• The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has moved to create a Legislative Council for the state, in keeping with the promise in its manifesto ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections.

• India has a bicameral system of legislature at the Union level. Just as Parliament has two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, individual states too, can choose to have a Legislative Council in addition to the Legislative Assembly.
• This option is available under Article 171 of the Constitution. As in the Rajya Sabha, members of a state Legislative Council too, are not directly elected by voters.

• When the founding fathers of the Republic were debating the Constitution of free India, opinion in the Constituent Assembly was divided on the idea of having a second House.
• It was argued that a second House would help check hasty actions by the directly elected House. Also, non-elected individuals in the Upper House would be able to contribute to the legislative process.
• Opponents of the idea argued that political parties would be able to use the Legislative Council in the states to delay legislation, and as a sop or sinecure for leaders who have failed to win an election.

• Under Article 169, a Legislative Council can be formed "if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting". Parliament can then pass a law to this effect.
• Under Article 171 of the Constitution, the Legislative Council of a state shall not have more than one-third of the total number of MLAs of that state, and not less than 40 members.
• Jammu & Kashmir, which will soon cease to exist as a state, was the exception to this provision: as per Section 50 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, the Assembly had 87 members, and the Legislative Council 36.
• As with Rajya Sabha MPs, the tenure of a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) in a state is six years, with one-third of the members of the House retiring every two years.
• A third of the MLCs are elected by the state's MLAs, another third by a special electorate comprising sitting members of local governments such as municipalities and district boards. A twelfth is elected by an electorate of teachers, and another twelfth by registered graduates.
• The remaining members of the Council are appointed by the Governor for distinguished service in various fields.

• If J&K, which has been split into two Union Territories, not be considered, six states currently have Legislative Councils.
• Andhra Pradesh (176 MLAs; 58 MLCs)
• Bihar (243 MLAs; 75 MLCs)
• Karnataka (225 MLAs; 75 MLCs)
• Maharashtra (289 MLAs; 78 MLCs)
• Telangana (119 MLAs; 40 MLCs)
• Uttar Pradesh (404 MLAs; 100 MLCs)

• Before Madhya Pradesh, which is planning a 76-member Upper House, Odisha had, in 2018, moved to create a Legislative Council of 49 members (1/3^rd of the 147-member Assembly).
• Several years ago, Tamil Nadu's DMK government had passed a law to set up a Council, but the subsequent AIADMK government had withdrawn it after coming to power in 2010.
• The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council was set up in 1958, abolished in 1985, and reconstituted in 2007.
• Proposals to create Legislative Councils in Rajasthan and Assam are pending in Parliament. The PRS Legislative Research website lists the status of both these Bills as pending.

• The legislative power of the Councils are limited. Unlike Rajya Sabha which has substantial powers to shape non-financial legislation, Legislative Councils lack a constitutional mandate to do so. State Assemblies can override the suggestions/amendments made to a legislation by the Council.
• Unlike Rajya Sabha MPs, MLCs cannot vote in elections for the President and Vice President. The Vice President of India is the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the MoUs and agreements signed) + Mains ( GS II India and its neighbourhood relations)
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi further cemented the ties with Bhutan by launching India's RuPay card in Bhutan. He also signed 10 MoUs during his second visit to Bhutan.
• The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on his second visit to Bhutan (first since his re-election), discussed wide-ranging steps to strengthen the relationship with Bhutan and signed 10 MoUs to infuse new energy between both countries. Bhutan was the first country that PM Modi visited as Prime Minister in 2014.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched India's RuPay card in Bhutan by purchasing at Simtokha Dzong, that functions as a monastic and administrative centre. It was built in 1629 by Shabdrung Namgyal.
• The launch of RuPay card will be done in two phases- in the first phase, India's banks will issue RuPay cards that can be used by Indian travellers in Bhutan; in second phase-banks of Bhutan will be empowered to issue RuPay cards to Bhutanese citizens to use in India
• Bhutan is the second country after Singapore where RuPay card was launched. In May 2018, PM Modi had launched three India's payment apps RuPay, BHIM and SBI apps.
• India and Bhutan signed 10 MoUs (Memorandum of Understandings) in Power, IT, Education, Space reasearch and Aviation sectors.
• Apart from this, PM Modi announced an additional $100 million to Bhutan under the SAARC currency swap framework to meet foreign exchange requirements.
• He along with Bhutanese Prime Minister Lotay Tshering jointly inaugurated the SATCOM network and Ground Earth Station, developed with the assistance from ISRO for utilisation of South Asia Satellite in Bhutan.

• RuPay Card was launched on 26 March 2012 by NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) to have India's own multilateral system of payments. It helps electronic payments at all Indian banks and financial institutions.

What's the NEWS

• Aadi Mahotsav (National Tribal Festival), a joint initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India & Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) begins at Polo Ground, Leh-Ladakh.
• The 9 day event from 17^th August till 25th August, 2019 was inaugurated by Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs
• The theme of the festival is: "A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and Commerce". TRIFED essentially is to play the role of a ‘Service provider' & ‘Market Developer.

Know! more about the fest

• The first of its kind event in Leh-Ladakh will see around 160 Tribal artisans from more than 20 states across the country, actively participating and showcasing their masterpieces.
• The product range will comprise of Tribal Textiles from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal; Tribal Jewellery from Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and North East; Tribal Paintings like Gond art from Madhya Pradesh, Warli art from Maharashtra; Metal craft from Chhattisgarh; Black pottery from Manipur, and Naturals and Organic products from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

Steps taken by the Tribal ministry for the overall development of tribal people

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is committed for the overall development of tribal people across the country who are deprived of the benefits of the many schemes of the government.
• The Government plans to setup 3000 Van DhanVikasKendras (VDVK) across the country in 2019-20 which include 13 VDVKs planned to setup in Ladakh, the Minister added.
• Now the products of Tribal artisans are being marketed all over the country through 104 retail outlets run by TRIBES India and to 190 countries across the country through Amazon, with whom TRIBES India has an agreement.
• The tribes constitute over 8% of the country's population. This is a very significant number. In real terms it corresponds to over 10 crore Indians. Moire than 70% population of Ladakh region are tribes. The government has conceptualized of organizing AadiMahotsav in Leh-Ladakh in Arptil 2019.
• As the name of this event AadiMahotsav suggests, it is the ‘adi' factor that is important about them. The Adivasi way of life is guided by primal truths, eternal values and a natural simplicity.

Know! about TRIFED

• The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) came into existence in 1987.
• It is a national-level apex organization functioning under the administrative control of Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Govt. of India. TRIFED has its registered and Head Office located in New Delhi and has a network of 13 Regional Offices located at various places in the country.
• TRIFED is engaged in procurement and marketing of tribal art and craft items through its chain of 40 retail outlets called TRIBES INDIA which offers a range of tribal products, which include Metal Craft Tribal Textiles Jewellery Tribal Paintings
• Through this initiative TRIFED provides a platform through which tribals products can be marketed in retail directly to the consumers and in the process ensures that tribal gets a fair price

Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
India's participation at WorldSkills International Competition
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about WorldSkills Kazan 2019 )
What's the NEWS

• The 48-member Indian Team representing the country at WorldSkills Kazan 2019 was given a grand send-off,organized by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), to motivate the participants as they gear up to pit their skills against the best in the world. India is the sixth largest team that will take part in the competition.

Know! more about World Skills International Competition

• Nearly 1,500 competitors from 60 countries will compete in 56 skill competitions at this mega event in Kazan, Russia on August 22-27.
• The 48-member Indian team will participate in 44 skills, including mobile robotics, prototype modelling, hairdressing, baking, confectionary & patisserie, welding, brick laying, car painting, floristry, etc. Forty-four experts and 14 interpreters are also accompanying the participants to Kazan.
• In 2017, a 28-strong contingent took part in the WorldSkills International at Abu Dhabi, winning one silver, one bronze and nine Medallions of Excellence.
• Karnataka and four from Uttar Pradesh. Over 50,000 youth had registered for the IndiaSkills Competitions that was organized across several legs last year.

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