Daily Current Affairs : 22nd June

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Triple Talaq bill
2. Human Traficking Report
3. Kaleshwaram Multipurpose lift irrigation project
4. Lapsing of bills
5. Facts for Prelims : Operation Bandar, Indian Elephant

1 . Triple Talaq Bill

Context : Government introduced The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, also known as the triple talaq Bill, in the Lok Sabha

About the Bill

• The Bill makes all declaration of talaq, including in written or electronic form, to be void (i.e. not enforceable in law) and illegal. It defines talaq as talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq pronounced by a Muslim man resulting in instant and irrevocable divorce.  Talaq-e-biddat refers to the practice under Muslim personal laws where pronouncement of the word ‘talaq’ thrice in one sitting by a Muslim man to his wife results in an instant and irrevocable divorce.
• Offence and penalty: The Bill makes declaration of talaq a cognizable offence, attracting up to three years’ imprisonment with a fine.  (A cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may arrest an accused person without warrant.)  The offence will be cognizable only if information relating to the offence is given by: (i) the married woman (against whom talaq has been declared), or (ii) any person related to her by blood or marriage. 
• The Bill provides that the Magistrate may grant bail to the accused. The bail may be granted only after hearing the woman (against whom talaq has been pronounced), and if the Magistrate is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for granting bail.
• The offence may be compounded by the Magistrate upon the request of the woman (against whom talaq has been declared). Compounding refers to the procedure where the two sides agree to stop legal proceedings, and settle the dispute.  The terms and conditions of the compounding of the offence will be determined by the Magistrate.  
• Allowance: A Muslim woman against whom talaq has been declared, is entitled to seek subsistence allowance from her husband for herself and for her dependent children.  The amount of the allowance will be determined by the Magistrate.
• Custody: A Muslim woman against whom such talaq has been declared, is entitled to seek custody of her minor children. The manner of custody will be determined by the Magistrate.

2 . Human Traficking Report

Context : The U.S. State Department has released its 2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, highlighting the need for action against domestic trafficking. India continued to be placed in Tier 2 on the 1-3 country trafficking scale.

Details of the Report

• The report categorises countries into three groups based on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), U.S. legislation enacted in 2000. The categorisation is based on efforts to meet minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.
• India was placed (i.e., remained) in Tier 2, which comprises “countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.”
• The recommendations for India include amending the definition of trafficking in Section 370 of the Penal Code to “include forced labour trafficking and ensure that force, fraud, or coercion are not required to prove a child sex trafficking offence,” and to establish Anti-Human Trafficking Units in all districts with funding and clear mandates.

3 . Kaleshwaram Multipurpose Lift Irrigation Project

Context : The world’s largest irrigation and drinking water system—Kaleshwaram Multipurpose Lift Irrigation Project—was inaugurated by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao

About Lift Irrigation

• Lift irrigation is a method of irrigation in which water is not transported by natural flow, (as in gravity-fed canal) but is lifted with pumps or surge pools etc.
• Lift irrigation schemes must accomplish two main tasks: first, to carry water by means of pumps or other way, from the water source to the main delivery chamber, which is situated at the top most point in the command area. Second. they must distribute this water to the field of the beneficiary farmers by means of a suitable and proper distribution. So that in Lift Irrigation system, the gravity flow of water by canals or river is not available or used

About the Project

• The Kaleshwaram project on Godavari river surpasses the records of the world’s biggest lift irrigation projects till date – Colorado in the US and Great Man-Made River in Libya
• Telangana will harness water at the confluence of two rivers with Godavari by constructing a barrage at Medigadda in Jayshankar Bhoopalpally district and reverse pump the water into the main Godavari river and divert it through lifts and pumps into a huge and complex system of reservoirs, water tunnels, pipelines and canals.
• The project has set many records with the world’s longest water tunnels, aqua ducts, underground surge pools, and biggest pumps.
• Built across Godavari river, KLIP will lift the water to a height of half-a-kilometer.
• It is designed to irrigate 45 lakh acres for two crops in a year, meet the drinking water requirement of 70 percent of the state and also cater to the needs of the industry.
• The government is planning to lift two thousand million cubic (TMC) feet of Godavari water per day from Medigadda barrage.

4 . Lapsing of Bills upon Dissolution of Loksabha

Context : Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Friday called for a debate on a Constitutional provision that provides for automatic lapsing of any Bill passed by Lok Sabha but remains pending in Rajya Sabha on the dissolution of the Lower House of Parliament. A “rethink” on the provision, he said, will not let Lok Sabha’s time go waste.

About the Issue

• Many important bills passed by the Lok sabha and pending in Rajya sabha lapsed upon the dissolution of Lok sabha as per the constitutional provisions these bills needs to be reintroduced again in Lok sabha and pass the same again.
• It means that the efforts of previous Lok sabha for passing the bill have rendered waste.

Constitutional Provision

• Under Article 107 of the Constitution “a Bill which is pending in the House of the People, or which having been passed by the House of the People is pending in the Council of States, shall subject to the provisions of Article 108, lapse on a dissolution of the House of the People

When do a bill lapse

• A Bill pending in the Lok Sabha lapses on its dissolution. The Bill may have originated in the Lok Sabha or may have been transferred to it by the Rajya Sabha.
• A Bill passed by the Lok Sabha and pending in the Rajya Sabha lapses on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
• A Bill originating in the Rajya Sabha which has not been passed by the Lok Sabha and which is still pending in the Rajya Sabha does not lapse.
• A Bill which has been passed by both the Houses and has been presented to the President for assent does not lapse.
• A Bill returned by the President for reconsideration does not lapse.
• A Bill in regard to which the President has notified his intention to summon the houses to a joint sitting does not lapse by dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
• All motions, resolutions, amendments etc. pending in the Lok Sabha lapse on its dissolution.

5 . Facts for Prelims

Operation Bandar

• The air strike by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on a terrorist training camp in Balakot, Pakistan, was code-named ‘Operation Bandar’.

Indian Elephant

• The Indian elephant is one of three extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia.
• The Indian elephant is a Schedule-I animal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and Section 9 of the Act prohibits their capture from the wild. Capturing of wild elephants is permitted only under very limited circumstances as provided in Section 11 and 12 of the Act.
• Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List