The Hindu News Paper Analysis | 26th August’ 22

Suspense in Jharkhand as CM Soren may face disqualification –

• • The law does not clearly define what constitutes an office of profit but the definition has evolved over the years with interpretations made in various court judgments.
  • An office of profit has been interpreted to be a position that brings to the office-holder some financial gain, or advantage, or benefit.
    • The amount of such profit is immaterial.
  • In 1964, the Supreme Court ruled that the test for determining whether a person holds an office of profit is the test of appointment.
• Factors which are considered in this determination includes:
  • Whether the government is the appointing authority
  • Whether the government has the power to terminate the appointment
  • Whether the government determines the remuneration
  • What is the source of remuneration
  • Power that comes with the position
• Under Article 102 (1) and Article 191 (1) of the Constitution, an MP or an MLA (or an MLC) is barred from holding any office of profit under the central or state government.
  • The articles clarify that “a person shall not be deemed to hold an office of profit under the government of India or the government of any state by reason only that he is a minister”.
• Provisions of Articles 102 and 191 also protect a legislator occupying a government position if the office in question has been made immune to disqualification by law.
• Parliament has also enacted the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, which has been amended several times to expand the exempted list.

Malware found in 5 phones, no proof it’s Pegasus: panel

• Pegasus:
  It is a type of malicious software or malware classified as a spyware.
  • It is designed to gain access to devices, without the knowledge of users, and gather personal information and relay it back to whoever it is that is using the software to spy.
• Pegasus has been developed by the Israeli firm NSO Group that was set up in 2010.
• The earliest version of Pegasus discovered, which was captured by researchers in 2016, infected phones through what is called spear-phishing – text messages or emails that trick a target into clicking on a malicious link.
• Since then, however, NSO’s attack capabilities have become more advanced. Pegasus infections can be achieved through so-called “zero-click” attacks, which do not require any interaction from the phone’s owner in order to succeed.
• For Pegasus-like spyware to be used lawfully, the government would have to invoke both the IT Act and the Telegraph Act. Communication surveillance in India takes place primarily under two laws:

1. Telegraph Act, 1885: It deals with interception of calls.
2. Information Technology Act, 2000: It was enacted to deal with surveillance of all electronic communication, following the Supreme Court’s intervention in 1996.

• Budapest Convention: There also exists Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. However, India is not a signatory to this convention.

Freebies’, a judicial lead and a multi-layered issue

• When this debate began to go astray, it needed a strong reminder by the Supreme Court of India that in the on-going debate on subsidies and “freebies”, a distinction had to be made between expenditure made on social welfare schemes and “irrational freebies” offered to voters during elections.

Rainbow of Hope

• The T.N. government, on the orders of the Madras High Court, has come out with a glossary of terms to address people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual or of any other orientation.
• The Department of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment notified the terms — paal pudhumaiyar for queer; maruviya paalinam for a transgender; idaippaal for intersex; paalina adaiyaalangaludan oththupogaathavar for a gender non-conforming person and so forth.
• In 2018, a Bench of the Supreme Court had overturned a 2013 ruling and decriminalised homosexuality. But the landmark judgment was only a first step.
• Yogyakarta Principles recognise freedom of sexual orientation and gender identity as part of Human Rights. They were outlined in 2006 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia by a distinguished group of International Human Right experts.

Should India change its policy on the Rohingya?

• India’s record on refugee protections is actually quite exemplary. We have often referred to India when we speak to other governments, because starting with the Tibetans, Sri Lankans, Afghans, Bhutanese and even people from Myanmar, India has hosted hundreds of thousands of refugees. Even though India will argue often that it has not signed the UN Refugee Convention, there has been a particularly humane approach.

Citing Border Pacts, china object to India- US Drills

• According to reports, the upcoming 15th edition of the “Yudh Abhyas” joint exercise is expected to take place next month in a high-altitude area in Uttarakhand less than 100 km from the LAC.

Important Yudh Abhyas

Govt. limits wheat flour export to curb price rise

• The Central government has decided to restrict the export of wheat flour in order to curb the rising prices of the commodity and ensure food security of the most vulnerable sections of society.
• The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will issue a notification to this effect, a government release said.
• The decision is taken against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. The Centre said both the countries are the major exporters of wheat, accounting for around one-fourth of the global wheat trade and the conflict between them led to the global wheat supply chain disruptions increasing demand of Indian wheat.
• “The price of wheat in domestic market showed an increase. In order to ensure food security of 1.4 billion people, the decision was taken to put a prohibition on export of wheat in May,” the release said.
• The Centre said due to the prohibition on export of wheat, the demand for wheat flour has increased in foreign markets and its exports have registered a growth of 200% during April-July 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
• “The increased demand for wheat flour in international market led to price rise of it in domestic market,” the release added.

Aircraft Carrier Vikrant to be commissioned on September 2

• Commissioning of the country’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier Vikrant will enhance peace, security and stability in the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific Region, the Vice-Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral S.N. Ghormade, said on Thursday.

Mains Practice Questions

• Why is Universal Basic Insurance is a better proposition than Universal Basic Income? Explain. (150 words)
• यूनिवर्सल बेसिक इन्शुरन्स यूनिवर्सल बेसिक इनकम से बेहतर प्रस्ताव क्यों है? समझाना। (150 शब्द)

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