Amended Motor Vehicles Bill reintroduced
Prelims: Polity
Mains: GS 2
- Amendments to the Motor Vehicle (MV) Act has been re-introduced in the Lok Sabha.
- This bill had lapsed since it had not been passed by the Rajya Sabha.
- The proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act seeks to provide a compensation of ₹5 lakh for death and ₹2.5 lakh for grievous injury in a motor vehicle accident case.
- The Bill seeks to increase penalties for violations, facilitate grant of online learning licence, simplified provisions for insurance to provide expeditious help to accident victims and their families, and protection of good samaritans.
- The Bill also proposes to raise the time limit for renewal of driving licence from one month to one year before and after the expiry date.
- The provisions in the legislation are not binding on States and it is up to them to implement it.
Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 reintroduced
Prelims: Polity
Mains: GS 2
- Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 has been reintroduced in the Lok Sabha.
- This bill had lapsed since it had not been passed by the Rajya Sabha
- It seeks to prohibit commercial surrogacy in the country.
- The Bill seeks to “allow ethical altruistic surrogacy to the intending infertile Indian married couple between the age of 23-50 years and 26-55 years for female and male, respectively.”
- The Bill states that a woman should be allowed to act as a surrogate only once, should be a close relative of the intending couple and “should be an ever-married woman having a child of her own and between the age of 25-35 years.
NIA Bill, UAPA Bill, DNA Bill
Prelims: Polity
Mains: GS 3
- The NIA (Amendment) Bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha while the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill has been introduced in the House.
- The NIA Bill seeks to give greater powers to the National Investigation Agency by expanding its jurisdiction to offences committed outside the country.
- The latest amendments will enable the NIA to additionally investigate offences related to human trafficking, counterfeit currency, manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, cyberterrorism, and offences under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.
- The UAPA Bill is aimed at strengthening India’s security framework. It seeks “to introduce fourth schedule to add or remove the name of individual terrorists”.
- The DNA Bill seeks to regulate the use of DNA technology for establishing the identity of persons in respect of matters listed in a Schedule. These include criminal matters and civil matters such as parentage disputes, emigration or immigration, and transplantation of human organs.
- From 1993 till 2003, 70% of legislation went to standing committees. But in the last two years, the frequency has reduced. Only 26% were referred to standing committees.
Blue Flag challenge
Prelims: Environment
Mains: GS 3
- The Union Environment Ministry has selected 12 beaches in India to vie for a ‘Blue Flag’ certification, an international recognition conferred on beaches that meet certain criteria of cleanliness and environmental propriety.
- These beaches are at Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Bhogave (Maharashtra), Ghoghla (Diu), Miramar (Goa), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Eden (Puducherry), Mamallapuram (Tamil Nadu), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden (Odisha), and Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands).
- The Blue Flag programme for beaches and marinas is run by the international, non-governmental, non-profit organisation FEE (the Foundation for Environmental Education).
- It started in France in 1985 and has been implemented in Europe since 1987, and in areas outside Europe since 2001, when South Africa joined.
- Japan and South Korea are the only countries in South and south-eastern Asia to have Blue Flag beaches.
- Spain tops the list with 566 such beaches; Greece and France follow with 515 and 395, respectively.
- There are nearly 33 criteria that must be met to qualify for a Blue Flag certification, such as the water meeting certain standards such as waste disposal facilities, disabled-friendly facilities, first aid equipment and no access to pets in the main areas of the beach.
- Some criteria are voluntary and some compulsory.
Global Economic Prospects report
Prelims: Economy/ International
- India’s trade deficit narrowed by nearly 8% to $15.28 billion during the last month, as against $16.6 billion in June 2018.
- The World Bank, in its Global Economic Prospects (June 2019), has projected weakening of global trade in 2019.
- Global trade is projected to grow at 2.6% this year.
