Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Pakistan allows special group of pilgrims for Nankana Sahib

News

• As part of the celebrations for the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, Pakistan allowed a special group of Indian pilgrims to enter the country.

Beyond News

• The group will begin the festivities that will ultimately lead to the main festival at the Gurudwara of Kartarpur Sahib where both India and Pakistan are building infrastructure for a peace corridor.
• The group of 500 pilgrims was granted visa as a special provision over the usual number of visas issued under the 1974 India-Pakistan Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974. The statement reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to celebrate the life of Guru Nanak coinciding with the anniversary
• India and Pakistan held the third round of formal talks on the religious corridor project. The corridor is expected to be ready by the end of October and will facilitate the expected large flow of pilgrims to Kartarpur, Nankana Sahib and other important pilgrimage centres.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Lok Sabha passes Consumer Protection Bill

News

• The Lok Sabha passed the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019, which promises to strengthen the rights of consumers and provides a mechanism for redressal of complaints regarding defects in goods and deficiency in services.

Beyond News

• The overall purpose of the legislation was to ease the process of addressing grievances of consumers.
• Apart from setting up of authorities for timely and effective administration and settlement of consumer disputes, the new bill also seeks to bring in e-commerce under their jurisdiction and hold celebrities accountable for false and misleading advertisements of products that they endorse.
• The Bill, replacing the earlier Consumer Protection Act, 1986, was passed after all the amendments moved by Opposition were negated.
• Apart from the consumer courts at the district, state and national level, the bill proposes a Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce consumer rights as a class and and protect them from unfair trade practices.

Lok Sabha passes Wage Code Bill to ensure minimum wage for workers

News

• Lok Sabha passed the Code on Wages Bill, 2019, which amends and consolidates laws relating to wages/bonus and universalises the provisions of minimum wages and timely payment of wages to all employees irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling.

Beyond News

• At present, the provisions of both Minimum Wages Act and Payment of Wages Act apply to workers below a particular wage ceiling working in Scheduled Employments only.
• This Bill would ensure Right to Sustenance for every worker and intends to increase the legislative protection of minimum wage from existing about 40% to 100% workforce.
• This Bill provides for monthly wage holders to get their salary on time and all sections of society which were outside the ambit of the minimum wages will now get the right to minimum wages.
• A release issued by the Ministry noted that the Code on Wages Bill, 2019, subsumes relevant provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976. After the enactment of the Bill, all these four Acts will get repealed.

Insurance scheme for cattle lost to tigers mooted

News

• The Union Environment Ministry and the Department of Livestock and Animal Husbandry are exploring a scheme to devise an insurance policy that will compensate people who lose their livestock to tigers.

Beyond News

• India declared that it had 2,967 tigers a 33% jump since the last tiger census in 2014 officials from several Ministries met on Tuesday to discuss ways to ensure that these gains were not lost.
• The growing tiger base, however, has also brought with it challenges of man-animal conflict, with reports of tigers preying on cattle and sometimes mauling humans who live in the vicinity of their habitat.
• Currently, there is no policy on compensating people for such cattle lost because tiger reserves are no-go areas, and people and cattle are not supposed to be present. However, in the larger interest of reducing man-animal conflict, we need to think of such measures.
• Another plan discussed was to improve water conservation in forests, along with the Jal Shakti Ministry.
• The nearly 6% annual increase in the tiger population could mean mean at least 3,400 tigers by the next survey, and therefore increasing pressure on its habitat and on the occurrence of man-animal conflict.
• Tiger occupancy has increased in the State of Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. Loss in North East is due to poor sampling. Madhya Pradesh has also registered a substantial increase in their tiger population and along with Karnataka ranks highest in tiger numbers. The poor and continuing decline in tiger status in the States of Chhattisgarh and Odisha is a matter of concern.

Parliament passes Companies (Amendment) Bill

News

• The parliament approved the Companies (Amendment) Bill which seeks to tighten Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms and ensure stricter action for non-compliance of the company law regulations.

Beyond News

• The government has brought in all the provisions of the ordinance and has also added new amendments in the Bill.
• A key change in the Bill pertains to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending, wherein companies would have to mandatorily keep unspent money in a special account.
• Under the Act, companies earning profit of over ₹ 5 crore, turnover of ₹ 100 crore or networth of more than ₹ 500 crore are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards CSR activities.
• The Bill empowers the Registrar of Companies (RoC) to initiate action for removal of the name of the company from Register of companies if it is not carrying on any business or operation in according with the company law.
• Among other things, the Bill also provides for re-categorisation of 16 minor offences as purely civil defaults and transferring of functions with regard to dealing with applications for change of financial year to Central government.
• It also provides for shifting of powers for conversion from public to private companies from NCLT to the central government, as well as more clarity with respect to certain powers of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).

Indian peacekeepers in Haiti win laurels for exemplary service, professionalism

News

• Indian peacekeepers, who supported the Haitian Police for over a decade and are departing from Haiti as the UN mission closes in October, have won laurels for their commendable service and for going beyond the call of duty to serve the people in the Caribbean country.

Beyond News

• The Indian Formed Police Unit (FPU), deployed with the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), consisted 140 personnel from Assam Rifles, India’s 184-year-old paramilitary force.
• Of the total 140 Indian peacekeepers, 126 officers left Haiti, following the closing of operations of the last Indian contingent in the Caribbean country.
• The remaining 14 Indian officers will depart on August 3, ending 11 years of continuous presence of Indian police on the Haitian territory in support of the Haitian National Police (HNP), since the arrival of their first contingent as part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in 2008.
• Between 2008 and 2019, a total of 3,260 Indian policemen served alongside Haitian police in interventions such as law enforcement, joint patrols, checkpoints and the escort of humanitarian aid convoys in areas affected by the natural disasters.
• India is the 4th largest contributor of military personnel and police to United Nations peacekeeping operations, with 6,322 officers deployed in various UN missions around the world as of June 30 this year.
• In total, India has provided more than 200,000 military personnel to UN peacekeeping operations over the past 70 years.
• The 140 police officers from the Indian FPU, were deployed in Port-au-Prince, is part of the gradual withdrawal of the last four formed police units from MINUJUSTH before October 15, 2019, the date set by the UN Security Council for the planned closure of the mission.
• This will put an end to 15 years of United Nations peacekeeping operations in Haiti. The Rwandan, Jordanian and Senegalese contingents will be the last formed police units to leave the territory.
• Starting from October 16, with a new configuration without the presence of peacekeepers on the ground, the United Nations will continue to support the implementation of the HNP Strategic Development Plan 2017-2021 through the technical and advisory support to the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH).
• The 140 Indian peacekeepers were awarded the United Nations medal in recognition of their work during a closing ceremony earlier this month in presence of the representatives of the Haitian National Police and those of the police component of MINUJUSTH.
• The Indian contingent provided books and other essential items to institutions such as the Enfant-Jesus of Prague orphanage in Port-au-Prince and donated about 70 units of blood on the occasion of Indian national holidays such as the Independence Day and the Republic Day.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

End-use norms for external commercial borrowings eased

News

• The RBI has decided to relax norms for end-use of funds raised via the external commercial borrowing (ECB) route by companies and non-banking finance companies, following feedback from various stakeholders.

Beyond News

• The central bank said the relaxation was for working capital requirements, general corporate purposes and repayment of rupee loans.
• Eligible borrowers will now be allowed to raise ECBs with a minimum average maturity period of 10 years for working capital purposes and general corporate purposes.
• ECBs with a minimum average maturity period of seven years can be availed by eligible borrowers for repayment of rupee loans, availed domestically for capital expenditure, as also by NBFCs for on-lending for the same purpose.
• For repayment of rupee loans availed domestically for purposes other than capital expenditure and for on-lending by NBFCs, the minimum average maturity period of the ECB is required to be 10 years.
• RBI has also decided to allow corporate borrowers to raise ECBs for repayment of rupee loans availed domestically for capex in manufacturing and infrastructure, if classified as SMA-2 (special mention account) or NPA, under any one-time settlement (OTS) with lenders.

Bengaluru, a hub for human trafficking

News

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, which last released the 2016 crime statistics, there were 1,100 cases of trafficking involving 2,712 victims and 3,921 persons were arrested between 2014 and 2016.

Beyond News

• Nearly a quarter of the victims were children, while an overwhelming 80% of victims were women, suggesting the existence of a well-entrenched inter-State prostitution racket.
• The drive, which is expected to be bolstered by the installation of face-recognition systems in two months, is expected to curb the inflow of trafficked children to the city.
• Among the most prevalent forms of trafficking is bonded labour. Since the inception of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act in 1976, over 66,281 persons have been rescued in Karnataka, show Ministry of Labour figures.
• The State continues to top the list in terms of bonded labour rescues. International Justice Mission (IJM), an NGO which assists the police in some rescues, notes that 1,091 out of 1,580 bonded labourers rescued between 2013 and 2019 had been victims of trafficking.
• In many cases, a well-oiled ring deploys touts to rope in the poor with promises of steady payment and employment in bigger cities. Once in the state, they are confined, often with the use of force, and paid negligible amounts for work.
• The NGO’s analysis of the trafficked victims show that 57.65% of all victims were from Odisha, followed by Tamil Nadu (8.2%) where victims are primarily Irulas and other Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste communities.
• The State uses multiple means on paper to fight trafficking: anti-human traffickingunits (AHTU) as well as the formation of a High Power Committee against Human Trafficking, which comprises heads of various departments and NGO members and meets once in six months.

All four tiger reserves in Tamil Nadu ranked ‘very good’

News

• All the four tiger reserves in Tamil Nadu have been ranked “very good” in the Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE) rating done for all the 50 tiger reserves in India.

Beyond News

• The proposal for the fifth tiger reserve, linking Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary in Theni district with Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary in Virudhunagar district, is awaiting the government’s approval.
• According to the Tiger Status Report released by the Prime Minister, sustained conservation efforts through continued “political will” have resulted in an increase in tiger numbers.
• While there was sufficient habitat to accommodate increasing tigers in India, much of this habitat required conservation investment so as to recover prey populations.
• Tiger habitat outside protected areas are vital for linking source populations but are extensively used by communities; conservation model that promotes tiger permeability of such habitats while simultaneously securing the livelihoods of local communities is the answer.
• According to the report, the south western ghats, of which the KMTR is part of, has shown improvement in the fourth cycle. Still, it has listed several weaknesses in every tiger reserve for the authorities to act on.
• In the KMTR, it has suggested making the core area inviolate and relocation of settlements in critical wildlife habitat through constant persuasion in a time-bound manner. At ATR, it has suggested acquiring private estates in Valparai plateau that are essential to provide vital corridors.
• The STR has bagged the award for highest increment of tigers in the last four years in the country. And the MEE report praises the young team of officers who show a lot of enthusiasm towards conservation.
• For the MTR, the MEE report has suggested relocation of villages in three phases on an urgent basis and bring the buffer area under the unified control of the field directorate. It has also suggested the State to consider Mukuruthy National Park as a satellite core of MTR. In all the four tiger reserves, the Centre’s report has asked the State government to fill up the vacancies in frontline staff.

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