April 11th current affairs
| Topic: Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these (PAPER 2) |
- “The government has trickled the money bill as a tool to bypass the Upper House of Parliament ”.Comment.
Intro
A money bill is defined by Article 110 of the Constitution, as a draft law that contains only provisions that deal with all or any of the matters listed therein. These comprise a set of seven features, broadly including items such as the imposition or regulation of a tax; the regulation of the borrowing of money by the Government of India and any matter which is incidental to the above provisions.
Why there is a concerned regarding Money bill ?
- The money bill is different from the other bill as it is introduced and voted in Lok sabha and views of Rajya sabha is not binding upon it as the latter has to return the bill within 14 days.
- In case of the conflict regarding nature of the bill i.e whether the bill is money bill or not, the decision of Lok Sabha speaker is final and it is out of judicial review as mentioned in the
- This article (110) hold its significance in the constitution as it remove the hurdle of logjam in the Parliament related to the Financial matters, as it is seen in case of USA , a financial shutdown occur when there is deadlock between the houses.
- But over the time, the provision of this article is used to overshadow the significance of upper house i.e Rajya sabha.
- The government has introduced ADHAR Bill as a money bill stating the reason that the provisions related to transfer of money, subsidy and other schemes fall under the Art 110 and hence a money bill.
- Not only this, the financial bill, 2017 was also introduced as money bill which not only abolished some of the tribunals but also altogether repealed the standards provided in the different statutes. In their place, the law vested in the Central government an absolute, untrammelled power to make rules to effectively govern the operation of the tribunals.
Judicial Review
- The idea behind a money bill is derived from British parliamentary custom. But unlike in Britain, where judicial review of the Speaker’s opinion is unambiguously prohibited, in India, Article 110 avoids creating any such bar.
- The Supreme Court has stated that Lok Sabha speaker derives its power from the constitution itself so keeping its decision out of judicial purview is simply constitutional fraud.
The way forward
Money bills exist simply to ensure that the Rajya Sabha isn’t allowed to bring down a government by refusing it access to the exchequer for everyday governance. To use it as a means to nullify the Upper House’s democratic role in making substantive legislation denigrates the Constitution’s form which Ambedkar and the Constituent Assembly considered inviolate.
| How is a money Bill different from a financial bill?
· While all Money Bills are Financial Bills, all Financial Bills are not Money Bills. For example, the Finance Bill which only contains provisions related to tax proposals would be a Money Bill. However, a Bill that contains some provisions related to taxation or expenditure, but also covers other matters would be considered as a Financial Bill. · The Compensatory Afforestation fund Bill, 2015, which establishes funds under the Public Account of India and states, was introduced as a Financial Bill. · Secondly, as highlighted above, the procedure for the passage of the two bills varies significantly. The Rajya Sabha has no power to reject or amend a Money Bill. However, a Financial Bill must be passed by both Houses of Parliament. Who decides if a Bill is a Money Bill? The Speaker certifies a Bill as a Money Bill, and the Speaker’s decision is final. Also, the Constitution states that parliamentary proceedings as well as officers responsible for the conduct of business (such as the Speaker) may not be questioned by any Court |
SOURCE: THE HINDU https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/trickeries-of-the-money-bill/article26799226.ece
| TOPIC: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.(paper 3) |
- Explaining the phenomenon of Black hole, how That First Black Hole Image Actually Confirms Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
Ans
What is black hole?
- Black holes points in space that are so dense they create deep gravity sinks. Beyond a certain region, not even light can escape the powerful tug of a black hole’s gravity. And anything that ventures too close be it star, planet, or spacecraft will be stretched and compressed like putty in a theoretical process aptly known as spaghettification.
- The hole is called “black” because it absorbs all the light that hits the horizon, reflecting nothing, just like a perfect black body in thermodynamics.
- Black holes of stellar mass are expected to form when very massive stars collapse at the end of their life cycle.
- After a black hole has formed it can continue to grow by absorbing mass from its surroundings. By absorbing other stars and merging with other black holes, supermassive black holes of millions of solar masses may form.
Black hole and theory of Relativity:
- The first picture of Black hole as produced by Event Horizon Telescope(ETH) of galaxy M87 has proven the Einstein’s relativity and Stephen hawking true.
- If immersed in a bright region, like a disc of glowing gas, a black hole is expected to create a dark region similar to a shadow — something predicted by Einstein’s general relativity.
- Einstein’s theory predicted the observations from M87 with unerring accuracy, and is seemingly the correct description of the nature of space, time, and gravity.
Source: THE HINDU, THE INDIAN EXPRESS https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/first-ever-image-of-a-black-hole-revealed/article26797020.ece
