Daily Current Affairs and GK | 19 September 2023

Topic: Indian Polity

1. Union Cabinet approved a bill to provide reservations for women in Parliament and state assemblies.

• The Union Cabinet has approved a bill granting 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
• The Bill is expected to be tabled during the ongoing special session.
• As per the bill, one-third of the seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies will be reserved for women candidates.
• The bill proposes sub-reservation within the 33 percent quota for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Anglo-Indians.
• The reserved seats will be rotated after each general election.
• Data reveals that at present women MPs constitute less than 15 percent of the Lok Sabha.
• Women representations is even below 10 percent in many state Assemblies including Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala.
• Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi have 10-12 percent women MLAs.
• Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, and Jharkhand has highest percentage of women MLAs with 14.44 percent, 13.7 percent, and 12.35 percent, respectively.
• History of Women’s Reservation Bill:
  • The Women's Reservation Bill was introduced in 1996, 1998, and 1999.
  • In 2010, the Rajya Sabha passed a bill to provide reservations for women in all legislative bodies.
  • The Bill inserted a new clause 330A which states that “Seats shall be reserved for women in the House of the People”.
  • However, the bill could not be passed in the Lok Sabha.

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

2. Union Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia inaugurated Udaan Bhawan.

• It is an Integrated Office Complex at Delhi’s Safdarjung Airport.
• It addresses the need for an office for all the aviation regulatory authorities to be under one roof and in close vicinity of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for better coordination.
• He also launched the 'E-wallet' payment option facility.
• The e-wallet will be useful for processing of fees for various regulatory approvals in the Bharatkosh portal.
• It will act as a prepaid wallet that would enable registered users to add funds in advance.
• In the starting, only NEFT/RTGS mode will be allowed for adding funds.

Topic: Defence

3. Indian Coast Guard conducted ‘Operation Sajag’ along the west coast on September 18, 2023.

• It was a drill involving all stakeholders of the coastal security construct.
• It facilitates revalidation of the coastal security mechanism.
• A total of 118 ships including those from Customs, Marine Police, Ports & Indian Navy took part in the drill.
• The day-long drill is conducted every month.
• In addition to highlighting key lessons and trends in coastal security, it enables the verification of the use of various coastal security measures.

Topic: State News/ Arunachal Pradesh

4. The launch of ‘Mukhya Mantri Shramik Kalyan Yojana’ was announced by Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu.

• The scheme has been announced for the welfare of the labour force of the state.
• As part of the scheme, maternity benefit for families of workers has been increased from 1,000 rupees to 6,000 rupees.
• Natural death compensation has been increased from 50,000 rupees to 2 lakhs rupees. 
• Accidental death compensation has been increased from 1 lakh rupees to 4 lakh rupees.
• The scheme also encourages sports amongst the children of workers by providing cash incentives of 15,000 rupees for Gold, 10,000 rupees for Silver, and 8,000 rupees for Bronze in any state-level tournament or competition.
• The scheme will offer 30,000 rupees for Gold, 20,000 rupees for Silver, and 15,000 rupees for Bronze to individuals who perform well at the national level.

Topic: Indian Polity

5. The New Parliament hosted the session on September 19.

• On September 19, the second day of the Parliament session, the meeting of both the Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) was held in the New Parliament House.
• The special session of Parliament is being held between 18 and 22 September.
• A function was organized to celebrate the rich heritage of the Indian Parliament and pledge to make India a developed nation by 2047.
• On the shifting of both the Houses of Parliament to the new building, PM Modi has said that it is a very emotional moment to say goodbye to the old Parliament House.
• He said that we have moved to a new building, but the old building will continue to inspire the coming generations, because it is the golden chapter in the journey of Indian democracy.
• The nation has witnessed countless events related to the birth of New India in the 75-year-old history of this Parliament House.
• In May, PM Modi had dedicated the new Parliament building to the nation.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: International News

6. The USA and Iran exchanged prisoners under a Qatar-mediated deal.

• In a rare deal between the US and Iran, 5 American prisoners were released from Iran in exchange for 5 Iranian prisoners held in the US.
• Under this agreement, sanctions on Tehran's US $ 6 billion funds have been removed.
• After both sides received confirmation of the transfer of funds to Doha's account, a plane sent by mediator Qatar evacuated 5 American citizens and their 2 relatives out of Tehran.
• At the same time, a US official said that 2 out of 5 Iranians landed in Qatar, while 3 Iranian citizens have decided not to return to Iran.
• This agreement, reached after two months of talks in Qatar, removes a major obstacle between the US and Iran.
• The agreement does not change Washington's adversarial relationship with Tehran but raises hopes of diplomatic talks over Iran's nuclear program.
• Under this agreement, Qatar will ensure that this fund is spent on humanitarian welfare and not on US-sanctioned items.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Indian Economy

7. India’s net direct tax collection during the period between April 1 and September 16, 2023, was Rs 8.65 lakh crore.

• This is 23.51% higher than the corresponding period of last year. This is 47.45% of the full-year budget estimate of Rs 18.23 lakh crore.
• This (Rs 8.65 lakh crore) includes corporate income tax (CIT) at Rs 4,16,217 crore and personal income tax (PIT) including Securities Transaction Tax (STT) at Rs 4,47,291 crore.
• In the last financial year, the Direct Tax collection of seven lakh 416 crore rupees was recorded.
• A robust growth of 18.29% has been recorded in the Gross Direct Tax collections so far this financial year.
• Gross Direct Tax collection for this financial year so far was over nine lakh 87 thousand crore rupees.
• Gross Direct Tax collection for the last financial year was over eight lakh 34 thousand crore rupees.
• The Advance Tax collections for this financial year till mid-September were three lakh 55 thousand crore rupees with a growth of 20.73%.
• This comprises CIT at Rs 2.80 lakh crore and PIT at Rs 74,858 crore.
• The Advance Tax collections for the corresponding period last financial year were recorded at two lakh 94 thousand 433 crore rupees.
• According to the Finance Ministry, the government has issued tax refunds worth Rs 1.22 lakh crore during the current financial year.
• Gross tax collection refers to tax collection before adjusting refunds.

Topic: State News/Maharashtra

8. Order for implementation of ‘Adopt a school’ scheme has been issued by Maharashtra government.

• This is applicable to schools currently run by the state government, Zilla Parishad or municipal councils irrespective of the medium of instruction.
• Any individual, organisation or private enterprise having SEBI registered Corporate Social Responsibility certificate can adopt the schools mentioned earlier.
• For the specified time, those adopting schools may add a name of their choosing to the school's current name.
• The period of adoption could be for five or ten years only.
• Those looking to adopt must pay Rs 2 crore for five years or Rs 3 crore for ten years for schools located in A and B category municipal corporations, such as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or Pune Municipal Corporation.
• The money will be used for physical infrastructure, including repair works of school buildings, providing toilets, and buying sports equipment.

Topic: Art and Culture

9. Hoysala Temples of Karnataka becomes India’s 42nd UNESCO World Heritage site.

• The sacred ensembles of the Hoysalas have been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
• Hoysala Temples of Belur, Halebid, and Somnathapura in Karnataka have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.
• Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan has been included as the 41st UNESCO World Heritage site.
• In January 2022, India submitted the nomination dossier for the Hoysalas to the World Heritage Centre.
• Hoysala temples of Belur, Halebid and Somnathapura are protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
• Hoysala Temples have been on the UNESCO’s tentative list since 2014.
• Hoysala Temples:
  • It is also known as the ‘Halebidu’ temple.
  • These were built in the 12th and 13th centuries by the Hoysala kings.
  • These temples are dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu. It has themes from Vaishnavism and Shaktism as well as images from Jainism.
  • The main temple is Chennakeshava temple, which is located in Belur (Hassan district).
  • The Hoysaleswara Temple is on the banks of the Dwarasamudra tank in Halebidu (Hassan district).
  • The Keshava Temple is situated at the centre of Somanathapura village (Mysore district).
  • Hoysala temple architecture is of Hybrid or Vesara style as their unique style seems between Dravida and Nagara styles.

Topic: Committees/ Commissions/Taskforces

10. IRDAI formed a committee to create its ambitious Bima Sugam platform.

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formed a steering committee for creating its ambitious Bima Sugam platform.
• Rakesh Joshi, Naveen Tahilyani, Mahesh Balasubramanian, Nilesh Garg, Prasun Sikdar, Inderjeet Singh and Satyendra Nath Bhattacharya are the members of this committee.
• IRDAI will soon appoint a project consultant for this initiative.
• Bima Sugam platform will enable individuals to buy life, health, motor or property insurance policies online. Its implementation has been postponed thrice.
• It will enable easy access for insurance companies, agents, brokers, banks and even aggregators.
• Bima Sugam platform will be a centralized marketplace and a one-stop-shop for all insurance-related queries, including policy purchase, claim settlement, insurance advice and grievance redressal.
• It will also pave the way for a speedy acceptance of new or sandbox products.

Topic: State News/ Madhya Pradesh

11. ‘Mukhyamantri Ladli Bahna Awas Yojana’ inaugurated in Madhya Pradesh.

• On 17 September, ‘Mukhyamantri Ladli Bahna Awas Yojana’ inaugurated by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Bhopal.
• Under the scheme, the families who were deprived of the benefits of housing facilities in various housing schemes will get their houses.
• Under the scheme, such families will get benefits whose application has been automatically rejected under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Rural on the Awas Plus app portal and MIS portal of the Government of India.
• Its benefit will also be available to those families who are not included in the list of Social, Economic, and Caste Census 2011 and Awas Plus and who have not received the benefit of any housing scheme of the Center or the State.
• The scheme will cover those families who do not have houses with pucca roofs, or who do not have any family member in government service and the monthly income should be Rs 12,000 or less.
• In addition, no member of the family should be an income taxpayer and should own 2.5 acres or less of irrigated land or less than 5 acres of non-irrigated agricultural land.
• About three to four lakh houses will be built in the first year and similar houses will be built in the coming years as well.

Topic: State News/ Jammu & Kashmir

12. Udhampur Railway Station renamed as Martyr Capt Tushar Mahajan (MCTM) Railway Station.

• On 16 September, the renaming of Udhampur Railway Station as Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan (MCTM) Railway Station was unveiled by Dr Jitendra Singh.
• Northern Railway notified that the name of Udhampur (UHP) railway station in the Firozpur division has been changed to "Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan" (MCTM) railway station with immediate effect.
• Dr. Jitendra Singh had personally raised the issue of naming the railway station in Udhampur after martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan in the year 2017.
• Captain Tushar Mahajan:
  • He was an Indian Army officer who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.
  • On 25 May 1987, Captain Tushar Mahajan was born in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir.
  • He was part of the 9 Para Special Forces unit, also known as "9 Parachute Commando".
  • In February 2016, he received recognition and honor for his bravery and leadership during the anti-terrorist operation in Pampore, Jammu and Kashmir.
  • During the operation, he displayed remarkable courage and skill in neutralizing terrorists hiding in a government building. Sadly, he died during the operation.
  • He posthumously received the Shaurya Chakra, one of India's highest peacetime gallantry awards.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: International News

13. WHO released the first-of-its-kind patient safety rights charter.

• The first-ever patient safety rights charter has been released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• This charter has been announced at a conference on September 12 and 13 at WHO headquarters in Geneva.
• The WHO unveiled two new resources at the conference for patient safety.
• It outlines the core rights of all patients in the context of the safety of health care.
• The charter will also assist governments and other stakeholders to ensure that the voices of patients are heard and their right to safe health care is protected.
• More than 3 million deaths occur annually due to unsafe care. One in every 10 patients is harmed in healthcare
• In low-to-middle-income countries, 4 in 100 people die from unsafe care.
• System and organisational factors; technological factors; human factors and behaviour; and patient-related factors are the main factors for patient harm.
• Most of the mistakes that lead to harm to patient occurs due to the system or process failures.

Topic: National News

14. India's first dedicated OPD for transgender has been opened in Delhi's Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital.

• This dedicated Outpatient Department (OPD) for the transgender community will play a key role in providing equitable healthcare services.
• Transgender face numerous difficulties in accessing hospital's services.
• They feel uncomfortable in availing medical care along with other people in public spaces.
• A dedicated restroom facility will also be provided to transgender patients within the hospital premises.
• Transgender individuals were very delighted with the opening of this facility.
• RML Hospital has set an example for encouraging inclusivity in healthcare and it will encourage other hospitals across the country to take similar steps.