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Dec 22, 2021
WITCH HUNTING: 83% OF ODISHA'S CASES IN SIX DISTRICTS, SAYS REPORT
As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Odisha has the 2nd-highest number of deaths due to witch-hunting in India after Jharkhand.
Highlights:
Recently, researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), madras have developed a class of fast and efficient motion planning algorithms.
Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur campaign:
Highlights:
Loss in productivity losses
Keys:
Genesis
Before 1970:
Highlights:
- Most of the victims in Odisha were targeted for causing health issues or crop failure.
- 27 per cent cases were triggered by health issues in children,
- 43.5 per cent by health issues of an adult family member,
- 24.5 per cent by misfortune or land grabbing.
- 5 per cent due to crop failure.
- The practice of witch hunting and witch branding is mostly prevalent in 12 states of India-Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.
- Superstitious Beliefs-
- Deeply rooted superstitions and systems built on misogyny and patriarchy.
- Lack of Education-
- People believe in old traditional Bej, Ojha or witch doctors due to lack of awareness and education.
- Lack of awareness, literacy and the prevalence of caste system have exacerbated the violence.
- Unequal socio-economic systems and gender inequality.
- Lack of medical facilities and resources-
- The village folks have a tradition of visiting witch doctor when they fall ill rather than seeking advice from qualified health practitioners, who in turn tell them that disease is an outcome of witchcraft.
- There is no specific and particular national level legislation that penalizes witch hunting.
- Witch-hunting violates-
- Articles 14, 15(3), 15(4), 21, 51, 51A of the Indian Constitution.
- National legislations including Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes (prevention of atrocities) Act, 1989
- Hence the provisions under the Indian Penal Code 1860 are used as an alternative for the victim.
- Sec.302- murder
- Sec307- attempt for murder.
- Sec 376- rape.
- Sec. 354- outraging a woman’s modesty.
- Sec 299- Culpable homicide.
- The Prevention of Witch Practices Act, 1999-
- The Prevention of Witch Practices Act, 2001-
- Chhattisgarh Tonahi Pratadna Nivaran Act, 2005.
- The Odisha Prevention of Witch Hunting Act, 2013.
- The Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori practices and black magic Act, 2013.
- The Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil practices and black magic Act, 2017.
- The Rajasthan Prevention of Witch Hunting Act, 2015.
- The Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection Act) 2015.
- Aim-to eliminate the superstition by making it as offence which is non-bailable, cognizable and non-compoundable.
- The guilty shall be punished with up to seven years imprisonment and also fine up to five lakh rupees.
- The school curriculum needs to scale up scientific and rational attitude and may include reading material on health, superstition, and witch craft.
- Children and adult audience should be also shown the films which exposes superstition and shows the scientific aspects of magic, occult, witch craft.
- A series of workshops could be held with Traditional leaders as they are widely respected in the tribal societies.
- Improved access to health care services.
- Women should be provided legal education on witch hunting.
- National legislation criminalizing witch-hunting is the need of the hour.
- Appropriate investigation must be done into a complaint by the police and other officials.
- The victims must be provided with compensation and rehabilitation facilities.
Recently, researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), madras have developed a class of fast and efficient motion planning algorithms.
- The algorithms have been developed based on the Generalized shape expansion (GSE) that enables planning for a safe and dynamically feasible trajectory for autonomous vehicles.
- It can think like human beings and enable autonomous aerial, ground or surface vehicles to navigate obstacle cluttered environments.
- It will provide a crucial advance during time sensitive planning scenarios arising in applications like Self-driving cars, Disaster response, Aerial drone delivery and Planetary exploration.
- It is based algorithms function by calculating a safe region consisting of large visible areas in the environment, customized to ensure navigability.
Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur campaign:
- It is a Nation-wide campaign for redressal of public grievances and improving service delivery will be held in all Districts, States, and Union Territories of India.
- Governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented.
- It can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance.
- According to UN, Good governance has 8 major characteristics.
- It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making.
- Participation
- Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance.
- It could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives.
- Rule of Law
- Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially.
- Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and incorruptible police force.
- Transparency
- Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations.
- It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement.
- Responsiveness
- Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable time frame.
- Consensus Oriented
- Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to focus on what is the interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved.
- It also requires long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development.
- Equity and Inclusiveness
- A society’s well-being depends on ensuring all its members feel, they have a stake in it and do not exclude from the mainstream of society.
- This requires all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their well-being.
- Effectiveness and Efficiency
- Good governance means that institutions produce results that meet the needs of society utilizing the best use of resources at their disposal.
- The concept of efficiency covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment.
- Accountability
- Accountability is a key requirement of good governance.
- The private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders.
- The reason behind inefficiency in governance is the inability within the system to hold the Civil Services accountable for their actions.
- It is primarily because at most levels authority is divorced from accountability.
- Another reason is the performance evaluation systems within the government, which have not been effectively structured.
- Low levels of compliance of rules by the citizens acts as an impediment to good governance.
- When citizens are not aware of their duties, they infringe on the freedom and rights of other citizens.
- Weak implementation can cause a great deal of hardship to citizens and erode their faith in government machinery.
- Bureaucracies over the world are expected to adhere to rules and procedures which are important for good governance.
- However, at times, these rules and procedures are ill-conceived and cumbersome and therefore do not serve their purpose.
- Digital India Campaign is an attempt to provide government services to the citizens electronically.
- The vision of cashless economy will curb generation of black money.
- GST is another step to bring uniformity in tax rates and structures of both the goods and services across the country.
- Maintaining diplomatic relations with other countries would induce investment in the country, which would accelerate the pace of growth of Economy.
- National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB), a new national architecture for civil services capacity building has been launched.
- It is a comprehensive reform of the capacity building apparatus at individual, institutional and process levels for efficient public service delivery.
- A real time online system for monitoring and follow up action on the decisions taken by the Government at the Apex level in respect of implementation of Government programmes / projects.
- E-Office Mission Mode Project (MMP) has been strengthened for enabling Ministries/ Departments to switchover to paperless office and efficient decision making.
- Recruiting agencies issue provisional appointment letters based on submission of self-certified documents by the candidates.
- It provides a platform for government to engage with experts, intellectuals from industry and academic institutions to exchange ideas relating to e-Governance initiatives.
- Aim: Assessing the States, UTs and Central Ministries on the efficiency of e-Governance service delivery.
- The Government is undertaking CPGRAMS reforms in the top grievance receiving Ministries/ Departments by enabling questionnaire guided registration process and providing for automatic forwarding of grievances to field level functionaries thereby reducing the redress time.
- Aim: It is A squad of women Goa Police officials tasked with acting in cases of crimes against women, children, and tourists.
- These forces will be available in the coastal belt, especially in places of tourist interest.
- This force will be available 24x7 and round the clock to prevent crime.
- Goa is the first state in the country to launch such a force.
Highlights:
- The policy will set the roadmap for development of exclusive warehousing zones in public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
- The modern warehouses will house cold-storage chains and will be able to store all kinds of cargo—wet and dry.
- National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will frame the policy and will also be the implementing agency of the policy.
- To improve logistics throughout the country.
- To minimize pollution and traffic congestion in major cities.
- The carrying capacity of trucks will be increased as large goods vehicles will no longer be needed to ply on city roads.
- It will help ease major traffic congestions.
- It will help reduce overall logistics costs that remains at a high level of 14-16% of gross domestic product (GDP).
- The warehousing zones will help Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) firms, steel and cement makers stock inventory near major hubs.
Loss in productivity losses
- An increase in heat stress will lead to global productivity losses equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs ($1.6 trillion) 2030.
- India, China, Pakistan and Indonesia will experience the biggest losses overall.
- India showed the largest heat exposure impacts on heavy labour among South Asian countries.
- Critical jobs, such as agricultural and construction work will be the most affected.
- Global warming will make heat stress and extreme weather events more common.
- Heat stress refers to heat received in excess of that which the body can tolerate without suffering physiological impairment.
- Heat is an occupational safety and health hazard.
- It increases workers’ occupational risks and vulnerability leading to heat stroke or even death.
- Heat stress is projected to reduce total working hours worldwide by 2.2 % and global GDP by US$2,400 billion in 2030.
- The countries that are most affected by heat stress will have higher rates of working poverty, informal employment and subsistence agriculture.
- Heat stress exacerbates inequality and contributes to the displacement of people
- Heat stress could widen gender gaps in the world of work.
- It makes the working conditions worse for the many women employed in subsistence agriculture.
- Heat stress may also result in the displacement of large number of agricultural people.
- Heat stress refers to heat received in excess of that which the body can tolerate without suffering physiological impairment.
- Southwest Asia, South Asia and Africa experience greater per-capita labour losses.
- The European subregions are expected to experience a smaller impact.
- Tropical and subtropical regions are at higher risk of heat stress.
- Appropriate policies, technological investments and behavioral changes are required.
- Efforts to improve the capacity of workplaces to adapt to rising temperatures are necessary.
- Enforcement of occupational safety and health standards are necessary to improve early warning systems for heat events.
- A sectoral response to heat stress in agriculture and construction should include technological improvements, skills development and awareness raising.
- Smart urban planning could help mitigate heat stress on construction sites in large cities.
- Promote social dialogue tools, such as collective agreements to design and implement policies for dealing with heat stress.
Keys:
- There is no provision in the Rules and Regulations of BIS for imposing the condition of obtaining NOC from CGWA before grant of license to Packaged Drinking Water units.
- There is lack of facilities to monitor the ground water level in the country.
- There was shortage of human resources in Scientific and Engineering categories in CGWB and its regional and divisional offices.
- The percentage of utilisation of ground water with respect to recharge, known as the ‘stage of extraction’, was 63 % in the country.
- A ‘stage of extraction’ above 100 % indicates that extraction has surpassed recharge.
- It is subordinate office of the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India.
- It was constituted under sub-section (3) of Section 3 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
- Aim: To provide scientific inputs for management, exploration, monitoring, assessment, augmentation and regulation of ground water resources of the country.
- Sustainable Management & Liaison (SML),
- Survey, Assessment & Monitoring (SAM),
- Exploratory Drilling & Materials Management (ED&MM),
- Water Quality & Training and Technology Transfer (WQ&TT).
- To conduct micro level ground water management studies, exploratory drilling programme.
- To monitoring of ground water levels and water quality through a network of ground water observation wells.
- To carried out periodic assessment of replenishable ground water resources of the country.
- To take up special studies on various aspects of ground water sector such as ground water depletion, sea water ingress, ground water contamination, conjunctive use of surface and ground water etc.
- To organizes various capacity building activities for personnel of its own as well as Central and state government organizations.
- To advise states and other user agencies on planning and management of ground water resources.
Genesis
Before 1970:
- Prior to 1970s, the coastal fishermen from both sides had an unregulated term with no governing law.
- During the mid-1970s, the area was demarcated by the signing of Maritime Boundary agreements of 1974 and 1976 between India and Sri Lanka.
- This demarcation of ‘Fisheries Line’ vis-à-vis the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) made it illegal for fishermen from either side to cross over into each other’s waters to fish.
- By the end of the 1970s, the Indian fishermen saw the need for new grounds to fish and began to encroach upon Sri Lankan waters despite the water-border agreement.
- On the other side, Sri Lanka descended into its internal ethnic conflicts and the resulting civil war of the early 1980s.
- As a result of the civil war, Sri Lanka’s northern province and maritime boundaries nearby were not tightly guarded.
- As a result, Indian trawlers routinely entered Lankan waters for fishing.
- Absence of poor Tamil fishermen of Sri Lanka due to the war also favoured fishing by Indian trawlers.
- In 2009, with the end of Sri Lankan civil war, arrests and attacks increased on Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy.
- As Sri Lankan fishermen returned to their side of the bay, they faced the consequences posed by decade-long Indian trawling in the area.
- Due to their smaller boats, Sri Lankan fishermen could never compete with the high speeding motorboats, which was the major issue which initiated the conflict.
- Katchatheevu is an uninhabited island administered by Sri Lanka.
- It is located, in the Palk Strait, between Neduntheevu, Sri Lanka and Rameswaram, India and has been traditionally used by both Sri Lankan Tamil and Indian fishermen.
- it was owned by the Ramnad Kingdom of Ramanathapuram Rameshwaram which later came under the Madras Presidency during British rule of India.
- In 1974, the island was ceded to Sri Lanka after an agreement was signed between the two countries without consulting the Tamil Nadu government.
- The agreement allows Indian fishermen access to Katchatheevu for rest, for drying of nests and for the annual St Anthony’s festival but it did not ensure the traditional fishing rights.
- It is the second-largest organization after the United Nations.
- Founded in: 1969
- Member: 57 member states
- Headquarters: Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- The organization is the collective voice of the Muslim world.
- Aim: To safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony.
- The OIC system consists of:
- The largest meeting, attended by the kings and the heads of state and government of the member states, convenes every three years.
- It takes policy decisions and guides on all issues about the realization of the objectives as provided for in the Charter.
- They meet once a year to examine a progress report on the implementation of its decisions taken within the framework of the defined policy
- The Secretary-General is elected by the Council of Foreign Ministers for five years.
- Secretary-General is elected from among nationals of the Member States under the principles of:
- Equitable geographical distribution.
- Rotation and equal opportunity for all Member States.
- Consideration to competence, integrity, and experience.
- The Permanent Secretariat is the executive organ of the Organisation, entrusted with the implementation of the decisions of the two preceding bodies.
- It is located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- To ensure Islamic solidarity among the Member States.
- Cooperation in the political, economic, social, cultural, and struggle of all Muslim people to safeguard their dignity, independence, and national rights.
- It shall Safeguard the Holy Places like Mecca and Medina.
- Support the struggle of the Palestinian people and assist them in recovering their rights and liberating their occupied territories.
- Eliminate racial discrimination and all forms of colonialism.
- Aim: to help smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa to address their challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic.
- It is a global collaborative platform where governments, private sector organizations, experts, academicians, and distinguished individuals harness innovations in public service delivery.
- To help smallholder farmers across Asia and Africa to address their challenges in the aftermath of the pandemic.
- To enable the cross-border exchange of innovations, insights, and investments.
- To exchange knowledge, experiences, and expertise to inculcate innovations in public service delivery.
POSTED ON 22-12-2021 BY ADMIN
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