ART AND CULTURE                                                                         

1. Sattriya on centre-stage                                                                   

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE                                                        

1. Rajya Sabha discusses Bill to scrap poll spend limit                           

2. Vice President calls for making ‘Fit India’ a mass movement               

ECONOMY                                                                                          

1. Govt asks e-commerce firms to file FDI compliance report annually    

2. Special court declares Nirav Modi fugitive economic offender             

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY                                                  

1. ISRO’s Space Technology Cells                                                      

SECURITY                                                                                          

1. Armed Forces Flag Day                                                                  

2. Blue Water Force                                                                           

ART AND CULTURE

Sattriya on centre-stage

GS PAPER - 01 ART AND CULTURE - Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context :

• Dance historian Dr. Sunil Kothari has recently been bestowed with the Madhabdev Award by the Government of Assam for popularising Sattriya dance.

Sattriya dance :

• Sattriya originated in Sattra, monastery, as a part of neo-Vaishnavite movement started by Srimanta Sankardev in Assam, in the 15th Century.

  • He propagated the “ek sharan naama dharma” (chanting the name of one God devotedly).

•  Sattriya was given the status of a classical dance in the year 2000 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

• Key Features :

  • Sattriya dances are devotional in nature as they were intended for propagation of neo-Vaishnavism.

  • Its highlights are intense emotional fervour, and in its solo avatar now dramatic abhinaya is prominent in contrast to nritta, pure dance

  • The dance was formerly performed by celibate monks and female roles were also enacted by them.

  • Sattriya dances differ from other dance forms in its basic stance. For male it is known as Purush Pak while for female, Prakriti Pak.

    • The dance is based on mythological themes.

  • They have special mnemonic bols, typical Assamese music known as Borgeet, musical instruments like large cymbals, drums, colourful costumes, besides complicated choreographic patterns using various talas for each stanza sung by the vocalist.

  • Corpus of Sattriya dances consists of ankiya bhaona and also Ojapali dances in which the main singer sings and enacts abhinaya, telling stories and a group of dancers dance as back up dancers playing small cymbals.

•  Popular Artists

  • Guru Jatin Goswami and Sharodi Saikia among others.

                                                                                                                     Source :- The Hindu

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

Rajya Sabha discusses Bill to scrap poll spend limit

GS PAPER - 02 POLITY - Salient features of the Representation of People's Act.

Context :

• The Rajya Sabha discussed private members’ Bills to do away with the cap on election spending by candidates.

More about Proposed Bill :

• The Bill has been introduced on the ground that the ceiling on election expenses ends up being counterproductive and encourages candidates to under-report their expenditure.

• Also, the ceiling currently prescribed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) is meant for legitimate expenditure. A lot of money in elections is being spent for illegitimate purposes.

Current Scenario :

• At present, under Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961, a candidate contesting Lok Sabha polls can spend up to Rs 70 lakh and up to Rs 28 lakh in an assembly election depending on the state in which s/he is contesting polls.

• Under Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, every candidate shall keep a separate and correct account of all expenditure incurred between the date on which he has been nominated and the date of declaration of the result.

• All candidates are required to submit their expenditure statement to the ECI within 30 days of the completion of the elections.

• An incorrect account or expenditure beyond the cap can lead to disqualification of the candidate by the ECI for up to three years, under Section 10A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

• It can be noted that there is no cap on a political party’s expenditure, which is often exploited by candidates of the party. However, all registered political parties have to submit a statement of their election expenditure to the ECI within 90 days of the completion of the elections.

                                                                                                                       Source :- The Hindu

Vice President calls for making ‘Fit India’ a mass movement

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Context :

• The Vice President of India, called upon people to cultivate one hobby or sports or yoga to stay healthy and fit.

• The Vice President called upon everyone to actively participate in the ‘Fit India’ movement       

 ‘Fit India’ movement :

• The Fit India Movement aims to encourage Indians to include fitness activities and sports in their daily lives to pave way for a healthy and fit lifestyle.

• The Prime Minister during his speech on Fit India said that fitness is not just a word but a way to lead a healthy life.

• The Prime Minister observed that the root cause of most lifestyle diseases are lifestyle disorders and there are many diseases that can be overcome by making small changes in our lifestyle

• Lifestyle diseases like diabetes and hypertension are increasing in India. Hence, the Prime Minister said that Fit India should be seen as a household movement, a daily routine.

• The movement is not just central government’s but of all state governments, panchayats and local bodies

                                                                                                                               Source ;- PIB

ECONOMY

Govt asks e-commerce firms to file FDI compliance report annually

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY -  Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• The government has issued new rules that makes it compulsory for e-commerce companies with foreign investments to submit an audit report every year.

New Rules :

• The rules will be applicable on E-commerce companies with foreign investments such as Amazon, Flipkart among others.

• These companies have to submit a report prepared by statutory auditors, by September 30 every year.

• They have to show that they have been in compliance with the foreign direct investment(FDI) rules for the e-commerce sector.

• Until now, it was only a norm specified by the Centre. This has now been formalised and included in the amended Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019

  • Section 15 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) deals with e-commerce entities.

FDI Rules for E-commerce companies:

• In 2018,Government of India had announced the FDI rules for ecommerce companies which were:

  • If an entity is owned by an e-commerce marketplace(ECM),it cannot sell its products on the platform run by the same ECM

  • A single vendor can’t account for more than 25% of sales in an ECM or platform and

  • The rules puts curbs on exclusive partnerships with brands or providing favorable services to a few vendors.

                                                                                                 Source :- The Hindu ; Economic Times

Special court declares Nirav Modi fugitive economic offender

GS PAPER  - 03 ECONOMY - money-laundering and its prevention.

Context :

• A special court   Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) declared diamond businessman Nirav Modi, the key accused in the $2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, a fugitive economic offender, on a plea of the Enforcement Directorate.

More in the news :

• Nirav Modi was arrested in London in March this year and his extradition process is pending.

• In July 2018, the central agency filed an application under the newly-promulgated FEO Act to declare him a fugitive economic offender.

• Nirav modi is the second businessman, after liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, to be declared a fugitive economic offender under provisions of the Fugitive Economic Offenders (FEO) Act, which came into existence in August last year.          

                                                                                                                                                      Source :- Economic Times

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

ISRO’s Space Technology Cells

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology

Context :

• The Indian Space Research Organization has decided to set up five Space Technology Cells at the premier institutes in order to carry out research activities.

Space Technology Cells:

• The Space Technology cells are being established under the RESPOND Programme.

• The Technology cells will consist of professors and scholars associated with the institute.

• Under the programme,the experts will conduct space technology research and applications.

• Currently,the ISRO has already set up Space Technology Cells(STC) at premier institutions like IIT Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Madras, IISc ,Bengaluru and Joint Research Programme with Savitribai Phule Pune University(SPPU).

                                                                                                                    Source :- The Hindu

SECURITY

Armed Forces Flag Day

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate

Context :

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has saluted the soldiers of Armed Forces and their families on Armed Forces Flag Day.

Armed Forces Flag Day :

• On 7 December 1949, the country observed the first Armed Forces Flag Day in honour of the martyrs and the men in uniform who fought for the safety and honour of the country.

  • Since then, the Armed Forced Flag Day has been an annual affair in India.

• The main purpose behind this celebration was to give the civilian population a chance to directly contribute to the welfare of the armed forces personnel. On this day, the general population would be distributed small flags in return for their monetary contributions that would go into the welfare of India’s army, navy, air force personnel.

• The idea behind this day’s observance is that it is the civilian population’s responsibility to take care of the families and dependents of the armed forces, who sacrifice so much for the welfare and safety of the whole country.

• This is an entirely voluntary contribution towards providing care, rehabilitation, support and financial help to the disabled, non-pensioner, old and infirm ex-servicemen and their families, war widows and orphaned children.

• The Armed Forces Flag Day Fund (AFFDF) is administered by the Kendriya Sainik Board. The Fund is headed by the Defence Minister at the Centre and by the Governors or Lieutenant Governors at the Sate or Union Territory level.

• The Flag Day is mainly observed to serve three basic purposes

  • Rehabilitation of battle casualties

  • Welfare of serving personnel and their families

  • Resettlement and welfare of ex-servicemen and their families

• On this day, the three branches of the Indian armed forces namely, the army, the navy and the air force conduct shows, carnivals and other entertainment programmes for the public to spread awareness about their work. Small flags of the three services are distributed all over the country.

                                                                                                                                                                  Source :- PIB

Blue Water Force

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate

Context :

• On December 4, Navy Day,Indian Defence minister has said that the Indian Navy is the Formidable Blue Water Force.

Classification of Naval Force :

• Brown Water Force:

  • A navy whose operations are restricted close to the shore where the water is muddy

• Blue Water Force :

  • A navy that can go farther out is called a Green Water Force

            Blue Water Navy :

• According to the Indian Maritime Doctrine, 2015, “The ability to undertake distant operations distinguishes a blue-water navy from a brown-water force.

  • A Blue Water force is one that has the capacity to project itself over a much bigger maritime area than its maritime borders.It means that the navy can go into the vast, deep oceans of the world.

• However,while most navies have the capacity to send ships into the deep oceans,a Blue Water Force is able to carry out operations far from its borders without being required to return to its home port to refuel or re-stock.

• Since,the Indian Navy has the capacity to carry distant operations at or from the sea up to considerable distance from national shore bases,it qualifies as a Blue Water Force.

                                                                                                      Source :- Indian Express

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