Skip to main content

President promulgates Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016

  • The President of India has promulgated the Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2016 on January 07, 2016 to make amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968.
  • The amendments through the Ordinance include that once an enemy property is vested in the Custodian, it shall continue to be vested in him as enemy property irrespective of whether the enemy, enemy subject or enemy firm has ceased to be an enemy due to reasons such as death etc; that law of succession does not apply to enemy property; that there cannot be transfer of any property vested in the Custodian by an enemy or enemy subject or enemy firm and that the Custodian shall preserve the enemy property till it is disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
  • The above amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968 will plug the loopholes in the Act to ensure that the enemy properties that have been vested in the Custodian remain so and they do not revert back to the enemy subject or enemy firm.
  • The Enemy Property Act was enacted in the year 1968 by the Government of India, which provided for the continuous vesting of enemy property in the Custodian. The Central Government through the Custodian of Enemy Property for India is in possession of enemy properties spread across many states in the country. In addition, there are also movable properties categorized as enemy properties.
  • To ensure that the enemy property continues to vest in the Custodian, appropriate amendments were brought in by way of an Ordinance in the Enemy Property Act, 1968 by the then Government in 2010.
  • This Ordinance, however lapsed on 6th September, 2010 and a bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 22, 2010. However, this bill was withdrawn and another bill with modified provisions was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 15th November, 2010. This bill was thereafter referred to the Standing Committee. However, the said bill could not be passed during the 15th term of the Lok Sabha and it lapsed.
  • In the wake of the Indo-Pak war of 1965 and 1971, there was migration of people from India to Pakistan. Under the Defence of India Rules framed under the Defence of India Act, the Government of India took over the properties and companies of such persons who had taken Pakistani nationality. These enemy properties were vested by the Central Government in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India.
  • After the 1965 war, India and Pakistan signed the Tashkent Declaration on 10.01.1966. The Tashkent Declaration inter alia included a clause, which said that the two countries would discuss the return of the property and assets taken over by either side in connection with the conflict. However, the Government of Pakistan disposed of all such properties in their country in the year 1971 itself.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Recommendations of Deepak Mohanty Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion

Recommendations of Deepak Mohanty Committee on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the Report on Medium-term Path on Financial Inclusion submitted by 14-member committee headed by RBI Executive Director Deepak Mohanty. RBI had constituted the committee in July 2015 to examine the existing policy regarding financial inclusion and the for m a five-year (medium term) action plan. It was tasked to suggest plan on several components with regard to payments, deposits, credit, social security transfers, pension and insurance. Key recommendations : Cash transfer:  Augment the government social cash transfer in order to increase the personal disposable income of the poor. It would put the economy on a medium-term sustainable inclusion path. Sukanya Shiksha Scheme: Banks should make special efforts to step up account opening for females belonging to lower income group under this scheme for social cash transfer as a welfare measur

Environment Ministry notifies revised standards for Common Effluent Treatment Plants

Environment Ministry notifies revised standards for Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) Across industrial clusters-PIB CETP • The concept of common effluent treatment plant has been accepted as a  solution for collecting, conveying, treating, and disposing of the effluents  from the industrial estates. • The effluent include industrial wastewaters and domestic sewage generated  from the estate. • This CETP concept helps small and medium scale industries to dispose of  their effluents. Otherwise it may not be economical for these industries to  treat their wastewaters or there may be space constraints. • Some of these industries may require to give preliminary treatment (for  removal of solids) so that the receiving sewers can be maintained free  flowing. • It may be required to correct pH or removal of specific pollutant before the  industry discharges in CETP. CETP • CETP is designed on the basis of: – Quality and flow rate of the wastewater. – Effluent standard required by CE

India’s challenge of securing the seas

Three recent events underline India’s efforts to highlight its growing maritime interests and ambitions in order to secure them unilaterally and in partnership with others. The first was the quiet release of the Indian Maritime Security Strategy (IMSS) titled  Ensuring Secure Seas   in October. The second was the holding of the combined senior commanders’ conference, with top officers from all three services, on board   INS Vikramaditya , the Indian Navy’s latest aircraft carrier and its largest platform, in December. The last and most recent was India’s hosting of its second International Fleet Review (IFR) at Visakhapatnam in early February. While the pomp and circumstance as well as the photo-ops of the IFR, which attracted naval vessels from 50 countries, predictably, created the biggest splash, its significance is best understood in tandem with the 185-page IMSS-2015. Although the document is simultaneously comprehensive, conservative and cautious, it conveys one key message: