Indian polity and Governance - GS questions based on daily current affairs

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:

• Articles 25 to 28 provide freedom of religion to citizens of India.
• Supreme Court has said that divorce granted by ecclesiastical tribunal under Christian personal law are not valid as it cannot override the law of the land.
• The apex Court also rejected a PIL that sought according legal sanction to such separations granted by the Church Court.
• A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice D Y Chandrachud dismissed the plea saying the issue has been settled by it in its 1996 verdict delivered in the case of Molly Joseph versus George Sebastian.
• The apex court had then ruled that Canon Law (personal law of Christians) can have theological or ecclesiastical implications to the parties.
• But after the Divorce Act came into force, a dissolution or annulment granted under such personal law cannot have any legal impact as statute has provided a different procedure and a different code for divorce or annulment.
• However, when it comes to personal issues (marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody of children, etc.), Muslims in India are governed by the Muslim Personal Law.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
• Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been notified in Gazette of India as minority communities by the Union Government all over India.
• Original notification of 1993 was for Five religious communities Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Christians and Muslims.
• The NCM adheres to the United Nations Declaration of 18 December 1992 which states that "States shall protect the existence of the National or Ethnic, Cultural, Religious and Linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity.”
• The Commission shall consist of a Chairperson, [a Vice Chairperson and five] Members to be nominated by the Central Government from amongst persons of eminence, ability and integrity; Provided that five Members including the Chairperson shall be from amongst the Minority communities.
• The Chairperson and every Member shall hold office for a term of three years from the date he assumes office.
• The Chairperson or a Member may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Central Government, resign from the office of Chairperson or, as the case may be, of the Member at any time.
• No act or proceeding of the Commission shall be questioned or shall be invalid merely on the ground of the existence of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of the Commission.

ANSWER: Only 2

Explanation:

• The Election Commission registers political parties for the purpose of elections and grants them recognition as national or state parties on the basis of their poll performance.
• The other parties are simply declared as registered-unrecognised parties.
• The recognition granted by the Commission to the parties determines their right to certain privileges like allocation of the party symbols, etc.
• Every national party is allotted a symbol exclusively reserved for its use throughout the country.
• Similarly, every state party is allotted a symbol exclusively reserved for its use in the state or states in which it is so recognised.
• Thus the election commission allots the symbols even to national and state parties but keeps the symbols reserved for those parties.
• A registered-unrecognised party, on the other hand, can select a symbol from a list of free symbols.
• In other words, the Commission specifies certain symbols as ‘reserved symbols’ which are meant for the candidates set up by the recognised parties and others as ‘free symbols’ which are meant for other candidates.
• In case a party gets divided into two or more factions, the factions can decide amongst themselves as to who will lay claim to the original party symbol.
• If all the parties are interested, then the Election Commission allots the symbol to the faction having majority.
• In the recent scenario of Samajwadi Party (symbol-bicycle), the poll body applied the test of majority supported as approved by the Supreme Court while deciding the case in favour of Akhilesh Yadav, whose group enjoys overwhelming majority support both among the legislative and organizational wing of the party.

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:

• Ministers shall not be called before the Committee either to give evidence or consultation in connection with the examination of estimates of accounts.
• However, [the] chairperson, when [it is] considered necessary but after its [committee’s] deliberations are concluded, may have an informal interaction with the Minister.
• The issue came up in a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, where chairperson and former Union Minister K.V. Thomas had declared that the PAC was within its rights to summon Mr. Modi as the committee was examining monetary policy and the issue of demonetisation.
• Public Accounts Committee was set up first in 1921 under the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1919 and has since been in existence.
• At present, it consists of 22 members (15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha).

ANSWER: 2, 3, 4

Explanation:
A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court held that an appeal for votes during elections on the basis of religion, caste, race, community or language, even that of the electorate, will amount to a ‘corrupt practice’ and call for disqualification of the candidate.

Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People Act, defines a corrupt electoral practice as follows: “The appeal by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent to vote or refrain from voting for any person on the ground of his religion, race, caste, community....”

The question before the Supreme Court was deceptively simple: did the underlined word “his” qualify only the electoral candidate (and his agent, or persons speaking with his consent)? Or did it also qualify the person to whom the appeal was addressed (the elector)?

That means did it meant a bar on appeals made in the name of the candidate or does the word ‘his’ also extend to soliciting votes on the basis of the religion, caste, community, race, language of the electorate as a whole.

The latter would mean a blanket ban on any appeal, reference, campaign, discussion, dialogue or debate on the basis of religion, race, caste, community or language, even if such a debate was on the deprivations suffered by the voters due to these considerations.

ANSWER: Indian Enterprise Development Service

Explanation:
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to the Cadre review and formation of a new service in the name of Índian Enterprise Development Service (IEDS)’ in the Office of Development Commissioner (MSME), Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME).

The creation of the new cadre and change in structure will not only strengthen the organization but will also help to achieve the vision of “Startup India”, “Stand-up India” and “Make in India”.

The measure will enhance the capacity and efficiency of the organization and also help in achieving growth in MSME sector through a focussed and dedicated cadre of technical officers.

ANSWER: 2, 3

Explanation:
The programme aims at developing leadership qualities among the youth to enable them to realize their full potential and in the process, to contribute to the nation-building process.

The objective of the Scheme is to motivate the youth to strive for excellence in their respective fields and to bring them to the forefront of the development process. It seeks to harness the immense youth energy for national – building.

The National Young Leaders Programme has the following five components :

1. Neighbourhood Youth Parliament
2. Youth for Development Programme
3. National Young Leaders Awards
4. National Youth Advisory Council
5. National Youth Development Fund

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
The following existing Schemes/ Programmes shall get merged in the Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram (RYSK):

• Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS)
• National Youth Corps (NYC)
• National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development (NPYAD)
• International Cooperation (IC)
• Youth Hostels (YH)
• Assistance to Scouting and Guiding Organisations
• National Discipline Scheme (NDS)
• National Young Leaders Programme (NYLP)

ANSWER: Only 1

Explanation:
Some salient features -

• the Gram Nyayalaya shall not be bound by the rules of evidence provided in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 but shall be guided by the principles of natural justice and subject to any rule made by the High Court
• appeal in criminal cases shall lie to the Court of Session (in civil cases shall lie to the District Court), which shall be heard and disposed of within a period of six months from the date of filing of such appeal
• the Gram Nyayalaya shall be established for every Panchayat at intermediate level or a group of contiguous Panchayats at intermediate level in a district or where there is no Panchayat at intermediate level in any State, for a group of contiguous Panchayats

ANSWER: Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation:
The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 has been enacted to provide for the establishment of the Gram Nyayalayas at the grass roots level for the purpose of providing access to justice to the citizens at their door steps.

Some of its salient features are:

• the Gram Nyayalaya shall be a mobile court and shall exercise the poliwers of both Criminal and Civil Courts
• the Gram Nyayalaya shall try criminal cases, civil suits, claims or disputes which are specified in the First Schedule and the Second Schedule to the Act
• Gram Nyayalayas are aimed at providing inexpensive justice to people in rural areas at their doorsteps
• the Gram Nyayalaya shall be court of Judicial Magistrate of the first class and its presiding officer (Nyayadhikari) shall be appointed by the State Government in consultation with the High Court