What is the news : In the pandemic,a 19th century portrait of three women from Mysore has been going viral as "one of the most important scientific pictures in the history of medicine in India".
Who are the three women?
How and when did the smallpox vaccine reach India?
How the British inoculated India, and the role played by the canvas?
What :
Section 304B in The Indian Penal Code states that -
Dowry death.—
(1) Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be called “dowry death”, and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death. Explanation.—For the purpose of this sub-section, “dowry” shall have the same meaning as in section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961).
(2) Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.
What is the news : The Supreme Court indicated in a judgment on Friday that a straitjacket and literal interpretation of a penal provision on dowry death may have blunted the battle against the “long-standing social evil”.
What is the news : Recently, GST council meet was held to review pandemic needs
GST Council:
Other Details
Highlights of the meeting :
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council failed to agree on immediate tax breaks for critical pandemic relief supplies, including COVID-19 vaccines, and constituted a Group of Ministers to recommend individual items’ tax rates by June 8.
What is the news : Government has constituted a panel of state ministers to examine valuation of services by online gaming to levy goods and services tax (GST). They will also examine services by casinos and race courses.
About Panel: Panel comprises of seven-members, was convened by Gujarat Deputy Chief, Minister Nitin Patel. Other members include- Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P Thiagarajan, Goa Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, and Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
Function of the Panel
Panel
What was the need of panel?
In India, Online gaming is currently in nascent stages which thus leads to issues revolving around taxation and valuation. Thus, the panel has been set up to understand, examine and resolve uncertainty on valuation of services by these companies.
GST on Services
Presently, 18 percent GST is levied on services like casinos, horse racing and online gaming. Now, panel will decide method of valuing these services.
What is the news: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) issued guidelines for Toll centres to reduce waiting time to 10 seconds per vehicle at any point of time.
What is yellow line: According to the guidelines, yellow lines at toll plazas will reduce the waiting queue of vehicles to 100 metres even during peak hours. If queue is beyond 100 metres, vehicles at the front will pass without paying toll.
Background
NHAI highlights, it has successfully transitioned to 100 per cent cashless tolling from February 2021. Overall FASTag penetration has reached to 96 per cent to 99 per cent penetration. As the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) penetration is increasing in India, NHAI is emphasising to have a new design and construct upcoming toll plazas based on traffic projections for next 10 years.
What is electronic toll collection: It is a wireless system that automatically collect usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, toll bridges, HOV lanes and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative unlike toll booths, where vehicles stop and driver manually pays toll with cash or card. FASTag is one such example.
About FASTag: This electronic toll collection system in India is operated by NHAI. It uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to make toll payments directly from prepaid or savings account linked to it. The tag is affixed on windscreen of vehicle and enables to drive through toll plazas without stopping for transactions. State-run oil marketing companies like IOC, BPCL and HPCL signed MoUs in 2019 to enable use of FASTag to do purchases at petrol pumps.
What : A new sub-genus of cricket recently discovered
Where : Kurra caves of Chhattisgarh
Details :
What is Arachnomimus Saussure, 1897: Arachnomimus is the genus name given by Swiss Entomologist Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure in 1878 to crickets that resembled spiders. This is apt because crickets of this group are commonly called spider crickets because of their smaller body size and long legs.
How is the newly discovered subgenus different: The newly discovered subgenus, Indimimus, is different from the two subgenera, Arachnomimus and Euarachnomimus, because of the male genitalia structure, explains Dr Jaiswara. Insects have a lock-and-key model genitalia structure which is unique to each subgenus. Genus and subgenus are taxonomic levels created by taxonomists to classify organisms. A genus is represented by a set of diagnostic characters. Certain variations in characters compel taxonomists to divide the genus into subgenus and document the variation.
Why is the discovery significant?
NOTE : With the discovery of Jayanti from India, the genus Arachnomimus is now known from 12 species.
What : National AI Portal of India
What is the news : The ‘National AI Portal (https://indiaai.gov.in)’, celebrated its first anniversary on May 28, 2021.
About the portal :
Recent news : Veer Savarkar Jayanti was celebrated recently
When : May 28
About :
When : May 28 every year
Why : 28 May (28/5) was chosen as the date because it highlights average menstrual cycle. Women start menstruating after every 28 days and it lasts for 5 days on average.
By : Menstrual Hygiene Day is a global movement which seeks to normalise menstruation. It was initiated by German non-profit organisation “WASH United” which is also a global coordinator for this day. It was first launched in 2014.
Aim of the day: The day aims to shed taboos associated menstruation, to break the silence and to change negative social norms.
Theme of year 2021: “Action and Investment in Menstrual Hygiene and Health”.
ABOUT LAKSHADWEEP ISLANDS :
GEOGRAPHY: 36 islands across 12 atolls, closest to Kerala, on which it depends for essential supplies. Only 10 of the islands are inhabited. Once a part of Malabar district of the Madras Presidency, Lakshadweep was given Union Territory status following Kerala state’s formation in 1956.
DEMOGRAPHY: With a population of 65,000 (2011 Census), Lakshadweep is India’s smallest Union Territory. It has the highest population share of Muslims (96%) and Scheduled Tribes (94.8%) among the UTs. Residents speak Malayalam and Dhivehi.
POLITICS: The UT is served by a Lok Sabha MP, currently Mohd Faizal P P (NCP) since 2014. The NCP and the Congress are the dominant parties; the BJP and Communist parties too have units. P M Sayeed won 10 consecutive terms during 1967-2004, eight of these on a Congress ticket. His son Muhammed Hamdulla Sayeed was MP between 2009 and 2014.
WHAT ARE PROPOSALS AND WHY IS THE PROTEST
COW SLAUGHTER & BEEF
PROPOSAL: An order from the Administration seeks to ban the slaughter of cow, calf, bull and buffalo without a certificate from a competent authority. It prohibits the sale, transport and storage of beef and beef products. Penalties include a jail term up to one year and a fine of Rs 10,000. The Administration has not provided an explanation on why the rule was brought in.
PROTEST: Residents view the rule as a direct infringement on their culture and eating habits. They allege the rule was decided without consultation with local bodies.
TWO-CHILD POLICY
PROPOSAL: Under the Draft Panchayat Regulation 2021, the Administration aims to bar people with more than two children from becoming a member of the gram panchayat. For those who already have more than two children, the regulation does not disqualify them provided they do not have further children after the date on which the rule comes into effect.
PROTEST: Locals have questioned the motive. The NCP and the Congress too have opposed the move.
SERVING LIQUOR TO TOURISTS
PROPOSAL: The Administration has decided to allow liquor to be served at resorts on inhabited islands. Currently, prohibition is in place on all inhabited islands, with liquor served only at resorts on the uninhabited Bangaram island. Collector S Asker Ali clarified that liquor permits would be given only to resorts for tourists, not for locals.
PROTEST: Residents have alleged that the move will lead to a proliferation of liquor sales on the island, which had been observing near-prohibition until now.
LAND ACQUISITION POWERS
PROPOSAL: The Administration brought in a draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) to oversee development of towns on the islands, with sweeping changes in the way land can be acquired and utilised. It talks of declaration of ‘planning areas’ and constitution of ‘planning and development authorities’ for preparing a land use map and register, ostensibly for large projects.
PROTEST: Residents have protested against the way it was prepared and pushed through without consultation. They fear large infrastructure and tourism projects can destabilise the ecology, and that the notification gives powers to the Administration to remove small landholdings of ST residents.
ANTI-GOONDA REGULATION
PROPOSAL: The draft Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation provides for powers to detain a person for up to one year to prevent him from “acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”. It allows for detention for anti-social activities from six months to a year without legal representation. The Collector said while the island remains peaceful, there have been reports of drugs being found along with weapons and live ammunition. He said the regulation is required to keep the “youth from getting misguided by illegal businesses”.
PROTEST: Residents are sceptical of the need for such a stringent law in a UT with one of the lowest crime rates in the country. They allege it has been brought in to arrest those opposed to the Administration.
COVID-19 SOPS
PROPOSAL: For a year, Lakshadweep did not record any case of Covid-19 , thanks to stringent quarantine protocols and testing of inbound travellers. Last December, Covid-19 SOPs were diluted by doing away with mandatory quarantine for travellers at Kochi and Kavaratti. Instead, anyone with a negative RT-PCR certificate issued in the previous 48 hours could travel to Lakshadweep. The Administration said the SOPs were changed in accordance with Home Ministry rules and to allow for reopening of the economy.
PROTEST: The change led to the island losing its ‘green zone’ tag and a spurt in infections in subsequent months. As of May 28, the Union Territory has reported over 7,300 cases and 28 deaths. Islanders blame the Administration for mismanagement in handling of the pandemic.