medical institutions.
Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020
The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 was recently passed in Lok Sabha. The bill aims to regulate, operate
and plan major ports in India. It seeks to provide greater autonomy to ports in the country. It will replace
Major Ports Act, 1963.
Key Features of the bill
The bill applies to major ports such as Vishakhapatnam, V.O.Chidambaranar, Paradip, Mormugao,
New Mangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kandla, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Kandla, Chennai, Cochin.
The ports will be managed by Port Authorities Board. Every port will have a port authority. These
authorities will act under the leadership of a central board. The boards will replace the existing port
trusts
The board will comprise of chairperson, members from respective state governments, representatives
from Defence Ministry, Railway Ministry and Customs Department. The chairperson of the board is to
be appointed by the Central Government
It will include two to four independent members representing the interests of the port authorities.
The board will be empowered to use its properties and fix scales of rates for assets. They shall
determine rates
for different classes of goods, vessels
Access to and use port assets
For services performed at ports

Financial Powers of the Board
The board can raise loans from any scheduled banks, financial institutions. However, for loan amounts
greater than 50% the board will require prior sanction from the central government.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The board has been empowered to use its funds to provide social benefits as well. It includes health,
education, environment, skill development and housing. It can also be used to provide benefits for
employees, local communities and society at large.
Adjudicatory Board
The Adjudicatory Board will carry out the functions of the tariff authority of the ports. It will review stressed
PPP projects. It will also adjudicate on disputes related to rights of major ports.
Parliament passes Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain
provisions) bill
On September 23, 2020, Parliament passed the Taxation and other laws (Relaxation and Amendment of
certain provisions) bill, 2020. It replaces an ordinance and will make few changes to direct and indirect tax
laws. It was cleared in Rajya Sabha through voice vote. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha earlier.
Key Features
The bill provides relief by extending deadlines for filing returns and to link PAN and Aadhaar
It provides tax benefits to donations made to PM CARES (Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency
Situation Fund) fund that was set up in March 2020.
It amends Income Tax Act in order to provide the same treatment to the PM CARES fund to that of the
PM National Relief Fund
What is the issue around PM CARES Fund?
A lot of concerns are being raised all over the country against the PM CARES Fund. The major issue around
this fund is its transparency. When donations are being made by Government bodies from tax payer money,
the public has a right to know where the money is being spent. In case of PM CARES fund, donations were
made by the PSUs such as ONGC, NTPC, Power Grid Corporation, Indian Railways. However, the auditing of
the funds and its spending is to be done by independent auditors and not CAG (Comptroller Audit General).
This is the transparency issue around PM-CARES fund.
CSR Funding issue of PM CARES Funds
The Section 135 of Companies Act makes it mandatory to spend the Corporate Social Responsibility Funds
towards the development of the respective local community in the areas where the corporate is located.
However, PM CARES funds allows corporate to contribute CSR funds. Thus, it violates Companies Act.
The Companies Act also says that the CSR is mandatory to companies with annual turn over greater than Rs
500 crores. The CSR funds should be used by the companies to eradicate poverty, environmental
sustainability, promoting education, reducing child mortality, promoting gender equality, improving maternal
health, combating immune deficiency diseases such as malaria in the local communities.
Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) bill passed in Lok Sabha
On September 21, 2020, Lok Sabha passed Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill 2020. It was first
introduced in Rajya Sabha. The bill amends the Epidemic Diseases act 1897.
Highlights
The act is being amended to protect Health Care personnel combating in the front line against pandemic
and epidemic. The bill replaces the epidemic diseases (amendment) Ordinance that was promulgated in in
April 2020. The bill also expands the powers of Central Government in preventing the spread of pandemic

diseases.
Definitions in the bill
The bill defines the health care professional as a person who is at the risk of contracting the epidemic
disease when he or she is carrying out his or her duties. This includes both public and clinical Healthcare
providers. It also includes any person who has been empowered under the act to make prompt measures in
order to prevent the outbreak of the disease. It also includes other persons that are designated by the
respective state governments.
The Bill also defines act of violence. This becomes important because during the initial stages of the
outbreak of covid-19 several patients refuted to co-operate with nurses and doctors. In due course, they
even engaged in Act of violence. Tablighi jamaat was one such scenario where the participants of the event
refused to co-operate with the health care professional. The Tablighi Jamaat was a muslim conference.
The act of violence has been defined as following
acts that impact living or working conditions
the acts that harm hurt injured are creates danger to life
damage to property documents of Healthcare personnel
obstruction in discharge of duties
Compensation
Persons who are convicted under the will have to pay compensation to the health care professional whom
they had hurt.
Powers of Central Government
The act empowers the central government during a pandemic situation in the following ways
The Government of India can inspect any ship or vessel that is arriving or leaving a port.
It allows detention of a person who intends to travel from the port during the outbreak
Central Government can inspect trains buses ships vessel aircraft that all living or entering a port or an
aerodrome
No Confidence Resolution in Rajya Sabha: Constitutional Provisions, voice vote, Deputy
Chairman of Rajya Sabha
On September 21, 2020, 12 opposition parties moved No-confidence resolution against the Deputy
Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The resolution was moved over the passage of the controversial farm bills by
voice vote.
What is Voice Vote?
The speaker or the chairman of the house asks the house to put forward their opinion in the form of yes and
noes. Based on which side was louder roughly, the passage of motion is decided. Though the vote process
of inaccurate, it is quick.
What did the resolution say?
According to the resolution moved by the opposition, the Deputy Chairman of the upper house has violated
the law, parliamentary procedure and practices of the house. He did not allow the house to discuss the farm
bills. He also did not allow the members of Rajya Sabha speak.
How is “No confidence Resolution” of Rajya Sabha different from Lok Sabha?
The No Confidence Motion being passed in Lok Sabha against the speaker may lead to resignation or
dissolution of Council of Ministers. This is in reference to Rule 198 of Lok Sabha Rules. These rules are not
mentioned in the constitution. However, they are being followed in every day proceedings of the house.
Earlier, such resolutions were moved against Lok Sabha Speaker G V Mavalankar in 1951 and also against
Speaker Sardar Hukam Singh join us in 1966 and against Speaker Balram
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were negated.
Article 75 of the constitution says that the council of ministers are collectively responsible to the lower
house, also called the House of the People.
Deputy Chairman
The Article 90 speaks about vacation of office of the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He shall vacate his
office under the following
When he is no more a member of Rajya Sabha
If he resigns addressing to the Chairman
If he is removed through a resolution passed by the majority members of the Rajya Sabha.
GoI to amend FCRA: Bill Introduced in Lok Sabha
A bill was recently introduced in Lok Sabha to amend the FCRA act, 2010. FCRA act is Foreign Contribution
(Regulation) Act. The bill proposed to include public corporations owned and controlled by the Government
of India under the list of entities that are not eligible to receive foreign funding. The bill also proposed to
include public servants under the list.
Highlights
The bill also makes Aadhar mandatory for all the non-government organisations and other organisations to
seek foreign contributions. It has proposed to limit the foreign funds received under the act from 50% to
20%. These funds are predominantly used for administration purposes.
Background
The main aim of the amendment is to streamline the provisions of FCRA act. The amendment aims to
increase transparency and accountability. It also aims to strengthen compliance mechanism in the
utilisation of foreign contribution.
Currently several organisations are transferring their foreign contributions under section 7 of FCRA,
2010. If amended this may not be possible. Also, the government will be empowered to question a
violator upon the use of funds received from a foreign organisation.
If the bill is passed the persons who have been granted certificate for the foreign funding will receive
funding only through accounts that are designated as FCRA account. Such accounts can be opened
only in banks designated by the government of India.
Why the amendment?
The Government of India states that the annual inflow of foreign funds has become twice between the time
period of 2010 and 2019. However, the contributions received in this route were not utilised by the recipient
registered under FCRA. Thus it is important to regulate these foreign contributions under the act.
Rules imposed by the act
The following conditions have been imposed by the act on the use of foreign funds
The funds received by a Non governmental organisation from foreign contributor should compulsorily
used only for the purpose for which the funds were received.
The funds shall not be used in speculative activities that or defined under the act.
The funds shall not be transferred to an entity that is not registered under the act
An asset purchased with the funds received, shall not be in the name of office members or bearers
but only in the name of the organisation (NGO) that received the funding.
Definition of foreign contribution
The term foreign contribution has been defined as an article on currency e other than gift received from a
foreign source for personal use in securities.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Second Amendment) passed in Rajya Sabha
On September 19, 2020, the Rajya Sabha passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy code (second Amendment)
Bill 2020. According to the new amendment, fresh insolvency proceedings will not be started for the next six
months considering Covid-19 pandemic.
Why the suspension?
Due to the covid-19 crisis the companies are facing disruptions. This has affected their interest payment
and loan repayment. The micro small and medium enterprises are the major victims of the current scenario.
Hence, in June 2020 the Government of India had increased the threshold for triggering the insolvency
process. The Reserve Bank of India had also allowed Moratorium on all loans till August 2020. In spite of
these measures the number of non-performing assets were increasing. Starting an insolvency process at
this point of time would be in effective. Thus, the code has been suspended.
What is Insolvency and Bankruptcy code?
The code is considered as one of the biggest insolvency reforms in India. It was introduced for insolvency
resolution of Corporate persons, individuals and partnership firms in a time bound manner.
How is the code beneficial?
The period before the implementation of the code had several scattered laws related to insolvency and
bankruptcy. This created inadequate and ineffective results. Some of those laws were as follows
SARFESI Act: Securitisation and reconstruction of financial assets and enforcement of security
interest act
Companies Act that mainly focused on liquidation and winding up of a company.
The recovery of debt due to banks and Financial Institutions act 1993.
Ineffective implementation of these laws and their time-consuming procedures forced Government of
India to introduce insolvency and bankruptcy code.
The adjudicating authorities under the code are National Company Law Tribunal for companies and
debt recovery Tribunal for partnership firms and individuals.
Highlights of the code
The code aims at consolidating all the insolvency related laws. Also aims to resolve insolvency in a time
bound manner. According to the code the evaluation and viability should be determined and completed
within 180 days of its initiation. The code also introduced a qualified insolvency professional as an
intermediary. Under the code an insolvency and bankruptcy board was established for the Governance of
insolvency and bankruptcy law.
Achievements of the code
After its introduction the code has helped several business entities resolve from there insolvency. The
following are the major achievements of the code since its introduction
Around 4452 cases were dismissed during the pre-admission stage of the code.
The maximum amount recovered under the code was rupees 492500 from 21 countries.
Lok Sabha passes Farm Reform bills: Facts, Concerns and Benefits
On September 17, 2020, Lok Sabha passed two farm bills amidst the protests from the opposition. The bills
were on agriculture market reforms and contract farming provisions. The bill to amend the essential
commodities Act, yet another farm bill was passed on September 15, 2020.
Highlights
The Government of India had earlier introduced three ordinances. They were as follows
Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) ordinance,
Farmers (Empowerment and protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services ordinance

Essential Commodities (amendment) ordinance.
These ordinances on now being replaced by the bills. The introduction of bills in the Parliament brought in
huge protests in the states of Punjab and Haryana. Following these protests, the minister of food
processing industries Shrimati Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigned from her post.
What is the bill on agricultural market?
Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) bill, 2020 is the bill on agriculture
market
Benefits
It will create a platform where the traders and farmers can buy and sell their farm produce outside
their registered Mandi operating under agricultural produce Market Committee (APMC).
It will promote interstate and intrastate trading of farmer produce.
The bill will help to reduce transportation cost and help farmers get better prices.
It’ll also facilitate a framework for electronic trading.
Concerns
According to the opposition, the states will lose their revenue as they will not be able to collect Mandi
fees if the farmers sell their produce out of the registered APMC mandis
This will eventually end the minimum support price system.
What is the bill on contract farming?
Farmers (Empowerment and protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services bill, 2020, is the
bill on contract farming.
Benefits
The bill will help farmers enter into contract with agricultural business firms, wholesalers, foot
processors and large scale retailers.
The small and marginal farmers in India account to 86 percentage of total farmers in the country.
They are farmers with land less than 5 hectare. The bill will help these farmers gain by aggregation
and contracts.
It will help the farmers access modern technologies and get better inputs.
The bill will reduce cost of marketing and will boost farmers income
it will engage farmers in direct marketing by eliminating the intermediaries.
The bill will also help in bringing up an effective dispute resolution mechanism with redressal
timelines.
Concerns
According to the position, the farmers currently engaged in contract farming are those who are
weaker in terms of ability to negotiate what they need.
The wholesalers, exporters, processes will have edge in disputes.
President accepts Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s resignation
On September 17, 2020, the Union Food Processing Industries Minister Shrimati Harsimrat Kaur Badal
resigned over the protest against the three farm sector bills. The President of India Ramnath
Govind accepted the resignation under the advice of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Highlights
Further, under the advice of the Prime Minister, the President has directed the Union Minister Narendra
Singh Tomar to be assigned the charge of Ministry of Food Processing Industries. Tomar already holds
multiple portfolios such as Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati
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Is Badal still a MP?
Yes. The Member of Parliament is first elected by the people and then later selected as a Minister. He or
she takes two oaths, one before the chairman of Rajya Sabha or speaker of Lok Sabha as a member, two,
before the president of India as a minister. When a Minister resigns his resignation will not affect his
membership of parliament.
What is the issue?
The Government of India recently introduced the following bills
Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) bill,
Farmers (Empowerment and protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services bill
Essential Commodities (amendment) bill.
These bills have replaced the ordinances that were promulgated earlier. These bills have now been passed
in Lok Sabha. Following the introduction of these bills in the Parliament there were huge protests in the
states of Punjab and Haryana. Shrimati harsimrat has resigned over this issue.
Are the prime minister and other ministers elected or appointed?
APPOINTED. The Prime Minister and other ministers in the Parliament are appointed by the President of
India. Article 75 of the Indian Constitution says that the Prime Minister is the person appointed by the
president. There is no specific procedure for his appointment. The president appoints a person as the Prime
Minister who is either the leader of the party that holds majority in Lok Sabha or the person who wins
confidence of Lok Sabha by gaining the support of other political parties. The president can also appoint the
prime minister on his own discretion. However, this is possible only when no party has gained clear majority
in the Lok Sabha.
Types of ministers
The constitution of India does not categorise ministers into types. However, by practice there are four types
of ministers in India. They are
Cabinet ministers: these ministers of present and participate in every meeting of the cabinet.
Minister of state with independent charge: he does not work under a cabinet minister. He attends the
meeting of cabinet only when a matter concerning his department is on the agenda.
Minister of state: he works under a cabinet minister. He does not have any independent charge of any
department. The works of these ministers are allotted by the cabinet minister.
Deputy minister: he works under Cabinet Minister or minister of state with independent charge. The
works of a deputy Minister is allotted by the Minister under whom he is working.
Constitutional provisions of resignation of minister
The third Schedule of Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 says that the Prime
Minister and other ministers of the union shall resign submitting a letter to the president of India.
The Transaction of Business Rules were made under clause 3 of article 77. The rules were made for
more convenient transaction of business of Government of India. The rules dictate functions and
appointments of cabinet committee as well.
Schedule 3 of the constitution speaks about Union Ministers, members of parliament, judges of
supreme court, state ministers, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, etc.
Parliament passed Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020
Parliament passed the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020 with approval from Rajya
Sabha on September 16, 2020. Earlier, the lower house (Lok Sabha) had also passed the bill.
Key Provisions of the Bill
The bill seeks to establish an Institute of Teaching and Research (IoTR) in Ayurveda.

The bill also proposes to declare the IoTR as an Institute of National importance.
The bill proposes to merge three Ayurveda institutes situated in Jamnagar, Gujarat into one. The
three institutes are,
1. The Institute of Post-Graduate Teaching and Research in Ayurveda,
2. Shree Gulabkunverba Ayurved Mahavidyalaya and
3. the Indian Institute of Ayurvedic Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Institute of Teaching and Research (IoTR) in Ayurveda
The institute is being established with following objectives,
1. To develop the patterns of teaching in Ayurveda and pharmacy.
2. To bring educational facilities of training of personnel in all branches, together.
3. To attain self-sufficiency in post-graduation.
4. To meet the needs of specialists and medical teachers.
5. To make a thorough and in-depth study.
The institution will be providing UG (Under Graduate) and PG (Post Graduate) courses in Ayurveda
including the pharmacy.
These institutions will prescribe course and curricula for colleges in India and abroad.
They would maintain well-equipped hospitals for Ayurveda and supporting staffs including the
pharmacists and nurses.
These institutions will also provide facilities for research in various branches of Ayurveda.
The funds for the institutions will be received from the central government. Comptroller and Auditor
General of India (CAG) would be authorised to audit the funds.
Lok Sabha Passes Bill to reduce salaries of MPs by 30%
The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed by the
Lok Sabha. The bill seeks to cut salaries of MPs by 30%.
Key Facts
Currently, each MP draws a monthly salary of ₹1 lakh, ₹70,000 as constituency allowance and
₹60,000 for running office besides other perks as per the pay hike in 2018.
30% Salary Cut is applicable to all MPs, including the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, for
the financial year 2020-2021.
The President and Vice-President of India along with all the State Governors, have also decided to cut
their salary by 30%.
The amendment would only cut MPs’ salaries but not the allowances or the pensions of ex-MPs.
The bill replaces the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) ordinance, 2020.
The bill also amends the Salaries, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954
Concerns
The amendments would have a negligible impact on the financial resources with total collection would be
0.001% of the special economic package of Rs 20 lakh crores.
Legislation
Article 106 of the constitution of India empowers the MPs to determine salaries and allowances by enacting
laws.
Background information
Suspension of MPLADS
Earlier, it was decided to suspend The MPLADS scheme as well. Under the provision, the amount saved
from the scheme would bejoinredirected to the Consolidation Fund. Many MPs earlier had already pledged to

use their MPLADS funds for efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)
The scheme was announced in December 1993 under the nodal ministry- the Ministry of Rural Development.
In October 1994, the scheme was transferred to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
The scheme enables MPs to recommend developmental works that needs to be taken up in their
Constituencies. It is a Central Sector Scheme and the annual MPLADS fund entitlement per MP per
constituency is ₹5 crore.
Bills Introduced in Lok Sabha to Transform the Agriculture
Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh
Tomar introduced – The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm
Services Bill, 2020 and the Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Raosaheb
Patil Danve introduced The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in the Lok Sabha on September
14, 2020. The bills are aimed at transforming the agriculture besides raising farmers’ income
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020
The bill seeks to provide a national framework on farming agreements.
It will protect and empower farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers,
exporters or large retailers for farm services.
It will also enable the farmers to sale the future farming produce at a mutually agreed price in a fair
and transparent manner.
Background for the Bill- Indian agriculture is highly fragmented because of its small holding sizes.
Further, it is highly weather dependent and there exists production uncertainties and market
unpredictability. As a result, agriculture is highly risky and inefficient in respect input & output
management. Thus, the bill has been introduced that will transfer the risk of market unpredictability
from the farmer to the sponsor. It will reduce marketing costs and improve farmers income.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020
This bill seeks to remove commodities like edible oils, cereals pulses, oil seeds, onion and potatoes
from the list of essential commodities.
It will remove fears of private investors regarding the regulatory interference in their operations.
The bill will provide farmers the freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute and supply.
Background – Though, India has surplus agri-commodities in most of the cases, farmers still are
unable to get better prices. It is because of poor investment in storage and processing facilities. The
bill has been introduced to pull investment in cold storage and modernization of food supply chain.
The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020
The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 was introduced by the
Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh
Tomar in Lok Sabha on September 14, 2020. The bill is aimed at transforming the agriculture in the country
and raising farmers’ income.
The bill if passed will enable barrier-free trade in agricultural produce.
It will also empower farmers to engage with investors of their choice.
The bill seeks to create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice
relating to sale and purchase of farmers’ produce,
The bill will facilitate remunerative prices by providing a competitive a trading channels to promote
efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-State and intra-State trade.

The bill also enables the commerce of farmers’ produce outside physical premises of markets or
deemed markets notified under State agricultural produce market legislations.
The bill also provides a facilitation framework for electronic trading.
Why this bill has been introduced?
Earlier, the farmers in India suffered from various restrictions while marketing their produce. Selling the
agri-produce outside the notified APMC market yards were also restricted. They could sell the produce only
to registered licensees of the State Governments. Further, flow of agriculture produces between various
States under the APMC legislations was not barrier free.
Thus, this bill is a historic-step to unlock the highly regulated agriculture markets in the country. Farmers
will be open up to more choices.
Lok Sabha passes National Commission for Homeopathy Bill, 2019
National Commission for Homeopathy Bill, 2019 has been passed by the Lok Sabha, today. The bill is aimed
at ensuring availability of high quality medical professionals for homeopathic treatment. Earlier, the bill was
passed by the Rajya Sabha on 19th March 2020 during the Budget Session.
National Commission for Homeopathy Bill, 2019
This bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha by the Minister of State for AYUSH, Mr. Shripad Yesso Naik, on
January 7, 2019. It seeks to repeal the homeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. It also provides for a medical
education system so as to ensure,
1. Availability of high quality homeopathic medical professionals.
2. Adoption of the latest medical research by the professionals.
3. Periodic assessment of institutions.
4. Effective grievance redressal mechanism.
Key features of the Bill
1. The Bill sets up the National Commission for Homeopathy (NCH) which consist of 20 members, who
will be appointed by the central government.
2. Members of the NCH will include- the Chairperson, President of the Homeopathy Education Board,
President of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board for Homeopathy, Director General, National
Institute of Homeopathy, Advisor or Joint Secretary in-charge of Homeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH, and
four part-time members.
3. State governments will establish State Medical Councils for Homeopathy at the state level within 3
years after the bill is passed.
4. Functions of the National Commission for Homeopathy:
To frame policies so as to regulate medical institutions and homeopathic medical professionals.
To assess the requirements of human resources and infrastructure related to healthcare.
To ensure the compliance by State Medical Councils of Homeopathy.
To ensure coordination between the autonomous boards namely Homeopathy Education Board,
Medical Assessment and Rating Board for homeopathy and the Board of Ethics and Medical
Registration for Homeopathy.
5. The Bill suggests for a uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission in under-graduate
homeopathy education.
6. The Bill proposes a common final year National Exit Test to obtain license for practice for the
students.
7. The Bill also suggests for a National Teachers’ Eligibility Test for postgraduates of homeopathy who
want to make careerjoin in usteaching homeopathy.
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Virtual Courts in India Should Stay: Panel
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice recommended to
continue the virtual courts for some specific categories of cases even after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
The panel underlined that ‘Digital Justice’ is cheap, fast and citizen friendly. It increases the accessibility. It
also addresses locational and economic challenges that public face. It has also suggested that ‘virtual
proceedings’ can be extended permanently to some Appellate Tribunals that do not require appearance in
person like TDSAT, IPAB and NCLAT.
What are Virtual Courts?
Virtual Courts are the e-courts or Electronic courts that aims to eliminate the presence of litigants or
lawyers in the traditional court and adjudicate the cases online. These are different from the computerised
courts which happens to be in place since the 1990s. The functioning requires an Online environment
besides an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enabled infrastructure.
What are the Advantages of virtual courts?
Virtual courts Increases the efficiency.
It results into savings in costs and also disposes off the cases on time.
It also increases the productivity of lawyers by saving them from frequent visits to courts and long
waiting hours.
The virtual courts better utilises the manpower and infrastructure by distributing the work equally.
It also reduces the malpractices in the judiciary.
In the COVID-19 scenario, when physical distancing is must. The virtual courts take of this need.
Why virtual courts are need of the hour?
Number of pending cases are very high. There are over 3.5 crore cases pending across all the courts,
as of August 2019.
Pending cases have also increased the number of under-trials in prison. In fact, it stands double than
the convicts.
Judicial Vacancies have also reduced the efficiency, accountability and has affected the functioning
of the judges. Tribunals such as the Income Tax Tribunal function half-day most of the time.
Thousands of Indians cannot afford to go to court because of high cost and complicated legal
procedure.
Physical presence leads to frequent adjournments which in turn increases the settlement time for
cases.
Challenges in virtual proceeding
Though, virtual courts may seem a necessity in the present context. But It will face lot of glitches and
shortcomings in its execution. Challenges include:
The e-filling process is complicated.
e-Courts are cost-intensive as well, in context of deployment of new-age technology.
Hacking and cybersecurity issues.
Insufficient infrastructure and non-availability of electricity and internet connectivity in remote
villages.
Maintaining e-courts record is another hurdle since the staffs are not well equipped and trained to
effectively handle document. Thus, data can be easily accessed.
As the use of technology is stepping up, courts should also consider other steps to speed up the judicial
process and reduce courtroom crowding. The other forms of justice delivery including mediation, arbitration
and counselling in family join
court matters can be taken up online quickly. In case of virtual proceedings,

though there is possibility of technical and connectivity issues affecting the process. But it has to be noted
that virtual hearings are no different from open court conversations. If this practice is extended to other
civil cases, efficiency of judicial functioning will drastically increase.
Case Study
The Kerala High Court conducted the proceedings and live streamed it video conferencing recently during
the lockdown which created history.
Plea for Legal Entity Status to Animals
The Supreme Court recently heard a petition that seeks legal entity status to the entire animal kingdom. The
Chief Justice of India observed that the status involves giving animals a legal personality.
What does this mean?
Currently, Animals are protected by laws like the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. But, giving legal
entity status would mean that by judicial direction animals would be bestowed upon the capacity to sue and
to be sued in courts of law. The petitioner-advocate have plead that animals should be considered property.
Animals as legal entities
Earlier, The Uttarakhand High Court had declared entire animal kingdom including avian and aquatic species
as legal entities and bestowed them with rights, duties and liabilities of a living person. This decision was
taken while hearing PIL filed by Narayan Dutt Bhatt in 2014. The petitioner had sought directions so as to
restrict the movement of horse carts (tongas) that were running between India and Nepal through Banbasa,
Uttarakhand. By this decision, the High court has enlarged the scope of petition in public interest so as to
promote protection and welfare of the animals.
What the Uttarakhand High Court Ruled?
The court ruled that the entire animal kingdom are legal entities. They have distinct persona and they will
now enjoy the rights, duties and liabilities of living person. The court directed the citizens throughout state
that the humans will act as parents since human face for welfare and protection of animals. It also directed
State Government to make sure that no animal carries excess weight. The direction banned use of any
sharp equipment throughout state to avoid pain to animals. It made mandatory for veterinary doctor to treat
animals brought to them by citizens and If animal cannot be brought to doctor they must personally visit
and attend the animal without delay.
What is a Legal entity?
Legal entities are the legal or juristic persons created by law. They have distinct identity, legal personality,
duties and rights. They may include private business firm or entity, non-governmental or government
organisations, trusts and societies.
Railways propose to Decriminalise Begging
The Ministry of Railways has proposed to decriminalise begging on trains or railway premises as part of an
exercise to decriminalise or rationalise penalties under the provisions of the Railway Act, 1989. It also
compounds the offence of smoking by levying spot fine and dropping all charges or action against the
person involved.
Key provisions
Section 144(2) of the Railway Act says that if any person begs in any railway carriage or upon a
railway station, he shall be liable for punishment as provided under sub-section (1).
Sub section (1) prescribes imprisonment for a term that may extend to one year, or with fine that may
extend to ₹2,000, or with both.
The railways now propose to amend the Section stating that “No person shall be permitted to beg in
any railway carriage or upon any part of the Railway”.

Section 167 of the Act says that no person in any compartment of a train shall, if objected to by any
other passenger, smoke therein. Irrespective of any objections raised, the railway administration may
prohibit smoking in any train or part of a train.
The railways now propose to amend Section 167, saying: “Provided that if the person liable to pay the
fine under this section is willing to pay such fine immediately, the officer authorised may compound
the offence by charging the maximum fine payable under the section concerned, and the sum so
recovered shall be paid to the railway administration.
Some years ago, the Delhi High Court, while quashing provisions in the law that made begging in the
national capital a punishable offence, had said: “Criminalising begging is a wrong approach to deal with the
underlying causes of the problem. The State simply cannot fail to do its duty to provide a decent life to its
citizens and add insult to injury by arresting, detaining and, if necessary, imprisoning persons who begs in
search for essentials of bare survival”.
11 Ordinances in queue for Parliament Monsoon Session

Published On Aug 28, 2020
Keeping in view the current global pandemic there is no clarity as to when the upcoming monsoon session
of Parliament will start. There is a total of 11 ordinances in the centre’s high list of a priority out of which 6
will lapse if not passed in the monsoon session this year.
Parliamentary Session
The Indian Parliament conducts three sessions each year,
Budget session January/February to May
Monsoon session: July to August/September
Winter session: November to December
Ordinances to be passed
With the increasing number of COVID cases and uncertainty over a winter session of the parliament, the
ministries are very keen on pushing these ordinances to the house. In case the session gets delayed and the
government does not hold the winter session of the parliament the next option left would be the budget
session which is in next year January end. Following are the 11 ordinances waiting to be passed in the
monsoon session.
The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance 2020.
The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
The Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
The Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Ordinance 2020.
The Salaries, Allowances and Pensions of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services
Ordinance, 2020.
The Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance.
The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance.
The Taxation & Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020.
The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020.
SC rules 'Daughters have equal heirship rights in joint Hindu family property'
Published On Aug 12, 2020
The Supreme Court has ruled that the daughters in the Hindu families have equal coparcenary rights in the

joint Hindu family property even if the father died before the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005.
This has been done in order to ensure the equality of women in the property rights of the family.
Details of the Judgment
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S Nazeer and MR Shah has pronounced that the provisions contained in
substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, confer the status of coparcener on the daughter
born before or after amendment in the same manner as a son with the same rights and liabilities. The
verdict makes it clear the amendments to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, granting equal rights to
daughters to inherit ancestral property would have retrospective effect.
Background
In 2015, the apex court had held that the rights under the amendment are applicable to living daughters of
living coparceners as on September 9, 2005, irrespective of when such daughters are born. But here the
court has said that ‘a daughter always remains a loving daughter.’
Who is a Coparcener?
It is a term used for a person who assumes a legal right in the parental property by birth only. Now,
daughters are also coparceners after the new judgment of the SC.
What is the Hindu Succession Act, 1956?
It is an Act of Parliament of India meant to amend and codify the law relating to intestate or unwilled
succession, among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. It underlines a uniform and comprehensive system
of inheritance and succession into one act. This act was amended in 2005 and also the women’s rights
have been recognized in this act, with respect to their rights over the ancestral property. Section 6 has been
inserted into this act through the 2005 amendment.
Patanjali Cannot Use the Trademark ‘Coronil’: Madras HC Interim Order
Published On Jul 18, 2020
Justice CV Karthikeyan has passed an interim order that Patanjali Ayurveda Limited, owned by Yoga Guru
Ramdev, cannot use the trademark ‘Coronil’, valid till July 30. The order was passed based on the plea of
Chennai-based Company Arundra Engineeering Private Limited, which has claimed that ‘Coronil’ is a
trademark used by them since 1993.
The company has also stated that it is into manufacturing of chemicals and registered ‘Coronil 213 SPL’ and
‘Coronil 92B’ in 1993. These two are in use since then by the company. The trademarks are valid till 2027.
So, there is trademark violation by Patanjali while introducing Coronil.
The products of the company are globally recognized and its clients include BHEL and Indian Oil.
According to the company, the trademark used by Patanjali is identical to the marks registered by the
company and though the products are different, the trademarks will amount to infringement of intellectual
property rights if used.
In this regard, Ministry of AYUSH had already stated that Patanjali cannot use Coronil as a cure for COVID
19 since there was not tangible proof of that but it can be used as an immunity booster.
Shipping Ministry issues “Aids to Navigation Bill 2020”
On July 10, 2020, the Ministry of Shipping issued “Aids to Navigation Bill 2020” draft for public consultation.
The bill aims to replace 90 years old Light House Act, 1927.
Highlights
The bill has been introduced to augment people participation and transparency in governance. The bill will
bring in best global practices, international obligations in the field of marine navigation and other
technological developments.
Key Features
The bill will empower the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships with additional powers such as

wreck flagging, vessel traffic service, training and certification, implementation of other obligations such as
international conventions. The bill will also include features to identify and develop heritage lighthouses.
It is to be noted that the GoI is lately planning to develop lighthouse tourism.
The bill also has new schedule of offences along with non-compliance with directives and commensurate
penalties for obstructing and damaging aids of navigation.
Significance
With emerging new technologies, the aids to maritime navigation has improved. Hence, the role of
authorities regulating and operating maritime navigation has to be changed. The new law will bring in this
major shift towards modern aids of navigation from lighthouses.
Ranbir Singh Committee formed for reforms in criminal law
On July 1, 2020, the Union Home Ministry constituted a high level committee to introduce reforms in
criminal laws.
Highlights
The Committee has several leading legal academicians and will gather opinions online, consult with experts
and collate materials and submit a report to the Government of India. The consultation process is to begin
on July 4 and is to be carried out for 3 three months.
About Ranbir Singh
Ranbir Singh is the Vice Chancellor of National Law University, Delhi.
Analysis
India currently needs to focus on the following to introduce law reforms
India needs to launch victim and witness protection schemes.
It should also focus on use of victim impact statements, increased victim participation in criminal
trials, increased access of victims to compensation.
India should construct and reclassify offences. This was introduced by Malimath Committee as well.
For instance, criminal liability shall be graded better to assign degree of punishments. Also, new
types of punishments such as restitution orders, community service orders and other aspects of
reformative justice should be brought in.
Yusuf Memon: 1993 Mumbai Serial Blast Convict dies in Nashik Prison
Published On Jun 27, 2020
On June 26, 2020, the 1993 Mumbai serial blast convict Yusuf Memon died at Nashik Prison. He is the
brother of absconding accused Tiger Memon.
Highlights
Tiger Memon was the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He was alleged along with the gangster
Dawood Ibrahim. Yusuf was accused for allowing his garage and flat for terrorist activities. The special
TADA court had sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Yakub Memon, the third brother was convicted in the case and hanged in 2015.
What is TADA?
TADA is Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) act. It is an anti-terrorism law that was enforced in
1985 and modified in 1987 after Punjab insurgency. It is the first anti-terrorism law that was legislated by
Government of India to counter terrorist activities in the country. The court set up under the act is called
TADA court.
1993 Serial Bomb Blast
On March 12, 1993, a car bomb exploded in the basement of Bombay Stock Exchange building. The 28
storey building was severly damaged due to the bomb blast. It was followed by a series of 12 bomb blasts.
The blast killed 250 persons and injured 100s.

Electricity (Amendment) bill, 2020 to bring about reforms in power sector
The Government of India is to bring about major reforms in the power sector by making amendments to the
Electricity Bill. The Minister of State for Power Shri R K Singh recently held a press meet to clarify the
misconceptions about the reforms
Highlights
The amendment will not make any changes to the powers of tariff fixation. The powers of tariff fixation are
to stay with SERCs (State Electricity Regulatory Commission). The amendment bill holds the following broad
objectives
To promote Ease of Doing Business
To promote Green Power
To enhance sustainability of power sector
To ensure consumer centricity
Major Amendments
The following amendments have been included in the draft bill
Establishment of Payment Security mechanism to schedule electricity. The Load dispatch centres are
to oversee the establishment of the mechanism.
Electricity contract Enforcement Authority is to be established. The authority will be headed by a
retired judge of high court. The authority is to enhance sanctity of contracts.
A minimum percentage of purchase of electricity from the hydro sources are to be carried out by
commissions appointed. This is to be done as India is a signatory of Paris Climate Agreement.
The bill also contains provisions for cross border trade in electricity
An option of distribution of sub licenses has been added.
The bill proposes to increase the strength of appellate tribunal (APTEL).
SC issues Notice over health insurance for Mental Illness
On June 16, 2020, the Supreme Court of India issued notice to the Insurance Regulatory Development
Authority (IRDA) and the Union Government on providing Health Insurance for mental illness.
Highlights
In 2018, the IRDA had issued a circular asking all insurance companies to comply with the Mental
Healthcare Act. According to the act, the mental illness is included under Health insurance. Also, it is
mandatory for the insurance companies to include mental illness under their health insurance policies.
The act had made it mandatory for all the insurance companies to stick to its legislation provisions. This
has been included under Section 21 of the Mental Healthcare Act. However, it has still not been
implemented widely. The petitioner brought up this particular argument to which the SC has issued notice.
Background
The issue of mental illness is being brought up after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The actor
committed suicide in his apartment.
Panel formed by Delhi LG to advise Delhi Disaster Management Authority
The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal has formed an Expert Advisory Committee to advise the Delhi
Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
Highlights
The committee has been formed to address the challenges faced in Delhi and also ramp up medical
infrastructure. The committee will also advice the DDMA to integrate measures of various agencies to
effectively mitigate COVID-19. The Director General of ICMR, director of AIIMS are all part of the committee.

Disaster Management Authority
The National Disaster Management Authority lays down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities.
The Disaster Management Act, 2005 provides detailed legal frameworks of the disaster management
authority at national, state and district levels.
The State Disaster Management Authority is headed by the Chief Minister of the state. The SDMA lays down
plans for the disaster management in the state. The State Executive committee that operates under the
Chief Secretary of the state coordinates and monitors implementation of national policy, national plan and
state plan.
In Delhi
Under Section 14 of Disaster Management Act, 2005, the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi is the Chairperson of
Delhi Disaster Management Authority and the CM of Delhi is the Vice-Chairperson of the authority.
18th Bench of CAT in UTs of Ladakh and J&K
The Government of India recently inaugurated the 18th Bench of Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) for
the Union territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Highlights
The setting up of CAT bench for Jammu will reduce the burden of several courts. The bench will deal
exclusively with the service matters of government employees.
It is to be noted that earlier the GoI under Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985 had specified Srinagar and
Jammu as the places where the CAT benches will sit for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and
Union Territory of Ladakh.
Central Administrative Tribunal
The CAT was established under Article 323 of the Constitution. The tribunal will adjudicate complaints
regarding conditions of service of public servants and also recruitment of posts associated with the affairs
of the UTs.
The CAT has been conferred with the powers to exercise itself as a High Court. This has been done under
Section 17 of the Administrative Tribunal Act, 1985.
The allowances and salaries of the employees and officers of the Tribunal are to be specified by the Central
Government.
To Change India’s Name to Bharat
The Supreme Court of India recently ordered to change a plea that requested to change India’s name into
Bharat into a representation. The apex court also ordered to forward it to the Union Government, especially
the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Highlights
The petition that was submitted to the court seeks to amend Article 1 of the Constitution. The petition
demands to struck off ‘India’ from the Article.
Article 1
Article 1 says “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”. India is already called Bharat according to
the Constitution.
Why was the petition filed?
According to the petitioner, the name India is of foreign origin. It can be traced back to Greece language
“Indica”. On the other hand, the name Bharat is closely associated with freedom struggle and the cry
“Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
Hence, changing the name will make sure citizens will get over the colonial past.

Supreme Court
The Supreme Court had earlier dismissed similar petition in 2016. According to the Apex Court judgement,
the name India is derived from the Indus river. Also, the court pronounced that every citizen had his right to
choose between calling his country India or Bharat.
Union Cabinet approves farmer friendly Essential Commodities Act
On June 3, 2020, the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi has made historic amendments to Essential
Commodities Act. Under the amendment, the regulatory environment has been liberalized for farmers.
The Farmers Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020:
The amendment has been made through this ordinance. The ordinance will allow farmers to engage with
aggregators, processors, exporters and large retailers as well. Under the amendment to Essential
Commodities Act, 1955, the agricultural commodities such as pulses, cereals, onions oil seeds and
potatoes have been deregulated.
Also, the amendment will allow clamping of stock limits only under very extreme circumstances. This
includes famines and natural calamities. The stock limit is not applicable to processors and value chain
participants. They shall stock only to their installed capacity. This will help in better price realization.
Background
The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman had earlier announced under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan that a
central law would be formulated that will not bind farmers to sell their crops. The minister also announced
that the law will not bind the farmers to sell their produce only to licensed traders in the Agricultural
Produce Market Committee mandis.
Supreme Court's suo motu cognisance of Migrant Workers' plight
On May 26, 2020, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of migrant workers
issue and noted that there have been “inadequacies and certain lapses” on the part of the Central and State
governments in dealing with the migrant workers crisis during the lockdown.
What is suo moto cognisance?
Suo motu is a latin phrase which means “on its own”. This means that the court has taken the matter into
cognisance on its own and without any plaintiff. A plaintiff is a person or entity which files a case or petition
in the court. Normal court cases need a plaintiff and a defendant, while in suo moto, there is no plaintiff.
In the current matter, the court has taken suo motu cognisance on the basis of newspaper and media
reports on helpless migrants forced to travel thousands of miles on foot or cycles.
Supreme Court Directions
The three judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan has ordered the centre and
states to immediately provide transport, food and shelter free of cost to the stranded migrant workers. The
court has also asked Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta to inform the court by May 28, 2020 about the
measures taken by the Centre to alleviate the migrants’ sufferings.
What is next?
The court has issued formal notice to the centre, states and Union Territories to file their responses by May
28.
What is “Collective Conscience” invoked by Indian Courts in Death Penalty cases?
Project 39A was conducted by a team of National Law University, Delhi. According to the project, the Indian
Courts invoke “Collective Conscience” of the society in most of the death penalty cases.
Project details
The study chose three states and
join us Union Territories namely Madhya
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(BPSC CCE 65th,66th &Delhi
67th) and Maharashtra. These

states were chosen as they ranked high in awarding capital punishments
Findings
The study has found out that around between 2000 and 2015, 72% of cases of Delhi trial courts that
awarded death penalty has invoked “Collective Conscience”. In Madhya Pradesh, this was invoked in 42% of
death penalty cases and in Maharashtra it was invoked in 51% of death penalty cases.
In all these cases, the courts opined that the crime was heinous to shake the “collective conscience” of the
society. Thus, the harshest punishment is being sentenced.
Recommendations of Law Commission
The Law Commission in 2015, headed by Justice A P Shah proposed to abolish capital punishments.
However, the commission had made the proposal only to non-terrorism cases. According to the
commission, India is one among few countries that still carry out executions. The other countries that
practice executions include Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, China. By the end of 2014, 98 countries had abolished
death penalty.
Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray to enter Legislature: The Constitutional Features
Mr Uddav Thackeray is the current Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
Article 164
The Article 164 of the Constitution provides every provision for a Chief Minister of a state. According to the
article, any person who has the support of majority of the elected members of the legislative assembly shall
be appointed as the CM by the governor of the state. In this case, if the person is not the member of the
legislative assembly, or if he has lost the general election, he can still be appointed as the CM provided he
has the support of majority of the members. However, he has to win an election within 6 months.
The Current Scenario
Mr Thackeray is to enter the state Legislature through Legislative Council. He is not a Member of the
Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly. However, he was sworn in as the CM of Maharashtra on November
28, 2019 as he earned the support of majority of elected members of the State Legislature. Now he has time
till May 27, 2020 to win any of the elections of state legislature.
Legislative Council
The Election Commission on the request made by the Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari is to conduct
Maharashtra Legislative Council Election.
Article 169
The Article 169 provides the features of a legislative council. One-third of the members of LC are elected
through local body election such as Gram Panchayat, district councils, municipalities, etc. One-third are
elected by members of State Legislature. One sixth are nominated by the Governor. One twelfth are elected
by persons that are engaged in teaching professions such as universities, colleges, high schools for at least
three years.
NGT Order of Vizag Gas Tragedy: What is Strict Liability Vs Absolute Liability?
The National Green Tribunal recently passed an order regarding the Vizag Gas Tragedy. Under the order, the
LG Polymers, where the gas leak occurred was held liable according to the Principle of “Strict Liability” of
19th century English law.
Strict Liability Principle
According to Strict Liability Principle, a company or a party is not liable and does not require to pay
compensation in case hazardous substance leaks out from its premises. The leakage is considered
accident. The strict liability evolved in 1868 and provides exemptions from assuming liability.

What is the issue?
In the Vizag Gas tragedy, the NGT has used the term “strict liability”. Legal experts claim that the term
“absolute liability” should have been used. The NGT has ruled to deposit an initial amount of Rs 50 crore. It
has also formed a fact-finding committee.
What is Absolute Liability?
In 1986, the Supreme Court while ruling Oluem Gas leak held that strict liability was inadequate to protect
the citizens. Hence, it replaced with absolute liability. According to absolute liability principle, the supreme
court held that a company operating a hazardous industry cannot claim any exemption. The company has to
mandatorily pay compensation. The fact that the tragedy was caused by its negligence or not does not
matter.
The principle of “Absolute Liability” is considered as part of Article 21 (Right to Life).

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