Current Affairs April 2016 - Various Committees
News 1 - MHA forms Madhukar Gupta committee to suggest ways to tighten the security along the Indo-Pak border
The Union Government formed a high-level committee headed by former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta to suggest ways to tighten the border protection along Indo-Pak border and address the issue of gaps and vulnerability in border fencing. The committee will submit its report in three months.
The committee will suggest comprehensive approach to fix the gaps in fencing and other vulnerabilities on interim and permanent basis.
News 2 - B B Tandon to head the committee that will the monitor Government Advertisements
The I&B ministry constituted a 3-member committee headed by former Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon, to monitor government advertisements. The committee was formed in accordance with the Supreme Court directions dated 13 May 2015. The other two members of the committee are Rajat Sharma, Editor-in-Chief of India TV, and Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman South Asia, Ogilvy and Mather.
The selection panel for constitution of this committee was headed by Chandramauli Kumar Prasad, Chairman, Press Council of India.
News 3 - Shyam Benegal panel submitted a report on the Censor Board functioning
The Shyam Benegal headed committee constituted by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry to take a relook at the functioning of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), submitted its report to the ministry.
The committee has recommended that 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 committee also recommended that it should be more specific and apart from U category, the UA Category can be broken up into further sub-categories – UA12+ & UA15+. The A category should also be sub-divided into A and AC (Adult with Caution) categories.
News 4 - The SC appoints Gopal Subramanium as the Amicus Curiae to implement the Justice RM Lodha committee recommendations
The Supreme Court appointed senior advocate Gopal Subramanium as the ‘Amicus Curiae’ and sought his assistance to explore the ways to get the recommendations of the Justice RM Lodha committee implemented.
The committee has favored large-scale structural reforms. Mr. Subramanium may also suggest modifications to the committee's recommendations if he finds them to be unconstitutional but it may not be bind-able to the court. However, the court will take the suggestions seriously as the court itself asked for the assistance.
News 5 - Parliamentary panel suggests fine, jail for the celebrities appearing in misleading advertisements
A Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by Telugu Desam Party MP J C Divakar Reddy submitted its report and recommended stringent provisions including jail term up to five years and hefty penalty of up to 50 lakhs to make celebrities accountable for misleading ads and protect consumer interest. The report on the Consumer Protection Bill 2015 was tabled in Parliament on 26th April.
The panel recommended for legal teeth to Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to curb misleading ads. The panel recommended that the Department of Consumer Affairs should be empowered to make laws to regulate growing sectors of e-commerce, direct selling and multi-level marketing where consumer complaints are on the rise.
