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Complying with the directions of the Supreme Court, the State Bank of India (SBI) evening handed over data pertaining to the purchase and redemption of electoral bonds to the Election Commission.
According to sources, a senior officer of the poll panel received the data in “digital” form from representatives of the bank.
However, it is not known whether the information includes a unique bond number for each purchase and redemption.
Sources indicated that Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, who is away on a visit to Jammu and Kashmir, instructed the officers not to review the data until the poll panel completes its visit by Wednesday night. Kumar is expected to return late Wednesday night.
Express Network
Why does statute not say clearly only Parliament has power to impose tax on minerals (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
The states are denuded of power to levy taxes on mines and minerals under the Constitution as the field is taken over by the Centre by virtue of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act.
A nine-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was told by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for mining companies, that the 1989 verdict in India Cements case which held that royalty is tax is correct in law.
Once the field of mining and levies including taxes on mining are taken over by the Centre (which they in fact are, by virtue of the MMDR Act, 1957 as confirmed in Orissa Cement (1990 verdict) and Mahanadi Coalfields (1994 verdict)), the states stand denuded of their powers under both Entries 23 as well as 50 of List 2.
The bench, also comprising Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, BV Nagarathna, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma and Augustine George Masih, is considering the contentious question as to whether the royalty collected by the Centre on mining leases can be considered as tax, as held by a seven-judge bench in 1989.
The top court has been interpreting the interplay between various entries provided for under the Constitution related to mines and minerals.
Editorial
Welcome all (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
While some people associated with the ruling party and government have announced that once the magic figure of 400 MPs is reached the Constitution will be amended, others have denied it.
Regardless of this agenda, the dramatic pre-election announcement of the Rules under the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 as the fulfilment of a poll promise furthers the resolve of the government to undermine India’s constitutional secularism.
Four years after the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, on the cusp of the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls, the Union government notified the Rules framed thereunder laying down the procedure for granting of citizenship under the Act.
The Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, have given rise to celebrations on the one hand and calls for a stay of the implementation of the CAA 2019, pending the Supreme Court’s decision, on the other.
Wisdom lies in staying the implementation of the Act since once citizenship is granted it is difficult to restore the status quo ante. Citizenship, after all, is the right to have rights — including the right to vote — which will have been exercised.
Express Network
Guidelines to curb unethical pharma sector practices out (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
In its latest guidelines to prevent unethical pharma industry practices that can influence healthcare professionals, the Union government has allowed firms to arrange medical education workshops and provide research grants for healthcare professionals, provided these are done in a transparent manner.
The guidelines prohibit companies from conducting continued medical education (CME) workshops in foreign countries.
Companies must also share details of such workshops on their website, including the expenditure they incurred. The firms “may be subject to independent, random, or risk-based audit”.
Govt: Lab to monitor sea water quality testbed to track monsoon systems inaugurated (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
India commissioned the atmospheric testbed facility near Bhopal. The testbed, works of which began in early 2018, is equipped with high-end instruments to record several vital parameters that will be fed into improving the weather models besides facilitating advanced studies on the Indian monsoons.
Kiren Rijiju, Minister, Earth Sciences, on Tuesday virtually inaugurated the first phase of the Atmospheric Research Testbed in Central India (ART-CI) in Sehore district, located about 50km northwest of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
He also inaugurated the Coastal Research Laboratory (CRL) established in Visakhapatnam’s Dolphin’s Nose area.
Economy
EFTA pact: India can withdraw tariff concessions temporarily, 9.5% growth rider on investment (Page no. 19)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The $100-billion investment commitment made by the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) hinges on multiple factors, including a projection that India’s annual nominal GDP growth clocks a 9.5 per cent rate in dollar terms over the next 15 years, according to the fine print of the deal.
The official text of the deal with the bloc of Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein notes that India can rebalance concessions if the committed foreign direct investments (FDI) do not come in, but only “temporarily”. The rebalancing on tariffs can also only happen after 18 years following multiple levels of consultations.
Trade experts said the remedial measure of withdrawing tariff concessions could be difficult to implement since it’s the private sector from the four-nation bloc, not the government, that will invest in India and there is no concrete legal obligation on what qualifies as investment promotion.
But government officials say tariff certainty is necessary to attract investments and build confidence among private investors.
Explained
CAA Rules, unpacked (Page no. 21)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
The Centre (March 11) notified Rules for The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), paving the way for the implementation of the controversial law more than four years after it was passed by Parliament in December 2019.
The CAA will benefit thousands of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014, and seek citizenship of India. This group of people has been living in India illegally or on long-term visas (LTV).
The CAA aims to give citizenship to the target group of migrants even if they do not have valid travel documents as mandated in The Citizenship Act, 1955.
The CAA presumes that members of these communities who entered India faced religious persecution in these countries. The law has also cut the period of citizenship by naturalisation from 11 years to five.
Under the CAA Rules, immigrants from these countries are only supposed to prove the country of their origin, their religion, the date of their entry into India, and the knowledge of an Indian language to apply for Indian citizenship.
Fighting warming: When gases are contraband (Page no. 21)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The average global sea surface temperature (SST) — the temperature of the water at the ocean surface — for February 2024 stood at 21.06 degree Celsius, the highest ever in a dataset that goes back to 1979, the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on March 5. The previous record of 20.98 degree Celsius was set in August 2023.
Since March 2023, the average daily SST has been off the charts. Look at the graph below. While the orange line shows 2023’s temperatures, other grey lines track temperatures of previous years. The solid back line represents where we are so far in 2024 and it is way above any other previous year, including 2023.
GI tag for Assam’s Majauli masks : History of the art form (Page no. 21)
(GS Paper 1, Art and Culture)
Adding to their growing national and international recognition, the traditional Majuli masks in Assam were given a Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Centre. Majuli manuscript painting also got the GI label.
A GI tag is conferred upon products originating from a specific geographical region, signifying unique characteristics and qualities. Essentially, it serves as a trademark in the international market.
Majuli, the largest river island in the world and the seat of Assam’s neo-Vaishnavite tradition, has been home to the art of mask-making since the 16th century. Today, many of its traditional practitioners are working to take the art out of their traditional place in sattras, or monasteries, and give them a new, contemporary life.
The handmade masks are traditionally used to depict characters in bhaonas, or theatrical performances with devotional messages under the neo-Vaishnavite tradition, introduced by the 15th-16th century reformer saint Srimanta Sankardeva.
The masks can depict gods, goddesses, demons, animals and birds — Ravana, Garuda, Narasimha, Hanuman, Varaha Surpanakha all feature among the masks.