Anand Marriage Act

• Recently, the National Commission for Minorities initiated discussions with 18 States/UTs on implementing and registering Sikh marriages under the Anand Marriage Act.

Anand Marriage Act:

• About: The Anand Marriage Act, passed in 1909, is a legal statute in India specifically created for the Sikh community. 
  • This act provides distinct legal recognition for Sikh marriages, separating them from Hindu marriages, which were previously registered under the Hindu Marriage Act.

Key Provisions of the Anand Marriage Act:

• Official Recognition of Sikh Marriages: The act formally acknowledges Sikh marriage ceremonies, known as Anand Karaj, as a legitimate form of marriage.
• Marriage Registration: Although the original 1909 act did not include specific provisions for registering marriages, subsequent amendments have established a process for registering Sikh marriages under this act. 
  • This ensures greater legal clarity and security for couples

Israel’s Holocaust Memorial

• Israel’s national Holocaust museum has opened a new conservation facility in Jerusalem this week that will preserve, restore and store its more than 45,000 artefacts and works of art.

Israel’s Holocaust Memorial:

• About: Yad Vashem is Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. 
  • It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the survivors

Financial inclusion index

• The Reserve Bank‘s FI-Index, capturing the extent of financial inclusion across the country, rose to 64.2 in March 2024, showing growth across all parameters

Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index):

• About: Developed by the RBI in 2021, it encompasses the banking, investments, insurance, postal, and pension sectors.
• Publication: Issued annually in July, without a specific base year.
• Purpose: Evaluates the level of financial inclusion across the nation.
• Structure: Presented as a single value ranging from 0 to 100, where 0 signifies complete financial exclusion and 100 signifies full financial inclusion.
• Components: Consists of three parameters: Access (35%), Usage (45%), and Quality (20%).
• Indicators: Contains 97 indicators that evaluate ease of access, service availability, usage, and service quality.

Composite licences extract critical minerals

• The Centre may issue so-called composite licences to find and extract critical minerals, in an effort to end the fragmented nature of licensing, and to tempt mining giants.

Composite Licence:

• About: This licence integrates both exploration and extraction rights.
• It permits the holder to carry out exploration activities to assess the presence, extent, and quality of the mineral resource in a designated area, and to proceed with extraction if the findings are economically viable.