Mains Guidance Program (MGP) for UPSC CSE 2026, Cohort-1 starts 11th February 2025. Registrations Open Click Here to know more and registration.
Facts in news is published on a weekly basis that consists a gist of all crucial news articles from ‘The Hindu’ that may bear relevance to Civil Services Preparation.
Here is the Summary of all current happenings from around the world for the Third week of December.
Download Facts in News PDF file here.
NEWS | FACT |
---|---|
Bills, Programs, Policies, Schemes, Orders, Judgments | |
Should adultery be a crime? | Context: • Indian criminal law explicitly criminalizes acts that deceive a person. Why in news? • The criminalisation of an act that breaches the sanctity of a pure social institution such as marriage, by way of deceit and lies, is facing challenges. • A constitutional bench held that Section 497 did not violate the right to equality as enshrined in Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. What is Adultery? • Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. • In India the offence of adultery is punishable under Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. • The Report of the Malimath Committee on Criminal Justice Reforms and the 42nd Report of the Law Commission of India recommended redefining Section 497 to make women also punishable for adultery. Section 497 of the IPC: • Section 497 penalizes sexual intercourse of a man with a married woman without the consent of her husband when such sexual intercourse does not amount to rape. • It does not penalize the married woman when her husband consents to it. • Husband cannot prosecute his unfaithful wife but can only prosecute her adulterer. • The Constitutionality of Section 497 was challenged before the Supreme Court under Article 14 on the grounds that it makes an arbitrary discrimination based on sex in the cases of Yusuf Aziz , Sowmithri Vishnu and V. Revathi. Article 14 of the Constitution: • Article 14 of the Constitution of India provides for equality before the law & equal protection within the territory of India. • It prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, or any of them. About Article 15 of the Constitution: • Article 15 of the Constitution provides “The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.” • No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them , be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to: 1- Access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or 2- The use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public. 3- Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children. 4- Admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of article 30. |
Amendment Bill on IBC tabled in LS | Context: • The Bill seeks to repeal and replace an Ordinance promulgated last month to bar willful defaulters from indirectly regarding control of their company. • The government has introduced the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017 in Lok Sabha. • The Bill was introduced to prohibit willful defaulters and those associated with non-performing assets (NAPs). • The Bill seeks to repeal and replace the IBC (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 as well as proposes to make certain modifications to the Ordinance. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code(Amendment)Bill 2017: • The Lok Sabha has passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill 2017 for tightening loopholes in existing code. • The Bill amends the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, and replaces an ordinance promulgated in November 2017. Key Features of Bill Resolution applicant: • The Bill redefines resolution applicant mentioned in code as a person who submits a resolution plan after receiving an invite by the insolvency professional to do so. • It prohibits certain persons from submitting resolution plan in case of defaults. These include: 1- Wilful defaulters 2- Promoters or management of the company if it has outstanding non-performing debt for over years and 3- Disqualified directors, among others. • The bill bars the sale of property of a defaulter to such persons who is ineligible to be a resolution applicant during liquidation. • The Bill inserts provision to specify that person contravening any provisions of IBC, for which no penalty has been specified, will be punishable with fine ranging between Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 crore |
We are against illegal Bangladeshis, says AGP | Context: • Ruling coalition member Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) said it will oppose any move to grant citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis. • By giving citizenship to Hindu Bangladeshis, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, not only violates the Assam Accord, but also brings in a threat to the peaceful secular fabric of the State. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016: • The Bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship. • The Bill provides that the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders may be cancelled if they violate any law. |
Bill to criminalise triple talaq passed in Lok Sabha | Context: • The Lok Sabha passed the Bill that makes instant triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat a criminal offence, with a jail term of up to three years. • The proposed law would be applicable to the entire country, except in Jammu and Kashmir. • It would make instant talaq punishable and would be cognizable, non-bailable offence. • The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 will act as a deterrent. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017: • The Bill makes all declaration of talaq, including in written or electronic form, to be void and illegal. • It defines talaq as talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq pronounced by a Muslim man resulting in instant and irrevocable divorce. Talaq-e-biddat: • Talaq-e-biddat refers to the practice under Muslim personal laws where pronouncement of the word ‘talaq’ thrice in one sitting by a Muslim man to his wife results in an instant and irrevocable divorce. |
Taking on the gatekeepers | Context: • The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) announced that a six-member panel was being constituted to review the film Padmavati. • Members of the panel include historians as well as representatives of the royal family of Mewar. • The task of the Censor Board is to ensure that a film complies with the laws of the land. Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC): • The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory censorship and classification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. • It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952". • Films can be publicly exhibited in India only after they are certified by the Board, including films shown on television. |
Lok Sabha amends bankruptcy law | Context: • The Lok Sabha amended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code law . • It was amended to prevent willful defaulters and existing promoters from taking part in insolvency proceedings of stressed assets of companies unless they make their bad loans operational by paying up interest. • The Bill will replace an ordinance to prevent unscrupulous promoters from misusing the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC): • The code will be able to protect the interest of small investors and make the process of doing business a cumbersome-less process. |
How India rejects bad patents | Context: • In 2005, India made some remarkable amendments to the Indian Patents Act of 1970, to keep medicines affordable in the country. • There are strong standards for patents which India introduced to promote genuine innovation across all field to technology, in compliance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) norms. • India rejects bad patents in far greater number than developed countries. World Trade Organization : • The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates international trade. • The WTO commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT), which commenced in 1948. • It is the largest international economic organization in the world. • The WTO deals with regulation of trade in goods, services and intellectual property between participating countries. Indian Patents Act: • Section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act, a provision introduced to restrict the patenting of new forms of known pharmaceutical substances. • The Indian Patent Office is administered by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks. • This is a subordinate office of the Government of India and administers the Indian law of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. |
An amendment to allow NRIs to vote by proxy | Context: • The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill of 2017, introduced proposes to allow non-resident Indians (NRIs) to emerge as a decisive force in the country’s electoral politics on their own terms. • The amendment paves the way to remove an “unreasonable restriction” posed by Section 20A of the Representation of the People Act. • Section 20A of the Act provides for registration and inclusion of overseas electors in the electoral rolls. The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017: • The Bill seeks to amend the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Representation of People Act, 1951 to allow for proxy voting and to make certain provisions of the Acts gender-neutral. • The 1950 Act provides for allocation of seats. • It provides for delimitation of constituencies for elections, qualifications of voters, and preparation of electoral rolls. • The 1951 Act provides for the conduct of elections and offences and disputes related to elections. |
International issues |
Showing 1 to 10 of 37 entries
Discover more from Free UPSC IAS Preparation Syllabus and Materials For Aspirants
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.