National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 17th October 2018

POCSO Act

Topic: Polity and Governance

IN NEWS: The government clarified that Survivors of child sexual abuse will be able to file a police complaint when they are adults and there is no time bar on reporting such crimes.,

About POCSO Act:

• In order to effectively address the heinous crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children through less ambiguous and more stringent legal provisions, the Ministry of Women and Child Development championed the introduction of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Salient features:

• The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age, and regards the best interests and well-being of the child as being of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child.
• It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography, and deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority vis-à-vis the child, like a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor.
• People who traffic children for sexual purposes are also punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the Act. The Act prescribes stringent punishment graded as per the gravity of the offence, with a maximum term of rigorous imprisonment for life, and fine.

Provisions related to conduct of trial of reported offences

• The Act provides for the establishment of Special Courts for trial of offences under the Act, keeping the best interest of the child as of paramount importance at every stage of the judicial process.
• The Act incorporates child friendly procedures for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and trial of offences.
• The Act makes it mandatory to report commission of an offence and also the recording of complaint and failure to do so would make a person liable for punishment of imprisonment for six months or / and with fine.
• The law shifted the burden of proof to the accused. This provision has been made keeping in view the greater vulnerability and innocence of children.
• To prevent misuse of the law, punishment has been provided for making false complaint or proving false information with malicious intent.
• To provide for relief and rehabilitation of the child, as soon as the complaint is made to the Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) or local police, these will make immediate arrangements to give the child, care and protection such as admitting the child into shelter home or to the nearest hospital within twenty-four hours of the report.
• The Act casts a duty on the Central and State Governments to spread awareness through media including the television, radio and the print media at regular intervals to make the general public, children as well as their parents and guardians aware of the provisions of this Act.
• The POCSO Act is only applicable to child survivors and adult offenders. In case two children have sexual relations with each other, or in case a child perpetrates a sexual offence on an adult, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, will apply.

Source:The Hindu

Ancient rocks in India give clues to early life

Topic: Art and Culture

• In news: Researchers have found the oldest clue yet to the mystery of animal life in ancient rocks and oils, including those from India, dating back at least 100 million years before the famous Cambrian explosion of animal fossils. The “Cambrian Explosion” refers to the sudden appearance in the fossil record of complex animals with mineralised skeletal remains 541 million years ago.

 More on the topic:

• In ancient rocks and oils from India, Oman, Siberia, the researchers found a steroid compound produced only by sponges, which are among the earliest forms of animal life.
• The biomarker they identified, a steroid compound named 26-methylstigmastane (26-mes), has a unique structure that is currently only known to be synthesised by certain species of modern sponges called demosponges.

What are Biomarkers

• A biomarker, or biological marker is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated to examine normal biological processes.Biomarkers are used in many scientific fields.

Source:The Hindu

Korean war memorial to be built in Delhi

Topic:World History

In news: A Korean War memorial will be built in New Delhi to commemorate India’s role in the war which ended in an armistice in 1953.

More on the Topic:

• India and South Korea have agreed on building the war memorial.
• The proposal was initiated by the Indian Korean War Veterans Association and the Delhi government had designated place to build the memorial.

More on Korean War:

• The Korean War was a war between North Korea (with the support of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (with the principal support of the United States). The war began on June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of clashes along the border.
• As a product of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, Korea had been split into two sovereign states. Both governments claimed to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea, and neither accepted the border as permanent.
• The conflict escalated into open warfare when North Korean force ssupported by the Soviet Union and China moved into the south.
• The United Nations Security Council authorized the formation and dispatch of UN forces to Korea to repel what was recognized as a North Korean invasion.
• There were 21 countries which participated in the Korean War from 1950-53 of which 16 countries had sent combat troops. India sent medical teams and a custodian force to deal with the Prisoners of War (PoW).
• The fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed. The agreement created the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea, and allowed the return of prisoners.
• However, no peace treaty was ever signed, and according to some sources the two Koreas are technically still at war, engaged in a frozen conflict.

Source:The Hindu

Ministry of AYUSH

Topic: Indian Polity and Governance

In news: On the occasion of Ayurveda Day celebrations, Ministry of AYUSH is organising First National Summit on Invest in AYUSH.

More on the Topic

• The summit is to encourage public sector undertakings (PSUs) under different Ministries/Departments of the Government and private companies to invest in AYUSH.
• NITI Aayog and Department of Industrial and Policy and Promotion are the partner organisations of this first National summit in AYUSH.

About AYUSH:

• The Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, abbreviated as AYUSH, is a governmental body in India purposed with developing, education and research in ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine), yoga, naturopathy, unani, siddha, homoeopathy, Sowa Rigpa (Traditional Tibetan medicine) and other Indigenous medicine systems.
• It was created in March 1995 as the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H). It was operated under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The Ministry of AYUSH was formed with effect from 9 November 2014 by elevation of the Department of AYUSH.

Source:Pib

12th ASEM Summit

Topic:Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

 In news: The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu will attend the two-day 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Brussels.

More on the Topic:

The bi-annual event is considered the highest platform for dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe in the areas of trade, investment, security and tourism. As many as 51 Heads of States/ Heads of Government are expected to participate in the Summit where a wide range of issues from climate change to terrorism are expected to be discussed.

 About ASEM:

• The Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an Asian European political dialogue forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation between its partners.
• It was officially established on March 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok, Thailand, by the then 15 members of the European Union (EU) and the European Commission, the then 7 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the individual countries of China, Japan, and South Korea.
• India has joined the association in 2008.
• In general, the process is considered by the partners involved to be a way of deepening the relations between Asia and Europe at all levels, which is deemed necessary to achieve a more balanced political and economic world order.
• The process is enhanced by the biennial meetings of Heads of State and Government, alternately in Europe and Asia, and biennial meetings of Foreign Ministers as well as other Ministerial Meetings, and other political, economic, and socio-cultural events at various levels.