National Current Affairs April 2017
Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017 Notified
- The Central government has notified the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017 on March 2. 2017.
- Section-5 of the Act bars any person from knowingly or voluntarily, holding, transferring or receiving any specified bank note after the expiry of grace period Holding not more than ten notes m total, irrespective of the of the denomination is not prohibited. If it is for the purposes of study, research or numismatics, up to twenty-five notes can be held.
- Section-7 states that whoever contravenes the provisions of Section-5 shall be punishable with fine which may extend to Rs 10000 or five times the amount of the face value of the specified bank notes involved in the contravention, whichever is higher.
Government Panel Recommended Legal Framework to Protect Migrants
- A government appointed panel has recommended necessary legal and policy framework to protect migrants interests, on March 1, 2017.
- Government appointed panel has recommended necessary legal and policy framework to protect their interests.
- It also recommended that migrants should be enabled to avail benefits of Public Distribution System (PDS) in the destination state by providing for inter-State operability of PDS.
- States are also to be asked to include migrant children in the annual work plans under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) to uphold their Right to Education.
Union Government Showed Improved Sex Ratio, Decline in Infant Mortality Rate
- A latest survey by the government has shown positive trends in key health indicators, including an improvement in sex ratio at birth and a decline in infaht mortality rate during 2015-16 on February 28, 2017.
- The National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4) foi 2015-16 unvield by the Health Ministry was conducted after collecting of information from 6 lakh households, 7 lakh women and 1.3 lakh men, and for the first time provide district level estimates.
- Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) declined from 57 to 41 per 1000 live births between NFHS-3 (2005-06) and NFHS-4. IMR has declined substantially in almost all the States during the last decade. It dropped by more than 2a percentage points in Tripura, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha.
- IMR substantially declined over the period from 79 per 1000 live births in NFHS-1 (1992-93) to 41 per^lOOO live births in NFHS-4.
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