IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 8th November 2019

Archives

(PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS)

Office of Profit

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Polity

In News

• The Punjab Assembly passed a legislation excluding the six ruling Congress MLA appointed as advisers to the Chief Minister from the office of profit category.
• It was opposed by members of opposition that the law was against the 91st amendment to the Constitution, which stated that the total number of Ministers should not exceed 15% of the total strength of the State Assembly.

What the law says?

• Article 102(a) says a person shall be disqualified from being a member of either House of Parliament if he holds any Office of Profit, among other grounds. Article 191(1) contain a similar provision for MLA and MLCs in the states.
• Article 103 say that if a question arises whether a member has incurred such disqualification, it will be referred to the President’s decision. The President shall obtain the Election Commission’s opinion and act accordingly.
• Office of profit’ (OoP) is not clearly defined in the Constitution.
• But deriving from the past judicial pronouncements, five tests have been laid down to check if an office is an OoP or not.They are:
  • whether the government makes the appointment
  • whether the government has the right to remove or dismiss the holder
  • whether the government pays remuneration
  • what the functions of the holder are
  • does the government exercise any control over the performance of these functions
• In all, the word ‘profit’ has always been treated equivalent to or a substitute for the term ‘pecuniary gain’ (financial gain).

BIMSTEC Ports’ Conclave

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III- International Affairs

In News

• The first ever BIMSTEC Conclave of Ports is being held at Vishakhapatnam on 7-8 November, 2019.
• The conclave aims at providing a platform to strengthen maritime interaction, port-led connectivity initiatives and sharing best practices among member countries. Providing Connectivity is one of the key priorities among BIMSTEC countries
• Three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed between Ranong Port (Port Authority of Thailand) and the Port Trusts of Chennai, Vishakhapatnam and Kolkata during the Conclave.These MoUs will enhance economic partnership by cutting down the sea travel time between India and Thailand from  10- 15 days to 7 days

Do You Know?

• BIMSTEC which links five countries from south Asia (Bangladesh, India, , Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Nepal) and two from South East Asia (Myanmar & Thailand) .
• The BIMSTEC region brings together 167 billion people together 22% of world population and a combined GDP of US $3.71 Trillion. 
• Four BIMSTEC Summits have been held so far, the earlier ones at Kathmandu on 30-31 August 2018 (earlier summit were  2004 (Bangkok), 2008 (New Delhi), 2014 (Nay Pyi Taw). 
• A ‘BIMSTEC Outreach Summit and Leader’s summit’  was held in Goa in 2016. 
• The BIMSTEC Leaders had also participated in the swearing -in ceremony of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at New Delhi on 30th May 2019

Bru refugees

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II – Federalism

In News

• Protesting Mizoram Bru refugees in north Tripura withdrew their indefinite road blockade after the Tripura State government announced its decision to restore ration in relief camps.

Bru Tribe:

• Residence: The Brus, also referred to as the Reangs, are spread across the north-eastern states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur, and Mizoram.
• Culture: They speak the Reang dialect of Kokborok language which is locally referred to as Kau Bru. Their Hojagiri folk dance is well known all over the world. ‘Buisu’, not ‘bihu’ is the most popular festival of Reang tribes.

Conflict in Mizoram:

• In 1995, Mizos, the majority tribe of the state, demanded that Brus be left out of the state’s electoral rolls as they contended that they are not indigenous to Mizoram.

• In 1997, ethnic violence forced the Brus to flee the state in large numbers to neighbouring Tripura. Currently, around 35,000 (more than 5,000 families) Bru refugees living in Tripura camps.

• Multiple efforts have been made since then to repatriate them.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs had on September 2018 signed an agreement with the Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF) and the Mizoram and Tripura governments for repatriation ofnearly 33,000 Bru refugees, currently living in camps in Tripura, to Mizoram.
• Under the agreement, each family will get ₹5,000 per month along with free ration for two years, besides financial assistance for house-building, education, security etc.

Telugu Ganga project

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II – Federalism (Inter-State river water sharing)

In News

• Chennai city, which grappled with severe drinking water shortage, can be assured of its full quota of Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh this season, as major reservoirs in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh have comfortable storage.
• Telugu Ganga Project is an inter-state Project formulated to irrigate 5.75 lakh acres in drought prone areas of Rayalaseema and uplands of Nellore District in Andhra Pradesh by utilising 29 TMC of Krishna flood flows and 30 TMC of Pennar flood flows. 
• Further with a view to provide drinking water to the Chennai city, the three Krishna basin states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra have agreed to spare 5 TMC each from their respective shares of Krishna waters totalling to 15 TMC to meet the requirements.
• This number was revised down to 12 TMC in 1983 after accounting seepage and evaporation loses.
• Water is drawn from the Srisailam reservoir (in AP) and diverted towards Chennai through a series of inter-linked canals, over a distance of about 406 kilometres (252 mi), before it reaches the destination at the Poondi reservoir near Chennai.

India Justice Report

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II – Polity

In News

• Maharashtra has topped the list of 18 large-medium States in the overall ranking of Indian States on justice delivery, followed by Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana.
• This is according to the India Justice Report 2019 by the Tata Trusts in collaboration with Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, among others.
• The report is based on publicly available data from different government entities on the four pillars of justice delivery — police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid.

Some of the findings of the report are:

• Even the best performing States scored less than 60% in their performance on capacity across the police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid.
• The country has about 18,200 judges with about 23% sanctioned posts vacant
• Women are poorly represented in these pillars, constituting just 7% of the police.
• Prisons are over-occupied at 114%, where 68% are undertrials awaiting investigation, inquiry or trial. 
• India’s per capita expenditure on free legal aid is 75 paise per annum
•  Regarding budgets, most States are not able to fully utilise the funds given to them by the Centre, while the increase in spending on the police, prisons and judiciary does not keep pace with the overall increase in State expenditure,

Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 8th November 2019

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Kerala on its way to achieve 100% Internet penetration

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains III – Economy (Digital India)

In News

• Kerala Fibre Optic Network project, pegged at ₹1,548 crore, would provide Internet to every household in the State
• The project is slated for completion by December 2020, whereby for 20 lakh BPL households internet will be free
• However, going by data in a recent report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), Kerala is already halfway to its goal of 100% coverage.
• According to the report, titled ‘India Internet 2019,’ the State’s Internet penetration rate is the second highest in the country (54%), next only to Delhi NCR with 69% penetration.
• The Internet penetration rate is defined as number of individuals aged above 12 per 100 population who accessed the Internet in the last month.
• Internet penetration rate was the lowest in Odisha (25), Jharkhand (26) and Bihar (28).
• However, Kerala is among the States with a huge gap between the number of rural and urban Internet connections. This is also the case in Delhi and Himachal Pradesh.

Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 8th November 2019

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3 years since DeMo, cash is back

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains III – Economy

In News

• Three years since demonetisation, the level of cash with the public has grown faster than the GDP growth of the country
• However digital payments — especially those on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform — have seen robust growth.
• Reserve Bank of India data show that the public held ₹20.49 lakh crore in cash as of September 2019
• The data show that the cash held by the public made up 96% of the money in circulation, with most of the rest deposited in banks
• In December 2016, one month after demonetisation and the enforced deposits in banks, this percentage stood at 83%.
• According to the RBI’s annual report, the number of UPI payments in 2018-19, at 535 crore, for the first time surpassed the number of debit card transactions (441 crore).

Miscellaneous

“Swachhta Tax” On Tourists Taking Photos

• The Parra panchayat in North Goa had started levying tax on clicking pictures or shooting videos in its jurisdiction.
• Parra is best known for its scenic road lined with coconut trees, often serves as a backdrop in several Bollywood films, including the Shahrukh Khan-starrer ‘Dear Zindagi’.
• The idea behind the tax was not to earn revenue for the village panchayat, but to deter tourists and photographers from holding up traffic along the narrow road during their shoots and throwing garbage around the place
• The tax had also irked travel and tourism industry stakeholders in Goa, who had expressed concern that such a tax may be emulated in other coastal villages, which would deter tourists from visiting the areas
• As a result, the Panchayat announced withdrawal of a tax

(MAINS FOCUS)

INTERNAL SECURITY

TOPIC: General Studies 3:

• Linkages between development and spread of extremism.
• Role of external state and non-state actors in creating challenges to internal security.

Rise and Fall of ISIS (PART 1)

Context:

• President Donald Trump declared that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was dead after a US military raid in northwest Syria over.
• The President said a US special operations forces mission went after the ISIS leader and there were no US deaths during the operation.
• The death of Baghdadi marks the culmination of a years-long hunt to find one of the most wanted terrorists in the world and the man who declared a so-called Islamic caliphate in Iraq and Syria in 2014. 

ISIS origin:

• IS can trace its roots back to the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian. In 2004, a year after the US-led invasion of Iraq, Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden and formed al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).
• After Zarqawi’s death in 2006, AQI created an umbrella organisation, Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). 
• ISI was weakened by the US troop and the creation of Sahwa (Awakening) councils by Sunni Arab tribesmen who rejected its brutality.
• Baghdadi, a former US detainee, became leader in 2010 and began rebuilding ISI’s capabilities. 
• IS also joined the rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, setting up the al-Nusra Front.
• In April 2013, Baghdadi announced the merger of IS   forces in Iraq and Syria and the creation of “Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant” (Isis). 

• In June 2014, Isis overran the northern city of Mosul, and then advanced southwards towards Baghdad, massacring its adversaries and threatening to eradicate the country’s many ethnic and religious minorities. 

Area under control:

Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 8th November 2019

What does IS want?

• The establishment of a “caliphate” – a state governed in accordance with Islamic law, or Sharia, by God’s deputy on Earth, or caliph.
• It has demanded that Muslims across the world swear allegiance to its leader – Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samarrai, better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – and migrate to territory under its control.
• IS has also told other jihadist groups worldwide that they must accept its supreme authority.
• The group justifies its attacks on Muslims and non-Muslims alike by drawing on extreme interpretations of Islamic texts.

Funds:

• ISIS is the world’s wealthiest militant group. 
• Wealthy private donors and Islamic charities in the Middle East keen to oust Syria’s President Assad.
• Self-funding.
• The US Treasury estimates that in 2014 IS may have earned as much as several million dollars per week, or $100m in total, from the sale of crude oil and refined products to local middlemen, who in turn smuggled them in Turkey and Iran, or sold them to the Syrian government.

To be contd in the next part…………..

Connecting the dots:

• What is ISIS and its mission? How can ISIS be dangerous to the internal security of our country.(UPSC 2015)

POLITY

TOPIC: General Studies 2:

• Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary

Collegium system and NJAC (Part -2)

Context:

• A nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court has dismissed a petition seeking a review of its 1993 verdict in the Second Judges Case, which is widely understood to be instrumental in establishing the “collegium system” of appointing judges in India’s higher judiciary.

Read Part 1 : https://iasbaba.com/2019/11/daily-current-affairs-ias-upsc-prelims-and-mains-exam-7th-november-2019/

National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)

• Body responsible for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary in India.
• 99th Constitutional Amendment Act-2014 passed on 2014 
• A new article, Article 124A, has been inserted into the Constitution.
• The NJAC would have replaced the collegium system for the appointment of judges 
• The National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014, was also passed by the Parliament of India to regulate the functions of the National Judicial Appointments Commission.
• The NJAC Act and the Constitutional Amendment Act came into force in  2015.
• The Constitution Bench of Supreme Court by 4:1 Majority upheld the collegium system and struck down the NJAC as unconstitutional 

Justice Chelameswar. argued that the proposed composition of the NJAC would not be a constitutional issue, and that it could have acted “as a check on unwholesome trade-offs within the collegium and incestuous accommodations between Judicial and Executive branches.”

Need for NJAC :

• The Appointment of Judges by the Collegium system was completely opaque and there was no procedure for checking the reasonableness of appointment.
• There was a complete lack of accountability on the part of Judiciary. 
• The Second Administrative Reforms Commission, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Verappa Moily, had also noted that, “Perhaps in no other country in the world does the judiciary have a final say in its own appointments. In India, neither the executive nor the legislature has much say in who is appointed to the Supreme Court or the High Courts.”
• The major reason for the vacancy in the courts and in turn pendency of cases.
• The collegium system was widely considered to be unconstitutional as the Constitution provided for the appointment by the President in consultation with the judiciary and not vice versa.

Composition:

1. Chief Justice of India (Chairperson, ex officio)
2.  Two other of senior judges of the Supreme Court next to the Chief Justice of India – ex officio
3.  The Union Minister of Law and Justice, ex-officio
4. Two eminent persons

These (two) eminent persons would have been nominated by a committee consisting of the

• Chief Justice of India,
• Prime Minister of India, and
•  Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha 

Functions:

Recommending persons for

• Appointment as Chief Justice of India, Judges of the Supreme Court, Chief Justices of High Courts and other Judges of High Courts

• Transfer of Chief Justices and other Judges of High Courts from one High Court to any other High Court.

After math:

• In 2015 the SC  told that it is open to bringing greater transparency in the collegium system 
• To make collegium transparent
•  The fixing of the eligibility criteria for a person to be considered suitable for appointment as a judge
• A process to receive and deal with complaints against judges without compromising on judicial independence
•  Debate on whether a separate secretariat is required, and if so, its functioning, composition and powers

Connecting the dots:

• How NJAC is unconstitutional? Substantiate.

(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)

Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)

Note: 

• Correct answers of today’s questions will be provided in next day’s DNA section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers. 
• Comments Up-voted by IASbaba are also the “correct answers”.

Q.1) Consider the following statements about Office of Profit

1. It is clearly defined in the Constitution in Article 102(a)
2. If a question arises whether a member (of Parliament) has incurred disqualification on Office of Profit grounds, it will be referred to the Speaker/Chairman of the House decision.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.2) Consider the following statements about India Justice Report

1. It is released by NITI Aayog
2. The report is based on publicly available data from different government entities on the four pillars of justice delivery — police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid.
3. Maharashtra has topped the list of 18 large-medium States in the overall ranking of Indian States on justice delivery

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 Only
2. 2 and 3 Only
3. 1 and 3 Only
4. 1,2 and 3

Q.3) Which of the following countries are member countries of BIMSTEC

1. Srilanka
2. Malaysia
3. Nepal
4. Bangladesh
5. China

Select the correct answer from codes given below

1. 1, 2,3 and 4 Only
2. 1,3 and 4 Only
3. 1,2 and 3 Only
4. 1,2,3,4 and 5

Q.4) Consider the following statements

1. As of Nov 2019, cash held by the public made up 36% of the money in circulation, with most of the rest deposited in banks indicating success of demonetisation
2. The number of UPI payments in 2018-19 for the first time surpassed the number of debit card transactions.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.5) Consider the following statements about Bru Tribes

1. They also referred to as the Reangs, are spread across the north-eastern states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur, and Mizoram.
2. Hojagiri folk dance is performed by Bru people which entails women and young girls, about 4 to 6 members in a team, singing, balancing on an earthen pitcher and managing other props such as a bottle on the head,while only the lower half of the body is moved

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWERS FOR 07 Nov 2019 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK)

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