Daily Current Affairs : 12-Mar-2020
Major Topics Covered :
COVID-19 NOW A PANDEMIC
MADRAS HC ON ROLE OF LG AND GOVERNMENT
MULBERRY DISEASE
YOUNG SCIENTIST PROGRAMME “YUVA VIGYANI KARYAKRAM” (YuViKa)
SECTION 2 OF THE EPIDEMIC DISEASE ACT, 1897
SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORKPLACE
RIGHT TO PROPERTY
PRIVATE TRAINS
COVID-19 NOW A PANDEMIC
Why in news?
WHO has declared COVID-19 as a pandemic based on its assessment.
Highlights:
A pandemic is declared when a new disease for which people do not have immunity spreads around the world beyond expectations.
As on date there are around 1,18,000 positive cases of COVID-19 from 114 countries. However, more than 90% cases have been in just four countries.
There have been 60 confirmed cases in India.
Source : Hindu
MADRAS HC ON ROLE OF LG AND GOVERNMENT
Why in news?
The Madras High said a government is “a trustee for the little man who should not have a perception that the running of the government is a gigantic conspiracy”.
Highlight :
It held that the role of Puducherry’s Lieutenant Governor and that of an elected government in the Union Territory were intertwined as per law, and therefore they were expected to act in unison and not in division.
The ruling has set aside the judgment of a single judge who, according to the Bench, had delivered a verdict in favour of the elected government and held that the L-G could not interfere with its day-to-day functioning by fostering a “basically incorrect” opinion that the legislature of the Union Territory was on a par with that of a State.
Court held that ,The view of the learned single judge suffers from a basic fallacy of drawing a parallel on the basis of expected notions of democracy and republicanism vis-a-vis the status of elected legislature of a Union Territory and that of a State. This cannot be done by a judicial pronouncement and has to be through a legislative process by the appropriate legislature. For the time being, there is no such law that may equate or put them at par.”
Source : Hindu
MULBERRY DISEASE
Why in news?
Cocoon production in Karmataka, which had been hit by a mulberry disease, appears poised to pick up just in time to meet the growing demand for indigenous silk.
Highlights:
The leafroller insect, which eats the shoots of mulberry plants, had affected the production in the State.
Mulberry is the name given to several species of deciduous shrub or tree in the genus Morus (family Moraceae) which are grown for their edible fruits. The genus includes white mulberry (Morus alba) and red mulberry (Morus rubra).
It is required for the sericulture and thus infected mulberry impacts the production of cocoon.
Source : Hindu
YOUNG SCIENTIST PROGRAMME “YUVA VIGYANI KARYAKRAM” (YuViKa)
Why in news?
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has shortlisted 358 high school students from across the country to be part of its second annual ‘catch them young’ programme, YuViKa.
Highlights:
The Program is primarily aimed at imparting basic knowledge on Space Technology, Space Science and Space Applications to the younger ones with the intent of arousing their interest in the emerging areas of Space activities.
Eligibility:
Those who have finished 8th standard and currently studying in 9th standard (in the academic year 2019-20) will be eligible for the programme.
Students who are studying in India including OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) are eligible for the programme.
Selection : The selection is based on the 8th Standard academic performance and extracurricular activities.
Source : Hindu and ISRO
SECTION 2 OF THE EPIDEMIC DISEASE ACT, 1897
Why in news?
All states and Union territories are advised to invoke the section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897.
Highlights:
Section 2 of the Act is - “Power to take special measures and prescribe regulations as to dangerous epidemic disease”
Whenever the state government is satisfied that the State or any part of it is threatened with an outbreak of any dangerous epidemic disease and the government is satisfied that the current laws are insufficient at the moment, then it can invoke the section 2 of the Act.
By the Section 2 of the Act, state government can empower any person to take such measures by public notice which provide for temporary regulations to be observed by the public or by an class of persons to prevent the outbreak of the disease.
The regulations can be for –
Inspection of persons travelling by railway or otherwise, and
The segregation, in hospital, temporary accommodation or otherwise, of persons suspected by the inspecting officer of being infected with any such disease.
Source : Hindu and The Epidemic Disease Act, 1897
SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORKPLACE
Why in news?
Sexual harassment of women at workplace is an affront to their fundamental right to equality and a life with dignity, the Supreme Court has held in a judgment.
Highlights:
Sexual harassment at the workplace is an affront to the fundamental rights of a woman to equality under Articles 14 and 15 and her right to live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution as well as her right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business
The verdict, authored by Justice Chandrachud, was based on a complaint made by a senior officer of the Punjab and Sind Bank, that she was transferred out from Indore to Jabalpur because she had complained about irregularities and corruption.
Though the court held that employees cannot have a “choice of postings” unless if the transfer was proved to be mala fide or without authority, it found that her transfer was an act of reprisal against her complaints about the irregularities in the branch.
The court referred to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013, saying its very purpose was to provide protection to working women.
Source : Hindu
RIGHT TO PROPERTY
Why in news?
In a recent judgment, the court stressed that right to property is both a human right and a constitutional right — the latter under Article 300A of the Constitution.
Highlights:
The Supreme Court has reiterated that forcible dispossession of a person of his private property without due process of law is a violation of human rights.
Some amount of property right is an indispensable safeguard against tyranny and economic oppression of the government... Property itself is the seed bed which must be conserved if other constitutional values are to flourish
The verdict came on the acquisition of a few acres in Sikkim by the State’s Agriculture department in 1980 for building the Progeny Orchard Regional Centre.
Source : Hindu
PRIVATE TRAINS
Why in news?
An indicative list of over 100 origin-destination pairs for operation of passenger train services by the private entities, under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode, has been uploaded on the websites of NITI Aayog and Indian Railways
Highlights:
Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is operating Tejas Express train on the New Delhi-Lucknow.
Privatisation of trains is to increase the quality of trains for the customers.
Source : PIB