Current Affairs for UPSC IAS

In a recent Judgment, the Supreme Court observed that any attempt of ‘booth capturing and/or bogus voting’ should be dealt with iron hands as such activity ultimately affects the ‘rule of law and democracy’.

The Supreme Court recently issued a notice to the Centre on the use of Section 66A of the IT Act that was scrapped several years ago and said that it is shocking that the judgment striking down the law has not been implemented even now.

In a historic move, a separate ‘Ministry of Co-operation’ has been created by the government for realizing the vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’. This ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.

NITI Aayog recently released a comprehensive study on the not-for-profit hospital model in the country, in a step towards closing the information gap on such institutions and facilitating robust policymaking in this area. 

Calling One Nation One Ration Card “an important citizen-centric reform”, the Supreme Court has set a deadline of July 31 for all states to implement the scheme and further noted that “its implementation ensures availability of ration to beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other welfare schemes.

The Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and promote formalization of the sector, marks the completion of its one year.

In less than a week, two Supreme Court judges hailing from Kolkata have now withdrawn themselves from two politically sensitive cases involving the state government.

Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti has urged his fellow legislators by writing individual letters to support the ongoing 'Catch The Rain Campaign' under National Water Mission during the monsoon season.

The Supreme Court, in 'Vinod Dua', has held that every journalist is entitled to protection from sedition as defined in the Kedar Nath judgment. A national consensus on the removal of the provision is called for.

The Supreme Court recently remarked the process of registration of migrant workers is “very slow” and it must be expedited so that benefit of various schemes can be extended to them amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Well into the COVID-19 situation in India, the Government of India set up a National Expert Group on ‘One Health’ as a multi-sectoral, transdisciplinary, collaborative group.

The move recognised that several recent human pandemics, including COVID-19, influenzas (H1N1, H7N9) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) have animal origins, and that a One Health approach has long been advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Organisation of Animal Health (OIE).

The Supreme Court has warned the law enforcement agencies that there can be no clampdown on citizens right to communicate their grievances on social media platforms regarding COVID-19, otherwise it will be treated as contempt of court.