WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

10 October is World Mental Health Day
The objective of World Mental Health Day is to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.
Theme of World Mental Health Day : ‘mental health is a universal human right’.
World Mental Health Day began in 1992.
It is based on efforts by the World Federation for Mental Health.

NOBEL PRIZE FOR ECONOMIC SCIENCES 2023

The Nobel Prize for economic sciences was awarded to Harvard University professor Claudia Goldin.
It was given for her research that has advanced the understanding of the gender gap in the labour market.
Goldin is just the third woman to win the prize out of 93 economics laureates.
She has studied 200 years of women’s participation in the workplace.
The Study shows that despite continued economic growth, women’s pay did not continuously catch up to men’s pay.
A divide still exists despite women gaining higher levels of education than men.

The State government has constituted a high-level committee to “curb and monitor” unauthorised construction in the city.
The committee has been formed as per the Madras High Court order.
It is headed by Corporation Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan with CMDA Member-Secretary as a member.
The Town Planning officials are exploring various options tocurb unauthorised construction.

‘Amaze 28’ is the first-ever 3D printed building in the state.
The building is a 380 sq. ft., one-room summer house.
It is built at a cost of ₹11 lakh.
It was completed in 28 days.
For its 3D-printing construction, a patented concrete mix as construction material is used.
It is deposited layer by layer using a robotic arm which has a nozzle at its tip.

An advanced smart fencing system of 100 km along the Myanmar border is in the pipeline.
It is said to strengthen the existing surveillance system.
Unfenced border and unregulated migration from Myanmar has been responsible for the ethnic violence in Manipur.
The report stated that in 2022, out of the 201 insurgency-related incidents registered in all the northeast States, 137 incidents were registered in Manipur.
India shares a 1,643 km border with Myanmar.
Out of 1,643 km, India has demarcated 1,472 km of the border.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) was carried out by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
It reported that unemployment rate in urban areas of the country has shown a decrease during the period April-June 2023.
The labour force participation rate (LFPR) for persons aged 15 and above and the worker-population ratio (WPR) have also improved.
The PLFS claimed a decreasing trend in unemployment rate (UR) for persons aged 15 and above.
The LFPR ranged from 46.2% to 47.8% during the pre-pandemic period and in the latest report it was 48.8%.
The WPR was between 41.8% and 44.1% before the pandemic and now it is 45.5%.
The unemployment rate ranged between 7.8% and 9.7% during the pre-pandemic period and at the latest survey it was 6.6%.

Bima Vahak is a dedicated distribution channel to reach out to rural areas with the aim to improve insurance penetration in the hinterland.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) issued guidelines on Bima Vahaks.
It is the women-centric, dedicated distribution channel to enhance insurance inclusion with a focus on rural areas.
It is a part of a multi-pronged strategy to achieve its ‘Insurance for All goal’.
Bima Vahaks are expected to play a key role in taking Bima Vistaar (affordable, accessible and comprehensive cover of insurance).

India has 705 Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.
It makes up 8.6% of the country’s population.
They live in 26 States and six Union Territories.
Article 244 deals with the administration of Scheduled and Tribal Areas.
Article 244(1) provides for the application of Fifth Schedule provisions to Scheduled Areas notified in any State other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. The Sixth Schedule applies to the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram as per Article 244(2).

Scheduled Areas cover 11.3% of India’s land area.
It has been notified in 10 States: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh.
59% of India’s STs remain outside the purview of Article 244.
They are denied rights under the laws applicable to Scheduled Areas, including the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 and the Biological Diversity Act 2002.
In 1995, the Bhuria Committee, constituted to recommend provisions for the extension of panchayat raj to Scheduled Areas.

The President of India notifies Scheduled Areas.
States with Scheduled Areas need to constitute a Tribal Advisory Council with up to 20 ST members.
They will advise the Governor on matters referred to them regarding ST welfare.
The Governor will then submit a report every year to the President regarding the administration of Scheduled Areas.
The national government can give directions to the State regarding the administration of Scheduled Areas.
The Governor can repeal or amend any law enacted by Parliament and the State Legislative Assembly in its application to the Scheduled Area of that State.
The Governor can also make regulations for a Scheduled Area, especially to prohibit or restrict the transfer of tribal land by or among members of the STs, and regulate the allotment of land to STs and money-lending to STs.

Based on the recommendation of the Bhuria Committee in 1995, the Parliament enacted the Panchayat Extension to the Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act, in 1996.
It empowered the gram sabhas to exercise substantial authority through direct democracy.

The Fifth Schedule confers powers exclusively on the President to declare any area to be a Scheduled Area.

Neither the Constitution nor any law provides any criteria to identify Scheduled Areas.
However, based on the 1961 Dhebar Commission Report, the guiding norms for declaring an area as a Scheduled area are

Ancient copper coins from the Chola dynasty and Vijayanagara empire were discovered on the Thenpennai riverbed near Uluthampattu in Cuddalore district.
The coins, found during a field trip by students.
It had inscriptions in Devanagari script.
The riverbed has become a treasure trove of ancient artifacts, including potsherds and a ring well.
The discoveries provide evidence of human habitation from the Sangam era to the Chola period.