- Association of World Election Bodies
The issue in news
ECI to host an international webinar on ‘Issues, Challenges and Protocols for Conducting Elections during COVID-19: Sharing Country Experiences’.
Main points
- The webinar is on the occasion of the Election Commission completing one year of chairmanship of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).
- Over 120 delegates from 45 countries across the world will participate in the webinar.
About the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB):
- It is the largest association of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) worldwide.
- At present A-WEB has 115 EMBs as Members & 16 Regional Associations/Organisations as Associate Members.
- ECI is closely associated with A-WEB. The name A-WEB was suggested by the ECI of India.
- The organisation provides training programmes to election officials of member countries upon request and also offers support during the election cycle to boost election management capacity.
- The India A-WEB Centre is located in New Delhi.
- A-WEB was established in South Korea in 2013.
- The current chairman of the organisation is India’s Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora.
- National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
The issue in news
Adjournment in consumer complaints by NCDRC.
About the NCDRC:
- The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), India is a quasi-judicial commission in India that was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986.
- Its head office is in New Delhi. The commission is headed by a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court of India.
- To provide inexpensive, speedy and summary redressal of consumer disputes, quasi-judicial bodies have been set up in each District and State and at the National level, called the District Forums, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission respectively.
- At present, there are 629 District Forums and 35 State Commissions with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) at the apex.
- Any person aggrieved by an order of NCDRC may prefer an Appeal against such order to the Supreme Court within a period of 30 days.
- HIV/AIDS Patients in India
The issue in news
As per the latest HIV estimates report (2019) of the Government, India is estimated to have around 23.49 lakh people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in 2019. The HIV epidemic has an overall decreasing trend in the country with the estimated annual new HIV infections declining by 37% between 2010 and 2019.
Main causes of HIV infection in India:
- Engagement in high-risk behaviours like, Unprotected sexual behaviours, Unsafe injecting, drug use behaviour
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO):
- NACO is a division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies.
- In 1986, following the detection of the first AIDS case in the country, the National AIDS Committee was constituted in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- As the epidemic spread, the need was felt for a nationwide programme and an organization to steer the programme.
- In 1992 India’s first National AIDS Control Programme (1992-1999) was launched, and National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) was constituted to implement the programme.
- NACO envisions an India where every person living with HIV has access to quality care and is treated with dignity.
- Effective prevention, care and support for HIV/AIDS is possible in an environment where human rights are respected and where those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS live a life without stigma and discrimination.
- NACO works to contain the spread of HIV in India by building an all-encompassing response reaching out to diverse populations.
- E-Gram Swaraj Portal
The issue in news
The E-Gram Swaraj Portal has been developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
About the portal:
- The E-Gram Swaraj portal has been developed with the objective of strengthening e-governance in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) across the country.
- It is a user-friendly web portal that aims to bring in better transparency in decentralised planning, progress reporting and work-based accounting.
- e-Gram Swaraj unifies the planning, accounting and monitoring functions of Gram Panchayats.
- Its combination with the Area Profiler application, Local Government Directory (LGD) and the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) renders easier reporting and tracking of Gram Panchayats’ activities.
- It provides a single-window for capturing Panchayat information with the complete Profile of the Panchayat, details of Panchayat finances, asset details, activities taken up through Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), Panchayat information from other Ministries/Departments such as Census 2011, SECC data, Mission Antyodaya survey report, etc.
- The portal was launched in April 2020.
- Kakatiya Dynasty
The issue in news
Recently, A temple with the presiding deity Kakati Devi, constructed by emperor Ganapati Deva, of Kakatiya dynasty, in Dharanikota (Andhra Pradesh) has been converted into a home for local goddess Balusulamma (Goddess Durga).
- The presiding deity Kakati Devi got damaged with time , the villagers without any knowledge of past of the temple installed Balusulamma and worshiped her.
Main points
- Kakatiyas ruled from Warangal (Telangana) from CE 1083-1323 (12 century CE). They are an Andhra dynasty
- They were quite famous for the construction of a network of drinking water and irrigation tanks.
- “Mission Kakatiya” was launched in Telangana for the rejuvenation and of irrigation tanks and lakes built by the Kakatiya dynasty.
- temples like Ganapati Deva, Rudrama Devi and Prataparudra of Kakatiya dynasty are the examples of hindu temples built by them among other hundreds of other temples.
- Chendamangalam Saree: Kerala
The issue in news
Recently, the Care 4 Chendamangalam (C4C) initiative came forward in support of the 2018 Kerala flood affected weavers.
Main points
- Kerala Kasavu Sarees: kasavu means gold zari thread used in the border of the Kerala saree.
- Three clusters that have been identified and have been given GI Tag by The Indian government in Kerala are: Balaramapuram, Chendamangalam and Kuthampully – that have
Chendamangalam Saree:
- This saree has features like puliyilakara border, a thin black line that runs side by side with the sari’s selvedge, extra-weft chuttikara and stripes and checks of varying
- to the historical tradition it has been believed that it was the Paliam family which introduced weaving in Chedamangalam
- Other GI Tagged Products from Kerala:
- Kasaragod Sarees,
- Pokkali Rice,
- Nilambur Teak,
- Wayanad Robusta Coffee,
- Tirur Betel Leaf, etc.
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