Bills, Acts and Policies: Analysis

Forest Conservation Rules, 2022

admin2023-01-04T07:07:02+05:30 1. Forest in India According to the India State of Forest Report, 2021, the Total Forest and Tree cover is now 7,13,789 square kilometres, 21.71% of the country’s geographical area, an increase from 21.67% in 2019. Forest Cover (Area-wise): Madhya Pradesh> Arunachal Pradesh> Chhattisgarh> Odisha> Maharashtra. 1.1. Category: 1.1.1. Reserved Forests: Reserve forests are the mos...

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022

admin2023-01-04T06:57:14+05:30 Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022 1. Introduction Personal data is information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.  Businesses as well as government entities process personal data for delivery of goods and services.  Processing of personal data allows understanding preferences of individuals, which may be useful for customisation, targeted advertising, and ...

The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021

admin2022-12-31T06:15:21+05:30 The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on December 17, 2021.  The Bill amends the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.  The Act regulates the protection of wild animals, birds and plants.  The Bill seeks to increase the species protected under the law, and implement the Convention on International ...

Overview of ground water in India

admin2022-12-26T11:19:13+05:30 1. Introduction Groundwater is the water that seeps through rocks and soil and is stored below the ground. The rocks in which ground water is stored are called aquifers. Aquifers are typically made up of gravel, sand, sandstone or limestone. Water moves through these rocks because they have large connected spaces that make them permeable. The area where water fills the aquifer is called t...

The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019

admin2022-12-22T13:40:50+05:30 1 Highlight of the Bill The Bill enables Indian authorities to take action against piracy in the high seas. The Bill brings into law the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.  It applies to the sea beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), i.e., beyond 200 nautical miles from India’s coastline. The Bill defines piracy as any illegal act of violence, detention or destruction against a ship...

State of Agriculture in India

admin2022-12-21T11:15:23+05:30 1. Insight The agriculture sector employs nearly half of the workforce in the country. However, it contributes to 17.5% of the GDP (at current prices in 2015-16).   Over the past few decades, the manufacturing and services sectors have increasingly contributed to the growth of the economy, while the agriculture sector’s contribution has decreased from more than 50% of GDP in the 1950s to...

Role of Private Sector in Higher Education

admin2022-12-19T10:59:39+05:30 There are three levels of education; elementary, secondary, and higher.  The first two are imparted at the school level, whereas higher education is imparted at the college and university level.  There may be two types of providers of education: public and private.  Private institutions may be partly funded by the government (aided) or entirely self-funded (unaided).  Public institutions ...

The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021

admin2022-12-19T10:36:05+05:30 The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar, on August 9, 2021.  The Bill amends the Constitution to allow states and union territories to prepare their own list of socially and educationally backward classes. 1. What is the Constitution (127th) Amendment Bill, 2021...

Impact of Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY)

admin2022-12-16T12:58:55+05:30 Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) was launched in 2015 for improving the financial health and operational efficiency of state-owned distribution companies (discoms) across the country.  In June 2021, the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme was approved based on the objectives of UDAY to improve operational efficiency and ensure the financial sustainability of discoms. This note provide...

Police Reforms In India

admin2022-12-16T09:01:56+05:30 1. Insight 1.1. Police account for about 3% of government spending While state police forces are responsible for maintaining law and order and investigating crimes, central forces assist them with intelligence and internal security challenges (e.g., insurgencies). Expenditure on police accounts for about 3% of the central and state government budgets. 24% vacancies in state forces; 7...

Electric Vehicles

admin2022-12-16T07:26:43+05:30 1. Background An electric vehicle (EV) uses battery cells as a power source.  It contains a rechargeable battery pack, its associated battery management system (BMS), an electric motor and other electronic components. Most vehicles in use today run on internal combustion engines (ICE).  In contrast, EVs use a battery pack to provide power to the electric motor, which rotates the wheels. ...

Criminal Procedure (Identification) Rules, 2022

admin2022-12-15T07:15:48+05:30 1. Key Features of the Rules The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022, allows police officers or prison officers to collect certain identifiable information (such as fingerprints, biological samples) from convicts or those who have been arrested for an offence.  The Rules empower the NCRB to specify guidelines for taking measurements, and handling, storage, processing, matching, ...

The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022

admin2022-12-15T07:10:07+05:30 1. Highlight of the Bill The Bill amends the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 to empower the central government to specify a carbon credit trading scheme. Designated consumers may be required to meet a proportion of their energy needs from non-fossil sources. The Energy Conservation Code for buildings will also apply to office and residential buildings with a connected load of 100 kilowatts...