National Affairs – 2012 Guard Station Karaikal. Karaikal is the fifth coast guard station on the Puducherry-Tamil Nadu coastline. The station is part of ongoing efforts by the Coast Guard to strengthen coastal security along the Indian coastline. The station at Karaikal will help augment patrolling along the east coast and prevent illicit activities such as infiltration, smuggling and illegal fishing. Coast Guard Station Karaikal will function under the administrative and operational control of the Commander Coast Guard Region (East) through the Commander Coast Guard District Headquarter- 5 located at Chennai. Commandant PR Lochen was appointed as the Commanding Officer of the station. • Supreme Court Modified Order on Rehabilitation of Sex Workers: The Supreme Court of India on 26 July 2012 modified one of its order on welfare and rehabilitation of sex workers. A special bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and Gyan Sudha Misra modified its earlier order, saying, "the modification shall not be construed that by this order any encouragement is being given to prostitution." Modifying its earlier order, the bench clarified that it would only examine the conditions conducive for sex workers to work with dignity in accordance with provisions of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The bench added that it was keen that sex workers should be given an opportunity to avail rehabilitation measures of the government and other agencies for them. While adjudicating a petition for rehabilitation of former sex workers, the Supreme Court had on July 19, 2011 had framed three terms of reference. Article 21 in the Constitution of India states that no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law • Ministry of Women and Child Development drafted the National Policy for Children 2012: The Ministry of Women and Child Development on 26 July 2012 drafted the National Policy for Children 2012. The revised draft policy reaffirms the government's commitment towards children and addresses new challenges, seeking to realize the full potential of children’s rights throughout the country. It defines a child as a person below eighteen years of age, and acknowledges the inalienable and inherent rights of the child and aims to realize the full range of child rights for all children in the country. The draft has stated that every child has a right to be safeguarded against hunger, deprivation and malnutrition. According to the draft policy, the state is bound to secure the rights and entitlement of children in difficult circumstances such as migration, displacement, disasters and communal violence. The first National Policy on Children was formulated in 1974. The first policy of 1974 described children as a supremely important asset and made the state responsible for providing equal opportunities for growth and development of all children. The policy primarily focused on health and education of the children. • ‘Anti-Ragging Web Portal’ inaugurated: Kapil Sibal, the Union Human Resource Minister inaugurated the ‘Anti- Ragging Web Portal’ on 26 July 2012. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has developed the portal in collaboration with Ed.CIL (India) Ltd. and Planet E-Com Solutions. Rajendra Kachroo, father of Aman who lost his life to ragging at a medical college in Himachal Pradesh in 2009 has also contributed in the UGC managed portal. Supreme Court, in its judgment dated 8 May, 2009 ordered implementation of a ragging prevention programme comprising, setting up toll-free anti-ragging helpline /call centre, database of institutions/students, engaging an independent non-government agency.All calls that would be received by the Anti-ragging Helpline (18001805522) will be managed and followed up in a structured software system. Moreover, students can see the progress of their complaint any time on www.antiragging.in . • Cabinet extends tenure of M B Shah Commission of Inquiry : The Union Cabinet on 20th July, approved extension of the tenure by a year till July 16 2013 of Justice M B Shah Commission of Inquiry which was set up to look into cases of illegal mining. An additional expenditure of Rs.50 lakh will be incurred because of the extension. It will cover Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Madhya Pradesh. The Justice M.B.Shah Commission of Inquiry was set up on November 22, 2011. It is based in Ahmadabad and was required to submit its report by July 16. • Cabinet OKs Bill to make laws on sexual assault more stringent: The Union Cabinet on 19th July, has approved introduction of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012, in Parliament seeking to widen the scope of sexual offence and replace the word 'rape' by the words 'sexual assault' to make the offence gender neutral. According to official spokesperson, the highlights of the Bill include substituting sections 375, 376, 376A and 376B by replacing the existing sections 375, 376, 376A, 376B, 376C 55 National Affairs – 2012 and 376D of the Indian Penal Code,1860, replacing the word 'rape' wherever it occurs by the words 'sexual assault' to make the offence of sexual assault gender neutral. • India recorded 3.8 Percent Unemployment Rate: According to the findings of unemployment survey conducted by the Labour Bureau of the Government of India, the country recorded 3.8 % unemployment rate in the year 2010-11 . The earlier figure (2009-10) was 9.4 %. The survey was conducted in all 28 states and 7 Union Territories. The findings of the survey were released on 9 July 2012. As per the survey report, the official unemployment rate of the country was 3.8 %, with urban unemployment and rural unemployment stood at 5.1% and 3.5 % respectively. Women unemployment at 6.7 % stood significantly ahead of men unemployment rate at 2.8 %. The report stated that of those with a livelihood, the majority were self-employed or casual labour. While 48.6 % were self-employed, 31% were casual labor. Based on social stratum the rates of employment for the SC, ST, and OBC groups stood at 55.9 per cent, 59.7 %, and 53.3 % respectively, as compared to 48.5 % for the general category. The unemployment rate was found maximum in states such as Goa (16 %), Kerala (9 %) , while Gujarat (1 %) had the lowest number of unemployment rate. • Pranab Mukherjee is 13th President of India: Pranab Mukherjee was elected as the 13th President of India on 22 July 2012, by defeating his nearest rival PA Sangma with a huge margin as he secured nearly 69 percent of total valid votes. In an electoral college of 10.5 lakh, Pranab Mukherjee secured a vote value of 713763, while, PA Sangma managed to get only a vote value 315987. Returning Officer announced the victory of Pranab Mukherjee for the Presidential election VK Agnihotri. Pranab Mukherjee will be sworn in as the thirteenth President of India on 25 July 2012. The election is held through the system of proportional representation by means of the single - transferable vote by secret ballot. The 1971 census is currently under consideration. The candidate who gets 50 percent of votes is considered elected. Supreme Court looks into all disputes related to Presidential election. V V Giri is the only person who was elected as the President of the country as an independent candidate in 1969. Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy was the only person to be elected to the office of President of India unopposed, as no other candidate filed nomination for the post of the President. He was elected to the office of President in July 1977. • Supreme Court upholds life term for Bihar ex-MP The Supreme Court on 10th July, upheld the conviction and life imprisonment of ex-MP Anand Mohan Singh in the 1994 murder case of Gopalganj District Magistrate G. Krishnaiah. A bench headed by Justice A.K. Patnaik dismissed the plea of Singh, a gangster-turned- politician from Bihar, who had approached the Supreme Court against his conviction and life imprisonment in the murder case. Singh, who was the leader of the then Bihar People's Party (BPP), was accused of inciting a mob accompanying the cortege of a BPP leader to lynch Krishnaiah on December 5, 1994. The BPP is now defunct.The officer was pulled out of a car, beaten up mercilessly and then shot dead. Singh, a former MP from Sheohar, was awarded death sentence under Sections 302 (murder) and 109 (abetment of offence) of the Indian Penal Code by Additional District and Sessions Judge R.S. Rai on October 3, 2007. However, the Patna High Court in its December 2008 verdict had commuted Singh's death penalty to life sentence, against which he had moved the Supreme Court. • Shettar sworn in Karnataka Chief Minister: Fifty-six year-old Lingayat leader from north Karnataka, Jagadish Shettar, was sworn-in as chief minister on 12th July, along with a full-fledged team of 33 ministers. This included two deputy chief ministers - Party State President K. S. Eshwarappa and former Home Minister R. Ashok. Mr. Shettar is the third chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party that came to power in 2008. He will have a short tenure of only about 10 months as the State Assembly's term ends in May 2013. While all the 21 ministers who were part of the previous dispensation have been continued in the new government, 12 new ministers have also been included. With this, the ministry has reached the maximum size of 34 members including the chief minister that has been allowed for Karnataka considering the numerical strength of its Assembly. This is the first time since the formation of the BJP government that all the ministerial berths have been filled up. Also, this is the first time that the state is having two deputy chief ministers though five other previous governments had single deputy chief ministers.