Civil Service Bytes

Horizontal Devolution Formula  –  Horizontal devolution means transfer of finance between states. The Commission added a new criterion of forest cover for devolution of Central taxes which has gone against the nine states. The panel has assigned 7.5 per cent weight to forest cover for inter-se determination of the shares of taxes to the states, while population carries 17.5 per cent weight, demographic change 10 percent, income distance 50 and area 15 per cent weight. With the addition of the new criterion, Uttar Pradesh is the biggest loser followed by Bihar. Meanwhile, 19 states stand to gain from the new arrangement. Arunachal Pradesh is the biggest gainer. Devolution to states:  It has recommended that devolution should be primary mode of funds transfers to states. States’ share in net proceeds from tax collections be 42% — a huge jump from 32% recommend by the 13th Finance Commission, and the largest change ever in the percentage of devolution. The higher ta...

Horizontal Devolution Formula  –  Horizontal devolution means transfer of finance between states. The Commission added a new criterion of forest cover for devolution of Central taxes which has gone against the nine states. The panel has assigned 7.5 per cent weight to forest cover for inter-se determination of the shares of taxes to the states, while population carries 17.5 per cent weight, demographic change 10 percent, income distance 50 and area 15 per cent weight. With the addition of the new criterion, Uttar Pradesh is the biggest loser followed by Bihar. Meanwhile, 19 states stand to gain from the new arrangement. Arunachal Pradesh is the biggest gainer. Devolution to states:  It has recommended that devolution should be primary mode of funds transfers to states. States’ share in net proceeds from tax collections be 42% — a huge jump from 32% recommend by the 13th Finance Commission, and the largest change ever in the percentage of devolution. The higher ta...

Appointment of Supreme Court Judge in India The Supreme court Judges in India are appointed by the President on the advice of his Council of Ministers and in consultation with such persons as he deems fit. In the appointment of the Chief Justice, the President consults such judges of the Supreme Court and High courts as he thinks necessary. Qualification for appointment as a Supreme Court Judge Article 124 (3) of the constitution prescribes that for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court a person must he (a) a citizen of India, (b) has been a judge of any High Court for at least 5 years, or (c) has been an advocate in a High Court for 10 years or is in the opinion of the President a distinguished jurist. There is no fixed tenure of service for a judge. He continues in service till the completion of 65th year of age. Vacancy of Post of Judge of Supreme Court inIndia Article  124 (4) prescribes the methods how the post of a judge may fall vacant. The...

RCEP draft moots tough curbs on cheap medicines Analysis of leaked chapter of the draft RCEP agreement Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement – being negotiated by 16 countries (10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and 6 other countries that have Free Trade Agreements with the ASEAN) A leaked chapter of the draft RCEP agreement reveals that the  trade pact in its current form could reduce access to affordable medicines in many developing countries . The chapter on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) is part of draft of the RCEP agreement. India has opposed some damaging proposals initiated by the RCEP members, particularly Japan and Korea,  involving patent extensions , restrictive rules on copyright exceptions , and  other anti-consumer measures . Some member countries, who are part of both the TPP [the U.S.-led Trans Pacific Partnership] and the RCEP, are trying to push for the TPP standards in...

India and US trade concerns and ties Open up services sector, Kant tells US The U.S. must open up its market for services to Indian firms, just as India has liberalised foreign direct investment in many sectors such as railways and defence for the benefit of American firms, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said. “India has opened up every sector of the economy in the last two years. While India is becoming more and more open, America must also open its services sector for Indians to go and work there. It can’t be a halfway house,” Mr Kant said,. The Indo-US relationship will only flourish further when there’s reciprocity in market access, Mr Kant said. “India has allowed American companies to come in and flourish otherwise GE would have never got the biggest contract to build locomotives for the Railways. Similarly, America must welcome Indian services and software companies to work there.”

A united Europe, which turned centuries of war into decades of peace, must preserve its remarkable legacy, says US Preside nt S. President Barack Obama has urged British citizens to vote to stay in the European Union in the referendum on June 23. In what is likely to be his last visit to the U.K. as President, Mr. Obama said a united Europe, which turned “centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace”, must preserve its “remarkable legacy.” He placed the EU in the class of post-war international institutions and initiatives like the United Nations, Bretton Woods, the Marshall Plan and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Mr. Obama told British citizens that they should be “proud that the EU has helped spread British values and practices — democracy, the rule of law, open markets — across the continent and to its periphery”.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt Has Decided to Build Bridge Over the Red Sea Saudi Arabia and Egypt Has Decided to Build Bridge Over the Red Sea Saudi Arabia and Egypt have decided to build bridge which will connect both them over the Red Sea to boost trade and commerce. Saudi Arabia has publicized that an agreement has been reached with Egypt regarding to this. During official visit of Saudi Arabia’s king Salman to the Egypt this was announced but where the bridge will be situated was not declared in this announcement. Key facts: It is hypothesized that the joint bridge will be planned over the Red Sea at the entrance of the Gulf of Aqaba. It will be situated at the closest point near Nabq, north of Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt and Ras Alsheikh Hamid in Saudi Arabia where two countries are 16km apart. To connect the two countries from Africa and Asia continents the project will be act as the pipeline for several years. The walkway bridge would pass through Saudi Arabia’s Ti...

In News: Unaware of the POSCO law, tribals in Kerala marry minors and are punished for rape The  Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POSCO)  is no doubt an effective deterrent to sexual exploitation and harassment of minors. But its textual implementation in the tribal belts of Kerala has given rise to a strange situation. Many  tribals, who are ignorant of the stringent provisions in the Act, marry minor girls , in keeping with their traditional practice, and  end up in jail on rape charges . Most cases are registered without any formal complaint from the girls or their parents. “The situation is prevalent in almost all tribal belts of Kerala, including Wayanad, Attappady and Idukki. But the worst affected are the Paniya and Kattunaika community members in Wayanad.” “Child marriage is common among the Paniya and Kattunaikars tribes  and this has remained a part of their custom for many years. These people are not aware of t...

Delhi Dialogue to focus on Impact of TPP on India-ASEAN ties The  impact of the U.S.-led mega trading and political blocs on India-ASEAN ties  is likely to be the highlight of the 8th round of  Delhi Dialogue . One emerging mega bloc, the  Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), received a major boost recently with the joining of Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore (ASEAN Countries). Diplomats are concerned that India will have to adjust to  the new set of security and economic rules  as increasing number of Southeast Asian countries join TPP, which began taking shape with the arrival of President Barack Obama to the White House in 2009. “The process of joining TPP by several countries in Southeast Asia has highlighted the conflicting segments in the Southeast Asian region. Delhi Dialogue will give us a chance to assess how India will have to adjust to these mega trading and political blocs  emerging in this region which is vital fo...

The Aadhaar Bill has been introduced as a money bill, even though it doesn’t qualify as such under Article 110 of the Constitution. If the Speaker agrees to this, it will render the Rajya Sabha toothless in this matter, and will weaken our democracy. The government should reintroduce it as an ordinary legislative bill, which is what it is. While the government has in the past argued before the Supreme Court that Aadhaar is voluntary, Section 7 of the bill allows the government to mandate an Aadhaar number (or application for an Aadhaar number) as a prerequisite for obtaining some subsidies, benefits, services, etc. This undermines its arguments before the Supreme Court, which led the court to pass orders holding that Aadhaar should not be made mandatory. This move to make it mandatory will now need the government to argue that rather than contravene the apex court order, it has instead removed the rationale for it. Interestingly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democr...

When the National Democratic Alliance introduced the Aadhaar Bill in Parliament late last week, it looked like the government was trying to latch the stable door a few years after the horse had bolted. This is 2016. We are approaching a billion issued Aadhaars. Passing an enabling legislation now is a bit like planning a coronation to celebrate the diamond jubilee of the Queen. Much of the opposition to Aadhaar comes from the massive amounts of sensitive personal information that has been collected. These apprehensions are exacerbated by the casual and porous approach that the government has to inter-departmental data transfer—a fear that was brought into sharp focus when it took the full might of the Supreme Court to stop the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from accessing the Aadhaar fingerprint database. This is why we need an Aadhaar legislation—to establish boundaries within which the identity database will function and clearly cordon it off from government over-reach. In...