(VIDEO) Funds and Population Matters - 

Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Funds and Population Matters - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : AK Bhattacharya, Editorial Director, Business Standard; NC Saxena, Former Member, Planning Commission; Aman Agarwal, Director, & Professor, Indian Institute of Finance; Vishal Dahiya (Anchor)

(VIDEO) Supreme Court : The Judges' Debate - 

Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Supreme Court : The Judges' Debate - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : J Sai Deepak, Advocate, Supreme Court; Satya Prakash, Legal Editor, The Tribune; MP Singh, Former Chairperson, Delhi Judicial Academy; Justice Jaspal Singh, Former Judge Delhi High Court; Frank Rausan Pereira (Anchor)

Should gambling be legalised ? : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

Gambling is ubiquitous in Indian society: people bet on animal fights on streets, they make bets while playing cards and before cricket matches. As the Irish philosopher Edmund Burke correctly said, “Gambling is a principle inherent in human nature.” While societal attitudes towards gambling have changed in the last century, with gambling now seen as a legitimate form of recreation, Indian laws have not kept pace with the times.

Why in News?

• In 2016, while examining the Lodha Committee recommendations on legalising betting in sport, the Supreme Court wanted the Law Commission to examine whether betting on cricket should be legalised and a law framed to enable that and the Law Commission is yet to make its final recommendations, but going by news reports, the Chairman of the Law Commission, Justice B.S. Chauhan, has gone on record saying that he is in favour of a law to regulate such activities.

• Chairman of the Law Commission, invited views and suggestions, from all those concerned, to arrive at a judicious opinion and make suitable suggestions and recommendations to the government and the report is awaited.

Laws Dealing with Gambling in India

• The first attempt to control gambling was made in 1867 with the Public Gambling Act which provided for punishment for public gambling and keeping of common gaming houses. Section 2 of the Act authorised each territory (now each State) to extend the Act to the State.

• The Bombay Prevention of Gambling Act came into force in 1887. Gaming as defined in the Act includes gaming and betting.

• Constitution has enabled the State Govt to formulate their own laws and there exist no uniformity among the state laws and mostly deal with Physical Gambling while Online gambling remains out of the scope.  

• Section 67 of the Information Technology Act of 2000 vaguely deals with Online Gambling which prohibits online transmission and publication of material which “corrupt” persons.

• From the various provisions of the Central and State Act, one can infer that while gambling is prohibited in public or public gaming houses, there is no prohibition on such activities in a private house.

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(VIDEO) Securing India's energy needs 

Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Securing India's energy needs - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : Ajay Shankar, Former Secretary, DIPP ; Sushil Chandra Tripathi, Former Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Diplomat; R.P. Gupta, Additional Secretary, Energy, NITI Aayog Frank Rausan Pereira (Anchor)

UPSC : Civil Services Exam-2018 Vacancies Breakup

(VIDEO) China: The Doors Are Opening -

Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: China: The Doors Are Opening - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : Srikanth Kondapalli, Professor, Chinese Studies, JNU Nitin Desai, Former Chief Economic Adviser, GoI; Ashok Sajjanhar, Former Diplomat; V.K. Mishra, Executive Vice Chairman, India China Trade Centre; Frank Rausan Pereira (Anchor)

(VIDEO) Africa Outreach - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: Africa Outreach - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : Ruchita Beri, Senior Research Associate, IDSA,Virendra Gupta, Former Ambassador,Prof. Ajay Kumar Dubey, Centre for African Studies, JNU , Frank Rausan Pereira (Anchor)

Was the SC right on the anti-atrocities law : Important Topics for UPSC Exams

Why in News?

• In a recent judgment by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court in S K Mahajan vs State of Maharashtra Case, Supreme Court placed certain requirements on investigating agencies and the courts before taking action against the suspects in cases filed under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.

• The Violent protest against the Supreme Court Judgement, caused the loss of 9 lives, shows both state and centre were unaware of the scale and intensity of the agitation.  

Chronology of Events

• In 2006, an employee, from a Scheduled Caste, with the technical education department of the government of Maharashtra, was given an adverse entry by his superior officers in Annual performance appraisal and confidential report, offended by this, he filed a criminal complaint under the Atrocities Act against the two officers.

• The investigating officer requested for prosecution sanction against the two accused in December 2010, which was denied by the director of technical education in January 2011 and the complainant then filed an FIR under the SC/ST Act against the director in March 2016 for denying sanction that was beyond his authority, later the director approached the High Court in May 2017 for anticipatory bail and for quashing the FIR but did not get relief.

• He then approached the Supreme Court in 2017, and on 20 March 2018, the apex court delivered the order that has led to this huge outburst of public anger and lawlessness.

Supreme Court Judgement

• Supreme Court ruled that instead of an immediate arrest in a case of alleged harassment, a preliminary inquiry must first be conducted by a deputy superintendent of police within seven days of an incident before taking any action.

• Supreme Court directed that for the arrest of those accused under the Act who are public servants, approval of the appointing authority is required, and for all other accused, the approval of the SSP.

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(VIDEO) What’s Wrong With Our Banks? -

Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate

Topic of Discussion: What’s Wrong With Our Banks? - Rajya Sabha TV Big Picture Debate
Expert Panel Name : Subodh Kaushik, Former General Manager, Punjab National Bank,T.K. Arun, Editor, Opinion, Economic Times, Dr. Arvind Virmani, Former Chief Economic Advisor, GoI , Frank Rausan Pereira (Anchor)