Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 3rd Nov 2021

Chief Minister of Karnataka launched JANASEVAKA SCHEME

DETAILS

• 58 services from various government departments will now be delivered at the doorsteps of the residents of Bengaluru Urban
• Website, app and helpline for an integrated Public Grievance Redressal system - Janaspandana - was also launched
• Programme was launched on a pilot basis in 2019 in four constituencies of the city, expansion of the scheme was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic
• SERVICES INCLUDE
  • Various services of Health and Family Welfare Department, BBMP, Revenue, Unique Identification Authority of India, Police, Department for Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens, Food and Civil Supplies, and Karnataka Building and other other Construction Workers' Welfare Board.
  • Documents such as Arogya Health Card, ration card, APL cards, income, caste and residence certificate, old age pension and widow pension, police verification certifications etc
• Doorstep delivery of Public Distribution System also launched
• Under the Janaspandana - Integrated Public Grievance Redressal System - initiative of the government, people of the state can call 1902 to register their complaints.

Puneeth Rajkumar honoured posthumously with Basavashree Award 2021

ABOUT THE AWARD

• The award honours people for services to society in their respective fields by following the principles of Lord Basaveshwar.
• It is presented by Chitradurga Bruhanmutt since 1997.
• The award includes a Rs 5 lakh cash and a memento.
• PT Usha (2009), Malala Yousufzai (2014), P Sainath (2016), Dr K Kasturirangan (2020) are some to win the award.

ABOUT THE MUTT

• Located in  Chitradurga this mutt
• Also known as Sri. Murugarajendra Matt
• Built in honour of an eminent guru of the Veershaiva Community and worship is the Gudduge (tomb) of lmmadi Muruga Swamy.

A district autonomous council in Meghalaya, which If implemented, the proposed Bill would modify an age-old customary practice of inheritance of the matrilineal Khasi tribe.

MATRILINY IN MEGHALAYA

• The three tribes of Meghalaya — Khasis, Jaintias, and Garos — practise a matrilineal system of inheritance.
• In this system, lineage and descent are traced through the mother’s clan.
• In other words, children take the mother’s surname, the husband moves into his wife’s house, and the youngest daughter (khatduh) of the family is bequeathed the full share of the ancestral — or the clan’s — property.
• The khatduh becomes the “custodian” of the land, and assumes all responsibility associated with the land, including taking care of aged parents, unmarried or destitute siblings.
• Custom also dictates that the khatduh cannot sell the property, without permission of her mother’s brother (maternal uncle) — since he technically belongs to the mother’s clan, through which descent is traced.
• This inheritance tradition applies only to ancestral or clan/community property, which has been with the family for years. On the other hand, self-acquired property can be distributed equally among siblings.

 In this traditional set-up, if a couple does not have any daughters, then the property goes to the wife’s elder sister, and her daughters. If the wife does not have sisters, then the clan usually takes over the property.

What does the Bill aim to change:

• Main objective - “equitable distribution” of parental property among siblings – both male and female.
• Would let parents decide who they want to will their property to.
• Prevent a sibling from getting parental property if they marry a non-Khasi and accept the spouse’s customs and culture.
• When a couple has no children, and there is no genuine heir, the clan takes over the property, as per custom. It leads to a number of litigations by children against their parents
• Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, it does not have the power to legislate. Paragraph 12 A of the Sixth Schedule gives the final right of passing a law to the state legislature.

The central government is preparing to give a fresh push to the establishment of an All India Judicial Service (AIJS) on the lines of the central civil services.

Why AIJS

• Push to centralise the recruitment of judges
• At the level of additional district judges and district judges for all states.
• In the same way that the Union Public Service Commission conducts a central recruitment process and assigns successful candidates to cadres, judges of the lower judiciary are proposed to be recruited centrally and assigned to states.
• Was first mooted in the Law Commission’s 1958 ‘Report on Reforms on Judicial Administration’(again in 1978)
• Ensure an efficient subordinate judiciary, to address structural issues such as varying pay and remuneration across states, to fill vacancies faster, and to ensure standard training across states.

How are district judges currently recruited

• According to Articles 233 and 234
• The selection process is conducted by the State Public Service Commissions and the concerned High Court, since High Courts exercise jurisdiction over the subordinate judiciary in the state.
• Panels of High Court judges interview candidates after the exam and select them for appointment.
• All judges of the lower judiciary up to the level of district judge are selected through the Provincial Civil Services (Judicial) exam. PCS(J) is commonly referred to as the judicial services exam.

JUDICIARY ON AIJS

• In 1992, the Supreme Court in All India Judges’ Assn. (1) v. Union of India directed the Centre to set up an AIJS. In a 1993 review of the judgment, however, the court left the Centre at liberty to take the initiative on the issue
• In 2017, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the issue of appointment of district judges, and mooted a “Central Selection Mechanism”.

OPPOSITION TO THE AIJS

• Affront to federalism and an encroachment on the powers of states granted by the Constitution.
• Language and representation, for example, are key concerns highlighted by states. Judicial business is conducted in regional languages, which could be affected by central recruitment.
• Also, reservations based on caste, and even for rural candidates or linguistic minorities in the state, could be diluted in a central test, it has been argued.
• A central test could give the executive a foot in the door for the appointment of district judges, and dilute the say that High Courts have in the process.
• Creation of AIJS will not address the structural issues plaguing the lower judiciary.
• The issue of different scales of pay and remuneration has been addressed by the Supreme Court in the 1993 All India Judges Association case by bringing in uniformity across states.

Flipkart, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Rural Development of the Government of India (MoRD), for their ambitious Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) program, to help empower local businesses and self-help groups (SHGs) – especially those that are led by women – by bringing them into the e-commerce fold.

ABOUT

• Launched by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India in June 2011
• As a restructured version of Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY).
• Aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms of the rural poor enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services.
• Renamed Deendayal Antayodaya Yojana (DAY-NRLM) in 2015
• Train 0.5 million people in urban areas per annum from 2016. In rural areas the objective is to train 1 million people by 2017.
• In urban areas, services like SHG promotion, training centres, vendors markets, and permanent shelters for homeless. The aim of the scheme is skill development of both rural and urban India as per requisite international standards.

India did not sign the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use

DETAILS

• Proposed by United Kingdom
• Why - “halt deforestation” and land degradation by 2030
• Why India opposed - “Trade” being interlinked to climate change and forest issues in the agreement.
• Declaration has over 105 signatories including the UK, US, Russia and China.
• Who has not signed - India, Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Africa

ANIMALS VULNERABLE TO ROADKILL

The leopard (Panthera pardus) faces an 83% increased risk of extinction in North India due to roadkill, according to a new international study that quantifies the threat posed by roads to the survival of animal populations around the world.

DETAILS

• The leopard population of North India is at highest risk among four animal populations identified as being the most vulnerable to extinction in the next 50 years if observed roadkill levels persist.
• It is followed by the maned wolf and the little spotted cat, both of Brazil, and the brown hyena of southern Africa.
• Other populations found highly vulnerable include the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus) and sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) in South India.
• Factors considered - population density, roadkill rates, sexual maturity age, litter size
• Study site covered Uttarakhand’s Rajaji National Park and Haridwar Conservation area
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recognises roadkill as a threat to 10 mammalian species

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Initiative called IRIS or Infrastructure for Resilient Island States, was formally launched by Prime Minister recently

Details

• What is it - “Data Window” for small island nations, generating and disseminating satellite data that will help these countries to strengthen their fences against climate disasters
• Created By – ISRO
• Part of the new India-backed international initiative that seeks to make critical infrastructure in the small island states resilient against all kinds of disasters.
• Through this mechanism, the small island states will get continuous information that will help them in monitoring cyclones, coral reefs, and coastlines
• First major programme under the Coalition of Disaster Resilience Infrastructure (CDRI), an international partnership launched by India two years ago to safeguard important infrastructure against the increasing frequency of climate disasters.

MAHITI FOR PRELIMS

Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

• Platform/ forum started by India in 2019
• To promote the Disaster resilience capacity of new and existing Infrastructure systems.
• Provides a platform for countries to access knowledge and resources from other members and contribute to build resilience capacity of each other’s Infrastructure.
• Partnership of National governments, UN agencies, Multilateral banks, private sector, knowledge institutions.

HISTORY – ART - CULTURE

National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur celebrates National Ayurveda Day 2021

DETAILS

• Dhanvantari Jayanti was preferred for celebration of Ayurveda Day
• Celebrated since 2016
• Theme of National Ayurveda Day 2021: ‘Ayurveda for Poshan’

WHO IS DHANVANTARI

• “Dhanus” denotes the science of surgeries and is only indicative. Thus, Dhanvantari is someone who has seen the end of it.
• Believe is the incarnation of Vishnu, who had come with that pot of nectar in his hand in the desert of worldly existence.
• Taught Ayurveda to Sushruta

• North Karnataka’s first dedicated domestic air cargo terminal started operations at Hubballi Airport recently
• Chief Minister of Delhi on Wednesday announced ‘Dilli Bazaar’, an e-marketplace, where every small and big entrepreneur from the Capital will have their own e-commerce store.
• Home Minister of India launched Ayushmaan CAPF scheme for the personnel of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) and their families. Under the scheme,CAPF personnel and their families will be able to avail cashless in-patient and out-patient healthcare facilities at all hospitals empanelled under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY or the Central Government Health Scheme.
• An ancient idol of Goddess Annapurna, brought back to India after over a century from Canada, would begin an over 800 km journey from Delhi on November 11 for its original location — the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
• The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India organized a Stakeholder Forum on the theme ‘Industry and One Health’ to celebrate the 6thInternational One Health Day today as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The day aims to highlight interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary engagements as well as multisectoral collaboration as aspects crucial to the implementation of the One Health concept.
• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA), a PSU under the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) today launched a ‘Whistle-blower Portal’, as a part of ‘Vigilance Awareness Week 2021’.