Assam has become the 36th State/UT to implement One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC).

• With this, the ONORC plan is successfully implemented in all the 36 states/UTs, making food security portable throughout the country.
• It was initiated in August 2019. During the last two years of COVID-19 pandemic, ONORC plan has significantly contributed in ensuring subsidized foodgrains to NFSA (National Food Security Act) beneficiaries, especially migrant beneficiaries.
• The objective of this program is to empower all NFSA beneficiaries to become AtmaNirbhar for their food security anywhere in the country, through portability of their existing ration cards enabling them to seamlessly lift their entitled subsidized foodgrains (in part or full) from any Fair Price Shop of their choice.
• Another dimension under ONORC plan is the ‘MERA RATION’ mobile application which has been rolled out to take maximum advantage of the ONORC plan. The mobile app is providing a host of useful real time information to the beneficiaries and is available in 13 languages.

US Supreme Court overturns landmark Roe v. Wade

• It also overturned was Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a 1992 case that upheld Roe.
• Abortion rights — which have been available to women for over two generations — will now be determined by individual States.
• Some 20 States have laws (which were overruled by Roe until now) restricting or banning abortions. Thirteen States have laws banning the procedure, that come into effect, now that Roe has been overturned.
• Addressing the nation, President Joe Biden called the decision a “tragic error” and a “sad day” for the court and the country. “The court has done what it has never done before, expressly take away a constitutional right that is so fundamental to so many Americans,” he said.
• Biden warned officials, “state or local” ,” high or low” not to interfere in the right of a woman to travel to a State where she could have an abortion.

‘Roe v. Wade’

• The case, sometimes referred to simply as “Roe”, struck down laws that made abortion illegal in several states, and ruled that abortion would be allowed up to the point of foetal viability, that is, the time after which a foetus can survive outside the womb.
• Foetal viability was around 28 weeks (7 months) at the time of the ‘Roe’ judgment nearly 50 years ago; experts now agree that advances in medicine have brought the threshold down to 23 or 24 weeks (6 months or a little less), and newer studies show this could be further pegged at 22 weeks. An average pregnancy lasts about 40 weeks.
• Foetal viability is often seen as the point at which the rights of the woman can be separated from the rights of the unborn foetus.

PM Modi inaugurates commerce ministry’s new premises ‘Vanijya Bhawan’

• Constructed near India Gate, the Vanijya Bhawan will serve as an integrated and modern office complex that will be used by the two Departments under the Ministry i.e. Department of Commerce and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
• During the Programme, Prime Minister will also launch a new portal - NIRYAT (National Import-Export Record for Yearly Analysis of Trade) - which is developed as a one stop platform for stakeholders to get all necessary information related to India’s foreign trade.

Poll panel to delete 111 unrecognised political parties for flouting norms

• The EC had deleted 87 RUPPs in May after announcing a clean-up drive against more than 2,100 such parties that it said had violated a string of rules by failing to furnish contribution reports or communicating changes to party-related information.
• There are 2,796 RUPPs, according to EC’s data till September 2021, an increase of more than 300% since 2001.
• According to the EC, during verification the RUPPs against whom action has been taken were found existing only on paper or letters sent to their addresses returned undelivered.
• The EC has for long been seeking powers to deregister political parties. The poll panel has also been seeking modification to Form 24A to mandate disclosure of all donations above Rs 2,000 instead of the current Rs 20,000.

Prime Minister’s Awards for Outstanding Contribution towards the Development and Promotion of Yoga-2021

• Bhikkhu Sanghasena from Ladakh, Marcus Vinicius Rojo Rodrigues from Brazil and two organisations, The Divine Life Society from Uttarakhand and the British Wheel of Yoga from United Kingdom have been chosen for the award.
• Ayush Ministry said, the winners will be felicitated with a trophy, certificate and cash award of 25 lakh rupees.
• The award was first announced by the Prime Minister Modi on the occasion of the second International Day of Yoga celebrations at Chandigarh in 2016.

NIPUN: Upskilling of construction workers launched to train for overseas job opportunities

• The project NIPUN is an initiative of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) under its flagship scheme of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to train over 1 lakh construction workers, through fresh skilling and upskilling programmes and provides them with work opportunities in foreign countries also.
• The construction industry is poised to become the largest employer by 2022 and needs 45 million additional skilled workers over the next 10 years.
• To fulfil this mission, the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO) and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers'' Associations of India (CREDAI) have joined Project NIPUN as industry partners and will identify training job roles of aspirational value in the construction sector in collaboration with the SSC.

IIT Madras to set up 5G test bed for Army Training Command

• The test bed will facilitate Indian Army to utilise the 5G technology for its operational use, especially along its borders. The collaboration would provide an impetus to the induction of systems, devices and equipment using niche technology and use of AI-based algorithms for enhancing capabilities of the Indian armed forces.
• Under the ambit of the MoU, IIT Madras will provide consultancy, duly supported by research for feasibility studies and prototype development on 5G enabled future communications.

''Svadha''- Wellness Wear Collection in Khadi

• In Atharva veda, ‘Svadha’ means ease, comfort or pleasure, which are truly the attributes of this collection.
• The wellness clothing ‘Svadha’ range emphasizes the values of mindfulness and perseverance and is aimed to attract all age groups from Gen Z to young at heart. The wellness wear has used hand-spun khadi in natural hues.
• Center of Excellence for Khadi (CoEK) has been set up by KVIC, Ministry of MSME at NIFT, with the objective to help Khadi Institutions (KIs) to effectively design, produce and market high quality differentiated khadi products in the Indian and global market.

12th Joint Working Group (JWG) on Border Management between India and Nepal held on 15-16 June

• The two sides reviewed the decisions taken in the last JWG held in 2015 in Pokhara, Nepal.
• The Joint Working Group reviewed the Border District Coordination Committee (BDCC) meetings held earlier and also the progress made on the signing of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, Extradition Treaty and other outstanding MoUs to be signed between the two sides.
• The Indian Delegation was led by Joint Secretary (Border Management) in the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Nepali side was led by the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, Nepal.
• The Nepalese delegation extended an invitation to the Indian delegation for the next JWG to be held in Nepal next year.