Polity & Governance One Year Current Affairs Set 5 (UPSC 2020)

Table of Contents

Topics to discuss

Amendment to the RTI Act
Protection of Human Rights (Amendment)Act
Interstate River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019
Arbitration Acts
AadharReport
Prevention of Worship (Special Provisions) Act 1991

Q) With reference to the RTI amendment act, which of the following statements is/are correct?

Any person who is a citizen of India can file an RTI
The office of Chief justice of India is not under the ambit of RTI.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

WHY IN NEWS

RTI Amendment Act

Amendments brought in the RTI Act
Removal of Fixed terms As per the act, the CIC and ICs will hold office for a term of five years.
The Amendment removes this provision and states that the central government will notify the term of office for the CIC and the ICs.

Determination of salary

As per the original act, the salary of the CIC and ICs (at the central level) will be equivalent to the salary paid to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, respectively.
Similarly, the salary of the CIC and ICs (at the state level) will be equivalent to the salary paid to the Election Commissioners and the Chief Secretary to the state government, respectively
The Amendmentempowers the Central Government to determine the salaries, allowances, and other terms and conditions of service of the central and state CIC and ICs

Basic about RTI

Right to information is a Fundamental right protected under article 21 of the Indian Constitution
Any person who is a citizen of India can file an RTI application.
All below poverty line (BPL) families are exempt from paying any fees for other there is nominal fee of Rs10 which may also vary from state to state

Recent Judgements related to RTI

Supreme Court of India Vs SubhashChandra
Afive-judge Constitution Bench of Supreme Court (SC) declared that the Office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is a ‘public authority’ under Section 2(h) of RTI Act.
A.V. College Trust and Management Society Vs. Director of Public Instructions
Supreme Court ruling has brought non-government organizations (NGOs) receiving funds from the governments under the ambit of RTI Act.

WHY IN NEWS

Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2019

Amendment to the original act of 1993 was made to ensure Gender balance and pluralism in its staff
Changes made are:

Q) With reference to the Inter State Water river dispute, which of the following statements is/are correct?

No court has jurisdiction over the inter state water river dispute.
Inter state water river dispute bill, 2019 establish a Single Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal dissolving all existing tribunals

Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

WHY IN NEWS

Inter State River water Disputes Amendment(Bill), 2019

The LokSabha passed the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which seeks to replace Inter State River Water Dispute Act, 1956
Constitutional and Legal Provisions with regard to River Water dispute
Article 262(1) provides that Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or in, any inter State river or river valley.
Article 262(2) empowers Parliament with the power to provide by law that neither the supreme court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint
Under Article 262, two acts were enacted

River Board Act, 1956

Interstate River water dispute Act,1956
The interstate river dispute act is amended with the following provision
Provisions of Inter-state River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019
Dispute Resolution Committee to resolve the dispute amicably by negotiations within one year (extendable by six months), before referring it to tribunal
Establishment of a Single Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal dissolving all existing tribunals
It prescribes composition of tribunal, timelines, and makes mandatory for the Central Government to make a scheme to give effect to the decision of the Tribunal
Data Collection and maintenance of a databank-at national level for each river basin by an agency to be appointed and authorized by central government

Point to note

Though Article 262 prohibits the Supreme Court or any other court from jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint.
But if states feel that the order is not satisfactory only then they can approach Supreme Court under Article 136.
Article 136 gives discretion to allow leave to appeal against order, decree, judgment passed by any Court or tribunal in India.

WHY IN NEWS

Arbitration Acts

Recently, government has passed New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) Act and Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act

Arbitration

It is the settlement of dispute between parties to a contract by a neutral third party (the arbitrator) without resorting to court action.
It is one of the ways of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Others being Mediation, Conciliation and LokAdalats.
It is confidential, speedier and cheaper than court.
Arbitral awards are binding and enforceable through courts.

Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation

NDIAC Act

The Act envisages NDIAC to replace International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR) as an Institution of National Importance
It will facilitate conducting of international and domestic arbitration, mediation and conciliation proceedings in a most professional, cost effective and timely manner.
It will be headed by a chairperson, who has been a judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court or an eminent person having special knowledge and experience in the administration of arbitration.

Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 2019

It amends the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 to deal with domestic and international arbitration.
Under it, an independent body called the Arbitration Council of India (ACI) will be set up
Appointment of Arbitrators will now be done by the Supreme Court designated arbitral institutions, which was earlier used to be done by parties themselves.
It seeks to remove time restriction for international commercial arbitrations and says tribunals must try to dispose of international arbitration matters within 12months.

WHY IN NEWS

Aadhar Report Findings

95%of adults have Aadhaarand 75%of children have Aadhaar.
8% of people do not have Aadhaar–or an estimated 102million people.
80% of beneficiaries feel Aadhaarhas made PDS rations, MGNREGS and social pensions more reliable.

Aadhar

Aadharis a verifiable 12-digit identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to the resident of India.
Aadharcollects only four pieces of personal information –name, age, gender and address along with biometric data.
In addition, Aadharhas created new features such as virtual IDs that help protect an individual’s privacy
The objective of Aadharis to provide efficient, transparent and targeted delivery of welfare services

Aadhar Act Features

Offline verification of Aadharnumber holder: It allows ‘offline verification’ of an individual’s identity, without authentication, through modes specified by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by regulations.
Voluntary use: An individual may voluntarily use his Aadharnumber to establish his identity, by authentication or offline verification. Authentication of an individual’s identity via Aadhar, for the provision of any service, may be made mandatory only by a law of Parliament.
Disclosure of information in certain cases: Allows disclosure only for orders by High Courts (or above).

WHY IN NEWS

Place of Worship Act 1991

The Act declares that the religious character of a place of worship shall continue to be the same as it was on August 15, 1947
It says no person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination into one of a different denomination or section.
It also imposes a positive obligation on the State to maintain the religious character of every place of worship as it existed at the time of Independence.
It declares that all suits, appeals or any other proceedings regarding converting the character of a place of worship, which are pending before any court or authority on August 15,1947, will abate as soon as the law comes into force.