UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 24-12-2020
iasparliament
December 26, 2020
India Workplace Equality Index
This index is India’s first comprehensive benchmarking tool for employers to measure their progress on LGBT+ inclusion at workplace.
Non-profit Keshav Suri Foundation has partnered with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Pride Circle and Stonewall UK, to bring the IWEI to India Inc.
The index measures nine areas: policies and benefits, employee lifecycle, employee network group, allies and role models, senior leadership, monitoring, procurement, community engagement and additional work.
There are three categories of IWEI: Gold, silver and bronze categories.
The IWEI comes two years after the Supreme Court’s landmark reading down of Section 377.
Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation
This award is given by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Sunder Nursery has become Delhi’s first heritage complex to receive two of these awards for Cultural Heritage Conversation.
It has bagged the Award of Excellence and the inaugural Special Recognition for Sustainable Development.
The 90-acre Sunder Nursery is the park set amid historical structures at Nizamuddin, Delhi.
It has 20 heritage monuments and landscaped environs, including a 30-acre biodiversity zone.
UNESCO’s jury said the park sets a new bar for heritage conservation.
It was awarded Special Recognition for Sustainable Development for its transformative impact in turning a barren site into an urban oasis in the heart of New Delhi.
Rahim Khan’s Tomb
This tomb is opened to the public after six years of restoration work.
Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khanan, commander-in-chief of Akbar’s army and poet, built a tomb in Delhi in memory of his wife Mah Banu.
It was the first Mughal tomb built for a woman, five decades before the Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan.
Rahim’s tomb was an inspiration to the architecture of the Taj.
Just like his dohas, Rahim used Hindu motifs on the mausoleum.
Rahim’s persona as a hydraulic engineer, who built the Burhanpur water supply system, was demonstrated here with a fountain that lifted water over 20 feet high from a pool on the sandstone terrace of the tomb.
But, in the 18th-19th centuries, stones from this tomb were plundered to build monuments elsewhere in the city, such as the Safdarjung Tomb.
This had left the structure at a risk of collapse, which was the reason why conservation steps were taken.
Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020
Union Government for the first time lays down rights to the electricity consumers through Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020.
Every distribution licensee must supply electricity on request made by an owner or occupier of any premises in line with the provisions of Act.
The consumers would get electricity connection in prescribed timeline - 7 days in Metro cities, 15 days in other cities and 30 days in rural areas.
No connection shall be given without a meter.
Wilful disregard to consumer rights would result in levying penalties on service providers.
Consumers could apply for new electricity connection and pay bills online. Provision for advance payment of bills has also been made.
Distribution licensee shall establish a centralised 24x7 toll-free call centre for consumer services.
Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF) established would include consumer and prosumer representatives.
Firefly Bird Diverters
Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) India has installed firefly bird diverters to conserve Great Indian Bustard (GIB) populations found in the wild.
The selected stretch is opposite the Pokhran Field Firing Range, which offers a safe habitat to a breeding population of GIBs outside the Desert National Park Sanctuary in Jaisalmer.
Firefly bird diverters are flaps installed on power lines that work as reflectors for bird species.
Birds can spot them from a distance of about 50 meters and change their path of flight to avoid collision with power lines.
This diverter model has been endorsed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s (SSC) Bustard Specialist Group.
