February 5, 2020 Abhyaas Newsboard... For the quintessential test prep student

1. Classical Language

At the recently concluded 93rd edition of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, a resolution was passed demanding the declaration of Marathi as a ‘Classical’ language. More On This... Currently, Six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014). Guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are: • High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years. • A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers. • The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community. • The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

2. Bharati Script

Researchers from IIT Madraswww.lawprep.in have already developed a unified script for nine Indian languages, named the Bharati Script. Now, going a step further, developed a method for reading documents in Bharati script using a multi-lingual optical character recognition (OCR) scheme. More On This... Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scheme: • It involves first separating (or segmenting) the document into text and non-text. • The text is then segmented into paragraphs, sentences words and letters. • Each letter has to be recognised as a character in some recognisable format such as ASCII or Unicode. • The letter has various components such as the basic consonant, consonant modifiers, vowels etc. Bharati script is an alternative for the languages of India developed by a team at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Madras lead by Dr. Srinivasa Chakravarthy. The scripts that have been integrated include Devnagari, Bengali, Gurmukhi, Gujarati, Oriya, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil.

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3. Padma Awards

Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. They were instituted in the year 1954. The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. This year President has approved conferment of 141 Padma Awards. More On This... • Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service;( it is a second degree honour).This year a total of 7 people were awarded the Padma Vibhushan, which included George Fernandes,Arun Jaitley,Sir Anerood Jugnauth,Sushma Swaraj(Public affairs),M. C. Mary Kom(Sports),Chhannulal Mishra(Art),Sri Vishveshateertha Swamiji Sri,Pejavara Adhokhaja Matha Udupi (Others-Spiritualism) • Padma Bhushan is awarded for distinguished service of high order. (it is a third degree honour).This year a total of 16 people were awarded the Padma Bhushan, which includes P. V Sindhu, Manohar Parrikar, Anand Mahindra among many others. • Padma Shri is awarded for distinguished service in any field. (it is a fourth degree honour).This year a total of 118 people were awarded the Padma Shri, which includes Jai Prakash Agarwal, Jitu Rai, Kangana Ranaut among many others. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The award is normally not conferred posthumously. However, in highly deserving cases, the Government could consider giving an award posthumously if the demise of the person proposed to be honoured has been recent, say within a period of one year preceding the Republic Day on which it is proposed to announce the award.

4. Indian History Congress

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Recently, the 80th session of the Indian History Congress (IHC) was held at Kannur, Kerala. It called upon political and administrative authorities to pursue the constitutional duty of promoting composite culture, which is vital to promoting the territorial unity of India. More On This... • Founded in 1935, the Indian History Congress (IHC) is the largest association of professional historians in South Asia • It has about 35000 members of which over 2000 delegates participate in its session every year. • It has been holding its sessions very regularly from its inception and publishing its proceedings every year since 1935.

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• Its main objective is to promote secular and scientific writing of history. • The BISM organised an All India Congress in 1935 to celebrate its silver jubilee in Pune. As an outcome, the Indian History Congress (IHC) was thus born with about 50 delegates. • The Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandala (BISM) was founded by Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade in 1910 in Pune with the support of K C Mehendale.

5. Curative petition

Curative petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court by two convicts in the Nirbhaya case. The petitions come just days after a Delhi sessions court scheduled the execution of the four convicts at Tihar Jail on January 22. More On This... Curative Petition is the last judicial resort available for redressal of grievances in court which is normally decided by judges in-chamber. It is only in rare cases that such petitions are given an open-court hearing. • The concept of curative petition was first evolved by the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra and Anr. (2002) where the question was whether an aggrieved person is entitled to any relief against the final judgement/order of the Supreme Court, after dismissal of a review petition. • The Supreme Court in the said case held that in order to prevent abuse of its process and to cure gross miscar- riage of justice, it may reconsider its judgements in exercise of its inherent powers. For this purpose, the Court has devised what has been termed as a “curative” petition. Article- 137 of the Constitution subjects to the provisions of the guidelines made under Article 145, by which it is clear that the Supreme Court has the ability to review any judgment declared by it.

6. Private property is a human right: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has recently held that a citizen’s right to own private property is a human right and the state cannot take possession ofwww.lawprep.in it without following due procedure and authority of law. More On This... • The state cannot trespass into the private property of a citizen and then claim ownership of the land in the name of ‘adverse possession’. • Grabbing private land and then claiming it as its own makes the state an encroacher. • In a welfare state, right to property is a human right. • A welfare state cannot be permitted to take the plea of adverse possession, which allows a trespasser i.e. a person guilty of a tort, or even a crime, to gain legal title over such property for over 12 years. The State cannot be permitted to perfect its title over the land by invoking the doctrine of adverse possession to grab the property of its own citizens. ‘Right to private property was previously a fundamental right’ under Article 31 of the Constitution. Property ceased to be a fundamental right with the 44th Constitution Amendment in 1978. Nevertheless, Article 300A required the state to follow due procedure and authority of law to deprive a person of his or her private property. The right to property is now considered to be not only a constitutional or statutory right, but also a human right. Abhyaas Newsboard ... www.lawprep.in Page 3 February 5, 2020

7. Centre-state disputes and Article 131

Kerala has become the first state to challenge the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) before the Supreme Court under Article 131 of the Constitution. Besides, Chhattisgarh government has also filed a suit in the Supreme Court under Article 131, challenging the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act on the ground that it encroaches upon the state’s powers to maintain law and order. Under Article 131 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to deal with any dispute between the Centre and a state; the Centre and a state on the one side and another state on the other side; and two or more states. More On This... • For a dispute to qualify as a dispute under Article 131, it has to necessarily be between states and the Centre, and must involve a question of law or fact on which the existence of a legal right of the state or the Centre depends. • In a 1978 judgment, State of Karnataka v Union of India, Justice P N Bhagwati had said that for the Supreme Court to accept a suit under Article 131, the state need not show that its legal right is violated, but only that the dispute involves a legal question. • Article 131 cannot be used to settle political differences between state and central governments headed by different parties.

8. 71st Republic Day

India celebrated its 71st Republic Day on January 26, 2020. Guest of Honour: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is the third Brazilian President to be invited as Chief Guest for India’s Republic Day Parade. Before him, India hosted President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1996 and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2004, as chief guests for the Republic Day Parade. More On This... www.lawprep.in • The Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950, a date specially chosen to coincide with the anniversary of ‘Purna Swaraj Diwas’. • January 26, 1930 was marked as ‘Purna Swaraj Diwas’, or the day the nation would attain complete freedom from its colonisers by the Congress. • The members of the drafting committee felt that the birth of the constitution should be observed on a day that held some significance in their fight for independence. • When India was ultimately granted freedom by the British in 1947, but on August 15 and not January 26, the date was instead assigned to celebrating India’s Republic Day. • This was the day the Indian Independence Act was consequently repealed and India was established as a demo- cratic republic, no longer a dominion of the British Crown.

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9. President’s address to both Houses of Parliament

On first day of the Budget Session of Parliament, President Ram Nath Kovind will address a joint sitting of the two Houses. More On This... • Article 87(1) says: “At the commencement of the first session after each general election to the House of the People and at the commencement of the first session of each year the President shall address both Houses of Parliament assembled together and inform Parliament of the causes of its summons.” • First Constitutional Amendment: Originally, the Constitution required the President to address both Houses of Parliament at the commencement of “every session”. This requirement was changed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. • The President’s speech essentially highlights the government’s policy priorities and plans for the upcoming year. It is drafted by the Cabinet, and provides a broad framework of the government’s agenda and direction. • After the President or Governor delivers the address, a debate takes place not only on the contents of the address but also the broad issues of governance in the country. This then paves the way for discussion on the Budget.

10. Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System

It is a new online tracking system for political parties launched recently by the Election Commission of India. It will allow them to track their registration applications submitted to the poll panel on a real-time basis. It will apply for parties registering from January 1, 2020 More On This... • It will enable those applying for the party registration from January 1 to track the progress of their application using the system. The users will get status updates through SMS and e-mail. • Registration of Political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. • A party seeking registrationwww.lawprep.in under the said Section with the Commission has to submit an application to the Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation as per guidelines prescribed by the Election Commission of India in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the Commission of India and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. 11. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana

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Out of the total 790, only 252 Members of Parliament (MPs) have adopted gram panchayats under phase-4 of Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY). Since the launch of the scheme, only 1,753 gram panchayats have been selected across four phases, way below the expected figure. More On this... • Launched in 2014, it is a village development project under which each Member of Parliament will take the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019. • The goal is to develop three Adarsh Grams or model villages by March 2019, of which one would be achieved by 2016. Thereafter, five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be selected and developed by 2024. • The Project was launched on the occasion of birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan. • The scheme will be implemented through a village development plan • The district Collector will be the nodal officer for implementing the SAGY. • SAGY gives focus to community participation. Social mobilization of village community can trigger a chain of other development activities in the village.

12. Commission to Examine Sub Categorization of other Backward Classes

Cabinet approves Extension of term of the commission constituted under Article 340 of the constitution to examine the issue of Sub-categorization within other Backward Classes in the Central List More On This... • Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law. • That means un-equals cannot be treated equally. Measures are required to be taken for the upliftment of un- equals to bring them on par with the advanced classes. • Sub- categorisation: • In view of this, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) proposed the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) back in 2015. • In October 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind, in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 340 of the Constitu- tion, appointed a commission to examine the issue of sub-categorisation of OBCs, chaired by retired Justice G. Rohini, to ensure social justice in an efficient manner by prioritising the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs). • Sub categorization of the OBCs will ensure that the more backward among the OBC communities can also access the benefits of reservation for educational institutions and government jobs. • At present, there is no sub-categorisation and 27% reservation is a monolithic entity. 13. Discrimination againstwww.lawprep.in women in various religions

The Supreme Court announced on January 30, 2020 that its nine-judge constitution bench will frame issues regarding discrimination against women in various religions and at different religious places including the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala. The constitution bench will frame the issues while considering all cases of gender inequality at religious places across different religions on February 3, 2020. The issues will then be taken up for deliberation. More On This... • The Supreme Court bench will consider the following gender inequality cases:

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• Restriction in the entry of Muslim women into mosques • Female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community • Barring of Parsi women, married to non-Parsi men, from the holy fireplace at Agiary. • The nine-judge supreme court bench is expected to go through each of the issues in detail and try to come to some common legal questions that can be taken up for hearing. The bench will also fix up a hearing schedule. • The Supreme Court announced on January 28, 2020 that its nine-judge constitution bench will wrap up hearing all cases related to discrimination against women at religious places within 10 days. • The ruling was delivered by a three-judge bench comprising CJI S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant. The bench clarified that it cannot take more than 10 days and even if someone wants more time, it cannot be given.

14. Tougher law against sexual harassment at work

The Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, which was constituted to strengthen the legal framework to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace, has finalised its recommendations. More On This... • The GoM was constituted first in October 2018 in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement after many women shared their ordeal on social media. • The Women and Child Development Ministry had steered the Sexual Harassment of Women and Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act in 2013, which was applicable to government offices, the private sector, NGOs and the unorganised sector. • The 2013 act only imposed a fine of ¹ 50,000 on employers for non-compliance with respect to the constitution of the ICC. This proved to be insufficient in ensuring that the employers constituted the ICC in a time-bound manner. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition And Redressal) Act, 2013 defines sexual harassment. It includes “any one or more” of the following “unwelcome acts or behaviour”committed directly or by implication: Physical contact and advances, Sexually coloured remarks, Showing pornography, A demand or request for sexual favours, Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

15. National Population Register (NPR) www.lawprep.in

The central government issued a clarification on the document list of the National Population Register (NPR) on January 15, 2020. The Home Ministry will soon be issuing a form carrying questions for the NPR registry. More On This... • The government clarified that no documents or biometric details will be asked while conducting the NPR exer- cise. The exercise will be carried out in all states of India except Assam between April-September 2020 along with the house listing phase of the census exercise. Most of the states have already notified provisions related to the NPR exercise. • The National Population Register is a list comprising names of all usual residents of the country. The usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for six months or more or a person who plans to reside in that area for the next six months or more. • Every usual resident in the nation must register under the National Population Register. Abhyaas Newsboard ... www.lawprep.in Page 7 February 5, 2020

• As per the latest government clarification, no documentary proof or biometric details will be collected for NPR exercise. The NPR exercise requires the demographic details of every usual resident including name, relationship to head of household, gender, date of birth, place of birth, nationality (as declared), father’s and mother’s name, marital status, spouse’s name (if married), occupation, educational qualification, present address of usual residence, duration of stay at present address and permanent address. 16. ICJ ruling on Rohingya crisis

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has given its verdict on the Rohingya crisis. The ruling of the court is binding on Myanmar, and cannot be appealed. However, no means are available to the court to enforce it. More On This... • The government of Myanmar should immediately take “all measures within its power” to prevent atrocities against members of the minority Rohingya Muslim community. • This is to be done in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. • Myanmar shall ensure that its military or any irregular armed units within its control, do not commit any of the acts described above, or conspire to commit, direct, attempt to commit, or be complicit in genocide. • Myanmar shall take “effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts” of genocide. • So far, only three cases of genocide worldwide have been recognised since World War II: Cambodia (the late 1970s), Rwanda (1994), and Srebrenica, Bosnia (1995). • Proving genocide has been difficult because of the high bar set by its ‘intent requirement’ — that is showing the genocidal acts were carried out with the specific intent to eliminate a people on the basis of their ethnicity.

17. GSAT-30

www.lawprep.in The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched ‘GSAT-30’ from French Guiana on January 17, 2020.. More On This... • GSAT 30 will serve as a replacement to INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage. The satellite was launched along with the European Space Company’s telecommunication satellite- Eutelsat Konnect. • The GSAT-30 communication satellite will aim to provide high-quality telecommunications, television and broad- casting services. • GSAT-30 is an operational communication satellite with a mission life of up to 15 years. It has been configured to give a boost to communication services such as television uplink, DTH, digital satellite news and VSAT. It weighs approximately 3357 kg. • The satellite derives its heritage from ISRO’s previous INSAT/GSAT satellite series. It will replace INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage.

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It will mainly provide Indian mainland and island coverage in Ku-band. It will also provide extended coverage in C-band, which will help television broadcasters to broadcast their programmes across India, Australia, Gulf nations and a large number of Asian countries.

18. ISRO to set up second launch port in Thoothukodi district

Indian Space Research Organisation establish a second launch port in Thoothukodi district in Tamilnadu exclusively to launch small satellite launch vehicles. More On This... • ISRO Chairman K Sivan informed that this would come up in 2300 acres. • The line of GPS navigation system developed by America, the Indian navigation system called Navic with the indigenous atomic clock, will be operational with mobile phone manufacturers coming forward to install the regional navigation device. • Chandrayaan 3 mission to the moon comprising of a lander and a rover is approved by the Union Government. • ISRO is the space agency of the Government of India and has its headquarters in the city of Bengaluru ISRO built India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975. It was named after the mathematician Aryabhata. In 1980, Rohini became the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-made launch vehicle.

19. iBox

On January 29, 2020, ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank , an Indian financial institution, has launched first-of-its-kind 24×7 self-service delivery tool for customers called “iBox” at one of its branches in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Thewww.lawprep.in bank has started it in over 50 branches in 17 cities. More On This... • Under this facility, customers will now be able to take their debit, credit card, check book and return check from the branch close to their home or office. The iBox terminals are installed outside the premises of the bank’s branches, which can be used even after the bank closes. • This facility will be more beneficial for people who are not present at their home to receive these deliverables. Customers can also access it from their registered phone on even Sundays & holidays. • When the customer’s package arrives at the iBox terminal, an SMS notification will be sent to them, which contains the GPS(Global Positioning System) location of the iBox, an OTP(one-time password) and a QR (Quick Response) code. After this, the customer goes to the iBox and inserts his registered mobile number and OTP or QR code in it, after which the box opens and the customer can take his package. Some of the cities that currently installed iBox terminals include Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Navi Mumbai.

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20. Women, Business and the Law 2020

Women, Business and the Law 2020, the sixth edition in a series, has been released. Women, Business and the Law (WBL) is a World Bank Group project collecting unique data on the laws and regulations that restrict women’s economic opportunities. More On This... • The index analyzes laws and regulations affecting women’s economic inclusion in 190 economies. • It is composed by eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they begin, progress through and end their careers, aligns different areas of the law with the economic decisions women make at various stages of their lives. • indicators are Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension. • The study tracked “how laws affect women at different stages in their working lives and focusing on those laws applicable in the main business city”. • Only eight economies scored a perfect 100 — Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Sweden. Those countries have ensured equal legal standing to men and women on all the eight indicators of the index. • India is placed 117th among 190 countries. • It scored 74.4 on a par with Benin and Gambia and way below least developed countries like Rwanda and Lesotho.

21. World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020

International Labour Organisation (ILO) has recently released ‘World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020’. The report highlights that global unemployment will rise by 2.5 million in 2020. The ILO report said that about 188 million people are unemployed in the world. More On This... www.lawprep.in • According to the ILO report, the lack of productive, well-paying jobs means that more than 630 million workers, one in five of all workers worldwide, live in extreme poverty. This report stated that global unemployment was stable for the past nine years but as the global economic growth is slowing down and the number of workers is increasing, new jobs are not being created in the market in that proportion. • About 188 million people are unemployed and not getting any work according to their skills and abilities. • Around 267 million people (aged between 15-24) are not in employment, training or education. • According to the report, rising unemployment and deep inequality gap have made it difficult for people to live better through jobs or work. It has also mentioned in the report that about 120 million people in the world have given up searching for jobs. The growth of the labour force is slowing down in middle and high-income countries, which means that fewer jobs need to be created to stabilize unemployment rates.

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22. Global Talent Competitiveness Index

Global Talent Competitive Index (GTCI) for 2020 has been released. More On This... • GTCI, launched in 2013, is an annual benchmarking report that measures the ability of countries to compete for talent. • It is released by INSEAD business school in partnership with Adecco Group and Google. • The report measures levels of Global Talent Competitiveness by looking at 70 variables such as ease of hiring, gender earnings gap, and prevalence of training in firms. • India is placed at no. 72. • Although more could be done to improve the country’s educational system (68th in Formal Education), India’s key strength relates to growing (44th) talent, due to its levels of lifelong learning (40th) and access to growth opportunities (39th). • The country’s highest-ranked sub-pillar is employability, but the ability to match labour market demand and supply stands in contrast to the country’s poor mid-level skills. • Switzerland, the United States and Singapore lead the index.

23. Introduction of African Cheetah to suitable habitat in India

The Supreme Court allowed the introduction of African Cheetah to suitable habitat in India on January 28, 2020. The top court directed that the habitat should be chosen carefully after examining if the animal can adapt to Indian conditions. More On This... • The apex court was hearing a petition filed by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which sought permission to relocate African Cheetah from Namibia to India as a pilot project, as Indian cheetah is deemed extinct. • The bench was headedwww.lawprep.in by Chief Justice SA Bobde and comprised Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant. The top court, while modifying its previous order, stated that the African cheetahs can be introduced to the Kuno Na- tional Park in Madhya Pradesh or any other part of the country following a detailed study on all the aspects of its relocation. • The Supreme Court said that the chosen habitat must suit the African cheetah’s habitat and in case of any difficulty, a habitable location would be found. • The apex court has sought a progress report from an expert panel on the reintroduction of African Cheetah in India after every four months. The top court has constituted a three-member committee comprises former Wildlife India Director Ranjit Singh, Wildlife India DG Dhananjay Mohan and the Wildlife DIG in the Ministry of Environment and Forests to guide the NTCA to take a decision after conducting a detailed survey.

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24. Operation Venilla

Operation Vanilla: Indian Navy has launched ‘Operation Vanilla’ on January 28 to help flood-hit Madagascar. Indian Navy’s Airavat has been reached at Madagascar on January 30. Indian Navy’s large amphibious ship will provide all necessary assistance to disaster-hit Madagascar. More On This... • Madagascar is a country located in the Indian Ocean which about 400 kilometers away from the coast of East Africa. Madagascar is the world’s second-largest island country after Greenland. According to government agen- cies, India stands in solidarity with Madagascar during a national disaster. About Madagascar Disaster • Madagascar affected by the cyclone Diane recently. About 92,000 people have been affected due to floods in the country. President of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, has requested the international community to help the country with all possible measures. Heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides caused the loss of thousands of lives and the displacement of a large number of people • Indian Navy Ship Airavat has reached Seychelles to provide all necessary help to Madagascar. The INS Airavat is carrying five pallets each of victualing, naval stores and clothing. It is also carrying three pallets of medicines. • Indian Navy will provide drinking water, emergency food, clothes, temporary shelters, evacuation related help, medical assistance, emergency transportation and communication assistance to the people of Madagascar. “Operation Vanilla” is a part of the Government of India’s scheme – ‘Security and Growth for all in the Region (SAGAR)’.

25. Ramsar sites in India

India has added 10 more wetlands to sites protected by the Ramsar Convention. With this, a total of 37 sites in the country have been recognisedwww.lawprep.in under the international treaty. They are Nandur Madhameshwar, a first for Maharashtra; Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve and Nangal in Punjab; and Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and Sarsai Nawar in Uttar Pradesh. The other Ramsar sites are in Rajasthan, Kerala, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Tripura. More On This... • It is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands. • It is named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the Caspian Sea, where the treaty was signed on 2 February 1971. • Known officially as ‘the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat’ (or, more recently, just ‘the Convention on Wetlands’), it came into force in 1975.

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26. Australian Bushfires

Australia was recently ravaged by the worst wildfires seen in decades, with large swaths of the country devastated since the fire season began. All this has been exacerbated by persistent heat and drought, and many point to climate change as a factor making natural disasters go from bad to worse. More On This... • Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easy for blazes to start and spread. • Natural causes are to blame most of the time, like lightning strikes in drought-affected forests. • Dry lightning was responsible for starting a number of fires in Victoria’s East Gippsland region. • Humans can also be to blame. NSW police have charged at least 24 people with deliberately starting bushfires. • Australia is experiencing one of its worst droughts in decades- last spring was the driest on record. Meanwhile, a heatwave in December broke the record for highest nationwide average temperature, with some places sweltering under temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius Strong winds have also made the fires and smoke spread more rapidly.

27. Global Health Emergency

Coronavirus has been declared a Global Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on January 30, 2020. WHO said in a statement that Coronavirus is a significant threat to the world. The WHO statement highlights that people should not go to China. More On This... • Novel Coronavirus (COV) belongs to a family of viruses whose infection can cause problems ranging from cough to breathlessness. This virus has never been seen before. The virus infection started in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. According to WHO, fever, cough, shortness of breath is its common symptoms. There is no vaccine has been madewww.lawprep.in to stop the virus so far. • According to the Ministry of Ayush, symptoms of Coronavirus are – Fever, Cold, Sneezing, Cough, and difficulty in breathing. • Haryana’s Hisar has registered the first suspected case of Coronavirus on February 04, 2020. The suspected patient has been admitted to an isolation ward of Hisar’s Civil Hospital. The suspected patient is a medical student in China and recently returned from there. The government of Kerala has declared ‘state calamity’ after three people found positive for the virus. The Coronavirus has killed about 500 people in China. Hong Kong has also reported the first death from Coronavirus on February 04, 2020. On the other hand, the Government of India has constituted a High-Level Group of Ministers (GoM) to manage Coronavirus in India.

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28. World Archery lifted its ban on AAI

World Archery lifted its ban on the Archery Association of India (AAI) to boost Indian archers’ preparations for the Tokyo Olympics More On This... World Archery has instructed to make changes in its constitution regarding athlete membership, resolve governance issues and develop a strategic plan. • The move comes after the elections held in New Delhi on 18 January. Ban: On 5 August 2019, the World Archery suspended the AAI for defying its guidelines by electing two parallel bodies. • The two factions of the AAI had held separate elections simultaneously in New Delhi and Chandigarh on 9 June 2019 to elect two presidents namely Munda and Rao. • Because of this, the Indian archers failed to compete at the South Asian Games in Nepal in December 2019. They were allowed to participate at the Asian Championships in Bangkok as ‘neutral athletes’

29. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2020

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. More On This... • 9th January was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa and eventually led India’s freedom struggle • PBD conventions are being held every year since 2003. These conventions provide a platform to the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for mutually benefi- cial activities. www.lawprep.in • These conventions are also very useful in networking among the overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the world and enable them to share their experiences in various fields

30. New and Emerging Strategic Technologies (NEST)

With India grappling with issues like the security implications of the introduction of 5G and artificial intelligence, the Indian foreign ministry has announced the setting up of a new division on New and Emerging Strategic Technologies (NEST). Abhyaas Newsboard ... www.lawprep.in Page 14 February 5, 2020

More On this... • The division will act as the nodal point in India’s foreign ministry for all matters connected to new and emerging technologies including exchange of views with foreign governments and coordination with domestic ministries and departments. • It will also help assess foreign policy and international legal implications of emerging technology and technol- ogy-based resources. • The desk will also be involved in negotiations to safeguard Indian interests at multilateral fora like the United Nations or the G20 where rules governing the use and access to such technologies could be decided. • The new division is one of the many specialized desks created in recent years to deal with emerging challenges and scenarios.

Sources: Various leading Newspapers like The Hindu, The Indian Express and The Economic Times.

News Contributors Ram Dheeraj Appasani NALSAR(Hyderabad) Anand Nayak Korra NALSAR(Hyderabad) Newsboard Developed by - Achyuth Kadarla (Bonsagar Publications)

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