Prelims facts

1. National Council for Transgenders

THE ISUE IN NEWS

the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment recently constituted the National Council for Transgender Persons, under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

Transgender Persons Act, 2019

• The act Seeks to establish National Council for Transgender persons.
• It Defines a Transgender Person as : one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth. It includes transmen and trans-women, persons with intersex variations, gender-queers, and persons with sociocultural identities, such as kinnar and hijra.
• Certificate of Identity: The Act states that a transgender person shall have the right to self-perceived gender identity.
• A certificate of identity can be obtained at the District Magistrate’s office and a revised certificate is to be obtained if sex is changed. The Act has a provision that provides transgender the right of residence with parents and immediate family members.
• Prohibition Against Discrimination: The Act prohibits discrimination against a transgender person in various sectors such as education, employment, and healthcare etc.
• Punishment: It states that the offences against transgender persons will attract imprisonment between six months and two years, in addition to a fine.

Main Points

Aim of establishing a council:

• To mainstream the transgender community’s concerns, focusing on livelihood issues as well as to raise awareness about the trans community, so that transpersons are accepted within families and in the larger society.
• To ensure that transgender welfare boards are set up in all States and essential needs of the transgender community, like housing, food, healthcare and education are met.

Functions of the council :

• Advising the Central government on the formulation of policies, programmes, legislation and projects with respect to transgender persons.
• Monitoring and evaluating the impact of policies and programmes designed for achieving equality and full participation of transgender persons.
• Reviewing and coordinating the activities of all the departments.
• Redressing grievances of transgender persons. Performing such other functions as prescribed by the Centre.

Composition:

• The chairperson will be the Union Minister of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

It will also consist of:

• Representatives from five states or Union Territories (one each from the north, south, east, west and northeast regions), on a rotational basis.
• Five members of the trangender community (one each from the north, south, east, west and northeast regions).
• The tenure of the community members shall be three years.
• Representatives from 10 central departments.
• The council will have joint secretary-level members from the Ministries of Health, Home, Minority Affairs, Education, Rural Development, Labour and Law. In addition, there will be a member from the Department of Pensions (Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions), NITI Aayog, National Human Rights Commission and National Commission for Women.

Background

• 2013: The government set up an expert committee to study the problems of transgenders and recommend solutions.
• 2014: In National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India case, the Supreme Court of India declared transgender people to be a ‘third gender’.
• It also affirmed that the fundamental rights granted under the Constitution of India will be equally applicable to transgender people, and gave them the right to self-identification of their gender as male, female or third-gender.
• 2014: A private member Bill, the Rights of Transgendered Persons, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
• The bill looked at a range of entitlements of such persons, providing specifically for them in health, education sectors, skill development and employment opportunities, and protection from abuse and torture. However, this Bill got lapsed.
• 2016: The Government introduced its own Bill in the Lok Sabha and it was referred to a Standing Committee.
• 2019: The Parliament passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019.
• 2020: Government establishes the National Council for Transgender Persons.

 

2. BIS Draft Standard for Drinking Water

THE ISSUE IN NEWS

the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has prepared a draft standard for the supply system of piped drinking water.

• The draft has been titled as ‘Drinking water supply quality management system — requirements for piped drinking water supply service’.

Main Points

Draft:

• It outlines the process of water supply, from raw water sources to household taps.
• The draft standard is expected to make the process of piped water supply more uniform, especially in rural and underdeveloped areas of the country where the system runs on various government orders and circulars.
• The draft has been developed keeping in view the Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission. The Jal Jeevan Mission aims for providing safe and adequate drinking water to all rural households by 2024 through tap connections.
• It has been prepared by the BIS’s Public Drinking Water Supply Services Sectional Committee.

Features of the Draft:

• It outlines the requirements for a water supplier or a water utility on how they should establish, operate, maintain and improve their piped drinking water supply service.
• Guidelines for top management of the water supplier/utility which includes:
• Accountability and customer focus.
• Establishing a quality policy for their service.
• Monitoring the quality of water released to people.
• Conducting a water audit.

 

• It sets the Indian Standard (IS) 10500 for the treated water for drinking.

 

• The IS 10500 outlines the acceptable limit of heavy metals such as arsenic, pH value of water, turbidity, the total dissolved solids in it, and the colour and odour.
• Adoption of the concept of District Metering Area (DMA) where possible. DMA is a concept for controlling leakages in the water network, which is essentially divided into a number of sectors, called the DMAs, and where flow meters are installed to detect leaks.
• The water supplier may provide bulk water meters in the water distribution system to ensure water audit, however the provisions should be made for domestic meters also.
• The draft also mentions that water should be sampled at the treatment plant every four hours against quality parameters.

Background:

• Quality of drinking water became a contentious issue in November 2019 when a BIS report, released by Union Government, found Delhi’s tap water quality as the worst among 21 metros and state capitals in the country.
• The report had also found that tap water in 13 state capitals, including Bhopal, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai, did not comply with BIS standards.

Jal Jeevan Mission

• Under this the Union government envisages to provide water supply to every household by 2024.
• The Mission is based on various water conservation efforts like point recharge, desilting of minor irrigation tanks, use of greywater for agriculture and source sustainability.
• The Mission is based on a community approach to water and includes extensive Information, Education and Communication as a key component of the mission.
• The Mission will converge with other Central and State Government Schemes to achieve its objectives of sustainable water supply management across the country. The Jal Shakti Ministry is the nodal ministry for the implementation of the mission.

 

 

3. Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana: ESIC

THE ISSUE IN NEWS

The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has extended the Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana by one year to 30 June 2021.

• Further, the ESIC has relaxed eligibility criteria and enhanced the payment of the unemployment benefit under the Yojana (applicable from 24 March-31 December 2020).

Main Points

About the Yojana:

• Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana was introduced w.e.f. 1 July 2018. Under it, unemployment benefit is paid to the workers covered under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) scheme.
• Unemployment benefit is paid in the form of cash compensation upto 90 days, once in a lifetime, to be claimed after three months (90 days) in one or more spells for being rendered
• The benefit does not exceed 25% of the average earning per day.

About the ESI Act, 1948:

• It applies to all factories and notified establishments located in implemented areas employing 10 or more persons and is applicable on employees drawing wages up to 21,000 per month (Rs. 25,000 for persons with disabilities).
• Employees in receipt of a daily average wage upto 137 are exempted from payment of contribution.
• The Employees’ State Insurance Scheme is administered by a corporate body called the ESI Corporation.
• The Corporation is the highest policy making and decision taking authority under the ESI Act and oversees the functioning of the Scheme.
• The Union Minister of Labour and Employment is its
• It covers about 3.49 crore of family units of workers and provides cash benefits and medical facilities to 13.56 crore beneficiaries.

 

4. Nuakhai Juhar

THE ISSUE IN NEWS

The Prime Minister of India greeted the farmers on the occasion of Nuakhai Juhar (23 August, 2020).

Main Points

• Nuakhai Juhar is an agricultural festival, also called Nuakhai Parab or Nuakahi Bhetghat.
• It is celebrated to welcome the new crop of the season. Nuakhai is a combination of two words that signifies eating of new rice as ‘nua’ means new and ‘khai’ means eat.
• This is the festival of Western Odisha, southern Chhattisgarh and adjoining areas of Simdega (Jharkhand).
• Its coastal counterpart is Nabanna, observed in Coastal Odisha.
• It is observed on panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada (August–September), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi
• Lagan is the fixed time of the day to celebrate the festival.
• Festive Activities: Farmers offer the first produce from their lands to Goddess Samaleswari, the famous ‘Mother Goddess’ of Sambalpur district of Odisha.
• Sambalpuri dance forms like Rasarkeli and Dalkhai can be witnessed.

Historical Background:

• It is believed to have been adopted from the tribal communities of western Odisha.
• As the preparations reveal elements of both tribal origins and the Hindu rituals.
• Nuakhai festival traces its origin to the Vedic period in One among them was Pralambana yajna which means the cutting of new crops and offering them to the mother goddess.
• Oral tradition of this festival dates back to the 12 century A.D. when this festival was celebrated by Chauvan Raja Ramai Deo, Bolangir district of Odisha.

 

5. Behrupiya: Folk Artiste

THE ISSUE IN NEWS

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the livelihood of several folk artistes including ‘Behrupiyas’.

Main Points

• The word ‘behrupiya’ is a derivative of the Sanskrit word bahu (many) and roop (form).
• Behrupiyas are impersonators, mostly known to perform in villages and markets all over India.
• They put on various costumes to play figures from mythology, folklore and traditional stories.
• The behrupiya festival is a traditional Indian style of street theatre and takes place every year in different locations- Delhi, Ahmedabad, Udaipur, Jaipur, Kumbh, Muzaffarnagar and others.
• National Behrupiya Festival was organised by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) from 5 -8 October 2018. IGNCA is an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture.
• Behrupiyas were more than artists in the past. They assisted in circulating, transmitting and publicising the various knowledge forms in the popular domain of Samaj, the people.
• The vibrant tradition of Ramlila can also be seen as an extension of this practice which continues even today.
• Arthashastra makes a mention of religious processions in the Mauryan times where artistes dressed as gods and were taken out in tableaux all around the kingdom.
• Rajasthan’s Behrupiyas had served Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh of the erstwhile Jaipur kingdom. They are also said to have helped freedom fighters during the struggle for Independence.
• Different Forms of Traditional Theatres:
• Bhand Pather: Kashmir
• Nautanki: Uttar Pradesh
• Bhavai: Gujarat
• Jatra: Bengal
• Maach: Madhya Pradesh
• Bhaona: Assam
• Dashavatar: Konkan and Goa Regions
• Tamaasha: Maharashtra
• Krishnattam, Koodiyaattam and Mudiyettu: Kerala
• Yakshagana: Karnataka
• Therukoothu: Tamil Nadu