01-31 MAY 2021 EDUPHORE IAS MONTHLY CURRENT AFFAIR INDEX POLITY Article 311 4 National Task Force and Judicial Intervention 4 The Maratha Judgement 5 Reservation Judgements 5 A critical view of Maratha Judgements 6 National Human Rights Commission 7 Live reporting to court proceedings constitute ‘ Right to freedom of speech: Supreme Court 8 Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme(MPLADS) 8 Administrative Service (cadre) Rules, 1954 8 Widened Scope of Section 304­B in dowry deaths by SC 9 Judgement to give ‘Protection to accused denied anticipatory bail’ 9 New social media code­ The Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and 10 Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 CBI Director appointment 10 Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws to define hate speech 11 The Legislative Council of States 11 Extra road accident compensation to self­employed: Supreme Court 12 Overseas Citizens of India 12 Increasing access to court proceedings 13 Electoral bonds 13 A Case for National Tribunal Commission (NTC) 13 ENVIRONMENT Wolf Protection in Slovakia 14 Sequencing of Pangolin scales 15 Deepak’s Wood snake ­ ‘Xylophis deepaki’ 16 One Heath Approach 16 Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions” 17 Discovery of New cricket species 18 Lichens and Air quality 18 Ice­berg A76 19 Invasive white flies 19 Over 100 Years of Snow Leopard Research 20 Asian gracile skink 20 Hard to stay fat for Female Elephant seal 21 Impact of Climate Change on Kenyan Tea 21 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Financial Action Task Force 22 Israel­Palestine Conflict 23 What’s happening in Jerusalem? 23 G7 24 First BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting amongst BRICS Countries 25 Mount Meron disaster 25 Global Innovation Partnership 26 Waiver for Intellectual Property Right 26 1 www.eduphore.com|+91 8699682877 Arguments for and against waiver of IP rights during the Pandemic 27 Interpol 28 Rwanda massacre 29 Bangladesh­Sri Lanka Currency Swap 30 World Health Assembly Meet 30 Dispute over South China Sea 31 Remains of children in Canada 31 Taiwan Strait 32 China complete Tibetan Highway 32 Indo­Israel Agriculture Cooperation 32 17+1 Cooperation Forum 32 Decoding India’s stance on Israel­Palestine issue 33 A historic period for West Asian diplomacy 33 India diplomacy towards Israel­Palestine 34 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, DEFENCE NASA Mission­ OSIRIS­REx 35 National Technology Day 36 Israel Iron Dome 36 MACS 1407 37 Long March 37 China’s ‘Zhurong’ Rover 37 5G Trial 38 Ct value 39 P81 aircraft 39 Variants of SARS­CoV­2 Virus 39 Bio fuel 40 Rafael 40 Space X ‘Starship’ 41 Application of Artificial Intelligence to Agriculture 42 New technology for High pressure compressors (HPC) 42 INS Rajput 43 Zebra Fish 43 The Incidence of Smoke 44 Super moon 44 Mucormycosis 45 Special Power to Armed forces 45 Towards Zero tolerance to poaching 46 PM Cares for Children 47 A Case for new public governance model 47 23rd district of Punjab 48 Why and how of creating a district 48 GEOGRAPHY World’s oldest water 49 Exclusive Economic Zones 49 State disaster Respond Fund 50 Climate Change changing Earth’s axis 50 Mount Sinabung 51 Cyclones in Bay of Bengal 52 Record rainfall in Delhi 52 Mount Nyiragongo Volcanic eruption 52 Hurricane in Antlantic 53 Naming of cyclones 53 Organic products export 54 Cyclone Tauktae 54 ECONOMY Debate over GST exemption during pandemic 55 Asian Development Outlook 2021 56 Unpaid work: Recognise, Reduce, Redistribute 56 2 www.eduphore.com|+91 8699682877 Comprehensive targeted policy response by RBI 57 Disinvestment of IDBI 58 State of Working India 2021:One Year of COVID­ 19 58 S&P Global Ratings 59 GST council Meet highlights 59 Subsidies 60 Di­ammonium phosphate (DAP) subsidy 61 Personal Guarantors liable for corporate debt: Supreme Court 61 US Central Bank’ digital currency plan 62 China decreasing population growth 62 Findings of WHO and ILD Report on Work­ Related disease 63 RBI G­SAP 63 HISTORY, ART AND CULTURE UNESCO World Heritage sites 64 Maratha Military Architecture 65 Thomas Hickey’ painting of three women 66 The reclining Buddha Statue 67 SECURITY Fire safety Norms in India 68 Vaccine hesitancy 69 Child trafficking during COVID ­19 69 Uranium Seizure 70 What’s App challenge to the New social media code 71 SOCIETY COVID among PVTGs 71 3 www.eduphore.com|+91 8699682877 POLITY Article 311 Suspended police officer Sachin Waze, arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Mukesh Ambani terror scare case, was dismissed from service by Mumbai Police Commissioner under Article 311 (2) (b) without a departmental enquiry. Article 311 While Article 311 is meant to act as a safeguard for civil servants that gives them a chance to respond to the charges in an enquiry so that he/she is not arbitrarily dismissed from service, the article also provides exceptions to these safeguards under sub­clause 2 provision b. It states “when an authority empowered to dismiss or remove a person or to reduce him in rank is satisfied that for some reason, to be recorded by that authority in writing, it is not reasonably practicable to hold such enquiry”. Safeguards provided to civil servants Article 311 says that no government employee either of an all India service or a state government shall be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to the own that appointed him/her. Section 2 of the article says that no civil servant shall be dismissed or removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which she/he has been informed of the charges and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those charges. What is the process of a departmental enquiry? In a departmental enquiry, after an enquiry officer is appointed, the civil servant is given a formal charge sheet of the charges. The civil servant can represent himself/herself or choose to have a lawyer. Witnesses can be called during the departmental enquiry following which the enquiry officer can prepare a report and submit it to the government for further action. Exceptions where a person can be dismissed without departmental enquiry As per Article 311 (2), if a government employee is convicted in a criminal case, he can be dismissed without DE. Apart from this, under 311 (2) (c), a government employee can be dismissed when the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is satisfied that in the interest of the security of state it is not expedient to hold such an enquiry, the employee can be dismissed without DE. Can the dismissal under section 311 (2) be challenged by the government employee? Yes, the government employee dismissed under these provisions can approach either tribunals like the state administrative tribunal or Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) or the courts. National task force and Judicial Intervention Judicial intervention in response to the Union government’s response to the health crisis The top court had expressed its dissatisfaction at the Centre’s earlier “oxygen forbed” formula. Supreme Court formed a 12 member national task force for the effective and transparent allocation of medical oxygen to the States and Union Territories “on a scientific, rational and equitable basis”. Concern Several High Courts and the Supreme Court are examining different aspects of the pandemic response, including availability of beds and oxygen. The trend did raise concerns about the judiciary encroaching on the executive domain. The allocation of resources based on a formula related to the present and projected requirements of each State is indeed an executive function. Justification As the daily infection numbers and death toll have acquired frightening levels, the constitutional courts felt obliged to take it upon themselves to protect the right to life and good health of the population. Judiciary drew much flak last year for its initial failure to mitigate the crisis set off by the lack of succour to millions of migrant workers. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, who heads the Bench hearing the suo motu proceedings, has clarified that the Court was not usurping the executive’s role, but only wanted to facilitate a dialogue among stakeholders. As long as this position is clear, the present intervention need not be seen as a dangerous overreach. 4 www.eduphore.com|+91 8699682877 The Maratha judgement In the judgment that declared the Maratha reservation unconstitutional, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court dealt with another issue. By a 3:2 majority, it ruled that after the passage of the 102nd Constitution Amendment Act in 2018, the States do not have any power to identify ‘socially and educationally backward’ (SEBC) classes What does the 102nd Amendment say? Article 338B The Amendment established a National Commission for Backward Classes by adding Article 338B to the Constitution. The five member Commission was tasked with monitoring safeguards provided for socially and educationally backward classes, giving advice on their socioeconomic development, inquiring into complaints and making recommendations, among other functions. Significantly, it was laid down that the Centre and the States shall consult the Commission on all policy matters concerning the SEBCs. Article 342A The Amendment also added Article 342A, under which the President shall notify a list of SEBCs in relation to each State and Union Territory, in consultation with Governors of the respective States. Once this ‘Central List’ is notified, only Parliament could make inclusions or exclusions in the list by law. This provision is drafted in exactly the same word as the one concerning the lists of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Definition Further, a definition of ‘SEBCs’ was added to the Constitution — ‘SEBC’ means “such backward classes as are so deemed under Article 342A for the purposes of this Constitution” Why did this Amendment come up for judicial interpretation? The reservation for the Maratha community was challenged in the Bombay High Court on various grounds.