. No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	About the Mid Day Meal Scheme	Prelims & Mains
2.	Details of the Sessions of Parliament	Prelims & Mains
3.	About the New START Treaty	Prelims & Mains
4.	Details of the Fake Currency in India	Prelims & Mains

 

1 – About the Mid Day Meal Scheme:GS II

Topic à Government Policies and Interventions

 

·       Context:

 

·       Girls in Class 8 gained up to 71 percent more weight than their counterparts who did not receive eggs as part of their midday meals, according to a study conducted by the Karnataka government and involving more than 4,500 students in two districts.

 

·       What is included in the noon meal plan?

 

·       It serves students in government schools in Classes 1 through 8, making it the largest programme of its sort in the world.

·       The major objective of this initiative is to boost student enrollment.

·       The nodal ministry is the Ministry of Education.

·       Background: In Madras Municipal Corporation, the programme was initially made accessible to impoverished children in 1925.

·       The Union government launched a centrally sponsored programme for children in Classes 1 through 5 on a trial basis in 1995.

·       By October 2007, MDMS was a Class 8 institution.

·       Situation: The programme will change its name to PM Poshan Shakti Nirman or PM Poshan in 2021.

·       11.80 billion children, in classes 1 through 8, are covered by the programme (age group 6 to 14).

·       The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, made it a right granted to all pupils enrolled in basic and upper primary classes rather than just a programme.

·       This was further affirmed by the Supreme Court’s ruling in People’s Union of Civil Liberties v. Union of India and Others (2001).

·       federal structure According to the regulations, the 60:40 split between states and UTs with legislatures and the 90:10 split between the Northeastern states, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand applies to the allocation of Rs. 4.97 per child per day (primary classes) and Rs. 7.45 per child per day (upper primary). In UTs without legislatures, all expenses must be paid for by the Centre.

 

 

·       What’s wrong with eggs, exactly?

 

·       In India, eating habits are a contentious subject because of regional variation, religious conservatism, and caste rigidities.

·       As a result, despite multiple scientific studies, including some commissioned by state governments, showing the benefits of giving children eggs, many states have been unwilling to include eggs in the school lunch menu.

 

·       What Issues and Difficulties Surround This?

 

·       Corrupt Practices: There have been instances where plain chapatis have been given salt, milk has been diluted with water, people have become ill after eating, etc.

·       Due to the importance of food in the caste system, children are frequently made to sit in groups according to their caste rank in classrooms.

·       Child malnutrition levels have risen worse in a lot of states across the country, according to the National Family Health Survey-5.

·       India is home to over half of the severely wasted children under the age of five and about 30% of the world’s stunted youngsters.

·       Report on Global Nutrition 2021: According to the newly released Global Nutrition Report, India has not made any progress in lowering anaemia and childhood wasting (GNR, 2021).

·       More over half of Indian women between the ages of 15 and 49 are anaemic.

·       Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021: Out of 116 countries, India fell from its 2020 ranking of 94th to 101st in the GHI 2021.

 

·       How to Proceed:

 

·       Early Detection & Care: Interventions to raise maternal height and education must be implemented years before these girls and young women become mothers.

·       A whole approach to health Nutritionists have long emphasised that while boosting early children’s nutrition has been a frequent tactic in the battle against stunting, enhancing mother health and welfare is the key to reduce stunting in offspring.

·       According to the MDMS menu enhancement project, expanding and upgrading school meals is vital for intergenerational advantages. Because females in India graduate from high school, marry, and have children quickly, school-based interventions can be quite helpful.

 

Source à The Indian Express

 

 

2 – Details of the Sessions of Parliament:GS II

Topic à Parliament Related Issues

 

·       Context:

 

·       Both houses of Parliament ended their session on Monday, four days earlier than scheduled. Om Birla, the Lok Sabha’s speaker, proclaimed the 16-day session, during which seven bills were passed, adjourned sine die. The Upper House was adjourned sine die by the chairman of the Rajya Sabha, M. Venkaiah Naidu, whose tenure ends on August 10. He also declared that the Rajya Sabha secretariat would disseminate all session information throughout the meeting.

 

·       Sessions of the Parliament:

 

·       Details about summoning Parliament are contained in Article 85 of the Constitution.

·       A session of Parliament may be called by the Government.

·       The decision is made by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs and formalised by the President, on whose behalf MPs (Members of Parliament) are summoned to a meeting.

·       The parliamentary schedule in India is flexible. Parliament meets three times a year by tradition rather than as mandated by the Constitution.

·       The first budget session, which takes place for the longest period of time, starts around the end of January and finishes by the end of April or the first week of May.

·       The second session is the three-week Monsoon Session, which typically begins in July and continues through August.

·       November through December are the months of the third session, also referred to as the Winter Session.

·       A call to the legislature

·       the procedure for calling a meeting with every member of the Parliament. The President will convene each House of Parliament on occasion. The Parliament must meet at least twice a year, with no more than a six-month gap between sessions.

 

·       Adjournment:

 

·       After adjourning, the House will reassemble at the time designated for the next session. A few hours, a few days, or a few weeks can pass during the delay.

·       A meeting can be adjourned sine die, which means that no time or date has been chosen for the next gathering.

·       The Speaker or Chairman of the House, who is in charge of the proceedings, has the power to order a recess and proclaim one sine die.

 

·       Prorogation:

 

·       Prorogation marks the end of the current session rather than the dissolution of the house (in case of Lok Sabha, as Rajya Sabha does not dissolve).

·       It is implemented by the Indian President.

 

·       Quorum:

 

·       The bare minimum number of members required to call a house meeting is referred to as a “quorum.”

·       The Constitution established a quorum of one-tenth of the total number of members for both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

·       As a result, for a Lok Sabha meeting to take place, at least 55 members must be present, whereas for a Rajya Sabha meeting, at least 25 members must be present.

 

·       Joint Session of Parliament (Article 108):

 

·       The Indian Constitution mandates a joint session of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to overcome any deadlock between the two Houses of Parliament.

·       The joint session is called by the President. Such a session is presided over by the Lok Sabha Speaker, or the Deputy Speaker in his or her absence.

·       If none of them are present, the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman takes control.

·       If any of the aforementioned are not present, any other member of the Parliament may preside with the consent of both Houses.

 

Source à The Indian Express

 

3 – About the New START Treaty:GS II

Topic à International Relations

 

·       When it comes to the New START Agreement:

 

·       The official name of the nuclear arms reduction agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation is Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.

 

·       Signed on April 8, 2010, in Prague, and went into force after ratification on February 5, 2011.

·       A replacement was made for the Treaty of Moscow (SORT), which was due to expire in December 2012.

·       Its name is a continuation of the START I deal, which expired in December 2009, the START II treaty, which was under development but was never signed, and the START III accord, whose negotiations were never concluded.

 

 

·       As stated in the agreement:

 

·       The number of launchers for strategic nuclear weapons will be cut in half.

·       A new inspection and verification regime will be put in place of the SORT procedure.

·       Only 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear weapons are allowed.

·       There will be a limit of 800 heavy bombers with nuclear weapons, as well as deployed and undeployed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launchers and submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) launchers.

 

·       Timeline for completing these Objectives:

 

·       Within seven years of the treaty’s start date, these obligations must be met.

·       Ten years will pass before the deal expires, with a potential five-year extension that would require both parties’ consent.

 

Source à The Indian Express

 

4 – Details of the Fake Currency in India:GS III

Topic à Internal Security of India

 

·       Context:

 

·       The value of counterfeit money in the financial system dramatically decreased by more than 80%, from 43.47 crore in 2016–17 to 8.26 crore in 2021–22, according to a Finance Ministry response in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

 

·       Measures used to combat counterfeit money:

 

·       The provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 will be strengthened by classifying the production, smuggling, or circulation of high quality counterfeit Indian currency as a terrorist act and extending the definition of proceeds of terrorism to include any property intended to be used for terrorism.

·       To conduct focused investigations into cases involving terror funding and counterfeit money, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) established a Terror Funding and Phony Money (TFFC) Cell.

·       According to the FICN Coordination Group, one of the ways India sponsors terrorists is through the network of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) (FCORD). In an effort to combat the problem of fake currency notes, the Ministry of Home Affairs established the FICN Coordination Group (FCORD) to facilitate intelligence and information sharing across state and federal security agencies.

·       A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to prevent and combat the distribution of fake currency notes has been signed by India and Bangladesh. The security at international borders has also been boosted by the deployment of more people for round-the-clock surveillance, the employment of new surveillance technologies, the establishment of observation posts along international borders, the construction of border fencing, and intensive patrols.

 

Source à The Indian Express