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CATEGORY: POLITY
- Farm Ordinances
THE ISSUE IN NEW
The Punjab Assembly recently passed a resolution and rejected the Centre’s recent farm ordinances and the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020
Main Points
Central Reforms:
- The ordinances comprises of :
- Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020
- Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020
- Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
- These ordinances were a part of the economic package announced under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to counter Covid-19 pandemic.
- They are expected to allow free movement of agricultural produce between states and let the farmers decide to whom they want to sell their crops.
- The Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 centralizes the power sector through establishment of Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority.
- Recognition of franchisees and sub- licensees under the Bill might open the sector to private players.
Criticism:
State Government’s source of income:
- One of the Ordinance prohibits state governments from levying any market fee, cess or levy on farmers, traders, and electronic trading platforms for any trade under the Ordinance.
- State governments would lose incomes from Agricultural Produce Market Committee-controlled trading.
Usurping powers of State :
- These ordinances are targeted at usurping state powers, and overriding state laws and market committees.
Punjab’s Stand:
- Entry 14 of List II of the Constitution comprises agriculture as the subject of the states. Therefore the three ordinances passed by the Centre are against the Constitution of India.
- These ordinances are a direct encroachment upon the functions of the states and against the spirit of cooperative federalism enshrined in the Constitution. Cooperative federalism is defined as administrative cooperation between the Centre & states and among states.
Distribution of Legislative Subjects
- Article 246 adopts a threefold distribution of legislative power between the Union and the states.
- The subject-wise distribution of this power is given in the three lists of the Seventh Schedule of the constitution:
- List-I- the Union List
- List-II- the State List
- List-III- the Concurrent List
Union List:
- Parliament has exclusive powers to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the Union List.
- It includes the matters of national importance and the matters which require uniformity of legislation nationwide.
- This list includes 98 subjects like defence, banking, foreign affairs, currency, atomic energy, insurance, communication, inter-state trade and commerce, census, audit and so on.
State List:
- The state legislature has exclusive powers (not during emergency) to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the State List.
- It includes the matters of regional and local importance and the matters which permit diversity of interest.
- This list includes 59 subjects like public order, police, public health and sanitation, agriculture, prisons, local government, fisheries, markets, theaters, gambling and so on.
Concurrent List:
- Both, the Parliament and state legislature can make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List.
- It includes the matters on which uniformity of legislation throughout the country is desirable but not essential.
- This list has at present 52 subjects like criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, marriage and divorce, population control and family planning, electricity, labour welfare, economic and social planning, drugs, newspapers, books and printing press, and others.
Other important Features:
- The power to make laws with respect to residuary subjects e. the matters which are not enumerated in any of the three lists, is vested in the Parliament.
- Parliament has power to make laws with respect to any part of the territory of India not included in a state even though that matter is one which is enumerated in the State List.
- This provision is related to the Union Territories or the Acquired Territories (if any).
CATEGORY: GOVERNANCE
- UGC Guidelines on Conduct of Examinations: SC’s Decision
THE ISSUE IN NEWS
The Supreme Court ruled that the states are empowered under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM Act) to override University Grants Commission (UGC) exam guidelines in order to protect human lives amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
- it held that universities and other institutions of higher education will have to conduct the final-year exams and cannot promote students on the basis of internal assessment or other criteria.
Main Points
- The UGC had directed that final year examinations of Universities must be conducted by September-end in online or offline mode.
- the Maharashtra and Delhi governments employed the DM Act, 2005 to cancel the examinations due to Covid-19 to which the UGC objected.
Judgement:
- In case of a disaster, the priority of all authorities under the DM Act is to immediately combat the disaster and contain it to save human life. Saving the life of human beings is given paramount importance.
- However, the powers of the States under the DM Act do not extend to promoting students on the sole basis of their internal assessment without taking
- In future, if any State found it impossible to conduct the exams by the deadline given by UGC and wanted to postpone them, it could apply to the UGC, which would consider the request and decide at the earliest.
- the States and universities cannot dismiss UGC guidelines as being merely advisory. They were necessary for the determination of standards in institutions of higher education and were obligatory for universities.
- The UGC (Minimum Standards of Instruction for the Grant of the Master’s Degree through Formal Education) Regulations, 2003, categorically requires universities to adopt the guidelines.
- The court also rejected the argument that compelling attendance by holding physical examination is a violation of the ‘Right to Life’ under Article 21.
- It pointed out that the revised guidelines take into consideration the fact that the number of Covid cases are rising.
- They were based on the recommendations of the C. Kuhad Expert Committee. They provided three modes of examination – pen and paper, online and blended (both physical and online). A “special chance” was also given to students unable to take the exams.
- The R.C. Kuhad Expert Committee recommended that exams should be held for Terminal Semester Students while the Intermediate Semester Students should be graded based on internal assessment of the present and previous semester. It also suggested the constitution of a Covid-19 cell in every university.
University Grants Commission (UGC)
- It came into existence on 28 December, 1953 but became a statutory organization of the Government of India by the UGC Act, 1956, under the Ministry of Education.
Way Forward
- The performance in examinations contributes to merit, lifelong credibility, wider global acceptability and better future prospects to the student.
- the digital divide that exists in the country must be taken into account while going for online conduct of examinations.
- The Ministry of Education must proactively intervene in the appointments of final year students who have not been able to appear for the examination and come out with policies to defer the requirement of degree certificates for job appointments.
- Notification of Rules of transaction of business for J&K
THE ISSUE IN NEWS
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has notified Rules of Transaction of Business for the Government of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
Main Points
- The rules have been notified under the Section 55 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019
- According to Section 55 of the act “the Lieutenant Governor (LG) shall make rules on the advice of the Council of Ministers for the allocation of business to the Ministers; and for the more convenient transaction of business with the Ministers including the procedure to be adopted in case of a difference of opinion between the LG and the Council of Ministers or a Minister.
- The rules provide details of work allocation, distribution of the business among the departments, their powers, executive powers of LG etc. in J&K.
- As per the rules, there will be 39 departments in the J&K such as school education, agriculture, higher education, horticulture, election, general administration, home, mining, power, Public Works Department, tribal affairs and transport.
- Police, Public order, All India Services and Anti-corruption will fall under the executive functions of the
- This implies that the Chief Minister or the Council of Ministers will have no say in their functioning.
- Proposals or matters which affect or are likely to affect the peace and tranquility of the UT or the interest of any minority community, the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Backward Classes shall essentially be submitted to the LG through the Chief Secretary, under intimation to the Chief Minister, before issuing any orders.
- Any matter, which is likely to bring the government of the Union Territory into a controversy with the Centre or a State government, shall, as soon as possible, be brought to the notice of the LG and the Chief Minister through the Chief Secretary.
- All important communications received from the Centre shall, as soon as possible, be submitted to the Chief Secretary, the Minister in charge, the Chief Minister and the LG for information.
- In case of difference of opinion between the LG and a Minister when no agreement could be reached even after a month, the decision of the LG shall be deemed to have been accepted by the Council of Ministers.
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