Malimath Report
- Justice Malimath Committee or The Committee on Reforms of the Criminal Justice System was constituted by the Home Ministry in 2000.
- The committee had submitted its report in 2003 and made recommendations on crime investigation and punishment.
- The recommendations were never implemented. It is now going to be revisited by the government.
- One of its key recommendations is admissibility of confessions made before a police officer as evidence in a court of law.
- Other recommendations are
- Stringent punishment for false registration of cases,
- Constituting a National Judicial Commission and
- Amending Article 124 to make impeachment of judges less difficult
- Standard of “proof beyond reasonable doubt” followed in criminal cases be done away with.
Sholas
- The Sholas are a mosaic of mountane evergreen forests and grasslands.
- They are found only in high altitude (>1500 metres above sea level) regions within the tropics, and are limited to the southern part of the Western Ghats.
- They are characterised by undulating grassland patches, interspersed with thickets of stunted evergreen tree species.
- Recent study has indicated that timber plantations, , expanding agriculture and the spread of invasive species reduced two thirds of the shoals in palani hill ranges of Western Ghats.
- There is a marked 67% decline in grassland area compared to 1973 level.
- The natural march of invasive species such as prolific-seed-producer, acacia and the policy push for plantations in 1990s seems to be the main cause for decline.
- Fragmented grasslands also displaced endemic species Nilgiri Pipit.
Nilgiri Pipit
- Nilgiri Pipit (Anthus nilghiriensis) is a bird endemic to the Western Ghats of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, southern India.
- It occurs on grassy upland slopes interspersed with bushes and trees, mainly above 1,500 m, and is commonest over 2,000 m.
- It is listed as “Vulnerable” in IUCN red list category.
- It feeds mostly on creeping grass in valleys, but nests in marshy grasslands with slightly taller grasses and sedges, particularly near streams.
- It has been recorded consuming the seeds of grasses and herb.
- Its grassland habitat is gradually being converted to plantations of tea, eucalyptus and silver wattle Acacia dealbata.
Saksham – 2018
- Saksham is a month long awareness programme by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
- It is aimed to create awareness towards “Fuel Conservation” through judicious utilization and conservation of petroleum products and switching to cleaner fuels.
- It is organized by PCRA- Petroleum Conservation Research Association and other oil & gas PSU’s under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
IPrism
- IPrism is an Intellectual Property (IP) competition, organized by the Cell for IPR Promotion and Management (CIPAM), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
- CIPAM collaborated with ASSOCHAM and ERICSSON India for this event.
- This competition invites students to submit films on piracy & counterfeiting which causes significant loss to the industry and pose serious safety threats to the consumers.
- The competition aims to foster a culture of innovation and creativity in the younger generation.
Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav
- The 7th edition of ‘Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav-2018’ was inaugurated at Bengaluru.
- It was conceived in 2015 by Ministry of Culture.
- It was organised with intent to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the country.
- This year, Ministry of Culture organised RSM under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat mission.
- The ‘Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’ programme under Ministry of HRD, aims to actively enhance interaction between people of diverse cultures living in different States and UTs in India.
- As per the programme, each year, every State/UT would be paired with another State/UT in India for reciprocal interaction between the people.
Source: The Hindu, PIB
