UPSC Key- March 16, 2023: Know about Floor Test, Saudi Arabia and Iran, Sanatan Parampara, and Security Bond-2023

Threats, dissent can’t be ground for Governor to call floor test: SC

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies II: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

• General Studies II: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Threats to rebel Shiv Sena MLAs could not have been the ground to unseat the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra, the Supreme Court said Wednesday as it questioned the role of the Governor, inquiring about the material before him on the basis of which he ordered a trust vote.

• Why the Supreme Court questioned the role of the Governor?

• Supreme Court Said-“The Governor must equally be conscious of the fact that his calling for a trust vote may itself be a circumstance which may lead to toppling of a government…The Governor should not enter into any area which precipitates the fall of a government,” he said, adding “the Leader of the Opposition will always write to the Governor. Threat to security is not a ground for calling for a trust vote”.

• What is a ‘floor test’?

• What happens when the legislative assembly passes a no-confidence motion against the council of ministers?

• What is the difference between a no-confidence motion and trust vote?

• How Floor test and collective responsibility are interlinked?

• Governor can ask Government to prove majority in floor test-True or False

• The Governor is appointed by whom?

• How powerful is a Governor?

• Office of Governor-know the historical background

• Why has the Governor’s role and powers recently become a matter of contention?

• What is the relationship between the Governor and the state government?

• What are the Constitutional Roles of a Governor?

• What Articles 153-161 of the Constitution says?

• Do You Know-Article 153 of the Constitution says “There shall be a Governor for each State.” A few years after the commencement of the Constitution, an amendment in 1956 laid down that “nothing in this article shall prevent the appointment of the same person as Governor for two or more States”. Article 155 says that the “Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal”. Under Article 156, “the Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the President”, but his normal term of office will be five years. If the President withdraws her pleasure before the completion of five years, the Governor has to step down. Since the President acts on the aid and advice of the Prime Minister and the Union Council of Ministers, in effect, the Governor is appointed and removed by the central government.

• Various attempts were made to understand the role of the governor to strengthening centre-state relations-Can you name those committees and their recommendations?

• Administrative Reforms Commission of 1968, the Rajamanar Committee of 1969, the Sarkaria commission of 1988 and Punchhi Commission-What were their recommendations in the context of role of Governor?

• The Sarkaria Commission, set up in 1983 to look into Centre-state relations, proposed certain points for the selection of Governors-Know them in detail

• What Punchhi Committee, constituted in 2007 on Centre-state relations said on selection the Governor?

• The Punchhi Committee recommended deleting the “Doctrine of Pleasure” from the Constitution-What is “Doctrine of Pleasure”?

• What Supreme Court of India said about the Governor’s role?

• How things changed after the S.R. Bommai case ,1994?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Governor’s powers, friction with states, and why this happens often

📍What does the law say on how a Governor can be sacked?

📍How are Governors appointed, and why is their role often controversial?

Previous Year Prelims Questions Based on same theme:
📍Which one of the following suggested that the Governor should be an eminent person from outside the State and should be a detached figure without intense political links or should not have taken part in politics in the recent past? (Please refer Prelims 2019 GS question Paper for complete question)
📍Which of the following are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State? (Please refer Prelims 2014 GS question Paper for complete question)
1. Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President’s rule
2. Appointing the Ministers
3. Reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India
4. Making the rules to conduct the business of the State Government

Exports dip, Govt plans to curb non-essential imports

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Amid merchandise exports continuing to contract year-on-year for the third consecutive month in February, the government is looking to take steps to contain imports of “non-essential items”. Discussions have taken place with the industry and at the inter-ministerial level, with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry having shared HS-code (harmonised system) details of essential and non-essential import items with ministries to build strategies to contain such non-essential imports. With exports seen getting affected amid slowdown in global demand, curbing imports of non-essential items is seen as crucial for the overall trade deficit.

• What are non-essentials goods?

• Why they are called non-essential?

• What is Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN)?

• What do you understand by ‘Exports’ and ‘Imports’?

• Exports of India and Imports of India-Key Items under Exports and Imports

• What Is Balance of Trade (BoT) and Balance of Payments (BoP)?

• Balance of Trade (BoT) and Balance of Payments (BoP)-How they Connected?

• What Is Export Merchandising?

• Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)-Key Highlights

• India has achieved the target of $400 billion in exports in FY2022. What is the significance of this? What areas have been the key drivers of India’s export growth?

• What do you understand by ‘Current account deficit’?

• Current account deficit’ is rising-What does this indicates for an Economy?

• What do you understand by “Current account surplus”?

• Current account surplus implies a higher inflow of forex than outflow- still sometimes, it is not healthy for an economy, Why?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Govt plans to raise duty on non-essential goods

5,000 works of art for new Parliament building, highlighting 5,000 years of Indian civilisation

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: 

• General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

• General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Sanatan Parampara and Vaastu shastra are the guiding principles for the nearly 5,000 pieces of art — paintings, decorative art, wall panels, stone sculptures and metal objects — to be showcased across 65,000 metres of space at the new Parliament building, The Indian Express has learnt. Besides these, the new building’s six entrances exhibit “guardian statues showing auspicious animals”, sources added. These “auspicious animals” have been chosen based on their importance in Indian culture, Vaastu shastra and traits such as wisdom, victory, power and success. “Each animal chosen to be installed in the building possesses a set of affirmations, spreading well-being and harmony,” said the source.

• What is Sanatan Parampara?

• How Mahatma Gandhi defined Sanatan Parampara or Sanatan Dharma?

• What is Central Vista Redevelopment Project?

• Total expenditure on Central Vista Redevelopment Project?

• New Parliament and Central Vista Redevelopment Project-Know the key features

• Why a new Parliament?

• How Central Vista Redevelopment Project will draw the line between creating new heritage and taking care of existing heritage?

• Do You Know-Being built at an estimated cost of Rs 1,200 crore, the building is part of the Central Vista Project, which also includes a joint Central Secretariat, revamp of the Rajpath, a new Prime Minister’s residence, a new Prime Minister’s Office, and a new Vice-President’s enclave.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: How Delhi’s Central Vista redevelopment project is being executed

📍The proposed Central Vista will destroy Delhi’s cultural landscape

GOVT & POLITICS

Under fire, ED says: High conviction rate, politicians are accused in 3% cases

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies II: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

• General Studies III: Money-laundering and its prevention

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Seeking to counter allegations that it is specifically targeting Opposition leaders and using excessive coercive action disproportionate to its low conviction rate, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday released new data which, among other things, claimed that its conviction rate is actually 96 per cent.
It also claimed that raids have been carried out in only about 9 per cent of cases, and incumbent and former elected representatives are accused in less than 3 per cent of cases.

• What the data says?

• For Your Information-According to the data, since 2005, when the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) came into force, the ED has registered 5,906 cases (till January 31, 2023). However, prosecution complaints (equivalent to a chargesheet) have been filed in only 1,142 (19 per cent) cases. Also, only 62 per cent of all the attached assets have been confirmed by the adjudicating authority, with the rest still pending adjudication. The claim on conviction rate makes the ED the best performing central agency – the National Investigation Agency (NIA) claims a conviction rate of 94 per cent, while the CBI claims to have a conviction rate of 68 per cent.

• Why these days the Enforcement Directorate (ED), National Investigation Agency (NIA), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), are in the limelight?

• For your Information-Formed in 1956, the ED became a prime agency following enactment of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2002, implemented from July 1, 2005.

• What was the recent verdict of the Supreme Court (SC), in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) sweeping powers under the PMLA.

• Over the past few years, major amendments in key Acts have given teeth to central agencies-Discuss

• Directorate of Enforcement (ED)-Role and Function

• Enforcement Directorate is a statutory body-True or False?

• Directorate of Enforcement (ED) comes under which Ministry or Organisation?

• The Directorate of Enforcement is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of offence of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws. The statutory functions of the Directorate includes enforcement
of certain acts-What are those acts?

• What makes Enforcement Directorate so powerful?

• The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)-Know key highlights

• The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA)- Know key highlights

• The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA)- Know key highlights

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍ED’s journey from a small enforcement agency to becoming the ‘new CBI’

EXPRESS NETWORK

SCO meet: India invites Defence Minister of Pak

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s Interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-India has invited Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting here in April alongside his counterparts from other member-nations of the grouping. India is the current chair of the eight-nation SCO, and the invite to Asif came after New Delhi invited Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, for an SCO foreign ministerial conclave, to be held in Goa in May.

• Why this is significant?

• Significance-If Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif attends the meeting in person, this will be a rare instance when a Pakistan Defence minister visits India. Military historian Mandeep Bajwa recalled that the last such meeting took place when Pakistan’s then President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto visited India and, together with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, signed the Simla Agreement in July 1972. Bhutto at the time held multiple portfolios, including Defence and Foreign Affairs.

• What is Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?

• What kind of a grouping is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?

• Know the members and observer countries in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

• Map Work-Mark Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member countries with their capital

• Is India a part of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?

• When did India become permanent member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?

• What is the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation for India?

• Under what circumstances did India enter the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation?

• How does membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation help India?

• How does global geopolitics play out for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and India?

• How does it play out in the India-Pakistan or India-China relationship?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍What is the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit?

THE EDITORIAL PAGE

Beijing plays peace-maker

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Shyam Saran Writes: There is little doubt that while India has been successful in expanding its relations with all key actors in West Asia, it has ended up with diminished relations with Iran. It is not in its interest to see China entrench itself in a country that is strategically important, quite apart from being one with which we enjoy long-standing civilisational affinities.

• Saudi Arabia and Iran bilateral relations-know in detail

• Map Work-Saudi Arabia and Iran

• Quick Recall-Saudi Arabia and Iran have announced the restoration of diplomatic ties after four days of previously undisclosed talks in Beijing on Friday (March 10), Reuters reported. The announcement could not only lead to a major realignment in West Asia, it also poses a major geopolitical threat to the United States, with China acting as peace broker for the historic deal.

• Saudi Arabia and Iran have agreed to revive two key agreements they concluded during an earlier phase of positive bilateral relations-What are those two agreements?

• Why relation between these two countries were severed?

• For Your Information-The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran is rooted in Islamic sectarianism. While Iran is the foremost Shia state in the world, Saudi Arabia is considered to be the religious home of Sunni Islam. In modern times, this sectarian rivalry has translated into a tussle for regional hegemony. This has played a role in both sides being involved in multiple proxy conflicts against each other in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and most devastatingly, Yemen.

• Given the plethora of issues that divide Iran and Saudi Arabia, it is pertinent to ask why a deal has suddenly been struck now. What changed?

• China’s desire to be a global diplomatic power-Know China’s role in this particular situation

• The deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran and China brokering it-How it will impacted USA and Israel?

• India has so far avoided commenting on the Iran-Saudi détente-Examine India’s role

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Saudi Arabia, Iran to renew ties: What it means for the world

📍How the Saudi Arabia-Iran deal could affect ongoing Middle East flashpoints

EXPLAINED

Banks that are ‘too big to fail’

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- India remained a safe haven during the global financial crisis triggered by the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, with domestic banks, backed by sound regulatory practices, showing strength and resilience. A decade and a half on, Indian banks remained unaffected by the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in the US last week, despite the global interconnectedness in the financial sector. How safe are banks in India, especially the domestic systemically important banks (D-SIBs) that have operations overseas, in the era of startups and digitisation? Are they indeed “too big to fail”, as is often assumed — especially as ratings major Moody’s issues a fresh warning of more pain ahead for the US banking system after the collapse of SVB?

• What is the Silicon Valley Bank?

• For Your Information- Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) which was founded in 1983, dealt with high-growth, high-risk businesses such as technology startups. The bank offered an easy way for startups in India, especially those in the Software as a Service (SaaS) sector who have a number of US clients, to park their cash — as they could set up accounts without a US Social Security Number or Income Tax Identification Number.

• What is the Silicon Valley Bank crisis?

• What caused Silicon Valley Bank to collapse?

• Why did Silicon Valley Bank fail?

• What happens next?

• Is this a sign that we could repeat what happened in 2008?

• What is the basis for the confidence in the resilience of Indian banks?

• How does RBI select D-SIBs?

• Why was it felt important to create SIBs?

• What is the need to take these precautions?

• Do You Know-RBI has classified SBI, ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank as D-SIBs. The additional Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) requirement for D-SIBs was phased-in from April 1, 2016, and became fully effective from April 1, 2019. The additional CET1 requirement was in addition to the capital conservation buffer. It means that these banks have to earmark additional capital and provisions to safeguard their operations. Under the D-SIB framework announced by RBI on July 22, 2014, the central bank was required, from 2015, to disclose the names of banks designated as D-SIBs, and to place them in appropriate buckets depending upon their Systemic Importance Scores (SISs). Depending on the bucket in which a D-SIB is placed, an additional common equity requirement is applicable to it.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Start-ups make a beeline for Gift City to move money after SVB collapse

PRE-ARREST BAIL

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The Supreme Court on Tuesday (March 14) agreed to hear a petition filed by the Karnataka Lokayukta, a state body empowered to deal with corruption complaints against public servants, challenging a Karnataka High Court order granting pre-arrest bail to the BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa, who was also serving as the chairman of the Public Sector Undertaking Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL).

• How did the matter reach the Supreme Court?

• What is pre-arrest bail?

• When can anticipatory bail be granted?

• What are the conditions for granting anticipatory bail?

• Why is the Lokayukta seeking action against the MLA?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Karnataka: BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa moves HC for anticipatory bail in KSDL bribery case

THE WORLD

Holding joint naval exercises with Russia, Iran this week, says China

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Naval forces from China, Iran and Russia — all countries at varying degrees of odds with the United States — are staging joint drills in the Gulf of Oman this week, China’s Defence Ministry has announced.

• What is “Security Bond-2023” exercise?

• Why Security Bond-2023 exercise?

• Map Work-Gulf of Oman

• How USA and India responded?

• Why this exercise is significant?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍France-led multinational naval exercise underway in Indian Ocean region

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