What is Special Marriage Act, 1954?

• The Special Marriage Act, 1954 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to provide a special form of marriage for the people of India and all Indian nationals in foreign countries, irrespective of the religion or faith followed by either party.
• People from different castes or religions or states get married under SMA in which marriage is solemnized by way of registration.
• The marriages solemnized under the Special Marriage Act are not governed by personal laws.
• Objective: To address inter-religious marriages and to establish marriage as a secular institution lacking all religious formalities which required registration alone.

Expansion in Kaziranga National Park area

• The Assam government has approved to expand the Kaziranga National Park by 3053 hectares.
• It would help to provide connectivity to Orang and Nameri National Parks across river Brahmaputra.
• It also provides connectivity to the hills of Karbi Anglong to the south of the park.
• This will give adequate space to the increasing animal population.
• Major issues like the inbreeding of tigers could be controlled
• Kaziranga National Park:
• Location: Golaghat and Nagaon, in the Karbi Anglong district of Assam
• It is the single largest undisturbed and representative area in the Brahmaputra Valley floodplain.
• It was declared as a National Park in 1974.
• It was declared as a tiger reserve since 2007.
• It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985.
• It is the home of the world’s most one-horned rhinos.
• Conservation in Kaziranga are focused on the ‘big four’ species— Rhino, Elephant, Royal Bengal tiger and Asiatic water buffalo.

Ease of Doing Business ranking – 2019

• Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, announced the 4th edition of Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states.
• Ranking of States based on the implementation of Business Reform Action Plan started in the year 2015.
• The Business Reform Action Plan 2018-19 includes 180 reform points covering 12 business regulatory areas such as Access to Information, Single Window System, Labour, Environment, etc.
• Andhra Pradesh retained its top position, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.
• Ease of Doing Business ranking – 2019

State of the Young Child in India Report

• The Vice President, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu released ‘The State of Young Child in India’ report.
• Prepared by: Mobile Creches a policy advocacy organisation
• Under this the young child outcomes index and the young child environment index released.
• Young child outcomes index:
• Top five states for the well-being of children: Kerala, Goa, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Mizoram.
• Assam, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have scores below the country’s average.
• Young child environment index:
• Kerala, Goa, Sikkim, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have secured the top five positions.
• The eight states with a below-average score on the YCOI have also performed poorly on this one.

Indian Railways to Decriminalize Begging

• The Ministry of Railways has proposed to decriminalize begging on trains or railway premises.
• It also compounds the offence of smoking by levying spot fine and dropping all charges or action against the person involved.
• The Railway Act, 1989
• Section 144(2) of the Railway Act says that if any person begs in any railway carriage or upon a railway station, he shall be liable for punishment as provided under sub-section (1).
• Proposed Amendment: Now the proposal is to amend the Section by stating that “No person shall be permitted to beg in any railway carriage or upon any part of the Railway”.
• Section 167 of the Act says that no person in any compartment of a train shall, if objected to by any other passenger, smoke therein. Irrespective of any objections raised, the railway administration may prohibit smoking in any train or part of a train.
• Proposed Amendment: If the person liable to pay the fine is willing to pay it immediately, the officer authorised may compound the offence by charging the maximum fine which will be paid to the railway administration. The offender shall be discharged, and no further proceeding shall be taken against

7th September: International Day of Clean Air

• The very first International Day of Clean Air for blue skies will be held on September 7th, 2020.
• The Day aims to: Raise public awareness at all levels—individual, community, corporate and government—that clean air is important for health, productivity, the economy and the environment.
• Union Environment Minister, Shri Prakash Javadekar will be chairing a webinar on the first-ever International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies

Current COVID19 Situation in India

QUIZ TIME

Kaziranga was declared as a National Park in:

1. 1973
2. 1974
3. 1975
4. 1976

Answer – B

Which state topped Ease of Doing Business ranking – 2019?

1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Uttar Pradesh
3. Telangana.
4. Madhya Pradesh

Answer – A

International Day of Clean Air celebrated on:

1. 7 September
2. 8 September
3. 9 September
4. 10 September

Answer – A

Question of the Day

What counts as ‘Act of God’?

Answer in next session…