WHY IN THE NEWS?

Pratham, a civil society organisation dedicated to improving the quality of education among underprivileged children in India and across the world, has been selected for the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2021.

• The 2021 Prize is awarded to Pratham for its pioneering work over more than 25 years 
  • in seeking to ensure that every child has access to quality education
  • for its innovative use of digital technology to deliver education
  • for its programmes to provide skills to young adults 
  • for its timely response in enabling children to learn during the COVID-19 related school closures

About Indira Gandhi Prize

• The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, is the prestigious award accorded annually by Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
• It is given to individuals or organisations in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order.
• The prize carries a cash award of 2.5 million INR and a citation. 
• The panel consists of prominent national and international personalities including previous recipients.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) scheme for provisioning of 4G-based mobile services in uncovered villages of aspirational districts across five states — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Odisha.

• NITI Aayog’s Aspirational Districts programme aims to quickly and effectively transform 112 most under-developed districts across the country.

About:

• It envisages providing 4G based mobile services in the 7,287 uncovered villages of 44 Aspirational Districts across five States. It would be funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).
• It will enhance digital connectivity useful for self-reliance, facilitate learning, dissemination of information and knowledge, skill up-gradation and development, disaster management, e-Governance initiatives, the establishment of enterprises & e-commerce facilities, etc.
• It seeks to fulfil the vision of Digital India promoting domestic manufacturing and fulfilling the objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat etc.

Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF):

About:

• USOF ensures that there is universal non-discriminatory access to quality ICT (Information and Communications Technology) services at economically efficient prices to people in rural and remote areas.
• It was created under the Ministry of Communications in 2002.
• It is a non-lapsable fund, i.e., the unspent amount under a targeted financial year does not lapse and is accrued for next years’ spending.
• All credits to this fund require parliamentary approval and it has statutory support under Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act, 2003.

Objectives:

• Economic: Network extension & stimulate uptake of the ICT services
• Social: Mainstreaming the underserved & un-served areas/groups by bridging the Access Gap.
• Political: to enable citizens to exercise their political rights in an informed way and
• Constitutional: Equitable distribution of the fruits of the telecom/digital revolution and fair allocation of national resources (pooled USO levy) via targeted subsidies.

Significance:

• The rural areas get the Village Public Telephones (VPTs), Rural Community Phones (RCPs), Rural Household Telephones (RDELs), and mobile infrastructure.
• With access to affordable telecom services in remote and rural areas, it can help stemming urban migration and ensure generating employment opportunities in the rural areas.
• The increased awareness of ICT services in the rural areas and growing participation of the rural people will help promote facilities related to health, education etc.
• It can ensure the growth of Rural Business Process Outsourcing (BPOs-Rural) and Rural Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPOs-Rural.)
• USOF is also perceived as the right tool to extend the benefits of the government schemes aimed at the social development of the rural population.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology launched the first of its kind, the world’s most sophisticated MRI facility at the National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar Haryana.

• NBRC is an autonomous institute funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

About new MRI facility

• With this facility, India embarks on new frontiers of human Neuroscience 
• This new facility can run intense scanning modalities very fast, which reduces the scanning time for patients 
• It can detect and quantify highly sensitive receptors and antioxidants from the brain which has a direct link with the onset of various brain disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and psychiatric disorders. 
• Also, heavy metal deposition in the brain due to pollution or many other factors can be quantified as necessary 

What is Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)?

• MRI is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. 
• MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves to generate images of the organs in the body.
• MRI is the most frequently used imaging test of the brain and spinal cord. 

WHY IN THE NEWS?

India will participate in U.S.A’s “Summit for Democracy” to be held on 9th and 10th December.

About:

• More than 100 democratic countries are invited to participate at the summit.
• The summit is expected to include “individual and collective commitments to defend democracy and human rights at the international level.

Key themes: “Defending against authoritarianism”, “Addressing and fighting corruption”, and “Advancing respect for human rights”.

• An attempt was earlier made by the U.S. and the U.K. to expand the G-7 meeting into a “D-10” or group of 10 democracies that would represent 60% of the global population, including Australia, India and South Korea, along with the G-7 group.
  • The Group of Seven (G7) is an inter-governmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, the Prime Minister handed over the indigenously-built Light Combat Helicopter (HAL’s LCH), two small drones (‘SWITCH 1.0 UAV’ and ‘MR-20) built by Indian start-ups to the Air Force.

• LCH is a truly ‘Make in India’ product built with private industry participation.

 About:

• LCH is a new addition to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL’s) helicopter division. This twin-engine helicopter is a dedicated combat helicopter of 5 to 8-tonne class.
• The LCH incorporates advanced technologies and stealth features for effective combat roles and is designed to carry out roles such as destruction of enemy air defence, counterinsurgency, search and rescue, anti-tank, Counter Surface Force Operations etc.
• The LCH is the only attack helicopter in the world that can land and take off at an altitude of 5,000 m with a considerable load of weapons and fuel.
• It is effective even in temperatures ranging from minus 50 degrees Celsius on snow peaks to 50 degrees Celsius in the desert.
• LCH will eventually be deployed along the Line of Actual Control with China, in addition to the AH-64E Apache helicopters in service.

SWITCH 1.0 UAV and MR-20:

• SWITCH 1.0 UAV:

• • • SWITCH 1.0 UAV, with its peerless capabilities of 1.5 hours flight time and 15 km range at more than 4500 m take-off altitude.
    • It has an endurance of approximately 90 minutes and will support the Indian Army’s most demanding surveillance operations under harsh environments and high altitudes for day and night surveillance across India’s borders.

• ‘MR-20’:

• • The MR-20 hexacopter drones have a capacity to ferry loads of up to 20kg.
  • It will be used to ferry food, essential items, emergency medical aid, ammunition and weapons to troops deployed at heights in forwarding areas.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, the Prime Minister of India announced that the three contentious farm laws that were passed in 2020 would be repealed in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.

About:

• Article 245 of the Constitution gives Parliament the power to make laws for the whole or any part of India, and state legislatures the power to make laws for the state.
  • Parliament draws its power to repeal a law from the same provision.
  • For repeal, the power of Parliament is the same as enacting a law under the Constitution.
  • A law can be repealed either in its entirety, in part, or even just to the extent that it is in contravention of other laws.
• Sunset Clause: Legislation can also have a “sunset” clause, a particular date after which they cease to exist.
  • For example, the anti-terror legislation Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act 1987, commonly known as TADA, had a sunset clause and was allowed to lapse in 1995.
• Repealing: For laws that do not have a sunset clause, Parliament has to pass another legislation to repeal the law.
  • Laws can be repealed in two ways – either through an ordinance or through legislation.
  • Ordinance: In case an ordinance is used, it would need to be replaced by a law passed by Parliament within six months.
    • If the ordinance lapses because it is not approved by Parliament, the repealed law can be revived.
  • Repealing through Legislations: The government will have to pass the legislation to repeal the farm laws in both Houses of Parliament and receive the President’s assent before it comes into effect.
    • All three farm laws can be repealed through single legislation.
    • Usually, Bills titled Repealing and Amendment are introduced for this purpose. It is passed through the same procedure as any other Bills.
    • The last time the Repealing and Amending provision was invoked was in 2019 when the Union government sought to repeal 58 obsolete laws and make minor amendments to the Income Tax Act, 1961 and The Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, the speaker of the Tamil Nadu assembly called for setting a binding timeframe within which Bills should be assented to or returned or reserved for the consideration of the President of India by the governors.

Issues Highlighted by the Speaker:

• Related to Governor:

• • • The governors sometimes sat over the Bills without giving assent or returning the Bills for an indefinite period, even though the Constitution required it to be done as soon as possible.
    • The governors were also taking months together to reserve the Bills for the assent of the President even though it was to be done immediately.
    • This erodes the authority of the legislatures and the governors, though heads of the state executive, are appointed by the Union government.

• Related to President:

• • The President of India should also give reasons for withholding the assent and returning the Bill.
  • This would help the House to enact another bill by correcting shortfalls that caused the bill to be rejected.

Related Examples:

• The Speaker’s comments assume significance in the backdrop of a Bill passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly in September 2021 seeking exemption for students from the state from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) required for undergraduate medical college admissions.
• The Tamil Nadu assembly passed a resolution in 2018 regarding the release of the seven prisoners convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
  • The resolution was sent to the then Governor but he did not take any action for more than two years.
  • In January 2021, the Supreme Court, while hearing a plea, expressed that they were unhappy with the delay.
  • In February, the Governor, without taking a call, passed the buck and said that the President was the competent authority to decide on the resolution.

• Veto Power of the President and the Governor

About:

• Veto Power of the President of India is guided by Article 111 of the Indian Constitution.
• Article 200 of the Indian Constitution deals with the powers of the Governor with regard to assent given to bills passed by the State legislature and other powers of the Governor such as reserving the bill for the President’s consideration.
• Article 201 pertains to ‘Bills Reserved for Consideration’.
• The Governor of India enjoys absolute veto, suspensive veto (except on money bills) but not the pocket veto.

Three Types of Veto Power: Absolute veto, Suspensive veto and Pocket veto.

• Exception: The President has no veto power when it comes to the constitutional amendment bills.
  • Constitutional amendment bills cannot be introduced in the state legislature.

• • Absolute Veto: It refers to the power of the President to withhold his assent to a bill passed by the Parliament. The bill then ends and does not become an act.

• Suspensive Veto: The President uses a suspensive veto when he returns the bill to the Indian Parliament for its reconsideration.

• • • If the Parliament resends the bill with or without amendment to the President, he has to approve the bill without using any of his veto powers.
    • Exception: The President cannot exercise his suspensive veto in relation to the Money Bill.
  • Pocket Veto: The bill is kept pending by the President for an indefinite period when he exercises his pocket veto.
    • He neither rejects the bill nor returns the bill for reconsideration.
    • Unlike the American President who has to resend the bill within 10 days, the Indian President has no such time rule.

• Veto over State Bills:

• • The governor is empowered to reserve certain types of bills passed by the state legislature for the consideration of the President.
    • Then, the Governor will not have any further role in the enactment of the bill.
  • The President can withhold his assent to such bills not only in the first instance but also in the second instance.
    • Thus, the President enjoys absolute veto (and not suspensive veto) overstate bills.
  • Further, the President can exercise a pocket veto in respect of state legislation also.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, the Allahabad High Court has called upon the Central government to initiate the process for implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

• The court’s direction came in the context of a bunch of 17 petitions filed by interfaith couples, who contracted marriage upon conversion, seeking protection of their life, liberty and privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

About:

• Background – New Anti-Conversion Law: The Government of Uttar Pradesh has recently passed an anti-conversion law called the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021.
  • The marriage cannot be registered without the district authority making an enquiry as to whether the conversion is voluntary and not induced by coercion, allurement and threat.
  • The Act mandates that the approval of the District Magistrate (DM) is necessary to be obtained before conversion or marriage.
  • The Act makes religious conversion for marriage a non-bailable offence.

Observation by the Court:

• The marriage registrar lacks the power to withhold the registration of marriage merely for the reason that the parties have not obtained the necessary approval of conversion from the district authority.
  • The court directed the marriage registrar to forthwith register the marriage of such couples.
• The Court observed that such an approval is a directory and not mandatory.
  • The Act would not satisfy the test of reasonableness and fairness and would fail to pass the muster of Article 14 (Equality before law) and Article 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty).
• It observed that the consent of the family or the community or the clan or the State or executive is not necessary, once two adult individuals agree to enter into wedlock which is lawful and legal.
• The court directed the police of the respective districts to ensure the safety of these couples.
• Further, the court urged the central government to make a law implementing the UCC, so that such atrocities are not repeated.
  • This is because after implementation there will be less need for anti-conversion laws.

• Uniform Civil Code

Background:

• An increase in legislation dealing with personal issues in the far end of British rule forced the government to form the B N Rau Committee to codify Hindu law in 1941.
• UCC is one that would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
• Article 44 of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
  • Article 44 is one of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).
• In order to bring uniformity, the courts have often said in their judgements that the government should move towards a UCC.
  • The judgement in the Shah Bano case (1985) is well known.
  • The Supreme Court in Shayara Bano case (2017) had declared the practice of Triple Talaq (talaq-e-biddat) as unconstitutional.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

The World Bank has released its Migration and Development Brief Report.

What are the key findings of the report?

India is the world’s largest recipient of remittances. It received $87 billion in 2021. India had received over $83 billion in remittances in 2020.

Reasons for the increase in Remittances: 

1) Migrants determination to support their families in times of need.

2) Stronger oil prices and the resulting pickup in economic activity in Gulf.

3) Severity of caseloads and deaths during the second wave of pandemics played a prominent role in drawing substantial flows (including for the purchase of oxygen tanks) to the country.

Biggest Source of Remittance for India: The United States was the biggest source, accounting for over 20% of these funds.

Other Countries: India was followed by China, Mexico, the Philippines, and Egypt.

Projections for 2022: In India, remittances are projected to grow 3%in 2022 to $89.6 billion, reflecting a drop in overall migrant stock as a large proportion of returnees from the Arab countries await the return.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

The new National Education Policy 2020 lays emphasis on imparting teaching in the mother tongue in primary classes. However, when seen from the context of the diverse language base of tribal people, the task appears to be quite onerous.

• In this scenario, Odisha’s decade-long experiment in multilingual education may come in handy to take up the challenge.
• The most important aspect of Mother-Tongue Based Multi-Lingual Education (MTBMLE) is that it helps save endangered tribal languages.

About: 

• The ST and SC Development Department of the Odisha government have started a project called ‘Samhati.
  • It intends to address the language issues faced by tribal students in early grades or elementary classes.
  • Under this, the department plans to cover approximately 2.5 lakh students in 1,450 primary schools in the State.
• Implementing Agency: The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI) along with the Academy of Tribal Language and Culture (ATLC), Bhubaneswar is implementing the project.
• Multilingual Learning: Under Samhati, it has been decided that all teachers of primary level would be provided functional knowledge of tribal languages and ways of communicating with tribal students.
  • Odisha’s Adivasi communities are as diverse as 21 spoken languages. Out of the 21 languages, Santhali, the only language which has been included in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.
    • It is taught in its own ol chiki script while the rest of tribal languages have Odia scripts.
  • Only six tribal languages — Santali, Ho, Soura, Munda and Kui — have a written script.
  • These students are a multilingual group unlike monolingual groups in regular schools.