17 November 2019: PIB Summary & Analysis

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November 17th, 2019 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. 250th session of Rajya Sabha
2. 6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)

250th session of Rajya Sabha

Context:

Landmark 250^th session of the Rajya Sabha in November 2019.

Details:

• For the 250^th session of the Upper House, the following events are planned:
  • Release of a publication, titled “Rajya Sabha: The Journey since 1952” providing glimpses of various aspects of the functioning of the House.
  • Discussion in the House on the ‘Role of Rajya Sabha in Indian Polity: Need for Reform’.
  • Release of a commemorative volume on the evolution of Rajya Sabha and its functioning with 44 articles in Hindi and English by the sitting and former members and those associated with the functioning of the House;
  • Release of a silver coin of Rs.250; and
  • Release of Postal Stamp of Rs.5.00.

Rajya Sabha – A Few Facts:

• Passed 3,817 bills in the last 67 years.
• Held 5,466 sittings so far – since its first sitting in May 1952.
• Total of 2,282 members so far.
• 208 women members and 137 nominated women members – double from 15 in 1952 to 31 in 2014.
• Casting vote by the Chair: The first and the only time when a Presiding Officer of Rajya Sabha cast his vote was when the Panel Chairman Shri M.A. Baby did so in 1991. Voting was on the Statutory Resolution moved by the opposition seeking disapproval of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance resulting in the victory of the opposition in the House.
• President’s Rule approved only by Rajya Sabha: It happened only twice in respect of extension of President’s Rule in Tamil Nadu and Nagaland in 1977 and in the case of Haryana in 1991 when Lok Sabha was dissolved.
• Removal of a Judge: The only time Rajya Sabha adopted a motion for removal of a Judge was in respect of Justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta High Court in 2011 but he resigned before the motion was taken up in the Lok Sabha.
• Members have been expelled, suspended for the remainder of the session, and reprimanded for various reasons during various times.
• First Bill passed: The Indian Tariff (Second Amendment) Bill, 1952.
• First Bill concerning social change: The Special Marriages Bill, 1952.
• First Constitution Amendment Bill passed by Rajya Sabha: The Constitution (Second Amendment) Bill, 1953 for readjustment of representation in Lok Sabha by increasing the size of population per constituency.
• First Bill on reorganization of States: The Andhra State Bill, 1953.

Also read: Differences between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha – Indian Polity Notes

6th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)

Context:

The Defence Minister holds various bilateral meetings on the sidelines of ADMM-Plus in Bangkok.

Details:

• The Defence Minister is in Bangkok to attend the 6^th ADMM-Plus.
• He held bilateral meetings with the US Secretary of Defence, the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, the Defence Minister of Japan, the Defence Minister of Australia and the Defence Minister of New Zealand.
• Defence ministers of 18 countries are taking part in the ADMM.

About the ADMM:

• The ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN and its eight Dialogue Partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region.
• The inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, in 2010.
• The Defence Ministers then agreed on five areas of practical cooperation to pursue under this new mechanism, namely maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping operations and military medicine.
• To facilitate cooperation in these areas, Experts’ Working Groups (EWGs) were established.
• ADMM-Plus Countries:
  • The ten ASEAN members:
    • Thailand
    • The Philippines
    • Malaysia
    • Singapore
    • Indonesia
    • Brunei
    • Viet Nam
    • Lao PDR
    • Myanmar
    • Cambodia
  • Eight Plus Countries:
    • Australia
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • New Zealand
    • Republic of Korea
    • Russian Federation
    • The United States
  • ADMM-Plus Objectives:
    • To benefit ASEAN member countries in building capacity to address shared security challenges, while cognisant of the differing capacities of various ASEAN countries.
    • To promote mutual trust and confidence between defence establishments through greater dialogue and transparency.
    • To enhance regional peace and stability through cooperation in defence and security, in view of the transnational security challenges the region faces.
    • To contribute to the realisation of an ASEAN Security Community which, as stipulated in the Bali Concord II, embodies ASEAN’s aspiration to achieve peace, stability, democracy and prosperity in the region where ASEAN member countries live at peace with one another and with the world at large.
    • To facilitate the implementation of the Vientiane Action Programme, that calls for ASEAN to build a peaceful, secure and prosperous ASEAN, and to adopt greater outward-looking external relation strategies with their friends and Dialogue Partners.

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