21 September 2024, The Indian Express
Bombay HC strikes down Centre’s Fact Check Unit: Unconstitutional
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GS2- Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive
- In a setback to the Centre, the Bombay High Court Friday struck down as “unconstitutional” the amended IT rules that empower the Government to identify “fake news” on social media platforms through a Fact Check Unit (FCU).
- Following a split verdict on pleas challenging the amended rules by a two-judge division bench on January 31, a third judge, Justice Atul S Chandurkar, gave the deciding opinion on the matter and held that the rule was “ultra vires”, or beyond the powers, of the IT Act.
Collegium not search panel, give report on status of pending names, SC tells Govt
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GS2- Appointment to various Constitutional posts; organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary
- UNDERLINING THAT the Collegium is not a “search committee”, the Supreme Court on Friday asked Attorney General R Venkataramani to submit a report on the status of the names that were reiterated for appointment as Judges but were yet to be cleared by the Centre.
- “You come out with a chart and tell us what is the status of each of the recommendations which has been reiterated by
India formally joins International Big Cat Alliance
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Prelims Syllabus- Environment Current Affairs
- India has formally joined the International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), which it launched in 2023. After an approval from the Union Cabinet, India signed and ratified the framework on Thursday, read an official release.
- Four nations, including India, Nicaragua, Eswatini and Somalia, have become the IBCA members now. In April 2023, PM Narendra Modi had launched the IBCA with an aim to secure the future of big cats and their landscapes.
A new White Revolution: where India stands, where it aims to be
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GS3- Economics of animal-rearing
- Operation Flood, launched in 1970, ushered in the White Revolution and transformed the dairy sector in India. On Thursday, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah announced plans for “White Revolution 2.0”. What is the big picture currently in India’s dairy sector, and what is the objective of the government’s new initiative?
- The idea of White Revolution 2.0 revolves around cooperative societies, which were also the bedrock of Operation Flood five decades ago.
How Starlink Satellites are ‘blinding’ astronomers
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GS3- Awareness in the fields of Space
- Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites are impeding the work of astronomers, a study published on Wednesday in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics found.
- Currently, the Starlink “constellation” comprises more than 6,300 working satellites orbiting Earth at an altitude of around 550 km. These satellites deliver high-speed internet to places which otherwise would not have access to it.
HC’s ‘Fact Check Unit’ order
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GS2- Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive
- The Bombay High Court on Friday struck down as unconstitutional a key provision of the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021 which empowered the government to identify “fake news” on social media platforms through a “Fact Check Unit” (FCU).
- In a 99-page ruling, Justice Atul S Chandurkar sided with the opinion delivered in January this year by Justice Gautam S Patel, leading to what is now essentially a 2-1 verdict. A two-judge Bench of Justices Patel, who has since retired, and Neela Gokhale, had delivered a split verdict in the case. Justice Patel had struck down the amended rules; Justice Gokhale had upheld them.
All about Sri Lanka presidential election, why India is watching closely
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GS2- Effect of politics of developing countries on India’s interests
- Sri Lanka will vote to elect a new president on Saturday (September 21) in the country’s first election since the mass protests of 2022 that led to the ouster of the unpopular Rajapaksas from power. (Brothers Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa were prime minister and president respectively).
- The protests were sparked by Sri Lanka’s worst ever economic crisis that saw inflation touch 70%, and a crippling scarcity of basic necessities such as food, cooking gas, and medicines. Things are better now but a full recovery is still a while away.
FATF report on India and the significance of the observations
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GS3- Money-laundering and its prevention
- The global money laundering and terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) came out with the Mutual Evaluation Report for India on Thursday. While India gained comfort from being placed in the regular follow-up category, the FATF flagged certain areas for improvement: the need to strengthen prosecution in money laundering (ML) and terror financing (TF) cases, protecting the non-profit sector from terrorist abuse, and supervision and implementation of preventive measures.
- The FATF is the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. The Paris-based intergovernmental organisation was formed in 1989 as a G7 initiative to examine and develop measures to combat money laundering. In 2001, the FATF expanded its mandate to also combat terrorist financing.
