Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015
The Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 was introduced and passed in Parliament in 2015 to replace the Juvenile Delinquency Law and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2000.
One of the main provisions of the new Act was allowing the trial of juveniles charged with heinous crimes in the age group of 16-18 years as adults. The nature of the crime, and whether the juvenile should be tried as a minor or a child, was to be determined by a Juvenile Justice Board.
The second major provision was to bring a more universally acceptable adoption law instead of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956) and Guardians of the ward Act (1890) which was for Muslims, although the Act did not replace these laws.
The existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been given the status of a statutory body.
The Act streamlined adoption procedures for orphans, abandoned and surrendered children and the existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been given the status of a statutory body to enable it to perform its function more effectively.
Amendments
The DMs and the ADMs to monitor the functioning of agencies responsible for implementing the Juvenile Justice Act, the District Child Protection Units will function under the DMs.The amendments also categorise certain previously undefined offences as 'serious offences'.
Child victims of trafficking, drug abuse and those abandoned by their guardians will be included in the definition of "child in need of care".
Polity
Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN)
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC)voted to give Secretary General Antonio Guterres a second term.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat.
The UN Charter empowers the secretary-general to inform the Security Council of "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security".
Appointment
The secretary-general is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. As the recommendation must come from the Security Council, any of the five permanent members of the council can veto a nomination.The appointee may not be a citizen of any of the Security Council's five permanent members.
The length of the term is discretionary, but all secretaries-general since 1971 have been appointed to five-year terms, there is a term limit of two full terms.
International Relations
UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
India has been elected to the Economic and Social Council, one of the six main organs of the United Nations, for the 2022-24 term.
India is elected in the Asia-Pacific States category along with Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and Oman.
The UN Charter established ECOSOC in 1945 as one of the six main organs of the United Nations. It is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development ? economic, social and environmental.
The Council consists of 54 Member States, which are elected yearly by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.
The president of the Council is elected for a one-year term and chosen from the small or medium sized states represented on the Council at the beginning of each new session.
Polity
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
The Maldives, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid was elected the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) for 2021-22, winning nearly three fourths votes of the countries that voted in the annual election.
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the UN.
The UNGA is responsible for the UN budget, appointing the non-permanent members to the Security Council, appointing the Secretary-General of the United Nations, receiving reports from other parts of the UN system, and making recommendations through resolutions.
All 193 members of the United Nations are members of the General Assembly, with the addition of Holy See and Palestine as observer states.
The UNGA is the only UN organ wherein all member states have equal representation. Assembly resolutions are not binding on the members
The General Assembly meets under its president or the UN Secretary-General in annual sessions (September to January) at UN headquarters in New York City. It can also reconvene for special and emergency special sessions.
President of UNGA
The President of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted for by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The President is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly.International Relations
Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), raised the alarm on a spate of complaints about illegal adoption of COVID-19 orphans through private individual and organisations.
SC observed that - it is illegal to invite strangers to adopt children orphaned by the COVID-19, without the involvement of the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).
Social media posts are circulating that children are up for adoption. This is plainly illegal and violates the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)
Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is an autonomous and statutory body of Ministry of Women and Child Development in the GoI.It was set up in 1990 and functions as the nodal body for the adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, ratified by Government of India in 2003.
In 2018, CARA has allowed individuals in a live-in relationship to adopt children from and within India.
Polity
National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA)
National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has set up a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to provide NFRA with inputs from the perspective of various key stakeholders.
The National Financial Reporting Authority is an independent regulatory body set up under Section 132 of the Companies Act to oversee compliance with Accounting and Auditing Standards by companies that can be described as Public Interest Entities (PIEs).
Read More: NFRA
Economy
Surakshit Hum Surakshit Tum Abhiyaan
NITI Aayog and Piramal Foundation launched Surakshit Hum Surakshit Tum Abhiyaanin in 112 Aspirational Districts to assist district administrations in providing home-care support to Covid-19 patients.
Gov. Schemes
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
China is hosting foreign ministers from the 10 ASEAN countries to push for closer economic cooperation and aligning COVID-19 recovery efforts.
ASEAN is an economic union comprising 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other countries in Asia.
In 2003, ASEAN moved along the path of the European Union by agreeing to establish an ASEAN community comprising three pillars: the ASEAN security community, the ASEAN economic community, and the ASEAN socio-cultural community.
ASEAN is a major partner of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and maintains a global network of alliances and dialogue partners.
It was stablished in 1967 with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by - Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Ten Members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
It is India's 4th largest trading partner with about USD 86.9 billion in trade.
International Relations