The Coffee Act, 1942

• In the 1930s, the Indian coffee industry was facing significant problems, such as large-scale damage by pests and diseases, and the global economic downturn caused by the Great Depression.
• With coffee planters making significant losses, the government passed the Coffee Cess Act (XIV of 1935) and established the first Indian Cess Committee in November 1935, in order to promote the sale of coffee and increase consumption of Indian coffee at home and abroad.
• These problems from the 1930s were compounded with the outbreak of World War II, as low demands and a loss of foreign markets led to a sharp decline in coffee prices.
• Since the Cess Committee was not able to deal with the crisis faced by the industry, the government formed the Coffee Board, through the introduction of the Coffee Act, 1942, under the control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The purpose of the Act was to provide for the development of the coffee industry.
• The Board was tasked with supporting the industry in marketing, promotion of consumption, finance, and research and development.

The pooling system

• Before India liberalized its economy in 1991, the Coffee Board controlled the marketing of the commodity in its entirety, both in India and abroad.
• It was previously in charge of collecting, storage, processing, and selling for the growers as well.
• The Coffee Act introduced a pooling system, where each planter was required to distribute their entire crop to a surplus pool managed by the Board, apart from the small quantities that were allowed for domestic use and seed production.

Kangaroo Court

• It is an unofficial court held by a group of people in order to try someone regarded, especially without good evidence, as guilty of a crime or misdemeanor.
• In a less literal sense, it is used to refer to proceedings or activities where a judgment is made in a manner that is unfair, biased, and lacks legitimacy.
• The origin of the phrase is not clearly known, but it is believed to have been used from the 19th Century onwards.
• Why the word ‘kangaroo’ is used is also not clear, but there are several theories.
• Some dictionaries say the association with the animal could have a relation to Australians, though the term probably originated in America.
• The Collins Dictionary argues that it could be to evoke a sense that “justice progresses by leaps and bounds” in the case of kangaroo court verdicts.

Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG-21)

• The Indian Air Force is set to retire one of its four remaining squadrons of aging MiG-21 fighter jets in September.
• The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union.
• Its nicknames include balalaika because its planform resembles the stringed musical instrument of the same name.
• Approximately 60 countries across four continents have flown the MiG-21, and it still serves many nations six decades after its maiden flight.
• The MiG-21 was the first successful Soviet aircraft combining fighter and interceptor characteristics in a single aircraft.
• It was a lightweight fighter, achieving Mach 2 with a relatively low-powered after-burning turbojet.
• Like many aircraft designed as interceptors, the MiG-21 had a short range.

Black Widow

• Astronomers have observed the most massive known example of an object called a neutron star, one classified as a "black widow" that got particularly hefty by gobbling up most of the mass of a stellar companion trapped in an unhappy cosmic marriage.
• A neutron star is the compact collapsed core of a massive star that exploded as a supernova at the end of its life cycle.
• The one described by the researchers is a highly magnetized type of neutron star called a pulsar that unleashes beams of electromagnetic radiation from its poles.
• As it spins, these beams appear from the perspective of an observer on Earth to pulse - akin to a lighthouse's rotating light.
• Only one other neutron star is known to spin more quickly than this one.

• Neutron stars are dense balls of neutrons packed together whilst supernova explosions are mostly made of plasma.

The Family Courts Act, 1984

• The Family Courts Act was enacted in 1984 for the establishment of family courts by States to deal with disputes related to family and marriage.
• The law was passed to allow State governments to establish family courts to promote conciliation and ensure that disputes related to family affairs and marriage are promptly settled.
• It came into force on September 14, 1984.
• Under the Act, the setting up of family courts and their functioning comes under the purview of the State governments in consultation with their respective high courts.
• The Act also lays down provisions for the appointment of judges in family courts.
• Notably, the Centre has to notify a date for the Act to come into force in a State where such courts have been set up.
• If there is no government notification, it raises questions about the jurisdiction and statutory powers of these family courts.
• “It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different States,” reads Section 1(3).
• Two family courts were established in Nagaland on September 12, 2008, and three in Himachal Pradesh on February 15, 2019, via notifications issued by the two State governments.
• While Himachal Pradesh set up family courts in Shimla, Dharamshala, and Mandi, Nagaland established two such courts at Dimapur and Kohima.
• However; these courts were functioning without any legal authority since no central notification was issued in this regard, as prescribed under Section 1(3) of the Family Courts Act.

What change has been proposed?

• Lok Sabha passed a bill to grant statutory cover to already established family courts in Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland and retrospectively validate actions taken by them.
• The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 will amend the Family Courts Act by inserting a proviso to Section 1.
• The suggested new Section 3A extends the application of the Act to Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland, with effect from the dates the family courts were set up.