18 July 2024, The Hindu
Karnataka halts jobs Bill as industry raises uproar
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GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment
- As a draft Bill cleared by the Karnataka Cabinet mandating reservation for locals garnered adverse reactions from industry heads and trade bodies in the State, the government late on Wednesday announced that it had been “temporarily withheld” and a decision would be taken later after a review.
- “The Bill is withheld until further consultations and due diligence. Industry leaders need not panic as assured,” Minister for Large and Medium Industries M.B. Patil said.
Shivaji’s wagh nakh from U.K. to be displayed in Satara
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GS 1: Indian Culture – Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture
- Amid controversy over its authenticity, the iconic wagh nakh or tiger claws used by Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was brought to India from London, on July 17.
- Excise Minister Shambhuraj Desai said the dagger will arrive in western Maharashtra’s Satara on July 19. “It will receive a grand welcome and will be encased in a bulletproof cover. Security has been heightened,” Mr. Desai said.
Murmu returns Punjab Bill to replace Governor as Chancellor
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GS 2: Indian Constitution: features, amendments, significant provisions
- President Droupadi Murmu has refused to clear a Punjab government Bill seeking the removal of Governor Banwarilal Purohit as the Chancellor of state-run universities. The state government has now decided to seek legal option.
- The Bill, sent to the President in December, was recently returned to the Punjab Raj Bhavan.
- Following a November 10 Supreme Court ruling that “governors cannot sit on state Bills”, Purohit had reserved three pending Bills — The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The Sikh Gurudwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023 — for the President’s consideration.
- The other two Bills are still with the President.
Centre asks States to ensure that queer community gets equal rights in prisons
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GS 2: mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable sections
- The Union Government has asked States/Union Territories to ensure that members of the queer community (LGBTQ+) get equal rights in prison and there is no discrimination in access to goods and services, especially prison visitation rights.
- In a note to Home Secretaries and Heads of Prisons, the Ministry of Home Affairs said it had come to the notice of the ministry that members of the queer community (LGBTQ+) were often discriminated against because of their gender identity or sexual orientation and faced violence and disrespect.
Intergenerational equity as tax devolution criterion
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GS 2: devolution of powers and finances up to local levels (local self government)
- The devolution of Union tax revenue to States is a topic that has been in discussion in the political sphere in recent times.
- However, it is an evergreen subject of discussion for economists.
- One of the points in this discussion is the factors in the horizontal distribution of States’ share in Union tax revenue among States.
- The Finance Commission (FC) decides the horizontal distribution formula once every five years.
- Despite repeated quinquennial revisits to this distribution formula, conceptually, it is predictable that equity is prioritised over efficiency.
- Equity in the distribution formula is about intragenerational equity, that is, to redistribute tax revenue among States.
- The undesirable consequence of this is the accentuation of intergenerational inequity within States.
- The argument is that intergenerational equity should be a factor in India’s horizontal distribution formula for tax devolution.
Choosing the right track to cut post-harvest losses
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GS 3: Agriculture: Major cropping patterns in various parts of the country, e-technology; Economics of animal rearing
- India ranks second in global agriculture production, but its share in global agricultural exports is only 2.4%, placing it eighth in the world.
- This is attributed to several factors that include low productivity, an inability to meet desired quality standards and inefficiencies in the supply chain such as an inadequate transportation network and infrastructure, which also leads to significant post-harvest losses.
- India’s post-harvest losses amount to approximately ₹1,52,790 crore annually, according to a Ministry of Food Processing Industries 2022 study.
- As India’s population continues to grow, the challenge of meeting the food and nutrition demand of its people will continue to intensify.
- While growing more food is part of the solution, the prevention of post-harvest losses is crucial.
Arrest and liberty
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Prelims syllabus: Current events of national and international importance.
- Two observations made in different contexts by the Supreme Court of India have raised relevant issues concerning personal liberty.
- The cases related to actions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and the significance of these observations lies in the extent to which courts are inclined to protect personal liberty in the face of a determined government that wants its agencies to have their way.
- One concerned the question whether an officer arresting a person on money-laundering charges should demonstrate the necessity for arrest for the action to be deemed valid; and the other voiced shock and revulsion at the ease and quickness with which courts were staying reasoned orders granting bail.
The problems with sub-caste reservations
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GS 2: Indian Constitution: features, amendments, significant provisions
- The Supreme Court has reserved the decision on sub-caste reservation for SC/STs.
- Any decision on sub-caste reservation needed to be justified not only on legal grounds but also on academic grounds.
- The academic basis for sub-caste reservation seems to be weak.
- So far, the government has used three policy instruments namely legal safeguards against caste discrimination, reservation in the legislature, public jobs, education institutions, and measures to improve ownership of capital assets such as land, businesses and education levels.
On political representation of women
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GS 1: Society: Role of women and women’s organisations
- In the recently concluded general elections in the U.K., a record 263 women MPs (40%) have been elected to the House of Commons.
- The South African National Assembly has around 45% women representation, while the U.S. House of Representatives has 29%.
- Universal suffrage was achieved in various parts of the world after prolonged political movements.
- New Zealand as a self-governing unit under British rule was the first to grant universal women suffrage in 1893.
- The U.K., itself provided all its women the right to vote only in 1928. The U.S., granted equal voting rights through the nineteenth amendment only in 1920.
Of a gilded past and the future: Nalanda’s lost glory and new-found ambitions
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GS 1: Indian Culture – Salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture
- “Nalanda is not just a name, it is an identity. Nalanda is the root, it is the mantra.
- Nalanda is the proclamation of the truth that knowledge cannot be destroyed even though books burn in a fire.”
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words at the inauguration of the new Nalanda University campus at Rajgir recently and his “golden age” references made us go back to the history books.
- Established by emperor Kumaragupta-I of the Gupta dynasty around 427 AD, Nalanda, a centre for learning, carved out its own niche with the support of the Pala kings, and later the monks of Nalanda, who were patronised by the Pithipatis of Bodh Gaya.
- Nalanda was way ahead of its times, a sacred spot for the spiritually inclined.
10 Indian dogs in Paris to guard Olympics
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Prelims syllabus: Current events of national and international importance.
- A 10-member K9 team along with 17 handlers from India is in Paris to provide security for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024 at the request of the French Mission in India.
- This marks the first time an Indian K9 contingent will perform such duties abroad, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
- The Indian K9 contingent comprises 10 dogs of different breeds: six Belgian Shepherds, three German Shepherds, and one Labrador Retriever.
- The dogs reached Paris in an Air France commercial flight, officials said.
