BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY

#25, Sri Nagar, Hope College, Peelamedu (PO), Coimbatore – 641004.Ph: +91422-4521607, Cell: +91-9787731607, 9787701067/9787701068. Web:www.benevolentacademy.com.E-Mail:admin@benevolentacademy.com

Dated 11.07.2019

TODAY’S IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS

UPSC-IAS|IPS|IFS (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS)

IN NEWS Returning Officer and Secretary, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Secretariat,

K. Srinivasan, announced in Chennai that Mr. Vaiko, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (DMK’s)

M. Shanmugam and P. Wilson, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK’s)

N.Chandrasekaran and A. Mohammedjan, and Mr. Ramadoss were elected unopposed, as per

the provisions of the Representation of People’s Act.

EXAM POINT OF VIEW:- Indian Polity – Counsel of State (Rajya Sabha)

The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. It

currently has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states

and union territories using single transferable votes through Open Ballot while the President can

appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. Members sit

for staggered terms lasting six years, with elections every year but almost a third of the 233 designates

up for election every two years, specifically in even-numbered years.

The Vice President of India (currently, Venkaiah Naidu) is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya

Sabha, who presides over its sessions. The Deputy Chairman, who is elected from amongst the house's

members, takes care of the day-to-day matters of the house in the absence of the Chairman. The Rajya

Sabha held its first sitting on 13 May 1952. Further, Rajya Sabha meets in Rajya Sabha chamber

in Parliament House in New Delhi. Since 18 July 2018, the Rajya Sabha has facility for simultaneous

interpretation in all the 22 official languages of India.

The Rajya Sabha (meaning the "Council of States") is the upper house of the Parliament of India.

Tamil Nadu elects 18 seats and they are indirectly elected by the state legislators of Tamil Nadu. For

every two years 6 Candidates elected according to the expiry of term of office of six members.

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE

Constitutional Provisions relating to Rajya Sabha

Composition/Strength

Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250, out of which 12

members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the States and of the two Union

Territories. The present strength of Rajya Sabha, however, is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of the

States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 are nominated by the President. The members

nominated by the President are persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such

matters as literature, science, art and social service.

Eligibility :-

Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament. A person to be

qualified for the membership of the Rajya Sabha should posses the following qualifications:

1. he must be a citizen of India and make and subscribe before some person authorized in that behalf

by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in

the Third Schedule to the Constitution;

2. he must be not less than 30 years of age;

3. he must possess such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law

made by Parliament.

Disqualifications

Article 102 of the Constitution lays down that a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for

being, a member of either House of Parliament –

1. 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;

2. if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;

3. if he is an undischarged insolvent;

4. if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or is under

any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State;

5. if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament.

Relation between the two Houses

Under article 75(3) of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha

which means Rajya Sabha cannot make or unmake the Government. It can, however, exercise control over

the Government and this function becomes quite prominent, particularly when the Government does not

enjoy majority in Rajya Sabha.

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE

IN NEWS Single tribunal to hear water disputes

EXAM POINT OF VIEW: - Prelims and mains GS II interstate relations and governance

The Union Cabinet has approved the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill,

2019 that will help adjudicate disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers and river

valleys.

The Bill seeks to amend the Inter State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 to streamline the

adjudication of inter-State river water disputes.

Need to amend 1956 Act

There are about a dozen tribunals that now exist to resolve disputes among States on

sharing water from rivers common to them.

The standalone tribunal so envisaged will have a permanent establishment, office space and

infrastructure so as to obviate with the need to set up a separate tribunal for each water

dispute – a time consuming process.

The Bill can also affect the composition of the members of various tribunals, and has a

provision to have a technical expert as the head of the tribunal.

Currently all tribunals are staffed by members of the judiciary, nominated by the Chief

Justice.

Adjudication process

A key feature of the Bill is the constitution of a single tribunal with different Benches, and the

setting of strict timelines for adjudication.

The Bill also proposes a Dispute Resolution Committee set up by the Central Government for

amicably resolving inter-State water disputes within 18 months.

Any dispute that cannot be settled by negotiations would be referred to the tribunal for its

adjudication.

The dispute so referred to the tribunal shall be assigned by the chairperson of the tribunal to

a Bench of the tribunal for adjudication.

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE

TODAY’S IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS

TNPSC|SSC|RRB|BANK

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that Sri Lanka had successfully eliminated

measles. WHO praised Sri Lanka's achievement in a statement at a time when measles cases

were increasing globally.

The deposits in bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan scheme crossed

the Rs 1 lakh crore mark. As per the latest finance ministry data, the total

balance in over 36.06 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts at

Rs 1,00,495.94 crores. The PMJDY launched on August 28, 2014.

The main aim is to provide universal access to banking facilities to the people in the country. The

scheme launched about five years ago by the Modi-government crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark.

The total balance in over 36.06 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts was at Rs

1,00,495.94 crores. The government shifted the focus on accounts from 'every household' to 'every

unbanked adult' Around 50 percent of the Jan Dhan account holders are women.

The main objective of PMJDY is to ensure access to various financial services like availability of basic

savings bank account, access to need-based credit, remittances facility, insurance and pension to

weaker sections and low-income groups.

Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) is hosting a women startup summit on August 1 in Kochi.

KSUM is the nodal agency of the state government for entrepreneurship development and

incubation activities in the state.

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has reduced the marginal cost of funds-based

lending rate (MCLR) by up to 10 basis points (bps) for various tenors. It is effective

from 11 July 2019. MCLR for overnight has been reduced to 8.20% from 8.30% and one-

month loan tenor has been reduced by 10 bps from 8.35% to 8.25%.

Nepal’s Supreme Court has stayed the government's move of rolling back its earlier decision

to check permitted levels of pesticides in vegetables and fruits imported from India.

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE

TODAY’S IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS

TNPSC Group I, II, IV & VAO

(Anti-Infiltration Grid) (Border Security Force-BSF)

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BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE

Have you read the above contents? Then can

you try the following questions?

1. Consider the following statements regarding organisation of Parliament under the Constitution of

India:

I. Under the Constitution, the Parliament of India consists of three parts viz, the President, the Council of

States and the House of the People.

II. In 1954, the Hindi names ‘Rajya Sabha’ and ‘Lok Sabha’ were adopted by the Council of States and the

House of People respectively.

III. The Rajya Sabha is the Upper House (Second Chamber or House of Elders) and the Lok Sabha is the

Lower House (First Chamber or Popular House).

Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?

a. Only I b. I and II c. I and III d. All of the above

2. Consider the following statements: (UPSC - 2013)

1. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the RajyaSabha are not the members of that House.

2. While the nominated members of the two Houses of the Parliament have no voting right in the

presidential election, they have the right to vote in the election of the Vice President.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

3. Which country was recently declared measles free by World Health Organization?

a) Sri Lanka b) Nepal c) Bangladesh d) Pakistan

4. Which Indian city will host women Startup Summit on August 1, 2019?

a) Kochi b) New Delhi c) Mumbai d) Chandigarh

5. Which nation’s Supreme Court has stayed the government’s move to roll back pesticide testing on

vegetables, fruits from India?

a) Bangladesh b) Nepal c) Myanmar d) Pakistan

6. Argue about the Formula to Elect Rajya Sabha Members in your class

Best Regards,

AP Thomas