Union Minister inaugurates Centre of Excellence for Khadi

• The CoEK hub in New Delhi and its spokes in Gandhinagar, Shillong, Kolkata and Bengaluru were inaugurated by Union Minister of MSME, Shri Narayan Rane, at NIFT Campus in New Delhi .
• An MoU, for setting up of CoEK, was signed between KVIC and NIFT last year and the project will be implemented over a period of 3 years.
• The CoEK will work to introduce the latest designs and adopt processes of international standards to create new fabrics and clothing as per the needs of the domestic and global buyers.
• The CoEK will also contribute to branding and publicity, visual merchandising and packaging for new Khadi products and increasing the global reach of Khadi by organizing Khadi Fashion shows and exhibitions in India and abroad.

Oil Marketing Companies enter into long-term purchase agreement for upcoming dedicated ethanol plants

• The first set of Tripartite Agreement was signed among Oil Marketing Companies and Banks of the respective Ethanol Plant Projects.
• State Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Indian Bank are three banks involved in this agreement with Oil Marketing Companies.
• As per the agreement, ethanol produced by these dedicated ethanol plants shall be sold to Oil Marketing Companies for blending with Petrol as per government Ethanol-Blended Petrol Programme.
• In Ethanol Supply Year 2021-22, India has achieved 9.90 per cent ethanol blending, consuming 186 crore litre of ethanol and saving of over nine thousand crore rupees of foreign exchange.

Union Environment Minister delivers the National Statement at the 15th Session of the Conference of Parties of UNCCD

• The fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is being held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 9 to 20 May 2022.
• The COP15 theme, ‘Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity'', is a call to action to ensure land, the lifeline on this planet, continues to benefit present and future generations.
• Several global developments indicate support to the objectives of UNCCD, such as the launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) that aims at halting and reversing ecosystem degradation and loss.
• The importance placed on increasing area, connectivity and integrity of natural ecosystems is visible in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
• For the first time, an Intergovernmental Working Group (IWG) on effective policy and implementation measures for addressing drought under the United Nations Convention for Combating Desertification (UNCCD) was established by decision 23/COP.14. India held the 14th COP in Delhi in 2019.

Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi has been conferred with the prestigious Royal Gold Medal 2022.

• The president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Simon Allford, presented the medal to the renowned architect in person at his residence in Ahmedabad.
• The Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by Queen Elizabeth and is given to people who have had a significant influence on the advancement of architecture.
• The 94-year-old architect is among the rare people to have been awarded both the Royal Gold Medal and the Pritzker Architecture Prize in their lifetime.

Delhi HC delivers split verdict on marital rape

• Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who headed the Bench, struck down as unconstitutional the exception to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, which says that sexual intercourse by a man with his wife aged 18 and above is not rape even if it is without her consent.
• The right to withdraw consent at any given point in time forms the core of the woman’s right to life and liberty which encompasses her right to protect her physical and mental being,” Justice Shakdher said, calling for a change in the 162-year-old law.
• However, Justice C. Hari Shankar rejected the plea to criminalise marital rape noting that any change in the law has to be carried out by the legislature since the issue requires consideration of social, cultural and legal aspects.
• In India, marital rape is not defined in law. The High Court’s verdict came on a bunch of petitions, including by NGO RIT Foundation, the AIDWA and a marital rape victim.

Perarivalan case | Supreme Court slams government claim that only President has power to pardon

• A three-judge Bench said the government''s argument, if taken on face value, would leave Article 161 (the constitutional power of Governors of States to grant pardon) a “dead letter”.
• The court said then by the Centre’s logic, every murder case convict would have to move the President for pardon.
• Article 161 of Indian constitution: ****The Governor of a State shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the State extends.

SC halts trials under colonial era sedition law

• All pending trials, appeals and proceedings with respect to the charge framed under Section 124A of the IPC be kept in abeyance,” a three-judge Bench ordered.
• It was argued in court that nearly 13,000 people were already in jail under the sedition provision.
• The court also made it clear that it “hopes and expects” the Centre and States to restrain from registering FIRs, continuing investigations or take coercive measures under Section 124A while the “reconsideration” of the colonial provision was on.
• Adding a fail-safe to protect civil liberties against any future misuse of Section 124A while it was under the Union’s microscope, the court ordered that the persons accused in fresh cases were free to approach courts.
• The court, meanwhile, gave the Union of India liberty to issue a directive to States and authorities to prevent the continued misuse of the sedition law.

“Tomato flu” cases being detected in Kerala.

• The flu gets its name because of the red blister it causes.
• The flu affects children below five years of age.
• The symptoms of this flu, also called Tomato fever, include rashes, skin irritation and dehydration. The flu can also cause tiredness, joint pain, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, sneezing, runny nose, high fever, and body ache. In some cases, it may also change the colour of the legs and the hands.
• This flu is a self-limiting one and there is no specific drug for this. This means that the symptoms will resolve overtime on their own if supportive care is given.
• Like other cases of flu, tomato fever is also contagious. If someone is infected with this flu, they need to be kept in isolation as this could spread rapidly from one person to another.
• It is essential to prevent children from scratching the blisters caused by the flu. Proper rest and hygiene is also advised. Utensils, clothes and other items used by the infected persons must be sanitised to prevent the flu from spreading.
• Fluid intake would also help counteract dehydration.

PM Modi launches Amrit Sarovar Mission

• The Mission is aimed at developing and rejuvenating 75 water bodies in each district of the country as a part of celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The Mission Amrit Sarovar is to be completed by 15th August 2023.
• In total, it would lead to creation of 50,000 water bodies of a size of about an Acre or more with a water holding capacity of 10,000 cubic meter.
• This Mission has been launched with a whole of Government Approach in which following Ministries/Department are involved: Dept of Rural Development , Department of land resources, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Department of Water resources, Ministry of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Environment.
• Also Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Application and Geo-informatics(BISAG-N) has been engaged as Technical partner for the Mission.
• The Mission works through the States and Districts, through refocusing of various schemes such as Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, XV Finance Commission Grants, PMKSY sub schemes such as Watershed Development Component, Har Khet Ko Pani besides States’ own schemes.

India elected as Chair of Association of Asian Election Authorities for 2022-24

• Commission on Elections, Manila was the current chair of AAEA. The new member in the Executive Board now includes Russia, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Taiwan and Philippines.
• In pursuance of the resolution passed by participants of the Symposium on Asian Elections in the Twenty First Century held from January 26-29, 1997 in Manila, Philippines, the Association of Asian Election Authorities (AAEA) was established in 1998.
• Currently 20 Asian EMBs are members of AAEA.
• Election commission of India (ECI) is a founder member EMB of the AAEA and also served on the Executive Board of the AAEA as the Vice Chair during 2011-13 and Chair during 2014-16.
• The mission of the Association of Asian Election Authorities is to provide a non-partisan forum in the Asian region for sharing experiences and best practices among election authorities.
• AAEA is also an Associate Member of the 118 member Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).