ART AND CULTURE                                                                           

1. Union Home minister inaugurates the National Tribal Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ 

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE                                                             

1. Landmark 250th session of Rajya Sabha                                                           

2. Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde takes oath as next CJI                                        

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS                                                          

1. 6thASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)                               

ECONOMY                                                                                             

1. Initial draft industrial policy targets $1 trillion gross value addition in manufacturing by 2025                                                                                       

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY                                                      

1. National Agrochemicals Congress concludes                                                    

SECURITY                                                                                             

1. DRDO successfully conducts Agni II missile Successfully.                                

ART AND CULTURE

Union Home minister inaugurates the National Tribal Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’

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 :

• Union Minister for Home Affairs has inaugurated the National Tribal Festival ‘Aadi Mahotsav’ in New Delhi.

Aadi Mahotsav:

• Aadi Mahotsav is a National Tribal Festival.It is a joint initiative of Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India(TRIFED).

• The objective of the festival is to celebrate, cherish and promote the spirit of tribal craft, culture, cuisine and commerce.

• The theme of this year’s festival is “A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and Commerce”.

• For the first time, the Aadi Mahotsav is showcasing a wide range of products from the tribal artisans from Leh in Ladakh.

Significance of the festival:

• This platform is helping the tribal artisans, their handicrafts, culture, traditions and food to showcase them in front of the world.

• The platform not only proves to be a vital source of employment to lakhs of tribals but also gives them recognition and instills a sense of pride and worthiness in them.

• The festival is also an effort to take tribal commerce to the next level of digital and electronic transactions.

                                                                                                                                 Source :- PIB

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

Landmark 250th session of Rajya Sabha

GS PAPER - 02 POLITY  - Parliament and State Legislatures - structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Context :

• Landmark 250th session of the Rajya Sabha in November 2019.

Key facts and details - Rajya Sabha :

• Passed 3,817 bills in the last 67 years.

• Held 5,466 sittings so far – since its first sitting in May 1952.

• Total of 2,282 members so far.

• 208 women members and 137 nominated women members – double from 15 in 1952 to 31 in 2014.

• Casting vote by the Chair: The first and the only time when a Presiding Officer of Rajya Sabha cast his vote was when the Panel Chairman Shri M.A. Baby did so in 1991. Voting was on the Statutory Resolution moved by the opposition seeking disapproval of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance resulting in the victory of the opposition in the House.

• President’s Rule approved only by Rajya Sabha: It happened only twice in respect of extension of President’s Rule in Tamil Nadu and Nagaland in 1977 and in the case of Haryana in 1991 when Lok Sabha was dissolved.

• Removal of a Judge: The only time Rajya Sabha adopted a motion for removal of a Judge was in respect of Justice Soumitra Sen of Calcutta High Court in 2011 but he resigned before the motion was taken up in the Lok Sabha.

• Members have been expelled, suspended for the remainder of the session, and reprimanded for various reasons during various times.

• First Bill passed: The Indian Tariff (Second Amendment) Bill, 1952.

• First Bill concerning social change: The Special Marriages Bill, 1952.

• First Constitution Amendment Bill passed by Rajya Sabha: The Constitution (Second Amendment) Bill, 1953 for readjustment of representation in Lok Sabha by increasing the size of population per constituency.

• First Bill on reorganization of States: The Andhra State Bill, 1953.

                                                                                                                                                        Source :- PIB

Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde takes oath as next CJI

GS PAPER - 02 POLITY - Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

Context :

• Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde has taken oath as the 47th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by the President.

Chief Justice of India:

• The chief justice of India(CJI) is the head of the judiciary of India and the Supreme Court of India.The CJI also heads their administrative functions.

• As head of the supreme court,the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law.

• On the administrative side,the chief justice carries out the following functions

  • maintenance of the roster

  • appointment of court officials and

  • general and miscellaneous matters relating to the supervision and functioning of the Supreme Court.

Constitution on the appointment of CJI:

• The Constitution of India does not have any provision for criteria and procedure for appointing the CJI.

• Article 124(1) of the Indian Constitution says there shall be a Supreme Court of India consisting of a Chief Justice of India.

• The closest mention is in Article 126 which deals with the appointment of an acting CJI.In the absence of a constitutional provision,the procedure relies on custom and convention.

Procedure for appointing CJI :

            The procedure to appoint the next CJI is laid out in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) between the government and the judiciary:

• The procedure is initiated by the Law Minister seeking recommendation of the outgoing CJI at the appropriate time which is near to the date of retirement of the incumbent CJI.

• The CJI sends his recommendation to the Law Ministry and in the case of any qualms,the CJI can consult the collegium regarding the fitness of a SC judge to be elevated to the post.

• After receiving recommendations from the CJI,the law minister forwards it to the Prime Minister who then advises the President on the same.

• The President administers the oath of office to the new CJI.

                                                                                                                              Source :- Hindu

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

6thASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus)

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

• The Defence Minister holds various bilateral meetings on the sidelines of ADMM-Plus in Bangkok.

More in the news :

• The Defence Minister is in Bangkok to attend the 6th ADMM-Plus.

• He held bilateral meetings with the US Secretary of Defence, the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, the Defence Minister of Japan, the Defence Minister of Australia and the Defence Minister of New Zealand.

• Defence ministers of 18 countries are taking part in the ADMM.

ADMM  -Plus:

• The ADMM-Plus is a platform for ASEAN and its eight Dialogue Partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region.

• The inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, in 2010.

• The Defence Ministers then agreed on five areas of practical cooperation to pursue under this new mechanism, namely maritime security, counter-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping operations and military medicine.

• To facilitate cooperation in these areas, Experts’ Working Groups (EWGs) were established.

• ADMM-Plus Countries:

  • The ten ASEAN members:

    • Thailand

    • The Philippines

    • Malaysia

    • Singapore

    • Indonesia

    • Brunei

    • Viet Nam

    • Lao PDR

    • Myanmar

    • Cambodia

  • Eight Plus Countries:

    • Australia

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • New Zealand

    • Republic of Korea

    • Russian Federation

    • The United States

ADMM-Plus Objectives:

• To benefit ASEAN member countries in building capacity to address shared security challenges, while cognisant of the differing capacities of various ASEAN countries.

• To promote mutual trust and confidence between defence establishments through greater dialogue and transparency.

• To enhance regional peace and stability through cooperation in defence and security, in view of the transnational security challenges the region faces.

• To contribute to the realisation of an ASEAN Security Community which, as stipulated in the Bali Concord II, embodies ASEAN’s aspiration to achieve peace, stability, democracy and prosperity in the region where ASEAN member countries live at peace with one another and with the world at large.

• To facilitate the implementation of the Vientiane Action Programme, that calls for ASEAN to build a peaceful, secure and prosperous ASEAN, and to adopt greater outward-looking external relation strategies with their friends and Dialogue Partners.

                                                                                                                                                                   Source :- PIB

ECONOMY

Initial draft industrial policy targets $1 trillion gross value addition in manufacturing by 2025

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

Context :

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) has released the initial draft industrial policy.

Background :

• This will be the third industrial policy after the first in 1956 and the second in 1991.

• The new industrial policy will replace the industrial policy of 1991 which was prepared in the backdrop of the balance of payment crisis.

• The policy was prepared with an aim to create jobs for the next two decades , to promote foreign technology transfer and to attract $100 billion foreign investment annually.

Key Features of the Proposed Draft Policy :

• The policy targets $1 trillion gross value addition in the manufacturing sector by 2025.

• The policy envisages setting up business enterprises which are globally competitive and can create gainful employment and sustainable livelihoods.

• It also involves creating industry that is equipped with innovation, technology, financially viable and environment friendly and whose benefits are shared by all sections of the society.

• The policy has also proposed a detailed implementation mechanism of the policy under which it has suggested setting up of a national industrial competitiveness council and a steering committee.

• The policy would also work in tandem with the Skill India Mission to improve the employability of future workforce and with the foreign trade policy to enhance India’s share in global merchandise exports.

• It would also enable harmonious implementation of macro fiscal and monetary policies and ensure that incentive regime for industry is competitive.

• Further, it will work to revive investments into industry and manufacturing with a balanced focus on both quantity and quality of investments.

                                                                                                                       Source :- Economic Times ; The Hindu

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

National Agrochemicals Congress concludes

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• Recently, the National Agro Chemical Congress concludes with recommendations for safe and judicious pesticide use in the country.

National Agro Chemical Congress:

• The Congress is being conducted by Society of Pesticide Science India, Division of Agricultural Chemicals,ICAR-IARI.

• The theme of the congress was “Country’s Status on various fronts of Agro chemicals”.

• This was the first ever National Agrochemicals Congress and this will now be conducted once every three years.

• The aim of the congress was to highlight the role played by chemical pesticides in pest management.It also emphasized on target specific and environment friendly products.

Key takeaways from the congress:

• The congress has recommended various measures to improve efficient use of pesticides which are:

  • To label the pesticides indicating their mode of action

  • To rethink on restrictive banning of pesticides.

  • Government has to bring in a policy regarding data protection of imported pesticides

  • Policy for the introduction of safe nano-formulations and empowerment of farmers through training and extension.

                                                                                                                                                         Source :- PIB

SECURITY

DRDO successfully conducts Agni II missile Successfully.

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 :

• India successfully conducted the first night trial of ‘Agni-II’ from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.

Agni II :

• Agni-II is an intermediate-range ballistic missile(IRBM) that has already been inducted into the armed forces.

  • This was the first time that this missile was test-fired at night.

• The missile was developed by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organization).

• The missile is a surface-to-surface medium-range nuclear-capable missile that can carry a nuclear payload of 1000kgs.

• The missile has a strike range of 2000 km.

• The range of the 21-metre long missile weighing 17 tonnes can also be increased to three thousand kilometres by reducing the payload.

                                                                                                                                           Source :- The Hindu

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