CAB, SC/ST quota, Data Protection, Pragati Maidan & more: Cabinet takes big decisions

Anuncing major decisions taken by Modi Cabinet, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, on Wednesday, has said that Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) has been cleared by Cabinet, in a press conference in New Delhi. He added that three Sanskrit universities will be converted into Central Universities. He also anunced that Central Sanskrit Universities Bill is to be introduced in Parliament.

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Cabinet anuncements

cabinet has approved Personal Data Protection Bill that will spell out a framework for handling personal data including its processing by public and private entities. It has also approved Bill for increasing term of SC/ST political reservation till 2030. Moreover, ITPO is set to undertake a mega project to redevelop Pragati Maidan into a world-class International Exhibition and Convention Centre. withdrawal of Jammu And Kashmir Reservation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 to has been approved.

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What is Citizenship (Amendment) Bill?

First introduced in Lok Sabha in July 2016, this bill was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee which filed its report on January 2019. Bill was n finally passed by Lok Sabha in January 2019. 

Bill amends Citizenship Act 1955 to make refugees who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship, as explained by PRS. It also relaxes terms of naturalised citizenship, from original 14 years to six years. Anyone belonging to above-mentioned six religions and three countries can apply for citizenship after residing in India for stipulated six years.

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What is Personal Data Protection Bill?

Bill aims to lay down a framework for processing of personal and private data by public and private entities. Bill allows exemptions for certain kinds of data processing, such as processing in interest of national security, for legal proceedings, or for journalistic purposes. It also has a data-localization clause, which states that certain critical personal data must be stored solely within country. It also calls for national-level Data Protection Authority (DPA) to be set up.

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Recently, data privacy came under scrutiny after it came to light that several WhatsApp users in India have been soped by Israel-based tech firm NSO that developed Pegasus spyware to spy on 1,400 users across world, including 121 Indian journalists, activists. government has pulled up Whatsapp for data breach, saying 'Privacy of citizens is paramount'.