Daily News Mail - News of 22/06/2015

Show diligence when handling man-missing cases, police told
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), in its recent directive, has asked the police to be more diligent in handling man-missing cases, especially those involving children. It has also said that the police stations should pass on the details of such cases to it through a special helpline.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was set up in March 2007 under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005.
• The Commission’s Mandate is to ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group.

India stretches into the record books

• India, on June 21st, broke the Guinness World Record (GWR) for the largest number of people doing yoga at one venue.
• Around 192 countries celebrated the first International Day of Yoga on June 21st.
• Another record: Foreigners helped India clock a second record — that of the largest number of foreign nationals in a single yoga lesson with participation from 84 countries.
• The Ministry of AYUSH has been awarded with these two Guinness World Records.
• The UN had announced June 21 as the International Day of Yoga last year after PM Modi’s appeal at the General Assembly. The resolution on ‘International Day of Yoga’ had 177 nations joining as co-sponsors, the highest number ever for any General Assembly resolution.
• Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 through 1998 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous U.S. editions as The Guinness Book of World Records, is a reference book published annually, listing world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world. The book itself holds a world record, as the best-selling copyrighted book of all time. It is one of the most frequently stolen books from public libraries in the United States. As of the 2015 edition, it is now in its 60th year of publication.

Nathu La opens for Kailash Mansarovar Yatra

• Indian pilgrims, bound for the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage will, on June 22nd, cross over from the Nathu La pass that links Sikkim and Tibet, inaugurating a new route that expands connectivity between the two countries.
• The establishment of the new route is the result of the consensus reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the former’s visit to India in September 2014.

Kailash Manasarovar Yatra

• Kailash Mansarovar Yatra (KMY) is known for its religious importance, cultural significance and arduous nature. The trek through high altitudes in freezing temperature entails hard labour and courting danger. The annual pilgrimage holds religious importance for Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.
• Yatra involves trekking at high altitudes of up to 19,500 feet, under inhospitable conditions, including extreme cold and rugged terrain. It may prove hazardous for those who are not physically and medically fit.
• Mansarovar Lake is located at an altitude of 14,950 ft (4,558 m) is said to be the highest freshwater lake in the world. It is located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China, 940 kilometres (580 mi) from Lhasa. To the west of it is Lake Rakshastal and to the north is Mount Kailash.
• The yatra is organized by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) annually. The Yatra is organized in close cooperation with the Government of the People’s Republic of China. State Governments of Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Delhi, and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Limited (KMVN) are other major Indian partners of the Ministry in organizing the Yatra.

New route to Kailash Mansarovar from Nathu La