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#25, Sri Nagar, Hope College, Peelamedu (PO), Coimbatore – 641004.Ph: +91422-4521607, Cell: +91-9787731607, 9787701067/9787701068. Web:www.benevolentacademy.com.E-Mail:admin@benevolentacademy.com

Dated 12.12.2019

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IN NEWS Shore temple

EXAM POINT OF VIEW: GS Prelims and GS-I : Culture & Geography

The shoreline on the northern side of the Shore Temple in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu is facing severe sea erosion. The Public Works Department is awaiting funds to construct groynes for coastal protection at a cost of ₹95.95 crore. According to PWD, every year, nearly 4-5 m of the shoreline near the temple is declining.

Groynes A groyne is a shore protection structure built perpendicular to the shoreline of the coast (or

river), over the beach to reduce longshore drift and trap sediments. A groyne functions as a physical barrier by intercepting sand moving along the shore.

Rock is often used as construction material, but wooden groynes, steel groynes, rubble-mound and sand-filled bag groynes, or groynes made of concrete elements can also be found. Rock groynes are generally preferred as they are more durable and absorb more wave energy due to their permeable nature.

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE (DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS)

Seashore as canvas Along the shores of one of the largest bays in the world, the Bay of Bengal, stands a temple complex

that draws inspiration from the sea and its naturally occurring rock formations. The majestic Shore

Temple (known locally as Alaivay-k-kovil) sits beside the sea in the small town of Mamallapuram in the

state of Tamil Nadu in India. This complex of three separate shrines was constructed under the

patronage of the Pallava king Nrasimhavarman II Rajasimha, who ascended the throne in 700 C.E. and

ruled for about twenty years.

The Pallavas and the city of Mamallapuram

Mamallapuram, also known as Mahabalipuram, was an important port town during India’s early history

and developed as a key center for artistic activity under the patronage of the Pallava rulers.

Nrasimhavarman I, who took the epithet Mamalla (meaning “great warrior”), ruled for about 38 years

beginning in 630 C.E. and sponsored a large number of rock-cut monuments at Mamallapuram,

including cave shrines, monolithic temples, and large sculptures carved out of boulders. While the

Pallava kings primarily worshipped the god Shiva, they also supported the creation of temples dedicated

to other Hindu gods and goddesses and to other religious traditions such as Jainism. The Pallava rulers

were particularly inspired by the growing personal devotional movement known as bhakti, in which

worshippers approach the divine as a cherished child or loved one.

A temple in Dravidian style

Plan of the Shore Temple

Plan of the Shore Temple

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Indian temple architecture can be broadly divided into two schools: the Nagara, or the North Indian

tradition, and the Dravidian, or South Indian style of architecture. Both Nagara and Dravidian temples

consist of a main shrine (vimana) which houses the inner sanctum known as grabha griha (literally

“womb chamber”), topped by a pyramidal tower known as a shikhara.

At the Shore Temple, the entire superstructure has an octagonal neck (griva) topped by a round stupi or finial. Dravidian temples are typically enclosed within an outer wall (prakara, shown below) with a large gateway tower known as a gopura.

Additional resources:

Michael W. Meister, ed., Encyclopeadia of Indian Temple Architecture: South India Lower Drāviḍadēśa 200

B.C.-A.D.1324, vol. I, part I (New Delhi: American Institute of Indian Studies, 1983)

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE (DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS)

Rape and sexual crimes law in India

There has been an outcry for justice for the victims after the rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad and the burning of a rape survivor in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh.

History of Rape law: First introduced in the Indian Penal Code in 1860. The first Law Commission under the chairmanship of Lord Macaulay decided to put the criminal law

of the land in two separate codes. (Indian Penal Code & Code of Criminal Procedure ) Indian Penal Code IPC : Section 375 of the IPC made punishable the act of sex by a man with a woman if it was done against

her will or without her consent. Her consent has been obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is interested, in fear of

death or of hurt is considered to be Rape Sex with or without her consent, when she is under 18 years is considered rape. Exception : sexual intercourse or sexual acts by a man with his wife, the wife not being under 15

years of age, is not rape. Section 376 provided for seven years of jail term to life imprisonment

Mathura custodial rape case 1972 In 1972 a young Adivasi girl named Mathura was allegedly raped by policemen in the Desai Gunj Police

Station in Maharashtra. In the trial that ensued, the sessions court came to the conclusion that she had sexual intercourse

while at the police station but rape had not been proved and that she was habituated to intercourse. The sessions court acquitted both the policemen, the High Court reversed the order of acquittal. When the case reached the Supreme Court, it overturned the High Court verdict saying that “the

intercourse in question is not proved to amount rape”. SC 1978 verdict, said no marks of injury were found on the girl after the incident and “their absence

goes a long way to indicate that the alleged intercourse was a peaceful affair”.

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Controversy and Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act 1983 Controversial SC 1978 verdict sparked widescale protests across the country seeking a change in

existing rape laws. This led to Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act of 1983. Section 114A in the Indian Evidence Act of 1872 was inserted which presumed that there is absence of

consent in certain prosecutions of rape if the victim says so. This applied to custodial rape cases. Section 228A was added which makes it punishable to disclose the identity of the victim in Rape case

Law Commission: Law Commission in its 172th report recommended widening the scope of rape law to make it gender

neutral. While the rape law in India even today remains gender specific, as the perpetrator of the offence can

only be a ‘man’, the 172nd report led to the amendments in the Indian Evidence Act in 2002. Nirbhaya case in Delhi 2012 &Criminal Law (Amendment) Act in 2013 Parliament made the amendments on the recommendation of the Justice J.S. Verma

Committee, which was constituted to re-look the criminal laws in the country and recommend changes.

The 2013 Act, increased jail terms in most sexual assault cases and also provided for the death penalty in rape cases that cause death of the victim or leaves her in a vegetative state.

It also created new offences, such as use of criminal force on a woman with intent to disrobe, voyeurism and stalking.

Unwelcome physical contact, words or gestures, demand or request for sexual favours, showing pornography against the will of a woman or making sexual remarks stalking was made punishable acid attack was increased to 10 years of imprisonment.

Offences against minors (Kathua Rape case in Jammu and Kashmir) Led to the passing of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 which for the first time put death

penalty as a possible punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years; The minimum punishment is 20 years in jail. The minimum jail term for rape, which has remained unchanged since the introduction of the IPC in

1860, was increased from seven to 10 years. National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2017 report: A total of 3,59,849 cases were reported against women in 2017.( 2016, 3.38 lakh , 3.2 lakh cases 2015)

The number of cases reported has increased. U Uttar Pradesh has again topped the list with 56,011 cases of crime against women, followed by

Maharashtra with 31,979 cases and West Bengal at 30,002. Crimes against women constitute murder, rape, dowry death, suicide abetment, acid attack, cruelty

against women and kidnapping. ‘Cruelty by husband or his relatives’ accounts for 27.9 per cent of the crimes against women. ‘Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty’ comprise 21.7 per cent, followed by

‘kidnapping and abduction of women’ with 20.5 per cent and ‘rape’ with 7.0 per cent of reported cases.

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International Day of Neutrality is observed on 12 December. The day aimed to promote the use of preventive diplomacy, which is the core objective of the UN. The UN conducts aimed to enhance public awareness of the value of neutrality in international relations. Neutral country: Any sovereign state that restrains from all participation in a war between other states and maintains an attitude of impartiality toward the belligerents is referred as a neutral country. In their turn, the belligerents should recognize this abstention and impartiality.

ISRO launched the RISAT-2BR1 satellite India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) launched RISAT-2BR1, the fiftieth

flight (PSLV-C48), along with nine commercial satellites from Satish Dhawan

Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota

RISAT-2BR1:

♦ RISAT-2BR1 is a radar imaging satellite.

♦ It is dubbed as a spy satellite.

♦ The satellites will help monitor the border 24/7 along with checking infiltration

♦ It will keep an eye on terror or anti-national activities across the borders

♦ The satellite aims to provide services in the field of Forestry, Agriculture, and Disaster Management.

♦ ISRO also plans to launch radar imaging satellite 2BR2 with synthetic aperture radar after the launch.

World’s first fully electrical commercial airport was successfully tested in Canada

The Australian company, Harbour Air and magniX flight-tested an all-electric powered seaplane. It has taken flight in Vancouver, Canada. The company aims to electrify its entire fleet by 2022. Test: ♦ It was described as the world's first for the aviation industry. ♦ The test involved a six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver with a 750-horsepower (560 kW) magni500 propulsion system. ♦ The invention is aimed to boost the electric which will help to reduce the carbon emissions in the high-polluting aviation sector.

BENEVOLENT IAS ACADEMY, COIMBATORE (DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS)

CPWD organised a national level business meet in new Delhi

It aimed to share and familiarize the important activities and achievements of the Department. The meeting was a part of Confidence Building Measure Highlights:

♦ The national-level meeting was held to get the views from the Clients and stakeholders about the Services provided by CPWD. ♦ The meeting showcased a rejuvenated CPWD through a process of all-inclusiveness and wider consultations. ♦ CPWD caters to the infrastructure requirement of most of the Government Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and Autonomous Bodies.

The Lok Sabha passed International Financial Services Centres Authority Bill, 2019 The bill aims to set up a unified authority to regulate all financial activities in international financial services centres (IFSCs) in India. The bill was withdrawn in Rajya Sabha. Provisions of the Bill: ♦ The bill will amend 14 Acts, including the SEBI Act, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Act. ♦ The bill will bring several regulators together as one unit (an authority) to deal with various institutions that are present in the IFSC ♦ The unified authority will regulate various financial activities in the IFSC

♦ The first IFSC was set up at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.