Crime in India 2022

• As per the recent National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report on the crime situation in India, there was an increase in various types of crimes in 2022 compared to 2021.
• Kolkata for the 3rd consecutive year has been recognised as the safest city in India, it recorded the least number of cognisable offences per lakh population among other major cities in India.
• Delhi registered highest rate of crime against women in the country.
• Highest charge sheeting rate under IPC crimes are Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal.
• Offences against the State- It is reported in Jammu and Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Assam, and Nagaland.
• Crime against foreigners- Theft and rape, with most of the victims are from Asian continent followed by African countries.
• Male tend to be suicide victims than female.

PM JANMAN Scheme

• Launch- On Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas (Birth anniversary of Birsa Munda) in Jharkhand.
• Objective- To provide essential amenities (road connectivity, electricity, secure housing, clean drinking water, sanitation) and improved access to education, health, nutrition, sustainable livelihood opportunities.
• The government will showcase and spread awareness of various government schemes made for the tribals.
• The scheme will be implemented by 9 ministries with Ministry of Tribal Affairs playing the key role.
• Beneficiary- Government has identified 75 tribal communities and primitive tribes with a population of lakhs who reside in more than 22 thousand villages in the country.
• Focus- 11 critical interventions for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG).
• The scheme comprises both central sector and centrally sponsored schemes.
• Ayush Wellness Centres- It will be set up by the Ministry of AYUSH and AYUSH facilities will be extended to PVTG habitations through mobile medical units.
• Skill enhancement- Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will facilitate skill and vocational training in PVTG habitations, multipurpose centres and hostels according to suitable skills of these communities.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

• In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, who are less developed among the tribal groups.

• In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

Zero Coupon Zero Principle bonds

• Zero Coupon Zero Principle are financial instrument that are included in the list of securities under Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956.
• They do not give any interest, and investors will not get any money back on the maturity of the bond.
• Eligibility criteria for issuance – Only by the Non-Profit Organisations (NPO) that are registered with Social Stock Exchange (SSE).
• ZCZP can only be issued for a specific project with specific tenure.
• The project must fall under the list of eligible activities under SEBI (ICDR) Regulations, 2018.
• Issuance - They are issued through private placement or public issuance.
  • Minimum issue size – Rs. 50 Lakh (originally Rs.1 crore)
  • Minimum application size – Rs.10, 000 (originally Rs.2 lakh)
  • Minimum subscription required - 75% of the funds proposed
• Trade – They shall be issued in dematerialized form only.
• They are not available for trading in the secondary market, but they can be transferred to legal heirs.
• Maturity – It will mature when the project for which they are raised terminate, or 12 months from the date of allotment.

Unnati ZCZP Bonds

• Issuer – SGBS Unnati Foundation, an NPO formed in November 2011.
  • Unnati – Vocational training program for underprivileged and unemployed youth in the age group of 18 to 25 years.
  • UNXT – 1 month training programme for final year students at government colleges.
  • Sugam – A grassroot entrepreneurship accelerator helping non-urban youth to develop scalable businesses.

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations

• It is a legal structure that operates without centralized control and is governed by smart contracts and the consensus of its members.
• Decision making- It uses blockchain technology and smart contract to take decisions in a bottom-up management approach.
• Community driven-It is represented by rules encoded as a computer program that is transparent, controlled by the respective organization members, and not influenced by a government.
• Smart contracts- It executes predefined rules without the need for intermediaries, ensuring trust through code rather than traditional authorities.
• Enhanced cooperation- They enable global, borderless cooperation on an unprecedented scale.
• Constructive engagement-Participants, often referred to as token holders, can propose and vote on decisions related to the organization's goals and resources.
• Self-executing systems- This decentralized decision-making process ensures that no single entity holds undue influence.

Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967

• Aim- To prevent and punish unlawful and terrorist activities that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
• Definition- The Act defines unlawful activities as any action that
  • supports, propagates, or advocates secession from India,
  • disclaims or questions the territorial integrity of India,
  • causes or intends to cause disaffection against India,
  • supports any terrorist organization or individual
• Declaration of unlawful associations - The Act empowers the Central government to declare any organisation or individual as unlawful.
• Tribunal- The declaration is subject to judicial review by a tribunal constituted by a sitting or retired judge of a High Court.
• Punishment -
  • Unlawful activity- Imprisonment ranging from 5 years to life, and fine.
  • Terrorist activity- Death penalty or imprisonment for life, and fine
• National Investigation Agency (NIA)- It is authorized to investigate any offence under the Act, and to arrest any person who is reasonably suspected of having committed such offence.
• It also provides for the attachment and forfeiture of any property that is derived from, or used for, any unlawful or terrorist activity by NIA.
• Special courts- It is established by the Central or State government to try any offence under the Act.
• Appeal and revision of the judgments of the special courts - by the High Court and the Supreme Court.
• The act permits keeping a person in prison for upto 180 days (6 months), without even filing a charge sheet.

Governor’s role as Chancellor

Recently, a Supreme Court bench reiterated that the governor acting as Chancellor are not bound by the aid and advice of Council of Ministers.

• In most cases, the Governor of the state is the ex-officio chancellor of the universities in that state.
• Powers of Chancellor – He is the Head of the University, and vested with power to
  • Appoint the Vice-Chancellors.
  • Annul decisions of the various university bodies.
  • Conduct inspections in the university in some states (such as Bihar, Gujarat, and Jharkhand).
  • Preside over the convocation of the university, and confirms proposals for conferring honorary degrees.
• Supreme Court’s ruling – Governor as a chancellor are not bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers and shall act only on his personal capacity.
• The powers as a Chancellor have no relation to the exercise of the powers and duties as the State Governor.
• Central Universities – Under the Central Universities Act, 2009, and other statutes, the President of India shall be the Visitor of a central university who presides over convocations.
•  Chancellors in central universities – They are titular heads, who are appointed by the President in his capacity as Visitor.
• The Vice Chancellor too are appointed by the Visitor.
• The Act adds that the President, as Visitor, shall have the right to authorise inspections of academic and non-academic aspects of the universities and also to institute inquiries.
• Education comes under Concurrent List, but entry 66 of the Union List gives the Centre substantial authority over higher education.

Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI (YUVAi)

• It is a national program that aims to teach AI skills to school students in grades 8–12.
• Collaboration between – National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and Intel.

Bhoomi Rashi Portal

• An initiative of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

• Aim – It is a single point platform for online processing of land acquisition notifications to accelerate highway infrastructure development projects in India.

Gram Manchitra

• It is a Geographic Information System application
• Launched by – Ministry of Panchayati Raj
• Aim – To encourage the Spatial Planning by the Gram Panchayat.
• It uses the National Informatics Centre's (NIC) Geographic Information System (GIS) platform of Bharat Maps.

e-Jagriti Portal

• An initiative of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.

• Aim –To revolutionize the landscape of dispute resolution and grievance redressal.
• It will help reduce the number of pending cases in consumer courts.

Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP)

• It is a program by the Election Commission of India to educate voters, spread awareness, and promote voter literacy since 2009.
• It is working towards preparing India’s electors and equipping them with basic knowledge related to the electoral process.
• Primary goal – To build a truly participative democracy in India by encouraging all eligible citizens to vote and make an informed decision during the elections.
• To build a stronger democracy through greater synergy with Civil Society Organisations, Media and Corporate Houses and even greater queries, suggestions, and participation from individuals.

ENCORE

• The Election Commission of India has designed in-house software for complete Candidate and election management through a software called ENCORE.
• ENCORE stands for Enabling Communications on Real-time Environment.
• This provides a seamless facility for Returning Officer to process candidate nomination, affidavit, Voter turnout, counting, results and data management. 

cVIGIL (Citizen Vigilance)

• It is a mobile application designed by the Election Commission of India.
• It provides opportunity to report election code violations directly by citizens.
• It is widely available, easy to use, generates legally tenable and prosecutable information to administrators.

Akkadi Saalu

The recently released report by the FAO suggests that use of traditional framing practices including Akkadi Saalu could reduce the escalating human and environmental costs of producing food.

• It is an intercropping system that has been in traditional practice in Karnataka.
• It helps to preserve life in the soil by reducing the use of pesticides.
• It is a traditional, biodiversity based ecological farming practice with zero chemical fertilisers & pesticides and minimal use of ground water.
• It involves intercropping with a combination of legumes, pulses, oilseeds, trees, shrubs and livestock that improves the health of the soil.
• Lantana – It is a heavily branched shrub that can grow as compact clumps, dense thickets and as a climbing vine.
• It is an invasive species that is not native to India, and was introduced in the country as an ornamental plant by the British.
• Basadis and Nishidis – It refers to Jain shrine or temple.
• Moodbidri town in Karnataka is known as ‘Jain Kashi’ which is home to Jain temples.
• Bhattarakas – They are the Heads of Digambara Jain institutions.

Noma

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has added noma to its official list of neglected tropical diseases (NTD).

• It is a severe gangrenous disease of the mouth and face, which is also known as cancrum oris or gangrenous stomatitis.
• It is called as ‘Face of poverty’ as effective drugs like sulfonamides and penicillin and adequate surgical treatment remain inaccessible for many.
• Guinea Worm Disease – Also known as Dracunculiasis is an infection caused by the parasite Dracunculus medinensis.
• It is considered as a neglected tropical disease (NTD) and it is the 1st parasitic disease targeted for eradication.
• It is primarily a human disease but in recent years, it has been identified in the animals, particularly dogs.
• A few days to hours before the worm come out of the skin, the person may develop a fever, swelling, and pain in the area.
• Snakebite Envenoming – A potentially life-threatening disease following the bite of a venomous snake.
• WHO formally lists the snakebite envenoming as a highest priority Neglected Tropical Disease in 2017.

Synthesis (Syn) gas

• A combustible mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, often containing carbon dioxide and methane.
• It is derived from carbon-containing feedstocks like biomass, natural gas, heavy oil, and coal.
• It is primarily produced by coal gasification, wherein oxygen and steam react with coal.
• Uses – In producing methanol or ammonia, and can also be used as a fuel.
• India have launched the scheme for promotion of Coal/Lignite Gasification Projects that is targeting to gasify 100 million tonnes (MT) of coal by 2030.

Kudankulam Plant

• It is located in Tamil Nadu.

• Developed by – Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL)
• It is built with the technical assistance of Russia.
• The construction began in 2002 and is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027.
• It is India's largest nuclear power plant.

Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP-4)

• The 4th unit of the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP-4) started controlled fission chain reaction and thus became critical recently.
• It is a nuclear power plant situated in Gujarat.
• It is the 2nd of 16 indigenous Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR) of 700 MW.
• Operated by – NPCIL.

WHO Global TB Report, 2022

Recently the WHO Global TB Report, 2022 was released which indicates that globally, the estimated number of deaths from TB increased between 2019 and 2021.

• Tuberculosis (TB) is a communicable disease that is a major cause of ill health and one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
• TB is caused by the bacillus Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is spread when people who are sick with TB expel bacteria into the air (e.g. by coughing).
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has published a global TB report every year since 1997.
• It is annual report that is done in the context of global TB commitments, strategies and targets.
• Key findings – In 2022, 202 countries and territories with more than 99% of the world’s population and TB cases reported data.
• India, Indonesia and the Philippines, which collectively accounted for nearly 60% of the reduction in the number of people newly diagnosed with TB in 2020 and 2021.
• TB remains the world’s 2nd leading cause of death from a single infectious agent, and global TB targets either have been missed or remain off track.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has a Global Tuberculosis (TB) strategy called End TB, which aims to end the TB epidemic globally by 2030.
• Government of India has set the target of eradicating TB by the year 2025.

Diel Vertical Migration (DVM)

• It is the daily, synchronized movement of marine animals between the surface and deep layers of the open ocean.
• It is also known as diurnal vertical migration.
• This type of migration is the largest animal migration on the planet and is undertaken every single day by trillions of animals in every ocean.
• This type of migration is followed by deep-sea marine animal especially tiny free-floating zooplanktons.
• It is more than a survival strategy that plays a pivotal role in carbon sequestration.
• The timing of this migration is tuned to the natural rhythms of sunrise and sunset.

Paat-Mitro

In the recently held ‘Jute Symposium’, the ministry of textiles launched ‘Paat-Mitro’ that provides important information about Minimum Support Price (MSP) and agronomy to jute farmers.

• The mobile application is developed by the Jute Corporation of India Limited (JCI).
• It will also feature information on jute gradation parameters, farmer-centric schemes like ‘Jute-ICARE’, weather forecasts and procurement policies.
• The app helps farmers to track status of their payments for the raw jute sold to JCI under MSP Operation.
• Jute Corporation of India Limited (JCI) – It was incorporated in 1971 as a price support agency with a clear mandate for the procurement of raw jute.
• The procurement is done without any quantitative limit from the growers at MSP, which is based on the recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Cost & Prices (CACP).
• It is the sole implementing agency of the jute I-CARE project.

Srimukhalingam Temple

ASI assures to send note to UNESCO over inclusion of Srimukhalingam temple in Andhra Pradesh in world heritage structures’ list.

• Sri Mukha Lingam Shiva temple is very old temple where Shiva lingam is appeared as Mukha (Face) Avatar.
• It was constructed during the 8th century by Kamarnava-II when the region was under the control of the East Ganga Dynasty.
• Trinity – Srimukhalingam temple houses 3 ancient temples at one location - Madhukeswara, Someswara and Bheemeswara Temples.
• The temple is popularly known as Dakshina Kaasi (Varanasi of South India).
• Architecture – Similar to Lingaraja temple located in Bhubaneswar of Odisha.
• Location – The temple is located on the banks of River Vamsadhara, which was the capital of Kalinga Ganga Kings for over 600 years.
• There has been a long-standing request to add the temple to the UNESCO Heritage List.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

• These are the sites are designated as having outstanding universal value under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
• It was adopted by UNESCO in 1972 and formally took effect in 1975.
• The list of WHS is maintained by the International World Heritage Programme, administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
• The three types of sites are Cultural, Natural, and Mixed.

Bab-el-Mandeb

• It is a strait that separates the Arabian Peninsula from East Africa and is just 29-km wide at its narrowest point.
• Throughout 19th and until mid-20th century, Britain protected it through the island of Perim (Mayyum) in the Strait but in 1990, it came under the control of Sana’a, the capital of the united country of Yemen.
• As Houthis captured Sana’a in 2015, they pose a greater threat due to their close proximity to Bab el-Mandeb strait.                           

Panama Canal

• It is a lock-type canal, owned and administered by the Republic of Panama.
• Lock-type canal is a system in which an enclosure or basin located in the course of a canal or a river (or in the vicinity of a dock) with gates at each end, within which the water level may be varied to raise or lower boats.
• The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the narrow Isthmus of Panama.
• From its opening in 1914 until 1979, the Panama Canal was controlled solely by the United States, which built it.
• In 1979, however, control of the canal passed to the Panama Canal Commission, a joint agency of the United States and the Republic of Panama, and complete control passed to Panama in 1999.                             

Taiwan Strait

• The Taiwan Strait is also known as the Formosa Strait that separates mainland China and the island of Taiwan.
• The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north.

Global Drought Snapshot Report

• Recently the Global Drought Snapshot Report was launched at the COP 28 by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in collaboration with the International Drought Resilience Alliance (IDRA).
• The Global Drought Snapshot Report highlights the need for urgent action to address the increasing frequency and severity of droughts.
• Some of the human activities that can trigger droughts include are over farming, Excessive irrigation, Deforestation and Erosion.
• Some climate patterns that can cause droughts include El Nino and La Nina.
• Key highlights of the report – The drought emergency was declared in 23 countries including India.
• The Europe had the highest number of countries (8) in drought emergencies that include Spain, Italy, United Kingdom Greece, Portugal, Romania and Serbia.
• Humans are responsible for all global heating over the past 200 years leading to a current temperature rise of 1.1°C above pre-industrial levels.
• The Horn of Africa faced its worst drought in 40 years, with Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia particularly hard hit.

Tax Inspectors without Borders (TIWB) Initiative

• It aims to transfer technical know-how and skills to developing countries’ tax auditors and share general audit practices.
• It is a joint initiative of United Nations Development Programme and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
• The host administrations of developing countries are the lead partners in TIWB programmes, clearly specifying their needs and scope of work.
• The 7th TIWB programme is held at Saint Lucia, an island country of the West Indies with India being chosen as the Partner Administration and will provide Tax Experts for this programme.
• The focus of the programme will be on effective use of automatic exchange of information under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) framework.
• The partnership by the member countries is voluntary in nature.