Adultery and IPC

Why in news?

A five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, in four separate but concurring opinions held that adultery is not a crime and struck it off the Indian Penal Code. Chief Justice Misra, in an opinion for himself and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, observed that Section 497 (adultery) of the Code “commands” married couples to remain loyal to each other.

Judgement

• Two individuals may part if one cheats, but to attach criminality to infidelity is going too far.
• Besides, there is no data to back claims that abolition of adultery as a crime would result in “chaos in sexual morality” or an increase of divorce.
• How married couples deal with adultery is absolutely a matter of privacy at its pinnacle.
• Loss of moral commitment in a marriage creates a dent in the relationship, but it is left to each individual to deal with the problem — some may forgive while others may seek divorce.
• Punishing each other or the wife’s lover is unlikely to re-kindle commitment.
• Justice D.Y. Chandrachud held that a married woman can make her own sexual choices. By marrying, she has not consented to refrain from relations outside marriage without the permission of her husband.
• A husband is not the owner of his wife’s sexuality, he said. To be human involves the ability to fulfil sexual desires in the pursuit of happiness, he observed.

Section 497

• Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code was dealing with Adultery. As per the Indian law, a woman cannot be punished for the offence of adultery.
• Only a man who has consensual sexual intercourse with the wife of another man without his consent can be punished under this offense in India. If someone “lives in adultery”, the partner can file for divorce.
• The Supreme Court called the law unconstitutional because it “treats a husband as the master.”

Rajasthan farmers benefited from solar water pumps: study

Why in news?

A scientific study conducted by Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, has found mismatch between investment in solar energy sources and employment generation in the sector, but has stated that the farmers in Rajasthan have immensely benefited from the solar photovoltaic (SPV) water pumping systems.

About study

• Scientist Krishna M. led the study as the principal investigator of a project funded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research for addressing some distinct aspects of renewable and non-renewable energy sources at micro and macro levels.
• This study deal with the challenges from the existing structure and composition of energy sources and carried out cost-benefit analysis of adopting renewable sources, besides looking into the levels of efficiency.
• The study’s results were drawn from a field survey of over 125 sample respondents conducted in two districts of Rajasthan.
• A micro-level analysis indicated that the SPV water pumping systems had provided some direct benefits to farmers, including the saving from diesel generators.
• The study has also found a significant decline in the consumption of fuel in the agriculture sector.
• Farmers used to operate diesel generators for 6 to 7 hours a day, consuming two litres of diesel per hour. The use of SPV pumps has resulted in a drastic reduction of fuel consumption, which was also a cause of greenhouse effect.
• While the grid-connected electricity is supplied to agriculture sector mostly during the night, the farmers can irrigate the land during daytime with the SPV system, making their access to water easy.
• Besides, the SPV system has been found to be cost effective because of the State government’s subsidy and the beneficiary’s share is recovered in about four years.
• Power supply to the agriculture sector in Rajasthan ranges between 5 and 6 hours a day. Facing challenges in the expansion of grid-connected power because of difficult geography, the Rajasthan government has been giving subsidy on SPV water pumping systems since 2011-12.

What are SPV Pumps?

• A solar photovoltaic (SPV) water pumping system consists of a PV array, a DC/AC surface mounted/ submersible/ floating motor pump set, electronics, if any, interconnect cables and an “On-Off” switch.
• PV Array is mounted on a suitable structure with a provision of tracking.
• They are ideally suitable for those areas where conventional grid supply is either erratic or non-existent.

Railways to roll out smart coaches

Why in news?The Indian Railways are set to launch their ‘Make in India’ smart coaches with new features like black box and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered CCTVs, matching international standards.

Details

• Named ‘Smart Trains’, the coaches have been equipped with sensors that can detect defects on bearings, wheels, and the railway track, giving constant inputs to those in the control room to avoid accidents, carry out maintenance, and to improve efficiency of operations.
• This to improve the safety and security of commuters, and to boost efficiency.
• The black box, being introduced for the first time by Indian Railways, has a powerful multi-dimensional communication interface to provide information on passengers and coach condition on real-time basis.
• The black box will act as a coach control unit with communication interfaces for passenger announcements, GPS-based announcement triggers, emergency intercom for commuters, digital destination boards, train reservation display modules, and CCTVs with remote monitoring.
• The modern infotainment system has been installed to locate the train in real time.
• AI-powered CCTVs will help those in the control room to keep a tab on untoward incidents and on the behaviour of on-board staff.
• Commuters will also be able to communicate with Railways officials.
• For wheel, coach and track monitoring, Railways have come up with Internet of things-based system.
• The vibrating-energy-based sensors will monitor the wheels, bearing and hard spots on the track, and will provide data through GPS/GPRS to the remote server for diagnosis and remedial measures.
• The Passenger Information and Coach Computing Unit (PICCU), an industrial grade computer, will monitor the coach maintenance and passenger interface.
• Six cameras installed in the coach will provide live recording. The footage can be accessed from the control room, which will be advantageous for law enforcers.
• An emergency talk-back system will enable communication between passengers and the guard during a crisis.
• A Wi-Fi hotspot information system is another innovative feature.
• Smart coaches are also laden with water-level indicator technology to know whether the water in the coach is sufficient and when it needs to be filled.
• An SMS will be sent to the next watering station when the water level falls below half the coach capacity.

Kolkata launches first flood forecast system: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation, with the support of the Asian Development Bank, has launched the country’s first flood forecasting and early-warning system, which will provide real-time data on inundation, rainfall intensity, temperature, air quality and other climate-related data. This is expected to help policy-makers make informed decisions during disasters.

Centre steps up grant for disaster fund: The Centre has enhanced its contribution in the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) from 75% to 90% with effect from April 1, the Union Home Ministry has announced. Kerala, which has recently faced the worst floods, will be a major beneficiary of the Centre’s decision. Henceforth all States will be required to contribute 10% to the SDRF.

MDR reimbursement pending from banks

Why in news?

The Payments Council of India (PCI) has said that payment service providers and merchant aggregators are yet to receive reimbursement for merchant discount rates from banks even after nine months.

Impact

Impact the operating ability of merchant aggregators and dent the efforts to promote digital payments.

What is MDR?

MDR is the fee that a merchant has to pay to a bank for every transaction that is split between the bank which issued the card, the payment service providers, and payment gateways.

Background

• In December 2017, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, had said that MDRs would be reimbursed by the government on transactions up to Rs2,000.
• This was applicable on all transactions below Rs2,000 made through debit cards, BHIM UPI or Aadhaar enabled payments systems.