Global Conference on Women Empowerment Held in Delhi
- A six-day global conference on women empowerment to foster leadership and entrepreneurship among them held in New Delhi on May 16, 2016.
- The Women Economic Forum hosted by All Ladies League with a theme ‘Women : Uplifting and Uniting the World’. It’s theme is economic empowerment of women.
- The issues covered during the conference like innovation, startups, leadership, entrepreneurship, business and globalisation, diplomacy, sustainable development, peace and spirituality, social empowerment, environment and art etc.
Government Inked MoU with NDTV Ethnic Retail Limited
- A Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) signed between the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, government of India and NDTV Ethnic Retail Limited for popularising India Handloom textiles as a fashionable product for youth on May 13, 2016. The MoU is valid for three years.
- The joint endeavour will endorse and launch a project, Indian roots Fashion Accelerator (IFA), a project by NDTV to support fresh talent and to support new and innovative ventures in fashion industry. Government will support the project with incubation and production support.
- India Handloom Brand will also provide an interface where fashion professionals will be able to accesses facilities such as Weavers Service Centres and handloom clusters. The initiative will connect fashion designers with Handloom sector in an organised manner.
Supreme Court Upholds Validity of Law on Criminal Defamation
- The Supreme Court has upheld the law on criminal defamation on May 13, 2016. The Court observed that the law is constitutionally valid and said the law has a ‘chilling effect’ on free speech.
- It observed, “Sections-499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) make defamation a criminal offence.
- A person’s right to freedom of speech has to be balanced with the other person’s right to reputation and therefore the two Sections are necessary”.
- It also rejected an argument that defamation could become a criminal offence only if it incited to make an offence. It said that defamation had its own independent identity, which has enabled the State to maintain a balance between fundamental rights.
‘No More 50’ Campaign for Stronger Animal Laws Launched
- The Union government on May 12, 2016 launched the ‘No More 50’ campaign in order to press for stronger animal rights law.
- The campaign urges the Ministry of Environment to increase punishment for animal cruelty, in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
- The penalty in the PCA Act for killing, mutilating and maiming an animal has never been revised. Currently, the maximum penalty even for the most heinous form of animal abuse is a petty Rs 50.
Government Set-up Panel to Draft National Policy on Marine Fishery
- The Union government set-up a new panel to prepare a draft national policy on marine fishery on May 10, 2016. A committee was constituted on July 28, 2015, under the chairmanship of S. Ayyapan, former Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
- The new panel set-up because the government could not consider implementation of the recommendations of the Meena Kumari Committee on deep-sea fishing due to opposition of local fishing communities and a majority of stakeholders.
- India’s marine fish production is estimated to be 35.83 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 as against 36.55 lakh tonnes in the previous year. There is potential to harness 44.12 lakh tonnes in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone.
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