Prelim Punch 17-01-2018

Prelim Punch 17-01-2018

Malimath Report

• Justice Malimath Committee or The Committee on Reforms of the Criminal Justice System was constituted by the Home Ministry in 2000.
• The committee had submitted its report in 2003 and made recommendations on crime investigation and punishment.
• The recommendations were never implemented. It is now going to be revisited by the government.
• One of its key recommendations is admissibility of confessions made before a police officer as evidence in a court of law.
• Other recommendations are

a.       Stringent punishment for false registration of cases,

b.      Constituting a National Judicial Commission

c.       Amending Article 124 to make impeachment of judges less difficult

d.      Standard of “proof beyond reasonable doubt” followed in criminal cases be done away with.

Sholas

• The Sholas are a mosaic of mountane evergreen forests and grasslands.
• They are found only in high altitude (>1500 metres above sea level) regions within the tropics, and are limited to the southern part of the Western Ghats.
• Shola forests are found in the higher altitude hill regions of the Nilgiris, Kanyakumari district,Idukki district, the Western Ghats and associated ranges in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• They are characterised by undulating grassland patches, interspersed with thickets of stunted evergreen tree species.
• Recent study has indicated that timber plantations, , expanding agriculture and the spread of invasive species reduced two thirds of the shoals in palani hill ranges of Western Ghats.
• There is a marked 67% decline in grassland area compared to 1973 level.
• The natural march of invasive species such as prolific-seed-producer, acacia and the policy push for plantations in 1990s seems to be the main cause for decline.
• Fragmented grasslands also displaced endemic species Nilgiri Pipit.

Nilgiri Pipit

• Nilgiri Pipit (Anthus nilghiriensis) is a bird endemic to the Western Ghats of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, southern India.
• It occurs on grassy upland slopes interspersed with bushes and trees, mainly above 1,500 m, and is commonest over 2,000 m.
• It is listed as “Vulnerable” in IUCN red list category.
• It feeds mostly on creeping grass in valleys, but nests in marshy grasslands with slightly taller grasses and sedges, particularly near streams.
• It has been recorded consuming the seeds of grasses and herb.
• Its grassland habitat is gradually being converted to plantations of tea, eucalyptus and silver wattle Acacia dealbata.

Saksham – 2018

• Saksham is a month long awareness programme by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• It is aimed to create awareness towards “Fuel Conservation” through judicious utilization and conservation of petroleum products and switching to cleaner fuels.
• It is organized by PCRA- Petroleum Conservation Research Association and other oil & gas PSU’s under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

IPrism

• IPrism is an Intellectual Property (IP) competition, organized by the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
• CIPAM collaborated with ASSOCHAM and ERICSSON India for this event.
• This competition invites students to submit films on piracy & counterfeiting which causes significant loss to the industry and pose serious safety threats to the consumers.
• The competition aims to foster a culture of innovation and creativity in the younger generation.

Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav

• The 7th edition of ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav-2018’ was inaugurated at Bengaluru.
• It was conceived in 2015 by Ministry of Culture.
• It was organised with intent to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the country.
• This year, Ministry of Culture organised RSM under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat mission.
• The ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ programme under Ministry of HRD, aims to actively enhance interaction between people of diverse cultures living in different States and UTs in India.
• As per the programme, each year, every State/UT would be paired with another State/UT in India for reciprocal interaction between the people.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)

·         Set up in 2001==> To counter corruption and speed up decision- making in military procurement.

·         It is headed by the Defence Minister. The objective of the DAC is to ensure expeditious procurement of the approved requirements of the Armed Forces, in terms of capabilities sought, and time frame prescribed, by optimally utilizing the allocated budgetary resources.

·         The DAC is responsible to give policy guidelines to acquisitions, based on long-term procurement plans. It also clears all acquisitions, which includes both imported and those produced indigenously or under a foreign license.