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Behramji Malabari was an ardent social reformer & activist who stood for the rights of women & opposed Child Marriage. Highlights of Life * He wrote extensively about raising the age of girls for marriage. * He chose journalism as his career and devoted his life to fighting the evils of child marriage and enforced widowhood among the Hindus. * Behramji Malabari penned his thoughts on the issues faced by Hindu women in ‘Notes on Infant Marriage and Enforced Widowhood’. * He travelled to London to set up a series of meetings with leaders to appeal for the “rights of Indian daughters”. * He also met the advocate Kashinath Trimbak Telang to discuss the amendment of the Penal Code which would raise the age of consent. It was agreed that the age of consent was raised from 10 years to 12. * He played a crucial role in the passing of the Age of Consent Act in 1891, which raised the age of consent for girls in both Britain as well as India. * He also played a significant part in the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 in the UK, where the age of consent was raised from 13 to 16. Behramji Malabari was awarded the Kaiser-e-Hind gold medal for contributions towards the society. Join >> @upscscaleup Join >> @NitishPatelOfficial Join >> @materialsforupscbpsc

Behramji Malabari was an ardent social reformer & activist who stood for the rights of women & opposed Child Marriage. Highlights of Life * He wrote extensively about raising the age of girls for marriage. * He chose journalism as his career and devoted his life to fighting the evils of child marriage and enforced widowhood among the Hindus. * Behramji Malabari penned his thoughts on the issues faced by Hindu women in ‘Notes on Infant Marriage and Enforced Widowhood’. * He travelled to London to set up a series of meetings with leaders to appeal for the “rights of Indian daughters”. * He also met the advocate Kashinath Trimbak Telang to discuss the amendment of the Penal Code which would raise the age of consent. It was agreed that the age of consent was raised from 10 years to 12. * He played a crucial role in the passing of the Age of Consent Act in 1891, which raised the age of consent for girls in both Britain as well as India. * He also played a significant part in the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 in the UK, where the age of consent was raised from 13 to 16. Behramji Malabari was awarded the Kaiser-e-Hind gold medal for contributions towards the society. Join >> @upscscaleup Join >> NitishPatelOfficial Join >>materialsforupscbpsc

📰 PM Modi to launch work on Buddhist centre in Lumbini. • Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the construction of the ‘India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage’ on Monday during a daylong visit to Lumbini in Nepal. The visit will coincide with the celebrations to mark the Buddha Jayanti. • Lumbini is the place where Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born around 623 B.C. He later attained enlightenment at Bodhgaya in Bihar district and came to be known as the Buddha. • Both Lumbini and Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. • Mr. Modi will participate in the shilanyas [foundation stone laying] ceremony for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage and offer prayers at the Mayadevi temple that is dedicated to the mother of the Buddha. • India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage will be undertaken by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), which is a ‘grantee body’ under the Ministry of Culture. • The IBC was registered on November 2, 2012 and is aimed at propagating and preserving the teachings and heritage of the Buddha across the world, and especially in India’s immediate neighbourhood. • The official statement from India said the Buddhist centre would be the first ‘net zero emission’ building in Nepal. 📰 Rajiv Kumar takes charge as 25th Chief Election Commissioner. • Rajiv Kumar assumed charge as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on May 15. • Rajiv Kumar succeeds Sushil Chandra who retired on May 14. • The appointment is done by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind in pursuance of clause (2) of article 324 of the Constitution. □ About Election Commission: • Election Commission is a permanent and an independent body established by the Constitution of India directly to ensure free and fair elections in the country. • Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, direction and control of elections to parliament, state legislatures, the office of president of India and the office of Vice-president of India shall be vested in the election commission. • The Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other election Commissioners, if any, as the president may from time to time fix. • Currently, Election Commission is a multi member body consisting a Chief Election Commissioner and two other Election Commissioners. • The appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners shall be made by the president. • They hold office for a term of six years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They can resign at any time or can also be removed before the expiry of their term.

📰 B.V. Doshi conferred with Royal Gold Medal 2022. • Architect Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi, 94, has been conferred with prestigious Royal Gold Medal 2022, which is considered as the world’s highest honours for architecture. • The president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Simon Allford presented the medal to the renowned architect in person at his residence in Ahmedabad. • Given in recognition of a lifetime’s work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by Queen Elizabeth and is given to people who have had a significant influence on the advancement of architecture. • Doshi, 94, is the only one from India and to have been awarded both the Royal Gold Medal and the Pritzker Architecture Prize (often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Architecture). • In India, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award, in 2020, for his contribution to the field of architecture. • Besides, Mr. Doshi was awarded three Honorary Doctorate by prestigious international universities including latest from the Boston Architectural College, USA in 2021. • He is also the recipient of the French ‘Global Award for Lifetime Achievement for Sustainable Architecture’ by the Institut Francais d’architecture, Paris.

📰 IAF test-fires extended-range BrahMos from Sukhoi-30 fighter. • The Air Force said that it “successfully fired the Extended Range Version of BrahMos Air-Launched missile from Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft”, and that the “launch from the aircraft was as planned and the missile achieved a direct hit on the designated target in Bay of Bengal region.” • BrahMos is an indigenously manufactured supersonic cruise missile, jointly developed with Russia. • The range of the initial version was fixed at 290 km and it flies at a speed of 2.8 mach. • The extended-range version of BrahMos was developed after India's full membership of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which removed caps on the range of the cruise missile. • The new version has reached around 350 km. • The BrahMos missile can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft or land and has been inducted into all three services -- Army, Navy and Air Force. 📰 Rajiv Kumar to take over as CEC on May 15. • Rajiv Kumar is appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of India (ECI) with effect from the 15th May, 2022. • The appointment is done by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind in pursuance of clause (2) of article 324 of the Constitution. 📰 Ujjwala scheme: 90 lakh beneficiaries do not get refills. • In the last financial year, 90 lakh beneficiaries of Narendra Modi government’s flagship welfare scheme Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana did not refill their cylinders. And over 1 crore beneficiaries refilled their cylinders only once. • This was revealed in reply to an Right to Information (RTI) application filed by an activist. • The scheme was originally launched on May 1, 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a target of releasing 8 crore connections by March 2020. • So far over 9 crore connections under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has been released. • The PMUY 2.0 was launched in financial year 2021-22 making a provision for release of additional one crore connections. • According to the RTI replies, Indian Oil Corporation, for the connections released by them up till March 2021, 65 lakh customers have not refilled their connections during the last financial year. 📰 Seeking to counter China, Biden hosts ASEAN leaders in Washington. • U.S. President Joe Biden will host leaders and top officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in Washington DC on May 12 and 13. • Military ruled Myanmar, an ASEAN member country, will not be represented at the meet. • The member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are Brunei Darussalam, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

■ Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY): • The Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) was launched on 20th November 2015. It envisaged reforms aimed at improving the finances and operational efficiency of the State power distribution companies (DISCOMs). • The scheme UDAY envisages reform measures in all sectors - Generation, Transmission, Distribution, Coal, and Energy efficiency. • The Scheme aims to reduce the interest burden, reduce the cost of power, reduce power losses in Distribution sector, and improve operational efficiency of DISCOMs. • UDAY was aimed at reducing the cost of power generated by improving the plant load factor of the thermal power stations, thus cutting down on the power purchase from external sources. • The scheme has been formulated and launched for a sustainable financial and operational turnaround of DISCOMs. • The long term vision of this scheme was to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity to the whole of India. • It also aims to find the right balance between revenue and cost for these companies so as to ensure smooth financial and operational activity. □ Objectives of UDAY: • Reduction in the cost of power and associated interest costs. • Equipping the DISCOMs with financial discipline. • Enhancement of the operational efficiencies of the DISCOMs. • Work towards a sustainable business model for DISCOMs. □ UDAY 2.0: ○ UDAY scheme 2.0 aims to ensure the following: • Prompt payment by DISCOMs. • Revival of gas-based plants. • Availability of coal for the short term. • Installation of smart prepaid meters. □ What is DISCOM? • Electricity is a concurrent subject, and the distribution of electricity is handled by the states and state distribution utilities. • The term “DISCOM” is an acronym for Distribution Company. • These companies are basically tasked with the responsibility of electricity distribution to the consumers. • DISCOMs purchase power from power generation companies through agreements known as Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and then supply the same to consumers. • The supply of this power will be transmitted in and around the area of that particular DISCOM’s jurisdiction. • Most of these companies are run by the central and state governments. • However, it was found that the majority of the companies were reeling under sizable losses. • The main underlying cause for these large losses was that the companies failed to collect the full cost of what they actually paid for the power. • The Ministry of Power, in the year 2015, came up with a turnaround strategy to improve the poor financial situation of these companies by launching the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY). □ Reasons for financial losses of DISCOMs: 1) The DISCOMs suffer Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) Losses. • Technical Loss is due to the flow of power in transmission and distribution system. Almost 25% of the power is lost, and never gets billed. The remaining 75% is sold at prices that are much lower than the DISCOMs’ procurement costs. • Commercial Loss is due to the theft of electricity, deficiencies in metering, etc. 2) The gap between the Average per-unit Cost of Supply (ACS) and Average Revenue Realised (ARR). • Average per-unit cost of supply is the cost incurred by the discom in procuring electricity from power generators and further distributing it. • Average revenue realised is the cost received by the discom after selling it to final consumers.