Uttarakhand becomes first state to implement Uniform Civil Code
Dehradun: Uttarakhand has officially implemented the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) on January 27, 2025, making it the first state in independent India to enforce such a law. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that all preparations, including the approval of rules and training of relevant officials, had been completed for its rollout.
The UCC aims to promote societal uniformity, ensuring equal rights and responsibilities for all citizens, Dhami said. He framed the law’s implementation as a part of a larger vision driven by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who envisions a developed, organised, harmonious, and self-reliant India.
The UCC was a major election promise of the BJP during the 2022 assembly elections, contributing to the party’s historic second consecutive victory. Following his re-election in March 2022, Dhami's government formed an expert committee led by retired Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to draft the law.
After extensive consultations, the committee submitted a comprehensive four-volume draft in February 2024. The state assembly passed the legislation on February 7, 2024, and it received presidential assent shortly thereafter, clearing the way for implementation. Another expert committee, led by former chief secretary Shatrughna Singh, was tasked with finalising the rules, which were approved by the state cabinet, setting the implementation
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2 Indian nationals part of crew of luxury cruise ship that reported hantavirus outbreak
London (PTI): At least two Indian nationals are part of the crew of the Dutch vessel MV Hondius which reported a hantavirus outbreak with five confirmed cases and three deaths so far, according to the BBC.
The luxury cruise ship, operated by Oceanwide Expeditions, began its journey on April 1 from Argentina’s Ushuaia and is expected to arrive in Spain’s Canary Islands on May 10.
About 150 passengers and crew from 28 countries were initially aboard the luxury cruise, but dozens disembarked on the island of St Helena on April 24, according to the report.
Of the 28 nationalities onboard, 38 are from the Philippines, 31 from the UK, 23 from the US, 16 from the Netherlands, 14 from Spain, nine from Germany, six from Canada, and two crew members from India, among others, the BBC reported.
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The World Health Organization said on Thursday that five of the eight suspected hantavirus cases had been confirmed.
A 69-year-old Dutch woman, confirmed to have the virus, has died; her Dutch husband and a German woman were also among the fatalities. Their cases are being investigated.
The UN health agency has said the outbreak is not the start of a pandemic.
Maria van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at WHO, told a news briefing that the situation is not the same as six years ago with Covid-19 because hantavirus spreads through “close, intimate contact”.
Van Kerkhove said “this is not Covid, this is not influenza, it spreads very, very differently”. She said authorities had asked “everyone to wear a mask” on board the MV Hondius.
Those in contact with or caring for suspected cases, she added, should “wear a higher level of personal protective equipment”.
Hantavirus typically spreads from rodents - but in the latest outbreak the transmission between people was documented for the first time, the WHO said.
Meanwhile, health authorities are racing to trace dozens of people who have recently disembarked from the Dutch vessel MV Hondius.
Oceanwide Expedition said 29 passengers, of at least 12 different nationalities, had left the MV Hondius in St Helena, the British Overseas Territory.
It also said the body of one deceased person—now known to be a Dutch man - was taken off the vessel.
Seven of those who left the cruise liner were British nationals.
