NRIs to Vote by Proxy

Lok Sabha has passed a bill to amend the Representation of the People Act which proposes that overseas Indians, who are entitled to vote in India, could now appoint a proxy voter to cast their votes.

• The Representation of the People Act, 1950 provides for allocation of seats and delimitation of constituencies for elections, qualifications of voters, and preparation of electoral rolls.
• The Representation of the People Act, 1951, provides for the conduct of elections and offences and disputes related to elections.

Key Points

• According to the Bill, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 provides that the overseas electors can register themselves in the electoral rolls and exercise their franchise in person on production of original passport.
• The existing rules stipulate the physical presence of the overseas electors in the respective polling station in India on the day of polling. This causes hardship to the overseas electors in exercising their franchise by being present in India on the day of polling.
• The option of proxy voting, was only available to service personnel till now.
• There is a provision in the amendment Bill which relates to the spouses of service voters. As of now, an army man's wife is entitled to be enrolled as a service voter, but a woman army officer's husband is not, according to the provisions in the electoral law.
  • However, The Bill proposes to replace the term 'wife' with 'spouse', thus making the provision gender neutral.

Facts and Figures

• According to estimates of Ministry of External Affairs, there are about 3.10 crore NRIs living in different countries across the world.
• An expert committee of the Election Commission, working on the issue, had in 2015 forwarded the legal framework to the Law Ministry to amend the electoral laws to allow the proxy voting by overseas Indians.
• According to a UN survey, India's diaspora population is the largest in the world with 16 million people from the country living in 2015.

Concerns

• Concerns were raised about the misuse of NRI’s vote by the proxy chosen by her. Also the Constitution allows one vote to every person, and the casting of vote by the proxy would violate the same provision.
• Confidentiality of the voting process in the proxy voting is also being seen as an area of concern.
• The Bill can violate many provisions of Constitution including Article 19 as the voters could be coerced to vote for the ruling party.
• It is against level-playing field as regional parties will not have the wherewithal to campaign in foreign countries. It will only be in favour of the ruling party as they have the access to government machinery including embassies to garner support for them.

Prevention of Atrocities Amendment Bill, 2018

Parliament has passed the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018.

Key Points

• The Bill rules out any provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of atrocities against SC/STs, notwithstanding any court order.
• The legislation also provides that no preliminary inquiry will be required for registering a criminal case and an arrest under this law.
• The arrest of a person accused of having committed an offence under the Act would not require any approval.
• The provisions of Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure which deals with anticipatory bail shall not apply to a case under this Act, notwithstanding any judgment or order of any Court.

Read more about the legislation...

Amendment to Triple Talaq Bill

The Union Cabinet has approved three crucial amendments to the triple talaq Bill. The provisions provide additional safeguards from the Act being misused.

• The Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill, makes instant triple talaq illegal and imposes a jail term of up to three years.

The Provisions

• The ‘offence’ of instant triple talaq will remain a a non-bailable one when a man is arrested but he will be able to apply for bail before the trial, but only after the magistrate hears a wife.
  • The offence has been made compoundable, that is, if the wife and husband desire to settle differences, then the magistrate can compound the offence on appropriate terms and conditions.
• The complaint in such a case can only be filed by the victim (wife) or blood relations, and that a magistrate can grant bail with terms and conditions.
• The woman can approach the magistrate to seek subsistence allowance for herself and her minor children, and can also seek custody of her minor children from the magistrate who will take a final call on the matter.

Background

The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017, was introduced after the landmark 3-2 verdict of the Supreme Court which set aside the centuries-old practice of talaq-e-biddat or instant triple talaq in which Muslim men divorce their wives by uttering talaq three times in quick succession.

What is Triple Talaq?

• There are three forms of talaq (divorce) in Islam: Ahsan, Hasan and Talaq-e-Biddat (triple or instant talaq). Ahsan and Hasan are revocable but Biddat is irrevocable.
• Triple talaq is a practice mainly prevalent among India’s Muslim community following the Hanafi Islamic school of law.
• Under the practice, a Muslim man can divorce his wife by simply uttering “talaq” three times but women cannot pronounce triple talaq and are required to move a court for getting divorce under the Sharia Act, 1937.
• Triple talaq divorce is banned by many Islamic countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia.

Triple Talaq and the Indian constitution

• Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees religious freedom as Freedom of Practice and Propagation of Religion.
• Like all other Fundamental Rights, it is subject to restrictions and does not protect religious practices that can negatively affect the welfare of citizens.
• Hence, Article 25 is overridden by Article 14, which guarantees the Right to Equality as triple talaq denies a Muslim woman’s equality before the law.
• Article 25 is also subject to Article 15 (1) which states that the State “shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex…” Since triple talaq does not work in the favour of women, it violates Article 15 (1) of the Constitution.

SC Alters Lodha’s BCCI Proposals

The Supreme Court has finalised the new Constitution for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

• In a landmark decision on 18 July, 2016, the Supreme Court passed most of the reforms proposed by the Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha-led Committee in an effort to clean up cricket administration in India that had been maligned by the spot-fixing scandal in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL).

Key Points

• The court has rejected the ‘one State-one vote’ recommendation of the Justice R.M. Lodha Committee and has altered the cooling-off period for cricket bosses.
  • The court disagreed with Justice Lodha that cricket could prosper only if the BCCI was represented by every State and Union Territory.
  • The court has recognised the validity of BCCI’s traditional structure and the cricketing legacy of associations like Vidarbha and Mumbai in Maharashtra and Baroda and Saurashtra in Gujarat and reinstated these entities as full members of the board with voting rights.
  • The one state-one vote rule had extinguished their representation while giving voting rights to states with feeble cricketing presence, raising fears of proxy or dummy voting.
• The court has stated that to utilise territoriality as a basis of exclusion is problematic because it ignores history and the contributions made by such associations to the development of cricket and its popularity.
• The SC has also increased the number of selectors from three to five, observing that a broad-based selection committee was required to tap the prodigious talent pool spread across the country.
• Restriction in the composition of the selection committee had led to a situation where persons with limited experience were found to be eligible and made it to the committee.
  • The court retained the Lodha panel suggestion of barring government ministers or government servants from holding cricket office. It upheld the age cap of 70 years for cricket administrators.
• As per the amendments, the cooling-off period will be effective after two consecutive terms.The office bearer will be eligible to contest for one last term after completely disassociating from cricket management, both in BCCI and state association, for three years.
  • Justice Lodha had suggested that the cooling-off period should kick in for a cricket administrator after his every tenure of three years in office.
  • However, the court said that an administrator need to cool-off only after two consecutive terms of six years in office, whether in the BCCI or a State association or a combination of both.
  • The court has observed that six years in continuation is a sufficiently long period for experience and knowledge gained to be deployed in the interest of the game without at the same time resulting in a monopoly of power.
• The court upheld the Justice Lodha recommendation of an apex council to professionally manage the BCCI.
  • The council would consist of a Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and other officers who must be recruited on a transparent and professional basis.
  • Of the nine members of the apex council, five (the president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary, treasurer and a member) are to be elected by the General body.

Cabinet Approves Release of Pulses to States

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has approved the release of pulses to States/UTs at discounted rate to be utilized for various Welfare Schemes from the stock of pulses procured under Price Support Schemes (PSS).

Price Support Schemes

• The Price Support Scheme(s) of the Government is directed at providing insurance to agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. The minimum guaranteed prices are fixed to set a floor below which market prices cannot fall. E.g.: Minimum Support Prices (MSP) and Procurement Prices.
• National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.(NAFED) established in 1958 and registered under the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act. is one of the central Nodal Agencies for procurement of agricultural commodities under Price Support Scheme (PSS).

Impact

• The decision will enable the States/UTs to use pulses in various Welfare Schemes like PDS, Mid-Day Meal Scheme etc.
• It will also ensure availablity of the warehouses, which may be required in coming Kharif season for storage of commodities procured under Price Support Scheme.

Details

• Under this approved Scheme, the States/UT Governments are offered Tur, Chana, Masoor, Moong and Urad at discount of Rs.15 per Kg over the prevailing wholesale market price of the sourcing state on "first come first serve" basis.
• The State/UTs Governments will utilize these pulses in their various Welfare Schemes/Programmes like Mid-Day Meal, Public Distribution System, Integrated Child Development Programmes (ICDP) etc.
• This will be one-time dispensation for a period of 12 months or complete disposal  of pulses stock whichever is earlier.

Background

• Country has witnessed all time high production of pulses during the last 2 years.
• Government of India under Price Support Scheme has made record procurement of pulses during Kharif 2017 and Rabi 2018 marketing season.
• In the coming Kharif season the production of pulses is expected to be good.
• This coupled with increase in Minimum Support Price will require additional procurement under Price Support Scheme.

Indian Telescope Spots Distant Radio Galaxy

The scientists have discovered the most distant radio galaxy ever known, located at a distance of 12 billion light-years.

• The discovery was done after studying the data derived from a sky survey done by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in Pune seven years ago.
• However, the distance of this galaxy was determined using the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii and the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona.
• This radio galaxy belongs to a time when the universe was only seven per cent of its current age. This also means that the light from this galaxy is almost 12 billion years old.
• The unraveling of such radio galaxies at large distances is important for understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxies, and formation of primordial black holes.
• The Centaurus A is the closest radio galaxy at only 10 million light years away from the Earth.

Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

• GMRT is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes of 45 metre diameter. It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research.
• GMRT is an indigenous project. Its design is based on the `SMART' concept - for Stretch Mesh Attached to Rope Trusses.
• It functions at the metre wavelength part of the radio spectrum because man-made radio interference is considerably lower in this part of the spectrum in India and there are many outstanding astrophysics problems which are best studied at metre wavelengths.
• The location for GMRT, Pune meets several important criteria such as low man-made radio noise, availability of good communication, vicinity of industrial, educational and other infrastructure and,a geographical latitude sufficiently north of the geomagnetic equator in order to have a reasonably quiet ionosphere and yet be able to observe a good part of the southern sky as well.

Radio Galaxy

• Radio galaxies are very rare objects in the universe. They are extremely large galaxies with a supermassive black hole in their centre that actively accumulates gas and dust from its surroundings.
  • Black Hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.
• The accumulation of gas and dust initiates the launch of high-energy jet streams, which are capable of accelerating charged particles around the supermassive black hole to almost the speed of light.
  • These jet streams are very clearly observed at radio wavelengths.
• Radio galaxies and Quasars (believed to be a radio galaxy viewed down the length of the jet) are some of the brightest objects in the universe.
  • The word quasar is short for "quasi-stellar radio source", which means star-like emitters of radio waves. However, most quasars are faint radio emitters.
  • In addition to radio waves and visible light, quasars also emit ultraviolet rays, infrared waves, X-rays, and gamma-rays.
  • Most quasars are larger than our solar system.

ISRO to Launch State-of-the-Art Satellites

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has planned to launch a number of state-of-the-art satellites to further enhance operational applications and cater to the needs of emerging applications.The details of the state of the art satellites approved for launch till 2019-20 are

• Third generation Cartosat series satellite for very high resolution mapping

• Second generation stereo imaging satellite for Digital Elevation Model.

• Geostationary Imaging Satellite (GISAT) for Earth observation from Geostationary Orbit.

World Biofuel Day

The World Biofuel Day is observed every year on August 10 to create awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels.

• The World Biofuel Day is being observed by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for the last three years.
• Persons from diverse fields like Members of Parliament,Students,farmers,entrepreneurs,Ambassadors,Government officers will participate in the event.
• Separate interactive sessions on ethanol, bio-diesel, bio-CNG and 2nd Generation biofuels are also scheduled after the inaugural session.

Ethanol Blending Programme (EBP)

• It aims at blending ethanol with petrol, thereby bringing it under the category of biofuels and saving millions of dollars by cutting fuel imports.
• Under EBP program,availability of ethanol will increase due to the higher price for C heavy molasses based ethanol and enabling procurement of ethanol from B heavy molasses and sugarcane juice for the first time.
• The Government has also reduced GST on ethanol for blending in fuel from 18% to 5%.

National Policy on Biofuels

• The objective of the Biofuel policy is to achieve 20% ethanol-blending and 5% biodiesel-blending by the year 2030.
• The policy also expands the scope of feedstock for ethanol production and has provided for incentives for production of advanced biofuels.

Initiatives Taken by the Government of India on Biofuels

• Simplifying the procurement procedures of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
• Amending the provisions of Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951.
• Enabling lignocellulosic route for ethanol procurement.
• Administrative price mechanism for ethanol.

Other Facts

• India is the third largest consumer of energy in the world after China and the US.
• Currently, the country is dependent on imports for about 82.1 per cent of its crude oil requirement and to the extent of about 44.4 per cent in case of natural gas.
• Oil PSUs are also planning to set up 12 second generation (2G) biorefineries to augment ethanol supply and address environmental issues arising out of burning of agricultural biomass.
• The biofuels programme is also in sync with other Government of India initiatives like Make in India and Swachh Bharat Mission.

India’s Inward Remittances Survey 2016-17

The Reserve Bank released the survey on India’s inward remittances in 2016-17, which is the fourth in the series.

• It captures various aspects relating to remittances – source; destination; purpose of inward remittances; size; prevalent mode of transmission; and receivers’/ senders’ cost of remittances.
• It can also be noted that according to the latest Migration and Development Brief of the World Bank, India retained the top position as recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending about USD 69 billion back home in 2017.

NOTE: A remittance is a transfer of money by a foreign worker to an individual in his or her home country. Workers' remittances are a significant part of international capital flows, especially with regard to labour-exporting countries.

Highlights of the Survey

• The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has emerged as the top source of inward remittances, while Kerala has received the maximum funds sent from abroad
• 82 per cent of the total remittances received by India originated from eight countries, viz., the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the United Kingdom and Malaysia.
• Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu together received 58.7 per cent of total remittances.
• More than half of remittances received by Indian residents were used for family maintenance, i.e., consumption (59.2 per cent), followed by deposits in banks (20 per cent) and investments in landed property and shares (8.3 per cent)
• Remittances to India were mostly routed through private sector banks (74.2 per cent), followed by public sector banks (17.3 per cent) and foreign banks (8.5 per cent)
• The rupee drawing arrangement (RDA) is the most popular channel of remittances which accounts for 75.2% of remittances, followed by SWIFT (19.5%), direct transfers (3.4%) and cheques and drafts (1.9%).
  • Rupee Drawing Arrangement (RDA) is a channel to receive cross-border remittances from overseas jurisdictions. Under this arrangement, the Authorised Category I banks enter into tie-ups with the non-resident Exchange Houses in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) compliant countries to open and maintain their Vostro Account.
    • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the Ministers of its Member jurisdictions.
    • The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
    • The FATF is therefore a “policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring about national legislative and regulatory reforms in these areas.
• A Vostro Account is established to enable a foreign correspondent bank to act as an agent or provide services as an intermediary for a domestic bank to execute wire transfers, withdrawals and deposits for customers in countries where the domestic bank does not have a physical presence.
  • The term vostro translated from Latin means "yours," as in your account. From the correspondent bank’s point of view, the funds held on behalf of other banks are referred to as vostro accounts and are denominated in the local currency.
  • From the perspective of domestic banks, the funds deposited at correspondent banks are referred as nostro accounts. Nostro translated from Latin means "ours," as in our accounts. Nostro accounts are denominated in the foreign currency of the correspondent bank.
• The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) provides a network that enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment.

Importance of Remittances

• Remittances are crucial as they ensure permanent foreign currency inflows and help finance current account deficit.
• Unlike NRI deposits that can be repatriated and FDI that can be withdrawn instantly, remittances are more stable.
• Experts suggest that the government should work towards safeguarding remittance inflows and find ways to secure overseas markets through its policies to further facilitate migration of workers.

Important Facts for Prelims (10th August, 2018)

SWAYAM

• Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM), was launched on July 9, 2017 by Ministry of Human Resource Development to provide one integrated platform and portal for online courses.
• This covers all higher education subjects and skill sector courses.
• The objective is to ensure that the every student in the country has access to the best quality higher education at the affordable cost.
• Academicians from hundreds of institutions throughout the country are involved in developing & delivering Massive open online courses (MOOCs) through SWAYAM in almost all disciplines from senior schooling to Post Graduation.

Unnat Bharat Programme 2.0

• The Government has recently launched Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0, which covers 750 Higher Educational Institutes.
• Unnat Bharat Abhiyan aims to link the Higher Education Institutions with atleast 5 villages, so that these institutions can contribute to the economic and social betterment of these village communities using their knowledge base.
• Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is inspired by the vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India.
• It also aims to create a virtuous cycle between the society and an inclusive university system, with the latter providing knowledge base; practices for emerging livelihoods and to upgrade the capabilities of both the public and private sectors.
• Objective of the scheme are-
  • To engage the faculty and students of Higher Educational Institutions in understanding rural realities
  • Identify and select existing innovative technologies, enable customization of technologies, or devise implementation methods for innovative solutions, as required by people
  • To allow Higher Educational Institutions to contribute to devising systems for smooth implementation of various Government Programs.

Environmental Performance Index

• Ministry of Environment has refuted the The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) report, 2018 which has ranked India at 177 out of 180 countries.
• As per the report, India’s poor performance is linked to its Environmental Health policy objective and the increase in deaths due to increasing PM2.5 levels.
• India was ranked 141 in the 2016 edition of the report.
• The 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) ranks 180 countries on 24 performance indicators across ten issue categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
• Innovations in the 2018 EPI data and methodology have generated new rankings founded on the latest advances in environmental science and analysis.
• In general, high scorers exhibit long-standing commitments to protecting public health, preserving natural resources, and decoupling greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from economic activity.
• Low scores on the EPI are indicative of the need for national sustainability efforts on a number of fronts, especially cleaning up air quality, protecting biodiversity, and reducing GHG emissions.
• This index is prepared by Yale University and Columbia University in collaboration with the World Economic Forum.
• Switzerland leads the world in sustainability, followed by France, Denmark, Malta and Sweden in the EPI.
• Overall, India (at 177) and Bangladesh (179) is among the least five performers followed by Nepal (176), Dem Rep. of Congo(178) and Burundi(180).

Michelle Bachelet as New UN Rights Chief

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday nominated Chile's twice-serving president and prominent women's rights advocate Michelle Bachelet to be the global body's next human rights chief.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)

• In a bid to boost rural road connectivity, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, approved the continuation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) beyond the 12th five year plan period.
• PMGSY was launched on 25th December, 2000 to provide all weather road connectivity in rural areas of the country.
• The program envisages to provide rural connectivity consisting of 500 persons and above in the plain areas and 250 persons and above in the hilly States , desert areas, Tribal areas and selected Tribal and Backward Districts.
• The Union Ministry of Rural Development is the nodal implementing authority of the scheme.
• It also envisages to complete GIS mapping of all roads by 2018.
• The concept of Green and innovative technologies is also encouraged under the scheme.
• It also launched a mobile application ‘Meri Sadak’ to enable citizens to register complaints regarding the quality and pace of construction of PMGSY roads.