Furlough vs Parole
Why in News?
Convicts of the Hashimpura massacre recently moved the Delhi High Court against a Delhi prison rule about furloughs.
- Similarities - Both furlough and parole stem from jail manuals and prison rule.
- Both are conditional releases, subject to good behavior in prison and to not committing specific offences.
- Both are in the domain of executive.
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Furlough
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Parole
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- In furlough, the sentence continues to run despite the convict being released from prison for a specified period of time.
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- When the convict is released on parole, the sentence is suspended and the quantum of sentence remains intact.
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- Furlough is usually granted in case of long-term imprisonment and after spending a certain period of time incarcerated.
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- Paroles are granted in short-term imprisonment.
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- It is aimed to prevent solitude of prisoners, allow them to establish family and social ties, a way of motivation for maintaining good conduct, and to remain disciplined in prison.
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- It aims to provide relief to prisoners in certain specified exigencies such as illness, sowing and harvesting of crops, and to pursue an appeal against conviction in the SC.
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- Granted by the Deputy Inspector General of Prisons.
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- Granted by the Divisional Commissioner.
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- There is limitation in the case of furlough.
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- Parole can be granted a number of times.
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- Since furlough is not granted for any particular reason, it can be denied in the interest of the society.
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- For parole, a specific reason is required.
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Delhi prison rules on furlough
- Chapter XIX of the Rules deals with furlough and parole.
- The rules says that if an appeal of a convict is pending before the high court or the period for filing an appeal before the high court has not expired, “furlough will not be granted” by the executive.
- It would be open to the convict to seek appropriate directions from the court.
Reference
The Indian Express | Difference between parole and furlough
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)
Why in News?
The CBI recently arrested 10 people of NAAC inspection team and office-bearers of Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation (KLEF), Andhra Pradesh, in a case of bribery for a favorable NAAC rating.
- NAAC is a body set up under the University Grants Commission (UGC).
- Established in – 1994.
- Headquarters – Bengaluru.
- NAAC is controlled by a General Council (GC) and an Executive Committee (EC).
- Governing council- Headed by - UGC chief.
- Aim – To evaluate the performance of higher education institutions, and providing accreditation.
- NAAC grades are widely regarded as a marker of quality, with institutions prominently displaying them.
UGC regulations of 2012
- It made it mandatory for higher education institutions to get accredited after 6 years of functioning, or after two batches have graduated.
- This means that for funds from the UGC, a higher education institution needs to be accredited.
- Autonomous Accreditation - These grades also specifically matter in certain scenarios for instance, to apply for autonomy, a college needs to be accredited with a minimum NAAC grade of ‘A’.
- Criteria - Institutions are assessed on parameters including infrastructure, teaching and evaluation, governance, and research.
- Process - The process of assessment involves the institute itself submitting a ‘self-study’ report, a ‘student satisfaction survey’ conducted by NAAC, and a ‘peer team visit’.
- It ends with a NAAC grade and accreditation certification of quality provided by NAAC for a period of 5 years or 7 years in the case of institutions that have had an ‘A’ grade or higher in previous cycles.
National Education Policy 2020
- It suggested that the present 8-point grading system transition into a binary accreditation system the institution will be identified as ‘accredited’, ‘awaiting accreditation’, or ‘not accredited.’
- In 2024, NAAC announced reforms in the accreditation process in line with the committee’s recommendations binary accreditation instead of grades, along with a maturity-based graded accreditation.
- The system classified from levels 1 to 5 for accredited institutions to improve their quality.
- Institutions can evolve from Levels 1 to 4 as “Institutions of national excellence”, and progress to Level 5 as “Institutions of Global Excellence for Multi-Disciplinary Research and Education”.
- This system is still in the process of being rolled out with workshops having been held with stakeholders so far.
Reference
The Indian Express | NAAC bribery case
Gaia BH3
Why in News?
Recently, the astronomers have discovered a gigantic black hole, Gaia BH3.
- Gaia BH3 – It is a dormant black hole, and it is the 3rd kind of Gaia Black Hole.
- It is the 1st black hole found in the Milky Way galaxy’s outer reaches and the largest known stellar-mass black hole in the galaxy.
- Discovered in – 2024.
- Discovered by – European Space Agency’s Gaia telescope.
Gaia telescope has been constantly monitoring the motions of billions of stars in the galaxy since 2013 under European Space Agency’s astrometry mission.
- Distance – 1,926 light-years from Earth, which makes it the 2nd closest black hole to the Earth.
- Located in – About 2,000 light years away in the constellation.
- Constellation – Aquila and appears to be a passive black hole.
- Solar Mass – Nearly 33 times the mass of the Sun.
- Features – It isn’t actively pulling material from its surroundings due to lacks of significant supply of matter in its neighborhood.
- It doesn’t have associated X-ray emissions either.
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Gaia’s Black Hole
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Gaia BH1
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- It is the closest black hole to the earth.
- Located in – About 1,560 light years away in the constellation Ophiuchus.
- Distance – 1.4% of Milky Way’s width.
- Galaxy’s centre – 26,670 light years away.
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Gaia BH2
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- Located in – About 3,800 light years away in the constellation Centaurus.
- Solar Masses – 9 times that of the sun.
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References
- The Hindu| Gigantic Black Hole, Gaia BH3
- ESA| Gaia BH3
Pyricularia Spp Infection
Why in News?
Recently, researchers from the ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) have identified a new fungal disease, Pyricularia Spp, that severely affected ginger crops.
- Pyricularia Spp – It is a fungal pathogen cause a blast disease, which is a new threat to ginger cultivation.
Pyricularia is well known for causing blast diseases in monocot plants like rice, wheat, and barley.
- Pyricularia has been 1st time reported in ginger crop in 2024 in parts of Kodagu district in Karnataka.
- Early-stage Infection – It appears as yellowing of the ginger plant leaves, accompanied by black or dark olive-green spots.
- Once the infection takes hold, it spreads rapidly and can cover the entire field within hours.
- Spread – Over large areas in 10 hours with some affected fields located up to 20 km apart.
- Reason for spread – It is largely driven by the specific climatic conditions that prevailed in Kodagu.
- The dew fall during August and September created favorable environment.
- Causes – It leading to severe crop loss and plant death.
- The rhizomes of the affected plants remain unaffected in the premature yellowing and drying of the leaves.
- The farmers of Kodagu have experienced losses up to 30% in rhizome weight.
- Preventive measures – Immediate fungicide application is advised to curb the rapid spread of the disease.
- Use of fungicides such as Propiconazole at 1 ml/L or a combination of Carbendazim and Mancozeb at a ratio of 2g/L.
- Propiconazoleor Tebuconazole 1ml/L can be sprayed 4 months after planting.
Reference
The Hindu| Pyricularia Spp Affecting Ginger Crop in Kodagu
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One Liners 06-02-2025
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Polity & Governance
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PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana
- Beneficiary - 8.46 lakh households.
- Aims - To increase rooftop solar installations in India.
- It is the world's largest domestic rooftop solar initiative.
- Recent Developments - Government aims for 10 lakh installations by March and 20 lakh by October. 45% of households estimated to receive zero electricity bills.
Web portal of National Youth Parliament Scheme (NYPS) 2.0
- Initiated by – Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
- Aim – Strengthen roots of democracy and Enable students and other citizens to learn about Parliaments.
- Objectives – Inculcate discipline and tolerance for different views.
- To know Functioning of the Government.
- Understanding Constitutional values.
- Learning to Live in a democratic way.
- Institution Participation – Educational institutions can organize Youth Parliament sittings.
- Individual Participation – By taking a quiz on 'Bhartiya Democracy in Action.'
Skill Training of Rural Youth (STRY)
- Launched in – 2015.
- Nodal Ministry – Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
- Umbrella scheme – Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA).
- Aim – At providing short duration skill-based training programs to rural youth above 18 years and farmers on agri-based vocational areas for creating a pool of skilled manpower.
- Purpose – To impart short term skill training for 7 days duration.
Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) Scheme
- Launched in – 2005.
- ATMA – It promotes decentralized farmer-friendly extension system in the country.
- Objective – To support state government’s efforts to revitalize the extension system,
- Making available the latest agricultural technologies,
- Good agricultural practices in different thematic areas of agriculture and allied areas to farmers, farm women and youth, through various interventions.
- Implemented in – 28 States & 5 UTs in the country.
- It is also known as Support to State Extension Programmes for Extension Reforms.
Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK)
- Established in – 1974.
- Nodal Ministry – Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
- Under – Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
- KVK – It serve as single window agricultural knowledge, resource and capacity development centres in different states of the country.
- Purpose – To imparting training to the farmers, farm women and rural youths on different aspects of agriculture and allied sectors.
- It is also known as Farm Science Centre.
National Skill Development Mission
- Launched in – 2015, on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day 15th July.
- Nodal Ministry – Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
- Umbrella scheme – Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA).
- Concept – It operationalizing skill training courses of minimum 200 hours duration for rural youth and farmers in the areas of agriculture and allied sectors.
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International Relations and Issues
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3rd India-Japan Steel Dialogue
- Aim - To foster innovation, sustainable growth, and resilience in the steel industry and enhance bilateral collaboration in steel production and safety.
- Based on Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) signed on December 2020.
- Key Highlights
- Strategic initiatives to promote ease of doing business.
- Sustained growth in steel demand from infrastructure investment.
- Release of the Green Steel Report and Taxonomy of Green Steel.
- Emphasis on R & D opportunities for Japanese investors.
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Agriculture
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Extra-long Staple (ELS) Cotton
- It is a classification of cotton based on the length of its fibres.
- It mostly comes from the species Gossypium barbadense, commonly known as Egyptian or Pima cotton.
- Fibre lengths – 30 mm and above.
- Origin – South America.
- Growing countries – China, Egypt, Australia, India and Peru.
- India – It is grown along rain fed parts of Atpadi taluka, Maharashtra and Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
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Environment
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Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary
- Kolleru Wildlife Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh, protects part of the Kolleru Lake wetland.
- Established in - 1999 under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
- Kolleru Lake - Located between the Godavari and Krishna deltas in Andhra Pradesh.
- Kolleru Lake wetland- Recognized as Ramsar site in 2002.
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Miscellaneous
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15th International Meeting of World Pharmacopoeias (IMWP)
- Hosted by - Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC).
- Coordinated with - Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and World Health Organization.
- Aim – To focus on pharmaceutical standards and harmonization.
- Introduced the IP Online platform for Indian Pharmacopoeia standards.
- Enhancing collaboration among global pharmacopoeias.
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