(Current Affairs) National Events | July: 2016

National Events

Finance minister says all states supporting the GST

  • Barring the key Producer State of Tamil Nadu, virtually all others have supported the Goods & Services Tax (GST), Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
  • Virtually all the States have supported the idea of GST today barring Tamil Nadu which has expressed some reservations. Tamil Nadu has offered a few suggestions which have been noted by the committee.
  • Mr. Jaitley also said that the States had rejected the provision for a constitutional cap on the GST rate, one of the three demands of the Congress for supporting, in the Rajya Sabha.
  • As a constitutional body, it would “impinge” on the legislative sovereignty of both Parliament and the State Legislatures and jeopardise the fiscal autonomy of States.
  • Mr. Jaitley also said that there was no deadline for the implementation of the GST.
  • Earlier, after the passage of the Constitutional (122{+n}{+d}) Amendment Bill in May 2015 in the Lok Sabha, the Government had said that it was trying to roll out the single-tax regime from April 1, 2016.
  • Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and submitted a 29-point memorandum, detailing several demands of the State.
  • Among the demands of Ms. Jayalalithaa were the formation of a Cauvery Management Board and a Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, restoration of water level at Mullaperiyar to 152 feet and interlinking of rivers.

Amid the spiralling prices of pulses, the Centre decided to sell turvia mobile vans

  • Amid the spiralling prices of pulses, the Centre decided to sell pigeon pea (tur) and black gram (urad) at Rs. 120 per kg through the National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) via mobile vans in Delhi.
  • The decision to sell pulses through the NCCF was taken at an inter-ministerial review meeting held here that reviewed the prices of essential commodities and discussed measures to ensure availability of these commodities at reasonable prices.
  • The government said that as on June 13, 2016, the procurement of Rabi pulses had reached 64,000 tonnes.
  • Together with the earlier procurement of 51,000 tonnes of the Kharif season, the total domestic procurement by government agencies had reached 1,15,000 tonnes.
  • The Centre has also ordered further import of 12,500 tonnes of pulses for buffer stocks, which include 10,000 tonnes of masur and 2,500 tonnes of urad.

What constitutes office of profit

  • Delhi is not the only State where the post of Parliamentary Secretary has been challenged.
  • Various High Court judgments in the past have deemed the appointment of Parliamentary Secretaries unconstitutional and have ruled against such appointments.
  • Various petitions in the High Court have challenged the appointment of Parliament Secretary.
  • Petition argue that the post is in contradiction to Article 164 (1A) of the Constitution which provides for limiting the number of Ministers in the State Cabinets to 15 per cent of the total number of members of the State Legislative Assembly.
  • Because a Parliament Secretary often holds the rank of Minister of State, the Calcutta High Court, in June 2015, quashed the appointment of 24 Parliamentary Secretaries in West Bengal dubbing it unconstitutional.
  • Similar action was taken by the Bombay High Court in 2009 for the appointment of two Parliamentary Secretaries in Goa and by the Himachal Pradesh High Court in 2005 for the appointment of eight Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and four Parliamentary Secretaries in the State.
  • The number of Cabinet Ministers in Delhi cannot exceed 10 per cent of the total 70 seats — that is seven — as per Article 239(A) of Constitution. As of now, only one Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister is authorised.
  • ‘Office of profit’ is not defined in the Constitution. However, in past judgments, the Election Commission has noted “what constitutes an office of profit under the Government is now well established by a catena of judgments of the Supreme Court.”
  • Five tests have been laid down: (i) whether the government makes the appointment; (ii) whether the government has the right to remove or dismiss the holder; (iii) whether the government pays remuneration; (iv) what the functions of the holder are; and (v) does the government exercise any control over the performance of these functions.

HC of Bombay clears Udta Punjab Movie

  • The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue an ‘A’ certificate to the movie Udta Punjab (Punjab on a High) with the deletion of one scene and a modified disclaimer.
  • The Court ordered the CBFC to certify the movie within 48 hours, enabling its release on schedule on June 17.
  • A Division Bench of Justices said, “We do not find anything in the script that affects the sovereignty and integrity of the Nation.”
  • While dictating the strongly-worded order, the court said, “The power to exercise deletions and cuts should be consistent and in consonance with provisions of the Constitution and directions of the Supreme Court.”
  • The court said, “It is undisputed that the CBFC possesses powers to call for cuts, changes, deletions in a movie while certifying it. However, in the present case, the CBFC-imposed restrictions were not correct.
  • The movie has to be seen as a whole and it is not permissible to take the characters, scenes and songs out of context.”
  • After dictating the order, the Bench said, “There are so many litigants awaiting justice. This is hardly a cause to be brought before the court, let alone the highest court of the State.”

A fresh transgression by Chinese troops into Indian territory

  • A fresh transgression by Chinese troops into Indian territory has come to light. The incident happened on June 9 at Yangtse which is located 25-30 km east of Bum La pass in western Arunachal Pradesh.
  • According to official sources, about 250 Chinese troops had crossed into the Indian side on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and went back in a few hours.
  • This happens regularly due to differences in perception on the boundary and after claiming that the area belongs to China, troops tend to go back.
  • The incident coincides with India’s efforts at securing membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) which China has openly opposed citing India’s non-accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
  • In March, Chinese troops had entered Indian territory in Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir.
  • On March 8, Chinese troops had entered almost 6 km deep inside Indian territory near the Pangong lake in Ladakh.

President refused to give assent to legislation that protects 21 AAP MLAs

  • President Pranab Mukherjee has refused to give assent to a legislation that protects 21 party MLAs, who have been appointed Parliamentary Secretaries and face the prospect of disqualification.
  • Petitions have been filed with the President seeking disqualification of these MLAs on the ground that they occupied office of profit, violating constitutional provisions.
  • Acting as a quasi judicial body, the Election Commission, to whom the President referred the issue, had sought replies of the MLAs.
  • The Delhi Government had sought an amendment to the Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997.
  • Through the Bill, the AAP government wanted “retrospective” exemption for the parliamentary secretaries from disqualification provisions.
  • The Bill was forwarded by Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung to the Centre which, in turn, sent it to the President with its comments.

Pulses to be imported to keep prices in check

  • To bridge the demand-supply gap and maintain stability in prices of pulses, the Union government is planning a government-to-government contract, said Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution.
  • Addressing presspersons, Mr. Paswan said the Centre had worked out a strategy to import pulses to mitigate the shortage and maintain price stability.
  • This year, there will be a demand supply gap of over 76 lakh tonnes.
  • While private importers will be able to import only 60 lakh, the Centre is planning to have a government-to-government contract to procure the remaining quantity to meet the demand.

India seeking help from Rusia for NSG

  • Back from his visits to Washington, Geneva and Mexico City to lobby for India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now asking Russia for help with the countries still holding out.
  • He is scheduled to meet with President Vladmir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the SCO summit later this month.
  • The outreach is particularly important as China continues to maintain that “NSG members remain divided” on the issue of membership, claiming that “many countries within the group share China’s stance.”
  • Officials expect a final decision may not come till the eve of the NSG meeting in South Korea on June 24, when the Prime Minister is expected to meet Mr. Xi at the SCO in Tashkent.

At least 50 people were killed by a gunman at a gay night club in Florida

  • At least 50 people were killed by a gunman at a gay night club in Orlando, Florida, in the worst mass shooting incident in the U.S.
  • The shooter, Omar Mateen, an American citizen of Afghan origin, used to live in Ft. Pierce, Florida, and was killed in the police operation that followed.
  • The 29-year-old may have been a radicalised Islamist and the investigation will probe that angle too, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
  • President Barack Obama termed the shooting an “act of terror” and an “act of hate.” Speaking at the White House, Mr. Obama said it’s a “sobering reminder” that an attack on any American is an attack “on all of us.”
  • According to a report quoting investigators, the shooter called the emergency helpline number 911 and pledged allegiance to Islamic State chief Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi before starting the carnage.
  • Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting, the Amaq news agency tied to the group reported. But thus far there is no indication of a direct connection with the IS in terms of training or instruction to carry out the attacks.
  • Omar Mateen was earlier investigated by the FBI for suspected terror links. The targeted club being a known gathering place of the LGBT community, a homophobia angle too is suspected.

Click Here for Full National Issue

Click Here to Join Online Coaching for IAS (Pre.) Exam

<< Go Back To National Events Main Page

Current Affairs
National Issues
Civil Services EXAM
Civil Services Preliminary
Civil Services Mains
UPSC
संघ लोक सेवा आयोग - UPSC