DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

01 SEPTEMBER 2022

1 – Details of Floor Test: 

GS II

Topic – Parliament related issues

• What provisions of the Constitution apply to the governor’s proposal for a floor test?
• About:
• According to Article 174 of the Constitution, the Governor has the authority to call, adjourn, and dissolve the state legislative assembly.
• According to Article 174(2)(b) of the Constitution, the Governor may dissolve the Assembly with the cooperation and suggestion of the administration. The Governor can exercise his discretion when the advice is provided by a Chief Minister whose loyalty may be in doubt.
• To ascertain if the government has the required number of members, the Governor may call a meeting of the House and issue an order for a floor test pursuant to Article 175(2).
• The Governor’s use of the aforementioned authorities is still constrained by Article 163 of the Constitution, which stipulates that the Governor acts with the help and recommendation of the Council of Ministers chaired by the Chief Minister.
• During a House session, only the Speaker has the power to call for a floor test. The Governor’s residual powers under Article 163 allow him to summon a floor test even while the Assembly is not in session.
• Governor’s Discretionary Power:
• Article 163 (1) effectively limits the Governor’s latitude to circumstances in which the Constitution expressly requires that the governor act independently and without bias.
• The Governor may exercise his discretionary power under Article 174 when the chief minister’s legitimacy is in doubt and he no longer has the support of the House.
• When there is concern that the chief minister has lost the majority, the governor and the opposition frequently gather for a floor test.
• A floor test must be undertaken as quickly as feasible when the majority of the ruling party is in dispute, the courts have consistently stated.
• The Governor’s right to summon the Floor Test has drawn some criticism from the Supreme Court:
• The Arunachal Pradesh Assembly case, Nabam Rebia and Bamang Felix v. Deputy Speaker, was heard by the Supreme Court in 2016. The court determined that the Governor does not have sole authority to call a special session of the House and should instead act with the assistance and advice of the Council of Ministers.
• The Governor is not an elected person; rather, the President appoints him or her, and the Court emphasised that a nominee cannot have absolute authority over the elected members of the House or Houses of the State Legislature.
• Given that ministerial responsibility is the fundamental principle of the Constitution, permitting the Governor to overrule the State Legislature or the State administration would not be compatible with the Constitution’s strong democratic values.
• The Supreme Court affirmed the Speaker’s power to ask for a floor test if it initially appears that the government has lost its majority in Shivraj Singh Chouhan & Ors versus Speaker, Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly & Ors in 2020.
• If it becomes clear that a floor test is necessary to determine whether the government commands the confidence of the House, the Governor is not denied the right to order one based on the information at his disposal.
• What a floor test entails:
• This expression alludes to the majority test. If there are any questions against the Chief Minister (CM) of a State, they may be asked to show the majority in the House.
• In the event of a coalition government, the CM might be asked to start a vote of confidence and win a majority.
• When more than one individual is staking a claim, the Governor may call a special session to decide who has the majority to form the government in the absence of a clear majority.
• Legislators could opt out or choose not to vote. Then, only the MLAs who were in attendance for the vote are considered.

Source – The Indian Express

2 – About MGNREGA:

GS II

Topic – Government Policies and Interventions

• MGNREGA:
• As a form of social intervention to safeguard “the right to work,” the programme was formed. The local government would be obligated to legally provide at least 100 days of paid employment in order to raise the standard of living for those who reside in rural India.
• Important objectives:
• There must be at least 100 days of paid rural employment created for each volunteer for unskilled labour.
• actively ensuring social inclusion by improving the sources of income for disadvantaged rural residents.
• creation of durable infrastructure, such as roads, canals, ponds, and wells, in rural areas.
• Reduce the amount of migration from rural to urban areas.
• Use rural labour that hasn’t been used for infrastructure construction.
• To be eligible for benefits under the MGNREGA programme, applicants must fulfil the requirements listed below:
• An applicant for NREGA benefits must be an Indian citizen and at least 18 years old.
• The candidate must live nearby (i.e. application must be made with local Gram Panchayat).
• The applicant must be prepared to work for manual labour duties.
• Important details:
• The Indian Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) is in charge of managing the complete implementation of this initiative in cooperation with state governments.
• Individual beneficiary-oriented works may be submitted for consideration by members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, small- or marginal-farmers, people who have benefited from land reforms, or people who have benefited from the Indira Awaas Yojana of the Government of India.
• Within 15 days after submitting the application, the applicant will be offered a wage employment, or on the first day that labour is needed.
• If no job is found within fifteen days of submitting an application or from the date work is sought for, the applicant has the right to unemployment compensation.
• Accountability and transparency are promoted by requiring social audits for MGNREGA programmes.
• The Gram Sabha is the main venue for wage workers to voice their issues and request things.
• The Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat, who also decide on the projects’ priority, approve the list of MGNREGA projects.
• Function of the Gram Sabha:
• During Gram Sabha meetings, it defines the order of significance for each work while taking into account the potential and resources of the neighbourhood.
• Watch how the work being done in the GP is developing
• The duties of a gram panchayat:
• application for registration acceptance
• Verification of registration application
• registering households
• distributing Job Cards (JCs)
• applications for jobs are received, and dated receipts are given for those applications.
• within fifteen days of the application’s submission, or, in the case of an advance application, fifteen days after the date the work is needed.
• Task planning, task identification, and task importance evaluation are all included in the building of a project shelf.
• Duties of the state government under MGNREGA:
• Create and promote the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for the State. One of the duties imposed on the State by Section 32 of the Act is this.
• operationalize the State Employment Guarantee Council (SEGC).
• Create a mission or agency at the state level to implement MGNREGA with sufficiently qualified personnel.
• Create an MGNREGA social audit agency or directorate at the state level with a sufficient number of people who are knowledgeable about the program’s policies and have demonstrated a dedication to social audit.
• It is necessary to create and manage a State Employment Guarantee Fund (SEGF).

Source – The Hindu

3 – Details of Prevention of Money Laundering Act:

GS III

Topic – Internal Security of India

• What Is Money Laundering?
• Making money earned through criminal activity, such as the financing of terrorism or the trafficking of illegal substances, appear to have come from a legitimate source is known as money laundering. The money from the crime appears “clean” thanks to the washing process.
• The main goals of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act are:
• It was put into place in response to India’s commitment to the Vienna Convention and other international efforts to tackle the issue of money laundering.
• With the intention of combatting money laundering (the conversion of illicit funds into legal ones) and enabling the seizure of assets earned through money-laundering, the PMLA was passed in 2002 and went into effect in 2005.
• The PMLA primarily has three goals:
• to prevent and control money laundering.
• any assets obtained through money laundering shall be seized and forfeited.
• to resolve any extra problems with money laundering in India.
• Resolution of disputes:
• The adjudicating authority is chosen by the federal government. It establishes if the property that has been seized or attached is being utilised for money laundering.
• The Adjudicating Authority will be regulated by natural justice principles rather than being restricted by the procedure specified by the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, and will be subject to the other provisions of the PMLA.
• Appellate Tribunal: An appellate tribunal that is constituted by the government is qualified to hear appeals against judgments rendered by the adjudicating body. The rulings of the tribunal may be appealed to the relevant High Court.
• Special Court: Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002, the Union government is permitted to set up a special court (PMLA).
• PMLA (Amendment) Act of 2012:
• introduces the concept of a “reporting entity,” which can be a broker, a bank, or another financial institution.
• The amending act did away with the Rs. 5 lakh maximum penalties that was imposed by the PMLA of 2002.
• Anyone involved in such activities has their property temporarily taken and attached.

Source – The Indian Express

4 – About Enforcement Directorate:

GS II

Topic – Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies

• Enforcement Directorate
• It is a multidisciplinary organaisation responsible with upholding the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 and the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 (FEMA), two unique fiscal laws (PMLA).
• Historical background:
• The Department of Economic Affairs first established this Directorate on May 1st, 1956, when it created a “Enforcement Unit” to handle violations of the Exchange Control Law under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (FERA ’47).
• In 1957, the unit’s name was changed to “Enforcement Directorate.” The Directorate was managed by the Department of Economic Affairs until 1960, when the Department of Revenue took over.
• For a brief period of four years (1973-1977), the Directorate also remained administratively under the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms.
• The Enforcement Directorate is responsible for upholding two laws:
• Investigations into alleged infractions of the Exchange Control Laws and Regulations are handled by FEMA, a civil law with quasi-judicial powers, which also has the jurisdiction to punish offenders.
• The PMLA is a criminal statute that grants officers the power to carry out investigations in order to discover, temporarily attach, or seize assets acquired through the commission of Schedules Offenses as well as to capture and prosecute Money Launderers.
• Composition:
• The Directorate not only employs individuals directly but also deputises officers from a number of investigating organisations, including Customs & Central Excise, Income Tax, and Police.
• According to the 2018 Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, processing cases of fugitives from India.
• Encourage FEMA infractions that result in preventative detention under the 1974 Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA).
• What are Special courts:
• For the purpose of trying a case involving an offence punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA, the Central Government designates one or more Sessions Courts as Special Courts (in collaboration with the Chief Justice of the High Court).
• The court is also known as PMLA Court.
• A direct appeal to the High Court for that region may be undertaken in response to a ruling by the PMLA court.

Source – The Hindu