What's the NEWS

• Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah presided over the signing of a historic agreement between Government of India, Government of Assam and Bodo representatives, in New Delhi, to end the over 50-year old Bodo crisis.
• The tripartite agreement has been signed by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the leadership of four factions of NDFB, Satyendra Garg, Joint Secretary of ABSU, Ministry of Home Affairs and Kumar Sanjay Krishna, Chief Secretary of Assam.
• The National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), one of the dangerous militant groups in Assam. The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), agitating for a long time demanding Bodo state, also signed the deal.

Know! about the agreement (important takeaways)

• With this agreement, over 1500 armed cadres will abjure violence and join the mainstream.
• A Special Development Package Rs. 1500 crores over three years will be given by the Union Government to undertake specific projects for the development of Bodo areas.
• After the agreement, the NDFB factions will leave the path of violence, surrender their weapons and disband their armed organizations within a month of signing the deal.
• The Union Government and the Government of Assam will take necessary measures to rehabilitate over 1500 cadres of NDFB (P), NDFB (RD) and NDFB (S), as per the laid down policy of the government.
• The current agreement proposes to set up a commission under Section 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India, which will recommend the inclusion or exclusion of tribal population residing in villages adjoining BTAD areas.
• The Government of Assam will establish a Bodo-Kachari Welfare Council as per existing procedure.
• The Assam government will also notify Bodo language as an associate official language in the state and will set up a separate directorate for Bodo medium schools.
• The present settlement has proposal to give more legislative, executive, administrative and financial powers to BTC.
• The agreement provides political and economic benefits to the tribal areas without seeking a separate Bodoland state or union territory.

Know! the history of Bodo Accord

• The government of India has been signed three agreements with Bodo tribes so far for 27 years. Several clashes between extremists groups of Assam and the government have claimed hundreds of lives.
• The All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and the Government of India have signed the first accord in 1993. This agreement resulted to the creation of a Bodoland Autonomous Council with some political powers.
• The second Bodo accord was signed in 2003 between Government of India and extremist group Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT).
• The second agreement resulted to the formation of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) with four districts - Udalguri, Chirang, Baska and Kokrajhar. These areas are commonly called Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD).

Know! about Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC)

• BTC was constituted under the 6th Schedule of the Indian Constitution to look after issues of Bodo tribes like education, horticulture and forests. However, police, general administration and revenue are controlled by the Government of Assam. The BTC was

Know! about Bodo Tribe and their movements

• The Bodo people are the largest tribe of Assam settled in the northern part of the Brahmaputra river valley.
• These tribes claimed themselves as natives of the Assam. According to an estimate, the Bodo tribe is about 28 percent of Assam's population.
• The Bodo tribe has been complaining that their land in Assam was occupied by other cultures and communities with different identities.
• In 1966 the Bodo tribals formed the Plains Tribal Council of Assam (PTCA) and demanded a separate union territory Udayachal.
• The Bodo movement started witnessing violence post-1980s. Now, this movement divided into three streams.
• The first group NDFB is demanding for a separate state for itself. The second group Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT) is demanding greater autonomy and targeted non-Bodo groups.
• The third group All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) is looking for more political powers and involvement in state administration.

Infrastructure Development
Indian Railways to run 100% on electricity by 2024
Relevance IN - Mains (GS III Infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• Railways Minister Piyush Goyal announced that the Indian Railways is expected to switch entirely to electricity by 2024, as it is already shunting diesel locomotives gradually out of service.
• By the year 2024, the entire Indian Railways to be run 100 per cent on electricity.
• It will be the first railway network in the world to be run fully on electricity.
• India is also planning to make the entire railways network a "net-zero emission network" by 2030.
• So far, till 2017-18, 4,087 km route had already been electrified. Upon success, the fuel bill will reduce by Rs 13,510 crores.
• Electrification of Railways is also Government's plan to create 500 GW of renewable energy by 2028.

Prelims Factoids
Marashtra Launches Rs 10 Lunch Plate Scheme On Republic Day

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the scheme - Shiv Bhojan)
What's the NEWS

• The Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government launched its much-awaited ''Shiv Bhojan'' scheme, which is aimed at providing a meal to the poor for just Rs 10, on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day.

Know! about the scheme

• Under the scheme, which was launched on a pilot basis, thalis or lunch plates would be available to people at designated centres/ canteens during a stipulated time in all the districts.
• Under the pilot scheme, at least one ''Shiv Bhojan'' canteen has been started at district headquarters.
• The goal of the scheme is to provide affordable and quality food to all, irrespective of caste, creed, religion and financial status
• The state government is expected to incur an expenditure of Rs 6.4 crore for the pilot ''Shiv Bhojan'' thali project that will run for three months.
• Even though the customer will have to pay just Rs 10 per thali, the actual cost of the food will be Rs 50 each in urban centres and Rs 35 in rural areas. The balance amount will be given as grant to the district collectorate
• These canteens will function at places where poor persons work or live like at markets, district hospitals, bus stations, railway stations and government offices.

Centre-State Relations
West Bengal Passes Anti-CAA Resolution, Becomes 4th State To Do So
Relevance IN - Prelims (about CAA and resolution passed by countries) + Mains GS II (Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.)
What's the NEWS

• The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government became the fourth state to pass a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the Assembly.
• Following suit of Kerala, Rajasthan and Punjab, the resolution moved by the Trinamool Congress government appeals to the Centre to repeal the amended citizenship law and revoke plans to implement NRC and update NPR.
• Three states - Kerala, Rajasthan and Punjab - have already passed resolutions against the CAA amid nationwide protests against the law.
• Kerala was the first state to pass a resolution demanding the withdrawal of the CAA law.
• The West Bengal state assembly had previously passed a similar resolution against NRC in September 2019.

The Citizenship Amendment Act

• The Citizenship Amendment Act allows non-Muslim illegal migrants who came to India on or before December 31, 2014 to escape religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to gain Indian citizenship.
• The implementation of the law has led to protests across the nation.
• The main aim behind the introduction of the law is to help the religious minorities facing persecution in the Muslim-dominated neighbouring nations.

Centre- State Relations
Andhra Pradesh Assembly passes resolution to abolish Legislative Council
Relevance IN - Prelims (about legislative council + about bicameral legislation) + Mains (GS II Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.)
What's the NEWS

• The Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly unanimously passed a resolution to abolish the state legislative council.
• The state cabinet had approved the resolution earlier in the day. The proposal will now be sent to the centre for further action.
• The resolution was passed with 133 members voting in favour of it.
• The proposal will now be sent to the central government, which will be required to take up further action on the matter.
• The move came after Reddy's government failed to pass two crucial bills in the upper house of the legislature.
• The bills were related to the government's plan of having three different capitals for the state- Legislative, judicial and executive capitals.

Know! all about Legislative Council

• The Legislative Council is the upper house in the state legislature. Similar to the Rajya Sabha, the council is a permanent house, which means that it cannot be dissolved. Only the state legislative assembly can be dissolved.
• The Parliament is the sole authority that can provide for the abolishment of a state legislative council or creation of a council in a state that has no council till now.
• The Parliament can pass the law if the state legislative assembly passes a resolution proposing the abolishment of the council by a majority of the total membership of the assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting.
• Assam was the first state to abolish its state legislative council in 1947
• After Assam, West Bengal had abolished its legislative council in 1969 and Punjab abolished it in 1970.
• The state legislative council of Andhra Pradesh was also abolished previously in 1985 and was revived again in 2006.

Bicameral Legislatures in India

• Presently, Seven Indian States such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Jammu-Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, have bicameral Legislatures, these are called legislative councils (Vidhan Parishad), one third of whom are elected every two years, there are graduate constituencies (members elected exclusively by graduates), teachers constituencies (members elected exclusively by teachers), municipal constituencies (members elected exclusively by Mayors and council members of the city Governments).
  
  

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