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INDIAN AFFAIRS
Lok Sabha passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019
On August 5, 2019, Lok Sabha passed the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 through a voice vote which aims to prohibit commercial surrogacy in India. The Bill defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple.
- Reason: India has emerged as a surrogacy hub for couples from other countries and there have been reports concerning unethical practices, exploitation of surrogate mothers, abandonment of children born out of surrogacy, and rackets involving intermediaries importing human embryos and gametes.
- Recommendations: The 228th report of the Law Commission of India recommended prohibiting commercial surrogacy and allowing altruistic surrogacy by enacting suitable legislation………………………….Click here to Read more
Lok Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill 2019
On August 5, 2019, Lok Sabha passed the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill 2019 by a voice vote which seeks to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court (SC) from the present 30 to 33, excluding the Chief Justice of India (CJI). It amends the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956.
Key Points:
i. Background: It was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The CJI Ranjan Gogoi had written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to increase the number of judges in SC. Nearly 60,000 cases are pending and due to scarcity of judges, the required number of constitution benches to decide important cases involving questions of law were not being formed.
ii. Act: The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956 was last amended in 2009 to increase the judges’ strength from 25 to 30 (excluding the CJI). It originally provided for a maximum of 10 judges (excluding the CJI). This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1960, to 17 in 1977, to 25 in 1986 and to 30 in 2009.
iii. Present Status: The Supreme Court is working with its full sanctioned strength of 31, including the CJI.
About Supreme Court:
♦ Founded: 1950
♦ Motto: Yato Dharmastato Jayaḥ [Where there is righteousness (dharma), there is victory (jayah)]
Union environment ministry unveiled a draft ‘Nation Resource Efficiency Policy’
In order to save the natural resources, the Union environment ministry unveiled a draft ‘Nation Resource Efficiency Policy’ which suggests the institutional mechanism and a three-year action plan through the principle of 6R and ‘green public procurement’.
Key Points:
i. Reason: In India, the consumption of fossil fuels, biomass, metal ores and non-metal ores was increased by over 6 times in 45 years, from 1.18 billion tonnes (BT) in 1970 to 7.4 BT in 2015. It is projected to be doubled by 2030 from 2015 level.
ii. 6R: The 6R stands for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Redesign, Re-manufacture and Refurbish.
iii. Green public procurement: It is to procure products with lower environmental footprints such as secondary raw materials and locally sourced materials.
iv. NREA: The draft suggests to set up ‘National Resource Efficiency Authority’ (NREA) to develop an action plan with 3 years time-frame, create and maintain database, measure progress and build capacities.
v. NREAB: Under initial action plan (2019-22), the draft seeks to constitute an inter-ministerial body – National Resource Efficiency Advisory Board (NREAB) – for coordination among different agencies.
vi. Establishment of Vehicle Dismantlers: More than 8.7 million vehicles had reached ‘end-of-life vehicle’ (ELV) status in 2015. It is estimated to reach 21 million by 2025. So, the draft seeks to establish 20 vehicle dismantlers across major urban centres by 2020.
vii. Zero landfill approach: The draft pitches for moving towards ‘zero landfill’ approach. It may impose ‘landfill taxes’ and ‘high tipping fees’ for bulk generators of waste so that they can move towards optimal use of materials and better waste management.
About MoEFCC:
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi
♦ Founded: 1985
♦ Minister In-charge: Prakash Javadekar
MoEFCC approved Rs.4900 Crore project for Kosi-Mechi river interlinking
On August 1, 2019, The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for river valley and hydroelectric projects of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) approved Rs 4,900 crore project for interlinking of Kosi and Mechi rivers of Bihar. With the approval, it became the second major river interlinking project in India after the Ken-Betwa project in Madhya Pradesh.
Key Points:
i. Approval was granted for the construction of 76.20 km canals on the eastern bank of Kosi for irrigation purposes.
ii. The total land requirement is about 1,396.81 hectares.
iii. The project will prevent recurring floods in north Bihar and irrigate over 2.14 lakh hectares of cultivable land in Araria, Purnea, Kishanganj and Katihar districts, collectively called Seemanchal region.
iv. The project is yet to receive the ‘National Project’ status.
About Bihar:
♦ Capital: Patna
♦ Chief Minister: Nitish kumar
♦ Governor: Fagu Chauhan
♦ National Parks: Valmiki National Park
♦ Wildlife Sanctuaries: Barela Jheel Salim Ali Bird WLS, Bhimbandh WLS, Gautam Budha WLS, Kusheshwar Asthan Bird WLS, Pant (Rajgir) WLS, Udaipur WLS, Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin WLS etc.
India’s first 3-D smart traffic signal ‘Intelights’ designed by Chitkara University students launched
On August 2, 2019, Sharad Satya Chauhan, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of Mohali traffic police launched 3-D Smart Traffic Signal ‘Intelights’ designed by the students of Chitkara University Incubated Start-up – Anukai Solutions. On a pilot project basis, the wireless system is installed at the traffic crossing near Quark City on Airport Road, Chandigarh, Punjab.
i. It proposes a 360-degree solution to curb the rising problem of traffic congestion.
ii. It will regulate traffic signals with a smart bird’s eye view wireless sensor system.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
China labeled as a currency manipulator for the first time in 25 years by the US
For the first time in 25 years, the United States (US) has labeled China as a currency manipulator.
Key Points:
i. Definition: The US Treasury department defines currency manipulation as when countries deliberately influence the exchange rate between their currency and the US dollar to gain “unfair competitive advantage in international trade”.
ii. Criteria: The US Treasury has 3 criteria to determine if a country is manipulating its currency for unfair advantage: the nation must have a trade surplus with the US of more than $20 billion, a current-account surplus of more than 3% of GDP and must buy assets worth 2% of GDP in attempting to reduce the value of its own currency on foreign exchange markets.
iii. Reason: Beijing allowed its yuan to fall below the politically sensitive level of 7 to the US dollar and Chinese firms have reportedly stopped buying US farm produce.
iv. 7 per dollar level: China’s currency broke the 7 per dollar level for the first time since 2008. China set the mid-point of the yuan at $6.9683, the lowest since 2008 and vowed not to use the currency as a tool in its ongoing trade dispute with the United States.
v. Consequence: When China’s yuan falls against the U.S. dollar, Chinese products become cheaper in the U.S. market and American products become more costly in China.
vi. Way ahead: US will engage with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage created by China’s latest actions.
About USA:
♦ Capital: Washington, DC
♦ Currency: US Dollar
♦ President: Donald Trump
BANKING & FINANCE
Bank Retail loan growth slips to 5-year low in the first half of 2019 at 7.3 %: RBI
According to the latest monthly data of RBI(Reserve Bank of India), the retail personal credit disbursement growth in the first half of 2019(January -June) was 7.3%, which is the slowest rate of disbursement by banks in 5 years. The last slowdown was seen in the year of 2014 that registered a credit growth of 6.4%.
Key points:
i. Previous report: The credit growth was 7.7% in the first half of 2018 & in 2017 it was 8.6%. The growth in 2016 and 2015 was at 8.1% and 8.5 % respectively at the same period (Jan-June).
ii. Impact: Even though the repo rate was cut by 75 bps(Basis points) in three consecutive monetary policies by the Reserve Bank of India(RBI), retail loans come down in India & that affects the employment, consumption and economic growth. The rate cuts were taken to boost consumption in the economy in the hope that cheaper borrowing rates would lead to lower-priced loans to the consumers.
iii.Cause: The slowdown of sales volume in the Automobile sector gradually erected stress in several retail loan portfolios such as personal loans and credit cards may be caused by a slowdown in disbursements. The total outstanding advances to the personal retail sector(home loans, auto loans, loans through credit card) stood at Rs 22.5 lakh crore in June 2019, where the home loans made for more than half of these advances at Rs 11.8 lakh crore.
Mastercard launches ‘Identity Check Express’ for uninterrupted secured online transactions
On August 6, 2019, American multinational financial services corporation, Mastercard has launched a next-generation, mobile-first authentication solution, called “Identity Check Express” that will help customers to do uninterrupted secured transactions while shopping online.
Key points:
i. The new card payment feature was showcased in New Delhi at the Global Mastercard Cybersecurity Summit 2019, held for the 1st time in India.
ii.Present status: As per the Mastercard’s analysis, up to 20% of mobile e-commerce transactions are interrupted mid-way. The present rules to verify identity online are time-consuming which led to the shoppers away from a merchant’s website due to the issues such as consumers being redirected to a third website to complete the payment process or mobile network fluctuations.
iii. Solution: The Identity Check Express combines the new age technology, including device intelligence and behavioural biometrics, with the latest EMV 3-D Secure and FIDO authentication standards will eliminate unnecessary friction and enhance the security of online transactions.
iv.Offering: Master will offer hassle-free payment solution with this expression to its cardholders for an amount less than Rs 2,000 on forefront merchants trusted mobile devices by sharing a onetime merchant-specific consent. For transactions above Rs 2,000, cardholders will be able to authenticate themselves with a transaction PIN(Personal identification number) of their choice.
v. Background: In May 2019, Mastercard announced an investment of $1 billion over the next 5 years in India as part of its commitment to strengthen and secure digital transactions space.
About Mastercard:
♦ Headquarters: United States
♦ Founded: 16 December 1966
♦ President and CEO: Ajay Banga
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Consumer affairs ministry releases draft e-commerce norms for consumer protection
In order to protect the consumers’ interest, the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India has released draft guidelines called “e-commerce guidelines for consumer protection 2019” for e-commerce firms.
Key Guidelines:
i. Aim: It primarily focuses on fraud, unfair trade practices, privacy protection of online shoppers, and transactional controls. It is applicable to Business-to-Consumer e-Commerce, including goods and services.
ii. The draft guideline states that an e-commerce firm cannot influence the price of the goods or services directly/indirectly & It needs to ensure the protection of the personally identifiable information of customers, is open for stakeholder remarks for 45 days or till September 16, 2019.
iii. The name and contact details of the grievance officer(he/she) should be published by every e-commerce firm on their website along with the mechanism to lodge complaints about the benefit of users. The Grievance Officer shall redress the complaints within one month from the date of receipt of the complaint.
iv. The e-commerce company shouldn’t adopt unfair means by falsely representing themselves as consumers or post reviews about goods and services in their name.
v. The draft also mentions that e-com firms should display terms of a contract with the seller related to return, refund, exchange, warranty/guarantee, delivery/shipment, mode of payments and grievance redressal mechanism to allow consumers to make informed decisions
vi. The listing of the product should be removed from the website, once the firm comes to know about any counterfeit product, and if the seller is unable to provide any evidence that the product is genuine.
About Consumer affairs ministry:
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi
♦ Union Minister: Ram Vilas Paswan
♦ Minister of State: Danve Raosaheb Dadarao
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
Microsoft’s Bill Gates regains the spot of the second richest person in the world in Bloomberg Billionaire Index
The co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates with $106 Billion, became the second richest person in the world again, by surpassing Europe’s richest person Bernard Arnault, French luxury good (Louis Vuitton Moét Hennessy) tycoon, as per Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Key points
i. Bernard Arnault as of now is the third richest person in the world with $97.8 Billion wealth.
ii. Jeff Bezos of Amazon still holds his no.1 spot as the world’s richest person.
iii. As of August 4, 2019, Asia’s richest person Mukesh Ambani slipped to 18th place with worth standing at $47.2billion in the index as his wealth decreased due to a 7 percent drop in share prices of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
India’s Naaz Joshi wins Miss World Diversity for the third consecutive time
Naaz Joshi, a transsexual woman from India won the beauty pageant title of Miss World Diversity 2019 held in Port Louis, Mauritius.
Key points
i. This was her third successive victory in this beauty pageant competition as she won the title previously in 2017 and 2018.
ii. Naaz Joshi had also won Miss Republic International Beauty Ambassador 2017 and Miss United Nationals Ambassador.
About Mauritius
♦ It is an Indian Ocean island nation, known for its beaches, lagoons, and reefs.
♦ Capital- Port Louis
♦ Currency- Mauritian Rupee
♦ President-ParamasivumPillayVyapoori (acting president)
♦ Prime minister-PravindJugnauth
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Rajesh Kumar Srivastava designated as the new director (exploration) in ONGC, while Sandeep Kumar Gupta appointed as the director (finance) in IOC
Rajesh Kumar Srivastava’s appointment:
On August 5, 2019, Indian multinational oil and gas company, ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) has appointed Rajesh Kumar Srivastava as its new director (exploration). He replaces Mr. A K Dwivedi, who superannuated on 31 July 2019.
Key points:
i. Srivastava earned his Master’s Degree in Engineering Geology from IIT(Indian Institute of Technology), Kanpur, joined ONGC as Geologist in 1984 at Krishna Godavari Basin, Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh.
ii. He had over 35 years of experience in ONGC& an expert in up-stream hydrocarbon exploration from well site operations (on-land & offshore), development geology, seismic data interpretation to monitoring and planning of exploration.
Sandeep Kumar Gupta’s appointment:
On August 3, 2019, State-owned oil and gas company, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has appointed Mr. Sandeep Kumar Gupta as its new Director (Finance). Earlier, he was Executive Director (Corporate Finance) at IndianOil’s Corporate Office. He replaces A K Sharma, who retired as finance director in May 2019.
Key points:
i. A Commerce Graduate and Chartered Accountant by qualification, Mr. Gupta has over 31 years of work experience in IndianOil.
ii. He was also served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer-in-charge of Corporate Accounts, Treasury, Investment Appraisal and Risk Management in Indian oil.
About ONGC:
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi
♦ Chairman & Managing Director: Shashi Shanker
About IOC:
♦ Headquarters: New Delhi
♦ Chairman: Sanjiv Singh
Kandikuppa Sreekant is the new Chairman and MD of Power Grid
On August 6, 2019, The Indian state-owned electric utility company, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. has appointed Kandikuppa Sreekant as its chairman and managing director(MD) till December 31, 2023, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He replaces Ravi P Singh (director (personnel), who held the post of chairman & MD of the company give away the additional charge.
Key points:
i. Prior to this appointment, Sreekant was the finance director of Power Grid.
ii. Sreekant, a CMA (Certified Management Accountant) and Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (finance) had over 33 years of experience in the power sector, involving finance and accounting functions, long-term financial planning, etc.
About PowerGrid:
♦ Founded: 23 October 1989
♦ Headquarters: Gurgaon, Haryana
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Iran launched 3 new precision-guided missiles “Yasin”, “Balaban” & “Ghaem”
On August 6, 2019, Iran unveiled three precision-guided missiles “Yasin”, “Balaban” and a new series of “Ghaem” in Tehran. The air-to-air missiles were developed jointly by the Ministry of Defence of Iran and Sa Iran, also known as Iran Electronics Industries.
Key Points:
i. Yasin is a smart, guided-missile with folding wings that can be fired from a range of 50 kilometres (30 miles) of its target from manned or unmanned aircraft.
ii. Balaban is guided by GPS (Global Positioning System) and sensors. It is equipped with folding wings and can be mounted under the aircraft.
iii. Ghaem is a heat-seeking missile which can hit within 50 centimeters of a target.
About Iran:
♦ Capital: Tehran
♦ Currency: Iranian rial
♦ President: Hassan Rouhani
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SPORTS
Steve Smith becomes second fastest to score 25 test centuries overtaking Virat Kohli
Former Australian captain Steve Smith has overthrown Indian Skipper Virat Kohli to become the second-fastest batsman to score 25 test centuries during the second innings of the first Ashes test match against England. The chart is topped by Australian cricketer, Sir Don Bradman.
i. Smith recorded this feat in his 119th innings whereas Sir Don Bradman achieved this feat in just 68 innings.
Key points
i. Smith also equals Australian cricketer, Steve Waugh for most centuries scored in Ashes( 10 centuries). This chart is also topped by Sir Don Bradman (19 centuries) followed by England’s Jack Hobbs(12 centuries).
ii. Steve Smith also became the fifth Australian batsman to score hundreds in both innings of an Ashes Test.
After 7 years, Indian men’s 20km race walk team win upgraded bronze
Athletics Federation of India (AFI) stated that after the Indian men’s 20km race walk team had finished 4th in the IAAF World Race Walking Cup held back in 2012 at Saransk, Russia, they have now (2019) been awarded the upgraded bronze medal position following the disqualification of a member (Ruslan Dmytrenko )of the second-placed Ukrainian team for dope violation.
Key points:
i. Background: The Indian team of K T Infra, Babubhai Panucha, and Surinder Singh missed a chance to finish with a medal in 2012 after finishing behind China(1st place), Ukraine(2nd ) and Australia(3rd).
ii. Update: After removing the necessary points from Ukraine’s tally following Dmytrenko’s result, India and Ukraine were tied on points. But India had a higher position finish of the 3rd walker that saw them get one place upgraded to get the bronze.
About IAAF World Race Walking Cup:
It is a race walking event organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations(IAAF). It has been held since 1961, and generally on a biennial basis.
Legendary Aussie athlete Sally Pearson announces her retirement
Former Olympic champion and Australia’s most awarded athlete, Sally Pearson(32) has announced her retirement after suffering from persistent injuries throughout the past year.
Key points:
i. Pearson won gold at the 2012 London Olympic Games in the 100m hurdles as well as a silver medal in the 100m hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2013 World Championships.
ii. She won the 8 major championship medals for Australia throughout her 16-year career.
iii. Pearson was also named as 2011 IAAF(International Association of Athletics Federations )Female Athlete of the Year after winning her first world title.
South Africa’s leading wicket-taker Dale Steyn announces retirement from test cricket
36-year-old South Africa’s Wicket taker DaleSteyn who made his test debut in 2004 announced retirement from test cricket, and has so far taken 439 wickets in 93 tests. The reason for his retirement is to prolong his playing career.
i. He will be available to play for one-day and T20 Internationals.
ii. Currently, Dale Steyn is in 8th position in the all-time test bowling list and took 26 five-wicket hauls.
About South Africa
♦ South Africa lies in the southernmost tip of the African continent.
♦ Capital- Cape Town(legislative capital), Pretoria (administrative capital), Bloemfontein (judicial capital).
♦ Currency- South African Rand.
♦ President- Cyril Ramaphosa
Former New Zealand Captain Brendon McCullum announces retirement from all forms of cricket
Former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum, aged 37, has announced retirement from all forms of cricket. He will retire after the conclusion of the ongoing Global T20 Canada, which will be played against Montreal Tigers on August 11, 2019. He plays for Toronto Nationals.
Key Points:
i. He had retired from all forms of international cricket in 2016 but continued to play in various T20 leagues across the globe.
ii. He has played 101 Tests in which he scored 6,453 runs with 12 hundred with the highest score of 302, 260 One Day Internationals-ODIs (6,083 runs with 5 hundred) and 71 Twenty20 (T20) Internationals (2,140 runs).
iii. In his T20 career (all leagues included), he scored 9,922 runs in 370 games.
BOOKS & AUTHORS
Hilary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton teamed up for the book on ‘Gutsy Women’
American politician, diplomat, lawyer, writer and public speaker Hilary Rodham Clinton (called as Hilary Clinton) and her daughter Chelsea Clinton are teamed up to write a book called “The Book of gutsy Women” to honour famous women personalities.
Key points
i. This book includes portraits of more than 100 famous women personalities.
ii. The Clintons (Hilary and Chelsea) were represented by Robert Barnett, attorney of Washington DC,
iii. The book will be published by Simon & Schuster publications on October 1, 2019.
iv. Some of the women included in the book are scientist Marie Curie, Activist Greta Thunberg, activist Manal al-Sharif, entertainer Ellen DeGeneres.
About Hilary Clinton
i. She is the wife of former American president Bill Clinton.
ii. She was the First Lady of the United States from 1993-2001 and 67th United States secretary from 2009-2013.
About the United States (U.S)
♦ The US is a country of 50 states. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB) are some of the International Organisations based in U.S.
♦ Hollywood, the home of U.S film industry is situated in Los Angeles, California.
♦ President- Donald Trump
♦ Capital- Washington DC
♦ Largest city- New York City.
OBITUARY
Renowned journalist, educationist YG Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy passed away
Noted educationalist, journalist and social worker YG Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy passed away in Chennai due to cardiac arrest. She was 93.
i. Born on 8 November 1925 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Rajalakshmi played a major role in setting up of the Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan(PSBB) group of schools.
ii. She received the Padma Shri award in 2010 for her contribution to the field of education and literature.
iii. She also worked as a journalist with The Hindu and Tamil-weekly Kumudam. Her husband, the late Y.G. Parthasarathy, was an actor and theatre personality and the founder of the theatre group United Amateur Artists.
Jean Arasanayagam, Srilanka’s famous poet- writer passes away
Renowned Srilankan contemporary poet and fiction writer Jean Arasanayagam passed away at the age of 88 in Kandy, Sri Lanka due to old age ailments. The author has written over 50 books focused mainly on civil wars, ethnic and religious turmoils in Sri Lanka as her subject. She was survived by her husband and two daughters.
Key points
She was born in December 1931 to a Dutch Burghers family in Kandy, Sri Lanka and completed her Master degree in literature in Literary linguistics from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland.
i. Some of her poetry works include- Kindura, Poems of Season Beginning and a Season Over, Apocalypse ’83, The cry of the Kite.
Awards
i. She was awarded National Award for literature in 1984 and Gratiaen Prize 2017.
ii. She was also honoured with doctorate in letters by Bowfin College in USA.
iii. The Sri Lankan govt. honoured her with SahityaRatna award for her lifetime contributions as well as Premchand Fellowship of Sahityaakademi, India in 2014.
IMPORTANT DAYS
Hiroshima Day 2019 observed on August 6
Hiroshima Day was observed on August 6, 2019. It marks the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan by the United States (US) in 1945.
Key Points:
i. During World War II, an American B-29 bomber had dropped the first atomic bomb nicknamed ‘Little Boy’ on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.
ii. Three days later i.e on August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb “Fat Man” was dropped on the city of Nagasaki.
iii. Hiroshima Day, the annual event is organised by the Galway Alliance Against War (GAAW) in Eyre Square, Ireland.
iv. 2019 marks the 74th anniversary of the disastrous event.
About Japan:
♦ Capital: Tokyo
♦ Currency: Japanese Yen
♦ Prime Minister: Shinzo Abe
STATE NEWS
Anti mob lynching bill and penalty against honour killing bills passed by the Rajasthan government
The Rajasthan Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019 which provides life imprisonment and a fine ranging from 1 lakh – 5lakh rupees to those convicted in the case of mob lynching and also leading to victim’s death was passed by the Rajasthan state legislative assembly by a voice vote.
Key points
i. Parliamentary affairs minister and law minister Shanti Dhariwal introduced the bill in the Assembly.
ii. 86% of mob lynching reported in the country were from Rajasthan.
iii. Rajasthan became the second state after Manipur, to enact a law against mob lynching.
iv. Shanti Dhariwal also passed a bill based on honour killing to curb murder of married couples.
Law features
Designated courts will be set up to hear mob lynching cases in consultation with the Chief Justice of High Court.
i. Mob lynching cases will be considered non bailable and non-compoundable and will not be investigated by any officer below the rank of police inspector.
ii. Punishment of up to 10 years imprisonment in case of grievous hurt, along with a fine of Rs.25,000 – Rs.3lakh.
iii. 7 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs.1 lakh for other injuries.
iv. Jail term of up to 5 years and penalty of Rs.1 lakh for those who create hurdles or threatening witness.
Bill on death penalty for honour killing.
In order to curb the incidents of honour killing in Rajasthan, The Rajasthan Prohibition of Interference with the Freedom of Matrimonial Alliances in the name of Honour and Tradition bill, 2019 was passed in the Rajasthan assembly by a voice vote, with the provision of punishment of death penalty or life imprisonment for murdering couples who do inter-caste, inter-community, inter-religious marriages, citing family honour.
This bill would make people overcome this narrow mindset of killing as an honour to their family.
Illegal diktat: 71 such cases of illegal diktat (order or harsh settlement that should be obeyed) were handled by ‘KhapPanvhayats’ (people from Khap community organisation engaging in dispute resolution in village communities).
Fine and punishments: People causing the death of a couple will be given the death penalty and also fine of up to Rs.5Lakh.
i. If a couple is severely hurt, then the imprisonment time would be 10years and fine would be Rs.3lakh.
ii. For small injuries, imprisonment from 3-5years and fine of up to 2lakh will be given as punishment.
iii. People trying to interrupt and condemn a marriage which is not prohibited by law, and considering such marriage to be a dishonour to their caste or community will be jailed for a period not less than 6 months and are also liable to a fine of 1Lakh per member involved.
Mission Shakti sports initiative launched by Bollywood actor Aamir Khan
Mission Shakti which is an initiative to train athletes from Chandrapur and Gadchiroli for international events, like Olympics, by the Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, was launched by Bollywood film actor Aamir Khan in presence of Maharashtra sports minister Ashish Shelar.
Key points
A team of tribal mountaineers who climbed Mount Everest under the“Mission Shaurya” by Maharashtra govt. were facilitated by Aamir Khan.
Mission shakthi
i. This initiative will focus on sports like archery, shooting, swimming, athletics, volleyball, weight lifting and gymnastics.
ii. The mega sports complex is planned at Ballarpur in Chandrapur and is to be funded by state govt. The Maharashtra govt. Started this initiative to train and produce athletes of Olympic level and to make them participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
2024 Paris Olympics
♦ It is the 2024 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad and also commonly as Paris 2024.
♦ This International multi-sport event is scheduled to take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in Paris, France.
♦ Host city- Paris, France.
♦ Stadium- Stade de France.
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