Context: The Union Government told the Supreme Court that it is considering appointing an expert committee to examine if there can be a method less painful than hanging by neck for execution in death penalty cases in the country. 

Background

• In 2017, a PIL was filed seeking to abolish the present practice of executing a death row convict by hanging and replace it with less painful methods such as "intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas chamber".

What is the death penalty in India?

• Hanging and shooting are the two methods of the death penalty in India.

• According to the Criminal Procedure Code, hanging is the method of execution in the civilian court system.

• The Army Act, of 1950, however, lists hanging and shooting as official methods of execution in the military court-martial system.

• Under the provisions of criminal procedure, the death penalty must be awarded as an alternative punishment to life imprisonment which the offenders may be sentenced to in 'rarest of rare cases'.

Rarest of rare cases ( Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab )

• The year 1980 marked a crucial point in the debate around the death penalty. That year, a trial court in the state of Punjab sentenced to death a man named Bachan Singh for the murder of three men. 

• Singh approached the Supreme Court of India, asking it to examine the constitutionality of capital punishment in a case that led to a landmark ruling.  

• The Bachan Singh case led to the establishment of the "rarest of rare" doctrine, meaning that courts should only impose the death penalty in exceptional cases.

• Rarest rare cases can be described as those when the murder is committed in an extremely brutal, ridiculous, diabolical, revolting, or reprehensible manner so as to awaken the intense and extreme indignation in the community. When total depravity and cruelty are the motives behind a murder.

Gaps in the current sentencing framework

• Law Commission: In 2015, a Law Commission report called for its abolition, except for in terrorism-related cases.

• Supreme Court: In 2022, for the first time in 42 years, the Supreme Court acknowledged the gaps in the current sentencing frameworkand put together another constitutional bench to resolve them.

• But as the Supreme Court seeks ways to reform death penalty sentencing, trial courts across India continue to hand down capital punishment.

Note: Capital punishment, is a legal penalty ordered by the Court against the person who has committed a certain crime that is prohibited by the law. In India, it is only given in the rarest of the rare cases as per the Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure.

• Capital punishment is the most controversial penal practise debated highly all over the world and the word ‘Abolition of Death Penalty’ is one of the most discussed topics in United Nation (UN) where Death Penalty is considered as a violation of Human Rights.

Increasing death penalty

• Released by: ‘Project 39A’, a criminal reforms advocacy group with the National Law University, Delhi.

Key highlights

• According to NCRB data, 165 death penaltieswere awarded by trial courts since 2000.

• The corresponding figure for the last five years was;

• 146 in 2021, 78 in 2020, 104 in 2019, 163 in 2018, and 110 in 2017.

• Sole decision taken by trial courts: The report notes that 3% of the death penalty cases were decided by trial courts “without any materials on mitigating circumstances of the accused and without any state-led evidence on the question of reform.”

Why capital punishment should be abolished?

• Violation of human rights: In 2015, a Law Commission report argued that the death penalty is unconstitutional and an infringement of Article 14 (right to equality before law) and Article 21 (right to life) of the Indian constitution.

• Endless suffering: The appeals procedure for death sentences is lengthy. Due to this, persons sentenced to death are sometimes brutally made to suffer extended periods of uncertainty about their fate.

• Economic burden: Abolishing the death penalty will ease, not enhance, the tax-payer’s burden. The annual cost of maintaining a prisoner is about ?30,000. 

Global Practice

• Since 1976, more than 90 nations have abolished the death penalty for all crimes.

• Apart from India, many countries including US, Japan, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq continue to impose capital punishment. 

• Australia, Congo, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and U.K have completely abolished the Capital Punishment due to inconsistent with the human rights requirement. 

Conclusion

• The capital sentencing framework as it stands today raises concerns about our commitment to the rule of law and poses a serious threat to the right to fair trial of the accused. Any attempts to repair the broken nature of capital sentencing in India must necessarily involve addressing the glaring normative, substantive and procedural deficiencies.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Maldivian counterpart Mariya Didi on May 3 laid the foundation stone for the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) Coast Guard ‘Ekatha Harbour’.

• The development of the Coast Guard Harbour and repair facility at Sifavaru is one of the biggest grant-in-aid projects of India, a joint press communique issued at the end of Mr. Singh’s three-day tour said.
• This is the first visit of an Indian Defence Minister to the island nation in 11 years.
• Both Ministers reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability and security in the region and recognised the need to work together to address common security challenges.

The University Grant Commission (UGC) Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar i.e. 2 May 2023 launched the Central University Faculty recruitment portal CU-Chayan and declared that the CU-Chayan portal is a completely user-friendly portal and will fulfil the needs of all the stakeholders in the recruitment process.

• In a conversation with ANI, UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar said, "CU-Chayan portal is completely user-friendly and caters to the needs of all the stakeholders in the recruitment process.
• UGC has developed this portal to create an enabling environment for both universities and the applicants with universities driving all the stages of the recruitment independently.
• It is a unified recruitment portal, designed and developed specifically for recruitment of the faculties in Central Universities.

The UAE government launched the ‘Machines Can See 2023’ Summit, one of the international conferences in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the whole region, taking place at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, in partnership between Artificial Intelligence,

• Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications Office and ‘Machines Can See’ company.
• The conference aims to bring together experts from around the world to discuss the future of AI and its potential in contributing to the UAE’s vision of creating the next Silicon Valley.
• The summit was held at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, and explored the current advancements of AI, its applications, and its future in the UAE and the rest of the world. 

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Cabinet approved the provision of Rs 1,500 per month as Indira Gandhi Mahila Samman Nidhi to all the eligible women of above 18 years in the Spiti Valley. 

The cabinet also gave its nod to introduce e-stamping in the State for the collection of stamp duty to promote ease of doing business. It decided to stop printing physical stamp papers with immediate effect and to authorize stamp vendors as authorized collection centres.

• It also decided to continue with a dual system of stamps, i.e. physical stamp paper and e-stamp paper from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, and after April 1, 2024, physical stamp paper will be discontinued completely.
• The Cabinet decided to give Rs 600 in lieu of school uniforms through direct benefit transfer to all eligible students.
• It also decided to increase the honorarium of Nambardars in the Revenue Department from Rs 3,200 to Rs 3,700 per month as per the budget announcement, which will benefit about 3,177 Nambardars in the State.

Microsoft has announced two new initiatives to guide India’s small and medium businesses (SMBs) on digital transformation projects and help them learn new technology and business skills.

• The initiatives include a SMB-focused website and a dedicated helpline number. 
• The SMB-focused website will focus on improving networking opportunities for small business owners and entrepreneurs in India, enhance their skills and achieve holistic growth, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. 
• Elaborating on the initiative, Microsoft said that the website offers a "rich" repository of skills, resources and tools to cater to every requirement of a business.
• It offers an SMB Academy that can help SMBs gain valuable digital skills and improve workforce productivity using Microsoft’s curated business and technology courses. 

The Executive Directors of the World Bank today selected Ajay Banga as President of the World Bank for a five-year term beginning June 2, 2023.

• Ajay Banga most recently served as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, a global organization with nearly 24,000 employees. 
• Under his leadership, MasterCard launched the Center for Inclusive Growth, which advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world.
• He was Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. 

• The report indicates that over a quarter of a billion people are facing acute hunger.
• In 2022, around 258 million people across 58 countries and territories faced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels (IPC/CH Phase 3-5), up from 193 million people in 53 countries and territories in 2021. 
•  The report is the result of a collaborative effort among 16 partners to achieve a consensus-based assessment of acute food insecurity in countries with food crises, and aims to inform humanitarian and development action by independent and consensus-based evidence and analysis. 

Global Warming’s Four Indias, 2022 is a report that was released recently by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and CVoter International, an Indian international polling agency headquartered in Delhi.

Highlights of the report

• 82% of the Indian population is either alarmed or concerned about global warming or favours climate and energy policies.
• There are four unique audiences within the Indian public, each responding differently to the issue of climate change.

1. The Alarmed (54%) are the most convinced of the reality and dangers of global warming
2. The Concerned (29%) know less about it but view it as a serious threat.
3. The Cautious (11%) believe global warming is happening but are less certain of the causes
4. The Disengaged (7%) rarely or never engage with the issue.

A new report published by IAMAI and Kantar revealed that a majority of Indians have become active internet users in 2022, with 52% of the population or 759 million people accessing the internet at least once a month.

• The report indicated that the figure of active internet users in India is projected to increase to 900 million by 2025.
• It was also noted that of the current active internet users in India, 399 million are from rural areas, while 360 million are from urban areas.
• According to the report, rural India is driving the growth of the internet in the country, with 56% of all new internet users . 
• The report revealed that, while urban India had an internet penetration rate of about 71%, it only had a growth rate of 6% in 2022.

Coal Miners Day is observed every year on May 4th to recognize and honour the tireless efforts and significant contribution of coal miners in extracting coal, which is one of the most important fossil fuels used for various purposes, including power generation and industrial production. Demand for coal is also increasing for its use in cement and steel manufacturing.

• Coal mining is a hazardous and strenuous task that involves digging, tunnelling, and extracting it from deep within the earth’s crust, making it one of the most challenging occupations.
• On Coal Miners Day, all coal miners are acknowledged and celebrated for their hard work, dedication, and perseverance in extracting coal to fuel the nation’s progress.

Nepal have qualified for the Asia Cup 2023 after winning the ACC Men’s Premier Cup. The team, led by Rohit Paudel defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by seven wickets in the final that was played across two days at the Tribhuvan University International Cricket Ground in Kirtipur.

• Nepal, therefore, joined India and Pakistan in Group A of the Asia Cup to be played in September.
• Nepal, UAE and Oman will also take part in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in July where they will face ‘A’ teams of five full-member teams.
• As far as the final of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup is concerned, the game went into the Reserve Day after rain played spoilsport in the first. After being put in to bat first, UAE found themselves in all sorts of trouble after being reduced to 106 for the loss of nine wickets after the first day.