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Current Affairs- India(Polity)

Current Affairs-Indian(Polity)

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Current Affairs- India(Polity)


1 CAG seeks right to audit clause included in oil and blocks auctions contacts
Since present model of production sharing contract (PSC) is brought with inflated expenditure, CAG has sought right to audit contractors books, accounts, records, documents and financial statements in PSCs. CAG should have the right to carry out any audit under various conditions and situations. CAG assertion has come as a request of the RIL controversy resulting in the creation of obstacles in CAGs work. CAG has stated Certain conditions under the draft audit procedure. The proposed audit procedure has certain drawbacks too; it restricts the scope of CAG audit only to supplementary audit of certification of accounts done by auditors appointed by the management committee (MC) which does not cover examination of transactions from propriety angle.

2 RTI review plea to be heard in open court


The Supreme Court will hear in open court the Centres petition seeking review of its judgment that only sitting or retried Chief Justices of High Courts or a Supreme Court judge can head information commissions. After the September verdict, many commissions could not function properly and vacancies could not be filled, and as the court directions could not be implemented Centre filled the review petition. In its petition, the Centre said that the court cannot issue directions to the legislature to amend an Act or Rule as it an act of the Parliament. The courts directions had the potential to create disarray in the functioning of the Central and State Information Commissions, and amounted to a clear error apparent on the face of the record, being in absolute disregard of the provisions of the Act, the petition said. Pranab Mukherjee seeks dismissal of PA Sangmas petition Contending that the grounds challenging the election of Pranab Mukherjee as President of India are misconceived and untenable, senior Harish Salve, appearing for Mr. Mukherjee sought dismissal of the writ petition filled by the NDA candidate PA Sangma.

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Current Affairs- India(Polity)


Making his submissions before a five judge Constitution Bench, Mr. Salve rejected the argument that Mr. Mukherjee was holding office of profit on the date of filing his nomination. He said Mr. Mukherjee had resigned from the post on June 20. He argued that the Chairman of ISI is an honorary office without any emoluments, and a resignation from such an office is an unilateral act, and such resignation did not require to be accepted. The delivery of the resignation letter itself was sufficient and the resignation can into effect immediately. On the second ground that he was holding the office of the Leader of the India National Congress in the Lok Sabha which was also an office of profit, counsel said the assumption of Mr. Sangma that as Leader of the Lok Sabha Mr. Mukherjee was entitled to any pre-requisites beyond those available to him as Minister was factually incorrect as he was not entitled to any other perquisites. Mr. Salve said that Mr. Mukherjee, through a letter dated June 20, had not only resigned from the office of Leader of the Indian National Congress in the Lok Sabha but also from the Congress Working Committee (CWC) of the Indian National Congress and from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress.

3 Petroleum Ministry asks RIL to cooperate with CAG audit


Petroleum Ministry asks RIL to cooperate with CAG audit team & to provide all records /information. Reliance said it did not dispute a CAG audit but the contract with the government provided for only a financial audit, not a performance audit. The company also cited the contract that allowed a second audit only with two years after the closing of any financial year. RIL argued that it had adopted internationally accepted practices of the oil & gas industry. RIL had told the ministry that in a financial audit the company was required to submit the fields accounts to the ministry not CAG and the audit report should be placed in Parliament. The ministry has now told RIL, that the states share of the gas fields profit was non -tax revenue of the government and therefore, subject to CAG scrutiny. Page 3

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CAG can conduct both financial and performance audits of the oil ministry, which is the owner of the D6 oil & gas fields and the contractor cannot avoid its scrutiny. Earlier, the oil ministry had issued a letter to CAG spelling out RILs conditions for an audit, which was strongly contested petroleum ministry rejects RILs contention not to place report in Parliament on KG-D6 block.

4 States lists manual scavengers as dead


The Uttarakhand government in its submission to the Supreme Court in response to a 2003 petition filed by the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA), an organization working to end the practice whereby lakhs of people dispose of the excreta of their fellow human beings with their own hands, usually carried on their own heads, listed hundreds of manual scavengers, who are still in occupation, as dead. Several state governments have told the court that both the census which found 26 lakh manually cleaned latrines in the country and the SKA which and documented the profiles and photographs of almost 9,000 scavengers are simply wrong. SKA estimates that over three lakh manual scavengers, mostly women, may be cleaning excreta from dry latrines, open drains and railway tracks across the country. But the government has no accurate figures. The Rural Development Minister Mr. Ramesh expects the ongoing Socio-Economic Caste Census to document and enumerate manual scavengers, and give manual scavengers a presence in government records. The Rural Development Ministry has promised to bring every manual scavenger identified by SKA into the net of the National Rural Livelihood Mission, giving the highest priority to providing them with alternative livelihood, training and skill development.

4.1 Manual Scavenging


It is estimated that around 1.3 million Dalits in India, make their living through manual scavenging, a term used to describe the job of removing human excreta from dry toilets and sewers using pathetic tools. The Directive Principle of State Policy, in the Constitution, mandates us to prohibit manual scavenging by introducing appropriate legislation.

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However, there is no stringent legislation on this matter till date. The lack of political will and apathy of the state was clearly visible when it took about four years for the central government to even notify the law in the government gazette. There were various PILs filed on this matter. The supreme Court of India in 2011, passed a landmark judgment identifying and highlighting the apathy and plight of the disadvantaged sections of the society, particularly the scavengers and sewage workers, who risk their lives by going down the drainage without any safety equipment and security and have been deprived of fundamental rights to equality, life and liberty for last more than six decades. The Court also criticized the government and the State apparatus on being insensitive to the safety. Wellbeing of those who are, on account of sheer poverty, compelled to work under most unfavorable conditions and regularly face the threat of being deprived of their life. The Supreme Court also directed to pay higher compensation to the families of the deceased. Recently, the SC expressed unhappiness about the slow progress on this matter. In response, Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Lok Sabha in September 2012 by the Minister of Social Justice Empowerment. The Bill is currently referred to the standing Committee on social justice and empowerment.

5 Trinamools move for no-trust motion fails


An attempt by former UPA ally Trinamool Congress to bring a no-confidence motion against the government over FDI in retail failed in the Lok Sabha for want of requisite numbers. Speaker Meera Kumar disallowed the motion as it could not muster the required support of 50 members. It lacked the support of the required 50 members as only TMCs 18 members and BJDs three members supported no confidence motion. Due to the lack of adequate support, the Speaker said, the motion does not have the leave of the House Rural Development Ministry finalizes draft of Land Acquistion bill

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Current Affairs- India(Polity)


6 The Rural Development Ministry finalized the draft of Land Acquistion bill
The Rural Development Ministry finalized the draft of Land Acquisition bill with government requiring consent from 80% of the land owners for acquiring for any project, be it run by the state or the private industry, or under a public private partnership. It is currently with the Law Ministry and is expected to be introduced in the ongoing winter session of the Parliament.

7 States free to keep Chief Ministers out of Lokayukta


The report of the Select Committee on Lokpal Bill tabled in the Rajya Sabha today makes it mandatory for the states to have a Lokayuktas within one year of the Lokpal Act coming into force, but gives them freedom in creating their own laws to set up ombudsman at their level. It will be up to the state legislatures to place the Chief Minister under the ambit of the state ombudsman. The bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha last year, faced opposition hurdle in the Rajya Sabha on various provisions, including the one making it mandatory for states to set up Lokayuktas. The bill was referred to the Select Committee. Once the bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, it will be sent backa to the Lok Sabha for approval of the amended version. The prime Minister has been exempted from the ambit of Lokpal on issue of external and internal security, atomic energy, international relations and public order. The chairman of the committee is Satyavrath Chaturvedhi.

8 Karnataka withdraws demands for changes to Bill on special status


BJP governments demand for modifications in the constitution amendment bill to provide special status to six Hyderabad Karnatak districts has been withdrawn. Article 371(J) will be in the same format as introduced in the monsoon session of the Parliament.

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Current Affairs- India(Polity)


Article 371(J) specifies an important role of the Governor in the administration of the Regional Development Board for the benefit of Hyderabad Karnataka region which was sought to be changed by the states BJP led government. Observations of the chairman of the standing committee of Parliament (Home Affairs), M Venkaiah Naidu, to bring changes in the Article 371 have not worked out due to political issues.

8.1 Article 371


Itll grant special status to six backward districts of Hyderabad Karnataka region to Establish of a separate Development Board This board will see that sufficient funds are allocated for Development of the region. Local reservation in education and Government jobs (Domicile requirement).

8.2 Cash transfer scheme violates poll code BJP


The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will complain to the Election Commission against the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments announcement on direct cash subsidy transfer scheme, saying it violates the code of conduct in view of the Gujarat elections. According to the BJP, the announcement had come when the election process in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh was on. In a compliant filed to the EC, BJPs Gujarat state unit said the announcement is a poll code violation as four of the 51 districts in the country selected by the government for direct cash transfer fall in poll bound Gujarat and demanded election bodys immediate intervention. BJP said the direct cash transfer was being proposed to be carried not under the Aadhar or Unique identification (UID) card scheme but the Bill to give UID legal sanctity was yet to be passed by Parliament.

9 Why mandatory death penalty be not abolished? Supreme Court asks Government
Days after a two judge bench of the Supreme Court said it was time to revisit jurisprudence behind imposition of death penalty, the apex court asked the Union government why provisions in some laws mandating compulsory death penalty as punishment be not struck down as unconstitutional.

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The Bench was hearing Centres appeal against a Bombay high court judgment diluting the mandatory death penalty prescribed under section 31A pf Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act for repeat offenders trading in huge quantities of contraband. A Delhi based NGO Indian Harm Reduction Network had filed a PIL in Bombay High Court challenging the constitutional validity of Section 31A of NDPS Act. Bombay HC bench in June 2011, had held that the provision is violative of Article 21 as it provides for a mandatory death penalty. Instead of declaring Section 31A as unconstitutional, the HC said it will accede to the alternative argument of the Union government that the said provision be construed as directory by reading down the expression shall be punishable with death as may be punishable with death in relation to the offences covered under Section 31A of the Act. The HC also clarified that the court will have discretion to impose punishment specified in Section 31A of the Act for offences covered by Section 31A of the Act. But, in appropriate cases, the court can award death penalty for the offences covered by Section 31A upon recording reasons therefore. The Union government challenged this reading down of the provision in its appeal before the apex court said sentencing was, essentially, a legislative policy and that it was also the legislatives prerogative whether to grant courts and discretion while imposing sentence under a provision for a penal statute. Though the Union governments appeal challenged the Bombay HCs decision to read down Section 31A to provide the concerned judge with the discretion of imposing life sentence the bench decided to take suo motu of other similar provisions in some laws warranting mandatory imposition of penalty. The read down principle limits a provision of law. Expressing its view on statutory provisions mandating compulsory capital punishment, the SC bench said plasma facie it appeared to be violative of Article 21 (right to life) and Article 44 (non-discrimination/equality).

10 EC examining violation of Model Code of Conduct


The Election Commission (EC) is examining whether the government can be asked to defer the process of implementation of the direct cash transfer scheme as there are complains that the announcement is a violation of the model code of conduct and is an Page 8

Current Affairs- India(Polity)


inducement to voters in Gujarat, which will be implemented only on January 1, 2013 after the completion of the poll process on December 24. According to the EC, the process of identifying the beneficiaries, helping them to open bank accounts and explaining the features of the scheme are being undertaken during the poll process. Meanwhile, replying to the details of the scheme, as sought by commission, the Secretaries of the Cabinets Secretriat and the Planning Commission said the schem e did not constitute a violation of the model code and had nothing that was not in the 201213 budget. They said that no announcement of any financial grant or a new promise in the nature of a financial benefit had been announced after the poll code came into force.

11 EC asks government to defer its operation in Gujarat, HP


Voicing concern over announcement of direct cash transfer scheme during the operation of Model Code of Conduct, the Election Commission has asked the government to defer its implementation in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh where the poll process is on. The three member Election Commission met under the chairmanship of Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath and considered the governments reply on the issue following its query and said the announcement was avoidable during the election process. The poll body said its concern is only to see whether any such policy decision or announcement impacts the election in progress and whether it will disturb the level playing field among political parties and candidates in the election fray.

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