CHOGM: India’s Pivotal Role

In News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), launched his Commonwealth outreach through a series of meetings with leaders of Indian Ocean Region, African, Caribbean and Pacific Islands.

• Plans to put India in the leadership position in the grouping where China is absent – part of India’s continuous outreach as key player in the Indian Ocean Region and Africa amid China’s inroads. It would help India strengthen its presence in areas where China is increasingly active, for example in Africa where India is building a development role, and in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere such as the Pacific and Caribbean where it could strengthen its relationship with the Commonwealth small island states.
• India’s focus at the meet is on common, fairer, secure, sustainable and prosperous future
• Announced a slew of funds for development and capacity building projects for countries in the grouping –
  • Raising to £2 billion from £1 billion in the area of Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation
  • Opening Commonwealth sub fund in India-UN fund as grants of $ 50 million for 5years
  • Enhanced contribution for Commonwealth small state offices in New York and Geneva
  • Training for cricket for 30 girls and 30 boys by BCCI.

India’s pivotal role at CHOGM – An Analysis

Opportunity for India to engage with other countries: Potential of CHOGM has not been realised yet – there is great value in this association. There exists great uncertainty and unpredictability on the global level – with China adopting a leading role. India is in a better position to shape policies today.

Relevance of grouping: If it has to survive, it has to reorganise itself. Britain has realised that India needs to be brought in, in a much bigger way. At a time, when India is expanding its global footprint, the argument of CHOGM being a relic of the past, does not hold true. India should take this opportunity up; and re-look at how India can engage with other players.

Britain’s expectations:

• Platform where its voice can be heard loud and clear
• As India occupies a significant position, Britain is very keen to engage India as its special partner. Britain is India’s gateway to Europe and if the ties are severed (post BREXIT), India’s bilateral relations with Europe might suffer, which India wants to persevere and promote.

Expectations from India:

• Reimagine and shape policies for CHOGM
• Opportunity of promoting our views that affect our interests at the international level
• India should concentrate on developmental activities in the LDCs and engage with them as it will be logistically easier

The Way Forward – Seize the Opportunity

India must not squander the opportunity presented by the renewed interest in the Commonwealth. India should take active steps to –

• Bridge the gap between developing and developed members of the forum
• India should provide the leadership that will make the Commonwealth an effective multilateral forum – platform to reach out to wide variety of countries at one go for further collaboration
• Give shape to a model of international co-operation and partnership distinct from that of China – decide and shape the rules of the game; removes one obstacle to meaningful discussions
• Leverage partner countries’ technology and financial position for trade and schemes like Make in India, Smart Cities, etc.

Commonwealth Facts:

Founded: 1949

Head of the Commonwealth: Queen Elizabeth

Member-states: 53 (31 small states, many of them islands)

Population: 2.4 billion (60% under the age of 30)

Smallest country: Tuvalu (11,000); largest: India (1.3 billion)

GDP: $13 trillion by 2021

Commonwealth secretariat: Marlborough House, London

Since the London Declaration of 1949, which established the modern Commonwealth, India has held a pivotal position in this voluntary association of 54 independent sovereign states. It was India’s decision in 1948, as a newly independent Republic, to remain in the Commonwealth which influenced other Asian and African countries to join the organisation and which opened the era of the modern Commonwealth.

Since then, it was firmly established that joining the Commonwealth no longer necessarily involved continued allegiance to the British Crown. At the same time the word ‘British’ was dropped from the association’s title to reflect the Commonwealth’s changing character.

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Protection of Human right (ammendment) Bill 2018 ✅

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to the Protection of Human Rights (Amendments) Bill, 2018 for better protection and promotion of human rights in the country.

Objectives:

• Strengthen the Human Rights Institutions of India further for effective discharge of their mandates, roles and responsibilities
• Will be in perfect sync with the agreed global standards and benchmarks towards ensuring the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual in the country.

Salient Features: It proposes to

• Include “National Commission for Protection of Child Rights” as deemed Member of the Commission – a welcome move as the child rights will be focussed on

• Add a woman Member in the composition of the Commission;
• Enlarge the scope of eligibility and scope of selection of Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission as well as the State Human Rights Commission; and
• Incorporate a mechanism to look after the cases of human rights violation in the Union Territories.
• Amend the term of office of Chairperson and Members of National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commission to make it in consonance with the terms of Chairperson and Members of other Commissions.

The Way Forward:

The amendment to the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 will make National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) more compliant with the Paris Principle concerning its autonomy, independence, pluralism and wide-ranging functions in order to effectively protect and promote human rights.

Although, the fine print and detailing is yet to come about, broadly, the intent and objective is reassuring. The commitment and wide vision of the government is very critical. National Human Rights Commission must live up to its mandate in letter and spirit.

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National human right commission – Powers and Functions

NHRC

What is the NHRC?

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is a statutory body that has been constituted under the provisions of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. (PHRA)

Its function is to protect and promote human rights i.e. rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants (human rights as defined in PHRA, 1993).

Who are its members?

The NHRC consists of the following members:

• Chairperson who is a retired Chief Justice of India
• Two members who are sitting/retired judge of Supreme Court or sitting/retired Chief Justice of a High Court
• Two members who are persons who have knowledge and expertise in the field of human rights.
• Chairperson of National Commission for SCs (ex-officio member)
• Chairperson of National Commission for STs (ex-officio member)
• Chairperson of National Commission for Women (ex-officio member)
• Chairperson of National Commission for Minorities (ex-officio member)

The chairman and members are appointed by the President of India on the recommendation of a 6 member committee consisting of the Prime Minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, leaders of opposition in both the houses of parliament and the Union Home Minister.

Why is the NHRC called a toothless tiger?

The Supreme Court of India has recently reiterated NHRC’s own observations that it is a toothless tiger. This was in light of the issue of extrajudicial killings in Manipur. The remark was made due to the following lacunae in its functioning and composition:

Functions

1. The NHRC is a recommendatory body and does not have powers to prosecute a human rights violation on its own or see that its recommendations are carried out. It can only make recommendations for corrective actions and punishments to the executive and judiciary respectively.

2. The NHRC is limited by its ability to investigate human rights violations that have occurred up to a year before and not earlier. A genuine grievance that exists in the earlier time period is thus ignored. This is quite an obstacle in seeking justice in a country as big and diverse both in areal as well as population terms.

3. The NHRC cannot directly investigate alleged human rights violations by the armed forces but can only seek a report from the Government on the matter.

4. The PHRA, 1993 does not extend to the state of Jammu and Kashmir thus ending all responsibility for the NHRC for human rights violation in one of the most disturbed regions in the country.

Functionaries

1. Vacancies in the NHRC and Chairperson of various Commissions that have representations on the NHRC are often not filled for long duration.

2. The PHRA also does not require that the judicial members appointed have a proven track record in human rights.

3. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) has observed the lack of women appointed to the NHRC due to the restrictive pool of candidates from the higher judiciary, limiting its ability to tackle gender sensitive issues in an effective manner. Moreover, the vacancies to the NHRC are not suitably advertised.

4. The GANHRI has also noted the involvement of political representatives in the NHRC (Chairperson of National Commission of SCs is also a Member of Parliament). This reduces independence of the NHRC.

5. The appointments to the NHRC are often those of retired bureaucrats, even Chairpersons to National Commissions for SCs/STs/Women and Minorities are often members who have served in the civil service. This has led to the NHRC being regarded as an extension of the Government and not an autonomous agency.

6. The NHRC relies on staff that is on deputation from other Government departments. This staff often lacks sensitivity and expertise in human rights issues leading to poorly investigated cases.

Funds

1. Paucity of funds has led to limited expenditure on spreading human rights literacy and awareness.

2. The lack of funds has also led to poor infrastructural support for investigative purposes.

Government Support

1. Delays in tabling of the Annual Reports of the NHRC before the Parliament by the Government of India. Only those reports that have been tabled before the Parliament are made public. The last such report available is for the year 2011-12. The Government has not formulated its responses to the reports since then. This limits accountability of the Executive and efficacy of the NHRC.

2. India is yet to ratify and sign several key conventions that will increase the accountability of the state and empower the NHRC to address other issues. These include:

• Convention Against Torture (signed in 1997, not ratified)

• Convention on the Protection of Rights of All Migrant Workers (not signed)

• Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (signed in 2007, not ratified)

3. The quality of compliance reports submitted to the NHRC by the state governments is often sub-standard and the submissions are irregular and delayed.

What steps can be taken to empower the NHRC?

The NHRC can be strengthened by taking the following measures:

1. Appointments to the NHRC need to be made from a wider pool of candidates. The recommendations of the GANHRI can be considered to relax the criteria for

appointment of members from the higher judiciary. There is also a need to advertise the vacancies widely and fill them promptly without any delays.

2. The expert members criteria needs clear definition and well-defined benchmarks so as to resolve the allegation that it is a post-retirement security for bureaucrats.

3. Political representatives should be strictly limited in their engagement as members of the NHRC so as to ensure independence.

4. There is a need for the NHRC to constitute and maintain an independent cadre of officials that will be able to develop expertise in human rights violation investigation.

5. The PHRA, 1993 needs to be amended to include mandatory time frame for action taken and response formulation by the Government at the Centre and in the states on NHRC recommendations.

6. The NHRC should be granted contempt powers so as to ensure effective implementation of its recommendations.

7. Human rights violations before the one year time frame can be taken on a case by case basis so as to ensure justice and redressal to all.

8. Ratification of Key conventions and enactment of enabling laws as mentioned in the issues above will help strengthen NHRC’s powers.

9. There is a need for a greater role of NHRC in alleged human rights violations by the armed forces. Independent staff that is sensitive about the right balance between human rights and security will enable the NHRC to fulfil its mandate with regards to the armed forces.

10. The NHRC needs to ensure better co-ordination with civil society organisations

(CSOs) to implement its functions -especially of sourcing complaints as well as human rights literacy.

11. Better infrastructural support in terms of more offices and easier accessibility via ICT so as to register complaints and follow up by the aggrieved.

Conclusion

A Human Rights Commission is an essential bulwark against arbitrary action by State or other agencies in a modern day democracy. It serves as an independent platform to not only limit the exercise of powers by the Government but also to guide it on its approach to rights of humans. Also, the NHRC’s reach is limited and the purpose of human rights defeated if the State HRCs too aren’t reformed so as to enable them to conduct their duties effectively. The definition of human rights changes with transformations in society and polity through time. Today, the challenges to human rights are numerous including those of refugees fleeing from persecution (for e.g. Rohingya) as well as environmental refugees. It is thus crucial that the NHRC function properly so as to secure adherence to human rights so that each human can enjoy the opportunity to grow and realise their maximum potential.

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National medical council bill - AIR

In News: Union Cabinet approved amendments to the National Medical Council Bill.

National Medical Commission Bill, 2017

The Bill seeks to repeal the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 and aims to reform the medical education sector, which has been under scrutiny for corruption and unethical practices. It provide for a medical education system which ensures:

• Availability of adequate and high quality medical professionals
• Adoption of the latest medical research by medical professionals
• Periodic assessment of medical institutions
• An effective grievance redressal mechanism

Two controversial proposals in the previous draft:

• National Exit Test: Proposal to test the knowledge the MBBS students for giving them license to practice. Many say that doctors are negligent, and the idea was to ensure the quality and that it has been tested. It has been dropped as there is a requirement of strengthening our examination system and a uniform strong system across the country.
• A bridge course to enable AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy) practitioners of alternative medicines to practice and dispense modern medicines: It cannot take care of the interlinking, drug interactions and replace the MBBS course.

Some drawbacks:

Failure to move to just one scientific system of medicine in India, combining all that is proven from different streams: The failure of successive governments to promote scientific medicine and integrate the best of indigenous systems into one unified system has led to unhealthy competition among the various streams of medicine in India. Modern medicine is wrongly labelled “Western” or “Allopathy”.

Replacing Medical Council of India & Election of the members of the new body called National Medical Commission: It will have elected members from the medical fraternity. The NMC will ‘cripple’ the functioning of the medical profession by making it completely answerable to the bureaucracy and non-medical administrators. The election process should be reformed, not replaced. Having an almost entirely nominated commission, as the present Bill provides, is unhealthy. It will lead to a collection of ‘yes men and women’ whose chief qualification will be proximity to the existing government.

Flaw in the proposed Medical Commission is the lack of clarity on its function: The Commission should only be expected to monitor and regulate the training of health-care personnel and maintain professional standards. It should not be laying down policies which require inputs from multiple agencies.

The Way Forward

The regulator should be designed with certain internal safeguards and processes – to be a fair, independent and impartial regulator. The proposed NMC violates this basic principle: it is dominated by doctors, and will continue to act as judges in their own cause.

A doctor-dominated MCI has functioned in an opaque and unaccountable manner. This has also eroded public confidence in the profession. In light of India’s experience with MCI, the composition of NMC should not be dominated by doctors. A board with parity between professional and non-professional members (maybe even a slight majority of non-professionals) is a superior institutional design.

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Critically, draft national forest policy 2018 📚

Introduction:

• Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has released a draft National Forest Policy, 2018.
• Once finalized, the policy will guide the forest management of the country for the next 25-30 years.

Provisions of the National Forest Policy (NFP), 2018 are:

1. Target of 33% of India’s geographical area under forest and tree cover and in the hills and mountainous regions.
2. Maintain two-thirds of the area under forest and tree cover.
3. Restrict schemes and projects which interfere with forests,
4. Stabilize ecologically sensitive catchment areas with suitable soil and water conservation measures, and also by planting suitable trees and grass like bamboo.
5. Compensatory Afforestation Fund will be a major source of funds for taking up afforestation and rehabilitation works.
6. Funds from other national sectors like rural development, tribal affairs, national highways, railways, coal, mines, power, etc., will be taken for appropriate implementation of linking greening with infrastructure and other development activities.
7. Setting up of two national-level bodies, National Community Forest Management (CFM) Mission and National Board of Forestry (NBF)
8. It is to be headed by the central minister in charge of forests.
9. Establish State boards of forestry for ensuring inter-sectoral convergence, simplification of procedures, conflict resolution, among other things
10. It is to be headed by state ministers in charge of forests.
11. Threats to Forests due to encroachments, illegal tree fellings, forests fires, invasive weeds, grazing, etc. will be addressed within the framework of the approved Working Plan/Management Plan and also by ensuring community participation in forest management.
12. Development of Public-private participation models for undertaking afforestation and reforestation activities in degraded forest areas and forest areas available with forest development corporations and outside forests.
13. Achieve harmonization between policies and laws like Forest Rights Act (FRA) 2006.
14. Establish National Community Forest Management (CFM) Mission.
15. This mission will have a legal basis and an enabling operational framework.
16. The national, state and local level development programmes shall be converged.
17. All efforts to ensure synergy between gram sabha & JFMC (Joint Forest Management Committee) will be taken for ensuring successful community participation in forest management.
18. Promotion of trees outside forests and urban greens taken up in “mission mode”.
19. Safeguard ecosystems from forest fires, map the vulnerable areas and develop and strengthen early warning systems and methods to control fire, based on remote sensing technology and community participation.
20. Climate change concerns will be factored in all the forest and wildlife areas working/management plans and Community Ecosystem Management Plans.
21. Identify and protection of wildlife rich areas and corridors outside protected areas for ensuring ecological and genetic continuity.
22. Short-term and long-term actions to tackle rising human-wildlife conflict.

Short-term actions:

• Quick response, dedicated teams of well equipped and trained personnel, mobility, strong interface with health and veterinary services, rescue centres, objective and speedy assessment of damage and quick payment of relief to the victims.

Long term actions:

• Monitoring and management of population of wildlife.

Concerns raised against the provisions of Draft National Forest Policy (NFP), 2018 are as follows:

• Identifies threats to forests but does not provide systems for community involvement.
• Talks about increasing forests, including for commercial purposes, through public-private partnerships, it does not create a mechanism for including those who live around forests.
• Also fragmentation of forests due to the ill-planned intrusion of developmental projects is being left unattended.
• People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) and Biodiversity Management Committees are not integrated which in turn will fail in setting up a system of efficient natural area monitoring.
• In the context of ground-truth, an area that looks green, such as tea estates and commercial plantations, have been counted as forests.
• Even if forest cover is being increased, it is also simultaneously being lost, and new forest may also be subsequently lost.

Conclusion:

• Thus, even though the new forest policy has some loopholes, it does proves to be promising enough to keep a check on climate change mitigation through sustainable forest management​

NAM and it's relevance ⏩

The 18th mid-term ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was held in Azerbaijan in the month of April.

What is NAM?:

• Non-Aligned Movement(NAM) was formed in the backdrop of the end of Second World Warwhen the world was bipolarwith countries allying either with the USA or the USSR.
• The newly Independent countries including India felt that alliance with either of the two blocs would impede the individual growth and development of the nation.
• With the disintegration of USSR and the end of bipolarity the very reason for the existence of NAM came to be questioned.
• With the rise of many regional and multilateral groupings, a section of the academia believe that NAM has been sidelined.

India and NAM:

Being the largest member-state of NAM, India has been one of the leaders of the movementsince the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, one of the founding fathers of this movement.(Sukarno, Josip Broz Tito, Gamal Abdel Nasser and Kwame Nkrumah were the other founding fathers).

NAM in the cold war era:

Positive Role:

• NAM played an important role during the Cold War years in furthering many of the causes that India advocated like:
• Decolonisation
• End to apartheid
• Global nuclear disarmament
• Ushering in of new international economic and information orders

Negative Role:

• Could not prevent India-Pakistan and Indo-China wars.
• During the wars, NAM members invariably adopted diplomatic positions that were not favourable towards or supportive of India.
• Taking a broader perspective:
• Non-alignment stood for policy autonomy for the erstwhile newly independent countries. 2)These countries banded together because of theirshared traditions and histories, which included anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism and anti-racism.
• The idea behind non-alignment thus conceived was to promote peace and security in a global arena where superpowers were constantly posturing to achieve their hegemonic ambitions.

Relevance of NAM:

• Can be used as a platform to bring about disarmament.
• Voice of the South Bloc (Third World Countries)
• Stability in the risingmultipolar world order
• Can help to contain the rise of China by raising a collective voice.
• A platform where India’s Leadership is recognized
• A unique platform of countries with dissimilar backgrounds and interests
• Can be used to gather support for India’s quest to become apermanent member of the UNSC.

Why India’s Non Aligned Credentials are being questioned?

• India joined the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a coalition seen by many as a counterforce to China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific.
• Perception in some quarters that India is well-inclined towards the U.S. and its allies, while it has simultaneously allowed a drift away from its old allies such as Russia.
• Russia’s drift from India and the emergence of a Russia-China-Pakistan trilateral.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi’sskipped the 17th Non Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.
• Rising influence of BRICS.

Way Ahead:

• Non alignment as well as Non Aligned movement will always be relevant.
• India has a responsibility as the leader of the South Blochence should make use of NAM to protect the interest of smaller nations.

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April PIB updates 1st and 2nd week For KAS mains

Pradhan MantriAwasYojana – Gramin (PMAY-G)

The erstwhile rural housing programme, Indira AwaasYojana (IAY), was restructured into PMAY-G.

To achieve “Housing for All by 2022”, a target of completing one crore PMAY-G new pucca houses in rural areas by 31st March, 2019 and 2.95 crore pucca houses by 2022 was set. Of these, 51 lakh houses were to be completed by 31st March, 2018, which included completion of expected 2 lakh incomplete IAY houses as well.

Construction of bigger and better houses has been possible due to

• Transparent beneficiary selection
• Capacity building of beneficiaries
• Timely availability of funds to the beneficiaries
• Structured monitoring and course-correction based on the feedback on implementation

Facilitated by payment of assistance directly into the beneficiary account through IT-DBT platform directly from single State Nodal Account maintained at the State level. Use of IT-DBT platform has ensured transparent, hassle-free and quality programme implementation.  Payment to beneficiaries under PMAY-G, is routed through Public Financial Management System (PFMS).

Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has led to:

• Reduction in time and cost in house construction
• Transparency leading to stoppage of leakages
• Ease in tracking fund flow to beneficiaries
• Better quality of construction of houses.

Pucca houses constructed under PMAY-G with facilities like toilet, LPG connection, electricity connection, drinking water etc. is changing rural landscape at a very fast pace

Launch of e-FRRO scheme

e-FRRO: e-Foreigners Regional Registration Office – to provide fast and efficient services to foreigners visiting India so that they have a pleasant experience of their stay here.

Aimed at building a centralized, transparent online platform for the foreigners to avail visa related services and to provide Faceless, Cashless and Paperless services to the foreigners with user friendly experience

• The e-FRRO scheme would be a quantum jump in improving the ease of service delivery with respect to foreigners visiting and staying in India.
• In the new system, foreigners would be able to get as many as 27 Visa and Immigration related services in India from the comfort of their place of stay.
• Using the e-FRRO application, foreigners can apply online on the portal and obtain the service(s) through email/post without appearing in person at the FRO/FRRO office.
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PSLV-C41 successfully launches IRNSS-1I navigation satellite

• In its forty third flight, ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C41 successfully launched the 1,425 kg IRNSS-1I Navigation Satellite today from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.
• IRNSS-1I is the latest member of the ‘Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC)’ system.  NavIC, also known as Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1,500 km around the Indian mainland.

Till now, PSLV has successfully launched 52 Indian satellites and 237 customer satellites from abroad.

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PIB March important updates

PIB updates for mains 

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Cabinet approves Establishment of National Financial Reporting Authority 📚

 {Economic Policy}

 In news  

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for establishment of National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) and creation of one post of Chairperson, three posts of full-time Members and one post of Secretary for NFRA.

 National Financial Reporting Authority  National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) is a body proposed in Companies Act 2013 for the establishment and enforcement of accounting and auditing standards and oversight of the work of auditors.

 Impact  

The decision is expected to result in improved foreign/domestic investments, enhancement of economic growth, supporting the globalisation of business by meeting international practices, and assist in further development of audit profession. 

Background 

The concept and composition of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) was originally introduced by the Companies Act, 2013. 

The Union Cabinet on 1st March, 2018 approved the proposal for establishing the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).

 The establishment of NFRA as an independent regulator for the auditing profession will improve the transparency and reliability of financial statements and information presented by listed companies and large unlisted companies in India. 

Why is it required?  

The government is quite clear that the need for such a body is all the more important after several financial accounting scams, the most recent of which was the Punjab National Bank scam

What lies ahead?  

Apart from setting the rules and regulations governing the audit sector, the NFRA will have the power to debar erring auditors or audit firm for up to 10 years and impose significant fines on them. According to Section 132 of the Companies Act, 2013, the NFRA will have powers to impose a fine of not less than ₹1 lakh, but the amount can extend up to five times of the fees received in case of individuals.

 The government has to set the rules that will stipulate the jurisdiction of the NFRA. Specifically, it has to set a limit on the size of an unlisted company that comes under the purview of the NFRA.

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Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018  

 The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 for introduction in the Parliament. 

Key point  

The NIA will receive financial aid under Nirbhaya fund for safety of women in order to set up a cell for investigating human trafficking. 

The Bill broadly has the following features  

•  Addresses the issue of trafficking from the point of view of prevention, rescue and rehabilitation. 
•  Aggravated forms of trafficking, which includes trafficking for the purpose of forced labour, begging, trafficking by administering chemical substance or hormones on a person for the purpose of early sexual maturity, trafficking of a woman or child for the purpose of marriage or under the pretext of marriage or after marriage etc.  
• Punishment for promoting or facilitating trafficking of person which includes producing, printing, issuing or distributing unissued, tampered or fake certificates, registration or stickers as proof of compliance with Government requirements; or commits fraud for procuring or facilitating the acquisition of clearances and necessary documents from Government agencies. 
•  The confidentiality of victims/ witnesses and complainants by not disclosing their identity. 
• Further the confidentiality of the victims is maintained by recording their statement through video conferencing (this also helps in trans-border and inter-State crimes).  
• Time bound trial and repatriation of the victims – within a period of one year from taking into cognizance. 
•  Immediate protection of rescued victims and their rehabilitation.
•  The Victims are entitled to interim relief immediately within 30 days to address their physical, mental trauma etc. 
• and further appropriate relief within 60 days from the date of filing of charge sheet.
•   Rehabilitation of the victim which is not contingent upon criminal proceedings being initiated against the accused or the outcome thereof. 
•  Rehabilitation Fund created for the first time. 
• To be used for the physical, psychological and social well-being of the victim including education, skill development, health care/psychological support, legal aid, safe accommodation, etc.  Designated courts in each district for the speedy trial of the cases.  
• The Bill creates dedicated institutional mechanisms at District, State and Central Level. 
• These will be responsible for prevention, protection, investigation and rehabilitation work related to trafficking.
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•   National Investigation Agency (NIA) will perform the tasks of Anti-Trafficking Bureau at the national level present under the MHA.
•   Punishment ranges from rigorous minimum 10 years to life and fine not less than Rs. 1 lakh. 
•  In order to break the organized nexus, both at the national and international level, the Bill provides for the attachment & forfeiture of property and also the proceeds for crime. 
•  The Bill comprehensively addresses the transnational nature of the crime.
•   The National Anti-Trafficking Bureau will perform the functions of international coordination with authorities in foreign countries and international organizations; international assistance in investigation; facilitate inter-State and trans-border transfer of evidence and materials, witnesses and others for expediting prosecution; facilitate inter-state and international video conferencing in judicial proceedings etc. 

Background   

• Trafficking in human beings is the third largest organized crime violating basic human rights. 
• There is.no specific law so far to deal with this crime.  
• Accordingly, the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 has been prepared.
•   The Bill addresses one of the most pervasive yet invisible crimes affecting the most vulnerable persons especially women and children. 

Swadesh Darshan Scheme – Ministry of Tourism 

 In news 

 A total amount of Rs. 5638.87 crore was sanctioned with release of Rs. 2148.17 crore since 2014-15 till date under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism. 

India’s rich cultural, historical, religious and natural heritage provides a huge potential for development of tourism and job creation in the country. 

Highlights  

 Under the Swadesh Darshan scheme, thirteen thematic circuits have been identified, for development namely: North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit. 

There is a great scope and need to develop tourist circuits on specific themes to attract the tourists having special interest in visiting such places.

 This can be achieved only through an integrated approach by providing engaging experiences for distinct categories of tourists i.e. Domestic and International.  Various themes which are unique and specific to the area can include beaches, culture, heritage, wildlife etc.

  Such theme-based tourist circuits should be developed in a manner that supports communities, provides employment and fosters social integration without comprising upon the environmental concerns and provides unique experiences to the tourists. 

Scheme Objectives   

To position tourism as a major engine of economic growth and job creation;  Develop circuits having tourist potential in a planned and prioritized manner;  Promote cultural and heritage value of the country to generate livelihoods in the identified regions;

 Tourist Circuit   

Tourist Circuit is defined as a route having at least three major tourist destinations which are distinct and apart.

  Circuits should have well defined entry and exit points. A tourist who enters should get motivated to visit most of the places identified in the circuit. 

 A Circuit could be confined to a State or could be a regional circuit covering more than one State/Union Territory. 

These circuits may have one dominant theme and other sub-themes.  

Projects under the scheme shall be under the following identified themes; Ecotourism, Wildlife, Buddhist, Desert, Spiritual, Ramayana, Krishna, Coastal, Northeast, Rural, Himalayan, Tribal and Heritage. 

Nari Shakti Puraskar 

  Every Year, Ministry of Women & Child Development celebrates International Women Day on 8th March. 

The significance of the International Women’s Day lies in our re-affirmation of improve the condition of women, especially those at the margins of our society and empower them to take rightful place in society. 

Objectives  

Provide an opportunity to the current generation to understand the contribution of women in building of society and the nation. 

Awards 

The award is named after eminent women in Indian history, and is given in the following categories:

  Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Award: named after Ahilyabai Holkar, 18th-century ruler of Malwa kingdom  Kannagi Award: named after Kannagi, a legendary Tamil woman  

Mata Jijabai Award: named after Mata Jijabai, mother of Shivaji, who founded the Maratha Empire in the 17th century

  Rani Gaidinliu Zeliang Award: named after Rani Gaidinliu, a 20th-century Naga spiritual and political leader  

Rani Lakshmi Bai Award: named after Rani Lakshmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi  Rani 

Rudramma Devi Award (for both men and women): named after Rudrama Devi, a 13th-century ruler of Deccan Plateau 

Ex Samvedna

A Multilateral Air Force exercise, ‘Ex Samvedna’, is being spearheaded by Indian Air Force and conducted by Southern Air Command (SAC) from 12-17 Mar 18. 

‘Samvedna’ means ‘Empathy’ and will ensure better understanding and sharing of response procedures between a number of friendly neighbouring nations. 

Highlights 

  It is a multilateral Air force exercise being spearheaded by Indian Air Force and conducted by Southern Air Command (SAC). 

 It is the first composite Human assistance and disaster relief (HADR) Air exercise in the South Asian region and would be focused on practicing Air Force centric HADR solutions in a Multi-national cooperative Disaster Management environment.

  Air Forces of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, UAE and Myanmar have already committed resources and personnel for the exercise. Few other Air Forces from the region are also expected to join in. 

 This exercise would help in putting in place a basic framework for conduct of Joint Air HADR operations, which will be further refined during subsequent exercises. 

This exercise is expected to lead to more coordinated and efficient HADR Air operations in the entire South Asian region when the need arises. 

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