Reading Content from Current Affairs with PT
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Aadhaar gets thumbs up from Supreme Court
1.Summary of judgement: The Supreme Court, in a 4-1 decision on 26th Sept., upheld Aadhaar as a reasonable restriction on individual privacy
that fulfils the government’s “legitimate
aim” to provide dignity to a large, marginalised population living in abject
poverty.
2.It is a Money Bill: Upholding the passage of the Aadhaar Act as a Money Bill, the SC said the statute only sought
“minimal” biometric information, and did not amount to invasion of privacy but linking Aadhar with mobile and SIM Cards was declared unconstitutional.
3.Children insulated : Aadhar is
not necessary for children between age 6-14 for availing the benfits
under SSA, and CBSE and UGC cannot ask for Aadhar.
4. Voice of dissent : The loan dissenter Justice Chandrachud
observed that the state has failed to demonstrate that a less intrusive
measure other than biometric authentication would not subserve its
purposes and
declared that the Aadhar Act
was unconstitutional. (4 Judges did not)
5. Varied reactions : The
Congress says
the SC judgement
backed its
vision but the FM said the judgement will speed up delivery of services to the
poorer sections of the society. He
also claimed a law may be brought for private sector use of Aadhar!
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Deleting biometric data is difficult
1.Majority opinion
silent : The majority opinion in S.C.
Aadhaar verdict is silent on deleting biometric data already
collected by phone companies etc., but Justice
Chandrachud has said that
whatever data is
collected so far should
be deleted forthwith.
2.The bone of contention : A
circular issued by the DoT on March 23, 2017, mandating
the linking of mobile numbers with Aadhaar, has been ruled
unconstitutional.
3.A blow to private
entities: The
SC said
that
a mere contract
between a private entity and an individual was
not enough to demand Aadhaar from the latter.
4. Account opening to be
impacted?: Bankers
say
that as
there are
no other officially valid documents apart from Aadhaar for digital use, accounts cannot be opened online if the customer decides not
to share Aadhar. As
much as 80-85% of SBI’s accounts are linked with Aadhaar, and it opens 27,000 digital accounts
daily. So, will deletion happen?
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MHA merges police forces in six Union Territories
1.New rules : The
Ministry of Home Affairs has notified new rules amalgamating
police forces in six Union Territories. The rules effectively mean that officers, who are not direct IPS recruits, could be posted in
any of the six UTs and will be at the disposal of the MHA.
2.Creation of a Central
Police Cadre : This
is the first step towards the creation of a central police cadre
allowing for the posting of police personnel across the country irrespective of
the force they are initially inducted into.
3.533 posts : The new rules will cover around 533 posts including ACPs and DSPs. Half
of the posts at ACP rank will be filled through direct recruitment and the
other half through promotion. Earlier these postings were decided by the
respective UT administrators.
4.New service : The new service will be known as the
National Capital Territory of Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep,
Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Chandigarh Police Service.
5.Advantages : (1) To ensure that local police personnel do not fall prey to
serving vested interests in their home services, (2)
Ensure that they don’t become complacent, and (3) Local police gets a chance to learn modern
methods of policing at Delhi.
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Boost to SC/ST quota in promotions
1.Modification of a 2006
judgment : On
26th Sept, the SC modified a 2006 judgment and relaxed the rule for govt.
to produce ‘quantifiable data’ of backwardness, to provide quota in promotion
in public employment.
2.2006 judgment
contradictory : In the Indira Sawhney case 1992, the Supreme Court had held that the “test or requirement of social and educational backwardness
cannot be applied to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes…”.
The Presidential List of Scheduled Tribes only refers to those tribes in remote
backward areas who are socially extremely backward.
3.Creamy layer: Justice
Nariman
said that creamy layer applied to SC/ST in promotions.
4.Reason for exclusion
of creamy layer : Justice Nariman said that the
whole object of reservation is to see that backward classes of citizens move
forward so that they may march hand in hand with other citizens of
India on an equal basis. This will not be possible if only the creamy layer
within that class bag all the coveted jobs in the public sector and perpetuate
themselves.
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1.Summary of judgement : A
4-judge Bench of the SC, in a majority opinion of 3 : 1, declined to refer the question if a “mosque as a place of
prayer is an essential part of Islam” in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid appeals to a 7-judge Bench and hearing in the main Ayodhya
title suit appeals will resume.
2.The 1994 judgment : Constitution Bench of SC in the 1994 judgment in the Ismail Faruqui
case made an observation that a mosque is not an essential part of the practice
of the religion of Islam.
3.Dissenting opinion : Justice
S. Abdul Nazeer
dissented and observed that the question of what is essential or not in a
religion cannot be hastily decided.
4. Fundamental rights : What
is essential or not in a religion can
be decided only after studying tenets, beliefs, and doctrines.
Justice Nazeer
held that the comment has to be examined in the background of the fundamental
right against discrimination under Article
15 and
the protection guaranteed to practice, profess and propagate religion in Articles 25 and 26 under the Constitution.
5. The view of the
appellants : The Muslim appellants had pressed that the place of a mosque
in Islam and the importance of the practice of offering prayers inside a mosque
should be first decided by a five-judge Bench.
Recyclers storing electronic waste hazardously : Environment Ministry says so is it not
1.New report : A report by the MoEFCC says that many of India’s electronic-waste (e-waste)
recyclers aren’t recycling waste at all. While some are storing it in hazardous
conditions, others don’t even have the capacity to handle such waste.
2.E-waste in India : India
generates more than two million tonnes of e-waste annually and has 178
registered e-waste recyclers accredited by the State governments.
3.The E-waste rules of
2017: The 2017
rules require companies that make or sell electronic
equipment to collect a certain percentage of e-waste generated
from their goods once they have reached their “end-of-life.”
4.Transgressions : Checks revealed that “…a number of transgressions were seen committed by
the recycling facilities such as adopting non-environmentally sound methods of
storage, handling and processing of e-waste…non-compliance with guidelines of
the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)...” etc.
5.What recyclers say : One
said that his firm was registered as a ‘dismantler’ and
not as a ‘recycler’. Recycling requires specialised equipment, and that’s too
expensive.
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Lack of consensus stalls demonetisation
report again
1.BJP members oppose finalisation: The
BJP members continued to oppose the finalisation of
the long-pending report on demonetisation by reconstituted Parliamentary Committee on Finance.
2.Why the opposition : Newer evidence, including a report by RBI, had come up
since the draft report was circulated almost six months ago and these needed to
be factored into the report.
3.Trinamool’s stance : The
RBI Governor had deposed twice before the
committee and senior bureaucrats too had spent several man hours. The Committee is duty-bound to deliver the report to the
Parliament even if consensus cannot be built.
4.Chairman’s statement :
The chairman Mr. Verappa Moily commented that after more witnesses and
further deliberations the report will be tabled in Parliament.
Adultery
is not a crime, rules SC; strikes it off IPC and Cr PC
1.The judgment : A
5-judge SC Constitution Bench held that adultery is
not a crime and struck it off the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
observing that Section 497 (adultery) of the Code “commands” married couples to
remain loyal to each other.
2.A matter of choice
: The CJI said that two
individuals may part if one cheats, but to attach criminality to infidelity is
excessive. How married couples deal with adultery is “absolutely a matter of privacy”.
3.Moral commitment and
marriage : Loss
of moral commitment in a marriage creates a dent in
the relationship, but individuals have to decide how to deal with it.
4.Gender discrimination
: Section 497 of the IPC treated the wife as the
husband’s property . Under this section adultery
was not a crime if husband consented to his wife’s extra-marital affair.
This section has been struck down.
5.A woman is free to
choose : Justice
D.Y. Chandrachud
held that a married woman can make her own sexual
choices. By marrying, she has not consented to refrain from relations
outside marriage without the permission of her husband.
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Rajasthan farmers benefited from solar water pumps
1.Mismatch : A
scientific study has found
mismatch between investment in solar energy sources and employment generation in
the sector.
2.Impact on farmers : The
study stated
that farmers in Rajasthan have immensely benefited
from the solar photovoltaic (SPV) water pumping systems and there has been a
significant decline in the consumption of fuel in
the agriculture sector.
3.Greenhouse effect : Farmers
used to operate diesel generators for 6 -7 hours a day but the use of SPV pumps has resulted in a decline in fuel
consumption lessening the greenhouse effect.
4.Problems with
electricity : The grid-connected electricity is supplied to agriculture sector
mostly during the night. Using SPV pumps the farmers can irrigate the land during
daytime making their access to water easy.
5.Subsidies being given
since 2010-11 : Rajasthan government subsidises SPV water pumping systems
since 2011-12 because Power supply to the agriculture sector in Rajasthan
ranges between 5 and 6 hours a day.
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Should
the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi case be released?
1.Varying opinions: There
is no uniform opinion as
to whether the 7 convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case must be
released or not.
2.The “Yes” vIew : Indian
prison system must work on the theory of reformative justice. If
not released the state will be violating Article 14 of the Constitution which
says that it “shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal
protection of the laws”.
3.Reintegration into
society : Failure
to consider prisoners who have served the prescribed sentence of 20 years for reintegration into our society shows the system is at fault somewhere, not the prisoner.
4.The “No” view : Keeping in mind the kind of conspiracy and
crime that they have committed, there is no
reason to exercise pardon in their favour. Remission has been rejected on
grounds that are well known, and includes issues of national security and
national integrity.
5.Anti terrorist
measures : The
object of anti-terrorist measures is to deter future activity and to prevent
terrorist activities. No ground appears to exist to agitate again on issues
which have been deliberated upon by constitutional and statutory authorities.
6.The “It’s complicated”
view : The
Supreme Court, in Gopal Vinayak Godse v. the State of Maharashtra (1961), ruled that a sentence of imprisonment for life means
imprisonment for the rest of one’s natural life.
Life sentences awarded to convicts, including those involved in terror
activities, do not automatically imply remission.
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Uzbek President to invite India to join Afghan rail project
1.Key rail link : A 650
km rail
link, connecting the Afghan cities of Mazaar-e-Sharif
and Herat, which may be extended to Kabul, is agreed to by Afghan
President Ashraf G hani and
Uzbek President Mirziyoyev in
2017. India will be invited to help with a key rail link.
2.India’s contributions
: India has already
completed the construction
of the Zaranj-Delaram
Highway in Afghanistan and the Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar, Iran. India is also committed to building
another rail route, from Chabahar to Zahedan on Iran-Afghan border.
3.Advantages for India : The
rail route to Herat, if extended to Kabul, would
also link India’s “air corridor”, allowing trade, especially dry fruits and
agricultural produce to travel along the routes from India to Central Asia and
back in much shorter time.
4.Indo-Pak talks : Uzbekistan said that SCO is a good platform for India and
Pakistan to talk and to maybe work with other countries on how to bring
peace.
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Beijing slams U.S. after jets fly over
S. China Sea
1. Pentagon’s announcement : On 26th
Sept., the Pentagon said heavy
bombers had taken part in a combined operation
with Japan over the East China Sea and had flown
through international airspace over the South China Sea.
2. China’s reaction : The Chinese Defence Ministry denounced flyovers by U.S. B-52 bombers over the South China Sea
and the East China Sea as
“provocative” actions.
3. China’s claims : China
has claimed large swathes of the strategic waterway and
built up a series of islands and maritime features, turning them into military
facilities. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims to the region,
and an international maritime tribunal ruled in 2016 that China’s claims have
no legal basis.
4. Rejected by the US : The US rejects China’s territorial claims and
says the military will “continue
to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows”.
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US Fed hikes rates, sees 3 more years
of growth
1.Growth years : The
U.S. Federal Reserve raised
interest rates on 26th
Sept and left intact its plans to steadily tighten monetary policy. It forecast
that the U.S. economy would grow another three years.
2.Another rate hike
foreseen? The
benchmark overnight lending rate was
lifted by 0.25% to a range of 2.00% to 2.25%. The U.S. central bank still foresees
another rate hike in December, three more next year, and one increase in 2020.
3.The position of the
dollar : The
U.S. dollar briefly weakened against a basket of currencies. U.S. stocks
initially extended gains but fell later in the trading session.
4.Trump criticises : The rate increase once again drew criticism from President Trump,
who has complained that the Fed’s actions are countering his efforts to boost
the economy.
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Telangana is under EC model code of conduct (post dissolution of Assembly)
Enhanced pay for J&K SPOs based on threat
perception
Railways to roll out “smart coaches” with
black boxes, and real time information
BJP, RSS welcome Ayodhya SC ruling, while Congress claims they’re
fooling people
Dr. Ford accuses Trump’s US S.C. pick Judge Kavanaugh of sexual assault years ago
Maldives opposition seeks foreign help to
ensure smooth transition of power!
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