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FTSCs for rape and offences against children
The Cabinet approved the continuation of 1,023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) for another two years, at an outlay of Rs 1,572.86 crore.
The Centre's share of Rs 971.70 crore will come from the Nirbhaya Fund.
It is a Centrally sponsored scheme for expeditious trial and disposal of pending cases of rape and offences against children under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012.
Since October 2019, the Department of Justice of the Ministry of Law and Justice has been implementing the Centrally sponsored scheme for expeditious trial and disposal of pending cases of rape and offences against children under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012.
Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) are being setup as a part of the National Mission for Safety of Women (NMSW).
The scheme includes 389 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) exclusively for POCSO cases.
Each FTSC is expected to dispose of 41-42 cases in each quarter and at least 165 cases in a year.
Polity
Samagra Shiksha Scheme 2.0
As part of a revamp and extension of Samagra Shiksha Scheme, the Centre is planning to pay students their Right to Education (RTE) entitlements in the form of cash transfers.
Samagra Shiksha Scheme was launched by the Ministry of Education in 2018.
It is an integrated scheme for school education covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII.
Read More: Samagra Shiksha Scheme 2.0
Gov. Schemes
World's highest motorable road in Ladakh
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed and completed black topping the world's highest motorable road (52-km long) at Umling La in Eastern Ladakh located at an altitude of 19,300 ft.
It is much higher than Khardung La (7,582 ft), Ladakh.
The strategic road built under Project Himank passes through the Umling La Top and connects Chisumle and Demchok villages.
The road is close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and will allow quick movement of troops and equipment.
The project had been under way since 2017 and now the complete layers including top black topping has been done in August, 2021.
It offers an alternate direct route connecting Chisumle and Demchok from Leh and will enhance the socio-economic condition and promote tourism in Ladakh.
Project Himank, started in 1985, is a project of the BRO being implemented in the Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir.
Defence
Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill
The Rajya Sabha passed the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to encourage the start-up ecosystem and further boost ease of doing business.
The bill seeks to decriminalise 12 offences under the law and help to improve the ease of doing business by amending the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008.
The bill proposes to introduce the concept of small limited liability partnership in line with the concept of small company under the Companies Act, 2013.
Currently, there are 24 penal provisions and 21 are compoundable offences, while three are non-compoundable ones.
The proposed bill seeks to reduce the total number of penal provisions under the LLP Act to 22, compoundable offences to seven, non-compoundable offences to three and the number of defaults to be dealt with under the "In-House Adjudication Mechanism" will be only 12.
Compoundable offences are those which can be settled by paying a certain amount of money.
The bill also seeks to insert a new section 34A so as to empower the central government to prescribe "Accounting Standards" or "Auditing Standards" for a class or classes of LLPs.
Polity
National Industrial Corridor Programme (NICP)
Government has approved development of 11 Industrial Corridors with 32 Projects to be developed in four phases in the country as part of National Industrial Corridor Programme (NICP).
The Objective of development of industrial corridors is to expand the industrial output, increasing employment opportunities, provide better living and social facilities for the new and growing workforce by way of providing plug n play infrastructure at the plot level for industries.
Economy
Second Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP-2)
The GoI, the Central Water Commission, government representatives from 10 participating states and the World Bank today signed a $250 million project for long-term dam safety program and improving the safety and performance of existing dams across various states of India.
DRIP-2 is based on a risk-based approach to dam asset management that will help to effectively allocate financial resources towards priority dam safety needs.
It will be implemented by Ministry of Jal Shakti in approximately 120 dams across the states of Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu, and at the national level through the Central Water Commission (CWC).
Other states or agencies may be added to the project during project implementation.
World Bank support to dam safety in India includes the recently closed DRIP-1 ($279 million + $62 million Additional Financing) that improved the safety and sustainable performance of 223 dams in six states of India and one central agency.
DRIP-1 was started in 2012 as a State Sector Scheme with a Central component, with 10 Implementing Agencies on board.
The CWC (Central Water Commission) had been entrusted with overall coordination and supervision.
A web-based AI tool called Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application (DHARMA) has been developed to capture important data for all dams.
Gov. Schemes
What is "e-Prisons Project" ?
The e-Prisons, which aims at computerization of the functioning of prisons in the country, has been operationalised in all States and Union Territories.
e-Prisons data has been integrated with Police and Court system under the Inter-operable Criminal Justice System.
e-Prisons uses data maintained by the States and Union Territories on the National Prisons Information Portal as per protocols notified for e-Prisons.
The system can be accessed through the secure National Informatics Centre (NIC) network, exclusively by the authorized officials of Law Enforcement Agencies and Prisons, through Inter-operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS).
Gov. Schemes
Governor's Power to Pardon Overrides Section 433A
The Supreme Court (SC) held that the Governor's power to pardon overrides Section 433A of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
SC held that the Governor of a State can pardon prisoners, even before they have served a minimum 14 years of prison sentence.
The Governor's power to pardon overrides a provision in the CrPC Section 433A which mandates that a prisoner's sentence can be remitted only after 14 years of jail.
Section 433-A cannot and does not in any way affect the constitutional power conferred on the President/Governor to grant pardon under Articles 72 or 161 of the Constitution.
Polity