Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013

• A Bill which seeks to scrap the collegium system of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary and give executive a say in the matter has been referred to a Parliamentary committee for further consultations.
• Law Minister Kapil Sibal had introduced an enabling bill — the Constitution (120th) Amendment Bill — and the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013, which defines the establishment of the proposed body to recommend appointment and transfer of judges.
• The government and the Opposition were united in seeking to scrap the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts, saying it was essential to restore the delicate balance of power which has been disturbed.
• Under the present collegium system, the Chief Justice of India and four senior most judges of Supreme Court recommend to the government the names of judges for appointment to the High Courts and to the apex court.
• The government can return the file to the collegium only once for its reconsideration, but cannot refuse the recommendation. India perhaps is the only country where judges appoint judges
• The bill seeks to set up a Judicial Appointments Commission to recommend the appointment and transfer of Supreme Court and High Court judges.
•  The bill seeks to set up a panel headed by the CJI to recommend the appointment and transfer of senior judges.The other members of the proposed Commission would be two senior-most judges of Supreme Court, the Law Minister and two eminent persons, along with the Secretary (Justice) in the Law Ministry as its convener.The two eminent persons will be selected by a panel headed by the Prime Minister with the CJI and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha as its members.
• The Judiciary is opposed to the proposal and has defended the collegium system for appointment of judges in higher judiciary.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, 2011

• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, 2011, was passed in the Rajya Sabha and also passed in Lok Sabha on Sep 2013.
• The bill would make the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority a statutory authority, unlike its present non-statutory status.
• The bill provides subscribers a wide choice to invest their funds including for assured returns by opting for Government Bonds as well as in other funds depending on their capacity to take risk.
• It pegs the FDI in pension sector at 26 per cent or such percentage as may be approved for the insurance sector, which ever is higher.
• The New Pension System (NPS) aims to promote “saving while you earn” especially for retirement and is mainly for those who have a regular income, Mr. Chidambaram said.

Polity News

1. At least seven of the 29 MLAs belonging to the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), led by actor-politician Vijayakant, might cross vote in favour of the AIADMK-backed nominees in the June 29 poll for Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu, Election Commission sources said even if they do so the action would not attract disqualification under the 10 Schedule of the Constitution of India (Article 102 (2) and 191 (2).Political parties can issue instructions but it is left to political organisations to take action as they deem fit if an MLA defies the party‘s order.
2. The Supreme Court’s categorical ruling that any compromise between victim and perpetrator in a rape case cannot be grounds for awarding a lesser prison term is a timely restatement of a salutary principle in sentencing policy. It is a reminder of the basic principle that punishment must be proportional to the gravity of the offence, and that there is no room for extraneous factors, much less something as invidious as a compromise, invariably arrived at under pressure.
3. Reprieve for RTI as bill to insulate parties is deferred .The government has decided to refer the RTI [Amendment] Bill, 2013, to the standing committee of Parliament because the order passed by the Central Information Commission bringing political parties within the purview of ‘public authority’ under the RTI Act needs elaborate study.The Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 13, seeks to insert an explanation in Section 2 of the RTI Act regarding public authority. It states, “Authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted by any law made by Parliament shall not include any association or body of individuals registered or recognised as a political party under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.”The Bill has a new Section 31 in the principal Act which says the amendment will apply “notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, decree or order of any court or commission..,” and will prevail over “any other law for the time being in force.”
4. Negating a Supreme Court order, Parliament on Friday passed a bill that maintains the right of those in jail to contest polls.SC accepted to review the ruling to banned person from contesting election if in custody.The Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013 was rushed through in the Lok Sabha and passed .The Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on August 27. The Amendment Bill seeks to add a proviso to sub-section (2) of section 62 of the RP Act to state that a person cannot cease to be a voter while in detention as his or her right is only temporarily suspended.One of the amendments states that as the name of the jailed person continues to be on the electoral rolls, he or she also continues to be an elector and can file nomination for an election.

News : 1-7 Sep 2013

• Google said the next version of Android will be called ‘KitKat’ in keeping with its penchant for giving tasty names to its software for powering mobile devices.
• India’s advanced multi-band communication satellite GSAT-7, launched from French Guiana by European space consortium Arianespace’s Ariane 5 rocket on August 30, has been successfully placed in the geosynchronous orbit with an altitude of about 36,000 km above earth surface.
• After Ymail and Flicker revamp, Yahoo Inc. now unveils new logo.Yahoo’s $1.1 billion purchase of Tumblr, an Internet blogging service.
• A rhino gave birth to a male calf in the Assam State Zoo here . This is the first calf born under the ex-situ conservation programme of the Asian rhino.
• India and the UK have formed a green energy forum to enhance and acclerate activities in clean energy.
• The Forward Markets Commission (FMC), chief regulator of forwards and futures commodity markets in India, will, henceforth, be overseen by the Ministry of Finance instead of the Department of Consumer Affairs under the Ministry of Food.The FMC is a statutory body set up under the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1952. Till March 2009, it had regulated Rs. 52 trillion worth of commodity trade.
• Reserve Bank of India  allowed them to carry Indian currency of up to Rs.10,000 per person from 7,500.
• Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday downgraded subordinated debt ratings of 11 Indian banks, including SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.
• The Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday allowed banks to swap funds mobilised through foreign currency deposits to attract overseas funds.More.
• Raghuram Rajan takes over as RBI Governor.
• British telecom giant BT has called off its dial-up Internet access service as the vast majority of its 6.8 million broadband customers have switched to much faster connections.
• The Cabinet approved the India-Abu Dhabi bilateral air services agreement enabling their airlines to fly 50,000 seats each week, up from the current level of 13,700.
• Nokia sell its main handset division to Microsoft for 5.44 billion euro($7.2 billion).
• Danish pharmaceutical major Novo Nordisk  said it would soon launch its insulin injection Tresiba (insulin degludec) in India.
• Parliamentary Standing Committee’s report on the “Alleged Irregularities in the Conduct of Studies Using Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine by PATH in India.In the trials, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), with the support of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), approval from the Western Institutional Review Board (WIRB) [all three private international parties], donations from Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD) and Glaxo SmithKline (GSK), in partnership with Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and along with the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, through the national vaccination programme, delivered and administered HPV vaccines to 10-14-year-old girls in Khammam (A.P.) and Vadodara (Gujarat) districts.
• Pakistan RTI draft promises to hold defence department accountable
• U.S. President Barack Obama has sought congressional approval for limited military intervention in Syria to win more support for his plan to punish the Bashar al-Assad regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons.US is having support of France.
• U.S. President Barack Obama has sought congressional approval for limited military intervention in Syria to win more support for his plan to punish the Bashar al-Assad regime for its alleged use of chemical weapons.
• Bhutan has assured India that the security of the two countries is entwined and during its Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay’s first overseas visit after wining the elections, reiterated Thimphu’s desire to continue with the cooperation
• As its current account deficit widens and the value of the rupee dwindles, India plans to increase crude oil imports from Iran so as to save $8.5 billion in foreign exchange.It will save foreign reserve as India would be paying in Rupees.
• Sir David Frost, the journalist and broadcaster died.Frost, who was knighted in 1993, helped to establish London Weekend Television and TV-am.
• Uzhavan Express (Southern Railway zone of the Indian Railways and runs between Chennai Egmore and Thanjavur Jn) that was flagged off from here on September 1, qualifies to be called a ‘green express’ as bio-toilets have been fitted into 34 of its 36 coaches.The first bio-toilet-fitted train, Gwalior-Varanasi Bundelkhand Express, has been running since January 2011.
• The Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is in for more trouble as the Comptroller and Auditor-General has questioned the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry over the recent gas price increase and wanted to know the steps taken to ensure that the operator (RIL-BP) delivers gas at $4.2 mbtu as per the approved production plan.
• Reprieve for RTI as bill to insulate parties is deferred.The government has decided to refer the RTI [Amendment] Bill, 2013, to the standing committee of Parliament because the order passed by the Central Information Commission bringing political parties within the purview of ‘public authority’ under the RTI Act needs elaborate study.The Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 13, seeks to insert an explanation in Section 2 of the RTI Act regarding public authority. It states, “Authority or body or institution of self-government established or constituted by any law made by Parliament shall not include any association or body of individuals registered or recognised as a political party under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.”The Bill has a new Section 31 in the principal Act which says the amendment will apply “notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, decree or order of any court or commission..,” and will prevail over “any other law for the time being in force.”
• Deepak Sandhu, who has been an information commissioner for the last four years, on Thursday became the first woman Chief Information Commissioner of the country.
• Negating a Supreme Court order, Parliament on Friday passed a bill that maintains the right of those in jail to contest polls.SC accepted to review the ruling to banned person from contesting election if in custodyThe Representation of the People (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2013 was rushed through in the Lok Sabha and passed .The Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on August 27. The Amendment Bill seeks to add a proviso to sub-section (2) of section 62 of the RP Act to state that a person cannot cease to be a voter while in detention as his or her right is only temporarily suspended.One of the amendments states that as the name of the jailed person continues to be on the electoral rolls, he or she also continues to be an elector and can file nomination for an election.
• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would address the United Nations General assembly on September 28, according to the latest provisional list of speakers released by the U.N.
•  The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group made progress in the creation of a $100-billion Currency Reserve Fund (CRF) by announcing individual contribution.China will contribute $41 billion, while Brazil, Russia and India will chip in with $18 billion each. South Africa, the smallest economy, will commit only $5 billion to the CRF.
• President Pranab Mukherjee confers the the Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony to Zubin Mehta, western classical music conductor of Indian-Parsi origin
• The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, 2011, was passed in the Rajya Sabha and now passed by Lok Sabha.
• The Rajya Sabha  passed a Constitution 120 th amendment Bill to create a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) which will replace the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts.

Land Acquisition Bill

Economic growth and job creation require efficient usage of land resources. It is important that a fair and transparent process for purchase and for acquisition of land is followed. For the purchase of land, a key concern is the authenticity of land titles, and the government has drafted a Land Titling Bill for this purpose.

End uses Projects permitted to acquire 

It defines public purpose to include infrastructure projects (as defined by the finance ministry, with some exclusions);projects related to

• agriculture, agro-processing and cold storage
• industrial corridors
• mining activities
• national investment and manufacturing zones
• government administered or aided educational and research institutions
• sports, healthcare, transport and space programmes.

It also enables the government to include other infrastructural facilities to this list after tabling a notification in Parliament. The significant difference from the current Land Acquisition Act, 1894, is that land cannot be acquired for use by companies unless they satisfy any of the above end-uses.

Consent of Land Owners

If the land is acquired for use by a private company, 80% of land owners need to give consent. If it is for use by a public private partnership (PPP), 70% of the land owners have to agree to the acquisition. The rationale of having differential consent requirements based on ownership—including the lack of any such requirement if the land is for the use of the government or a public sector undertaking—is not clear.

Compensation 

Three factors are taken into account:

1. Circle rate according to the Stamp Act
2. The average of the top 50% of sale deeds registered in the vicinity in the previous three years
3. The amount agreed upon, if any, in case of purchase by a private company or PPP.

The higher of these three amounts is multiplied by a factor, which varies from 1 in urban areas to a number between 1 and 2 in rural areas, depending upon the distance from the urban centre. To this amount, the value of any fixed assets such as buildings, trees, irrigation channels etc is added. Finally, this figure is doubled (as solatium, i.e. compensation for the fact that the transaction was made with an unwilling seller). The justification given for the multiplier ranging from 1 to 2 is that many transactions are registered at a price significantly lower than the actual value in order to evade taxes

Rehabilitated and Resettled

The R&R entitlements for each family includes a house, a one-time allowance, and choice of (a) employment for one person in the project, (b) one-time payment of Rs 5 lakh, or (c) inflation adjusted annuity of Rs 2,000 per month for 20 years. In addition, the resettlement areas should have infrastructure such as a school, post office, roads, drainage, drinking water, etc.

Social Impact Assessment

Every acquisition, regardless of size, needs a social impact assessment, which will be reviewed by an expert committee, and evaluated by the state government. Then a preliminary notification will be issued, land records will be updated, objections will be heard, rehabilitation and resettlement survey carried out, and a final declaration of acquisition issued. The owners can then claim compensation, the final award will be announced, and the possession of the land taken. The total time for this process can last up to 50 months. The big question is whether this time frame would hinder economic development and the viability of projects?

Disputes and Settlement

The Bill provides for an Authority to adjudicate disputes related to measurement of land, compensation payable, R&R etc, with appeals to be heard by the High Court. There are several restrictions on the land acquired. The purpose for which land is acquired cannot be changed. If land is not used for five years, it would be transferred to a land bank or the original owners. Transfer of ownership needs prior permission, and in case of transfer in the first five years, 40% of capital gains have to be shared with the original owners.