PIB Summary- 13th January, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Swami Vivekananda 

Why in News?

The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Swami Vivekananda on his Jayanti.

About Swami Vivekananda

• The Swami Vivekananda ji’s original name was Narendranath.
• He was born on 12th January, 1863 at Kolkata , the Swamiji’s Jayanti i.e. birth anniversary is celebrated as the “International Youth Day”.
• It aims to inspire the youth generations and to educate them to behave properly in society.
• From an early age, he nurtured an interest in Western philosophy, history, and theology, and went on to meet the religious leader Ramakrishna Paramhansa, who later became his Guru.
• In 1893, he took the name ‘Vivekananda’ after Maharaja Ajit Singh of the Khetri State requested him to do so, changing from ‘Sachidananda’ that he used before.
• After Ramakrishna’s death, Vivekananda toured across India, and set after educating the masses about ways to improve their economic condition as well as imparting spiritual knowledge.
• The Swami Vivekananda Ji use to meditate a lot , according to Swami Ji Vivekananda defined meditation, first as a process of self-appraisal of all thoughts to the mind, he then defined the next step as to “Assert what we really are existence, knowledge and bliss i.e. being, knowing, and loving,” which would result in “Unification of the subject and object.”
• He introduced Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world and is credited with raising interfaith awareness, bringing Hinduism to the world stage during the late 19th century.
• He told that purity, patience and perseverance overcome all obstacles.
• He suggested to take Courage and work on, Patience and Steady work, according to Swami Vivekananda, this is the only way to get success.
• According to Swami Vivekananda “faith in ourselves and faith in God” this is the secret of greatness.
• The Swami Vivekananda Ji is especially remembered around the world for his speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago in 1893.
• He preached ‘neo-Vedanta’, an interpretation of Hinduism through a Western lens, and believed in combining spirituality with material progress.
• The ‘Raja Yoga’, ‘Jnana Yoga’, ‘Karma Yoga’ are some of the books he wrote.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana

Why in News?

19.76 LMT foodgrains distributed to beneficiaries so far in States/UTs under Phase-V of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY).

About Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana:

• It is considered as world’s largest food security scheme, aims at ensuring sufficient food for the poor and needy during the coronavirus crisis.
• It was announced as part of the first relief package during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Part of the scheme, the food needs to be provided to all the beneficiaries under public distribution system (TPDS) for Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and priority household (PHH) ration cardholders.
• As per updates, the eligible beneficiaries will receive 5kg of foodgrains and 1 kg Gram per month.

Eligibility 

• Families belonging to the Below Poverty Line – Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Priority Households (PHH) categories will be eligible for the scheme.
• PHH are to be identified by State Governments/Union Territory Administrations as per criteria evolved by them. AAY families are to be identified by States/UTs as per the criteria prescribed by the Central Government:
• Households headed by widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more with no assured means of subsistence or societal support.
• Widows or terminally ill persons or disabled persons or persons aged 60 years or more or single women or single men with no family or societal support or assured means of subsistence.
• All primitive tribal households.
• Landless agriculture labourers, marginal farmers, rural artisans/craftsmen such as potters, tanners, weavers, blacksmiths, carpenters, slum dwellers, and persons earning their livelihood on daily basis in the informal sector like porters, coolies, rickshaw pullers, hand cart pullers, fruit and flower sellers, snake charmers, rag pickers, cobblers, destitutes  and other similar categories in both rural and urban areas.
• All eligible Below Poverty Line families of HIV positive persons.

Lok Adalat 

Why in News?

Emergence of Lok Adalat as the most efficacious tool of Alternative Dispute Resolution. A total number of 1,27,87,329 cases were disposed off in 2021.

About  Lok Adalats:

• A Lok Adalat is one of the substitute dispute redressal mechanisms.
• National Legal Services Authority alongside other Legal Services Institutions conducts Lok Adalats.
• It is a forum where cases or disputes incomplete in the court of law are compromised cordially.
• Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 Lok Adalats have been given statutory status.
• Under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 the decision made by the Lok Adalats is considered to be a verdict of a civil court and is ultimate and binding on all parties.
• There is no provision for an appeal against the verdict made by Lok Adalat.
• If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal, they are free to initiate litigation.
• There is no court fee payable when a dispute is filed in a Lok Adalat.
• If a dispute pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled later, the court fee originally paid in the court on the petition is also reimbursed back to the parties.
• The individuals determining the cases in the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok Adalats.
• They have the role of statutory intermediaries only.
• They do not have any judicial role.

• The chairman, two members, and one social worker.
• The chairman must be a sitting or retired judicial officer.
• The other two members should be a lawyer.

Significance of Lok Adalats

• As per the National Judicial Data Grid, 16.9% of all cases in district and taluka courts are three to five years old.
• For High Courts, 20.4% of all cases are five to 10 years old, and over 17% are 10-20 years old.
• Furthermore, over 66,000 cases are pending before the Supreme Court, over 57 lakh cases before various HCs, and over 3 crore cases are pending before various district and subordinate courts.
• Moreover, Lok Adalats are economically affordable, as there are no court fees for placing matters before the Lok Adalat; finality of awards, as no further appeal is allowed.
• As a result, litigants are forced to approach Lok Adalats mainly because it is a party-driven process, allowing them to reach an amicable settlement.

National Youth Festival 

Why in News?

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the 25th National Youth Festival in Puducherry, via video conferencing.

About National Youth Festival

• National Youth Festival is celebrated every year from 12th to 16th January.
• 12th January being the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda Ji, is observed as National Youth Day.
• Theme of 2022: It’s all in the mind.
• The objective of the National Youth Festival is to bring youth of the country together to showcase their talents, provide them an arena, by creating a mini-India, where youth interact in formal and informal settings and exchange their social and cultural uniqueness.
• It is also to promote national integration, spirit of communal harmony, brotherhood, courage and adventure.
• The basic aim is to propagate the spirit, essence and concept of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.