National Lok Adalat to be held across country on Nov 12 to dispose pending cases

• Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably.
• National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) along with other Legal Services Institutions conducts Lok Adalats.
• Lok Adalats have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
• Appeal:
  • The award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law.
  • If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal against such an award, but they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction by filing a case by following the required procedure, in exercise of their right to litigate.
• There is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat.
• Nature of Cases to be Referred to Lok Adalat
  1. Any case pending before any court.
  2. Any dispute which has not been brought before any court and is likely to be filed before the court.

Provided that any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under the law shall not be settled in Lok Adalat.

Nobel literature prize 2022 awarded to French author Annie Ernaux

• Ernaux, was honoured “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory”.
• Her more than 20 books, many of which have been school texts in France for decades, offer one of the most subtle, insightful windows into the social life of modern France.
• Personal experiences are the source for all of Ms. Ernaux’s work and she is the pioneer of France’s “autofiction” genre, which gives narrative form to real-life experience.

UNHRC adopts resolution against Sri Lanka''s rights record

• The draft resolution on ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ was adopted at the 51st Session of Human Rights Council in Geneva.
• The significant feature in the resolution is its call to investigate the on-going economic crisis and prosecute those responsible.
• The resolutions on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka were previously moved in Geneva in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, and in 2021. Sri Lanka had expressed opposition to the resolution as a violation of its sovereignty other than in 2015 when they co-sponsored the resolution.

UN Human Rights Council

• What is it? It is an inter-governmental body within the UN system.
• Location: It meets at the UN Office at Geneva.
• Establishment: It was founded in 2006. It replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR).
• Functions:
  • It investigates allegations of breaches of human rights in UN member states.
  • It addresses important human rights issues such as freedom of expression, women''s rights, LGBT rights, and the rights of racial and ethnic minorities.
  • The UNHRC works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
• Membership:
  • The Council is made of 47 Member States, which are elected by UN General Assembly through direct and secret ballot. The Council''s Membership is based on equitable geographical distribution.
  • Members of the Council serve for a period of three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
  • In June 2018, the United States announced its withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) terming it “hypocritical and self-serving".

NOPEC: the US bill to pressure the OPEC+ oil group

• NOPEC bill, which passed a Senate committee 17-4 on May 5, is intended to protect U.S. consumers and businesses from engineered oil spikes.
• The bipartisan NOPEC bill would tweak U.S. antitrust law to revoke the sovereign immunity that has protected OPEC+ members and their national oil companies from lawsuits.
• If signed into law, the S. attorney general would gain the option to sue the oil cartel or its members, such as Saudi Arabia, in federal court.
• It is unclear exactly how a federal court could enforce judicial antitrust decisions against a foreign nation.

FM inaugurates CCI''s western regional office in Mumbai

• Status: A statutory body established under the provisions of The Competition Act, 2002.
• Established in: 2003.
• Composition: A Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Preceding agency: Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission.
• Mandate: To implement provisions of The Competition Act, 2002 which –
  • prohibits anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position by enterprises
  • regulates mergers and acquisition (M&A) which can have an adverse effect on competition within India. Thus, deals beyond a certain threshold are required to get clearance from CCI.

International Solar Alliance’s 5th Assembly to deliberate on promoting Solar Energy

• The Assembly is the apex decision-making body of ISA, in which each Member Country is represented. This body makes decisions concerning the implementation of the ISA’s Framework Agreement and coordinated actions to be taken to achieve its objective.
• India holds the office of the President of the ISA Assembly. Ministers, missions and delegates from 109 Member and Signatory Countries are set to participate in this meeting.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

• It is an international organisation with 109 member and signatory countries.
• It works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable way to transition to a carbon-neutral future.
• ISA’s mission is to unlock US$ 1 trillion of investments in solar by 2030 while reducing the cost of the technology and its financing.
• With the signing and ratification of the ISA Framework Agreement by 15 countries in 2017, ISA became the first international intergovernmental organization to be headquartered in India.

ISRO’s Vyommitra’s Skills Get A Lift-Off With Digital Grey Matter

• ‘Vyommitra’, is a humanoid designed and developed by the ISRO to fly aboard unmanned test missions ahead of the Gaganyaan human space-flight mission, is undergoing pre-flight ground tests.
• ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU) has successfully integrated it with a computer ‘brain’ which enables it to ‘read’ control panels aboard the unmanned test flights and communicate with the ISRO ground stations.
• The AI-enabled robot, which can withstand vibrations and shock during the flight, has been designed to resemble a human with facial expressions and speech and sight capabilities. It is a half-humanoid lacking lower limbs.

PM Modi calls for giving boost to One District One Product scheme & further develop Aspirational Districts

• ODOP was launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, to help districts reach their full potential, foster economic and socio-cultural growth, and create employment opportunities, especially, in rural areas.
• This initiative is carried out with the ‘Districts as Exports Hub’ initiative by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Department of Commerce.
• There may be more than one cluster of ODOP products in one district. The States would identify the food product for a district, keeping in perspective the focus of the scheme on perishables.
• The ODOP product could be a perishable Agri produce, cereal-based product, or a food product widely produced in a district and their allied sectors.
• The ODOP launch date is January 24, 2018, by the Uttar Pradesh Government, and due to its success, was later adopted by the Central Government.

Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP)

• Launched by the Hon’ble PM in January 2018, it aims to quickly and effectively transform 112 most under-developed districts across the country.
• The ranking is based on the incremental progress made across 49 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under 5 broad socio-economic themes - Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development and Infrastructure.

PM Modi shares citizen’s response to Ayushman Bharat Scheme

• The Prime Minister remarked that the benefits of the scheme can be availed all over India.

• Ayushman Bharat is National Health Protection Scheme, which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

• Benefits of the scheme are  and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.

  portable across the country

• It will be an entitlement-based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database.

• States would need to have State Health Agency (SHA) to implement the scheme.

Revenue Deficit Grant of Rs.7183.42 crore released to 14 States

• The Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grants are provided to the States under Article 275 of the Constitution.
• The grants are released to the States as per the recommendations of the successive Finance Commissions to meet the gap in Revenue Accounts of the States post devolution.
• The eligibility of States to receive this grant and the quantum of grant for the period from 2020-21 to 2025-26 was decided by the Fifteenth Commission based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the State after taking into account the assessed devolution during this period.