National
Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023
⇒ The Advocates Amendment Bill, 2023 was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 4, 2023, the first day of the winter session of Parliament. The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was already passed by the Rajya Sabha on August 3, 2023.
- The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeks to repeal the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 and incorporate the provisions of Section 36 of the Legal Practitioners Act 1879 in the Advocates Act, 1961.
» After assent of the President of India on December 8, 2023, this Act may be called the Advocates (Amendment) Act, 2023.
About Advocates Amendment Bill, 2023:
» The Bill repeals a colonial-era Act and amends the Advocates Act, 1961.
- The new Bill now amends the 1961 Act by inserting a new provision right after Section 45, which prescribes six months of imprisonment for persons illegally practising in courts and before other authorities.
- The new provision, Section 45A, states that the Bill enables every HC and district judge to frame and publish lists of touts.
- Additionally, this provision punishes anyone acting as a tout “while his name is included in any such list of touts” with imprisonment up to three months, a fine that may extend to five hundred rupees, or both.
- Section 45A of the new Bill is analogous to Section 36 of the 1879 Act. However, the 1961 Act did not include the provision.
Background:
» Aimed at weeding out ‘touts’ from the legal system, the Bill repeals the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879, and amends the Advocates Act, 1961, to reduce “the number of superfluous enactments in the statute book” and repeal all “obsolete laws”.
- A “Tout” was defined as someone who procures, in consideration of any remuneration from any legal practitioner, the employment of a legal practitioner in any legal business; or one who proposes to any legal practitioner or anyone interested in any legal business to procure, for remuneration, the employment of the legal practitioner in such business.
» The Advocates Act of 1961 was passed in independent India to create a single Act to regulate the legal profession. This Act repealed a majority of the 1879 Act but left behind provisions relating to its extent, definitions, and powers to frame and publish lists of touts.
» The Advocates Act, 1961, was enacted to amend and consolidate the law relating to legal practitioners and to provide for the constitution of Bar Councils and an All-India Bar.
» Before this, legal practitioners were governed by three Acts – the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879, the Bombay Pleaders Act, 1920, and the Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926.
Mazdooron Ka Hit Mazdooron ko Samarpit Program
⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi participated in the program ‘Mazdooron Ka Hit Mazdooron ko Samarpit’ via video conferencing on 25 December 2023.
Hands over cheque pertaining to dues of Hukumchand Mill workers:
» During the program, the PM handed over a cheque of about Rs 224 crore pertaining to the dues of the Hukumchand Mill workers, to the official liquidator and heads of the Labour Union of Hukumchand Mill, Indore.
- The program marks the settlement of long pending demands of the Hukumchand Mill workers.
Background:
- The workers of the Hukumchand Mill fought a long legal battle for the payment of their dues after the Hukumchand Mill in Indore was closed in 1992 and went into liquidation subsequently.
- Madhya Pradesh Government played a positive role and successfully negotiated a settlement package endorsed by all stakeholders including courts, labor unions, and mill workers among others.
- The settlement plan involves the Madhya Pradesh Government paying all dues upfront, taking possession of the mill land, and developing it into a residential and commercial space.
60 MW Solar power plant in Khargone:
» During the program, the Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for a 60 MW Solar power plant being established in villages Samraj and Ashukhedi of Khargone district by Indore Municipal Corporation.
- Being built at a cost of Rs 308 crore, the establishment of the new solar power plant is likely to help Indore Municipal Corporation save approximately Rs 4 crore per month in electricity bills.
- For funding the construction of the solar plant, Indore Municipal Corporation issued green bonds worth Rs 244 crore. It became the first urban body in the country to issue green bonds.
- It received a phenomenal response as people of 29 states subscribed to them with a value of about Rs 720 crore, which was about three times the initial value issued.
'MedTech Mitra': A Strategic Initiative to Empower MedTech Innovators and Advance Healthcare Solutions
⇒ Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilizers, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya virtually launched ‘MedTech Mitra’: A Strategic Initiative to Empower MedTech Innovators and Advance Healthcare Solutions on 25 December 2023.
Union Minister said that “MedTech Mitra is a platform that will help the young talents of the country by holding their hands and giving them final shape to their research, knowledge, logic etc. and help them in getting regulatory approval.”
Key Points:
- The MedTech Mitra portal has been coordinated collaboratively by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), under the guidance of NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission.
- The online portal aims to assist medtech innovators in clinical evaluation, regulatory facilitation, and uptake of new products.
Important Day
National Consumer Rights Day 2023
⇒ National Consumer Rights Day is celebrated every year on 24 December.
Focus:
The Department of Consumer Affairs celebrated the National Consumer Day 2023 on 24 December 2023 in New Delhi with focus on leveraging technology for consumer protection and grievance redressal.
Inaugural event:
» The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, in his inaugural address highlighted the fact that customer satisfaction is way towards development of the country.
Following the inaugural event, technical session was organized on the following themes:
- Artificial Intelligence & the protection of consumer rights.
- Role of technology in speedy disposal of consumer cases.
- Impact of Dark Patterns on Consumer choices & preferences
On the Occasion of National Consumer Day, 2023, the Union Minister Shri Piyush Goyal released the following:
- Inauguration of e-JAGRITI portal for consumer commissions
- Inauguration of VC Facility at NCDRC
- Inauguration of Drone certification facility at NTH.
- Inauguration of National Consumer Helpline 2.0.
- Inauguration of new laboratories at National Test House
- Domestic Appliances testing Laboratory, Mumbai & Transformer Testing facility at Guwahati
- Organic Food Testing Laboratory at Jaipur
- Exchange of MoU between NTH and RRSL for mutual collaboration In EV (testing)
History:
» In 1986, the Consumer Protection Act was passed and received the assent of the President on December 24. Since then, National Consumer Rights Day is celebrated on this day to commemorate the occasion.
» The Consumer Protection Act 1986 acts to protect consumers from defective goods, negligent services, and unfair trade practices.
- The six fundamental rights of the Consumer Protection Act are Right to safety, Right to choose, Right to be informed, Right to be heard, Right to seek redressal and Right to consumer education.
» World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated globally on 15 March every year.