1)Consider the following statements with respect to U.N. Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP)
- It has been established by UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution.
- It has been tasked with monitoring the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan.
- The number of observers under the UNMOGIP was doubled recently following the demand of Government of India.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- a. 3 only
- b. 1 and 2 only
- c. 1, 2 and 3
- d. None
- UNMOGIP has been established by UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution and started its operations in 1949.
- It has been tasked with monitoring the ceasefire line between India and Pakistan.
- Pakistan Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan has recently said that there was an urgent need for the U.N. Security Council to insist India to allow the U.N. Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) return to Kashmir.
- India maintains that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.
2)With respect to Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Treaty, consider the following statements:
- It was brought in 1974, in response to the Indian nuclear test: “Smiling Buddha”.
- All the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are among its members.
- India, Pakistan and Israel are the only nuclear countries that are non signatories to this agreement.
Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?
- a. 2 only
- b. 1 and 2 only
- c. 2 and 3 only
- d. None
- India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan have not signed the treaty.
- North Korea acceded to the NPT in 1985 and then withdrew in 2003.
- Iran has recently said that, it will consider withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if a dispute over its atomic programme goes before the United Nations Security Council.
- Britain, France and Germany launched a process, charging Iran with failing to observe the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal.
- Iran has accused the three European Union member states of inaction over sanctions the United States re-imposed on it after unilaterally withdrawing from the landmark accord in 2018.
- Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was brought in 1974– in response to the Indian nuclear test (smiling Buddha).
Global Social Mobility Report was recently released by?
- a. World Economic Forum
- b. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
- c. UN High Commissioner for Refugees
- d. Amnesty International
Answer : a
- India has been ranked very low at 76th place out of 82 countries on a new Social Mobility Index compiled by the World Economic Forum, while Denmark has topped the charts.
Map of the Day :- Sinai Peninsula Region
News:- Migrant workers to get free foodgrains
A major focus of the second tranche of the economic stimulus package announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is to provide free foodgrains for the next two months to migrant workers who do not have ration cards. The Centre will spend ₹3,500 crore for this purpose.
News:- Work from home may stay for govt. staff
The Department of Personnel and Training may provide the option of work from home to eligible officers and other employees for 15 days a year as a matter of policy. A Draft Paper has been mooted with Provisions of Work From Home.
EDITORIAL OF THE DAY :- Stop the return to laissez-faire
What is Laissez-Faire:- Free Market or No Interference by the Govt. Given by Adam Smith.
Author Starts by Highlighting that The workers’ right to go home was curbed using the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Employers now want labour laws to be relaxed.
The Confederation of Indian Industry has suggested 12 hour work shifts and that governments issue directions to make workers join duty failing which the workers would face penal actions.
The employers want the state to reintroduce laissez-faire and a system of indenture for the organised workforce too.
COLONIAL EXPLOITATION VERSION 2.0:- The move is reminiscent of the barbaric system of indentured labour introduced through the Bengal Regulations VII, 1819 for the British planters in Assam tea estates. Workers had to work under a five year contract and desertion was made punishable.
Later, the Transport of Native Labourers’ Act, 1863 was passed in Bengal which enabled them to detain labourers in the district of employment and imprison them for six months.
Bengal Act VI of 1865 was later passed to deploy Special Emigration Police to prevent labourers from leaving, and return them to the plantation after detention.
The workers’ demands were supported by our political leaders back then. Britain was forced to appoint the Royal Commission on Labour, which gave a report in 1935. The indentured plantation labour saw relief in the form of the Plantations Labour Act, 1951.
Dignity of Labours through Democracy:- The Factories Act,1948 lays down eight hour work shifts, with overtime wages, weekly offs, leave with wages and measures for health, hygiene and safety.
The Industrial Disputes Act provides for workers participation to resolve wage and other disputes through negotiations so that strikes/lockouts, unjust retrenchments and dismissals are avoided.
The Minimum Wages Act ensures wages below which it is not possible to subsist.
These enactments further the Directive Principles of State Policy and protect the right to life and the right against exploitation under Articles 21 and 23. Trade unions have played critical roles in transforming the life of a worker from that of servitude to one of dignity.
The Supreme Court, in Glaxo Laboratories v. The Presiding Officer, Labour (1983) Said that in the days of Laissez-Faire the management was the supreme master. This was an unequal contract and thus statutory lawsare needed to empower the weaker Partner i.e Workers.
Section 5 of the Factories Act empowers the State governments to exempt only in case of a “public emergency”, i.e a “grave emergency whereby the security of India or any part of the territory thereof is threatened, whether by war or external aggression or internal disturbance”. There is no such threat to the security of India now. So Why increase working hours from 8-12 hours.
The orders of the State governments therefore lack statutory support. Labour is a concurrent subject in the Constitution and most pieces of labour legislation are Central enactments. UP Govt. has passed an Ordinance which nullifies the Factories Act, 1948; the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; the Industrial Establishments (Standing Orders) Act, 1946; and the Trade Unions Act, 1926. How can a State Govt. do so with such Central Enactments.
In Life Insurance Corporation v. D. J. Bahadur & Ors (1980), the Supreme Court highlighted that any changes in the conditions of service can be only through a democratic process of negotiations or legislation.
“fundamental errors can be avoided only by remembering fundamental values”.
The resurgence of such a colonial mindset is a danger to the society and the wellbeing of millions and puts at risk the health and safety of not only the workforce but their families too.
EDITORIAL 2:- States cannot be left to the Centre’s mercy
Central Argument of the Author :- Not only are the States not paid what is due to them, they have also lost the powers to raise their own sales tax revenues.
States Revenue Sources:– Most States raise resources through a combination of their own taxes and a share in the Centre’s taxes. For richer States such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana and Kerala, 70% or more of their revenue comes from taxes generated within their State boundaries.
Nearly half of these were from the sale of goods and services within the State and the remaining half, from a combination of excise duties on petrol, electricity, alcohol, land registration fees, etc.
Before GST, States were free to charge sales taxes as legislated by their State legislatures. Also in case of disasters they could easily raise the slabs.
For the sake of GST, States sacrificed their fiscal powers in the promise of ‘economic efficiency’ and ‘tax buoyancy’, which never materialised. Now the States are dependent upon centre to release funds.
TRIPLE BLOW:- This is a triple blow for the States — not being paid what they are owed, not being helped with additional resources, and bearing the brunt of the pandemic’s impact.
Why Alcohol seems to be their only option:- Because the demand for Petroleum and Electricity has dwindled due to lockdown. So the only viable option left with states is Alcohol.
Can’t the States borrow money to tide over this crisis? In order to do that, they need the Centre’s approval to raise their borrowing limit or to stand as guarantors. Once again at Centre;s Mercy.
EDITORIAL 3:- Keeping Asia Pacific afloat
Central Theme :- The marine environment in the region is getting strained, jeopardising lives and livelihoods..
Climate change and unsustainable resource management have degraded ecosystems and diminished biodiversity. Levels of overfishing have exponentially increased, leaving fish stocks and food systems vulnerable.
Marine plastic pollution coursing through the region’s rivers has contributed to most of the debris flooding the ocean. While the COVID19 pandemic has temporarily reduced pollution, this should not be a moment of reprieve. Rather, recovery efforts need to build a new reality, embedded in sustainability.
Lack of Data :- Insights from ‘Changing Sails: Accelerating Regional Actions for Sustainable Oceans in Asia and the Pacific’, the theme study of this year’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), reveal that without data, we are swimming in the dark. Data are available for only two out of ten targets for the Sustainable Development Goal 14, ‘Life Below Water’.
Environmental decline is also affecting fish stocks, marine biodiversity.
News:- Operation Raahat was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Yemen during the 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies in that country during the Yemeni Crisis.
Operation Sukoon was an operation launched by the Indian Navy to evacuate Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese nationals, as well as Lebanese nationals with Indian spouses, from the conflict zone during the 2006 Lebanon War.
The current repatriation effort Operation Vande Bharat, comprising Operations to bring home lakhs of Indians stranded due to the COVID19
lockdown, is certainly India’s most extensive.
News:- India reminds China of claims over Gilgit Baltistan. where China has teamed up with pakistan to build Diamer-Bhasha dam.
News:- Virus diagnostic test may be delayed : The Chitra GeneLAMPN, developed by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST).
The technology uses a method called loopmediated isothermal amplification(LAMP). s. The LAMP method is said to be faster but is a relatively newer technology, more complicated in its design and has not been tested extensively for COVID19 detection.
N gene test Most RTPCR kits focus on two different genes, the E (envelope) gene and the RdRP (RNA dependent RNA polymerase) gene. The World Health Organization recommends a E and RdRP test, while the U.S.’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) requires an N gene test.
News:- CBDT notifies reduction in TDS / TCS
What is the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)?
- It is a statutory body established as per the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.
- It is India’s official financial action task force unit.
- It is administered by the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance.
CBDT Structure
The Central Board of Direct Taxes consists of a Chairman and six members that deal with the following:
- Income Tax
- Revenue
- Legislation and Computerisation
- Audit and Judicial
- Investigation
- Personnel and Vigilance
The Members of the CBDT are selected from the Indian Revenue Service (IRS). The members constitute the top management of the Income Tax Department.
Functions of CBDT
- It deals with matters related to levying and collecting Direct Taxes.
- Formulation of various policies.
- Supervision of the entire Income Tax Department
- Suggests legislative changes in Direct Tax Enactments
- Suggests changes in tax rates
- Proposes changes in the taxation structure in line with the Government policies.