Rapid Fire Current Affairs | 28 Mar 2023

Affinity Test can Never be Conclusive: SC

According to the Supreme Court’s judgment, an affinity test cannot be an effective and definite way to decide a caste or tribe claim.

An affinity test mandates the study and preparation of a report by authorities on caste/tribe claims based on the peculiar anthropological and ethnological traits, deities, rituals, customs, mode of marriage, death ceremonies, methods of burial of dead bodies, etc, of the particular caste or tribe and the applicant's knowledge of them.

Read More: Supreme Court

Finance Bill, 2023

The government of India recently completed its Budgetary exercise for 2023-24, with both Houses of Parliament approving the Finance Bill, 2023, along with a fresh amendment introduced by the Finance Minister to rectify an error in Securities Transaction Tax (STT) rates on options contracts in the earlier version of the Bill.

While the Finance Bill contains provisions on financing the expenditure of the government, an Appropriation Bill specifies the quantum and purpose for withdrawing money. Both appropriation and finance bills are classified as money bills which do not require the explicit consent of the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha only discusses them and returns the bills.

Once the Lok Sabha passes the budget of the government or any other money-related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it. The Rajya Sabha can only delay it by 14 days or suggest changes in it, however, the former may or may not accept these changes.

Read More: Rajya Sabha & Lok Sabha

New NCERT Textbooks & Panchaadi Way

After nearly two decades, school students at all levels will learn from updated National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) textbooks to be introduced in the 2024-25 academic year. This is in keeping with the National Education Policy 2020 and National Curriculum Framework (NCF) which was released in August 2022. The textbooks will be developed in 22 languages.

Currently, the government has released NCF for pre-school to Class 2, for children aged between three and eight years. The framework for other classes is yet to be rolled out.

NCF, in its guidelines, has emphasised that students’ learning should be planned to keep in mind Indian roots and has proposed a five-step learning process or panchaadi for children at the preschool or foundational level. Panchaadi includes aditi (introduction of a topic), bodh (conceptual understanding), abhyas (practice), prayog (application), and prasar (expansion).