1. Supreme Court stays on sedition law
Tags: Latest National News
The Supreme Court suspended pending criminal trials and court proceedings under Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code and allowed the British-era law to be reconsidered.
The Supreme Court also restrained the Centre and the states from filing FRs, continuing investigations or taking punitive action under Section 124A.
About Sedition Law
Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code provides for the punishment of sedition.
The IPC was enacted in 1860, under the British Raj.
The then British government in India feared that religious preachers from the Indian subcontinent would wage war against the government.
The need for such a law was felt after the successful suppression of the Wahhabi movement by the British.
This section was used by the British to suppress activists in favour of national independence, including Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, both of whom were found guilty and imprisoned.
Sedition as a cognizable offence
It was made a cognizable offence for the first time in history in India during the tenure of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1973.
A cognizable offence means arrest without a warrant.
Two High Courts of India found it unconstitutional after independence, as it violates freedom of speech and expression.
2. Govt issues preventive guidelines for schools to combat ill-effects of heat-wave
Tags: National News
The Ministry of Education issued guidelines regarding precautions to be observed by schools to combat the ill-effects of the heatwave.
The ministry said in the guidelines, the school timings may start early and end before noon.
Timings can be from 7.00 a.m. and the number of school hours per day can be reduced.
Sports or other outdoor activities that expose students to direct sunlight can be accommodated appropriately in the morning hours.
School meetings should be held in a covered area or in classrooms with less time.
The school bus or van should not be overcrowded.
Drinking water and a first aid kit should be available in buses and vans.
Students coming to school on foot or bicycle should be advised to keep their head covered.
The school bus or van can be parked in a shady place.
Students should carry their own water bottles, caps and umbrellas and use them when out in the open.
3. Indian Railways introduces separate seats for newly-born children in trains
Tags: National News
Indian Railways' Northern Railway(NR) zone has introduced separate seats for newly-born children in trains.
This berth is also being dubbed as 'baby berth'. This baby berth is for little children.
This facility has been started on a trial basis in Lucknow- New Delhi Mail.
This berth will prove beneficial for women passengers who go out with their children and can take advantage of this by putting the children travelling with them in an extra berth.
The railways will also provide a stopper beside the berth as a safety measure so that the young child does not fall down while sleeping.
The 'baby berth' can be folded as well and as a result of which this seat can be raised and lowered whenever it is required.
No extra charge will be levied for baby berth.
About Northern Railway(NR) zone
It was established in 1952.
Head quarters - New Delhi
Largest zone in terms of Kilometres
Northern Railway comprises 5 Divisions-Ambala, Delhi, Ferozepur, Lucknow and Moradabad.
It extends to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
4. Ministry of Skill Development signs MoU with ISRO to start Training Program
Tags: International Relations
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch its training program aimed at augmenting the technical workforce in the Department of Space, ISRO.
The MoU was signed by Shri Rajesh Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Shri S Somnath, Chairman, ISRO.
The objective of this initiative is to establish a formal framework for short-term courses to provide training for skill development and capacity building of ISRO technical professionals in the space sector in the country as per the requirements of the industry.
The training will take place at MSDE's National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) across India.
About Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) -
Established - 15 August 1969
Headquarters- Bangalore, Karnataka
Motto- Space Technology in the Service of Mankind
Director- S Somnath
5. India elected as Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-24
Tags: International News
%20for%202022-24%20copy.jpg)
India has been unanimously elected as the new Chair of the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) for 2022-2024 at the recently held meeting of the Executive board and General Assembly at Manila, Philippines.
The Election Commission, Manila was the current chairman of the AAEA.
The new members in the Executive Board now include Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Taiwan and Philippines.
The Election Commission of India's three-member delegation headed by deputy election commissioner Nitesh Vyas, along with CEO Manipur Rajesh Agrawal and CEO Rajasthan Praveen Gupta, attended the executive board meeting in Manila.
62 officials from 12 AAEA members participated in the 3rd International Virtual Election Visitors Programme (IEVP) hosted by ECI during Assembly Elections in 2022.
About AAEA
The AAEA provides a non-partisan forum in the Asian region for sharing experiences and best practices among election authorities.
It discusses and acts upon ways to promote open and transparent elections.
The objective to do so is to support good governance and democracy.
AAEA is also an Associate Member of the 118 member Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).
It was established in pursuance of the resolution passed by participants of the Symposium on Asian Elections in the Twenty First Century held from January 26-29, 1997 in Manila, Philippines.
It was established in 1998.
Currently 20 Asian EMBs are members of AAEA.
6. State of the World’s Birds Report
Tags: International News
According to the State of the World's Birds report, populations of 48% of all bird species are declining globally, mainly due to man-made factors such as loss or degradation of habitats, changes in land use, overexploitation and climate change.
The report is published by Manchester Metropolitan University.
It is a study of changes in the biodiversity of birds and describes the risk to birds around the world.
The study draws from BirdLife International’s latest assessment of all birds for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
Key findings of the study
The study found that 5,245 of the extant bird species worldwide, or about 48%, are in decline or are suspected to be in decline.
4,295 or 39% of the species have stable trends.
About 7% or 778 species have increasing population trends.
The study indicates that 1,481 or 13.5% of species are currently threatened with extinction globally.
More threatened bird species (86.4%) have been found in tropical regions than in temperate latitudes (31.7%).
The main hotspots are tropical Andes, southeast Brazil, eastern Himalayas, eastern Madagascar, and Southeast Asian islands.
7. Central government will reconsider giving minority status to Hindus in some states
Tags: National News
The Centre informed the Supreme Court that the power to notify minorities is vested with the Union government and any decision in this regard will be taken after discussion with states and other stakeholders.
The petition, filed in the Supreme Court, had sought a direction to frame guidelines for identification of minorities at the state level.
The petition said that Hindus are a minority in 10 states.
Population of Hindus in 9 states
1% in Ladakh
2.75% in Mizoram
2.77% in Lakshadweep
4% in Jammu & Kashmir
8.74% in Nagaland
11.52% in Meghalaya
29% in Arunachal Pradesh
38.49% in Punjab
41.29% in Manipur.
Who are the Minorities?
Minorities are not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the Constitution.
Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jain and Zoroastrians (Parsis) have been notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
According to the 2011 census, the percentage of minorities in the country is about 19.3% of the total population of the country.
The population of Muslims are 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, Jain 0.4% and Parsis 0.006%.
Article 29 of the constitution deals with the “protection of interest of minorities”.
The constitution recognizes religious minorities in India and linguistic minorities in India through Article 29 and Article 30.
8. National Technology Day
Tags: National Important Days
National Technology Day is observed every year on 11 May to honour the contributions of India's scientific community including scientists, researchers and engineers.
Significance of the day
It reminds people of the scientific achievements of the country.
It is a day to honour all those who have contributed to the advancement of science.
It honours the hard work and efforts of all those who have contributed to the technological progress of our country.
Theme of the year 2022 - An Integrated Approach to Science and Technology for a Sustainable Future.
The theme was launched by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.
History of the day
National Technology Day was first officially celebrated on 11 May 1999.
The primary goal of this day was to recognize scientific and technological achievements.
On May 11, 1998, India successfully carried out nuclear tests at the army’s Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.
In doing so, India became the sixth country to join the 'nuclear club'.
The test was led by the late APJ Abdul Kalam, an aerospace scientist who became the eleventh President of India.
On the same day in 1998, India test-fired its first indigenous aircraft Hansa-3 which took off in Bengaluru.
On that day, the surface-to-air missile Trishul was also successfully test fired.
With many technological advancements in a single day, the Government of India announced the celebration of May 11 as National Technology Day.
It was officially signed by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Since then, the Technology Development Board (TDB) which is a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology at the Centre is celebrating this day.
9. India, Madagascar sign MoU to explore co-production of TV programmes
Tags: National News
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation and collaboration in Broadcasting between Prasar Bharati and ORTM (Office de la Radio et de la Television) was signed in Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo on 10 May.
The MoU was signed by India’s Ambassador to Madagascar Abhay Kumar and ORTM Director-General BELALAHY Jean Yves.
Under the agreement, Madagascar National Television will broadcast programmes from internal productions by India's Prasar Bharati.
The objective of the MoU is to explore the exchange of programmes, co-production of programs and training/exchange of personnel.
About Madagascar
It is an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa.
It is the fourth largest island in the world after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo.
Madagascar shares maritime borders with Comoros, France, Mauritius, Mozambique and Seychelles.
Prime Minister : Christian Ntsay
Capital : Antananarivo
President : Andry Rajoelina
10. Govt to establish 33 new domestic cargo terminals by 2024-2025
Tags: National News
The government will set up 33 new domestic cargo terminals by 2024-2025, which will contribute significantly to the growth of India's cargo sector.
Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia on 11 May attended the annual event of Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) as the chief guest.
He said that this can be achieved by acquisition of smaller size aircraft.
The theme of the annual event was “10 Million: Vision 2030; Stimulating, Scaling, Steering Air Cargo”.
Cargo sector in India
During the last 2 years in the post-Covid era, the cargo sector has emerged as a promising sector not only for Indian aviation but also for global aviation.
The Indian cargo sector has witnessed a growth rate of 9-10 per cent since 2013-14.
During the last 2 years, the airlines have registered a growth of 520% in cargo revenue.
At present, Indian Cargo revenue stands at INR 2,000 crore with 3.1 million metric tonnage having a CAGR of 13%.
Currently, India has 21 international and 35 domestic cargo terminals.
About Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI)
It was established on 14th September 2012.
It is an association of various stakeholders of Air Cargo Logistic Supply Chain Trade and Industry i.e. Freight Forwarders, Airlines, Airport Operators, Cargo Terminal Operators, Customs House Agents and Express Industry.
