Legal Current Affairs

If you’re preparing for CLAT, Current Affairs play a very important role in securing a good score. So, you need to be updated with the daily current affairs and current happenings across the globe. Here is a list of some legal current affairs that took place this week.

Parliamentary Panel recommendations on water agreement with China

The parliamentary panel, in its report before Lok Sabha, observed that India is not having any water treaty with China. However, both nations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) on the Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers.

Key Points

• MoUs on Brahmaputra and Sutlej rivers will be in force for five years. MoUs are renewed regularly.
• According to the panel, Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) is also in place between India and China to ensure cooperation with respect to the provision of hydrological data by China in flood season, emergency management, and other issues related to trans-border rivers.
• The panel expressed satisfaction over China sharing hydrological data of Brahmaputra and Sutlej River on a payment basis. It was only in 2017 when no data was supplied by it amid the 73-day Doklam stand-off between both countries.
• The panel expressed its apprehension regarding run-of-the-river projects by China as such projects could not lead to diversion of waters, but there is every possibility that water can be stored in ponds and released for running turbines. This, in turn, could create diurnal variation in downstream flow, impacting water flow in the Brahmaputra River.
• As a result, the committee recommends India to constantly monitor Chinese actions to ensure that they do not pursue any major interventions on the Brahmaputra River.

Background

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), three hydropower projects have been approved by Chinese authorities on the mainstream of Brahmaputra River in Tibet Autonomous Region. Apart from that, Chinese authorities declared a hydropower project at Zangmu operational in October 2015.

Parliament Panel: Renegotiating Indus Water Treaty to address the impact of climate change

A parliamentary panel, in its report before Lok Sabha, has recommended renegotiating the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan in order to address the impact of climate change on the availability of water in the river basin.

Key Points

• It also recommends addressing other challenges which are not covered under the Indus-water agreement.
• Standing Committee on Water Resources also recommended that India should constantly monitor Chinese actions in order to ensure that they do not pursue any major interventions on the Brahmaputra River.
• Because interventions on the Brahmaputra River could adversely affect India’s national interests

Indus Waters Treaty

• Under the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 between India and Pakistan, all the waters of eastern rivers, namely, Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi, were allocated to India for unrestricted use. On the other hand, waters of western rivers, namely, Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, were assigned largely to Pakistan.
• However, India has been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run-of-the-river projects on western rivers. This project is subject to specific criteria for design and operation.
• Treaty also provides Pakistan the right to raise objections to Indian hydroelectric project designs on western rivers.

Recommendations by Parliamentary Panel

• Parliamentary Panel recommends that government should examine the feasibility of making maximum use of the provisions with respect to full utilization of all accessible water from eastern rivers.
• It also recommends using provisions for maximum utilization of irrigation and hydropower potential of western rivers as well as permissible water storage.
• According to the panel, although the Indus Water Treaty has stood the test of time, it was prepared on the basis of knowledge and technology existing in the 1960s. Therefore, the perspective of India and Pakistan at that time was confined to river management and usage of water by constructing dams, barrages, canals, and hydropower generation.
• The agreement did not take into account issues of the present day like climate change, global warming, and environmental impact assessment, etc. Thus, the panel recommends renegotiating the treaty in order to establish an institutional structure or legislative framework that can address the impact of climate change on water availability in the Indus basin and other such challenges which are not part of the treaty.

Rajya Sabha passed AERA (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Rajya Sabha passed the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021, on August 4, 2021.

Highlights

• Bill was tabled by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and was passed in the Lok Sabha in June 2021.
• Now, it will be sent to President Ram Nath Kovind for his assent.

Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill 2021

• AERA bill proposes to amend the definition of ‘major airport’ in accordance with the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority Act, 2008 (AERA Act).
• Bill seeks to aid the government’s plan of privatization of smaller airports under its asset monetization programme that was announced during the union budget for 2021-22.
• It also promises to help in the faster development of small airports and expediting regional air connectivity UDAN scheme by expanding air connectivity in remote areas.
• Amendment will enable AERA to regulate tariff and other charges of aeronautical services for the major airport with annual passenger traffic of more than 3.5 million as well as a group of airports together.

Background

Bill was first introduced in March 2021 and was subsequently sent to a parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture. Committee had approved it without any changes.

Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA)

AERA is a regulatory agency that regulates tariff and other expenditure & fees of major airports in India. This statutory body was established under the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act (AERA), 2008.

UDAN scheme

UDAN stands for Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik. It is a regional airport development and Regional Connectivity Scheme that was launched with the objective of “letting common citizens of India fly.” It aims to make air travel affordable and widespread. It also seeks to boost inclusive national economic development, job growth, and air transport infrastructure development across the states.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Parliament passed Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021, on August 3, 2021, after Rajya Sabha approved the bill amidst the protest.

Highlights

• Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on July 28, 2021 and introduced in the Lower House on July 26 during the ongoing Monsoon session.
• Union Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had tabled the amendment bill that seeks to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill

• Bill replaces the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021 that was promulgated on April 4, 2021.
• Recent amendment bill will provide for an alternate insolvency resolution process for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). This resolution will be called as “pre-packaged insolvency resolution process (PIRP).”
• It will introduce a time-bound process to resolve issues of insolvency of the corporate debtors within 330 days. This process of resolution is called as Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).
• Under the CIRP, debtor or its creditors will be able to apply for initiation of CIRP in case there is a default of Rs. 1 lakh.
• A committee of creditor will also be constituted under CIRP to decide on insolvency resolution.
• Committee of creditors might be considering a resolution plan to provide for a payoff of debt by acquiring, merging, or restructuring the company. If the committee does not approve the resolution plan within a specified time, the company will be liquidated.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016

This bankruptcy law of India was put forward in 2016 to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for bankruptcy and insolvency. The code provides for a solution to resolve bankruptcy and insolvencies timely in order to protect the interests of small investors and make the process of doing business simpler.

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