12 Minutes to CLAT Current Affairs Compendium – July 2022

CURRENT AFFAIRS COMPENDIUM – JULY 2022

Prepared by: Keshav Malpani and Deeptam Bhadauria
(NLU, Jodhpur)
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E-mail: 12minutestoclat@gmail.com

JULY CURRENT AFFAIRS

I. 15th President of India
II. Environmental Performance Index
III. National Emblem Controversy
IV. Green open Access Rules 2022
V. India Innovation Index 2022
VI. Mohd Zubair Case- Bail Reforms in India
VII. I2U2
VIII. IT Act Section 69A and Twitter
IX. Boris Johnson Resignation
X. Shinzo Abe’s murder
XI. Tunisia Crisis
XII. RBI crypto ban

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I. 15th PRESIDENT OF INDIA

In a line- Recently, former Jharkhand Governor and National Democratic Alliance

(NDA) candidate Droupadi Murmu was elected as the 15th President of India.

Important Points:

• Droupadi Murmu is from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district. She is also the first
tribal and only the second woman to be elected to the position, and the
youngest as well (Age-64).
• She hails from the Santhal tribe and holds the record of being the only
Governor of Jharkhand till date to complete a full tenure.
• She took oath on July 25, 2022.
• Droupadi Murmu won the election, defeating Yashwant Sinha, the
candidate of the opposition, by a margin of 296,626 votes.

Other Key Points: How the Presidential Election takes place?

• Under the Constitution of India, there shall always be a President of India

(Article 52 of the Constitution).
• The President is elected by an electoral college consisting of MPs of both
Houses of Parliament and MLAs of the states of Delhi and Puducherry.
• Nominated members of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and the Assemblies, and
members of state Legislative Councils, are not part of the Electoral
College.
• As of 2022, the Electoral College comprises 776 MPs and 4,033 MLAs
(excluding the 90 MLAs of currently dissolved and recently delimited
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly).
• Under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, the authority to conduct
elections to the Office of President is vested in the Election Commission
of India.

Keyword- Droupadi Murmu, Yashwant Sinha, 15 th, Article 52, Article 61,
Nominal Head.

Article- https://www.gktoday.in/topics/15th-president-of-india/

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II. ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE INDEX

In a line- In the recently released Environment Performance Index-2022, India was
at the bottom among 180.

Important Points: About the Index

• The Environment Performance Index (EPI) is an international ranking

system that measures environmental health and sustainability of
countries.
• The EPI, a biennial index, was started in 2002 as Environmental
Sustainability Index by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with
the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Columbia
University Center for International Earth Science Information Network.
• Framework:
• The 2022 EPI leverages 40 performance indicators grouped into 11 issue
categories.
• These issue categories are in turn aggregated into 3 policy objectives:
o Environmental Health
o Ecosystem Vitality
o Climate Change.
• These indicators provide a gauge at a national scale of how close countries
are establishing environmental policy targets.
• The EPI team transforms the raw environmental data into indicators that
place countries on a 0–100 scale from worst to best performance.

Other Key Points:

• Denmark tops the 2022 rankings — an achievement rooted in strong

performance across nearly all issues tracked by the EPI, with notable leadership
in efforts to promote a clean energy future and sustainable agriculture.
• The United Kingdom and Finland place 2nd and 3rd, both earning high scores
for slashing greenhouse gas emissions in recent years.
• The United States places 20th out of 22 wealthy democracies in the Global West
and 43rd overall.

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• With a paltry score of 18.9, India’s 180th ranking comes after Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Keyword- Denmark, 18.9, 180, Sustainable Development, Good Governance.

Article- https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-
analysis/environment-performance-index

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III. NATIONAL EMBLEM CONTROVERY

In a line- The Prime Minister of India unveiled the 6.5 metre-tall and 9500 kgs
National Emblem on top of the under-construction new Parliament building recently,
which sparked a lot of controversy.

Important Points:

• National Emblem of India is a representative seal of the Republic of India

that is adapted from the Lion Capital of Ashoka Pillar (based in Sarnath,
Uttar Pradesh.) India adopted it as the State Emblem on 26th January
1950.
• The motto of the Indian National Emblem is ‘Satyamev Jayate’ or ‘Truth
Alone Triumphs.’
• National Emblem is the symbol of authority and is present in all the official
communications of the government. Some factions of media and society
believes that the new version is very aggressive and tempers with
historical heritage of country.
• The lions on the new emblem is found to look ‘angry’, with their fangs
visible, as opposed to the grace and glory of the original.
• The original structure was 1.6 metre tall whereas the new depiction is 6.5
metre high.
• Also, the original Lion Capital was at the ground level while the latest
depiction is at a height of 33 metres from ground level.
• It was designed by Sunil Deore and Romiel Moses.

Other Key Points:

• It was built in 250 BC to commemorate the first sermon of Gautama

Buddha, where he is said to have shared the Four Noble Truths of life.
• This pillar was part of Asoka’s plan to spread Buddha’s teachings. After
the large-scale massacre in the Battle of Kalinga, Asoka was shaken and
embraced Buddhism with its emphasis on ahimsa.
• The seven feet tall sculpture made of polished sandstone represented
courage, power and pride.

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Keyword- 250 BC, 7 Ft Tall, Ashoka, Mundak Upanishad, Buddha, Too

Aggressive.

Article- https://www.legacyias.com/outrage-over-the-new-national-emblem/

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IV. GREEN OPEN ACCESS RULES- 2022

In a line- Recently, Ministry of Power has notified Green Open Access Rules, 2022 in
order to further accelerate our ambitious renewable energy programmes in India.

Important Points:

• These rules are notified for promoting generation, purchase and

consumption of green energy including the energy from Waste -to-Energy
plants.
• The notified Rules enable simplified procedure for the open access to
green power. It will enable faster approval of Green OA, Uniform Banking,
Voluntary purchase of RE power by commercial & industrial consumers,
Applicability of OA charges etc.
• Commercial and Industrial consumers are allowed to purchase green
power on voluntarily basis.
• Captive Consumers can take power under Green Open Access with no
minimum limitation.

Other Key Points:

• The Green Open access is allowed to any consumer and the limit of Open
Access Transaction has been reduced from 1 MW to 100 kW for green
energy, to enable small consumers also to purchase renewable power
through open access.
• Provide certainty on open access charges to be levied on Green Energy
Open Access Consumers which includes transmission charges, wheeling
charges, cross-subsidy surcharge and standby charges.
• Cap on increasing of cross-subsidy surcharge as well as the removal of
additional surcharge, not only incentivise the consumers to go green but
also address the issues that have hindered the growth of open access in
India.
• Transparency in the approval process of the open access application.
Approval to be granted in 15 days or else it will be deemed to have been

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approved subject to fulfilment of technical requirements. It will be

through a national portal.
• Tariff for the green energy will be determined by appropriate commission.
It will consist of average pooled power purchase cost of renewable
energy, service charges covering prudent cost of distribution licensee and
cross-subsidy charges, in order to provide the green energy to the
consumers

Keyword- Tariff, Renewable Energy, Transparency, DISCOMS.

Article- https://www.adda247.com/upsc-exam/green-open-access-rules-2022/

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V. INDIA INNOVATION INDEX- 2022

In a line- Karnataka has bagged the top rank in NITI Aayog’s India Innovation Index,
2022.

Important Points:

• Prepared by NITI Aayog and the Institute for Competitiveness, the India
Innovation Index is a comprehensive tool for the evaluation and development
of the country's innovation ecosystem.
• It ranks the states and the union territories on their innovation performance to
build healthy competition amongst them.
• Manipur secured the lead in the Northeast and Hill States category, while
Chandigarh was the top performer in the Union Territories and City States
category.
• Karnataka has held first position, under the Major States category, in all
three editions of the Index so far.
• Karnataka was followed by Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil
Nadu. Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar and Gujarat were at the bottom of the
index.

Other Key Points:

• India’s average innovation score is insufficient, given the country’s

ambitious targets to be named among the top 25 nations in the Global
Innovation Index, the report has recommended some measures such as:
increasing Gross Domestic Expenditure on R&D (GDERD),
• Promoting private sector participation in R&D and closing the gap between
industry demand and what the country produces through its education
systems.
• Countries that spend less on GDERD fail to retain their human capital in
the long run and the ability to innovate is dependent on the qu ality of
human capital; India’s GDERD as a percentage of GDP stood at about
0.7%.

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• Therefore, GDERD needs considerable improvement and should touch at

least 2%, which would play an instrumental role in India achieving the
goal of 5 trillion economy. The private sector needs to pick up pace in
R&D.
• Public expenditure is productive up to some extent; once the growth
follows a trajectory, it is desirable to shift to R&D mostly drive by the
private sector. Therefore, it is important for India to find that inflex ion
point after which private sector takes over the government sector.
Keyword- GDERD, Manipur, Karnataka, NITI Ayog, R&D.
Article-
https://epaper.thehindu.com/Home/ShareArticle?OrgId=G9HA2FC55.1&imagevi
ew=0

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VI. MOHD. ZUBAIR CASE- BAIL REFORMS IN INDIA

In a line- The Delhi Police arrested Mohammed Zubair, the co-founder of fact-
checking website Alt News, on charges of allegedly hurting religious sentiments
referring to a tweet from 2018.

Important Points:

• Mohammad Zubair is the co-founder of fact-checking website AltNews that

was established in 2017 to combat fake news.
• It was after Zubair highlighted comments made by suspended BJP
spokesperson Nupur Sharma on the Prophet that the central government
had found itself in a diplomatic row.
• Earlier this month, an FIR was lodged in Uttar Pradesh against Zubair for
allegedly hurting religious sentiments on Twitter.
• In 2020, Delhi Police had booked Zubair in a POCSO case referring to a
tweet shared by Zubair on the basis of a complaint filed by National
Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
• At present, it was alleged that Zubair had tweeted a questionable image
with a purpose to deliberately insult the god of a particular religion for
which he was arrested.

Other Key Points:

• According to media reports, Zubair has been charged under the Indian
Penal Code
o Section 153 (Wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot—
if rioting be committed—if not committed)
o Section 295A (Outraging religious feelings of any class)
• Zubair was granted the interim bail by Supreme Court but there has been
serious questions about the bail laws in India.
• A two-judge Bench issued certain clarifications to an older judgment
delivered in July 2021 on bail reform (Satender Kumar Antil v CBI).
• The ruling is essentially a reiteration of several crucial principles of
criminal procedure.

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• Referring to the state of jails in the country, where over two-thirds lodged
are under trials, the Supreme Court underlined that arrest is a draconian
measure that needs to be used sparingly.
• Theoretically, the court also linked the idea of indiscriminate arrests to
magistrates ignoring the rule of “bail, not jail” to a colonial mindset.
• The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) was first drafted in 1882 and
continues to be in use with amendments from time to time.
• Section 436 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, lays down that a
person accused of a bailable offence under I.P.C. can be granted bail.
• On the other hand, Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
lays down that the accused does not have the right to bail in non-bailable
offences.

Keyword- Section 153, Section 295 A, Bail, Cognizable Offence, Hate Speech v
Freedom of Expression.

Article- https://indianexpress.com/article/india/who-is-mohammed-zubair-alt-
news-co-founder-7994681/

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VII. I2U2

In a line- As part of I2U2 initiatives, India, Israel, UAE, and the US will hold its first
virtual summit in July 2022.

Important Points:

• I2U2 was initially formed in October, 2021 following the Abraham Accords
between Israel and the UAE, to deal with issues concerning maritime
security, infrastructure and transport in the region.
• At that time, it was called the ‘International Forum for Economic
Cooperation’.
• That was referred as the ‘West Asian Quad’.
• I2U2 initiative is a new grouping of India, Israel, USA and UAE. In the
grouping’s name, ‘I2’ stands for India and Israel, whereas ‘U2’ stands for
USA and the UAE.
• This is a great achievement which tells the geopolitical changes that
happen in the region.
• This will not only revitalize and re-energize the system of alliances and
partnerships around the world, but also stitch together partnerships that
did not exist previously or were not utilized to their full extent.

Other Key Points:

• This will help the countries in exploring security cooperation among the
four nations within the framework of these new groupings.
• This initiative offers an opportunity to discuss food security.
• India will get advantage of the Abraham Accords to deepen engagement
with Israel without risking its ties with the UAE and the other Arab s tates.
• It will help India in building alliances — political alliances, social alliances.

Keyword- Western QUAD, India, Israel, USA, UAE, Abraham Accords.

Article- https://www.nextias.com/current-affairs/15-07-2022/i2u2-summit

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VIII. IT SECTION 69 A AND TWITTER

In a line- Recently, Twitter initiated legal action against some of the government
missives ordering it to take down certain content.

Important Points:

• Section 69 (A) of the IT Act, 2000 allows the Centre to issue blocking
orders to social media intermediaries.
• Blocking order can be issued only for:
o Interest of sovereignty and integrity of India
o Defence of India
o Security of the state
o Friendly relations with foreign states
o Public order
• For preventing incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence
relating to the above.
• Any request made by the government is sent to a review committee, which
then issues these directions. Blocking orders issued under Section 69 (A)
of the IT Act are typically confidential in nature.
• Twitter has claimed that many of the blocking orders are procedurally and
substantively deficient under Section 69 (A) of the Act: Not giving prior
notice to users before taking down content posted by them.
• It has failed to demonstrate how some of the content it wants taken down
falls under the purview of Section 69 (A).
• Some of the content flagged by the ministry may pertain to official
accounts of political parties, blocking which could be violative of the ri ght
to free speech.

Other Key Points: Information Technology Act, 2000

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 provides legal recognition to the

group action done via electronic exchange of information and alternative
electronic suggests that of communication or electronic commerce
transactions.

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• This also involves the utilization of alternatives to a paper -based

technique of communication and knowledge storage to facilitate the
electronic filing of documents with government agencies.
• Further, this act amended the Indian legal code 1860, the Indian proof
Act 1872, the Bankers’ Books proof Act 1891, and also the bank of India
Act 1934.
• But this act has several issues such as lack of Transparency,
Keyword- IT Act 2000, Section 69 A, Public Order, Intermediaries, Twitter.

Article- https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/07/07/it-act-sec-69a-when-
social-media-content-is-blocked/

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IX. BORIS JOHNSON’S RESIGNATION

In a line- Boris Johnson resigns as United Kingdom Prime Minister

Important Points:

• United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has announced his resignation
as Conservative Party leader after he was abandoned by his close allies in the
wake of a series of scandals that jeopardized his government.
• This resignation will trigger a leadership election for a new Tory leader who will
go on to become his successor.
• Boris Johnson will remain in charge at 10, Downing Street until the process of
electing a new leader is completed – expected by the time of the Conservative
Party conference scheduled for October.
• Johnson’s resignation comes after he weathered numerous scandals during a
tumultuous three years in power in which he brazenly bent and sometimes
broke the rules of British politics.
• He survived a no-confidence vote last month. But recent revelations that
Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against a lawmaker before
he promoted the man to a senior position in his government led to Johnson’s
resignation.

Other Key Points:

• He survived a no-confidence vote last month. But recent revelations that

Johnson knew about sexual misconduct allegations against a lawmaker before
he promoted the man to a senior position in his government led to Johnson’s
resignation
• The list of likely contenders who can potentially replace him is long, from
recently resigned Treasury chief Rishi Sunak, his successor in that job
Nadhim Zahawi, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Attorney General Suella
Braverman and Defense Secretary Ben Wallace.
• Last Year he was also involved in Party Gate Scandal where he was booke d
for partying while the Covid-19 lockdown was in full swing which
substantially damaged his reputation.

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Keyword- Boris Johnson, Downing Street, West Minister Model, Rishi Sunak,
Party gate Scandal.

Article- https://currentaffairs.adda247.com/uk-pm-resigns-boris-johnson/

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X. SHINZO ABE’S ASSASINATION

In a line- Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in the city of
Nara while delivering a campaign speech on July 8, 2022.

Important Points:

• He was assassination in Nara city, in western Japan. An ex-military man shot

him twice with a homemade gun. The 67-year-old leader got wounds on right
side of the neck and left clavicle.
• Shinzo Abe was a Japanese politician. He served as Japanese prime minister
and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) during 2006-2007, followed
by second tenure during 2012-2020.
• He was the longest-serving Japanese prime minister in history. He also served
as Chief Cabinet Secretary during 2005-2006 when Junichiro Koizumi was Prime
Minister. In 2012, he was leader of the opposition.
• Shinzo Abe resigned as prime minister, for the second time, in August 2020
due to resurgence of ulcerative colitis
• Abe’s untimely passing on Friday, after being shot by an attacker during a
campaign event for a parliamentary election, brought down the curtain on the
career of a leader who redefined Japanese politics and diplomacy.

Other Key Points:

• In 2021, the Union government awarded Mr. Abe the Padma Vibhushan,
the country’s second highest civilian honour.
• In his 2013 speech, he outlined three foreign policy priorities:
o He wanted Japan to step up to become “a guardian of the global
commons.
o Revision of the country’s post war Constitution
o Peace treaty with Russia
• He became the youngest post-war prime minister of Japan. He was the
first prime minister after World War II

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Keyword- Abe, Nara, Padma Vibhushan, Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force

(JMSDF).

Article- https://www.gktoday.in/topic/shinzo-abe-former-japan-pm-
assassinated/

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XI. TUNISIA CRISIS

In a line- After ten years of democracy and multiple leaders struggling to keep up
with it, Tunisia faces its biggest turmoil as President Kais Saied suspended Prime
Minister Hichem Mechichi and Parliament over a week ago.

Important Points:

• The President stated that the move was taken amidst the economic trouble the
country has been facing for years and the government’s mishandling of the
coronavirus pandemic.
• Tunisia, which was supposed to be a hope of democracy in the Arab world, has
seen leader after leader come with little to no relief to the citizens of the
country.
• Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa (map attached below). It is a part
of the Maghreb region of North Africa, and is bordered by Algeria, Libya and
the Mediterranean Sea.
• It contains the eastern end of the Atlas Mountains and the northern reaches of
the Sahara desert.
• Tunisia is home to Africa’s northernmost point, Cape Angela. Its capital and
largest city is Tunis.

Other Key Points: History of Unrest

• In January 2011, Tunisia erupted into protests against the authoritarian

government of Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali after a fruit seller, who was harassed by
the police, killed himself.
• The demonstrations were so widespread that Tunisian authorities were
overwhelmed. This led to Ali fleeing to Saudi Arabia.
• The unrest spread across the middle east — protests in Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen,
Iran and Algeria; civil wars in Libya and Syria and all Middle Eastern countries
facing protests. This unrest was termed as “Arab Spring”.
• Tunisia was a country where democracy came out as a solution to the protests.
In October 2011, Tunisia held its first democratic elections

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Keyword- Government Suspended, Tunisia, North Africa.

Article- https://crackittoday.com/current-affairs/turmoil-in-tunisia

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XII. RBI CRYPTO BAN

In a line- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended a ban on

cryptocurrencies citing ‘destabilising effects’ for the country’s monetary and fiscal
health.

Important Points:

• China has declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal, effectively imposing

a complete ban, whereas El Salvador has permitted Bitcoin as legal tender.
• At the moment, there is no legislature that covers cryptocurrencies in India. In
India, owning cryptocurrencies is still not illegal. In 2020, the Supreme Court
had struck down a ban on trading of crypto currency in India, which was
imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Central bank has been cautioning people against the use of virtual currencies
since as far back as 2013.
• In April 2018, the RBI had prohibited regulated entities from dealing in virtual
currencies or providing services for facilitating any person or entity in dealing
with or settling them. The directive was set aside by the Supreme Court in
March 2020.
• Subsequently, in May 2021, the central bank advised its regulated entities to
continue to carry out customer due diligence processes for transactions in such
currencies, in line with regulations governing standards for Know Your
Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering, Combating of Financing of Terrorism,
obligations under Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, etc. and Foreign
Exchange Management Act (FEMA) Norms for overseas remittances.
• The Union Budget 2022-2023 also proposed to introduce a digital currency in
the coming financial year.

Other Key Points:

• Cryptocurrency, sometimes called crypto-currency or crypto, is any form

of currency that exists digitally or virtually and uses cryptography to
secure transactions.

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• Cryptocurrencies don't have a central issuing or regulating authority,

instead use a decentralized system to record transactions and issue new
units.
• It is supported by a decentralized peer-to-peer network called the
blockchain.
• Cryptocurrencies are way cheaper to use to execute international
transactions because the transactions don't have to be handled by a series
of intermediaries before they reach their destinations.

Keyword- RBI, Crypto, Blockchain, El Salvador.

Article- https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/crypto/from-an-outright-
ban-to-crypto-taxation-a-look-at-rbis-stance-on-crypto-in-india-8002837/

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