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  • Prelims tit-bits- Polity part 7

    1. Charged Expenditure

    • Legislature can discuss it but can not vote on it
    • Supreme court, high court, President, VP, Deputy chairperson, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, CAG, UPSC etc have their expenditure charged on CFI or States
    • Election Commission expenditure is not charged on CFI
    • interest and other debt related charges of the Government and any sums required to satisfy any court judgment pertaining to the Government also comes under charged expenditure

    Note– Salary of high court judges is charged on states but pension on CFI

    Discuss – rationale behind charged expenditure

    2. Constitutional and statutory bodies

    Constitutional bodies – mentioned in the constitution, derive their power from constitution . Eg. Supreme court, High court, EC,  FC, CAG, UPSC, AG, NCSC, NCST, INTER STATE COUNCIL

    Statutory bodies – created by an act of parliament. Eg. NHRC, LOKPAL, CVC, CIC, NCPCR,  NCW,  NCM,  NCBC.

    NON STATUTORY OR EXECUTIVE BODIES -created by an executive resolution of Union cabinet . Eg. Erstwhile planning commission and NDC, present NITI Ayog

    Note-  CVC was created as executive body in 1964 after Santhanam committee report and converted into a statutory body in 2003 in pursuant of Supreme Court judgment in Vineet Narayan- Jain Hawala case.

    Discuss – Other imp constitutional bodies

    3. Removal of Imp. constitutional/ statutory functionaries 

    Supreme court, High court, CAG, CEC, SEC

    Ground – proved misbehaviour or incapacity

    Process – resolution to that effect passed by 2/3 present and voting plus absolute majority

    Note– Election  commissioners other than CEC can be removed only on the recommendation of CEC.

    UPSC, State PSC, NHRC,SHRC ,CVC, CIC, SIC

    Ground – misbehaviour

    For limited number of grounds mentioned in the constitution or statute, they can be directly removed without supreme court inquiry. Eg. Insolvent, infirmity of body or mind , paid employment outside etc.

    Process – after an inquiry by supreme court

    Discuss– Can you tell us the whole process of removal of a supreme court judge?

    4. Appointment by high powered committee

    CIC – PM, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, any cabinet minister nominated by PM

    CVC –  PM, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Home Minister

    Director CBI – PM, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha,, Chief justice of India

    NHRC – 6 member committee

    PM, leader of opposition LS , speaker, leader of opposition Rajya Sabha, Deputy Chairperson RS

    Lokpal: 5 member selection committee considers names recommended by 7 member search committee

    PM , Speaker,  Leader Of Opposition LS , chief justice, 1 jurist nominated by 1st 4

    Note– For most of the Constitutional and statutory bodies formed before 1991, appointment is by govt. Eg.- EC, CAG, FC, UPSC, SPSC ,NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SC

    Discuss- constitutional functionaries who can not be employed in govt service after retirement?

    Discuss – Reforms needed to make Election commission truly independent?

    5. Equivalence of posts

    • CIC = CEC, IC =EC, STATE CIC= EC, SIC = Chief Secretary, CVC= CHAIRPERSON UPSC, VC= MEMBER UPSC ,
    • NITI AYOG Vice Chairperson- rank of cabinet minister
    • Members NITI Ayog- rank of minister of state
    • NSA – rank minister of state
    • CAG SALARY EQUALS THAT OF SUPREME COURT JUDGE

    Discuss – Can you relate this equivalence with order of precedence?

    Discuss– Indian Order of Precedence.

  • [Arts & Heritage Institutions #4] ICCR and ICHR

     

    So far in Art & Heritage Institution series, we’ve learnt about institutions that preserve our heritage and promote our diverse arts- at the national level. But one of India’s key asset globally is its “soft-power” or Cultural diplomacy which involves the use of cultural influence.

    In this post, we will learn about those Institutions that enable India to exert such influence.

    1. INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CULTURAL RELATIONS (ICCR)

    source

    • ICCR is analogous to the British Council, France’s Alliance Francaise, Germany’s Goethe-Institut and China’s Confucius Institute
    • Founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, independent India’s first Education Minister
      • Maulana also helped establish other institutions that we’ve covered previously in this series such as Sahitya Akademi, and Sangeet Natak Akademi. He also founded Lalit Kala Akademi <promotes Visual Arts- Folk and Contemporary>
    • Soft power vision, ‘to promote a communion of cultures and a creative dialogue among nations.’
    • Its broad mandate is to develop relations with:
      • Other countries and peoples (Cultural agreements with 72 countries)
      • National and inter-national organisations in the field of culture

    General assembly

    • Consists of representatives each of the Lalit Kala Akademi, Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi
    • Eminent artistes from the fields of performing, fine and plastic arts
    • Representatives of universities or of institutions
    • President shall be appointed by the President of India and shall hold office for three years

    Initiatives:

    1. Exhibitions

    • Organizing various Foreign film festivals
    • Sponsors individual performers in dance, music, photography, theatre, and the visual arts. Here it collaborates with Sangeet Natak Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi and other such institutions.

    2. Academic

    • Council sends visiting professors to collaborate in the teaching and research programmes of foreign universities relating to Indian studies and Indian languages

    3. Scholarships

    • 6252 foreign students are studying in Indian Universities and other Institutions on scholarship provided by ICCR
    • ICCR has 20 Regional Offices (ROs) to look after the welfare of foreign students.
    • India-Africa Relationship: ICCR offered 900 scholarships around 54 countries of Africa in the past decade.

    4. Promotion of Indology

    • ICCR has helped fund programmes on Indology in Russia at the University of Moscow. It is one of the key element of Indo-Russian diplomatic goodwill.
    • Indology is the study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, especially Ancient India (Vedic studies et al)

    5. Promoting Hindi <which Article in our Constitution mandates this?>

    • ICCR, carries out various activities to popularize and promote Hindi language in other countries
    • Chairs of hindi language in universities
    • Translating works of World Literature into Hindi and other Indian languages
    • Translation of Sanskrit and Hindi classics into foreign languages
    • Celebration of the ‘‘World Hindi day” on 10th of January every year (across the world along with Ministry of External Affairs)
      • Trap Info: A different occasion- National Hindi Divas is celebrated in India on September 14 every year to mark the day on which the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi as the “Official” Language of the Union.
    • Bi-monthly Hindi journal – “Gagananchal“

    6. Notable Publications

    • Indian Horizons in English
    • Africa Quarterly in English

    Comparison between China’s Confucius Institute (CI) and ICCR:

    • In ICCR’s 64 years of existence it has only 37 overseas centres, while today there are over 480 CIs having started in 2004 only.
    • CIs function inside established universities, colleges and schools world over <ICCR can also follow this strategy to increase penetration>
    • Unlike CI, ICCR is autonomous body
    • India can learn from CI and help promote Yoga through ICCR’s extensive network in over 90 countries.

    2. INDIAN COUNCIL OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH (ICHR)

    source
    • Established by an Executive Order
    • Disburses “funds” for carrying out research to indian and foreign scholars
    • Aid received from the Department of Higher Education in the MoHRD <NOT Ministry of Culture>

    Objective: National direction to an objective and Scientific writing of history

    Composition:

    • Eminent historian nominated by the Government
    • Representative of the UGC
    • Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India <Logo- Sanchi Stupa + Emblem>
    • Director General of the National Archives of India

    Journals:

    1. Indian Historical Review (bi-annually)
    2. Itihas (in Hindi)

     

    Published with inputs from Amar

  • Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV-TD) – Everything that you need to know

    source: NDTV

    First things first, let’s hold your excitement down – these are baby steps towards a fully functional RLV. What ISRO tested few days is a TD HEX-01 (Technology demonstrator) – It is a small, aircraft-like, winged structure.

    Before we go into the details of

    The RLV-TD is a series of technology demonstration missions that has been considered as a first step towards realising a Two Stage To Orbit (TSTO) fully re-usable vehicle.

    Technology demonstration (TD) project by ISRO is to test different parameters related from the launch to landing of a Reusable launch Vehicle viz.

    1. Testing the characterisation of aero-thermo dynamics of hypersonic flight
    2. To test autonomous mission management of hypersonic vehicles 
    3. To test re-entry technology for the vehicle

    Important Points 

    1. RLV-TD-HEX1, a prototype of actual vehicle, successfully launched on 23 May 2016 
    2. Launched From – SDRC, Sriharikota, AP
    3. 2 Stage Process – launching rocket (HS9 Solid state booster) & RLV-TD (atop the rocket)

    1st phase of testing RLV – Launched beyond the atmosphere after which RLV-TD separated & atmospheric reentry began @Ma5 (Hypersonic speed) – Navigation guidance and control system steered it accurately for a controlled descent  – landed in Bay of Bengal, 450km from Sriharikota. 

    RLV will require 5km landing airstrip which is not available as of now. Will be build at SDRC, Sriharikota in near future. 

    Ultimate Aim & Advantages of the RLV would be to send manned missions, including satellites into space and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere without extreme P and Heat condition (T)

    1. Successful launch of RLV will have a huge impact on launching cost – will slash it down by 80% – RLV aims to achieve a low cost, reliable and on-demand space access 
    2. Future Moon and Mars missions, Inter-Planetary missions 
    3. Make India competitive Space player globally in terms of cheap affordable satellite launched (for LDCs), regular and periodic space missions and various space exercises like building its own Space Station in future similar to ISS, Tiangong-1
    4. India will join select league of nations – Only USA (Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour, Atlantis), Russia (Soyuz) & China (Shenzhou) have their own Space flights. After successful induction of RLV, India will also have its own manned spacecraft capability.

    Development Process 

    1. In Jan 2012 – Prototype of RLV-TD was approved to be built & tested 
    2. RLV-TD developed at VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram
    3. Aerodynamic characterisation – done by National Aerospace Laboratories in India

    Thermal tiles does at VSSC, Trivandrum – Critical component during atmospheric reentry of the flight – to prevent the structure damage due to sudden rise in T due to Hypersonic speed (Ma5)

    Total 4 phases of Technology demonstration and assessment

    Technology will be developed and tested in phases through as series of experimental flights 

    1. HEX – Hypersonic Flight Experiment – Done May 23, 2016 
    2. LEX – Landing Experiment 
    3. REX – Return Flight Experiment 
    4. SPEX – Scramjet Propulsion Experiment

    The final version will take 10-15 years to be ready. Still long time to go!! Other agencies involved in building reusable launch vehicles 

    1. SpaceX – Elon Musk 
    2. ESA
    3. JAXA – Japan 
    4. Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos – Amazon) 
    Published with inputs from Gaurav

  • [Arts & Heritage Institutions #3] Sahitya Akademi and Sangeet Natak Akademi

    Continuing the series on Cultural Institutions, today we’ll exclusively focus on Art Institutions. While earlier we learnt about Institutions that preserve Tangible Heritage such as Architecture (ASI and INTACH), following Institutions are noteworthy because they promote Intangible Heritage of our culture; notably- Literature, Music and Dance.

    These are especially important considering recent furore of Sahitya Akademi awardees returning their awards in what was referred to as “Award Wapasi”. We’ll also learn about another Institution and various awards & means through which they promote arts in India. So, let’s get started!

    1. Sahitya Akademi (1954)

    source
    • Its an Autonomous organization fully financed by the Government
    • Also referred to as India’s National Academy of Letters
    • Entrusted with promotion of Literature (“Sahitya” means Literature in Hindi) through following mechanisms:
    1. Literary dialogue, publication and promotion
    2. Undertakes literary activities in Twenty-four Indian languages
      • Trap Info: Note that it goes beyond 22 languages of the 8th Schedule to include English + Rajasthani
    3. Development of Indian literature

    Awards and Fellowships

    1. Sahitya akademi award (Plaque and Cash of 1 lac)
      • Poetry, Novel, Essay, Autobiography, Literary Criticism in 24 languages
    2. Bhasha samman
      • Awards to writers for significant contribution to Indian languages other than the above 24 major ones
      • Contribution to classical & medieval literature
      • Given to writers, scholars, editors, collectors, performers or translators
    3. Premchand fellowships (started in 2005)
      • Given to persons of eminence in the Field of Culture from SAARC countries <thus its scope extends to beyond (i) India and (ii) Literature>
    4. Coomarswamy fellowships
      • Given to scholars from Asian countries <not just SAARC> to spend 3 to 12 months in India to pursue a literary project
    5. Sahitya Akademi fellowship
      • Given to the “immortals of literature“
      • Limited to 21 people at a time
      • First recipient was 2nd president of India Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
      • Other notable ones: Khushwant Singh, VS Naipaul

    Issues faced by Sahitya Akademi

    • Although Sahitya Akademi awards are notable for its merit based selections it is not untouched by controversies.
    • A jury comprising of Literary Stalwarts selects awardees (as opposed to Prime Minister for Civilian Awards such as Bharat Ranta, Padma Shree etc)
      • This is a good reason why the Sahitya Akademi awardees shouldn’t be returning their awards, as they’ve been conferred on their artistic merit. Returning the award would be demeaning the jury’s decision and the historic institution.
    • Transparency issues regarding nomination of litterateurs for the coveted Sahitya Akademi Award
      • Interference of Bureaucrats in nomination procedure, who aren’t qualified to make any kind of literary selections (they narrow down the pool of nominees for Jury to make final selection from)
    • Due to this reason, past awardees such as Khushwant Singh had criticized the process for ignoring eminent writers and awarding below-par writers and sub-standard literary works.

    2. Sangeet Natak Akademi  (1953)

    source

    Mandate/Objectives:

    • Another Autonomous Institution under Ministry of Culture
    • Promotion of performing arts– Indian music, dance and drama
    • Maintains a Gallery of Musical Instruments
    • Maintenance of standards of training in the performing arts
    • Teaching institutions
      • Kathak Kendra, Delhi (Classical Dance from Uttar Pradesh)
      • Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Akademi in Imphal
      • Sattriya Centre (Classical Dance from Assam)
      • Centre for Kutiyattam (Age-old Sanskrit theatre of Kerala; Also an Indian Intangible Cultural Heritage as per UNESCO)
      • Chhau Centre (Tribal martial dance in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal)

    Awards:

    1. Sangeet Natak Akademi Award:
      • Highest national recognition conferred on eminent artistes.
    2. Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, Ratna Sadsya
      • To distinguished individuals for their contribution to the field of arts, music, dance and theatre.
    3. Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar:
      • Given to young artists for their talent in the fields of music, dance and drama
      • Notable info about Ustad Bismillah Khan:
        • Known for popularizing the shehnai, a subcontinental wind instrument of the oboe class
        • Awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 2001, becoming the Third classical musician after M. S. Subbulakshmi and Ravi Shankar to be accorded this distinction

     

    Published with inputs from Amar

  • Prelims tit-bits- Polity part 6

    Most Imp. Constitutional doctrines

    1. Basic structure doctrine- Keshvananda Bharati Case (1973)

    • Constitution has some basic structure which can not be amended even if all members of both the houses vote to amend that provision
    • Federalism, Judicial review, Separation of power, art 20, art 21 etc are part of basic structure

    2. Doctrine of Colorable Legislation –

    • Whatever legislature can’t do directly, it can’t do indirectly
    • It is most commonly applied wrt article 246 (3 lists)
    • when a Legislature does not possess the power to make law upon a particular subject but nonetheless indirectly makes one

    3. Doctrine of Pith and Substance- 

    • Pith means true nature” or “essence and substance means the essential nature underlying a phenomenon.
    • Thus, the doctrine of pith and substance relates to finding out the true nature of a statute.
    • This doctrine is widely used when deciding whether a state is within its rights to create a statute that involves a subject mentioned in Union List of the Constitution.
    • The basic idea behind this principle is that an act or a provision created by the State is valid if the true nature of the act or the provision is about a subject that falls in the State list <contrast it with doctrine of colorable legislation>

    4. Doctrine of Repugnancy- 

     

    • REpugnancy is an inconsistency or contradiction between two or more parts of a statute
    • So. if a state passes any law on concurrent list subject which is inconsistent with the central law on that subject, it would be repugnant and liable to be struck down to the extent of repugnancy.

    5. Doctrine of Harmonious Construction  

    • Constitutional provisions should not be construed in isolation from all other parts of the Constitution, but should be construed as to harmonize with those other parts.
    • As we discussed in judgement series when article 368 and 13 were found to be inconsistent, supreme court in Shankari Prasad case applied this principle to opine that parliament can amend fundamental rights and constitutional amendment would not be considered law for the purpose of article 13

    6. Doctrine of Separation of Power –

    Separation of power among executive, legislature and judiciary so that no one branch of govt wields excessive absolute power

    Discuss – Other important constitutional doctrines

    Discuss- Compare and contrast doctrine of separation of power with doctrine of checks  and balances

    Discuss- Compare Separation of Power in parliamentary democracies (India) v/s presidential democracies (USA)

    A few most imp. DPSPs

    • To secure for all citizens a uniform civil code (art 44)
    • To protect and improve the environment (art 48A)
    • To separate judiciary from executive (art 50)
    • To promote international peace and security (art 51)
    • To provide free legal aid to the poor (art43A)

    Discuss– DPSPs which trump fundamental rights under article 14 and 19

    Three types of cut motions

    • Policy cut: to be reduced to Rs. 1 <you disagree with govt policy>
    • Economy cut: reduce by a specific amount.<done in more thrifty manner, no disagreement with policy>
    • Token cut: reduce by Rs. 100 < to ventilate a specific grievance>
    • Note- If any cut motion is accepted, govt is defeated in LS and has to resign

    Discuss- Parliamentary oversight of executive in financial sphere

  • sri

    who are MLC’s what they do and why this post.brief explanation please.

  • Prelims tit-bits- History part 1

    1. Important sessions of Congress

    • 1885- 1st, Bomaby, presided by W.C. Banerjee
    • 1887- Badruddin Tyabji became 1st muslim to preside over congress session
    • 1907- Surat, Ras Bihari Ghosh not Bose, split in Congress b/w moderates and extremists
    • 1916- Lucknow, Reunion on congress, Lucknow pact b/w congress and muslim league
    • 1920- Nagpur, A new constitution for congress, congress reorganized
    • 1929-Lahore, J.L. Nehru, Purna Swaraj Resolution
    • 1931-Karachi, Vallabh Bhai, Resolution on Fundamental rights and National Economic Programme
    • 1938- Haripura, S.C. Bose, National Planning Committee under J.L. Nehru

    Discuss- New things in new constitution of congress

    Discuss- 1st non Indian and 1st woman president of congress

    2. Gandhi’s styagrahas

    • Champaran (1917)- 1st civil disobedience movement, against tinkathia system of indigo planters <3/20th>, Followers- Rajendra Prasad, Mahadeo Desai, J.B.Kriplani
    • Ahmedabad Mill strike (1918)-1st hunger strike, over the discontinuation of plague bonuses, increase in wages
    • Kheda (1918)- 1st non cooperation movement, for compensation in the event of crop loss, Followers- Sardar Patel, Indulal yagnil
    • Rowlatt Satyagrah (1919)- 1st mass strike, roped in younger elements of Home Rule Leagues and Pan-Islamists

    Discuss- Gandhi’s Satyagrahas in South Africa

    3. Important Peasant movements

    • Mapiilla revolt (1920s)- malabar region, Muslim tenants, Hindu landlords (Jennies), anti govt, anti landlord movement acquired distinct communal overtones
    • Eka movement (1921)- against high rents, oppression of thikadars, in northern districts of UP, led by Madarai Pasi and low caste leader, symbolic religious rituals to unify <eka means ekta or unity>
    • Bardoli Satyagraha (1926-28)- against increase in land revenue, Kunbi-Patidars, led by VAllabh Bhai, women of bardoli gave him the name, Sardar <eventually revenue hike reduced from 30% to 6%>
    • Tebhaga movement (1946)- in Bengal to increase share of bargadars (share croppoers) to 2/3rd from ½ ,<tebhaga meaning three parts>
    • All India Kisan Congress/ Sabha in 1936- President swami sahjanand, secretary N.G. Ranga

    Discuss- Contribution of Kisan sabhas

     

    4. Important Working class movement

    • All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) founded in 1920 under Lala Lajpat, Dewan Chaman Ali 1st general secretary
    • Meerut Conspiracy Case (1929-33)- Sedition charges on labour leaders (Dange, Shaukat Usmani, Muzaffar Ahmed and 30 others)
    • Huge participation of workers in Civil disobedience movement /(1930)
    • Workers opposed the 2nd world war but supported British (allies) when Russia joined on their side in 1941 and communist did not support quit India movement

    Discuss– Socialist tendencies in national movement

     

                            

  • sri

    dear CD are you covered all govt.schemes and polices or any remaining ones iam only depended on you please help.

  • [Arts & Heritage Institutions #2] INTACH

    Of late, UPSC has shown a liking for asking questions on Institutions beyond that of Government. Few examples include International NGOs such as Amnesty International in 2015 and Domestic charities such as Bombay Natural History Society in 2014.

    Keeping prelims in mind, within the context of ongoing series of Heritage Institutions, let us understand about INTACH. It is also important from Mains GS-2 perspective (Role of NGOs) because some call it a Civil Society alternative to Archaeological Survey of India <we’ve already covered that in detail in the 1st part of this series, do read up on it>

    source

    Background

    • INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) was founded in 1984, is an autonomous NGO for preservation of Indian Art and Cultural Heritage
    • Its motto is “Dedicated to Conservation“

    Tasks undertaken by INTACH

    • Restoration of monuments that fall outside the coverage of Archaeological Survey of India and other government agencies <Remember that ASI hasn’t shown much interest towards working with INTACH>
    • Advocacy for heritage property conservation
    • Public awareness through heritage walks and buses <Just like Bombay Natural History Society does, its a common feature of these type of NGOs>
    • Establishment of heritage clubs in schools
    • Holding of awareness workshop for teachers of schools and colleges

    Some notable works done by INTACH

    1. It had developed Raghurajpur, Orissa, a place famous for its ‘Pattachitra’ artists and ‘Gotipua’ dance troupes as a heritage village, which has now become a major rural tourist destination
      • Pattachitra is a cloth-based scroll painting of Odisha. Patta = Cloth and Chitra = Picture. Most of these paintings depict stories of Hindu deities of Jagannath and Vaishnava Sect. It has also been given a GI tag. To know more about GI tags, click here to read.
      • Gotipua is a traditional dance form of Odisha, and the precursor of Odissi. Its name comes from Gopi (Single boys), who dress as women to praise Jagannath and Krishna. The dance is executed by a group of boys who perform acrobatic figures inspired by the life of Radha and Krishna.
    2. It later used the same pattern to develop Padmanabhpur village, Ganjam district, Orissa, famous for its weavers and folk dancers, into another heritage destination

    What can we learn from INTACH’s mission?

    • Sensitizing the public about the pluralistic cultural legacy of India
    • Instill a sense of social responsibility towards preserving India’s common heritage <Similar to our Fundamental Duty as per Article 51A>
    • Undertake emergency response measures during natural or man-made disasters and support the local administration whenever heritage is threatened

    In the next article, we will learn about few notable Autonomous Institutions promoting Arts under Ministry of Culture. This will include Sahitya Akademi and others.

     

    Published with inputs from Amar | Pic: Hindu, Tvsarts

  • CAG AND Article 148(4) – Vinod Rai as BBB chairman

    APPOINTMENT OF VINOD RAI AS CHAIRMAN OF Banks’ Board Bureau (BBB)
    The Comptroller and Auditor-General shall not be eligible for further office either under the Government of India or under the Government of any State after he has ceased to hold his office.

    The argument that the BBB Chairman does not draw any salary from Consolidated Fund of India and post of BBB Chairman being part-time exclude application of article 148(4).

    Is BBB not a office under Government of India ?

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