In Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa will take oath as the new Prime Minister today after the landslide victory of his party at general elections held on Wednesday. His party and allies have secured two-thirds majority in Parliament.

The oath taking ceremony will be held at an ancient Buddhist temple near Colombo. He will be administered the oath by his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa. However, other cabinet members will be sworn in next week at a ceremony in Kandy.

Mahinda Rajapaksa served as the country’s President from 2006 to 2015. He was appointed Prime Minister after Gotabaya’s victory in November Presidential elections though his side did not enjoy a majority in Parliament.

The India Meteorological Department has warned of heavy rain across the northwest region during the next two days. It has issued an orange category warning for parts of northwestern India, which means disaster management authorities should be prepared to avert any possible disasters.

IMD said the monsoon trough is likely to shift northwards and cause heavy to very heavy rain in Uttarakhand, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh and eastern Rajasthan. Rainfall activity over northwestern India is likely to increase from today and heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected at isolated places in the Western Himalayan region over the next two days.

IMD said extremely heavy rain is likely to continue at many places in Kerala till tomorrow. Extremely heavy rains continued on Friday and Saturday in Kerala, where a red category warning has been issued for the weekend. A red warning implies disaster management authorities need to act immediately to control or prevent any rain or flooding disaster. 

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India can become a trusted partner in the global supply chain. He said, the world is looking for trusted partners where there is rule of law, transparency in systems, strong judiciary and democratic traditions and India fulfils all these conditions.

Addressing India@75 Summit organised by CII, Mr Goyal said, India has to engage with the world with competitive prices, high quality products, large scale economies of manufacturing, high productivity levels, but not on the crutches of government subsidies.

Talking about the performance of the country’s exports, Mr Goyal said, the current numbers of outbound shipments are showing signs of significant improvement. He said, exports last month reached about 91 per cent level as compared to July 2019.

The Minister also said that for the last 11 days, Indian railways have been running the freight trains at twice the speed of what they were running one year ago.

The recovery rate from COVID-19 infection has improved further and it has now reached 68.32 per cent. Union Health Ministry in a statement said that with 48 thousand 900 patients recovering in the last 24 hours, the country’s total recoveries from COVID-19 has reached 14 lakh 27 thousand and five. At present, the active cases are six lakh 19 thousand and 88 which account for 29.64 per cent of total positive cases. Such persons are under medical supervision either at hospitals or in home isolation.
 
The Ministry said, effective surveillance and improved testing network have ensured early detection of cases and consequentially leading to timely clinical management of the severe and critical cases. It said, India has one of the lowest cases per million at 1,469 against the global average of 2,425.
 
The Ministry said, due to coordinated implementation of ‘Test, Track and Treat’ strategy, the Case Fatality Rate has been low when compared to the global scenario. The Case Fatality Rate continued to fall progressively and now it stands at 2.04 per cent.
 
The Health Ministry added that with focused efforts to reduce mortalities due to COVID-19, India has registered one of the lowest deaths per million at 30 as compared to the global average of 91 deaths per million. It also said, five lakh 98 thousand and 778 tests were conducted for COVID-19 infection in the last 24 hours. With this, over two crore and thirty three lakh samples have been tested so far. The Tests Per Million has seen a sharp increase to 16,947 yesterday. The Ministry further said, with 936 labs in the government sector and 460 private labs, India has a network of 1,396 labs for COVID-19 testing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the financing facility of one lakh crore rupees under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund  today through video conferencing. He will also release the sixth instalment of funds of 17 thousand crore rupees to 8.5 crore farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN) scheme.

AIR correspondent reports, the  financing facility under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund will catalyze the creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets like cold storage, collection centres and processing units.

These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce, as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage, and increase processing and value addition. One lakh crore rupees will be sanctioned under the financing facility in partnership with multiple lending institutions.  

11  Public Sector Banks have already signed MOUs in this regard. Three percent interest subvention and credit guarantee of up to two crore rupees will be provided to the beneficiaries to increase the viability of these projects.

The beneficiaries of the scheme will include farmers, Marketing Cooperative Societies, Joint Liability Groups, Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Agri-entrepreneurs and Startups.

The PM-KISAN scheme has provided a direct cash benefit of over 75 thousand  crore rupees to more than 9.9 Crore farmers. This has enabled them to fulfil their agricultural requirements and support their families.

The scheme has also been instrumental in supporting farmers during the COVID-19  pandemic, through the release of nearly  22 thousand crore rupees to aid the farmers during the lockdown period.

  The indian Government issued the first environment impact  Assessment  EIA  notification in the year 1994 under the Environment protection act ,1986 (EPA). This notification was replaced by amended draft in 2006   which still valid .The union Ministry of  Environment , Forest climate change has proposed a new draft notification  of EIA  to amend  the EIA  notification 2006  with aim to increase the productivity  and availability of  a few drugs. It has invited comments from public  regarding it . The last date of adding comments was 30th june , but it extended to  August 11,2020.

Details 

The draft EIA notification 2020  re categories  all the projects or activities  related to the production of bulk drugs and  intermediates for several ailments  from category A to B2 category . This project can seek clearance that violates the Environment (protection) Act 1986( EPA). It exempts various projects from the EIA including the strategic projects labeled by Government , national highways and inland waterways projects.

Environment Impact Assessment is a process that assesses the effect of newly  proposed industrial or infrastructural projects on the Environment. It prevents  approval and initation of any project without proper supervision.It  identifies and evaluate environmental, social , economic impacts of projects. Predicts environmental consequences of projects  . Ensure environmentally sound and sustainable development .

A pil is filed by united conservation  Movement charitable and  welfare trust  seeking to translate  the draft in all 22 regional languages  mentioned in the eighth schefule of the Indian constitution. Pil also seeks to extend the last date of receiving comments to December 31 ,2020.

In India, the political system has not been static. It has been changing with times but to a large extent basic system has remained unchanged. In the ancient past both under the Hindu and the Muslim rulers, there used to be absolute monarchy. The ruler used to be above law of the land. There used to be no written laws. The words of the Raja or Badshah used to be final and no one dared to challenge the commands of the King. He, of course, used to have his Ministers who provided him feedback in order to enable him to take a decision, but it was not obligatory for of the king to accept their advice.

The last of the Mughals surrendered before the de facto authority of the East India Company. The Company governed a large part of India but again basically the system remained the same. It had no feedback from the people. Input system was very weak and character of administration remained autocratic. There was administrative machinery, but more than often that was used as instrument of exploitation of the people, rather than that of their welfare. Since the feedback to the political system established by East India Company in India was poor, therefore, output in the form of final laws was not to the satisfaction of the people. The result was that the structure could not resist the demands of the people and ultimately bowed down when there was outburst in 1857. The administration of India went from the Company to the Crown.

The system had slight change under the Crown. It was felt that that would be made responsive to the people though slowly and gradually but practically that did not happen. From unwritten law, a step forward towards written law was taken when Acts were passed in 1861, 1909, 1919, 1935 and then in 1947. Basic structure and system, however, remained unchanged. Throughout the period in India the system was headed by a Governor- General, who was not responsible to the people of India in any way. Though Councils set up under the Acts were enlarged and it was hoped that these would provide sufficient feedback to law makers yet the whole process was very slow. The right to franchise was given to very few persons who really did not represent the masses. The system came under strains and stresses by Indian political leaders who suggested the people of India to demonstrate, go on strike, boycott British goods, customs and the people as well as their way of life. World public opinion put more strains on the system.

India, i.e. Bharat, as stated in her constitution is a ‘Union of States’ and follows a democratic parliamentary system of governance. Naturally, the features of Indian political system are varied. The well developed and fully evolved form of democracy that we witness today in India has taken a long span of time to be matured. It has seen both ups and downs, but has managed to survive successfully. We know that there are many factors which worked for the success of India’s democracy. But here we put light on merely the most cardinal factors which directly helped India to preserve their democratic government in the last few decades.

The of Indian political system are –

1.     Panchayat System: One of the salient features of Indian political system, the Panchayat system of ancient India helps the people of India to cope with the culture of democracy. The Panchayat is today the lowest and in a sense the most basic- unit of self government in India. Today, there exists a three-tier Panchayat System in India, gram Panchayat at the village level, Panchayat samiti at the block level and zila parishad at the district level.

2.     Federalism: The second feature of Indian political system is federalism. In India, the centre largely depends on the states for implementing many of public policies which encourages decentralization process. The term ‘federation’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution. Instead, Article 1 of the Constitution describes India as a ‘Union of States’. The Constitution establishes a dual polity consisting the Union at the Centre and the states at the periphery. Each is endowed with sovereign powers to be exercised in the field assigned to them respectively by the Constitution.

3.     Electoral Practice: India ensured the voting right of people of India by the Constitution of the India which is supreme law of the country. The framers of the Constitution of India described about election of India in the Part XV, Articles 324 to 329 of the Constitution. Moreover, the Indian government or leaders always arrange the elections after the said tenure. In this approach people always get chance to exercise their power or to choose their favorite candidate.  

4.     Multi-Party System: India is known for its multi party system. It is a crucial feature of Indian political system. There are many parties in India ranging from 6 National Political parties and more than 48 state parties and many registered regional parties. The multiparty system in India make unique in the world.  In Indian political system one can find the rightist, centrist, leftist, regional, even local political parties to deal with the political issues.

5.     Written Constitution: The Constitution is not only a written document but also the lengthiest Constitution of the world. Originally, it contained a Preamble, 395 Articles (divided into 22 Parts) and 8 Schedules. At present (2013), it consists of a Preamble, about 465 Articles (divided into 25 Parts) and 12 Schedules. It specifies the structure, organisation, powers and functions of both the Central and state governments and prescribes the limits within which they must operate.

The corona virus infection in India has hit the mark of 21.5 lakh as new cases are being added daily. In a matter of one day, 64000 new cases have been added, making India the world’s third worst infected country. This also includes over 43000 deaths and more than 14.8 lakh patients who have recovered. India added has added over 5 lakh cases in the last 10 days. The rate of recoveries is also on the rise. Recovered cases are now more than double that of active cases. This, however, does not necessarily count as a sign of relief or an indication that the country has hit its peak.

The increase in the cases can also be due to the testing drive which the governments of different states have started in order to ensure that the community spread of the virus is avoided. Another reason for the rapid spread of this virus can be large population of the country and the unhygienic places that most people live in. many argue that the lock down was never the correct solution for fighting the virus as it only gave more time to make people aware about the adversity that the virus can cause. After the government had eased the restrictions, people were quick to go out to live a normal life, the one they had before the lock down.

The rise in the cases is also because of the carelessness of the people. The government has made it mandatory to wear masks whenever going out, but the neglecting nature of the people is such that until and unless a police officer is in their site they will not wear a mask. As the government is easing down the restrictions, the people are more than eager to go out and lead a normal life and our meeting their friends, going to public places, or restaurants, etc. the conflict between the centre and state governments is making it difficult to ensure the availability of the resources necessary for the treatment of the patients.

Thus, we as individuals need to understand that even though every restriction is slowly coming down, it does not mean that we need to go all haywire and try to live the same way as we did earlier because it is being claimed that we now need to learn to live with the virus by wearing masks, practicing social distancing, and maintaining personal hygiene.

Indus Valley civilisation or the harappan civilization is the earliest known urban culture in the Indian subcontinent. Located in the northeastern part of Afghanistan, that stretches to Pakistan and northwestern part of India, the Indus Valley Civilization in its early stage existed as a Bronze Age civilization from 3300 to 1300 BCE. Its mature period covered 2600 to 1900 BCE. The civilization thrived in the Indus River, which is one of the chief rivers in Asia. Another water source that gave life to Indus Valley was the Ghaggar-Hakra River that passes through the northwest point of India and eastern section of Pakistan. These two rivers served as major life support for the population, providing the inhabitants with abundant water supply as well as channel for mobility in and around the valley.

Excavations have revealed that the Harappan civilization town planning was arguably the most scientifically advanced in terms of town planning, albeit by the use of very basic means. The main streets of Indus valley ran from North to South, intersecting each other at right angles. Varying from 9 to 34 feet the streets were suitable for wheeled traffic and slightly elevated at one end to allow rain water to drain out in a particular direction. Excavations have revealed that the Harappan civilization town planning was arguably the most scientifically advanced in terms of town planning, albeit by the use of very basic means.

More features of the urban plan of Indus Valley Civilization included a hydraulic engineering technique in which every house or village got water from common wells. In their own version of bathroom, the water used for bathing directly went to covered drainages located on the sides of the streets. Also, residential homes were linked only to inner and narrower streets and interior courtyards. On the other hand, major thoroughfares connected neighborhoods and villages. There were enormous walls that served as protection from floods and military invasions. Wheeled transportation was also present, making it possible for the people to engage in trade with one another and with traders outside their territory. The Indus Valley inhabitants already had their own writing system as shown in the inscriptions that were later uncovered.

At the most, the Indus Valley civilization may have been populated with more than 5 million inhabitants. Over time, the people learned various crafts such as carving and metallurgy. Carnelian and seal carving was very popular as well as the use of metals such as lead, tin, copper and bronze. Apart from these skills, the Indus people were able to develop their own community plan that is akin to the present day urban planning system. Houses were made of bricks and buildings were erected in groups, resembling a modern urban environment characterized by tall buildings standing side by side. Another standout achievement of the Indus Valley people was their own meticulously planned drainage systems as well as an efficient water supply. Evidently, the Indus Valley Civilization, also known as the Harappan Civilization, already possessed the characteristics of metropolitan culture as seen in the layout of their communities. One of the striking features of these urban centers was their accessibility to places of hygiene (bath houses) where religious rites also took place as historians suggest.

Juvenile Delinquency is one of the most important problems. It exhibits a specific pattern of behaviour and involves any wrong doing by a child or a young person who is under the age limit as specified by law.

As per the section 2(k) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000, a juvenile is a person who has not completed 18 years of age. ‘Juvenile in conflict with law’ means a juvenile who is alleged to have committed an offence. He/she is also called a juvenile delinquent. A delinquent is an under aged person who is guilty of anti social act and whose misconduct is an attraction of law.

A juvenile delinquent is a person who breaks the law, is a vagrant, and persists in disobeying orders and whose behaviour endangers the moral well being of his own as well as of the others. Delinquency is a type of abnormality which may not be regarded as a criminal behaviour; however juvenile delinquency is injurious for children and is thus prohibited.

There are various opinions expressed regarding this behaviour such as bad company, adolescent instability, mental and emotional conflicts, social suggestibility, motion pictures, poor recreation, vocational dissatisfaction, and physical conditions. However, explanation of delinquency in terms of living in slums, broken homes, films, or moral deprivation etc. have failed to provide a comprehensive regarding this issue.

For the purpose of eradicating juvenile delinquency, the government has established and maintained institutions of observation homes and special homes with all facilities for the temporary reception of any child in case of a conflict with the law. The government has recognised reputed and capable voluntary organizations and provided them assistance to set up and administer as many shelter homes for children or juveniles as may be required.

Communal means pertaining to a community engaged in or involving two or more communities. A community consists of people organised into a social unit. In India, a community is often organised on the basis of caste or religion. It is something that constitutes a common interest, common language, common government which is formed by any number of individuals.

India is a multi linguistic, multi religious, and multi racial country. We can find conflicts between different groups of people based on the caste, religion and race. After India gained its independence, which was on the basis of Hindu and Muslim communities i.e. India and Pakistan, it flamed the communal riots among the Hindus and the Muslims where millions were rendered homeless while many lost their homes but the worst part was that it gave rise to communal tension which has not been put to an end till now.

Communal tensions rise when there is contradiction between two groups on the question of language, community, culture, etc. During the Mughal rule, Aurangzeb inflicted much injustice and misery on the Hindus and in return, many Hindu rulers retaliated in a violent way. Many parties were also started based on the communal interests which led to conflicts. When the communities live as a separate section, there is a chance to develop tensions between them because of their varied modes of life. Hatred and disgust is also another cause for the communal tension which can arise on false thoughts which are based on ignorance.

Some of the social causes also promote communal tensions. Muslims slaughter cow and this injures the feelings of the Hindus whereas many Hindus find it objectionable to form a close relationship with Muslims as they follow another religion. The different customs followed by these communities is also a reason for them to look at each other in a slightly different manner.

For communal harmony, it is necessary to make a concerted effort and both the government and the people have to co-operate if any success is to be achieved in this regard. The mass media should be used in a form of creating a healthy national opinion. Historical events where both the hindus and the muslims worked together for the national interest should be promoted. The political parties which are formed on the basis of communalism should be banned and there should be formation of youth organization which should include people from both the communities.

Casteism in India is one of the social problems that are prevalent in India. It refers to the hatred for one caste by the other or the attempts of the members of one caste to gain advantage for them to the detriment of the interest of the fellowmen of the other castes. It is a result of the growing clash between various castes for higher share in the socio economic privileges and power but the feelings of deprivation are fanned mainly by a few individuals for their own benefits in the name of the caste as a whole.

Kaka Kelelkar says that casteism is an overriding blind and supreme group loyalty that ignores the healthy social standards of justice, fair play, equality and universal brotherhood. Prasad D.N. says that casteism is loyalty to the caste translated into politics. The causes of casteism are the sense of caste prestige, marriage restrictions, illiteracy, communication propaganda, etc. The effects of casteism are the hindrance to the nationality, danger to democracy, moral degradation etc.

The old use of the term caste has changed in the present times. Now the members of the scheduled casts are proud of saying that they belong to a particular case and are even adding their caste names to their personal names. Caste sanctions have also become weak and do not operate with the same force in all sections of Indian society. The political use of caste is increasing day by day in every region of India. The structure and function of caste system have weakened and the association between caste and occupation is now a thing of the past. Many new occupations are being created where people of all castes meet freely and work together.

After India gained independence, the caste system has seen some drastic changes. Untouchability, the most undesirable feature of the caste system, has received a severe setback and is disappearing from the society. The caste panchayats used to wield all the authority and the Brahmins enjoyed a superior position, however in the modern times, village panchayats, trade unions, and the state are the exclusive features and the supremacy of the Brahmins has vanished from the society.  

The Indian constitution gives reservation to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly and the House of the People in articles 332 and 330 respectively. They have also been given reservations in education, jobs and at other places so that they are given an equal opportunity as compared to others and also to take care of their financial interests.

Law is the body of principles recognised and applied by the State in the administration of justice. It is a body of rules which guides human conduct in the society and is a means of social control. Every society has its own legal system and is imposed by the authorities. Those who deviate from the law are usually given the punishment of various kinds such as fines, imprisonment, exile, or death. Law means justice, morality, reason, order, and righteousness from the view point of the society. It is term used to define legal order which represents the regime of adjusting relation, and ordering conduct by the systematic application of the force of organized political society.

It is a whole body of legal precepts which exists in a politically organized society. The function of law is to achieve justice, stability, and peaceful change. It is helpful to control natural tendencies and certain human instincts. It ensures co-operation. It acts as social rule and as an instrument of state. It is used as a means to reduce disharmony in the society.

Law is a social function, an expression of human society concerning the external relations of its individual members. The purpose of society and social relations determine the nature, purpose and function of law. In a static society, law can be used as a powerful means of social change. Law introduces a new pattern of social behavior which is more conducive to the prosperity of the society. When there are odious customs, they can be put down by the law which abolishes those customs, and make it an offence to practice them, as seen in the case of Triple Talaq. Thus, law can be used as an instrument to achieve peaceful social change.

Social legislations in India before and after the independence clearly shows the efforts of the state and the society to bring the legal norms in line with the existing social norms as well as to improve the social norms on the basis of new legal norms.