Landmark Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 gets Parliamentary approval               

Govt plans to integrate land and water schemes to tackle land degradation        

United States designates China a “currency manipulator”                                     

‘Raising time limit for abortion under study’                                                             

Japan urged to sign UN nuke ban on Hiroshima anniversary                                 

Article 370: Petition filed in Supreme Court against Centre’s notification on J&K                                                                                                                                       

Landmark Consumer Protection Bill, 2019 gets Parliamentary approval

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Context :

• The Parliament gave its nod to the landmark Consumer Protection Bill, 2019.

Consumer Protection Bill -  2019 :

•  The Bill aims to protect the rights of consumers by establishing authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumers’ disputes.

• The Bill replaces the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Key features :

• Definition of consumer:

  • A consumer is defined as a person who buys any good or avails a service for a consideration.

  • It does not include a person who obtains a good for resale or a good or service for commercial purposes. 

  • It covers transactions through all modes including offline, and online through electronic means, teleshopping, multi-level marketing or direct selling.

• Rights of consumers: Six consumer rights have been defined in the Bill, including the right to :

  • be protected against marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property;

  •  be informed of the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of goods or services;

  • be assured of access to a variety of goods or services at competitive prices; and

  • seek redressal against unfair or restrictive trade practices.

•  Central Consumer Protection Authority:

  • The central government will set up a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers. 

  • It will regulate matters related to violation of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and misleading advertisements. 

  • The CCPA will have an investigation wing, headed by a Director-General, which may conduct inquiry or investigation into such violations.

•  Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission:

  • Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (CDRCs) will be set up at the district, state, and national levels.  A consumer can file a complaint with CDRCs in relation to:

    • unfair or restrictive trade practices;

    • defective goods or services;

    • overcharging or deceptive charging; and

    • the offering of goods or services for sale which may be hazardous to life and safety.

•  Complaints against an unfair contract can be filed with only the State and National   Appeals from a District CDRC will be heard by the State CDRC. 

• Appeals from the State CDRC will be heard by the National CDRC.

•  Final appeal will lie before the Supreme Court.

•   Product liability:

  • Product liability means the liability of a product manufacturer, service provider or seller to compensate a consumer for any harm or injury caused by a defective good or deficient service. 

  • To claim compensation, a consumer has to prove any one of the conditions for defect or deficiency, as given in the Bill.

                                                                                                                                      Source :- PIB

Govt plans to integrate land and water schemes to tackle land degradation

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• As about 30% of India’s land is degraded, the Government of India wants to converge various land and water schemes to mainstream land degradation issues in national programmes.

More in the news:

• India aims to be land degradation-neutral by 2030, where any increases in land degradation are balanced by equivalent gains in land reclamation to ensure no additional net loss of land-based natural capital.

• While budgets available for all land- and water-related schemes in Centre and States are enough to solve the problem, there is a need to bring convergence to utilise these resources better.

• The 14th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the UNCCD will be held from September 2-13 in New Delhi where Governments are expected to agree on strategic and effective land use and sustainable land management goals.

 Background :

• The TERI report titled ‘Economics of Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought in India’ stated that while loss of productive land for various ecosystems is a concern, a larger concern is the degradation of existing ecosystems.

• The annual economic costs of land degradation and land use change in the country have been estimated at ₹3,17,739 crore, which is 2.54 per cent of India’s GDP in 2014-15 and about 15.9 per cent of the GVA from agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors.
   

  • Almost 82 per cent of the estimated cost is on account of land degradation and only 18 per cent due to land use change.

  • The land area that is likely to be degraded in 2030 under these two different scenarios is projected at 94.53 mha and 106.15 mha.

                                                                                                    Source :- The Hindu Business Line

United States designates China a “currency manipulator”

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora.

Context :

• The US has officially designated China as a currency manipulator for the first time since 1994.

More in the news :

• The United States designate China as a currency manipulator after China allowed its yuan to weaken past the key seven-per-dollar level for the first time in more than a decade.

  • A weaker yuan makes Chinese exports more competitive or cheaper to buy with foreign currencies.

• The US has said that it will now engage with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions.  

                                                                                                                                   Source :- The Hindu

‘Raising time limit for abortion under study’

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context :

• The Centre has informed the Delhi High Court that it has initiated the process for an inter-ministerial consultation on raising the time period to terminate pregnancy

More in the News :

• The response has come on backdrop of a PIL filed in the Delhi High Court for extending the time period to terminate pregnancy to 24 to 26 weeks in case of health risks to the mother or foetus.

• It contended that unmarried woman and widows too should be allowed to undergo legal abortion.

• The petitioner had sought amendment to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971. The Act currently prohibits abortion post 20 weeks.

Background :

• The Supreme Court, in 2017, had declined to amend the Act which prohibits termination of pregnancy beyond 20 weeks, saying that the issue fell within the legislative realm.

                                                                                                                         Source :- The Hindu

Japan urged to sign UN nuke ban on Hiroshima anniversary

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

• The mayor of Hiroshima has urged Japan to sign the Treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons(TPNW).

  • This statement came as the city marked the 74 years since being targeted in the world’s first atomic attack.

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW):

• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons.

  • The treaty was passed in 2017.

• The treaty will enter into force 90 days after it has been ratified by at least 50 countries.Currently,24 countries have ratified the treaty.

• The treaty prohibits a full range of nuclear-weapon related activities, such as undertaking to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

• Further,for nuclear armed states joining the treaty,it provides for a time-bound framework for negotiations leading to the verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programme.

• However,eight nuclear weapon states namely the US, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan and North Korea along with Israel had not participated in the negotiations of the treaty.

                                                                                                                       Source :- The Hindu

Article 370: Petition filed in Supreme Court against Centre’s notification on J&K

GS PAPER - 01 POLITY - Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Context :

• A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Presidential order on Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order,2019.

More in the news:

• The petitioner has claimed that the Presidential order was illegal as it was passed without taking consent from the J&K state Assembly.

• The petitioner said that the amendments made to Article 367 are illegal and unconstitutional.

  • The government has amended Article 367 to replace the reference to Constituent Assembly under Article 370(3) to mean Legislative Assembly

• Article 370(3) empowers the President to repeal or amend any part of Article 370 but he needs to have the concurrence of the Constituent Assembly.

• But in this case,the concurrence was not possible as the Constituent Assembly was dissolved in 1956.To overcome this legal challenge,the government brought the amendment.

• Since the state is under Governor’s rule,the President needed to have governor’s concurrence to pass the order for revoking all the special powers accorded to the Jammu and Kashmir.

                                                                                                                Source :- The Hindu​

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