1. SC Collegium
- Context: The Supreme Court Collegium recommended the government to transfer a Delhi High Court judge to the Allahabad High Court.
Collegium system:
- It is the system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the SC.
- The SC collegium: It is headed by the CJI and comprises four other senior most judges of the court.
- HC Collegium: It is led by its Chief Justice and two other senior most judges of that court.
- Ordinarily case:
- one of the four senior-most puisne Judges of the Supreme Court would succeed the Chief Justice of India
- Situational: If the situation is such that the successor Chief Justice is not one of the four senior-most puisne Judges, he must invariably be made part of the collegium.
Issues with Collegium system:
- Extra-constitutional or non-constitutional body: brought in force by judgments of the Supreme Court.
- Non-Judge: There is no seat in the collegium for any non judge neither from the executive, the Bar etc.
- Opaqueness: lack of transparency.
- Nepotism: Scope for nepotism.
- Overlooks talent: Overlooks several talented junior judges and advocates.
Judges case:
- First Judges Case (1981): It declared that the “primacy” of the Chief Justice of India (CJI)’s recommendation on judicial appointments and transfers can be refused for “logical reasons.”
- The ruling gave the Executive primacy over the Judiciary in judicial appointments for the next 12 years.
- Second Judges Case (1993): SC introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”.
- It was not the CJI’s individual opinion, consultation with the two senior-most judges in the SC.
- Third Judges Case (1998): SC on President’s reference expanded the Collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues.
Transfer of judges:
- Article 222: It provides for the transfer of HC judges, including the Chief Justice. The President, after consultation with the CJI, may transfer a judge from one HC to any other HC and a compensatory allowance is provided to the transferred judge.
- Interpretation: The executive could transfer a judge, but only after consulting the CJI.
Prelims Special:
Q. Consider the following statements: (UPSC 2019)
- The 44th Amendment to the Constitution of India introduced an Article placing the election of the Prime Minister beyond judicial review.
- The Supreme Court of India struck down the 99th Amendment to the Constitution of India as being violative of the independence of judiciary.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Ans: (b)
2. Dare2eraD TB
- Context: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has completed the genomic sequencing of a third, or 10,000 samples, of the target of 32,500 samples of mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Dare2eraD TB:
- It was launched by the Department of Biotechnology on the occasion of World TB Day.
- It is an umbrella TB program comprising of following key initiatives;
- InTGS – Indian Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance Consortium.
- InTBK Hub- Indian TB Knowledge Hub- Webinar Series.
- Host Directed therapies against TB and developing an evidence-based regimen for treating extra-pulmonary Tuberculosis.
Tuberculosis:
- TB is caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, belonging to the Mycobacteriaceae family consisting of about 200 members.
- Some of Mycobacteria cause diseases like TB and Leprosy in humans and others infect a wide range of animals.
- In humans, TB most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB), but it can also affect other organs (extra-pulmonary TB).
- TB is a treatable and curable disease.
- TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air.
- Common symptoms of active lung TB are cough with sputum and blood at times, chest pains, weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats.
What steps need to be taken to control TB?
- Nutritional support: It is an important step towards healthy development of TB patients.
- The growing focus on patient support, addressing stigma, and gendered aspects of TB is important.
- Bridge the gap between policy intent and on-the-ground realities.
- For instance, India needs to prioritize targeted interventions aimed at improving and expanding access to TB diagnosis and treatment.
- Expand the reach of TB testing facilities, particularly in rural and underserved areas
- Ensure the availability of free, affordable and quality-assured TB drugs.
- Molecular testing is the gold standard and less than a quarter of symptomatic patients are getting that as their first test.
- Focus on efforts to make care more humane.
- Mental health support and gender responsive care become critically important.
- Efforts are needed to strengthen community-based TB care models, empowering frontline health-care workers to deliver comprehensive care which addresses treatment and social, economic and mental health needs
- It is closer to where patients live.
- By supporting frontline TB workers, strengthening supply chains and procurement mechanisms, decentralizing TB services and empowering local communities
- India can reduce stigma, overcome barriers to access and enhance treatment outcomes.
- Addressing the socio-economic determinants of TB requires a multi-sectoral approach.
- Poverty alleviation, improvement in nutritional status, well-ventilated housing and better air quality will all contribute towards reducing TB.
- Recent research: It has shown that nutritional supplementation reduced TB incidence substantially in household contacts of adults with microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB.
- By tackling the underlying root causes of TB, India can make significant strides towards eliminating the disease and improving the overall health and well-being of its population.
Variants of TB:
- Drug-resistant (DR-TB)
- Totally drug-resistant (TDR-TB)
- Extensively drug-resistant (XDR-TB)
- Pulmonary TB (P-TB)
- Non-pulmonary TB
Prelims Special:
Q. H1N1 virus is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to which one of the following diseases? [UPSC 2015]
- AIDS
- Bird flu
- Dengue
- Swine flu
Ans: (d)
3. Finance Bill
- Context: MP from south said, south Indian States have been the engines of growth and revenue but don’t get their due share from the Central pool of revenue.
Finance Bill:
- Finance Bill is a secret bill introduced every year in Lok Sabha (Lower chamber of the Parliament) immediately after the presentation of the Union Budget
- It gives effect to the financial proposals of the Government of India for the immediately following financial year.
- It is presented at the time of presentation of the Annual Financial Statement before Parliament, in fulfillment of the requirement of Article 110 (1)(a) of the Constitution
- It details the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of taxes proposed in the Budget.
- A Finance Bill is a Money Bill but not all money bills are Finance Bills
Prelims Special:
Q. Regarding the Money Bill, which of the following statements is not correct? (UPSC 2018)
- A bill shall be deemed to be a Money Bill if it contains only provisions relating to the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax.
- A Money Bill has provisions for the custody of the Consolidated Fund of India or the Contingency Fund of India.
- A Money Bill is concerned with the appropriation of money out of the Contingency Fund of India.
- A Money Bill deals with the regulation of borrowing of money or giving of any guarantee by the Government of India.
Ans: (c)
4. MGNREGS
- Context: The Ministry of Rural Development has come up with guidelines that includes verification from gram sabha and keeping the list of job cards intended for deletions in public domain allowing the holder to raise objections.
MGNREGA:
- The scheme was introduced as a social measure that guarantees “the right to work”.
- The local government will have to legally provide at least 100 days of wage employment in rural India to enhance their quality of life.
- The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Govt of India is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments.
- Within 15 days of submitting the application or from the day work is demanded, wage employment will be provided to the applicant.
- Right to get unemployment allowance in case employment is not provided within fifteen days of submitting the application or from the date when work is sought.
- Social Audit of MGNREGA works is mandatory, which lends to accountability and transparency.
- The Gram Sabha is the principal forum for wage seekers to raise their voices and make demands.
- The Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat approve the shelf of works under MGNREGA and fix their priority.
Features of Scheme:
Prelims Special:
Q. Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”? (UPSC 2011)
(a) Adult members of only the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households
(b) Adult members of below poverty line (BPL) households
(c) Adult members of households of all backward communities
(d) Adult members of any household
Ans: (d)
5. National Register of Citizens (NRC)
- Context: Manipur MLA Union Home Minister to first take steps to complete the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and weed out “illegal immigrants”.
National Register of Citizens (NRC):
- It is a record containing the names of genuine Indian citizens residing in the country.
- It is an effort by the Indian government to identify and deport illegal immigrants as mandated by the Citizenship Act of 1955, Foreigners Act of 1946 and Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.
- The only time a nation-wide NRC was created was in 1951 after the Census of 1951.
- At present, only Assam has such a National Register of Citizens, mandated and monitored by the Supreme Court in 2014.
- The nodal agency for the NRC is the Registrar General and Census Commissioner.
Prelims Special:
Q. With reference to NRC, consider the following statements:
- NRC has been conducted thrice so far after independence.
- The nodal agency for the NRC is the Registrar General and Census Commissioner.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Ans: (b)
6. AIKEYME exercise
- Context: Indian Navy has announced initiatives to bolder cooperation with the continent and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
- This includes a large-scale multinational exercise titled ‘Africa India Key Maritime Engagement’, also known as ‘AIKEYME’, scheduled to be held with 10 African countries.
Key Highlights:
- IOS Sagar is an initiative towards continued cooperation with IOR nations.
- INS Sunaynais being deployed to the Southwest IOR with a combined crew of India and nine Friendly Foreign Countries (FFC) – Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Sri Lanka , South Africa.
- The ship is planned to be deployed for over a m
India-Africa multilateral exercise(AIKEYME):
- It means ‘Unity’ in Sanskrit, is being co-hosted by the Indian Navy and Tanzania Peoples’ Defence Force (TPDF)
- It will be conducted at/off Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
- It includes participation from Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and South Africa in addition to the co-hosts.
Prelims Special:
Q. What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news? (UPSC 2018)
(a) An Israeli radar system
(b) India’s indigenous anti-missile program
(c) An American anti-missile system
(d) A defense collaboration between Japan and South Korea.
Ans: (c)