Haryana Cabinet nod for anti-conversion Bill
Context: The Haryana Cabinet approved the draft of the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2022, which seeks to prohibit religious conversion effected through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage or for marriage, by making it an offence. Relevance: GS-II: Social Justice and Governance (Government […]
Freedom of religion and attire
Context: After six students were banned from entering a college in Karnataka’s Udupi district for wearing a hijab last month, the row over whether educational institutions can impose a strict dress code that could interfere with rights of students has spilled to other colleges in the state. The issue throws up legal questions on reading the freedom of religion […]
Dilution of Lokayukta Powers in Kerala
Context: Recently, the Kerala government has proposed to amend the Kerala Lokayukta Act, 1999 with an ordinance, a move that has drawn criticism from the opposition. The proposed ordinance envisages to limit the powers of the anti-corruption watchdog. Relevance: GS-II: Polity and Governance (Constitutional and Non-Constitutional Bodies, Policies and Interventions on Transparency and Accountability in governance) Dimensions of […]
Assam-Arunachal Pradesh Border Dispute
Context: Arunachal Pradesh, which was earlier a part of Assam, shares a boundary of roughly 800 km with the state—with frequent flare-ups reported along the border since the 1990s.. While the flashpoint this time was the ongoing construction of the Likabali-Durpai road being built under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), the boundary dispute […]
Electoral bonds
Context: Electoral bonds worth ₹1,213 crore were sold by the State Bank of India (SBI) in January, with most of them (₹784.84 crore) being encashed in the New Delhi branch, pointing towards national parties, while the Mumbai branch sold the most (₹489.6 crore worth), according to a Right to Information. Relevance: GS-II: Polity and Governance […]
Separation of Power and Independence of Judiciary for UPSC Exam
Relevance: GS Paper 2: Separation of Powers (between different organs, dispute redressal mechanisms, institutions); Judiciary (structure, organisation functioning) Mains Questions: Do you think that constitution of India does not accept principle of strict separation of powers rather it is based on the principle of ‘checks and balance’? Explain. 15 marks The judiciary is the important […]
Comparison of Indian Constitution with British constitution for UPSC Exam
FEATURE BRITISH INDIAN Nature Unwritten Written Constitution and lengthiest Amendability Flexible and can be amended by 50% of the members present and voting Hybrid of Rigid and flexible DPSP and Duties Absent Present Origin Seen evolutionary development and not formed by a constituent assembly Was formed by constituent assembly Federalism Unitary in character – All […]
Indian constitution vs USA constitution for UPSC Exam
While American Constitution is the shortest (of any major government in the world) and the first written constitution, India’s Constitution is the lengthiest written constitution in the World. FEATURE INDIA USA Adopted 26th November 1949 17th July 1787 Nature Quasi – federal and works on cooperative federalism Truly federal – the Centre and state are […]
Union territories in India for UPSC Exam
Under Article 1 of the Constitution, the territory of India comprises three categories of territories: (a) Territories of the states (b) Union territories (c) Territories that may be acquired by the Government of India at any time. At present, there are Eight union territories and no acquired territories. The union territories are those areas which […]
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRIVATE AND GOVERNMENT BILLS IN PARLIAMENT
While a government Bill can be introduced and discussed on any day, a private member’s bill can only be introduced and discussed on Fridays. A private member’s Bill is different from a government Bill and is piloted by an MP who is not a minister Individual MPs may introduce private member’s Bill to draw the […]