UPSC Interview prep feed Vol.14

Topic: Some recent trending legislations

The Mines and Minerals Amendment Bill 2015

• The bill has received presidential assent and the government has drafted Rules for some of the clauses of the act.
• The main flaw with this act is that it does not address the problems of tribals mostly who own the surface land above the mineral bed.
• The act has no clause for consent or even consultation with the Gram Sabhas which would be impacted by the subsequent mining operations and projects.
• "Adiwasis"  are described in the law as "occupiers of the land" and the State govt. at a later stage can enforce them to vacate the land in contention for mining.
• Various adiwasi movements have tried to highlight the just right of the locals to get a share in the profits made by the mining corporations but it has only fallen on deaf ears.
• Many amendments have taken place to the 1957 Act, but they did not focus on these rights of the tribals.
• All this despite the SC Samatha judgement that Adiwasi have a right of informend consent and share in mineral wealth.

Ore vs Mineral 

• Ores contains minerals.
• All ores are minerals but not all minerals are ores.
• Ores have large amounts of metals. They are used to extract metals economically.
• In ores, the minerals are the native form in which the metals exist.
• Thus Ores have economic significance and Minerals have scientific significance

The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill 2014

• This was recently passed by the Rajya Sabha and now is headed to the lower house.
• Last year's landmark  judgement by the SC has definitely made a big impact on this issue.
• SC clarified that Transgender would include those who have had no surgery as well.
• Also, verifications only allowed through psychological assessment and not physical tests.
• After the SC ruling, five instructions were given to the State governments: 1000 INR per month to the parents of transgender children; Class 6-10 scholarship; scholarship for higher studies; skills training and a monthly pension scheme.
• Most states have not done most of these. Tamil Nadu has done well in this regard though.
• But all this will not help if we are not able to change the mind set of the society in general.
• These people are still treated like outcasts and the opportunities for jobs and business is simply negligible. 
• Children in schools need to be sensitized about the Third gender so that they understand them better. 
• 29 Countries across the world have legislations to provides rights to the third sex.
• The bill talks about providing reservations and financial aids to the third sex.
• On this note, the govt. has assured that they have already started working on a detailed policy dealing with the rights of the transgenders.
• Another unique thing is that it is the first private members bill passed in 45 years.

Eunuch: A person who is born male but is emasculated or castrated. If castration takes place at an early age, as is often the case, it can have major hormonal consequences. Eunuch can also refer to an intersex person whose genitals are ambiguously male-like at birth.

Hijra: The Persian word is loosely translated as eunuch in English, but unlike eunuchs, not all hijras are necessarily castrated. According to the apex court judgement, hijras are biological males who reject their masculine identity and identify either as women, or “not-men”, or “in-between man and woman” or “neither man nor woman”.

Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill

• The Act will apply to all persons resident in India. 
• Undisclosed foreign income or assets shall be taxed at the flat rate of 30 percent. No exemption or deduction or set-off of any carried forward losses which may be admissible under the existing Income-tax Act, 1961, shall be allowed. 
• The penalty for non-disclosure of income or an asset located outside India will be equal to three times the amount of tax payable thereon, i.e., 90 percent of the undisclosed income or the value of the undisclosed asset. This is in addition to tax payable at 30%.
• Failure to furnish return in respect of foreign income or assets shall attract a penalty of Rs.10 lakh. The same amount of penalty is prescribed for cases where although the assessee has filed a return of income, but he has not disclosed the foreign income and asset or has furnished inaccurate particulars of the same. 
• The punishment for willful attempt to evade tax in relation to a foreign income or an asset located outside India will be rigorous imprisonment from three years to ten years. In addition, it will also entail a fine. 
• Failure to furnish a return in respect of foreign assets and bank accounts or income will be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term of six months to seven years. The same term of punishment is prescribed for cases where although the assessee has filed a return of income, but has not disclosed the foreign asset or has furnished inaccurate particulars of the same. 
• Further, the right of appeal has been protected by providing for appeals to the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal, and to the jurisdictional High Court and the Supreme Court on substantial questions of law. 
• One time compliance opportunity – The Bill also provides a one time compliance opportunity for a limited period to persons who have any undisclosed foreign assets which have hitherto not been disclosed for the purposes of Income-tax. Such persons may file a declaration before the specified tax authority within a specified period, followed by payment of tax at the rate of 30 percent and an equal amount by way of penalty. Such persons will not be prosecuted under the stringent provisions of the new Act. It is to be noted that this is not an amnesty scheme as no immunity from penalty is being offered. It is merely an opportunity for persons to come clean and become compliant before the stringent provisions of the new Act come into force. 
• Amendment of PMLA – The Bill also proposes to amend Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 to include offence of tax evasion under the proposed legislation as a scheduled offence under PMLA. 

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Bill

• The Bill permits juveniles between the ages of 16-18 years to be tried as adults for heinous offences.  Also, any 16-18 year old, who commits a lesser, i.e., serious offence, may be tried as an adult only if he is apprehended after the age of 21 years.
• Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB) and Child Welfare Committees (CWC) will be constituted in each district.  The JJB will conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine whether a juvenile offender is to be sent for rehabilitation or be tried as an adult.  The CWC will determine institutional care for children in need of care and protection.
• Eligibility of adoptive parents and the procedure for adoption have been included in the Bill. 
• Penalties for cruelty against a child, offering a narcotic substance to a child, and abduction or selling a child have been prescribed.