9-10 AUGUST 2016
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples observed with theme Right to Education
9 August: International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples was observed on 9 August 2016 with theme Indigenous Peoples' Right to Education.
The day was founded by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on 23 December 1994 with adoption of resolution 49/214 proclaiming that the International Day of the World's Indigenous People shall be observed annually on 9 August. The date marks the day of the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
Later, the UNGA established two International Decades of the World's Indigenous Peoples the first 1995-2004 and the second 2005-2014, with the theme of A Decade for Action and Dignity.
These decades were established with the goal of strengthening international cooperation for solving problems faced by indigenous peoples in areas such as human rights, the environment, development, education and health, economic and social development.
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The right of indigenous peoples to education is protected by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Article 14 of the Declaration states that “Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.”
The right of indigenous peoples to education is also protected by a number of other international human rights instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls for ensuring equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations. Data on indigenous people
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Educational Gap
In spite of several instruments, the right to education has not been fully realized for most indigenous peoples, and a critical education gap exists between indigenous peoples and the general population.
Available data shows consistent and persistent disparities between the indigenous and the non-indigenous population in terms of educational access, retention and achievement, in all regions of the world.
The education sector not only mirrors the historical abuses, discrimination and marginalization suffered by indigenous peoples, but also reflects their continued struggle for equality and respect for their rights as peoples and as individuals.
Australia wins gold in first-ever Olympic Women's Rugby Sevens Championship
Australia on 8 August 2016 clinched the gold medal as the first-ever Olympic champion in the Women's Rugby Sevens category.
The Australian team defeated New Zealand by 24-17.
The bronze medal was won by Canada that defeated Britain by a score of 33-10.
Rugby Sevens at the 2016 Summer Olympics
•The 2016 Summer Olympics marks the debut for rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics, though rugby union was last played at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
•The sport debuted at the 1900 Paris games where the gold medal was won by the host nation.
•It was subsequently featured at the London games in 1908, the Antwerp games in 1920 and the Paris games in 1924.
•The United States is the most successful nation in Olympic rugby tournaments, having won the gold medal in both 1920 and 1924.
•France has the most medals: one gold in 1900 and two silvers in 1920 and 1924.
•Shortly after the 1924 games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dropped rugby union as an Olympic sport. Since then, there have been numerous attempts to bring the sport back to the Olympic programme.
•In October 2009, the IOC voted at its session in Copenhagen to include the sevens version of the sport in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
•The event made its debut in an Olympic programme at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics.
Lok Sabha passes The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014
The Lok Sabha on 8 August 2016 passed The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014. The bill was passed by two-third majority, with 443 members voting in its favour and none against in the final vote.
Introduced in Lok Sabha in May 2015, the Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on 3 August 2016.
Provisions of the Bill
• The GST will have two components keeping in mind the federal structure of India: the Central GST (CGST) and the State GST (SGST).
• For goods and services that pass through several states, or imports, the Centre will levy another tax, the Integrated GST (IGST).
• Alcohol for human consumption has been kept out of the purview of GST.
• It empowers the centre to impose an additional tax of up to 1% on the inter-state supply of goods for two years or more. This tax will accrue to states from where the supply originates.
• Initially, GST will not apply to (a) petroleum crude, (b) high speed diesel, (c) motor spirit (petrol), (d) natural gas and (e) aviation turbine fuel. The GST Council will decide when GST will be levied on them.
• Tobacco and tobacco products will be subject to GST. The centre may also impose excise duty on tobacco.
• Parliament may provide for compensation to states for revenue losses arising out of the implementation of GST for up to 5 years, based on the recommendations of the GST Council.
Wildlife Institute of India to house India’s first tiger repository
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in first week of August 2016 announced that it will house India’s first repository on tigers, under its new Tiger Cell.
The Tiger Cell was inaugurated on 6 August 2016. It will be funded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority(NTCA), a statutory body under the Environment Ministry.
The Dehradun-based WII has about 23000 images of tigers, which will be maintained by the Tiger Cell.
Key highlights of the Tiger Cell
•The Tiger Cell will assist in population assessment of tigers, law enforcement, wildlife forensics, infrastructural development and mitigation, smart patrolling and advisory role in policy formulation.
•If a tiger skin is recovered at a place, then a properly maintained database can be used to check where the tiger might have come from.
•When a project needs environmental clearance, the spatial data can be used to overlay the project plan on the maps and check whether the project will interfere with wildlife habitats that must not be disturbed.
• Y.V. Jhala, a wildlife scientist at the WII, will head the Tiger Cell.
About Wildlife Institute of India
•The Wildlife Institute of India is an autonomous institution under the Union Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate change.
•WII carries out wildlife research in areas of study like biodiversity, endangered species, wildlife policy, wildlife management, wildlife forensics, spatial modeling, ecodevelopment, habitat ecology and climate change.
•The founder of WII was V. B. Saharia.
•The first Director was Hemendra Singh Panwar who remained the director from 1985 to 1994.
•The institute is based in Dehradun. It is located in Chandrabani.
Swimmer Katie Ledecky sets world record to win gold in 400m freestyle
American swimmer Katie Ledecky on 7 August 2016 set a new world record to fetch gold in the women's 400 metres freestyle at the Rio Olympics.
Ledecky clocked 3 minutes 56.46 seconds to beat Britain's Jazmin Carlinwho clocked 4 minutes 01.23 seconds at the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Rio de Janeiro. America's Leah Smithclocked 4 minutes 01.92 seconds to grab the bronze.
With this win, Ledecky broke her previous record she set in 2014 by almost two seconds.
About Katie Ledecky
•Born on 17 March 1997, Katie Ledecky is an American competition swimmer.
•She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and nine-time world champion.
•She is the current world-record holder in the 400-meter, 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle (long course).
•She also holds the fastest times in the 500-yard, 1000-yard, and 1650-yard freestyle events.
•She made her international debut at the 2012 Summer Olympicsas a 15-year-old in which she won gold in the 800-meter freestylein the second fastest performance ever.
•During her career, she has broken twelve world records.
•She earned her Swimming World's World Swimmer of the Yearand the American Swimmer of the Yearawards in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
•She won the FINA Swimmer of the Year Awardin 2013.
•Her seven individual gold medals at the World Aquatics Championships is a record in women's swimming.
•In 2016, she was the youngest person on Time magazine's Time 100 list.
Rajya Sabha passes Mental Health Care Bill, 2013
Rajya Sabha on 8 August 2016 passed the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013. The Bill repeals the Mental Health Act, 1987.
The upper house passed the bill with record 134 amendments.
The Bill provides for mental health care and services for persons with mental illness. It also has a provision to protect, promote and fulfill the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services.
Features of the Mental Health Care Bill, 2013
Rights of persons with mental illness
• It states that every person shall have the right to access mental health care and treatment from services run or funded by the government. The right to access mental health care includes affordable, good quality of and easy access to services.
• Persons with mental illness also have the right to equality of treatment, protection from inhuman and degrading treatment, free legal services, and access to their medical records, and complain regarding deficiencies in provision of mental health care.
Advance Directive
• It provides right to a mentally-ill person to make an advance directive that states how he wants to be treated for the illness during a mental health situation and who his nominated representative shall be.
• This advance directive has to be certified by a medical practitioner or registered with the Mental Health Board.
• If a mental health professional/relative/care-giver does not wish to follow the directive while treating the person, he can make an application to the Mental Health Board to review/alter/cancel the advance directive.
Central and State Mental Health Authority:It call for administrative bodies to
• Register, supervise and maintain a register of all mental health establishments
• Develop quality and service provision norms for such establishments
• Maintain a register of mental health professionals
• Train law enforcement officials and mental health professionals on the provisions of the Act
• Receive complaints about deficiencies in provision of services
• Advise the government on matters relating to mental health
Mental Health Establishments
• It states that every mental health establishment should be registered with the relevant Central or State Mental Health Authority. For being registered, the establishment will have to fulfill various criteria prescribed in the Bill.
• It specifies the process to be followed for admission, treatment and discharge of mentally ill individuals.
• It leaves the decision of admission in the mental health establishment to the person with the mental illness except in case where he/she is unable to make an independent decisions or conditions exist to make a supported admission unavoidable.
Mental Health Review Commission and Board
The commission will be a quasi-judicial body that will periodically review the use of and procedure for making advance directives and advice the government on protection of the rights of mentally ill persons. It with the concurrence of the state governments, constitute Mental Health Review Boards in the districts of a state. Powers conferred to the board includes
• Register, review/alter/cancel an advance directive
• Appoint a nominated representative
• Adjudicate complaints regarding deficiencies in care and services
• Receive and decide application from a person with mental illness/his nominated representative/any other interested person against the decision of medical officer or psychiatrists in charge of a mental health establishment.
Decriminalising suicide and prohibiting electro-convulsive therapy
A person who attempts suicide shall be presumed to be suffering from mental illness at that time and will not be punished under the Indian Penal Code. Electro-convulsive therapy is allowed only with the use of muscle relaxants and anaesthesia. The therapy is prohibited for minors.
As per the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda around 6 to 7 percent of the country's population suffered from some kind of mental illnesses, while 1 to 2 percent suffer from acute mental disease.
Background
The Bill is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that was ratified in 2007. The Convention requires the laws of the country to align with the Convention.
The new Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 19 August 2013 as the existing Act does not adequately protect the rights of persons with mental illness nor promote their access to mental health care.
Kalikho Pul, former Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, dies
Kalikho Pul, who briefly served as Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister, died on 9 August 2016 in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh. He was 47.
Pul allegedly committed suicide. He was found hanged from the ceiling fan in his bedroom at the Chief Minister’s official residence. However, the circumstances behind the death are still not clear.
About Kalikho Pul
•Kalikho Pul was the acting Chief Minister of the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh for a brief time.
•He belonged to Kaman Mishmi ethnic group.
•From 2003 until 2007, he served as the State Finance Minister in the ministry of Chief Minister Gegong Apang.
•He broke away from Congress Party and became the acting Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh on 19 February 2016.
•His government was supported by Bharatiya Janata Party, until it was dismissed by a court order in July 2016. Congress resumed power when the assembly was convened.
Endosulfan causes DNA damage in animals: Study by Indian researchers
Indian researchers, for the first time, have found that endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide, causes DNA damages in animals. They have revealed that mice and rats exposed to endosulfan suffer from DNA damage and genomic instability, and impaired DNA damage response.
The results were published on 4 August 2016 in the journal, Carcinogenesis.
Key highlights of the study
•A team of researchers led by Professor Sathees Raghavan from the Department of Biochemistry, IISc, Bengaluru revealed that endosulfan breaks in DNA strands and disturbs the damage response mechanism found in cells, which leads to compromised DNA strand repair.
•Mice and rats exposed to endosulfan generated reactive oxygen species, a potent DNA damaging agent.
•The reactive oxygen species, in turn, caused DNA damage in the form of breaks in DNA strands.
•The broken DNA strands generally tend to repair themselves by rejoining. However, endosulfan treatment was found to cause extensive processing of broken DNA, which leads to increased and long deletion in the strands.
•Endosulfan also increased the damage by promoting erroneous repair of the broken DNA strands. Erroneous repair will lead to undesirable genome level changes leading to genomic instability, which may cause cancer and genetic abnormalities.
•Five animals per group were studied and the experiment was repeated many times.
•Three different concentrations of endosulfan were tested on animals and four doses of each concentration were given at 24 hours interval.
•Even the highest dosage of 3 mg per kg of body weight used in the experiments is well below the lethal concentration of 12 mg/kg body weight.
•Lungs and testes of the animals were used for the study. These two organs show very proficient DNA repair mechanism.
What is endosulfan?
•Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide.
•Endosulfan sulfate is a product of oxidation containing one extra O atom attached to the S atom.
•Endosulfan became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor.
•Because of its threats to human health and the environment, a global ban on the manufacture and use of endosulfan was negotiated under the Stockholm Conventionin April 2011.
•The ban took effect in mid-2012, with certain uses exempted for five additional years.
•More than 80 countries, including the European Union, Australia, the United States of America had already banned it or announced phase-outs by the time the Stockholm Convention ban was agreed upon.
•It is still used extensively in India, China, and a few other countries.
•It is produced by Makhteshim Agan and several manufacturers in India and China.
Smiles originated 30 million years ago: Study
As per a study titled Smiling baby monkeys and the roots of laughter, the origin of smiles goes back at least 30 million years, when old world monkeys and our direct ancestors diverged.
The study was conducted by team of researchers including Fumito Kawakami, Masaki Tomonaga and Juri Suzuki of Kyoto University in Japan and was published on 3 August 2016.
Findings of the Study
• The study found that when human and chimp infants are dozing, they sometimes show facial movements that resemble smiles.
• These facial expressions called spontaneous smiles are considered the evolutionary origin of real smiles and laughter.
• Spontaneous smiles are facial movements that are characterised by a raised lip corner occurring during irregular sleep or drowsiness without known causes.
• They showed that this not only happens to higher-order primates like humans and chimpanzees, but also in newborn Japanese macaques, which are more distant relatives in the evolutionary tree.
Background
Lead researcher Fumito Kawakami caught macaque infants smiling when they were receiving routine health checkups. In total, researchers observed 58 spontaneous smiles from seven macaque infants, all of which showed spontaneous smiles at least once.
Spontaneous macaque smiles are more like short, lop-sided spasms compared to those of human infants. There were two significant similarities; they both happened between irregular REM sleep and they show more lop-sided smiles compared to symmetrical, full smiles.
Former RBI Deputy Governor Anand Sinha appointed to the IDFC Bank board
Former RBI Deputy Governor Anand Sinha was on 6 August 2016 appointed to the Board of IDFC Bank. Sinha will join Bank as an Additional Director in the category of Independent Director on the board with effect from 1 August 2016.
His appointment came after Vinod Rai resigned after serving on the board for a year. Rai is a former Comptroller and Auditor General of India who served as a Nominee Director representing IDFC Limited on the board of IDFC Bank.
However, Rai will still continue to be non-executive independent chairman of IDFC Limited.
About Anand Sinha
• Sinha, in his earlier appointment with the Central Bank, was overseeing the final licence to new universal banks that included IDFC Bank and Bandhan Bank.
• In his role as the Deputy Governor of RBI, he was in-charge of regulation of commercial banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies, Urban Cooperative Banks and Information Technology, among others.
• He was also the RBI's Nominee Director on the boards of Dena Bank, Allahabad Bank, Bank of Baroda, Indian Overseas Bank, Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation etc.
Sandeep Kumar appointed as Transport Commissioner of Delhi
Sandeep Kumar was on 8 August 2016 appointed as the Transport Commissioner of Delhi. He succeeded Sanjay Kumar, who was appointed as the commissioner a few months ago.
Sandeep will take on the role of the Commissioner as an additional charge. He is also the Managing Director of Delhi Khadi and Village Industries Board.
Sandeep is a 1997-batch Indian Administrative Service officer.
Background
Sanjay Kumar had been on leave for several weeks before he was divested of the post of commissioner. Before going on leave, Sanjay signed the AAP government's Premium Bus Policy without getting the approval of Delhi LG Najeeb Jung.
Yoga guru TKV Desikachar passes away
Renowned Yoga Guru TKV Desikachar passed away on 8 August 2016 following a brief illness in Chennai. He was 78. He was known for transforming the way yoga was practised and turned it into both a wellness concept and a therapy.
About TKV Desikachar
• Desikachar is son of T Krishnamacharya, popularly acknowledged as the father of modern yoga.
• He dabbled with engineering before he learnt yoga from his father.
• He helped others with tailor-made yoga programmes which he called Viniyoga.
• He also taught Yoga to famous philosopher J Krishnamurti in January 1966.
• In 1976, he founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram where today about 1000 students visit every month to learn yoga.
10 August
Dinesh Kumar Khara appointed Managing Director of State Bank of India
Dinesh Kumar Khara on 9 August 2016 was appointed Managing Director (MD) of State Bank of India (SBI).
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Khara for a period of three years, extendable by two years after review of his performance.
At present, Khara is working as MD and Chief Executive Officer of SBI Funds Management Pvt Ltd.
On the other hand, Ashok Kumar Garg and Raj Kamal Verma have been appointed as Executive Director (ED) of Bank of Baroda and Union Bank of India respectively. Gopal Murli Bhagat and Himanshu Joshi have been appointed as ED of Corporation Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce respectively.
About State Bank of India
•State Bank of India is an Indian multinational, public sector banking and financial services company.
•It is a government-owned corporation.
•Its headquarters is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
•As of 2014-15, it had assets of 310 billion US dollar.
•It is ranked 232nd on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world's biggest corporations as of 2016.
•It is one of the Big Four banks of India, along with ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank.
•SBI’s roots lie in the first decade of the 19th century, when the Bank of Calcutta, later renamed the Bank of Bengal, was established on 2 June 1806. The Bank of Bengal was one of three Presidency banks, the other two being the Bank of Bombay, incorporated on 15 April 1840, and the Bank of Madras, which was incorporated on 1 July 1843.
•The Presidency banks merged on 27 January 1921, and the re-organised banking entity took as its name Imperial Bank of India.
•On 1 July 1955, the Imperial Bank of India became the State Bank of India.
Odisha Crime Branch rescues 1051 children in first phase of Operation Muskan-2
Operation Muskan-2 – Programme to trace missing children
Operation Muskan-2, an initiative to trace missing and destitute children and reunite them with parents, was in news in first week of August 2016. It came into news after Odisha Crime Branch in its first phase of Operation traced and rescued about 1051 children.
The Operation Muskan which was started on 25 July 2016 jointly by the Crime Branch in association with Women and Child Development Department has rescued these children from various places across the state.
The southern Odisha district Ganjam topped the list with the rescue of 93 children followed by Jajpur (87), Dhenkanal (79), Kendrapara (69) and Nayagarh (65).
Special DG Crime branch B K Sharma said the next phase of operation will resume outside Odisha from 9 August 2016. Under the second phase, the police teams will go to 10 states, including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, New Delhi, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, Bihar and trace out the missing children of Odisha. The second phase operation will end on August 24.
As per the direction of the Supreme Court for protection of missing children, the Odisha police have launched a month-long drive called 'Operation Muskan' each year in two phases since 2015. Notably, under Operation Muskan-I, the Odisha police have rescued 900 children in 2015 from both inside and outside Odisha.