India joins Djibouti Code of Conduct as observer

India has joined the Djibouti Code of Conduct as an observer which is expected to provide it a strategic heft in the Indian Ocean region.

What is the Djibouti Code of Conduct?

The Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA) is a grouping on maritime issues comprising 18 member states adjoining the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the East coast of Africa.

The Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, also referred to as the Djibouti Code of Conduct, was adopted on January 29, 2009.

The DCOC, that has been instrumental in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden,  has seen its scope significantly broadened to cover other illicit maritime activities, including human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The DCOC was amended in a meeting in Jeddah in 2017. The member states agreed on the following:

* The investigation, arrest and prosecution of persons, who are reasonably suspected of having committed acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships, including those inciting or intentionally facilitating such acts.

* The interdiction and seizure of suspect ships and property on board such ships.

* The rescue of ships, persons and property subject to piracy and armed robbery and the facilitation of proper care, treatment and repatriation of seafarers, fishermen, other shipboard personnel and passengers subject to such acts, particularly those who have been subjected to violence. 

* The conduct of shared operations – both among signatory States and with navies from countries outside the region – such as nominating law enforcement or other authorized officials to embark on patrol ships or aircraft of another signatory.

The ministry of external affairs said India joined the DCOC/JA as an observer following a virtual meeting of the grouping on August 26.

India joins Japan, Norway, the UK and the US as observers of the grouping.

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Arts scholar Kapila Vatsyayan passes away

Scholar, author and connoisseur of the arts Kapila Vatsyayan passed away in New Delhi at the age of 92.

Vatsyayan, who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2011, was the founding director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. A former nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, she was also chairperson of the Asia Project at the India International Centre. 

The renowned scholar of art history, architecture and Indian classical dance was born in New Delhi in 1928 and did her masters in English Literature from Delhi University and in Education from the University of Michigan in the US. She was the younger sister of poet and critic Keshav Malik.

Vatsyayan authored nearly 20 books on different forms of art and their histories in her long career.

Some of her notable works include ‘The Square and the Circle of Indian Arts’, ‘Bharata: The Natyasastra’, ‘Dance in Indian Painting’, ‘Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts’ and ‘Transmissions and Transformations: Learning Through the Arts in Asia’.

Vatsyayan was trained in Kathak under Acchan Maharaj, in Manipuri under Guru Amobi Singh, also in the Kalakshetra school of Bharatanatyam and in Odissi.

She was the secretary in the department of arts under the ministry of education, where she served the role of an advisor, administrator and policy maker in the field of culture, especially its interface with education.

At the time of her passing away, she was chairperson of the Centre’s International Research Division.

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LS passes Bill to bring cooperative banks under RBI’s supervision 

The Lok Sabha passed an amendment to the Banking Regulation Act to bring cooperative banks under the supervision of the RBI.

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 replaces an ordinance that was promulgated on June 26.

The Bill seeks to strengthen cooperative banks by increasing their professionalism, enabling access to capital, improving governance and ensuring sound banking through the RBI.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Lok Sabha this legislation is for depositors’ safety and not for undermining powers of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies.

As per the annual financial data made available before June, there was an increase in gross non-performing assets (NPA) ratio of urban cooperative banks to 10 per cent in 2019-20 as against 7 per cent in 2018-19.

The Bill assumes significance in the wake of a scam in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank affecting lakhs of customers who have been facing difficulty in withdrawing their money due to restrictions imposed by the RBI. The PMC Bank was found to have given over Rs 6,700 crore loan to a single realty company HDIL through allegedly fraudulent means and also hid the exposure from the RBI by creating separate books of accounts.

There are about 1,540 cooperative banks with a depositor base of 8.60 crore having total savings of around Rs 5 lakh crore.

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16-member committee formed to study ancient Indian culture

The government has formed an expert committee for conducting a study on the origin and evolution of Indian culture dating back to around 12,000 years ago, Union minister Prahlad Patel informed Parliament.

The 16-member committee will include K.N. Dikshit, chairman, Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi and former joint director general, Archaeological Survey of India, among others.

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Lok Sabha passes Bill to cut salaries of MPs by 30%

Lok Sabha has passed a Bill to reduce for one year the salaries of MPs by 30 per cent to meet the exigencies arising out of COVID-19 pandemic.

Lok Sabha has 543 members and Rajya Sabha has a strength of 245. A member of Parliament draws a salary of Rs one lakh per month and a constituency allowance of Rs 70,000 per month, besides other allowances.

The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced in the Lower House to replace an ordinance promulgated on April 7.

However, members of several parties demanded the restoration of the suspended MPLAD Scheme Fund. The Cabinet had approved the temporary suspension of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) Fund for 2020-21 and 2021-22 citing the coronavirus crisis. Under the scheme, members of both Houses can recommend development programmes involving spending of Rs 5 crore every year.

Newsmakers

P.R. Krishnakumar, the managing director of Arya Vaidya Pharmacy and chancellor of Coimbatore-based Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women passed away. He was 69. Krishnakumar, born in Shoranur in Kerala, was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009 for his contributions to ayurveda.

Tirupati Lok Sabha MP and YSR Congress leader Balli Durga Prasad Rao, who was battling COVID-19 for over a month, died in Chennai. He was 65. He was a three-time MLA and a former state minister.

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