21 Sep 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Govt. tables Bill to amend FCRA

Context:

• A bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha to make provisions of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2011 more stringent.
• The government has said there is a need to streamline the provisions of the said Act by strengthening the compliance mechanism, enhancing transparency and accountability in the receipt and utilisation of foreign contribution.

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA):

• FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect the internal security of the country.
• The Act, first enacted in 1976 was amended in the year 2010 when a slew of new measures was taken by the Union Home Ministry to regulate foreign donations.

Read more on FCRA.

Need for amendment:

• The FCRA Bill, 2020, says the need to strengthen the Act has arisen due to several organisations “misutilising or misappropriating” the funds leading to the government cancelling 19,000 such registrations in the past few years.
• The annual inflow of foreign contribution has almost doubled between the years 2010 and 2019, but many recipients of foreign contribution have not utilised the same for the purpose for which they were registered or granted prior permission under the said Act.
• Many of the recipients were also found wanting in ensuring basic statutory compliances such as submission of annual returns and maintenance of proper accounts, leading to a situation where the Central Government had to cancel certificates of registration.
• Criminal investigations also had to be initiated against dozens of such non-governmental organisations which indulged in outright misappropriation or mis-utilisation of foreign contribution.

Provisions of the FCRA Bill 2020:

• It is a bill that proposes to include public servants in the prohibited category to provide that no foreign contribution shall be accepted by them.
  • Earlier, it was restricted to legislators, election candidates, journalists, print and broadcast media, judges, government servants or employees of any corporation or any other body controlled or owned by the Government.
  • It has also sought to prohibit any transfer of foreign contribution to any other association or person.
• It proposes to decrease administrative expenses through foreign funds by an organisation to 20% from 50% earlier.
• It seeks to make Aadhaar mandatory for registration.
• The amendment seeks to give the government powers to stop utilisation of foreign funds by an organisation through a summary enquiry.
  • Earlier it was supposed to be done only after the person or association had been “found guilty” of violation of the Act.

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Fair and unfair

Context:

Madras High Court has decided not to pursue the ill-conceived attempt to initiate action against film actor Suriya for contempt of court.

Background:

• The actor had questioned the correctness of the Supreme Court in allowing NEET to be held across the country during the pandemic when the Court itself was holding virtual hearings out of fear of infection.
• It was clear from the beginning that it constituted no contempt, as it did nothing more than raise the question whether courts that went virtual in the interest of the safety of judges, lawyers, staff and litigants, could afford to risk the health of thousands of students.

Details:

• The Advocate-General, whose opinion was sought by the Chief Justice of the High Court, declined consent for initiation of criminal contempt proceedings.
• In a detailed order, the Court has noted that “it is not the job of a constitutional court to use a sledgehammer for avoidance of something which can be perceived to be not capable of even being propped up as contempt, much less debated to the level of criminal contempt”, rightly so.

Concerns:

• The 29-page order lays much emphasis on the idea that criticism about the judiciary should be restrained, lest the line of fair comment is crossed.
• There is a lengthy section on the need for prudence and restraint on exuberance, but such observations would be relevant only if made in the context of a harsh attack on the judiciary.

While the advice for restraint is reasonable and well-articulated, it should not open up the possibility of more such demands for contempt action in the name of deterring unfair criticism.

Read more on “Contempt of court” covered in the 27^th July 2020 CNA – The chilling effect of criminal contempt.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Great power, little responsibility

Issue:

• According to the World Population Review, in the last calendar year, eight countries — Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Turkey, Somalia, Iraq, Mexico and Libya — suffered at least 1,000 deaths each (mainly civilian deaths) through militarised attacks and battles.
• Including the Maghreb and Sahel regions of North and West Africa, over 25 countries are being ravaged by deadly wars currently.
• According to the UN Refugee Agency, 79.5 million were displaced at the end of 2019, due to armed conflicts, persecution and other reasons.
• The way the present international system is structured poses enormous obstacles to peace.
  • Predominantly, the countries with economic and military might are escalating violence.

The International Day of Peace is an occasion for deep reflection about the prevalence of war, violence and insecurity in many parts of the world.

Fuelling instability:

• While on paper, the U.S., Russia and China uphold peace and stability as the permanent members of the UN Security Council, in practice, they fuel instability or interfere in most ongoing wars.
• The U.S., Russia and China have catapulted into the ranks of top sellers of weapons.
• Yemen tragedy:
  • The current US administration is abundantly selling lethal weapons to its Gulf allies in the name of their ‘security’.
  • The tragedy in Yemen, which the UN has declared as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, is the outcome of indiscriminate attacks by the U.S.-backed coalition of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, whose geopolitical goal is to counterbalance Iran.
• Libya:
  • Libya going down into chaos is the result of the active involvement of mercenaries and weapons pumped in by Russia and the U.S.-allied Gulf Arab monarchies to push back Turkey’s influence.
• Similar to Syria, Yemen and Libya are victims of the conduct of great powers who arm and finance regional actors to prey upon weak states for counterbalancing rivals and sustaining profits of their military-industrial complexes.
• Clashes in Asia:
  • China’s hegemonic expansionism against its neighbours and its new Cold War with the U.S. have significantly raised risks of military clashes in Asia.
• Chinese small arms enable ethnic violence and extreme human rights abuses from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Pakistan and Myanmar.

Details:

• This year, the UN Secretary-General is campaigning for a global ceasefire so that everyone’s attention shifts to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The UN as well as regional organisations like the African Union and the European Union are trying to negotiate a cessation of hostilities in various war zones.

Way forward:

• There is a need to diagnose the core problem, which is, the unjust structure that privileges great powers and permits their plots — and challenge it.
• The world must strive for altering the structure and nature of world politics.
• Intellectuals, social movements and responsible states should prioritise struggling for an equitable world order.

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to the Kakatiyas:

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to the Integrated Disease Surveillance 
Programme (IDSP):

Q3. “Tulung La” is located in:

Q4. Which of the given pairs are correctly matched?

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. As long as there is no effort to obstruct the course of justice, criticism, whether fair or unfair, does not warrant initiation of contempt proceedings.  Comment. (GS 2 Polity and Governance) (15 Marks, 250 Words).
2. The way the international system is structured poses enormous obstacles to peace. In light of the statement, examine the role of permanent members of the UN Security Council in the ongoing wars. (GS 2 International Relations) (15 Marks, 250 Words).

Read the previous CNA here.