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 […]
SIX YEARS ON LOKPAL IS A NONSTARTER
The massive public campaign in 2011 demanding an independent anti-corruption ombudsman resulted in the passage of the Lokpal law. The preambular statement of The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 notes that the law has been enacted to ensure prompt and fair investigation and prosecution in cases of corruption against public servants. The Lokpal was envisioned […]
RESERVATION AS RIGHT : ON SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT
Why in news? Recent Supreme Court judgment, that there is no fundamental right to claim reservation in promotions, has caused some political alarm. The state is not bound to provide reservations, but if it does so, it must be in favour of sections that are backward and inadequately represented in the services based on quantifiable data. […]
VICTIM JUSTICE IS TWO STEPS FORWARD, ONE STEP BACK
In 1996, the 154th Law Commission Report suggested a paradigm shift in India’s criminal justice system towards a victim-centric notion of justice. The Code of Criminal Procedure(Amendment) Act, 2009 partially accepted this suggestion and granted some rights to the victims of crime. The Act introduced victims’ right to a private counsel under Section 24(8). International […]
COURSE CORRECTION FOR THE SPEAKER’S OFFICE
Why in news? Recently, the Supreme Court of India while adjudicating upon the matter relating to the disqualification of MLAs in the Manipur Legislative Assembly under the Tenth Schedule made a significant suggestion. It recommended that Parliament should rethink as to whether disqualification petitions ought to be entrusted to a Speaker as a quasi-judicial authority when […]
NEED OF THE HOUR: PROTEST AND CAA
Why in news? As protests continue to ripple in many parts of the country against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, or the CAA, the National Population Register (NPR) and allied issues, their nature, content and direction have drawn critical attention The discriminatory CAA targets Muslims, but the protests were driven by the wider civil society at […]
THE NEED FOR A SECOND CHAMBER: BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE
Introduction The Rajya Sabha came into being on April 3, 1952, and had undergone severe prenatal scrutiny in the Constituent Assembly. History of Formation of Bicameral Structure in India The central legislature that came into being under the Government of India Act, 1919 was bicameral with a Council of States and a Legislative Assembly. The membership and […]
DO NUMBERS MATTER IN RAJYA SABHA?
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha: Cooperation in Divergent Composition The Indian Constitution provides for parity of powers between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in law, making an exception in some cases. The Money Bill or Finance Bills can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha which only can approve the Demands for Grants. The Rajya Sabha […]