Border dispute India – Nepal
Border dispute India – Nepal Nepal parliament passed the constitutional amendment bill giving approval of recent political map published by Nepal government including the territories of Limpiyadhura,Lipu Lekh and Kalapani.These disputed territories were not originally included in the Nepal constitution promulgated in 2015 SeptemberWhile India Nepal-India maintains open border and very cordial relations major border dispute between two exist in Kalapani and Susta. The Nepal kingdom of 19th century extended up to river Sutlej in the west to river Teesta in the east The two-year war between East India Company and Nepal in 1814 ( Anglo-Gorkha war) which led to the Sugauli treaty of 1816, demarcated the Kali river as the border of India and Nepal. While Kali river is the agreed boundary between two nation, there exists a difference of opinion over the origin of the Kali river. Nepal claims that Kali river starts at Limpiyadhura and the 370 sq km adjoining area belongs to Nepal. However, the area is occupied by India for long . Lipu Lekh is used for annual Kailash Manasasarovar pilgrimage and is an active trade route controlled by India. India has an active military outpost in these regions. Nepal claims that area was temporarily granted for Indian military for strategic purposes after 1961 indo China war by the king Mahindra of Nepal. Before 1962 Nepal government collected land revenue from this region and census were held. The dispute over the regions begins only in 1990s. In 2000 border negotiations were put in place under Vajpayee government but didn’t produce an outcome. The India China agreement in 2015 to develop Lipulekh as commercial and pilgrimage hub invited formal protest from Nepal and made claims over the region. The issue resurfaced in 2019 when New Delhi publishes new political map to reflect the changes following the decision on August 5 to reorganise the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and Nepal objected to the depiction of the disputed territory. The passage of the constitutional amendment and high decibel rhetoric leaves lesser space for diplomacy. India should shed its big brother attitude and should treat Nepal as an equal partner in all engagements. While Indian diplomacy needs to factor in ‘active Chinese presence ‘ as a third player, excess emphasis on China in Nepal-India equation could be counterproductive. Once celebrated the “special” relationship between the two countries can be rebuilt only through mutual trust. Read Also India Nepal Relations
PM Cares Fund
PM Cares Fund The Supreme Court sought a response from the government to a plea that contributions made to the PM CARES fund to fight COVID-19 should be transferred entirely to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). ‘Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund)’ is a public charitable trust that has been set up keeping in mind the need for having a dedicated national fund with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to provide relief to the affected. Objectives : To undertake and support relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency or any other kind of emergency, calamity or distress, either man-made or natural, including the creation or up-gradation of healthcare or pharmaceutical facilities, other necessary infrastructure, funding relevant research or any other type of support. To render financial assistance, provide grants of payments of money or take such other steps as may be deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees to the affected population. To undertake any other activity, which is not inconsistent with the above Objects. Constitution of the Trust : Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund and Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and Minister of Finance, Government of India are ex-officio Trustees of the Fund. The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees (Prime Minister) shall have the power to nominate three trustees to the Board of Trustees who shall be eminent persons in the field of research, health, science, social work, law, public administration and philanthropy. Any person appointed a Trustee shall act in a pro bono capacity. Other details : The fund consists entirely of voluntary contributions from individuals/organizations and does not get any budgetary support. The fund will be utilised in meeting the objectives as stated above. Donations to PM CARES Fund would qualify for 100% exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Donations to PM CARES Fund will also qualify to be counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013 PM CARES Fund has also got exemption under the FCRA and a separate account for receiving foreign donations has been opened. This enables PM CARES Fund to accept donations and contributions from individuals and organizations based in foreign countries. Concerns The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) set up in January 1948, have similar objectives. The fund doesn’t comes under the ambit of the RTI Act or oversight by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. The PM CARES is opaque regarding the amount of money collected, names of donors, the expenditure of the fund so far, or names of beneficiaries. The PMNRF provides annual donation and expenditure information without any detailed break-up. The PM CARES Fund’s trust deed is not available for public scrutiny. The decision to allow uncapped corporate donations to the fund to count as CSR expenditure — a facility not provided to PMNRF — goes against previous guidelines stating that CSR should not be used to fund government schemes. A government panel had previously advised against allowing CSR contributions to the PMNRF on the grounds that the double benefit of tax exemption would be a “regressive incentive”.
Polling to Rajya Sabha
Polling to Rajya Sabha Polling to Rajya Sabha, scattered over nine states including in 18 seats that are deferred due to corona pandemic is held on 19th June. Composition/Strength Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the States and of the two Union Territories. The present strength of Rajya Sabha, however, is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 are nominated by the President. The members nominated by the President are persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service. Allocation of Seats The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution provides for allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in Rajya Sabha. The allocation of seats is made on the basis of the population of each State. Process for Election/Nomination Rajya Sabha is a permanent House and is not subject to dissolution. However, one-third Members of Rajya Sabha retire after every second year. The representatives of the States and of the Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the method of indirect election. The representatives of each State and two Union territories are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of that State and by the members of the Electoral College for that Union Territory, as the case may be, in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Read Also Electoral reforms in India Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. contact us
Dexamethasone for COVID-19 therapy
Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 therapy (RECOVERY), a clinical based trial in UK found that Dexamethasone, a steroid-based drug, is effective in reducing mortality due to severe COVID-19. In the trial, around 2,100 patients were randomly assigned to get the steroid. This was compared with over 4,300 patients who did not get it. It has reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third and patients on oxygen by one-fifth. The drug is an inexpensive and a commonly available drug. It is widely used to treat diseases like lupus, arthritis, asthma and some skin conditions. It appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. The trials also find that Hydroxychloroquine is not effective in reducing mortality.
Global Status Report on Preventing Violence Against Children 2020
Global Status Report on Preventing Violence Against Children 2020 Globally, an estimated one out of two children aged 2–17 years old suffer some form of violence each year. Over their lifetime, children exposed to violence are at increased risk of mental and physical health problems, and negative educational outcomes. The economic costs of these consequences are enormous. The document presents the INSPIRE framework a set of seven strategies to help countries and communities intensify their focus on prevention programs and services with the greatest potential to reduce violence against children. INSPIRE is a collaboration between organizations initiated by the World Health Organisation. The collaborating organizations are: the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), End Violence Against Children: The Global Partnership, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the President’s Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Together for Girls, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the World Bank. The report signalled a clear need in all countries to scale up efforts to implement them. Read Also International Counter Terrorism Conference 2022
Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan for migrant labourers
Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan for migrant labourers Scheme aims to boost livelihood opportunities in rural India, especially in 116 districts in six states for migrant labourers who have returned to their native places after facing hardship due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown. These six states are Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Odisha. These 116 districts are those where at least 25,000 migrant workers have returned in each case. Under this scheme, the government says it will provide 25 kinds of employment to migrant labourers. Within 125 days, 25 schemes of the government will be brought together and pool ₹50000 crores to those districts where that received the highest number of workers. Read Also SVAMITVA Scheme
Tala Maddale
Tala-Maddale The traditional art of ‘talamaddale’, a variant of Yakshagana theatre. Unlike the Yakshagana performance, in the conventional ‘talamaddale,’ the artists sit across in a place without any costumes and engage in testing their oratory skills based on the episode chosen. If music is common for both Yakshagana performance and ‘talamaddale’, the latter has only spoken word without any dance or costumes. Hence it is an art form minus dance, costumes and stage conventions. ‘arthadhari’ is a talamaddale artist who is an orator. The plot and content of the conversation is drawn from popular mythology but the performance mainly consists of an impromptu debate between characters involving sarcasm, puns, philosophy positions and humour. The art form is popular in Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala. The medium of communication is normally Kannada language Read Now MSME Role challenges & Way forward.
Delimitation Commision
Delimitation Commision Union government plan to carry out Delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies in Northeastern states and UT of Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of the 2001 Census report. The government has constituted Delimitation Commission to be headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai. Delimitation literally means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country or a province having a legislative body. The task of Delimitation is assigned a high powered body like the Delimitation Commission or a Boundary Commission. In India, such Delimitation Commissions have been constituted 4 times – in 1952 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952, in 1963 under Delimitation Commission Act, 1962, in 1973 under Delimitation Act, 1972 and in 2002 under Delimitation Act, 2002. Orders of Delimitation Commission have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court. Checkout UPSC Study Resources
UNSC Non Permanent Seats
UNSC Non Permanent Seats UN Security Council is one of six principal organ of UN. It has the primary responsibility in maintaining international peace and security. It consists of 5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members. Election to five non-permanent seats at the UN Security Council for 2021-22 is to be held. India is standing unopposed as the nominee for the Asia-Pacific seat, and needs two-thirds of UNGA members, or 129 votes, to be confirmed. The UNGA election process will be done by “secret ballot”. India had highlighted its commitment to multilateralism; demand for transparency in mandates for UN peacekeeping missions; push for the Indian-led Comprehensive Convention for International Terrorism (CCIT); and joint efforts for UN reform and the expansion of the UNSC. India has been at the forefront of pushing for speeding up reforms of the 15-nation Security Council, asserting that an “obsolescent” global governance structure cannot be fit for the purpose to address the challenges of peace and security in the 21st century. Read Also China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) India and the other G-4 nations of Brazil, Japan and Germany have said that procrastinating on reform of the Security Council has lasted decades and change is long overdue. India has been seeking a structured format of a single document that can be negotiated, one issue at a time While “United for Consensus” grouping that includes Pakistan, oppose the G4 position of expansion of the permanent members of the UNSC and push for more non permanent or “elected seats”. Read Also New domicile rule in J&K
Additional funding for Jal Jeevan Mission
Funding for Jal Jeevan Mission Jal Jeevan Mission is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. The programme will also implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting. The Jal Jeevan Mission will be based on a community approach to water and will include extensive Information, Education and communication as a key component of the mission. JJM looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority. Ministry of Jal Shakti is the nodal ministry for implementation. The estimated amount of Rs. 3.60 lakh Crore is proposed to be shared between the Union and State Governments. In addition,to enable individuals, trusts, foundations, corporate and industrial houses to contribute in furthering the objective of the JJM, Rashtriya Jal Jeevan Kosh is being set up. In a presentation made to the Commission this week, the Ministry showed that there had been a 45% shortfall in financing the JJM by both the Centre and the States in its first year of 2019-20. Enroll today with the best civils service academy and take your first step towards your Civils journey. Feel free to reach out to us for any inquiries, collaborations, or support. We’re here to help. Contact us
