The Prayas ePathshala

Exams आसान है !

22 September 2022

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. What are the powers and duties conferred to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha?

Paper & Topic: GS II – Parliament-related issues

Model Answer:

About:

In India, the Office of the Speaker is a dynamic institution that responds to the demands and issues that Parliament really faces as it carries out its duties.
The Speaker and Deputy Speaker are both elected under Article 93 of the Constitution.
The Speaker is the House’s official head both legally and ceremonially.
The presiding officer of each House of Parliament is different.
For the Lok Sabha, there is a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker, while for the Rajya Sabha, there is a Chairman and a Deputy Chairman.

History:

Under the terms of the Government of India Act of 1919, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker institutions first appeared in India in 1921. (Montague-Chelmsford Reforms).
The Speaker and Deputy Speaker were then referred to as the President and the Deputy President, respectively, and this nomenclature persisted until 1947.
The designations of President and Deputy President were changed to Speaker and Deputy Speaker, respectively, by the Government of India Act of 1935.

Lok Sabha: The Speaker’s Office:

The Lok Sabha, the country’s highest legislative body, elects the Speaker, who is in charge of the daily operations of the House.
One of the first actions of any freshly constituted House is to elect the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Election of the Speaker’s Office:

The Indian Constitution stipulates that the Speaker must be a house member.
An understanding of the Constitution and the laws of the nation is regarded as a major benefit for the holder of the Office of the Speaker, even though there are no precise requirements set down for being elected as the Speaker.
Typically, a member of the governing party is chosen as Speaker. After informal discussions with the leaders of other parties and groupings in the House, the ruling party nominates its candidate in a procedure that has developed over the years.
By following this tradition, all members of the House will respect the Speaker after they have been chosen.
Voting: A simple majority of the MPs present and voting in the House elects the Speaker (together with the Deputy Speaker) from among the Lok Sabha members.
The Prime Minister or the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs often proposes the candidate’s name after a choice has been made.
Speaker’s Term of Office: The Speaker’s term in office runs from the day of his or her election to the day before the next Lok Sabha’s first meeting (for 5 years).
Once elected, the speaker is up for reelection.
The Speaker remains in office until the newly-elected Lok Sabha convenes whenever the Lok Sabha is dissolved.

Powers and Functions of Speaker:

Interpretation: Within the House, he or she has the final say on how the articles of the Indian Constitution, the Lok Sabha’s rules for conducting business, and parliamentary precedents should be interpreted.
In cases involving the interpretation of these laws, he or she frequently renders decisions that are respected by members and have legal force.
He/she is in charge of presiding over a combined session of the two Houses of Parliament.
The President calls such a meeting to resolve a bill impasse between the two Houses.
Adjournment of Sitting: In the absence of one-tenth of the House’s membership, he or she may adjourn the House or suspend it (called the quorum).
Voting: The Speaker has the right to cast a tie-breaking vote when the House is evenly divided on any issue. In the first occurrence, the Speaker does not cast a vote.
This type of vote, known as a casting vote, is used to break a tie.
Money Bill: This person determines whether or not a bill is a money bill, and their decision is definitive.
Disqualifying Members: In accordance with the requirements of the Tenth Schedule, the speaker chooses whether to disqualify a member of the Lok Sabha for defecting.
This authority belongs to the Speaker under the 52nd amendment to the Indian Constitution.
The Supreme Court declared in 1992 that the Speaker’s decision on this matter is amenable to judicial review.
He/she serves as the ex-officio chairman of the Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG), which serves as a conduit between the Indian Parliament and the many other parliaments throughout the world.
Additionally, he serves as the country’s ex-officio chairman of the conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies.
Committee composition: The Speaker appoints the members of the House Committees, who work under his or her general supervision.
He or she designates the Chairmen of each Parliamentary Committee.
His chairmanship directly oversees committees like the Rules Committee, the Business Advisory Committee, and the General Purposes Committee.
House privileges: The Speaker is responsible for protecting the House’s members, Committees, and privileges.
Any subject of privilege may be referred to the Committee of Privileges for review, inquiry, and report at the sole discretion of the Speaker.

With few exceptions, the Speaker serves out the entire term of the Lok Sabha. However, the following circumstances may require the speaker to leave the office earlier:

if he quits serving in the Lok Sabha.
if he gives the Deputy Speaker a written resignation.
if a motion to dismiss him is approved by a majority of all Lok Sabha members.
Notification: A resolution of this nature may only be moved with 14 days’ notice.
The Speaker may attend the meeting but shall not preside when the House is considering a resolution to remove the Speaker.

Q2. Write a short note on POSHAN Abhiyaan.

Paper & Topic: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Model Answer:

The Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman, often known as PM-POSHAN, was authorised by the Union Cabinet in September 2021 with a budget of Rs. 1.31 trillion for the purpose of delivering one hot cooked meal at government and government-aided schools.
The programme took the place of the Mid-day Meal Scheme, a national programme providing lunch in schools.
It was introduced for a five-year initial phase (2021-22 to 2025-26).

What Characteristics Characterize the PM Poshan Scheme?

Coverage:

In order to guarantee a minimum of 700 calories per working day, primary (1–5) and upper primary (6–8) kids are currently each entitled to 100 grammes and 150 grammes of dietary grains, respectively.
It also includes pupils in pre-primary courses who are balvatikas (children between the ages of 3 and 5).

Nutrient-rich gardens:

Use of locally produced nutritious food will be promoted from “school nutrition gardens” to support local economic development. Farmers Producer Organizations (FPO) and Women Self Help Groups will also be involved in the scheme’s implementation.

Additional Nutrition:

The programme includes a provision for supplemental nourishment for kids in affluent neighbourhoods and those with a high anaemia prevalence.
It removes the constraint on the Center’s side to limit funding to only wheat, rice, pulses, and vegetables.
Currently, the Centre is not responsible for covering any additional costs if a state chooses to add a menu item like milk or eggs. That limitation is no longer in place.

Tithi Bhojan Theory:

As part of the community engagement initiative TithiBhojan, participants provide children special food during holidays and other events.

Transfer of Direct Benefits (DBT):

For the purpose of compensating the cooks and helpers employed under the programme, the Center has ordered the states and UTs to move to the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) method.
This will ensure that there are no leaks at the district administration and other levels of government.

Nutrition Specialist:

Each school will have a nutritionist on staff whose job it is to see that issues like haemoglobin levels, weight, and Body Mass Index (BMI) are handled.

The program’s social audit:

Every school in every state is now required to conduct a social audit of the programme in order to study its implementation, which was not done by all states up until this point.