Why does Rajya Sabha have ‘nominated’ MPs, and who gets nominated?

 The government on Wednesday (July 6) nominated musician Ilaiyaraaja, track-and-field icon PT Usha, Telugu screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad, and philanthropist and spiritual leader Veerendra Heggade to Rajya Sabha. The four new entrants to Rajya Sabha belong to four southern states, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.

Ilaiyaraaja, Usha, Prasad, and Heggade will serve until July 2028. The Upper House of Parliament now has nine nominated members — the other five being lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani, dancer Sonal Mansingh, politician Ram Shakal, author and columnist Rakesh Sinha, and former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. Three nominated positions are currently vacant.

What does the Constitution say about nominated members?

Article 80 of the Constitution (“Composition of the Council of States”) says “The Council of States shall consist of (a) twelve members to be nominated by the President in accordance with the provisions of clause (3); and (b) not more than two hundred and thirty-eight representatives of the States and of the Union territories.” Clause 3 of the article layer down the qualifications for the appointment: “The members to be nominated by the President…shall consist of persons having special knowledge or pracLiterature, science, art and social service.”

Since Rajya Sabha was constituted in 1952, a total 142 individuals have been nominated as its members. The list includes scholars, jurists, educationists, historians, scientists, litterateurs, journalists, engineers, economists, administrators, artistes, sportspersons, social workers, and politicians, mostly with loyalty to the government of the day.

What is the role of nominated members?

Nominated members of Rajya Sabha enjoy all the powers and privileges to which the elected MPs are entitled. They can take part in the proceedings of the House in the normal manner, even though there has been criticism that several nominated members have poor attendance and do not appear to show much interest in legislative work. In this context, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, actor Rekha, and businesswoman Anu Aga have faced criticism in recent years.

Nominated members are not allowed to vote in the election of the President. They do have the right to vote in the election of the Vice-President, however.tical experience in respect of such matters as the following, namely:—

Why are members nominated to the Rajya Sabha?

Pitching for a provision in the Constitution to allow eminent persons to be nominated to the Council of States, N Gopalaswami Ayyangar, who was part of the Constitution Drafting Committee, said: “We also give an opportunity, perhaps, to seasoned people who may not be in the thickest of the political fray, but who might be willing to participate in the debate with an amount of learning and importance which we do not ordinarily associate with the House of the People (Lok Sabha).”

The first list of 12 Presidential nominees perfectly represented this sentiment: Zakir Husain, who later became the President of India; historians Kalidas Nag and Radha Kumud Mookerji; the eminent Hindi poet Maithilisharan Gupt; Gandhian author Kakasaheb Kalelkar; scientist Satyendranath Bose; social worker N R Malkani; danseuse Rukmini Devi Arundale; Gandhian scholar J M Kumarappa; jurist Alladi Krishnaswami; actor Prithviraj Kapoor; and medical scientist Major General S S Sokhey.

Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru told Lok Sabha on May 13, 1953: “The President has nominated some members of the Council of States who, if I may say so, are among the most distinguished…in arts, science, etc…. They do not represent political parties or anything, but they represent really the high watermark of literature or art or culture or whatever it may be.”

Politicisation of the nominated category

Over time, the high ideal of the nomination came to be eroded. Ruling dispensations have repeatedly used the nominated category to shore up their numbers in the House, to dispense favours, and to get their preferred individuals into Parliament.

While a nominated member can join a political party within six months of taking his/ her seat in the House, even those who remain technically independent are assumed to be aligned with the ruling regime.Maragatham Chandrasekar, Congress general secretary and former minister, served three terms as nominated member of Rajya Sabha from 1970 to 1988 as a “social worker”. Former Assam Chief Minister Anwara Taimur (who was nominated in 1988), Indira Gandhi’s close associate Nirmala Deshpande (nominated in 1997 and 2003), former minister Mani Shankar Aiyyar (nominated in 2010), Madan Bhatia (nominated in 1982 and 1988), Sat Paul Mittal (nominated in 1976 and 1982) all had close allegiance to the Congress.

The BJP nominated former Union minister Subramanian Swamy in 2016, a one-man army crusading against the Nehru-Gandhi family in various courts. Its journalist nominees, the late Chandan Mitra and Swapan Dasgupta, were/are closely associated with the party, and contested elections on BJP tickets. Actor Hema Malini, nominated in 2003, is a BJP politician. Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu was aligned with the BJP before joining the Congress. Former Lok Sabha member from Robertsganj Ram Shakal entered Rajya Sabha in 2018.

Source: Indian Express, 7/07/22

Quote of the Day July 7, 2022

 

“It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, "Always do what you are afraid to do."”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

“एक बार एक युवक को एक अच्छी सलाह प्राप्त करते हुए मैंने सुना था कि, "हमेशा वह कार्य करो जिसको करने से आप ड़रते हैं।"”
राल्फ वाल्डो एमर्सन

Current Affairs-July 7, 2022

 

INDIA

– PM inaugurates Golden Jubilee celebrations of Assam’s Agradoot group of newspapers

– Union ministers Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and R. C. P. Singh resign a day before the completion of their Rajya Sabha term

– Russia signs pact for supplying tech for Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu

– Govt. reduces gap for coronavirus booster shot from 9 months to 6

– Freedom fighter Gandhian P Gopinathan Nair dies at 100 in Kerala

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

– RBI increases ECB (External Commercial Borrowing) limit under automatic route from $750mnoritsequivalentperfinancialyearto$1.5 bn

– Finance ministry extends exemption of customs duty on raw cotton imports by a month till October 31

– Govt asks companies to cut MRP of edible oils by up to Rs 10/litre within a week

– Shriram Transport Finance gets shareholders’ approval for merger with Shriram City Union Finance (SCUF)

– Google announces Startup School India for small-city entrepreneurs

– CM Arvind Kejriwal announces India’s biggest shopping festival in Delhi from Jan 28 to Feb 26, 2023

– TVS Motor Company launches 225-cc bike Ronin priced at Rs 1.49 lakh

WORLD

– Polish government honours maharajas of Jamnagar and Kolhapur for sheltering Polish refugees fleeing the Soviet Union invasion of Poland during World War II

– OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo dies at 63 in Nigeria

– UK: Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and health secretary Sajid Javid resign

Current Affairs- July 6, 2022

 

INDIA

– Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh announces setting up of Dr Rajendra Prasad Memorial Award in public administration in field of academic excellence

– Odisha tops state ranking for implementation of National Food Security Act through ration shops

– Bengali film director Tarun Majumdar dies in Kolkata at 92; awarded Padma Shri in 1990

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

– DoT warns e-commerce companies on illegal sale of wireless jammers

– Tata group’s Tejas Networks acquires 62.65% stake in Saankhya Labs for Rs 276.24 crore

– Dabur’s Burman family becomes official promoter of Eveready Industries

WORLD

– 30 NATO allies sign off on accession protocols for Sweden and Finland

– Uganda: Govt. announces discovery of 31 million metric tonnes of gold deposits

SPORTS

– England (284 and 374/3) beat India (416 & 245) by 7 wickets in 5th test at Edgbaston, Birmingham; series ends 2-2

– Elorda Cup Boxing in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan: Alfiya Pathan (women’s 81 kg) and Gitika (women’s 41 kg) win gold medals

State Ranking Index for NFSA

 State Ranking Index for National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2022 was released by Central government recently. In the index, Odisha has emerged as number one state in India.

Odisha’s Ranking

• Odisha was ranked first, for bringing resilient food systems in state, in a bid to optimise the delivery of benefits.
• This announcement was made by Union Food Minister Piyush Goyal during a Food & Nutrition Security Conference of Food ministers.
• Odisha received an index score of 0.836.

Ranking of other States

• Uttar Pradesh has been ranked second, with index score of 0.797.
• Andhra Pradesh has been third, with score of 0.794.

Assessment Framework for Ranking

The assessment framework to rank States and Union Territories was prepared on three important pillars. These pillars enfold end-to-end implementation of National Food Security Act (NFSA) via Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). The three pillars include:

1. Coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act
2. Delivery platform and
3. Nutrition initiatives.

Pillar-based ranking of states

• In the first pillar (coverage, targeting and provisions of the Act) Odisha has been ranked at fourth place, with a score of 0.870.
• Odisha is ranked behind Jharkhand, UP, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu.
• In “Delivery Platform” pillar, Odisha got fourth place, with a score of 0.790. It has been ranked behind Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Ranking of Special Category States/UTs

• Tripura has topped among Special Category States/UTs.
• It is followed by Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim.

Conference of Food Ministers on Food & Nutrition Security

The Conference of Food Ministers on Food & Nutrition Security was held on July 5, 2022. On this day in 2013, National Food Security Act (NFSA) came into existence. Conference was organised to celebrate the day. During the conference, discussions were held on food security, nutritional security, crip diversification, best practices & reforms in Public Distribution System and storage sector.

UK Offers 75 Fully-Funded Scholarships For Indian Students On The Occasion Of India’s 75th Anniversary Of Independence

 New Delhi: In celebration of India’s 75th anniversary of independence, the UK government has partnered with leading businesses in India to offer 75 fully-funded scholarships for Indian students to study in Britain from September. In a statement, the British High Commission (BHC) said, this is the highest number of fully-funded scholarships given for the one-year master’s programme to date.

Companies like HSBC, Pearson India, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Sons and Duolingo are supporting this special initiative to celebrate India’s 75th year of independence, the high commission said.

The programmes on offer include Chevening scholarships for a one-year master’s programme, with the opportunity to study any subject at any recognised UK university. Further to this, the British Council in India is offering at least 18 scholarships for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) covering over 12,000 courses across more than 150 UK universities.

Along with these, the British Council is also offering six English scholarships.

The announcement comes as British and Indian leaders from international business and government gather in London for the India Global Forum.

In India’s 75th year, this is a great milestone together, Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India, told the India Global Forum’s UK-India Week in London.

Source: indiaeducationdiary.in, 30/06/22

What is the Fields Medal, so-called ‘Mathematics Nobel’ awarded to Ukrainian professor and three others?

 Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska, chair of Number Theory at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, was on Tuesday (July 5) named as one of four recipients of the 2022 Fields Medal, an honour that is often described the Nobel Prize in mathematics.

The Fields Medal is awarded by the International Mathematical Union (IMU), an international non-governmental and non-profit scientific organisation that aims to promote international cooperation in mathematics.

The IMU recognised Viazovska’s work on the sphere-packing problem in 8 and 24 dimensions, EPFL said in an announcement. Previously, the problem had been solved for only three dimensions or fewer. The other winners were French mathematician Hugo Duminil-Copin of the University of Geneva; Korean-American June Huh of Princeton; and Briton James Maynard of the University of Oxford. 

Viazovska, 37, is only the second female Fields Medalist, after the Iranian Maryam Mirzakhani in 2014.

Fields Medal

The Fields Medal is awarded every four years to one or more mathematicians under the age of 40 in recognition of “outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement”.

The winners are announced at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), which was supposed to be held in Russia this year, but was moved to Helsinki.

The honour carries a physical medal of 14K gold, 63.5 mm in diameter and weighing 169 g, and with a unit price of approximately 5,500 Canadian dollars, according to the IMU website. There is also a cash award of CAD 15,000.

The obverse of the medal is embossed with the head of Archimedes facing right, and the Latin words “Transire suum pectus mundoque potiri”, translated as “To pass beyond your understanding and make yourself master of the universe”.

The reverse has the inscription “Congregati ex toto orbe mathematici ob scripta insignia tribuere”, or “The mathematicians having congregated from the whole world awarded (this medal) because of outstanding writings”.

History of the Medal

According to the IMU website, the 1924 ICM in Toronto adopted a resolution that at each conference, two gold medals would be awarded to recognise outstanding mathematical achievement.

The Canadian mathematician Prof J C Fields, who was secretary of the 1924 Congress, later donated funds to establish the medals, which were named in his honour. In 1966, it was agreed that, in light of the great expansion of mathematical research, up to four medals could be awarded at each Congress, the IMU says.

The Fields Medal Symposium is organised by the Fields Institute, Toronto, Canada. “The goals of the program for the Fields Medal Symposium are to present the work of a Fields Medalist and its impact, to explore the potential for future directions and areas of its influence, to provide inspiration to the next generations of mathematicians and scientists, as well as to present the Medalist to a broader public,” the IMU says.

Indian-origin winners

Among the more than 60 mathematicians who have been awarded the Fields Medal since 1936, there are two of Indian origin — Akshay Venkatesh of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, who won in 2018, the last time the honour was announced, and Manjul Bhargava of the Department of Mathematics at Princeton University, in 2014.

According to the IMU, Venkatesh was awarded the Medal “for his synthesis of analytic number theory, homogeneous dynamics, topology, and representation theory, which has resolved long-standing problems in areas such as the equidistribution of arithmetic objects”.

Bhargava was honoured for “developing powerful new methods in the geometry of numbers, which he applied to count rings of small rank and to bound the average rank of elliptic curves”.

Source: Indian Express, 5/07/22