Daily Current Affairs | 30 and 31 March 2020

General Studies-II- Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation

1. Sections 269 and 270 of IPC

News

Punitive provisions such as sections 188, 269 and 270 of the Indian Penal Code are being implemented to enforce lockdown orders in various states during the ongoing lockdown on coronaviruses in India.

What are these sections?

• Persons who have returned to India from abroad are accused of hiding their travel history and spreading the virus in the country in suspicious conditions even after being infected with Coronavirus. They are being booked under sections 269 and 270 of the IPC.
• Both these sections fall under Chapter XIV- “Offenses affecting public health, safety, convenience, decency and morality” of the Indian Penal Code.
• Section 269- This section is imposed under the possibility of acting carelessly to spread infection of life-threatening diseases. Under this, a provision of six months jail or fine or both have been made.
• Section 270- is imposed due to the possibility of spreading a life-threatening disease infection. In this section, the word maliciously refers to the fact that it was done intentionally on behalf of the accused. Under this, there is a provision of two years jail sentence or fine or both.
• Both sections have been used for over a century to defy orders issued concerning the pandemic.

 

General Studies-II- Effect of Policies and Politics of Developed and Developing Countries on India’s interests

2. US Defense Production Act 1950

News

The US Defense Production Act 1950 was recently enacted. The US President has implemented the US Defense Production Act to increase ventilator production. The move has been taken by the US President as part of efforts to combat the coronovirus outbreak.

Prelims Facts

Defense Production Act, 1950:

The Act empowers the President to organize domestic industry so that supplies of goods and services needed for the purposes of national defense can be maintained.

For example, the President may require individuals, including businesses and corporations, to enforce the act so that it can make government contracts and ensure production and supply in the economy.

 

General Studies-II- Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation

3. PM CARES Fund

News

The Indian PM has established the PM’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund.

Highlights

• The fund will be utilized in dealing with the state of emergencies or distress situation like COVID-19 pandemic.
• Prime Minister is the Chairman while Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister are its members.
• It is micro-donations enabled so that people can donate in small amounts also.
• The donations by an individual will be exempted from income tax under section 80(G) while the contributions of companies will be counted as spending under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
• The donations can be made via UPI, RTGS, NEFT, Net Banking and debit and credit cards.

 

General Studies-II- Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation

4. National Teleconsultation Centre

News

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare launched the COVID-19 National Teleconsultation Centre (CoNTec).

Highlights

• It is being implemented by AIIMS, New Delhi. The multiple telephone lines in the centre will be connected with a single IVRS number.
• It is a telemedicine hub where specialists in various domains will be present 24X7 to answer the questions related to novel coronavirus.
• CoNTec is a multi-modal telecommunication hub in which two-way audio-video and text communications can be exchanged from any part of the globe.
• It also integrated with National Medical College Network (NMCN) to facilitate a video conference between the 50 Medical Colleges connected through the NMCN with its National Resource Centre located at SGPGI, Lucknow.
• The centre will enable doctors to discuss the protocol followed by doctors across the world and find the best treatment for COVID-19 patients.