FAQ

The five Judge bench of the Supreme Court of India headed by the Chief Justice of India Justice U. U Lalit upheld the constitutional validity of the 103rd constitutional amendment 2019 which provided for 10% reservation in public employment and educational institutions for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) of society. The five Judge bench gave its 3:2 majority verdict on 7 November 2022.

Background to the case 

Indian constitution provides for reservation for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward classes in Public employment as per article 15 and in government educational institutions as per article 16 of the constitution.

To provide reservation to the poor of the unreserved section of the society, the government amended the constitution through 103 amendment 2019.

Main provision of the amendment  

• It inserted section 6 in article 15 of the constitution  to provide for 10% reservation for the EWS in public employment.(Public employment means  jobs provided by the Central government or  ,State government , central or state government enterprises or local bodies like municipality or panchayat )
• It inserted section 6 in the article 16 to provide for 10% reservation for the EWS in government educational institutions. It empowered the government to provide reservation in all educational institutions including private, whether aided or unaided except minority educational institutions as mentioned in article 30(1) .
• Aided private educational institutions means educational institutions receiving funds or other help from the government and unaided means they are not receiving any kind of help from the government.
• These 10% reservations will be in addition to the already existing reservation for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward classes. 
• The act gives the central government power to lay down the criteria for determining EWS.

Janhit Abhiyan and 32 others Vs Union of India 2019

The 103rd constitutional amendment 2019 was challenged in the Supreme Court by various petitions. The court clubbed all the petition together under the Janhit Abhiyan and 32 others  Vs Union of India 2019 case.

The main issues that were raised were as follows:

• Can reservations be granted solely on the basis of economic criteria?
• Can States (government) provide reservations in private educational institutions which do not receive government aid?
• Are EWS reservations constitutionally invalid for excluding Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and Socially and Economically Backward Classes from its scope?
• Providing 10% reservation to EWS will breach the Supreme Court judgement that total reservation shall not be more than 50% and does it not violate the basic structure of the constitution?

Judgement of the court 

The five member bench of Chief Justice U. U Lalit, Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice S. Ravindra Bhatt, Justice B.M. Trivedi and Justice J.B. Pardiwala gave a split verdict.

Justice Dinesh Maheshwari, Justice B.M. Trivedi and Justice J.B. Pardiwala upheld the constitutional amendment while Justice U.U Lalit and Justice S. Ravindra Bhatt struck down the act.

Majority Judgement 

• The majority judgement in the case upheld the provision of the 103 constitutional amendment and held it does not violate the basic structure of the constitution.
• The EWS reservation does not violate the basic structure of the constitution by exceeding the 50% quota limit because the quota limit itself was flexible.
• It upheld reservation provision in private educational institutions as the private educational does use the community resources hence the government can provide for reservation in these institutions.

Minority Judgement 

The Chief Justice of India U. U Lalit and Justice Ravindra Bhatt gave the minority judgement.

•  They declared the constitutional amendment as violative of the basic structure of the constitution as it excluded the poor amongst the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, in the definition of the EWS. 
• It was against the principle of equality as mentioned in the constitution which is a basic structure of the constitution..
• However they agreed that reservation can be provided on the economic criteria. 

According to a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs on 14 September 2022,President  Droupadi Murmu will represent the government of India at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

She will be visiting  London, United Kingdom on 17-19 September 2022.

The 96 year old Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom died at her remote Highlands residence, Balmoral, in Scotland on 8 September 2022.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will launch Rakta Daan Amrit Mahotsav, a countrywide mega campaign for voluntary blood donation from September 17 to October 1 this year.

October 1 is celebrated as National Voluntary Blood Donation Day.

Purpose of Blood Donation Amrit Festival

According to the Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, the government plans to set up a database of eligible voluntary blood donors through voluntary blood donation drive across the country.

According to the minister the objective of the campaign is to raise awareness about the need for regular non-remunerative voluntary blood donation.

Apart from filling the existing capacity of blood banks in the country, this campaign will also help in building up the stock of blood donors in the country.

According to the government, in the year 2021, India had 1.25 crore units of blood against the demand of 1.46 crore units. One unit contains 350 ml of blood.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge ) for  Science and Technology  Dr Jitendra Singh has said that India's first human space-flight mission Gaganyaan is expected to be launched in 2024.

He said that the government had planned the human space flight in 2022 itself to commemorate the 75 years of Independence but due to Covid it couldn't be completed.

The first test flight of the mission is expected this year. The first test flight will be followed by sending a female-looking spacefaring humanoid robot — Vyom Mitra — in outer space likely next year,

Gaganyaan Mission 

• The Gaganyaan mission was announced by the Prime Minister in his independence day speech in 2018 with a budget of Rs 10,000 crore.
• Four Indian Air Force pilots have been identified as crew for the mission who are undergoing training in Russia.
• Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO) intends to send at least 2 astronauts in low earth orbit in 2024.

Human Space Flight 

• At present only three countries, the United States, Russia and China have the capability to launch manned space missions.
• The first person to go into space was Yury Gagarin of the Soviet Union on 12 April 1961 onboard the Vostok Rocket.
• The first woman to go into space was Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union on 16 June 1963  onboard the Vostok 6 Rocket.
• Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma is the only Indian to go into space. He was part of the Soviet mission aboard Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984. 
• Humans who travel in space are called astronauts. The Chinese call them Taikonauts and the Russians call them Cosmonauts.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) 

• It was set up on 15 August 1969
• It is India's national space agency.
• Headquarters: Bengaluru
• Chairman: S. Somanath

NITI Aayog on 14 September 2022 hosted the first Shoonya Forum to commemorate the first anniversary of India’s zero pollution e-mobility campaign in Delhi.

Important Facts

• On the occasion, over 25 zero partners announced their commitment.
• The partners pledged to accelerate India's clean mobility story with electric vehicles to improve air quality for Indian citizens.
• A three-report series highlighting the economic opportunities presented to India by an indigenous battery industry was released during the event.
• Amitabh Kant, G-20 Sherpa and former CEO of NITI Aayog, said that the "Zero campaign is an effective collaboration between industry, government and citizens that is helping electric mobility in India".

Shoonya initiative

NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India launched the Shoonya Campaign in September 2021.

It promotes zero-pollution delivery vehicles by working with consumers and industry. 

The campaign aims to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in the urban delivery segment and create consumer awareness about the benefits of zero-pollution.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi is set to become the Attorney General of India again. He is set to begin his second term as the country's top law officer from October 1.

Important facts

• Current Attorney General KK Venugopal's term ends on 30 September 2022.
• 91-year-old Venugopal was appointed as the 15th Attorney General of the country on June 30, 2017, replacing Mukul Rohatgi.
• Rohatgi was the Attorney General for the Bhartiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government between 2014 and 2017.
• Mukul Rohatgi is the son of former Delhi High Court judge, Justice Awadh Behari Rohatgi.
• Rohatgi completed his law studies at Government Law College, Mumbai and started practicing law.
• He was nominated as Senior Advocate by the Delhi High Court in 1993 and later as Additional Solicitor General of India in 1999.

Attorney General of India

• The Attorney General of India is the top legal officer in the country.
• He/She is assisted by 2 Solicitor Generals & 4 Additional Solicitor Generals.
• According to the Constitution of India, Article 76 deals with the Attorney General of India and Article 165 deals with the Advocate General of the States.
• Appointment - By President 

Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA) , an apex industry body of digital infrastructure providers will host  its Annual Flagship Event on 14 September  2022 at the New Delhi .The event is said to be the biggest event of Telecom industry of the year 2022.

The event is being organised by DIPA with the support of the Department of Telecommunications .

The Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw will be the Chief Guest  and the  Minister of State for Communications, Shri Devusinh Chauhan will be the Guest of Honour.

Theme of the Event 2022 

The theme of the event is :  “Gati Shakti vision for 5G & Beyond”.

The Supreme Court on 13 September 2022 has ruled that the right to contest an election is neither a fundamental right nor a common law right but a right conferred by statute. It was giving its ruling on a Special Leave petition filed by Mr Vishwanath Pratap Singh challenging Delhi High Court judgment which had dismissed a similar petition.

Vishwanath Pratap Singh Vs Election Commission of India 2022

The petitioner Vishwanath Pratap Singh wanted to contest the Rajya Sabha election to be held in June 2022. He said he had collected the nomination form but was not allowed by the Election Commission to file his nomination without a proper proposer proposing his name.

The petitioner claimed that since his candidature without the proposer was not accepted, his fundamental right to free speech and expression and his right to personal liberty was infringed.

The Delhi High Court had in its Judgment dismissed his petition that his fundamental right was infringed.

Supreme Court Judgment 

A two judge bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and Sudhanshu Dhulia while  referring to earlier judgments viz Javed v. State of Haryana, (2003) and Rajbala v. State of Haryana (2016) , dismissing his plea observed that the right to contest election was neither a fundamental right nor a common law right. It is a right conferred by a statute."

The bench noted that the petitioner did not have any right to contest election to the Rajya Sabha in terms of the law made by Parliament.

 The Court said that "The Representation of People Act, 1950 read with the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 has contemplated the name of a candidate to be proposed while filling the nomination form,".

"Therefore, an individual cannot claim that he has a right to contest an election and the said stipulation violates his fundamental right, so as to file his nomination without any proposer as is required under the Act," the bench observed.

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition with a cost of ₹ one lakh and said the cost be paid to the Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee within four weeks.

According to GMR, the company will now focus on high-growth opportunities. It will now use the capital to invest in the Kualanamu International Airport in Medan, Indonesia. The Kualanamu International Airport is being developed and operated by GMR Airports International.

Cebu International Airport 

It is the second largest Airport in the Philippines after the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Manila.

In 2014, GMR Infrastructure in partnership with Megawide Construction Corporation of the Philippines won the bid to operate and develop the  Mactan Cebu International Airport. 

Both the Megawide Construction company and GMR are selling their stake to Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc of the Philippines.

Currency of Philippines: Philippine pesos

GMR 

GMR Airports International BV (GAIBV) is a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Ltd 

GMR Group operates the IGI Delhi International Airport,  Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport and Bidar Airport in  (Karnataka).

It is building a greenfield airport at Mopa in North Goa and an International Greenfield Airport at Bhogapuram, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh.

It is the only Indian company to develop and operate an International foreign airport. It is developing airports in Indonesia, Greece.

The GMR group was founded by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao. It is in the business of Infrastructure, Energy, transportation etc.

According to a news report published by Bloomberg, India has overtaken the United Kingdom to become the 5th  largest economy in the world.

India is now ranked behind the United States, China , Japan and Germany .

 Main  highlights of the Bloomberg Report 

According to Bloomberg , the Indian economy overtook the United Kingdom economy at the end of December 2021.

According to Bloomberg at the end of March 2022, the Indian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was  $854.7 billion while the United Kingdom GDP was $$816 billion.

Gap between Indian and United Kingdom economy to grow 

Bloomberg expects the gap between the Indian and United Kingdom economy to grow in future .

The United Kingdom is facing the fastest inflation in four decades and rising risks of a recession that the Bank of England(Central Bank of the United Kingdom) says may last well into 2024. 

The United Kingdom economy has contracted by 0.1% in the  second quarter (April-June) of 2022.

On the contrary, India's economy is likely to grow by over 7% this year and it is expected to be one of the fastest growing economies in the world .

What is recession 

When there is a negative growth in the economy for the two consecutive quarters then the economy is in recession. 

Recession leads to large scale closure of factories, loss of employment , increase in unemployment ,poverty and spread in  social and political unrest in the country.