SLPs In Criminal Cases Don''t Divulge Crucial Information

Special Leave Petition (SLP)

• The Supreme Court of India has been given extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution.
• By virtue of this Article, the court can grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence, or order in any cause or matter, passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India (with the exception of military tribunals and court martial).
• It can only be exercised when a substantial question of law or gross injustice has been committed.
• A judgement, decree, or order need not be final for an SLP. An interim or interlocutory order, decree or judgement can also be challenged.
• It is a discretionary/optional power of the SC and the court may, in its discretion, decrease to grant leave to appeal.
• The aggrieved party can’t affirm a special leave to offer under Article 136 as a right.
• Who can file an SLP?
  • Any aggrieved party can file SLP against judgement or order of refusal of grant of certificate for appeal to SC**.**
  • An SLP can be filed for any civil or criminal matter, etc.
• Time limit to file SLP:
  • It can be filed against any judgment of the High Court within 90 days from the date of judgment or
  • It can be filed within 60 days against the order of the High Court refusing to grant the certificate of fitness for appeal to SC.
• Procedure for a Special Leave Petition (SLP):
  • A SLP must contain all the facts upon which the SC is to decide, which revolve around the grounds on which an SLP can be filed.
  • The said petition needs to be duly signed by an Advocate-on-Record.
  • The petitioner must include a statement within the SLP stating that no other petition has been filed in a High Court.
  • Once the petition is filed, the SC will hear the aggrieved party and depending upon the merits of the case, will allow the opposite party to state their part in a counter affidavit.
  • After the hearing, if the Court deems the case fit for further hearing**, it will allow the same; otherwise it will reject** the appeal.

Draft Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules, 2023

Green Credit Programme (GCP)

• GCP aims to incentivise environmentally conscious practices and promote a sustainable lifestyle through a market-based mechanism.
• As per the scheme, individuals, industries, farmers producer’s organisations (FPOs), urban local bodies (ULB), gram panchayats, and the private sector, among a host of other entities, will be able to earn green credit for undertaking environment-friendly actions.
• Green credits generated through such actions can be traded on a domestic market platform.
• These Green Credits will be over and above the current discourse of carbon credits. Any activity generating green credits under the GCP will also receive carbon credits under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme if it leads to the reduction or removal of carbon emissions.
• According to the rules, environment-friendly actions include
  • tree plantation
  • water management
  • sustainable agriculture
  • waste management
  • air pollution reduction
  • mangrove conservation and restoration
  • ecomark label development
  • sustainable building and infrastructure
• Apart from incentivizing individual/community behavior, the GCP will encourage private sector industries and companies, as well as other entities, to meet their existing obligations, stemming from other legal frameworks, by taking actions that are able to converge with activities relevant for generating or buying Green Credits.
• The green credits generated or procured by industries, companies and other entities to fulfil any legal obligation cannot be traded.
• Implementing Agency: The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), an autonomous organisation under the MoEFCC, is responsible for effectively implementing the Green Credit programme, including its management and operation.
• Phases:
  • The programme will be implemented in phases.
  • In the initial phase, two to three activities from the chosen sectors will be considered, and more activities will be added subsequently.

Indian Railways’ PSUs, RITES Ltd and IRCON granted Navratna status

Navratna Status

• The government categorises all Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) into three categories, namely Maharatna, Navratna, and Miniratna.
• Criteria to grant Navratna status:
  • To get Navratna status, the PSU should be a Miniratna-I, Schedule ''A'' company, should have obtained an ''excellent'' or ''very good'' MoU rating in three of the last five years, and must have a composite score of 60 in six performance indicators.
  • For a company to achieve Navratna status, it must report a net profit of more than Rs 5,000 crore for three consecutive years, and maintain an average annual turnover of Rs 25,000 crore for three years, or have an annual average net worth of over Rs 15,000 crore for three years.
• Navratna companies can achieve ‘Maharatna’ status by meeting specific performance benchmarks and fulfilling certain eligibility criteria.
• How does Navratna status benefit PSUs?
  • Navratna PSUs have a comparative advantage over other companies as they have been granted financial independence to invest up to Rs 1,000 crore without seeking approval from the Union government.
  • The board of the ''Navratna'' companies has autonomy to incur capital expenditure on the purchase of new items or for replacement without any monetary ceiling and to enter into technology joint ventures or strategic alliances, among others.
  • The status gives the Board of Directors of these CPSEs the power to allow mergers and acquisitions in India and abroad.
  • However, they need an approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to make investments abroad.
  • The Chief Executive of the PSE gets the power to approve business tours abroad of functional directors up to five days’ duration (other than study tours, seminars, etc) in emergencies, under intimation to the Secretary of the administrative ministry.3

Aera issues warning to airport operators over unauthorised passenger tariffs

Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA)

• AERA is a statutory body constituted under the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008.
• Function: The AERA regulates tariffs and other charges (development fee and passenger service fee) for aeronautical services (air traffic management, landing, and parking of aircraft, ground handling services) at major airports.
• Major airports: The 2008 Act designates an airport as a major airport if it has an annual passenger traffic of at least 15 lakh. An amendment to the act in 2019 increased this threshold to 35 lakh annual passengers.
• For the remaining airports, tariffs are determined by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
• AERA is an independent economic regulator that aims to create a level playing field, foster healthy competition amongst all major airports, encourage investment in airport facilities, and regulate tariffs for aeronautical services.
• It was set up keeping in mind that the country needs to have an independent regulator who has transparent rules and can take care of the interests of the service providers as well as those of the consumers.
• Headquarters: Delhi
• History:
  • Initially, most of the airports in India were under the ownership and control of the Government of India.
  • In 1997, the Government of India formulated the Airport Infrastructure Policy, which provided for the private sector’s participation in improving quality, efficiency, and increasing competition.
  • The AAI then performed the role of airports operator as well as the regulator, which resulted in conflict of interest.
  • To ensure that private airport operators do not misuse their monopoly, the need for an independent tariff regulator in the airport sector was felt.
  • Thereafter, the Government of India set up the Naresh Chandra Committee to prepare the road map for the civil aviation sector.
  • The Committee recommended setting up an independent regulatory authority.
  • Consequently, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008 (AERA Act) was passed, which set up AERA.

Airports Authority of India (AAI)

• AAI is a statutory body constituted by an Act of Parliament and came into being on 1st April 1995, by merging the erstwhile National Airports Authority and the International Airports Authority of India.
• It is entrusted with the responsibility of creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure both on the ground and in the air space of the country.
• Main Functions:
  • construction, modification, and management of passenger terminals;
  • development and management of cargo terminals;
  • development and maintenance of apron infrastructure, including runways, parallel taxiways, apron, etc;
  • provision of Communication, Navigation and Surveillance, which includes the provision of DVOR / DME, ILS, ATC radars, visual aids etc;
  • provision of air traffic services;
  • provision of passenger facilities and related amenities at its terminals;

Army chief presents the president''s colours to third battalion

President’s Colours Award

• It is the highest honor that can be awarded to any military unit, military training establishments, or state/UT Police Forces of India.
• It is bestowed upon a military unit in recognition of exceptional service rendered to the nation, both in peace and in war.
• It is also known as “Rashtrapati ka Nishaan” in Hindi.
• History:
  • The tradition began under colonial rule, but on November 23, 1950, the ‘king’s colour’ of the erstwhile British Indian regiments was laid to rest in Chetwode Hall, Dehradun, to make way for the ‘colours’ of the President of the Republic of India.
  • The Indian Navy was the first Indian Armed Force to be awarded the President Colour by Dr. Rajendra Prasad on May 27, 1951.
• Award:
  • It is a type of special flag, also known as ‘Nishaan’, which is awarded to a military unit in an organised ceremony.
  • The flag consists of a golden border in the middle and the insignia of a respective military unit, training establishments, and police forces in the centre.
  • Sometimes, it may also contain the motto, important achievements, and battle participation of those military units to which the award is bestowed.
  • During any ceremonial parade, the President’s Colour, i.e., the special flag of a military unit, is kept in a special position, and soilders often march with the President’s Colour on important dates, like their establishment anniversary.

Govt launches global health innovation fellowship to promote medtech sector

Global Health Innovation Fellowship

• It is an initiative in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology.
• This collaboration will leverage intellectual property (IP), innovation and medical technology to solve local health challenges using global partnerships.
• It aims to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange among young professionals from diverse countries”.
• Significance

World Intellectual Property Organisation

• It was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property (IP) throughout the world."
• It is one of the 17 specialised agencies of the United Nations.
• Currently, there are 193 members of the World Intellectual Property Organisation.
• India joined this organization in 1975.
• Headquarter: Geneva
• It provides
  • A policy forum to shape balanced international IP rules for a changing world;
  • A global services to protect IP across borders and to resolve disputes;
  • Technical infrastructure to connect IP systems and share knowledge;
  • Cooperation and capacity-building programs to enable all countries to use IP for economic, social and cultural development;
  • A world reference source for IP information

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launches state-of-art latest

Continuously Operating Reference Stations" (CORS) Network

• It is capable of precise Location based services, which are capable of providing centimetre level positioning services in real-time
• These stations will be operated by the Survey of India.
• The Survey of India has set up more than 1,000 CORS stations across India.
• These stations are capable of providing Real Time Positioning Service through Real Time-Kinematicwith an accuracy of + / - 3cm.
• The CORS network is available 24 /7 throughout the year.

Significance of these stations

• CORS based precision services will boost auto navigation and machine control-based solution in Agriculture, Mining, Construction, Transport and Civil Aviation sector.
• This will open new domains of innovation and research and create a Geospatial based ecosystem in these sectors.
• CORS data will also aid in various scientific studies like Upper Atmosphere and Space weather studies, Meteorology and weather forecast, Plate motion and Tectonic studies, Seismology and Hydrology etc.
• Nationwide CORS based services will be available to business and pubic, which will not only ensure coherence in geospatial data generated by different stake holders by providing them common reference, but will also increase their productivity.

Survey of India

• It is the National Survey and Mapping Organization of the country under the Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology.
• It is the oldest scientific department of India.
• It was set up in 1767 and has evolved rich traditions over the years.
• It is assigned the role as the nation''s Principal Mapping Agency, Survey of India bears a special responsibility to ensure that the country''s domain is explored and mapped suitably.

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region''s Post

Poorvottar Sampark Setu portal

• It is a powerful tool designed to streamline and enhance monitoring of Fortnightly visits of Union Ministers to NER.
• Features:
  • The dashboard provides valuable insights and graphical information about State-wise/ District-wise visits to the North Eastern Region by Union Ministers to be used by all the stake holders in one place.
  • The portal generates a curated list of Ministers who can be nominated for visit to NER in the upcoming months.
  • After the visit, the Minister can submit their tour reports along with their recommendations online.
  • MDoNER can forward the recommendations to respective line Ministries/Departments/State Governments for quick action, after analyzing the same. The Portal generates the summary report on the visits by a single click.

MDoNER Data Analytics Dashboard

• It has the data of 112 schemes across 55 Departments and Ministries.
• It will help in (a) Data driven decision making; (b) Ease of operations; (c) Centralized monitoring; (d) Policy level decision tool; and (e) Information integration.
• It will keep a close watch on NER Aspirational districts, North East border districts and the most backward districts in NER.

Kanwar Lake: Bihar''s only Ramsar Site drying up

Kanwar Lake

• It is Asia’s largest freshwater oxbow lake and Bihar’s only Ramsar site.
• It is also known as Kabartal jheel.
• It is a residual oxbow lake, formed due to the meandering of Gandak river, a tributary of Ganga.
• It is covering the majority of the Indo-Gangetic plains in northern Bihar,
• The Wetland is an important stopover along the Central Asian Flyway, with 58 migratory waterbirds using it to rest and refuel.
• It is also a valuable site for fish biodiversity with over 50 species documented.
• Five critically endangered species inhabit the site, including three vultures – the red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) – and two waterbirds, the sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius) and Baer’s pochard (Aythya baeri).
• Threats: Major threats to the site include water management activities such as drainage, water abstraction, damming and canalization.

Ramsar Convention

• This convention was signed on 2nd February 1971 to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.
• It is named after Ramsar, the Iranian city where the treaty was signed in 1971, and places chosen for conservation under it are given the tag ‘Ramsar site’.
• At present there are total 75 Ramsar site India.

CDSCO approves ImmunoACT''s CAR-T cell therapy

CAR-T cell therapy

• The therapy represents a quantum leap in the sophistication of cancer treatment.
• Unlike chemotherapy or immunotherapy, which requires mass-produced injectable or oral medication, CAR T-cell therapies use a patient’s own cells.
• They are modified in the laboratory to activate T-cells, a component of immune cells, to attack tumours.
• These modified cells are then infused back into the patient’s bloodstream after conditioning them to multiply more effectively.
• As of today, CAR T-cell therapy has been approved for leukaemias (cancers arising from the cells that produce white blood cells) and lymphomas (arising from the lymphatic system).

How does it work?

• In this therapy, the patient’s blood is drawn to harvest T-cells – immune cells that play a major role in destroying tumour cells.
• Researchers modify these cells in the laboratory so that they express specific proteins on their surface, known as chimeric antigen receptors (CAR): they have an affinity for proteins on the surface of tumour cells.
• This modification in the cellular structure allows CAR T-cells to effectively bind to the tumour and destroy it.
• The final step in the tumour’s destruction involves its clearance by the patient’s immune system.
• In CAR T-cell therapy, the immune system is activated when the modified T-cells are reintroduced into the body, which allows a gradual and sustained tumour kill as these cells multiply.

NexCAR19

• It is an indigenously developed CD19-targeted CAR-T cell therapy.
• CD-19 is biomarker for B lymphocytes and can be utilised as a target for leukemia immunotherapies.
• It is the result of a collaborative effort across a decade between IIT Bombay and Tata Memorial Centre (TMC).