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The date of implementation of the three criminal codes that were passed by the Parliament in December 2023 will be notified before January 26, a senior government official said.
The official added that it will take nine months to a year for the three criminal laws to be implemented across the country, and a pilot project is all set to begin in Ahmedabad in the next two months.
Except some areas that have connectivity problem, in the next one year, 90% area will have the reach of the new laws.
The official added that 3,000 master trainers will train the police personnel who will work in a pyramid set-up percolating to each district in the next few months.
A task force has been constituted under the Bureau of Police Research and Development to oversee the training.
The National Crime Records Bureau will coordinate the integration of the other wings of the criminal justice system, including the Interoperable Criminal Justice System, the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System, the Adjournment Alert Module, and the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System.
The official said the integration would result in a faster justice system, in tune with the new laws. Chandigarh will be the first to see the integration and implementation of all platforms.
Free Movement Regime to end at Myanmar border (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Union government is all set to scrap the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Myanmar border, a senior government official said.
People living in border areas, who could cross over to India, will soon require visas, the official added. India and Myanmar share an unfenced border, and people on either side have familial and ethnic ties, which prompted the arrangement in the 1970s. It was last revised in 2016.
The official said that around 300 km of the border will be fenced and a tender will be issued in the next few days. A survey of the border areas with the help of drones has been completed.
Amid apprehension that States such as Nagaland and Mizoram may oppose the move, the official said, “Border security is Centre’s domain. We may take note of their concerns but the final decision is of the Union government. We are in talks with Myanmar.”
News
Pleas in SC challenge new law on appointment process for CEC, ECs (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Petitions have been moved in the Supreme Court against a new law which brushes aside a judgment to include the Chief Justice of India as a member of the high-powered selection committee to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the Election Commissioners (EC).
The CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 has diluted the Supreme Court judgment by replacing the Chief Justice of India with a Union Cabinet Minister.
It argued that the exclusion of the CJI had “nullified” the committee. The Prime Minister and his nominee (Cabinet Minister) would always be the deciding factor, filed through advocate Varun Thakur, said.
Institutions supporting constitutional democracy must have an independent mechanism for appointments of its heads and members.
They are compromising free and fair elections with the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the committee. Justice should not only be done but seen to be done.
Science
The ‘volcano tourists’ who vie to catch eruptions on Iceland (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
As the glowing river of lava from a volcano that erupted last week in Iceland ebbed, not everyone was happy.
Hazel Lane, a 49-year-old dental practice manager in London, had booked a ticket to Reykjavik as soon as she saw footage of the eruption on television, hoping to witness spectacular lava flows beneath molten red skies.
Lane had already visited Iceland the previous month, but it was too soon. Although authorities had by that time evacuated the nearly 4,000 inhabitants of the nearby town of Grindavik, weeks passed before the volcano, about 40 km southwest of Reykjavik, erupted on December 18.
She arrived on December 22 to find lava flows had already diminished. Ms. Lane will probably not have to wait long before the next eruption. Iceland boasts more than 30 active volcanoes.
That makes the north European island a prime destination for volcano tourism - a niche segment that attracts thousands of thrill-seekers every year to sites in Sicily, Indonesia, and New Zealand.
But for local tour agencies, planning to take tourists to the site, it was a missed opportunity. Recent eruptions — like the 2021 Fagradalsfjall volcano in southwest Iceland — have drawn thousands of visitors.
Editorial
The global nuclear order is under strain (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
To gain legitimacy, any global order needs to fulfil two conditions. First, a convergence among the major powers of the day, and, second, successfully presenting the outcome as a global public good to the rest of the world. The global nuclear order (GNO) was no exception but, today, it is under strain.
The GNO was created in the shadow of the Cold War, with the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., leading the western and the Socialist blocs, respectively.
Following the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, when the two came perilously close to launching a nuclear war, both U.S. President John F. Kennedy and General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev understood two political realities.
First, as the two nuclear superpowers, they needed bilateral mechanisms to prevent tensions from escalating to the nuclear level.
And, second, nuclear weapons are dangerous and, therefore, their spread should be curbed. This convergence created the GNO.
Opinion
Raj Bhavan needs radical reforms (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Governor of Kerala has been in the news for the wrong reasons. During his recent visit to the Calicut University campus, he instructed the police to remove posters put up against him.
He termed the activists of the Students’ Federation of India “criminals” and accused the Chief Minister of “sponsoring” them.
After his visit, in a clear breach of protocol, he toured Kozhikode without any previous announcement. As such episodes are becoming more common, it is time to think about the behaviour of Governors in Opposition-ruled States and to understand the legal consequences of such aberrations.
The Constitution cannot be expected to deal with the individual behaviour of public functionaries; it only talks of the functions, powers, and duties of Governors.
However, the notion of constitutional morality should govern Governors in their public conduct. In NCT of Delhi v. Union of India (2018), a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court emphasised the need to identify the “moral values of the Constitution” based on a notion of “constitutional culture”.
It said that the “constitutional morality places responsibilities and duties on individuals who occupy constitutional institutions and offices”.
Even while acting as Chancellor, Mr. Khan continues to be Governor. Whether his conduct reflects constitutional morality is an open question.
World
Monster quake in Japan leaves 48 dead; rescuers scramble in search of survivors (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
Japanese rescuers battled the clock and powerful aftershocks on Tuesday to find survivors of a New Year’s Day earthquake that killed at least 48 people and caused widespread destruction.
The 7.5 magnitude quake that rattled Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu triggered tsunami waves more than a metre high which caused a major fire and tore apart roads.
On the Noto Peninsula, the destruction included buildings damaged by fire, houses flattened, fishing boats sunk or washed ashore, and highways hit by landslides.
Local authorities put the death toll at 48, but the number was expected to rise as rescuers comb through the rubble.
Very extensive damage has been confirmed, including numerous casualties, building collapses and fires,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said after a disaster response meeting. “We have to race against time to search for and rescue victims of the disaster.”
Business
RBI flags concern over credit information (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Swaminathan J flagged the central bank’s concern over Credit Information Companies (CICs) which provide credit scores to individuals for availing loans and asked them to focus on six key areas to improve services.
During his meetingwith the MDs & CEOs of all CICs, Mr. Swaminathanpointed out that, of late, there was a rise in customer complaints related to credit information and some concerns had emerged during RBI’s supervisory assessment, according to a statement issued by the RBI.
He asked the CICs to focus on six key areas, namely — need to improve data quality; timely redressal of customer complaints; strengthening of internal ombudsman framework; streamlining the process for handling data correction requests; strengthening of cybersecurity and data privacy through robust information security governance framework; and concerns arising out of usage of data for consulting and analytics.