National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 23rd July 2019

Right To Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019, passed with a voice vote in the Lower House.

More on the Topic:

• The Bill changes the terms and conditions of service of the CIC and Information Commissioners at the centre and in states.
• Bill allows Central government to notify term of office for Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) and Information Commissioners (ICs) while as per RTI Act, 2005, CIC at the central level and ICs at state level will hold office for a term of 5 years.
• Bill proposes that salaries, allowances, and other terms and conditions of service of CIC and ICs will be determined by central government. While as per RTI Act the salary of CIC and ICs will be equivalent to the salary paid to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (EC) respectively.

Concerns:

• These amendments will lead to the dismantling of transparency architecture as they empower the Central government to unilaterally decide tenure, salary, allowances and other terms of service of Information Commissioners (both at the Centre and the States).
• The Commission which is vested by law with status, independence and authority, will now function as a department of the Central government.
• These amendments fundamentally weaken an important part of the RTI architecture.
• They violate the constitutional principles of federalism, undermine the independence of Information Commissions, and thereby significantly dilute the widely used framework for transparency in India.

Way Forward:

• There is a need to maintain the separation of powers of CIC and government to have proper functioning of Information commission.
• Information commission’ autonomy should not be curtailed. Independent structures set up to regulate and monitor the government are vital to a democratic state committed to deliver justice and constitutional guarantees.

About RTI Act:

• Right to Information (RTI) is act of the Parliament of India to provide for setting out the practical regime of the right to information for citizens and replaces the erstwhile Freedom of information Act, 2002.
• Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen of India may request information from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days.
• The Act also requires every public authority to computerise their records for wide dissemination and to proactively certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.
• Appeals from their decisions go to an Appellate Authority.

Model Mains Question: Critically analyse The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill 2019.

Source: The Hindu, PRS

Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme

Topic: Government Policies

In News: The prestigious Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme, a lucrative scholarship that enables students to pursue PhD at country’s premier technical institutes, was failed to attract qualified students.

More on the Topic:

• In the two calls of proposals had so far, only 176 fellows have been selected as against the envisaged target of 3,000 fellows over a period of three years.

About The Scheme:

• In order to attract meritorious students into research, Government of India, in 2018 launched Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme, which offers direct admission to such students in the Ph.D programmes in IITs, IISERs and IISc.
• The scheme is aimed at attracting the talent pool of the country to doctoral (Ph.D.) programmes for carrying out research in cutting edge science and technology domains, with focus on national priorities.
• A fellowship of Rs.70,000/- per month for the first two years, Rs.75,000/- per month for the 3rd year, and Rs.80,000/- per month in the 4th and 5th year provided under the scheme.
• Apart from this, a research grant of Rs.2.00 lakh per year will be provided to each of the Fellows for a period of 5 years to cover their academic contingency expenses and for foreign/national travel expenses.
• At present the scheme has been opened for eligible students from all recognized institutions/universities in the country.
• There will be a rigorous review of the performance of Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship holders and continuation of the next year fellowship shall be contingent upon successful review.

Source: The Hindu, Vikaspedia

JATAN: Virtual Museum Software

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: Archaeological site museums under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have been digitised through JATAN software.

More on the Topic:

• JATAN is a virtual museum builder software, that enables creation of digital collection management system for Indian museums and is deployed in several national museums across India.
• It’s objective is to make a digital imprint of all the objects preserved in museums and help researchers, curators and other people interested in the field.
• Designed and developed by Human Centres Design and Computing Group, Centre for Development of Smart Computing (C-DAC) Pune.
• The digital imprints (of preserved objects and monuments) created using the JATAN software are integrated in the national digital repository and portal for making them accessible to the public.
• Centre for Development of Smart Computing (C-DAC) Pune has also developed “Darshak”, a mobile-based applicationaimed at improving the museum visit experience among the differently-abled.
• It allows real-time museum visitors gather all details about objects or artifacts simply by scanning a QR code placed near the object.

Source: PIB

Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to declare the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary a tiger reserve.

More on the Topic:

• The sanctuary is spread over Bhopal-Raisen forest division of Madhya Pradesh.
• The sanctuary has a population of about 40 tigers and the movement of 12 tigers has been reported in the forest area of Bhopal. The whole area will be combined as one to declare it as a tiger reserve.
• The 1,500 sq km will be designated as a core area while 2,000 sq km as a buffer zone.
• The declaration of the sanctuary as a tiger reserve will help in better conservation of tigers in the area which is facing the problem of illegal mining and poaching.

Source: The Hindu

Land Rights of Scheduled Tribes

Topic: Government Policies

In News: According to a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recognising land tenures of indigenous communities and their management rights over forests can help tackle climate change.

More on the Topic:

• Land and its management falls under the List-II (State List) in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
• In so far as land related issues are concerned, the Ministry of Rural Development acts as a the nodal Ministry at the Centre.It plays a monitoring role in the field of land reforms.
• The Scheduled Tribes (STs) have been the most marginalised, isolated and deprived population.

To protect and safeguarding the land rights of STs and to address the issue of Land Acquisition and displacement of tribals, following Constitutional and legal provisions have been put in place:

• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (FRA) states that no member of STs or Other Traditional Forest dweller shall be evicted from the forest Land till the recognition and verification procedure is complete.
• Gram Sabha is empowered to regulate community forest resources and stop any activity which adversely affects the biodiversity.
• A National Level Monitoring Committee for Rehabilitation and Resettlement has been constituted Under ‘Right to fair compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLARR), to review and to monitor the implementation of rehabilitation schemes related to land acquisition.
• As per RFCTLARR Act, 2013, acquisition of land shall be made in the Scheduled Areas only as last resort.
• The Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Area) Act, 1996, PESA, also provides that the Gram Sabha or the Panchayats shall be consulted before making the acquisition of land.
• The Governor of the State, which has scheduled Areas is empowered to prohibit or regulate transfer of land from tribals.
• The Scheduled castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 has been introduced to prevent the commission of offences of atrocities against members of the SCs and the STs.
• Apart from this, Supreme Court in its judgement also held that forest approval cannot be granted for a development project without the informed consent of the Gram Sabhas.

Source: PIB

National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill

Topic: Governance

In News: The National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha.

More on the Topic:

• The bill provides for the constitution of four autonomous boards entrusted with conducting undergraduate and postgraduate education, assessment and accreditation of medical institutions and registration of practitioners under the National Medical Commission.
• Composition of National Medical Commission: It will have government nominated chairman and members, and the board members will be selected by a search committee under the Cabinet Secretary. There will be five elected and 12 ex-officio members in the commission.
• As per the Bill, the government, under the National Medical Commission (NMC), can dictate guidelines for fees up to 40% of seats in private medical colleges. The bill also has a provision for a common entrance exam and licentiate (exit) exam that medical graduates have to pass before practising or pursuing PG courses. For MBBS, students have to clear NEET, and before they step into practice, they must pass the exit exam.
• Recognised medical institutions don’t need the regulator’s permission to add more seats or start PG course. This mechanism is to reduce the discretionary powers of the regulator.
• Under the new bill, the powers of the regulator are reduced to establishment and recognition. This means less red tape, but also less scrutiny of medical colleges.

Significance and the need:

• The Bill seeks to regulate medical education and practice in India.
• The Bill attempts to tackle two main things on quality and quantity: Corruption in medical education and shortage of medical professionals.
• The Bill aims to overhaul the corrupt and inefficient Medical Council of India, which regulates medical education and practice and replace with National medical commission.

Why is Medical Council of India being replaced?

• The Medical Council of India has repeatedly been found short of fulfilling its mandated responsibilities.
• Quality of medical education is at its lowest ebb; the current model of medical education is not producing the right type of health professionals that meet the basic health needs of the country because medical education and curricula are not integrated with the needs of our health system.
• Medical graduates lack competence in performing basic health care tasks.
• Compromised individuals have been able to make it to the MCI, but the Ministry is not empowered to remove or sanction a Member of the Council even if he has been proved corrupt.
• The amendment has dropped the provision that allowed practitioners of homoeopathy and Indian systems of medicine to prescribe allopathy medicines after a bridge course.

Concerns:

• Indian Medical Association (IMA) opposed the bill that it will cripple the functioning of medical professionals by making them completely answerable to the bureaucracy and non-medical administrators. NMC will become subservient to the health ministry, given that the representation of the medical profession in the new regulatory framework is minimal.
• The bill takes away the voting right of every doctor in India to elect their medical council.
• The bill allows private medical colleges to charge at will, nullifying whatever solace the NEET brought. The proposed NMC Bill discreetly intends to equate the post-graduate degrees given by MCI or proposed NMC and the National Board of Examination (NBE), which is unjustified too.
• Standards have been laid down for MCI courses, but not for NBE courses which are often run in private hospitals and nursing homes.
• It would replace an elected body (Medical Council of India, MCI) with one where representatives are “nominated.

Source: The Hindu, PRS and Indian express