• PRS Legislative Research released Vital Stats on Functioning of the 17^th Lok Sabha.
• The 17th Lok Sabha (LS) held its sessions between June 2019 and February 2024. During this period, 
  • It held 274 sittings and passed 179 Bills. 
  • Question Hour functioned for 60% of scheduled time in LS and 52% in Rajya Sabha.  
    • Question hour was cancelled in monsoon session of 2020, due to pandemic. 

• Other Key Highlights of the report:
  • Fewest sittings amongst all full-term Lok Sabhas with 206 instances of suspension of Members of Parliament.
    • Average annual sitting days down to 55 from 135 in the first LS.
  • For the first time, LS did not elect Deputy Speaker for entire duration.
    • Article 93 of Constitution requires that LS elect a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker ‘as soon as may be’.
  • Only 16% bills referred to committees for detailed scrutiny with passage of majority of bills without recorded voting.
    • 35% of bills passed with less than an hour of discussion.
  • Time spent on budget discussions has reduced with about 80% of the budget voted without discussion. 

• Annual National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) Way Forward Report, 2023.
• Report released by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) highlights initiatives taken towards enhancing e-Service delivery.
  • e-Service Delivery involves delivery of public/ other services such as receipt of forms and applications, issue/ grant of license, receipt or payment of money, etc., through electronic mode.

• Key Highlights of the report
  • Jammu and Kashmir provides maximum (1117) number of e-Services, across States/UTs.
  • 76% Mandatory e-services are available, an increase from 48% under NeSDA 2019.
  • Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Assam and Odisha provide 100% of their services through their identified Single Unified Service Delivery Portal.
  • Tourism sector achieved highest saturation for provision of all mandatory e-services in 23 out of 36 States/UTs. 

• Significance of e-Service Delivery
  • For Citizens: Empowerment and participation, improved access to services by removal of intermediaries, etc.
  • For Governments: Informed data-driven decision making, resource optimization and cost efficiency by reducing inclusion and exclusion errors, etc.

• Challenges: Digital divide, lack of standardization and interoperability, issue of change management due to bureaucratic inertia, concerns related to cyber-security, etc.

• 22^nd Law Commission (LC) submits 284^th Report titled Prevention of Damage to Public Property.
• Commission took suo motu cognizance to prepare the report on account of rising incidents of vandalism and consequent loss to the state exchequer.
• Also, it highlighted the issue of wilful obstruction of public place or way. 
  • It said that only some States have provisions for dealing with obstructions on public pathways. 

• Key Recommendations:
  • Amendment in the PDPP Act, 1984, it should include 
    • One of the conditions for bail should be the deposit of an amount equivalent to the estimate value of the property damaged.
  • Enact comprehensive law dealing with wilful obstruction.
    • Also, related provision can be included in BNS. 

• Constitutional and Legal Provisions for Protection
  • Fundamental Right under Article 19 implicitly contains the Right to protest.
    • However, demonstration which creates nuisance and disturbances are not covered under it.
  • Fundamental Duties, Article 51 A (duty of every citizen to safeguard public property and to abjure violence).
  • Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP), Act 1984 contains provisions dealing with mischiefs resulting in damage of public property.
  • Sections 425 to 440 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deal with it. 

Several sections of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) (which will replace IPC) deal with it.

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting launched 4 new media-related portals to streamline media-related services under its umbrella.

• India ranked 93 out of 180 countries on Corruption Perceptions Index 2023. 
  • India was ranked 85 in 2022.

• About CPI
  • Released by: Transparency International
  • Ranks countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
  • In 2023, Denmark ranked first, followed by Finland, New Zealand, and Norway.

• Lakshadweep administration continues to number trees on Pandaram lands. 
• Laccadive Minicoy and Amini Islands Land Revenue and Tenancy Regulation, 1965 defines Pandaram lands as 
  • land in which Government has, a proprietary right immediately before the commencement of this Regulation and 
  • includes any land in which government may acquire such rights under this Regulation or under any other law.
• Land other than pandaram land over which a person has proprietary rights under the customary law of the Islands are defined as "jenmam land" under the 1965 regulation. 

• Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has removed Aadhaar from list of acceptable documents for proof of Date of Birth (DoB).
  • Aadhaar is considered a proof of identity but not of citizenship or DoB. 

• About Aadhaar: 
  • 12-digit random number issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
    • UIDAI is a statutory authority established under the Aadhaar Act, 2016. 
  • It contains Demographic (Name, Gender, DoB, Address) & Biometric (Fingerprints, Iris scans and Facial Photograph) data.
  • Eligibility: Any resident of India of any age and gender.