1. AKRUTI Program to start in Kudankulam
Tags: National
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is preparing to launch the AKRUTI program in villages around the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP).
About AKRUTI Program
Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited is helping unemployed youth living near Tarapur Atomic Power Station (TAPS) through Aakriti program.
AKRUTI stands for Advanced Knowledge and Rural Technology Implementation (AKRUTI) Program.
Water, food processing, agriculture and waste management in rural areas are covered under this program.
The aim of this scheme is to empower the villages by implementing various technologies.
Through this scheme, there will be sustainable development of rural areas in the whole country.
Objective of the programme
To provide information and mechanism for implementation of BARC technologies in rural areas so as to achieve the goal of holistic rural development.
About Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP)
It is the largest nuclear power station in India, situated in Kudankulam in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
Construction on the plant began on 31 March 2002.
It has six reactors with an installed capacity of 6,000 MW of electricity.
It has been made in collaboration with Russia's state-owned company Atomstroyexport and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL).
2. India's first semi-high speed freight train Gati Shakti likely to run by year-end
Tags: National
Indian Railways has set a target of launching the country's first semi-high speed freight train by December 2022.
The 16-coach 'Gati Shakti' train based on the Vande Bharat platform will be able to run at a speed of 160 kmph.
The manufacture of the train will be done by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.
In order to implement this initiative in a focused manner, Railways has created a separate Directorate in Railway Board with its branches in Khurda, Bilaspur, Delhi and Bengaluru divisions.
Each train will also have refrigerated wagons at the rear and front for carrying perishable goods like milk products, fish, fruits and vegetables.
Each coach will have two wide doors for loading and unloading of containers.
Indian Railways is aiming to increase its share in freight traffic from the current 27 per cent to 45 per cent by 2030 through better infrastructure and business development plans.
Indian Railways has identified 74 new 'Gati-Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT)' across the country, of which 20 are in South Indian states.
India’s e-commerce market
As per the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, with a turnover of USD 50 billion in 2020, India has become the eighth largest market for e-commerce.
India's e-commerce market is expected to reach US$ 111 billion by 2024 and US$ 200 billion by 2026.
It is expected to reach USD 350 billion by 2030.
The 'Gati-Shakti Multi Modal Cargo Terminal' policy was launched in 2021 to promote investment in the development of additional terminals for handling rail cargo.
About PM Gati Shakti initiative
It is a transformative approach to economic growth and sustainable development.
It was launched on 13 October 2021 to provide multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various economic zones.
PM GatiShakti National Master Plan was implemented on 21st October 2021.
The approach of PM Gati Shakti is driven by 7 engines-
Railways
Roads
Ports
Waterways
Airports
Mass Transport
Logistics Infrastructure
3. SC Collegium recommends transfer of six HC judges
Tags: National
The Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, has recommended to the government the transfer or repatriation of judges in six different high courts.
Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah has been recommended to be transferred from the Andhra Pradesh High Court to the Patna High Court.
Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash from Orissa to Calcutta High Court.
Justice Subhasis Talapatra from Tripura to Orissa High Court.
Justice Lanusungkum Jamir from Manipur to Gauhati High Court.
Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court to Bombay High Court.
Justice Purushendra Kumar Kaurav to Delhi High Court from Madhya Pradesh.
About Collegium System
It is the system of appointment and transfer of judges.
It has evolved through judgments of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court collegium is headed by the CJI and comprises four other senior most judges of the court.
The High Court Collegium is headed by its Chief Justice and the four other senior-most judges of that court.
4. Supreme Court recognises sex work as a ‘profession’
Tags: National
The Supreme Court has recognise prostitution (sex work) as a profession. The Supreme Court clearly said that the police cannot interfere in this nor can any action be taken against sex workers who do this work with consent.
What did the Supreme Court say?
Sex work is a profession and its practitioners are entitled to respect and equal protection under the law.
Under Article 21 of the Constitution, every person of this country has the right to lead a dignified life.
Criminal law should apply equally to all cases on the basis of 'age' and 'consent'.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao ordered that sex workers should not be arrested or punished or harassed or victimized whenever a brothel is raided.
This order was passed by the Supreme Court after invoking the special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.
Sex workers can also be victims of sexual harassment, they should be provided with all facilities including immediate medical-legal care.
Constitutional protection
Article 23 of the Indian Constitution which was amended in 2014, includes the following provisions -
Traffic in human beings and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited.
Any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from implementing compulsory service for public purposes.
By implementing such service, the State shall not discriminate on grounds only of religion, race, caste or class or any of them.
5. PM inaugurates several completed projects and lays foundation stones for new projects in Chennai
Tags: State News National News
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated several completed projects and laid foundation stones for new projects in Chennai on 27 May.
Inaugurated projects
He laid foundation stones for six major infrastructure projects worth 28,540 crore rupees.
He dedicated to the nation five projects that have been completed at a cost of 2960 crore rupees.
He inaugurated the new campus of the Central Institute of Classical Tamil, which is being fully funded by the Central Government.
Subramanya Bharathi Chair on Tamil Studies at Banaras Hindu University was announced recently.
PM inaugurated phase 1 of Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway.
He said the proposed Bengaluru-Chennai Expressway would connect the two major centres to boost the economy.
He also inaugurated a four-lane, double decker, elevated road connecting Chennai Port to Maduravoyal.
This will make Chennai port more efficient and decongest the city.
Five railway stations in the state are being redeveloped.
Chennai Light House project was the first project in the country under the urban component of PM-Awas scheme.
Multi-modal logistic parks
6. India, UAE sign MoU for climate action
Tags: International News
India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Climate Action on 26 May.
It aims to establish a framework to facilitate bilateral cooperation on climate action and contribute towards the implementation of the Paris Agreement 2015.
The MoU was signed between Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav and UAE Climate Envoy and Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Dr Sultan Al Jaber in New Delhi.
In a bilateral meeting, both the leaders discussed issues related to climate change, hosting of COP 28 and other related matters.
Yadav stressed that issues of climate finance, adaptation, loss and damage require more attention on the way beyond COP26.
Paris Agreement 2015
It is an international agreement to combat climate change.
In December 2015, the governments of 195 countries gathered in Paris, France.
They discussed a possible new global agreement on climate change that aims to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and tackle the dangerous climate change threat.
It came into force on 4 November 2016.
It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change that was adopted by 196 countries.
It comes under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
UNFCCC is a convention held in 1992 to combat climate change.
The Kyoto Protocol (1997) was another major international agreement under UNFCCC.
The aims of Paris Agreement
To keep the global temperature rise this century below 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.
Trying to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 °C.
Strengthening the capacity of countries to deal with the effects of climate change.
7. MoU signed between Ministry of Ayush and Department of Biotechnology
Tags: National Science and Technology
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of AYUSH and the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India to explore the possibility of collaboration, convergence and synergy to bring together expertise towards evidence based biotechnology interventions in the AYUSH sector.
The MoU is expected to enable traditional health care and biotechnology to come together to conduct innovative and path-breaking research.
Innovation and research can be used for the exploration of various fundamental principles of Ayush systems.
The discovery and application of the ancient scientific method in the public health care sector requires multi-dimensional and technological methods.
This is expected to pave the way for coordinated research in the AYUSH sector and harness the vast untapped potential of the AYUSH health care system for community benefit.
The MoU will facilitate inter-ministerial cooperation for evidence based biotechnology interventions in the AYUSH sector.
8. Notification pertaining to base premium for third party insurance for unlimited liability
The Road Transport and Highways Ministry in consultation with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, has published Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance Base Premium and Liability) Rules, 2022 on 25 May.
The rules will come into force on 1st of June 2022.
The base premium for third-party insurance has been notified for unlimited liability for different classes of vehicles.
As per the new rules, a discount of 15 per cent has been provided for educational institution buses, while a discount of 50 per cent in premium has been given for a private car registered as a vintage car.
A discount of about 15 percent has been given on electric vehicles and 7.5 percent on premium for hybrid electric vehicles.
9. Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022
Tags: Defence National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India's biggest drone festival-Bharat Drone Mahotsaw 2022 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi on May 27.
The Prime Minister will interact with farmer drone pilots and also witness an open-air drone demonstration.
The 'Bharat Drone Mahotsav 2022' is a two-day event being organised on May 27 and 28.
Drones will be showcased by over 70 exhibitors at the exhibition.
Drone pilot certificate, product launch, flight demonstration, demonstration of Made in India drone taxi prototype etc. will be organised in the festival.
Several industry leaders, government officials, foreign diplomats, representatives of public sector entities, private companies and drone startups will participate in the festival.
What is a drone?
Drones are also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aircraft.
A drone is a flying robot that can be controlled remotely or can fly independently using software-controlled flight technology in its embedded systems.
It works in conjunction with onboard sensors and a global positioning system (GPS).
Drones first came to the market in the 1990 and were developed by the military.
Drones can be used for surveillance, situational analysis, crime control, VVIP security, disaster management, etc.
It offers benefits to almost every sector of the economy, including national defence, agriculture, law enforcement, and mapping, among others.
The Central Government has approved the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme of Drones and Drone Components.
10. Graded action to be initiated against over 2,100 unrecognised political parties: ECI
Tags: National
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to initiate graded action against over 2,100 Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPPs) for non-compliance with statutory requirements under the Representation of the People (RP) Act.
All the parties have been accused of financial irregularities and non-submission of annual audit reports on time and not giving details of election expenses.
There are also a large number of such parties, who have not participated in the 2019 elections, yet they have got tax exemption of crores.
During verification, 87 parties were found to be non-existent.
They will be removed from the list and their benefits will be withdrawn under the Symbol Order (1968).
According to ECI over 92% of the then listed 2,354 RUPPs did not file their contribution reports in 2019.
In the year 2018-19, 199 parties claimed income tax exemption of ₹ 445 crore while in 2019-20, 219 parties claimed exemption of ₹ 608 crore.
Of these, 66 parties had sought exemption without submitting the mandatory contribution report.
In addition, 2,056 parties were yet to file annual audit accounts for 2019.
In 2019, only 623 parties contested the Lok Sabha elections.
Mandatory legal provisions
The registered parties are required to comply with Section 29 C of the Representation of the People (RP) Act and submit a contribution report.
Such contributions were given 100% exemption from income tax as an incentive to parties to strengthen electoral democracy.
Section 29A (9) of the Act mandates every political party to inform the Commission about any change in its name, head office, office bearers, address, PAN without any delay.
Parties will have to make a provision that they have to contest elections conducted by the Election Commission within five years of registration.
On participating in the election, they have to submit their election expenditure statement within 75 days in case of Assembly elections and within 90 days in case of Lok Sabha elections.
Any aggrieved party can approach the concerned Chief Electoral Officer with full facts within 30 days of the order of the Election Commission.
