1. MONEY BILL (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: THE Supreme Court has agreed to "take the call" on hearing petitions challenging the "Money Bill route" taken by the government to push through contentious legislation in Parliament.

Money Bill

• Article 110(1): Money Bills, which must contain specific provisions, primarily related to taxation, government finances, borrowing, and guarantees.
• Procedure of passing Money Bills: It as outlined in Article 109, involves them being introduced only in the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
• After passing the House of the People, a Money Bill is sent to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) for recommendations within 14 days. 
• Options LS have on RS recommendations:

o If the House of the People accepts the Council's recommendations, the Money Bill is considered passed with those amendments.

o If the House of the People rejects the Council's recommendations, the Money Bill is passed as originally proposed by the House of the People.

o If the Council of States doesn't return the Money Bill within 14 days, it's deemed passed in the form it was passed by the House of the People.

• Role of Speaker (Article 110(3): He/She takes the final call if a bill is a money bill or not. And his decision cannot be challenged in any court of the country.
• Criteria of Money Bill

o Tax imposition, abolition, remission, alteration, or regulation.

o Government of India's borrowing of money or giving guarantees.

o Management of the Consolidated Fund or Contingency Fund of India, as well as deposits and withdrawals.

o Allocation of funds from the Consolidated Fund of India.

o Identification of expenses as charges on the Consolidated Fund of India or increases in such expenses.

The Important Cases in Supreme Court

• Challenge to Adhaar Act: The SC stated that the Act's primary aim was to provide subsidies and benefits, which involve expenditure from the Consolidated Fund, thus qualifying it as a Money Bill.
• Finance Act, 2017: It included amendments empowering the government to set rules for the service conditions of Tribunal members.
• In November 2019, a five-judge Bench struck down the Tribunal Rules for interfering with judicial independence but referred the Money Bill aspect to a larger seven-judge Bench, noting the Aadhaar case Bench did not clearly define a valid Money Bill.

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2. JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT 2015 (Syllabus GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: In May, two young techies in Pune lost their lives to a speeding car driven by a teenager, who was subsequently granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board under conditions criticized for leniency, as per the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.

Juvenile Justice Act, 2015

• About: It was enacted by Parliament to replace earlier legislation, including the Juvenile Delinquency Law and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
• It allows for the possibility of trying adolescents above 16 as adults if they are accused of committing a “heinous” offence.

oA “heinous” offence is one with a minimum punishment of seven years or more. 

oOffences such as culpable homicide and causing death by negligence, which are common in drunken driving cases, are not “heinous” offences because they do not have a prescribed minimum punishment.

• Objective: To consolidate and amend the law relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law and children in need of care and protection. 
• Juvenile trial: The child is defined in the JJ Act, 2015 as a person who has not completed 18 years of age.
• Differentiated Trial: According to Section 15(1) of the Act, in case of a heinous offence alleged to have been committed by a child age group of 16-18 years the Juvenile Justice Board “shall conduct a preliminary assessment.
• Section 18 (3): The sole aim of preliminary assessment is to determine whether the child in the age of 16-18 years should be tried as an adult in case of heinous offence.
• Role of JJ Board: The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) is solely responsible for conducting preliminary assessment, which it must complete within three months from the date of first production of the child before it.
• Punishment: It prescribes punishment for the various offences against children such as enhanced punishment for cruelty to children from six months to three years. 
• The selling or buying of children will be a punishable offence with imprisonment of five years.

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Act, 2021

• The recent amendment aims to delineate between heinous and serious offences more clearly under the JJ Act, impacting the adjudication of cases involving adolescents aged 16 and above.
• Classification of "Serious" Offences: The 2021 amendment of the JJ Act classifies offences with a maximum sentence exceeding 7 years but lacking a minimum sentence as "serious" offences, which still do not warrant transfer to the adult criminal justice system.

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3. SUTLEJ RIVER (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Geography)

Context: Supreme Court of India has expressed deep concern about the deteriorating condition of the Sutlej river, a historically perennial river in North India.

Sutlej River

• About: It is longest of the five tributaries of the Indus River that give the Punjab (meaning “Five Rivers”) region its name. 
• Origin: On the north slope of the Himalayas in Lake Rakshastal in southwestern Tibet.
• Drainage Basin: Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Ladakh and Haryana.
• Flow Through Punjab: The river then flows through Punjab near Nangal before meeting the Beas River.
• Formation of Border: The merger of these two rivers goes on to form 105 Km of the India-Pakistan border.
• Course: The river continues to flow for another 350 Km before joining the Chenab River.
• Formation of Panjnad: The combination of the Sutlej and Chenab Rivers form the Panjnad, which finally flows into the Indus River.
• Length: 1550 km, out of which 529 km is in Pakistan.
• Major Tributaries:  Baspa, Spiti, Nogli Khad, and Soan River being its main ones.
• Water Allocation: Water from the Sutlej River has been allocated to India according to the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.
• Hydroelectric Projects: There are several major hydroelectric projects on the Sutlej, including the 1,000 MW Bhakra Dam, the 1,000 MW Karcham Wangtoo Hydroelectric Plant, and the 1,530 MW Nathpa Jhakri Dam.

o The only trans-Himalayan river in India, the Sutlej, has turned into a rivulet because of the construction of several dams, changing the entire ecosystem and eco-chain.

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4. PEER TO PEER LENDING (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: MSMEs have appealed to the RBI to establish a regulatory framework for peer lending and crowdfunding to address credit gaps, according to the central bank.

Peer to Peer Lending

• About: It is a form of crowdfunding facilitated through an online platform that matches lenders with borrowers for unsecured loans.

o Also known as "social lending" or "crowd lending“.

• Participants: Borrowers can be individuals or businesses needing a loan.
• Safety: It is riskier than a savings account or certificate of deposit, but the interest rates are much higher.
• Regulation of P2P Lending Platforms

o Regulatory Body: These platforms are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and categorized as NBFC-P2P.

o Restrictions: Platforms must not engage in direct financial activities of lending money.

• Benefits of P2P Lending

o P2P lending companies operate online with lower overhead, making their services cheaper than traditional financial institutions.

o Lenders can earn higher returns compared to savings and investment products offered by banks.

o Borrowers benefit from lower interest rates even after platform fees.

Market Dynamics in India

• Market Entry: In 2016, around 30 P2P lending platforms existed in India, with varying success due to investor caution and lack of awareness.
• Market Impact: P2P lending platforms support borrowers who have been rejected or failed to qualify for bank loans.

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5. G20 TASK FORCE ON DPI (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Governance)

Context: India's G20 Task Force on DPI report highlights India's leadership and calls for proactive extension of its digital solutions to the Global South.

G20 Task Force on DPI:

• About: It was formed in January 2023 to oversee India's G20 Presidency agenda on DPI and Financial Inclusion.
• Objective: Aims to enhance productivity by promoting the adoption of digital technologies aligned with government policies on the digital economy.
• Highlight of the Report:

o The report advocates for creating a multinational body to unify and advance the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) ecosystem worldwide, focusing on collaboration among Global South nations.

o Integration of AI in DPI: Embracing Artificial Intelligence within DPI frameworks is recommended to enhance capabilities, emphasizing ethical considerations and robust data privacy measures.

o Promotion of Open-Source Software and AI Models: Encouraging the use of open-source technologies and AI models aims to foster innovation and scalability in DPI, facilitating broader participation by private entities.

o Ensuring Data Protection and Privacy: Implementing stringent measures to safeguard user data is critical for establishing trust in AI-driven DPI services.

o Mitigating Biases in AI Algorithms: Addressing biases in AI algorithms is essential to ensure fair and equitable treatment across all user interactions within DPI.

o Transparency in AI Processes: Promoting transparency in AI operations is key to enhancing public confidence and trust in the reliability of digital services facilitated by DPI.

Digital public infrastructure (DPI):

• About: It is a set of technology building blocks that drive innovation, inclusion, and competition at scale, operating under open, transparent and participatory governance.
• Examples: Internet, powered by common protocols like HTTP, HTML, and SMTP.
• Key Features: It can be developed either as all government or all private.

o Interoperability, security, maintaining registries and continuous updates are its vital aspects.

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6. CHPV INFECTION (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci and Tech)

Context: The Gujarat government reported that six children have died from suspected Chandipura virus (CHPV) infection.

CHPV Infection

• About: CHPV is a virus of the Rhabdoviridae family, which also includes other members such as the lyssavirus that causes rabies.
• CHPV Discovery: The CHPV infection was first isolated in 1965 during an investigation of a dengue/chikungunya outbreak in Maharashtra.
• Affected States: Maharashtra, Northern Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
• Vectors: Several species of sandflies like Phlebotomine sandflies and Phlebotomus papatasi, and some mosquito species such as Aedes aegypti (which is also the vector for dengue) are considered vectors of CHPV.
• Transmission: The virus resides in the salivary gland of these insects, and can be transmitted to humans or other vertebrates like domestic animals through bites.
• Infection Progression: The infection caused by the virus can then reach the central nervous system, leading to encephalitis — inflammation of the active tissues of the brain.
• Symptoms: Fever, body ache, and headache. It may then progress to altered sensorium or seizures and encephalitis.
• Additional Symptoms: Retrospective studies from India have also reported other symptoms such as respiratory distress, bleeding tendencies, or anaemia.
• Treatment: Currently there is no specific antiretroviral therapy or vaccine available for treatment.

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7. QUANTUM COMPUTING (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – S&T)

Context: India launched the National Quantum Mission last year and became one of the few countries in the world to have a dedicated programme to harness the power of quantum technologies.

Quantum Computing:

• It is an emerging field that harnesses the laws of quantum mechanics to build powerful tools to process information.
• It has the potential to solve computational problems that are beyond the reach of classical computers.
• Classical computers can only encode information in bits that take the value of 1 or 0. This restricts their ability.
• Quantum computing, on the other hand, uses quantum bits or qubits that have special properties that help them solve complex problems much faster than classical bits.
• One of these properties is superposition i.e instead of holding one binary value (0 or 1) like a classical bit, a qubit can hold a combination of 0 or 1, simultaneously.
• Unlike a usual bit, they can also store much more information than just 1 or 0, because they can exist in any superposition of these value.

 

Quantum Supremacy

• In 2019 Google announced that it had achieved "Quantum Supremacy", meaning that they had used a quantum computer to quickly solve a problem within 200 seconds that a conventional computer would take an impractically long time (10, 000 years) to solve.
• Google’s quantum computer is called Sycamore.

Applications: Communication satellites, MRI scanners, Atomic clocks, Electron microscopes, Solar cells, LASERS etc.

Govt. initiatives: National mission on quantum technologies and applications, QuEST, QKD solution, QSim project, Quantum communication lab by C-DOT.

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8. INDIA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SCHEME (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: The UK Home Office has announced the details for the final 2024 ballot of the India Young Professional Scheme.

India Young Professional Scheme

• About: It originated from an India-U.K. Migration and Mobility Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2021, and was subsequently announced in November during the G20 summit in Bali.
• Launch: February 2023.
• Scope and Participation: Allows up to 3,000 degree-holding citizens aged 18-30 from each country to work in the other for 2 years.
• India is the first visa-national country to participate.
• Features

o Allows Indians aged 18-30 to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years.

o Permit holders can enter and leave the UK freely during their visa validity.

• Eligibility Criteria: Must be an Indian national aged 18-30 with a bachelor’s degree or higher.

o Requires £2,530 in savings and no dependent children under 18.

• Visa Conditions: Must enter the UK within 6 months of visa issuance.
• Activities Allowed in the UK:

o Permits study, including certain sensitive subjects under ATAS certification.

o Allows work in most job sectors.

o Allows setting up a company under specific conditions (e.g., no employees, limited equipment value).

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9. NITI AYOG (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: The government recently reconstituted the NITI Aayog, boosting the number of special invitees to 11.

NITI Ayog

• About: It is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Union Government, providing both directional and policy inputs.
• Full form: National Institution for Transforming India
• Establishment: In 2015 via an executive resolution by replacing the Planning Commission of India
• Objective: To develop a common vision for both the Central and State governments, recognizing that robust states are the foundation of a robust nation.

o To encourage an ongoing environment of competitive and cooperative federalism among the states.

• Composition of NITI Aayog

o Chairperson: Prime Minister

o Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by Prime-Minister

o Governing Council: Chief Ministers of all states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.

o Regional Council: To address specific regional issues, Comprising Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors Chaired by Prime Minister or his nominee.

o Ex-Officio membership: Maximum four from Union council of ministers to be nominated by Prime minister.

oSpecial Invitees: Experts, Specialists with domain knowledge nominated by Prime-minister.

Function

• Develop a strategic policy vision for the government, outlining the direction and framework for national development.
• Design policies and programmes addressing key challenges and opportunities across various sectors of the economy.
• Foster research and innovation to address evolving policy needs and solutions effectively.
• Enhance inter-governmental coordination to foster cooperative federalism between the central and state governments.
• Act as a think tank providing critical inputs and strategic advice, while also fostering a collaborative knowledge-sharing community of national and international experts through the Team India Hub.

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10. VISHALGAD FORT (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – History)

Context: Violence erupted during an anti-encroachment operation at Vishalgad Fort on Sunday morning as miscreants assaulted local shopkeepers and hurled stones at policemen on duty.

Vishalgad Fort

• Location: It is situated in Vishalgad village, Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, also known locally as Khelna or Khilna.
• Historical Significance: It was established in 1058 by Shilahara king Marsinh, originally named Khilgil. Over the centuries, it saw control by various dynasties including the Seuna Yadavas, Khiljis, Vijayanagar Empire, and finally the Marathas.
• Under Maratha Rule: Shivaji captured Vishalgad in 1659 from the Adilshahi rulers, renaming it to Vishalgad, meaning grand fort. 

o It became a strategic stronghold during the Maratha Empire, serving as the capital of a substantial region.

• Features of Vishalgad Fort:

o Architecture and Location: Covering 1130 square meters atop the Sahyadri ranges at 3500 feet elevation, Vishalgad offers a commanding view of its surroundings.

o Religious and Cultural Sites: The fort houses notable structures like the Dargah of Hazrat Sayed Malik Rehan Meera Saheb, Amruteshwar Temple, Shri Nrusinha Temple, and Sati's Vrindavan, attracting numerous visitors.

o Historical Remembrance: It includes tombs dedicated to Phulaji Prabhu Deshpande and Baji Prabhu Deshpande, revered for their service during Shivaji's reign.

Battle of Pawankhind:

• Historical Context: The Battle of Pawankhind occurred on July 13, 1660, as part of Shivaji's escape from the siege of Panhala fort by Siddi Johar. With just 600 soldiers, Shivaji sought refuge at Vishalgad, pursued by Siddi's formidable force of 30,000 troops.
• Heroic Stand of Baji Prabhu: Baji Prabhu Deshpande and his 300 soldiers famously defended Ghod Khind, allowing Shivaji time to reach Vishalgad safely. Baji Prabhu's sacrifice and valor are commemorated in Maratha history for his unwavering loyalty and bravery.

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