Cengov. brings new framework for Block and District development plans.
Rural
Development and Panchayati Raj Ministry unveiled preparation framework for
Block and District development plans.
This
framework is a step-by-step guide for Block and District Panchayats to
formulate plans and will assist planners, concerned stakeholders at appropriate
level.
This
framework is believed to promote inclusive development at the block and
district levels by focusing on locally available resources, local people's
aspirations and priority areas.
•
The framework will serve as an important tool for all resource persons,
stakeholders associated with decentralized planning in block and district
panchayats and will play an important role in transforming rural India.
The
73rd amendment to the Constitution of India formalized the three-tier
Panchayati Raj system, Gram Panchayat at village level, intermediate Panchayat
at Block, taluka level and District Panchayat at district level.
India increases election expenditure limits by 10%.
The
poll spending limit for candidates contesting LokSabha and Assembly elections
has been enhanced by 10 percent.
Centre
has approved this based on the recommendation of the Election Commission that
contestants be allowed to spend more on campaigning keeping in mind
difficulties they may face due to COVID-19 curbs.
The
notification issued by the Law Ministry last night said the maximum expenditure
a candidate can incur for campaigning in LokSabha polls is now Rs. 77 lakh.It
was Rs. 70 lakh earlier.
The
last time the expenditure ceiling was enhanced was ahead of the LokSabha polls
in 2014.For Assembly election, it has been hiked from Rs. 28 lakh to Rs. 30.80
lakh.
Goa,
Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and a few Union Territories, based on the size of
their constituencies and population, have a lower ceiling on poll expenditure.
Regional Raw Drug Repositories.
Regional
Raw Drug Repository for AYUSH Systems launched at Chennai.
Regional
Raw Drug Repositories (RRDRs):
•
RRDRs are important components of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme, National
AYUSH Mission.
•
The repositories play an important role in medicinal plants cultivation.
•
As a step in this direction, the Ministry of AYUSH, through the National
Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), initiated the establishment of the National Raw
Drug Repository and
Regional Raw Drug Repositories.
Institute,
all three located in Chennai.
•
The RRDR in Chennai would play a major role in the collection, documentation,
and authentication of raw drugs collected from the agro-climatic region, that
is, the Southern Plateau Region.
•
This RRDR will not only act as collection centres of raw drugs available and
used in the southern region but also as an accredited reference library for
authentication of raw drugs and establish standard protocols and keys for
authentication of raw drug used in the Herbal Industries.
Background & Significance:
•
Medicinal plants form the major resource base of India’s indigenous health care
traditions.
•Their
relevance has grown substantially in the current pandemic scenario, thanks to
their disease preventive effects.
•
The outreach and acceptability of AYUSH systems, both nationally as well as
globally, are dependent on the uninterrupted availability of quality medicinal
plants based raw material.
•
Though most of the raw drugs are commonly available, there is a lack of
scientific documentation that makes research on these medicines very difficult.
This also reduces the chances of commercial exploitation of these Medicines.
Easy
availability of authentic scientific data of the raw drugs will promote
research on the medicines belonging to the AYUSH system which will lead to
further propagation of these systems.
• Currently, India has more than 9000 manufacturing units for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy medicine.
• However, the quality of medicines produced by these units critically depends upon the manufacturing process followed as well as the quality of raw material.
•
The Government has made it mandatory for all manufacturing units to adhere to
the Good Manufacturing Practices as notified under Schedule T of the Drugs and
Cosmetics Act 1940.
India participates in meeting of Prosecutors General of
SCO.
India
today participated in 18th meeting of Prosecutors General of SCO via video
conference.Representing India, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said India has
zero tolerance to corruption and black money.
He
also highlighted government’s flagship PradhanMantri Jan DhanYojna, saying it
has expanded India’s financial architecture.AIR Beijing Correspondent reports,
India is keeping its engagements up at SCO.
Today’s
meeting of Prosecutors, agreed to strengthen cooperation in preventing and
combating corruption, mutual legal assistance and exchange of regulatory legal
acts.
India
will host the next meeting of Prosecutors General in 2021. SCO Law ministers
met last week and SCO Trade Ministers will meet next week.
The
eight member bloc will meet for this year’s SCO Council of Heads of Govt on
30th Nov which will be hosted by India.The SCO Summit will be held in early
November.
India holds business forum meeting with Vietnam.
The
India Vietnam Business Forum was organised virtually today.Speaking on the
occasion, Secretary (East), External Affairs Ministry, Riva Ganguly Das
reaffirmed the growing bilateral trade and investment ties between India and
Vietnam.
She
said, trade between India and Vietnam has grown steadily and presently stands
at 12.34 billion dollars in 2019-20.
Export basket from India to Vietnam includes bovine meat, fishery products, corn, steel, pharmaceuticals, cotton, machinery while imports from Vietnam include mobile phones, electrical machinery and equipment, computers, electronic hardware, natural rubber, chemicals, and coffee.
The
Secretary said, the bilateral trade turnover is still not commensurate with the
levels of economic development and more needs to be done to broaden and
intensify the trade relations to achieve its full potential.
Finance ministry claims FDI increased by more than 50%
since 2014.
The
government has said that total Foreign Direct Investment- FDI inflow grew by 55
per cent from 231.37 billion dollar in 2008 to 2014 to over 358 billion dollar
in 2014 to 2020.
Ministry
of Commerce and Industry in a statement said, FDI equity inflow also increased
by 57 per cent from around 160 billion dollar during 2008-14 to over 252
billion dollar in 2014-2020.
The
Ministry said, during April to August this year, total FDI inflow of 35.73
billion is received.
It
is the highest ever for first 5 months of a financial year and 13 per cent
higher as compared to first five months of 2019-20.
It
said, FDI is a major driver of economic growth and an important source of
non-debt finance for the economic development of India.
It
has been the endeavour of the Government to put in place an enabling and
investor friendly FDI policy.
RBI gives clarification over control of cooperative
banks.
The
Reserve Bank of India has said that there is no violation of any law of the
nation in bringing the cooperative banks under its supervisory control.
In
an affidavit filed in the Madras High Court today, the RBI has said, the recent
legislation enacted in Parliament is aimed at regulating banking.
It
said, the laws governing the cooperatives vary from state to state and
therefore, the banking activities being done by them require a national law.
It
further said, the RBI is empowered to regulate any banking activity including
those by the cooperative bodies.
It
pointed out that 430 urban cooperative banks in the country have lost their
banking licenses due to very poor financial positions.
Earlier,
two cooperative banks in Tamil Nadu filed the petitions against the Central
Government ordinance bringing them under the RBI control. The ordinance has
since been replaced by a law.
Indian military tests hybrid model fence at LoC.
The
Army has significantly improved its electronic surveillance along the Line of
Control (LoC) to check infiltration, and work on converting the existing border
fence into a smart fence integrated with several sensors is under way, several
officers have said.
However,
there is a rethink on converting the entire fence over a 700 km stretch into a
smart one due to the high cost. A hybrid model is now being adopted.
“The
new hybrid model of the smart fence being tested will cost around ₹10 lakh per
km and 60 km is being attempted this year,” a senior officer on the ground
said.
The
fence will be integrated with LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors,
infrared sensors and cameras among others.
In
recent months, the Army has beefed up troops close to the LoC to plug gaps and
it has resulted in a drop in infiltration this year.
Lt.
Gen. B.S. Raju, General Officer Commanding, 15 Corps, said that while the multi-tier
anti-infiltration grid remains in place, the first tier has been strengthened.
Troops have also been given drones, both big and small, to monitor the ground.
Scientists
from New York University have developed a method using holographic Imaging to
detect both Viruses and Antibodies.
Highlights:
•
Holography is a process that creates three-dimensional images called holograms
using laser beams, the properties of interference and diffraction, light
intensity recording, and illumination of the recording.
•
It uses laser beams to record holograms of the Specially prepared test beads.
•
The surfaces of the beads are activated with biochemical binding sites that
attract either antibodies or Virus Particles, Depending on the intended test.
•
Binding Antibodies or viruses causes the beads to grow by a few billionth parts
of a metre.
•
The Researchers detect this growth through changes in the beads’ holograms. The
test can analyse a dozen beads per second.
•
The method can test either for the virus (current infection) or antibodies
(immunity).
•
The breakthrough has the potential to aid in medical diagnoses, and
specifically, those related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
•
If fully realised, this proposed test could be done in under 30 minutes, is
highly accurate, and can be performed by minimally trained personnel.
Madhuca Diplostemon Tree .
The
Madhuca diplostemon tree has recently been rediscovered after a gap of more
than 180 years from a sacred grove in Kollam district, Kerala
•
It locally known as Kavilippa in Malayalam.
•
The Threatened species of the Western Ghats was believed to be extinct.
•
It is the second time a tree of this species has ever been located and only one
mature tree has been found so far, which makes this remarkable rediscovery
extremely valuable from a Scientific, Environmental and conservation point of
view.
•
In 1835, Robert Wight, a surgeon-botanist with the East India Company, found
the first specimen.
•
Its original collection, specimens of the tree were never collected again,
neither from its locality nor elsewhere, and botanical explorations in Eastern
and Western Ghats failed to locate the species.
•
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has included it in
the endangered species list.
•
There is only one specimen left in a single locality, it is eligible to be
categorised as 'Critically Endangered'. The JNTBGRI is planning to undertake
the ex-situ conservation of this species through the institute’s species
recovery programme.
Focus on mains :
Public Safety Act
The
J&K administration on October 13 revoked the Public Safety Act (PSA) and
detention of former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president
Mehbooba Mufti, who has been under arrest for over 14 months since the Centre
abrogated J&K’s special status on August 5, 2019.
What happens after PSA is used?
•
Within four weeks of passing the detention order, the government has to refer
the case to an Advisory Board. This Advisory Board will have to give its recommendations
within eight weeks of the order. If the Board thinks that there is cause for
preventive detention, the government can hold the person up to two years.
•
The person detained has limited rights. Usually when a person is arrested, they
have the right to legal representation and can challenge the arrest. But, when
a person is arrested under the PSA, they do not have these rights before the Advisory
Board unless sufficient grounds can be established that the detention is
illegal. There have been cases where the High Court has interfered and quashed
the detention.
•
According to Section 13(2), the detaining authority need not even inform the
detained individual as to the reason for the action, if it decides that it goes
against Public Interest.
What is the J&K PSA?
•
The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) received the assent of the
J&K Governor on April 8, 1978.
•
The Act was introduced as a tough law to prevent the smuggling of timber and
keep the smugglers “out of circulation”.
•
The law allows the government to detain any person above the age of 16 without
trial for a period of Two Years.
•
Detention orders under PSA can be issued by Divisional Commissioners or
District Magistrates. Section 22 of the Act provides protection for any action
taken “in good faith” under the Act: “No suit, prosecution or any other legal
proceeding shall lie against any person for anything done or intended to be
done in good faith in pursuance of the provisions of this Act.”
•
Under Section 23 of the Act, the government is empowered to “make such Rules
consistent with the provisions of this Act, as may be necessary for carrying
out the objects of this Act”.
•
Right from the beginning, the law was misused widely, and was repeatedly
employed against political opponents by consecutive governments until 1990.
After the emergence of militancy, the J&K government frequently invoked the
PSA to crack down on separatists.
•
In August 2018, the Act was amended to allow individuals to be detained under
the PSA outside the state as well.
•
The detaining authority need not disclose any facts about the detention “which
it considers being against the public interest to disclose”.
•
The terms under which a person is detained under PSA are vague and include a
broad range of activities like “acting in any manner prejudicial to the
security of the State” or for “acting in any manner prejudicial to the
maintenance of public order”.
•
The vagueness provided in the act gives unbridled powers to the authorities.
The detainees, therefore, are effectively debarred from contesting the legality
of their detention.
•
PSA does not provide for a judicial review of detention. To checkmate the
J&K High Court orders for release of persons detained under the act the
state authorities issue successive detention orders. This ensures prolonged
detention of people.
•
PSA has been used against human rights activists, journalists, separatists and
others who are considered as a threat to the law & order. Right to dissent
is stifled by these Acts.
Way
Forward:
•
The report of the Group of Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir held that the
sweeping powers in Public Safety Act make it open to misuse. It Recommended:
✓ The detention period
should range from one week for minor offences to one month for major offences.
✓ Juveniles should not
be held under the PSA at all.
•
Now that the state has become a union territory, PSA should have been brought
in line with the all-India legislation.
•
Regional leaders remain India’s best bet in J&K; their continuing detention
will not go well in pursuance of establishing peace and finding a political
solution in J&K.
•
The Supreme Court has held that in order to prevent misuse of this potentially
dangerous power, the law of preventive detention has to be strictly construed
and meticulous compliance with the procedural safeguards is mandatory and
vital.
•
If citizens’ right to criticise a government becomes a law and order threat, the
future of the republic as a functioning democracy becomes an Open Question.
SC upholds Madras HC order on T.N. Elephant Corridor.
The
Supreme Court recently upheld the Tamil Nadu government’s authority to notify
an ‘elephant corridor’ and protect the migratory path of the animals through
the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
About the Issue:
•
The Supreme Court judgment came on 32 appeals filed by resorts/private land
owners, against a Madras High Court decision of July 2011.
•
The High Court had confirmed a State government order of August 2010, notifying
the Elephant Corridor.
What are the Observations by SC?
•
The reserve is the largest protected forest area in India, spanning across
Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
•
Elephant corridors allow elephants to continue their nomadic mode of survival,
despite shrinking forest cover, by facilitating travel between distinct forest
habitats.
•
These corridors play a crucial role in sustaining wildlife by reducing the
impact of habitat isolation.
About Elephant Corridors:
•
As estimated, there are 101 elephant corridors, of which almost 70% are used
regularly.
•
Nearly three-quarters of the corridors are evenly divided among southern,
central and north-eastern forests.
•
The rest are found in northwest Bengal and the north-western region.
•
Some of these passages are precariously narrow, at only a Hundred Metres wide.
•
Nilgiris - There are an estimated 6,500 elephants in just the Brahmagiri-
Nilgiris -Eastern Ghats ranges.
•
Most of the resorts in the Nilgiris have come up right under the gaze of the
Forest Department.
•
The majority continue to function without the requisite permissions.
•
This must be thoroughly investigated to check whether there was any wrongdoing.
•
The grey area of mushrooming home-stay structures, which are just hotels on
forest fringes, also deserves scrutiny.
About Nilgiris Elephant Corridor:
•
The corridor is situated in the ecologically fragile Sigur plateau, which
connects the Western and the Eastern Ghats and sustains elephant popula- tions
and their genetic diversity.
Why it is Needed?
•
Forests that have turned into farms and unchecked tourism are blocking animals'
paths.
Animals
are thus forced to seek alternative routes resulting in increased
elephant-human conflict.
•
Weak regulation of ecotourism is severely impacting important habitats. It
particularly affects animals that have large home ranges, like Elephants.
•
The movement of elephants is essential to ensure that their populations are
genetically viable.
•
It also helps to regenerate forests on which other species, including tigers,
depend.
•
Elephant corridors are also crucial to reduce animal fatalities due to
accidents and other reasons. So fragmentation of forests makes it all the more
important to preserve migratory corridors.
•
Ending human interference in the pathways of elephants is more a conservation
imperative.
•
The Supreme Court’s order is thus a necessary step to restore the ecology of
these species.
Way Forward:
•
Nearly 40% of elephant reserves are vulnerable, as they are not within
protected parks and sanctuaries.
•
Also, the migration corridors have no Specific Legal Protection.
•
Illegal structures in these pathways should be removed without delay.
•
Efforts should be to expand elephant corridors, using the Successful models
within the country.
•
This includes acquisition of lands using private funds and their transfer to
the Government.
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