• Siddharth Chauhan from Shimla won the ‘Best Debut Director from India’ award for his debut feature film ‘Amar Colony’ at the International Film Festival of Kerala.
• The film is set in Shimla and deals with the lives of three women living in a ‘chawl’.
• Incidentally, ‘Amar Colony’ had won the Special Jury Prize at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival held in the capital of Estonia a fortnight ago.
• The only Indian entry among films from 18 countries, the jury there had praised the movie for its ‘originality of vision’ and ‘how it was delighted with a bold and innovative presentation of a small city community’.
• For Chauhan, winning the award at the Kerala festival is special for another reason as well. “My short film had won an award at this festival in 2016. I turned the film into a feature film and won the award for it as well.
• He plans to have a special screening of the film in Shimla shortly for his local fans.

Why in News?

• E-Lok Adalats has taken up more than 259 lakh cases between June, 2020 and September this year.
• Of them over 53 lakh cases were disposed off. Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said this in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
• To reduce the pendency of cases in courts and also to settle the disputes at pre-litigation stage, Lok Adalats are organized by Legal Services Institutions.
• During the COVID pandemic, the Legal Services Authorities innovatively leveraged technology and introduced E-Lok Adalat, wherein affected parties could get their matter resolved without physically visiting the venue of the Adalat.
• Lok Adalat is one of the important Alternative Disputes Resolution Mechanism available to common people.
• Chhattisgarh was the first state to start e-Lok Adalats.

About ‘Lok Adalat’:

• The term ‘Lok Adalat’ means ‘People’s Court ’and is based on Gandhian principles.
• As per the Supreme Court, it is an old form of adjudicating system prevalent in ancient India and its validity has not been taken away even in the modern days too.
• It is one of the components of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)system and delivers informal, cheap and expeditious justice to the common people.
• The first Lok Adalat camp was organized in Gujarat in 1982as a voluntary and conciliatory agency without any statutory backing for its decisions.
• In view of its growing popularity over time, it was given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
• The Act makes the provisions relating to the organization and functioning of the Lok Adalats.

Why in News?

• Government has said that the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana envisages to generate direct and indirect employment opportunities to about 55 lakh personnel in fisheries and aquaculture sector by 2024-25.
• Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala said this in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
• He said, the scheme aims to create employment opportunities for fish farmers, fish vendors and entrepreneurs through the implementation of various targeted interventions in fish production, fisheries infrastructure and marketing.

About Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)

• PMMSY is a flagship scheme for focused and sustainable development of the fisheries sector in the country as a part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

It aims to:

• Adopt ‘Cluster or Area-based Approaches’ and create fisheries clusters through backward and forward linkages.
• Focus especially on employment generation activities such as seaweed and ornamental fish cultivation.
• Address critical gaps in fish production and productivity, quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernisation and strengthening of the value chain, traceability, establishing a robust fisheries management framework and fishers’ welfare.
• Consolidate the achievements of the blue revolution and bring new interventions such as fishing vessel insurance, support for new/up-gradation of fishing vessels/boats, integrated aqua parks, e-trading/marketing, etc.

Targets:

• Enhance fish production by an additional 70 lakh tonne and increase fisheries export earnings to Rs.1,00,000 crore by 2024-25.
• Double the incomes of fishers and fish farmers.
• Reduce post-harvest losses from 20-25% to about 10%.
• Generate an additional 55 lakhs direct and indirect gainful employment opportunities in the fisheries sector and allied activities.

Why in News?

• India will soon launch E-20 fuel with 20% blending of ethanol, says Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.
• Addressing a curtain raiser press conference on India’s flagship Energy Event, India Energy Week 2023 in Bengaluru, the minister announced that India will soon launch E-20 fuel with 20 percent blending of ethanol as by 2025 the ethanol production in the country would reach 1000 crore litres.
• The minister said that India is looking forward to setting up an international biofuel alliance under India’s G20 presidency.
• India has achieved the target of 10 percent blending of ethanol and produced 455 crore litres of ethanol last year, saving around 40,000 crore rupees on import of crude oil, helping the farmers and conserving the environment.
• There are 43 plants that produce green ammonia and the target is to increase such plants to 5000 in number.
• In the coming days CNG,CBG and Electric Vehicles will be promoted across the country to reduce dependency on crude oil imports.

About:

• Youth Co:Lab is an initiative launched in 2019 byUNDP India in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.
  • Youth Co:Lab was co-created in 2017 by UNDP and the Citi Foundation, Youth Co:Lab.
  • It is a multi-dimensional and multi-level response to tackle the challenges young people face by positioning youth at the forefront in finding solutions to global challenges tackling Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• It aims to establish a common agenda for Asia-Pacific countries to invest in and empower youth to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through leadership, social innovation, and entrepreneurship.
• The Youth Co:Lab initiative, till date, has been implemented in 28 countries and territories, reaching over 200,000 participants, benefitting more than 11,000 young social entrepreneurs and supporting over 1,240 social enterprises.
• Through Youth Co: Lab, 30 early-stage start-ups would be supported by the springboard programme, and the best would be provided a seed grant for scaling up their start-up.
• The 5 focus thematic areas for Youth Co: lab 2022-23 are:
  • Digital and Financial Literacy for Youth
  • Gender Equality and Women Economic Empowerment
  • Developing FinTech Solutions focused on Biodiversity Conservation
  • Promoting Biodiversity-friendly Lifestyles through Technological Solutions in Finance
  • Accelerating Circular Economy through Upcycling Innovations
  • Behavioural Nudges for LiFE ( Lifestyle For Environment)

Why in News?

• Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) will release the Social Progress Index (SPI) for states and districts of India on December 20, 2022.

About Social Progress Index (SPI):

• SPI is a comprehensive tool intended to be a holistic measure of the Social Progress made by the country at the national and sub-national levels.
• The report has been prepared by Institute for Competitiveness, headed by Dr Amit Kapoor and the Social Progress Imperative, headed by Michael Green.
• It was mandated by Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.

What is the objective of the SPI?

• The report aims to provide a systematic account of the social progress made at all levels in the country with state and district-wise rankings and scorecards.
• The report also sheds light on the achievements of the districts that have performed well on the index and the role of the states in achieving social progress.
• A special section of the report provides an analysis of the Aspirational Districts of India, leading to a broader understanding of the social progress at the grassroots level.
• The report will act as a critical enabler and tool for policymakers in the coming years for achieving sustained socio-economic growth.

Components:

• SPI assesses the performance of states and districts on three dimensions of social progress: Basic Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity. Within each dimension, there are four components.
• The dimension of Basic Human Needs assesses the performance of states and districts in terms of Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Water and Sanitation, Personal Safety and Shelter.
• The dimension of Foundations of Wellbeing evaluates the progress made by the country across the components of Access to Basic Knowledge, Access to Information and Communication, Health and Wellness, and Environmental Quality.
• The dimension of Opportunity focuses on aspects of Personal Rights, Personal Freedom and Choice, Inclusiveness, and Access to Advanced Education.

Why in News?

• Eco-tourism has been identified as one of the Niche Tourism areas for development in the country, including Odisha, by the Ministry of Tourism.

About:

• Implementing Ministry: Ministry of Tourism.
• Type of Scheme: Central Sector Scheme.
• Launched in:2014-15.
• Objective: 
  • Developing critical tourism infrastructure to make India a world class tourist destination.
  • This scheme is envisioned to synergise with other schemes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Skill India, Make in India etc. with the idea of positioning the tourism sector as a major engine for job creation, the driving force for economic growth, building synergy with various sectors to enable tourism to realise its potential.
• Circuits:
  • Under the Scheme 15 circuits have been identified for development namely Himalayan Circuit, North East Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Buddhist Circuit and Coastal Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit, Heritage Circuit, Tirthankar Circuit and Sufi Circuit.

Swadesh Darshan Scheme 2.0

• It aims to evolve Swadesh Darshan Scheme as a holistic mission to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations covering tourism and allied infrastructure, tourism services, human capital development, destination management and promotion backed by policy and institutional reforms.
• Major themes have been identified for tourism under the Scheme.
  • Culture and Heritage
  • Adventure Tourism
  • Eco-Tourism
  • Wellness Tourism
  • MICE Tourism
  • Rural Tourism
  • Beach Tourism
  • Cruises – Ocean & Inland

Why in News?

• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has allowed the conversion of regular vehicle registrations into Bharat Series (BH) numbers as part of measures to widen the scope of the BH series ecosystem.

About Bharat (BH) Series:

• The BH series registration mark vide General Statutory Rule (GSR) 594(E) was introduced on August 26, 2021.
• This has come into force with effect from 15th September, 2021.
• It has been incorporated in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
• The implementation of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 is under the purview of the State Governments/UT administration.

Eligibility:

• It has been introduced for citizens working in Government offices or in private organizations with offices in four or more States/UTs, on voluntary basis.
• Applicants, working in Government offices, can avail BH Series facility on the basis of their official ID Card.
• Private Sector employees are required to submit a working certificate, certifying that their organization has offices in 4 or more States/UTs.
• Currently, only new vehicles are being registered under the BH Series.

Implementation:

• So far, 24 states and UTs have rolled out the new Bharat Series (BH-series) for vehicle registration and so far over 20,000 vehicles have been registered across the states.

Why in News?

• In the recent acid attack on a girl in New Delhi, the accused had bought acid on Flipkart.
• The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has sent notices to e-commerce players Flipkart and Meesho for gross violation of norms relating to the sale of acids.
• The Delhi Commission for Women has already issued notices to Flipkart and Amazon in the case.

 Acid attack victim under PWD Act, 2016:

• The PWD Act, 2016 has defined ‘specified disability’, which includes physical disability, visual impairment, hearing impairment, etc.
• The ‘acid attack victim’ is included in PWD Act,2016 and is defined as ‘person disfigured due to violent assaults by throwing of acid or similar corrosive substance’.
• The Bombay High Court in one of its judgements held that an acid attack victim would be considered a person suffering from ‘specified disability’ and therefore entitled to additional compensation, rehabilitative measures and free medical treatment available for persons with disabilities as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Act, 2016.

About Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA):

• CCPA is a regulatory body established in 2020 based on the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
• CCPA works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

Composition:

• It will have a Chief Commissioner as head, and only two other commissioners as members — one of whom will deal with matters relating to goods while the other will look into cases relating to services.
• The CCPA will have an Investigation Wing that will be headed by a Director General.
• District Collectors too, will have the power to investigate complaints of violations of consumer rights, unfair trade practices, and false or misleading advertisements.

Powers and Functions:

• Inquire or investigate into matters relating to violations of consumer rights or unfair trade practices suo moto, or on a complaint received, or on a direction from the central government.
• Recall goods or withdrawal of services that are “dangerous, hazardous, or unsafe.
• Pass an order for refund the prices of goods or services so recalled to purchasers of such goods or services; discontinuation of practices which are unfair and prejudicial to consumer’s interest”.
• Impose a penalty up to Rs 10 lakh, with imprisonment up to two years, on the manufacturer or endorser of false and misleading advertisements. The penalty may go up to Rs 50 lakh, with imprisonment up to five years, for every subsequent offence committed by the same manufacturer or endorser.
• Ban the endorser of a false or misleading advertisement from making endorsement of any products or services in the future, for a period that may extend to one year. The ban may extend up to three years in every subsequent violation of the Act.
• File complaints of violation of consumer rights or unfair trade practices before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

What is ICJS?

• The ICJS is an ambitious all India project to link up all the pillars of the criminal justice system, including police, prisons, prosecution, forensics and courts.

Ranking:

• The Himachal Pradesh Police have been ranked at the third place in the All India Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS).
• The National Crimes Records Bureau (NCRB) is organizing a conference on “Good Practice in CCTNS & ICJS” at the NCRB headquarters, New Delhi.
• Director General of Police (DGP) Sanjay Kundu and DK Choudhary, DIG-CID Crime, received the award from Ajay Kumar Mishra, Union Minister of State, Home Affairs, in New Delhi.

The Police Department signed a MoU with SBI:

• The Police Department signed a supplementary memorandum of understanding with the State Bank of India for enhancing the security cover for police personnel in case of sudden death.
• The insurance cover has been enhanced from Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, besides other benefits.