Table of Contents
• The Union Cabinet today approved the promulgation of the Criminal Law (Amendment) ordinance 2018 for effective deterrence against commission of rape and instilling a sense of security among women, especially young girls.
• The ordinance will now be sent to the President for approval.
• The ordinance will allow courts to award death penalty to those convicted of raping children up to 12 years of age.
Cabinet
• The criminal law amendment ordinance seeks to amend the:
• Indian Penal Code
• Evidence Act
• Code of Criminal Procedure
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences, POCSO
• Act to introduce a new provision to sentence convicts of such crimes with punishment of death.
•In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, minimum punishment has been increased to 20 years from the existing ten years. It is extendable to imprisonment for rest of life.
• The time limit for investigation of all cases of rape has been prescribed, which has to be mandatory completed within two months.
• Time limit for completion of trial of all rape cases has also been prescribed and it has to be necessarily completed in two months.
•It has also been prescribed that there will be no provision of anticipatory bail for a person accused of rape or gang rape of a girl under 16 years.
• Cabinet has approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal to promulgate the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance 2018 that provides for confiscating properties of escapees.
• The ordinance would lay down the measures to empower Indian authorities to attach and confiscate proceeds of crime associated with economic offenders and the properties of the
economic offenders.
• It will deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.
Cabinet
• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA, today gave its approval for restructured Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan .
• The Scheme will be implemented during the period from the 1st April this year to the 31st of March 2022 at a total cost of the 7255.50 crore rupees.
• This scheme will extend to all States and Union Territories of the country and will also include
institutions of rural local government in areas where Panchayats do not exist.
Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan
•It will help more than 2.55 lakhs Panchayati Raj Institutions to develop governance capabilities to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals through inclusive local governance with focus on optimum utilization of available resources.
• As Panchayats have representation of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women, and are institutions closest to the grassroots, strengthening Panchayats will promote equity and inclusiveness, along with social justice and economic development of the community.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, participatory democracy is a must for development of the country.
• Addressing civil servants at Civil Services Day function in New Delhi this evening, Mr Modi said, public participation can be a foundation for the success of a country like India.
•He added that the lives of people will change if they are kept at the center of all decisions.
PMO
• Mr Modi said, his government’s priority is to make Ease of Living a reality for the common man.
• The Prime Minister said, innovation and technology can become country’s additional strength.
•He pointed out that India will fall behind if it cannot cope with the changing technologies of time.
• The Prime Minister emphasized the need for constant motivation for better performance and said that strategic thinking is a must for success.
•He asked those gathered to introspect on how successful they have been on resolutions taken in the past.
• The Prime Minister conferred Awards for Excellence in Public Administration for effective implementation of Priority Programs and Innovation.
• Mr Modi gave away the awards in different categories of schemes like Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, promoting digital payments, and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
• The awards have been instituted with a view to acknowledge, recognize and reward the exemplary work for citizen’s welfare by districts and organisations of the
Central and State governments.
• President Ram Nath Kovind has greeted all civil servants and their families on Civil Services Day today.
•In a tweet, the President expressed confidence that the hard-working and independent civil servants will rededicate themselves to the country’s development.
• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj reached Beijing today on a four-day visit during which she will hold talks with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi and take part in the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• The one-on-one meet with Wang tomorrow will be the key highlight of Mrs. Swaraj’s visit in which she will discuss a range of issues and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s China trip in June to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Summit.
MEA
• International Monetary Fund , IMF has said India’s role in the development of the Indo-Pacific region will continue to expand because of its robust growth.
• Deputy Director of Asia and Pacific Department in the IMF, Ken Kang said in a news conference in Washington that India’s growth is rising from 7.4 percent in 2017-2018 to 7.8 per cent in 2019 and there is room to increase its export orientation and to reduce further barriers.
• The IMF in the latest World Economic Outlook has projected India to grow at 7.4 per cent in 2018 and 7.8 per cent in 2019.
IMF
• 17th convocation of Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth.
• President Ram Nath Kovind has said that, Sanskrit is the language of science and spirituality.
• Aryabhatta, Bhaskara, Charaka, Sushruta and other scientists and mathematicians were omposed in Sanskrit.
• The real test of education is to make a good human being President.
• January: Supreme Court asked the Centre to respond to a PIL that had petitioned for the death penalty to child rapists.
• Center replied: death penalty is not the answer for everything.
• 3 months later, the government seems to have retracted its position.
• MoW&CD: informed the apex court that it has begun the process of amending the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offenders (POCSO) Act.
Death Penalty
• Revenge or redress
• A growing body of literature now emphasizes that the death penalty is not a deterrent against any kind of crime — better policing, social welfare and effective implementation of the due processes are.
•National Crime Records Bureau reports since 2014 — in over 90 per cent of such crimes, the perpetrators are known to the victim.
• Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs noted that, “child sexual abuse and related crimes remain overwhelmingly under-reported due to the associated stigma and propensity of parents/guardians to not involve the police in these matters”
• February, a study by the National Law School of India University (NLSUI) reported that in 67 per cent of child rape cases, the survivors gave up on the trial or changed their statement.
• The NLSUI study also found that there were no courtrooms exclusively for child abuse cases, “few courts had separate rooms for recording the statements of witnesses, and there were no waiting rooms or toilets nearby”.
• These omissions, as the study pointed out, contravene the POCSO Act.
•It is unfortunate that rather than addressing these shortcomings the government is considering a measure that is rooted in the state’s archaic “right” to take away life.
1. The Preamble of the Constitution of India was amended by which Constitutional Amendment Act?
1. 44th
2. 42nd
3. 56th
4. Never
2. Mango is the National Fruit of India. Mango peel and pulp
contain?
1. Omega 3
2. Polyunsaturated fatty acids
3. Carotenoids
4. Polyphemus
Codes
a) 2 and 3
b) 1 and 4
c) 2,3 and 4
d) 1,2,3 and 4
Answers-
1. The headquarters of International Whaling Commission
is located at?
A. New York
B. Cambridge
C. Perth
D. Tokyo
2.India launched “Project Snow Leopard” under the
wildlife conservation project. Which state is not part of
this project?
A. Tripura
B. Sikkim
C. Himachal Pradesh
D. Jammu and Kashmir
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