Changing  the name of the State

Why in news?

The West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to change the name of the State as ‘Bangla’ in three languages — Bengali, English and Hindi.

The proposal to change the name of the State has been pending since August 2016, when the Assembly passed a resolution to change the name to ‘Bengal’ in English, ‘Bangla’ in Bengali and ‘Bangal’ in Hindi. The Centre, however, turned it down in 2017, objecting to having three names in three languages.

Anti-trafficking Bill

The Lok Sabha passed the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018.

Features of the bill

• The Bill lays down a stringent punishment of 10 years to life imprisonment for aggravated forms of trafficking, which include buying or selling of persons for the purpose of bonded labour, bearing a child, as well as those where chemical substances are administered, and a survivor acquires life-threatening illnesses such as AIDS.
• The Bill proposes establishing a National Anti-Trafficking Bureau (NATB) for coordinating and monitoring of trafficking cases.
• It also provides for a Relief and Rehabilitation Committee and Rehabilitation Fund with an initial allocation of Rs. 10 crore.
• It prescribes forfeiture of property used or likely to be used for the commission of an offence.

Montford Reform

Why in news?

This month marks the 100th year of the publication of the ‘Report on Indian Constitutional Reforms’, commonly known as the Montagu-Chelmsford Report (MCR). Edwin Montagu was the Secretary of State for India. Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India.

Features

• It relaxed the central control over the provinces by demarcating and separating the central and provincial subjects.
• The central and provincial legislatures were authorised to make laws on their respective list of subjects.
• It further divided the provincial subjects into two parts—transferred and reserved. The transferred subjects were to be administered by the governor with the aid of ministers responsible to the legislative Council.
• The reserved subjects, on the other hand, were to be administered by the governor and his executive council without being responsible to the legislative Council.
• It introduced, for the first time, bicameralism. Thus, the Indian Legislative Council was replaced by a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper House (Council of State) and a Lower House (Legislative Assembly). The majority of members of both the Houses were chosen by direct election.
• It required that the three of the six members of the Viceroy’s executive Council (other than the commander-in-chief) were to be Indian.
• It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians and Europeans.
• It created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and transferred to him some of the functions hitherto performed by the Secretary of State for India.
• It provided for the establishment of a public service commission. Hence, a Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants.
• It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorised the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.

POSHAN Abhiyaan

Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) had recently organized 2nd meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan in New Dehli.

• Inclusion of 32 new districts under POSHAN Abhiyaan in the current year. This will help to saturate all districts of Union Territories (UTs) that were left out under Phase-I and Phase-II.
• In-principle approval to guidelines for construction of anganwadi centres in urban areas and slums under aanganwadi services.
• Month of September will be celebrated as the National Nutrition Month every year.

About POSHAN Abhiyaan

• The Abhiyaan targets to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% per annum respectively.
• The target of the mission is to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.

Hydrocarbon

Why in news?

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has liberalised the definition of petroleum to bring more hydrocarbons such as coal bed methane and shale gas under its fold. Petroleum and Natural Gas (Amendment) Rules, 2018 have been amended in this regard.

New Definition

Petroleum will now mean naturally occurring hydrocarbons, whether in the form of natural gas, in a liquid, viscous or solid form, or a mixture of these. It, however, does not include coal, lignite and helium occurring in association with petroleum or coal or shale.

Why this change?

• Prior to this, the definition excluded shale and therefore barred companies from exploiting it from fields that are producing conventional oil and gas or coal-bed methane.
• The amendment of the definition of petroleum is a welcome move as it would open up exploration of all hydrocarbons in existing fields which is line with the new Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP).
• It would help in enhancing domestic exploration and production of hydrocarbons and increasing India’s energy security and reducing dependency on imports.

What is Shale Gas?

• Shale gas is a natural gas formed from being trapped within shale formations. It is unconventional source of methane, like coal-bed gas (in coal seams) and tight gas (trapped in rock formations).
• It is colourless, odourless gas, lighter than air. It is cheaper than natural gas, releases 50% less CO2, hence better source for generating electricity. It also provides feedstock for petrochemicals industry, which is turned into fertilizer, plastics and other useful stuff.

Earth Overshoot Day

Why in news?

2018 Earth Overshoot Day will fall on August 1, the earliest date since ecological overshoot began in early 1970s. This year the overshoot day falls two days earlier than the last year’s.

About Earth Overshoot Day

• It is date when humanity annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth can regenerate over the entire year.
• It is calculated by Global Footprint Network and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
• Earth Overshoot Day is calculated by dividing the world biocapacity (the amount of natural resources generated by Earth that year), by the world ecological footprint (humanity’s consumption of Earth’s natural resources for that year), and multiplying by 365, the number of days in one Gregorian common calendar year.

Global Footprint Network

• It is an international non profit organization founded in 2003 to enable a sustainable future where all people have opportunity to thrive within the means of one planet.
• It develops and promotes tools for advancing sustainability, including ecological footprint and biocapacity, which measure amount of resources we use and how much we have. These tools aim at bringing ecological limits to center of decision-making.

Green Mahanadi Mission

Why in news?

Odisha government has launched Green Mahanadi Mission. Under the mission, a total of two crore saplings will be planted on the banks of the Mahanadi.

Green Mahanadi Mission

• The Green Mahanadi Mission envisages rejuvenating Mahanadi river and its tributaries Tel and Ib by increasing recharging capacity through massive plantation.
• Under the mission, a green belt with width of 1 km will be created on both sides of the river beginning from the place, where the river enters Odisha to Paradip, where it merges with the Bay of Bengal.

About Mahanadi River

• The Mahanadi is one of the largest Indian peninsular rivers that drains into the Bay of Bengal.
• River originates in Raipur district of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and flows through the eastern state of Orissa before meeting the sea.
• The major tributaries of Mahanadi are Seonath, Jonk, Hasdo, Mand, Ib, Ong, Tel etc.