Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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Draft law proposes ban on instant triple talaq, three-year jail term

News

• The Union government has told State governments to urgently revert to the provisions of a draft law to deal with instant triple talaq or Talaq-e-Biddatthat provides for a maximum jail term of three years.

Beyond News

• It was planned to introduce the proposed bill in the coming winter session of Parliament that starts on December 15.
• Once the proposed Muslim Woman Protection of Rights on Marriage bill is approved by Parliament, the law will adjudicate all cases of instant triple talaq across the country, except Jammu and Kashmir.

Provisions:

• As per provisions of the draft bill,a husband who resorts to instant triple talaq can be jailed for up to three years and be fined. Instant triple talaq in any form oral, written or electronic form has been banned and made a cognizable offence.

The bill also provides for a subsistence allowance of a harassed Muslim woman and her dependant children and the custodial rights of minor children.

India may join n-project in Bangladesh

News

• Discussions are on for India to join the Russia-led Rooppur nuclear power plant construction in Bangladesh, an official of the Russian atomic power agency Rosatom said .

Beyond News

• Russia is building two reactors of 1,200 MW each at Rooppur in Bangladesh and India has expressed its keenness to join the project.
• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally launched the main construction work of the Rooppur plant . It is the country’s first nuclear power plant.
• As it is not a member of the 48-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), India cannot directly take part in the construction of nuclear power plants but has individual agreements with Bangladesh and Russia.
• In December 2014, India and Russia signed the “Strategic Vision for Strengthening Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy”, which allows the two sides to “explore opportunities for sourcing materials, equipment and services from Indian industry for the construction of Russian-designed nuclear power plants in third countries”.

‘Executive power rests with Centre’

News

• The Centre completed its arguments in the spat over the administrative governance of the National Capital while underlining that the executive power rested completely with it.

Beyond News

• A five-judge Bench had orally indicated that there should be a harmonious relationship between the Lieutenant Governor and the Delhi government.
• The court had said that the difference of opinion between the two should not be trivial or contrived. This may run the danger of stonewalling governance in the Capital. The Lieutenant Governor could not stultify proposals or schemes forwarded by the Council of Ministers to him by simply sitting on it

The Delhi government had argued that the Lieutenant Governor was not a “Viceroy” but simply an agent of the President whose powers depended on the pleasure of the President.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

BG-III cotton: super weeds threat looms large

News

• With one more season coming to an end for cotton cultivation as the pickings are in the advanced stage, the fear of spread of super weeds looms large.

BG-III cotton

• Monsanto, a US-based multinational seed giant, has developed herbicide-tolerant trait (BG-III) and commercialised it as ‘Round-up Ready Flex (RRF)’ in USA.
• It also intended to commercialise it worldwide including India and applied for permission through its business partner Mahyco to Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) for commercial release of the new variety”.

It is learnt that Mahyco had conducted field trials of several Bt cotton hybrids/varieties containing RRF trait.

The ill-effects of such herbicide-tolerant GM crops.

• The herbicide-resistant gene could spread through pollen into the biodiversity system leading to transformation of weeds into super weeds on a large-scale.
• It would not only threaten the growth and yields of all crops in future, but also could increase cultivation costs and lead to health hazards.

Beyond News

• Highly-placed sources in the State Government told  that, in the absence of any steps for regulation of the unauthorised variety of cotton seed, Governments of Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana and others, where the fibre crop is cultivated on a large-scale, are in confusion and unable to act against it.
• Field trials were conducted but subsequently the application was withdrawn following growing agitations in the country against genetically modified (GM) crops.

Now, the unofficial estimates put the extent of the unauthorised cotton to be about 20% in the country.

Plea on steps to curb air pollution: SC seeks Centre’s reply

News

• The Supreme Court sought the Centre’s response on a petition seeking a series of steps to curb air pollution, including ban on sale, possession and bursting of firecrackers across the country.

Beyond News

• A bench issued notices to some states, including Delhi, seeking their replies. The plea has raised the issue of coming up with a solution for crop burning, which is a major source of air pollution in the Delhi-national capital region (NCR).
• Besides seeking a ban on firecrackers across the country, the petition, filed has sought directions for environment-friendly, cleaner fuels and implementation of regulations on dust from construction activities.
• The court, in its last year’s direction, had suspended all licenses which permits sale of fireworks, wholesale and retail within the territory of NCR till further orders.

GDP shrugs off GST as Q2 growth rebounds to 6.3%

News

• GDP growth recovered in the second fiscal quarter from a three-year low of 5.7% in the preceding three-month period, while Gross Value Added (GVA) growth accelerated to 6.1% from 5.6% in the first quarter, according to official data released by the government .

Important Findings

• India’s economy regained momentum in the September quarter as the manufacturing sector shrugged off any teething impact from the July 1 implementation of the Goods and Services Tax to propel gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 6.3%.
• GDP growth for the first half of the financial year (April-September) was 6% compared with 7.7% in the year-earlier period. GVA growth was at 5.8% compared with 7.2% over the same period.
• The manufacturing sector expanded by 7% in the quarter, a robust acceleration from 1.2% in the first quarter. Still, the pace was slower than the 7.7% seen in the second quarter of 2016-2017.
• Other sectors that witnessed growth of more than 6% were electricity, gas, water supply and other utility services, and trade, hotels, transport and communication services related to broadcasting.
• The agriculture sector grew by 2.3% in the first quarter, and by 4.1% in the year-earlier period.

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