Current affairs- April 27, 2016
Panel suggests fine or jail for celebs in misleading ads
In its report on the Consumer Protection Bill 2015, a parliamentary panel has suggested legal teeth to make celebrities
accountable for misleading advertisements.
- The panel has suggested legal teeth to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to curb misleading ads, besides proposing severe penalties, jail and cancellation of licence of those involved in food adulteration.
Details:
- According to the
committee, the existing laws are not deterrent enough to discourage
manufacturers or publishers from using such personalities for misleading
ads. Therefore, it recommends that stringent provisions may be made in the
bill to tackle misleading advertisement, as well as, to fix liability on
endorsers/celebrities.
- The committee recommends
that for first time offence, the offender may be penalised with either a
fine of Rs 10 lakh or imprisonment up to two years or both. For second
time offence, a fine of Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment of five years. For
subsequent offences, the penalties may be increased proportionately based
on the value of sales volumes of such products or services.
- The panel also suggested the government to clearly and comprehensively define the word ‘endorsement’ in the bill so that there is no room for any misinterpretation or ambiguity.
Background:
Some celebrities have come under fire for endorsing brands
misleading consumers. Recently, Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni had to resign
as brand ambassador of Amrapali after residents of a housing society started a
protest against the builder and the cricketer on social media.
About Consumer Protection Bill 2015:
Consumer Protection Bill 2015 seeks to replace the old consumer
protection law and proposes to set up a regulatory authority which will have
powers to recall products and initiate class class suit against defaulting
companies, including e-tailers.
- The key features of the
new bill include establishment of an executive agency ‘Central Consumer
Protection Authority‘ (CCPA) which will protect and enforce the rights of
consumers.
- The authority will intervene
when necessary to prevent consumer detriment arising from unfair trade
practices and to initiate class action including enforcing recall, refund
and return of products.
- The bill has provisions
for “product liability” if product/services causes personal injury, death
or property damage and will take action against defaulting manufacturers
or service providers.
- For speedy disposal of
court cases, the bill proposes “mediation” as an alternative dispute
resolution mechanism. The mediation will be under the aegis of consumer
courts.
- The bill also has a
provision for setting up of a ‘circuit bench’ to facilitate quicker
disposal of complaints and there is an enabling provisions for consumers
to file complaints electronically and file complaints in consumer courts
that have jurisdiction over the place of residence of the complainant.
PMO asks NITI Aayog to widen ambit of DBT
The government is considering expanding the ambit of Direct
Benefits Transfer (DBT). The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has asked the NITI
Aayog to explore all government services and delivery schemes for this purpose.
- The idea is to
try and provide all subsidies through an Aadhaar (the citizen
identification scheme)-enabled DBT by 2017-end.
Present scenario:
DBT, at present, encompasses various government schemes including
directly crediting Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
payments to bank accounts. At present, about 30% of DBT is through Aadhaar;
about Rs 4,000 crore is paid monthly for 57 such schemes.
- The government has met
success in using the mechanism for transfers in cooking gas (liquefied
petroleum gas, or LPG) and foodgrain. DBT in LPG has enabled the Centre to
eliminate duplication in these accounts.
- For beneficiaries of the Public
Distribution System in foodgrain, there’s an option of getting the
allotment directly or being paid cash directly into their accounts,
especially the new accounts under the Jan-Dhan Yojana.
- Some new transfers, such
as those for kerosene, are also planned to be through DBT, this financial
year.
FSSAI expansion plans shelved by government
The plan to expand the Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India (FSSAI) is proposed to be shelved by the government.
- In contrast, the FSSAI is
expected to wind up its regional offices and leave enforcement of safety
laws to state governments.
- With the Rs 800 crore
support to states under the central scheme being shelved, it has also been
recommended to amend existing regulations, allowing state officials to
monitor food safety as an additional duty and not necessarily on a
full-time basis.
- Also, instead of setting
up government labs to test food samples, as was previously planned, FSSAI
is expected to depend on private labs.
Background:
In 2014, the government had mooted a draft cabinet note for a Rs
1,750 crore-central scheme for strengthening of FSSAI, e-governance, food
safety surveillance and expansion of states’ capacity.
About FSSAI:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been
established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto
handled food related issues in various Ministries and Departments.
- It was created for laying
down science based standards for articles of food and to regulate their
manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability
of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.
- Ministry of
Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the Administrative
Ministry for the implementation of FSSAI.
- The Chairperson and Chief
Executive Officer of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
are appointed by Government of India.
- The Chairperson is in the
rank of Secretary to Government of India.
Important functions performed by the
authority:
- Framing of Regulations to
lay down the Standards and guidelines in relation to articles of food and
specifying appropriate system of enforcing various standards thus
notified.
- Laying down mechanisms and
guidelines for accreditation of certification bodies engaged in
certification of food safety management system for food businesses.
- Laying down procedure and
guidelines for accreditation of laboratories and notification of the
accredited laboratories.
- To provide scientific
advice and technical support to Central Government and State Governments
in the matters of framing the policy and rules in areas which have a
direct or indirect bearing of food safety and nutrition.
- Collect and collate data
regarding food consumption, incidence and prevalence of biological risk,
contaminants in food, residues of various, contaminants in foods products,
identification of emerging risks and introduction of rapid alert system.
- Creating an information
network across the country so that the public, consumers, Panchayats etc
receive rapid, reliable and objective information about food safety and
issues of concern.
- Provide training
programmes for persons who are involved or intend to get involved in food
businesses.
Shyam Benegal committee submits recommendations on
film certification
A committee chaired by eminent filmmaker Shyam Benegal has
submitted its recommendations to the government.
Background:
The committee had been set up by the Ministry on January 1 this
year to lay down norms for film certification that took note of best practices
in various parts of the world and gave sufficient and adequate space for
artistic and creative expression.
- The committee
was also asked to lay down procedures and guidelines for the benefit of
the CBFC to follow and examine staffing patterns with a view to
recommending a framework that would provide efficient and transparent user
friendly services.
Important recommendations made by the
committee:
- The Central Board of Film
Certification (CBFC) should only be a film certification body whose scope
should be restricted to categorizing the suitability of the film to
audience groups on the basis of age and maturity.
- The CBFC should refuse
certification only when a film contains anything that contravenes the
provisions of Section 5B (1) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 or when its
content crosses the ceiling laid down in the highest category of
certification.
- The categorisation of
films should be more specific and apart from U category, the UA Category
can be broken up into further sub-categories – UA12+ and UA15+. The A
category should also be sub-divided into A and AC (Adult with Caution)
categories.
The recommendations broadly cover the areas related to Film
Certification Process and its simplification, Restructuring staffing pattern of
Central & Regional censor advisory panels and Recertification of films for
purposes of telecast on television and measures to preserve the identity of
Indian Cinema.
Heart of Asia conference begins today in New Delhi
The Heart of Asia (HoA) conference has begun in New Delhi with the
objective of bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and speeding up its
reconstruction with a focus on enhancing investment and connectivity to the
country.
- The conference will be
attended by officials of a number of countries including Pakistan.
- The key elements of HoA process have been to devise a sustained, incremental approach to implementation of the confidence building measures (CBM) in Afghanistan and the officials are set to deliberate on them during the conference.
About the conference:
The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process presents a new vision of
cooperation and confidence building for the region with Afghanistan at its
centre.
- The Heart of Asia-Istanbul
Process articulates a set of principles, such as respect for sovereignty
and territorial integrity, and promoting cooperation in the areas of
common challenges and shared interests in the region.
- It provides a platform for
discussing key regional issues among participating states.
- Since its inception in
2011, the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process has been lead by two co-chairs:
Afghanistan as a permanent co-chair, and one of the Heart of Asia
countries hosting the annual ministerial meeting as the co-chair.
- As permanent co-chair of this regional process, Afghanistan has been recognized as the main focal point/ coordinator of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process.
- The 14 participating countries in HoA process are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and UAE. The supporting countries include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Iraq, Japan, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, U.K., U.S. and the E.U.
Facts
Scientists have confirmed the presence of Himalayan wolf — the most ancient wolf lineage known — in Nepal’s largest
protected area- the Annapurna Conservation Area. It has been listed as Critically
Endangered in the National Red List.
