20 Nov 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 20 Nov 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. Post NEP, Odisha all set to teach in tribal languages
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. HC presses Centre on Uniform Civil Code
2. Bihar, U.P. police seen as less sensitive: survey
C. GS 3 Related
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Indigenous chopper, drones handed over to armed forces
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. The defeat of hubris, a confrontation on hold
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. Error corrected
F. Prelims Facts
G. Tidbits
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
FIP Magazine

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. HC presses Centre on Uniform Civil Code

Context:

Recently, the Allahabad High Court stressed the need to implement the Uniform Civil Code.

Details:

What are the Allahabad High Court Observations?

  • The UCC “cannot be rendered ‘purely voluntary’ in view of the concern and terror exhibited by members of the minority community,” according to the Allahabad High Court.
  • The Supreme Court ordered the Centre to consider such a committee or commission to carry out the mandate of Article 44, as specified by the Court.

What is the significance of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?

  • A uniform civil code will aid national unification by reducing divergent allegiances to laws that have opposing philosophies.
  • It is the responsibility of the state to ensure that the inhabitants of the country have a standard civil code.
  • The remarks were made during a hearing on a group of 17 petitions submitted by interfaith couples seeking protection under Article 21 of the Constitution.
    • Article 21 ensures the right to life, liberty, and privacy. It enables them to live as men and women without hindrance from their families or others.
  • The rise of interfaith and intercultural families necessitates a comprehensive Family Code that is in step with the times.
  • Justice Kumar stated that “marriage intimacies sit inside a fundamental zone of privacy that is inviolable.”

Read more on Uniform Civil Code (UCC).

2. Bihar, U.P. police seen as less sensitive: survey

Context:

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh police officers received the lowest scores among the states in a recent survey conducted by the Indian Police Foundation (IPF).

Details:

  • The survey was based on the premise that underlies the Prime Minister’s SMART policing initiative.
  • The SMART scores are based on a scale of 1 to 10 and reflect citizen satisfaction, with 10 being the highest degree of satisfaction.

Additional Information:

  1. SMART Police:
  • The concept of SMART Police was introduced by the Prime Minister in 2014.
  • The term SMART stands for
    • S – Sensitive and Strict;
    • M – Modern with mobility;
    • A – Alert and Accountable;
    • R – Reliable and Responsive;
    • T – Trained and Techno-savvy.
  • There are two dimensions to smartness:
    • External Dimensions: The outfit a police officer wears, the way he conducts himself, his weapons, the communication equipment on his person, his mobility, response speed, and so on are all examples of external dimensions.
    • Internal Dimensions: Internal Dimension means that the police should be strict and sensitive, contemporary and mobile, alert and accountable, dependable and responsible, tech-savvy and trained.
Either by use of an ordinance, or through legislation
  • In case an ordinance is used, it would need to be replaced by a law passed by Parliament. If the ordinance lapses because it is not approved by Parliament, the repealed law can be revived.
  • The government can also bring legislation to repeal the farm laws. It will have to be passed by both Houses of Parliament, and receive the President’s assent before it comes into effect.
    • All three farm laws can be repealed through a single legislation.
    • Usually, Bills titled Repealing and Amendment are introduced for this purpose.

What was the status of the three laws until the repeal?

  • The Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the three laws on January 12 2021.

Issues with farm laws

  • It was a long-held constitutional consensus in India that agricultural marketing was the legislative arena of State governments.
    • The consensus was broken, when the Union government took upon itself the task of legislating on agricultural marketing and passed the farm laws.
      • Federal principles were violated as the Union government invoked Entry 33 of the Concurrent List to intervene into matters in Entry 14, Entry 26 and Entry 27 of the State List.
      • The farm laws even interfered with Entry 28 of the State List, which was not subject to Entry 33 of the Concurrent List.
      • Thus, to begin with, the farm laws were reasonably and justifiably argued to be unconstitutional.
    • The grievance redress mechanisms for contract farming also came up for criticism.
      • It replaced the jurisdiction of civil courts with a bureaucratic procedure under the authority of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, a government employee, which had raised fears among the farmers that it may benefit corporate sponsors more than the contracting farmers.
    • The farm laws also looked like they encouraged the participation of larger corporate players in agricultural markets rather than farmer-friendly organisations, such as cooperatives or Farmer Producer Companies (FPC).
      • Especially in the case of the amendment of the Essential Commodities Act, there was reasonable suspicion that a handful of corporate players were to substantially benefit from investments in logistics, storage and warehousing.
    • The laws were introduced to reform the agricultural sector in accordance with the principles of a market economy.
      • It could have reshaped the country’s food procurement and distribution mechanisms. However, the farmers felt it would benefit big companies at the cost of farmers and customers.
      • Farmers feared that the existing APMC mandis, where they sell their produce, mostly wheat and paddy, would be shut down once private players started trading in agri-produce outside the mandi premises, and that once the APMC mandi system became redundant, procurement based on minimum support prices (MSP) too would come to an end.
    • The fears were further aggravated by the manner in which these laws were brought about, through ordinances, and passed in Parliament without much deliberations, or consultations with the States and the stakeholders.

Unanswered questions

  • One, mandi taxes were used to invest in rural infrastructure in States such as Punjab. If mandis are weakened, what would substitute for such investments?
  • Two, even if private markets emerged, how would they address the structural problem of poor farm-gate aggregation of the produce of small and marginal farmers?

Way forward

  • Consultative decision making would always be more sustainable and easier to enforce.
  • Further moves on agriculture sector reforms must also draw lessons from the making of laws, and now the repeal, of the three farm laws.
  • Therefore in the future, the government should rebuild trust among the stakeholders to plant the seeds of reforms.

Category: SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Error corrected

Background

  • A Single Judge of the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur Bench created an uproar by acquitting a man under the POCSO Act and holding that an act against a minor would amount to groping or sexual assault only if there was “skin-to-skin” contact.
  • The High Court had concluded that mere touching or pressing of a clothed body of a child did not amount to sexual assault.

Context

  • The Supreme Court has quashed a Bombay High Court decision to acquit a man charged with assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) solely on the grounds that he groped the child over her clothes without ‘skin-to-skin’ contact.

Section 7 of POCSO

Sexual assault.

  • “Whoever with sexual intent touches the vagina, penis, anus or breast of the child or makes the child touch the vagina, penis, anus or breast of such person or any other person, or does any other act with sexual intent which involves physical contact without penetration is said to commit sexual assault”.

SC observation

  • The most important ingredient in Section 7 was the sexual intent of the offender and not skin-to-skin contact.
  • The court, while setting aside the High Court decision, confirmed the guilt of the offender in the case and sentenced him to three years of rigorous imprisonment subject to the period he has already undergone.

Conclusion

  • Therefore, the act of touching the sexual part of the body or any other act involving physical contact, if done with “sexual intent” would amount to “Sexual assault” within the meaning of Section 7 of the POCSO Act.

F. Prelims Facts

Nothing here for today!!!

G. Tidbits

Nothing here for today!!!

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q.1 A law enacted by the Parliament can be repealed in which of the following ways?
  1. By passing an ordinance
  2. By enacting another legislation to repeal the law
  3. Through a resolution adopted by the Lok Sabha

Options:

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. 1 and 2 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation

  • 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.
  • The government can bring legislation to repeal the laws. It will have to be passed by both Houses of Parliament, and receive the President’s assent before it comes into effect.
  • In case an ordinance is used, it would need to be replaced by a law passed by Parliament. If the ordinance lapses because it is not approved by Parliament, the repealed law can be revived. Hence only statements 1 and 2 are correct.
  • Laws cannot be repealed through a resolution adopted by the Lok Sabha. Hence statement 3 is incorrect.
Q.2 India has funded which of the following projects in Sri Lanka?
  1. Northern housing project
  2. Jaffna cultural centre
  3. Kankesanthurai port revival
  4. Mattala airport
  5. Palaly civilian airport

Options:

  1. 1 and 4 only
  2. 2, 3 and 4 only 
  3. 1, 3 and 5 only
  4. 1, 2, 3 and 5 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation

  • India has funded the Northern housing project, Jaffna cultural centre, Palaly civilian airport and Kankesanthurai port revival project in Sri Lanka. Hence statements 1, 2, 3, 5 are correct.
  • The Mattala airport was funded through high interest Chinese commercial loans. Hence statement 4 is incorrect.
Q.3 Hamas is an extremist group operating in -
  1. Syria
  2. Yemen
  3. Gaza Strip
  4. Iraq
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation

  • HAMAS was formed in late 1987 at the beginning of the first Palestinian intifada (uprising).
  • Its roots are in the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and it is supported by a robust sociopolitical structure inside the Palestinian territories. 
  • HAMAS’ strength is concentrated in the Gaza Strip and areas of the West Bank.
  • Hence option C is correct.
Q.4 Which of the following statements is/are correct?
  1. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 is an act of the Parliament which seeks to protect home-buyers as well as help boost investments in the real estate industry.
  2. It establishes a Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in each state for regulation of the real estate sector and also acts as an adjudicating body for speedy dispute resolution.
  3. It was introduced because the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was inadequate to address the needs of home-buyers.

Options:

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation

  • The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 came into force on May 1, 2016. The Central and state governments are liable to notify the Rules under the Act within a statutory period of six months.
  • The establishment of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority in every Indian state in order to monitor as well as adjudicate and arbitrate any disputes with respect to real estate projects is the significant feature of the RERA Act.
  • The RERA allows home buyers to withdraw previous/pending cases that come under the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) as the CPA was inadequate to address the needs of home-buyers.
  • Hence All statements are correct.
Q.5 Consider the following pairs:

    Famous place               River

  1. Pandharpur           Chandrabhaga
  2. Tiruchirappalli           Cauvery
  3. Hampi                    Malaprabha

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation

  • Pandharpur – This is a holy place of Shri.Vitthal and Shri.Rukmini. It is also known as the Southern Kashi of India and Kuldaivat of Maharashtra State. The Chandrabhaga (Bhima) river flows through the City. Hence statement 1 is correct.
  • Tiruchirappalli – Tiruchirappalli, situated on the banks of the river Cauvery is the fourth largest city in Tamil Nadu. It was a citadel of the early Cholas which later fell to the Pallavas. Hence statement 2 is correct.
  • Hampi – Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in India located near Hospet town in Karnataka state, India. It is located near the Tungabhadra river. (Not Malaprabha) Hence statement 3 is incorrect.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

  1. ‘The real answer to India’s defense problems lies in indigenous manufacturing.’ Do you agree? Suggest ways to expedite the development of India’s defense manufacturing sector. (250 words; 15 marks)[GS-3, Technology],[GS-2, Governance]
  2. What do you understand by Uniform Civil Code? Examine its relevance for India and the roadblocks in its implementation. (250 words; 15 marks)[GS-1, Society]

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 20 Nov 2021:- Download PDF Here

IAS General Studies Notes Links
Ncap Full Form Geography Of India
Tashkent Agreement Chhatrapati Shivaji
Government Of India Act 1935 Rana Pratap Singh
Opec Full Form Treasury Bills
Round Table Conference Varna System

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