January 15, 2019
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INDIAN AFFAIRS- JANUARY 15, 2019 Govt drafts five-year action plan to address drug abuse in the country The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has drafted a five-year action plan called the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (2018 -2023) NAPDDR which aims to employ a multi-pronged strategy to address the problem of drug and substance abuse in the country. Key Points: i. The action plan involves preventive education, awareness generation, counselling, treatment and rehabilitation of drug-dependent people, besides training and capacity-building of service providers through collaborative efforts of the Centre, state and NGOs. ii. For monitoring the effective implementation of the NAPDDR, a steering committee would be constituted under the chairmanship of the secretary, Social Justice Ministry, and with representatives from the Ministries of Health, Human Resource Development, Women and Child Development, Home Affairs, Skill development and Entrepreneurship. iii. Furthermore a national survey to find the extent and pattern of substance abuse is also being conducted by the ministry, in collaboration with the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), AIIMS. iv. As a part of the plan, a database for re-treatment, ongoing treatment and post-treatment of addicts of different categories and age groups and on substance used will be maintained. About Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment: ♦ Minister: Thawar Chand Gehlot ♦ Minister of State: Krishan Pal Gurjar, Vijay Sampla, Ramdas Athawale Govt re-promulgates ordinance to amend companies law On 12th January 2019, the Union Government has re-promulgated the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 which aims to amend the companies law to further improve the ease of doing business as well as ensure better compliance levels. Key Points: i. The government had first issued the ordinance in November but it would have ceased to be operational from January 21. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill on 4th January 2019, but it is still pending in the Rajya Sabha so the government has to re-promulgate ordinance to make amendments to the Companies Act, 2013. ii. The ordinance that has amended 16 sections of the Act, are aimed at reducing the burden of case load on special courts by over 60 per cent, bringing down applicable penalties for small companies and enhancing the jurisdiction of Regional Director for compounding offences. iii. Now the jurisdiction of 16 types of corporate offences would be shifted from the special courts to in-house adjudication thus enhancing the scope of in-house adjudication from 18 sections at present to 34 Sections of the Act. iv. The amended provisions also empower the central government to allow certain companies to have a different financial year instead of being determined by the National Company Law Tribunal. v. The amendments through the ordinance were effected on the basis of recommendations made by a 10 Member Committee set up by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in July 2018 and headed by the Secretary of Ministry of Corporate Affairs,Injeti Srinivas. About Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA): ♦ Minister: Arun Jaitley ♦ Minister of State: P P Choudhary ♦ Secretary: Injeti Srinivas Overview of Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s 2-day visit to Andaman Nicobar Command (ANC) On January 13, 2019, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman embarked on her 2-day visit to Andaman & Nicobar islands. Her visit would conclude on January 14, 2019. i. She was received by Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, AVSM, ADC, Commander-in-Chief, Andaman & Nicobar Command at INS Utkrosh. ii. This was her second visit and reviewed the operational preparedness and infrastructural developments of the outlying units of ANC. Witnessing the joint military drill: On January 14, 2019, the Defence Minister witnessed a joint military drill involving the Army, the Air Force, the Navy and the Coast Guard off Campbell Bay in the Great Nicobar Island. i. She also inaugurated the second phase of Married Accommodation Project (MAP) consisting of 868 dwelling units for troops of ANC at Brichgunj Military Station. Background: Andaman and Nicobar is also the armed forces’ tri-service command. The archipelago is straddled strategically near the mouth of the Malacca Straits which is an important Sea Lane of Communication used by the navies of several countries. Andaman & Nicobar Islands: ♦ Lieutenant Governor: Admiral D K Joshi. ♦ National Parks: Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, Mount Harriet National Park, Rani Jhansi Marine National Park, Campbell Bay National Park, Galathea National Park. Union Minister Harshvardhan launches special weather services for Kumbh Mela On 14th January 2019, Union Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment and Forests and Climate Change, Dr Harshvardhan launched the special weather services for the benefit of people visiting Prayagraj during Kumbh Mela at a function in New Delhi. Key Points: i. The service will provide information of the prevailing weather and forecasts for next 3 days through four Automatic Weather stations (AWS) and a mobile van AWS that have been installed and operationalized at different locations at Prayagraj. ii. The observational sites are distributed in all four directions within 5-10 km radius. iii. It will be helpful for the local and state authorities by providing the real-time location specific weather information for efficient management of the entire event and also benefit the pilgrims by keeping them abreast of the latest weather information. iv. Besides a mobile application named “Kumbh Mela Weather Service” was also launched to inform about the live weather information (temperature, humidity, rainfall and winds) and warnings if any for Prayagraj for next 3 days as observed in all the AWS sites. About Ministry of Science and Technology: ♦ Minister: Dr Harshvardhan ♦ Headquarters: New Delhi About Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change: ♦ Minister: Dr Harshvardhan ♦ Minister of State: Dr Mahesh Sharma About Ministry of Earth Sciences: ♦ Minister: Dr Harshvardhan ♦ Headquarters: New Delhi “Womaniya on GeM” launched by Government e Marketplace [GeM] under Commerce Ministry to empower women entrepreneurs On January 14, 2019, the Commerce Ministry announced that the Government e Marketplace [GeM] launched “Womaniya on GeM” initiative to enable women entrepreneurs and women self-help groups [WSHGs] to sell handicrafts and handloom, accessories, etc. directly to various Government ministries, departments and institutions. About the initiative: i. A 3-minute video highlighting benefits of the Womaniya initiative was launched by CEO GeM, S Radha Chauhan, whereby she explained the following: nearly 80 percent women-owned establishments are self-financed, more than 60 percent of 8 million units are owned and/or led by women entrepreneurs from socially- challenged sections of the society, empowering the women entrepreneurs is a step in the direction of poverty alleviation. ii. Artist Anukta M Ghosh’s artwork “Magan”, an illustration of women empowerment and grace, is the face of Womaniya on GeM. iii. The initiative aligns with Government’s initiatives for MSMEs, especially to reserve 3 percent in government procurement from women entrepreneurs. iv. This initiative will also address goals and objectives under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. About GeM: ♦ It is a 100 percent government owned company setup under the aegis of Ministry of Commerce and Industry. ♦ Constituted: 2016. Ministry of Commerce: ♦ Union Minister: Shri. Suresh Prabhu. ♦ Minister of State: Shri. C R Chaudhary. Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley and Union Minority Affairs Minister Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi inaugurated Hunar Haat exhibitions in New Delhi On 13th January 2019, The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley and Union Minister of Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi inaugurated the Hunar Haat Exhibition at State Emporia Complex in New Delhi. Key Points i. The Hunar Haat exhibition will be organized from 12th January 2019 to 20th January 2019. ii. Hunar Haat aim at “ Development with Dignity” of the artisans and craftsman from the minority community. iii. Hunar Haat is important for the national and international branding of the heritage of master artisans. Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs ♦ Union Minister: Arun Jaitley ♦ Minister of State: P P Choudhary ♦ Headquarters: New Delhi Gujarat becomes 1st state to implement 10% quota to EWS(Economically Weaker sections) Gujarat Government announced to implement 10 per cent quota for Economically Weaker sections of general category in educational institutions and government jobs for general category poor candidates.This quota will be implemented for every job offers or admission process that is to start from January 14, 2019 i. The Centre had taken the decision under Article 46 of Guiding Principles of Constitution of India .This move by the Government is considered to be the historic move. 4th International Kite Festival and 2nd International Sweet Festival inaugurated by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu in Hyderabad, Telangana On January 13, 2019, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 4th International Kite Festival and 2nd International Sweet Festival in Hyderabad, Telangana. i. It was organised by the Department of Tourism, Government of Telangana and the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, as a part of Sankranthi celebrations, at