Daily Current Affairs including Static Notes - 3 MAY

💥COLLEGIUM PUTS OFF DECISION ON PRESSING JOSEPH’S CASE ( POLITY)

The Supreme Court collegium, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, met in the top court premises on Wednesday but deferred taking any decision on the fate of Justice K.M. Joseph for now.

The meeting of collegium was arranged following governments decision to not to induct Justice K.M. Joseph as Supreme Court judge.

Judges of the Supreme Court have taken strong exception to the government decision and publicizing to the media its confidential letter on Justice Joseph and breaching protocol.

In this context let’s take a look at procedures for appointment of a jurist as judge in SC

👉The collegium system

The judges of the Supreme Court and High Court in India are appointed by President as per article 124(2) and 217 of the constitution. In such appointment, the President is required to hold ‘consultation’ with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court

👉Evolution of the system

In the earlier days of the republic the Supreme Court held that Consultation is not concurrence. This implied that if President wished to do so, he / she could appoint without agreeing to the consultation with the Supreme Court. And the balance was in favour of the executive

But thorough the decision passed in a serious cases known as the ‘three judge’s case’ the SC made the Consultation concurrent and binding. Thus the power of judicial appointments was effectively transferred into the hand of the judiciary and role of executive became only formal.

What is the collegium and how does it work. It is the system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the Supreme Court, and not by an Act of Parliament or by a provision of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court collegium is headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprises four other senior-most judges of the court. And Judges of the higher judiciary are appointed only through the collegium system—and the government has a role only after names have been decided by the collegium.

The government’s role is limited to getting an inquiry conducted by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) if a lawyer is to be elevated as a judge in a High Court or the Supreme Court.

It can also raise objections and seek clarifications regarding the collegium’s choices, but if the collegium reiterates the same names, the government is bound, under Constitution Bench judgments, to appoint them as judges.

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HISTORIANS SEEK REVIEW OF RED FORT CONTRACT (GOVERNANCE)

Wading into the controversy over adoption of the Red Fort by the Dalmia Bharat group, the Indian History Congress (IHC) on Wednesday said it is “greatly perturbed” that company with “no known experience of maintenance of monuments” has been involved in preservation of a major national monument.

IHC has called for an “impartial review” of the arrangement by “the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology or any other recognised body of expert.

👉Context

The government had decided to involve the Bharat Dalmia Group in the maintenance of the Red Fort under the Adopt a Heritage Scheme for providing amenities like restaurants, drinking water, street furniture, tactile paths, clean toilets etc. for five years in exchange for Rs 25 crores and the privilege of placing their name on signage inside the fort, has understandably led to a fierce debate.

The decision since has snowballed into a major cry against ‘privatisation’ of national symbols

👉About the Adopt a Heritage Scheme

The scheme was launched by Union Ministry of Tourism in close collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Under it, Private, Public Sector Companies and Corporate individuals were invited to adopt heritage sites and to take up responsibility for making them and promote sustainable tourism through conservation and development under their CSR activities.

The project primarily focuses on development and maintenance of world-class tourist infrastructure and amenities including basic civic amenities and advanced amenities like cleanliness, public conveniences, secure environment, ease of access, illumination and night viewing facilities for inclusive tourist experience to increase both domestic and foreign tourists footfall.

💥SECURITY TO BE STEPPED UP FOR AMARNATH YATRA (CULTURE)

👉Context

Center is working on detailed security plan for the safe conduct of Amarnath Yatra in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir that spans nearly 60 days this year, in view of the tensions prevailing in the region.

Few days’ back a pilgrimage bus was attacked b stone pelleters. Whilst last year, eight persons were killed when a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims was attacked by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants.

👉About Amarnath yatra

It’s a pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave, a Hindu shrine located in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The cave is situated about 141 km (88 mi) from Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir and reached through Pahalgam town. The cave is 3,888 m above sea level and can be reached only on foot or by pony.

 The shrine forms an important part of Hinduism, and is considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The cave is surrounded by snowy mountains. The cave itself is covered with snow most of the year except for a short period of time in summer when it is open for pilgrims.

 Thousands of Hindu devotees make an annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave on challenging mountainous terrain to see an ice lingam formed by a trickle of water from a cleft in the cave’s roof.

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💥MANUFACTURING GROWTH IMPROVES SLIGHTLY: PMI ( ECONOMY)

 India’s manufacturing sector activity improved slightly in April, driven by a rise in new business orders amid favourable demand conditions, and easing inflationary pressures.

According to Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), which rose from 51.0 in March to 51.6 in April, indicates faster improvement in the health of the manufacturing economy than in the prior month.

Decline in inflation rate for last few months also helped in improving growth, since input raw materials output cost only witnessed slight price rise.

This is the ninth consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point-mark. And the survey noted that business sentiment was at the strongest level since the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) in July 2017.

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💥Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

PMI is considered as an indicator of the economic health and investor sentiments about the manufacturing sector. The PMI is constructed separately for manufacturing and services sector. But the manufacturing sector holds more importance. In PMI, a reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while reading below 50 points shows contraction of economic activities.

PMI shows investor sentiment in economy’s manufacturing sector and is seen as sentiment tracking index. The variables used to construct India’s PMI are Output, New Orders, Input Costs, Output Prices, Backlogs of Work, Export Orders, Quantity of Purchases, Suppliers and Delivery Times, Employment, Stocks of Purchases and Stocks of Finished Good.

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