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InstaLinks help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically.
Table of Contents:
GS Paper 2:
1. Governors of States in India.
3. Central Information Commission (CIC).
4. Kappa And Lambda- Newest Sars-CoV-2 Variants.
6. Indemnity issues hold up U.S. vaccine donation.
Facts for Prelims:
1. Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR).
2.Bhalia wheat.
3. Khadi Prakritik.
GS Paper : 2
Topics Covered: Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.
Governors of States in India:
Context:
The President appoints new Governors for 8 states.
Governors of States in India (Article 152-162):
- A governor is a nominal head of a state, unlike the Chief Minister who is the real head of a state in India.
- According to the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act 1956, the same person can be the Governor of two or more states.
- The Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
Removal:
The Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.
- Can be terminated earlier by: Dismissal by the president, at whose pleasure the governor holds office or Resignation by the governor.
- There is no provision of impeachment, as it happens for the president.
Some discretionary powers are as follows:
- Can dissolve the legislative assembly if the chief minister advises him to do following a vote of no confidence. Following which, it is up to the Governor what he/ she would like to do.
- Can recommend the president about the failure of the constitutional machinery in the state.
- Can reserve a bill passed by the state legislature for the president’s assent.
- Can appoint anybody as chief minister If there is no political party with a clear-cut majority in the assembly.
- Determines the amount payable by the Government of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to an autonomous Tribal District Council as royalty accruing from licenses for mineral exploration.
- Can seek information from the chief minister with regard to the administrative and legislative matters of the state.
- Can refuse to sign an ordinary bill passed by the state legislature.
Problems with constitutional design:
- The governor is merely appointed by the president on the advice of the Central government.
- Unlike the president, a governor does not have a fixed term. He/she holds office at the pleasure of the ruling party in the centre.
- Both the manner of the appointment and the uncertainty of tenure conspire to make the incumbent an object of the Central government in politically charged circumstances.
Insta Curious:
Do you know that if there is a dominion status, the administrative head is called only as a Governor General? Hence, from 15th Aug 1947 till India became Republic, the title used was ‘Governor General’, which became redundant on our 1st Republic day and changed to the ‘President’.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- Overview of Articles 163 and 174.
- Is the Governor bound by the advice of the chief minister-led council of ministers when it comes to convening the assembly session?
- Who appoints Chief Minister?
- Discretionary powers of Governor.
- Tenure of governor.
Mains Link:
Write a note on the discretionary powers of a governor of state.
Sources: the Hindu.
Topics Covered: Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
Ministry of Cooperation:
Context:
A new ‘Ministry of Cooperation’ has been created for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.
Roles/Functions of the new ministry:
- Provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.
- Help deepen cooperatives as a “true people-based movement reaching up to the grassroots”.
- Streamline processes for ease of doing business’ for cooperatives and enable development of multi-state cooperatives (MSCS).
What are cooperative societies?
- A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled.
- The need for profitability is balanced by the needs of the members and the wider interest of the community.
Provisions of Indian Constitution related to Cooperatives:
- The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB right after Part IXA (Municipals) regarding the cooperatives working in India.
- The word “cooperatives” was added after “unions and associations” in 19(1)(c) under Part III of the Constitution. This enables all the citizens to form cooperatives by giving it the status of fundamental right of citizens.
- A new Article 43B was added in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies”.
Support from the government:
- The Government of India enacted the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act in 2002 and National Policy for Cooperatives was also formulated in 2002 to provide support for promotion and development of cooperatives as autonomous, independent and democratic organizations so that they can play their due role in the socio-economic development of the country.
Insta Curious:
Did you know that the United Nations General Assembly has declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives? Click here
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- About Cooperative societies.
- Types.
- Roles and functions.
- Constitutional provisions.
Mains Link:
Write a note on the history of cooperative movement in India.
Sources: Indian Express.
Topics Covered: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
Central Information Commission (CIC):
Context:
The Supreme Court has directed the Central government to place on record the latest information on the appointment of Information Commissioners, vacancies and pendency of cases in the Central Information Commission (CIC).
What’s the issue?
A plea has sought directions to the government authorities for implementing the top court’s directions in the 2019 judgment.
By its 2019 order:
- The apex court had passed a slew of directions to the Central and State governments to fill vacancies across Central and State Information Commissions in a transparent and timely manner.
- The court had given three months to the Centre to fill the vacancies that existed in the CIC.
Central Information Commission:
Established by the Central Government in 2005, under the provisions of the Right to Information Act (2005).
Members: The Commission consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and not more than ten Information Commissioners.
Appointment: They are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister as Chairperson, the leader of the single largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
Tenure: The Chief Information Commissioner and an Information Commissioner shall hold office for such term as prescribed by the Central Government or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
- They are not eligible for reappointment.
Power and Functions of CIC:
- It is the duty of the Commission to receive and inquire into a complaint from any person regarding information requested under RTI, 2005.
- The Commission can order an inquiry into any matter if there are reasonable grounds (suo-moto power).
- While inquiring, the Commission has the powers of a civil court in respect of summoning, requiring documents etc.
Insta Curious:
Do you know the Right to Information Act in India and UK Freedom of Information Act came into force the same year – 2005? Click here
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- About the RTI Act.
- Powers and functions of CIC and IC.
- Appointment and removal.
Mains Link:
Highlight the need for reforms of the Central Information Commission.
Sources: the Hindu.
Topics Covered: Issues related to health.
Kappa And Lambda- Newest Sars-CoV-2 Variants:
Context:
Kappa and Lambda variants have been labelled as Variants of Interest (VoI) by WHO.
Concerns for India:
- Kappa was first detected in India and more than 3,500 of the close to 30,000 cumulative samples submitted by the country to the GISAID initiative are of this variant.
- In the last 60 days, the Kappa variant has made up 3 per cent of all samples submitted by India. India, in fact, leads the GISAID table for Kappa submissions and is followed by the UK, US, Canada, etc.
What is Lambda?
Lambda is the newest VoI identified by the UN health agency. It was first identified in Peru in December last year and has so far been detected in samples from about 26 countries shared with GISAID. The highest number of samples submitted is from Chile followed by the US. Peru is third on the list.
What is a Variant of Interest?
- This means that the genetic changes involved are predicted or known to affect transmissibility, disease severity, or immune escape.
- It is also an acknowledgement of the fact that the variant has caused significant community transmission in multiple countries and population groups.
Variant of Concern:
A variant for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease (e.g., increased hospitalizations or deaths), significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures.
Insta Curious:
- Did you know that GISAID is a public platform started by the WHO in 2008 for countries to share genome sequences? Know more about it,
- Do you know about INSACOG? Read Here
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- What is Genome Sequencing?
- How does it work?
- RNA vs DNA.
- What are genes?
- What are VOI and VOC?
Mains Link:
What is genome sequencing? How does it help prevent the spread of COVID 19?
Sources: Indian Express.
Topics Covered: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Tele-Law programme:
Context:
Recently, the Justice Department commemorated the milestone of crossing 9 lakh beneficiaries under its Tele-Law programme through Common Service Centres.
About Tele- Law Programme:
Launched by the Ministry of Law and Justice in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in 2017 to address cases at pre–litigation stage.
- It is a service that uses video conferencing facilities and telephone services to connect lawyers to litigants who need legal advice.
- The concept of Tele-Law is to facilitate delivery of legal advice through a panel of lawyers stationed at the state Legal Services Authorities (SALSA) and CSC.
- This service aims to reach out to the needy, especially the marginalized and disadvantaged.
Benefits/significance:
- Tele Law service enables anyone to seek legal advice without wasting precious time and money.
- The service is free for those who are eligible for free legal Aid as mentioned under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987. For all others a nominal fee is charged.
- This initiative is in line with Sustainable Development Goal-16, which seeks to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”.
Insta Curious:
Do you know , ‘Nyaya Deep’, the official newsletter of NALSA is promoting a healthy working relationship between legal services functionaries throughout the country and is proving immensely useful for exchange of views and sharing of ideas.? Read Here briefly (This can be a good example for your GS2 answers)
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- About NALSA.
- About CSCs.
- What is the Tele Law Programme?
- What are lok Adalats?
Sources: PIB.
Topics Covered: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.
Indemnity issues hold up U.S. vaccine donation:
Context:
Vaccine donations from the US are being held up by regulatory issues over indemnity.
Background:
The U.S. announced the donation of 80 million doses of American-made COVID-19 vaccines to dozens of countries including India.
What is an indemnity clause?
In simple terms, indemnity means security against a loss or other financial stress.
- In legal terms, it means a contractual obligation of one party to compensate another party due to the acts of the former.
- The clause is commonly used in insurance contracts.
In the case of India, if the government gives an indemnity to foreign vaccine makers to roll out their vaccine in the country, the government, and not the vaccine maker, would be liable to compensate any citizen who claims to have side effects after taking the vaccine jab.
Are there any exceptions to indemnification?
There are a number of common exceptions to indemnification.
An indemnification provision may exclude indemnification for claims or losses that result from the indemnified party’s:
- Negligence or gross negligence.
- Improper use of the products.
- Bad faith failure to comply with its obligations in the agreement.
Insta Curious:
Did you know that The WHO has launched a no fault compensation programme for Covid-19 vaccines through the Covax alliance? Read here,
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- What is indemnity clause?
- Where it is oftenly used?
- Benefits of the clause.
- Important Vaccines being imported into India.
Mains Link:
Discuss the significance of the Indemnity clause.
Sources: the Hindu.
Facts for Prelims:
Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR):
- A rare Melanistic Leopard (commonly known as Black Panther) has been recorded in Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) of Maharashtra.
- The tiger reserve comprises the notified area of Navegaon National Park, Navegaon Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary, New Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary and Koka Wildlife Sanctuary.
- NNTR has connectivity with the major tiger reserves in Central India like Kanha and Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, Pench & Tadoba-Andhari TR in Maharashtra, Indravati tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh and indirectly with the Kawal & Nagarjunsagar Tiger Reserve in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh and Achanakmar TR in Chhattisgarh.
- It is also connected to important tiger bearing areas like Umred-Karhandala sanctuary and Bramhapuri division.
Bhalia wheat:
- The first shipment of Geographical Indication (GI) certified Bhalia variety of wheat was exported to Kenya and Sri Lanka from Gujarat.
- This wheat variety has high protein content and is sweet in taste.
- The crop is grown mostly across the Bhal region of Gujarat.
- It is grown in rainfed conditions without irrigation and cultivated in around two lakh hectares of agricultural land in Gujarat.
Khadi Prakritik:
- It is India’s first paint made from Cow Dung.
- Union MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari is the brand ambassador of Khadi Prakritik Paint.
- The Paint has been launched with the twin objectives of increasing farmers’ income and creating self-employment across the country.
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