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■ Travel and Tourism Development Index, 2021: • The Travel & Tourism Development Index is released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) which comprises 117 countries, shows that despite the positive trends, the travel and tourism sector is still facing many hurdles with its recovery. • The Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2021 is a direct evolution of the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which has been published biennially for the past 15 years. • The study was titled Travel and Tourism Index 2021: Rebuilding for a Sustainable and Resilient Future. • The index is comprised of 5 subindexes, 17 pillars and 112 individual indicators. • India, with a score of 4.1, ranks 54th, eight lower than in 2019. In 2019, India ranked 46th. • India still continues to top in South Asia travel list. • As per the World Economic Forum (WEF) study, India’s travel and tourism sector has shown ‘signs of recovery.’ • The top 10 countries on the list are Japan, US, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, UK, Singapore and Italy.

■ Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK): • Government of India launched the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) on 1st June, 2011. • Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) has been launched with the objective to eliminate out of pocket expenses for both pregnant women and sick infants accessing public health institution for treatment. • The initiative entitles all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions to have absolutely free and no expense delivery, including caesarean section.  □ Entitlements for Pregnant Women under JSSK : • Free and zero expense Delivery and Caesarean Section. • Free Drugs and Consumables. • Free Essential Diagnistics (Blood,Urine tests and Ultra sonography etc.) • Free Diet during stay in the health institutions (up to 3 days for normal delivery and 7 days for caesarean section) • Free Provision of Blood. • Free Transport from Home to Health institutions. • Free Transport between facilities in case of referral. • Drop Back from institutions to home after 48 hrs stay. • Exemption from all kinds of User Charges. □ Entitlements for Sick infants under JSSK till one year after birth: • Free and zero expense treatment. • Free Drugs and Consumables. • Free Diagnostics. • Free Provision of Blood. • Free Transport from Home to Health institutions. • Free Transport between facilities in case of referral. • Drop back from institutions to home. • Exemption from all kinds of user charges.

📰 Supreme Court says Centre, States have equal powers to make GST-related laws. • The Supreme Court on Thursday, in a judgment championing the importance of “cooperative federalism” for the well-being of democracy, held that Union and State legislatures have “equal, simultaneous and unique powers” to make laws on Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the recommendations of the GST Council are not binding on them. • The apex court’s decision came while confirming a Gujarat High Court ruling that the Centre cannot levy Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) on ocean freight from Indian importers. • “The recommendations of the GST Council are the product of a collaborative dialogue involving the Union and the states. They are recommendatory in nature. The recommendations only have a persuasive value. To regard them as binding would disrupt fiscal federalism when both the Union and the states are conferred equal power to legislate on GST,” a Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud held. • The court emphasised that Article 246A (which gives the States power to make laws with respect to GST) of the Constitution treat the Union and the States as “equal units”. • “It confers a simultaneous power (on Union and States) for enacting laws on GST… Article 279A, in constituting the GST Council, envisions that neither the Centre nor the states are actually dependent on the other,” Justice Chandrachud interpreted. • What is Ocean Freight? - Ocean freight is the cost of moving goods internationally to India. An agreement is entered into between two foreign parties in this regard. The agreement is usually between an exporter, a foreign entity, and a shipping line to transport goods to India. □ Articles: • Article 246A & 279A were inserted into the Constitution by One Hundred and First Amendment Act, 2016. • Article 246 - Subject matter of laws made by Parliament and by the legislatures of states. • Article 246A - Special provision for Goods and Services tax. • Article 279A - GST Council.

📰 Perarivalan, Rajiv Gandhi case convict, released by Supreme Court citing extraordinary powers. • The Supreme Court on Wednesday invoked its extraordinary powers to do complete justice under Article 142 of the Constitution and ordered the release of A.G. Perarivalan in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. • A Bench led by Justice L. Nageswara Rao, in its judgment, took into consideration Perarivalan’s long incarceration for over 30 years to order his release. Perarivalan is currently on bail. His death penalty had earlier been committed to life sentence for murder. Terrorism charges were earlier withdrawn. • The court held that the Tamil Nadu Council of Ministers’ advice on September 9, 2018 to pardon Perarivalan was binding on the Governor under Article 161 (Governor’s power of clemency) of the Constitution. • It said the long delay and the Governor’s reluctance to take a call on the pardon plea has compelled the court to employ its constitutional powers under Article 142 to do justice to Perarivalan. • The court dismissed the Centre’s argument that the President exclusively, and not the Governor, had the power to grant pardon in a case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, saying this contention would render Article 161 a “dead-letter” and create an extraordinary situation whereby pardons granted by Governors in murder cases for the past 70 years would be rendered invalid. • The court protected federalism by holding that States had the power to advice and aid the Governor in case of pleas of pardon under Article 161 made by convicts in murder cases. • In the long years of litigation, the Centre, had initially assured the Supreme Court that the Governor would take a call on Perarivalan’s pardon plea, only to suddenly change tack in November 2020 to say that it was the President, under advice of the Centre, who was authorised to decide the plea. • The Centre had banked on a Constitution Bench judgment in Union of India versus V. Sriharan in December 2015, to argue that Section 432(7)(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.PC) gave primacy to the Union and not the States when the case was tried under a law to which the executive power of the Union extended to. • “Section 432 was a creature of the Code (Cr.PC). Articles 72 (power of President to grant pardon) or 161, on the other hand, was a high prerogative vested by the Constitution in the highest functionaries of the Union and the States,” Mr. Sankaranarayanan had argued. • He had argued that the convict was free to choose either the Governor or the President to apply for pardon. • Finally, the Supreme Court used Article 142 of the Constitution that grants it extraordinary powers to do complete justice, to release Perarivalan. □ Articles: • Article 72 - Power of president to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases. • Article 161 - Power of governor to grant pardons, etc., and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases. • Article 142 - Enforcement of decrees and orders of Supreme Court and unless as to discovery, etc. (It states that any decree or order passed by the Supreme Court to do complete justice was enforceable throughout the territory of India).