Daily Current Affairs (MCQ) | Date 31.03.22

Q1. Which of the following cases declared privacy a constitutionally protected fundamental right?

a. K.S. Puttaswamy case
b. Godavarman case
c. Prakash Singh case
d. Kedarnath singh v. State of Bihar

Answer : a

Why is the Question ?

Identity and privacy
Prisoners’ identification Bill, which raises privacy, data safety concerns, requires scrutiny
Highlights:
1. The Union government’s latest proposal to enable the collection of biometric and biological data from prisoners, besides the usual physical measurements, photographs and fingerprints, raises serious questions about its legal validity.
2. Such questions are inevitable in an era in which people look at official efforts to gather personal data with suspicion. The practise of recording the photographs and fingerprints of prisoners is more than a century old in the country, backed by a colonial law dating back to 1920.
3. The Union government now proposes to expand the idea of taking “measurements” to cover “finger-impressions, palmprint impressions, foot-print impressions, ... physical, biological samples and their analysis”, besides “behavioural attributes including signatures [and] handwriting”.

4. The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, which embodies this goal, has been introduced in the Lok Sabha.
Possible violation of rights:
1. Some Members have argued that the Bill went against the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement declaring privacy as a fundamental right in K.S. Puttaswamy.
2. Some contended that the Bill enabled coercive drawing of samples and possibly involved a violation of Article 20(3), which protects the right against self-incrimination.
3. There are other concerns too, such as the means by which the data collected will be preserved, shared, disseminated, and destroyed. The Bill allows the records to be preserved for 75 years, and to be destroyed earlier if the person is discharged or acquitted.
4. The concern over privacy and the safety of the data is undoubtedly significant. Such practices that involve the collection, storage and destruction of vital details of a personal nature ought to be introduced only after a strong data protection law, with stringent punishment for breaches, is in place.

Q2. Seven directives given by supreme court in Praksh singh case are related to

a. Judicial reforms
b. Police reforms
c. Custodial death
d. Privacy

Answer : b

Why is the Question ?

Make police reforms a national mission

To improve the force, enact the Model Police Act, 2006; appoint a senior officer in the PMO to ensure the implementation of the recommendations of various panels and DGP conferences

Q3. Consider the following statements

1. All deposits received under various small savings schemes are pooled in the National Small Savings Fund
2. Sukanya Samriddhi Account is a small savings scheme

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only

c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer : c

Why is the Question ?

‘Small savings rates unlikely to be raised for coming quarter’
1. The government is unlikely to raise small savings rates for the coming quarter when they are reviewed, a top official indicated, observing that the rates have also not been cut for two financial years now.
2. Small savings rates were last pared in a range of 0.5-1.4 percentage points on different instruments in 2020, bringing the PPF rate to 7.1%, from 7.9% prevalent till March 31, 2020.
3. The interest rate on small savings instruments is reset every quarter, based on market yields on government securities (Gsecs) with a lag, at a spread ranging from 0-100 basis points over and above yields of comparable maturities.
Small Savings:
1. Small Savings Schemes are a set of savings instruments managed by the central government with an aim to encourage citizens to save regularly irrespective of their age.
2. They are popular as they not only provide returns that are generally higher than bank fixed deposits but also come with a sovereign guarantee and tax benefits.
3. Since 2016, the Finance Ministry has been reviewing the interest rates on small savings schemes on a quarterly basis. All deposits received under various small savings schemes are pooled in the National Small Savings Fund.
4. The money in the fund is used by the central government to finance its fiscal deficit.

Now let us take a look at the different savings schemes. The schemes can be grouped under three heads - Post office deposits, savings certificates and social security schemes.
1. Under Post Office Deposits we have the savings deposit, recurring deposit and time deposits with 1, 2, 3 and 5 year maturities and the monthly income account.
2. Under Savings Certificates, we have the National Savings Certificate and the Kisan Vikas Patra.
3. In the third head of social security schemes, there is Public Provident Fund, Sukanya Samriddhi Account and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme.