• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has recently informed the Lok Sabha that the deadline for the government’s Accessible India campaign that aims at making public spaces friendly for persons with disabilities has been extended due to its slow progress.
• Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) has launched Accessible India Campaign (Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan) as a nation-wide Campaign for achieving universal accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). 

It has the following three important components:

1. Part A: Built Environment Accessibility
2. Part B: Transportation System Accessibility
3. Part C: Information and Communication Eco-System Accessibility

• The original deadlines under the Accessible India campaign were July 2016 for conducting an accessibility audit of 25-50 of the most important government buildings in 50 cities and making them completely accessible and March 2018.

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is recently holding consultations with the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh to grant them “special status” on the lines of Article 371 of the Constitutions.
• Special Provisions for Some States
• Articles 371 to 371-J in Part XXI of the constitution contain special provisions for twelve states viz., Maharashtra, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka.
• The intention behind them is to meet the aspirations of the people of backward regions of the states or to protect the cultural and economic interests of the tribal people of the states or to deal with the disturbed law and order condition in some parts of the states or to protect the interests of the local people of the states.
• Originally, the constitution did not make any special provisions for these states.
• They have been incorporated by the various subsequent amendments made in the context of reorganisation of the states or conferment of statehood on the Union Territories.

• The Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative is a voluntary collaboration among governments working to promote the manufacture, purchase, and use of energy-efficient appliances, lighting, and equipment worldwide.
• SEAD is an initiative under the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) and a task of the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC).
• As part of “Energy Conservation Week”, being celebrated from 9th to 14th December 2019, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statuary body under the Ministry of Power, conducted an International Workshop on 12-13th December 2019 on “Energy Efficient Cooling” at Scope Convention Centre, New Delhi.
• The two-day international workshop was organised in association with International Energy Agency (IEA) under SEAD initiative of Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM).

• The seventh economic census was recently launched in the national capital territory of Delhi.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has tied up with Common Service Centres Network (CSCN), a special purpose vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, to carry out the census.
• For the first time, the entire census is being conducted on a digital platform by the use of an application which will ensure high accuracy and data security.
• The national economic census is conducted every five years and is crucial for framing of policies and planning for the government and other organisations.
• The process of the economic census was first held in 1978.
• This is the seventh census which will provide disaggregated information on various operational and structural aspects of all establishments in the country.
• The census will provide valuable insights into geographical spread and clusters of economic activities, ownership pattern and persons engaged of the establishments.

• Around 40,000 trees have been recently cut in the Talabira village of Odisha’s Sambalpur district to make way for a coal mine.
• The project is being steered by the Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) India Ltd in Jharsuguda and Sambalpur districts.
• The village residents had formed an organisation called Talabira Gramya Jungle Committee and had appointed a guard, paying him three kilograms of rice per family for protecting the forest.
• The large-scale felling of trees in Sambalpur and Jharsuguda Forest Divisions has sparked debates among environmentalists.

• Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is one of the largest heritage organizations of the world with over 190 chapters across India.
• It was founded in 1984 in New Delhi with the vision to spearhead heritage awareness and conservation in India.
• It is establish as a Registered Society under the Societies’  Registration Act, 1860.
• Its motto is ‘Dedicated to Conservation.’
• It was awarded a special consultative status for United Nations Economic and Social Council in 2007.
• INTACH to provide consultancy services for Post-Earthquake reconstruction of Cultural Heritage sites in Nepal.
• The government of India has deployed INTACH to provide consultancy services for Post-Earthquake reconstruction of 11 Cultural Heritage sites in Nepal.

• The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019 (Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2019).
• The bill provides for awarding death sentence for offences of rape and gangrape and expediting trials of such cases to within 21 days (from the existing 4 months).
• The AP Disha Act also prescribes life imprisonment for other sexual offences against children and includes Section 354 F and 354 G in IPC.
• At present, no such provision exists in the Indian Penal Code.
• In the AP Disha Act, 2019, in cases of harassment of women through email, social media, digital mode or any other form, the guilty shall be punishable with imprisonment.
• The imprisonment will be for a term which may extend to two years on first conviction and with imprisonment for a term which may extend to four years on second and subsequent conviction.
• A new Section 354E ‘Harassment of Women’ is being added in Indian Penal Code, 1860.

• The Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) became law after receiving the President’s assent.
• At least three states Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal have said they will not implement the new citizenship law, and legal challenges have been made in the Supreme Court.
• Section 6 of the Citizenship Act states a certificate of naturalisation can be granted to a person who is not an illegal immigrant and has resided in India continuously for 12 months before making an application. Additionally, in the 14 years before the 12-month period, the person must have lived in india for at least 11 years (relaxed to 5 years for the categories covered under the new amendment).
• For those who came after December 31, 2014, the regular route of seeking refuge in India will apply.
• If they are regarded as illegal immigrants, they cannot apply for citizenship through naturalisation, irrespective fo religion.

• Virtual Police Station has been inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh.
• This is the first such facility set up at Andhra University.
• The initiative is expected to help bridge the gap between students and the police department.
• This is a friendly policing initiative which brings students closer to the police. Students can send their complaints through an email.
• This has been initiated, as many students, especially girls are falling prey to different forms of crimes, and are not approaching the police due to social stigma.
• The AU facility is seen as a pilot project and will later be replicated at other educational institutions.

• UNESCO, the United Nations agency for education, culture and science has recognised the “Nuad” Thai massage as part of its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on its recent meeting held in Bogota, Columbia.
• The form of massage is one among over 20 elements that have been chosen for inclusion in the list this year.
• The other elements include Irish harping, Portugal’s Carnival of Podence, traditional Turkish archery and Slovakia’s wire craft and art.
• Till date, this list includes 13 intangible cultural heritage items from India, the most recent addition was made in 2017 when Kumbh Mela was added to the list.
• The Nuad massage teachings focus on directing blood circulation around problem areas that help in solving muscle aches.
• As per the UNESCO website, Nuad is regarded as part of the art and science of traditional Thai healthcare.
• It is a non-medicinal, manual therapy that involves bodily manipulations.
• In 2002, on the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Convention, the Committee adopts the Budapest Declaration on World Heritage.
• It invites all stakeholders to support World Heritage conservation through 4 key Strategic Objectives (the '4Cs'): Credibility, Conservation, Capacity building and Communication.