3 May 2024, The Hindu
Law and order a State subject, says SC on Bengal’s suit
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GS 2: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States
India protests Chinese road construction in PoK valley
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GS 2: International Relations- India and its neighbourhood
- India has registered its protest with Beijing against China’s “illegal attempts” to “alter facts on the ground” in the Shaksgam valley of occupied Kashmir, which faces the Siachen glacier, the Ministry of External Affairs said on May 2.
- MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was responding to questions on Chinese road construction in the valley.
- “The Shaksgam Valley is a part of the territory of India. We have never accepted the so-called China Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963 through which Pakistan unlawfully attempted to cede the area to China, and have consistently conveyed our rejection of the same,” Mr. Jaiswal said at the MEA’s weekly press briefing.
- “We have registered our protest with the Chinese side against illegal attempts to alter facts on the ground. We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests,” he added.
Illegal mining in the Aravali range must stop: Supreme Court
Page 4GS 3: Environment- Conservation
- The Supreme Court on Thursday orally said illegal mining in the Aravalli range in Rajasthan must stop.
- “Illegal mining in Aravalli has to stop. What action have you taken against illegal mining and officials who are permitting this activity?”
- Justice B.R. Gavai, heading a Special Bench with Justice A.S. Oka, told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Rajasthan.
Removing exotic plants will ensure food for wild animals, finds study
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GS 3: Environment- Conservation
- Removing exotic plants from forest areas will help ensure food for wild elephants at Chinnakkanal in Munnar, says a study by the Kerala State Forest Protective Staff Organisation, an association of frontline forest officers.
- A group of ground forest team, including deputy rangers, watchers, and a protection watchers team, visited Chinnakkanal recently and interacted with local people and panchayat officials about steps to mitigate human-elephant conflict in the region.
The judiciary’s shadow over standard essential patents
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GS 2: Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary
- There is a possible crisis brewing in India over the manner in which certain technology companies are wielding ‘standard essential patents’ (SEP) against the telecom manufacturing sector in India.
- This is a complex policy issue which has direct ramifications for India’s effort to build a domestic manufacturing industry for cellular phones.
- So far, the issues of regulating SEPs have been left to the judiciary, which, as an institution, has mostly missed the ball.
- To begin with, it is important to understand the importance of SEPs. These are patents that cover technologies which are adopted by the industry as “standards”.
- For example, technologies such as CDMA, GSM, LTE are all industry standards in the telecom sector.
- Such technological standards are especially important to ensure interoperability of different brands of cellular phones manufactured by different companies.
- For example, once GSM was adopted as a standard, all manufacturers had to ensure that the handsets that they manufactured were compatible with GSM. Otherwise there would be no demand for their phones.
Tipping point
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GS 3: Indian Economy - Government Budgeting
- Revenues from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) crossed the ₹2 lakh crore mark for the first time in April.
- The month of April has usually delivered the highest GST kitty as it involves taxes paid for activity undertaken in March, when taxpayers close their books for the year, scurry to meet tax filing deadlines, and make adjustments to square off dues sought by the revenue department owing to oversights or interpretation differences.
- With slightly over ₹2.1 lakh crore of gross revenues, last month’s GST collection was 12.4% higher than the April 2023 tally of ₹1.87 lakh crore, which marked the highest monthly intake prior to the latest data set.
- Minus the year-end effect, revenues in subsequent months will moderate so the ₹2 lakh crore figure may not be the new normal for monthly GST collections just yet.
Centre to train State police forces on new criminal laws
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GS 2: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States
- The Union Government has rolled out an intensive training strategy for police and prison department personnel across the country on the new criminal laws and to sensitise them to the transition from the colonial legacies to a new system of justice.
- In a communication to Heads of Police Forces and Prison Departments, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the Parliament had replaced the three existing laws, namely the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 by three new progressive and modern pieces of legislation, namely the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023 respectively.
