UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice Booklet: Pragati Notebooks – Spiral and Detachable sheets Click Here to know more and order
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 February 2018.
Download Facts in News PDF file here.
| NEWS | FACTS |
|---|---|
| Bills, Policies,Programs, Schemes, Orders, Judgments | |
| ‘Likely misuse no ground to strike down Aadhaar’ | Context: • The mere possibility of misuse cannot be a ground for striking down the Aadhaar Act, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud observed. Introduction: • It was observed during a Constitution Bench hearing on the validity of the unique identity scheme recently. • Justice Chandrachud, a member of the five-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, told the Aadhaar petitioners. • To this, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said the “Right to Information Act of 2005 made the citizen more powerful, but the Aadhaar Act wants to make the state more powerful.” Right to Information Act 2005: • Right to Information (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of information Act, 2002. • Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen of India may request information from a "public authority" (a body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. • The Act also requires every public authority to computerise their records for wide dissemination and to proactively certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally. • This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force on 12 October 2005. • The first application was given to a Pune police station. • Information disclosure in India was restricted by the Official Secrets Act 1923 and various other special laws, which the new RTI Act relaxes. • It codifies a fundamental right of the citizens of India. |
| HC calls for response of Centre, State | Context: • Jacob Thomas plea to restore whistle-blower cover. Introduction: • The Kerala High Court recently directed the Centre and the State government to file an affidavit in response to a petition filed by Jacob Thomas. • Jacob Thomas is former Director of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB). • Petition seeks to restore protection against victimisation, humiliation, retaliation, and harassment under the Whistle Blowers Protection Act. Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2011: • 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. • This is also protecting anyone who exposes alleged wrongdoing in government bodies, projects and offices. • The wrongdoing might take the form of fraud, corruption or mismanagement. • The Act will also ensure punishment for false or frivolous complaints. • The Act was approved by the Cabinet of India as part of a drive to eliminate corruption in the country's bureaucracy and passed by the Lok Sabha in 2011. • The Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha in 2014 and received the President's assent on 9 May 2014. |
| Centre and State clash over cooking gas | Context: • The Centre and the State appear to be at loggerheads over Pradhan Mantri Ujwal Yojana and the Mukhyamantri Anila Bhagya Yojane. Introduction: • The Union Ministry said since the current format of the MMABY is not in line with established procedure, it has no concurrence from the Ministry. Pradhan Mantri Ujwal Yojana: • Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is a scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for providing LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. • It seeks to provide LPG without deposit for one cylinder to women selected from BPL families. Target beneficiaries: • Under the scheme, five crore LPG connections are to be provided to BPL households. • The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the Union Territories. • Release of LPG connection under this Scheme shall be in the name of the women belonging to the BPL family. • The Scheme would be implemented over three years, namely, the FY 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 across the country. Mukhyamantri Anila Bhagya Yojane: • The Mukhyamantri Anil Bhagya Scheme meant to provide free domestic gas connection to below poverty line families. • It is being implemented in the State of Karnataka in collaboration with Government of India. • The State Government of Karnataka has earlier approached the Ministry for approval of MMABY. |
| SC quashes 88 mining leases renewed in Goa | Context: • The Supreme Court recently quashed all 88 mining leases renewed by the BJP government in Goa in 2015 to “benefit private mining leaseholders.” Introduction: • The judgment of the apex court noted how these leases were hastily renewed by the State in 2014 with retrospective effect from 2007, just before an amended Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act. Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act: • The Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act (1957) is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to regulate the mining sector in India. • It was amended in 2015 and 2016. • This act is applicable to all mineral except coal, minor minerals and atomic minerals. • It details the process and conditions for acquiring a mining or prospecting licence in India. • Mining minor minerals comes under the purview of state governments. • River sand is considered a minor mineral. • For mining and prospecting in forest land, prior permission is needed from the Ministry of Environment and Forests. |
| Ujjwala Yojana to benefit eight crore women now | Context: • The Union Cabinet recently approved the increase in the target for the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, meant to provide cooking-gas connections to rural women, to eight crore from the earlier five crore. Introduction: • The deadline for achieving the target is 2020. MSP for copra increased: • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for increase in the minimum support price for fair average quality (FAQ) of ‘milling copra’ to Rs. 7,500 a quintal for 2018 season from Rs. 6,500 per quintal in 2017. • The Union Cabinet has approved the incorporation of the official amendments to the Major Port Authorities Bill 2016, which is pending in Parliament. Discovered Small Field Policy: • The Cabinet has given its approval for extending the Discovered Small Field Policy. • It was notified on October 14, 2015 to identified 60 discovered small fields/un-monetised discoveries for offer under the Discovered Small Field Policy Bid Round-ll. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: • Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is a scheme for providing LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. • PMUY was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2016 with the tagline of Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan. • The scheme’s motive is to provide free of cost LPG (cooking gas) connections to women from BPL Households. • Through it, cash assistance is given to beneficiaries to get a deposit-free new connection. • The scheme aims to empower women and protect their health by shifting them from traditional cooking based on unclean cooking fuels or on fossil fuels to clean cooking gas. • It is first social welfare scheme implemented by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. |
| Court must be cautious: SC | Context: • Judiciary must be “very cautious and circumspect” in diluting or setting aside an economic policy of the government, the Supreme Court observed recently. Introduction: • A Bench said courts must intervene against an economic policy of the government only if it was constitutionally unavoidable. Court observations: • The court made the observations after quashing the Goa government’s policy to grant a second renewal of 88 mining leases with retrospective effect. Violation of Article 39(b) and Article 14 of the Constitution: • Any economic policy in violation of Article 39(b), which mandates the distribution of “material resources of the community” to subserve common good, and Article 14, the fundamental right to equality, will be liable to challenge and judicial review, the court held. Article 39(b) of the Constitution: • It deals with ownership and control of material resources of the community. Article 14 of the Constitution provides: • Equality equality before the law & equal protection within the territory of India. • Prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth, or any of them. |
| SC asks for roadmap on preservation of Taj | Context: • The Supreme Court on recently directed the Uttar Pradesh government to place before it a vision document on protection and preservation of the Taj Mahal. Introduction: • The apex court has also asked the state government about “sudden flurry of activities”in the Taj Trapezium Zone(TTZ). • Leather industries and hotels are coming up in the TTZ. • The Bench also asked the State government to file within four week a vision document on protection and preservation of mausoleum. Taj Trapezium Zone(TTZ): • The TTZ is an area of about 10,400 sq km spread over the districts of Agra, Firozabad, Mathura, Hathras and Etah in UP and Bharatpur in Rajasthan. |
| Should States have their own flags? | Context: • The committee constituted in Karnataka to design a flag for the State is said to have finalised a design. Introduction: • The proposal has given room for questioning the legal sanctity of such an exercise by the State government. • Under the Constitution, a flag is not enumerated in the Seventh Schedule. • Article 51A ordains that every citizen shall abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the nation flag, and the national anthem. • There is no prohibition under the Constitution to hoist any flag other than the national flag. Legislations framed: • Parliament has framed legislation regulating the hoisting of the national flag. 1. Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950. The statutory prohibiton is only against “use for any trade, business, calling, or profession, or in the title of any patient, or in any trademark of design, any name or emblem specified in the Schedule”. 2. Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971. Under this act, there is no prohibition against any State hoisting its own flag. No prohibitions in law • The Flag Code of India, 2002 does not impose prohibitions on a State flag. • The code authorizes the flying of other flags under the condition that they should not be hoisted from the same masthead as the national flag or placed higher than it. • The code provides spacer for State flag as long as it does not offend the dignity and honour of the national flag. • The Code explicitly authorizes the flying of flags of other countries and also the flag of the United Nations. |
| SC stays new Tribunal Rules | Context: • The Supreme Court recently stayed the applicability of provisions of the Central Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal and other Authorities (Qualification, experience and other conditions of service of members) Rules, 2017. Introduction: • It gave the government primacy in making key appointments to tribunals, including the National Green Tribunal. Bench directions: • The Bench directed that the terms and conditions of service of members of the National Green Tribunal shall be governed by the provisions of the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010. • The Bench also accepted the suggestions made by the Central Administrative Tribunal(CAT) Bar Association, represented by senior advocate C.A.Sundaram. • The court accepted the formation of an interim search-cum-selection committee in respect for appointment of both judicial and administrative members to CAT. National Green Tribunal: • The National Green Tribunal was established under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010. • It was established for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources. • It is a specialized body equipped with the necessary expertise to handle environmental disputes involving multi-disciplinary issues. |
Showing 1 to 10 of 46 entries
Discover more from Free UPSC IAS Preparation Syllabus and Materials For Aspirants
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
