Baisakhi falls on April 13th, 2024, marking both the start of the harvest season in Punjab and the first day of the Hindu solar year.
History of Baisakhi
The legend has it that on this day Guru Gobind Singh called for Sikh men who could give away their life for their faith and invited them inside a tent. Five men who chose to follow him vanished into the tent and after some time Guru Gobind Singh came out alone with blood on his sword. Soon, the men re-emerged wearing turbans and became the first members of the Khalsa - the Panj Pyare or beloved five. They were baptised by the Guru being sprinkled with Amrit (holy water).
Baisakhi is also associated with Buddhism as it's believed that Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment or Nirvana on this day.
Baisakhi is also known as Mesh Sankranti and marks the beginning of the solar calendar as on this day, the Sun enters the Mesh Rashi, the first one among the twelve zodiac signs. The other spring festivals that fall on or around Baisakhi are Pana Sankranti in Odisha, Poila Baisakh in West Bengal, Rongali Bihu in Assam, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Vaishakhi in Bihar, and Poooram Vishu in Kerala. They all celebrate beginning of harvest season with slightly varied traditions.
Significance of Baisakhi
Baisakhi is the time to celebrate the beginning of a new harvest season, a special time for farmers, who pray to lord for bountiful harvest and express gratitude for their livelihood. It is the time for family reunions and get togethers apart from relishing lavish meals made with fresh harvest. People visit Gurudwaras in the morning, clean their houses, decorate them, deck up in traditional attires and pray for a prosperous year.
Baisakhi celebrations
The celebrations begin early in the morning with a gurudwara visit followed up by preparation of some lip-smacking food and dancing to the tunes of dhol. Kirtans and special prayers are held on this day and langars are conducted. Folk dances, music performances, and colourful exhibitions are organised to celebrate the cultural richness of the Punjab region. One of the highlights of the festival is kada prasad which is prepared with whole wheat flour, clarified butter and sugar. Sweet saffron rice is prepared and enjoyed with family on the occasion.
Corrupt practices under RPA
Time to Read :🕑 5 Mins
Why in news?
The Supreme Court has said voters do not have an absolute right to know all details of a candidate’s private life, and candidates are not required to disclose every item of moveable property they own, unless its value amounts to a “sizable asset”.
About corrupt practices
Under Section 123, “corrupt practices” include bribery, undue influence, false information, and promotion or attempted promotion of “feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on grounds of religion, race, caste, community, or language” by a candidate for the furtherance of his prospects in the election.
Section 123(2) deals with “undue influence”: “any direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere on the part of the candidate or his agent, or of any other person, with the consent of the candidate or his election agent, with the free exercise of any electoral right.”
This could include threats of injury, social ostracism, and expulsion from any caste or community.
Convincing a candidate or elector that they will become “an object of divine displeasure or spiritual censure” too will be considered an interference “with the free exercise of the electoral right of such candidate or elector.”
CDP-SURAKSHA
Time to Read :🕑 7 Mins
Why in news?
CDP-SURAKSHA, a digital platform, will allow for the instant disbursal of subsidies to farmers' bank accounts through e-RUPI vouchers.
CDP-SURAKSHA
The CDP-SURAKSHA is essentially a digital platform.
SURAKSHA stands for “System for Unified Resource Allocation, Knowledge, and Secure Horticulture Assistance.”
The platform will allow an instant disbursal of subsidies to farmers in their bank account by utilising the e-RUPI voucher from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The CDP-SURAKSHA has features such as database integration with PM-KISAN, cloud-based server space from NIC, UIDAI validation, eRUPI integration, local government directory (LGD), content management system, geotagging, and geo-fencing.
CDP-SURAKSHA platform to disburse subsidies to horticulture farmers under the Cluster Development Programme (CDP).
About e-RUPI
The CDP-SURAKSHA platform uses e-RUPI vouchers from the NPCI.
The voucher is a one-time payment mechanism that can be redeemed without a card, digital payments app or internet banking access, at the merchants accepting e-RUPI.
According to the NPCI, the e-RUPI can be shared with the beneficiaries for a specific purpose or activity by organisations or government via SMS or QR code.
The Cluster Development Program (CDP)
The CDP is a component of the central sector scheme of NHB.
It is aimed at leveraging “the geographical specialisation of horticulture clusters and promoting integrated and market-led development of pre-production, production, post-harvest, logistics, branding, and marketing activities.”
So far, 55 horticulture clusters have been identified, out of which 12 have been selected for the pilot.
These clusters are in different stages of development.
Four more clusters — a floriculture cluster in West Bengal, coconut clusters in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and white onion clusters in Gujarat — are also in the pipeline. Each cluster will have an implementing agency and a cluster development agency (CDA).
According to the government, about 9 lakh hectares of area will be covered through all 55 clusters, covering 10 lakh farmers.
It is estimated that the initiative will attract private investment of Rs 8,250 crore, in addition to the government’s assistance, which is fixed according to the size of the cluster — up to Rs 25 crore for mini cluster (size up to 5,000 ha), up to Rs 50 crore for medium clusters (5,000 to 15,000), and up to Rs 100 crore for mega clusters (more than 15,000 ha).
Telecom regulatory sandboxes
Time to Read :🕑 7 Mins
Why in news?
The Telecommunications Act, 2023, has introduced the provision of setting up multiple regulatory sandboxes.
About Provision
Only Indian National or entities will be eligible: Principal Applicant / Applicant should be an Indian National or entity incorporated as a company (as defined in Companies Act, 2013) or registered as a partnership firm (registered under section 59 of the Partnership Act,1932) or a limited liability partnership (under Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008) or such Research & Development (R&D) Institutions that have been listed in the latest directory of such institutes published by the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
Limited prior testing: Before applying for testing in sandbox, limited testing of the product in offline/laboratory/WiTe Zone environment should have been carried out by the Principal Applicant / Applicant. The details of the same should be provided in the application by the Principal Applicant / Applicant.
Regulatory compliance & exemptions sought: The Principal Applicant / Applicant should expressly spell out what exemptions from the existing regulatory regime pertaining to the product are sought under Sandbox testing, along with the specific testing period for which these exemptions are required. It should also mention the authority which is responsible for permitting the required exemptions. Any other facilitation or resource sought, including spectrum, for the sandbox testing must also be specified. For exemptions required from other ministries, autonomous bodies, or regulators outside of DoT's jurisdiction, DoT will establish an institutional mechanism to facilitate the acquisition of such permissions. The Principal Applicant / Applicant seeking these exemptions should follow a parallel process with the respective entities and provide them all necessary information as required by such entities.
Scope of testing: To prevent any negative impact on the wider telecom networks or the customers, the Sandbox environment should have a finite scope which is appropriate enough for testing the product. The Principal Applicant / Applicant must clearly define the scope of testing for the product. Scaling-up of the scope during the RS validity period can be permitted by DoT after due evaluation of the justification furnished along with such request.
Risk Mitigation: The product should have proper risk management strategy to incorporate appropriate safeguards to mitigate and control potential risks to any market participants/users/customers/government that may arise from the testing of the product in live environment and shall propose appropriate safeguards to manage the risks and contain the consequences of failure.
Consumer protection: The Principal Applicant / Applicant should demonstrate in application as to how the Sandbox testing would prioritize the protection of consumer interests and prevent any harm to consumers. Customer onboarding and private/public data processing should align with the provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and any applicable rules, regulations, or orders issued under this Act. If the case warrants, only such customers will be allowed to be on boarded who have given specific consent voluntarily.
Monitoring and evaluation: The Principal Applicant / Applicant, should precisely define the test parameters, control boundaries, testing site, significant milestones, and anticipated outcomes for the proposal and include a mechanism for monitoring and evaluating the testing process to ensure that the objectives of the testing are met.
Exit strategy: The Principal Applicant / Applicant should submit a clear exit strategy that outlines the process for exiting the testing phase.
Whooping cough
Time to Read :🕑 5 Mins
Why in news?
The number of cases of whooping cough, a severe and highly contagious form of cough, have been rising in several countries like China, the Netherlands and Czech Republic.
About Whooping cough
Whooping cough is a highly contagious infection which impacts the respiratory tract and is caused by Bordetella pertussis bacteria.
It gets its name from the "whooping" sound which the patient experiences which coughing.
It is particularly severe in infants and in case of complications may led to pneumonia and even death.
A person catches this bacteria via droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. It attaches itself to the throat lining and then produces toxins which damage hair-like projections which clear debris and mucus.
This leads to inflammation in the airways and causes severe coughing fits. It also then leads to difficulty in breathing.
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