Indian Polity - Current Affairs for November, 2017

A Bill pending before the Parliament is to encourage both the public and private sectors to participate in the space programme. The Space Activities Bill 2017 is a proposed Bill to promote and regulate the space activities of India. The new Bill encourages the participation of non-governmental/private sector agencies in space activities in India under the guidance and authorisation of the government through the Department of Space. According to the draft, as few start-up companies in India have shown interest in space systems activities and as space activities need participation from private sector agencies, "there is an urgent need for a legal environment for orderly performance and growth of space sector." The draft was posted on the website of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on November 21, 2017. Provisions of the Act

• The provisions of this Act shall apply to every citizen of India and to all sectors engaged in any space activity in India or outside India
• A non-transferable licence shall be provided by the Central Government to any person carrying out commercial space activity
• The Central Government will formulate the appropriate mechanism for licensing, eligibility criteria, and fees for licence.
• The government will maintain a register of all space objects (any object launched or intended to be launched around the earth) and develop more space activity plans for the country
• It will provide professional and technical support for commercial space activity and regulate the procedures for conduct and operation of space activity
• It will ensure safety requirements and supervise the conduct of every space activity of India and investigate any incident or accident in connection with the operation of a space activity.
• It will share details about the pricing of products created by space activity and technology with any person or any agency in a prescribed manner.
• If any person undertakes any commercial space activity without authorisation they shall be punished with imprisonment up to 3 years or fined more than ?1 crore or both.

The Union Cabinet on 22^nd Nov 2017 approved a proposal to promulgate an Ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Official sources said the move is to strengthen the IBC by explicitly preventing certain persons - including wilful defaulters, disqualified directors, those who have indulged in fraudulent transactions. It also includes promoters whose account is classified as non-performing assets (NPA) beyond a prescribed duration - from regaining control of the defaulting company through the backdoor in the garb of a resolution applicant. The IBC provides for an effective and robust legal framework for time-bound insolvency resolution to release assets locked up in NPA and promote maximisation of value of assets, failing which, under-utilised resources of unviable business are released through liquidation. These amendments have been proposed because in the initial phase of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the IBC, a number of cases are likely to have long pending default requiring deep haircut for the creditors, the sources said. The ordinance is likely to be tabled during the winter session of Parliament with a view to get its nod soon.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved appointment of Second National Judicial Pay Commission (SNJPC) for Subordinate Judiciary in the country. The Commission is to be headed by Shri Justice (Retd.J P.Venkatrama Reddi, former Judge of Supreme Court of India. Shri R. Basant, a former Judge of the Kerala High Court is the Member of the Commission. The Commission will make its recommendations to the State Governments preferably within a period of 18 months. It will examine the present structure of emoluments and conditions of service of Judicial Officers in the States and UTs. The Commission aims to evolve the principles which would govern pay structure and other emoluments of Judicial Officers belonging to the Subordinate Judiciary of the country. It will examine the work methods and work environment as also the variety of allowance and benefits in kind that are available to Judicial Officers in addition to pay and to suggest rationalization and simplification thereof. The Commission will devise its own procedures and formulate modalities necessary for accomplishing the task. The Commission also aims at making the pay scales and conditions of service of Judicial Officers uniform throughout the country. The recommendations of the Commission will help in promoting efficiency in Judicial Administration, optimizing the size of judiciary etc. and to remove anomalies created in implementation of earlier recommendations.

Revelations made today in the media under the name 'Paradise Papers' [based upon expose done by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)] indicate that out of 180 countries represented in the data of offshore entities held by persons of different nationalities, India ranks 19th in terms of number of names. 714 Indians reportedly appear in the tally. The Paradise Papers include nearly 7 million loan agreements, financial statements, emails, trust deeds and other paperwork over nearly 50 years from inside Appleby, a prestigious offshore law firm with offices in Bermuda and beyond. The leaked documents include files from the smaller, family-owned trust company, Asiaciti (Singapore), and from company registries in 19 secrecy jurisdictions. The Investigation units of the Income Tax Department (ITD) have been alerted to take note of revelations for immediate appropriate action. It has been reported that many cases of offshore entities are already under investigation on fast track. As soon as further information surfaces, swift action as per law will follow. Further, the Government has directed that investigations in cases of Paradise Papers will be monitored through a reconstituted Multi Agency Group, headed by the Chairman, CBDT, having representatives from CBDT, ED, RBI & FIU.

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for introduction of a Bill in Parliament to amend the National Council for Teacher Education Act, 1993, namely the National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Act, 2017 to grant retrospective recognition to the Central/State/Universities who are found to be conducting teacher education courses without NCTE permission. The amendment seeks to grant retrospective recognition to the Central/State/Union Territory funded Institutions/Universities conducting Teacher Education Courses without NCTE recognition till the academic year 2017-2018. The retrospective recognition is being given as a onetime measure so as to ensure that the future of the students passed out/enrolled in these institutions are not jeopardized. The amendment will make students studying in these Institutions/Universities, or already passed out from here, eligible for employment as a teacher. With a view to achieve above mentioned benefits, Deptt. of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development has brought about this amendment. All institutions running Teacher Education Courses such as B.Ed. and D.El.Ed. have to obtain recognition from the National Council for Teacher Education under section 14 of the NCTE Act. Further, the courses of such recognised Institutions/Universities have to be permitted under section 15, of the NCTE Act. Background:

• The NCTE Act, 1993 came into force on 1st July, 1995 and is applicable throughout the country, except the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The main objective of the Act Is to provide for the establishment of a NCTE to achieve planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system, regulation and ensure proper maintenance of norms and standards in the said system.
• In order to achieve the objectives of the Act, separate provisions have been, made in the Act, for recognising Teacher Education courses and to lay down guidelines for compliance by recognized Institutions/Universities.