Permanent commission for women in Navy
Context :
The Supreme Court has upheld the right of serving Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers of the Navy to be granted permanent commission (PC) on a par with their male counterparts.
The judgment was based on a case filed by 17 women SSC officers who were denied PC and discharged despite completing 14 years of service as SSC officers.
- They had challenged a February 26, 2008 policy letter of the government granting PCs to SSC officers in all the three branches of the Armed Forces. However, the offer was restricted to certain categories and was to operate prospectively for the benefit of future batches inducted on SSCs after January 2009.
- The Supreme Court on 17 February upheld a 2010 Delhi high court ruling and had directed the Centre to ensure that women officers are given permanent commissions in the Indian Army on a par with male officers, including for command posting.
Observations made by the Supreme Court :
- Women officers have worked shoulder to shoulder with their men counterparts in every walk of service.
- Therefore, the “101 excuses” devised by the government, including motherhood and physiological limitations, reeked of a stereotypical mindset.
- And women naval officers cannot be denied the right to equal opportunity and dignity entitled to under the Constitution on specious grounds such as physiology, motherhood and physical attributes.
Implications of the judgment :
- Women naval officers will now be eligible to apply for permanent commission.
- All serving women short service commission (SSC) officers in at least seven wings, including the executive, engineering, electrical, education, law and logistics, will be eligible to apply.
- The grant of PCs will be subject to: (i) availability of vacancies in the stabilised cadre; (ii) Suitability of the candidate; and (iii) recommendation by the chief of Naval Staff.
What is a permanent commission :
A Permanent Commission means a career in the army until one retires. If one gets selected through Permanent Commission, one has the option to serve the country up to the full age of retirement.
A women naval SSC officer retires in 10 years, whereas one with a permanent commission is entitled to serve for four more years, making it a total of 14 years
Resolution seeking removal of the phrase Socialism to be placed in Rajya Sabha
Context :
A resolution that seeks the removal of the phrase “socialism” from the preamble of the Constitution is to be placed in Rajya Sabha on 20 March. The resolution argued that the word is “redundant” in the current scenario, and hence it should be dropped to create space for economic thinking without a particular thought.
Highlights :
- The preamble of the Indian Constitution has declared the country to be a sovereign, socialist, secular and democratic republic.
- Socialism and secularism were not part of the preamble, which was adopted on 26 November 1949 by the Constituent Assembly.
- The terms socialist and secular were inserted in the preamble as part of the 42nd Constitution Amendment Act, 1976, which was passed during the Emergency. It was added to qualify the character of the Indian republic.
- Many groups demand to restore the original preamble.
- It is said that in the socio-economic developmental context, socialism is completely a redundant.
Lok Sabha passed 2020 Aircraft Amendment Bill
Context :
Lok Sabha passed the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020, on 17 March. The Bill was moved by the Union Civil Aviation Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri. The Bill aims to amend the Aircraft Act, 1934.
Bill provision :
- The Bill aims to convert three existing bodies under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, namely the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), and the Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB), into statutory bodies under the Act.
- Each of the statutory bodies will be headed by a Director-General who will be appointed by the centre.
- The Bill empowers the central government to make rules on several matters, including registration of aircraft, regulating air transport services, and prohibition of flight over any specified area.
- The Bill penalty for various offences is imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine of up to Rs 10.lakh, or both. The offences include carrying arms, explosives, or other dangerous goods aboard aircraft, contravening any rules notified under the Act, and constructing buildings or structures within the specified radius around an aerodrome reference point.
- The Bill will add air navigation services to the list for which the central government can make rules.
- The Bill empowers the central government to cancel the licences, certificates, or approvals granted to a person under the Act if the person contravenes any provision of the Act.
Source : the hindu