PUNJAB

Shortage of raw material continues for Punjab industry

Punjab industry continues to suffer raw material pangs due to non-movement of goods trains amid farmers’ agitation. According to private logistics operators, around 15 rakes (trains) are stuck at different locations. The crisis is not only affecting import evacuation but also exports, as the industry is unable to produce in the absence of raw material, thus affecting exports.

Majorly, the industry is reeling under shortage of steel. It has hit manufacturers of auto parts, hand tools, machine tools, bicycles, fasteners, agricultural implements and scaffolding industry.

A rake has a capacity to carry 3,000 tonnes of steel (on an average) and consists of around 50 wagons, with each wagon carrying 60 tonnes.

INTERNATIONAL

Pakistan re-elected to UN Human Rights Council

Pakistan has been re-elected to the UNHRC despite opposition from activist groups over its terrible human rights records. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose aim is to promote and protect human rights all over the world.

Pakistan is serving on the UNHRC since January 1, 2018. With this re-election, Pakistan will continue as a member for another three-year term commencing on January 1, 2021.

This is the 5th time that Pakistan has been elected to the UNHRC

Pakistan is firmly committed to promoting and safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms for all and also effective in sustaining it.

Russia and Cuba, running unopposed, also won the seats.

FATFs Asia Pacific Group marks Pakistan on Enhanced Follow-up List

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Asia Pacific group has kept Pakistan in its ‘Enhanced Follow Up’ list. The organisation had downgraded Pakistan status from “regular follow-up”.

The Asia-pacific group of FATF submitted the report called “Follow up report on the mutual evaluation of Pakistan”.

The report states that the progress of Pakistan to combat the Financing of terror system and anti-money laundering made by the FATF has remained the same in 2020 as compared to that of 2019.

Enhanced follow up status means the country needs to provide reports on monthly basis compliance to the Financial Action Task Force.

Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) report also showed the gaps in the process of developing and identifying vulnerabilities, threats and risks.

After the publication of a National Risk Assessment (NRA) 2017, on Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing by Pakistan, The MER report came.

NATIONAL

Intellectual Property India annual report released by Government of India

Government of India (GoI) released Intellectual Property India annual report. Intellectual Property India annual report released by GoI focuses on the patent for the inventions that are invented in India.

With the report released, the rankings for the year 2018 – 19 was also finalized by Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks, Government of India.

By the report released, it is known that 27 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT’s) have filed 557 patents totally.

At 66%, Andhra’s literacy rate worst, Delhi’s 2nd best at 89%

Andhra Pradesh’s rate of 66.4% is the worst among all states in India and significantly lower than Bihar’s 70.9%. Similarly, Telangana’s 72.8% is well below the national average of 77.7% while Assam is well above it at 85.9% and Karnataka’s 77.2% pales in comparison to Uttarakhand’s 87.6%, which is bettered only by Kerala and Delhi among the major states and UTs.

The data is for 2017-18 and is for all aged 7 or more. Not all preconceptions are wrong though. Kerala remains by some distance, the best among the major states with a literacy rate of 96.2%. More impressively, the gap between male and female literacy is the smallest in Kerala at just 2.2 percentage points. To put that in context, the gap at the all-India level is 14.4 percentage points with male literacy at 84.7% and female literacy at 70.3%.

(91.7% versus 53.7%). Male urban literacy is under 90% in only four major states and below 85% in none of them.

In contrast, rural female literacy is above 80% only in Kerala and below 70% in 13 of the 22 major states. In four of these, it is below 60%.

Conviction rate for crimes under IPC improved marginally in 2019

The all-India chargesheeting rate for crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that were investigated in 2019 was 67.2%, a slight dip from 68.1% in 2018, while the conviction rate improved marginally to 50.4% from 50% in 2018.

In Uttar Pradesh, which is in the news due to Hathras atrocity, the conviction rate for IPC crimes was 59.2% in 2019, while the conviction rate for crimes against women was 55.2%, best among the bigger states and also higher than the all-India average of 23.7%.

As per the ‘Crime in India’ data for 2019 released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Tuesday, disposal of crimes registered under the special and local laws (SLL) – such as Dowry Prohibition Act, Excise Act, Arms Act and POCSO Act – in 2019 was better than in IPC crimes with 93.3% all-India chargesheeting rate, up from 92.2% in 2018, and 80.3% conviction rate, down from 81.8% in 2018.

Among the states, the conviction rate for all IPC crimes was highest in Kerala (85.1%), followed by Tamil Nadu (63.2%). The states with a low conviction rate in 2019 were Bihar (6.1%) and West Bengal (13.4%), though the figure for West Bengal pertains to 2018 as the 2019 data was not submitted to NCRB by the state.

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