Knowlege Boxes

Right to Education Act (RTE) The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE), which was passed by the Indian parliament on 4 August 2009, describes the modalities of the provision of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act came into force on 1 April 2010. Highlights The Act makes education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 to 14 and specifies minimum norms in government schools. It requires the reservation of 25% of places in private schools for children from poor families, prohibits unrecognized schools from practice, and makes provisions for no donation or capitation fees and no interview of the child or parent for admission. The Act also provides that no child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until the completion of elementary education. There is also a provision for special training of school drop-outs to bring them up to par with students of the same age. The Right to Education of persons with disabilities until 18 years of age has also been made a fundamental right. The Act provides for the establishment of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and State Commissions for supervising proper implementation of the act, looking after complaints and protection of Child Rights. Other provisions regarding improvement of school infrastructure, teacher-student ratio and faculty are made in the Act. A committee set up to study the funds requirement and funding estimated that Rs 1.71 trillion (US$38.2 billion) would be required in the next five years to implement the Act, and the government agreed to sharing the funding for implementing the law in the ratio of 65 to 35 between the Central Government and the states, and a ratio of 90 to 10 for the north-eastern states.

Mandovi river also known as Mahadayi or Mhadei river, is described as the lifeline of the state of Goa, India. The river has a length of 77 kilometers, 29kms in Karnataka and 52 kilometers in Goa. It originates from a cluster of 30 springs at Bhimgad in the Western Ghats in the Belgaum district, Karnataka . The river, has 2032 sq kms catchment area in Karnataka while 1,580 sq kms catchment area in Goa.With its cerulean waters, Dudhsagar Falls, and Varapoha Falls it is also known as the Gomati in a few places. Mandovi and the Zuari River are the two primary rivers in the state of Goa. The sharing of water of this river is a cause of dispute between the governments of Karnataka and Goa. This is aggravated by Karnataka government's proposal to divert some water from the Mahadayi river to the Malaprabha river basin as part of the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project

Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, commonly known as TADA, was an Indian  law active between 1985 and 1995 (modified in 1987) for the prevention of terrorist activities in Punjab. It was renewed in 1989, 1991 and 1993 before being allowed to lapse in 1995 due to increasing unpopularity due to widespread allegations of abuse. It had a conviction rate of less than 1% despite the fact that, under criminal law, a confession before a police officer, even though being given under torture, was admissible as evidence in court. A special court known as TADA court was set up to hear the cases and deliver judgements pertaining to 1993 Bombay bombings The legislation was ultimately succeeded by the controversial Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (2002-04) which was scrapped by the UPA government

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific intergovernmental body tasked with evaluating the risk of climate change caused by human activity. The panel was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), two organizations of the United Nations. The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former Vice President of the United States Al Gore.