Daily News Analysis – April 25, 2019

Source: The Hindu, Live Mint and Indian Express


LANDSLIDES IN INDIA

Context: Geologists have identified 12 landslide-prone villages in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand that need to be relocated before the onset of the monsoon.

Essentials

Landslides in India

  • In our country, debris avalanches and landslides occur very frequently in the Himalayas.
  • There are many reasons for this.
  • The Himalayas are tectonically active.
  • They are mostly made up of sedimentary rocks and unconsolidated and semi-consolidated deposits.
  • The slopes are very steep.
  • Compared to the Himalayas, the Nilgiris bordering Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Kerala and the Western Ghats along the west coast are relatively tectonically stable and are mostly made up of very hard rocks; but, still, debris avalanches and landslides occur though not as frequently as in the Himalayas, in these hills. Why?
  • Many slopes are steeper with almost vertical cliffs and escarpments in the Western Ghats and Nilgiris.
  • Mechanical weathering due to temperature changes and ranges is pronounced.
  • They receive heavy amounts of rainfall over short periods. So, there is almost direct rock fall quite frequently in these places along with landslides and debris avalanches.

FUGITIVE ECONOMIC OFFENDER (FEO)

Context: Diamantaire Mehul Choksi moved the Bombay High Court on Wednesday against an order refusing him permission to cross-examine the deputy director (DD) of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) who filed the application to declare him a fugitive economic offender (FEO).

 Essentials

Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018

 Why this Act?

  • The Act aims to stop economic offenders who leave the country to avoid due process. Offences involving amounts of ₹100 crore or more fall under the purview of this law.

 Who is a ‘fugitive economic offender’?

  • A ‘fugitive economic offender’ is “any individual against whom a warrant for arrest in relation to a scheduled offence has been issued by any court in India, who:
  • (i) leaves or has left India so as to avoid criminal prosecution; or
  • (ii) refuses to return to India to face criminal prosecution.”

 How is a person declared an offender?

  • A Director, appointed by the central government, will have to file an application to a Special Court (under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002) to declare a person as a ‘fugitive economic offender’.

 Other important features of the Act:

  • Under the Act, any court or tribunal may bar an FEO or an associated company from filing or defending civil claims before it.
  • Barring these persons from filing or defending civil claims may violate Article 21 of the Constitution i.e. the right to life.  Article 21 has been interpreted to include the right to access justice.
  • The Act does not require the authorities to obtain a search warrant or ensure the presence of witnesses before a search. 
  • This differs from other laws, such as the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, which contain such safeguards. These safeguards protect against harassment and planting of evidence. 
  • The Act provides for confiscation of property upon a person being declared an FEO. 
  • This differs from other laws, such as CrPC, 1973, where confiscation is final two years after proclamation as absconder.
  • The Act lists 55 acts as economic offences, such as:
  • (i) counterfeiting government stamps or currency,
  • (ii) dishonouring cheques,
  • (iii) benami transactions,
  • (iv) transactions defrauding creditors,
  • (v) tax evasion, and
  • (vi) money-laundering. 

 Directorate of Enforcement

  • It is a specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management; Expenditure; Revenue; Financial Services; Economic Affairs are other departments of the Ministry).
  • It enforces the following laws: – 
  • Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) – A Civil Law.
  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) – A Criminal Law.

CENTRAL VICTIM COMPENSATION FUND

Context: The survivor of 2002 gang rape was awarded 50 lakh as compensation by the Supreme Court.

 Essential

Central Victim Compensation Fund

  • The compensation part of the rehabilitation of victims of violence including rape is governed by provision of Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure which states that every State Government in co-ordination with the Central Government shall prepare a scheme for providing funds for the purpose of compensation to the victim of crime.
  • In this regard, the Ministry of Home Affairs has introduced a Scheme called the Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF) with initial corpus of 200 crores (from Nirbhaya Fund) to enable support to victims of rape, acid attacks, human trafficking and civilian victims of cross border firing, terrorism and Maoist violence.

 Key Objectives of Scheme

  • To support and supplement the existing Victim Compensation Schemes notified by States/UT Administrations.
  • To reduce disparity in quantum of compensation amount notified by different States/ UTs for victims of similar crimes.

 Eligibility for compensation

  • The victim or his dependent satisfying the following criteria shall be eligible for the receipt of compensation:
  • He/She should not have been in receipt of any compensation for such loss or injury from any Government authorities or any other scheme of the Central / State Government.
  • The loss or injury sustained by the victim or his dependents should have caused substantial loss to the income of the family making it difficult to make both ends to meet without the financial aid or which requires such expenditure beyond his means on medical treatment of such mental/physical injury to the victim.
  • Where the offender of the crime is untraceable or cannot be identified, but the victim is identifiable, the victim or his dependents may also apply for grant of compensation.
  • If the victim is less than 14 years of age, the compensation shall be increased by 50% over the amount specified for the compensation.

Nirbhaya Fund

  • The Nirbhaya Fund was started in 2013 by the Central government to implement initiatives aimed at enhancing safety and security of women across the country.
  • The non-lapsable corpus fund was instituted following gang-rape of a girl in Delhi in 2012, which triggered a nation-wide outrage and protests.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT WORKPLACE (PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) ACT, 2013

Context: This was in news because of the sexual harassment allegations against the Chief Justice of India.

 Essentials

Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

  • The Act covers all women, irrespective of their age or employment status and protect them against sexual harassment at all workplaces both in public and private sector, whether organized or unorganized.
  • The Act envisages mechanism in the form of Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and Local Complaints Committee (LCC).
  • Internal Complaints Committee (ICC)
  • All workplaces employing 10 or more than 10 workers are mandated under the Act to constitute an ICC.
  • An ICC should consist of a presiding officer, who is a woman employee at a senior level in the same organisation, at least two employees “preferably committed to the cause of women”, and a member from an NGO or a person “familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment.”
  • The committee would have powers similar to those of a civil court and would have to complete its inquiry within 90 days.
  • Complaints from workplaces employing less than 10 workers or when the complaint is against the employer will be looked into by the LCC.
  • The Act casts a responsibility on every employer to create an environment which is free from sexual harassment.
  • Under it employers are required to organize workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals for sensitizing the employees about the provision of this legislation. 
  • The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 includes domestic worker but does not include situations involving ‘victimization’.

 Fresh guidelines regarding Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (2016):

  • Brief details of the implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act including the number of cases received and disposed shall form a part of the Annual Report of all ministries/ departments and authorities.
  • The enquiry of cases must be completed within 30 days and under any circumstances within 90 days from the date of the complaint.
  • All ministries/departments etc. are now required to submit a monthly progress report to the Ministry of Women and Child Development so that the progress can be monitored.

 Sexual Harassment electronic-Box (SHe-Box)

  • It is an online complaint management system for registering complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace.
  • It has been launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
  • This portal is an initiative to provide a platform to women working or visiting any office of Central Government (Central Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, Autonomous Bodies and Institutions etc.) to file complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace under the SH Act.
  • For prompt disposal of complaints on SHe-Box, each case goes directly to the central/ state authority concerned having jurisdiction to take action in the matter.
  • Like the Act, the portal has been extended to women employees of private sector.

 Vishaka Guidelines

  • A set of guidelines issued by the Supreme Court (known as the Vishaka judgment) to codify measures that employers need to take to address sexual harassment at the work place. 
  • The Vishaka guidelines apply to all women whether students, working part time or full time, on contract or in voluntary/honorary capacity.
  • These guidelines are legally binding.
  • The onus to provide a harassment free work environment has been laid down on the employers.
  • Victims of sexual harassment to be given an option to seek transfer of the perpetrator or their own transfer.

VERTICAL VIDEO

Context: Vertical video is quickly becoming the dominant format.

 Essentials

What is Vertical Video?

  • Vertical Video is taller than it is wide.
  • Instead of being presented in a widescreen format, or Landscape Orientation – the way video has traditionally been intended by cinema and television – vertical video is rotated 90 degrees.

  • When you hold your phone upright and record video – it’s in a 9:16 aspect ratio. Taller than it is wide. Hence the name… vertical video.
  • Ever wondered why your phone is the size and shape it is?
  • It’s because if you hold your phone horizontally the viewable screen area is a 16:9 aspect ratio.
  • The same standard used for most video production, HDTV and cinema screen sizes.
  • When you use social media apps – let’s take Facebook for instance – you scroll vertically through the news feed.
  • When a video is presented and you choose to watch, you tap the video to isolate playback from the rest of your news feed.
  • If the video is presented in landscape orientation, you either watch a small version of it or rotate your phone to see it in detail.
  • This rotation is an unnecessary step in the user experience. Also a good way to up the chances of dropping your phone.

THE MARTIAN SOL 128 EVENT  

Context: NASA’ InSight lander records first likely ‘quake’ on Mars

Essentials

  • Most people are familiar with quakes on Earth, which occur on faults created by the motion of tectonic plates.
  • Mars and the Moon do not have tectonic plates, but they still experience quakes — in their cases, caused by a continual process of cooling and contraction that creates stress.
  • This stress builds over time, until it is strong enough to break the crust, causing a quake.

 Mission InSight — Studying the ‘Inner Space’ of Mars

  • InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander.
  • It is the first outer space robotic explorer to study in-depth the “inner space” of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core.
  • The lander uses cutting edge instruments, to delve deep beneath the surface and seek the fingerprints of the processes that formed the terrestrial planets.
  • It does so by measuring the planet’s “vital signs”: its “pulse” (seismology), “temperature” (heat flow), and “reflexes” (precision tracking).
  • Scientists know that Mars has low levels of geological activity. But a lander like InSight can also reveal just how active Mars really is.
  • This mission is part of NASA’s Discovery Program for highly focused science missions that ask critical questions in solar system science.

MAGIC MILK

Context: Scientists have isolated an anti-microbial protein found in the milk of an egg-laying mammal. The protein promises to serve as an alternative to antibiotics used on livestock.

 Essentials

 Echidnas

  • Echidnas, also known as spiny anteaters, are unique egg-laying mammals found only in Australia, Indonesia (Papua) and New Guinea.
  • The female lays a single egg, which hatches after about ten days.
  • It is ‘Least Concern’ as per IUCN Red List.
  • Their young hatch from eggs at a very early stage of development and depend completely on mother’s milk.
  • But the mammary glands of the echidnas are devoid of nipples, forcing the young ones to lick milk from the mother’s body surface and potentially making them vulnerable to micro-organisms.
  • However, nature protects its own.
  • The milk of the echidna has a protein that can puncture the cell membranes of multiple bacterial species, thus destroying the source of infection.

News in brief

  • Italy, a member of the G7, is joining the Belt and Road Initiative, despite the publicly voiced objection of the U.S., just as Britain joined the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank in 2015.
  • S. has decided not to attend China’s Belt and Road Forum, which it has described it as a “vanity project”.
  • Issues in Indo-U.S. trade
  • S. objects to India increasing import duties on electronic goods and wants India to reduce duties on U.S.-made motorcycles.

 Terms in news:

  • Employment Elasticity
  • The employment elasticity of India’s growth — the numbers of jobs created per unit of GDP growth — is among the lowest in the world. 
  • Washington Consensus
  • The Washington Consensus in the 1990s started the ‘no barriers to free trade’ movement.
  • It made the concept of ‘industrial policy’, which had become associated with the idea of ‘protection’ of domestic industries, a taboo. 
  • Booth Slip
  • A voter slip or booth slip is an identification document issued to a citizen before an election, which confirms that her name is on the electoral roll.
  • Booth slips are issued by the Election Commission of India and can be downloaded online.

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