VAID’S ICS LUCKNOW B-36, Sector-C, Aliganj, Lucknow Cont.9415011892/93 JULY-2018 Vaid’s ICS Lucknow B-36, Sector –C, Aliganj, Lucknow Mob: 9415011892/93, 8765163028 website: www.vaidicslucknow.com 1 VAID’S ICS LUCKNOW B-36, Sector-C, Aliganj, Lucknow Cont.9415011892/93 Content Pages 1. National Events 3 2. International Events 10 3. Economy 14 4. Science & Technology 18 5. Environment & Ecology 22 6. Treaty & Agreements 25 7. Summit / Conference 28 8. Sports 32 9. Awards & Honours 35 10. Commission & Committee 37 11. Year, Day & Week 38 2 VAID’S ICS LUCKNOW B-36, Sector-C, Aliganj, Lucknow Cont.9415011892/93 Kathua Rape and Unnao Rape cases- NATIONAL EVENTS Rape is the fourth most common crime against Lok Sabha passes Criminal Law women in India. Around 40,000 rape cases were reported in the country in 2016. The victims (Amendment) Bill, 2018 were children in 40 percent of those cases. The Lok Sabha on July 30, 2018 passed the The latest outpouring of national protests came Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 that after details emerged of the gang rape of an proposes to enhance punishment for rape of a eight-year-old Muslim girl Asifa Bano in child. Kathua, a Hindu-dominated area of Jammu and The Bill seeks to replace the Criminal Law Kashmir. The girl, member of a nomadic (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on April Muslim community, was locked in a Hindu 21, 2018 following an outcry over the rape and shrine, drugged, gang-raped for several days and murder of a minor girl in Kathua in Jammu and beaten to death with a stone. Kashmir and the rape of another woman at In another horrific case, a teenage girl attempted Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. to set herself on fire outside the residence of an Provisions of the Bill MLA in Unnao, northern Uttar Pradesh. The girl • The Bill amends the Indian Penal Code (IPC), accused the MLA of raping her at his house in 1860 to increase the minimum punishment for 2017. The girl’s father was beaten to death by rape of women from seven years to ten years. the lawmaker’s men after the girl refused to • Rape and gang rape of girls below the age of withdraw her complaint against him. 12 years will carry minimum imprisonment of twenty years and is extendable to life imprisonment or death. Parliament passes Bill for merger of • Rape of girls aged between 12 and 16 is five subsidiary banks with SBI punishable with imprisonment of twenty years The Indian Parliament on July 30, 2018 passed or life imprisonment. the State Banks (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, • If a girl aged between 12 and 16 is gangraped, 2017 that merges the subsidiary banks with the the convict faces minimum punishment of life State Bank of India (SBI). sentence. The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha by then • Repeat offenders will be punished with life Union Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley on July imprisonment or death. 21, 2017. • The Bill provides for time-bound investigation Note- in cases of rape of girl children. The The merger of these subsidiary banks is already investigation into rape of a child must be in effect from April 1, 2017. The merger was completed within two months. approved by the Union Government in • Any appeal against a sentence by the trial court February 2017. needs to be disposed off within six months. • Accused is not entitled to anticipatory bail in Provisions of the Bill- offences of rape of child less than 16 years of The Bill seeks to repeal the State Bank of India age. (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959, the State Bank of • The court would be required to give a notice of Hyderabad Act, 1956. These Acts established 15 days to a public prosecutor and the the State Bank of Bikaner, State Bank of representative of the victim before deciding bail Mysore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of applications in case of rape of girls below 16 Travancore, and State Bank of Hyderabad, the years of age. subsidiaries of the SBI. • Besides, the National Crime Records Bureau It amends the State Bank of India Act, 1955 to will maintain a national database and profile of remove references related to subsidiary banks. sexual offenders. These references include: (i) the definition of a subsidiary bank in the 1955 Act, and (ii) powers 3 VAID’S ICS LUCKNOW B-36, Sector-C, Aliganj, Lucknow Cont.9415011892/93 of SBI to act as an agent of the RBI for a the Bank of Madras (incorporated on 1 July subsidiary bank. 1843). Why was there a need of this merger? • On 27 January 1921, the Presidency banks The merger of subsidiaries with the SBI is a amalgamated and were rechristened as Imperial part of the PSU Banks Consolidation Plan that Bank of India. was proposed by the Union Government in • The imperial Bank of India became the State March 2016 at a congregation of bankers and Bank of India on July 1, 1955. government officials where various issues pertaining to banks were discussed. The move Parliament passes bill for quick aims to stimulate the flow of credit to fuel prosecution in cheque bounce cases private investment. The Parliament on July 26, 2018 passed an Significance of the merger- amended bill that will allow courts to try • With this merger, SBI will join the league of offences related to cheque bounce expeditiously top 50 banks globally in terms of assets. and direct the drawee to pay a minimum of 20 Currently, no Indian bank features in the top 50 per cent of the cheque amount as interim banks of the world. compensation. • The total customer base of the SBI will now The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, reach to 37 crore people with a branch network 2018 was passed by the upper house of the of around 24000 and nearly 59000 ATMs across Parliament, the Rajya Sabha through a voice the country. The merged entity will have a vote. The Lok Sabha had cleared the bill on July deposit base of more than Rs 26 lakh crore and 23. advances level of Rs 18.50 lakh crore. Objective- • Soon, the bank will rationalise its branch The new amendment has been brought in the network by relocating some of the branches to law to ensure that people have trust and faith on maximise reach. This will help the bank in issuing cheques. optimising its operations and improve its Key Highlights- profitability. • The 1881 law on negotiable instruments has • Integration of treasuries of the associate banks been amended from time to time. with the treasury of SBI will bring in substantial • The latest amendments aim to insert Section cost saving and synergy in treasury operations. 143A and Section 148 in the Act to provide that About State Bank of India a court trying a cheque bounce offence under Section 138 may order the drawer of the cheque • The State Bank of India is a public sector to pay interim compensation to the complainant. banking and financial services company. It is a • The drawer, who pleads not guilty of the government-owned corporation. accusation, will have to pay at least 20 per cent • Its headquarters are located in Mumbai, of the cheque amount as interim compensation Maharashtra. within 60 days of the trial court's order. • It has more than 14000 branches, including • An additional 20 per cent compensation will 191 foreign offices spread across 36 countries. have to be paid if the drawer goes for an appeal. It makes it the largest banking and financial • If the drawer is acquitted, the court may direct services company in India by assets. the payee to repay the amount paid as interim • SBI’s roots lie in the first decade of the 19th compensation with interest. century, when the Bank of Calcutta, later Other Details- renamed the Bank of Bengal, was established • The amendments to the negotiable instruments on June 2, 1806. bill received support from many members of the • The Bank of Bengal was one of three opposition. Presidency banks. The other two were the Bank • However, the opposition suggested stringent of Bombay (incorporated on 15 April 1840) and 4 VAID’S ICS LUCKNOW B-36, Sector-C, Aliganj, Lucknow Cont.9415011892/93 penalties to curb cheque payment defaults. preventive steps at source, transit and • The opposition suggested that the government destination points should come out with laws like other nations • Maintaining coordination between law such as France and the UAE have, where a enforcement agencies and non-governmental person who defaults on cheque payments is organisations and other stakeholders barred from issuing a cheque for five years • Increasing international cooperation with • The members also suggested that the authorities abroad for intelligence sharing, government make cheque payment default a and mutual legal assistance non-bailable offence. Currently, over 16 lakh cases of cheque bounce State Anti-Trafficking Officers- are pending in subordinate courts and around Under the Bill, the state government will 34,000 such cases have gone to the high court appoint a State Nodal Officer who will be following an appeal. responsible for follow up action under the Bill as per the instructions of the State Anti- Trafficking Committee and for providing relief Trafficking of Persons Bill, 2018: and rehabilitation services. Provisions and Penalties The state government will also appoint a Police The Lok Sabha on July 26, 2018 passed the Nodal Officer at the state and district levels. Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection Moreover, the Anti-Trafficking Police Officers and Rehabilitation) Bill 2018. The Bill provides will be designated for each district to deal with for the prevention, rescue and rehabilitation of all matters related to trafficking in the district.