A special function on the occasion to commemorate 70th Anniversary of adoption of the Constitution of India, - “SamvidhanDiwas” was organized in the Central Hall of Parliament today.

The President of India, Vice President, Prime Minister, Speaker and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs graced the occasion and addressed the gathering of the Members of both Houses of Parliament. On this occasion, the President Shri Ram NathKovindlaunched the Web-Portal of “National Youth Parliament Scheme”.

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has been implementing Youth Parliament programme since 1966 in Schools under the Directorate of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi and NDMC, KendriyaVidyalayas, JawaharNavodayaVidyalayas and Universities/ Colleges. So far, around 8,000 educational institutions and more than 4,00,000 students have been covered under the Youth Parliament programme of the Ministry.

The web-portal of the National Youth Parliament Scheme is available at www.nyps.mpa.gov.in. The main objective of the portal is to increase the outreach of the youth parliament programme of the Ministry to hitherto untouched sections and corners of the country.

The salient features of the portal are:- All recognised educational institutions of the country are eligible to participate in this programme. The registration for participation will be done by the education institutions through the web-portal.

E-training modules, videos, photographs and scripts are available on the portal for online self-learning of the participants.

After successful registration, the educational institutions will be able to conduct youth parliament sittings in their respective institutions. Each student taking part in the sitting will get a Digital ‘Certificate of Participation’ and each Teacher-in-charge and Head of Institution will get a ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ through the web portal.

The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Shri Giriraj Singh today addressed entrepreneurs, milk producer farmers, academia and media on the occasion of National Milk Day-2019 at Pusa in New Delhi. Addressing the august gathering Shri Singh thanked Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for protecting interest of 10 crore farmers by not joining Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). He said that Prime Minister has always given the prime importance to the betterment of “Gaon Gareeb Kisaan” and RCEP was not in favour of farmers (Kisaan). Shri Singh further added that PM Modi had said that he cannot turn away from the needs of India’s farmers.

Shri Giriraj Singh stated that milk production has increased significantly from 137.7 million tonnes in 2013-14 to 187.75 million tonnes in 2018-19, thereby indicating an increase by 36.35%. Similarly, the per capita availability of milk increased from 307 grams in 2013-14 to 394 grams in 2018-19. Annual growth rate of Milk Production during the period 2009-14 was 4.2%, which has increased to 6.4% during 2014-19. The annual growth rate of world milk production has increased by 1.2% during 2014-19. The Union Minister added that India is the ray of hope of the global dairy industry with opportunities galore for the entrepreneurs globally. Since last 20 years, India continues to be the largest producer of milk in the world. This phenomenal increase is due to several measures initiated by the Union Government to increase the productivity of livestock.

Shri Singh also said that Livestock sector contributes significantly towards livelihoods and security net for the landless and marginal farmers. About 70 million rural households are engaged in dairying in India with 80% of total cow population. During the last 15 years, Milk Cooperatives have converted about 20% of milk procured into traditional and value added products that offers about 20% higher revenue. This share of value-added products is estimated to increase to 40% by 2023-24.

Addressing the gathering, Minister of State, Shri Sanjeev Kumar Balyan said that the 6.5% growth rate is still low due to the base effect but this will change as the Ministry is ensuring all policies and schemes are being formulated for improving the quality of livestock and quantity of milk. Shri Balyan thanks PM Modi for setting up a separate Ministry for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying so that emphasis can be laid on their development. He said that resources of the Government are limited and private sector should also support the initiatives of the Government. Shri Balyan also said that there is a perception in the minds of the people about milk adulteration and it needs to be changed.

Minister of State, Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi said that technology should be harnessed properly for improvement of the sector overall. He said that breed improvement can be done with innovative ways. He also said that policies should be made favourably to ensure both quality and quantity of domestic production, consumption and exports can be improved.

The Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying emphasized that Government has initiated a number of dairy development schemes in order to meet enhanced demand of milk through domestic sources by laying special emphasis on raising milk production through improved productivity and health of our dairy animals. In this direction a new scheme has been launched by the Prime Minister called “National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP)” with an allocation of Rs.13343 crores for complete control of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis in the country. Nationwide Artificial Insemination Programme for enhancing AI coverage thereby increasing milk production and productivity was also launched by the Prime Minister along with Start-up challenges. The Department is also working on convergence of schemes with the schemes of other Departments and Ministries so as to double farmers’ income.

The Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) 2006-16 taken up jointly by Government of India and the India automotive industry has been largely successful in its endeavor to lay down the roadmap for development of the industry. India has attracted significant quantum of investments from global and local original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as well as component manufacturers, exceeding the target of Rs. 1,57,500 crore.

The Automotive industry has achieved the target of incremental employment creation of 25 million jobs over the period. For the next decade 2016-26, another Automotive Mission Plan, 2026 has also been finalized jointly by the Government of India and Indian automotive industry.Automobile industry has made significant achievements in developing designing and manufacturing capability in the country. India has now emerged from just an automobile producing hub to designing and development hub as well.

Union HRD Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the kartavya.ugc.ac.in portal on the occasion of ‘Constitution Day’ today, as a part of year long Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan being observed throughout the country. The portal will be used primarily for holding monthly essay competitions for students as well as other activities like quizzes, debates, poster making etc pertaining to Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan. Minister of State for HRD Shri Sanjay Dhotre was also present on the occasion. Secretary, Higher education, MHRD Shri R. Subrahmanyam; Chairperson AICTE Shri Anil Sahasrabudhe , Secretary UGC, Shri Rajnish Jain and Director IISER Kolkata, Shri Sourav Pal and senior officials of the ministry were also present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that today we are laying the foundation of a great mission because the Nagrik Kartavya Paalan Abhiyan will give direction to the youth of the country. This will make them aware that rights are automatically realized when we follow our duties religiously, he added. This principle will help the students to channelize their talents and capabilities in the right direction which will help them realize their mission with ease, the Minister explained.

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal said that today we are observing the Constitution Day and the Indian Constitution is one of its kind in the world. It is an incredible Constitution that offers inspiration and opportunity to us to create a New India, the Minister added. He informed that the Department of Higher Education will be holding eleven rounds of National Essay Competitions during the year and the topics of the essay will be based on one Fundamental Duty every month.

While addressing the gathering Shri Sanjay Dhotre said that all of us are conscious of our rights guaranteed by the Constitution, but duties enshrined in the Constitution do not get the same attention. Therefore, this awareness campaign is for sensitising people regarding their duties towards the society and the nation has been launched on the occasion of Constitution Day.

Shri Dhotre further exhorted the students that while building their careers they should also be able to develop a sincere concern for the society. In this way only, they can contribute towards the collective well-being of the society and the nation. He also added that Fundamental Duties should become an integral part of their moral selves.

During the occasion Shri Pokhriyal also launched the portal 'Abhiyanta' of AICTE. The portal hosts e-contents in important emerging areas like Artificial Intelligence, Cloud computing, Big data, Augmented Reality etc. Prof Anil Sahasarbudhe, Chairman AICTE informed that this portal has been developed free of cost by the students of Graphic Era Deemed University, Dehradun, under an internship project of AICTE in a record time, and will be of immense use in making authentic and quality learning resources in emerging areas available to the student community free of cost. Describing the efforts of the students as an example of 'Kartyavya', the Minister appreciated the initiative of AICTE and outstanding contribution of the students.

Details of the National Essay Competition are as follows: The competition will be held online through the infrastructure and testing centres of National Testing Agency and will be open for every student registered in any higher education institution in the country. Registration for the essay competitions can be done through the Kartavya portal. The choice of centres for writing the essays will be made available to contestants when they do the online registration. The essays can be written in Hindi or English. There will be four prizes worth Rs 15000, Rs 12,000, Rs10,000 and Rs7500.

The current year 2019 marks the 70th year of the adoption of the Indian Constitution. It has been decided by the Government to run a Nagrik Kartavya Palan Abhiyan from 26th November 2019 to 26th November 2020, to create mass awareness about the Fundamental Duties as enshrined in our Constitution. As part of the celebrations of Constitution Day today, students, staff and faculty of universities and colleges across the country got together to watch the live telecast of proceedings from the Parliament. Students of Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas across the country as well as students of Higher Educational Institutions also took part in the reading of the Preamble to the Constitution in their respective institutions. Pledge taking ceremony to mark the occasion, debates, essay competitions, cultural programmes , quiz competitions, seminars and lectures, mock parliaments among others were also organized in schools and colleges in the country.

As part of year long celebrations, each institution of higher education will be holding activities like, workshops, guest lectures by eminent jurists in association with Law Colleges, poster making and slogan writing competitions and street plays. UGC and AICTE are taking the campaign forward, and National Law University, Delhi is the national coordinating university. In addition to this, 25 state coordinating universities have been identified to run the campaign through affiliated colleges in their states. Law colleges in the state will also be involved in the campaign through the state coordinating institutions.

What is Constitution day? Constitution day which is also known as the Samvidhan Divas is celebrated every year on November 26 to mark the day on which the Constitution of India was adopted. While the adoption of the Constitution took place on November 26, 1949, it came into effect on January 26, 1950.

The draft of the constitution was prepared by the drafting committee under BR Ambedkar’s aegis. According to the government notification, the Constitution Day was also a tribute to Ambedkar. Earlier, this day was commemorated as National Law Day, after a resolution by the Supreme Court Bar Association, a lawyers’ body, in 1979.

Powers of Speaker under the Rules for the Conduct of Business: Rule 378 of the Rules for the Conduct of Business states: “The Speaker shall preserve order and shall have all powers necessary for the purpose of enforcing own decisions.”

Rule 373 says: “The Speaker, if is of the opinion that the conduct of any member is grossly disorderly, may direct such member to withdraw immediately from the House, and any member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall remain absent during the remainder of the day’s sitting.”

For recalcitrant members, Rule 374 says: The Speaker may, if deems it necessary, name a member who disregards the authority of the Chair or abuses the rules of the House by persistently and wilfully obstructing the business thereof.

If a member is so named by the Speaker, the Speaker shall, on a motion being made forthwith put the question that the member (naming such member) be suspended from the service of the House for a period not exceeding the remainder of the session: Provided that the House may, at any time, on a motion being made, resolve that such suspension be terminated. A member suspended under this rule shall forthwith withdraw from the precincts of the House.

Rule 374A: Notwithstanding anything contained in rules 373 and 374, in the event of grave disorder occasioned by a member coming into the well of the House or abusing the Rules of the House persistently and wilfully obstructing its business by shouting slogans or otherwise, such member shall, on being named by the Speaker, stand automatically suspended from the service of the House for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the session, whichever is less: Provided that the House may, at any time, on a motion being made, resolve that such suspension be terminated.

On the Speaker announcing the suspension under this rule, the member shall forthwith withdraw from the precincts of the House.

Need of the hour: Political parties should have a code of conduct for their MPs and MLAs to help monitor their behaviour in Parliament and state legislatures. Political parties could include such a code in their election manifestos that would help enable voters to make their judgement before voting.

The code of conduct should include stipulations that members would not enter the well of the house, nor resort to sloganeering and disruptions or any other unruly behaviour such as tearing of papers and throwing them in the House. There is also a need for more coordination between the ruling party and the opposition, both inside and outside Parliament, that could help bring about consensus on important legislations.

The portal was launched along with the signing of agreements between the Union Housing Affairs Ministry and state governments for the construction of LightHouse projects under GHTC-India.

Key features of the Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC) are: GHTC aims to fast-track the construction of affordable housing and meet the target of constructing 1.2 crore houses by 2022. GHTC focuses on identifying and mainstreaming proven demonstrable technologies for lighthouse projects and spotting potential future technologies for incubation and acceleration support through ASHA (Affordable Sustainable Housing Accelerators) — India.

Objectives: To enable adoption of construction techniques for housing that are affordable and takes minimum time as less as three months instead of the conventional three years for construction. Bring a paradigm shift in technology transition using large-scale construction under the PMAY-U as an opportunity to get the best available construction technologies across the globe.

About Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY-U): It is being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA). It seeks to address the housing requirement of urban poor including slum dwellers through following programme components:

In-situ Rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers using land as a resource through private participation. Credit Linked Subsidy (Implemented as a Central Sector Scheme). Affordable Housing in Partnership. Subsidy for Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancement.

Why is it important? Today, while developers in India’s metropolitan cities are sitting on lakhs of unsold residences costing upwards of ₹50 lakh, the country is estimated to have a shortage of nearly 20 million housing units needed by the rural and urban poor, at far lower price points of ₹5-15 lakh.

The PMAY aimsto address this shortfall. With the increase in subsidised loan amount, the scheme is expected to cover a higher proportion of the urban poor. The PMAY will hopefully incentivise India’s construction and realty sector to reduce its traditional obsession with affluent home buyers in the cities.

The US observedthat the CPEC was not an aid to Pakistan but a form of financing that guaranteed profits for Chinese enterprises, with little benefits for Islamabad.

About CPEC: The CPEC is the flagship project of the multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, aimed at enhancing Beijing’s influence around the world through China-funded infrastructure projects.

The 3,000 km-long China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) consists of highways, railways, and pipelines. CPEC eventually aims at linking the city of Gwadar in South Western Pakistan to China’s North Western region Xinjiang through a vast network of highways and railways.

The proposed project will be financed by heavily-subsidised loans, that will be disbursed to the Government of Pakistan by Chinese banking giants such as Exim Bank of China, China Development Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

But, why is India concerned? It passes through PoK. Any Indian participation would inextricably be linked to the country’s legitimate claims on PoK.

CPEC rests on a Chinese plan to secure and shorten its supply lines through Gwadar with an enhanced presence in the Indian Ocean. Hence, it is widely believed that upon CPEC’s fruition, an extensive Chinese presence will undermine India’s influence in the Indian Ocean.

It is also being contended that if CPEC were to successfully transform the Pakistan economy that could be a “red rag” for India which will remain at the receiving end of a wealthier and stronger Pakistan.

Besides, India shares a great deal of trust deficit with China and Pakistan and has a history of conflict with both. As a result, even though suggestions to re-approach the project pragmatically have been made, no advocate has overruled the principle strands of contention that continue to mar India’s equations with China and Pakistan.

CBM potential: India has the fifth-largest coal reserves in the world, and CBM has been looked at as a clean alternative fuel with significant prospects. India’s CBM resources are estimated at around 92 trillion cubic feet (TCF), or 2,600 billion cubic metres (BCM).

The country’s coal and CBM reserves are found in 12 states of India, with the Gondwana sediments of eastern India holding the bulk. The Damodar Koel valley and Son valley are prospective areas for CBM development.

What is coalbed methane (CBM)? It is an unconventional form of natural gas found in coal deposits or coal seams. CMB is formed during the process of coalification, the transformation of plant material into coal.

CBM can be used In Power generation. As Compressed natural gas (CNG) auto fuel. As feedstock for fertilisers. Industrial uses such as in cement production, rolling mills, steel plants, and for methanol production.

Challenges and concerns: Methane is a greenhouse gas emitted through CBM extraction. Global methane emissions from coal mines are projected to account for approximately 8 percent of total global methane emissions. Disturbance of lands drilled and its effect on wildlife habitats results in ecosystem damage.

CBM production behavior is complex and difficult to predict in the early stages of recovery. Another concern is the effect water discharges from CBM development could potentially have on downstream water sources. Disposal of the highly salinized water that must be removed in order to release the methane creates a challenge, as its introduction into freshwater ecosystems could have adverse effects.

The ban has been extended by five more years for its involvement in a series of violent activities including killings and extortion, and for joining hands with anti-India forces.

Who are the NDFB? Alongside political movements, armed groups have also sought to create a separate Bodo state. In October 1986, the prominent group Bodo Security Force (BdSF) was formed by Ranjan Daimary. The BdSF subsequently renamed itself as the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), an organisation that is known to be involved in attacks, killings, and extortions.

Who are Bodos? Bodos are the single largest tribal community in Assam, making up over 5-6 per cent of the state’s population. They have controlled large parts of Assam in the past. The four districts in Assam — Kokrajhar, Baksa, Udalguri and Chirang — that constitute the Bodo Territorial Area District (BTAD), are home to several ethnic groups.

The Bodoland dispute: In 1966-67, the demand for a separate state called Bodoland was raised under the banner of the Plains Tribals Council of Assam (PTCA), a political outfit. In 1987, the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) renewed the demand. “Divide Assam fifty-fifty”, was a call given by the ABSU’s then leader, Upendra Nath Brahma.

The unrest was a fallout of the Assam Movement (1979-85), whose culmination — the Assam Accord — addressed the demands of protection and safeguards for the “Assamese people”, leading the Bodos to launch a movement to protect their own identity.

Why the demand for separate Bodoland? For centuries, they survived sanskritisation without giving up their original ethnic identity. However in the 20th century, they had to tackle a series of issues such as illegal immigration, encroachment of their lands, forced assimilation, loss of language and culture. The 20th century also witnessed the emergence of Bodos as a leading tribe in Assam which pioneered the movements for safeguarding the rights of the tribal communities in the area.

From then on, they have been consistently deprived of the political and socio-economic rights by successive state and central governments. The Bodos have not only become an ethnic minority in their own ancestral land but have also been struggling for their existence and status as an ethnic community.

Context: Information on this was given in Lok Sabha recently.

Key facts: A total 651 Hindu temples in India are designated as Centrally Protected Monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The largest number of Hindu temples under the ASI’s protection is in Karnataka, followed by Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.

Context: Rohtang tunnel will officially be ready for inauguration by September 2020. Key facts about the tunnel:

The 8.8 km long tunnel will cut through Pir Panjal range. When complete, it will become the world’s longest highway tunnel above 10,000 feet. The tunnel provides a temporary winter link to the outside world not only to residents of Lahaul and Spiti but also to those living in Zanskar Valley of Ladakh.

The Seri nullah default zone inside the tunnel which had affected the work badly in the past many years has been fixed and only a 100m work is left to be completed.

Context: Last week, Myanmar’s private airlines Air KBZ kicked off a chartered flight service from Manipur’s state capital Imphal to Myanmar’s second-largest city Mandalay.

Significance: Mandalay is an important economic centre of Myanmar and the flight service is said to be benefiting both traders and tourists.

Context: The multipurpose Assamese gamosa, a ubiquitous, white cotton towel, has been assigned a new function — conservation of rare freshwater turtles- Assam roofed turtle.

Key facts: It is an endangered small freshwater species. Protected under Schedule I of the wildlife protection act.