Prelim Bits 12-12-2023 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955

Recently, the centre have defended the constitutional validity of Section 6A of Citizenship Act, 1955 before the Supreme Court.

• It is added into the Citizenship Act of 1955 only in 1985.

Citizenship Act, 1955 provides the conditions for getting citizenship by birth, by descent, or by registration. 26^th January, 1950 is the cut-off date for establishing citizenship by birth or descent.

• Applicability – Only to Assam.
• Agreement between – The Indian government and the leaders of the Assam Movement.
• Purpose – To preserve and protect the Assamese culture, heritage, linguistic and social identity.
• To furtherance of a Memorandum of Settlement, Assam Accord.

Assam Accord was signed in 1985 between the Union government and the All Assam Students’ Union to determine who is a foreigner in the state of Assam. Clause 5 of the Accord states that 1^st January, 1966 shall serve as the base cut-off date for the detection and deletion of ‘foreigners’.

• Cut-off date for citizenship – 1^st January, 1966
  • Suspended citizenship – This is for illegal migrants from 1^st January, 1966 to 25^th March, 1971, and who have been found as foreigners, can become full citizens only 10 years from the date of declaration of foreigner status.
  • No citizenship – For illegal migrants after 25^th March, 1971.
• Challenges – Having a different cut-off date for Indian citizenship in Assam than in the rest of India.

References

1. The Indian Express| Centre defends Section 6A of Citizenship Act
2. The Hindu| Cut-off date in determining citizenship status

Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)

One of the Justice of Supreme Court recommended setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to look into alleged violations of human rights in J&K and to recommend measures for reconciliation.

• It is also known as a ‘truth and justice commission’ or simply, a ‘truth commission’.
• It is an official mechanism to acknowledge and reveal the wrongdoings by both state and non-state.
• Aim – To address and resolve the conflicts of the past.
• Definition – According to the Priscilla B. Hayner, a TRC
  • Focusses on the past, rather than ongoing events
  • Investigates a pattern of events over a period of time
  • Engages directly and broadly with the affected population, gathering information on their experiences
  • Acts as a temporary body, with the aim of concluding with a final report.
  • Is officially authorized or empowered by the state under review

Priscilla B. Hayner authored the book ‘Unspeakable Truths: Transitional Justice and the Challenge of Truth Commissions’ that have the reviews of 40 truth commissions.

• Countries with TRC – Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka and Nepal
  • South Africa and Australia are best known and Canada is the most consequential

Truth and Reconciliation Commission focusses on putting together information and evidence from both the victims and the perpetrators of violence, rather than on prosecution and punishment for crimes.

Reference

The Indian Express| Recommendation to set up Truth Commission

Indian Forest & Wood Certification Scheme

India have launched its 1^st Indian Food and Wood certification scheme.

• Launched by – MoEFCC
• Aim – To offer voluntary 3^rd party certification to promote sustainable forest management and agroforestry in the country.
• To incentivise entities like State forest departments, individual farmers, or Farmer Producer Organizations, farm forestry and other wood-based industries in the value chain.
• Certification Types
  • Forest management (FM) certification
  • Tree outside forest management certification
  • Chain of custody (CoC) certification

Forest Management certification is based on the Indian Forest Management Standard, an integral part of the National Working Plan Code 2023 which consists of 8 criteria, 69 indicators and 254 verifiers.

• Overseen by – Indian Forest and Wood Certification Council.
• Operating agency – Indian Institute of Forest Management in Bhopal, responsible for overall management.
• The National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies under the Quality Council of India (QCI) will accredit the certification bodies.
• Certification bodies – It will carry out independent audits and assess entities on their adherence to the prescribed standards.

Forest certification seeks to authenticate the origin, legality, and sustainability of forest-based products.

Chain of custody (CoC) certification is meant to guarantee the traceability of a forest product like timber throughout the supply chain from origin to market.

References

1. PIB| Indian Forest and Wood Certification Scheme
2. The Indian Express| Forest certifications

Karan Singh’s Proclamation of 1949

Supreme Court cited Karan Singh’s Proclamation of 1949 while upholding the abrogation of Article 370.

Yuvraj Karan Singh was the heir to the throne of Jammu and Kashmir after his father ‘Maharaja Hari Singh’.

• Repeal of Government of India Act, 1935 – It was until then governed the constitutional relationship between J&K and the dominion of India.
• Applicability of Indian Constitution – It shall govern the constitutional relationship between J&K and Union of India which shall be enforced by the king, his heirs and successors in accordance with the tenor of its provisions.
• Supremacy of Indian Constitution - It shall, as from the date of its commencement, supersede and abrogate all other constitutional provisions inconsistent therewith which were in force in J&K.
• Thus, the paragraph 8 of the Instrument of Accession ceased to be of legal consequence reflecting the full and final surrender of J&K's sovereignty to India.

Instrument of accession (IoA) is an agreement by which the ruler of the princely states agreed to the accession of his kingdom to independent India. Maharaja Hari Singh, then ruler of J&K signed the IoA in 1947.

Article 370 of the Indian Constitution accorded a special status to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by substantially limited Parliament’s power to legislate for the State as compared to other States. This was revoked by a Constitution Order of 2019.

Reference

The Indian Express| SC cites Karan Singh’s Proclamation of 1949

Global River Cities Alliance (GRCA)

The GRCA was launched at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai in 2023.

• An India-led initiative inspired by India’s ‘River Cities Alliance’ (RCA).
• Launched by - National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
• Secretariat
  • NMCG under Jal Shakti Ministry
  • NIUA under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
• Aim – To empower global efforts towards river conservation and sustainable water management.
• Membership – 9 countries (Indian, Denmark, Cambodia, Japan, Bhutan, Australia, Netherlands, Egypt, and Ghana).
  • 142 Indian River cities, river cities of Den Haag from the Netherlands, Adelaide from Australia, and Szolnok of Hungary also joined.

Recently, the RCA had signed a Memorandum of Common Purpose (MoCP) with 124 member Mississippi River Towns and Cities Initiative of the US which is 1^st of its kind alliance in the world.

• Supported by – World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
• Activities – Water monitoring program, sharing best practices for renaturing urban areas, and restoring aquatic ecosystems for sustainable urban development initiatives will be discussed.

References

Hindustan Times| Launching of Global River Cities Alliance