Tribal Affairs

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about NCST) + Mains (GS II welfare schemes for the vulnerable section )

NCST Foundation day

• The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was set up on 19^th February, 2004 through Constitution (89^th Amendment) Act.
• The Commission will be celebrating fifteen years on 19^th February, 2019.  The Commission in its 109^th meeting held on 31^st December, 2018 decided to celebrate the day in a befitting manner.
• The theme of the Foundation Day lecture is “Constitution and Tribes”.
• The address  dwell upon the making of the Constitution of India, various factors that led to creation of specific provisions for Scheduled Tribes in the country including scheduling of States under Fifth and Sixth Schedule of Constitution. 

 NCST Leadership Award

• On this occasion, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has also decided to institute a national award named as “NCST Leadership Award” which will be conferred for significant and exemplary services towards Scheduled Tribes in the country.
• The awards will be given in 3 categories i.e. (i) Educational Institutions/ Universities, (ii) Public Sector Undertakings/Banks and (iii) Public Service rendered by an Individual, NGO or Civil Society.
• This year, the first award will be conferred on the followings:
  

1.       Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Bhubaneswar 

2.       Central Coalfields Ltd., Ranchi

Know! more about NCST

• On the 89th Amendment of the Constitution coming into force on 19 February 2004, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been set up under Article 338A on bifurcation of erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to oversee the implementation of various safeguards provided to Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution.
• With this amendment, the erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was replaced by two separate Commissions namely- (i) the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), and (ii) the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST).
• The Commission comprises a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and three full-time Members (including one lady Member). The term of all the Members of the Commission is three years from the date of assumption of charge.

Culture

Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Tagore award) + Mains (GS I Indian culture and heritage )

What’s the NEWS

• The President of India will present the Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony to Shri Rajkumar Singhajit Singh; Chhayanaut (a cultural organization of Bangladesh); and Shri Ram Sutar Vanji for the years 2014, 2015 & 2016 respectively

Know! more about Tagore Award

• Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony was instituted by the Government of India from 2012 recognizing the contributions made by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore to humanity at large with his works and ideas, as part of the Commemoration of his 150^th Birth Anniversary in 2012, for promoting values of Cultural Harmony. 
• It is awarded annually and carries an amount of Rs. One Crore (convertible to foreign currency), a citation in a Scroll, a Plaque as well as an exquisite traditional handicraft / handloom item.
• The Award may be divided between two persons / institutions who are considered by the Jury to be equally deserving of recognition in a given year.
• This annual award is given to individuals, associations, institutions or organizations for their outstanding contribution towards promoting values of Cultural Harmony.
• The Award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender. Normally, contributions made during ten years immediately preceding the nomination are considered.
• The First Tagore Award – 2012 was conferred upon Pt. Ravi Shankar,  the Indian Sitar Maestro and the Second Award – 2013 was conferred upon Maestro Zubin Mehta.
• The jury comprises the Prime Minister as Chairman (ex-officio), Chief Justice of India, Member (ex-officio), Leader of the Opposition recognized as such in the Lok Sabha or where there is no such Leader of Opposition then, the Leader of the single largest opposition party in that House, Member (ex-officio), two eminent persons and two nominated members.

• Rabindranath Tagore was born in May 7, 1861, Calcutta India  and died in August 7, 1941, Calcutta)
• He was a Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist, and painter who introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit.
• He was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the West and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the outstanding creative artist of early 20th-century India.
• In 1913 he became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
  

Government Schemes

Swachhata Excellence awards

AMRUT Cities--Municipal Corporations of Raigarh, Ambikapur, Kumbakonam bag Top Swachhata Excellence Awards

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Swatch bharat initiative ) + Mains (GS II Government policies and intervention )

What’s the NEWS

• The Raigarh Municipal Corporation of Chhattisgarh has won the “Swachhata Excellence awards 2019”.
• The municipal corporations of Ambikapur of Chhattisgarh and Kumbakonam of Tamil Nadu have bagged the second and third prizes respectively.
• A total of 40 awards were distributed to the Area Level Federations (ALFs), City Livelihoods Federations (CLFs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
• These Awards were given by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) as part of the Shehri Samriddhi Utsav.

Know! about the Shehri Samriddhi Utsav

• This utsav  was organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) from 1^st  – 15^th February 2019.
• A number of activities and events were organized at the City, State and National level as part of the initiative which aimed at extending the outreach of National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) to the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable by showcasing its initiatives and facilitating access of SHG members to the other government schemes.
  

 Know! about DAY-NULM

• National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MHUPA), Government of India on 23rd September 2013 by replacing Swarna Jayanti Rozgar Yojana.
• DAY-NULM focuses on organizing urban poor in their strong grassroots level institutions, creating opportunities for skill development leading to market based employment and helping them to set up self employment venture by ensuring easy access to credit.
• The Mission is aimed at providing shelter equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in a phased manner.
• It encourages the formation of SHGs of those from vulnerable occupations, such as rag pickers and waste pickers.
  

Know! all about Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)

• The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2015 with the focus to establish infrastructure that could ensure adequate robust sewage networks and water supply for urban transformation by implementing urban revival projects.
• Rajasthan was the first state in the country to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
• The scheme Housing for All by 2022 and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) were launched on the same day.
• The scheme is dependent with public private partnership(PPP) model. If required, various other schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, Housing for All 2022, along with the local state schemes like that related to water supply and sewerage and other infrastructure related schemes can be linked to AMRUT

International affairs

US president Donald Trump declared a national emergency

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about U.S national emergency) + Mains (international relations )

What’s the NEWS

• US President Trump Declares "National Emergency" To Build Border Wall
• The US president Donald Trump on 15^th  February 2019 had declared a national emergency to fund the US-Mexico border without congressional approval.
• This step has been described by the Democrats as unconstitutional and they have vowed to challenge it.
• Trump's extraordinary step will enable him to bypass congressional opposition and seek to redirect billions of dollars in federal funds to build the wall -- delivering on a key election promise to his right-wing base.

Know! all about the  National Emergency in the USA

·         The National Emergencies Act (NEA)  1976 formalizes the emergencies powers of the President.

• The United States can be subjected to more than 30 national emergencies and can be declared for various reasons.
• The Act empowers the President to activate special powers during a crisis but imposes certain procedural formalities when invoking such powers.
• Since 1976, presidents have declared at least 58 states of emergency. Most of them were under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act which allows the president to impose economic sanctions.

 Reason why did President Trump Declare National Emergency

• President Trump had promised to construct a wall along the USA-Mexico border to stop illegal migration if voted to power.
• The proposal was rejected by the US Congress and the country went into a 35-day partial government shutdown. However, Congress passed a compromise bill providing President Trump with a mere $1.4 billion for a barrier along 90 kilometres of the border.
• Trump has long demanded $5.7 billion to build portions of a wall on the 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) southern border. But Congress provided just $1.375 billion for border barriers, and not specifically a wall, in the bill.
• Under the National Emergencies Act, the president can declare a national emergency, providing a specific reason for it.
• That allows the activation of any of hundreds of dormant emergency powers under other laws, which can permit the White House to declare martial law, suspend civil liberties, expand the military, seize property and restrict trade, communications and financial transactions.
• The declaration of the National emergency by President Trump would enable him to divert money from elsewhere from the federal budget, including funds for the U.S. military for the purpose of the construction of the wall along the border.
• Consequence of the National Emergency President Trump is expected to face many legal and political challenges. US Congress can also terminate a declared emergency by passing a joint resolution which is a difficult task.
• The Democrats in power at the House of Representatives will have to convince the Republicans who control the Senate to join them in blocking the National Emergency. Then they would have to get a signature from the President himself who has declared the emergency

Prelims Practise Question

Consider the following statements

Find the correct statement from the options given below

a. 1 only

b. 2 only

c. 1 and 2

d. None

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