Context: The Supreme Court and the Union Government have prioritized the issue of undertrial prisoners, introducing measures like Section 479 of the BNSS, 2023, to address the growing concerns effectively. State of Undertrial Prisoners in India High Proportion of Undertrials: As per NCRB’s Prison Statistics India 2022, 75.8% of incarcerated …
Read More »Ethics
Child Marriage in India
Context: Recent Supreme Court rulings have brought attention to the high prevalence of child marriage in India, despite the enactment of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) nearly two decades ago. India remains home to one-third of the world’s child brides. Historical Background of Child Marriage Laws in India …
Read More »Expunction in Parliamentary Proceedings
Context The first special session of the 18th Lok Sabha concluded amid disputes regarding the removal of remarks made by Opposition leaders in both Houses of Parliament. Expunction refers to the parliamentary procedure where specific remarks are removed from the official records. Rules Governing Expunction Article 105: Grants MPs the …
Read More »World Press Freedom Index and India’s Performance
About the Index: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) annually publishes the World Press Freedom Index. It ranks 180 countries and territories based on the level of press freedom enjoyed by journalists and media outlets. The ranking is based on five key factors: Pluralism Media Independence Economic Environment Legal Environment Safety and …
Read More »‘Follow Gandhian way of eating to counter hunger’
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has now prescribed the Gandhian way of intake of food — eat less, safe and healthy — to counter hunger and reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases in the country. The Minister also advocated developing the habit of sharing surplus food. “Our Eat Right India …
Read More »Mumbai building crash toll rises to 13
Law soon to enable re-developmentof dilapidated buildings, says Fadnavis The toll in Tuesday’s building collapse in Dongri in south Mumbai went up to 13 with the recovery of three more bodies, including those of two children, early on Wednesday. Late in the evening, the NDRF called off search and rescue …
Read More »University advises colleges to take up rainwater harvesting immediately
It is meant to conserve as much water as possible as campuses too have felt the heat Mangalore University has asked all its constituent, affiliated as well as autonomous colleges to implement rainwater harvesting system on their premises with immediate effect so as to conserve as much water as possible. …
Read More »Google to probe leak of private conversations
Google said it was conducting an internal review after it discovered confidential audio had been leaked by a contractor of private conversations with its digital assistant. The U.S. internet giant acknowledged “misconduct” in the leak of the Dutch language conversations by one of its language experts contracted to help refine …
Read More »As exams near, smartphone addiction is playing havoc with study time
Helplines inundated with calls from worried parents that their children are not focussing on coursework With annual exams scheduled to begin by the end of February, helplines are flooded with calls not just from students trying to cope with stress but also parents desperate to disengage their children from iPads …
Read More »If you dump garbage, be ready to go to court
Though the fine is not more than Rs. 500, police hope the legal process will act as a deterrent If the beat policeman catches you dumping garbage on the roads, be prepared to go to the court to battle charges of “spreading disease”. In the past 10 days, as many …
Read More »With apps, parents teach kids how to spend
They can monitor and control spending Jonathan and Erin Kraftchick started out by paying their two children’s allowance the old-fashioned way, using paper money. “I tried the cash thing,” said Mr. Kraftchick, an accountant and financial-literacy advocate. First, they used glass jars, then switched to a system that involved slipping …
Read More »If you dump garbage, be ready to go to court
Though the fine is not more than Rs. 500, police hope the legal process will act as a deterrent If the beat policeman catches you dumping garbage on the roads, be prepared to go to the court to battle charges of “spreading disease”. In the past 10 days, as many …
Read More »Kids feeding on ‘digital junk food’
Streaming giants are exposing them to unsuitable content, say TV programme makers With YouTube replacing Disney as the most-loved brand among young children in the U.S., and streaming giants encouraging binge viewing, a whole generation risk being brought up on cultural junk food, some of the world’s top kids television …
Read More »‘High lead exposure in Indian kids’
High levels of lead contamination in the blood of children living in India may have a significant impact in lowering their IQ and increasing the risk of other diseases, a study has found. Researchers from Macquarie University in Australia conducted the first ever meta-analysis of Indian blood lead levels. They …
Read More »Afraid of dogs, Indian-origin blind scribe to get a guide horse in U.K.
The animal will assist him with daily tasks once he loses his vision completely An Indian-origin man based in north-west England, who suffers from a degenerative eye condition, is set to become the first person in the U.K. to get a guide horse to assist him with daily tasks once …
Read More »Cambodia’s ‘rubbish man’ schools kids for trash
Children are taught the value of using rubbish in a useful way Sitting in a building made from used tyres, plastic bottles and old sneakers, Cambodian student Roeun Bunthon jots down notes during an English lesson at the “Rubbish School” where tuition is paid for with trash instead of cash. …
Read More »Now, an institute for aspiring politicians
U.P. govt. plans Rs. 198-crore training institute in Ghaziabad Good news for aspiring politicians. They will soon have an institute in Ghaziabad to learn the nuances of the profession, the Uttar Pradesh government said on Wednesday. The decision to establish a sprawling political training institute at a cost of Rs. …
Read More »Enter ‘sextortion’, now a reality in India
Criminals are collecting browsing history of those visiting porn sites and using it for extortion ‘Sextortion’, a cyber crime which has been observed in the West, has officially arrived in India. The Cyber police in Mumbai have received at least five complaints over the last two months where citizens, after …
Read More »Leave God out of the examination, says university
RGUHS bans writing of religious names or symbols on answer sheets It is a truth universally acknowledged that students desperate to do well in an exam will turn not only to their notes for last-minute revision but also to God. Evaluators have often noticed religious words such as ‘Om’ and …
Read More »U.K. guidelines to curb kids’ social media use
The British government is drawing up guidelines to limit the number of hours children spend online on social media sites and apps, authorities announced on Sunday. U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he has ordered the plans to be drawn up and attacked social media giants, such as Facebook, for …
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