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The News –
- The Delimitation Commission has proposed significant changes to the electoral map of Jammu and Kashmir.
- Facts for Prelims –
- Delimitation commission –
- Definition – ‘Delimitation commission’ aka ‘boundary commission’ established under provisions of Delimitation commission Act.
- Objective – To re – draw boundaries of various assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on recent census.
Constitutional Provisions –
- Article 82 – Parliament by law enacts a ‘Delimitation Act’ after every census.
- Article 170 – States also get divided into territorial constituencies as per Delimitation Act after every Census.
- Delimitation commission decision cannot be challenged in the ‘court of law’.
- Delimitation commission orders are laid before both ‘Lok Sabha’ and ‘’State legislative assembly’.
- Modifications are not permitted by the houses.
- Set up – by President and works in collaboration with ‘Election commission of India’.
Composition of the ‘Delimitation commission’ –
- 1.Retired Supreme court Judge2.Chief Election commission3.Respective State Election commission
Other Facts – History of ‘Delimitation commission’ –
- 1.1950 – 51 – 1st Delimitation took place2.1952 – 1st Delimitation act3.Have all census resulted into Delimitation act? No (1981 and 1991 census).4.Delimitation commission – has been set up 4 times – 1952, 1962, 1972, 2002.5.Delimitation was suspended by Government after 2001 census.
- Reason for Suspension – To ensure state family planning programs do not effect their representation in Lok Sabha.
- Delimitation will be done after the 2026 census.
The News –
CVC flags 42 cases, 10 by railways, of non-compliance of its advice against corrupt officials.
Basis | Recommendations of S.K. Santhanam committee |
Objective | Investigate into allegation of corruption against ‘certain’ officers (not all – scope of CVC is much narrow compared to Lokpal. |
Composition | 1 (Central vigilance officer) + 2 (Vigilance commissioner) |
Appointment | ‘President’ by warrant under his hand and seal. Recommendation by a selection committee. |
Composition of the Selection committee | 1) Prime Minister + 2) Leader of Opposition + 3) Union Home Minister |
Term and Tenure | 4 years and 65 years |
Reappointment provisions | No reappointment |
Removal | By President (when removed on the basis of misbehavior or Incapacity Supreme court is needed) |
Nature | Advisory body |
Annual report | To the President —> Parliament |
The News –
Recently, Govt removed AFSPA from parts of Nagaland, Assam and Manipur.
Present situation –
Facts for Prelims –
About Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
Year | 1958 |
Objective | It gives special power to Indian armed forces to maintain ‘public order’ in ‘disturbed areas’. |
Disturbed area | ‘Disturbed area’ is an area declared by notification under Section 3 of AFSPA (An ‘area’ can be considered disputed due to differences or disputes between members of different religion / race / language / regional group etc. |
Reason | It is invoked in place where ‘ use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary’. |
Declaration | It can be made by Central Government / Governor (State) / Administrator (UT). Suitable notification needs to be made in the ‘Official Gazette’. |
Enforcement | Done by the Ministry of Home Affairs Exception – Central Government in past has foregone this power and left it to State Government |
Duration | An area declared ‘disturbed area’ has to maintain status quo for ‘minimum 6 months’. Maximum duration – How long it will be in force lies on the discretion of Government. |
Historical evolution | Pre – Independence – British government came up with ‘Armed forces special powers ordinance in 1942 to suppress ‘Quit India movement’. Post – Independence – Facts for Prelims 1st State which imposed AFSPA – Assam (Imposed in parts of Naga Hills which were part of Assam during the time). 1st State from which AFSPA was revoked – Punjab |
Present status | Remains in force in partially or fully in districts of 1) Nagaland 2) Manipur 3) Assam 4) Arunachal Pradesh 5) Jammu and Kashmir |
Special Powers during AFSPA | Armed forces have been given the following powers under the act – 1. Arrest suspect without a warrant. 2. Search any house without any warrant 3. Prohibit gathering of 5 or more persons in an area. 4. Open fire on the disturbing factors after giving due warning. 5. Use force till death on a person who is a repeat offender and tries to disturb the peace of the area. 6. Any house/building then the site or structure can be destroyed by the forces in which any militant or offender is hiding 7. Any Vehicle can be stopped and searched. 8. Legal action is not taken on armed force in case of wrongful action. |
The News –
- SC upholds constitutional validity of amendments to provisions of Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
- Facts for Prelims –
- Foreign contribution (Regulation Act) 2010 –
- Objective –
1.Regulation of ‘acceptance’ or ‘utilisation’ of foreign contribution / funding by Individual / Association / Companies.
2.Prohibits ‘acceptance’ or ‘utilisation’ of Foreign contribution for activity detrimental to the National Interest.
‘Latest amendments ‘done by FCRA –
Original clause | What was added by the Amendment |
Act prohibits acceptance of Foreign contribution 1.Election Candidates 2.Editor or Publisher of Newspaper 3. Judges 4.Government servants 5.Members of legislature 6.Political Parties etc. |
Amendment added ‘Public Servant’ to the list of those Prohibited to take Foreign contribution. |
Transfer of Foreign contribution Act states that Foreign contribution can only be transferred to a Person who is Registered to accept such Foreign Contribution. Has taken ‘prior permission’ from Government. |
Amendment prohibits transfer of foreign contribution received to any other person. |
Requirements for receiving Foreign contribution. Provisions under the Act 1.Get ‘Certificate of Registration’ from the Government. 2.Get ‘prior approval’ from the Government. (non – registered firms). An application needs to be made by a Individual seeking registration / prior approval. |
Amendment provides a requirement for getting registration, renewal or prior permission. The Individual ‘must’ provide ‘Aadhar number’ of its 1) Office – Bearers 2) Directors 3) Key functionaries Provision for Foreigner – Need to provide passport or Overseas citizen of India card. |
FCRA Account – Provisions w.r.t receiving Foreign contribution 1)‘Registered Person’ must accept Foreign contribution in a single branch of Scheduled Bank specified by him. |
Amendment – 1)Foreign contribution must be received only in an account designated by the bank as “FCRA account”. 2) Branch – State Bank of India, New Delhi, as notified by the central government. |
If an Individual accepting foreign contribution is found guilty of violation he will need ‘prior approval’ of Central Government to use ‘unutilised foreign contribution’ | Amendment – Restriction in utilisation of Foreign contribution Government can restrict use of ‘unutilised foreign contribution’ for Individuals who have been given ‘prior permission’. |
Renewal of license: must be done within 6 months of expiration. | Amendment – provides that Government can conduct inquiry before renewal of certificate. |
Provisions under the act Not more than 50% of the Contribution cannot be used for administrative purpose. |
Reduction in use of foreign contribution for administrative purposes – This limit has been decreased from 50 to 20%. |
Suspension of registration Under the act, Government can suspend registration for not more than 180 days |
Amendment – Suspension can be extended by an addition of 180 days |
The News
- Recently, Corruption perception Index (CPI) 2021 was released by Transparency International.
- Facts about Prelims –
- Objective – Ranks 180 countries based by their perceived level of corruption in the ‘Public Sector’.
- Ranking criteria – Results given on a scale of 0 (Highly corrupt) – 100 (very clean).
- Released by – Transparency International
- Top Ranked countries – Denmark, New Zealand and Finland.
- India’s Rank – 85th / 180 countries, Score – 40.
- Ranked 86th in the last year.
Associated Topic – Transparency International
- It is an International NGO with an objective to end Corruption.
- HQ – Berlin, Germany
- Year – 1993
- Objective – 1) End corruption 2) Promote transparency + accountability + integrity at ‘all levels’ and across ‘all sectors of society’.
- Important Publication –
- 1) Corruption Perception Index 2) Global Corruption barometer
The News –
- Good Governance Index 2021 launched on Good Governance Day (December 25th)
- Fact for Prelims
- Good – Governance Index –
- Function – Good – Governance Index (GGI) seeks to evaluate the state of Governance in States / Union Territories (UT’s).
- By – Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG).
- Aim – Index will help to uniformly assess the impact of interventions taken by central and State Government.
GGI – Components and Performance
- Index has identified 10 sectors for ‘comparative analysis’
- 1) Agriculture and Allied Sectors
- 2) Commerce & Industries
- 3) Human Resource Development
- 4) Public Health
- 5.) Public Infrastructure & Utilities
- 6) Economic Governance
- 7) Social Welfare & Development
- 8) Judicial & Public Security
- 9) Environment
- 10) Citizen-Centric Governance
Categorization of States | Performance in the Index |
Group A States | Topped by Gujarat |
Group B States | Topped by Madhya Pradesh |
North – East and Hill states | Topped by Himachal Pradesh |
Union – Territories | Topped by Delhi |
The News
- As a part of KarmaYogi mission, Centre will hire private consultant to revamp competency of bureaucracy.
- Fact for Prelims –
- “Mission Karmayogi“- National Programme for ‘Civil Services Capacity Building’ (NPCSCB)
Components of Mission KarmaYogi –
- 1.New National Architecture for Civil Services Capacity Building2.PM led HR Council will approve + monitor ‘Civil Service Capacity Building Plans’.3.Capacity Building Commission will4.1) Harmonize training standards 2) Create shared faculty and resources 3) Have supervisory role over all Central Training Institutions.
- Wholly owned SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) – will own and operate the online learning platform and facilitate world-class learning content market-place.
Features of Mission KarmaYogi –
-
- 1.Aims to Shift from ‘rule based’ to ‘role based’ Human Resource Management.2.Emphasises role of ‘On – Site Learning’ in complementing offline learning.3.Linking training and development of competencies of civil servants.4.Transform Training Institutions into Centers of Excellence.5.Ministries to directly invest and co – create a common learning ecosystem.6.Focus on massive scale training on e – learning.
- Delivery – via Integrated Government Online Training or iGOT – Karmayogi digital platform
- 1.Aims to Shift from ‘rule based’ to ‘role based’ Human Resource Management.2.Emphasises role of ‘On – Site Learning’ in complementing offline learning.3.Linking training and development of competencies of civil servants.4.Transform Training Institutions into Centers of Excellence.5.Ministries to directly invest and co – create a common learning ecosystem.6.Focus on massive scale training on e – learning.
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