[Mission 2022] Insta– QUED ( Questions from Editorials. ) 8 October 2021

Solution:  b)

Article 324 of the Indian Constitution provides for an independent Election Commission for the ‘superintendence, direction and control of the electoral roll and the conduct of elections’ in India. These words in the Constitution are very important, for they give the Election Commission a decisive role in virtually everything to do with elections.

But, the Election Commission is NOT responsible for the conduct of local body elections.

The State Election Commissioners work independently of the Election Commission of India and each has its own sphere of operation.

Only the State Election Commission may take necessary actions for the successful conduct of these elections.

Solution: d)

Aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 is the equivalent provision for aggravated rape. A person can be charged with this offence in certain aggravating circumstances, such as if the rape occurs within a relationship of trust or authority, or if it leads to pregnancy, among others. Under POCSO, the consent of a person under the age of 18 is irrelevant, regardless of the nature and circumstance of the sexual interaction, or the particulars of the person with whom it takes place. This means that any sex with a minor is rape.

The Act also provides for mandatory reporting of sexual offences. This casts a legal duty upon a person who has knowledge that a child has been sexually abused to report the offence; if he fails to do so, he may be punished with six months’ imprisonment and/ or a fine.

POCSO was enacted pursuant to Article 15 of the Constitution, which allows the state to make special provisions for women and children, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to protect children from sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography.

Source

Solution: d)

Following a series of orders by the National Green Tribunal in 2018, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for the first time released guidelines to monitor and check illegal sand mining in the country.

The Enforcement and Monitoring Guidelines for Sand Mining 2020 released by the Ministry include directions to states to carry out river audits, put detailed survey reports of all mining areas online and in the public domain, conduct replenishment studies of river beds, constantly monitor mining with drones, aerial surveys, ground surveys and set up dedicated task forces at district levels.

The guidelines also push for online sales and purchase of sand and other riverbed materials to make the process transparent. They propose night surveillance of mining activity through night-vision drones.

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 has empowered state governments to make rules to prevent illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals. “But in the recent past, it has been observed that there was a large number of illegal mining cases in the country.

Source

Solution: a)

Solution: d)

A person of the age 21 is not qualified to fight a state assembly election, but can fight a local body election.

The SEC is not subordinate to the CEC in the same way as the states are not subordinates to the center.