Resolution to repeal Article 370 approved
Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah, introduced two bills and two resolutions regarding Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) in Lok Sabha. These are as follows:
Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019 {Ref. Article 370(1) of Constitution of India} – issued by President of India to supersede the 1954 order related to Article 370.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21164-resolution-to-repeal-article-370-approved
#Resolution #Article370 #India #AmitShah #JammuKashmir #Pakistan


Consumer Protection Bill 2019 gets Parliamentary nod
The Parliament on 7 August 2019 gave its nod to the landmark Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 which aims to protect the rights of consumers by establishing authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers’ dispute.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21163-consumer-protection-bill-2019-gets-parliamentary-nod
#Consumer #Protection #Bill2019 #Parliamentary #CCPA #LokSabha

Eviction Bill 2019
The Upper house on 6 August 2019 passed a Bill for speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from government residential accommodations, with Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri saying the legislation will have a deterrent effect.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21162-eviction-bill-2019
#EvictionBill2019 #HardeepSinghPuri #PPEAct #RajyaSabha #Amendment

Bill to increase number of SC judges
Parliament on 7 August 2019 passed a bill which seeks to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from the present 30 to 33 with a view to reducing pendency of cases. Moving "The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2019" for consideration and return, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21161-bill-to-increase-number-of-sc-judges
#SC #CJI #Amendment #NarendraModi #Parliament #RanjanGogoi

Moon, Mercury may contain more water ice than thought
The Moon and Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, may contain significantly more water ice than previously thought, according to a new analysis of data from NASA spacecraft.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21160-moon-mercury-may-contain-more-water-ice-than-thought
#Moon #NASA #telescopic #LRO #spacecraft #planet

NSIL gets first booking
NEWSPACE INDIA Limited (NSIL), the newly created second commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, has bagged its first contract. A private US space services provider has booked ISRO’s Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV), which is yet to be tested, for launching a spacecraft.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21208-nsil-gets-first-booking
#NSIL #SSLV #ISRO #Spaceflight #LEO #PSLV #DoS

US-Taliban talks end without a deal
Talks on a pact that would allow the United States to end its longest war and withdraw troops from Afghanistan ended on 12 August 2019 without agreement and both sides would consult their leaders on the next steps, the Taliban said.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21207-us-taliban-talks-end-without-a-deal
#US #DonaldTrump #Pakistan #Taliban #ZabihullahMujahid

World's largest water pump
Lakshmipur pump house in Hyderabad, a key component of Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) and claimed to be the world's largest pump house, has successfully commenced operations in Telangana, it was announced on 12 August 2019.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21206-world-s-largest-water-pump
#LUPS #KLIP #MEIL #GodavariRiver #Hyderabad #TMC #Kaleshwaram

Scheme for study of parliamentary institutions
The Rajya Sabha on 12 August 2019 launched a scheme to promote research and study of the functioning of parliamentary institutions, impact of legislations on socio-economic transformation and efficacy of various parliamentary devices, such as committees.
Read More: http://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/21205-scheme-for-study-of-parliamentary-institutions
#RajyaSabha #MVenkaiahNaidu #SRadhakrishnan #parliamentary

Today's Headlines - 26 July 2023
Centre withdraws DNA Bill
GS Paper - 3 (Biotechnology)

The Union government withdrew the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019, from the Lok Sabha. First proposed in 2003, the Bill has gone through numerous changes, led by both the Department of Biotechnology and the Law Ministry, over the years. In 2019, it was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee after being introduced in the Lok Sabha. Two years later, the panel’s report was released, in which it highlighted the fears of a number of MPs, saying the Bill could be misused to target segments of society based on religion, caste or political views.

What is the Bill?

The Bill seeks to create a regulatory framework for obtaining, storing and testing DNA samples of human beings, mainly for the purposes of criminal investigations, and with the objective of establishing the identity of a person.
DNA testing is already being used for a variety of purposes, such as criminal investigations, establishment of parentage, and search for missing people.
The proposed law seeks to bring in a supervisory structure to oversee these practices, and frame guidelines and rules so that the DNA technology is not misused.
To achieve these objectives, the Bill proposes to set up two institutional structures — a DNA regulatory board and a DNA data bank — at the national level. Regional centres of the board as well as the data bank can be set up at the state level too.
The board, which is proposed to be the main regulatory authority, would frame the rules and guidelines for DNA collection, testing and storage, while the data bank would be the repository of all DNA samples collected from various people under specified rules.
The Bill proposes that testing of DNA samples can be carried out only at laboratories that are authorised to do so by the regulatory board.
It also specifies the circumstances under which a person can be asked to submit DNA samples, the purposes for which such requests can be made, and the exact procedure for handling, storing and accessing these samples.

What are the objections against the Bill?

The main debate over the proposed law has been around three issues — whether DNA technology is foolproof, whether the provisions adequately address the possibility of abuse of DNA information, and whether the privacy of the individual is protected.
DNA information can be extremely revelatory. It can not only establish a person’s identity but also reveal a lot about physical and biological attributes of the person like eye, hair or skin colour, susceptibility to diseases, possible medical history, and possible clues to biological relatives.
For years, critics of the Bill have been claiming that collecting and storing such intrusive information could lead to abuse, besides being violative of a person’s privacy.

What has the government said?

The government has defended the Bill by arguing that nearly 60 countries have enacted similar legislation and that all important matters related to privacy, confidentiality and data protection have been taken into account.
It has also claimed that very limited information is proposed to be stored in the indices — just 17 sets of numbers out of billions that DNA samples can reveal. These can tell nothing about the individual and only act as a unique identifier.

#upsc #news #DNAbill #withdraws #technology #Department #biotechnology #lawministry #parliamentary #loksabha #criminal #parliamentary #committee #bill #government #violative #privacy #attributes

Today's Headlines - 26 July 2023
Parliamentary panel's nod for inter-services organisations bill
GS Paper - 2 (Polity)

As India gets set to create unified theatre commands for integrated war-fighting machinery in a cost-effective manner, a parliamentary panel has approved the proposed law to empower military commanders of all tri-service organisations with full administrative and disciplinary powers. Agreeing with the provisions of The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control & Discipline) Bill, 2023, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on 15 March, the parliamentary standing committee on defence recommended the bill be passed “without any amendments” and enacted as a statute.

More about the Bill

The enactment of the bill will herald greater integration and jointmanship in inter-services organisations (ISOs) and establishments, the committee said.
India was once again resolutely working towards the creation of integrated theatre commands (ITCs) – which stalled after the first chief of defence staff Gen Bipin Rawat’s death in a helicopter crash in December 2021 -- after achieving a “consensus” among the Army, Navy and IAF.
This most radical military reorganization since Independence will see two “adversary-specific” ITCs -- one for the northern borders with China at Lucknow and the other for the western front with Pakistan at Jaipur.
Then there will be the Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) at Karwar in coastal Karnataka for the Indian Ocean Region as well as the larger Indo-Pacific.

Why this legislation?

The proposed legislation will ensure the requisite command and control of the existing ISOs such as the regional Andaman Nicobar Command and the functional Strategic Forces Command as well as the impending ITCs.
The new law will “empower” the government to constitute ISOs as well the commander-in-chief of an ISO to maintain discipline and ensure proper discharge of duties of all the personnel from the Army, Navy and IAF serving under his command.
At present, military personnel are governed by different acts and rules of their own respective services. These are the Army Act, 1950, the Air Force Act, 1950, and the Navy Act, 1957.
Consequently, personnel serving in ISOs currently have to be sent back to their parent service for disciplinary or administrative action.
Once the theatre commands are in place, they will take over the “operational role” of the single-service commands under them.

Flashback

At present, India has as many as 17 single-service commands (Army 7, IAF 7 and Navy 3), which have very little synergy in planning, logistics and operations.
China, in contrast, re-organised its 2.3-million People’s Liberation Army into five theatre commands in early-2016 to boost offensive capabilities and establish better command-and-control structures.
Its Western Theatre Command, for instance, handles the entire 3,488-km Line of Actual Control from eastern Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. India, in contrast, has four Army and three IAF commands for the northern borders with China.

#upsc #news #parliamentary #panel #todayheadline #interservices #organisations #polity #bill #MTC #legislation #indian #ocean #region #indopacific #andaman #nicobar #command #strategic #empower #airforce #army #act1950