The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has provided financial assistance of Rs. 99.49 crores to the States and Union Territories (UTs) for the E-Prisons Project. Also, acting on the request of the MHA, NIMHANS, an Institute of National Importance, has recently issued a set of guidelines on the management of mental health issues of the prisoners and prison …

India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) visited Iran to attend the swearing-in ceremony of new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. This marks a landmark event attempting to reset the ties with Iran that have been under strain in recent times. This is EAM’s second visit in a month and it comes amid a sharp escalation of the fighting in Afghanistan between …

The Government is planning to bring a Bill to Parliament to clarify “some provisions in the 102nd Constitutional amendment Bill” to restore the power of the states to identify backward classes. In India, separate OBC lists are drawn up by the Centre and each state concerned. Articles 15(4), 15(5) and 16(4) expressly conferred power on a state to identify and declare …

Recently, the Union Government gave the information on Major Administrative Reforms which were introduced in recent years and emphasised the importance of these reforms in making governance more accessible. These reforms aim to encourage greater efficiency, transparent and corruption free governance, accountability and reduce scope for discretion. The Government follows the maxim …

Recently, the Standing Committee on Finance has criticised the decision of the Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) for giving barely a week’s time to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) for funding ongoing Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) projects, owing to which 50% funds lapsed. Important points: The resultant funding crunch would …

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the school education programme Samagra Shiksha Scheme 2.0 till the 2025-26 financial year. It has been upgraded to align it with the Sustainable Development Goal for Education and the new National Education Policy launched in 2020. Important points: It is an integrated scheme for school education covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII. It aims to …

The Forum for Human Rights in J&K (FHRJK) released its report a day ahead of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) completing two years as Union Territory. The report raised concerns about the militancy that continues to remain a major challenge in J&K. FHRJK is an independent body co-chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B. Lokur and …