PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 11-JULY-2018
Paper 2:
Topic:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and
issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018
Context: The
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sent the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill,
2018, to the Union cabinet for approval, to replace the related Ordinance.
Highlights of the Bill:
§ It
provides for stringent punishment including death penalty for those convicted
of raping girls below the age of 12 years.
§ The
minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been increased from rigorous
imprisonment of seven years to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment.
§ In case of
rape of a girl under 16 years, the minimum punishment has been increased from
10 years to 20 years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of life, which means
jail term till the convicts’ “natural life”.
§ The
punishment for gang rape of a girl below 16 years will invariably be
imprisonment for the rest of life of the convict, another official said.
§ Stringent
punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years has been provided with the minimum
jail term being 20 years which may go up to life in prison or death sentence.
Gang rape of a girl under 12 years of age will invite punishment of jail term
for the rest of life or death.
§ The
measure also provides for speedy investigations and trial. The time limit for
investigation of all cases of rape has been prescribed, which has to be
mandatorily completed within two months.
§ The
deadline for the completion of trial in all rape cases will be two months. A
six-month time limit for the disposal of appeals in rape cases has also been
prescribed.
§ There will
also be no provision for anticipatory bail for a person accused of rape or gang
rape of a girl under 16 years. It has also been prescribed that a court has to
give notice of 15 days to a public prosecutor and the representative of the
victim before deciding bail applications in case of rape of a girl under 16
years of age.
Need for a stringent law:
The number
of reported cases of rapes of children increased in India by 82% in 2016
compared to 2015. A climate of violence, social and economic insecurity,
alienation, and a progressive undermining of the status of women and children
seem to have given an impetus to carry out crimes against women and children.
Therefore,
the legal system must give a clear signal that we as a nation consider the rape
of children below the age of 12 as among the most heinous of offences. Making
such crimes punishable by capital punishment certainly gives such a signal.
Is it sufficient?
Statistics
have not been able to prove or disprove the efficacy of capital punishment as a
deterrent. While the U.K. has seen an increase in murders since 1965 when
capital punishment for murder was removed from the statute book, Canada has not
seen any such impact since it abolished the death penalty in 1976. The
underlying socio-economic conditions in a society that cause crimes seem to
have as much of an impact on the increase or decrease of crimes as the law
does.
Way ahead:
It is not
the severity of the punishment but the certainty and uniformity of it which
will reduce crime. Even for capital punishment to work as a deterrent, the
fairness of the investigation, the certainty of conviction, and the speed of
the trial are vital. With the police and judicial independence being under a
cloud, especially after the incidents in Kathua and Unnao, the deterrent value
of capital punishment seems diminished unless police reforms and fast-track courts
are a part of the package.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: Highlights of the Bill.
§ For Mains:
Capital punishment- need, concerns and the way ahead.
Sources:
the hindu.
Topic: Issues
related to health.
Eat Right Movement
Context: Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has unveiled ‘The Eat Right
Movement’ with a view to get industry on board for implementation of draft food
labelling regulation.
Eat Right Movement:
§ The
movement aims to cut down salt/sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years.
§ It is
built on two broad pillars of ‘Eat Healthy’ and ‘Eat Safe’.
§ It also
aims to engage and enable citizens to improve their health and well-being by
making the right food choices.
About FSSAI:
The Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established
under Food Safety
and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts &
orders that have hitherto handled food related issues in various Ministries and
Departments.
§ It was
created for laying down science based standards for articles of food and to
regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure
availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.
§ Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of
India is the Administrative Ministryfor the
implementation of FSSAI.
§ Composition: The
Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Food Safety and Standards Authority
of India (FSSAI) are appointed by Government of India. The Chairperson is in
the rank of Secretary to Government of India.
Food Safety and Standards (Labeling and Display)
Regulations 2018:
§ The
proposed regulations will prescribe the labeling requirements of pre-packaged
foods and display of essential information on premises where food is
manufactured, processed, served and stored.
§ The draft
Regulation also states that HFSS (high in fat, sugar or salt) food products
shall not be advertised to children in any form.
§ It also
introduces labelling of genetically modified (GM) food.
What’s important?
For
Prelims and Mains: Eat Right Movement, FSSAI and regulations.
Sources:
the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic: Effects
of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their
effects on industrial growth.
India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre
Context: The
India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre was recently Inaugurated in New Delhi.
It has been established at the National Small Industries Corporation premises
in New Delhi.
India- Korea Technology Exchange Centre:
Purpose: To
create a platform for micro, small and medium enterprises of India and Korea
where they can be assisted to identify and exchange latest technologies, share
management expertise, product development and technology applications for
product development.
Significance:
With this
platform, SMEs of both the countries can learn from each other to enhance their
comparative advantages and be competitive in the world.
Korea has
strong industrial base withwell-developed small and medium enterprises (SME)
sector, especially in advanced manufacturing technologies such as machinery
& equipment, electronics, electrical machinery & equipment and
robotics.
Facts for Prelims:
§ National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) is a
Mini Ratna PSU established by the Government of India in 1955.
§ It falls
under Ministry of
Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises of India.
§ NSIC is
the nodal office for several schemes of Ministry of MSME such as Performance
& Credit Rating, Single Point Registration, MSME Databank, National SC ST Hub,
etc.
Government Schemes implemented by NSIC:
§ MSME
DataBank.
§ National
Scheduled Caste And Scheduled Tribe Hub.
§ Performance
& Credit Rating Scheme.
§ Marketing
Assistance Scheme.
§
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: Technology exchange centre, NSIC.
§ For Mains:
MSME- significance and the need for innovative technologies.
Sources:
pib.
Topic: Effects
of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their
effects on industrial growth.
Ease of Doing Business Ranking of States
Context: Department
of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
has released the final rankings of States in Ease of Doing Business.
Performance of states:
§ The top
rankers are Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Haryana. Jharkhand and Gujarat stood
fourth and fifth respectively.
§ Delhi is
placed at 23rd among 34 states and Union territories. Its rank also worsened
from 18th in 2016.
§ Karnataka
has occupied the eighth spot, against 13th in 2016.
BRAP- 2017:
§ The
rankings are based on the performance of states in implementing the Business
Reform Action Plan (BRAP).
§ DIPP,
Ministry of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the World Bank
conducted an annual reform exercise for all States and UTs under the Business
Reform Action Plan (BRAP). The aim of this exercise is to improve delivery of
various Central Government regulatory functions and services in an efficient,
effective and transparent manner.
§ The reform
plan includes 372 recommendations for reforms on regulatory processes,
policies, practices and procedures spread across 12 reform areas including
labour regulation enablers; contract enforcement; registering property;
inspection reform enablers; single window system; land availability and
allotment; construction permit enablers etc.
§ BRAP 2017
includes two new sectors i.e. Healthcare and Hospitality.
Facts for Prelims:
India
climbed up 29 spots to the 100th position out of 190 surveyed countries in the
World Bank’s ease of doing business (EDB) index 2018.
What’s important?
§ For
Prelims: BRAP- action points (Brief idea), Ease of Doing Business rankings.
§ For Mains:
Ease of doing business in states- challenges, potential and innovative
solutions by the centre.
Sources:
pib.
Facts for Prelims:
In news- Marshall Islands:
Context:
The Union Minister of State (MoS) for Human Resource Development Shri Upendra
Kushwaha is on an Official Visit to the Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI).
This is the first ever Ministerial visit from India to Majuro, Republic of
Marshall Islands (RMI).
Key facts:
§ It is a
country in the central Pacific Ocean.
§ It
consists of some of the easternmost islands of Micronesia.
§ The
Marshalls are composed of more than 1,200 islands and islets in two parallel
chains of coral atolls—the Ratak, or Sunrise, to the east and the Ralik, or
Sunset, to the west.
§ Majuro
atoll is the nominal capital of the republic.
First Chairman of Rajya Sabha to sign an MOU:
§ Rajya
Sabha has, for the first time in 76 years since it came into being, entered
into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a foreign counterpart for
promoting inter-parliamentary dialogue.
§ Shri
Venkaiah Naidu, has, in the process, become the first Chairman of Rajya Sabha
to sign such an agreement when he inked an MOU with the visiting President of
the Senate of the Republic of Rwanda, Mr. Bernard Makuza.
World’s largest mobile phone factory:
What?
Samsung Electronics has opened the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturing
plant by production capacity.
Where? In
the industrial city of Noida, India.
Lonely Planet’s top five “2018 Best in Asia” list:
What is
it? It is a collection of 10 of the best destinations to visit in the continent
for the year. It is considered a Bible by travellers worldwide.
Top
destinations:
§ Busan,
South Korea.
§ Ancient
cities and jewelled architecture of Uzbekistan.
§ Ho Chi
Minh City, Vietnam.
§ Western
Ghats, India.
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