Category: BILLS & POLICIES

Context: Housing loan interest rates dipping in the past few months Introduction: Lower interest rates and stagnant property prices, in combination with the interest subsidy under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), have markedly improved the economics for home buyers, according to bankers With interest rates falling about 200 basis points in the last 15… Continue reading A look at the subsidy offered by the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

Context: The U.S. Food and Drug has announced a comprehensive proposal to reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes to non-addictive levels which created havoc among tobacco companies. Introduction: The proposal is aimed at striking at the root of the problem of smokers getting addicted, and being unable to quit the habit. Nicotine does not… Continue reading The painless way to stop smoking

Context: The proposed amendments to the Whistle Blowers Act contradict the very purpose of the Act. Whistle Blowers Protection Act: Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011 is an Act in the Parliament of India which provides a mechanism to investigate alleged corruption and misuse of power by public servants and also protect anyone who exposes alleged… Continue reading Looming threat in blowing the whistle

Context The lifting of the freeze imposed on increasing the number of parliamentary seats by the Constitution (forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, due in 2016 will require building of a new Parliament due to increase in number of seats in both houses. The new debate The debate revolves around the issues with constitutional dimensions of far-reaching… Continue reading Implications of the freeze on parliamentary seats

Context: Freedom of expression has become the need of the hour in the context of Indian cinema. CBFC: Key points: The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), often referred to as the Censor Board, is a statutory censorship and classification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. The Board consist of… Continue reading Central Board of Film Certification

Context: Without strong data protection laws, privacy as a right will be of little value Introduction: As India awaits the judgment of a nine-member Bench headed by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar on whether privacy is a fundamental right, the moment is ideal for the country to define and reconstruct some of the elementary… Continue reading Data protection and privacy core tenets

Context The Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill was again not taken up by the Rajya Sabha on Monday when it passed two Bills on jurisdiction and settlement of maritime claims and the Footwear Design and Development Institute. The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims), Bill, 2017, passed by the Lok Sabha in March, seeks to… Continue reading The Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Bill, 2017 gets stuck again

Definition There is a dire need to look at corruption through the lens of law, economics and psychology. The design of corruption control mechanisms is important. Introduction The Prevention of Corruption Act came into force in September 1988. It consolidated the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, some sections of the Indian Penal… Continue reading The need to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

  Context The Supreme Court of India dismissed the plea to end the practice of burning the effigy of Ravana, a demon king in the epic Ramayana, on eve of the Dussehra festival. Reason behind the plea Anand Prakash Sharma, the petitioner had, moved a plea to stop the burning of Ravana’s effigy as such… Continue reading Court unwilling to interfere with Religion