polity

Registration of birth, death by Aadhaar authentication allowed

Context: According to the notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs’, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has allowed the office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner established under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to perform Aadhaar authentication for such registration. Authentication process however is not mandatory.

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About Birth and Death Registration in India

  • History of Civil Registration System (CRS) in India dates to the middle of 19th century. 
  • In 1886, a Central Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act was promulgated to provide for voluntary registration throughout British India. 
  • Post-independence, Registration of Births and Death Act was enacted in 1969 to promote uniformity and comparability in registration of Births & Deaths across India and compilation of vital statistics.    
  • Registration of birth, death & still birth is mandatory.
  • Registrar General, India at Union Government coordinates and unifies activities of registrations.    
  • Implementation of RBD Act is vested with State Governments. 
  • Registration of births and deaths is done by functionaries appointed by State Governments. 
  • Directorate of Census Operations are sub-ordinate offices of Office of Registrar General, India and these offices are responsible of monitoring of the Act in their concerned State/UT.         
  • Under Section 3(3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, the Registrar-General may issue general directions regarding registration of births and deaths in the territories to which this Act extends, and shall take steps to co-ordinate and unify the activities of Chief Registrars in the matter of registration of births and deaths and submit to the Central Government an annual report on the working of this Act in the said territories.
  • Under Section 7(1) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, State Government may appoint a Registrar for each local area comprising the area within the jurisdiction of a municipality, panchayat or other local authority or any other area or a combination of any two or more of them. The State Government may also appoint in the case of a municipality, panchayat, or other local authority, any officer or other employee thereof as a Registrar.  

 What changes has been allowed to facilitate Aadhaar Authentication?

  • According to the gazette notification, the Registrar appointed under Section 7(1) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 shall be allowed to perform Yes or No Aadhaar authentication, on voluntary basis, for verification of Aadhaar number being collected along with other details as sought in the reporting forms of births or deaths. 
  • The purpose of the authentication is to establish the identity of child, parent and the informant in case of births, and of the parent, spouse and the informant in case of deaths during registration of births or deaths.      
  • The State government and Union territory administration shall adhere to the guidelines with respect to the use of Aadhaar authentication as laid down by MeitY.
  • Authentication process though not mandatory, aims to promote ease of living and better access to services based as per the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules 2020.             

The Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules 2020

  • The Rules has been made by the Central Government, in consultation with Unique Identification Authority of India under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.   
  • As per the Rules, Central Government may allow Aadhaar authentication by requesting entities in the interest of good governance, preventing leakage of public funds, promoting ease of living of residents and enabling better access to services for them, for the following purposes, namely:– 
  1. usage of digital platforms to ensure good governance; 
  2. prevention of dissipation of social welfare benefits; and 
  3. enablement of innovation and the spread of knowledge. 
  • The rules however provided that Aadhaar authentication shall be on a voluntary basis. 
  • The Ministry or States desirous of utilising Aadhaar authentication shall prepare a proposal to justify such authentication and submit it to the Centre for making a reference to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).   

Changes Proposed in Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance Rules in April 2023

Based on the amendment, any entity other than a Government Ministry or Department that desires to use Aadhaar authentication for the purpose of 

  • promoting ease of living and enabling better access to services, or 
  • usage of digital platforms to ensure good governance, or 
  • preventing dissipation of social welfare benefits, or 
  • enabling innovation and spread of knowledge, 
  • it shall prepare a proposal giving justification as to how the authentication sought is for one of the said purposes and in the interest of State and submit the same to the concerned Ministry or Department of the Central Government in respect of Central subjects and of the State Government in respect of State subjects. 
  • If the Ministry/Department is of the opinion that the proposal submitted fulfils such a purpose and is in the interest of the State, it will forward the proposal along with its recommendation to MeitY.   

Read also: The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023

e-KYC Through Facial Authentication Under PM-Kisan Scheme

Context: Recently  “The PM-Kisan scheme has become the first scheme of the government to do e-KYC through facial authentication mobile app. This app is very useful for the aged farmers and their mobile number is not linked with their Aadhaar.”

Issues with the existing system

  • Until now, e-KYC of the PM-Kisan beneficiaries used to be done through either biometrics at a designated centre or one-time passwords sent to mobile phone numbers linked with Aadhaar.
  • However, during the e-KYC exercise, officials found many instances when farmers’ mobile numbers were not linked to Aadhaar due to which the process could not be completed.
  • In the case of biometrics, several elderly farmers faced problems going to the nearby centre.
  • Many faced the issue of the non-matching of fingerprints.
  • Therefore, to ease the e-KYC process, the ministry introduced the face authentication feature in the PM-Kisan mobile app.
  • The face authentication feature uses the iris data of a person having an Aadhaar number.

Other Steps

  • In another move, the PM-Kisan scheme is also integrating with Bhashini to provide farmers with information in their native language.
  • Bhashini is the government’s National Public Digital Platform for languages to develop services and products for citizens by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

About PM-Kisan scheme

  •  Launched in 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi or PM-Kisan scheme gives beneficiaries financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments every four months.
  • The amount is transferred to the bank accounts of eligible farmers’ families across the country through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
  •  According to the Agriculture Ministry, more than 11 crore farmers have availed of the scheme, and Rs 2.42 lakh crore has been transferred to their accounts.

Controversy over DGP Appointment in Punjab

Context: Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Police Amendment Bill, 2023 which seeks to do away with Supreme Court mandated procedure to appoint the Director General of Police. Under the Amended Act, Punjab government has created a parallel mechanism where a panel of three officers will be selected by a 7 member committee headed by retired chief justice or retired judge from the High Court of Punjab & Haryana. 

Supreme Court mandated procedure for DGP Appointment

  • Supreme Court in Prakash Singh Judgement, 2006 directed states under Article 142 of the Constitution of India laid down institutional reforms for the police. 
  • The intent of the Supreme Court was that the process of appointment of DGP should be purely based on merit and would insulate the office from all kinds of influences and pressures. 

The procedure for appointment of DGP laid down in the judgement is:

  • Selection from a pool of officers by UPSC (non-political body): Director General of Police of State to be selected by State Government from amongst the three seniormost officers of the Police Department who have been empanelled for promotion by the UPSC. 
  • UPSC will empanel the three seniormost officers on the basis of their length of service, very good record and range of experience for heading the police.
  • Security of tenure: The selected DGP should have a minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of his date of superannuation/retirement.
  • Removal of DGP: Incumbent DGP may be removed by the State Government in consultation with State Security Commission consequent upon any action of the incumbent DGP against the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules or following his conviction in a court of law in a criminal offence or in a case of corruption or if he is incapacitated from discharging his duties.

Later in 2018, Supreme Court clarified on the procedure laid down by Supreme Court in Prakash Singh Judgement by making the following changes:

  • All States to send their proposals in anticipation of vacancies to the office of DGP to the UPSC, at least three months in advance from the date of retirement of incumbent to the post of DGP.
  • States cannot appoint any person as an acting DGP.
  • UPSC should empanel persons for the post of DGP considering they have close two years of service remaining which will make candidates continue in the office for a limited period after their superannuation. 
  • Any legislation/rule framed by States or Central Government running counter to the direction shall remain in abeyance to the extent. 
  • Later in 2019, the Supreme Court clarified that the maximum residual tenure of an officer appointed as DGP after his superannuation should be six months. 

Rationale for the changes introduced by Supreme Court in 2018

These changes were made due to the following practices pursued by States 

  1. States started appointing acting director general of police to bypass the need for appointing candidates nominated by UPSC.
  2. Candidates were appointed as DGP on the last date of retirement. This made them continue on the office of DGP despite approx two years of superannuation. 

Concerns of the States with above Procedure

  1. States have been demanding autonomy while selecting DGP of the Police since Police and Public order are state subjects under Schedule VII of the constitution. 
  2. All matters of promotion, posting and transfer of IPS officers at all levels within the State should be handled exclusively by the State government.  
  3. States content that UPSC neither has jurisdiction nor expertise to appoint the DGP of the State. 
  4. Under Article 320 of the Constitution, UPSC can only lay down principles for promotion and transfers and suitability of candidates for such appointments. However, under the Constitution, UPSC does not have the power to select or empanel officers. 
  5. UPSC while empanelling officers for appointment to the post of DGP considers minimum residual tenure of two years. Thus, the process overlooks many suitable and eligible officers.

Next Generation administrative reforms to be the Focus at International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) Conference 2025

Context: India expressed its willingness to host the 2025 IIAS (International Institute of Administrative Sciences) Annual Conference at Kochi, Kerala, in February 2025, with the theme “Next Generation Administrative Reforms – Empowering Citizens and Reaching the Last Mile”.

About Next Generation Administrative Reforms

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  • Prime Minister Modi has given a clarion call for adopting Next Generation Reforms by bridging the gap between government and citizens under the theme Viksit Bharat.
  • The Next Generation Administrative Reforms include
    •  Secretariat Reforms
    • Benchmarking of Governance
    • Redressal of Public Grievances & Improving Service Delivery
    • Recognizing Meritocracy and
    • Replication of good governance practices forms the core of India’s good governance model.
  • The organisational reforms coupled with significant reforms in Personnel Administration represent a paradigm shift in India’s governance models.
  • The adoption of e-governance practices best symbolizes New India’s strong institutions.
  • The best manifestation of the “Maximum Governance – Minimum Government” policy is a “Digitally Empowered Citizen” and a “Digitally Transformed Institution”.

About IIAS

  • The IIAS established in 1930, is a federation of member States, national sections and academic research centres jointly elaborating public administration solutions to the policy challenges of the day with headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
  • The 2025 Annual Conference of IIAS would be attended by 30 Member Countries, 18 National Sections and over 50 IIAS Universities/ Institutes of Public Administration in Member Countries.
  • The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances is an institutional member of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences IIAS since 1998.

The 15th Finance Commission Report

Context: The government will appoint a Finance Commission in the next few months to determine how much of the Centre’s tax revenue should be given away to States (the vertical share) and how to distribute that among States (the horizontal sharing formula).

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In the pre-reform period, the Finance Commission recommendations were not that critical because the Centre had other ways to compensate States, or indeed to play favourites, through plan financing and public sector undertaking (PSU) investments. Post-reforms, fresh PSU investments have thinned out and the Planning Commission was abolished in 2014 with the result that the Finance Commission remains virtually the sole architect of India’s fiscal federalism. Its responsibility and influence are, therefore, much larger.

Before going into details of the report which shall be extremely important from the perspective of Mains examination, Let us first understand the need for any such body at the first place? Specially given that states and centre both have been enabled to levy and collect taxes in their domains. 

Now finance commission is body to facilitate fiscal balance in the Indian federal structure and hence enabling Fiscal federalism. 

What is a Fiscal imbalance?

  • Fiscal imbalance occurs when the revenues of a unit are not appropriate to carry out the responsibilities allocated to it. 

Now there are two kinds of imbalances that can occur in Indian Federalism: 

  • vertical imbalance (between state and centre)
  • horizontal imbalance (among the states)

FINANCE COMMISSIONS – A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

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Vertical and horizontal imbalances are common features of most federations and India is no exception to this.

So why does vertical imbalance (between state and centre) occur? 

  • Because there is a mismatch of responsibilities and revenue sources between the Union and the States? 
  • Now why is that?: mainly because of two reasons 
    1. Constitution assigned taxes with a nation-wide base to the Union (which earn higher revenues)
      • Why was this done? 
        • This was done to make the country one common economic space unhindered by internal barriers to the extent possible. 
    2. Constitution assigned functional responsibilities involving high expenditure disproportionate to their assigned sources of revenue 
      • Since the expenditures are incurred mainly in the executive branch, let us see the constitutional scheme for the same: 
Legislative responsibility  Executive responsibility  
LIST IUnion Union 
LIST IIState State 
LIST IIIBoth State 
  • So you can see that states take care of both List 1 and List II
  • Why was this done? 
    • States being closer to people and more sensitive to the local needs have been assigned 
  • These two factors have resulted in vertical imbalances.

So why does horizontal imbalance (among the states) occur? 

  • Unlike in most other federations, differences in the developmental levels in Indian States are very sharp. 
  • Horizontal imbalances across States are on account of factors, which include historical backgrounds, differential endowment of resources, and capacity to raise resources. 

So you can say that the creation of Finance commission is the recognition of the imbalance which exists in the federalism and hence mechanisms under article 280 and 281 have been created to ensure that these imbalances are minimized. 

Hence let us have a look at the constitutional provisions related to the finance commission as far as constitution of India is concerned:

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So as you read in article 280, the report of the Finance Commission has to be submitted for every five years and you also know that the report of the last FC (14th) was applicable for 2015-2020 period, then why did FC 15 not submit the final report for the period 2020-2025? 

  • At the formation of the 15th FC, It was required to submit the report by October 30, 2019 for five years for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25. 
  • However, due to various political and fiscal developments, its term was extended. 

So what are the reasons behind the extensions? 

  • Speak: the basic reason is that the reports of the FC are based on the projections of various parameters related to taxation, GDP and deficits. the current state of Indian economy makes it difficult for any panel to successfully do a projection. 

So why making medium-term projections in the current scenario would mean serious risks? 

  • Changes in the federal units 
    • the abolition of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir required the Commission to make an estimation excluding the Union Territory. 
  • Historically low Nominal growth rate 
    • the deceleration in growth and low inflation has substantially slowed down the nominal GDP growth which is the main tax base proxy; making projections of tax revenues and expenditures based on this for the medium term could have posed serious risks. 
  • Issues related to Tax revenues 
    • Poor revenue performance of tax collection more particularly Goods and Services Tax 
    • Also the compensation agreement to the loss of revenue to the States is applicable only till 2022(which means  it will cover only two years of the period covered by the Commission’s recommendations hence posing uncertainties)

So these are the factors which have compelled the extension of the term of 15th FC as well as its submission of interim report. 

Let us now discuss the highlighting features of the report: 

14th FC15 FCRemarks
Vertical distribution 4241the Fifteenth Finance Commission continued with the recommendation of the previous Commission relating to vertical division of taxes, and adjusted the States’ share to 41% to exclude the share of Jammu and Kashmir.
Horizontal Distribution 
Population1971 (17.5%)
2011(10.0%)


  2011(15.0%)


Income Distance50.0%45.0%
Area15.0%15.0%
Forest cover7.50%10.0%
it has used two additional factors — demographic performance and tax effort.
Demographic PerformanceNA12.5%the inverse of fertility rate hence showing sensitivity to the concerns of these States.
Tax Efforts NA2.5%

So how have states fared after overall devolution? 

  • Major observations 
    • In terms of relative shares in tax devolution, among the major States the biggest loser is Karnataka followed by Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. 
  • Kerala and Andhra Pradesh have post-devolution gaps and hence qualify for revenue gap grants. 
  • Karnataka and Kerala have net loss after devolution. Why? 
    • The major reason for Karnataka and Kerala losing on devolution is that their per capita income growth has been faster than most other States. 
    • The difference from the highest per capita income in both Karnataka and Kerala is just about 10% now as compared to 34% and 23%, respectively, for the two States when the Fourteenth Finance Commission made the recommendation. 

What are recommendations of the 15th FC regarding Local body grants

Panchayats Municipalities 
Grants ₹60,750 crore₹29,250 crore₹9,229 – million plus cities ₹20,021 – rest of the cities 
Conditions 50% of the grant is tied to improving sanitation and supply of drinking water50% of the grant is tied to improving sanitation and supply of drinking water

Did 15th FC make any recommendations regarding Disaster management? 

  • For disaster management, a total of ₹28,183 crore has been determined of which the Central contribution will be ₹22,184 crore
  • The Commission has recommended the creation of Disaster Mitigation Fund at the Central and State levels.
  • But how is this remaining amount distributed among the states?
    • Inter-State allocation is made based on past expenditures, area and population and disaster risk index.

Are there any sectoral grants? 

  • Nutrition: 

The Commission has worked out a framework for giving some sectoral grants as well.  For 2020-21, it has recommended ₹7,735 crore for improving nutrition based on the numbers of children in the 0-6 age group and lactating mothers

Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (“SANKALP”)

Context: Recently Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) certifies 98 Trainers trained in the cluster-based Training of Trainers project under the SANKALP programme.

About SANKALP

  • Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (“SANKALP”) is a Ministry of Skill Development programme with loan assistance from the World Bank.
  • It aims to improve short-term skill training qualitatively and quantitatively through strengthening institutions, bringing in better market connectivity and including marginalised sections of society.
  • SANKALP was launched on 19th January 2018 and has a tenure till March 2023.
  • The outcomes in the project are measured through the Results Framework, and Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) agreed between MSDE and World Bank. 
  • SANKALP has three key result areas namely

(i)     Institutional Strengthening at Central, State and District levels;

(ii)    Quality Assurance of skill development programmes; and

(iii)   Inclusion of marginalised population in skill development programmes."

Interventions under SANKALP are categorised as follows:

  • RESULT AREA 1: INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING
  • RESULT AREA 2: ENHANCING MARKET RELEVANCE AND QUALITY
  • RESULT AREA 3: INCLUSION AND ACCESS OF MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES
  • PROJECTS ACROSS MULTIPLE RESULT AREAS

Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIS)

Each DLI is supplemented with a verification protocol against which achievements.

  • DLI 1: Trainees who have successfully completed the NSQF-aligned, short-term Skill Development (SD) programs, and been certified.
  • DLI 2: Percentage of graduates who are wage-employed or self-employed within six months of completing short-term SD programs.
  • DLI 3: NSQF-aligned QPs translated into the model curriculum, trainers’ guide, and teaching-learning resource packs.
  • DLI 4: Number of trainers and assessors trained/retrained.
  • DLI 5: Improved performance of states on institutional strengthening, market relevance of SD programs, and access to and completion of training by marginalised populations.
  • DLI 6: Increase in the percentage of women participating in SD programs.
  • DLI 7: Improved Gram Panchayat (GP) service delivery for linking unemployed youth to local markets.
  • DLI 8: Strengthened District Skill Committee's (DSC) capacity to implement short-term skill programs.

Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) 

Context: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed all Access Providers to deploy Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning based Unsolicited Commercial Communication (UCC) Detect systems to detect, identify and act against senders of Commercial Communication who are not registered in accordance with the provisions of Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR-2018).

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About UCC

  • It means any commercial communication that is neither as per the consent nor as per registered preference(s) of the recipient.
  • It shall not include:
  • Any transactional message or transactional voice call; 
  • Any service message or service voice call; 
  • Any message or voice calls transmitted on the directions of the Central Government or the State Government or bodies established under the Constitution when such communication is in the Public Interest; 
  • Any message or voice calls transmitted by or on the direction of the Authority or by an agency expressly authorized for the purpose of the Authority.

Direction of TRAI to detect UCC

  • TRAI has directed all Access Providers to deploy Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning based UCC Detect systems capable of constantly evolving to deal with new signatures, new patterns, and new techniques used by unregistered telemarketers (UTMs). 
  • Access Providers have also been directed to share intelligence with other Access Providers using the Distributed ledger technology (DLT) platform. 
  • Access Providers have further been directed to ensure that such UCC Detect System shall detect senders who are sending Unsolicited Commercial Communications in bulk and not complying with the provisions of the regulations. 

Nyaya Vikas Portal

Context: Recently Nyaya Vikas Portal was launched to empower stakeholders with seamless access to information pertaining to funding, documentation, project monitoring and approval.

About Nyaya Vikas

  • It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)  of the Department of since 1993-94.
  • It is aimed at the development of Infrastructure Facilities for Districts and Subordinate Judiciary.
  • Under the Scheme,  central assistance is provided to the State Government / UT Administrations for the construction of court halls and residential units for Judicial Officers / Judges of District and Subordinate Courts.
  • With the further extension of the scheme beyond 31.03.2021, some new features like Lawyers Hall, Toilet complexes and Digital computer rooms have been added to the scheme for the convenience of lawyers and litigants, besides court halls and residential units.
  • The funds sharing pattern under the Scheme for the Center and State is 60:40 in respect of States other than North Eastern and Himalayan States.
  • The funds sharing pattern is 90:10 in respect of North Eastern and Himalayan States and 100% in respect of Union Territories.
  • This portal has been created for monitoring the implementation of this Scheme.

Renaming of places in India

Context: The Maharashtra Cabinet has formally approved the renaming of Ahmednagar district to 'Ahilyanagar' after the 18th century Maratha Queen Ahilyabai Holkar. The renaming of Ahmednagar follows the government's decision to rename Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv.

More about the news

  • Ahilyabai was born in Ahmednagar and after her husband's death in the Battle of Kumbher in 1754, Ahilyabai took charge of the Malwa region. 
  • She established Maheshwar as the capital of the Holkar dynasty in present-day Madhya Pradesh.
  • The demand for renaming Ahmednagar was initially raised by the ‘Dhangar community’, as Ahilyabai belonged to the Dhangar (shepherd) community. 

(To know more about Ahilyabai Holkar, visit the link: https://compass.rauias.com/current-affairs/ahmednagar-of-maharashtra-to-renamed-after-ahilyadevi-holkar/)

History of Ahmednagar 

  • Ahmednagar, located in the Western region of Maharashtra, has a rich history dating back to 240 BC, mentioned in reference to Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. 
  • During the medieval period, Ahmednagar came under the rule of influential dynasties such as Rashtrakutas, Western Chalukyas and Delhi Sultanate. 
  • Under Delhi Sultanate, the region was indirectly controlled and a revolt by Afghan soldier Allaudin Hasan Gangu resulted in the establishment of the Bahmani kingdom in Deccan.
  • In 1486, Prime Minister Malik Ahmad Nizam Shah defeated Bahamani Sultan’s attempt to remove him from power, which led to the establishment of an independent kingdom called Nizam Shahi (Ahmednagar), after the disintegration of the Bahmani empire. In 1490, the city of Ahmednagar was founded, on the left bank of the Sina River.
  • In his book ‘A Discovery of India’, Jawaharlal Nehru acknowledged Nizam Shah as the founder of Ahmednagar in 1490.
  • In 1636 Aurangzeb, then Mughal viceroy of Deccan finally annexed the sultanate to the Mughal Empire.

Renaming places in India

  • The Supreme Court dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought to rename the commission should focus on ‘ancient India’.
  • The court upheld the principles of ‘rule of law, secularism, and constitutionalism’, and warned against intolerance. 
  • The court stated that the country cannot be held prisoner to the past.

Constitutional provisions for renaming places in India

  • Renaming a city is a task entrusted to the State Legislatures: 
  • A resolution is raised by a Member of the Legislative Assembly, proposing the renaming of a particular city or street.
  • It is deliberated upon, and its consequences are discussed.
  • The validity of the resolution is then voted upon.
  • If there is a simple majority vote in favour of the resolution, it is declared passed.
  • State Legislature, based on the majority view, makes necessary changes to the name of the city.
  • The procedure for renaming a state is a task entrusted to the Parliament: 
  • Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution provides for the renaming of a state.
  • A bill for renaming a state is introduced in Parliament on the recommendation of the President.
  • Before the introduction of the bill, President sends it to the respective state assembly to express their views within a stipulated time.
  • Views of the state assembly are not binding on President or Parliament but are of vital importance as any law made will affect that particular state.
  • The bill is then sent to Parliament for deliberation and it must be passed by a simple majority. 
  • The bill is sent to President for approval and after approval, the bill becomes a law, modifying officially the name of the state. 

The rationale behind renaming places in India

  • Rapid development: India is projected to experience significant urbanization, with an additional 416 million people to reside in cities by 2050. Each new project or street will require a new name. 
  • Fostering Indian identity: Visakhapatnam was given the name ‘Waltair’ by the British, and renaming it aims to reclaim its Indian identity.
  • Honouring leaders: To honour individuals being universally admired for their contributions to the country. Aurangzeb Road was renamed Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road in tribute to former President of India
  • Identity politics: A powerful tool for promoting communal pride.
  • Political changes: A testing ground for political changes that go beyond symbolic gestures and have substantive implications.

Advantages of renaming places

  • Preserving cultural heritage: Changing Gurgaon to ‘Gurugram’ restored the historical name, it got from the Mahabharata story of Guru Dronacharya. Similarly, renaming Allahabad as ‘Prayag Raj’ reflects its cultural significance.
  • Civilizational awakening: Renaming places can contribute to reviving a sense of civilizational consciousness, which has faced invasions and colonialism. 
  • Exerting norms in public space: Allows governments to shape the values embedded in public spaces and contribute to the formation of a desired societal order. 

Challenges in renaming places

  • Creating confusion: In a global economy, changing names after they have gained universal recognition can lead to confusion. 
  • Intangible aspects: Intangible aspects tied to the lived reality of communities may still be associated with the original name. Cultural and historical identities may persist despite official name changes.
  • Cultural genocide: Renaming places can be viewed as part of a larger process of cultural genocide, where communities feel diminished by disregarding their contributions to the nation's history.
  • Economic costs: Revising signage to updating official documents and data sets, which involve public expenditure.

Way forward

  • Supreme Court’s message: It cautioned against misusing history and emphasised the importance of upholding the concept of fraternity in the Constitution's Preamble.
  • Focus on re-education: Addressing historical guilt and creating a more inclusive society requires re-educating present societies about past wrongs.
  • Revamp naming philosophy: India needs a revamped philosophy of naming that avoids wasting social capital, especially considering projected urban development and infrastructure expansion.
  • Avoid politicisation: Political parties should refrain from using popular beliefs and historical narratives as political stunts. Lawmakers should prioritize growth over further fragmentation of society.
  • Respect history and fraternity: Prioritize upholding the concept of fraternity as outlined in the Constitution's Preamble.
  • Inclusive cultural landscapes: Ensure that cultural landscapes embrace names, languages, and scripts from diverse communities, fostering a sense of belonging for all. 

Governor's Power of Ordinance

Context: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan took exception to the State government’s move to reissue ordinances instead of getting the executive orders ratified by the Assembly.

The government had sent Mr. Khan 11 ordinances for re-promulgation. They included the controversial Kerala Lok Ayukta, 1999, amendment ordinance, and the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, 2022, amendment ordinance.

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If we look into the UPSC syllabus: 

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Power of ordinance

In India, the central and state legislatures are responsible for law making, the central and state governments are responsible for the implementation of laws and the judiciary (Supreme Court, High Courts and lower courts) interprets these laws. However, there are several overlaps in the functions and powers of the three institutions.  For example, the President has certain legislative and judicial functions and the legislature can delegate some of its functions to the executive in the form of subordinate legislation.

Ordinance making is one such provision which diffuses the line between legislature and executive. They enable the government to take immediate legislative action in desperate times. Article 123 of the Indian Constitution grants the President of India certain Law making powers i.e. to Promulgate Ordinances when either of the two Houses of the Parliament is not in session which makes it impossible for a single House to pass and enact a law. Ordinances may relate to any subject that the parliament has the power to make law, and would be having the same limitations.

But executive (Both central and state) have often misused this power.  Nothing epitomises the re-promulgation of the ordinances better than the famous “Bihar case”. Which was about  the promulgation of 256 ordinances between 1967 and 1981 in Bihar. This included 11 ordinances that were kept alive for more than 10 years and famously dubbed as ordinance raj.

So instances like these clearly indicate the misuse of legislative powers by the executive which were meant to be used only rarely and under limited circumstances. So in this regard we will understand the following:

1. Constitutional Provisions: 

2. Why frequent resorting to Ordinance Route? 

3. Issues 

4. Important Cases related to Ordinance 

Constitutional Provisions: 

  • Article 123 and Article 213 confers power to promulgate ordinance on the President and the Governor respectively.
  • Under the Constitution, limitations exist with regard to the Ordinance making power of the executive:
    • Legislature is not in session: The President can only promulgate an Ordinance when either of the two Houses of Parliament is not in session.
    • Immediate action is required: The President cannot promulgate an Ordinance unless he is satisfied that there are circumstances that require taking ‘immediate action’. 
    • Parliamentary approval during session: Ordinances must be approved by Parliament within six weeks of reassembling or they shall cease to operate. They will also cease to operate in case resolutions disapproving the Ordinance are passed by both the Houses. 
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Why frequent resorting to Ordinance Route? 

  • Reluctance to face the legislature on particular issues. 
  • Lack of majority in the Parliament. 
  • Repeated and wilful disruption by opposition parties. 

Issues 

  • The executive’s power to issue ordinances, goes against the Philosophy of Separation of powers between the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary 
  • It bypasses the democratic requirements of argument and deliberation. 
  • Re-promulgation defeats the constitutional scheme under which a limited power to frame ordinances has been conferred on the President and the Governors. 
  • It poses threat to the sovereignty of Parliament and the state legislatures which have been constituted as primary lawgivers under the Constitution. The Constitution has provided for Separation of Power where enacting laws is the function of the legislature. The executive must show self-restraint and should use ordinance making power only as per the spirit of the Constitution and not to evade legislative scrutiny and debates

Important Cases related to Ordinance 

  • RC Cooper vs. Union of India, 1970: SC held that the President’s decision could be challenged on the grounds that ‘immediate action’ was not required; and the Ordinance had been passed primarily to by-pass debate and discussion in the legislature. 
  • AK Roy vs. Union of India, 1982: SC argued that the President’s Ordinance making power is not beyond the scope of judicial review. Later in case of Venkata Reddy v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1985) Supreme court over ruled its own decision and held that the Satisfaction of the President cannot be called in question. 
  • DC Wadhwa vs. State of Bihar, 1987: SC said that the legislative power of the executive to promulgate Ordinances is to be used in exceptional circumstances and not as a substitute for the law making power. It was examining a case where a state government repromulgated a total of 259 Ordinances and some of them for as long as 14 years. 
  • Krishna Kumar Singh vs. State of Bihar, 2017: Supreme Court held that the failure to place an ordinance before the legislature constitutes abuse of power and a fraud on the Constitution. It makes mandatory for an ordinance to be tabled in the legislature for its approval.

Way forward

In Nagraj Judgment, SC has observed “The power to issue an ordinance is not an executive power but it’s the power of the executive to legislate on the grounds provided for in article 123”.  

Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH)

Context: Recently, The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH), hosted the inaugural National-level workshop in New Delhi. The primary focus of the workshop was to address school assessments, examination practices, and the standardization of educational boards nationwide.

What is Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH)? 

  • It is a National Assessment Centre(country's first national assessment regulator), which has been set up as an organisation under the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). 
  • It has been launched as part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020.
  • Educational Testing Service (ETS)  which conducts key tests such as TOEFL and GRE, has been chosen by the National Council for Education Research (NCERT) for setting up the regulatory platform.
  • The mandate of PARAKH is to work on bringing the 60 school Boards across States and Union Territories on a common platform.
  • It will work on three major assessment areas: large-scale assessment like the National Achievement Survey, school-based assessments and thirdly capacity building.

Significance

  • It aims to set up assessment guidelines for all boards to help remove disparities in scores of students enrolled with different state boards. 
  • There is Diversity in school education in India due to geographic differences and multiple languages. It would bring in the "uniformity" in assessment across the 60 boards in 36 States and Union Territories. This involves harmonising curriculum standards, grading systems, and evaluation methods to bolster the credibility and recognition of certificates and grades obtained across different boards
  • The benchmark assessment framework will seek to put an end to the emphasis on rote learning, as envisaged by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.  It will encourage and assist school boards to shift their assessment patterns towards meeting the skill requirements of the 21st century.
  • It will help tackle the problem of students of some state boards being at a disadvantage during college admissions as compared to their peers in CBSE schools. It will develop and implement “technical standards for the design, conduct, analysis and reporting” of tests at all levels of school education.
  • It will eventually become the national single-window source for all assessment related information and expertise, with a mandate to support learning assessment in all forms, both nationally and where applicable, internationally.
  • It will act as a common platform for the interaction of all concerned stakeholders in order to develop a holistic approach that ensures a fair assessment system which promotes equity in performance and equivalence in the assessment of students.

All 23 police stations in Visakhapatnam likely to get an e-Malkhana facility by June

Context: All the 23 police stations under the Visakhapatnam Police Commissionerate are likely to get e-Malkhana facility, by June.

About e-Malkhana facility

  • It is a scientific way of storing property and evidence recovered from the crime scene.
  • The facility was first commissioned in July 2021 at Narsipatnam Police Station (presently in Anakapalli district)
  • Visakhapatnam will be the first city in Andhra Pradesh to have such a facility.
  •  The property seized and evidence collected from the crime scene can be stored in standard-sized cardboard boxes, numbered with other details.
  •  A dynamic QR code will be generated and pasted on the box.
  •  A dedicated website is also hosted and all details about the case and property will be uploaded.
  •  All one has to do is scan the code to get the details.