How Ambedkar Circuit is good tourism and good politics for the BJP

• The modalities — such as the date of journey, ticket price, number of passengers —are still in the works.
• The government had first proposed the Ambedkar Circuit, or Panchteerth, in 2016.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said the Panchteerth would include Janma Bhoomi, Ambedkar’s birthplace in Madhya Pradesh’s Mhow; Shiksha Bhoomi, the place in London where he stayed while studying in the UK; Deeksha Bhoomi in Nagpur where he embraced Buddhism; Mahaparinirvan Bhoomi or the place of his demise in Delhi; and Chaitya Bhoomi, the place of his cremation, in Mumbai.
• The idea is to attract tourists beyond the Dalit community, who mostly visit these places as a pilgrimage. The journey will include meals, ground transportation, and entry to the sites.
• The government had identified 15 tourist circuits under the Swadesh Darshan scheme in 2014-15.
• In terms of train collaboration, the Ramayana, Buddhist, and North East Circuits are already active, while Ambedkar will be fourth.

Supreme Court to live-stream its Constitution Bench proceedings from September 27

• A full court meeting is attended by all judges of the court. The meeting, presided over by Chief Justice of India (CJI) U U Lalit, was held on September 20, at which the decision was taken unanimously.
• Senior Advocate Indira Jaising had written to the judges of the court earlier this month seeking live streaming of proceedings in matters of public and constitutional importance.
• Back in the ‘Swapnil Tripathi’ judgment, in September 2018, the Supreme Court had ruled that live telecast of court proceedings was part of the right to access justice under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• Several of the country’s High Courts already live-stream their proceedings through their YouTube channels. Last month, the Supreme Court live-streamed its proceedings for the first time.

Approach to death penalty: Why Supreme Court has decided to settle differences among judgments

• Section 235 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) requires a judge to hear the accused after conviction on the question of sentence, and then pass sentence on him according to law.
• In 1980, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of capital punishment in ‘Bachan Singh v State of Punjab’ on the condition that the punishment will be awarded in the “rarest of the rare” cases.
• Crucially, the ruling also stressed that a separate sentencing hearing would be held, where a judge would be persuaded on why the death sentence need not be awarded.
• This position was reiterated in several subsequent rulings of the court, including in ‘Mithu v State of Punjab’, a 1982 ruling by a five-judge Bench that struck down mandatory death sentence as it falls foul of the right of an accused to be heard before sentencing.
• However, there are conflicting rulings on when that separate hearing is supposed to take place.
• At least three smaller Bench rulings have held that while a separate sentencing hearing is inviolable, they can be allowed on the same day as the conviction.

Plastic surgeon booked for tying stray dog to car, dragging it along road in Rajasthan

• The doctor faces charges under Section 428 (mischief by killing or maiming animal) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 11 (treating animals cruelly) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960.
• If convicted under the PCA Act and found to be a first-time offender, he can be punished with a fine of Rs 10 to Rs 50. If it is found that this is not his first such crime within the past three years, the maximum punishment would be a fine between Rs 25 and Rs 100, a jail term of three months, or both.
• The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 defines cruelty to animals –– including acts of overburdening or overworking it, not providing the animal food, water and shelter, mutilating or killing an animal, etc.
• The Act has been criticised for being ‘speciesist’ (the assumption that humans are a superior species deserving more rights), for its quantum of punishment being negligible, for not defining ‘cruelty’ adequately, and for slapping a flat punishment without any gradation of crimes.

Cabinet approves second tranche of PLI scheme to boost manufacturing of solar modules

• The national programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules aims to build an ecosystem for manufacturing of high efficiency solar PV modules in India reducing import dependence in the area of Renewable Energy.
• It will strengthen the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative and generate employment.
• The Tranche-2 scheme of High Efficiency Solar PV Modules has been approved with an outlay of 19,500 crore rupees for achieving manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt scale.
• The aim is to build an ecosystem for manufacturing of high efficiency solar PV modules.
• About 65 thousand Mega Watt per annum manufacturing capacity of fully and partially integrated solar PV modules will be installed.

Govt signs MoU with Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank to expand reach of SPARSH initiative

• SPARSH is a web-based system for processing the pension claims and crediting the pension directly into the bank accounts of defence pensioners without any external intermediary.
• It has been designed to give Defence Pensioners a transparent view of their pension account, through an online portal which captures and maintains a complete history of events and entitlements of the pensioner – right from the date of commencement of pension to the date of cessation of pension due to the last eligible beneficiary.
• This system is administered by the Defence Accounts Department through the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions), Prayagraj and caters to all the three Services and allied organization.
• The system on roll-out is initially catering to the new retirees and subsequently is being extended to cover the existing defence pensioners.

Gujarat: PM Modi to virtually inaugurate National Conference of Environment Ministers today

• Taking forward the spirit of cooperative federalism, Conference is being convened to create further synergy amongst the Central and State Governments in formulating better policies on environmental issues.
• The two day Conference being organised on 23rd and 24th September will have six thematic sessions with topics focusing on
  • LiFE- Lifestyle for Environment;
  • Combating Climate Change (Updating State Action Plans on Climate Change for Mitigation of Emissions and Adaptation to Climate Impacts) ;
  • PARIVESH (Single Window System for Integrated Green Clearances) ;
  • Forestry Management ;
  • Prevention and Control of Pollution; Wildlife Management ;
  • Plastics and Waste Management.

Indian Navy launches 2 Diving Support Vessels in Visakhapatnam

• The Diving Support Vessels (DSVs) are first of the kind, ships indigenously designed and built at HSL for the Indian Navy.
• The vessels are 118.4 metres long, 22.8 metres at the broadest point and will have a displacement of 9,350 tons.
• These ships would be deployed for deep sea diving operations. Additionally, with Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) embarked, the DSVs are designed to undertake submarine rescue operations, in case requirement exists.
• Furthermore, these ships will be capable of sustained patrolling, conducting Search & Rescue operations and carrying out Helicopter Operations at high seas.

Cabinet approves modifications in scheme for development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem

• These modifications are:
  • Fiscal support of 50% of Project Cost on pari-passu basis for all technology nodes under Scheme for Setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India.
  • Fiscal support of 50% of Project Cost on pari-passu basis under Scheme for Setting up of Display Fabs.
  • Fiscal support of 50% of Capital Expenditure on pari-passu basis under Scheme for Setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fab and Semiconductor ATMP /OSAT facilities in India. Additionally, target technologies under the Scheme will include Discrete Semiconductor Fabs.
• Under modified programme, a uniform fiscal support of 50% of Project Cost shall be provided across all technology nodes for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs.
• Given the niche technology and nature of compound semiconductors and advanced packaging, the modified programme shall also provide fiscal support of 50% of Capital Expenditure in pari-passu mode for setting up of compound semiconductors / silicon photonics / sensors / Discrete semiconductors fabs and ATMP/OSAT.