
Polity&
Governance
1. National Sports University Ordinance,
2018 (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains paper II; Polity & Governance)
National
Sports University with headquarters at Manipur
National Sports University Ordinance, 2018 has come into force as the President
of India has given his assent
to the Union Cabinet’s decision to promulgate the said Ordinance. Earlier, the Union Cabinet,
in its meeting held on 23rd May, 2018, had decided to approve
the proposal of the Ministry
of Youth Affairs
and Sports to promulgate the National Sports University Ordinance, 2018, by
which the National Sports University will be established with headquarters at Manipur.
National Sports University Ordinance, 2018 (“the Ordinance”) will be on the lines of the National Sports University Bill,
2017, introduced in Lok Sabha
on 10.08.2017. This
will be a specialized University, first of its
kind, to promote sports education in the areas of sports sciences, sports technology, sports management and sports coaching besides functioning as the
national training centre
for select sports
disciplines by adopting
the best international practices.
Background
The proposal was formally announced by the Finance
Minister in his Budget speech of 2014-15 on 10.07.2014. For setting up the University, 325.90 acres of land has been made available by the Government of Manipur in Koutruk, West Imphal district
of Manipur. The University would provide a boost to
sports activities in the country, and also improve the country’s sports performance at the national and international levels. The
proposed University has also considerable employment generation potential.
(Adapted
from PIB)
2. Krishi Kalyan Abhiyan being implemented in 25 villages in each of
the 111 Aspirational Districts (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II;
Polity & Governance)
Where
will be the plan launched?
The Ministry of Agriculture and farmers’ welfare has launched the Krishi kalyan Abhiyaan
from 1st June, 2018 till 31st July, 2018 so as to aid, assist and advice
farmers on how to improve their farming
techniques and raise
their incomes. The Krishi kalyan
Abhiyaan will be undertaken in 25 Villages with more than
1000 population each
in Aspirational Districts identified in consultation with
Ministry of Rural Development as per directions of NITI Ayog. In districts where number of villages (with more than 1000 population) is less than 25, all villages will be covered.
Who will launch the
plan?
An Action Plan comprising specifically identified
activities under various departments of the ministry namely, Department of
Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare
(DAC&FW), Animal Husbandry Dairying & Fisheries
(DAHD&F) and Department of Agricultural
Research & Education (DARE-ICAR) will be implemented to saturate these
25 villages in each district with these
activities.
The overall coordination and implementation in the 25
villages of a district is being done
by Krishi Vigyan Kendra of that district.
111 officers have also been made in-charge
of one district each for
overall coordination and field level monitoring. These officers have been
selected from subordinate/attached/autonomous organizations/PSUs etc. of
Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
What will the plan cover?
Various activities to promote best practices and enhance
agriculture income are being undertaken under this plan such as:-
·
Distribution of Soil Health Cards to all farmers
·
100% coverage of bovine vaccination for Foot and Mouth Disease
(FMD) in each village
·
100% coverage of Sheep and Goat for eradication of Peste des Petits ruminants (PPR)
·
Distribution of Mini Kits of pulses and oilseeds to all
·
Distribution of Horticulture/Agro
Forestry/Bamboo plant @ 5 per family (location appropriate)
·
Making 100 NADAP Pits in each village
·
Artificial insemination saturation
·
Demonstration programmes on Micro- irrigation
·
Demonstrations of integrated cropping practice
In addition, demonstration programmes on Micro
Irrigation and Integrated Cropping Practice
will also take place so as to familiarize farmers
with the latest
techniques and how they
can be incorporated at the grass root level.
Training programmes are being conducted in each of the
villages by ICAR/KVSs for Bee Keeping, Mushroom cultivation and Kitchen garden.
Women participants and farmers will be
given preference for the training
program.
(Adapted from PIB)
3. WCD proposes amendments to widen the scope of Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act (IRWA), 1986 (Relevant for GS Prelims,
GS Mains Paper
II; Polity & Governance)
Based on the observations made by Parliamentary Standing
Committee and recommendation made by the National Commission for Women on the
basis of consultation with civil society groups and likeminded individuals, WCD
has proposed amendments in IRWA keeping in mind the recent technological advancement in the
field of communications such as social
media platforms, over the top services etc.
The reformulated Bill proposes following amendments in the
parent Act:
·
Amendment in definition of term advertisement to include digital
form or electronic form or hoardings, or through SMS, MMS etc.
·
Amendment in definition of distribution to include publication, license or uploading
using computer resource, or communication device
or in
·
Insertion of a new definition to define the term publish
·
Amendment in section 4 to include
that No person
shall publish or distribute or cause to be
published or cause to be distributed by any means any material which contains
indecent representation of women in any form:
·
Penalty similar to that provided
under the Information Technology Act, 2000
·
Creation of a Centralized Authority
under the aegis of National Commission of Women (NCW). This Authority will be headed
by Member Secretary, NCW, having representatives from Advertising Standards Council of India, Press
Council of India,
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one member having
experience of working
on women issues.
·
This Centralized Authority will be authorized to receive complaints or grievances regarding any programme or advertisement broadcasted or publication and investigate/ examine
all matters relating to the indecent
representation of women.
The Government of India has enacted the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act (IRWA), 1986 to prohibit indecent
representation of women through advertisements, publications, writings, paintings, figures or in any other manner.
Since the enactment of the Act,
technological revolution has resulted in the development of new forms of
communication, such as internet, multi-media messaging, cable television,
over-the-top (OTT) services and applications e.g. Skype, Viber,
WhatsApp, Chat On, Snapchat, Instagram etc.
Keeping in mind these technological advancements, it has been decided
to widen the scope
of the law so as to cover such forms of media on one hand and to strengthen the
existing safeguards to prevent indecent representation of women through any
media form on the
other. Hence, the
Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2012 was introduced in Rajya Sabha
December 2012 which referred the Bill to Department related Parliament Standing Committee for consideration.
(Adapted from PIB)
4. Geo-Intelligence Asia – 2018(Relevant for GS Prelims, Polity
& Governance)
The Eleventh edition of GeoIntelligence Asia 2018
organised by GeoSpatial Media and Communication with Directorate General of
Information System as Knowledge Partners and
Military Survey as Co-organisers, took
place at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi
on 04-05 June 2018.
About the meet
The theme of Seminar was ‘GeoSpatial:
A Force Multiplier for Defence and Industrial Security’. The seminar brought
together the military,
security officials including
BSF and Police Forces,
Government and industry together to examine the latest technology solutions and
on the critical role of geospatial technology in military and security
applications.
What is the importance of Geospatial data?
Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Army Staff, during
his Keynote address,
said that the Armed
Forces are the repository of big data and there is a need to record and institutionalize the information and carry out predictive
analytics using AI. He stressed on the need for collaboration with industry and
academia to automate the Indian Army and emphasized the need to leverage the
various technologies available in the Geo Spatial field to find solutions for the challenges faced by the Indian Army.
Lt Gen Anil
Kapoor, Director General,
Information System, brought
out the fact
that data is being
treated as the next oil. He mentioned that Indian Army is in the process
of redefining and refining
legacy applications into state of the art softwares by using contemporary
technologies.
After the inaugural
session, Chief of the Army Staff inaugurated the exhibition comprising stalls of various technological
firms dealing with geospatial technologies. The Sessions during the
seminar covered crucial
subjects including Enhanced
Situational Awareness for Combat, Smart Cantonments, GIS and Logistics, Cyber Security and LIDAR. The Seminar
witnessed learned speakers putting forth their views during the thought
provoking sessions. The latest advancements in Geospatial Technologies
discussed during the sessions and the exhibits in the stalls were widely appreciated by all participants.
(Adapted from PIB)
5. Successes of Indian Institutions in QS World Ranking (Relevant for GS Prelims,
GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance)
The Minister of Human Resource Development, Mr. Prakash
Javadekarhas said that the successes registered by Indian Institutions in QS
World Best Universities Ranking 2019 released today is the result of relentless
work in the premier institutions and various initiatives of HRD Ministry
under the guidance
and dynamic leadership of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.
India’s performance
In the QS World Best Universities Ranking, 9 Indian
institutions have been individually ranked in the top-500 as against 6 last
year. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, rises 20 places to 170th ;
17 of India’s 24 ranked universities improved their rank for Academic
Reputation, while 13 improved their rank for Employer Reputation.
About QS World University Rankings
QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of
university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
The QS system now comprises the global overall and
subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the study of 48
different subjects and five composite faculty areas), alongside five independent regional tables (Asia,
Latin America, Emerging
Europe and Central Asia, the Arab Region, and BRICS).
(Adapted from PIB)
6. Revised
Guidelines for Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad Trophy (Relevant
for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity &
Governance)
With a view to rationalize and simplify the selection of top performing university in sports for award of Maulana
Abul Kalam Azad
(MAKA) Trophy, Minister of Youth Affairs
& Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore has approved
the revised guidelines for MAKA Trophy.
What are the revised guidelines?
Under the revised guidelines, the applications from the
universities, which were hitherto used to be invited and scrutinized by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), will now be
invited by the Ministry of Youth Affairs
& Sports/Sports Authority of India. Scrutiny of
applications will also
be done by the Ministry of Youth Affairs
& Sports/Sports Authority of India.
Criteria for calculation of marks for selection of
universities for MAKA Trophy has been revised in which the performances of the
students of the universities in Olympic Games/ Paralympic Games, World
Cup/World Championships, Asian Games, Asian Cup/Asian Championships, Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Championships, World
University Games, World University Championships, National University
Games, Khelo India University Games, Inter Zonal Championships and Intra Zonal
University
Games/Championships has been included. Tournaments which are held more than once a year
will not be considered for computation of marks.
The amount of award money for the overall all winner university has been enhanced
from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 15 lakh and for 1st Runner-up and 2nd Runner-up
universities, the amount of award
money has been enhanced from
Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 7.5 lakh and Rs. 3 lakh to
Rs. 4.5 lakh respectively.
(Adapted from PIB)
7. Cabinet
approves Repositioning of North Eastern
Council (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Governance)
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri
Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of Ministry
of Development of North Eastern
Region (DoNER) for the nomination of the Union Home Minister as
ex-officio Chairman of North Eastern Council (NEC) - a statutory body with Governors and Chief Ministers
of all the eight North
Eastern States as its Member. The Cabinet also approved
that Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of DoNER would serve as Vice Chairman
of the Council.
Impact:
-
NEC implements various projects
through the State
and Central agencies.
Under the new arrangement with Home Minister
as Chairman and Minister of DoNER as Vice Chairman, NEC and all the Governors and Chief Ministers
of North Eastern
States as Member would
provide a forum for discussing inter-state matters more
comprehensively and also
consider common approaches to be taken in future.
- NEC can now also perform the tasks undertaken by the various
Zonal Councils to discuss
such inter-State issues
as drug trafficking, smuggling of arms and ammunition, boundary disputes etc.
-This repositioning of NEC will help
it to become a more effective body for the North Eastern Region.
- The Council
shall, from time to time,
review the implementation of the projects/schemes included in the project;
recommend effective measures for coordination among the state Governments for
these projectsetc. The Council shall have such powers as may be delegated to it by the Central
Government.
Background:
NEC was established under the North Eastern Council
Act, 1971 as an apex level body for
securing balanced and coordinated development and facilitating coordination
with the States. Subsequent to the Amendment of 2002, NEC has been
mandated to function as a
regional planning body
for the North
EasternArea and while
formulating a regional plan for this area,
shall give priority
to the schemes and projects
benefiting two or more states
provided that in the case of Sikkim, the Council shall
formulate specific projects and schemes for that State.
(Adapted from PIB)
8. Release
of the Report on the Composite Water Management Index (Relevant for GS
Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance)
In pursuit of cooperative and competitive federalism, NITI Aayog has
been laying emphasis on developing indicators on
various social sectors. In February 2018, NITI Aayog had released a report on “Healthy States, Progressive India” which
covered the ranking of States/ UTs in various health parameters. As a step
further in direction and keeping in view the criticality of water for life, NITI Aayog has prepared a report on Composite Water Management Index (CWMI).
About the report
The Report was launched today by Shri Nitin Gadkari,
Minister of Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water
Resources and Dr.
Rajiv Kumar, Vice
Chairman, NITI Aayog. Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and
Secretaries/ senior officials of Ministry of Water Resources, Drinking Water
& Sanitation and Rural Development were also present at the launch event.
The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the
performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient
management of water resources. This has been done through
a first of its kind water
data collection exercise
in partnership with Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Drinking Water
& Sanitation and all the States/ Union Territories. The index would provide
useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable
strategies for better management of water resources. Simultaneously a web portal on the subject
has also been launched.
The report released today ranks Gujarat as number one in
the reference year (2016-17), followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Maharashtra. In North Eastern and Himalayan States, Tripura has
been adjudged number 1 in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and
Assam. In terms of incremental change in index
(over 2015-16 level), Rajasthan holds number one position in general States
and Tripura ranks
at first position amongst North Eastern and Himalayan States. NITI Aayog
proposes to publish these ranks on an annual basis in future.
About Composite Water
Management Index (CWMI)
CWMI has been developed by NITI Aayog comprising 9 broad
sectors with 28 different indicators covering various
aspects of ground
water, restoration of water bodies,
irrigation,
farm practices, drinking water, policy and governance.
For the purposes of analysis, the reporting
states were divided
into two special
groups – ‘North Eastern
and Himalayan
states’ and ‘Other States’, to account for the different hydrological conditions across these
groups.
(Adapted from PIB)
9. National
Health Profile-2018 (Relevant for GS Prelims,
GS Mains Paper
II; Polity & Governance)
What
is National Health Profile?
Shri J P Nadda, Union
Minister of Health
and Family Welfare
released the National
Health Profile (NHP)-2018 prepared
by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence (CBHI). The E- book (digital version) of the annual
document was also released. The National Health Profile covers demographic,
socio-economic, health status and health finance indicators, along with
comprehensive information on health infrastructure and human resources in
health.
What is the need of
National Health Profile?
Speaking at the function,
Shri Nadda stated
that the Health
Profile is a very important tool as it has helped in designing various
programmes. He cited the examples
of initiatives like Free Drugs and Diagnostics and Mission Parivar
Vikas that have
benefitted from the Health
Profiles.
What
is National Health Repository?
Shri J P Nadda also
launched the National Health Resource Repository (NHRR) - Country’s first ever national healthcare facility registry of authentic, standardized and updated geo- spatial data of all public and private healthcare establishments.
What is the need of
National Health Repository?
The vision of the NHRR Project is to strengthen evidence-based
decision making and develop a platform for citizen and provider-centric
services by creating a robust, standardized
and secured IT-enabled repository of India’s healthcare resources. NHRR will be the ultimate platform for
comprehensive information of both, Private and Public healthcare establishments
including Railways, ESIC, Defense and Petroleum healthcare establishments.
Under the Collection of Statistics Act 2008, over 20 lakh healthcare
establishments like hospitals, doctors, clinics, diagnostic labs, pharmacies
and nursing homes would be enumerated under
this census capturing data on over 1,400 variables.
(Adapted from PIB)
10. Government approves draft Act for setting
up of Higher Education Commission of India by repealing UGC Act (Relevant
for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance)
The draft Act is in accordance with the commitment of
Government for reforming the regulatory systems that provide for more autonomy
and facilitate holistic growth of the education system which provides greater
opportunities to the Indian students at more affordable cost. The
transformation of the regulatory set up is guided by the following principles:
1. Less Government and more Governance:
Downsizing the scope
of the Regulator. No more interference in the management issues of the
educational institutions.
2. Separation of grant functions:
The grant functions
would be carried
out by the HRD Ministry, and the Higher Education
Commission of India (HECI) would focus only on academic
matters.
3. End of Inspection Raj:
Regulation is done
through transparent public
disclosures, merit-based decision
making on matters regarding standards and quality
in higher education.
4. Focus on academic quality:
HECI is tasked
with the mandate
of improving academic
standards with specific
focus on learning outcomes,
evaluation of academic performance by institutions, mentoring of institutions, training of teachers, promote
use of educational technology etc.
It will develop norms for setting standards for
opening and closure of institutions, provide for greater flexibility and
autonomy to institutions, lay standards for appointments to critical leadership
positions at the institutional level irrespective of University started under
any Law (including State Law).
5. Powers to enforce :
The Regulator will have powers to enforce compliance to
the academic quality standards and will have the power to order closure of
sub-standard and bogus institutions. Non- compliance could result in fines or
jail sentence.
Highlights of the Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University Grants Commission
Act) Bill 2018
1.
The focus of the Commission will be
on improving academic standards and quality of higher education, specifying
norms for learning outcomes, lay down standards of teaching/research etc.
2.
It
will provide a roadmap for mentoring of institutions found
failing in maintaining the required academic standards.
3.
It shall have the power to enforce
its decisions through
legal provisions in the Act,
4.
The Commission shall have the power
to grant authorization for starting of academic operations on the basis of their compliance with norms of academic quality.
5.
It will also have the powers to
revoke authorization granting to a higher education institution where there is
a case of wilful or continuous default in compliance with the norms / regulations.
6.
It
will also have the power to recommend
closure of institutions which fail to adhere to minimum standards without affecting students’ interest.
7.
The Commission will encourage higher education institutions to formulate a Code of Good
Practices covering promotion of research, teaching
and learning.
8.
The constitution of the Commission is strengthened by the cooption
of Chairpersons of regulatory bodies in higher education,
namely the AICTE and the NCTE. Moreover the Chairpersons/Vice-Chairpersons and members will be scholars
of eminence and standing
in the field of academics and research, possessing leadership qualities, proven
capacities for institution building and deep understanding of issues of higher
education policy and practice.
9.
The Bill also provides
for the penal provisions, which albeit graded
in nature, will cover
withdrawal of power to grant
degrees/ diplomas or direction to cease academic
operations and in cases of wilful non-compliance, may result in
prosecution sanction as per the Criminal Procedure Code
with a punishment of imprisonment for a term
which may extend up to 3 years.
10.
There will be an Advisory Council
to render advice to the Commission on matters concerning coordination and
determination of standards in the country. This will be represented by the
Chairpersons / Vice-Chairpersons of State Councils for Higher Education and chaired by the Union Minister for HRD.
11.
The Commission will also specify
norms and processes for fixing of fee chargeable by higher education institutions and advice
the Central Government or the State
Governments, as the case may be, regarding steps to be taken for making education
affordable to all.
12.
The Commission will monitor,
through a national data base, all matters covering the development of emerging
fields of knowledge and balanced growth of higher education institutions in all
spheres and specially in promotion of academic quality in higher education.
(Adapted from
PIB)
International Organizations and Relations
1. Declaration by the Government of Republic
of India relating to Article II and III of
the Appendix to the
Paris Act (1971)
(Relevant for GS Prelims and GS Mains;
IOBR)
On March 28, 2018, the
World Intellectual Property Organization has notified a declaration
referring to the deposit by India, on October 7, 1974, of its instrument of ratification on the
Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works of September 9, 1886, as revised
at Paris on July 24, 1971
India has availed
itself of the faculties provided
for the Article
II and III of the Appendix to the
Berne Convention during
the 10 years period that will expire,
on October 10, 2024. The said
declaration shall enter
into force, with respect to the territory
of the Republic of India, on March 28, 2018.
What are the provisions of Article II?
The Article II of the Appendix would enable India to
substitute for the exclusive right of translation of a work, which has been
published in printed or analogous forms of reproduction, granted by the
competent authority, only for the purpose of teaching, scholarship or research.
What are the provisions of Article III?
The Article III of the Appendix would enable India to
Substitute for the exclusive right of
reproduction of a work, which
has been published
either in printed
or analogous forms of
reproduction, or in audio-visual form
of lawfully made audio-visual fixations, to publish an edition which has not been
distributed / on sale for a period of six months, except when either the translations is not published
by the owner of the right of translation or with his authorization, or when the translation is not in a language
general in use in India.
Continuation of existing position
India has been the Member of Berne Convention since 28th
April, 1928 and has been submitting the declaration as per Article II & III
of the Appendix from time to time. The present notification is in continuation
of India’s earlier positon.
(Adapted from PIB)
2. Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
(AIIB) concludes its 3rd Annual Meeting (Relevant for GS Prelims,
GS Mains Paper
II; IOBR)
Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank (AIIB) concluded its third Annual Meeting in Mumbai today , on a high note to improve connectivity within the region and in turn enable citizens
in the region to reach their potential
and enjoy prosperity and security.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister
Shri Narendra Modi called upon the need to deepen India’s
engagement with AIIB. In his speech, Prime Minister called upon Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank
(AIIB) to increase
its lending to US$40 billion
by 2020 and US$100 billion by 2025 from US$4 billion now.
The Third Annual
Meeting of AIIB was attended
by over 3,000 delegates from 86 member countries. The Meeting also had several
concurrent sessions that discussed critical
issues pertaining to environment, low carbon emissions, connectivity
through railway network across borders among several others.
About AIIB
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
is a multilateral development bank
with a mission to improve social and economic
outcomes in Asia and beyond.
Headquartered in Beijing, we
commenced operations in January 2016 and have now grown to 86 approved members from around the world.
By investing in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors today,
we will better connect people, services and markets that over time will impact the lives of billions and build a better future.
(Adapted from PIB)
Economics
1. International Conference on the TRIPS CBD
Linkage (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS
Mains Paper III; Economics)
India has taken the lead in seeking to revive WTO
discussions on issues related to preventing theft of traditional knowledge. Government of India, along with the Centre
for WTO Studies, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and the South Centre
(an inter- governmental organisation based in Geneva),
are organising an International Conference on TRIPS- CBD (Conference on biodiversity) Linkage
in Geneva on 7-8 June 2018.
What will happen at conference?
Brazil and South Africa are some of the other countries that have joined
hands with India on this crucial initiative. The
international conference will bring together indigenous people/local
communities in developing and developed countries, internationally acclaimed
academicians working on the subject, Geneva-based negotiators and capital-
based experts. They will brainstorm on the options for energising negotiations
on this subject in the WTO.
What is CBD?
The Convention on Biological Diversity is a multilateral
agreement on sustainable development and fair and equitable sharing of benefits
arising out of the utilization of genetic resource. It has membership of 196
countries.
History of examining relationship
between TRIPS and CBD
The Doha Ministerial Declaration in 2001 had tasked the
TRIPS Council of the WTO to examine the relationship between the TRIPS
Agreement and the Convention on Biological
Diversity, and the protection of traditional knowledge
and folklore. It also mandated
that while doing so, the Council
should be guided
by the objectives and principles set out in the
TRIPS Agreement and should fully take into account the development dimension.
While there has been considerable debate and deliberations on the subject no
common understanding has yet been reached
at the WTO.
Importance of TRIPS CBD linkage
for India
TRIPS CBD Linkage
is important for India and other developing countries because it seeks
to address bio-piracy. It has been a long-standing demand that patents should
not be granted for existing
traditional knowledge and
associated genetic resources. Further, it has also been argued that where
traditional knowledge forms a basis for further scientific developments that
are sought to be patented, there should be a mechanism to ensure disclosure of
information in this regard.
This is considered essential not only from the point of
view of addressing information asymmetry at the patent office
but in also enabling better
assessment of the inventive step involved. The developing countries
seek an amendment in the TRIPS Agreement to make disclosure of source or origin of genetic resource
by patent applicants, submission of
evidence of prior
informed consent of local communities and evidence of fair and
equitable sharing of benefits
under the relevant
national regimes mandatory.
International efforts
In 2008, developing countries garnered the support of
the European Union to form a coalition of 109 countries (which
included the African
and Caribbean and Pacific Countries) for the above proposal
seeking amendment of the TRIPS Agreement to enable mandatory disclosures in patent
applications. The last major proposal along similar lines but incorporating the
mechanism agreed to under the Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity was submitted by India, Brazil along with other like-minded countries in 2011. After
this, the discussions appear to have lost steam.
The Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological
Diversity on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and
Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising
from their utilization came into effect in 2014. The protocol provides a legal
framework for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the
utilization of genetic resources for research and commercialization purpose. At
present, more than 100 countries have acceded to the protocol. This makes its
mandatory for them to set down an access and benefit regime in compliance with
the protocol.
(Adapted
from PIB)
2. Government introduces new scheme ‘SevaBhojYojna’ (Relevant
for GS prelims; Economics)
The Ministry of Culture, Government of India has
introduced a new scheme namely ‘SevaBhojYojna’ with a total outlay of Rs. 325.00 Crores for Financial
Years 2018-19 and 2019-20.
What is the scheme for?
The scheme envisages to reimburse the Central Government
share of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST)
and Integrated Goods
and Service Tax
(IGST) on purchase of raw items
such as ghee, edible oil, atta/maida/rava/flour , rice pulses,
sugar, burra/jiggery etc which
go into preparation of food/Prasad/langar/bhandara offered free of cost by
religious institutions. The objective of the scheme
is to lessen the financial burden of such
Charitable Religious Institutions who provide Food/Prasad/Langar (Community Kitchen)/Bhandara
free of cost without any discrimination to Public/Devotees.
(Adapted from PIB)
3. New Benami Transactions Informants Reward
Scheme, 2018 launched by the Income Tax Department (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics)
Need for Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment
Act, 2016
It was found in many cases that black money was invested
in properties in the names of others, even though benefits were enjoyed by the
investor concealing his beneficial ownership in his tax returns. The Government
had earlier amended Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, by Benami
Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 to make the law stronger.
Need for people
participation
With the objective of obtaining people’s participation in the Income Tax Department’s
efforts to unearth black money and to reduce tax evasion, a new reward scheme
titled “Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018”, has been issued by the Income
Tax Department. This reward scheme is aimed
at encouraging people
to give information about benami transactions and properties as well as income earned on such properties by such hidden investors and beneficial owners.
Provisions of Benami
Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018
1.
Under the Benami Transactions
Informants Reward Scheme, 2018, a person can get reward up to Rs. One crore
for giving specific information in prescribed manner to the Joint
or Additional Commissioners of Benami Prohibition Units (BPUs) in Investigation
Directorates of Income Tax Department about benami transactions and properties as well
as proceeds from such properties which are actionable under Benami Property
Transactions Act, 1988, as amended by Benami Transactions (Prohibition)
Amendment Act, 2016.
2.
Foreigners will also be eligible
for such reward. Identity of the persons giving information will not be disclosed and strict confidentiality shall be maintained.
3.
Details of the reward scheme are
available in the Benami Transactions Informants Reward Scheme, 2018, copy of which is available in Income Tax offices and on the official
website of Income Tax Department www.incometaxindia.gov.in.
(Adapted from PIB)
4.
Achievements
of Power Ministry during last 4 years (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics)
(i) Generation capacity-
•
1
Lakh MW generation capacity added.
(2,43,029 MW in March 2014 to 3,44,002
MW in March 2018)
•
India emerges as net exporter of electricity. 7203 MU supplied
to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar in FY 2017-18.
•
Energy deficit reduced
from 4.2 per cent (in FY 2013-14)
to 0.7 per cent (in FY 2017-18)
(ii) One Grid One Nation-
•
Expansion of transmission grid by 1 lakh km
(iii) DeenDayalUpadhyaya Gram JyotiYojana (DDUGKY)
• 100 per cent of
village electrification
(viii) Integrated Power
Development Scheme (IPDS)
• Outlay of Rs.
65,424 crore
•
1376 towns IT enabled
(vii) UDAY
• More than Rs 20,000
crore interest cost saved by DISCOMs under UDAY
•
India’s rank improved to 29 in 2018 from
111 in 2014on World Bank’s
Ease of Getting Electricity Ranking.
(vi) SAUBHAGYA
• Launched for
universal electrification
•
Camps organised at village level.
Minimum documentation required
•
Special drive for economically weaker sections under Gram Swaraj
Abhiyan
•
60.34 lakh housholds electrified since 11th Oct, 2017
(ix)
Power for All 24*7 –
• Joint initiative of Govt of India and State Govts.
•
Roadmap for 24*7 power supply
prepared. States ready to ensure 24*7 Power for All from 1st April, 2019.
(x)
Focus on North-East region-
• Electrification of 5855 villages
and intensive electrification of 9004 villages
completed.
(iv) UJALA
• 107 crore LED
bulbs distributed
(v)
4376
MW hydel capacity addition (FY 2014-18) Innovations and Initiatives-
Electric vehicles
–
• No licence
required for charging stations
•
Procurement of 10,000
e-vehicles for Government institutions
Smart Metering-
• Procurement of 50 lakh smart meters
done.
• 1 crore prepaid meters under
procurement
Energy efficiency-
• Star labelling
program saved energy worth Rs. 22,500 crore.
•
Energy efficiency measures through
PAT in large industries saved
energy worth Rs. 9500
crore
•
Energy Conservation Building
Code for energy efficient buildings launched in June, 2017
Digital initiatives-
• e-Bidding and e-Reverse Auction
for short and medium-term procurement of power.
•
Enabling payments through NPCI platforms such as BHIM, BBPS, Bharat QR etc. More
than 24 crore digital transactions in FY 2017-18
for electricity bill payments.
To bring transparency and to disseminate information to public
at large following Apps are launched by the Ministry
of Power:
1. SAUBHAGYA – App for tracking household electrification.
2.
VidyutPravah – The Mobile/Web App provides real time information of current demand met, shortages if any, surplus power available and the prices
in Power Exchange.
3.
UJALA (UnnatJyoti by Affordable LED`S
for All) – App provides real time updates
on the LED
distribution happening across the country.
4.
UrjaMitra – monitoring of power availability and sending power
cut information through SMS
5.
MERIT–
information pertaining to marginal variable cost and source
wise purchase of electricity.
6.
UDAY-
Allows people to compare DISCOMs on the basis of 26 major
performance parameters.
7.
URJA (Urban JyotiAbhiyaan) – It is an informative App for Urban Distribution Sector. It captures Consumer
centric parameters from the IT systems created
under IPDS.
8.
TARANG
(Transmission App for real time monitoring & Growth) – It is an IT Web/mobile based
platform to provide status of both inter and intra state Transmission Projects in the country.
This platform also shows the prospective inter
state as well as intra state Transmission Projects.
9.
DEEP e-bidding (Discovery of Efficient Electricity Price) – The portal will
provide a common e-bidding platform
with e-reverse auction
facility to facilitate nation-wide power
procurement through a wider network so as to bring uniformity and transparency
in the process of power procurement.
10. Ash Track- linking fly ash users and power plants for better ash utilisation.
(Adapted from PIB)
5. Four Years’ Achievements & Initiatives of the Ministry
of Coal (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics)
1. Coal production increase
Shri Goyal informed
that the Coal Production of Coal India Ltd. (CIL) has increased
from 462 MT in 2013-14 to 567 MT in 2017-18.
This 105 MT increase in production in four years took almost seven years to achieve
before 2013-14.
2.
Coal quality check
The Minister also talked about how the Ministry has
worked for ensuring superior coal quality. Third party sampling procedure have
been put in a place. UTTAM App has been launched for ensuring transparency and efficiency in coal quality
monitoring process. Re- gradation of all the mines of Coal India Ltd and Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. (SCCL) has been done by Coal Controller’s Organization (CCO).
3.
Transparency in allocation
Scheme for Harnessing and Allocating Koyala
Transparently in India
(SHAKTI), for auction and allotment of coal linkages, will lead to affordable power
and transparency in allocation
of coal.
(Adapted from PIB)
6. Shri J P Nadda highlights the achievements of the Health Ministry (Relevant for GS Prelims,
GS Mains Paper III; Economics)
1. Reduction in MMR
We are saving
nearly 12,000 mothers
in 2015 (mid-year) as compared
to 2012. Compared to 44,000 earlier annual
maternal deaths, now there are
32,000 maternal deaths
only. Shri Nadda further
said that India has registered a record 22% reduction in MMR since
2013.
India has met the MDG target for MMR of 139/lakh live births by achieving 130 by 2015.
At this rate, we shallachieve SDG target of 70 by 2022, ahead
of target timeline
of 2030.
2.
New AIIMS
The Health Minister also stated that Cabinet has
approved 8 new AIIMS atMangalagiri (Andhra Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra),
Kalyani (West Bengal), Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Bathinda (Punjab), Guwahati
(Assam) and Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh).
(Adapted
from PIB)
7.
Four-Year Achievements & Initiatives of the Ministry of Railways (Relevant
for GS Prelims, GS
Mains Paper III; Economics)
1. Safety first
Safety has reigned
supreme with consequential train accidents reduced
to 62% from 118 in 2013-14 to 73 in 2017-18. Rashtriya
Rail Sanraksha Kosh (RRSK) fund of Rs. 1 Lakh Cr has been
allocated for safety
expenditure over 5 years. Addressing the issue of unsafe crossings on a war footing, 5,479
Unmanned Level Crossings have been eliminated in the last
four years. 1.1 lakh safety posts are also being filled-up through recruitment amongst
other measures to improve safety.
2. Services
Railways is improving passenger services including a
complete makeover of Stations by installing modern facilities including escalators, lifts,
free wifi etc. while instilling local art and culture
in the design. 68 stations
are slated for improvement by March 2019.
Government has improved trains and coaches including
launching the Tejas, Antyodaya and Humsafar trains.
3. Rail University
India’s First National
Rail & Transportation University in Vadodara is set to open in August
2018.
(Adapted from PIB)
8. Solar
Charkha Mission to be launched
soon in 50 clusters (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics)
The Solar Charkha
Mission of the Ministry of Micro Small
& Medium Enterprises (MSME), will be launched by the President, Ram Nath Kovind on
June 27, 2018 in New Delhi. The
Mission will cover 50 clusters and every cluster will employ 400 to 2000
artisans. The Mission has been
approved by the
Government of India
and will disburse subsidy of Rs. 550
crore to the artisans.
The Minister further
informed that 15 new state-of-the-art technology centers are being set up
all over the country including North-East, of which 10 centers
will become operational by March 2019. Each center is being built at a cost of around Rs. 150 crore. The 10 centers
which will become operational soon are located in Durg (Chhattisgarh), Bhiwadi (Rajasthan), Rohtak (Haryana), Visakhapatnam (Andhra
Pradesh), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Sitarganj (Uttarakhand), Baddi
(Himachal Pradesh), Bhopal (M.P.), Kanpur (U.P.) and Puducherry.
What
are Solar charkha?
The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has finalised a project to introduce
solar "charkhas" (spinning
wheels) across the country and produce "green clothes".
Khadi is essentially hand-spun, hand-woven cloth and will now have technological help to
assist the production with solar power. The project involves
introduction of 100,000
such "charkhas", each costing
around Rs 20,000,
every year.
Generally, one spins the "charkha" wheel with the hand. In the new model, there are solar panels, which would draw solar power.
The solar panels
are connected to a battery,
which stores power.
Rhe solar 'charkhas' would help not only to spin effortlessly but the spinners
can also earn double their present earnings,
from Rs 60 per day to Rs 150 per day.
(Adapted from PIB)
9. Ministry
of Women & Child Development receives the ‘Best Performing Social Sector Ministry’ SKOCH Award for its Achievements and Initiatives (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Economics)
Why the Ministry of Women and Child Development has been conferred award? Lauding the achievements of the Ministry
of Women and Child Development in delivering the promises made and for its significant achievements and initiatives from the last
4 years, SKOCH has conferred the
‘Best performing Social
Sector Ministry’ award on the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
ABOUT SKOCH GROUP
Skoch Group is a think tank dealing with socio-economic
issues with a focus on inclusive growth since 1997. The group companies include
a consulting wing, a media wing and a charitable foundation. Skoch Group is
able to bring an Indian felt-needs context to strategies and engages with fortune-500 companies, state owned enterprises, government to SMEs and community-based organisations with equal
ease. The repertoire of services include field interventions, consultancy, research reports, impact assesments, policy
briefs, books, journals, workshops and conferences. Skoch Group has
instituted India’s highest independent civilian honours
in the field
of governance, finance, technology, economics and social sector.
(Adapted
from PIB)
10. India is the largest borrower from Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (Relevant for GS Prelims,
GS Mains Paper
III; Economics)
What is the size of India’s borrowings from AIIB?
With the total project portfolios of US$4.4 Billion,
India has been the largest
borrower of Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) lending since the time the Bank started
its operations.
Unlike most other
multilateral development banks
set up by advanced economies, AIIB is the first
major multilateral development bank where principal contributors are the
borrowing members themselves.
Third Annual Meeting of AIIB
The third Annual Meeting of AIIB is being organized by
Government of India, in collaboration with Government of Maharashtra at Mumbai
during 25-26 June 2018.
The third Annual Meeting of the bank focuses on
infrastructure, with the theme of innovation
and collaboration. The
Annual Meeting will see participation from 86 members,
and member countries will deliberate upon the strategies to mobilize financing
for infrastructure.
While 75% of the capital is from Asia, several non-Asian
regions like Europe, North America, some East African and Latin American
countries have also joined the bank as members.
About
AIIB
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic
outcomes in Asia and beyond.
Headquartered in Beijing, we
commenced operations in January 2016 and have now grown to 86 approved members from around the world.
By investing in sustainable infrastructure and other productive sectors today,
we will better connect people, services and markets that over time will impact the lives of billions and build a better future.
(Adapted from PIB)
11. Government proposes to set up 3000 Van
Dhan Kendras involving 30,000 SHGs across the country
(Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper
III; Economics)
When was scheme launched?
The Government proposes
to set up 3000 Van
Dhan Kendras involving 30,000 SHGs across the country under the Van Dhan
Scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. In a new game changing initiative, the Prime Minister launched the Van Dhan Scheme
of Ministry of Tribal
Affairs and TRIFED on 14th April, 2018 during the celebrations of Ambedkar
Jayanti at Bijapur Chattisgarh.
Emphasizing the important role of value addition in
increasing tribal incomes, the Prime
Minister stated that Van Dhan, Jandhan and Goverdhan Schemes had the potential
to change the tribal-rural economic system. All these three schemes in tandem
need to be promoted for this purpose by the State Governments.
What
are Van Dhan Kendras?
Under Van Dhan Scheme, 10 Self Help Groups of 30 Tribal
gatherers each have been constituted at Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. They are then
trained and provided with working capital to add value to the products, which they collect
from the Jungle.
Working under the leadership of Collector, these
groups can then market their products not only within the States but also outside
the States. Training
and technical support
is provided by TRIFED.
Van Dhan Mission is an initiative for targeting
livelihood generation for tribals by harnessing non-timber forest produces, the
true wealth of forest i.e. Van Dhan with an estimated value: Rs.2 Lakh Cr. per
year. It shall promote and leverage the collective strength of tribals (through
SHGs) to achieve
scale. It also aims at build upon the traditional knowledge & skill sets of tribals
by adding technology & IT for value addition.
Further it is to
set-up tribal community owned Van Dhan
Vikas Kendras (the
Kendra) in predominantly forested tribal districts.
A Kendra shall constitute of 10 tribal SHGs, each comprising of upto 30 tribal NTFP gatherers or artisans i.e. about 300 beneficiaries per Kendra.
What is the logic
behind scheme?
Value addition assumes
critical importance in ensuring remunerative prices to the tribals
in this approach. Three stage value addition would be the corner stone for
enhancing incomes of the tribals under the scheme.
The grass root level procurement is proposed to be undertaken through SHGs associated
with Implementing Agencies. Convergence and Networking with other Govt.
departments/scheme shall be undertaken to utilise the services of existing SHGs like Ajeevika, etc. These SHGs shall be appropriately trained
on sustainable harvesting/collection, primary
processing & value
addition and be formed into clusters so as to aggregate their stock in tradable quantity
and linking them with facility
of primary processing in a Van Dhan Vikas Kendra.
(Adapted
from PIB)
12. Cabinet
approves a Corpus
to National Export
Insurance Account Trust
(Relevant for GS Prelims; Economics)
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved
contribution of Grant-in-Aid (Corpus) of Rs.1,040 crore to National Export
Insurance Account Trust (NEIA).
The Corpus is to be utilised during three years from
2017-18 to 2019-20. An amount of Rs.440 crore has already been received for the
year 2017-18. Rs.300 crore each will be given to NEIA for the years 2018-19 and
2019-20.
The Corpus would
strengthen NEIA to support project
exports from the country that are of strategic and national importance.
What is National Export Insurance Account Trust ?
National Export Insurance Account (NEIA) is a fund set up in year 2006. NEIA promotes
exports from India by providing insurance to exports.
NEIA is maintained and operated by a
Public Trust set
up jointly Department of Commerce and Export Credit
Guarantee Council.
(Adapted from PIB)
13.
DISHA initiative (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper
III; Economics)
District
Development Coordination & Monitoring Committee (DISHA)
DISHA initiative enables data regarding various schemes
of the government at one dashboard and therefore it makes it easy to identify
which districts are lagging behind scheme wise and accordingly corrective
action can be taken.
One Stop – ‘DISHA
Dashboard‘
created bythe Rural Development Ministry has been
designed to facilitate data driven decision making. Real time data from 18
schemes of 9 ministries have been integrated with the Dashboard
and other 12 schemes of 8 Ministries are in the process of
integration. One Time Passwords or OTPs are being provided to all MPs to ensure that such key data indicators remain protected from misuse.
(Adapted from PIB)
Environment
1. Cabinet
approves proposal for enactment of Dam Safety Bill, 2018 (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Disaster management)
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi
has approved the proposal for introduction of Dam Safety Bill, 2018 in the
Parliament.
Benefits:
It will help all the States and Union Territories of
India to adopt uniform dam safety procedures
which shall ensure
safety of dams and safeguard
benefits from such dams. This shall also help in safeguarding human life, livestock
and property.
The draft Bill has been finalised after wide consultation with
leading Indian experts and international experts.
Details:
-
The Bill provides for proper
surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of all specified dams in the country to ensure their
safe functioning.
-
The Bill provides for constitution
of a National Committee on Dam Safety which shall evolve dam safety policies
and recommend necessary regulations as may be required for the purpose.
- The Bill
provides for establishment of National Dam Safety Authority as a regulatory body which shall discharge
functions to implement
the policy, guidelines and standards for dam
safety in the country.
-
The Bill provides for constitution
of a State Committee on Dam Safety by State Government.
National Dam Safety
Authority
- It shall maintain liaison
with the State Dam Safety
Organisations and the owners of dams
for standardisation of dam safety related data and practices;
- It shall
provide the technical and managerial assistance to the States
and State Dam Safety
Organisations;
-
It
shall maintain a national level data-base of all dams in the country and the records
of major dam failures;
- It shall examine the cause of any major dam failure;
-
It shall publish and update the
standard guidelines and check-lists for the routine inspection and detailed investigations of dams and appurtenances;
-
It shall accord recognition or
accreditations to the organisations that can be entrusted with the works of investigation, design
or construction of new dams;
- It will
also look into
unresolved points of issue between
the State Dam
Safety Organisation of two states, or between the State Dam Safety Organisation of a State and the owner of a
dam in that State, for proper solution;
-
Further, in certain cases,
such as dams of one State falling
under the territory of another State, the National Authority shall also perform
the role of State Dam Safety Organization thereby eliminating potential causes for inter-state conflicts.
State Committee on Dam Safety
It will ensure proper surveillance, inspection, operation
and maintenance of all specified dams in that State and ensure their safe
functioning. It further provides that every State shall establish a "State
Dam Safety Organisation", which will be manned by officers from the field
dam safety preferably from the areas of dam-designs, hydro-mechanical
engineering, hydrology, geo-technical investigation, instrumentation and dam-
rehabilitation.
Background:
There are over 5200 large
dams in India and about 450 are under construction. Plus there are thousands of medium and small dams.
Due to lack of legal
and institutional architecture for dam safety in India,
dam safety is an issue of concern. Unsafe dams are a hazard and dam break may cause disasters, leading
to huge loss of life and property.
The Dam Safety Bill, 2018 address all issues concerning
dam safety including regular inspection of dams, Emergency Action Plan,
comprehensive dam safety review, adequate
repair and maintenance funds for dam safety,
Instrumentation and Safety
Manuals. It lays onus of dam safety on the dam owner
and provides for penal provisions for commission and omission of certain acts.
(Adapted from PIB)
Science & Technology
1. “Methanol
Economy” (Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Science
&
Technology)
Potential Uses of Methanol
Methanol is a clean burning drop in fuel which can
replace both petrol & diesel in transportation & LPG, Wood, Kerosene in
cooking fuel. It can also replace diesel in Railways, Marine Sector, Gensets,
Power Generation and Methanol based reformers could be
an ideal complement to Hybrid and Electric Mobility.
Why Methanol is so sought after?
Methanol Economy is the “Bridge” to the dream of a complete “Hydrogen based fuel systems”. Methanol is a scalable
and sustainable fuel, that can be produced
from a variety of feedstocks like Natural Gas,
Coal (Indian High
Ash Coal), Bio-mass, Municipal Solid waste and most importantly from CO2. The
Concept of “Methanol Economy”
is being actively pursued by China, Italy, Sweden,
Israel, US, Australia, Japan and many other European countries. 10% of fuel in China
in transport Sector
is Methanol.
Methanol burns efficiently in all internal combustion
engines, produces no particulate matter, no soot, almost nil SOX and NOX emissions (NEAR
ZERO POLLUTION). The gaseous
version of Methanol
– DME can blended
with LPG and can be excellent substitute for diesel in Large
buses and trucks. To adopt Methanol as a transport fuel, it requires minimal
infrastructure modifications and capital both in vehicles
and in terminal and distribution infrastructure. Methanol
15 % blend (M15) in petrol will reduce pollution
by 33% & diesel
replacement by methanol will reduce by more than 80%. Urban Transport
contributes to close to 40% towards
urban air pollution. Annually 400000 deaths
take place in India due to air pollution. Field trials are
under way for India to adopt M15 program in transportation sector. The
notification of fuels for M15 & M100 are already complete. Methanol 100% engine will look to replace diesel
in its totality.
One of the reasons why Methanol has the potential to be
an enduring solution to human energy needs is because the beltched out C02 (greenhouse gas emission) both from using Methanol and while producing Methanol can be tapped back
to produce Methanol. Thereby a seamless loop of CO2 sequestration cycle is created
to perpetually burn fuels without polluting the environment at all. C02 from
steel plants, Thermal Power plants, Cement Plants etc. can be tapped in large
quantities to produce Methanol. The Technology has acquired commercial maturity
and countries like Iceland are producing in meaningful quantities already.
NITI Aayog plan for Methanol Economy
NITI Aayog has drawn out a comprehensive plan to replace
20% of crude imports from Methanol alone. Adopting
Methanol in this scale would
bring down pollution in the country by more than 40% and not to forget the benefits
from import substitution.
Over a period of time of time diesel can completely be
done away with. Indian Railways alone burns three billion litres of diesel
every year. Plans are in place to convert 6000 diesel railway engines to work
on 100% Methanol and make railways a carbon neutral organisation. The other
sector where Methanol is becoming the fuel of choice because of emission benefits is the ‘Marine Sector’. IMO Regulations on sulphur particulates and NOX (0.50% m/m on and after 1 January 2020)
will make it compulsive to switch to a clean
fuel.
Project is underway
convert Ro/RO (Roll on & Roll Off) vessels in to Methanol,
which will run on the National
Waterways for Inland waterways-based transportation. 500 barges will be
converted to run on 100% Methanol replacing heavy oil or bunker oil. All this
will result in a massive reduction of pollutants into our seas and rivers.
Other major area where methanol
can reduce pollution
is the Energy sector. India has an installed capacity of 22000 MW on HFO (Heavy
fuel oil) alone. HFO is one of the dirtiest fuel and most countries of the
world have abandoned it. The entire HFO usage can be replaced by Methanol. Power Modules of Mobile Towers
(about 750000) in India can fully
be replaced by Methanol Reformer
/ Fuel Cell based platforms in the next two years.
Diesel industrial Gensets, Gas Turbines running
on Naptha, LFOI (Light Fuel Oil) and other dirty fuels can also be fully replaced. Industrial boilers which are running
on diesel will also be replaced with Methanol.
India by adopting
Methanol can have its own indigenous fuel at the cost of approximately
Rs. 19 per litre at least 30% cheaper than any available fuel. Methanol fuel
can result in great environmental benefits
and can be the answer
to the burning urban pollution issue. At least 20% diesel consumption can be reduced in next
5-7 years and will result in a savings of Rs. 26,000 crore annually. Rs. 6000 crore can be annually saved from reduced bill in LPG in the next 3 years
itself. The Methanol blending program with petrol will further reduce our fuel bill by at least Rs. 5000 crore annually
in next 3 years.
Methanol Economy, if adopted by India can be one of the
best ways to mitigate the Environmental hazards of a growing economy. NITI
Aayog is preparing a road map for a full-scale implementation in the near
future.
(Adapted from PIB)
2. National
Digital Library of India (Relecant
for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Science
& Technology)
The Union Human Resource Development Minister, Shri Prakash
Javadekar launched the new
digital initiative of HRD Ministry
‘National Digital Library.
Who has launched NDL?
This National Digital
Library of India
(NDLI) is a project of the Ministry of Human Resource Development under
the aegis of National Mission
on Education through
Information and
Communication Technology (NMEICT). The objective of NDL is to make
digital educational resources
available to all citizens of the country to empower, inspire and encourage
learning. National Digital
Library of India is developed by IIT Kharagpur.
What is NDL?
NDL is the Single Window Platform that collects and
collates metadata from premier learning institutions in India and abroad, as
well as other relevant sources. It is a digital repository containing textbooks, articles, videos,
audio books, lectures, simulations, fiction
and all other kinds of learning media.
National Digital Library is a 24x7 ubiquitous knowledge
resource that is accessible to anyone with internet
access and it is built to enable
the rise of Digital India.
The Minister said that
anybody can access the digital library anytime and anywhere absolutely-free of
cost.
What are the available resources on NDL?
NDLI is a digital library
that makes quality
learning resources available
to all learners and has 1.7 Crore content
from more than 160 sources,
in over 200 languages, everywhere and 30 lakh users are registered on NDL as on date and our
target is to increase the users 10 times in a year. NDLI platform is
collaborative in nature and extended his regards to contributing institutions
which have made available their digital repositories for integration with NDLI.
Apart from website,
NDL is also available on the Mobile
app. NDLI Mobile
app is enabling access to rich digital content
of libraries across
the country and even foreign
repositories to users even in the remotest of areas. Users can search for content
using various parameters like subject matter, source,
content type and more. Right now the app is available in three
languages – English, Hindi and Bengali.
(Adapted from PIB)
3. Oxytocin
formulations ban to come into
effect from 1st July 2018
(Relevant for GS Prelims, GS Mains Paper III; Science
& Technology)
Decision of government
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has restricted
the manufacture of Oxytocin formulations for domestic
use to public sector only from 1st July 2018. It has also banned the import of Oxytocin
and its formulations.
From 1st July 2018, no private manufacturer will be
allowed to manufacture the drug for domestic use. Only Karnataka Antibiotics
& Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KAPL), a public sector company, would
be manufacturing this
drug for domestic
use from that
date. The Oxytocin formulations meant for domestic
consumption will be supplied by the manufacturer, i.e.
KAPL, to the registered hospitals and clinics in public and
private sector directly . Oxytocin in any form or name will not be allowed to be sold through retail Chemist.
What Is Oxytocin?
Oxytocin is a hormone known
to trigger a wide variety
of physical and psychological effects and is commonly used to facilitate childbirth.
Misuse of Oxytocin
The drug is used by dairy owners and farmers to boost milk
production and make vegetables look bigger and fresher.
Ban on Retail Sale
The Government of India banned
retail sale of the hormone
in 2014 after it was found that indiscriminate use of Oxytocin in
milch animals and farms was causing irreversible hormone damage.
(Adapted
from PIB and Background from PrepMate-Cengage Science
& Technology, Page 211)
Miscellaneous
1.
SURYA KIRAN-XIII (Relevant for GS Prelims)
Exercise SURYA KIRAN
The 13th edition of bilateral annual military Exercise
SURYA KIRAN, between India and Nepal Army commenced today at Pithoragarh. The aim of exercise is joint training
of troops in counter
insurgency/ counter terrorism operations in both jungle &
mountainous terrain and
disaster management. Exercise SURYA KIRAN can be termed as the facade of long
standing strategic ties between India
and Nepal.
As part of the exercise important lectures,
demonstrations and drills related to counter insurgency, counter terrorism
operations and disaster management will be conducted. Both the Armies will also share their valuable
experiences in countering such situations as also
refined drills and procedures for joint operation
wherever the need so arises.
The culmination of exercise will be done with a 72 hours
joint exercise which will show the
joint skills of soldiers while conducting any counter terrorist
operation.
(Adapted
from PIB)
2.
India
makes unprecedented progress in coconut cultivation from mid 2014 to 2018 & becomes the leading country in coconut production and
productivity (Relevant for GS Prelims)
India has made unprecedented progress
in coconut cultivation from mid 2014 to 2018 and
now it has become the leading country
in coconut production and productivity.
Productivity levels of
coconut
Productivity increased to 11516 fruits per hectare in 2017-18 as
compared to 10122 in 2013-14.
Exports of coconut
Owing to an increase in production of coconut, India has
been exporting coconut oil to Malaysia, Indonesia and Sri Lanka
since April 2017. Till March 2017, India was importing coconut oil. Also, for the first time India has been exporting dry coconut in large quantities to the U.S and European countries. In 2017-18, India exported coconut
worth Rs 1602.38 crore while imports stood at Rs 259.70 crore.
(Adapted from PIB)
3.
‘JANAUSHADHI SUVIDHA’ – Oxo-biodegradable Sanitary Napkin
– under the Pradhan
Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) (Relevant for GS Prelims)
Union Minister of State for
Chemicals & Fertilizers, Road Transport &
Highways, Shipping, Shri
Mansukh L. Mandaviya, launched the ‘JANAUSHADHI SUVIDHA’, the Oxo- biodegradable Sanitary
Napkin, under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP),
here today.
What is the special about the napkins?
Napkins are unique
product that would
ensure Affordability, Hygiene
as well as Ease of use
and disposal for them.
The average price
of sanitary napkins
available in the market today
is around Rs. 8 per
pad, whereas now with the launch
of the SUVIDHA napkins at Rs. 2.50 per pad.
Why it is important to use napkin?
It is one of the most important requirement in ensuring
the Health Security
to that section of Women in India who still use unhygienic aids during
menstrual period due to non- affordability of some of the popular brands of
sanitary napkins available in the market today. Such unhygienic aids
cause fungal infections, Reproductive Tract Infection, Urinary Tract Infection, Cervical
cancer and also make women vulnerable to infertility.
According to the National Family Health Survey 2015-16, about 58 percent
of women aged between 15 to 24 years use locally
prepared napkins, sanitary napkins and tampons. Further, about 78 percent women
in urban areas use hygienic methods of protection during menstrual period; only
48 percent women in rural areas have access to clean sanitary napkins.
(Adapted from PIB)
4.
Rural sanitation coverage under Swachh
Bharat crosses the 85% mark
(Relevant for GS Prelims)
What are the achievements?
Under the Swachh Bharat Mission, the largest behavior
change programme in the world, the rural sanitation coverage
of India has now risen
to 85%. Through
mobilization of rural communities, 7.4 crore toilets
have been built
across rural India,
and as an outcome, over
3.8 lakh villages and 391 districts have been declared Open
Defecation Free (ODF).
This is significant because, under the Swachh Bharat
Mission (Grameen), sanitation coverage has increased to more than double the
coverage at the time of the launch of the Mission.
How has the data been gathered?
A recent survey conducted by an Independent Verification
Agency across 90,000 households in over 6000 villages
has found the usage of toilets in rural India to be 93.4%.
Two independent surveys conducted in the past by the Quality Council of India
in 2017, and National Sample
Survey Organization in 2016, have
pegged the usage
of these toilets
at
91% and 95% respectively. This success has been achieved
due to the difference in approach to sanitation adopted by the Swachh Bharat Mission in comparison to previous
sanitation programmes in the country.
Swachh Bharat Mission
The Swachh Bharat Mission is the first sanitation
programme in the country to measure outcomes
(ODF) instead of output (toilets) alone. The SBM's
emphasis on behavior
change in rural sanitation at the grassroots also leads to rigorous verification and sustainability of the benefits accrued
to rural communities under the progress
made. The SBM is a people's
movement, a true jan andolan, and it is this people's participation that has
led to the success being witnessed under the Mission.
The Mission is on track
to achieve an ODF India by October 2019.
(Adapted from The PIB)
5. Appointment of Vigilance Commissioner (Relevant for GS Prelims)
Shri Sharad Kumar (Indian Police Service, Retd.,) has
been appointed as the Vigilance Commissioner
in the Central
Vigilance Commission, New Delhi for a term of four
years from the date on which
he enters upon his office, or till he attains the age of sixty-five years,
whichever is earlier.
Background
The CVC is a multi-member body consisting of a Central
Vigilance Commissioner (chairperson) and not more than two vigilance
commissioners. They are appointed by the
President on the recommendation of a three-member committee consisting of the
Prime Minister as its
head, the Union
minister of home
affairs, and the
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. They hold office for a
term of four years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
CVC appoints the commissioners for departmental inquiries (CDIs) who function
as inquiry officers to
conduct oral inquiries in departmental proceedings initiated against public
servants. They also review the working of officials and report the departmental inquiries to CVC.
6.
India-Nepal Joint
Ex SURYA KIRAN-XIII (Relevant for GS Prelims)
Exercise SURYA KIRAN-XIII, a joint military training
exercise between India & Nepal culminated
today at Pithoragarh, wherein the troops of both Armies participated in 14-day long joint training based
on counter terrorist
operations.
Besides training, both the contingents also participated
in a number of extra-curricular activities including friendly
Football, Basketball, Volleyball matches and a cultural event
on the final day
to increase the bonhomie between
troops. The joint
training was undoubtedly, an unprecedented success.
Besides promoting understanding and inter-operability between the two armies,
it further helped
in cementing ties between both the nations.
(Adapted from PIB)
7.
NITI Aayog to launch Composite Water Management Index
(Relevant for GS Prelims)
What is Composite Water Management Index?
NITI Aayog has come up with the Composite Water
Management Index as a useful
tool to assess and improve the
performance in efficient management of water resources. This index is an
attempt to inspire States and UTs towards efficient and optimal utilization of
water, and recycling thereof with a sense of urgency.
In view of limitations on availability of water
resources and rising demand for water, sustainable management of water
resources has acquired critical importance. The index can be utilised to
formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water
resources. It has been finalized after an elaborate exercise including seeking
feedback from the States and consultation with reputed experts.
The index would provide useful information for the
States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them
to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water
resources.
(Adapted from PIB)
8.
Discovery of a Sub-Saturn like Planet around a Sun-like
star (Relevant for GS Prelims)
What is the discovery?
A Team of scientists and engineers led by Prof. Abhijit
Chakraborty of Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, discovered a
sub-Saturn or super-neputune size planet (mass
of about 27 Earth Mass and size of 6 Earth Radii)
around a Sun-like
star. The planet will be known as EPIC 211945201b or K2-236b.
Which technology was used?
The discovery was made by measuring the mass of the
planet using the indigenously designed “PRL Advance Radial-velocity Abu-sky
Search” (PARAS)
spectrograph integrated with 1.2m Telescope at PRL's Gurushikhar Observatory in Mount Abu, India. Only 23 such
planetary systems (including this discovery) are known to this date with masses
between 10 and 70 Earth mass and size of 4 to 8 Earth radii with such precise measurement of mass.
Why is
discovery important?
This discovery is very important for
understanding the formation mechanism of such super-Neptune or sub-Saturn kind of planets,
that are too close to the host star and as well as planet formations around Sun-like stars.
A
boost to India’s position
With this discovery, India has joined
a handful of countries, which have discovered planets around stars beyond
our solar system.
Further, PARAS is the first of its kind spectrograph in Asia, which can measure
the mass of a planet going around a star. Very few spectrographs exist around the world that can do such precise
measurements.
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