CIVILS WEEKLY

  LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRY (LDC) The United Nations Committee for Development Policy (CDP) has recommended graduation of Bangladesh from the category of Least Developed Country (LDC) as it fulfilled the eligibility criteria in terms of per capita income, human assets and economic and environmental vulnerability. About: This is the second consecutive time since 2018 that the CDP has made recommendation for Bangladesh for graduation from LDC category. The CDP decides on the LDC status of a country based on three criteria- per capita income, human assets index and economic vulnerability index. A country must achieve at least two of the three criteria at two consecutive triennial reviews to be considered for graduation. The proposal will be sent to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for endorsement in June to be finally approved by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September this year. Bangladesh will get time upto 2026 to prepare for the transition to the status of a d

  MAGHA PURNIMA Prime Minister Narendra Modi has greeted the people on the occasion of Magh Purnima. About: Maghi Purnima is also known by the name of Magha Purnima. It is known to be a day of the full moon that occurs during the Hindu calendar month of Magh. This day falls during the Gregorian calendar month of January or February. During this time period, the auspicious Kumbh Mela is held every twelve years, and the  Magha Mela  is held on an annual basis at the confluence of three rivers or Triveni Sangam all around north India, such as in cities like Allahabad or Prayag. SAHITYA AKADEMI FELLOWSHIP A distinguished scholar, writer, translator and critic, Professor Velcheru Narayana Rao has been elected honorary fellow of Sahitya Akademi. About: The election of Narayana Rao has been made based on his contribution to the Telugu literature. His publications include Girls for Sale: Kanyashulkam and A play from Colonial India. Do you know? The Sahitya Akademi Fellowship is a literary hono

  CAUVERY-VELLARU-VAIGAI-GUNDAR LINK SCHEME Terming Tamil Nadu’s decision to utilise surplus water in the Cauvery basin ‘illegal’, Karnataka would approach the Supreme Court for a legal recourse. About: The decision follows Tamil Nadu’s move to lay foundation to the Cauvery-Vellaru-Vaigai-Gundar link scheme last Sunday. The link scheme proposes to utilise the surplus water in the Cauvery basin and transfer it to its Southern region. According to Karnataka, It is not right on the part of Tamil Nadu to utilise surplus water before it is allocated. Under the provisions of The Inter State Water Disputes Act, it is illegal and cannot happen without proper allocation. SECOND ADVANCE ESTIMATES OF NATIONAL INCOME, 2020-21 The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the Second Advance Estimates of National Income, 2020-21 at Constant (2011-12) and Current Prices. About: The growth in GDP during 2020-21 is estimated at -8.0 percent as c

  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (INTERMEDIARY GUIDELINES AND DIGITAL MEDIA ETHICS CODE) RULES 2021 Government has notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. About: The Rules have been framed in exercise of powers under section 87 (2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and in supersession of the earlier Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011. Part- II of these Rules shall be administered by Ministry of Electronics and IT, while Part-III relating to Code of Ethics and procedure and safeguards in relation to digital media shall be administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Salient features Due diligence must be followed by intermediaries,  including social media intermediaries. In case, due diligence is not followed by the intermediary, safe harbour provisions will not apply to them. The Rules make a distinction between social media intermediaries and significant social media intermediaries  to

  NARENDRA MODI STADIUM Motera cricket stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium, has been renamed from Sardar Patel Stadium to Narendra Modi Stadium. About: Motera Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. India’s Test against England is the first match at the brand new Motera, the name of the place, after it was refurbished and converted into a 110,000-seater facility, making it the biggest cricket ground in the world in terms of capacity. HOUSEWORK COMPENSATION In a landmark judgment delivered weeks after China enforced its new civil code, a divorce court in Beijing has ordered a man to compensate his ex-wife for the housework she did during five years of marriage. About: The court has split their joint property equally, and ordered the man to pay around $7,700 to his former wife as “housework compensation”. On January 1, the Chinese government brought into force a new civil code, which legal experts have described as offering greater protection for individual rights.