OBC status to Lingayat community.
Karnataka
government, has deferred plan to provide OBC status to Lingayat community in
the Central OBC List.
Lingayats
are member of a Hindu sect with a wide following in southern India that
worships Shiva as the only deity.
They
are followers of 12th-century social reformer, Basaveshwara who was against
caste system and Vedic rituals.
They
have been classified as a Hindu subcaste calledVeerashaiva Lingayats.
Lingayats
had distanced itself from Hindu Veerashaivas because latter followed Vedas and
supported castesystem, to which Basaveshwara was against.
Comparison of pardoning power of the President .
With
less than two months of his tenure remaining, US President Donald Trump
exercised his powers under the Constitution to pardon Michael Flynn, his former
National Security Advisor, who had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.
Status in USA:
The
President of the US has the constitutional right to pardon or commute sentences
related to federal crimes. The US Supreme Court has held that this power is
“granted without limit” and cannot be restricted by Congress.
Clemency
is a broad executive power, and is discretionary — meaning the President is not
answerable for his pardons, and does not have to provide a reason for issuing
one.
Unlike
the US President, whose powers to grant pardons are almost unfettered, the
President of India has to act on the advice of the Cabinet.
Under
Article 72 of the Constitution, “the President shall have the power to grant
pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit
or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence where the
sentence is a sentence of death”.
In
several cases, the SC has ruled that the President has to act on the advice of
the Council of Ministers while deciding mercy pleas. These include Maru Ram vs
Union of India in 1980, and Dhananjoy Chatterjee vs State of West Bengal in
1994.
China to build a super dam on its part of Brahmaputra
river.
China
will build a “super” dam on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo river close
to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tibet, in a move that could have a far-reaching
impact on northeast India’s water security.
It
originating in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), the trans-border Yarlung
Zangbo flows into Arunachal Pradesh where it is called Siang and then to Assam
as Brahmaputra before flowing into Bangladesh.
The
dam could come up in the Medog county of TAR, which is close to Arunachal
Pradesh.China has already built several smaller dams on the Yarlung Zangbo
river.
The
new dam’s ability to generate hydropower could be three times that of central
China’s Three Gorges Dam, which has the largest installed hydropower capacity
in the world.
The
new dam will be built with focus on maintaining China’s national security.
The
project will play a significant role in realising China’s goal of reaching a
carbon emissions peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality in 2060.
Union
government has notified the Andaman & Nicobar, and Lakshadweep Islands will
be using renewable energy to meet their total requirement under the goals.
India
has installed about 1,36,000 megawatts (MW) of Renewable Energy capacity with
capacity addition of another 57,000 MW under implementation.
The
target is now to achieve 450 gigawatts of Renewable Energy capacity by 2030.
India
is in the midst of a major transformative shift in its energy sector, to end
energy poverty in India.
It
aims to enhance availability and affordability of clean fossil fuels and green
fuels, and to reduce the carbon footprint through a healthy mix of all
commercially-viable energy sources.
In
earlier government has launched the National Biofuel Policy (NBP) in 2018 to
promote biofuels in mass scale with a target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in
petrol and 5 per cent of bio-diesel by 2030. Also, government is planning for
setting up twelve 2G Ethanol Bio-Refineries in 11 States with an overall
capacity of 1100 Kilo Litre per Day (KLPD).
The
SATAT (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) initiative
targets to setup 5,000 compressed biogas plants with a target of 15 million
metric tonnes per year with an investment potential for $ 20 billion. Indian
oil marketing companies are offering to private entrepreneurs assured price and
offtake guarantee.
Kalpakkam Atomic Power Plant.
Kalpakkam
Atomic Power Plantalso known as Madras Atomic Power Station recently activated
the cyclone protection machineryagainst Cyclone Nivar.
KAPP
is one of the operational nuclear plant in the country situated in Tamil Nadu.
It
was the first indigenously built nuclear power station in India.
Inter-ministerial panel for FRA: A giant step backwards.
Forest
experts raise concern over the Union environment ministry assuming central role
in matters originally meant for the tribal ministry.
An
inter-ministerial committee comprising officials from the Union environment and
tribal affairs ministries — formed recently to monitor implementation of the
Schedule Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) [FRA]
Act, 2006 — have raised concerns over the tribal ministry being pushed to the
backseat.
The
Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) is the nodal agency that specifically looked
into the implementation of FRA, 2006 and minimise bureaucracy in matters
related to it.
Officials
of both ministries blamed the poor implementation of the Act on the reluctance
of the state forest departments. They also claimed there was no conflict in
terms of legal framework for the implementation of the act.
Experts
working on FRA, however, raised red flags over decisions taken in the meeting,
including the officials’ silence on seeking consent of forest dwellers in cases
of land diversion.
They
also expressed concern over MoEF&CC assuming central role in matters
originally handled by MoTA alone.
Brain fingerprinting.
The
accused in Hathras rape case will undergo brain fingerprinting.
Brain
Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling (BEOSP) is also recognised as brain
fingerprinting.
It
is a neuro psychological method of interrogation in which the accused’s
participation in the crime is investigated by studying their brain’s response.
Under
this test, the consent of the accused is first taken and they are then made to
wear caps with dozens of electrodes attached to them.
The
accused are then shown visuals or played audio clips related to the crime to check
if there is any triggering of neurons in their brains which then generate
brainwaves. The test results are then studied to determine the participation of
the accused in a crime.
India Climate Change Knowledge Portal.
Ministry
of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently launched India Climate
Change Knowledge Portal.
It
will be a single point Information resource on different climate initiatives
taken by various Line Ministries.
It
will help in disseminating knowledge among citizens about all the major steps
Government is taking at both national and international levels to address
climate change issues.
Major
components of portal:India's Climate Profile, National Policy Framework,
Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation, International Climate Negotiations etc.
Target Olympic Podium Scheme.
According
to the Sport Ministry the Olympics-bound duo of race walker K.T. Irfan and
javelin thrower Shivpal Singh along with sprinter Dutee Chand have been
included in the core group of the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).
The
Target Olympic Podium Scheme is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth
Affairs and Sports.It is an attempt to provide assistance to India’s top
athletes.
The
Scheme looks to add a premium to the preparations of these athletes so that
they can win Olympic medals in 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
The
idea of the Scheme is to also keep an eye in the future and fund a
Developmental Group of Athletes who are medal prospects for the Olympic Games
in Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles Games in 2028.
The
Mission Olympic Cell is a dedicated body created to assist the athletes who are
selected under the TOP Scheme.
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