Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

 

KANISHKBIOSCIENCE E -LEARNING PLATFORM - Help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically.

Governor can rule on Rajiv convicts plea:

Context:

Supreme Court has said the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA) investigation into the “larger conspiracy” behind Rajiv Gandhi assassination in 1991 need not deter the Tamil Nadu Governor from deciding the plea for pardon of convicts like A.G. Perarivalan, who have been serving their sentence in jail for over two decades.

    The court has also made it clear that it was reluctant to exercise its jurisdiction when the Governor was already seized of Perarivalan’s plea for pardon under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Background:

Perarivalan had applied to the Governor for pardon on December 30, 2015. Almost three years later, on September 2018, the Supreme Court asked the Governor to decide the pardon plea as he “deemed fit”.

Pardoning Powers of Governor:

Article 161 deals with the Pardoning Power of the Governor.

1    The Governor can grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishments or suspend, remit and commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends.
2    The Governor cannot Pardon a Death Sentence. (The President has the power of Pardon a death Sentence).
3    The Governor cannot grant pardon, reprieve, respite, suspension, remission or commutation in respect to punishment or sentence by a court-martial. However, the President can do so.



Prelims Link:

 1    A detailed overview of Pardoning powers of Governor vs President.
 2    Constitutional provisions related.
 3    Appeals against those decisions.
 4    Can the Courts intervene in such matters?
 5    Role of Cabinet in such matters.

Mains Link:

Present a detailed comparison of pardoning powers of president and Governor in India.

Sources: Indian Express.

 

     Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.

Panel to review TRP norms:

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has constituted a four-member committee to review the guidelines on television rating agencies.

It will be headed by Shashi Shekhar Vempati, CEO of Prasar Bharati.

Background:

This comes after the Mumbai police investigations which revealed that a few news channels had tampered with the ratings.

Need for new guidelines:

A need has been felt to have a fresh look keeping in view of the recent recommendations of TRAI, technological advancements and for further strengthening of the procedures for a credible and transparent rating system.

What is Target Rating Point (TRP)?

Sometimes it is also known as the Television Rating Points.

    It is the metric used by the marketing and advertising agencies to evaluate viewership.
    TRPs represent how many people, from which socio-economic categories, watched which channels for how much time during a particular period.

How is it recorded?

In India, the TRP is recorded by the Broadcast Audience Research Council using Bar-O-Meters that are installed on televisions in selected households.

    As on date, the BARC has installed these meters in 44,000 households across the country.

Why these ratings are important?

1    On the basis of audience measurement data, ratings are assigned to various programmes on television.
2    Television ratings in turn influence programmes produced for the viewers.
3    Better ratings would promote a programme while poor ratings will discourage a programme.
4    Incorrect ratings will lead to production of programmes which may not be really popular while good programmes may be left out.
5    Besides, TRPs are the main currency for advertisers to decide which channel to advertise on by calculating the cost-per-rating-point (CPRP).

What is BARC?

It is an industry body jointly owned by advertisers, ad agencies, and broadcasting companies, represented by the Indian Society of Advertisers, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation and the Advertising Agencies Association of India.

 

• Created in 2010.
• I&B Ministry notified the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India on January 10, 2014 and registered BARC in July 2015 under these guidelines, to carry out television ratings in India.  Prelims Link:
  
  1    What is TRP?
  2    How is it decided?
  3    What is BARC?
  
  Mains Link:
  
  What do you understand by TRP? How can it be rigged? Discuss.
  
  Sources: the Hindu.   
  

  (With input from news agency language)

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