CURRENT AFFAIRS 30 SEPTEMBER 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

30 SEPTEMBER 2019

BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ

                                  

1.AYUSHMAN BHARAT(Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) ),IMA(Indian Medical Association).(GS-2)

CONTEXT:Govt. hospitals should be removed from ambit of Ayushman Bharat: IMA

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on September 29 said government hospitals should be removed from the ambit of the Centre’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme, as services there are already free of cost.

IMA National President Santanu Sen said if the government wants to fund public hospitals they should do so directly.

“Why should it be done through insurance companies by paying 15% to them,” he said while demanding that the Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) be restricted to the private sector.

The IMA has come out strongly against the current structure and mode of implementation of AB-PMJAY, alleging that the insurance model of healthcare delivery is a failed one.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) :

• Ministry : Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
• Aims to reduce the financial burden on poor and vulnerable groups arising out of catastrophic hospital episodes and ensure their access to quality health services.
• Scheme:
• PM-JAY is a scheme of the government under Ayushman Bharat.
• PMJAY is government-sponsored health insurance scheme, that will provide free coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year in any government or empanelled private hospitals all over India.
• It will cover beneficiaries families identified on the basis of Socio Economic Caste Survey (SECC) 2011 in 444 districts of 30 states/Union Territories.
• National Health Agency (NHA) is the apex body for implementing this scheme.
• States will be required to form State Health Agency (SHA) to implement scheme and at the district level also structure for its implementation will be set up.
• Around 13000 hospitals both public and private in the country have been coordinated for implementation of the scheme.
• PMJAY will be funded with 60% contribution from Centre and remaining from the states.
• NITI Aayog will be working as partner for this scheme for operationalizing robust, modular and interoperable IT platform which will involve a paperless and cashless transaction.
• PMJAY is entitlement based scheme with entitlement decided on basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database.
• There will be no cap on family size and age under this scheme.
• The benefit cover under it also includes pre and post-hospitalisation expenses.
• It also takes into consideration all pre-existing medical conditions.
• It will provide reimbursement for bed charges and drugs and diagnostics two days before, during and 15 days after hospitalisation. Beneficiary will be also paid transport allowance for hospitalisation defined under it.
• The payment for treatment will be done on package rate which will be defined by Government in advance basis.
• The package rates will include all costs associated with treatment.
• States and UTs have flexibility to modify these rates within limited bandwidth.
• PMJAY allows national portability i.e. resident of any part of country is entitled for free hospitalization at empanelled hospital anywhere in the country.
• It will strengthen healthcare services in India by targeting poor and vulnerable population of the country.
• The scheme allows beneficiary to take cashless benefits from any public or private empanelled hospitals across the country.
• ID documentation required for verifying beneficiary under this scheme may be Aadhaar card or election ID card or ration card. 
• Aadhaar is not mandatory. 
• Beneficiaries will QR codes having letters for verification through scanning.
• Scheme also seeks to accelerate India’s progress towards the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and Sustainable Development Goal – 3 (SDG3).

National Health Agency converted to National Health Authority:

• “National Health Agency” has been dissolved and it is now restructured as an Authority to effectively the implement Pradhan Mantri – Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
• The National Health Authority would be empowered with full autonomy, accountability and the mandate to implement PM-JAY through an efficient, effective and transparent decision-making process by aligning the accountability with responsibility.

Why the Authority has been constituted?

• The reasons for restructuring as an authority are:
• To enable faster decision-making.
• Replacing the multi-layered structure with a simplified structure.
• Authority will be able to specify treatment protocols and enforce their compliance.
• The Authority with a stronger mandate would be able to prevent, detect and control frauds, abuse and redress grievances, thus resulting in the reduction of leakages.
• The National Health Authority would be chaired by Union Health Minister and have representation from the Government and domain experts.

Indian Medical Association:

• The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is a national voluntary organisation of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine in India, which looks after the interest of doctors as well as the well being of the community at large.It was established in 1928 as the All India Medical Association, renamed "Indian Medical Association" in 1930. It is a society registered under The Societies Act of India.
• With over 305458 member doctors through more than 1,700 active local branches in 29 States and Union Territories in India,[10] it is the largest association of physicians and medical students in India.
• It is headquartered in Calcutta (Kolkata). The general control management and direction of the policy of the Association is vested in the ‘Central Council’ to which local branches send representatives and which meets once a year to lay down policies. It delegates its powers to a Working Committee (A representative body of all state Branches) for implementation of programmes and activities.This committee meets at least three times a year to execute various activities for welfare of members and the people in matters of health.
• The Indian Medical association is a founder member of the World Medical Association

2.Section 11 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951(GS-2)

CONTEXT:Election Commission cuts short disqualification term for Sikkim Chief Minister

BJP ally Prem Singh Tamang was convicted for graft and faced a six-year ban on contesting. Following the ECI order, he will now be eligible to contest polls

The Representation of the People Act, 1951 

• The Representation of the People Act, 1951 is an act of Parliament of India to provide for the conduct of election of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those Houses, the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections. 
• It was introduced in Parliament by law minister Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. The Act was enacted by the provisional parliament under Article 327 of Indian Constitution, before the first general election

3.The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey(GS-2)

CONTEXT: Obesity and undernutrition coexist, finds study

Nearly 10% of children in the age group of 5-9 years and adolescents in the age group of 10-19 years are pre-diabetic, 5% are overweight and another 5% suffer from blood pressure. These are among the key findings of the first-ever national nutrition survey conducted by the Centre, yet to be made public, providing for the first time hard evidence of the coexistence of obesity and undernutrition, among school going children.

The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and UNICEF between February 2016 and October 2018 is the first study undertaken to measure malnutrition, including micronutrient deficiencies through biochemical measures such as blood and urine samples, anthropometric data as well as details of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and kidney function in children and adolescents.

The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey:

• Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS), a cross-sectional, household survey covering more than 1,20,000 children and adolescents (0-19 years) in both urban and rural areas across all 30 states of India, is being conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India in partnership with UNICEF. It aims to assess the national prevalence of biological indicators (micronutrient deficiencies, subclinical inflammation, and worm infestation) and prevalence of overweight/obesity, along with information on body composition, cardio-metabolic risk, muscular strength, and fitness.
• CDSA was selected as the national monitoring agency to conduct concurrent monitoring of CNNS biological samples (blood, urine and stool). This monitoring includes, but not limited to primary sample collection at PSUs, processing at collection centres, shipment, and analysis at a central laboratory. CDSA provides ongoing feedback to the central laboratory team and informs lead survey agency and UNICEF on the quality of biological data collection, processing, transportation, analysis, and report.

4.The International Astronomical Union (IAU)(GS-3)

CONTEXT:The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named an asteroid, discovered in 2006, after Indian classical singer Pandit Jasraj

“Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj (b. 1930) is an exponent of Indian classical vocal music. Jasraj is the recipient of numerous awards, honours, and titles, including the prestigious Padma Vibhushan and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. His distinctive voice traverses a remarkable four­and­a­half octaves

The International Astronomical Union (IAU):

• The International Astronomical Union (IAU; French: Union astronomique internationale, UAI) is an international association of professional astronomers, at the PhD level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy.Among other activities, it acts as the internationally recognized authority for assigning designations and names to celestial bodies (stars, planets, asteroids, etc.) and any surface features on them.
• The IAU is a member of the International Science Council (ISC). Its main objective is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU maintains friendly relations with organizations that include amateur astronomers in their membership. The IAU has its head office on the second floor of the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.
• This organisation has many working groups. For example, the Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN), which maintains the astronomical naming conventions and planetary nomenclature for planetary bodies, and the Working Group on Star Names (WGSN), which catalogs and standardizes proper names for stars. The IAU is also responsible for the system of astronomical telegrams which are produced and distributed on its behalf by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. The Minor Planet Center also operates under the IAU, and is a "clearinghouse" for all non-planetary or non-moon bodies in the Solar System. The Working Group for Meteor Shower Nomenclature and the Meteor Data Center coordinate the nomenclature of meteor showers.

5.E­cigarettes ,‘Plogging’(GS-2,3)

E­cigarettes a new menace: PM

Modi explains reason for ban, talks about

‘Fit India Plogging Run’ on October 2 

Explaining the reason for the Union Cabinet’s decision to ban e­cigarettes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the government wanted to prevent “a new form of intoxication destroying a demographically young country”. He was delivering his monthly radio speech, Mann Ki Baat. Delving into the health hazards of e­cigarettes after the Cabinet banned its commercial production and import on September 18, Mr. Modi said a “myth” had been created that these were less harmful than ordinary cigarettes.

The Prime Minister highlighted the efforts of Ripudaman Belvi who has started the movement of plogging, a combination of jogging and picking up litter. “In view of the kind of lead that India has taken towards environmental protection, today the countries of the entire world are looking towards India as a model,” Mr. Modi said. While speaking to Mr. Belvi, the Prime Minister informed him that the Sports Ministry had organised the “Fit India Plogging Run” on October 2 in which participants from across India would plog for 2 km

E­cigarettes :

• An electronic cigarette (or e-cig) is a battery-powered vaporizer that mimics tobacco smoking. It works by heating up a nicotine liquid, called “juice.”
• Nicotine juice (or e-juice) comes in various flavors and nicotine levels. e-liquid is composed of five ingredients: vegetable glycerin (a material used in all types of food and personal care products, like toothpaste) and propylene glycol (a solvent most commonly used in fog machines.) propylene glycol is the ingredient that produces thicker clouds of vapor.
• Proponents of e-cigs argue that the practice is healthier than traditional cigarettes because users are only inhaling water vapor and nicotine.
•  As e-cigarettes contain nicotine and not tobacco, they do not fall within the ambit of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003 (COTPA), which mandates stringent health warnings on the packaging and advertisements of tobacco products.

6.Panchayat elections ,block development councils(BDCs)(GS-2)

CONTEXT:Block­level polls in J&K on Oct. 24 A major push for new grassroots leadership via Block Development Councils

REVISION FOR LOCAL SELF GOVERNMENT:

Panchayati Raj is the system of local self government for villages. Because Panchayats are an effective vehicle for people’s participation in administration, planning and democratic process, organisation of village Panchayats has been made a Directive Principle of State Policy (Article 40). Rural India has seen such Panchayats for ages. The new Panchayats are an improvement over the old ones in uniformity, institutional structure and states support. The present day Panchayati Raj system was introduced in 1959 on the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee. The committee had been set up in 1956 primarily to suggest measures for improvement in the working of the Community Development Programme and the National Extension Service which were being implemented at that time. It recommended a three-tier Panchayati Raj system for proper implementation of the Community Development Council and the Union Government accepted the recommendations of the committee but gave the responsibility of implementing them to the states Governments. For one reason or the other, the implementation was slow and unsatisfactory.

Major Committees on Panchayati Raj Institutions

Balwant Rai Committee In January 1957, the Government of India appointed a committee to examine the working of the Community Development Programme (1952) and’-the National Extension Service (1953) and to suggest measures for their better working. The chairman of this committee was Balwant Rai G Mehta. The committee submit-tea Its report III November 19057 and recommended the establishment of the scheme of democratic decentralization, which ultimately came to be known as Panchayati Raj. The specific recommendations made by it are:1. Establishment of a three-tier panchayati raj system-gram panchayat at the village level, panchayat samiti at the block level and zila parishad at the district level. These tiers should be organically linked through a device of indirect elections. 2. The village panchayat should be constituted with directly elected representatives, whereas the panchayat samiti and zila parishad should be constituted with indirectly elected members. 3. All planning and development activities should be entrusted to these bodies. 4. The panchayat samiti should be the executive body while the zila parishad should be the advisory, coordinating and supervisory body. 5. The district collector should be the chairman of the zila parishad. 6. There should be a genuine transfer of power and responsibility to these democratic bodies. 7. Adequate resources should be transferred to these bodies to enable them to discharge their functions and fulfil their responsibilities. 8. A system should be evolved to effect further devolution of authority in future. These recommendations of the committee were accepted by the National Development Council in January 1958. The council did not insist on a single rigid pattern and left it to the states to evolve their own patterns suitable to local conditions. But the basic principles and broad fundamentals should be identical throughout the country. Raiasthan was the first state to establish Pahchayati Raj. The scheme was inaugurated by the prime minister on 2 October, 1959,ln Nagaur district. Rajasthan was followed by Andhra Pradesh, which also adopted the system in 1959. Thereafter, most of the states adopted the system. Though most of the states created panchayati raj institutions by mid 1960s, there were differences from one state to another with regard to the number of tiers, relative position of samiti and parishad, their tenure, composition, functions, finances and so on.

Ashok Mehta Committee

In December 1977, the Janata Government appointed a committee on panchayati raj institutions under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta. It submitted its report in August 1978 and made 132 recommendations to revive and strengthen the declining panchayati raj system in the country. Its main recommendations were: 1. The three-tier system of panchayati raj should be replaced by the two-tier sys-tem, that is, zila parishad at the district level, and below it, the mandaI panchayat consisting of a group of villages with a total population of 15,000 to 20,000. 2. A district should be the first point for decentralisation under popular supervision below the state level. 3. Zila parishad should be the executive body and made responsible for planning at the district level. 4. There should be an official participation of political parties at all levels of panchayat elections. 5. The panchayati raj institutions should have compulsory powers of taxation to mobilise their own financial resources. 6. There should be a regular social audit by a district level agency and by a committee of legislators to check whether the funds allotted for the vulnerable social and economic groups are actually spent on them. 7. The state government should not supersede the panchayati raj institutions. In case of an imperative supersession, elections should be held within six months from the date of supersession. 8. The nyaya panchayats should be kept as separate bodies from that of development panchayats. They should be presided over by a qualified judge. 9. The chief electoral officer of a state in consultation with the chief election com-missioner should organise and conduct the panchayati raj elections. 10. Development functions should be transferred to the zila parishad and all development staff should work under its control and supervision. 11. The voluntary agencies should play an important role in mobilising the support of the people for panchayati raj. 12. A minister for panchayati raj should be appointed in the state council of ministers to look after the affairs of the panchayati raj institutions. 13. Seats for SCs and STs should be reserved I on the basis of their population. Due to the collapse of the Janata Government before the completion of its term, no action could be taken on the recommendations of the Ashok Mehta Committee at the central level. However, the three states of Karnataka,

G V K Rao and L M Singhvi Committees

The Committee on Administrative Arrangement for Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation Programmes under the chairmanship of G V K Rao was appointed by the Planning Commission in 1985. The committee came to the conclusion that the development process was gradually bureaucratised and divorced from panchayati raj. This phenomena of bureaucratisation of development administration as again democratisation weakened the panchayati raj / institutions resulting in what is aptly called grass without roots’. Hence the committee made various recommendations to strengthen and revitalise the panchayati raj system. It as-signed a leading role to panchayati raj in development administration and recommended reduction in the development role of the district collector. In 1986, the Rajiv Gandhi Government appointed a committee on ‘Revitalisation of panchayati raj institutions for democracy and development’ under the chairmanship of L M Singhvi. It recommended that the panchayati raj institutions should be constitutionally recognised, protected and preserved, and that a new chapter be added to the Constitution of India for this purpose. This will make their identity and integrity reasonably and substantially inviolate. It also suggested constitutional provisions to ensure regular, free and fair elections to the panchayati raj bodies. Narasimha Rao Government the Congress Government under the prime ministership of P V Narasimha Rao once again considered the matter of the constitutionalisation of panchayati raj bodies. It drastically modified the proposals in this regard to delete the controversial aspects and introduced a constitutional amendment bill in the Lok Sabha in September, 1991. This bill finally emerged as the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 and came into force on 24 April, 1993.

73rd Amendment Act of 1992 Significance of the Act This act has added a new Part-IX to the Constitution of India. It is entitled as ‘The Panchayats’ and consists of provisions from Articles 243 to 243 o. In addition, the act has also added a new Eleventh. Schedule to the Constitution. It contains 29 functional items of the panchayats. The act has given a practical shape to Article 40 of the Constitution which says that, ‘The State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government’. This article forms a part of the Directive Prin-ciples of State Policy. The act gives a constitutional status to the panchayati raj institutions. It has brought them under the purview of the justiciable part of the Constitution. In other words, the state governments are under constitutional obligation to adopt the new panchayati raj system in accor-dance with the provisions of the act. Consequently, neither the formation of panchayats nor the holding of elections at regular intervals depend on the will of the state government any more. The provisions of the act can be grouped into two categories-compulsory and voluntary. The compulsory (mandatory or obligatory) provisions of the act have to be included in the state laws creating the new panchayati raj sys-tem. The voluntary provisions, on the other hand, may be included at the direction of the states. Thus the voluntary provisions of the act ensures the right of the states to take local factors like geographical, politico-administrative and others, into consideration while adopting the new panchayati raj system. In other words the act does not disturb the constitutional balance between the Centre and the states in the Indian federal system. Though it is a central law on a state subject (i.e., local government), the act does not encroach upon the jurisdiction of the states, which are given adequate discretionary powers with regard to the panchayats. The act is a significant landmark in the evolution of grassroot democratic institutions in the country. It transfers the representative democracy into participatory democracy. It is a revolutionary concept to build democracy at the grassroot level in the country. Majors Features of The Act A brief description of the 73rd constitution Amendment act and its major features has been outlined below: Gram Sabha A Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the Legislative of a State may, by law, pro-vide. (Article 243A) Constitution of Panchayats (1) There shall be constituted in every state, Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels. (2) Panchayats at the inter-mediate level may not be constituted in a state having a population not exceeding twenty lakh.(Article 243B) Composition of Panchayats (1) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provisions with respect to the composition of Panchayats. But the ratio between the population of the territorial area of a Panchayat at any level and the number of seats in such Panchayat to be filled by election shall, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the state. (2) All the seats in a Panchayat shall be filled by persons chosen by direct election from territorial consti-tuencies in the Panchayat area. Each Panchayat area shall be divided into territorial constituencies in such a manner that the ratio between the population of each constituency and. the number of seats allotted to if shall, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the Panchayat area. (3) The Legislature of a State may, by law, provide for the representation- (a) of the chairpersons of the Panchayats at the village level, in the Panchayats at the inter-mediate level, or in the case of a state not having Panchayats at the intermediate level, in the Panchayats at the district level. (b) of the chairpersons of the Pan-chayats at the intermediate level, in the Panchayats at the district level. (c) of the members of the House of the People and members of the Legislative Assembly of the state representing constituencies which comprise wholly or partly a Panchayat area at a level other than the village level, in such panchayat; (d) of the members of the council of States and the members of the Legislative Council of the State, where they are registered as electors within- (i) a Panchayat area at the intermediate level, in Panchayat at the intermediate level; (ii) a Panchayat area at the district level, in Panchayat at the district level. (4) The chairperson of a Panchayat and other members of a Panchayat whether or not chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area shall have the right to vote in the meetings of the Panchayats. (5) (a) The chairperson of a Panchayat at the village level shall be elected in such manner as the Legislature of a state may, by law provide. (b) The chairperson of a Panchayat at the intermediate level or district level shall be elected by, and from amongst the elected members thereof. (Article 243C) Reservation of Seats (1) Seats shall be reserved for-(a) the Scheduled Castes; and (b) the Scheduled Tribes; in every Panchayat and the number of seats. So reserved shall been the same proportion to the total number of seats as the population of the Scheduled Castes in that Panchayat area or of the Scheduled Tribes in that Panchayat area bears to the total population of that area and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat. (2) Not less than one-third of the total number of seats reserved under clause (l) shall be reserved for women belonging to Scheduled Castes or, as the case may be, the Scheduled Tribes. (3) Not less than one-third (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribe/of the total number of seats to  be filled by direct election in every Panchayat shall be reserved for women and such seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in a Panchayat. (4) The offices of the chairpersons in the Panchayats at the village or any other level shall be reserved as the Legislature of the State may pro-vide which shall be like the provisions of clause (3). (5) The reservation of seats under clauses (I) and (2) and the reservation Of offices of chairpersons (other than the reservation for women) under clause (4) shall cease to have effect on the expiration of the period specified in article 334. (6) The Legislature of a State may provide for reservation of seats in any Panchayat or offices of chair-persons in the Panchayat at any level in favour of backward class of citizens. (Article 243D) Duration of Panchayats (1)  Every Panchayat unless sooner dissolved under any law for the time being in force, shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer. (2) No amendment of any law for the time being in force shall have the effect of causing dissolution of Panchayat at any level, which is functioning immediately before such amendment, till the expiration of its duration specified in clause (I). (3) An election to constitute a Panchayat shall be completed- (a) before the expiry of its duration specified in clause (b) before the expiration of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution. If the remainder period after dissolution is less than six months, it shaIl not be necessary to hold any election for the remaining period. (4) A Panchayat constituted upon the dissolution of a Panchayat before the expiry of its duration shall continue only for the remainder of the period. Disqualifications for membership (1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as a member of a Panchayat- (a) If he is so disqualified by or under any law for the time being in force for the purpose of elections to the Legislature of the State concerned. But if he has attained the age of twenty one years, he will not be disqualified on the ground that he has not attained the age of twenty five years. (b) if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by the Legislature of the State. (2) The determination of disqualification matter be done in such manner as the Legislature of a State may by law, provide.(Article 243F) Powers authority and responsibilities of Panchayats The Legislature of a State may, by law, endow the Panchayats with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government with respect to – (a) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice; (b) the implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Eleventh Schedule. (Article 243G) Powers to impose taxes by, and Funds of, the Panchayats The Legislature of a State may, by law- (a) Authorize a Panchayat to levy, collect and appropriate such taxes, duties, tolls and fees in accordance with such procedure and subject to such limits; (b) Assign to a Panchayat such taxes, duties, tolls and fees levied and collected by the state Government for such purposes and subject to such conditions and limits; (c) Provide for making such grants-in-aid to the Panchayats from the conso-lidated fund of the State; and (d) Provide for constitution of such funds for crediting all moneys received, respectively by or on behalf of the Panchayats and also for the withdrawal of such moneys therefrom, as may be specified in the law.(Article 243H)