Category: NATIONAL

By: Dr. Kumar Raka, Editor-ICN In order to effectively address the terrible crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children through less ambiguous and more stringent legal provisions, the Ministry of Women and Child Development championed the introduction of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. Amendment Bill The POCSO Amendment Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Mr. Virendra Kumar on January 8, 2019. The amendment bill was lapsed due to the Lok Sabha elections. The minister…

NEW DELHI: Former Delhi chief minister and Congress leader Sheila Dikshit passed away at a private hospital in Delhi following a cardiac arrest on Saturday.She was 81. Three-time Delhi chief minister from Congress, Dikshit was brought to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Okhla in early hours of the day, in a critical condition with a cardiac arrest,” the hospital said in a statement. Eighty one-year-old Sheila Dikshit underwent a heart surgery in France last year.She had undergone angioplasty in November 2012 and was also treated for infection some time ago. Sheila was president…

A 5.6-magnitude earthquake hit Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and other northeastern states on Friday afternoon.According to reports, the tremors were felt in Guwahati and other parts of Assam and Northeast at about 02:53 pm. The earthquake’s epicenter was located at a depth of 10 km at East Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh according to IMD.Other reports informed that tremors were also felt in several locations in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Bhutan.No loss of life or damage to property has been reported so far due to the quakes, each of which…

By: Prof. Santosh Kumar NEW DELHI: During the last week NIDM along with Society for Disability and Rehabilitation Studies, Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM) and had organized a two day (11-12 July, 2019) national workshop on “Disability and Disaster Risk Reduction” We discussed meaning of inclusiveness and also tried to understand that so far interventions made in the country are based on “inclusiveness” or unintended “exclusiveness”.  Disasters have been creating differential impact on various segments of people. Vulnerabilities of people are not homogeneous. Different people have differential vulnerabilities. People are…

By: Dr Elizabeth Imti & Dr Kumar Raka, Editor-ICN The majority of Indians have never favored a theocratic State, but there have always been in the country undercurrents of thought suggesting a space for religion in State affairs. Until the beginning of the 20th century, India’s war of independence from foreign rule was fought on the plank of equality of all faith and traditions of their followers. The scene changed thereafter and certain sections of the majority community began projecting their religion as an inseparable part of the future political ideology.…

NEW DELHI : Among the groups most vulnerable to disaster are the persons with disabilities. Roughly, more than one billion people (equal to 15% of the global population) are reported to be afflicted with some or other forms of disabilities and a substantial part of the population lives in rural areas of the developing world amidst extreme poverty and developmental exclusion. When it comes to disaster risk reduction, persons with disabilities are often left behind to fend for themselves and their capacities are often underestimated. Persons with disabilities will likely…

By: Dr Elizabeth Imti & Dr Kumar Raka, Editor-ICN Secularism, the core essence of tolerance and co-existence of various religious groups, is a practical necessity of multi-religious nation. The concept of secularism was not expressly incorporated in the constitution of India at early stages; however, it was deeply embedded in its philosophy all the way through fundamental rights and directive principles. The ideals of secularism had always been present in debates and discussions in the world’s largest democracy and constituted one of the core pillars of the Constitution after independence. The…

By: Dr. Mohammad Aleem, Editor-ICN Group The Piplantri villagers plant 111 trees every time when a girl is born and the community ensures these trees survive, attaining fruition as the girls grow up. NEW DELHI: Humans are one of the best creations of God. Men and women make a beautiful canvas on the face of the planet earth. Whenever a new life comes into being, it is always a cause of joy and celebration. But many among them are not so lucky to be hailed as a greatest and most…