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DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Monthly DNA

19 Aug, 2020

14 Min Read

Clause 6 of Assam Accord

GS-II : Indian Polity

Clause 6 of Assam Accord

Context

  • In February, a government-appointed committee had submitted its recommendations for implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, a key provision that has been contentious for decades. Since then, the government has not made the report public.

What is Clause 6?

  • Part of the Assam Accord that came at the culmination of a movement against immigration from Bangladesh, Clause 6 reads: “Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.”
  • For recognition as citizens, the Accord sets March 24, 1971 as the cutoff.

What has happened since?

  • Headed by retired High Court judge Biplab Kumar Sarma and including members of the legal fraternity, retired civil servants, scholars, journalists and AASU office-bearers, the committee was asked to fast-track its report.
  • It submitted its report in February but the government did not make its contents public. Nilay Dutta and three AASU members independently made the contents public on Tuesday.

What has it recommended?

  • Its brief was to define the “Assamese people” and suggest measures for the safeguard of their rights.
  • The definition of “Assamese people” has been a subject of discussion for decades. The committee has proposed that the following be considered Assamese people for the purpose of Clause 6: All citizens of India who are part of:
    • * Assamese community, residing in the Territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; or
    • * Any indigenous tribal community of Assam residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; or
    • * Any other indigenous community of Assam residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; or
    • * All other citizens of India residing in the territory of Assam on or before January 1, 1951; and
    • * Descendants of the above categories

Why 1951?

  • During the Assam agitation, the demand was for detection and deportation of migrants who had illegally entered Assam after 1951.
  • The Assam Accord, however, set the cutoff at March 24, 1971. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was updated based on this cutoff.
  • Clause 6 is meant to give the Assamese people certain safeguards, which would not be available to migrants between 1951 and 1971.
  • If the recommendation is accepted, those who migrated between 1951 and 1971 would be Indian citizens under the Assam Accord and NRC, but they would not be eligible for safeguards meant for “Assamese people”.

What are these safeguards?

  • Among various recommendations, key are reservation of seats in Parliament, Assembly and local bodies; reservation in jobs; and land rights. The panel recommends the Assamese people be given:
    • * 80 to 100% reservation in the parliamentary seats of Assam, Assembly seats and local body seats be reserved for the “Assamese people”.
    • * 80 to 100% of Group C and D level posts (in Assam) in central government/semi-central government/central PSUs/private sector
    • * 80 to 100% of jobs under Government of Assam and state government undertakings; and 70 to 100% of vacancies arising in private partnerships
    • * Land rights, with restrictions imposed on transferring land by any means to persons other than “Assamese people”.
  • Several other recommendations deal with language, and cultural and social rights. On language, it recommends:
    • * Assamese language shall continue to be official language throughout the state with provisions for use of local languages in Barak Valley, Hill Districts and the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts.
    • * Mandatory provision of an Assamese language paper for recruitment in state government services with alternatives for Barak Valley districts, BTAD and Hills Districts.
    • * To set up Academies for all-round development of each of the indigenous tribal languages including, Bodo, Mishing, Karbi, Dimasa, Koch-Rajbongshi, Rabha, Deuri, Tiwa, Tai and other indigenous languages.

Source: TH

National Cancer Grid

GS-III :

National Cancer Grid

  • National Cancer Grid (NCG) is a network of major cancer centers, research institutes, patient groups and charitable institutions across India with the mandate of establishing uniform standards of patient care for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, providing specialized training and education in oncology and facilitating collaborative basic, translational and clinical research in cancer.
  • It was formed in August 2012.

International Agency for Research on Cancer

  • The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) was created in 1965 by a resolution of the World Health Assembly, as the specialized cancer agency of the World Health Organization.
  • The objective of the IARC is to promote international collaboration in cancer research.
  • It comprises of 27 member countries. India is a member of it.
  • Headquarters: Lyon, France.

Source: TH

Subhiksha Keralam Project

GS-II : Government policies and interventions Government policies and interventions

Subhiksha Keralam Project

  • The Kerala Government's program 'Subhiksha Keralam' Project or Padhathi aims to combat food scarcity in the state, the Kerala state agriculture department has started converting fallow lands into farms.
  • The government is targeting around 25,000 hectares of fallow land to convert to farms.
  • Subhiksha Keralam Padhathi is a convergence scheme where all the departments are merging together. The government is trying to create good models of integrated farming so that expenditure is reduced and income is more.

Source: TH

Development of Synthetic Flavonoids

GS-III : S&T S&T

Development of Synthetic Flavonoids

Recently, scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune have found the first synthetic route for producing flavonoid molecules related to the treatment of tuberculosis and chikungunya.

Key takeaways

  • It is for the first time that the flavonoid molecules such as rugosa flavonoids, podocare flavone and isoflavone have been synthesised in a lab.
  • These three molecules have so far been isolated from plants only.
  • These are part of the polyphenol class of phytonutrients (plant chemicals) found in almost all fruits and vegetables.
  • They are responsible for organic pigments and the vivid colours in fruits and vegetables.
  • These are powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory and immune system benefits.

Source: ANI

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