Bills, Programs, Policies, Schemes, Orders, Judgements
Aug 5 to Aug15
Suspension of telecom services
• Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency and Public Safety) Rules, 2017 have been notified by the government
• The government often suspends telecom services in disturbed areas with an aim to maintain law and order.
• However, no comprehensive guidelines were in place to deal with such situations.
• It authorises Union and state home secretary to order suspension of telecom services in a given area in case of emergency.
GIS
• Centre has brought out an online database of more than half a million hectares of land assisting industry.
• The Geographic Information System-enabled database - details of close to 3,000 industrial parks/clusters
• + area-wise availability of agricultural/horticultural crops, and mineral production
• developed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)and the National e-Governance Division in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• to eliminate the information asymmetry affecting the country’s industrial policy-making and investments in the manufacturing sector
• Geographic Information Systems is a computer-based tool that analyzes, stores, manipulates and visualizes geographic information, usually in a map.
She Means Business’ programme
• Odisha government has launched ‘She Means Business’ programme of Facebook for women entrepreneurs
• to reduce the digital divide and empower nearly 25,000 women entrepreneurs and SHGs
• will be given training on digital marketing skills within next one year.
CBFC reconstituted
• Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983
• Central Government has reconstituted the existing Central Board of Film Certification for a period of three years or until further orders• The new board will be headed by Sh. Prasoon Joshi.
• a statutory body under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• regulates the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952.
• Economic Survey proposed Transparency of Rules Act (TORA)
• a legislation to end any asymmetry of information regarding rules and regulations faced by an average citizen.
• TORA will require all departments to mandatorily place all citizen-facing rules on their website.
• Officials will not be able to impose any rule not mentioned beforehand.
• Once a department has shifted to the platform, it can be deemed “TORA compliant” and citizens can be sure that the information is authentic and updated
• Law Ministry has approved a revised Cabinet proposal on the creation of the Financial Data Management Centre (FDMC).
• FDMC will collect data in electronic format from the (financial) regulators.
• Over time, it will gradually build capacity to collect data from the regulated entities i.e. Financial Service Providers.
• FDMC will be set up through an Act.
• to collect data from financial sector regulators, standardise and analyse them on issues relating to financial stability for onward decisions by the Financial Stability and Development Council
• Department of Legal Affairs turned down the initial Cabinet proposal
• a non-statutory FMDC would find it difficult to acquire data from the regulators, majority of which were statutory.
RBI role in financial information
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would now no longer be the sole collector and custodian of financial data.
• The RBI is against sharing raw data that it gets from banks and other market sources with FDMC
• as it is not obliged to share confidential client information of banks with anybody.
• only exception is when a law enforcement agency has to get specifics on an individual company for investigation purpose which is also allowed only after court orders.
• A parliamentary standing committee report asserts
• government’s new system of rating officers on the basis of a 360-degree approach - opaque and susceptible to bias, manipulation and lacks fairness.
• 360-degree approach is a new multi-source feedback system for performance appraisal of bureaucrats started by the current government for future postings.
• The system seeks to look beyond the ratings received in appraisal reports written by their bosses
• relies on feedback of juniors and other colleagues for an all-round view.
• Lack of objectivity
• Possibility of biasness
• No statutory status
• empowers the Reserve Bank of India to issue instructions to the banks to act against major defaulters
• amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to insert provisions for handling cases related to stressed assets
• Stressed assets are loans where the borrower has defaulted in repayment or where the loan has been restructured (such as by changing the repayment schedule).
• central government may authorise the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to issue directions to banks for initiating proceedings in case of a default in loan repayment
• proceedings would be under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
• RBI may, from time to time, issue directions to banks for resolution of stressed assets.
• RBI may specify authorities or committees to advise banks on resolution of stressed assets
• will also be applicable to the State Bank of India, its subsidiaries, and Regional Rural Banks.
The Code on Wages Bill
• Government has introduced in the Lok Sabha ‘The Code on Wages’ Bill
• to consolidate and amend the laws relating to wages and bonus
• also seeks to empower the Centre to fix a “universal minimum wage” aimed to benefit over 40 crore unorganised sector workers.
• to amalgamate four laws — Payment of Wages Act 1936, Minimum Wages Act 1948, Payment of Bonus Act 1965 and Equal Remuneration Act 1976
• Code provides for the government to determine the minimum wages every five years
• Code stipulates that the wages are to be paid in coin or currency notes or by cheque or through digital or electronic mode or by crediting the wages in the bank account of the employee
National Cyber Coordination Centre
• National Cyber Coordination Centre set up to scan the country’s web traffic to detect cyber security threats has been made operational now• will be implemented by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) at Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• scans internet traffic coming into the country to detect real-time cyber threat and alert various organisations as well as internet service providers for timely action.
• Centre derives necessary powers as per provisions of section 69B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Rules notified thereunder
All India Judicial Service
• Nine High Courts have opposed a proposal to have an all-India service for the lower judiciary
• eight have sought changes in the proposed framework and only two have supported the idea.
• However, most of the High Courts want the administrative control over the subordinate judiciary to remain with the respective High Courts.
• The idea was first mooted in the 1960s.
• Seeking to overcome the divergence of views, the government had recently suggested to the Supreme Court various options, including a NEET-like examination, to recruit judges to the lower judiciary.
• There were vacancies of 4,452 judges in subordinate courts in the country.
• The quality of judicial officers in the subordinate judiciary is a matter of concern
NCRB merged with Bureau of police research
• National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB) - the principal source of reference by policy makers, police, criminologists, researchers and media
• established in 1986 with a mandate to empower Indian police with information technology solutions and criminal intelligence
• NCRB’s data on crimes against women, particularly rapes, has shaped government’s policies on safety of women in last few years.
• Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D)- conducts its own researches and commissions many to private institutes/bodies to study the crime patterns, policing and other related aspects
• BPRD’s research is not related to crime
• focusses more on research and data collection on how police, central paramilitary forces work, manpower problems, pattern of registration of crime, or influences of police on society etc.
• Now it will be more accurate and research based data collection
E - Shakti
• e-Shakti is a pilot project of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) for digitisation of Self Help Groups (SHGs).
• initiated to address certain concerns like improving the quality of book keeping of SHGs
• to enable banks to take informed credit decisions about the group through a Management Information System (MIS)
• aims at digitisation of all the SHG accounts to bring SHG members under the fold of Financial Inclusion
• helping them access wider range of financial services together with increasing the bankers’ comfort in credit appraisal and linkage
• Transparent and proper maintenance of records of SHGs will facilitate in nurturing and strengthening of SHGs.
• bringing SHGs on a common web based e-platform by making book keeping easy for low literacy clients.
• pave the way of credibility of SHG data which can later be used by Credit Bureaus to reduce the issues related to multiple financing by banks.
SATH
• NITI Aayog has launched SATH, a program providing ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital’ with the State Governments
• The vision of the program is to initiate transformation in the education and health sectors.
• SATH aims to identify and build three future ‘role model’ states for health systems
• NITI will work in close collaboration with their state machinery to design a robust roadmap of intervention
• develop a program governance structure
• set up monitoring and tracking mechanisms
• hand-hold state institutions through the execution stage
• provide support on a range of institutional measures to achieve the end objectives.
States chosen for SATH
• NITI Aayog has announced partnership with three States each to radically transform their Health and Education sectors
• Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Karnataka to improve healthcare delivery• In Education, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Jharkhand
• six States have been chosen after a rigorous competitive process based on comprehensive metrics to determine potential for impact and likelihood of success
• On thorough technical evaluation, the chosen States have committed to time-bound, governance reforms in both sectors
• three-way partnership between NITI, State Governments and a knowledge partner for each of the sectors
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