Daily Current Affairs : 25th and 26th August 2022

by

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

  1. 2013 Verdict on Poll Promises
  2. NFSA Act
  3. Competition Amendment Bill
  4. Office of Profit
  5. Review Petition
  6. Labour Codes
  7. Facts for Prelims

1 . 2013 Verdict on Poll Promises  

Context: The Supreme Court said it will constitute a three-judge Bench to reconsider a 2013 judgment which held that pre-poll promises made by a political party cannot constitute a corrupt practice under the Representation of the People (RP) Act. 

Background 

  • In S. Subramaniam Balaji versus the Government of Tamil Nadu, Supreme Court pronounced that only an individual candidate, not his party, can commit a ‘corrupt practice’ under the RP Act by promising free gifts. 
  • The Balaji judgment came under the spotlight after nine years when a Bench led by the Chief Justice of India was told that there cannot be a dichotomy between a political party and its candidate.  

Section 123 of RP Act 

  • The provisions of the Act prohibit an individual candidate from resorting to promises, which constitute a corrupt practice within the meaning of Section 123 of the RP Act.  
  • The provisions of the Act place no fetter on the power of the political parties to make promises in the election manifesto. 

Balaji judgement 

  • It termed the distribution of free gifts such as gold plates, fans, TVs, mixers-grinders and laptops expenses for public purposes and directly related to directive principles of state policy.  

The verdict by Supreme Court 

  • Freebies will continue to destroy the economy unless there is a conscious decision taken by all political parties to stop such hand-outs. 
  • Supreme Court called the issue of regulating electoral promises “unmanageable”. 
  • The CJI indicated that the new three-judge bench will consider the plea for reconsidering the 2013 Supreme Court judgment. 

2 . NFSA Act  

Context : The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to increase coverage under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) so that “more and more needy persons and citizens get the benefit” under the 2013 law which entitles rural and urban poor to subsidised foodgrains under the Targeted Public Distribution System. The coverage under the NFSA is still decided by the population figures of the 2011 census. 

Highlights of the verdict 

  • Court ordered the Union government to re-determine the NFSA coverage in the States and Union Territories after considering the population increase between 2011 and 2021 so that benefits were not restricted to beneficiaries identified back in 2011. 
  • Supreme Court noted that the right to food is a fundamental right available under Article 21 of the Constitution.  
  • On e-Shram portal: Apex court directed the States which were not able to register unorganised workers, including migrant labourers, in the e-Shram portal to do so within six weeks. 
    • The Union Labour Ministry has developed a National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW) portal and the e-Shram portal for registration of labourers spread over 400 occupations including in constructions, agriculture, fishing, and dairy, those self-employed and even ASHA and Anganwadi workers. 
    • However, many States have achieved less than 50% registration, with Tamil Nadu being one of the lowest at only 34.84%. 

About National Food Security Act, 2013 

  • The Act was introduced to provide for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices for people to live a life with dignity.  
  • The Act provides for coverage of up to 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidized food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus covering about two-thirds of the population.  
  • The Act also has a special focus on nutritional support for women and children. 
  • In case of non-supply of entitled foodgrains or meals, the beneficiaries will receive a food security allowance.  
  • The Act also contains provisions for setting up grievance redressal mechanisms at the District and State levels. Separate provisions have also been made in the Act for ensuring transparency and accountability. 

Salient features of the National Food Security Act, 2013 

  • Coverage and entitlement under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS): All Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) or the poorest of the poor group, a priority group to receive 7 kg of subsidised foodgrains per person per month ie. 35 kg of foodgrain/family/month. General households will be entitled to atleast 3 kg/person/month. Upto 75 percent of the rural and up to 50 percent of the urban population will be covered by the bill. Of these, at least 46 percent of the rural and 28 percent of the urban population will be designated as priority households. The rest will be designated as general households.
  • Pregnant women and lactating mothers will be entitled to meals and maternity benefits of not less than Rs 6000. It is however restricted to two children only.
  • The eldest women of the household of age 18 years or above will be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing ration cards.
  • All beneficiaries will have to pay Rs 3/kg for rice, Rs 2/kg for wheat, Re 1/kg for coarse grains. These prices can be revised after the first three years, up to the level of the minimum support price (assured price paid by the Centre to farmers at the time it buys grains from them).
  • Grievance redressal mechanism at the District and State levels. States will have the flexibility to use the existing machinery or set up separate mechanisms. 

3 . Competition Amendment bill  

Context: As the dynamics of the market change rapidly due to technological advancements, artificial intelligence, and the increasing importance of factors other than price, amendments became necessary to sustain and promote market competition. Therefore, a review committee was established in 2019 which proposed several major amendments. Bill to amend the Competition Act, 2002, was tabled in the Lok Sabha recently. 

What is the major change in dealing with new-age market combinations? 

  • Any acquisition, merger or amalgamation may constitute a combination.  
  • Section 5 currently says parties indulging in merger, acquisition, or amalgamation need to notify the Commission of the combination only on the basis of ‘asset’ or ‘turnover’.  
    • The new Bill proposes to add a ‘deal value’ threshold.  
    • It will be mandatory to notify the Commission of any transaction with a deal value in excess of ₹2,000 crores and if either of the parties has ‘substantial business operations in India’.  
    • The Commission will frame regulations to prescribe the requirements for assessing whether an enterprise has ‘substantial business operations in India’.  
    • This change will strengthen the Commission’s review mechanism, particularly in the digital and infrastructure space, a majority of which were not reported earlier, as the asset or turnover values did not meet the jurisdictional thresholds. 
  • When business entities are willing to execute a combination, they must inform the Commission.  
  • The Commission may approve or disapprove the combination, keeping in mind the appreciable adverse effect on competition that is likely to be caused.  
  • The Commission earlier had 210 days to approve the combination, after which it is automatically approved. The new Bill seeks to accelerate the timeline from 210 working days to only 150 working days with a conservatory period of 30 days for extensions. This will speed up the clearance of combinations and increase the importance of pre-filing consultations with the Commission. 

What challenges do combining parties face in open market purchases? 

  • There have been several gun-jumping cases owing to the combining parties’ inability to defer the consummation of open market purchases.  
  • Many of them argue that acquisitions involving open market purchase of target shares must be completed quickly, lest the stock value and total consideration undergo a change. If parties wait for the Commission’s clearance, the transaction may become unaffordable. 
  • The present amendment Bill also proposes to exempt open market purchases and stock market transactions from the requirement to notify the Commission in advance.  
  • This is subject to the condition that the acquirer does not exercise voting or ownership rights until the transaction is approved and the same is notified to the Commission subsequently. 

Does the amendment Bill address the issue of Hub-and-Spoke Cartels? 

  • A Hub-and-Spoke arrangement is a kind of cartelisation in which vertically related players act as a hub and place horizontal restrictions on suppliers or retailers (spokes).  
  • Currently, the prohibition on anti-competitive agreements only covers entities with similar trades that engage in anti-competitive practices.  
  • This ignores hub-and-spoke cartels operated at different levels of the vertical chain by distributors and suppliers. 
  • To combat this, the amendment broadens the scope of ‘anti-competitive agreements’ to catch entities that facilitate cartelisation even if they are not engaged in identical trade practices. 

What is the amendment to the ‘settlements’ and ‘commitments’ mechanisms? 

  • The new amendment proposes a framework for settlements and commitments for cases relating to vertical agreements and abuse of dominance.  
  • In the case of vertical agreements and abuse of dominance, the parties may apply for a ‘commitment’ before the Director General (DG) submits the report. 
  • ‘Settlement’ will be considered after the report is submitted and before the Commission decides.  
  • According to the amendment, the Commission’s decision regarding commitment or settlement will not be appealable after hearing all stakeholders in the case. The Commission will come out with regulations regarding procedural aspects. 

What are the other major amendments? 

  • ‘Leniency Plus’: It allows the commission to give an additional waiver of penalties to an applicant who discloses the existence of another cartel in an unrelated market, provided the information enables the Commission to form a prima facie opinion about the existence of the cartel.  
  • Appointment of the DG: It will be done by the Commission rather than the Central government, giving the Commission greater control.  According to the Bill, the DG has the power to conduct investigations, including raids.  
  • Penalties and punishments: The Commission will only consider information filed within three years of the occurrence of the cause of action. As part of the Bill, penalties and penalty guidelines are proposed to be amended. Additionally, the Commission will develop guidelines regarding the number of penalties for various competition violations.  

Way ahead 

  • By implementing these amendments, the Commission should be better equipped to handle certain aspects of the new-age market and transform its functioning to be more robust. The proposed amendments are needed; however, these are heavily dependent on regulations that will be notified by the Commission later. Also, the government needs to recognise that market dynamics change constantly, so it is necessary to update laws regularly. 

4 . Office of Profit

Context: Hemant Soren’s continuation as Jharkhand Chief Minister remained uncertain as the Election Commission (EC) has conveyed its decision in an office-of-profit complaint against him to Governor.

Background

  • The matter was referred to the commission after a rival political party complained to the Governor about CM  allocating a mining lease to himself while holding the portfolio of Mines in 2021.
  • The EC was asked to examine the matter and recommend whether Mr Soren should be disqualified or not.

What is the concept of ‘office of profit?

  • MPs and MLAs, as members of the legislature, hold the government accountable for its work.
  • The essence of disqualification under the office of profit law is if legislators holds an ‘office of profit’ under the government, they might be susceptible to government influence, and may not discharge their constitutional mandate fairly.
  • The intent is that there should be no conflict between the duties and interests of an elected member. Hence, the office of profit law simply seeks to enforce a basic feature of the Constitution- the principle of separation of power between the legislature and the executive.
  • The origin of this term can be found in the English Act of Settlement, 1701.
  • Under this law, “no person who has an office or place of profit under the King, or receives a pension from the Crown, shall be capable of serving as a member of the House of Commons.” This was instituted so that there wouldn’t be any undue influence from the royal household in administrative affairs.

According to the definition, what constitutes an ‘office of profit’?

  • The law does not clearly define what constitutes an office of profit but the definition has evolved over the years with interpretations made in various court judgments.
  • An office of profit has been interpreted to be a position that brings to the office-holder some financial gain, or advantage, or benefit. The amount of such profit is immaterial.
  • In 1964, the Supreme Court ruled that the test for determining whether a person holds an office of profit is the test of appointment.
  • Several factors are considered in this determination including factors such as:
    • Whether the government is the appointing authority,
    • Whether the government has the power to terminate the appointment,
    • Whether the government determines the remuneration,
    • What is the source of remuneration, and
    • The power that comes with the position.

Why should an MLA or an MP not hold an office of profit?

  • Constitutional provisions
    • Under Articles 102(1)(a) and 191(1)(a) of the Constitution, an MP or MLA is barred from holding an office of profit as it can put them in a position to gain a financial benefit.
    • “A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament,  if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder,” says the law.
    • The articles clarify that “a person shall not be deemed to hold an office of profit under the government of India or the government of any state by reason only that he is a minister”.
    • The Constitution specifies that the number of ministers including the Chief Minister has to be within 15% of the total number of members of the assembly (10% in the case of Delhi, which is a union territory with legislature).
    • Provisions of Articles 102 and 191 also protect a legislator occupying a government position if the office in question has been made immune to disqualification by law.
    • In the recent past, several state legislatures have enacted laws exempting certain offices from the purview of office of profit.  Parliament has also enacted the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, which has been amended several times to expand the exempted list.
    • There is no bar on how many offices can be exempted from the purview of the law.
  • Under the Representation of People Act too, holding an office of profit is grounds for disqualification.

5 . Review Petition

Context:  The Supreme Court agreed to reconsider two aspects of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) upheld by its judgment on July 27, which deprives an accused of a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) and transfers the burden of proof of innocence onto shoulders of the accused instead of the prosecution.

Background

  • A Review Bench led by the Chief Justice of India clarified that its move to reconsider these two key points in the apex court judgment which upheld several core amendments made to the PMLA should not be construed to mean that the court was opposing the efforts of the government to prevent the circulation of black money or money laundering.
  • It said the objective of the government was “noble”.
  • The court also ordered several writ petitions which have primarily challenged the introduction of the amendments to the PMLA via the Finance Act route, to be tagged along with the review petition.
  • The July verdict had said the method of introduction of the amendments through a Money Bill would be separately examined by a larger Bench of the apex court.

About Review petition

  • Article 137 of the Constitution of India grants the Supreme Court the power to review any of its judgments or orders.
  • This power is however subject to the Rules made by the Supreme Court under Article 145, as well as the provisions of any law enacted by parliament. 

Review v Appeal: Scope of the Power

  • The power of review is distinct from the Court’s power to hear appeals, i.e. the appellate jurisdiction.
  • When hearing a review petition filed against its own order or judgment, the Court does not rehear the case at hand, as it would in an appeal.
  • The purpose of a review petition is limited to remedying an apparent error or the resultant grave injustice that has been the consequence of a decision of the Supreme Court.
  • The Court is thus restricted in the exercise of the power of review to cases where there is an error apparent on the face of the record (criminal cases) or in accordance with the provisions of Order XLVII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
  • The scope of the power of review was explained by the Court in Northern India Caterers (India) v Lt. Governor Of Delhi (1979).

Grounds for Review

  • The Supreme Court has laid down three grounds for seeking a review of a verdict it has delivered:
  • Discovery of new and important matter or evidence
    • The first ground for a review petition is the discovery of new and important matter or evidence, as provided under Order XLVII Rule 4 of CPC, which was not within the knowledge of the petitioner at that time when the decree was passed or could not be produced by him even after the exercise of due diligence.
    • The petitioner needs to show that there was no negligence on his part.
    • This new and important matter or evidence should fulfil two conditions:
    • It should be relevant, and
    • It should be of such character that if it were produced earlier, it would have altered the judgment or order.
  • Mistake or error apparent on the face of the record
    • The second ground is given under Order XLVII Rule 1 of CPC, i.e., mistake or error made by the court which is apparent on the face of the record. “Apparent on the face of the record” means which is visible and obvious and not bound to reasoning and analysis. This mistake or error can be of fact and law.
    • In Usha Rani v. Hardas Das, Guwahati High Court stated that the mistake or error apparent on the face of the record depends upon the facts and circumstances of that case.
  • Any other sufficient reason-
    • The third ground of a review petition is any other sufficient reason, but it has to be analogous to the other two grounds, as held in Chhajju Ram V. Neki.
    • This ground is provided under Order XLVII Rule 1 of CPC.
    • Some of the sufficient reasons are:
      • Violation of a fundamental right
      • Violation of the principles of natural justice
      • The mistake of the court
      • Judgment was obtained by fraud
      • The court made the earlier order without jurisdiction

Procedure for Review Petition

  • It should be filed within 30 days of the pronouncement of judgment or order.
  • No oral arguments are presented by lawyers in review petitions. It is heard through circulation by the judges.
  • However, review petitions in death penalty cases will be heard in open court by a bench of three judges as held by the Supreme Court.
  • According to Order XLVII Rule 5 of CPC, review petitions shall be heard by the same judge or bench who delivered the original order or judgment that is sought to be reviewed.
  • However, if a Judge or bench is not available who delivered the original order/ judgment due to various reasons, any other competent Court is authorized and empowered to deal with the review application and the application cannot be dismissed merely on the ground that the said Judge is no longer in position as held by the Delhi High Court.

6 . Labour Codes

Context: Prime Minister said that the Centre had taken initiatives to abolish laws from “the period of slavery” that reflected a slavery mentality. He was inaugurating the two-day National Labour Conference at Tirupati, a meeting of Labour Ministers and Labour Secretaries from the States and Union Territories. He said the country was now changing, reforming and simplifying such labour laws, and justified the decision to convert 29 labour laws into four “simple labour codes”.

The new Labour codes

  • In India, several legislations have been enacted to promote the condition of labour. There are 44 labour-related statutes promulgated by the Central Government, of which 29 legislations are being amalgamated into four new labour codes. The four new labour codes are:
    • Code on Social Security, 2020,
    • Code on Wages, 2019
    • Industrial Relation Code, 2020,
    • Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020
  • The Codes deal with, among other things, minimum wages, accidental and social security benefits, occupational safety and health, conditions of employment, disciplinary actions, formation of trade unions, and industrial relations.

THE FOUR LABOUR CODES

Code on Wages, 2019

  • The Code on Wages seeks to regulate wage and bonus payments in all employments where any industry, trade, business, or manufacture is carried out.
  • It incorporates four legislations: the Payment of Wages Act, the Minimum Wage Act, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and the Equal Remuneration Act.
  • Coverage: The Code will apply to all employees. The Central Government will make wage-related decisions for employment, such as railways, mines, and oil fields. State Governments will make decisions for all other employments.

Code on Social Security, 2020

  • The Code on Social Security seeks to amend and consolidate the laws relating to social security to extend social security to all employees and workers either in the organized or unorganized or any other sectors.
  • It incorporates nine legislations: The Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923, The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948, The Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959, The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981, The Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996 and the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act 2008.
  • Coverage: The Code shall apply to any establishment by notification of the Central Government subject to the threshold specified.

Industrial Relation Code, 2020

  • The Code on Industrial Relation seeks to simplify the compliance process and promotes ease of doing business in an establishment.
  • It incorporates three legislations: The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and The Trade Unions Act, 1926.
  • Coverage: The Code applies to establishments as per the formation of committees and unions:
    • The Appropriate Government may order to constitute a Works Committee by the employer having an industrial establishment where 100 or more workers are employed or have been employed on any day in the preceding 12 months.
    • Industrial Establishments with 20 or more workers shall have one or more Grievance Redressal Committees to resolve disputes arising from individual grievances.
    • Any trade union having seven or more members may register under the Code electronically or otherwise.
    • The Standing Orders apply to every industrial establishment where 300 or more workers are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding 12 months.

Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

  • The Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions seeks to regulate workers’ health and safety conditions in establishments with ten or more workers and all mines and docks
  • It incorporates thirteen legislations: Factories Act, 1948, Mines Act, 1952, Dock Workers Act, 1986, Contract Labour Act, 1970, Inter-State Migrant Workers Act, 1979, The Plantations Labor Act, 1951, The Working Journalist and Other News Paper Employees (Conditions of Service and Miscellaneous Provision) Act, 1955, The Working Journalist (Fixation of Rates of Wages) Act, 1958, The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961, The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Act, 1976 and The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966.
  • Coverage: The Code applies to the following:
    • Establishments employing at least ten workers and irrespective of the number of workers in all mines and docks.
    • Workers and all other persons engaged in a managerial, administrative, or supervisory role (with a monthly wage of at least Rs 15,000/-).
    • Further, specific provisions of the Code, such as health and working conditions, apply to all employees, excluding apprentices.
    • Contract labour engaged through a contractor in the offices of the Central and State Governments (where the respective Government is the principal employer).

Way ahead

  • Implementation of the new labour codes in India appears to have been delayed.
  • The delayed implementation may be viewed as ‘preparatory time for the industry to:
    • Bring about an attitudinal shift towards employee welfare
    • Re-work their human resource policies
    • Plan the consequential impact on operating costs.
  • It is time to recognize that the issue of ’employee welfare’ is closely connected to the nation’s health.
  • Undue delay in implementation of the Codes and uncertainty about the ‘Effective dates’ will defer the gains for the employees and very likely make it difficult for the industries to adopt the same in a timely manner.

7 . Facts for Prelims

Aircraft carriers of India

Context: The Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff said that the commissioning of the country’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier Vikrant will enhance peace, security and stability in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific Region. The carrier is set to be commissioned on September 2 in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

About Aircraft carriers of India

  • An aircraft carrier is one of the most potent marine assets for any nation, which enhances a Navy’s capability to travel far from its home shores to carry out air domination operations.
  • Many experts consider having an aircraft carrier as essential to be considered a “blue water” navy — that is, a navy that has the capacity to project a nation’s strength and power across the high seas.
  • An aircraft carrier generally leads as the capital ship of a carrier strike/ battle group. As the aircraft carrier is a prized and sometimes vulnerable target, it is usually escorted in the group by destroyers, missile cruisers, frigates, submarines, and supply ships.
  • Only five or six nations currently have the capability of manufacturing an aircraft carrier, and India has joined this prestigious club now.
  • India has had aircraft carriers earlier too — but those were built either by the British or the Russians.
    • The ‘INS Vikramaditya’, which was commissioned in 2013 and which is currently the Navy’s only aircraft carrier, started out as the Soviet-Russian warship ‘Admiral Gorshkov’.
    • India’s two earlier carriers, the ‘INS Vikrant’ and the ‘INS Viraat’, were originally the British-built ‘HMS Hercules’ and ‘HMS Hermes’.
    •  These two warships were commissioned into the Navy in 1961 and 1987 respectively.
  • INS Vikrant
    • IAC-1 — as the carrier is currently codenamed — has been designed by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND), and built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a public sector shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping.
    • Once commissioned, it will be called ‘INS Vikrant’, the name that originally belonged to India’s much-loved first aircraft carrier, a source of immense national pride over several decades of service before it was decommissioned in 1997.
  • The new warship is comparable to India’s existing carrier ‘INS Vikramaditya’, which is a 44,500-tonne vessel and can carry up to 34 aircraft, including both fighter jets and helicopters.
  • It will also operate the soon-to-be-inducted MH-60R Seahawk multirole helicopter manufactured by the American aerospace and defence company Lockheed Martin, and the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) built by Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.


Malware

Context: A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court said the court-appointed Pegasus technical committee has reported that of the 29 phones examined, five were found infected with “some malware” but that did not mean it was spyware.

About Malware

  • Malware is intrusive software that is designed to damage and destroy computers and computer systems. Malware is a contraction for “malicious software.”
  • Hostile, intrusive, and intentionally nasty, malware seeks to invade, damage, or disable computers, computer systems, networks, tablets, and mobile devices, often by taking partial control over a device’s operations.
  • Examples of common malware include viruses, worms, Trojan viruses, spyware, adware, and ransomware.

Yudh Abhyas

Context: China strongly opposed the war games scheduled between India and the US near the disputed Sino-India border in October, saying it’s an interference in the bilateral boundary issue and a violation of agreements between New Delhi and China that no military drill will be held near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two countries.

About Yudh Abhyas

  • It is a Military Training Exercise between USA and India.
  • The exercise aims at enhancing understanding, cooperation and inter-operability between two Armies.
  • It is primarily aimed at sharing tactical level drills and learning best practices from each other. The exercise will culminate after a 48 hours long validation.

Foreign Exchange Reserves

Context: S&P Global Ratings said that India has built up buffers against cyclical difficulties and has ample foreign exchange reserves to withstand pressure on creditworthiness.

About foreign exchange reserves

  • Foreign Exchange Reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, influence the foreign exchange rate of its currency, and to maintain confidence in financial markets.
  • Reserves are held in one or more reserve currencies, nowadays mostly the United States dollar and to a lesser extent the euro.
  • Foreign exchange reserve assets can comprise banknotes, deposits and government securities of the reserve currency, such as bonds and treasury bills.
  • Some countries hold a part of their reserves in gold, and special drawing rights are also considered reserve assets.
  • Often, for convenience, the cash or securities are retained by the central bank of the reserve or other currency and the “holdings” of the foreign country are tagged or otherwise identified as belonging to the other country without them actually leaving the vault of that central bank.
  • From time to time they may be physically moved to the home or another country.
  • In a central bank’s accounts, foreign exchange reserves are called reserve assets in the capital account of the balance of payments and may be labelled as reserve assets under assets by functional category.
  • Typically, one of the critical functions of a country’s central bank is reserve management, to ensure that the central bank has control over adequate foreign assets to meet national objectives.

Yakshgana 

Context: The all-night Yakshagana performances by more than a century-old theatre troupe Kateel Durgaparameshwari Prasadita Yakshagana Mandali will soon be history with the group deciding to switch to shorter duration shows from November.  

The managing committee of the temple took the decision in view of the government circular issued in May, 2022, which has banned the use of loudspeakers between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., except on closed premises for communication within, like auditoria, conference rooms, community halls, or during a public emergency. 

About Yakshgana 

  • Yakshagana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form. 
  • It is believed to have evolved from pre-classical music and theatre during the period of the Bhakti movement.  
  • It is sometimes simply called “Aata” or āṭa (meaning “the play”). 
  • This theatre style is mainly found in coastal regions of Karnataka in various forms.  
  • Towards the south from Dakshina Kannada to Kasaragod of Tulu Nadu region, the form of Yakshagana is called Thenku thittu and towards the north from Udupi up to Uttara Kannada it is called Badaga thittu.  
  • Both of these forms are equally played all over the region.  
  • Yakshagana is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn.  
  • Its stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain and other ancient Indic traditions. 

Monument of National Importance 

Context: The Anang Tal lake in South Delhi, believed to have been built a thousand years ago, has been declared a monument of national importance through a gazette notification by the Ministry of Culture earlier this week. 

Monument of national importance 

  • A “Monument of National Importance” is designated by the Archaeological Survey of India and includes the following: 
  • The remains of an ancient monument 
  • The site of an ancient monument 
  • The land on which there are fences or protective covering structures for preserving the monument 
  • Land by means of which people can freely access the monument 
  • The union government of India is authorised to maintain, protect and promote the Monuments of National Importance. 

Veeracholapuram Temple 

Context: The Idol Wing-CID has submitted documents to U.S. officials through the Central government to retrieve six exquisite Chola-era bronze idols that went missing from the Veeracholapuram temple in Kallakurichi district in the 1960s. They were spotted at the Cleveland museum and Christie’s auction house in the U.S.  

About  Veeracholapuram temple 

  • The temple was constructed 900 years ago by Chola king Rajendra Chola.   

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