Current Affairs – 3rd Jan 2024

Women staff can now nominate children over spouse for pension:

  • The Centre has amended the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules of 2021, to allow women government employees and pensioners to nominate their children for receiving family pension over their spouse, if at the time of their death, any proceedings for divorce, domestic violence, or dowry demands happen to be pending against the said spouse.
  • Till now, the rules provided for the family pension to first go to the surviving spouse and the children became eligible to receive it only after the death of the spouse. As a result, several women officials and pensioners were asking if it was possible to nominate children before the spouse in cases where divorce proceedings are under way or domestic violence cases are pending against the spouse.
  • The provision in the Rules can be applicable to women government staff and pensioners, if at the time of their death, any divorce proceedings they might have filed are still under way

Prime Minister pays tributes to Savitribai Phule and Rani Velu Nachiyar on their Jayanti:

Savitribai Phule:

  • A pioneer who challenged oppressive social norms in her quest for women’s education, equality and justice, Savitribai Phule is formally recognised as India’s first woman teacher. A Dalit woman from the Mali community, Savitribai was born on January 3, 1831, at Naigaon in Satara District. In 1840, at the age of 9, she was married to Jyotirao (also known as Mahatma Jyotiba Phule one of the leading social reformers and anti-caste activists of India) is said to have educated her at home and later on admitted her to a teacher’s training institution in Pune.
  • At a time when education was limited mostly to the upper-class, affluent men, and women were not deemed eligible for going to school, the Phules established a girls’ school in Bhidewada, Pune, in 1948. This was the first girls’ school in India.
  • In 1852, she established a women’s rights advocacy organisation, Mahila Seva Mandal.
  • In 1860, the Phule’s organised a barber’s strike against shaving the hair of widowed women.
  • Along with Jyotirao, Savitribai started the Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha (‘Home for the Prevention of Infanticide’) for pregnant widows facing discrimination.
  • Savitribai Phule also advocated inter-caste marriages, widow remarriage, and eradication of child marriage, sati and dowry systems, among other social issues.
  • In 1873, the Phules set up the Satyashodhak Samaj (‘Truth-seekers’ society’), a platform open to all, irrespective of their caste, religion or class hierarchies, with the sole aim of bringing social equity.
  • Savitribai Phule published her first collection of poems, called Kavya Phule (‘Poetry’s Blossoms’), Bavan Kashi Subodh Ratnakar (‘The Ocean of Pure Gems’).

Rani Velu Nachiyar:

  • Rani Velu Nachiyar was the first queen to fight against the British colonial power in India. She is known by Tamils as Veeramangai.
  • She was the princess of Ramanathapuram and the only child of Raja Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy and Rani Sakandhimuthal of the Ramnad kingdom.
  • Rani Velu Nachiyar was trained in war match weapons usage, martial arts like Valari, Silambam (fighting using stick), horse riding and archery.
  • She was a scholar in many languages and she had proficiency with languages like French, English and Urdu.She married the king of Sivagangai, with whom she had a daughter. When her husband, Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udaiyathevar, was killed by British soldiers and the son of the Nawab of Arcot, she was drawn into battle. She escaped with her daughter and lived under the protection of Palayakaarar Kopaala Naayakkar at Virupachi near Dindigul for eight years.
  • Frustrated by the joining of forces against him, the Nawab ordered that Velu Nachiar and Marudhu Brothers were permitted to return to Sivaganga and rule the country subject to payment of Kist to the Nawab. Abiding by this Order, Rani Velu Nachiar accompanied by Marudu brothers and Vellachi Nachiar entered Sivaganga.
  • An agreement was reached whereby Rani Velu Nachiar was permitted to govern the Sivaganga Country and Chinna Marudu, the younger was appointed her minister and the elder Vellai Marudu as the Commander-in-chief. Thus, the widow Queen Velu Nachiar succeeded her husband in 1780.The Queen Velu Nachiar granted powers to Marudhu Brothers to administer the country in 1780.
  • Rani Velu Nachiyar was the first queen to fight for freedom from the British in India. She granted powers to the Marudu brothers to administer the country in 1780. Velu Nachiyar died a few years later,on 25 December 1796.

The Himachal Pradesh state government has finally issued notification to give Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Hattee community of Trans-Giri area of Sirmaur district:

  • The Hattis are a close-knit community who got their name from their tradition of selling homegrown vegetables, crops, meat and wool etc. at small markets called ‘haat’ in towns.
  • The Hattee community has been demanding their inclusion in the ST list since 1967 because they share ethnic ties with the people of the Jaunsar-Bawar region, who were declared as ST in Uttarakhand.
  • Their demand for tribal status gained strength because of resolutions passed at various maha Khumblis over the years.
  • Earlier in 2017, Registrar General of India (RGI) has rejected the proposal of hattees to be included in the ST list based on information that “Hattee” was a term used to refer to the inhabitants of Trans-Giri area and that this included people from “upper status social groups” like the Khash-Khanet (Rajput) and Bhat (Brahmin) castes and people from Scheduled Caste communities.
  • The process to include tribes in the ST list begins with the recommendation from the respective State governments, which are then sent to the Tribal Affairs Ministry, which reviews and sends them to the Registrar General of India for approval.
  • This is followed by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes approval before the list is sent to the Cabinet for a final decision.
  • Some of the major benefits include post-matric scholarship, overseas scholarship and the national fellowship, besides education, concessional loans from the National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation, and hostels for students.
  • In addition, they will also be entitled to benefits of reservation in services and admission to educational institutions as per the government policy.

South Africa moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention:

  • As per UN’s Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, moved in the General Assembly in 1948, the genocide is a crime whether committed during wartime or peacetime.
  • India ratified the convention in 1959; there is no legislation on the subject.

The International Court of Justice:

  • It is the principal judicial organ of the UN established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations.
  • French and English are the official languages of the Court.
  • The court’s judgments in contentious cases are final and binding on the parties to a case and without appeal. Unlike the Court’s judgments, advisory opinions are not binding.
  • It is composed of 15 judges, all from different countries, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Security Council (UNSC).
  • A candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both UNGA and UNSC. One-third of the composition of the Court is renewed every three years. Once elected, a member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of any other State.

Indigenous Warli Tribe, living near Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Maharashtra teaches a lesson about peaceful coexistence with leopards:

Warli Tribe:

  • They are an adivasi indigenous tribe who live in the mountainous, coastal, and bordering regions of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The word ‘Warli’ is derived from the word ‘Warla,’ which means ‘piece of land’.
  • The Warli people speak Varli or Warli, an Indo-Aryan language. The language is typically classified as Marathi, but it is also known as Konkani or Bhil.
  • They have their own animistic beliefs, way of life, customs, and traditions, and they have adopted many Hindu beliefs.
  • The Warli culture is centred on the concept of Mother Nature, and natural elements are frequently depicted as focal points in Warli painting.
  • The Warli tribe values folk art as well as gods, goddesses, and ritual culture. They use painting to depict their traditional way of life, customs, and traditions. The majority of these paintings are created by women.
  • The Warli Tribe women wear a Lugden that is worn until the knee and is typically a one-yard sari. The Maharashtrian rural regions influenced the sari. The knee length draping resembles the Maharashtrian sari draping style.
  • Bohada is a three-day mask festival held by the Warli tribes. During this celebration, mask owners wear these masks and perform several times.
  • The Warli Tribes perform Tarpa Dance along with Tarpa music instruments. They usually perform in groups. One person plays music with a Tarpa instrument and the rest of the people form a circle keeping the musician in the centre and dance with people.

India started its four-year term as a member of the United Nations Statistical Commission:

UN Statistical Commission:

  • It was established in 1947 and is the highest body of the global statistical system. It brings together the Chief Statisticians from member states from around the world.
  • It is the highest decision-making body for international statistical activities, responsible for setting statistical standards and the development of concepts and methods, including their implementation at the national and international levels.
  • The Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), and it is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council.
  • The Commission consists of 24 member countries of the United Nations elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council based on an equitable geographical distribution.
  • The term of office of members is four years.
  • India was a member of the Statistical Commission last in 2004 and the country is returning to the UN agency after a gap of two decades.
  • Headquarters: New York

‘SMART 2.0’ launched for Ayurveda Teaching Professionals:

  • The Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) along with National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) has launched ‘SMART 2.0’ (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research among Teaching professionals) program to promote robust clinical studies in priority areas of Ayurveda with Ayurveda academic institutions/hospitals across the country through mutual collaboration.
  • CCRAS is an apex organisation for the formulation, coordination, development and promotion of research on scientific lines in Ayurveda, functioning under the Ministry of Ayush.
  • The objective of ‘SMART 2.0’ is to generate tangible evidence to demonstrate efficacy and safety of Ayurveda interventions using interdisciplinary research methods and translating it into public health care.
  • Under the ‘SMART 1.0’, around 10 diseases were covered with the active participation of teaching professionals from 38 colleges.
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