Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Expulsion of an MP
- Monetary Policy
- CRISPR
1 . Expulsion of an MP
Context: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra was Friday expelled from the Lok Sabha after the House adopted the report of its Ethics Committee that held her guilty of indulging in “unethical conduct” and committing “serious misdemeanours”, and recommended her expulsion.
Background
- The ‘cash-for-query’ case against Mahua Moitra was handed over to the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee.
- The Committee conducted the enquiry into the matter, as per the rules. During the investigation, the Ethics Committee panel questioned Moitra and other parties in the case. The Committee held Moitra guilty and recommended her expulsion from the Lok Sabha.
- The recommendations of the Committee were presented in the form of a report, as the rules suggest. “The report of the Committee may also state the procedure to be followed by the House in giving effect to the recommendations made by the Committee
- The report by the Ethics Committee is presented to the Speaker who directed that the report be laid on the table of the House.
- After the report has been presented, the Chairperson or any member of the Committee or any other member may move that the report be taken into consideration whereupon the Speaker may put the question to the House. In this case, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to expel the TMC leader for “unethical conduct”.
What is expulsion ?
- Expulsion from the House is the most serious punishment the House inflicts on its members.
- Traditionally, this punishment has been reserved for cases of serious and aggravated breaches of privilege or contempt of the House.
- A misdemeanour which does not amount to a breach of privilege does not attract the punishment of expulsion.
Options before the expelled MP
- She has the option of challenging the expulsion in the apex court.
- Normally, House proceedings cannot be challenged on the ground of procedural irregularity. Article 122 of the Constitution is clear. It gives immunity to the proceedings from a challenge from court.
- Article 122 says “the validity of any proceedings in Parliament shall not be called (into) question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure”. It also specifies that “no officer or Member of Parliament in whom powers are vested by or under this Constitution for regulating procedure or the conduct of business, or for maintaining order, in Parliament shall be subject to the jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise by him of those powers”.
- However, the Supreme Court said in the 2007 Raja Ram Pal case that “those restrictions are only for procedural irregularities. There may be other cases where judicial review may be necessary.”
What is the Raja Ram Pal case?
- Raja Ram Pal, a BSP leader at the time, was among the 12 MPs – 11 from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha – expelled for alleged involvement in the December 2005 cash-for-query scam. In January 2007, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, by 4-1 majority, dismissed the petitions filed by the expelled MPs and upheld the expulsion, terming it a “self-protection” exercise by Parliament.
- But, at the same time, the Court noted that “the proceedings which may be tainted on account of substantive or gross illegality or unconstitutionality are not protected from judicial scrutiny”.
- The five-judge Constitution Bench, headed by then Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, further said, “the Judicature is not prevented from scrutinizing the validity of the action of the legislature trespassing on the fundamental rights conferred on the citizens, the judicial review of the manner of exercise of power of contempt or privilege does not mean the said jurisdiction is being usurped by the judicature”.
- It also talked about Article 105(3) of the Constitution.
What is Article 105?
- Article 105 of the Constitution deals with the powers and privileges of Parliament and of its Members and committees.
- Article 105(3) says that the powers, privileges and immunities of each House of Parliament, and of the Members and the committees of each House, shall be such as may, from time to time, be defined by Parliament by law, and, until so defined, shall be those of that House and of its Members and committees immediately before the coming into force of Section 15 of the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978.
- The Court said there is no basis to claim absolute immunity to the Parliamentary proceedings in Article 105(3) of the Constitution.
- The manner of enforcement of privilege by the legislature can result in judicial scrutiny, though subject to the restrictions contained in the other Constitutional provisions, for example Article 122 or 212.
- The Court, however, made it clear that the “truth or correctness of the material (relied
- upon by the Legislature for taking action) will not be questioned by the court nor will it go into the adequacy of the material or substitute its opinion for that of the Legislature”.
What can be the grounds for a challenge?
- While a House has the power to expel a Member, the court can scrutinize whether a particular privilege existed at that time or not.
2 . Monetary Policy
Context: The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday unanimously decided to keep key interest rates unchanged, raised its GDP growth projection for 2023-24 to 7% from 6.5%, and retained its average inflation forecast at 5.4%, while warning that inflation could spike through November and December.
Key takeaways from the Policy Statement
- The years 2020 to 2023 will perhaps go down in history as a period of great volatility.
- India’s GDP growth remains resilient and robust as reflected in the projection of 7% growth for the current year.
- On the inflation front, there has been significant progress in bringing down inflation. The steady decline in core inflation indicates that monetary policy is working.
- Moving forward, Inflation management cannot be on Autopilot. The future path is expected to be clouded by uncertain food prices. Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) data for November is expected to be high.
- The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be highly alert to any signs of derailing of the ongoing disinflation process. Based on the evolving situation, the MPC will take appropriate action to reach the 4% inflation target.
- Liquidity will be actively managed, consistent with monetary policy.
- The balance sheet of the financial sector remains robust. Sectoral and institution-specific signs of stress are being proactively monitored and addressed. Prudence at all times will be the guiding philosophy for RBI.
- The Current Account Deficit (CAD) is expected to be modest and comfortably financed.
- The foreign exchange reserves at US $640 billion provide a strong buffer against global spillovers.
- The stability of the Indian rupee reflects the improving macroeconomic fundamentals of the Indian economy and its resilience in the face of formidable global tsunamis.
3 . CRISPR
Context : The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a pair of gene therapies for sickle cell disease, including the first treatment based on the breakthrough CRISPR gene editing technology.
Details about the New treatment method approved by FDA
- FDA approved Lyfgenia from bluebird bio, and a separate treatment called Casgevy by partners Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics. Both the therapies were approved for people aged 12 years and older.
- Both gene therapies can take several months and involve high-dose chemotherapy, but has potential risks of infertility.
Vertex /CRISPR Therapy
- The Vertex/CRISPR gene therapy uses the breakthrough gene editing technology that won its inventors the Nobel Prize in 2020.
- For Vertex’s therapy, patients must have stem cells harvested from their bone marrow. The cells are then sent to manufacturing facilities where they are edited using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Once the cells are incubated, they are infused back into the patient during a month-long hospital stay.
Bluebird bio’s Sickle cell therapy
- Bluebird bio’s sickle cell therapy is designed to work by inserting modified genes into the body through disabled viruses to help the patient’s red blood cells produce normal hemoglobin.
About CRISPR
- Unusual but repeated DNA structures that scientists had been observing were given a name — Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats or CRISPR.
- In 2012, scientists discovered that CRISPR is a key part of the “immune system”. For instance, when a virus enters a bacterium, it fights back by cutting up the virus’s DNA. This kills the virus but the bacterium store some of the DNA.
- The next time there is an invasion, the bacterium produce an enzyme called Cas9 which matches the stored fingerprints with that of the invader’s. If it matches, Cas9 can snip the invading DNA.
Components of CRISPR Cas 9 Gene Editing Tool
- The CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing tool thus has two components — a short RNA sequence that can bind to a specific target of the DNA and the Cas9 enzyme which acts like a molecular scissor to cut the DNA.
Gene Editing using CRISPR
- To edit a gene of interest, the short RNA sequence that perfectly matches with the DNA sequence that has to be edited is introduced.
- Once it binds to the DNA, the Cas9 enzyme cuts the DNA at the targeted location where the RNA sequence is bound.
- Once the DNA is cut, the natural DNA repair mechanism is utilised to add or remove genetic material or make changes to the DNA.
What Is Sickle Cell Disease?
- Sickle cell disease is a group of inherited red blood cell disorders that affect hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen through the body.
- Normally, red blood cells are disc-shaped and flexible enough to move easily through the blood vessels. In sickle cell disease, red blood cells become crescent- or “sickle”-shaped due to a genetic mutation. These sickled red blood cells do not bend or move easily and can block blood flow to the rest of the body.