1. New tough anti-rape law comes into force
i. President Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to the anti-rape bill which provides for life term and even death sentencefor rape convicts besides stringent punishment for offences like acid attacks, stalking and voyeurism.
ii. Mukherjee accorded his assent to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill-2013 on Tuesday, brought against the backdrop of the country-wide outrage over Delhi gangrape, and it will now be called the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
iii. With an aim of providing a strong deterrent against crimes like rapes, the new law states that an offender can be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 20 years, but which may extend to life, meaning imprisonment for the remainder of the convict's natural life and with a fine.
Main points:
i. It has provisions for handing out death sentence to offenders who may have been convicted earlier for such crimes.
ii. . The law, for the first time, defines stalking and voyeurism as non-bailable offences if repeated for a second time.
iii. It also defines acid attack as a crime besides granting a victim the right to self-defence.
iv. It also has provisions for imposing a minimum 10-year jail term for perpetrators of such acts. The law has fixed age for consensual sex at 18 years.
v. The law also seeks to widen the definition of rape, broaden the ambit of aggravated rape and enhance the punishment for such crimes.
vi. It also provides that all hospitals shall immediately provide first aid and/or medical treatment free of cost to the victims of acid attack or rape, and failure to do so will attract punishment.
vii. The law also seeks to amend the Indian Evidence Act to allow a rape victim, if she is temporarily or permanently mentally or physically disabled, to record her statement before a judicial magistrate with the assistance of an interpreter or a special educator.
viii. It also has provisions to video-graph the proceedings.
2. US welcomes passage of arms treaty
i. Terming the passage of the Arms Trade Treaty by the UN General Assembly as "historic", US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said this would establish a common international standard for the regulation of global trade in conventional arms.
ii. He also added that it would also reduce the risk of use of these arms for crimes against humanity.
iii. The treaty was on Wednesday passed by the UN General Assembly in New York by an overwhelming majority of 154 votes.
iv. Three countries opposed the treaty, while 23 abstained including India, which argued that the text of the treaty resolution falls short of New Delhi's expectations in producing a text that is clear, balanced and implementable and able to attract universal adherence.
v. "It will help reduce the risk that international transfers of conventional arms will be used to carry out the world's worst crimes, including terrorism, genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes,".
3. Wi-Fi, internet facility in Howrah Rajdhani launched
i. Passengers travelling on the New Delhi to Howrah-bound Rajdhani Express train can now use the internet using Wi-Fi free of cost, thanks to the launch of internet service by Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.
ii. The free service has been launched as a pilot project. The government aims to make Wi-Fi available on Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto express trains by the end of current year.
iii. Depending on the feedback from Wi-Fi users, the Railways Ministry will float tenders to introduce the state-of-the-art internet service in a total of 50 rakes of the premier trains.
iv. The Minister, however, added that the passengers might eventually have to fork out money for using the service. Speaking to reporters, he stated that the service was for free for the time being, but following the completion of pilot project on Kolkata Rajdhani, the government might introduce a nominal cost.
v. The Railways Ministry has plans to invest around Rs 6.3 crore to roll out Wi-Fi on the aforementioned trains.
4. Maharashtra Govt. creates special bank account for drought relief
i. The government of Maharashtra has opened a dedicated bank account to allow donors to deposit cheques or demand drafts for drought relief directly at banks.
ii. The cheques or demand drafts should to be addressed to Chief Minister's Relief Fund (Drought 2013), State Bank of India (SBI), Fort Branch, account no 32860305777.
iii. Donors can deposit the cheques or demand drafts either at an outlet of SBI or at the office of the deputy commissioner (revenue) at the district collector's office.
iv. If the donor deposits the cheque at an SBI outlet, he/she will get a rough receipt for the donation. He/she can then ask the Chief Minister's accounts officer to send him an original receipt.
v. The dedicated bank account has been created in a bid to facilitate donors to make contributions to the Chief Minister's Drought Relief Fund for the year 2013.
5. Cyprus Finance Minister Michalis Sarris resigns
i. Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris has resigned after an investigation was ordered into how the country’s economy nearly collapsed last month.
ii. The government said on Tuesday that President Nicos Anastasiades accepted the resignation of Mr Sarris, who has faced strong criticism for his handling of the Cyprus’s negotiations with its international creditors.
NOTE: Cyprus has been given a 10 billion bailout by its European partners and the International Monetary Fund, after its bloated banking sector threatened to destroy the economy.
6. NABARD Karnataka first state in country to promote producer’s collectiveness
i. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, NABARD in Karnataka has disbursed 750 crore rupees financial assistance for creating rural infrastructures like Raitha Samparka Kendras, Anganwadis, schools, ITIs, rural roads and bridges during 2012-13.
ii. The Chief General Manager of NABARD in the state, Mr.SNA Jinnah informed media persons in Bangalore today that the bank recorded an all time high financial assistance of 8424 crore rupees, registering year on year growth of 40 percent during this period.
iii. He informed that NABARD in Karnataka stands first in the country to promote producer’s Collectives, extending over 16 crore rupees assistance to agriculture based Cooperative societies.
iv. NABARD will facilitate 11 District Cooperative banks to have Core Banking facility by this June, so that direct cash transfer benefit scheme can be fully implemented.
v. The General Manager of NABARD Bharath Kumar informed that the Bank is working on programme to provide 100 percent lighting in rural areas through solar energy.
7. Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar, take oath as the new Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court
i. Justice Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar, Judge of the Bombay High Court will take oath as the new Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court tomorrow, April 4.
ii. Governor Urmila Singh will administer the oath of Office to him at a Rajbhawan in Shimla.
iii. Justice Khanwilkar hails from Pune in Maharashtra and was appointed Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in March 2000 and confirmed as permanent Judge in April 2002.
8. MoU Signed Between NTPC and Ministry Of Power for 2013-14 Financial Year
i. The National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) and Ministry of Power (MOP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) 2013-14 on 2 April 2013.
ii. The MoU was signed between CMD of NTPC, Arup Roy Choudhury and Secretary Power of MOP, P. Uma Shankar.
Main points of the MoU
i. According to the MoU signed, NTPC will work towards generation of 242 BU during 2013-14.
ii. In 2013-14, NTPC will also strive to produce 4 MMTPA coal from its own captive mines.
iii. Milestones related to other ongoing projects and Mines of NTPC are also part of MOU.
NOTE: i. It is important to note that during 2012-13 financial year, NTPC added 4170 MW which is the highest ever capacity addition by NTPC in any financial year.
ii. The overall commercial capacity of NTPC is 34820 MW and total commissioned capacity of NTPC became 41184 MW.
9. IPL T20 :Knight Riders to begin title defence against Daredevils
i. Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will meet Delhi Daredevils in the opening match of the Sixth edition of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament in Kolkata tonight.
ii. Expectations will be high from the home side as they would aim to become only second team to win back-to-back titles. Only Chennai Super Kings have won consecutive trophies (2010 and 2011).
iii. Delhi Daredevils may suffer another setback as explosive batsman Virender Sehwag is a doubtful starter for Wednesday's IPL opener against Kolkata Knight Riders due to a back problem.
iv. The encounter will begin at the historic Eden Gardens at 8 P.M. In all, nine teams are participating in the T20 tournament.
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