Prelims Focus – 26th February 2024

1.Rashtriya Udyamita Vikas Pariyojana

Recent news

The Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship launched the Rashtriya Udyamita Vikas Pariyojana.

About

• • This program, designed for beneficiaries of the PM SVANidhi scheme, aims to provide thorough entrepreneurship training over a period of 22 weeks, incorporating both theoretical and practical elements. 
  • The training will be offered through a combination of offline, online, and hybrid methods, with participants receiving certificates upon completion. 
  • The initiative will be carried out through 20 NIESBUD centres and 10 IIE centres, initially focusing on specific districts and aiming for a 40% participation rate among women. 
  • This project demonstrates the government’s dedication to developing skills and promoting entrepreneurship, in line with the vision of a skilled and developed India.

2.Pigeonpea

Recent news

• • Scientists at ICRISAT have created a new method to quickly breed better versions of pigeonpea, a crucial legume crop for nutrition in arid regions. 
  • In the past, creating a new pigeonpea variety would typically take about 13 years, but a new method could potentially shorten this process to only two to four years.  

About Pigeonpea

• • Pigeon peas are grown in tropical and semitropical regions globally, with the majority of tur production in India coming from six states. 
  • Pigeon peas are commonly consumed as split pulses known as “dal”. Speed breeding is a method of plant breeding that uses specific techniques to speed up the flowering process and enhance seed production. 
  • This technique includes optimising light, temperature, and harvesting immature seeds to reduce generation time.

3.Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

In News: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh recently quashed the issuance of process by a trial court against a person for the commission of the offence under Section 354 of the IPC for allegedly slapping his wife in public.

• Section 354 of the IPC states that everybody who assaults or uses criminal force against a woman with the intention of outraging her modesty, or knowing that such an act is likely to outrage her modesty, can be punished with imprisonment ranging from one to 5 years and can also be fined.
• It has been enacted if you want to guard a woman against indecent attack in addition to to protect public morality and decent behaviour. 
• This phase punishes an attack or use of criminal force on any woman with the intention or knowledge that the woman’s modesty might be outraged.
• The crucial components of the offense underneath Section 354 of the IPC are as follows:
• that the person assaulted have to be a woman
• that the accused must have used some kind of crook force on her
• Criminal force need to were used to outrage her modesty
• There should be a purpose to accomplish that. It is the segment’s substance, where the selection of punishment and the legitimacy of the prices is evaluated.
• What constitutes an ‘outrage to woman modesty’ has not been defined everywhere under the IPC. It is rather difficult to understand the information and in each case. 
• It does no longer encompass offences committed against men in the equal way. 
• An offence under Section 354 of the IPC will be a cognizable and a non-bailable offence that is triable by a Justice of the Peace of any magnificence. 
• The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2013 introduced four extra subsections to Section 354 of IPC to expand its scope. These are the following:
  • Section 354A: Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment
  • Section 354B: Assault or use of crook force to girl with motive to disrobe
  • Section 354C: Voyeurism
  • Section 354D: Stalking

4.Shahpur Kandi Dam Project

In News: In a significant development, the completion of the Shahpur Kandi barrage, at the Punjab-Jammu and Kashmir border, has effectively halted the flow of water from the River Ravi to Pakistan.

• It is located on the Ravi River in Pathankot district, Punjab, downstream from the existing Ranjit Sagar Dam.
• The water released via Ranjit Sagar Dam is utilized for producing electricity from this project. 
• The primary reason behind the construction of this dam is power generation and irrigation in Punjab and J&K States.
• It is built by the irrigation branch of the Government of Punjab.
• The assignment includes a 55.5 m high concrete gravity dam, a 7.70 km lengthy hydel channel, head regulators, and two powerhouses.
• The general output potential of the barrage is 206 MW.

Key Facts about Ravi River:

• It is a trans-boundary river of India and Pakistan.
• It is one of the 5 tributaries of the Indus River that deliver the Punjab (that means “Five Rivers”) its name.
• Origin: It originates in the western Himalayas in the Multhan tehsil of the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh.
  • It then flows by the Indian kingdom of Punjab and enters Pakistan, where it finally joins the Chenab River in the province of Punjab.
• Length: The overall period of the Ravi River is about 720 kilometers(447 miles). Around 158 kilometers (98 miles) of the river’s course lie in India, and the closing 562 kilometers (349 miles) float through Pakistan.
  • It is likewise called ‘The River of Lahore’ on account that that metropolis is situated on its eastern financial institution.
• Tributaries: The Ravi River is fed by using numerous tributaries, which includes the Bhadal, the Ujh, the Tarnah, and the Basantar rivers in India, and the Aik, the Bara, and the Beas rivers in Pakistan.
• Indus Water Treaty of Ravi River: The water of the rivers Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej is allocated to India beneath the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan.

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