{"id":54495,"date":"2020-02-08T21:00:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-08T15:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=54495"},"modified":"2020-02-26T18:22:54","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T12:52:54","slug":"9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-8th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-8th-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 8th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/simply-put-sedition-law-what-courts-said-6254972\/\"><strong>Explained:Sedition\nlaw<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Recently, a sessions court had rejected the anticipatory bail\napplication of a student booked under Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian\nPenal Code(IPC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSedition(Section 124A):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The concept of sedition was\nintroduced in the penal code in 1870.It was a colonial law directed against\nstrong criticism of the British administration.<\/li><li>Section 124A IPC defines sedition\nas an act that brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt or excites\nor attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in\nIndia by words, either spoken or written or by signs or by visible\nrepresentation or otherwise.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Supreme\nCourt Judgements on Sedition:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kedar\nNath Singh v State of Bihar,1962:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Supreme Court upheld the\nconstitutionality of Section 124-A (sedition).<\/li><li>However,it said that every citizen\nhas a right to say or write about the government by way of criticism or comment\nas long as it does not incite people to violence against the government\nestablished by law or with the intention of creating public disorder.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Balwant\nSingh v State of Punjab,1995:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Supreme Court acquitted\npersons from charges of sedition for shouting slogans such as \u201cKhalistan\nZindabad\u201d.<\/li><li>The court held that mere raising\nof slogans by two individuals alone cannot be said to be aimed at exciting or\nattempt to excite hatred or disaffection by the government.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/newsite\/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=199084\"><strong>Ease of Living\nIndex(EoLI) and Municipal Performance Index(MPI)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The Ministry of Housing &amp; Urban Affairs has launched two new\nindices namely Ease of Living Index(EoLI) and Municipal Performance Index(MPI)\nto assess the quality of life of citizens in cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nEase of Living Index:<\/strong>It is aimed at providing a\nholistic view of the country\u2019s cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Main\nobjectives of the Index:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>To generate information to guide\nevidence-based policy making<\/li><li>Catalyse action to achieve broader\ndevelopmental outcomes and assess<\/li><li>Compare the outcomes of various\nurban policies and schemes<\/li><li>Obtain the perception of citizens\nabout their view of the services provided by the city administration.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Parameters\nof the index:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The index will assess the ease of\nliving of citizens on three broad parameters namely a) quality of life b)\neconomic ability and c) sustainability which are further divided into 14\ncategories across 50 indicators.<\/li><li>A Citizen Perception Survey is\nalso being conducted which carries 30% of the marks of the Ease of Living Index.<\/li><li>The 100 notified smart cities and\nanother 14 cities having a population of over a million will be considered for\nthe assessment.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nMunicipal Performance Index(MPI):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It aims to assess the performance\nof municipalities based on five enablers.<\/li><li>These five enablers include\nservice, finance, planning, technology and governance.They are further divided\ninto 20 sectors and 100 indicators.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/why-cancer-gene-map-matters-6256667\/\"><strong>Explained:Why\ncancer gene map matters<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Recently,a Pan-Cancer Project involving 1,300 scientists has completed\na decade-long project to map the many gene mutations that drive cancer\u2019s\ndevelopment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nPan Cancer Project:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The project also called Pan-Cancer\nAnalysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) is an international collaboration of the\nInternational Cancer Genome Consortium and The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA).<\/li><li>The project revealed the most\ncomprehensive gene map of the genes whose departures from normal behaviour \u2014\nmutations \u2014 trigger a cascade of genetic misbehaviours that eventually lead to\ncancer.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\ntakeaways from the project:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It found that on average, people&#8217;s\ncancers contain between four and five fundamental mutations that drive a\ncancer&#8217;s growth.<\/li><li>However, around 5% of cancers\nappeared to have no driver mutations at all showing there is still more work to\ndo.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nInternational Cancer Genome Consortium:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The International Cancer Genome\nConsortium(ICGC) is a voluntary scientific organization established in 2007.<\/li><li>It coordinates a large number of\nresearch projects to unravel the genomic changes present in many forms of\ncancer that contribute to the burden of disease in people throughout the world.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Mutation:<\/strong>It is any change that occurs in the DNA sequence of a cell.It may be\ncaused by mistakes during cell division or they may be caused by exposure to\nDNA-damaging agents in the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1602404\"><strong>Swadhar Greh\nScheme<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The Minister of Women and Child Development has informed the Lok Sabha\nabout the implementation of the Swadhar Greh Scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSwadhar Greh Scheme:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Launched by the Union Ministry of\nWomen and Child Development in 2002.<\/li><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong>To provide a supportive institutional\nframework such as shelter, food clothing for women victims of difficult\ncircumstances so that they could lead their life with dignity and conviction. <\/li><li><strong>Beneficiaries<\/strong>:Widows deserted by their\nfamilies, women prisoners released from jail and without family support, women\nsurvivors of natural disasters, women victims of terrorist\/extremist violence,\ntrafficked women among others.<\/li><li><strong>Implementation agencies:<\/strong>State Government\nagencies, Central Bodies, NGO\u2019s, Panchayati Raj Institutions, municipal bodies\namong others.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/newsite\/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=199061\"><strong>National\nMeans-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme(NMMSS)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Union HRD minister has said that the National Means-cum-Merit\nScholarship Scheme(NMMSS) has helped to reduce the drop-out rate at the\nsecondary and senior secondary classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nthe Scheme:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong>To award scholarships to meritorious\nstudents of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII\nand encourage them to continue the study at secondary stage.<\/li><li>The Scheme was launched in 2008 by\nthe Ministry of Human Resource Development(HRD).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Features\nof the scheme:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Under the Scheme Rs.12000 per\nannum per student are awarded to selected students of class IX every year and\ntheir continuation\/renewal&nbsp; in classes X\nto XII for study.<\/li><li>The selection of students for\naward of scholarships under the scheme is made through an examination conducted\nby the States\/UTs Governments.<\/li><li>The scheme has been on the\nNational Scholarship Portal (NSP) since 2015-16.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nNational Scholarship Portal(NSP):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It has been developed by the\nDepartment of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).<\/li><li>The portal aims to streamline and\nfast track the release of Scholarships across Ministries \/ Departments with\nefficiency, transparency and reliability.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dropout\nrate in Schools:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Recently,the Union HRD minister\nhas informed the Lok Sabha that the dropout rate in schools was highest in\nAssam at both primary and secondary levels.<\/li><li>Reasons for dropout include: a)\npoverty or economic reasons b) poor health c) child too young to be attending\nschool and d) child needed for help in domestic work.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-who-was-kaka-hathrasi-the-poet-pm-modi-quoted-in-parliament\/\"><strong>Explained:Who\nwas Kaka Hathrasi,the poet PM Modi quoted in Parliament<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Recently,the Prime Minister had quoted Poet Kaka Hathrasi during the\nreply to the Motion of Thanks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nKaka Hathrasi:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Kaka Hathrasi was born in 1906.He\nwas a Hindi satirist and humorist poet of India.<\/li><li>He was awarded Padma Shri by the\nGovernment of India in the year 1985.<\/li><li>Apart from humour,he also wrote on\nclassical dance and music under the pen name \u2018Vasant\u2019.<\/li><li>Every year, the Delhi-based Hindi\nAcademy awards the annual Kaka Hathrasi Award for outstanding contribution in\nthe literary field.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-know-your-unparliamentary-what-mps-cannot-say-in-the-house-6256483\/\"><strong>Explained:Know\nyour \u2018unparliamentary\u2019 \u2014 What MPs cannot say in the House<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Recently,the heated exchanges in Parliament have brought back the\nquestions around unparliamentary speech and conduct in the Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nParliamentary privileges:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Parliamentary privileges are\ncertain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually\nand collectively so that they can effectively discharge their functions.<\/li><li>The Constitution under Article 105\nmentions two types of privileges&nbsp; namely\nthe freedom of speech in Parliament and right of publication of its\nproceedings.<\/li><li>Article 105(2) says that no Member\nof Parliament shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of\nanything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or any committee thereof.<\/li><li>However,whatever an MP says is\nsubject to the discipline of the Rules of Procedure, good sense of Members and\nthe control of proceedings by the Speaker.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Rules\nof Procedure on Unparliamentary speech:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Rules of Procedure and Conduct of\nBusiness have been formulated under Article 118 of the Constitution wherein\neach House of Parliament&nbsp; is required to\nmake rules for regulating its procedure and conduct of business.<\/li><li>Rule 380 of the rules says that if\nthe Speaker is of opinion that words used in debate are defamatory or\nunparliamentary, the Speaker may order that such words be expunged from the\nproceedings of the House.<\/li><li>Rule 381 says that the portion of\nthe proceedings of the House so expunged shall be marked by asterisks and an\nexplanatory footnote shall be inserted in the proceedings as expunged as\nordered by the Chair.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/m.economictimes.com\/news\/politics-and-nation\/haryana-launches-rs-1500-crore-mukhyamantri-parivartan-yojna\/articleshow\/74012211.cms\"><strong>Haryana\nlaunches Rs 1500 crore Mukhyamantri Parivartan Yojna <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The Haryana Chief Minister has launched the Mukhyamantri Parivar\nSamridhi Yojna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nthe scheme:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong>To provide social security benefits to\neligible families of the state through annual financial assistance.<\/li><li>Under the scheme,financial\nassistance of Rs 6000 will be provided to those families in the State whose\nannual income is upto Rs 1.80 lakh and land holding is less than 5 acres.<\/li><li>The money paid under this scheme\nwill be utilised to pay the premiums of various social security and insurance\nschemes run by the central and state governments.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/army-gets-upgraded-155mm-artillery-gun-at-defexpo\/article30764037.ece\"><strong>Army gets\nupgraded 155mm artillery gun &#8211; Sharang<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has handed over Sharang,an artillery\ngun to the Indian Army.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSharang:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Artillery is a class of heavy\nmilitary ranged weapons built to launch munitions far beyond the range and\npower of infantry firearms.<\/li><li>Sharang is an indigenously\nupgraded 155 mm calibre artillery gun.<\/li><li>The hitting range of the gun\nsystem has also been increased from 12km to 39 km.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nOrdnance Factory Board (OFB)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ordnance Factory Board(OFB) is the\noldest and largest industrial setup which functions under the Department of\nDefence Production of the Ministry of Defence.<\/li><li>It is engaged in research,\ndevelopment, production, testing, marketing and logistics of a comprehensive\nproduct range in the areas of air, land and sea systems.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Explained:Sedition law News:Recently, a sessions court had rejected the anticipatory bail application of a student booked under Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code(IPC). Facts: About Sedition(Section 124A): The concept of sedition was introduced in the penal code in 1870.It was a colonial law directed against strong criticism of the British administration. Section 124A&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-8th-2020\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 8th, 2020<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":48116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-brief","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/9-PM-Brief.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704941067},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}