The Assam government on Saturday set up an eight-member sub-committee to examine and prepare a framework for the implementation of all clauses of the Assam Accord of 1985.
What is Assam Accord?
The Assam Accord was a Memorandum of Settlement (MoS) signed the Government of India and the leaders of the Assam Movement.
It the movement demanded the identification and deportation of all illegal foreigners – predominantly Bangladeshi immigrants.
They feared that past and continuing large scale migration was overwhelming the native population, impacting their political rights, culture, language and land rights.
The Assam Movement caused the estimated death of over 855 people.
It ended with the signing of the Assam Accord in 1985.
Clause 10: Prevention of Encroachment of Government lands
Clause 11: Restricting acquisition of immovable property by foreigners
Clause 12: Registration of births and deaths
Which clauses are being discussed?
A sub-committee has been tasked to examine and prepare a framework for implementation of all clauses of Assam Accord in general with special emphasis on Clause 6, Clause 7, Clause 9 and Clause 10.
The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), was recently launched by the PM.
About Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
The pilot project of the National Digital Health Mission was announced by PM Modi during his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort on August 15, 2020.
The mission will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent.
This will ensure ease of doing business for doctors and hospitals and healthcare service providers.
The key components of the project include
Health ID for every citizen that will also work as their health account, to which personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application,
Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR)
Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR) that will act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine
How will it work?
In order to be a part of the ABDM, citizens will have to create a unique health ID – a randomly generated 14-digit identification number.
The ID will give the user unique identification, authentication and will be a repository of all health records of a person.
The ID can also be made by self-registration on the portal, downloading the ABMD Health Records app on one’s mobile or at a participating health facility.
The beneficiary will also set up a Personal Health Records (PHR) address for the issue of consent, and for future sharing of health records.
Major privacy issues involved
Informed Consent: The citizen’s consent is vital for all access. A beneficiary’s consent is vital to ensure that information is released.
Data leakages issue: Personalised data collected at multiple levels are a “sitting gold mine” for insurance companies, international researchers, and pharma companies.
Digital divide: Other experts add that lack of access to technology, poverty, and lack of understanding of the language in a vast and diverse country like India are problems that need to be looked into.
Data Migration: The data migration and inter-State transfer are still faced with multiple errors and shortcomings in addition to concerns of data security.
Other challenges
Existing digitalization is yet incomplete: India has been unable to standardise the coverage and quality of the existing digital cards like One Nation One Ration card, PM-JAY card, Aadhaar card, etc., for accessibility of services and entitlements.
Lack of healthcare facilities: The defence of data security by expressed informed consent doesn’t work in a country that is plagued by the acute shortage of healthcare professionals to inform the client fully.
Lack of finance: With the minuscule spending of 1.3% of the GDP on the healthcare sector, India will be unable to ensure the quality and uniform access to healthcare that it hoped to bring about.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has frozen an election symbol of a political party in Bihar to which a cabinet minister belonged.
What are the Election Commission’s powers in a dispute over the election symbol when a party splits?
The question of a split in a political party outside the legislature is dealt by Para 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968.
It states that the ECI may take into account all the available facts and circumstances and undertake a test of majority.
The decision of the ECI shall be binding on all such rival sections or groups emerged after the split.
This applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties.
For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the EC usually advises the warring factions to resolve their differences internally or to approach the court.
How did the EC deal with such matters before the Symbols Order came into effect?
Before 1968, the EC issued notifications and executive orders under the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
The most high-profile split of a party before 1968 was that of the CPI in 1964.
A breakaway group approached the ECI in December 1964 urging it to recognise them as CPI(Marxist). They provided a list of MPs and MLAs of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and West Bengal who supported them.
The ECI recognised the faction as CPI(M) after it found that the votes secured by the MPs and MLAs supporting the breakaway group added up to more than 4% in the 3 states.
What was the first case decided under Para 15 of the 1968 Order?
It was the first split in the Indian National Congress in 1969.
Indira Gandhi’s tensions with a rival group within the party came to a head with the death of President Dr Zakir Hussain on May 3, 1969.
Is there a way other than the test of majority to resolve a dispute over election symbols?
In almost all disputes decided by the EC so far, a clear majority of party delegates/office bearers, MPs and MLAs have supported one of the factions.
Whenever the EC could not test the strength of rival groups based on support within the party organisation (because of disputes regarding the list of office bearers), it fell back on testing the majority only among elected MPs and MLAs.
What happens to the group that doesn’t get the parent party’s symbol?
The EC in 1997 did not recognise the new parties as either state or national parties.
It felt that merely having MPs and MLAs is not enough, as the elected representatives had fought and won polls on tickets of their parent (undivided) parties.
The EC introduced a new rule under which the splinter group of the party — other than the group that got the party symbol — had to register itself as a separate party.
It could lay claim to national or state party status only on the basis of its performance in state or central elections after registration.
A new study shows that the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) located in Hanle is one of the emerging sites for infrared and optical astronomy studies.
About IAO Hanle
The IAO, located in Hanle at Mount Saraswati near Leh in Ladakh, has one of the world’s highest located sites for optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes.
It was established in 2001 and is operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore.
It is currently the ninth highest optical telescope in the world, situated at an elevation of 4,500 meters.
Note: University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) located in the Atacama desert of Chile is the highest at an elevation of 5,640 m.
Major telescopes at Hanle include:
Himalayan Chandra Telescope (An optical-infrared telescope named after India-born Nobel laureate Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar)
GROWTH-India Telescope (A robotic optical telescope)
High Altitude Gamma Ray Telescope
Distinct factors of IAO Hanle
IAO Hanle offers a clear view of space among all observatories globally.
This is due to its advantages of more clear nights, minimal light pollution, background aerosol concentration, extremely dry atmospheric condition and uninterrupted monsoon.
Hanle site is as dry as Atacama Desert in Chile and much drier than Devasthal and has around 270 clear nights in a year and is also one of the emerging sites for infrared and submillimetre optical astronomy.
This is because water vapor absorbs electromagnetic signals and reduces their strength.
Considered the repository of the Thar region’s rich history and traditional knowledge, the ballads, folklore and songs of the Langa-Manganiyar artistes are being preserved through an initiative for documentation and digitisation.
Who are the Langa-Manganiyar?
The Langas and Manganiyars are hereditary communities of Muslim musicians residing mostly in western Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer and Barmer districts and in Pakistan’s Tharparkar and Sanghar districts in Sindh.
The music of the two marginalised communities, who were supported by wealthy landlords and merchants before Independence, forms a vital part of Thar desert’s cultural landscape.
The performances are in multiple languages and dialects including Marwari, Sindhi, Saraiki, Dhatti and Thareli.
The romantic tales revolving around legendary lovers such as Umar-Marvi, Heer-Ranjha, Sohni-Mahiwal, Moomal-Rana and Sorath-Rao Khangar have traditionally captivated audiences.
Instruments used
The Langa’s main traditional instrument is the sindhi sarangi; Manganiyar’s is the kamaicha.
Both are bowed stringed instruments with skin membrane sounding boards and many sympathetic strings.
Both Langas and Manganiyars sing and play the dholak (double-headed barrel drum), the kartal(wooded clappers), the morchan (jaws harp), and the ubiquitous harmonium.
Try answering this PYQ:
Q. Consider the following pairs:
Tradition: State
Chapchar Kut: festival Mizoram
Khongjom Parba ballad: Manipur
Thang Ta dance: Sikkim
Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2
(c) 3 only
(d) 2 and 3
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”8rnk88wj84″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
In the Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu, some Chola-era inscriptions on Kanthaleeswarar Temple bear testimony to the qualifications required for members of the village administrative council.
Inscription details: Kudavolai System
The Kudavolai system was very vital and unique feature of administration of villages of Cholas.
In the system one representative is elected from each ward and every village had 30 wards.
The village administrative committee was called as variyam.
The election was unique as names of contestants were written on palm leaf and put in a pot.
Taxation details
The rulers were considerate while taxing agricultural produce.
For areca nuts, only 50% tax would be collected for the first 10 years after cultivation. Farmers would pay full tax only after the trees started yielding fruits.
Similarly, 50% tax was imposed on banana crops until the yield.
Though a tough one, but try answering this PYQ:
Q.In the context of the history of India, consider the following pairs:
Term: Description
Eripatti: Land revenue from which was set apart for the maintenance of the village tank
Taniyurs: Villages donated to a single Brahmin or a group of Brahmins
Ghatikas: Colleges generally attached to the temples
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 3 only
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 3
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”ae2horatv9″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
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