NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDING & MORE ( CURRENT AFFAIRS 12 DEC 2020)

NEW PARLIAMENT BUILDING

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the New Parliament Building.

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The new parliament building will be the highlight of the ambitious ₹ 20,000 crore Central Vista project that PM Modi said will become "a symbol of a new and self-reliant India".
The four-story building will be triangular and its interiors will have three national symbols - the lotus, the peacock and the banyan tree - as its themes.
- The triangular shape of the new parliament was a reference to "sacred geometries in various religions and cultures of India".
- In the Lok Sabha chamber, the national bird (peacock) will be the theme. In the Rajya Sabha the national flower (lotus) and in the central lounge the national tree (banyan) will be the theme.
The parliament building alone will cost an estimated ₹ 971 crore and will, the government hopes, be ready before India's 75th Independence Day anniversary (in 2022). However, construction cannot yet begin as a legal challenge is pending in the Supreme Court.
To be constructed by Tata Projects Ltd, the new parliament building will overlook the old - which was built nearly 100 years ago at a cost of ₹ 83 lakh and will be turned into a museum.
The new Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha halls will have increased seating capacities (888 and 384 seats, respectively) in anticipation of an expanded Parliament; a 25-year-old freeze on increasing state-wise distribution of seats ends in 2026.
SHAKTI ACT
In a bid to curb crimes against women and children in Maharashtra, the state cabinet approved two draft bills that propose death penalty for heinous cases of rape, acid attack and child abuse.
About:
- The two interconnected bills, which will be tabled in the winter session of the state legislature as part of the Shakti Act, are the Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law (Maharashtra Amendment) Act 2020 and the Special Court and Machinery for Implementation of Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law 2020.
- Drafted on the lines of the Disha Act framed by Andhra Pradesh, they seek to amend relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedural Code (CrPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
- The bills also have provisions to increase the quantum of punishment, including life term, cover new categories of crimes, and propose a mechanism for speedy trials.
- The media is not allowed to report the name of a rape victim. The proposed Acts will provide similar protection to victims of molestation and even acid attack.
- The draft bills propose to amend IPC Section 376 (rape) to increase the quantum of punishment to life term or death penalty in heinous cases where there’s adequate conclusive evidence or exemplary punishment is warranted.
DRAFT INDIAN PORTS BILL, 2020
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has circulated draft of Indian Ports Bill 2020 for public consultation which will repeal and replace the Indian Ports Act, 1908.
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The Bill also seeks to create an enabling environment for the growth and sustained development of the ports sector in India through the following broad methods:
Constitution of Maritime Port Regulatory Authority

Formulation of the National Port policy and National Port plan in consultation with Coastal State Governments, State Maritime Boards and other stakeholders.

Formulation of specialised Adjudicatory Tribunals namely Maritime Ports Tribunal and Maritime Ports Appellate Tribunal to curb any anti-competitive practises in the port sector and act as a speedy and affordable grievance redressal mechanism.
HMIS IN RAILWAYS
Indian Railways has launched The Hospital Management Information System (HMIS), another major IT initiative towards according priority for the well-being of its work force.
About:
The HMIS in Railways has been developed by Indian Railways in coordination with RailTel Corporation Limited.

The objective of the HMIS is to provide a single window of clearance of hospital administration activity such as clinical, diagnostics, pharmacy, examinations, industrial health etc.

The primary objectives of envisaged solution are:
Effectively manage all the health facilities & its resources

Monitor performance of hospitals across the administrative channel

Impart quality health care services to its beneficiaries

Improve the patient turn-around time

Generate and maintain EMR (electronic medical records) of all patients

Presently, 3 Modules of HMIS – Registration, OPD Doctor Desk & Pharmacy – are being taken up implemented. These three modules are going to be implemented on trial basis at Central Hospital, Lallaguda and will progressively be implemented across all Health Units over SCR.
SUBRAMANIA BHARATI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed International Bharathi Festival 2020 and paid tributes to the Bharathiyar on his Jayanti. The festival is being organised by Vanavil Cultural Centre to celebrate the 138th birth anniversary of Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi.
About:
Subramania Bharati (1882 – 1921) was a Tamil poet, Indian independence activist and a social reformer from Tamil Nadu.

He is also known as ‘Bharathiyar’ and ‘Mahakavi Bharati’.

He is considered as one of the pioneers of modern Tamil literature. He used Nondi Chindu in most of his works.

His poetry covered political (related to Indian Independence movement), social (women and Dalit empowerment) and spiritual themes.
HGCO19
India’s first indigenous mRNA vaccine candidate has received approval from Indian Drug regulators to initiate Phase one and two human clinical trials.
About:
The novel mRNA vaccine candidate, HGCO19 has been developed by Gennova, Pune and supported with seed grant under the Ind-CEPI mission of the Department of Biotechnology.

The mRNA vaccines do not use the conventional model to produce immune response. Instead, they carry the molecular instructions to make the protein in the body through a synthetic RNA of the virus.

mRNA-based vaccines are scientifically the ideal choice to address a pandemic because of their rapid developmental timeline. The mRNA vaccine is considered safe as is non-infectious, non-integrating in nature, and degraded by standard cellular mechanisms.
KARNATAKA’S NEW ANTI-COW SLAUGHTER BILL
The BJP-led government in Karnataka passed the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill (2020) in the Assembly on December 9 amid strong opposition from the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular).
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The Bill envisages a ban on all forms of cattle slaughter and stringent punishment for offenders.

While ‘beef’ is defined as the flesh of cattle in any form, the word ‘cattle’ is defined as “cow, calf of a cow and bull, bullock, and he or she buffalo below the age of thirteen years”.

The Bill also terms shelters established for the protection and preservation of cattle registered with the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries as ‘gau shalas’.

Police officers ranked sub-inspector and above or a competent authority will have the power to search premises and seize cattle and materials used or intended to use to commit the offence.

Terming cow slaughter as a cognizable offence, violators can attract three to seven years of imprisonment. While a penalty between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh can be levied for the first offence, second and subsequent offences can attract penalties ranging between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh.
ISCHAEMUMJANARTHANAMII
A new species of Indian Muraingrasses (Genus Ischaemum) known for their ecological and economic importance, such as fodder, have been spotted by scientists in Goa in the Western Ghats, one of the four global biodiversity hotspots of India.
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Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, discovered a novel species named Ischaemumjanarthanamii from plateaus of Western Ghats of Goa.

The species was named Ischaemumjanarthanamii in honour of Prof. M. K. Janarthanam, Professor of Botany, Goa University, for his contribution to the Indian grass taxonomy and documentation of the floristic diversity of Goa state.

Ischaemumjanarthanamii grows on low altitude lateritic plateaus in the outskirts of Bhagwan Mahavir National Park, Goa. The species has adapted to survive harsh conditions, low nutrient availability, and blossoms every monsoon.
HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
Human Rights Day was celebrated by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
About:
Human Rights Day is celebrated on the 10th December every year to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which was adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948.

The Declaration recognizes that the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of mankind are the foundation of justice, freedom and peace in the world.

2020 Theme: Recover Better - Stand Up for Human Rights
ADMM-PLUS
Raksha mantri Rajnath Singh, attended the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus organized online at Hanoi, Vietnam on 10 December 2020 that marked the 10th anniversary of ADMM Plus.
About:
Full name: ASEAN Defense Minister’s Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus).

What is it? ADMM-Plus is the only official framework of Defense Minister's meetings in the Asia-Pacific Region. It is a platform for ASEAN and its eight Dialogue Partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability, and development in the region.

Members: The ADMM-Plus comprises the ten ASEAN countries as well as Australia, China, Japan, India, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.

Established in: 2010.
OINT VENTURE PROTECTIVE CARBINE (JVPC)
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) designed 5.56x30 mm Protective Carbine has successfully undergone the final phase of User trials on 7th December 2020. This has paved the way for induction into the services.
About:
JVPC is a Gas Operated Semi Bull-pup automatic weapon having more than 700 rpm rate of fire.

The effective range of the carbine is more than 100 m and weighs about 3.0 kg with key features like high reliability, low recoil, retractable Butt, ergonomic design, single hand firing capability, and multiple Picatinny rails etc.

These features make it a very potent weapon for Counter Insurgency /Counter Terrorism operations by security agencies.

The carbine has been designed as per Indian Army’s GSQR, by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a Pune based laboratory of DRDO.

The Weapon is manufactured at Small Arms Factory, Kanpur while the Ammunition is manufactured at ammunition Factory, Kirkee Pune.
SATELLITE-BASED NARROW BAND-IoT
BSNL, in partnership with Skylotech India, announced a breakthrough in satellite-based NB-IoT (Narrow Band-Internet of Things).
About:
This new ‘Made in India’ Solution, which is indigenously developed by Skylo, will connect with BSNLs satellite- ground infrastructure and provide PAN-India coverage, including Indian seas.

The coverage will be so vast that it will not leave any dark patch within the boundary of India.

This is the world’s first satellite-based NB-IoT network.

This new technology supports the Department of Telecom and NITI Aayogs plan of bringing indigenous IoT connectivity to India’s core sectors.

Examples of where this technology has already been tested successfully include, Indian Railways, fishing vessels, and enabling connected vehicles across India.

A small, smart, incredibly rugged box, the Skylo ‘User Terminal’ interfaces with sensors and transmits data to the Skylo Network and into people’s hands.
In addition, seating in the Lok Sabha hall can be expanded to 1,272 to host joint sessions.
Dholpur stone will be the primary construction material (as it was with the current building) and red granite may replace red sandstone in some interior sections.
The building will be equipped with modern audio-visual communication systems. The new parliament will also be fully wheelchair- and disabled-access friendly.