• 16 Dec 2024

Jharkhand to Help Workers Stranded in Cameroon

Why in News? 

After an intervention by Jharkhand Chief Minister, a group of 47 migrant workers from Jharkhand who are trapped in Cameroon have received partial payment of their wages. 

 Key Points 

• Pending Salaries and Legal Non-compliance: 
  • Workers employed by M/s Transrail Lighting Limited in Cameroon alleged non-payment of salaries for three months. 
  • The Chief Minister of Jharkhand directed the Labour Commissioner to register an First Information Report (FIR) against the employers and middlemen. 
  • The FIR noted violations of the Interstate Migrant Workers Act, 1979, including sending workers abroad without registration or requisite licenses. 
  • FIRs were filed in the Hazaribagh, Bokaro, and Giridih districts of Jharkhand. 
• Salary Payment Update: 
  • Transrail Lighting stated the workers were paid US Dollar 100 per month, promising to transfer the balance to their Indian accounts. 
  • The Labour Department has requested the company to provide contracts, salary records, and other relevant documents. 
  • A letter has been sent to the Protector of Emigrants (POE) and other authorities for necessary action. 
• Diplomatic Efforts: 
  • The Indian High Commission and the Union Ministry of External Affairs are actively facilitating discussions between the company and the stranded workers. 
  • Control room teams are maintaining contact with workers and officials to ensure their safety. 
  • Officials warned that failure to pay full salaries could result in the cancellation of agreements with contractors. 
• Previous Cases of Intervention: 
  • In July 2024, the Chief Minister intervened to bring back 27 stranded workers from Cameroon. 
  • Efforts are ongoing to repatriate 50 workers stranded in Malaysia, who have reached Visakhapatnam and are expected to return home soon. 

 Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 

• The Act seeks to regulate the employment of inter-State migrants and their conditions of service. 
• It is applicable to every establishment that employs five or more migrant workmen from other States; or if it had employed five or more such workmen on any day in the preceding 12 months. 
• It is also applicable to contractors who employed a similar number of inter-State workmen. 
• It envisages a system of registration of such establishments. The principal employer is prohibited from employing inter-State workmen without a certificate of registration from the relevant authority. 
• The law also lays down that every contractor who recruits workmen from one State for deployment in another State should obtain a licence to do so. 

New Schemes Launched in MP

Why in News? 

Recently, the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister launched ‘Jan Kalyan Parv’ and ‘Mukhya Mantri Jan Kalyan Abhiyan’ in the state. The two programmes are aimed at highlighting the works undertaken during his tenure and connecting more people to the government’s welfare schemes. 

 Key Points 

• Public Welfare Initiatives: 
  • Jan Kalyan Parv is scheduled from 11th to 26th December 2024, focusing on inaugurating and laying the foundation for development projects. 
  • Mukhya Mantri Jan Kalyan Abhiyan runs from 11th December 2024 to 26th January 2025, aimed at connecting eligible beneficiaries to public welfare schemes through door-to-door surveys. 
  • These initiatives coincide with Gita Jayanti, commemorating the recitation of the Shreemad Bhagwat Gita by Lord Krishna. 
• Focus of the Campaigns: 
  • These campaigns targets the poor, youth, farmers, and women, linking them to: 
    • 34 beneficiary-oriented schemes 
    • 11 target-based schemes 
    • 63 services 
  • The objective is to provide new opportunities and ensure accessibility of welfare schemes. 
• Cultural Recognition and Achievements: 
  • At the Gita Mahotsav, over 7,000 people, including 3,721 Acharyas and Batuks, participated in the mass recitation of Gita verses. 
  • The feat earned recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records, and the Chief Minister congratulated the participants. 

Transgender Welfare Board in Uttarakhand

Why in News? 

Recently, the Uttarakhand Cabinet cleared a proposal for the formation of the State Transgender Persons Welfare Board. 

• The State will bring a policy to provide equal opportunity in employment to transgender persons. 

 Key Points 

• Survey and Issuance of Identity Cards: 
  • A survey will be conducted across Uttarakhand to identify and ascertain the number of transgender persons in the State. 
  • Following the survey, transgender individuals will be issued identity cards to formalize their recognition. 
• Facilitating Welfare Access:  
  • The welfare board will ensure the transgender community’s access to existing social, educational, and health schemes. 
  • It will also develop new schemes that are sensitive and non-discriminatory towards the community. 
  • An effective monitoring system will be established to address grievances, with a fixed time limit for complaint resolution. 
• Formation of Uttarakhand Transgender Persons Welfare Board: 
  • The Social Welfare Department will serve as the administrative department, with the Chief Minister as the head for the Transgender Persons Welfare Board. 
  • Members will include Secretaries of Departments such as Social Welfare, Home, Finance, Personnel, Urban Development, and Panchayati Raj, along with: 
    • Five experts from the transgender community. 
    • A representative from Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) working for transgender rights. 
    • National Context and Legal Mandate. 
• 18^th State to Establish Welfare Board: 
  • Uttarakhand will become the 18th State/Union Territory to establish a welfare board for transgender persons under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, and Rules, 2020. 
    • Other states with Transgender Welfare Boards are Rajasthan, Mizoram, Chandigarh, Andhra Pradesh, Pondicherry, Maharashtra, Kerala, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir and Andaman & Nicobar. 

 Transgender

• According to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 transgender means a person whose gender does not match with the gender assigned to that person at birth. 
• It includes trans-person with intersex variations, gender-queer and people having such socio-cultural identities as kinnar, hijra, aaravani and jogta. 
• India’s 2011 Census was the first census in its history to incorporate the number of ‘trans’ population of the country. The report estimated that 4.8 million Indians identified as transgender. 

UNHCR team Meets Rohingya refugees in Jammu

Why in News? 

Recently, a two-membered team of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) visited Rohingya refugees staying in Jammu and surrounding areas. 

 Key Points 

• The visit followed controversy over the administration’s order to disconnect water and power supplies to slums housing illegal Rohingyas. 
• Jammu’s Jal Shakti Minister clarified that water and power supply to these areas would not be cut. 
• Government and Public Response: 
  • Local organisations and political groups have been calling for the deportation of Rohingya refugees. 
  • The Chief Minister stated that while the Centre must decide the fate of the Rohingyas, they cannot be left to suffer from starvation or cold. 
• NGO and Aadhaar Linkages: 
  • Investigations revealed that four Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) were helping Rohingyas settle in Jammu. 
  • Reports indicate that 158 Rohingyas obtained Aadhaar cards unlawfully, and several Rohingya women have married local youths in Jammu and Kashmir. 
  • According to government data, over 13,700 foreigners, including Rohingyas and Bangladeshi nationals, reside in Jammu and other districts of J&K. 
• Legal and Political Actions: 
  • First Information Reports (FIR) were recently registered against landlords renting properties to Rohingyas without informing the police, violating district magistrate orders. 
• National Security Concerns: 
  • Political organisations have urged the Central Government to deport Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugees, citing potential national security risks. 

 Rohingya Crisis 

• The Rohingya people have suffered decades of violence, discrimination and persecution in Myanmar. 
  • Rohingya are not recognized as an official ethnic group and have been denied citizenship since 1982. They are one of the largest stateless populations in the world. 
• Since the early 1990s, the Rohingya have fled successive waves of violence in Myanmar. 
  • Their largest and fastest exodus began in August 2017 when violence broke out in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, driving more than 742,000 people to seek refuge in neighbouring countries, the majority of whom were women and children. 

J&K to Host Khelo India Winter Games 2025

Why in News? 

Jammu & Kashmir is set to host the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) 2025 from 23rd to 27^th January 2025. Ladakh will host ice sports, including ice hockey and ice skating events. 

 Key Points 

• Khelo India Winter Games: 
  • For the second consecutive year, the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh jointly hosted the Khelo India Winter Games. 
    • J&K previously hosted all events but Ladakh successfully organized ice events, such as skating and hockey. 
• Origins and Growth of Participation: 
  • The Khelo India Winter Games began in 2020, attracting nearly 1,000 athletes, including 306 women, in its inaugural year. 
  • Participation steadily increased, with over 1,350 athletes in 2021 and more than 1,500 in 2022, reflecting the games' growing popularity in the region. 
• KIWG 2024:  
  • The 2024 Winter Games featured over 1,200 participants, including: 
    • More than 700 athletes. 
    • A total of 136 medals were contested during the event. 
• Increased Professional Management: 
  • For the first time, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, in collaboration with the Sports Authority of India (SAI), National Sports Federations, and the Indian Olympic Association, managed the technical conduct of the games. 

 Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) 

• The KIWG is a multidisciplinary, national-level winter sports competition that promotes winter sports and encourages more athletes to take up skiing and skating.  
• It includes events such as skiing, alpine skiing, nordic skiing, snow rugby, ice stock sport, snow baseball, mountaineering, snowshoe running, ice hockey, figure skating, and speed skating.  
• It is organized by the Sports Authority of India and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.  
• The 2025 KIWG will be held in the Union Territory of Ladakh from 23 to 27 January for ice events, and in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir from 22 to 25  February for snow events. 

Super Speciality Eye Hospital in Patna

Why in News? 

Recently, the Bihar government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sankara Eye Foundation India, Coimbatore to facilitate the construction and operation of a super-specialty eye hospital in Patna. 

 Key Points 

• Land Allocation Approval: 
  • The Bihar Cabinet approved the allocation of 1.60 acres of land in Kankarbagh, Patna on a conditional lease at a nominal cost of Rs 1 to Sankara Eye Foundation India. 
  • This land will be utilized for the construction of the super-specialty eye hospital. 
• Hospital Details and Benefits: 
  • Sankara Eye Foundation India, an internationally acclaimed eye treatment hospital, will construct and operate the hospital at its own expense. 
  • Advanced treatments such as corneaplasty, retinal detachment surgeries, and eye cancer treatments will be offered along with general eye care. 
• Free Treatment Provision: 
  • 75% of the patients will receive free treatment, while the remaining 25% will pay for services. 
  • Families earning less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually will qualify for free treatment. 
• Contrasting Health Infrastructure Report: 
  • CAG Audit Findings on Bihar Health Infrastructure: 
    • The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on Public Health Infrastructure (2016–2022) presented during the winter session criticized the state’s performance. 
    • Out of the Rs 69,790.83 crore health budget allocated from FY 2016-17 to 2021-22, only Rs 48,047.79 crore (69%) was spent, leaving Rs 21,743.04 crore (31%) unutilized. 
  • Low Health Expenditure: 
    • Bihar’s healthcare spending as a percentage of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) ranged between 1.33% and 1.73%, and against the State Budget, it ranged between 3.31% and 4.41%. 
  • Resource Shortages: 
    • The report highlighted shortages in drugs, medical equipment, and consumables, pointing to critical gaps in public health infrastructure.