Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon (Polity & International Relations) – August 12, 2020

If the Rajya Sabha declares that it is necessary in the national interest that Parliament should make laws on a matter in the State List, then the Parliament becomes competent to make laws on that matter.

• Such a resolution must be supported by two-thirds of the members present and voting.
• The resolution remains in force for one year; it can be renewed any number of times but not exceeding one year at a time.
• The laws cease to have effect on the expiration of six months after the resolution has ceased to be in force.

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) was constituted vide Government of India Resolution dated 29th August, 1997 as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers as an independent Regulator for pricing of drugs and to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.

Functions of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority:

• To implement and enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order in accordance with the powers delegated to it.
• To deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the Authority.
• To monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps;
• To collect/maintain data on production, exports and imports, market share of individual companies, profitability of companies etc. for bulk drugs and formulations;
• To undertake and/or sponsor relevant studies in respect of pricing of drugs/pharmaceuticals;
• To recruit/appoint the officers and other staff members of the Authority, as per rules and procedures laid down by the Government;
• To render advice to the Central Government on changes/revisions in the drug policy;
• To render assistance to the Central Government in the parliamentary matters relating to the drug pricing.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens. At present, only Assam has such a register.

• The exercise may be extended to other states as well.
• Nagaland is already creating a similar database known as the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants.
• The Centre is planning to create a National Population Register (NPR), which will contain demographic and biometric details of citizens.
• The NRC will be updated as per the provisions of The Citizenship Act, 1955 and The Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

Rajasthan was the first state to establish Panchayati Raj. The scheme was inaugurated by the prime minister on October 2, 1959, in Nagaur district.

• Rajasthan was followed by Andhra Pradesh, which also adopted the system in 1959. Thereafter, most of the states adopted the system.
• Though most of the states created panchayati raj institutions by mid 1960s, there were differences from one state to another with regard to the number of tiers, relative position of samiti and parishad, their tenure, composition, functions, finances and so on.
• For example, Rajasthan adopted the three-tier system while Tamil Nadu adopted the two-tier system. West Bengal, on the other hand, adopted the four-tier system.
• Further, in the Rajasthan–Andhra Pradesh pattern, panchayat samiti was powerful as the block was the unit of planning and development, while in Maharashtra–Gujarat pattern, zila parishad was powerful as the district was the unit of planning and development.
• Some states also established nyaya panchayats, that is, judicial panchayats to try petty civil and criminal cases.

The Union Cabinet finalized the make-up of the new National Health Authority (NHA).

• It will now directly oversee the government-funded flagship health insurance scheme-the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)—which is a part of the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat umbrella policy for healthcare.
• It replaces the earlier National Health Agency. This new body will now oversee the PM-JAY instead of the Ministry of Health.
• The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare will chair the NHA’s governing board, while other members include the NITI Aayog’s CEO and the NHA CEO.
• The Ministry of Health will no longer be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day affairs of the NHA.
• Instead, the NHA will now decide on setting the bar for premium amounts, and purchasing healthcare from the private sector without favouring any one entity or depleting the public exchequer, among others
• The NHA will also oversee the process of developing a robust information technology platform for the public sector, and working alongside the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.
• The NHA board will meet once in three months. Although the health body hasn’t received any statutory backing yet, it will continue to enjoy autonomy in how it runs day-to-day operation working out of the department of health research’s office in the ministry.
• “No new funds have been approved. The existing budget that was approved earlier by the Cabinet for The National Health Agency, including costs related to IT, human resources, infrastructure and operational costs would be utilised by the proposed National Health Authority”.

The concept of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) originated and developed in the USA in the 1960s.

• In the USA, it was designed to provide legal representation to previously unrepresented groups and interests.
• It was undertaken in recognition of the fact that the ordinary marketplace for legal services fails to provide such services to significant segments of the population and to significant interests.
• Such groups and interests include the poor, environmentalists, consumers, racial and ethnic minorities, and others.

The rights and duties of the citizens are correlative and inseparable; the original constitution contained only the fundamental rights and not the fundamental duties.

• In other words, the framers of the Constitution did not feel it necessary to incorporate the fundamental duties of the citizens in the Constitution.
• However, they incorporated the duties of the State in the Constitution in the form of Directive Principles of State Polity.
• 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 added 10 Fundamental Duties to the Indian Constitution.
• Swaran Singh Committee in 1976 recommended Fundamental Duties, the necessity of which was felt during the internal emergency of 1975-77.
• 86th Amendment Act 2002 later added 11th Fundamental Duty to the list.

As per as Corporate Social Responsibility is concerned, the Companies Act, 2013 is a landmark legislation that made India the first country to mandate and quantify CSR expenditure.

• The inclusion of CSR is an attempt by the government to engage the businesses with the national development agenda.
• The details of on corporate social responsibility are mentioned in the Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• The Act came into force from April 1, 2014, every company, private limited or public limited, which either has a net worth of Rs 500 crore or a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore, needs to spend at least 2% of its average net profit for the immediately preceding three financial years on Corporate social responsibility activities.
• The CSR activities in India should not be undertaken in the normal course of business and must be with respect to any of the activities mentioned in Schedule VII of the act.

Knight Frank’s Prime Global Cities Index tracks the performance of luxury residential prices across key global cities on a quarterly basis using data compiled by our global research network.

• National capital New Delhi has emerged as the 10th fastest growing city globally for luxury residential real estate with a rise of 4.4 per cent in capital value over the past one year, says the latest report by Knight Frank.
• Bengaluru with a rise of 2.8 per cent in capital value year-on-year and Mumbai (up 0.8 per cent) are ranked 15th and 30th, respectively in the 46 cities tracked by Knight Frank globally.

Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides for free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society and ensures justice for all.

• Articles 14 and 22(1) of the Constitution also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law and a legal system which promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity to all.
• In the year 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Ac was enacted by the Parliament which came into force on 9th November, 1995 to establish a nationwide uniform network for providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society on the basis of equal opportunity.
• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) is a statutory body that has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to monitor and evaluate implementation of legal aid programmes and to lay down policies and principles for making legal services available under the Act.