16 August 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Pendency of Cases: GS II – Judiciary-related issues

Causes of cases’ pending status:

• A rise in the quantity of cases Increases in literacy, population growth, and the creation of citizen-friendly tools like PIL have all contributed to a huge increase in the number of court cases.
• Increasing Vacancies: The judicial system is only functioning at a small portion of its authorized capacity. As of 2017, there were 403 vacancies in the High Courts out of a sanctioned strength of 1,079 judges. But there has been no advancement in filling such positions. Out of a total of 22,704 judges, there are 5,676 vacancies in subordinate courts. The delay in appointments is the cause of the rise of open positions.
• Strict procedural demands: Each case demands a sizable amount of paperwork, which might lead to unneeded delays.
• Lawyers’ Bad Behavior: In order to prolong the case, lawyers have been detected colluding in corruption, especially at lower levels. Additionally, the attorneys request several adjournments on spurious justifications.
• Police staff inefficiencies: They are occasionally seen as complacent in presenting charge sheets and concluding speedy investigations, which delays the delivery of prompt judgment.
• Law schools are more focused on creating lawyers than they are on creating future judges.

Effects of Case Pendency:

• Judges are under too much stress as the backlog grows.
• Pendency increases the number of prisoners awaiting trial, which finally causes overpopulation in the prisons.
• It jeopardizes the right to life.
• The accused and victim are harassed while the case is pending. As a result of the delay, they must endure years of intense financial, physical, and mental strain.
• If a person doesn’t get justice quickly, their faith and trust in the legal system is also eroded.
• The number of cases that have been resolved has remained between 55 and 59% in the Supreme Court, 28% in the High Courts, and 40% in the lower courts.

Steps to Take:

• Priorities should dictate time limits for pendency for all cases; as a result, time standards must be established, and they will change for various cases as well as for various courts depending on their capacity for disposition.
• Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods should be promoted for out-of-court agreements.

Source The Indian Express

2 – MCLR: GS III – Indian Economy related issues

MCLR: What is it?

• The lowest lending rate below which a bank is prohibited from lending is known as the MCLR (Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate).
• The MCLR was put into use by the RBI to set lending interest rates on April 1, 2016.
• It is an internal benchmark rate that banks use to determine the maximum rate of interest they can apply on loans.
• After the MCLR is installed, interest rates are computed using each customer’s relative risk factor (creditworthiness).
• Banks take a while to update lending rates for borrowers when the RBI decreased the repo rate in the past.
• Under the MCLR regime, banks are required to adjust their interest rates as soon as the repo rate changes.

How is MCLR determined?

• Both the incremental cost of funds and the existing cost of funds are taken into account by the MCLR. On the basis of this methodology, let’s examine the factors that affect the MCLR.
• The return on net worth and the marginal cost of borrowings combine to form the marginal cost of funds. The other element has only 8% of the influence, compared to 92% from the marginal cost of borrowing. Additionally, the repo rate and bank interest rates have an impact.
• Operating Costs: These are the expenses related to loan issuance, capital acquisition, and day-to-day operations of the business.
• Banks must account for the cash deposits they are required to keep on file with the Reserve Bank of India when calculating their Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR).
• Tenor Premium: This is the fee that will be added to long-term loans to reduce the risk associated with such lending.
• The internal benchmark rate (MCLR) for overnight, one-month, three-month, six-month, and one-year maturities may be published by banks once per month.

Motives for implementing MCLR:

• To increase bank lending rates.
• For increasing the transparency of how interest rates on bank advances are calculated.
• To open up bank lending at costs that are reasonable for both lenders and banks.
• To aid banks in long-term efficiency and profitability growth, as well as to support economic growth.

Conclusion:

• The purpose of the MCLR’s introduction was to quickly and effectively inform clients of changes to the repo rate. Even if lower repo rates gave way to external benchmark lending rates, the banks were unable to lower the interest rate.

Source The Indian Express

3 – DigiYatra App: Prelims Specific Topic

DigiYatra:

• About: According to DigiYatra, passengers will pass through several checkpoints at the airport utilising paperless and contactless processing, establishing their identities using face features and linking those identities to their boarding passes.
• Project implementation is being handled by the DigiYatra Foundation.

Airports Included:

• In addition to the aforementioned airports, DigiYatra will be implemented in Varanasi and Bengaluru this month, and at five other airports by March of the following year: Pune, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Delhi, and Hyderabad.
• The airports where DigiYatra will be gradually deployed will be determined by the Airport Authority of India (AAI).
• Meaning: Using DigiYatra technology, all checkpoints—including airport entry, security checkpoints, aircraft boarding, etc.—would automatically process passenger entries based on facial recognition technology.

How can the DigiYatra facility be used?

• Passengers must first download the DigiYatra app in order to use the Digiyatra facility.
• Users can sign up for the app using their Aadhaar credentials, then take a selfie holding their Aadhaar card.
• After that, the app will need to be updated with vaccination information using CoWIN credentials.
• Travel will be simple: After doing the foregoing, the passenger will need to scan their boarding card with a QR code or bar code, at which point the airport will be given their credentials.
• Passengers must scan their boarding cards at the e-gate and look into the facial recognition system camera there in order to enter the airport.
• The procedure for entering other checkpoints will be same.

DigiYatra Foundation:

• About: The Airports Authority of India (26% stake) and Bengaluru Airport, Delhi Airport, Hyderabad Airport, Mumbai Airport, and Cochin International Airport each own equal shares of DigiYatra Foundation, a joint venture company.
• Important Function: The DigiYatra Foundation will be in charge of maintaining the passenger ID verification system.
• Additionally, it will outline the local airport system’s rules and requirements for compliance.

Audit Method:

• The DigiYatra criteria for the regional airport Biometric Boarding Systems will be followed, and there will be frequent audits of the different compliances and guidelines (including guidelines on security, picture quality, and data protection).

Source The Indian Express

4 – ATAGS Howitzer Gun: Prelims Specific Topic

• The DRDO facility in Pune, Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), in collaboration with Bharat Forge and Tata Group, is developing the ATAGS artillery cannon.
• A 155mm, 52-caliber heavy artillery cannon is called the ATAGS.
• Over 45 kilometers of the range has been demonstrated by the ATAGS.
• It is capable of the shortest minimum range at a high angle, quick movement in desert and mountainous terrain, autonomous mode firing capability, and wireless connection, making it the most reliable and accurate gun in the world.
• It has a completely automatic ammunition handling system with all electronic drives and is intended to fire all in-service ammunition.

Source The Indian Express