Assam Current Affairs – August 01 - 07, 2019

Current Affairs Assam – August 1 - 7, 2019

( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the week of August 1 – 7, 2019 )

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August 01, 2019

Aminul Laskar elected as the Deputy Speaker of Assam Assembly

BJP legislator from Sonai constituency Aminul Haque Laskar was today elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly.Laskarwas the lone candidate for the post and he was elected unopposed.
Assembly Speaker Hitendra Nath Goswami declared Laskar elected during today’s session of the House.
After the announcement, senior leaders, including Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and other ministers as well as MLAs belonging to both the treasury benches and the Opposition, escorted Laskar to his chair, amidst thumping of desk.
Extending his felicitations, Goswami exuded confidence that the newly elected Deputy Speaker will fulfil his role and responsibilities with dedication, and by taking into confidence everyone in the House.
Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia said he and members of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) are happy at Laskar’s elevation to the post of Deputy Speaker and assured all cooperation in the running of the House.

FACTFILE – Assam Legislative Assembly

The Assam Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian state of Assam.
It is housed in Dispur, the capital of Assam, geographically situated in present Western Assam region.
The Legislative Assembly comprises 126 Members of Legislative Assembly, directly elected from single-seat constituencies. Its term is five years, unless sooner dissolved.
According to provisions of the Government of India Act 1935, a bicameral legislature of Assam province came into existence in 1937. After the Government of India Act, 1935 was passed, it paved the way for the formation of Assam Legislative Assembly, and became a bicameral legislature.

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 passed in Rajya Saba

The Rajya Sabha passed the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 to improve road safety, raise penalties for traffic violations, curb RTO (Regional Transport Office) corruption and other measures to transform the transport sector.
Under the amendments, the minimum penalty for driving without licence has been increased to Rs 5,000 from Rs 500 while the fine for driving despite disqualification has been increased to Rs 10,000.
Also, driving without wearing a helmet will attract a penalty of Rs 1,000.
A new provision has been added to the Bill with regard to underage drivers under which the guardians or vehicle owners shall be held guilty in case of an offence by a juvenile.
A fine of Rs 25,000 with three years imprisonment will be imposed and the juvenile will be tried under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act while the registration of the vehicle will be cancelled.
Over speeding will now attract a fine of Rs 1,000 for light motor vehicle and Rs 2,000 for medium passenger vehicle while not wearing seat belt will cost Rs 1,000.
Fine of Rs 10,000 for not providing passage to emergency vehicles.
The Bill also provides for a National Road Safety Board, to be created by the Central government through a notification.
The Board will advise the Central and state governments on all aspects of road safety and traffic management, including standards of motor vehicles, registration and licensing of vehicles, standards for road safety and promotion of new vehicle technology.
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, is based on the recommendations of the Group of Transport Ministers (GoM) of states constituted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to address the issue of road safety and to improve the facilitation of the citizens while dealing with transport departments.

Lok Sabha passes Bill for adjudication of river water rows

Bill to streamline the adjudication of inter-state river water disputes and make the present legal and institutional architecture robust was on Wednesday passed in the Lok Sabha.
The draft legislation proposed to introduce a mechanism to resolve the water disputes amicably by negotiations through a Disputes Resolution Committee (DRC).
The DRC would be established by the Centre consisting of experts from relevant fields before the water dispute was referred to the Tribunal.
The Bill seeks amendment to the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 considering the increase in demand for water by the states and that inter-state river water disputes were on the rise.
The Bill seeks to provide for a single standing Tribunal (with multiple benches) instead of multiple Tribunals, which shall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson and not more than six members (three judicial and three experts).
The term of office of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be five years or till they attain the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
It is proposed that the assessors, who provide technical support to the Tribunal, shall be appointed from amongst experts serving in the Central Water Engineering Service not below the rank of Chief Engineer.
The total time period for adjudication of a water dispute has been fixed at a maximum of four and a half years.
The decision of the Bench of the Tribunal shall be final and binding on the states concerned.

Cabinet approves new subsidy rates for fertilizers

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved subsidy rates for P&K (phosphatic and potassic) fertilizers for the year 2019-20.
The subsidy rates for nitrogen will be Rs 18.90 per kg, Rs 15.21 per kg for phosphorus, Rs 11.12 per kg for potash and Rs 3.56 per kg for sulphur.
The expected expenditure for release of subsidy on P&K fertilizers during 2019-20 will be Rs 22,875.50 crore.
This will enable the manufacturers and importers to formalize supply contracts for fertilizers and fertilizer inputs and make fertilizers available to the farmers.

August 02, 2019

Centre releases Rs 191 crore, State Govt Rs 189 crore to implement Guwahati Smart city

The Central government has till now released Rs 191 crore to implement the Guwahati Smart City Project, while another Rs 189 crore has been released by the State government.
Various projects have been taken up with funds allotted by the Centre and the State government and these include beautification of Gandhi Mandap, setting up of 30 smart bio-toilets and 20 water ATMs and project management consultancy, among other activities.
The West Guwahati Water Supply Project implemented by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), is progressing at a fast pace and over 95 per cent work has been completed.
The South East Guwahati Water Supply Project is targeted for completion by 2023.
The JICA-funded water supply scheme has witnessed progress of 56 per cent so far and steps have been taken to complete it by 2020.
GMDA is also undertaking work on cleaning and dredging of water bodies like Silsako, Bondajan, Pamohi river and Borsola Beel to increase their water retaining capacity.
Work has been completed on clearing and widening of the Pamohi river and the drain along the National Highway 37 from ISBT to ensure passage of excess water of the Basistha and Mora Bharalu rivers to the Deepor Beel.

The Arbitration and Conciliation Amendment Bill passed in Lok Shaba

A Bill seeking to make India a hub of arbitration for settling commercial disputes in a shorter period of time was passed in the Lok Sabha.
The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2019, moved by Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for passage, seeks to set up the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) for creating an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalized arbitration.
The Bill seeks to amend section 11 of the Act relating to “Appointment of Arbitrators” so as to change the present system of appointment of arbitrators by the Supreme Court or the High Court, to a system where the arbitrators shall be appointed by the “arbitral institutions” designated by the Supreme Court or the High Court.
Government’s move to amend the earlier law on the alternative dispute resolution mechanism is aimed at making India a major arbitration centre in the world on the lines of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) and Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) among others.
The draft legislation provides for establishing an independent body to lay down standards for timely and cost-effective disposal of cases and eventually improving ease-of-doing business.
The proposed law provides for setting up of an independent Arbitration Council of India (ACI) to frame arbitral institutions and grade arbitrators.

President Kovind gives assent to multiple Bills

President Ram Nath Kovind has given his nod to the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019 that abolishes the practice of instant Triple Talaq.
The law comes into force retrospectively from 19th September 2018. A Gazette Notification to this effect was issued.
The bill seeks to declare the practice of instant Triple Talaq as void and illegal and makes it a cognizable offence.
It also provides allowance to women victims and their dependent children. The offence is made compoundable with the permission of the Magistrate at the instance of the married Muslim woman upon whom talaq is pronounced
President Ram Nath Kovind has also given his assent to the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The Bill seeks to amend the Companies Act, 2013. It aims to tighten Corporate Social Responsibility-CSR compliance, transfer certain responsibilities to National Company Law Tribunal and recategorise certain offences as civil offences.
President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill 2019. The law comes into force retrospectively from 21st February, 2019.
The bill seeks to provide for a comprehensive mechanism to ban the unregulated deposit schemes other than deposits taken in the ordinary course of businesses and to protect the interest of depositors.
It will work as a crackdown on Ponzi schemes and will help protect the interests of poor people and their hard-earned money. Depositors have been given a top priority in the bill.
The bill also proposes adequate provisions for repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally.

Scientists create new technique to 3D print heart scaffold

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University used soft and living materials to create a biological scaffold, making a step closer to being able to 3D print a full-sized, adult human heart.
The study reported the first-of-its-kind technique that could print tissue scaffolds out of a major structural protein in the human body.
Human organs like the heart are built from specialised cells that are held together by a scaffold called the extracellular matrix (ECM).
It has not been possible until now to rebuild the complex ECM using traditional methods.
The technique called FRESH can print pieces of the heart out of collagen and cells into truly functional parts like a heart valve or a small beating ventricle.
The collagen is a desirable 3D-printing biomaterial since it makes up literally every single tissue in human body. But it starts out as a fluid and tends to deform during printing.
The FRESH technique allows collagen to be deposited layer-by-layer within a support bath of gel, so that the collagen could solidify in place before being removed from the gel.
Then, the support gel would be melted away by heating from room temperature to body temperature without damaging the printed structure.
The FRESH is a robust and adaptable tissue engineering platform since a wide range of other soft gels including fibrin, alginate, and hyaluronic acid can be used.

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August 03, 2019

North East gets 49 projects worth Rs 1,232 crore

The Centre has sanctioned 49 development projects worth Rs 1,232 crore for the northeastern region in the first 50 days of the Modi government.
The projects include construction and renovation of roads, bridges and upgrading of tourist spots. The Ministry of Development of North-East Region (DoNER) has sanctioned 49 projects worth Rs 1,232 crore in the first 50 days of Narendra Modi government’s second term which began on May 30.
While eight new projects have been sanctioned for Rs 586.3 crore under the North East Road Sector Development Scheme (NERSDS) and the North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS), some other projects are upgrade of the AT Road from Tsusangra to Input Junction (26 km) with three bridges, Tenning-Lekie Road (37 km) in Nagaland, and the Dikhow Bridge-Amguri road leading to Nagaland.
Upgrade of the Tuensang- Longleng road in Nagaland, construction of the Mukroh-Umspar road linking Jrikyndeng in Meghalaya, improvement of eco-tourism centre connectivity from Amarpur (Fatiksagar) to Chabimura in Tripura, improvement of Gandacherra-Raishyabari road for easy access for the tourists from Dhalai to Narikel Kunja Island in Tripura are also part of the projects.
In addition, 36 ongoing projects under various schemes like the Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) scheme, special packages and schemes of the North Eastern Council were completed at an approved cost of Rs 529.18 crore.

FACTFILE – Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is a Government of India ministry, established in September 2001, which functions as the nodal Department of the Central Government to deal with matters related to the socio-economic development of the eight States of Northeast India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim.
It acts as a facilitator between the Central Ministries/ Departments and the State Governments of the North Eastern Region in the economic development including removal of infrastructural bottlenecks, provision of basic minimum services, creating an environment for private investment and to remove impediments to lasting peace and security in the North Eastern Region.
Jitendra Singh is the current Minister of Development of North Eastern Region (Minister of state, Independent Charge).

Indian, Chinese soldiers mark 92^nd year of PLA

Defence personnel from India and China gathered at Nathu La, Damai, Bumla and other places along the Line of Actual Control to mark the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
Special border personnel gathering between India and China, was held at Nathu La (Sikkim), Damai, Bumla (both Arunachal Pradesh) and other places along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to celebrate the 92nd anniversary of PLA foundation day.
The PLA troops interacted with the visiting Indian delegation and presented a cultural programme comprising of several events to celebrate the occasion.
As a gesture of goodwill, the Indian side also reciprocated with traditional cultural performances to mark the occasion.
The LAC with China traverses the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

FACTFILE – Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and of its founding and ruling political party, the Communist Party of China (CPC).
The PLA consists of five professional service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, and the Strategic Support Force. Units around the country are assigned to one of five theater commands by geographical location.
The PLA is the world’s largest military force and constitutes the second largest defence budget in the world. China is one of the fastest modernising military powers in the world and has been termed as a potential military superpower, with significant regional defense and rising global power projection capabilities.
As per Credit Suisse, the PLA is the world’s third-most powerful military.
The PLA is under the command of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the CPC. It is legally obliged to follow the principle of civilian control of the military, although in practical terms this principle has been implemented in such a way as to ensure the PLA is under the absolute control of the Communist Party.
Its commander in chief is the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (usually the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China).

Parliament approves bill to scrap 58 obsolete laws

Parliament passed a bill to repeal 58 old central laws which the government said has been done to achieve maximum governance. The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2019 was passed by the Rajya Sabha through voice vote.
Moving the bill in the Upper House, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said government has decided to get rid of redundant and absolute laws. A committee has identified 1824 old laws.
So far, 1,428 old and archaic central Acts have been repealed and about 75 laws — which the Centre drafted for states in view of the President rule — have also been repealed till date.
The current bill aims to repeal 58 old central laws, which have become “irrelevant”. This is being done to ensure minimum legislation and maximum governance.

Rajya Sabha passes UAPA Bill to tag individuals as terrorists

A Bill amending the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 that allows the government to tag individuals as terrorists was passed by the Rajya Sabha.
The Bill, under which the government can designate individuals as terrorists if they commit or participate in acts of terrorism, prepare for acts of terror, promote terrorism or are otherwise involved in terrorism.

August 04, 2019

Agarwood plantation to help ailing tea industry in Assam

After the accomplishment of the bid to commercialise the traditional Agarwood plantation and Agarwood-related trades in the State with the provision to infuse artificial inoculation of the fungus, locally known as ‘Sanchi Vecur’ (Agarwood fungus), in the immature Agarwood trees, bids are now afoot to join-up the State’s beleaguered tea industry with Agarwood plantation, so as to open up a new vista for the plantation-based economy of the State.
This endeavour would go a long way in providing both the tea industry and the Agarwood-based industry of the State a new direction. The economic prospect of this stitching together of the two traditional industries of the State is tremendous. This can act as a game changer for both the tea and the Agarwood sectors, they asserted.
Jehirul Islam, who was the brain behind the State Government’s latest Cabinet decision to accord commercial activities status to Agarwood-based industry, has been engaged in generating public awareness about the importance of Agarwood plantation and Agarwood-based industry for the past over one decade now.
Legally, tea estates of the State can use five per cent of their unused land for other plantation activities. So, this much of the TE land in the State could be well used for Agarwood plantation.
Resorting to Agarwood plantation on the fallow land, TEs would be highly benefited and since the tea industry is an organised one, its taking to Agarwood plantation is also going to help the Agarwood industry as well.Agarwood trees can also act as shade trees in tea plantations.
This will in the long run help the State’s economy to grow.

ISRO to build centre to protect high value Space assets

The Indian space agency said that the foundation stone for a centre to monitor and protect high value space assets from space debris has been laid.
Sivan, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), laid the foundation stone for the Space Situational Awareness Control Centre in Peenya, Bengaluru.
Space Situational Awareness & Management (SSAM) has become an internationally significant area due to the ever growing manmade space debris population and the increased collision threat with operational spacecraft.
ISRO has set up a Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management aiming at protecting high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions.
To carryout systematically all activities related to SSAM, a control centre is being established at Bengaluru.
The control centre would facilitate the intensified activities foreseen for SSAM, in view of the increasing debris population and operational space assets.
The control centre would host a range of activities pertaining to protection of Indian space assets from inactive satellites, pieces of orbiting objects, near earth asteroids and adverse space weather conditions.
It would assimilate the tracking data of inactive satellites from indigenous observation facilities and generate useful information from bare observations through analysis.

Parliament passes Code on Wages bill to ensure minimum wage

Parliament approved a bill to enable introduction of minimum wage for every worker besides addressing issues like delay in payment to employees.
The Code on Wages Bill, 2019 — which seeks to amend and consolidate the laws relating to wages, bonus and matters connected therewith.
The Bill will subsume four labour laws — Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act and Equal Remuneration Act.
As per the bill, the tripartite committee comprising representatives of trade unions, employers and state government would fix a floor wage for workers throughout the country.
At present there are 12 definitions of wages in the different Labour Laws leading to litigation besides difficulty in its implementation.
The definition has been simplified in the Bill and is expected to reduce litigation and also reduce compliance cost for employers.

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August 05, 2019

Madhabilata Literary Award to Sarifa Khatoon Choudhury

Sarifa Khatoon Choudhury, an Assamese poet, president of the Tinsukia Zila Sahitya Sewa Mancha and retired principal of Dangari HS School, has been selected for the Madhabilata Literary Award 2017-18.
Atul Sharma, the managing trustee of the Madhabilata Literary Trust, said that the award will be presented to her at a special programme in October. The award carries a memento, a citation, an anga bastra and Rs 10,000 in cash.
The Madhabilata Literary Trust instituted this award in 2005 and since then it has been presenting the award after every two years to an eminent writer of Tinsukia district for his or her contributions to Assamese literature.
Authors like Robin Choudhury, Horendra Nath Borthakur, Punnya Saikia, Joykanta Gondhiya, Sushil Kumar Gogoi and Parul Sharma have received this award.

BIOGRAPHY – Khatoon Choudhury

Khatoon Choudhury started her poetic career during her school days. Hundreds of her poems have been published in various magazines, periodicals and newspapers of Assam and other places.
Three collections of her poems have also been published. She also participated in the South Asian Literary Festival held in New Delhi in 2018. A few of her poems have been translated into English.

India test-fires Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile

India test-fired a sophisticated all-weather and all-terrain Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) from a test range in Odisha.
The state-of-the-art missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the India Army.
The air defence system, QRSAM, was test-fired from a mobile truck-based launch unit at complex 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.
The all-weather and all-terrain missile, which can be mounted on a truck and stored in a canister, is equipped with electronic counter measures against jamming by aircraft radars.
QRSAM uses solid-fuel propellant and has a range of 25-30 km.
The test flights had successfully demonstrated their aerodynamics, propulsion, structural performance and high manoeuvring capabilities.

UN team for study on transforming Assam into a skilled economy

Representatives from the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), led by Keshav C Das, Programme Coordinator (Energy and Environment), paid a courtesy call to Dipok Kumar Barthakur, Vice Chairman of the State Innovation and Transformation Aayog (SITA), Assam
During the visit, the representatives made their plans known for an assessment study for transforming Assam into a skilled economy.
They opined that Assam needs a holistic approach to vocational education and skill development by having a defined approach for both short-term and long-term training courses to meet the objectives of the Skill India programme.
The representatives also sought the help of SITA in their future endeavour in organising a State-level workshop or seminar after completion of the study.
Discussions took place on the GIS platform for resource-based planning and computing and networking infrastructure for the State designed to integrate in alignment with the national-level GIS infrastructure.
GIS asset and GIS portal and applications were also discussed during the occasion.

August 06, 2019

Centre to launch Rs 3,000 crore projects in 100 days in North-East region

The Centre has decided to launch 200 projects worth Rs 3,000 crore in the North East in the first 100 days of the new Modi government. Keeping in mind the targeted approach for bringing the rest of India closer to the North East, an action plan has been formulated for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
Among the initiatives the DoNER has taken in the 100 days action plan is to sanction or start or complete or operationalise 200 projects worth about Rs 3,000 crore, which means on an average two projects for Rs 30 crore per day.
The Narendra Modi government has always accorded top priority to the “hitherto neglected” areas of the country – the North Eastern region being one of them. During the first five years of his term as Prime Minister, Modi undertook over 30 visits to the North East and his personal outreach put all the development activities on a fast track.
In the first term of the Modi government, the primary focus was not only to bring the North East closer to the rest of India, but actually to bring the rest of India closer to the North East.
A key project under the action plan is setting up of a bamboo industrial park at Manderdisa in Dima Hasao district in an area of 75 hectares at a cost of Rs 50 crore.
In addition, 36 ongoing projects under various schemes like the Non Lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR) Scheme, special packages, schemes of the North Eastern Council (NEC) have been completed with approved cost of Rs 529.18 crore.

Lok Sabha Passes bill to increase number of SC judges to 33

Lok Sabha passed a bill which seeks to increase the number of Supreme Court judges from the present 30 to 33 with a view to reduce pendency of cases.
As of now, the Supreme Court has a sanctioned strength of 30 judges, plus the chief justice of India – 31 judges.
Once the bill gets parliamentary approval, its sanctioned strength will go up to 33, plus the CJI, according to the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill piloted by Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Lok Sabha passes Bill to define identity of transgenders

A Bill seeking to empower transgenders by defining their identity and prohibition of discrimination against them was passed in the Lok Sabha.
The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019, Minister for State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Rattan Lal Kataria said the draft legislation will benefit transgender persons and bring them into mainstream of society.
The Bill prohibits discrimination against a transgender person, including denial of service or unfair treatment in relation to education, employment, healthcare, enjoyment of goods, facilities, opportunities available to the public, right to movement, right to reside, rent, or otherwise occupy property, opportunity to hold public or private office, access to a government or private establishment in whose care or custody a transgender person is.
It prohibits government as well as private entities from discriminating against transgender persons in employment matters, including recruitment, and promotion and that every establishment is required to designate a person to be a complaint officer to deal with complaints in relation to the Act.
The Bill which also seeks facility to every transgender person to have a right to reside and be included in his household.
It defines a transgender person as one whose gender does not match the gender assigned at birth. A transgender person may make an application to the District Magistrate for a certificate of identity, indicating the gender as ”transgender” as per the Bill.
A revised certificate may be obtained only if the individual undergoes surgery to change their gender either as a male or a female, the Bill defines. It states that the relevant government will take measures to ensure the full inclusion and participation of transgender persons in society.
It recognizes offences against transgender persons like forced or bonded labour (excluding compulsory government service for public purposes), denial of use of public places, removal from household, and village, physical, sexual, verbal, emotional or economic abuse. Penalties for these offences vary between six months and two years.

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August 07, 2019

IIT Guwahati builds hand-held device to detect bacteria

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati researchers have developed a low-cost, hand-held device for rapid detection of bacteria, bringing portable bacterial detection kits closer to reality.
This novel, low-cost diagnostic device is a biocompatible sensor that can detect bacteria without cell culture and microbiological assays.
The ready-to-use diagnostic tool could facilitate rapid detection and diagnosis at the point of care.
The researchers believe that besides being useful in a healthcare set up, the device could aid anti-bioterrorism measures and environmental monitoring applications.
The Organic Field Effect Transistor (OFET)-based bacterial diagnostic device has been shown to have the ability to distinguish between Gram positive and Gram negative types. The sensor detects the charges on the cell walls of bacteria.
Current diagnostic processes are frustratingly time-consuming, especially when time is of the essence in administering treatment.
While newly developed techniques such as real time qPCR can detect bacteria faster than conventional assay-based methods, they are restricted by the need for expensive apparatuses and trained personnel.
The current device is particularly useful for the detection of bacteria primarily for water-borne diseases. These sensors will also be useful in instantaneous detection of time-critical illnesses such as meningitis.

Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Re-organisation Bill 2019

Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 and approved the resolution to abrogate the Constitution’s Article 370.
The Bill, which was passed by Rajya Sabha, was approved by the Lok Sabha.
The Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha with over 350 members voting in its favour.
Home Minister Amit Shah said as Article 370 stops Jammu and Kashmir to associating with India, it should be abolished.
Shah asserted that the decision has been taken for the welfare of the Valley.

President declares abrogation of provisions of Article 370

President Ram Nath Kovind has declared abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The move came after both houses of Parliament passed a resolution in this regard.
In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of Article 370 read with clause (1) of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, the President, on the recommendation of Parliament, is pleased to declare that, as from the 6th August, 2019, all clauses of the said article 370 shall cease to be operative.

FACTFILE – Article 370 of the Indian constitution

Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir state in India, – conferring it with the power to have a separate constitution, a state flag and autonomy over the internal administration of the state.
The article was drafted in Part XXI of the Constitution: Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions.
The Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir, after its establishment, was empowered to recommend the articles of the Indian constitution that should be applied to the state or to abrogate the Article 370 altogether.
After consultation with the state’s Constituent Assembly, the 1954 Presidential Order was issued, specifying the articles of the Indian constitution that applied to the state. Since the Constituent Assembly dissolved itself without recommending the abrogation of Article 370, the article was deemed to have become a permanent feature of the Indian Constitution.
This article, along with Article 35A, defined that the Jammu and Kashmir state’s residents live under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as compared to residents of other Indian states. As a result of this provision, Indian citizens from other states could not purchase land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.
On 5 August 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind issued a constitutional order superseding the 1954 order, and making all the provisions of the Indian constitution applicable to Jammu and Kashmir based on the resolution passed in both houses of India’s parliament with 2/3 majority.
Following the resolutions passed in both houses of the parliament, he issued a further order on 6 August declaring all the clauses of Article 370 except clause 1 to be inoperative.
In addition, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act was passed by the parliament, enacting the division the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories to be called Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh. The reorganisation took place on 31 October 2019.

Rajya Sabha passes bill to evict MPs living in govt houses illegally
Seeking to swiftly evict illegal occupants from government accommodation, the Rajya Sabha passed the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2019.
The bill which amends the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, was moved by Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. It has already been passed by the Lok Sabha.
The amendment being brought is very limited one and relates to public premise for residential accommodation. It applies to members of Parliament, government officers and employees.
The bill has proposed to insert a new sub-section (3A) in section 7 of the Act requiring that if the person challenges the eviction order passed by the estate officer in any court, he has to pay the damages for every month for the residential accommodation held by him.
The existing law has lengthy eviction process involving a show-cause notice and appeal provisions. As a result, it takes years at times to evict the unauthorised occupant.
The bill has proposed to apply summary eviction procedure to residential accommodation given on licence basis with a short show-cause notice of three days to the unauthorised occupants.

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