This page contains "26Th July 2018" current affairs analysis from different newspapers and magazines like The Hindu, Indian express, PIB and Yojna.
Quality and relevance are two key features considered while writing the content, all the topics are based on the pattern of previously asked questions in exams like UPSC CSE, IAS, State PCS, SSC, Banks PO and likewise competitive exams.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989
Why in news ?
Section 18 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989, bars anticipatory bail for accused of causing cast eccentric injury and insult to Dalits. Supreme court had read down Section 18 to allow accused persons under the Act to apply for anticipatory bail.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989
The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, or the SC/ST Act protects the marginalised communities against discrimination and atrocities.
The SC/ST Act includes 22 offences relating to various patterns or behaviours inflicting criminal offences and breaking the self-respect and esteem of the scheduled castes and tribes community.
The act also safeguards SC/ST against social disabilities like, denial of access to certain places and passage, forceful drinking or eating of inedible food sexual exploitation, injury etc.
The act also have a provision for a Special Court for speedy trial of offences under the Act in each district.
Recently Supreme Court ruled that public servants cannot be prosecuted without the approval of the appointing authority and citizens too should be arrested only after an inquiry under the law.
EVM, VVPAT and SVEEP - Election Commission
Why in news ?
In a bid to conduct free, fair and impartial election in Karnataka bypoll for Jayanagar Assembly Constituency, EC has completed its preparation and EVM with VVPAT is kept in Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) vehicles.
What is Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) ?
Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) also known as Verifiable Paper Record (VPR) is a system that is used to make electronic polls free from fraud or malfunction.
In VVPAT system, a voter is given a paper trail containing name of the candidate (for whom vote has been caste) and symbol of the party/individual candidate. This paper slip allow voters to verify that their vote was cast correctly and can be used as a means to audit for the stored electronic results.
Depending on election laws the paper audit trail may constitute a legal ballot and therefore provide a means by which a manual vote count can be conducted if a recount is necessary.
Systematic Voter's Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP)
Systematic Voter?s Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) is a program of Election Commission to ensure participative role of a voter in Indian Democracy by making the voter Informed, Educated and Motivated to cast his/her vote in meaningful manner.
The program was started from Bihar, and simply targets to remove gaps in information, motivation and facilitation of the voters in order to increase turnout in elections.
Under the program various survays are conducted to understand voter's behaviour, these findings are than used to target under-performing areas where special initiatives are needed, such as making the enrolment process easier and convenient and people friendly.
Existing infrastructure and manpower of state and central government is also leveraged by ECI for electoral education and outreach.
Institutions of Eminence (IoE) scheme
Centre has recently announced 6 universities in the list of Institutions of Eminence (IoE). There were three categories under which institutions could apply: the public institutions, the already existing private institutions and the greenfield institutions.
1) Public institutions : 1) Indian Institutes of Technology, Mumbai 2) Indian Institutes of Technology, Delhi, 3) Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
2) Already existing private institutions: 4) Manipal Academy of Higher Education, 5) BITS, Pilani
3) Greenfield institutions: 6) Jio Institute of the Reliance Foundation.
The Centre is planning to offer the coveted status to 10 government and 10 private institutions, to enable them to break into the world's top 500 in a decade and into the top 100 after that.
As per MHRD, A Letter of intent (LoI) will be issued to greenfield category's institutions requiring them to start academic operations within three years for the IoE (institute of eminence) status to become operational. If their progress was not satisfactory, the empowered committee could recommend the cancellation of the status.
Benefits for Institutions of Eminence (IoE)
Institutions having coveted status will get following benefits:
1) The "coveted status" will enable selected universities to be free from regulations of the AICTE, UGC, or the Higher Education Commission of India (UGC).
2) Institutions will be able to admit 30% foreign students with no restrictions on fees charged from them and can hire foreign faculty up to 25% of the total faculty.
3) Listed institutions will be able to enter into academic collaborations with the top 500 global universities without UGC approval.
4) These Institutions will have full flexibility in evolving curricula and syllabi.
5) 10 public institutions out of total 20 (10 Public + 10 Private) will get assistance of up to 1000 crore rupees over five years.
An empowered committee headed by former Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami has recommended these institutions. Institutions not listed in this list of 6, can apply again till the committee finalises 10 public and 10 private institutions.
IISc was ranked first in the all-India NIRF rankings of the Centre in 2018, this list of Institutions of Eminence (IoE), is not a replica of all-India NIRF rankings. IIT Madras, ranked second could by NIRF could not place a place in the list yet.
Green Mahanadi Mission launched by Odissa
Odisha government has launched "Green Mahanadi Mission" by planting saplings on the bank of river Tel in Boudh district and Mahanadi river in Sonepur. The mission is launched to stop soil erosion and increasing recharging capacity through massive plantation near Mahanadi river and its tributaries Tel.
The mission is aimed to create a green belt of 1 KM width covering 75,760 hectares government land and 47,470 hectares private land on both sides of the river beginning from the place, where it enters Odisha to Paradip, where it merges with the Bay of Bengal.
A Green Mahanadi Mission Ratha and a padayatra was also hosted across the Sonepur town, to create awareness among the people about the Mission, a Green Mahanadi Abhijan Logo was also launched.
Under the "Green Mahanadi Mission" five crore saplings will be planted with a roadside length of about 5,000 km over a period of five years at an expenditure of around Rs 5,000 crore.
Plantation of fruit-bearing trees like mango, jackfruit and jamun by the volunteers is also included to provide livelihood opportunities for the local communities.
The Green Mahanadi Mission will be implemented jointly by the departments of Forest, Horticulture and Watershed Development.
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