Miscellanous Quiz: Society & Development |23 Mar, 2021

To preserve & promote various forms of folk art and culture of the tribals throughout the country including West Bengal, the Government of India has set up seven Zonal Cultural Centres (ZCCs) with headquarters at Patiala, Nagpur, Udaipur, Prayagraj, Kolkata, Dimapur and Thanjavur.

These ZCCs organize various cultural activities and programmes all over the country on regular basis. These ZCCs under Ministry of Culture are also implementing a number of schemes for promoting the folk/tribal art and culture, details of which are as below:

· Theatre Rejuvenation: To promote theatre activities including stage shows and Production oriented workshops, etc. Honorarium Up to Rs. 30,000/- per show excluding TA & DA is paid. The groups finalized on the basis their credentials as well as the merit of project submitted by them.

· Research & Documentation: To preserve promote and propagate vanishing visual and performing art forms including folk, tribal and classical in the field of music, dance, theatre, literature, fine arts etc. in print/ audio – visual media. The art form is finalized in consultation with state Cultural Department.

· Shilpgram: To promote folk and tribal art and crafts of the zone by organizing seminar, workshops, exhibitions, craft fairs, design development and marketing support to the artisans living in the rural areas.

· Octave: To promote and propagate the rich cultural heritage of North East region comprising of eight States namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura to the rest of India.

Source: ForumIAS factly

The Government has informed that around 4.39 lakh candidates have been trained during 2018-19 and 2019-20 under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalaya Yojana (DDU-GKY).

It was launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) as a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM). Scheme aim is to transform rural poor youth into an economically independent and globally relevant workforce.

Source: ForumIAS factly

National Pension Scheme for Traders, Shopkeepers and Self-Employed Persons (originally proposed name was, Pradhan Mantri Laghu Vyapari Maan-dhan Scheme) has been launched on 12.09.2019. It is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme.

· The traders in the age group of 18-40 years with an annual turnover, not exceeding Rs.1.5 crore and who is not a member of EPFO/ESIC/NPS/PM-SYM or an income tax payer, can join the scheme.

· Under the scheme, 50% monthly contribution is payable by the beneficiary and equal matching contribution is paid by the Central Government. Subscribers, after attaining the age of 60 years, are eligible for a monthly minimum assured pension of Rs.3,000/-.

· As the Scheme has been launched on 12th September, 2019. It envisages a coverage of about 50 lakh enrolments under the Scheme for 2019-20.

· In order to achieve this, various measures including celebration of Pension Week/ Pension Saptah have been taken.

· All State/UT Governments were requested for popularizing and bringing more awareness about the Scheme.

· The progress of the Scheme is being reviewed regularly in the Ministry at senior level with State/UT Governments, for taking initiatives under Mission Mode. Ministry of Labour & Employment is the nodal ministry to implement the scheme.

Source: ForumIAS factly

Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) is a campaign launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses.

· PMBJP stores have been set up to provide generic drugs, which are available at lesser prices but are equivalent in quality and efficacy as expensive branded drugs.

· It was launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals in November 2008 under the name Jan Aushadi Campaign.

· Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementation agency for PMBJP

Source: ForumIAS factly

National Career Service is a Five Year Mission Mode Project launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 20th July, 2015. The project is being implemented by the Directorate General of Employment, Ministry of Labour & Employment.

· National Career Service (NCS) is a one-stop solution that provides a wide array of employment and career related services to the citizens of India.

· It works towards bridging the gap between jobseekers and employers, candidates seeking training and career guidance, agencies providing training and career counselling.

· The NCS project reaches out to the people of this country through its three essential pillars i.e. a well designed ICT based portal which is NCS portal, Country wide set up of Model Career Centers and Inter-linkage with all the states through employment exchanges.

· The digital centralized portal provides a wide range of career related services including job search, job matching, rich career content, career counselling, information on Job Fairs, services of local service providers like drivers, plumbers, etc. for households and various other services. This portal facilitates registration of Job Seekers, Employers, Skill Providers, Career Counsellors, Local Service Providers (LSP’s), Career Centers, Placement

Organisations, Households (for availing the services of the LSP’s) and Government Departments.

Source: The Hindu

In pursuance of an appeal by the then Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru in January, 1948, the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) was established with public contributions to assist displaced persons from Pakistan.

· The resources of the PMNRF are now utilized primarily to render immediate relief to families of those killed in natural calamities like floods, cyclones and earthquakes, etc. and to the victims of the major accidents and riots.

· Assistance from PMNRF is also rendered, to partially defray the expenses for medical treatment like heart surgeries, kidney transplantation, cancer treatment and acid attack etc.

· The fund consists entirely of public contributions and does not get any budgetary support. The corpus of the fund is invested in various forms with scheduled commercial banks and other agencies.

· Disbursements are made with the approval of the Prime Minister. PMNRF has not been constituted by the Parliament.

· The fund is recognized as a Trust under the Income Tax Act and the same is managed by Prime Minister or multiple delegates for national causes.

Source: ForumIAS factly

Originally, the Constitution of India did not make any provision with respect to the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities.

· Later, the States Reorganisation Commission (1953-55) made a recommendation in this regard.

· Accordingly, the Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956 inserted a new Article 350-B in Part XVII of the Constitution.

Source: Laxmikanth

Lok Sabha passed the Code on Wages Bill, 2019, which amends and consolidates laws relating to wages/bonus and universalizes the provisions of minimum wages and timely payment of wages to all employees irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling.

· At present, the provisions of both Minimum Wages Act and Payment of Wages Act apply to workers below a particular wage ceiling working in Scheduled Employments only.

· “This Bill would ensure Right to Sustenance for every worker and intends to increase the legislative protection of minimum wage from existing about 40% to 100% workforce.”

· A release issued by the Ministry noted that the Code on Wages Bill, 2019, subsumes relevant provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.

· After the enactment of the Bill, all these four Acts will get repealed.

Source: The Hindu

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha on July 15, 2019. The Bill seeks to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to provide for road safety.

The Act provides for grant of licenses and permits related to motor vehicles, standards for motor vehicles, and penalties for violation of these provisions.

Compensation for road victims: The central government will develop a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during golden hour.

· The Bill defines golden hour as the time period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury, during which the likelihood of preventing death through prompt medical care is the highest.

· The central government may also make a scheme for providing interim relief to claimants seeking compensation under third party insurance.

· The Bill increases the minimum compensation for hit and run cases as follows: (i) in case of death, from Rs 25,000 to two lakh rupees, and (ii) in case of grievous injury, from Rs 12,500 to Rs 50,000.

Compulsory Insurance: The Bill requires the central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India.

Good Samaritans: The Bill defines a good samaritan as a person who renders emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim at the scene of an accident.

· The assistance must have been (i) in good faith, (ii) voluntary, and (iii) without the expectation of any reward.

· Such a person will not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of an accident victim, caused due to their negligence in providing assistance to the victim.

Recall of Vehicles: The Bill allows the central government to order for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users.

Taxi aggregators: The Bill defines aggregators as digital intermediaries or market places which can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for transportation purposes (taxi services). These aggregators will be issued licenses by state further they must comply with the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Source: PRSINDIA

The Constitution of India stands for a secular state. Hence, it does not uphold any particular religion as the official religion of the Indian State. The following provisions of the Constitution reveal the secular character of the Indian State:

· The term ‘secular’ was added to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976.

· The Preamble secures to all citizens of India liberty of belief, faith and worship.

· The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or equal protection of the laws (Article 14).

· The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on the ground of religion (Article 15).

· Equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters of public employment (Article 16).

· All persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate any religion (Article 25).

· Every religious denomination or any of its section shall have the right to manage its religious affairs (Article 26).

· No person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for the promotion of a particular religion (Article 27).

Source: Laxmikanth