LET’S CRACK IT!

2022 - 2023

Indian Polity
and Governance
for UPSC Prelims 2024
January 2022 to December 2023

Volume -I

PT-730
Table of Contents

Places in News 5
1. The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023 4
2. The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023 4
3. Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Act, 2023 5
4. Sarna Code 5
5. Personality Rights 5
6. Online Registration of FIR 6
7. Craiminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 7
8. Delimitation Commission 7
9. Kui language inclusion in 8th schedule gets approval of Odisha Government 8
10. Right to Silence 8
11. Ranganath Mishra Commission 9
12. Unique Status of Delhi- Government of NCT of Delhi Amendment Act 2023 9
13. Sub-categorisation within Castes 10
14. Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) 11
15. Right to Walk 11
16. Expulsion of Members of Parliament (MPs) in India 12
17. Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha 12
18. Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC) 12
19. MPLADS e-SAKSHI Mobile Application 13
20. Social Audit Advisory Board (SAAB) 13
21. Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution 14
22. Inter-state river disputes (Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal) 14
23. Borrowing powers of State govt 15
24. Parliamentary privileges 15
25. Parliamentary Committees 16
26. Doctrine of Promissory Estopper 16
27. Election Laws (Amendment) Act 2021 16
28. Social Democracy 17
29. Electoral Literacy 17
30. Common Electoral Roll 17
31. Lokpal and Lokayukta 18
32. Registration of Press and Periodicals Act, 2023 19
33. Special Category Status 19
34. Nari Shakti Vandana (106th Amendment Act, 2023 19
35. Mission Karmayogi 20
36. Digital Rights 20
37. Public Procurement and Project Management 20
38. Nyaya Vikas Portal 20
39. Curbing Film Privacy 21
40. Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) 21
41. Delegated Legislation 22
42. Advocate-on-Record (AoR) 22
43. All India Judicial Services (AIJS) 22
44. No-confidence motion 23
45. National Party Status 23
46. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) 24
47. Central Information Commission 24
48. GST Appellate Tribunal 25
49. Star Campaigners 25
50. Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 25
51. Online Gaming 26
52. Comptroller and Auditor General of India 27
53. Aspirational District Programme 27
54. Vibrant Village Programme 28
 1 Indian Polity and Governance

This Act was passed by the Parliament to reform the age-old Indian
Penal Code (1860), the principal law on criminal offences in India.

Introduced new offences:

y Terrorism: An act that intends to threaten the unity, integrity,
security or economic security of the country, or strike terror in the
people.
y Mob lynching: Murder by a group of five or more persons on grounds
of certain identity markers such as caste, language or personal
belief will be an offence with penalty life imprisonment or death,
1. The Bharatiya and with a fine.
Nyaya y Organized crimes: Includes crimes such as kidnapping, extortion
(Second) and cyber-crime committed on behalf of a crime syndicate.
Sanhita, 2023 y It adds community service as a form of punishment.

Important Modifications:
y Sedition is no longer an offence. Instead, there is a new offence for
acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
y It criminalizes sexual intercourse with a woman by deceitful means
or making false promises.
y It elevates punishments for causing death by negligence from two
to five years.
y It criminalises publishing of false and misleading information.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS2) seeks

to replace the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 (CrPC), which provides
for the procedure for arrest, prosecution, and bail.

Key Provisions:
y Forensic investigation: Mandates forensic investigation for offences
punishable with seven years of imprisonment or more.
2. The Bharatiya y Use of Technology: All trials, inquiries, and proceedings may be
Nagarik held in electronic mode.
Suraksha y Hierarchy of Courts: It removes the classification of metropolitan
(Second) areas and Metropolitan Magistrates.
Sanhita, 2023 y Evasion from Trial: If a proclaimed offender has absconded to
evade trial and there is no immediate prospect of arresting him, the
trial can be conducted and judgement pronounced in his absence.
y The CrPC provides for bail for an accused who has been detained
for half the maximum imprisonment for the offence. The BNSS
denies this facility for anyone facing multiple charges. As many
cases involve charges under multiple sections, this may limit such
bail.

Indian Polity and Governance 4

 It replaces the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA), which governs the
admissibility of evidence in Indian Courts and applies to all civil and
criminal proceedings. It retains most provisions of the IEA including
those on confessions, relevancy of facts, and burden of proof.

Key Provisions/Changes:
y The IEA provides for two kinds of evidence - documentary and oral.
3. Bharatiya Documentary evidence includes primary (original documents) and
Sakshya secondary (that proves the contents of the original). The BSB2 retains
(Second) Act, the distinction. It classifies electronic records as documents.
2023 y Under the IEA, electronic records are categorised as secondary
evidence. The BSB2 classifies electronic records as primary
evidence. It expands such records to include information stored in
semiconductor memory or any communication devices (smartphones,
laptops).
y The BSB2 expands secondary evidence to include: (i) oral and written
admissions, and (ii) the testimony of a person who has examined the
document and is skilled in the examination of documents.

West Bengal and Jharkhand Government is seeking recognition

of Sarna religious code for tribals.

Sarna Code:
y Sarna followers are nature worshippers who do not
consider themselves Hindus and have been fighting for a
separate religious identity for decades
y The holy grail of the Sarna faith is “Jal (water), Jungle
(forest), Zameen (land).”
4. Sarna Code y Its followers pray to the trees and hills while believing in
protecting the forest areas.
y Believers of the Sarna faith do not practice idol worship,
nor do they adhere to the concept of the Varna system,
heaven-hell, etc.
y They are concentrated mainly in the tribal belt states of
Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam.
y Several surveys and reports have indicated that over 50
lakh tribal people in the entire country put their religion
as ‘Sarna’ in the 2011 census, although it was not a code.

The Delhi High Court passed an interim order protecting

the personality rights of Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor. The
5. Personality
judgement restrained various entities from misusing his image,
Rights
name, voice or other elements of his persona for monetary
gains without his consent.

Indian Polity and Governance 5

 Personality Rights:
y The concept of personality right encompasses the right of a
person to control the unauthorized use of their personality
attributes such as name, image, voice, likeness, etc.
y Personality rights could include a pose, a mannerism or
any aspect of their personality.
y Many celebrities even register some aspects as a trademark
to use them commercially. For example, Usain Bolt’s
“bolting” or lightning pose is a registered trademark.

Types of Personality Rights:

y The right of publicity, or the right to keep one’s image
and likeness from being commercially exploited without
permission. It is similar (but not identical) to the use of a
trademark.
y The right to privacy or the right to not having one’s
personality represented publicly without permission.

Legal/Constitutional basis
y Personality rights or their protection are not expressly
mentioned in a statute in India.
y These rights are traced to fall under the right to privacy
and the right to property.
y In India, the publicity rights are governed by statutes like
the Trademarks Act 1999 and the Copyright Act 1957.
y With the 2017 judgment (Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.)
v. Union of India), the personality rights were elevated to
the position of constitutional rights.
⚪ The ruling formally recognised the right to privacy as a
fundamental right derived from the right to life and personal
liberty, as provided by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
⚪ The court ruled that an individual may be permitted to prevent
others from using his/her image, name and other aspects of
his/her personal life and identity for commercial purposes
without his/her consent.

The 22nd Law Commission of India submitted a report which suggest

amending Section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC)
to allow for online registration of FIRs (First Information Reports).
6. Online
Registration of
Major Recommendations of the Law Commission:
FIR
y It recommends enabling the registration of e-FIRs in a phased
manner, starting with offenses carrying a maximum punishment of
up to three years of imprisonment.

6 Indian Polity and Governance

 y e-Complaint to be allowed for all Non-Cognizable Offences.
e-FIR: The concept of ‘e-FIR’ includes obtaining information/complaint
through electronic means using a common national portal and then
getting the information/complaint signed by the complainant physically
within a stipulated time to convert the complaint into an actual FIR.

The recently passed Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act 2022 has

come into force It repeals the existing Identification of Prisoners Act,
1920.
The new law allows investigators to collect certain identifiable
information of convicts and other persons for purposes of identification
and investigation in criminal matters.

Key provisions:
y Legal sanction of data collection: It empowers police to collect
fingerprints, palm prints and footprints, Photos, Iris and retina
scans, behavioural attributes, etc.
y Measurements and photographs for identification have three main
purposes: to establish the identity of the culprit against the person
7. Craiminal being arrested, to identify suspected repetition of similar offences
Procedure by the same person and to establish a previous conviction.
(Identification)
y Persons in preventive detention: It also seeks to apply to persons
Act, 2022
detained under any preventive detention law.
y It empowers the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to store,
preserve, share with any law enforcement agency and destroy the
record of measurements at the national level. The records can be
stored up to a period of 75 years.
y Punishment: It also does away with the condition of an offence
being punishable by at least one year or more of imprisonment for
the “measurements” to be taken.
y Powers of Magistrate: Under the act, a Magistrate may direct
a person to give details for the purpose of an investigation or
proceeding under the CrPC.
Exception: The Act does not explicitly bar taking measurements of
juveniles.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) publishes final delimitation

orders for Assembly & Parliamentary Constituencies of the State of
Assam.

Delimitation Commission:
8. Delimitation y It is a statutory body established by the Parliament under the
Commission Delimitation Commission Act.
y It is a high-powered committee entrusted with the task of drawing
and redrawing boundaries of different constituencies for state
assembly and Lok Sabha election.
y It is appointed by the President and works in collaboration with the
Election Commission.

Indian Polity and Governance 7

 y The Commission consists of –
⚪ A retired or working Supreme Court Judge (chairperson)
⚪ Election Commissioner
⚪ Concerned State Election Commissioners
y The Commission’s orders have the force of law and cannot be
called in question before any court.
y The Commission’s orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the
legislative assemblies concerned, but they cannot effect any
modifications in the orders.

The Odisha state cabinet approved the inclusion of the Kui language
in the eighth schedule of the Constitution of India. Inclusion of Kui
in the eighth schedule will help in the preservation, promotion and
propagation of the language and culture.

8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution:

9. Kui language y It enlist the Official language of the Country and consists of 22
inclusion in languages currently. The Indian constitution deals with the official
8th schedule languages in Articles 343 to 351.
gets approval y 14 languages were originally listed in the Constitution and the rest
of Odisha were added over time.
Government y Sindhi language was added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967.
y Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were included by the 71st Amendment
Act of 1992.
y Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added by the 92nd
Amendment Act of 2003 which came into force in 2004.

A bench of Justices of the Supreme Court has recently said that all
accused have a right to silence and investigators cannot force them
to speak up or admit guilt, emphasising that the Constitution accords
every person a right against self-incrimination.

Right to Silence
y Right to silence emanates from Article 20(3), which states that no
one can be compelled to be a witness against himself.
10. Right to
Silence y The provision gives an accused the right against self-incrimination
-- a fundamental canon of law.
y However, there are some limitations:
⚪ Protection is limited only to criminal proceedings.
⚪ Right is not available to a person being interrogated under
Customs Act, 1962, or Foreign Exchange Management Act,
1999, since the person is not “accused of an offence” and isn’t
entitled to a lawyer.

8 Indian Polity and Governance

 ⚪ In Nandini Satpathy v. P.L. Dani case, SCstated that compelling
a person to answer a question within the limits of the police
station may result in a violation of Article 20(3).

y It is officially known as the National Commission for Religious and

Linguistic Minorities.
y It was constituted to look into various issues related to linguistic
11. Ranganath and religious minorities in the country.
Mishra y Report by Commission (2007) recommended that Scheduled caste
Commission status be completely delinked from religion and be made religion
neutral like STs.
y It had recommended permitting Dalits who converted to Islam and
Christianity to avail Scheduled Caste status.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment)

Act, 2023 has recently passed by the Parliament, replacing the
ordinance on control of services in Delhi.

Key features of the Act:

y Establishes the National Capital Civil Services Authority (NCCSA):
It establishes NCCSA to make recommendations to the Lt.
Governor on certain matters related to services, including transfers
and postings, vigilance, disciplinary proceedings, and prosecution
sanctions of Group A of All India Services (except Indian Police
Service), and DANICS.
⚪ The Authority will consist of the: Chief Minister of Delhi as
Chairperson, Principal Home Secretary of the Delhi government
as Member Secretary, and Chief Secretary of the Delhi
government as member.
12. Unique Status
y Expands the powers of LG: It expands the discretionary role of
of Delhi- the LG by giving him powers to approve the recommendations
Government of of the Authority, or return them for reconsideration. In the case
NCT of Delhi of a difference of opinion between the LG and the Authority, the
Amendment former’s decision will be final.
Act 2023 y Disposal of Matters by Ministers: A Minister of the Delhi government
may issue standing orders for the disposal of matters brought to
his attention. The order should be issued in consultation with
the concerned Department Secretary. Certain matters must be
submitted to the LG, through the Chief Minister and the Chief
Secretary, for his opinion prior to the issue of any order.

Constitutional Ground of the Law:

y The 69th Amendment Act of 1991 is a constitutional amendment
act that accorded a special status to Delhi.
y It put the state of Delhi under the joint control of the lieutenant
governor and chief minister in various matters.
y It also added Article 239AA of the Indian Constitution.
y It kept matters like land, police, and public order out of the purview
of the state legislature of Delhi.

Indian Polity and Governance 9

 The issue of sub-categorization within Scheduled Castes (SCs) has
recently gained attention, with the Prime Minister of India expressing
a commitment to identifying and assisting the most backward
communities within the SCs.

Sub-categorisation within Castes

y Sub-categorisation within castes refers to the process of creating
sub-groups within the existing categories of Scheduled Castes
(SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs)
for reservation and affirmative action.
y It aims to address the intra-category inequalities and ensure a
more equitable distribution of benefits and opportunities among
the most deprived and marginalized sections of society.

Legality of Sub-Categorisation:
y The journey began with the establishment of the Kalelkar
Commission in 1953, which marked the first instance of recognizing
backward classes beyond the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and
Scheduled Tribes (STs) on a national level.
y In 1980, the Mandal Commission Report estimated that the OBC
population constituted 52% and identified 1,257 communities as
13. Sub- backward.
categorisation y To address the inequity, it suggested an increase in the existing
within Castes quotas extending the reservation to include OBCs.
y Following the recommendations, the central government
implemented the reservation policy, reserving 27% of seats in
union civil posts and services for OBCs under Article 16(4).
y This policy was also enforced in central government educational
institutions under Article 15(4).
y In 2008, the Supreme Court intervened and directed the central
government to exclude the “creamy layer” (advanced sections)
among the OBCs from benefiting from the reservation policy,
ensuring that it reaches the most disadvantaged.
y In 2018, 102nd Constitution Amendment Act granted constitutional
status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC).
This elevated the NCBC from its previous status as a statutory body
under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, giving it
more authority and recognition in safeguarding the interests of
backward classes, including the OBCs.

y However, there is a constitutional mandate and a judicial

endorsement for sub-categorisation within castes, as Article 16
(4) of the Constitution empowers that the State can make any
provision for reservation in matters of promotion in favour of the
SCs and STs if they are not adequately represented in the services
under the State.

10 Indian Polity and Governance

 Overseas Indian citizens will no longer need a new OCI card, as per
the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It is to be issued only after a
new passport is issued in their names. When a person receives a new
passport after turning 20, it only has to be given once more.

Overseas Citizenship of India(OCI)

y A person who has Indian ancestry but is legally a citizen of another
nation is known as an overseas Indian citizen (OCI).
y According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, a person who meets the
requirements for an OCI must have been an Indian citizen on or
14. Overseas after January 26, 1950, or have been qualified to do so on that day
Citizens of or be the child or grandchild of such a person.
India (OCI) y OCI, or a mobility status, enables foreign nationals who are already
residents of India to start living, studying, or working there.

OCI Card
y The OCI card was made possible by the Citizenship (Amendment)
Act, which was approved in 2005.
y It was approved to meet the demands of Indians who live in other
developed countries and want dual citizenship.
y The OCI card grants Overseas Citizenship of India, enabling holders
to reside and work permanently in India but not to cast ballots,
hold political office, or own real estate.

Punjab has become the first state to implement the ‘right to walk’.
y Right to walk makes it mandatory for all road-owning agencies,
including the NHAI, to provide footpaths and cycle tracks on the
road.
y It seeks ‘RIght to Walk’ under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution
by ensuring safe facilities for pedestrians.

Rights of Pedestrians
y In the all-India context, there is no central level legislation or policy
governing or enforcing the rights of pedestrians.
y The new Motor Vehicles Act and few other legislations have
15. Right to Walk some provisions but do not talk exclusively about the rights of
pedestrians.
y The Indian Penal Code (IPC) enforces strict punishment in cases
of rash or negligent driving, endangering someone else’s life or
personal safety, etc. But none of these acts takes forward the
concept of “right to walk”.
y The “right to walk” concept can only be found as a small reference
in the Rules of Road Regulation 1989: Rule number 8 (the duty of
the driver to slow down when approaching a pedestrian crossing),
Rule 11 (not to drive on footpath or cycle lane) and Rule 15 (no
parking on footpath or pedestrian lane). It also talks directly about
giving first priority in “right of way” to pedestrians.

Indian Polity and Governance 11

 Based on the Ethics Committee Report, the Lok Sabha has recently
expelled one of its members accused of accepting gifts and illegal
gratification.

Basis of Expulsion:
y The constitutional basis of expulsion: An MP found guilty of breach
of privileges or contempt of the house can be suspended from the
16. Expulsion of house or face expulsion.
Members of
⚪ A simple majority is needed to pass a motion for expulsion in
Parliament
each house.
(MPs) in India
⚪ Further involvement of the Ethics committee is not always
necessary for expulsion.
y Legal basis of suspension and expulsions of MPs: To ensure smooth
proceedings and maintain order, the Presiding Officer of the House
has the power to force a Member to withdraw from the House.
⚪ In cases of extreme misconduct, the House may expel a member
“to rid the House of persons who are unfit for membership.”

y It consists of not more than 15 Members nominated by the Speaker

and shall hold office for a term not exceeding one year.
y The functions of the Ethics Committee are:

17. Ethics ⚪ Examine a complaint relating to the unethical conduct of a

Committee of member referred to it by the Speaker.
Lok Sabha ⚪ Make recommendations and formulate a code of conduct for
Members.
⚪ Suggest amendments to the code of conduct.
y The First Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha was set up in 2000 and
of Rajya sabha in 1997.

Recently, a Supreme Court judge has been nominated as the Chairman

of the SCLSC.

Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC)

18. Supreme
y It is a statutory body.
Court Legal
Services y It is constituted under section 3A of Legal Services Authorities Act,
1987 by National Legal Service Authority.
Committee
(SCLSC) y Objective: Providing free legal services to poor, under-privileged
and those marginalized in society. Chief Justice of India in Patron-
in-Chief of Committee.
y Members: Chairman (sitting Judge of SC) and 9 members (nominated
by the Chief Justice of India).

12 Indian Polity and Governance

 The launch of the e-SAKSHI mobile application marks a significant
advancement in the administration of the Member of Parliament Local
Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) in India.
y MPLADS (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
(MPLADS) e-SAKSHI Mobile Application was launched by the
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
y It offers convenience and accessibility, allowing MPs to propose,
track, and oversee the projects in real-time, which enhances
decision-making processes, enabling swift responses to emerging
needs or issues.
19. MPLADS
e-SAKSHI
Mobile MPLADS:
Application y It is a Central Sector Scheme under MoSPI.
y MPLADS funds used for creation of durable community assets in
areas of drinking water, primary education, etc.
y Atleast 15 percent of MPLADS entitlement is allocated for areas
inhabited by Scheduled Caste population and 7.5 percent for areas
inhabited by ST population.
y Funds are non-lapsable i.e. if money is not utilised, it gets carried
to next year.
y District authority must inspect atleast 10% of all work under
implementation every year

Recently, the 1st meeting of the Social Audit Advisory Body (SAAB) was
concluded in New Delhi.

About SAAB:
y This pioneering advisory body aims to guide the Ministry of Social
Justice & Empowerment in the institutionalization of social audits
across its diverse schemes.
y It is set up in the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD), which
function under the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment
(DoSJE), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

20. Social Audit

About Social Audit
Advisory
Board (SAAB) y The term ‘Social Audit’ was proposed by Howard Bowen in his 1953
book Social Responsibilities of the Businessman.
y Social Audit is a process of examination and assessment of a
programme/scheme.
y The Key guiding principles of Social Audit: Access to information
(Jaankari); Participation (Bhagidari); Protection of citizens
(Suraksha); etc.
Important fact: In India, Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO),
Jamshedpur, was the first company to perform social audits in 1979
for measuring its social performance. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan
(MKSS) started the concept of social audit while fighting corruption in
the public works in the early 1990s.

Indian Polity and Governance 13

 There have been demands from many state governments to revisit the
Seventh Schedule to improve Centre-state relations.

Seventh Schedule
y Seventh Schedule under Article 246 provides distribution of powers
and responsibilities between state and central governments.
y It specifies roles and responsibilities into three lists namely, Union
List, State List and Concurrent List.
y The entries that are related to national importance were allocated
21. Seventh to the Union and entries of local concern were allocated to the
Schedule of States.
the Indian y Article 248 confers residuary powers on Parliament. Residuary
Constitution powers refer to power of jurisdiction upon subjects that are not
mentioned in state or concurrent list.

Procedure for amending Seventh schedule

y It can be amended as provided under Article 368 in Part XX of the
Constitution.
y It requires special majority of Parliament (majority of total
membership of House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds
of members of House present and voting) and also consent of half
of state

Unresolved issue of Satluj Yamuna Link Canal as Haryana and Punjab

have failed to reach any settlement over water- sharing of Ravi and
Beas rivers.

About Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal

y The 214-kilometer-long canal connecting Sutlej and Yamuna rivers
was proposed in 1966 after the state of Haryana was formed out
of Punjab.
y Aim: Provide Haryana its average annual share of surplus Ravi-
Beas water.
22. Inter-state
y Issue: Haryana completed its stretch of SYL Canal in 1980, while
river disputes
Punjab kept citing Riparian Principles and non-availability of its
(Satluj- Water.
Yamuna Link
⚪ Riparian Principles state that the owner of land adjacent to a
Canal)
water body has the right to use water.
y Haryana argues that its southern parts of state are facing water
problems due to depleted groundwater. Haryana has been denied
its rightful share in water as assessed by Eradi Tribunal, 1987.

Constitutional Provisions:
y Entry 56 of the Union List empowers the Union Government for the
regulation and development of inter-state rivers and river valleys
to the extent declared by Parliament to be expedient in the public
interest.

14 Indian Polity and Governance

 y Entry 17 of the State List deals with water i.e., water supply,
irrigation, canal, drainage, embankments, water storage and hydro
power.
y According to Article 262, in case of disputes relating to waters, the
Parliament may by law:
⚪ provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with
respect to the use, distribution or control of the waters of, or
in, any inter-State River or river valley.
⚪ provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court
shall exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or
complaint as mentioned above.

The Central government had increased the borrowing limits for states
from 3% of the GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) to 5%.
y Out of 5%, 1% raise was linked to showing progress on four sets of
reform measures linked to:
⚪ One nation one ration card
⚪ Ease of doing business,
⚪ Power distribution
⚪ Urban local body revenues.
y This policy incentivises the states to adopt progressive policies to
23. Borrowing avail additional funds.
powers of
State govt Constitutional Provisions:
y Article 293 of the Indian Constitution deals with borrowing Powers
of States.
y It gives states the executive power to borrow money within the
limits that the state legislature sets.
y Also, the Central Government can give loans and guarantees to
states.
y If a state already has loans from the Centre, the Centre needs to
give its consent before the state can borrow more, and the Centre
can add conditions to that permission.

Recently, parts of the leader of the opposition speech on motion of

thanks on the President’s Address were expunged. Experts cited that
this is against the Parliamentary Privileges of MP enjoyed under Article
105 of the Constitution.

24. Parliamentary Parliamentary Privileges

privileges y Parliamentary privileges are a legal immunity enjoyed by members of
legislatures, wherein the legislators are granted protection against
civil or criminal liability for certain actions done or statements
made in the course of their legislative duties.
y Parliament is the sole authority to ascertain if there has been a
breach of privilege or contempt of House

Indian Polity and Governance 15

 y If presiding officer gives consent, Council can either consider
the question and come to a decision or refer it to Committee of
Privileges — a 10-member panel in Rajya Sabha and a 15-member
panel in Lok Sabha.

A panel has presented its recommendations to Chairman regarding

increasing Tenure of House Committees in a comprehensive study of
Rajya Sabha Secretariat

Parliamentary Committees
y It is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by the House or
nominated by the Speaker, and which works under direction of the
Speaker.
25. Parliamentary
Committees y The Parliamentary Committees present its report to the House or
to the Speaker.
y PCs have their origins in the British Parliament.
⚪ They draw their authority from Article 105 which deals with
privileges of MPs, and Article 118 which gives Parliament
authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct
of business.
⚪ Parliament is not bound by recommendations of committees.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan argued that instead of implementing the

new recruitment scheme, the government should complete the old
process and cited the doctrine of promissory estoppel.

About Doctrine of Promissory Estoppel

26. Doctrine of
y Promissory estoppel is a concept developed in contractual laws.
Promissory It prevents a “promisor” from backing out of an agreement on the
Estopper grounds that there is no “consideration”.
y It is invoked by a plaintiff to ensure execution of a contract or seek
compensation for failure to perform the contract.
y The Supreme Court pointed out that “promissory estoppel is always
subject to overarching public interest”.

The President gave the assent to Election Laws (Amendment) Act,

2021.
It amends Representation of People Act, 1950 (RPA, 1950) and
Representation of People Act, 1951 (RPA, 1951) to implement certain
electoral reforms.
27. Election Laws
(Amendment) Key Provisions:
Act 2021 y Linking electoral roll data with Aadhaar (by amendment of section
23 of RPA, 1950).
⚪ Electoral registration officer may require a person to furnish
their Aadhaar number for establishing their identity.

16 Indian Polity and Governance

 ⚪ Persons will not be denied inclusion in electoral roll or have
their names deleted from the roll, if they are unable to furnish
Aadhaar number due to sufficient cause as prescribed.
⚪ Such persons may be permitted to furnish alternate documents
prescribed by the central government.
y It provides four qualifying dates in a calendar year, which will be
January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1.
y Gender neutral: Act replaces the term ‘wife’ with ‘spouse’ in both
the Acts.
y Expansion: Act expands the purposes for which premises can be
requisitioned.
⚪ These include using the premises for counting, storage of voting
machines and poll-related material, and accommodation of
security forces and polling personnel.

y The Nordic (Scandinavian) Model of Social Democracy is in

discussion due to recent Sweden elections.
28. Social
y The Nordic model of social democracy is a combination of social
Democracy
welfare and economic systems adopted by Nordic countries
(Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland).

y Electoral literacy refers to the knowledge and understanding of

the electoral process, including the rights and responsibilities of
citizens in a democratic system.
29. Electoral y It encompasses the ability of individuals to make informed and
Literacy meaningful choices in elections, participate in the electoral
process, and understand the significance of voting in a democracy.
y Electoral literacy is essential for ensuring a well-informed and
engaged citizenry.

y There has been discussion in the Parliament and in the Ministerial

level on amending the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to
enable a common electoral roll and simultaneous elections to all
electoral bodies in the country.

Common electoral roll

y Under the Common Electoral Roll, only one voter list will be used
30. Common for Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha and other elections.
Electoral Roll y The types of electoral rolls in different states are different:
⚪ Some state laws allow the SEC (State Election Commission) to
borrow and use the Election Commission of India’s voter’s rolls
for the local body elections.
⚪ In others, the state commission uses the EC’s voters list as the
basis for the preparation and revision of rolls for municipality
and panchayat elections.

Indian Polity and Governance 17

 The Parliamentary panel on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law, and
Justice in its report found that Lokpal, has not prosecuted a
single person for graft till date.
Also, Kerala Legislative Assembly passed the Kerala Lokayukta
(Amendment) Bill, 2022.

About Lokpal
y Lokpal is a statutory body constituted under Lokpal and Lokayuktas
Act, 2013, which mandates for creation of Lokpal for Union and
Lokayukta for states.
y Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 aims to enhance the
current legal and institutional frameworks to facilitate
better implementation of obligations outlined in United Nations
Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
y Composition of Lokpal: Lokpal shall consist of Chairperson
and a maximum of eight Members, of which fifty percent shall
be judicial Members. However, Fifty percent of members of Lokpal
shall be from amongst SC, ST, OBCs, Minorities and Women.
y Appointment of Members of Lokpal: The Chairperson and the
Members of the Lokpal shall be appointed by the President on
recommendations of a Selection Committee (refer infographics).
31. Lokpal and y Salary and allowances: Chairperson shall be the same as those of
Lokayukta Chief Justice of India. Other Members shall be the same as those
of a Judge of the Supreme Court.
y Reappointment: On ceasing to hold office, Chairperson and
every Member shall be ineligible for reappointment as Chairperson
or a Member of Lokpal.

Brief Historical Background:

y In 1966, the term ‘Lokpal-Lokayukta’, coined by L. M. Singhvi, was
first used in a report of the Administrative Reforms Commission.
y In 2014, central Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 was notified.
⚪ It provides for establishment of a statutory body of Lokpal for
Union and Lokayukta for States.

⚪ It aims to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain

public functionaries and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto.
⚪ Lokayuktas are state equivalents of central Lokpal.
y Some States have already established Lokayuktas. For example,
Maharashtra in 1971, and Kerala in 1999.
y Extent: Whole of India and also applies to public servants in and
outside India.

18 Indian Polity and Governance

 Recently, the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023, was
passed in the Lok Sabha that seeks to repeal the Press and Registration
of Books Act, 1867.
Objective: The 1867 Act exercised complete control over the press and
the printers and publishers of newspapers and books along with heavy
fines and penalties including imprisonment for various violations.
Important Provisions:
y Press Registrar General (PRG): It creates a new position of Press
Registrar General, who is entrusted with tasks like- issuing
certificates of registration to periodicals, disbursing the Centre’s
funds for the Act’s implementation, etc.
32. Registration y Introduced a simple online registration mechanism
of Press and
y Reduced role of District magistrate/local authority.
Periodicals
y Facsimile edition of a foreign periodical: Foreign periodicals can be
Act, 2023
printed in India with prior approval of the Central Government and
its registration with the Press Registrar General (PRG).
y Suspension: It allows the PRG to suspend a periodical’s registration
for a minimum period of 30 days which can extend to 180 days for
⚪ Registration obtained by furnishing false information
⚪ Failure to publish periodicals continuously
⚪ Giving false particulars in annual statements
y Penalties: If a periodical is published without registration, the
PRG may direct its publication to be stopped and not compliance
with such direction within 6 months will be punishable with
imprisonment of up to 6 months.

Special Category Status (SCS)

y SCS, first introduced in 1969, is a classification given by the
Centre to assist in the development of those states that face
geographical and socio-economic disadvantages like hilly terrains,
strategic international borders, economic and infrastructural
33. Special backwardness, and non-viable state finances.
Category y Under SCS, the Central government bears 90% of the state
Status expenditure on all centrally-sponsored schemes and external aid
while the rest 10% is given as loan to the state at zero percent rate
of interest.
⚪ Unspent money does not lapse and is carried forward.
⚪ States with SCS are exempted from customs duty, corporate
tax, income tax and other taxes to attract investment.

The Amendment seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in

34. Nari Shakti the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.
Vandana
(106th About the 106th Amendment:
Amendment y It reserves one-third of all seats for women in Lok Sabha, state
Act, 2023 legislative assemblies, and the Legislative Assembly of the National
Capital Territory of Delhi.

Indian Polity and Governance 19

 y It also apply to the seats reserved for SCs and STs in Lok Sabha
and states legislatures.
y Reserved seats to be rotated after every delimitation exercise

y Mission Karmayogi’ - the National Programme for Civil Services

Capacity Building (NPCSCB) aims to transform capacity-building
in the bureaucracy through institutional and process reforms.
y The capacity building programme will be delivered through an
35. Mission
Integrated Government Online Training or iGOT-Karmayogi digital
Karmayogi platform, with content drawn from global best practices rooted in
Indian national ethos.
y iGOT-Karmayogi digital platform is a portal on the Ministry of
Education’s DIKSHA platform for the purpose of capacity building.

The European Commission proposed a set of digital rights and

principles recently, as an extension of the Berlin Declaration on Digital
Society and Value-based Governance.

36. Digital Rights Digital Rights

y Digital Rights are an extension of the rights set in the UN Declaration
of Human Rights
y They are linked with right of people that allow them to access, use,
create and publish digital media.

Recently, the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of

Finance released guidelines for reforms in Public Procurement and
Project Management.
y Public Procurement and Project Management includes the
procurement of goods and services by public entities and execution
37. Public of different projects. E.g., the goods or services purchased by
Procurement government entities for public service delivery.
and Project y These guidelines have been prepared under the aegis of Central
Management Vigilance Commission (CVC).
y Public procurement allows governments and state-owned
enterprises to purchase goods and services from the private sector.
y It is necessary to counteract the tendency of mismanagement, as
the share of public procurement is estimated to be between 20%
and 30% of gross domestic product (GDP).

Recently, the Ministry of Law and Justice has created the Nyaya Vikas
Portal for monitoring the implementation of Centrally Sponsored
Schemes (CSS) for development of Infrastructure for Judiciary.

38. Nyaya Vikas

About Nyaya Vikas Portal
Portal
y Nyaya Vikas Portal allows efficient ways of logging into the
portal, thereby empowering stakeholders with seamless access
to information pertaining to funding, documentation, project
monitoring and approval.

20 Indian Polity and Governance

 y The Department of Justice has been implementing CSS for
Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Districts and
Subordinate Judiciary since 1993-94.
y Central assistance is provided to the State Government / UT
Administrations for construction of court halls and residential
units for Judicial Officers / Judges of District, etc.
y Funding: Northeastern and Himalayan States (90:10); Union
Territories (100%), remaining states (60:40).

The Indian Parliament has passed the Cinematograph (Amendment)

Act, 2023 which amends the Cinematograph Act, 1952.

Key Features of the Act:

y It constitutes the Board of Film Certification for certifying films for
exhibition.
y It adds certain additional certificate categories based on age. Under
the Act, film may be certified for exhibition:
39. Curbing Film ⚪ without restriction (‘U’)
Privacy ⚪ without restriction, but subject to guidance of parents or
guardians for children below 12 years of age (‘UA’)
⚪ only to adults (‘A’), or only to members of any profession or
class of persons (‘S’).
y It prohibits carrying out or abetting: the unauthorised recording
and unauthorised exhibition of films.
y It made provisions to penalize film piracy with jail term and fine.
y Provisions to grant certificates to films for perpetuity. Currently,
certificates issued are valid only for 10 years.

The Union Cabinet approved continuation of the Fast Track Special

Courts (FTSCs) Scheme until March 31, 2026.

About Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs)

y Launched in 2019, FSTCs is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme and
implemented by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law &
Justice.
40. Fast Track
y Central Share is to be funded from Nirbhaya Fund, aimed at
Special Courts enhancing the safety and security for women.
(FTSCs)
y FTSCs, designed as dedicated courts, were established for hearing
rape and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO
Act) cases.
y Enactment of Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2018, which included
stringent punishment, including death penalty for rape offenders,
led to the creation of FTSCs.
y FTSCs are linked to National Judicial Data Grid

Indian Polity and Governance 21

 Delegated Legislation
y It is the process of law-making by an executive or administrative
authority under the powers conferred upon it by the legislature.
y This concept of delegated legislation is not mentioned specifically
in the Indian Constitution but it can be interpreted by Article 312
of the given Constitution.
y A 1973 Supreme Court ruling explains delegated legislation as:
“Empowering the Executive to make subordinate legislation within
a prescribed sphere has evolved out of practical necessity and
pragmatic needs of a modern welfare State”
41. Delegated
Legislation
Case Laws related to Delegated Legislation:
y DS Grewal vs State of Punjab: The Court held that delegated
legislation must be made for a specific purpose and must not be
arbitrary or discriminatory.
y Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Private Ltd. v. Union of India:
This case dealt with the validity of the Customs Act, 1962, which
gave the government the power to make rules for the assessment
and collection of customs duties. The Supreme Court held that
the power to make rules was not absolute and was subject to the
principles of natural justice, reasonableness, and non-arbitrariness.

y AoRs are a pool of lawyers whose legal practice is mostly before

the Supreme Court.
y They are lawyers in the Indian legal system who are registered and
authorized by the Supreme Court (SC) to represent clients in that
court.
42. Advocate-on- y The SC in the exercise of its rule-making power under Article 145,
Record (AoR) made a provision for the AoR system.
y Supreme Court Rules, 2013 prescribe eligibility criteria for an AoR.
⚪ Only AoR is entitled to file any matter or document before the
SC.
⚪ Senior Advocate is not entitled to appear without AoR in SC.

During her inaugural address at the Supreme Court’s Constitution

Day celebration on Sunday (November 26), President Droupadi Murmu
called for an “all-India judicial service” to recruit judges.

All India Judicial Services (AIJS)

43. All India
y AIJS is a centralized recruitment system for judges at the level of
Judicial
additional district judges and district judges across all states.
Services
y It aims to centralize the recruitment of judges, similar to the Union
(AIJS)
Public Service Commission (UPSC) model, assigning successful
candidates to states.
y Originating from Law Commission reports in 1958 and 1978, AIJS
seeks to address structural issues like varying pay, faster vacancy
filling, and standardized nationwide training.

22 Indian Polity and Governance

 y The No-Confidence Motion is the mechanism to test the
government’s majority as prescribed by the Constitution.
y The Article 75(3) of the Constitution says the Council of Ministers
is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. To test the collective
responsibility of the MPs, the Lok Sabha allows the Motion of No-
confidence, which is also called the Vote of No Confidence.
y The procedure of No-confidence motion is specified under Rule
198 of the Lok Sabha.
y The Constitution does not mention either a Confidence or a No
Confidence Motion.
44. No-confidence
y Any Lok Sabha MP, who can garner the support of 50 colleagues,
motion
can, at any point of time, introduce a motion of no-confidence
against the Council of Ministers.
y A no-confidence motion can be moved only in the Lok Sabha. It
cannot be moved in the Rajya Sabha.
y If the government wins the vote on the no-confidence motion, the
motion is defeated and the government remains in power.
y Till now, there have been 27 no-confidence motions introduced in
the Lok Sabha since independence. The first no-confidence motion
against the administration of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru was presented in the Lok Sabha in August 1963.

According to the Election Commission, any of these three conditions

need to be met if a party is to be called a “national party”.
y A party’s candidates in a minimum of four states must get at least
6 per cent of the total votes polled in each of those states in the
last national election. In addition to this, it should have won four
seats in the Lok Sabha.
y A party should win a minimum of 2 percent of the total seats in the
Lok Sabha. The party’s candidates should have been elected from
not less than three states.
y A party is recognised as a “state party” in at least four states.

45. National Party Benefits under the RPA 1951:

Status y It is entitled to exclusive allotment of its reserved symbol to the
candidates throughout India (for the national party) in the State in
which it is so recognised (for the state party).
y Need only one proposer for filing the nomination and are also
entitled to two sets of electoral rolls free of cost at the time of
revision of rolls.
y Their candidates get one copy of the electoral roll free of cost
during the General Elections.
y They get broadcast/telecast facilities over Akashvani/Doordarshan
during general elections.
y A recognized National or State party can have a maximum of 40
“Star campaigners” [registered unrecognized party = 20]

Indian Polity and Governance 23

 UIDAI
y It is a Statutory authority established under the provisions of the
Aadhaar Act 2016.
y It functions under the Ministry of Electronics & Information
Technology.
y The role of the authority is to issue Unique Identification Numbers
(UID), often referred to as ‘Aadhaar number’ to all the residents of
India. ( Note: It is not limited to the Citizens of India)
46. Unique
y Composition: UIDAI consists of a Chairperson, two part-time
Identification
Members and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is also the
Authority of Member-Secretary of the Authority.
India (UIDAI)
About Aadhar:
y It is a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the UIDAI
to the residents of India after a certain verification process.
y It serves as proof of identity and proof of address for residents of
India.
y This number is unique for each individual and will remain valid for
a lifetime.

Recently, the Information Commissioner, Heeralal Samariya, was sworn

in as the chief of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by the
President Of India.

Central Information Commission:

y Constituted under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
y Jurisdiction: Extends over all Central Public Authorities.
y Objectives: Exercise the powers conferred on them under the RTI
Act, 2005.
⚪ Receive and inquire into complaints from any citizen (Section
18 of the RTI Act, 2005).
47. Central ⚪ Receive and decide upon the second appeal from any citizen
Information (Section 19 of the RTI Act, 2005).
Commission ⚪ Perform the duty of “Monitoring and Reporting “(Section 25 of
the RTI Act, 2005).
y Composition: It has a Chief Information Commissioner and not
more than ten Information Commissioners.
y Appointment: Appointed by the President of India on the
recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister
as Chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and a
Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
y Eligibility: The members of CIC and SIC shall be persons of
eminence in public life with wide knowledge and experience in law,
science and technology, social service, management, journalism,
mass media, or administration and governance.

24 Indian Polity and Governance

 y Members shall not be a Member of Parliament or Member of the
Legislature of any State or Union Territory.
y Tenure: The CIC and the IC’s, as the case may be, shall hold office
for a period of three years from the date on which he enters upon
his office.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council accepted the Group of Ministers’
(GoM) recommendations on long pending constitution of GST appellate
tribunal in the country

GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT):

y The Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) in Section
109 mandates for the constitution of a GSTAT and its Benches.
y It will be the specialized appellate authority for resolving disputes
under the GST laws.

48. GST Appellate

Composition:
Tribunal
y The tribunal will have one principal bench in New Delhi and as many
benches or boards in states as decided by each state, subject to
approval of the council.
y North-eastern states could opt for one bench for 2-3 states and an
additional bench for very far-flung areas.
y The principal bench and state boards would have two technical
and two judicial members each, with equal representation from
the Centre and states.
y All 4 members would not sit for hearing each case. This will depend
upon the threshold or value of dues involved.

y A star campaigner is a celebrity vote seeker in an election for a

party. This person can be anyone, a politician or even a film star.
y They are nominated by political parties to campaign in each set of
constituencies for a specified duration.
y There is no law governing who can or cannot be made a star
49. Star
campaigner.
Campaigners
y List of star campaigners must be communicated to Chief Electoral
Officer and ECI within a week from election notification date under
section 77(1) of Representation of People Act (RPA), 1951.
y Recognised political parties can have 40 Star campaigners and an
unrecognized (but registered) political party can have 20.

y Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 focuses on

50. Panchayats
protecting the principle of Jal, Jungle , Jameen (Water, forest and
(Extension land) for the tribals.
to Scheduled
y The law enacted by the Government of India to cover the “Scheduled
Areas) Act,
areas”, which are not covered in the 73rd amendment of Panchayati
1996 Raj Act of the Indian Constitution.

Indian Polity and Governance 25

 y It enables Gram Sabhas to self-govern their natural resources. It
is an Act to provide for the extension of the provisions of Part IX
of the Constitution relating to the Panchayats to the Scheduled
Areas.
y “Scheduled Areas” means the Scheduled Areas as referred to in
Clause (1) of Article 244 of the Constitution. The Act extended the
provisions of Panchayats to the tribal areas of states that have
Fifth Schedule Areas.
y Every village shall contain a grama sabha whose members are
included in the electoral list for the panchayats at village level.
y The recommendation of the gram sabha is mandatory for granting
mining licenses in the scheduled areas Planning and management
of minor water bodies are entrusted to the panchayats.

The Central government’s proposed measures for regulating online

gaming in a draft amendment to the Information Technology
(Intermediary Liability and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

However, many questions remained unanswered after this proposal.

y Regulated by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
but different states have their own laws related to permission
within the state.
y Currently Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka have passed laws banning online games.
y There is no monitoring body in India till now to control online
gaming and it is in ‘Grey area’.
y With respect to the economic growth, Online gaming industry
revenue in India will exceed $1.5 billion by 2022 and is expected to
reach $5 billion by 2025.
51. Online Gaming
Different types of online gaming:
y eSports:These are video games that were played privately or on
consoles in video game stores in the 1990s, but are currently played
online in a structured manner between professional players, either
individually or in teams.
y Fantasy sports: These are games in which the player selects a team
of real sports players from several teams and earns points based
on how well the players perform in real life. For example,
y Online casual games: These could be skill-based, where the
outcome is heavily impacted by mental or physical skill or
chance-based, where the outcome is heavily influenced by some
randomised activity, such as rolling a die.
y A game of chance may be considered as gambling if players bet
money or anything of monetary value.

26 Indian Polity and Governance

 The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) urges the
government to adopt audit data standards. Lack of standardization in
underlying data structures across government IT applications poses
an audit challenge.

About CAG:
52. Comptroller y CAG is the head of the Indian audit & account department and
and Auditor chief Guardian of Public purse.
General of India y CAG is an independent authority under the Constitution of India.
y It is the institution through which the accountability of the
government and other public authorities (all those who spend
public funds) to Parliament and State Legislatures and through
them to the people is ensured.
y Shri Girish Chandra Murmu is the incumbent CAG of India.

The Aspirational Blocks Programme is on the lines of the Aspirational

District Programme that was launched in 2018 and covers 112 districts
across the country.
y This new programme is aimed at improving performance of blocks
lagging on various development parameters.
y This will enable holistic development in those areas that require
added assistance.
y Over half of these blocks are in 6 states—Uttar Pradesh (68 blocks),
Bihar (61), Madhya Pradesh (42), Jharkhand (34), Odisha (29) and
West Bengal (29).

Aspirational Districts Programme

It was launched in 2018 and aims to transform districts that have
53. Aspirational shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas.
District 3C Strategy: The broad contours of the programme
Programme
y Convergence (of Central & State Schemes)
y Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District
Collectors)
y Competition (among districts driven by a Mass Movement )
Parameters for Ranking: The ranking is based on the incremental
progress made across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under 5
broad socio-economic themes:
y Health & Nutrition (30%)
y Education (30%)
y Agriculture & Water Resources (20%)
y Financial Inclusion & Skill Development (10%)
y Infrastructure (10%)

Indian Polity and Governance 27

 Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) has been announced in the Union
Budget Speech 2022.
y It aims at enhancing infrastructure in villages along India’s border
with China, in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and
Arunachal Pradesh.
y Activities under the VVP include building infrastructure such as
housing, tourist centres, road connectivity, providing decentralized
54. Vibrant Village renewable energy, direct-to-home access for Doordarshan and
Programme educational channels, and support for livelihood generation.
y The programme envisages coverage of border villages on the
Northern border having sparse population, limited connectivity
and infrastructure, which often get left out from the development
gains.
y Convergence of existing schemes is proposed under VVP. The
villages on the Northern border to be covered under VVP are being
finalized.

28 Indian Polity and Governance