UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - July 26

In news:

• The Madras High Court on Tuesday ordered that “Vande Mataram” must be played and sung in all schools, colleges and universities at least once a week, preferably on Monday or Friday
• Vande Matharam” should be played and sung in all government offices and institutions, private companies, factories and industries at least once a month, Madras High Court has ordered
• A person who has difficulty in singing the national song will not be compelled or forced to sing it provided there are valid reasons.

 In news

Two Bills were passed by Rajya Sabha

1. On jurisdiction and settlement of maritime claims
2. The Footwear Design and Development Institute

The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims), Bill, 2017

• It was already passed by the Lok Sabha
• The Bill seeks to consolidate the laws relating to admiralty jurisdiction, legal proceedings in connection with vessels, their arrest, detention, sale and other related matters
• Earlier only the High Courts of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras could take up maritime cases
• The Bill extends the power to the High Courts of Karnataka, Kerala, Hyderabad, Orissa and Gujarat, besides any other High Courts as notified by the Centre

The Footwear Design and Development Institute Bill, 2017

• It was already passed by the Lok Sabha
• The bill seeks to establish the institute as an institution of national importance

In news

Island Development Agency (IDA)

• Its first meeting is held recently
• Decision: Ten islands Smith, Ross, Aves, Long and Little Andaman in Andaman & Nicobar and Minicoy, Bangaram, Suheli, Cherium and Tinnakara in Lakshadweep have been identified for development in the first phase.
• The IDA was set up on June 1 this year following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s review meeting for the development of islands

Context

• A resurgent Gorkhaland movement and subsequent state crackdown have infused life with violent uncertainty.

What triggered the issue?

• In May, the West Bengal government announced Bengali as a compulsory language in schools across the State.
• This triggered protests and claims of ‘linguistic imperialism’ in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.
• Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee then decided to hold a Cabinet meeting in Darjeeling for the first time in over 40 years.
• But representatives of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) or the three hill MLAs, were not included, eliciting protests.
• Subsequent protests and crackdowns have led to further destruction and deaths.

Gorkhaland

• The Gorkhaland movement is a long-standing quest for a separate State of Gorkhaland within India for Nepali-speaking Indian citizens (often known as ‘Gorkhas’).
• Gorkhaland is a classic sub-nationalist movement, similar to those that have produced other States like Telangana, Uttarakhand etc.
• Gorkhaland is a desire for the recognition, respect, and integration of Gorkha peoples in the Indian nation-state.
• The movement is neither separatist nor anti-nationalist; it is about inclusion and belonging in India.
• It stands as a key means to redress the Gorkhas’ enduring history of discrimination, misconception, and marginalisation in India.
• By demanding Gorkhaland, the people of Darjeeling-Kalimpong are opting out of West Bengal’s domination, and opting in to the democratic frameworks of India.

Gorkhas hardships on many fronts

• Gorkhas remain pegged to the lowest levels of employment.
• Outsiders own the tea industry, and profits flow out of the hills.
• Gorkhas face discrimination when they seek education and work in places like Kolkata, Bengaluru, and New Delhi. Called ‘foreigners’, ‘outsiders’ and ‘chinkys’, racial discrimination affects aspiring Gorkhas at every turn.

Reasons for resurgence

• Since 1947, the Darjeeling-Kalimpong region has remained under West Bengal, despite no substantive pre-Partition evidence to support West Bengal’s territorial claims to this region.
• Conciliatory set-ups like the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (1988-2012) and the GTA (2012-present) have failed to provide meaningful autonomy.
• Banerjee and others stridently lay claim to Darjeeling, insisting that Bengal will never be divided.
• Imposition of compulsory Bengali is an extensions of histories of domination that the Gorkhas are trying to escape.
• West Bengal’s recent creation of the Kalimpong district (2017) and the State’s doling out of Tribal Development Boards to ethnicities within the Gorkha conglomerate (Tamang, Sherpa, etc.) might appear as paving the way for the TMC’s electoral gains.
• These seems clear examples of ‘divide and rule’ — causing splits in the Gorkha electorate and undermining the already-limited authority of the GTA.
• By summoning thousands to the streets, the GJM (Gorkha Janmukti Morcha) demonstrated its ability to evoke the emotional force of Gorkhaland. But then violence took hold.
• For Gorkhas, the troubling realities of colonial and present-day Darjeeling are eerily similar: linguistic chauvinism, ethnic and racial discrimination, resource extraction, unilateral territorial claims, the denial of self-governance, political suppression; and ultimately, an unwillingness to respect the ‘native point of view’.

• Constitutional scheme regarding Taxation
• The Central government was given the power to tax income other than agricultural income, and levy indirect taxes in the form of customs and excise duties
• The State governments were given the sole power to tax the sale of goods and the entry of goods into a State
• Why this division:
• This division of fiscal responsibility was made with a view to making States self-sufficient
• And with a view to supplying to regional powers the flexibility needed to govern according to the respective needs of their people

Functions of GST Council

• This council will recommend a number of things
  • the list of taxes that will be subsumed by the GST
  • the goods and services that will be exempt from the levy of tax
  • the rates at which tax shall be levied

Virtual Veto of the Union Government in the GST Council

• The council’s decisions will require a three-fourths majority.
• But the Central government’s votes will have a weightage of one-third of the total votes cast.
• This gives a virtual veto to the Union Government.

Confusion regarding GST Council

• The newly introduced Article 279A describes Council’s decisions as “recommendations”(advisory).
• Due to this advisory recommendations, States can choose to ignore the council’s advice, by levying additional tax not only on the sale of goods but also on services and manufacturing.
• On the other hand, if these recommendations are treated as obligatory, we are left with a situation where States would have altogether surrendered their fiscal autonomy to the Central government.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017

• It seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.
• It aims to authorise the RBI to direct banking companies to resolve the problem of stressed assets.

Greater power to RBI

• The measure in the bill allows the RBI to initiate insolvency resolution process on specific stressed assets.
• The RBI would also be empowered to issue other directions for resolution, appoint or approve for appointment, authorities or committees to advise the banking companies for stressed asset resolution.

Question 2. Keibul Lamjao, worlds only floating national park is located in which state?

See

Question 3. Contamination of drinking water with which of the following causes Blackfoot 
disease (BFD)?

See

Question 4. India’s Valley of Flowers is a part of which of the following Biosphere Reserves?

See

Question 5. Which among the following is the hallmark feature of the Dravida style of temple 
architecture?

See

GS Paper II

1. Did the Government of India Act, 1935 lay down a federal constitution? Discuss.(Mains 2016)
2. Discuss the possible factors that inhibit India from enacting for its citizens a uniform civil code as provided for in the Directive Principles of State Policy.

GS Paper III

1. The nature of economic growth in India in described as jobless growth. Do you agree with this view? Give arguments in favour of your answer.(Mains 2015)

Also, check previous Daily News Analysis.

Enroll for India’s Largest All-India Test Series