CNA 29th March 2021:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related POLITY AND GOVERNANCE 1. NRC-excluded to get rejection slips 2. President gives assent to Delhi Bill INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. UN in dialogue with China for ‘unrestricted’ Xinjiang visit C. GS 3 Related ECONOMY 1. Centre mulls unique ID for all plots of land by March 2022 D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials SOCIAL ISSUES 1. Tackling the period taboo POLITY 1. The needless resurrection of a buried issue F. Tidbits 1. Co-WIN upgraded, 1 cr. can register for jab daily G. Prelims Facts 1. 27 migratory birds found dead at wildlife sanctuary in Himachal H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. NRC-excluded to get rejection slips
Context:
The Centre has told the Assam government that “rejection slips” to those excluded from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) published in 2019 should be issued immediately.
National Register of Citizens (NRC):
- NRC is an official record of those who are legal Indian citizens.
- It includes demographic information about all those individuals who qualify as citizens of India as per the Citizenship Act, 1955.
- Assam is the only state where an NRC was compiled under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
Read more on the National Register of Citizens.
Details:
- The Assam state government has rejected the NRC in its current form and demanded re-verification of 30% of names included in the NRC in areas bordering Bangladesh and 10% in remaining State.
- According to Article 6 of the Constitution, the cut-off date for migration to India from Pakistan is July 19, 1948 whereas according to the 1985 accord, in Assam (that borders Bangladesh) it is March 24, 1971.
- More than 19 lakh of the 3.29 crore applicants in Assam were left out of the final register.
- The NRC exercise in Assam took five years to be compiled and cost ₹1,220 crore.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier said that non-inclusion of a person’s name in the NRC does not by itself amount to him/her being declared as a foreigner and that they would be given adequate opportunity to present their case before the Foreigners Tribunals (FTs).
The time limit to appeal before the FTs, the quasi-judicial bodies unique to Assam, has been increased from 60 to 120 days.
2. President gives assent to Delhi Bill
Context:
The President of India gave assent to a Bill to accord primacy to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor (L-G) over the government.
Details:
- The Union government announced the presidential assent to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2021 through a gazette notification.
- The law says the government in Delhi means the Lieutenant Governor and the city government will now have to seek the opinion of the L-G before taking any executive action.
This issue has been comprehensively covered in 21st March 2021 and 23rd March 2021 Comprehensive News Analysis.
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. UN in dialogue with China for ‘unrestricted’ Xinjiang visit
Context:
The UN is in negotiations with Beijing for a visit without restrictions to Xinjiang to see how the Uighur minority is being treated.
Details:
- According to U.S. and Australian rights groups, at least one million Uighurs and people from other mostly Muslim groups have been held in camps in the north-western region (Xinjiang).
- They accuse Chinese authorities of forcibly sterilising women and imposing forced labour.
- China has repeatedly denied criticism of its treatment of the group.
Read more on this topic covered in 18th January 2021 Comprehensive News Analysis.
C. GS 3 Related
1. Centre mulls unique ID for all plots of land by March 2022
What’s in News?
The Centre plans to issue a 14-digit identification number to every plot of land in the country within a year.
Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) scheme:
- The Department of Land Resources said that the ULPIN scheme has been launched in 10 States this year and will be rolled out across the country by March 2022.
- The number would uniquely identify every surveyed parcel of land and prevent land fraud, especially in rural India, where land records are outdated and disputed.
- The identification will be based on the longitude and latitude of the land parcel, and is dependent on detailed surveys and geo-referenced cadastral maps.
Details:
- It would subsequently integrate its land records database with revenue court records and bank records, as well as Aadhaar numbers on a voluntary basis.
- This is the next step in the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme (DILRMP).
- DILRMP began in 2008 and has been extended several times as its scope grew.
- The programme has been extended to 2023-24, to complete its original targets as well as expand its ambit with a slew of new schemes.
- The department has undertaken new initiatives under the programme like NGDRS [or the National Generic Document Registration System], ULPIN, linking of court to land records, integration [of] consent based Aadhaar number with land records etc. which necessitated its further extension beyond 2020-21 till 2023-24.
- The ULPIN scheme components will enhance the service deliveries to the citizen of the country and will also function as inputs to the schemes of the other sectors like Agriculture, Finance Disaster Management.
- Clear land titles will ease a lot of constraints from making it easier for the poor to borrow from the formal financial sector to easing commercial land acquisition for infrastructure projects instead of the misuse of eminent domain.
Note:
- The government had launched the computerisation of land records in 1988.
- Then in 2008, the government launched the National Land Record Modernization Programme (NLRMP) which has been brought under Digital India as Digital India Land Record Modernization Programme.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
Context
- A college in Gujarat had forced girls to remove their undergarments to check if they were menstruating.
Additional Information
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Notions of purity and pollution
- The stigma of menstruation is perpetrated by cultural taboos, discrimination, lack of education, silence, period poverty (the inability to access/afford feminine hygiene products) and such practices have been in existence as part of women’s life.
- The stigma finds its roots in the notion of purity and pollution attached historically to menstruation. This was explained exceptionally by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud in Indian Young Lawyers Association v. The State of Kerala (2018)
- He reasoned that any social practice which excludes women from participation in public life as a result of their menstruation is discriminatory on the ground of their sex.
- This is because it is drawn from the notion of menstruating women being “impure”, a notion which targets the physiological feature of being women.
Concerns
- Menstruation discriminates women on the basis of gender thus violating Article 14 of the Constitution. It is against the notion of substantive equality adopted by the Constitution. Hence such practices have to be rejected
- The conduct of the authorities, in SSGI, amounts to a violation of the Right to Privacy which is an integral component of the ‘Right to life and personal liberty’ guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
- Restrictions of movement imposed on these students are one of the many attempts of state and non-state actors to take control of their person.
- It perpetuates female subordination.
- Patriarchy plays a pivotal role in restricting or changing practices and perceptions about women’s reproductive rights, and sexuality rights.
- For instance, creating embarrassment and humiliation around menstruation and regulating social exclusion and taboos to exclude and marginalize women during their period
- Taboos about menstruation present in many societies impact on girls’ and women’s emotional state, mentality and lifestyle and most importantly, health.
Court intervention
- Taking cognizance of the incident at SSGI, the Gujarat High Court, proposed to introduce a set of guidelines that prohibit the social exclusion of menstruating women from private, public, religious and educational places.
Way forward
- The State Government should spread awareness among its citizens regarding the social exclusion of women on the basis of their menstrual status through various mediums like putting up posters at public places, including it in the school curriculum, using audiovisual mediums like radio, entertainment/news channels, short films etc;
- Sensitization of health workers, Accredited Social Health Activists and Anganwadi Workers regarding menstruation biology must also be done so that they can further disseminate this knowledge in the community and mobilize social support against busting menstruation-related myths.
- The State Government should include the issue of social exclusion of women on the basis of their menstrual status in all existing campaigns/schemes that aims at menstrual hygiene
- The State Government should prohibit all educational institutions, hostels, and living spaces for women-studying working and others, private or public by whatever name called, from following social exclusion of women on the basis of their menstrual status in any manner;
- The State Government should undertake surprise checks, create an appropriate mechanism and take such other actions, steps as may be necessary to ensure its compliance including the imposition of an appropriate penalty against the erring institution.
Conclusion
- It is high time that we understood that Menstruation is a human issue and not only a women’s issue.
- People need to know and understand that it is a normal physiological function of womanhood.
1. The needless resurrection of a buried issue
Background
- The five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi in M. Siddiq v. Mahant Suresh Das popularly known as Ram Janmabhoomi temple case had upheld the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991
The Preamble of the Act reads: “An act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
What is the law about?
- Passed in 1991, the law seeks to maintain the “religious character” of places of worship as it was in 1947 — except in the case of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, which was already in court
Important Provisions
- Sections 3 and 4 of the Act declare that the religious character of a place of worship shall continue to be the same as it was on August 15, 1947, and that no person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination into one of a different denomination or section.
- Section 4(2) says that all suits, appeals or other proceedings regarding converting the character of a place of worship, that were pending on August 15, 1947, will stand abated when the Act commences and no fresh proceedings can be filed.
Exemption
- Section 5 expressly exempts Ram Janmabhumi-Babri Masjid, situated in Ayodhya, from the Act.
Was there opposition when the law was drafted?
- Opposition parties had opposed the law when it was introduced, arguing that the Centre has no power to legislate on “pilgrimages” or “burial grounds” which is under the state list.
- However, the government had said it could make use of its residuary power under Entry 97 of the Union List to enact this law.
- Entry 97 confers residuary powers to the Centre to legislate on subjects that are not enumerated in any of the three lists.
What has the Supreme Court said about the Act?
- The SC said the law manifests the secular values of the Constitution and strictly prohibits retrogression.
- “In providing a guarantee for the preservation of the religious character of places of public worship as they existed on 15 August 1947 and against the conversion of places of public worship, Parliament determined that independence from colonial rule furnishes a constitutional basis for healing the injustices of the past by providing the confidence to every religious community that their places of worship will be preserved and that their character will not be altered.
- The law addresses itself to the State as much as to every citizen of the nation. Its norms bind those who govern the affairs of the nation at every level.
- Those norms implement the Fundamental Duties under Article 51A and are hence positive mandates to every citizen as well.
- The State, has by enacting the law, enforced a constitutional commitment and operationalized its constitutional obligations to uphold the equality of all religions and secularism which is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution,”
The court had stated: “Historical wrongs cannot be remedied by the people taking the law in their own hands. In preserving the character of places of public worship, Parliament has mandated in no uncertain terms that history and its wrongs shall not be used as instruments to oppress the present and the future.”
Context
- The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to respond to a plea challenging the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
- In agreeing to examine the law, the court has opened the doors for litigation in various places of worship across the country including Mathura and Varanasi.
Why is the law under challenge?
- Advocate Ashwini Upadhyaya has challenged the law on the ground that it violates secularism.
- He has argued that the cut-off date of August 15, 1947 is “arbitrary, irrational and retrospective” and prohibits Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and Sikhs from approaching courts to “re-claim” their places of worship
A deeply disturbing move
The Supreme Court’s order on issuing notice on this petition is deeply disturbing on many counts.
- Every argument being raised in the petition was answered by the five judges in their binding judgment in M. Siddiq v. Mahant Suresh Das.
Conclusion
- Upholding the challenge to the Act will thus reopen old fault lines and jeopardize the path to reconciliation shown by the Ayodhya verdict.
Watch the Lecture explaining the landmark Ayodhya Verdict of 9th Nov, 2019.
F. Tidbits
1. Co-WIN upgraded, 1 cr. can register for jab daily
What’s in News?
Chairman of the Empowered Group on COVID-19 vaccination said that the Co-WIN platform, for COVID-19 vaccination registration, has been ramped up to accept one crore registrations and record vaccination of 50 lakh persons daily.
Co-WIN:
- COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CoWIN) system is a digitalised platform to be used to effectively roll out and scale up the mechanism for COVID Vaccine Distribution System, nationally.
- It is a repurposed version of Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN).
- It is a 100% government-run system.
G. Prelims Facts
1. 27 migratory birds found dead at wildlife sanctuary in Himachal
What’s in News?
As many as 27 migratory birds have been reported dead on account of avian influenza in the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary area of Himachal Pradesh.
Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary:
- The Pong Dam also called the Beas dam is an artificial embankment Dam constructed across the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh.
- The Reservoir created by the dam is called Maharana Pratap Sagar and is a renowned Bird Sanctuary.
- The dam was constructed for hydroelectric power generation and irrigation.
- Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary is also a Ramsar Site.
- Maharana Pratap Sagar is located in the wetland zone of Shivalik Hills.
Note:
- Earlier in January 2021, avian influenza (H5N1) led to the death of over 5,000 migratory birds in the Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary area.
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Consider the following statement with respect to Lord Louis Mountbatten:
- He oversaw the appointment of two boundary commissions under Sir Cyril Radcliffe for the partition of Bengal and Punjab.
- He served as the first Governor-General of India until June 1948.
- He is associated with the August Offer.
Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
- 3 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
- Lord Louis Mountbatten was appointed as the Viceroy of India in 1947 to oversee the Partition of British India into India and Pakistan.
- He oversaw the appointment of two boundary commissions under Sir Cyril Radcliffe for the partition of Bengal and Punjab.
- He served as the first Governor-General of India until June 1948.
- Lord Linlithgow is associated with the August Offer in 1940.
- The August Offer was an offer made by Viceroy Linlithgow in 1940 promising the expansion of the Executive Council of the Viceroy of India to include more Indians, the establishment of an advisory war council, giving full weight to minority opinion, and the recognition of Indians’ right to frame their own constitution
Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to Pong Dam Wildlife Sanctuary:
- It is located in Sikkim.
- It is a Ramsar Site of International Importance.
- Pong Dam is constructed across the Beas river.
Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
- None of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
- The Pong Dam also called the Beas dam is an artificial embankment Dam constructed across the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh.
- It is a Ramsar Site of International Importance.
Q3. Consider the following statements:
- H5N1 and H5N8 are categorized as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
- Humans are not immune from H5N1.
- Avian influenza can infect birds only.
Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
- H5N1 and H5N8 are categorized as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), which is of major concern to those keeping birds because it often results in disease and death of fowl and causes economic havoc.
- Humans are not immune from H5N1.
- Avian Influenza is a viral infection that can infect not only birds, but also humans and other animals.
Q4. Which of the following are a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve:
- Mudumalai National Park
- Bandipur National Park
- Silent Valley National Park
- Nagarhole National Park
Choose the correct option:
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 4 only
- 1, 2, 3 and 4
- 3 and 4 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is an International Biosphere Reserve in the Western Ghats and Nilgiri Hills ranges of South India.
- Mudumalai National Park, Bandipur National Park, Silent Valley National Park, Nagarhole National Park are all a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- Discuss the important provisions of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act. Explain how it enforces our commitment to secularism. (10 Marks, 150 Words)
- Abhorrent practices discriminating against menstruating women should be considered abnormal. Analyze. (10 Marks, 150 Words)
Read the previous CNA here.
CNA 29th March 2021:- Download PDF Here
Hats-off to the guy who in the day of vacation still is preparing news analysis for us. Thank you so much.