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www.vishnuias.com JULY 30.07.2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS A MAGAZINEFOR CIVILSERVICESPREPARATION JOIN OUR TELEGRAM:https://t.me/vishnuiasmentor Articles of the day THE HINDU & INDIAN EXPRESS UPSC Online & Offline classes One-Stop General Studies Test Series Solution Free daily materials www.vishnuias.com THE HINDU GS 2 : Polity, Governance, International Relations 1. Legislators indulging in vandalism cannot claim immunity: SC The Supreme Court held that legislators who indulge in vandalism cannot claim parliamentary privilege and immunity from criminal prosecution. Background: The SC dismissed the appeals by Kerala government to withdraw criminal case against the leaders who destroyed public property and disrupted a Budget speech on the State Assembly floor in 2015. Observation by the Supreme Court: Parliamentary privileges and immunities are not ‘gateways’ for legislators to claim exception from the law of the land, especially criminal law. Vandalism on the Assembly floor could not be equated with the right to protest by Opposition legislators. Destruction of public property could not be equated with the exercise of freedom of speech. Legislators should act within the parameters of the public trust imposed on them to do their duty. Engaging in acts of violence inside the Assembly could hardly be in the “larger public interest” and cannot be considered as “legitimate” protests. Parliamentary Privilege: Parliamentary privileges are special rights, immunities and exemptions enjoyed by the two Houses of Parliament, their committees and their members. Rationale: To secure the independence and effectiveness of their actions and protect the members from any obstruction in the discharge of their parliamentary responsibilities. The parliamentary privileges are also extended to persons who are entitled to speak and take part in the proceedings of a House of Parliament or any of its committees. o These include the attorney general of India and Union ministers. Vishnu IAS Academy |UPSC Prelims|UPSC Mains | UPSC Optional ANTHROPOLOGY 2 www.vishnuias.com Parliamentary privileges do not extend to the President of India who is also an integral part of the Parliament. Classification of Parliamentary privileges: They can be classified into two broad categories: o Collective privilege: Enjoyed by each House of Parliament collectively. o Individual privilege: Enjoyed by the members individually. Collective Privileges: Parliament has the right to publish its reports, debates and proceedings and also the right to prohibit others from publishing the same. It can exclude strangers from its proceedings and hold secret sittings to discuss some important matters. It can make rules to regulate its own procedure and the conduct of its business and to adjudicate upon such matters. It can punish members as well as outsiders for breach of its privileges or its contempt by reprimand, admonition or imprisonment (also suspension or expulsion, in case of members). It has the right to receive immediate information of the arrest, detention, conviction, imprisonment and release of a member. The courts are prohibited to inquire into the proceedings of a House or its committees. No person (either a member or outsider) can be arrested, and no legal process (civil or criminal) can be served within the precincts of the House without the permission of the presiding officer. Individual Privileges: They cannot be arrested during the session of Parliament and 40 days before the beginning and 40 days after the end of a session. o This privilege is available only in civil cases and not in criminal cases or preventive detention cases. They have freedom of speech in Parliament. No member is liable to any proceedings in any court for anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or its committees. They are exempted from jury service. They can refuse to give evidence and appear as a witness in a case pending in a court when Parliament is in session. 2. 391 complaints of sexual harassment, says Centre She-Box portal: Vishnu IAS Academy |UPSC Prelims|UPSC Mains | UPSC Optional ANTHROPOLOGY 3 www.vishnuias.com She-Box is an initiative of the Government of India to provide a single window access to every woman, to facilitate the registration of complaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace. It would enable effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. It was launched in 2017. The portal could be used by any woman irrespective of her work status, whether working in the organised or unorganised, private or public sector. Context: As per the government’s statement in the parliament, a total of 391 complaints have been filed by employees of Central government Ministries about sexual harassment at the workplace. 3.Intranasal Vaccine In news: In another two to two-and-a-half months, Bharat Biotech is going to have significant data on its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine whose clinical trials are under way. New vaccine being developed by Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech is BBV154 – A novel adenovirus vectored, intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 Intranasal vaccine is a vaccine administered to a person via the nose and does not require a needle. What are the benefits of intranasal vaccine? It promises to be more effective, since it is expected to generate immune responses at the site of infection (respiratory mucosa) Non-invasive, Needle-free. Ease of administration – does not require trained health care workers. Elimination of needle-associated risks (injuries and infections). High compliance (Ideally suits for children’s and adults). Scalable manufacturing – able to meet global demand. It can produce 100 million doses a month. 4.Rajinder Sachar Committee The Sachar Committee was a seven-member High Level Committee in India. It was established in March 2005 by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Vishnu IAS Academy |UPSC Prelims|UPSC Mains | UPSC Optional ANTHROPOLOGY 4 www.vishnuias.com The committee was headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar to study the social, economic and educational condition of Muslims in India. The committee submitted its report in 2006 and the report was available in public domain in 30 November 2006. The report had suggestions and solutions for the inclusive development of the Muslims in India. The committee estimated that the Muslim proportion will stabilize at between 17% and 21% of the Indian population by 2100. The report was the first of its kind to reveal the "backwardness" (a term used in Indian academic and legal discourse for historically dispossessed or economically vulnerable communities, not meant to be pejorative) of Indian Muslims. Why in news? A petition filed in the Supreme Court has accused former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of acting on a “whim” and setting up the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee over 15 years ago to inquire into the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community. 5. Shared values Context: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to New Delhi. Details: The visit marks the third such visit by a senior U.S. official of the Biden administration to India. Focus areas of the talks included Quad cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the evolving situation in Afghanistan. Convergence of views: With respect to the Quad cooperation, there seems to be full convergence of views between the two countries. While India’s participation in the Quad will allow it to balance the increasing assertiveness of China along its northern borders, the U.S.’s participation will give it an opportunity to counter China’s increasing challenge to its global dominance. Even on the Afghanistan question, there seem to be more convergences than divergences on the common positions of the two countries. Both India and the U.S. have maintained that there can be no military solution to the Vishnu IAS Academy |UPSC Prelims|UPSC Mains | UPSC Optional ANTHROPOLOGY 5 www.vishnuias.com ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and have called for a negotiated political settlement. Both countries have reiterated that neither would recognise a Taliban regime that takes Kabul by force. Divergence of views: There are a few differences between India and the U.S. when it comes to the Afghan question: o The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan will mean a less secure region for India to contend with. o India has always supported an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan controlled solution to the crisis in Afghanistan and has stood in support of the elected government in Afghanistan and has been averse to engaging the Taliban. On the contrary, the U.S. continues to engage the Taliban in talks for a power-sharing arrangement, despite the continuing violence. o Perhaps the greatest worry for India is the U.S.’s refusal to hold Pakistan to account for having given shelter to the Taliban. While both countries have maintained that democratic freedoms were “shared values”, the differing perception of the issue can grow to become a major irritant in the bilateral relations. Mr. Blinken’s “civil society roundtable” wherein internal Indian issues such as minority rights, religious freedoms and curbs on the media and dissent were discussed has not gone down well with the Indian administration. India has rebutted the U.S. perception on the issue. Conclusion: There is a list of substantive meetings scheduled between the two countries later in the year including the U.S.-India “2+2” of Foreign and Defence Ministers, the Quad summit of its leaders, and a bilateral meeting between the Indian Prime Minister and U.S. President. While India and the U.S. have a lot in common, it is the differences that need attention. The addressing of these differences will only further help strengthen the “Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership” between the world’s oldest and most populous democracies. Vishnu IAS Academy |UPSC Prelims|UPSC Mains | UPSC Optional ANTHROPOLOGY 6 www.vishnuias.com GS 3 : Economy, Science and Technology,Environment 6.The epoch of cyberweapons Context The controversy over the use of Pegasus spyware for snooping highlights the threats posed by cyber-weapons.

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