Dr Rajendra Prasad

        About Rajendra Prasad:

• Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was the first President of India, in office from 1952 to 1962.
• He was an Indian political leader, and lawyer by training, Prasad joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian Independence Movement and became a major leader from the region of Bihar.
• A supporter of Mahatma Gandhi, Prasad was imprisoned by British authorities during the Salt Satyagraha of 1931 and the Quit India movement of 1942.
• After the 1946 elections, Prasad served as Minister of Food and Agriculture in the central government. Upon independence in 1947, Prasad was elected as President of the Constituent Assembly of India, which prepared the Constitution of India and served as its provisional parliament.
• When India became a republic in 1950, Prasad was elected its first president by the Constituent Assembly.
• Following the general election of 1951, he was elected president by the electoral college of the first Parliament of India and its state legislatures.
• As president, Prasad established a tradition of non-partisanship and independence for the office-bearer, and retired from Congress party politics.
• Although a ceremonial head of state, Prasad encouraged the development of education in India and advised the Nehru government on several occasions. In 1957, Prasad was re-elected to the presidency, becoming the only president to serve two full terms.

        Role in the Independence Movement:

• Prasad's first association with Indian National Congress was during 1906 annual session organised in Calcutta, where he participated as a volunteer, while studying in Calcutta. 
• During the Lucknow Session of Indian National Congress held in 1916, he met Mahatma Gandhi. During one of the fact-finding missions at Champaran, Mahatma Gandhi asked him to come with his volunteers.
• He was so greatly moved by the dedication, courage, and conviction of Mahatma Gandhi that as soon as the motion of Non-Cooperation was passed by Indian National Congress in 1920, he retired his lucrative career of lawyer as well as his duties in the university to aid the movement.
• He also responded to the call by Gandhi to boycott Western educational establishments by asking his son, Mrityunjaya Prasad, to drop out of his studies and enrol himself in Bihar Vidyapeeth, an institution he along with his colleagues founded on the traditional Indian model.
• He was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress during the Bombay session in October 1934. He again became the president when Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose resigned in 1939.
• On 8 August 1942, Congress passed the Quit India Resolution in Bombay which led to the arrest of many Indian leaders. He was arrested from Sadaqat Ashram, Patna and sent to Bankipur Central Jail. After remaining incarcerated for nearly three years, he was released on 15 June 1945.
• After the formation of Interim Government of 12 nominated ministers under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru on 2 September 1946, he got the Food and Agriculture department.
• Later, he was elected the President of Constituent Assembly on 11 December 1946. Again on 17 November 1947 he became Congress President for a third time after J. B. Kripalani submitted resignation.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

        About International Day of Persons with Disabilities:

• International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3) is an international observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992.
• It has been observed with varying degrees of success around the planet. The observance of the Day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.
• It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

        Government of India's initiatives:

    1. Accessible India Campaign:

• Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is a program which is set to be launched to serve the differently-able community of the country.
• The program comes with an index to measure the design of disabled-friendly buildings and human resource policies.
• The flagship program has been launched by the Prime Minister on 3 December 2015, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
• The initiative also in line with the Article 9 of UNCRPD(UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) to which India is a signatory since 2007.
• The scheme also comes under Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 under section 44, 45, 46 for equal Opportunities and protection of rights which provides non-discrimination in Transport to Persons with Disabilities.

    2. Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016

Salient features of the Act:

• • Disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept.
  • The types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21. It includes Speech and Language Disability, Specific Learning Disability, Acid Attack Victims, Dwarfism, muscular dystrophy. It also included three blood disorders: Thalassemia, Hemophilia and Sickle Cell disease have been added for the first time.
  • It seeks reservation in vacancies in government establishments has been increased from 3% to 4% for certain persons or class of persons with benchmark disability. In addition benefits such as reservation in higher education, government jobs, reservation in allocation of land, poverty alleviation schemes etc. have been provided for disabilities.
  • The bill claimed that every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education. The government will fund educational institutions as well as the government recognized institutions to provide inclusive education to the children with reasonable accommodation to disables.
  • Special Courts will be designated in each district to handle cases concerning violation of rights of PwDs.
  • The Bill provides for penalties for offences(imprisonment of 6 months to 2 years along with fine of 10000 to 5 lakh) committed against persons with disabilities and also violation of the provisions of the new law.
  • The bill provides power to government to notify additional disabilities, a clear recognition of the need to factor in conditions that may arise as a result of an ageing population, an inevitable part of the demographic transition.
  • The new law will not only enhance the Rights and Entitlements of Divyang-Jan but also provide effective mechanism for ensuring their empowerment and true inclusion into the Society in a satisfactory manner.

    3. Sugamya Pustakalaya

• In August 2016, an online library "Sugamya Pustakalaya" was launched under the scheme by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) in collaboration with National Institute of Visually Handicapped, member organizations of Daisy Forum of India, Bookshare and TCS Access.
• The library would be a collection of all accessible materials from all over the country and the organizations who would become members of it would provide accessible material to its members.

EX SHINYUU Maitri-2018

        Highlights:

• The theme of the exercise is joint Mobility/Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) on Transport aircraft.
• The JASDF C2 aircraft along with aircrew/observers are part of this first air exercise between the two Air Forces. IAF is participating with An-32 and C-17 aircraft with aircrew & observers.
• The focus of the exercise is set for the IAF and JASDF crews to undertake Joint Mobility/ HADR operations.
• Display of heavy loading/ off loading are also planned to be practiced during this exercise.

National Commission for Women

About National Commission for Women:

The National Commission for Women was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 to :

• review the Constitutional and Legal safeguards for women ;
• recommend remedial legislative measures ;
• facilitate redressal of grievances and
• advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.

The commission shall perform all or any of the following functions, namely :-

• Investigate and examine all matters relating to the safeguards provided for women under the Constitution and other laws;
• present to the Central Government, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguard;
• make in such reports recommendations for the effective implementation of those safeguards for the improving the conditions of women by the Union or any state;
• review, from time to time, the exiting provisions of the Constitution and other laws affecting women and recommend amendments thereto so as to suggest remedial legislative measures to meet any lacunae, inadequacies or shortcomings in such legislations;
• take up cases of violation of the provisions of the Constitution and of other laws relating to women with the appropriate authorities;
• look into complaints and take suo moto notice of matters relating to:-

1. deprivation of women's rights;
2. non-implementation of laws enacted to provide protection to women and also to achieve the objective of equality and development;
3. non-compliance of policy decisions,guidelines or instructions aimed at mitigating hardships and ensuring welfare and providing relief to women, and take up the issues arising out of such matters with appropriate authorities;

• call for special studies or investigations into specific problems or situations arising out of discrimination and atrocities against women and identify the constraints so as to recommend strategies for their removal;
• undertake promotional and educational research so as to suggest ways of ensuring due representation of women in all spheres and identify factors responsible for impeding their advancement, such as, lack of access to housing and basic services, inadequate support services and technologies for reducing drudgery and occupational health hazards and for increasing their productivity;
• participate and advice on the planning process of socio-economic development of women;
• evaluate the progress of the development of women under the Union and any State;
• inspect or cause to inspected a jail,remand home,women's institution or other place of custody where women are kept as prisoners or otherwise and take up with the concerned authorities for remedial action, if found necessary;
• fund litigation involving issues affecting a large body of women;
• make periodical reports to the Government on any matter pertaining to women and in particular various difficulties under which women toil;
• any other matter which may be referred to it by Central Government.
• The Central Government shall cause all the reports referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) to be laid before each House of Parliament along with memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the Union and the reasons for the non-acceptance, if any, of any such recommendations.
• Where any such report or any part thereof relates to any matter with which any State Government is concerned, the Commission shall forward an copy of such report or part to such State Government who shall cause it to be laid before the Legislature of the State along with a memorandum explaining the action taken or proposed to be taken on the recommendations relating to the State and the reasons for the non-acceptance,if any, of any such recommendations.
• The Commission shall, while investigating any matter referred to in clause (a) or sub-clause (i) of clause (f) of sub-section (1), have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit and, in particular in respect of the following matters, namely :-

1. summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath;
2. requiring the discovery and production of any document;
3. receiving evidence on affidavits;
4. requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office;
5. issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents; and
6. any other matter which may be prescribed.