Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966)

Context

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid tributes to Veer Savarkar on his jayanti on May 28^th.

"On his Jayanti, I bow to the courageous Veer Savarkar. We remember him for his bravery, motivating several others to join the freedom struggle and emphasis on social reform", the Prime Minister said.

About Vinayak Damodar Savarkar

Cause of Death: Fasting (Sallekhana Prayopavesa)

• He was commonly known as Veer Savarkar (“brave” in his native Marathi language)
• An Indian independence activist, politician, lawyer, writer, and the formulator of the Hindutva philosophy
• Championed atheism and rationality and also disapproved orthodox Hindu belief. In fact, he even dismissed cow worship as superstitious.
• Savarkar was a radical and his Hindutva too was a radical break in the Hindu thought: anti-caste, reformist, modernist and futuristic. It was a modern Hindu response to the modern world
• Organised a youth group named ‘Mitra Mela’
• In London, Veer Savarkar inspired his fellow Indian students and formed an organisation ‘Free India Society’ to fight against Britishers for freedom.
• Was against foreign goods and propagated the idea of Swadeshi. In 1905, he burnt all the foreign goods in a bonfire on Dussehra.
• Provided legal defence to Madan Lal Dhingra, who was accused in a murder case of a British Indian army officer named Sir William Hutt Curzon Wyllie.
• Veer Savarkar also founded the two-nation theory in his book ‘Hindutva’ calling Hindus and Muslims two separate nations. In 1937, Hindu Mahasabha passed it as a resolution. In 1937, he also became the president of ‘Hindu Mahasabha’.
• A fierce critic of the Indian National Congress (INC) and Mahatma Gandhi; opposed the ‘Quit India Movement’ and later objected to INC’s acceptance of Indian partition. He proposed the co-existence of two nations in one country.

Hindutva

• The main challenge thrown by the British rule and colonial modernity under the pale of capitalism was for Hindus to justify their existence as a society. Who were they? Could Hindus survive in a modern world dominated by the expansionist organised religions, nations and nation-state?
• Savarkar responded to these challenges. The coming together of various pagan traditions as Hinduism to meet the challenge of the Abrahamic monotheism is a centuries-old process.
• Savarkar consolidated it under a new ideological construct. He wielded it into a coherent political construct, Hindutva that aimed to answer the challenges of the modern world, especially the charge of the colonialists that India is not a nation and hence unworthy of self-rule.
• For India to be able to resist imperialism, a nation had to be born. For Savarkar, that nation was a Hindu Rashtra.
• Only a Hindu nation transcending caste, regional and linguistic barriers was capable of resisting imperialism.

50 years of imprisonment – Kaala Paani

• Savarkar wrote a book titled “The History of the War of Indian Independence”- wrote about the guerilla warfare tricks used in 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.
• While the book was banned by Britishers, Madama Bhikaji Cama published the book in Netherlands, Germany and France, which eventually reached many Indian revolutionaries.
• Savarkar was arrested in 1909 on charges of plotting an armed revolt against the MorleY-Minto reform. He also tried to escape by diving in the water but was arrested. He was sentenced to two life sentences i.e. 50 years in the cellular jail of Andamans, also known as Kala Pani, in 1911.
• Death – 1964: Savarkar declared his wish to attain Samadhi and started hunger-strike on February 1, 1966 and passed away on February 26, 1966. He believed that his purpose of life is solved as India has gained Independence.
• In 2002, Port Blair airport at Andaman and Nicobar’s Island was renamed after Veer Savarkar International Airport.

National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)

Context

Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank  interacted with Heads of more than 45,000 Higher Educational Institutions across the country today through Webinar hosted by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), Bengaluru. The Minister addressed and Interacted with a Galaxy of Academicians comprising participation from Vice Chancellors / Registrars / Professors / IQAC heads / Principals / Faculty from across the Nation.

What is NAAC?

• It is an organisation that assesses and accredits higher education institutions (HEIs) in India.
• It is an autonomous body funded by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• It is an outcome of the recommendations of the National Policy in Education (1986) which laid special emphasis on upholding the quality of higher education in India.
• Headquartered in Bangalore.
• The mandate of the NAAC as reflected in its vision statement is in making quality assurance an integral part of the functioning of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
• The NAAC functions through its General Council (GC) and Executive Committee (EC) comprising of educational administrators, policymakers and senior academicians from the cross-section of Indian higher education system.

NAAC Procedure

The process of accreditation by NAAC was completely done on-site by a group of assessors. After the Revised Accreditation Framework in 2017, the following two-stage process is followed:

Stage 1

Institutions keen to be assessed should submit an Institutional Information for Quality Assessment (IIQA) and Self Study Report (SSR) to NAAC. The data submitted will then be validated.

Stage 2

This assessment will be based on various components, such as the number of faculties, the number of research journals in the library, and the number of international publications produced by the institute.

Various disciplinary measures are put in place for institutes and colleges for submitting incorrect data.

The on-site grading is still a part of the assessment process. It is just 30% of the process and is the last part of the NAAC assessment procedure.

Functions of NAAC

• Periodic assessment and accreditation of institutions of higher education.
• Stimulate the academic environment for the promotion of the quality of teaching-learning and research in higher education institutions.
• Encourage self-evaluation, accountability, autonomy and innovations in higher education.
• Undertake quality-related research studies, consultancy and training programmes.
• Collaborate with other stakeholders of higher education for quality evaluation, promotion and sustenance.
• HEIs with a record of at least two batches of students graduated, or that have been in existence for six years, whichever is earlier, are eligible to apply for the process of Assessment and Accreditation (A&A) of NAAC.
• The NAAC accreditation does not cover distance education units of HEIs and offshore campuses.
• It also does not accredit institutions providing technical education (that is covered by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA), an organization established by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)).

Paramarsh Scheme

• Paramarsh – is a scheme for mentoring the National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) accreditation aspirant institutions to promote quality assurance in Higher Education.
• The scheme will be operationalized through a “Hub & Spoke” model wherein the mentor institution, called the “Hub” is centralized and will have the responsibility of guiding the mentee institution through the “Spoke” i.e. through the services provided to the mentee for self-improvement.
• It would also facilitate the sharing of information, knowledge and opportunities for research collaboration and faculty development in the mentee institutions.
• It would aid in improving the accreditation culture, as the scheme aims at accrediting all the Higher Education Institutions by 2022.

Delimitation Commission

Context

The Delimitation Commission had a meeting on 28th May,2020,to review the progress of direction given by the Commission  in its first meeting held on 29th April,2020.

Earlier there was slight delay in organizing the first meeting due to ongoing lock down because of Covid 19 pandemic. Information on details of State Election Commissioner has been received from the State of Arunachal Pradesh,Assam,Manipur and Union Territory of Jammu&Kashmir.

What is Delimitation?

Delimitation literally means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country to represent changes in population.

Why Delimitation?

• To provide equal representation to equal segments of a population.
• Fair division of geographical areas so that one political party doesn’t have an advantage over others in an election.
• To follow the principle of “One Vote One Value”.

How delimitation is carried out?

• Under Article 82, the Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after every Census.
• Under Article 170, States also get divided into territorial constituencies as per Delimitation Act after every Census.
• Once the Act is in force, the Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission.
• The first delimitation exercise was carried out by the President (with the help of the Election Commission) in 1950-51.
• The Delimitation Commission Act was enacted in 1952.
• Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.
• There was no delimitation after the 1981 and 1991 Censuses.

Delimitation Commission

The Delimitation Commission is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.

Composition:

• Retired Supreme Court judge
• Chief Election Commissioner
• Respective State Election Commissioners

Functions:

• To determine the number and boundaries of constituencies to make population of all constituencies nearly equal.
• To identify seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, wherever their population is relatively large.

In case of difference of opinion among members of the Commission, the opinion of the majority prevails.

The Delimitation Commission in India is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.

Current Position of Delimitation

In the 2009 General elections, 499 out of total 543 Parliamentary constituencies were newly delimited constituencies.

This affected the National Capital Region of Delhi, The Union territory of Puducherry and all other states except J&K, Arunachal Pradesh,Assam,Jharkhand,Manipur and Nagaland.

Problems with Delimitation

• States that take little interest in population control could end up with a greater number of seats in Parliament. The southern states that promoted family planning faced the possibility of having their seats reduced.
• In 2008, Delimitation was done based on the 2001 census, but the total number of seats in the Assemblies and Parliament decided as per the 1971 Census was not changed.
• The constitution has also capped the number of Lok Shaba & Rajya Sabha seats to a maximum of 550 & 250 respectively and increasing populations are being represented by a single representative.

Delimitation provisions of the J&K Constitution:

• Delimitation of Jammu and Kashmir’s Lok Sabha seats is governed by the Indian Constitution, but delimitation of its Assembly seats (until special status was abrogated recently) was governed separately by the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
• As far as delimitation of Lok Sabha seats is concerned, the last Delimitation Commission of 2002 was not entrusted with this task. Hence, J&K parliamentary seats remain as delimited on the basis of the 1971 Census.
• As for Assembly seats, although the delimitation provisions of the J&K Constitution and the J&K Representation of the People Act, 1957, are similar to those of the Indian Constitution and Delimitation Acts, they mandate a separate Delimitation Commission for J&K. In actual practice, the same central Delimitation Commission set up for other states was adopted by J&K in 1963 and 1973.
• While the amendment of 1976 to the Indian Constitution suspended delimitation in the rest of the country till 2001, no corresponding amendment was made to the J&K Constitution.
• Hence, unlike the rest of the country, the Assembly seats of J&K were delimited based on the 1981 Census, which formed the basis of the state elections in 1996.
• There was no census in the state in 1991 and no Delimitation Commission was set up by the state government after the 2001 Census as the J&K Assembly passed a law putting a freeze on fresh delimitation until 2026. This freeze was upheld by the Supreme Court.

UV-C light source for Germicidal Irradiation

• Naval Dockyard (Mumbai) has manufactured a UV sanitisation bay to meet this emerging requirement. The UV bay will be utilised for decontamination of tools, clothes and other miscellaneous items, to control spread of the coronavirus.
• The challenging task required ingenuity to convert a large common room into a UV bay by fabrication of aluminum sheets electrical arrangements for UV-C lighting.
• The facility utilises UV-C light source for Germicidal Irradiation towards sterilising items.
• Studies by reputed research agencies have proven the effect of UV-C on respiratory pathogens like SARS, Influenza etc.
• It has been observed that microbial pathogens become significantly less viable when exposed to UV-C of intensity 1 J/cm2 for 1 min or more, indicating effective sterilisation.
• A similar facility has also been set up at Naval Station (Karanja), where in addition to UV-C steriliser, an industrial oven has also been placed, which heats smaller sized belongings to 60°C, a temperature known to kill most microbes.
• The facility is placed at the entry/ exit points where it will help in mitigating COVID-19 transmission.

Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET)

About CIPET

• Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET) was established in 1968 by the Government of India with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Chennai.
• The main objective of setting up this specialized institute was to develop manpower in different disciplines of Plastics Engineering & Technology as no similar institute was in existence in the country.
• International Labour Organization (ILO) served as the executing agency.
• During the initial project period between 1968 and 1973, the institute achieved the targets envisaged and was rated as one of the most successful UNDP projects implemented worldwide.
• Today CIPET is a premier Academic institution for higher & technical education under the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, Govt. of India fully devoted to all the domains of plastics and polymer science and technology.

CIPET renamed as Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET)

• Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET) has been renamed as Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET), a premier national institution under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Govt. of India.
• The changed name has been registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act 1975 ( Tamil Nadu Act 27 of 1975)
• CIPET will be in a position to fully devote itself for the growth of the entire petrochemical sector with a focus on Academics, Skilling, Technology Support and Research.
• The primary objective of CIPET has been contributing towards the growth of the plastics industry through a combined program of education and research.
• The Institute has evolved through the years, creating closer ties with industries with the intent to create innovative plastic-based solutions which are resource efficient and marketable.