theIASHub | 14 Feb, 2025 | 5
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The Supreme Court is hearing petitions seeking a lifetime ban on convicted individuals from contesting elections.
o Section 8(3) of the RP Act, 1951: Disqualifies a person convicted of a criminal offense with a sentence of at least two years. Such a person remains disqualified for six years after release.
o Section 8(1) of the RP Act, 1951: Disqualifies a person convicted under laws for heinous crimes like rape, untouchability (PCR Act), unlawful association (UAPA), and corruption (Prevention of Corruption Act), irrespective of sentence duration, plus six years after release.
o EC’s Decision (2019): Reduced disqualification period of Prem Singh Tamang (convicted under Prevention of Corruption Act) from six years to 13 months, allowing him to contest and win a by-election.
o Winning chances: 15.4% for candidates with criminal records, compared to 4.4% for clean candidates.
The Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee recently directed the government to review the existing rules that decide the toll tax on National Highways (NH).
o It reviews Appropriation Accounts, Finance Accounts, and other government accounts (except Public Undertakings and Government Companies).
o Members are elected through proportional representation via single transferable vote.
o Chairperson: Appointed by the Speaker from Lok Sabha members.
o Since 1967-68, the Chairperson is from the Opposition.
o Ministers cannot be members; if a member is appointed as a minister, they lose membership.
o Till 1950, the Finance Department handled secretarial functions.
o From January 26, 1950, it became a Parliamentary Committee under the Speaker.
o Secretarial functions shifted to Lok Sabha Secretariat.
Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (Tata Power-DDL) has secured a place among the top 10 power utilities globally in the Smart Grid Index (SGI) 2024.
o Tata Power-DDL scored 83.9%, reflecting its strong smart grid deployment.
o Tata Power, through its discoms in Delhi, Odisha, Ajmer, and Mumbai, serves 12.5 million consumers (over 5 crore).
Recently, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court ruled that an applicant’s conduct, not their relatives' background, should determine passport approval.
o Article 19(1) (d) guarantees freedom of movement within India, indirectly linked to international travel.
o Article 19(1) (a) ensures freedom of speech & expression, which may include travel abroad for education, culture, or profession.
o Satwant Singh Sawhney v. D. Ramarathnam (1967): Supreme Court recognized the right to travel abroad as part of Article 21. Government cannot deny or impound passports without legal justification. Court directed the government to restore passports to petitioners.
o Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978): Expanded Article 21, affirming the right to travel abroad as part of personal liberty, held that any restriction must follow a fair, just, and reasonable legal procedure.
Recently a YouTuber was facing controversy over his comments on ‘India’s Got Latent’. The government has taken note and summoned him before a Parliamentary IT Committee.
o “Community Standards Test”: Determines if content dominantly appeals to prurient interests → Public sentiment & cultural sensitivity are crucial—societal norms evolve over time → Balance between freedom of expression & morality—content that undermines public morals is restricted.
o College Romance Case (2024): SC quashed proceedings under Section 292 IPC & Section 67 IT Act, held that “foul, indecent, and profane language” is different from obscenity. Obscenity requires arousing sexual thoughts, which the show did not.
o IT Act, 2000: Section 79 provides exemption to intermediaries from liability if they follow due diligence.
o Section 66A (punishment for offensive online messages) struck down in 2015 for being unconstitutional.
o IT (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021: Categorises platforms as social media intermediaries, significant social media intermediaries, and news publishers.
o Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDPB): Establishes guidelines for data collection, processing, and storage by social media platforms, focus on user consent & data privacy.
The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Euclid space telescope has recently discovered a rare ring of light, known as an Einstein ring, around a galaxy nearly 590 million light-years away from Earth.
o Gravitational lensing occurs when a massive celestial body bends and amplifies light from a distant galaxy behind it.
o The gravitational lens in this case was NGC 6505, bending light from a galaxy 4.42 billion light-years away.
o Named after Albert Einstein, who predicted that light bends around massive objects in his general theory of relativity.
o The first Einstein ring was discovered in 1987, and they remain extremely rare (found in less than 1% of galaxies).
o They are not visible to the naked eye and require space telescopes like Euclid to observe.
o Dark Matter Research: Helps study dark matter, which makes up 85% of the universe but cannot be directly detected.
o Galaxy Observations: Enables viewing distant galaxies that would otherwise remain invisible.
o Understanding the Universe: Provides insights into the expansion of the universe and changes in space-time between galaxies, as explained by NASA.
The Andhra Pradesh Government has recently declared four areas as Biosecurity Zones, where the restrictions are imposed, in view of the identification of the avian influenza (bird flu) cases in the State.
o Red Zone (0-1 km radius): Strict restrictions on movement of people and birds, no mobility between farms.
o Surveillance Zone (1-10 km radius): Government monitors the area but no movement restrictions.
o Beyond 10 km: No restrictions on sale and consumption of chicken and eggs.
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