General Awareness

GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES - June 2019

Jun 2019

Nov 27, 2019

Transgender Persons Rights Bill Passed in RS

The Rajya Sabha passed a bill which seeks to provide a mechanism for social, economic and educational empowerment of transgenders.

The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, was moved for consideration and passage in Rajya Sabha by Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot on November 20, 2019.

At the time of introduction, Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan had requested for the revision of the bill, saying that it segregates transgender from other people.

The bill seeks to define the expression "transgender person", prohibit discrimination against them, confer them right to self-perceived gender identity and provide that no establishment shall discriminate against them in matters of employment, recruitment, promotion and other related issues.

It also provides for grievance redressal mechanism, establishing a National Council for Transgender Persons and providing punishment for contraventions of the provisions of the proposed legislation.

The bill was first introduced in Lok Sabha in July 2019 and was passed on August 5, 2019.

National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill Gets Nod

The parliament gave its nod to a Bill which seeks to declare four National Institutes of Design in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Haryana as institutions of national importance.
Several amendments to the Bill moved by opposition members were defeated by voice vote.
The National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by the Lok Sabha by a voice vote.
The Rajya Sabha had cleared the Bill during the previous session. Earlier, these institutes came under the Societies Registration Act and did not have the power to issue degrees or diplomas.

Nov 26, 2019

Apex Court Allows Ravidas Temple in Tughlaqabad

The Supreme Court allowed the construction of a permanent temple dedicated to Guru Ravidas at Tughlaqabad in south Delhi.
A plea filed by Congress leader Ashok Tanwar seeking modification of the court's earlier order was allowed by a Bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Surya Kant.
As per the court's earlier order, the new structure which was proposed to be built in place of the demolished structure was to be a porta cabin made of wood. The court has now agreed to the proposal that the new structure can be a permanent one.
This new temple will come up at the same spot where the earlier temple demolished by DDA, was located.

Nov 25, 2019

Maharashtra Becomes the Only State to Protect Scribes

Even as the political slugfest in Maharashtra continues, President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Maharashtra Media Persons and Media Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Bill, 2017, one of the first laws in the country which ensures protection for journalists.
The Bill, passed by the Devendra Fadnavis government, has been pending for two years with the Centre and recommends punishment up to three years or a fine of up to ₹50,000 or both in case of attack on mediapersons on duty. Acts of violence against mediapersons will be treated as cognizable, nonbailable and cases under this law will be investigated by an officer not below the rank of DySP/ACP.
As per the Maharashtra legislation, the offender shall be liable to pay compensation for damage or loss caused to the property of the mediaperson or the media house as determined by court. The assailant would be liable to reimburse the medical expenditure incurred by the mediapersons in the attack.
According to the World Press Freedom Index 2019, India dropped two places on a global press freedom index to be ranked 140th out of 180 countries in the annual 'Reporters Without Borders'.

Nov 23, 2019

Bill to ban e-Cigarettes introduced in Lok Sabha

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha that seeks to prohibit the production, manufacture, import, export, transport, sale, distribution, storage and advertisement of electronic cigarettes.
Vardhan said the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes (Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement) Bill, 2019, is aimed at protecting people from the harmful effects of e-cigarettes.
E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices that produce aerosol by heating a solution containing nicotine. These include all forms of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), Heat Not Burn Products, e-hookah and the likes. Harsh Vardhan said 30 countries have banned e-cigarettes, while 98 have regulatory mechanisms in place for the same.
About 18 states and two Union territories in India--i.e. Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Haryana, Mizoram, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Odisha--have already banned the use and sale of e-cigarettes, vape pens and e-hookah over health concerns.

Odisha Govt Asks Employees to take Online Courses on Better Governance

Odisha government has asked its 3 lakh-odd employees to enrol into policy-oriented online courses offered by institutions like IMF, World Bank and Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab for a grounding on fiscal policy, financial markets and institutions and macroeconomic management among several other subjects.
The finance department in a letter asked all the departments to order the Group-A, B and C employees to get themselves registered for the online courses offered by these institutions as part of the holistic development of the skills of the employees.

Nov 22, 2019

Cabinet Approves Extension Of Pharmaceuticals Purchase Policy

The Union Cabinet approved the extension of Pharmaceuticals Purchase Policy (PPP) for pharmaceutical Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs) till their closure or strategic disinvestment.
Pharmaceuticals Purchase Policy (PPP) was approved by the Cabinet in 2013 for five years in respect of 103 medicines manufactured by pharma CPSUs and their subsidiaries.
The policy is applicable to purchases by central/ state government departments and their public sector undertakings.
The pricing of the products is done by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA). The term of the policy expired in 2018.

Cabinet Approves The Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019

The Union cabinet approved the Labour Code on Industrial Relations 2019, allowing companies to hire workers on fixed-term contract of any duration.
The code has retained the threshold on the worker count at 100 for prior government approval before retrenchment, but it has a provision for changing 'such number of employees' through notification.
Fixed-term employment means a worker can be hired for any duration, three months or six months or a year depending on season and orders.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for introduction of the Industrial Relations Code, 2019 in the Parliament.
The bill provides for setting up of two-member tribunal (in place of one member), thus introducing a concept that some of the important cases will be adjudicated jointly and the rest by a single member resulting speedier disposal of cases, is one of the benefits of the bill.

Union Cabinet Approves Proposals To Mitigate Telecom Sector's Financial Stress

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved proposals for mitigating financial stress being faced by telecom service sector.
Under the approval, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) will provide an option to telecom companies to defer payment of the spectrum auction installments that are due for 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, either for one or both years.
This comes soon after Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Jio said they will increase phone call and data tariffs.

Assam Govt To Gift 10 Gm Of Gold To Every Bride

The Assam government announced that it will gift 10 grams of gold to every adult bride, if she has studied at least up to class 10 and her marriage is registered.
The annual family income of the bride has to be less than Rs 5 lakh to avail the benefit of the scheme.
There are some other conditions as well to avail the benefit of the 'Arundhati Gold Scheme', which will cost the state exchequer around Rs 800 crores per annum.
The minister clarified that the benefit will be given only in case of the first marriage of the girl and it has to be registered under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
The scheme has some riders like the girl has to be at least 18 years of age and the boy 21 years. This will also stop child marriage. Besides, the girl has to pass matric exams (class 10 board exam) to avail the scheme. This will also emphasise on girls' education.
However, the educational qualification norm will not be applicable to the girls from the tea garden communities and adivasis as "the government has not been able to set up high schools in such places.
All the conditions, including the educational and financial, are not applicable to the bridegroom.
The figure of Rs 30,000 for 10 grams of gold has been arrived at after taking its average price for the entire year and it will be revised during the presentation of every budget.
Gold will not be given in the physical form. After registration and verification, the government will deposit Rs 30,000 in the bride's bank account. Then she has to submit the receipt of the gold purchase. This amount cannot be used for other purposes
The scheme will commence from January 1, 2020.

Cabinet Approves Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for introducing the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 in order to replace the Ordinance.
Economic developments after the enactment of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019 (Finance Act) along with reduction of rate of corporate income tax by many countries world over necessitated the provision of additional fiscal stimulus to attract investment, generate employment and boost the economy.
As these could have been achieved through amendment to the Income-tax Act, 1961 (IT Act) or to the Finance Act and the Parliament was not in session, it was done through promulgation of The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 (the Ordinance) in September, 2019.

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