NATIONAL – DIARY OF EVENTS

D.Y. Chandrachud takes charge as the 50th Chief Justice of India

• Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud was sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President Droupadi Murmu at a brief ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Justice Chandrachud as CJI will have a term of two years and will head India’s judiciary until November 10, 2024, a day before he completes 65 years.
• His father, Y.V. Chandrachud, holds the distinction of being the longest serving Chief Justice, who headed the judiciary from February 22, 1978 to July 11, 1985.
• He has been part of several Constitution Benches and landmark verdicts of the top court, including 

• Ayodhya land dispute.
• Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs Union of India case, in which it was unanimously held that the right to privacy was a Fundamental Right. 
• Headed the bench that expanded the scope of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act to include unmarried women for abortion between 20 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
• Judgments on decriminalising same-sex relations, after it partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.
• Part of the benches that ruled on the validity of the Aadhaar scheme and the Sabarimala issue, and paved the way for permanent commission for wo­ men officers in the armed forces.

Note 

• Article 124 of the Constitution of India provides for the manner of appointing judges to the Supreme Court.
• Constitutional Provisions pertaining to Supreme Court – Article 124 to 147.

15th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference & Expo 2022 held at Kochi, Kerala

• The 15th edition of Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference & Expo 2022 held at Hotel Grand Hyatt, Kochi, Kerala which was jointly inaugurated by the Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan.
• It was held on the theme: Sustainable AtmaNirbhar Urban Mobility’ which emphasizes on designing and implementing efficient, high quality and sustainable transport system in the cities.
• It was organized by the MoHUA in collaboration with the Government of Kerala.

About UMI:

• It was initiated in 2008 as a flagship event held under the aegis of the MoHUA to emphasize on building capabilities at the State and city level to address the problems associated with urban transport for the development of sustainable urban transport systems.

Centre launches programme to strengthen Kashi-T.N. bond

• The Union government announced a month­long programme from November 16 to December 16 ‘Kashi ­Tamil Sangamam’ to strengthen and rekindle the cultural and civilisational bond between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi.
• The Programme is introduced as a part of ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’.
• The knowledge partners for the programme would be IIT ­Madras and the Banaras Hindu University.
• Uttar Pradesh government would be the host State.

About Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat

• The programme was launched on 31st October, 2015 on the occasion of the 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• It aims to enhance interaction & promote mutual understanding between people of different states/UTs through the concept of state/UT pairing. 
• The states carry out activities to promote a sustained and structured cultural connect in the areas of language learning, culture, traditions & music, tourism & cuisine, sports and sharing of best practices, etc.