CERN

At CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, physicists and engineers are probing the fundamental structure of the universe. 

• They use the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments like LHC (Large Hadron Collider) to study the basic constituents of matter – the fundamental particles.
• The particles are made to collide together at close to the speed of light.
• The process gives the physicists clues about how the particles interact, and provides insights into the fundamental laws of nature.

• The instruments used at CERN are purpose-built particle accelerators and detectors.
  • Accelerators boost beams of particles to high energies before the beams are made to collide with each other or with stationary targets.
  • Detectors observe and record the results of these collisions.

• Founded in 1954, the CERN laboratory is located at the Franco-Swiss border near Geneva. It was one of Europe's first joint ventures and now has 22 member states.

CERN convention:-

The CERN convention was signed in 1953 by the 12 founding states Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia, and entered into force on 29 September 1954. 

• Today CERN has 22 member states. 
• Serbia and Cyprus are associate members in the pre-stage to membership, and 
• Turkey, Pakistan, Ukraine and India are associate members.
• Member states have special duties and privileges. They make a contribution to the capital and operating costs of CERN’s programmes, and are represented in the council, responsible for all important decisions about the organization and its activities.

Some states (or international organizations) for which membership is either not possible or not yet feasible are observers.

• 'Observer' status allows non-member states to attend council meetings and to receive council documents, without taking part in the decision-making procedures of the organization.
• Observer states and organizations currently involved in CERN programmes include the European Commission, Japan, the Russian Federation, UNESCO and the USA.

Use of CERN Laboratory and Co-operation:-

• Over 600 institutes and universities around the world use CERN’s facilities. 
• Funding agencies from both member and non-member states are responsible for the financing, construction and operation of the experiments on which they collaborate.
• CERN spends much of its budget on building machines such as the Large Hadron Collider and it only partially contributes to the cost of the experiments.

UN-Women

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

• It was a historic step taken by the UN Member States in accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The creation of UN Women came about as part of the UN reform agenda, bringing together resources and mandates for greater impact. 

It will merge and build on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system which focus exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment:

• Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
• International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
• Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
• United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)

The main roles of UN Women are:

• To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms
• To help Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it and to forge effective partnerships with civil society.
• To hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress.

UN Women will work for the follwing issues:

• Elimination of discrimination against women and girls
• Empowerment of women
• Achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

UN's Role in Meeting the Needs of the World’s Women:-

• UN has made significant progress in advancing gender equality, through landmark agreements such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
• Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but its achievement has enormous socio-economic ramifications. Empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurring productivity and growth.
• Yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every society. Women lack access to decent work and face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps. They are too often denied access to basic education and health care. Women in all parts of the world suffer violence and discrimination. They are under-represented in political and economic decision-making processes.
• For many years, the UN has faced serious challenges in its efforts to promote gender equality globally, including inadequate funding and no single recognized driver to direct UN activities on gender equality issues.
• UN Women has been created to address such challenges. It will be a dynamic and strong champion for women and girls, providing them with a powerful voice at the global, regional and local levels.

UN-Women and India:-

An MoU has been signed between Ministry of Panchayati Raj and UN Women for cooperation on women issues in local governance i.e Panchayati Raj Institutions.

• The proposed MoU will facilitate the achievement of time-bound results in the implementation of specific activities identified jointly by MoPR and UN Women within the broader framework for cooperation under the United Nations Development Assistance Framework ((UNDAF).
• Activities under this MoU will be implemented at the district and sub-district level in six States i.e. Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Odisha, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. 
• The proposal seeks to provide technical support to the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in strengthening capacities of governance institutions including Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRIs) to better leverage opportunities created for gender equality through legislation, policies and programmes. 
• Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) and UN-Women have worked in collaboration with each other to promote participation of women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), to focus on building capacities of Elected Women Representatives to empower them and enhance their effectiveness.

Beijing Platform for Action

• The Beijing Platform for Action is an agenda for women’s empowerment. 
• The Beijing Platform for Action, was adopted at the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, China, 1995).
• It aims at removing all the obstacles to women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life through ensuring women a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making.
• This means that the principle of shared power and responsibility should be established between women and men at home, in the workplace, and in the wider national and international communities.

Equality between women and men is a matter of human rights and a condition for social justice.

• It is also a necessary and fundamental prerequisite for equality, development and peace.
• To this end, governments, the international community and civil society, including non-governmental organisations and the private sector, were called upon to take strategic action in the twelve critical areas of concern identified in the Platform for Action.
• The platform for action addresses twelve (12) critical areas of concern to women globally. It made a commitment towards these areas.
•  These areas are:-

• Women and poverty 
• Education and training of women 
• Women and health 
• Violence against women 
• Women and armed conflict 
• Women and the economy 
• Women in power and decision-making 
• Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women 
• Human rights of women 
• Women and the media 
• Women and the environment 
• The girl-child

Lok Adalats

National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) along with other Legal Services Institutions conducts Lok Adalats. 

About NALSA:-

• Towards fulfilling the constitutional promise of securing to all the citizens, Justice – social, economic and political, Article 39 A of the Constitution of India provides for free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society, to promote justice on the basis of equal opportunity. 
• Articles 14 and 22(1) of the Constitution also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before law.
• In 1987, the Legal Services Authorities Act was enacted by the Parliament, which came into force on 9th November, 1995 to establish a nationwide uniform network for providing free and competent legal services to the weaker sections of the society.
• The National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has been constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free Legal Services to the weaker sections of the society. 

Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably.

• Lok Adalats have been given statutory status under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
• Under the said Act, the award (decision) made by the Lok Adalats is deemed to be a decree of a civil court and is final and binding on all parties and no appeal against such an award lies before any court of law.
• If the parties are not satisfied with the award of the Lok Adalat though there is no provision for an appeal against such an award, but they are free to initiate litigation by approaching the court of appropriate jurisdiction by filing a case by following the required procedure, in exercise of their right to litigate.
• There is no court fee payable when a matter is filed in a Lok Adalat. 
• If a matter pending in the court of law is referred to the Lok Adalat and is settled subsequently, the court fee originally paid in the court on the complaints/petition is also refunded back to the parties. 
• The persons deciding the cases in the Lok Adalats are called the Members of the Lok Adalats, they have the role of statutory conciliators only and do not have any judicial role; therefore they can only persuade the parties to come to a conclusion for settling the dispute outside the court in the Lok Adalat and shall not pressurize or coerce any of the parties to compromise or settle cases or matters either directly or indirectly. 
• The Lok Adalat shall not decide the matter so referred at its own instance, instead the same would be decided on the basis of the compromise or settlement between the parties. 
• The members shall assist the parties in an independent and impartial manner in their attempt to reach amicable settlement of their dispute.

Nature of Cases to be Referred to Lok Adalat

1. Any case pending before any court.

2. Any dispute which has not been brought before any court and is likely to be filed before the court.

• Provided that any matter relating to an offence not compoundable under the law shall not be settled in Lok Adalat.

Which Lok Adalat to be Approached

As per section 18(1) of the Act, a Lok Adalat shall have jurisdiction to determine and to arrive at a compromise or settlement between the parties to a dispute in respect of -

(1) Any case pending before; or

(2) Any matter which is falling within the jurisdiction of, and is not brought before, any court for which the Lok Adalat is organised.

• Provided that the Lok Adalat shall have no jurisdiction in respect of matters relating to divorce or matters relating to an offence not compoundable under any law.

How to Get the Case Referred to the Lok Adalat for Settlement

(A) Case pending before the court.

(B) Any dispute at pre-litigative stage.

• The State Legal Services Authority or District Legal Services Authority as the case may be on receipt of an application from any one of the parties at a pre-litigation stage may refer such matter to the Lok Adalat for amicable settlement of the dispute for which notice would then be issued to the other party.

Levels and Composition of Lok Adalats:

At the State Authority Level -

The Member Secretary of the State Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court or a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

At High Court Level -

The Secretary of the High Court Legal Services Committee would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judge of the High Court and any one or both of- a member from the legal profession; a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes.

At District Level -

The Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

At Taluk Level -

The Secretary of the Taluk Legal Services Committee organizing the Lok Adalat would constitute benches of the Lok Adalat, each bench comprising of a sitting or retired judicial officer and any one or both of either a member from the legal profession; and/or a social worker engaged in the upliftment of the weaker sections and interested in the implementation of legal services schemes or programmes or a person engaged in para-legal activities of the area, preferably a woman.

National Lok Adalat

National Level Lok Adalats are held for at regular intervals where on a single day Lok Adalats are held throughout the country, in all the courts right from the Supreme Court till the Taluk Levels wherein cases are disposed off in huge numbers. 

• From February 2015, National Lok Adalats are being held on a specific subject matter every month.

Permanent Lok Adalat:-

• The other type of Lok Adalat is the Permanent Lok Adalat, organized under Section 22-B of The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. 
• Permanent Lok Adalats have been set up as permanent bodies with a Chairman and two members for providing compulsory pre-litigative mechanism for conciliation and settlement of cases relating to Public Utility Services like transport, postal, telegraph etc. 
• Here, even if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat gets jurisdiction to decide the dispute, provided, the dispute does not relate to any offence. 
• Further, the Award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding on all the parties. 
• The jurisdiction of the Permanent Lok Adalats is upto Rs. Ten Lakhs. 
• Here if the parties fail to reach to a settlement, the Permanent Lok Adalat has the jurisdiction to decide the case. 
• The award of the Permanent Lok Adalat is final and binding upon the parties. 
• The Lok Adalat may conduct the proceedings in such a manner as it considers appropriate, taking into account the circumstances of the case, wishes of the parties like requests to hear oral statements, speedy settlement of dispute etc.

Mobile Lok Adalats are also organized in various parts of the country which travel from one location to another to resolve disputes in order to facilitate the resolution of disputes through this mechanism.

High nitrogen steel (HNS)

High nitrogen steels (HNS) are a new class of high alloy martensitic, austenitic or duplex grades with up to 0.9 mass% of N in solid solution. 

• They are applied e.g. to stainless tools and bearings, in chemical engineering and for high strength non-magnetic components.

Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad, a premier research laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Limited (JSHL) have signed the Licensing Agreement for Transfer of Technology of High Nitrogen Steel (HNS) for armour applications. 

• HNS technology developed by DMRL and DRDO is a step forward towards Army’s quest for lighter and high performance armouring material compared to the currently used materials.

• HNS is not only tough but also has good strength. 
• In addition to being non magnetic as well as corrosion resistant, the HNS cost is about 40 percent less compared to Rolled Homogenous Armour Steel (RHA). 
• Very few countries in the world have developed this technology of HNS. 
• This material has potential for a number of defence and civil applications like armouring, mine trawls, oil industries etc.