Private property is a human right: Supreme Court - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Private property is a human right: Supreme Court.

‘Grabbing private land and claiming it as its own makes the State an encroacher’

A citizen’s right to own private property is a human right. The state cannot take possession of it without following due procedure and authority of law, the Supreme Court has held in a judgment.

The state cannot trespass into the private property of a citizen and then claim ownership of the land in the name of ‘adverse possession’, the court said.
Grabbing private land and then claiming it as its own makes the state an encroacher.
In a welfare state, right to property is a human right, a Bench of Justices Indu Malhotra and Ajay Rastogi declared in their January 8 verdict.
Adverse possession
“A welfare state cannot be permitted to take the plea of adverse possession, which allows a trespasser i.e. a person guilty of a tort, or even a crime, to gain legal title over such property for over 12 years. The State cannot be permitted to perfect its title over the land by invoking the doctrine of adverse possession to grab the property of its own citizens,” Justice Malhotra, who authored the judgment, laid down the law.
Yet, this is exactly what happened 52 years ago with Vidya Devi, a widow. The Himachal Pradesh government forcibly took over her four acres at Hamipur district to build a road in 1967.
Justice Malhotra highlights how the state took advantage of Ms. Devi’s illiteracy and failed to pay her a compensation for 52 years.
“The appellant [Ms. Devi] being an illiterate widow, coming from a rural background, was wholly unaware of her rights and entitlement in law, and did not file any proceedings for compensation of the land compulsorily taken over by the state,” Justice Malhotra empathised with Ms. Devi, who is 80 years old now.
Moves HC
Ms. Devi first learnt about her right for compensation in 2010 from her neighbours who had also lost their property to the road. Then, in her 70s, she did not lose time to march straight to the Himachal Pradesh High Court, accompanied by her daughter, to join her neighbours in their fight against the state. But the High Court asked her to file a civil suit in the lower court. Disappointed, Ms. Devi moved the Supreme Court.
Ordering the state to pay her ₹1 crore in compensation, the Supreme Court noted that in 1967, when the government forcibly took over Ms. Devi’s land, ‘right to private property was still a fundamental right’ under Article 31 of the Constitution.
Property ceased to be a fundamental right with the 44th Constitution Amendment in 1978. Nevertheless, Article 300A required the state to follow due procedure and authority of law to deprive a person of his or her private property, the Supreme Court reminded the government. (Source: The Hindu)


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Private property is a human right: Supreme Court.

Cabinet approves Indian Human Spaceflight Initiative: Gaganyaan Programme - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Cabinet approves Indian Human Spaceflight Initiative: Gaganyaan Programme.

Cabinet approves Indian Human Spaceflight Initiative: Gaganyaan Programme Two unmanned & one manned flight planned First manned flight in 40 months Estimates for Phase-I expenditure- Rs 9023 Crores.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Gaganyaan Programme with demonstration of Indian Human Spaceflight capability to low earth orbit for a mission duration ranging from one orbital period to a maximum of seven days. A human rated GSLV Mk-lll will be used to carry the orbital module which will have necessary provisions for sustaining a 3-member crew for the duration of the mission. The necessary infrastructure for crew training, realization of flight systems and ground infrastructure will be established to support the Gaganyaan Programme. ISRO will collaborate extensively with National agencies, laboratories, academia and industry to accomplish the Gaganyaan Programme objectives.
Expenditure:
The total fund requirement for the Gaganyaan Programme is within Rs.10,000 crore and includes cost of technology development, flight hardware realization and essential infrastructure elements. Two unmanned flights and one manned flight will be undertaken as part of Gaganyaan Programme.
Benefits:
• Gaganyaan Programme will establish a broader framework for collaboration between ISRO, academia, industry, national agencies and other scientific organizations.
• It This will allow pooling in of diverse technological and industrial capabilities and enable broader participation in research opportunities and technology development benefitting large number of students and researchers.
• The flight system realization will be through Industry.
• It is expected to generate employment and train human resources in advanced technologies.
• It will inspire large number of young students to take up science and technology careers for national development.
• Gaganyaan Programme is a national effort and will involve the participation of the Industry, Academia and National Agencies spread across the length and breadth of the country.
lmplementation Strategy and Targets:
Gaganyaan Programme will be a national effort in collaboration with Industry, Academia and other scientific agencies and laboratories as stake holders along with ISRO. ISRO will be responsible for realizing the flight hardware through Industry. National agencies, laboratories and Academia will participate in crew training, human life science technology development initiatives as well as design reviews. First human space flight demonstration is targeted to be completed within 40 months from the date of sanction. Prior to this, two unmanned flights in full complement will be carried out to gain confidence on the technology and mission management aspects.
Impact:
• The programme is expected to spur research and development within the country in niche science and technology domains.
• Huge potential for technology spinoffs in areas such as medicine, agriculture, industrial safety, pollution, waste management, water and food resource management etc.
• Human spaceflight programme will provide a unique micro-gravity platform in space for conducting experiments and test bed for future technologies.
• The programme is expected to give impetus to economic activities within the country in terms of employment generation, human resource development and enhanced industrial capabilities.
• Human Spaceflight capability will enable India to participate as a collaborating partner in future Global space exploration initiatives with long term national benefits.
Background:
ISRO has completed the development of launch vehicle GSLV Mk-lll which has the necessary payload capability to launch a 3-member crew module in low earth orbit. ISRO has also tested the crew escape system which is an essential technology for human space flight. The aerodynamic characterization of crew module has b3een completed as part of GSLV Mk-lll X mission flight. Elements of life support system and Space suit also have been realized and tested. In addition, the orbital & re-entry mission and recovery operations have been flight demonstrated in Space Capsule Re-entry experiment (SRE) mission. ISRO has developed and demonstrated most of the baseline technologies essential for undertaking human spaceflight mission. Globally also, there is a renewed interest in undertaking manned exploration initiatives. (Source:pib)


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Cabinet approves Indian Human Spaceflight Initiative: Gaganyaan Programme.

North Korea named worst human trafficking nation for 16th year - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

North Korea named worst human trafficking nation for 16th year.

The United States on Thursday designated North Korea as one of the worst human trafficking nations for the 16th consecutive year, citing its use of forced labor.

The State Department's annual "2018 Trafficking in Persons Report" put North Korea in the lowest Tier 3 of its classification of countries, together with China, Russia and Iran.
"The Government of (North Korea) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so," the report said.
The North Korean government continued to use forced labor in prison camps and labor training centers, facilitated forced labor of students and exported forced labor to foreign companies, it said.
"It used proceeds from state-sponsored forced labor to fund government functions as well as other illicit activity," the report added. "It did not screen for or protect potential trafficking victims when they were forcibly repatriated from China or other countries."
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the issue as he introduced the report.
"We see the tragic examples of forced labor in North Korea as well," he said at a launch ceremony. "Untold number of North Korean citizens are subjected to forced labor overseas by their own government, in many cases with the tacit approval of host governments."
The report comes as Washington and Pyongyang are negotiating the dismantlement of the regime's nuclear weapons program following a historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un earlier this month.
It noted that in the latest reporting period the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution banning other countries from issuing new work permits to North Korean workers and requiring the expulsion of current laborers before the end of 2019.
Still, it said as many as 100,000 North Koreans currently earn money for their government in countries such as Russia, China and parts of Africa and Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, South Korea was placed among Tier 1 countries for the 16th straight year, along with other advanced nations like the U.S., Britain, France and Canada.


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North Korea named worst human trafficking nation for 16th year.