Current Affairs - Bills and Acts

The Assam government will propose a bill for compulsory government registration of Muslim marriages and divorces, aiming to end underage marriages and protect tribal areas and cultural sites. The bill, to be tabled in the Autumn Session, seeks to end the Kazi's authority to register Muslim marriages and divorces and ensure government oversight of such registrations. It also includes provisions to protect religious, cultural, and historical structures, as well as expand the 'Orunodoi' poverty alleviation scheme, aiming to cover an additional 12.6 lakh households.

The Right to Education (RTE) Act was enacted in 2009 by the Indian Parliament to operationalize the 86th Constitutional Amendment, which introduced Article 21 A. This article ensures free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14 years. The RTE Act, which became effective on April 1, 2010, mandates that no fees be charged for education and sets out the duties of state governments and local authorities. It also establishes guidelines for teacher-student ratios and prohibits physical punishment and mental harassment in schools.

The Boilers Bill, of 2024, introduced in Rajya Sabha, aims to replace the Boilers Act of 1923. The new bill seeks to modernize boiler regulations and enhance safety standards. It decriminalizes certain offences, simplifies provisions to facilitate ease of doing business, and mandates the employment of qualified personnel for boiler repairs to ensure worker safety.

The Madras High Court declared Section 77-A of the Registration Act, 1908 unconstitutional, citing concerns about the excessive quasi-judicial power it granted to District Registrars. Introduced through a 2022 State amendment, Section 77-A allowed District Registrars to cancel property documents registered through fraud or forged revenue records. The court found this provision problematic due to the lack of judicial expertise among Registrars and the potential for bias, which could lead to significant hardship and damage to property owners.

Project Tiger was launched in India on April 1, 1973, to promote the conservation of tigers. Initially, the project covered nine tiger reserves spanning 18,278 square kilometres. Since then, the initiative has expanded significantly, and India now has 55 tiger reserves covering more than 78,735 square kilometres, nearly 2.4% of the country's geographical area. The project was instrumental in increasing awareness and implementing measures to protect the tiger population in India, which stood at 3,682 in 2022, accounting for about 75% of the global wild tiger population.