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■ Money Bill: • In a general sense, any Bill that relates to revenue or expenditure is a Financial Bill. • A Money Bill is a specific kind of Financial Bill, defined very precisely. It must deal only with matters specified in Article 110 (1) (a) to (g). • Under Article 110 (1) of the Constitution, a Bill is deemed to be a Money Bill if it contains only provisions on all or any of the following: a) Imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax; b) Regulation of borrowing by the government; c) Custody of the Consolidated Fund or Contingency Fund of India, and payments into or withdrawals from these Funds; d) Appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India; e) Declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure; f) Receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State; or g) Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in (a) to (f). • Under Article 109(1), Money Bill can only be introduced in Lok Sabha with prior recommendation of the President. It cannot be introduced in Rajya Sabha. • It can be introduced only by a Minister not by a Private member. • According to Article 110(3), If any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) shall be final. • Rajya Sabha is required to return a Money Bill passed and transmitted by Lok Sabha within a period of 14 days from the date of its receipt. • Rajya Sabha may return a Money Bill transmitted to it with or without recommendations. It is open to Lok Sabha to accept or reject all or any of the recommendations of Rajya Sabha. • However, if Rajya Sabha does not return a Money Bill within the prescribed period of 14 days, the Bill is deemed to havebeen passed by both Houses of Parliament at the expiry of the said period of 14 days in the form in which it was passed by Lok Sabha. • Finally, when a money bill is presented to the president, he may either give his assent to the bill or withhold his assent to the bill but cannot return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses. • Normally, the President gives his assent to a money bill as it is introduced in the Parliament with his prior permission. • There is no chance of any disagreement between the two Houses and hence, there is no provision of Joint sitting of both the Houses in this regard. □ Money Bills in State Legislatures: • A Money Bill can be introduced in the Legislative assembly only and that too on the recommendation of the Governor. It cannot be introduced in the Legislative council. • It can be introduced only by a Minister not by a Private member. [The procedure for passing Money Bill is same in both Parliament and State Legislatures.] • According to Article 199(3), If any question arises whether a Bill introduced in the Legislature of a State which has a Legislative Council is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly shall be final. • Finally, when a Money Bill is presented to the governor, he may either give his assent, withhold his assent or reserve the bill for presidential assent but cannot return the bill for reconsideration of the state legislature. • Normally, the Governor gives his assent to a money bill as it is introduced in the state legislature with his prior permission. • When a Money bill is reserved for consideration of the President, the President may either give his assent to the bill or withhold his assent to the bill but cannot return the bill for reconsideration of the state legislature. □ Articles regarding Money Bills: • Article 109 - Special procedure in respect of Money Bills. • Article 110 - Definition of Money Bills. • Article 198 - Special procedure in respect of Money Bills. (State Legislature) • Article 199 - Definition of Money Bills. (State Legislature)

📰 News: Most of Ganga clean, claims Jal Shakti Ministry. • The water quality of the river Ganga was clean enough for bathing and capable for supporting the river ecosystem for almost the entire stretch of the river, Bishweswar Tudu, Minister of State for Water Resources, said in the Rajya Sabha. • Dissolved Oxygen (DO), which is an indicator of river health was within “acceptable limits” of “bathing water quality criteria”. • A report by the Central Pollution Control Board in 2018, pointed out four polluted stretches on the main stem of river Ganga. • There are five categories ranked 1 to 5, with 1 the most polluted and 5 the least. • An updated 2021 report noted that none of the stretches of the Ganga stretches were now in Priority Category I to IV and only two stretches are in Priority Category V with Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), a parameter different from DO, ranging between 3-6 microgram/litre as per CPCB categorisation of polluted stretch. • A comparison of median data of water quality parameters such as DO, Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Faecal Coliform (FC) from 2014 and 2021; DO (Median) has improved at 31 locations; BOD at 46 and FC at 23 locations, respectively, the Ministry data noted. • The 2018 report of the CPCB had identified 351 polluted stretches on 323 rivers based on monitoring results of 521 rivers in terms of Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD). • “Based on the assessment of water quality, various measures are being taken both by the Centre and the States to prevent pollution of rivers and drains out–falling into them. • River cleaning is a continuous process and the Central government assists the State governments and urban local bodies through schemes like ‘Namami Gange’ and National River Conservation Plan (NRCP),” the Ministry said. • The NRCP has so far covered polluted stretches on 34 rivers in 77 towns spread over 16 States with a sanctioned cost of ₹5,961.75 crore and installing a sewage treatment capacity of 2,677 million litres per day (mld) has been created. • The Namami Gange programme has funded 364 projects including 160 projects for sewage treatment of 5,024 mld and sewer network of 5,227 km has been sanctioned at a cost of ₹30,853 crore, it said. □ About Namami Gange Programme: • ‘Namami Gange Programme’, is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga. • The Ganga basin - which also extends into parts of Nepal, China and Bangladesh - accounts for 26 per cent of India's landmass. □ What is Dissolved oxygen (DO)? • Dissolved oxygen (DO) is the amount of oxygen that is present in water. • Water bodies receive oxygen from the atmosphere and from aquatic plants. • Running water, such as that of a swift moving stream, dissolves more oxygen than the still water of a pond or lake. • All aquatic animals need DO to breathe. • Low levels of oxygen (hypoxia) or no oxygen levels (anoxia) can occur when excess organic materials, such as large algal blooms, are decomposed by microorganisms. • During this decomposition process, DO in the water is consumed. □ Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD): • Chemical oxygen demand (COD) is the amount of dissolved oxygen that must be present in water to oxidize chemical organic materials. □ Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD): • The biological oxygen demand (BOD) is also called Biochemical oxygen demand. • Biochemical oxygen demand is the amount of oxygen consumed by bacteria and other microorganisms while they decompose organic matter under aerobic conditions. 

📰 News: No illegality in floating LIC IPO through Money Bill, says Madras High Court. • There is no constitutional illegality in Parliament having amended the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Act of 1956 by way of a ‘Money Bill’ for floating an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and parting with its shareholding in the corporation to raise ₹65,000 crore to ₹70,000 crore initially to the Consolidated Fund of India, the Madras High Court has ruled. • The First Division Bench of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy held that a challenge to the Finance Act of 2021, through which the LIC Act was amended, could not be accepted in the absence of a challenge to a certificate issued by the Lok Sabha Speaker classifying the Finance Bill 2021 as a Money Bill. • The judges said, the Speaker’s decision should be treated as final as per Article 110(3) of the Constitution, unless a judicial review of it had been prayed for. • They dismissed a writ petition filed by an insurance policyholder L. Ponnammal who had contended that the subject matter would not fall within the definition of Money Bill. • The Bench pointed out that Article 109 lays down special procedures in respect of Money Bills. Such Bills could be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha. • After the Lok Sabha passes them, they should be transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for the latter to make its recommendations within 14 days. • If the recommendations were not made within 14 days, the Bill should be deemed to have been passed by both the Houses and if any recommendations were made, the Lok Sabha could take a call on accepting or rejecting the recommendations. • After such decision, the Bill would be deemed to have been passed by both the Houses. • Issues related to payment or withdrawal of money either from the Consolidated Fund or Contingency Fund of India would fall under the definition of Money Bill and if any question arises as to whether a Bill was a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Lok Sabha Speaker would be final as per Article 110(3) of the Constitution. □ Articles regarding Money Bills: • Article 109 - Special procedure in respect of Money Bills. • Article 110 - Definition of Money Bills.

📰 News (21-03-2022): 📰 News: Narasinghapettai nagaswaram bags GI tag. • Nagaswaram made in Narasinghapettai in Thanjavur district has been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag on the application filed by the Thanjavur. • Narasinghapettai, a village near Thiruvidaimarudur, has an inseparable place in the world of Carnatic music. • Nagaswaram is made of ‘acha maram’, a tree known for its sturdy features. • The front portion — ‘anusu’ or enhancer — is made of ‘vaagai’ wood. ‘Seevali’, the reed, is made from a type of grass that grows on the banks of the Cauvery and the Kollidam. 📰 News: Japan still hopes India will re-join RCEP. • Japan has still not given up hope that India might reconsider joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that it quit in 2019, a senior Japanese official said, indicating that India-Japan collaborations in other countries may be impacted if India continues to stay out. • India and Japan signed a number of economic agreements and focused in particular on projects in India’s northeast region during the annual summit meeting. • The two leaders also set a target of five trillion yen in Japanese investment, including loans, foreign direct investment (FDI) and assistance for the next five years. • However, plans for joint collaborations in third countries, including using Indian-made components in products, could run into higher tariffs and barriers, Mr. Shikata explained. • In particular, the RCEP includes a “Rule of Origin” certification requirement that would given free trade access only to goods made in RCEP countries., which have pledged to eliminate tariffs on 91% of goods. • “Because of the structure of the RCEP agreement, there is the issue of Rules of Origin certifications. If, for example, Japanese and Indian companies invest in Thailand or Vietnam and create a supply chain and the final product is exported to China, they could make use of RCEP provisions and put more conditions or tariffs on it,” Mr. Shikata said, explaining that the India-Japan collaborations could then be restricted to projects in India’s neighbourhood, like with Bangladesh. • “So, if India comes on board, those kind of investments, cross-border investments could be facilitated,” he added. • The 15-nation RCEP, which is the world’s largest trade deal and includes China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand and 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and represents about 30% of global GDP and population, came into force on January 1 this year. • India was a founding member at the negotiations that began in 2012, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his government was walking out of the agreement in 2019, after being unable to resolve issues, mainly over concerns on dumping from China and allowing Indian services free access in the region. • Since then, Japan and Australia, two countries that continue to convene the trilateral trade dialogue they started during RCEP negotiations with India, have said that they would welcome India back to the agreement if it decides to re-join, which was accepted by the RCEP grouping as well. • According to Mr. Shikata, plans to review the India-Japan Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed in 2011, have not yet made any headway, nor has the government given any indications that it could review the 2019 decision to leave RCEP. • Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries are: Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. • Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) countries are: Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

📰 News: Mule trail for villages without roads in Arunachal. • A hybrid beast of burden could soon be factored in India’s Border Area Development Programme (BADP) that marries development with security on the frontlines. • The mule, an offspring of a male donkey and a mare (female horse), is an essential pack animal for the armed forces to carry food and heavy weapons to remote outposts on difficult slopes in Arunachal Pradesh. • The State government was working on a mule track scheme for inclusion in the BADP. • “If the experiment succeeds, more pack animals will be provided to each village until roads reach the circle. We are also planning to have the mule track scheme incorporated in the BADP,” said an official. • The BADP, an initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) introduced in 1993-94, was implemented initially to develop infrastructure along the Pakistan border for facilitating the deployment of the Border Security Force. • The purview of the programme was widened for meeting special developmental needs and well-being of people living in villages, semi-urban and urban areas located within 10 km of the Zero Line marking the boundary between two countries. • According to the MHA, the BADP covers 396 blocks of 111 border districts in 18 States and Union Territories (UTs). • These States are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. The UTs are Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir. 📰 News: Will discuss Ukraine with Modi: Australian PM. • Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said the situation in Ukraine and its implications for the Indo-Pacific would figure in his virtual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 21. • Mr. Morrison said ways to deepen bilateral trade and investment ties and harness new economic opportunities to support mutual economic recovery and growth would also be discussed. • Ties between India and Australia have been on an upswing in the last few years. • In June 2020, India and Australia signed a landmark deal for reciprocal access to military bases for logistics support. • The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) allows militaries of the two countries to use each other's bases for repair and replenishment of supplies, besides facilitating scaling up of overall defence cooperation. • The Australian Navy was part of the Malabar naval exercise hosted by India in November 2020 as well as last year. The navies of the U.S. and Japan were also part of it. Australia was part of the Malabar exercise this year as well. 📰 News: Great Barrier Reef suffers widespread coral bleaching. • Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is suffering widespread and severe coral bleaching due to high ocean temperatures two years after a mass bleaching event, a government agency said on Friday. • The report by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority, which manages the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, comes three days before a United Nations delegation is due to assess whether the reef's World Heritage listing should be downgraded due to the ravages of climate change. • The reef has suffered significantly from coral bleaching caused by unusually warm ocean temperatures in 2016, 2017 and 2020. The previous bleaching damaged two-thirds of the coral. • What is Coral Bleaching? - When corals face stress by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white. This phenomenon is called coral bleaching.

📰 News (15-03-2022): ■ Centre launches ₹19,000 crore river afforestation plan. • The Centre envisages a ₹19,000–crore project to rejuvenate 13 major rivers by planting trees, officials in the Environment and the Jal Shakti Ministries said at a joint press conference on Monday. • These ‘forestry’ interventions are expected to increase the cumulative forest cover by 7,417.36 sq. km. in the vicinity of these 13 rivers and would prevent 50.21 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 10 year old plantations and 74.76 million tonnes CO2 equivalent in 20 year old plantations. • They would help recharge groundwater, reduce sedimentation, generate ₹449.01 crore from non-timber and other forest produce as well as provide employment of 344 million man days. • The rivers are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Luni, Narmada, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Cauvery funded by the National Afforestation & Eco-development Board, (MoEF&CC). • The two Ministries made public multiple voluminous Detailed Project Reports, for each of these rivers, prepared by the Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education, Dehradun, (ICFRE). • The 13 rivers collectively cover a basin area of 18,90,110 sq. km. or about 57.45% of the geographical area. Their length including 202 tributaries within the delineated surroundings is 42,830 km. • These efforts would help India meet its international climate commitments of creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 -3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030 under the Paris Agreement of the UNFCCC; restore 26 million hectares of degraded lands by 2030 and halt biodiversity loss by 2030 under CBD and Sustainable Development Goals. • At Glasgow last year, India promised to reduce its projected carbon emission by one billion tonnes by 2030, meet 50% of energy requirements with renewable energy by 2030, enhance non–fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatt by 2030, reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by 45% by 2030 and achieve net zero emission by 2070. ■ Over a lakh signed up for classroom training under crash course for COVID-19 warriors. • Based on the demand received from District Skill Committees (DSCs), as on February-end, 1,88,497 candidates have been enrolled/signed up for classroom training under the ‘Customised Crash Course Programme for COVID Warriors’ (CCCP for CW) under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0 (PMKVY 3.0) to create a pool of trained/skilled COVID-19 warriors. • The Skill Development Ministry has been running the Customised Crash Course Programme for COVID Warriors as part of a special healthcare programme.  ■ Maternal Mortality Ratio of India declines by 10 points. • The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has declined by 10 points as per a special bulletin released by the Registrar General of India. It has declined from 113 in 2016-18 to 103 in 2017-19 (8.8 % decline). The country had been witnessing a progressive reduction in the MMR from 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, 113 in 2016-18, and to 103 in 2017-19, said the release issued on Monday. • India was on the verge of achieving the National Health Policy (NHP) target of 100/lakh live births by 2020 and certainly on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 70/ lakh live births by 2030, it noted. •  The number of States that have achieved the SDG target has now risen from five to seven -- Kerala (30), Maharashtra (38), Telangana (56), Tamil Nadu (58), Andhra Pradesh (58), Jharkhand (61), and Gujarat (70). There are now nine States that have achieved the MMR target set by the NHP, which include the above seven and Karnataka (83) and Haryana (96). • Uttarakhand (101), West Bengal (109), Punjab (114), Bihar (130), Odisha (136) and Rajasthan (141) -- have the MMR in between 100-150, while Chhattisgarh (160), Madhya Pradesh (163), Uttar Pradesh (167) and Assam (205) have the MMR above 150.

📰 News (14-03-2022): ■ Government drugstores to sell nutraceuticals. • Aimed at providing accessible, standardised and affordable generic medicines, the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendras, which currently offer a product basket of 1,451 drugs and 240 surgical instruments, have added nutraceuticals products, including  protein powder and bar, malt-based food supplements and immunity bar for its customers. • Currently, there are about 8,675 PMBJP Kendras that have been opened in districts across the country with three IT enabled warehouses functional at Gurugram, Chennai and Guwahati and fourth one is ready to start operations at Surat. • The government has also set a target to increase the number of PMBJKs to 10,500 by the end of March 2025 along with a total of 6 warehouses. • “Point-of-Sale application for value added services has been implemented by Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India (PMBI) to monitor end-to-end supply chain management system. • All warehouses have SAP-based inventory management system and the demand forecasting is done through the said system so as to place orders as per the desired inventory levels,’’ he added. • Under the PMBJP being implemented by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, a medicine is priced on the principle of maximum of 50% of average price of the top three brands of the said medicine. Thus, the prices of Jan Aushadhi Medicines are cheaper at least by 50% and in some cases, by 80% to 90% of the market price of the branded medicines. • In India, National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority under the Department of Pharmaceuticals regulates the prices of all drugs – whether branded or generic. • While it fixes the ceiling price of scheduled medicines specified in the first schedule of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013, in case of non-scheduled medicines, the manufactures are free to fix Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of the drug. ■ Chilika lake area to be off limits for motorboats. • The Odisha government has proposed to ban movement of mechanised fishing boats in Mangalajodi area on the banks of Chilika lake, an important bird area (IBA), in order to provide winged guests an undisturbed ecosystem for six months ever year. • Mangalajodi area on the banks of Chilika lake consists of 8.3 sq. km. of marshy land with emergent vegetation and is used for roosting and nesting by migratory birds. • Mangalajodi is recognised as globally important for the conservation of bird population. The area is used for roosting and nesting by migratory birds. However, it is not protected by any statutory rules and regulation. ■ Iran suspends talks with Saudi Arabia. • Iran has decided to temporarily suspend its secret Baghdad-brokered talks aimed at defusing yearslong tensions with regional rival Saudi Arabia, Iranian state-linked media reported Sunday, a day after Saudi Arabia carried out its largest known mass execution in its modern history. • The report did not give a reason for Iran's suspension, but it comes after Saudi Arabia put to death 81 people convicted of crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups, a group that activists believe included over three dozen Shiites (Shias). • Shias, who live primarily in the kingdom's oil-rich east, have long complained of being treated as second-class citizens. Saudi Arabia's executions of Shiites have stirred regional unrest in the past. • Iran, the largest Shia Muslim country in the world, and Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties in 2016 after Saudi Arabia executed prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Angry Iranians protesting the execution stormed two Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, fueling years of animosity between the nations. • Saudi Arabia and Iran have backed opposing sides in regional conflicts and political disputes in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq for years, and Saudi Arabia has led an Arab coalition waging war against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen since 2015.