Current Affairs (CONSOLIDaTION)

June 2021 (Part – I)

Drishti, 641, First Floor, Dr. Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi-110009 Phone: 87501 87501, WhatsApp: 92058 85200, IVR: 8010-440-440 Email: [email protected] Contents

Polity and Governance...... 1 zz Revised Subsidy for Electric Vehicles...... 1 zz National AI Portal...... 2 zz Beed Model of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana...... 3 zz QS WorldUniversity Rankings 2022...... 5 zz Swachh BharatMission Grameen Phase-II...... 6 zz I-Familia: Global Databaseto Identify Missing Persons...... 7 zz New PensionRules for Civil Servants...... 8 zz Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005...... 9 zz Horticulture Cluster Development Programme...... 10 zz Section 304Bof IPC: Dowry Deaths...... 11 zz BIS SDO Recognition Scheme...... 12 zz Time to DefineLimits of Sedition:SC...... 13 zz Model Tenancy Act...... 14 zz Mega Food Park Scheme...... 15 zz Bamboo MarketWindow on GeM Portal...... 16 zz Council of Scientificand Industrial Research...... 17 zz Incredible IndiaTourist Facilitator Certification Programme...... 18 zz Chemical Weapons Convention ...... 19 zz PerformanceGrading Index (PGI)...... 20 zz Model Panchayat Citizens Charter...... 21 zz World Food Safety Day...... 22 zz Draft Rules for Live- Streaming Court Proceedings...... 24 zz YUVA Scheme for Young Writers...... 25 zz Surakshit Hum Surakshit Tum Abhiyan: Aspirational Districts...... 25 zz Railways Gets 5 MHz Spectrum...... 26 zz Fast Tracking Freight in India: NITI Aayog...... 27 zz Rengma Nagas Demand Autonomous District Council...... 28 zz AISHE-2020...... 30 zz Online Module for Compiling Out-of-School Children’s Data ...... 31 zz Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization Scheme...... 32

Economic Scenario...... 34 zz Minimum Support Price...... 34 zz El Salvador Adopts Bitcoin as Legal Tender...... 35 zz Global Economic Prospects: World Bank...... 36 zz World Milk Day...... 38 zz World Energy Investment Report, 2021: IEA...... 39 zz US Suspends Retaliatory Tariffs on India...... 41 zz EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences ...... 42 International Relations...... 44 zz Joint Statement on Multilateralism: BRICS ...... 44 zz SCO Agreement on Mass Media Cooperation...... 45 zz India-Australia Meeting...... 46 zz India Abstains from Latest Resolution Against Israel...... 47 zz Maldives’ UNGA Presidency...... 48 zz Atlantic Charter...... 49 zz 47th G7 Summit ...... 50

Science and Technology...... 53 zz PASIPHAE: A Sky Surveying Project ...... 53 zz EnVision Mission to Venus: European Space Agency...... 54 zz CIBER-2: Counting of Stars...... 56 zz Corbevax Covid-19 Vaccine...... 56 zz Crops Lost to Pests...... 57 zz China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ EAST...... 58 zz Disinfection System Vajra Kavach...... 59 zz AmbiTAG...... 60 zz First Human Case of H10N3 Bird Flu...... 61 zz Supersonic Commercial Plane...... 62 zz Fast Radio Bursts...... 63 zz New Shephard: Taking Tourists to Space...... 64

Environment and Ecology...... 66 zz Rescuing Gharials: Mahanadi River ...... 66 zz Dehing Patkai and Raimona National Parks: Assam...... 67 zz CEO Water Mandate...... 68 zz Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve and Vaigai River: Tamil Nadu...... 69 zz State of Finance for Nature Report...... 70 zz Blue-finned Mahseer...... 71 zz CEM-Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative...... 72 zz ‘Sea Snot’ Outbreak in Turkey...... 73 zz Hindu Kush Himalayan Mountains...... 74 zz India’s Ethanol Roadmap...... 75 zz Operation Oliva for Olive Ridley Turtles...... 77 zz Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought...... 78

History...... 80 zz Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj...... 80 zz Ram Prasad Bismil...... 81

Geography...... 83 zz Rare Earth Metals and China’s Monopoly...... 83 zz Devika River Project: J&K...... 84 zz Black Carbon and Glacier Melting...... 85 zz Southern Ocean...... 86 Social Issues...... 88 zz Resolution 75/260 of UNGA: HIV/AIDS...... 88 zz PM-CARES for Children Scheme...... 89 zz EPFO and ESIC Extension To Covid-Hit Families...... 90 zz World No Tobacco Day...... 91 zz China Relaxes Two Child Policy: Lessons for India...... 92 zz Seniorcare Aging Growth Engine Initiative...... 94 zz Women in Military...... 95 zz China-ASEAN Meeting...... 96

Art & Culture...... 98 zz Tulu Language...... 98

Security...... 100 zz Project 75 India...... 100 zz Positive Indigenisation List...... 101 zz Recent Reforms in Defence Sector...... 102 zz Innovations for Defence Excellence ...... 103

Miscellaneous...... 105 zz Global Liveability Index: EIU...... 105 zz 37th Anniversary of Operation Blue Star...... 105 zz Operation Pangea XIV: Interpol...... 106 zz Nano Urea Liquid: IFFCO...... 106 zz Saral Jeevan Bima: IRDAI...... 107 zz Padma Awards...... 108 zz Heritage Trees...... 108 zz Dagmara Hydro-Electric Project: Bihar...... 109 www.drishtiIAS.com CURRENT AFFAIRS JUNE 2021 1 Polity and Governance

Highlights zz Revised Subsidy for Electric Vehicles zz Incredible India Tourist Facilitator Certification Programme zz National AI Portal zz Chemical Weapons Convention zz Beed Model of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana zz Performance Grading Index (PGI) zz QS World University Rankings 2022 zz Model Panchayat Citizens Charter zz Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen Phase-II zz World Food Safety Day zz I-Familia: Global Database to Identify Missing Persons zz Draft Rules for Live-Streaming Court Proceedings zz New Pension Rules for Civil Servants zz YUVA Scheme for Young Writers zz Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 zz Surakshit Hum Surakshit Tum Abhiyan: Aspirational Districts zz Horticulture Cluster Development Programme zz Railways Gets 5 MHz Spectrum zz Section 304B of IPC: Dowry Deaths zz Fast Tracking Freight in India: NITI Aayog zz BIS SDO Recognition Scheme zz Rengma Nagas Demand Autonomous District Council zz Time to Define Limits of Sedition: SC zz AISHE-2020 zz Model Tenancy Act zz Online Module for Compiling Out-of-School Children’s Data zz Mega Food Park Scheme zz Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization Scheme zz Bamboo Market Window on GeM Portal zz Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

€€The government has also capped incentives for Revised Subsidy electric two-wheelers at 40% of the cost of vehicles, for Electric Vehicles up from 20% earlier. ¾¾Significance: Why in News €€It will bring down the prices of electric two-wheelers nearer to the IC (internal combustion engine) Recently, the central government has decided to vehicles and remove one of the biggest blocks increase the subsidy by 50% on electric two-wheelers of the high sticker price of electric two-wheelers. under the FAME-II (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing €€Together with the other important factors like of Electric Vehicles) scheme in view of the adoption of extremely low running cost, low maintenance and eco-friendly vehicles. zero emission, such price levels will surely spur a Key Points substantial +demand for electric two-wheelers. ¾¾FAME-II: ¾¾New Modification: €€Background: €€The Centre has made a partial modification of the FAME-II, including increasing the zzFAME India is a part of the National Electric demand incentive for electric two-wheelers Mobility Mission (NEMM) Plan. Main thrust to Rs. 15,000 per KWh from an earlier uniform of FAME is to encourage electric vehicles by subsidy of Rs 10,000 per KWh for all EVs, providing subsidies. including plug-in hybrids and strong hybrids „„NEMM intends to allow hybrid and electric except buses. vehicles to become the first choice for the

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purchasers so that these vehicles can replace stations will be established in metros, other the conventional vehicles and thus reduce million plus cities, smart cities and cities of Hilly liquid fuel consumption in the country from states across the country so that there will be the automobile sector. availability of at least one charging station in a zzTwo Phases of the Scheme: grid of 3 km x 3 km. „„Phase I: Started in 2015 and was completed zzEstablishment of Charging stations are also on 31st March, 2019 proposed on major highways connecting major city clusters. „„Phase II: Started from April, 2019, will be completed by 31st March, 2022. ¾¾Concerns: zzThe scheme covers Hybrid & Electric technologies €€The adoption of electric vehicles depends on several like Mild Hybrid, Strong Hybrid, Plug in Hybrid factors, including robust charging infrastructure, & Battery Electric Vehicles. easy financing and adequate performance in real- world conditions. These zzMonitoring Authority: Department of Heavy require considerable Industries, the Ministry of Heavy Industries government intervention and planning, especially and Public Enterprises. with the sector in its nascent stages. €€E-rickshaw drivers also zzFame India Scheme has four focus areas: depend on unsafe, sometimes illegal, sources of power to charge their „„Technology development vehicles. Charging is done in unsafe conditions, „„Demand Creation which poses a danger to both the driver and the „„Pilot Projects commuter. „„Charging Infrastructure zzUnder this scheme, demand incentives will National AI Portal be availed by buyers (end users/consumers) upfront at the point of purchase and the same shall be reimbursed by the manufacturers from Why in News Department of Heavy Industries, on a monthly The ‘National AI Portal’, celebrated its first basis. anniversary on 28th May, 2021. €€Salient Features of FAME II: Key Points zzEmphasis on electrification of the public transportation that includes shared transport. ¾¾About the National AI Portal: zzAims to support, through subsidies, approximately €€It is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Electronics 7000 e-Buses, 5 lakh e-3 Wheelers, 55000 and IT (MeitY), National e-Governance Division e-4 Wheeler Passenger Cars and 10 lakh e-2 (NeGD) and NASSCOM. Wheelers. zzNeGD: In 2009, NeGD was created as an zzIn the 3-Wheel (W) and 4-Wheel (W) segment Independent Business Division under the Digital incentives will be applicable mainly tovehicles India Corporation (a not-for-profit company used for public transport or registered for set up by MeitY). commercial purposes. zzNASSCOM: A not-for-profit industry association, zzIn the 2-Wheel (W) segment, the focus will be is the apex body for the IT and IT enabled on the private vehicles. products and services sector in India. zzTo encourage advanced technologies, the €€It serves as a central hub for Artificial Intelligence benefits of incentives will be extended to only (AI) related news, learning, articles, events and those vehicles which are fitted with advanced activities etc., in India and beyond. batteries like a Lithium Ion battery and other ¾¾About Artificial Intelligence (AI): new technology batteries. €€It describes the action of machines accomplishing zzProposes for the establishment of charging tasks that have historically required human infrastructure, whereby about 2700 charging intelligence.

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€€It includes technologies like machine learning, €€In 2020, India joined the ‘Global Partnership on pattern recognition, big data, neural networks, Artificial Intelligence (GPAI)’ as a founding member self algorithms etc. to support the responsible and human-centric €€AI involves complex things such as feeding a development and use of AI. particular data into the machine and making it €€‘RAISE 2020 - Responsible AI for Social react as per the different situations. Empowerment 2020’, a mega virtual summit, was €€AI is being used across different industries including jointly organised by the NITI Aayog and the MeitY. finance and healthcare. €€The larger aim of the program “Responsible AI for €€As per a report by PwC, India reported a 45% Youth” is to provide an equal opportunity to all increase in the use of AI, the highest among all Indian youths - in urban, rural and remote corners countries, following the outbreak of the virus. of India - to become human-centric designers who ¾¾Recent Examples of Use of AI in India: can create real AI solutions to solve economic and social impact issues of India. €€For the Covid-19 Response: An AI-enabled Chatbot was used by MyGov for ensuring communications. ¾¾Barriers to Adoption of AI: €€In Judicial System: An AI based portal ‘SUPACE’ €€Limited understanding of AI: Many Indian is aimed at assisting judges with legal research. companies may have not yet understood the full benefits of leveraging AI in their companies. €€In Agriculture: ICRISAT has developed an AI-power sowing app, which utilises weather models and data €€Low Investments and Less Evolved Startup on local crop yield and rainfall to more accurately Ecosystem: Startup/investment funding ecosystem predict and advise local farmers on when they in India is yet to scale up in terms of AI startups should plant their seeds. and service providers. €€In Disaster Management: An AI-based flood €€Limited Availability of AI Trained Talent: There is forecasting model that has been implemented in limited infrastructure to ‘democratise’ and scale- Bihar is now being expanded to cover the whole up important AI skills such as deep learning and of India to ensure that around 200 million people neural networks. get alerts and warnings 48 hours earlier about impending floods. Beed Model of Pradhan €€In Banking & Financial Services Industry: Few banks in India have adopted AI to increase digitisation to Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana improve customer experience and use algorithms in risk management (for example, fraud detection). Why in News ¾¾ Initiatives Taken to Boost Use of AI: Recently, the Maharashtra Government asked the €€The National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence(NITI Prime Minister for state-wide implementation of the ‘Beed Aayog, June 2018) which is focused on inclusive model’ of the crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri AI (AI for all), and the New Education Policy(NEP, Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY). 2020) which addresses the need to inculcate AI in the curriculum are the right strategic steps to Key Points encourage core and applied research. ¾¾About Beed Model: €€The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MTA) has inked €€Beed is a district of Maharashtra located in the a MoU with Microsoft to support the digital drought-prone Marathwada region. transformation of schools such as Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) and Ashram Schools, €€80-110 Formula: This model is also called 80-110 among others under the Ministry. Formula. €€US India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI) initiative zzUnder this plan, the insurer’s potential losses has been launched to scale up the science and are restricted. technology relationship between India and the zzThe insurance firmdoes not have to entertain United States. claims above 110% of the gross premium.

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The state government has to bear the cost of In the case of annual commercial and horticultural compensation above 110% of the premium crops, the premium is 5%. collected to insulate the insurer from losses €€Premium cost over and above the farmer share (bridge amount). is equally subsidized by States and GoI. zz However, if the compensation is less than the €€However, GoI shared 90% of the premium subsidy premium collected, the insurance company for North Eastern States to promote the uptake would keep 20% of the amount as handling in the region. charges and reimburse the rest to the state ¾¾PMFBY 2.0 (PMFBY was revamped in the 2020 Kharif government (premium surplus). Season): ¾¾Reason for Implementing this Model: €€Completely Voluntary: Prior to 2020, the scheme €€Benefits to States: was optional for farmers who did not have loans zz In most years, the Another Source of Fund: pending, but mandatory for loanee farmers. Since claims-to-premium ratio is low. In the Beed 2020, it has been optional for all farmers. model, the profit of the insurance company is expected to reduce and the state government €€Limit to Central Subsidy: The Cabinet decided to would access another source of funds. cap the Centre’s premium subsidy under the scheme for premium rates up to 30% for unirrigated areas/ zzReduce the Burden of Financing PMFBY: The crops and areas/crops. reimbursed amount can lead to lower budgetary 25% for irrigated provision for PMFBY by the state for the following €€More Flexibility to States: The government has year, or help in financing the paying the bridge given the flexibility to states/UTs to implement amount in case of a year of crop loss. PMFBY and given them the option to select any €€Flaws in PMFBY: number of additional risk covers/features. zzFiscally-stressed states have over the years €€Investing in ICE Activities: Insurance companies dissented to footing the premium bill for the have to spend 0.5% of the total premium collected PMFBY, resulting ininsurers not honouring the on information, education and communication farmers’ claims on time. (IEC) activities. zzIn 2020, far-below-normal monsoon rainfalls in ¾¾Use of Technology under PMFBY: central Maharashtra’s Beed district dissuaded €€Crop Insurance App: insurers from covering farmers in the district zzProvides for easy enrollment of farmers. under the PMFBY for kharif 2020. zzFacilitate easier reporting of crop loss within ¾¾Challenges: 72 hours of occurrence of any event. €€Questions remain onhow the state government €€Latest Technological Tools: To assess crop losses, is going to raise the excess amount, and how satellite imagery, remote-sensing technology, the reimbursed amount would be administered. drones, artificial intelligence and machine learning €€For farmers, this model does not seem to have are used. any direct benefit. €€PMFBY Portal: For integration of land records. Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana ¾¾Performance of the Scheme: ¾¾About: PMFBY was launched in 2016. €€The Scheme covers over 5.5 crore farmer €€It provides a comprehensive insurance cover against applications on average per year. failure of the crop thus helping in stabilising the €€Aadhar seeding (linking Aadhaar through Internet income of the farmers. banking portals) has helped in speedy claim ¾¾Scope: All food & oilseed crops and annual commercial/ settlement directly into the farmer accounts. horticultural crops for which past yield data is available. €€One notable example is mid-season adversity ¾¾Premium: The prescribed premium is 2% to be paid by claims of nearly Rs. 30 crore in Rajasthan during farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all rabi crops. Rabi 2019-20 Locust attack.

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QS World University Rankings 2022

Why in News QS World University Rankings 2022 shows that India’s tally in the top 200 universities hasn’t changed for the fifth straight year.

QS World University Rankings ¾¾Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a leading global career and education network for ambitious professionals looking to further their personal and professional development. ¾¾QS develops and successfully implements methods of comparative data collection and analysis used to highlight institutions’ strengths. ¾¾The ‘QS World University Rankings’ is an annual €€Overall, there are 22 Indian institutions in the top publication of university rankings which comprises 1,000 list compared to 21 in the 2021 Rankings, the global overall and subject rankings. with the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in ¾¾Six parameters and their weightage for the evaluation: Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Madras making €€Academic Reputation (40%) major strides in rankings. €€Employer Reputation (10%) €€Jawaharlal Nehru University has entered the €€Faculty/Student Ratio (20%) top 1,000 of the rankings for the first time, as its €€Citations per faculty (20%) new undergraduate engineering programme now makes it eligible for the rating. €€International Faculty Ratio (5%) €€ maintained its position as the €€International Student Ratio (5%) IIT Bombay top Indian institution for the fourth consecutive year, Key Points although it fell five places in the global rankings to the joint 177th position. ¾¾Global Rankings: €€IIT Delhi (185 rank) overtook the Indian Institute €€ Top Ranks: of Science, Bangalore (186 rank), giving India three zzMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) institutions in the world’s top 200. of the US is the top university for the 10th zzIISc was also declared the world’s top research consecutive year. university by the indicator of most citations zzThe University of Oxford (UK) has risen to per faculty member, when adjusted for faculty second rank for the first time since 2006, while size. Stanford University (US) and the University of ¾¾India’s Performance: Cambridge (UK) share third spot. €€Indian universities have improved their performance €€Asian Institutions: on academic reputation metric and research zzSingapore’s National University of Singapore impact, but continue tostruggle on the teaching and Nanyang Technological University, and capacity metric. China’s Tsinghua University and Peking zzNo Indian university ranks among the top 250 University, are the only Asian universities in for faculty-student ratio. the global top 20. zzPoor performance on teaching capacity is not ¾¾Indian Institutions: because of any drop in hiring, but rather an

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increased student intake mandated by the government to implement reservations for Swachh Bharat economically weaker sections. Mission Grameen Phase-II ¾¾Concerns: €€No Objective Methodology: Why in News zzThe rankings do not accurately reflect the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) [SBM (G)] Phase- quality of education in India, as they are II is making steady progress amidst Covid-19 with 1249 largely dependent on international perception villages declared ODF(Open Defecation Free) Plus. factors. ¾¾SBM (G) Phase-II was approved in February 2020 by zzHalf of the score comes from reputation indicators the Ministry of Jal Shakti. which are based on perception, rather than ¾¾ODF Plus entails that ODF behaviours are sustained, any objective methodology. and every village has access to solid and liquid waste €€Manipulation: management. zzIt is being blamed that this year’s improvement Key Points in scores was simply a manipulation of numbers by the rankings agency, driven by commercial ¾¾About SBM(G) Phase-II: pressures. €€About: It emphasizes the sustainability of ¾¾Related Indian Initiatives: achievements under phase I and to provide adequate facilities forSolid/Liquid & plastic Waste €€Institutions of Eminence (IoE) Scheme: Management (SLWM) in rural India. zzIt is a government’s scheme to provide the €€Implementation: SBM (G) Phase-II will be regulatory architecture for setting up or implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in a mission upgrading of 20 Institutions (10 from public mode with a total outlay of Rs. 1,40,881 crores. sector and 10 from the private sector) as world- €€Funding Pattern and Norms: The fund sharing class teaching and research institutions called pattern between Centre and States will be 90:10 ‘Institutions of Eminence’. for North-Eastern States and Himalayan States €€National Education Policy, 2020: and UT of J&K; 60:40 for other States; and 100% zzIt aims to introduce several changes in the for other Union Territories. Indian education system - from the school to zzFunding Norms for SLWM have been rationalized college level and make India a global knowledge and changed to per capita basis in place of the superpower. number of households. €€Impacting Research Innovation and Technology €€Monitoring: The SLWM component of ODF Plus (IMPRINT): will be monitored on the basis of output-outcome zzIt is a first-of-its-kind Pan-IIT and IISc joint indicators for 4 key areas: initiative to develop a new education policy zzPlastic waste management, and a roadmap for research to solve major zzBiodegradable solid waste management engineering and technology challenges that (including animal waste management), India must address and champion to enable, zzGreywater (Household Wastewater) management empower and embolden the nation for inclusive zzFecal sludge management. growth and self-reliance. €€Significance: €€ Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY): zzIt will continue to generate employment and zzIt was announced with a view to promote provide impetus to the rural economy through innovation of a higher order that directly construction of household toilets and community impacts the needs of the Industry and thereby toilets, as well as infrastructure for SLWM such improves the competitive edge of Indian as compost pits, soak pits, waste stabilisation manufacturing. ponds, material recovery facilities etc.

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zzIt will also help rural India effectively handle the zzFamily members must give their consent for challenge of solid and liquid waste management their data to be used for international searching. and will help in substantial improvement in the €€It builds on Interpol’s long-standing success in health of the villagers in the country. direct DNA matching. ¾¾Swachh Bharat Mission (G) Phase-I: ¾¾Working: €€The rural sanitation coverage in the country at the €€I-Familia has three components: time of launch of SBM (G) on 2nd October, 2014 zzA dedicated global database to host the DNA was reported as 38.7%. profiles provided by relatives, held separately €€More than 10 crore individual toilets have been from any criminal data. constructed since the launch of the mission; as a zzDNA matching software called Bonaparte. result, rural areas in all the States have declared zzInterpretation guidelines, produced by Interpol, themselves ODF as on 2nd October, 2019. to efficiently identify and report potential ¾¾ Other Schemes as part of SBM: matches. €€GOBAR-DHAN (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro €€In the event of a match, notifications are Resources) Scheme: It was launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in 2018. sent to the countries that supplied the DNA profile from the unidentified body and from zzThe scheme aims to augment income of farmers by converting biodegradable waste the family respectively. into compressed biogas (CBG). ¾¾Significance: €€Individual Household Latrines (IHHL): Under €€There is growing international concern about the SBM, individuals get around 15 thousand for the number of missing persons and unidentified victims construction of toilets. around the world due to increased international €€Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan: The Ministry of travel, the prevalence of organized crime and Education launched Swachh Vidyalaya Programme human trafficking, the rise in global migration, under Swachh Bharat Mission with an objective conflicts and natural disasters. to provide separate toilets for boys and girls in all €€All countries have unsolved missing persons government schools within one year. investigations as well as human remains thatcannot be identified using their national systems alone. I-Familia: Global Database ¾¾Direct DNA Matching vs Kinship DNA Matching: €€A direct DNA sample from the missing person, to Identify Missing Persons for example a prior medical sample or a personal item such as a toothbrush, can be compared to Why in News the DNA from an unidentified body or human Recently, the Interpol has launched a new global remains to see if a match can be found. This type database named “I-Familia” to identify missing persons of identification has been carried out via the through family DNA and help the police solve cold cases Interpol DNA Database since 2004. in member countries. €€Biological relatives share a percentage of their DNA, depending on their relationship. In the event Key Points that a DNA sample from the missing person cannot ¾¾About I-Familia: be obtained for direct matching, DNA from close €€The first of its kind, I-Familia is a global database for family members (parents, children, siblings) can identifying missing persons based on international also be compared. This is where I-Familia is set DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) kinship matching. to make a difference. €€The database seeks to identify missing persons or unidentified human remains when direct Interpol comparison is not possible, by using DNA samples ¾¾The International Criminal Police Organization from family members instead. (Interpol) is an intergovernmental organization that

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helps coordinate the police force of 194 member security, strategic, scientific or economic interests countries. of the State, or relation with a foreign State or ¾¾Each of the member countries hosts an Interpol which would lead to incitement of an offence”. National Central Bureau (NCB). This connects their ¾¾Amended Rule-8(3)(a): national law enforcement with other countries and €€Officials retired fromcertain intelligence or security with the General Secretariat. establishments (included under 2nd schedule of RTI €€The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is Act) will not be allowed to write anything about designated as the National Central Bureau of India. their organisation without permission. ¾¾It is headquartered in Lyon, France. zzThe Second Schedule of the Right to Information covers including ¾¾Interpol Notices are international requests for (RTI) Act 2005 26 organisations the Intelligence Bureau, R&AW, cooperation or alerts allowing police in member Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, CBI, NCB, BSF, CRPF, countries to share critical crime-related information. ITBP and CISF. €€Requires the retired officials to sign an undertaking - Form 26 - and declare that without the prior approval of the competent authority they will not publish any information related to the “domain of the organisation and obtained by virtue of my working in the said organisation”. €€The amendment expands the scope to include any information related to “domain of the organisation, any reference or information about any personnel and his designation, and expertise or knowledge gained by virtue of working in that organisation.” New Pension ¾¾Purpose of the Amendment: €€The amendment was in process for around Rules for Civil Servants four years after the Committee of Secretaries recommended it. Why in News €€The move was prompted by concerns arising out of the fact that some high-profile retired officers Recently, the Central Government has amended its had written books on their tenure, and some of pension rules putting new restrictions on officials of these had revealed information. intelligence and security organisations after retirement. ¾¾Implications: ¾¾The government has amended Rule-8(3)(a) of the €€This amendment to Rule 8 means that pension CCS (Central Civil Services) Pension Rules-1972. can be withheld or withdrawn if the pensioner ¾¾The Centre has notified Central Civil Services (Pension) disobeys the rules. Amendment Rules, 2020. €€This change in rules is likely to impact retired Key Points officials of security and intelligence organisations who write in newspapers and magazines or ¾¾Background: author books on their former organisations and €€The said rules were first drafted in 1972and have experiences. been amended 47 times. €€In 2008, Rule 8 pertaining to “pension subject Rules Pertaining to Civil Servants to future good conduct” was first amended by ¾¾Rule 9 of CCS Pension Rules-1972 (Departmental inserting the condition thatretired intelligence and Proceeding after Retirement): security officials will not publish any material that €€It says that if any government official hascommitted affects the“ sovereignty and integrity of India, the any misconduct and retires, he or she may face

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departmental proceedings only until four years zzThe Legislative Department of the Ministry of after the date of committing that misconduct. Law advised “that any such restriction (against ¾¾Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964: officials joining politics or contesting polls) €€It puts some restrictions on Government Employees may not stand the test of valid classification while in Service. under Article 14 (equality before the law) of the Constitution of India”. zzRule 7: It restricts government servants from resorting to or abetting any form of strike or coercion. Section 51 of the Disaster zzRule 8: It restricts them, except with government Management Act, 2005 sanction, from owning or participating in the editing or management of any newspaper or other periodical publication or electronic media. Why in News zzRule 9: It restricts a government servant from Recently, the former Chief Secretary of West Bengal making statements of fact or opinion in writing was served a show cause notice by the Home Ministry or in a telecast or a broadcast “which has the under Section 51 of the Disaster Management (DM) Act, effect of anadverse criticism of any current or 2005. recent policy or action of the Central Government or a State Government”. Key Points €€Restriction on Political Activity while in Service: ¾¾About the Show Cause Notice: zzThe Conduct Rules bars government servants €€The notice was issuedfor failing to comply with the from being associated with any political party or Centre’s directions to attend the review meeting organisation, and from taking part or assisting on Cyclone Yaas chaired by the Prime Minister in any political activity. Bengal’s Kalaikunda. zzAn amendment in 2014 said, “Every government zzThe Act is violative of Section 51 (b) of the employee shall at all times maintain political DM Act, 2005. neutrality” and “commit himself to and €€Though the DoPT (Department of Personnel and uphold the supremacy of the Constitution and Training) is the cadre-controlling authority of democratic values” Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers, the ¾¾Rule 26, All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement show cause notice was served under provisions Benefits Rules) 1958 (Employment after Retirement): of the DM Act, which is under the purview of the €€It restricts a pensioner from any commercial Home Ministry. employment for one year (until 2007 it was 2 years) ¾¾Section 51 (b) of the DM Act: after retirement, except with previous sanction of €€The section prescribes“punishment for obstruction” the central government. for refusal to comply with any direction given by or €€Non-compliance can lead the central government on behalf of the Central government or the State declaring that the employee “shall not be entitled government or the National Executive Committee to the whole or such part of the pension and for or the State Executive Committee or the District such period as may be specified”. Authority under the Act. ¾¾Joining Politics after Retirement: €€Anyone refusing to comply with orders is liable for €€There is no rule to stop government servants from punishment with imprisonment up to one year, joining politics after their retirement. or fine, or both. In case this refusal leads todeath €€In 2013, the Election Commission had written to of people, the person liable shall be punished with the DoPT (Department of Personnel and Training) imprisonment up to two years. and Law Ministry, suggesting a cooling-off period €€Section 51 of the Act hastwo important reservations. for bureaucrats joining politics after retirement, zzUnder the Act, the action on the part of the but it was rejected. person has to be ‘without reasonable cause’

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and ‘failure of an officer to perform the duty without due permission or lawful excuse’. Horticulture Cluster ¾¾Previous Use of Provisions of DM Act: Development Programme €€In April 2020, the Home Ministry made spitting in public a punishable offence. The guidelines Why in News issued by the Ministry under the DM Act, which are binding on the states, also made “wearing of The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare face masks in public places mandatory.” has launched the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP) in order to promote the export of €€In March 2020, when thousands of migrants horticultural produce. gathered at Anand Vihar railway station in Delhi due to the sudden announcement of the countrywide ¾¾Horticulture is the branch of plant agriculture dealing lockdown, two Delhi government officers were with garden crops, generally fruits, vegetables, and served show cause notice by the Centre under ornamental plants. the DM Act for dereliction of duty. Key Points ¾¾About DM Act: ¾¾Cluster Development Programme (CDP): €€The DM Act was passed by the government of India €€ in 2005 for the efficient management of disasters About: and other matters connected to it. However it zzIt is a central sector programme aimed at growing came into force in January 2006. and developing identified horticulture clusters to make them globally competitive. €€It was invoked for the first time in the country in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic in the „„Horticulture cluster is a regional/geographical year 2020. concentration of targeted horticulture crops. zzThe Centre, through the National Disaster €€Implementation: Management Authority (NDMA) headed by zzIt will be implemented by the National Horticul- the Prime Minister, invoked the provisions of ture Board (NHB) of the Ministry of Agriculture the Act to streamline the management of the and Farmers’ Welfare. pandemic, empowering District Magistrates to zzIn a pilot phase, the programme will be take decisions and centralise other decisions on implemented in 12 horticulture clusters out of supply of oxygen and movement of vehicles. the total 53 clusters selected for the programme. ¾¾Main Features of DM Act 2005: „„These clusters will be implemented through €€Nodal Agency: Cluster Development Agencies (CDAs) which zzThe Act designates the Ministry of Home Affairs are appointed on the recommendations of as the nodal ministry for steering the overall the respective State/UT Government. national disaster management. €€Objectives: €€Institutional Structure:It puts into place a systematic zzTo address all major issues related to the Indian structure of institutions at the national, state and horticulture sector including pre-production, district levels. production, post-harvest management, logistics, €€Finance: marketing and branding. zz zzIt contains the provisions for financial mechanisms To leverage geographical specialisation and such as the creation of funds for emergency promote integrated and market-led development response, National Disaster Response Fund of horticulture clusters. and similar funds at the state and district levels. zzTo converge with other initiatives of the Govern- €€Civil and Criminal Liabilities: ment such as the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund. €€ zzThe Act also devotes several sections to various Expected Benefit: civil and criminal liabilities resulting from violation zzThe programme will benefit about 10 lakh of provisions of the Act. farmers and is expected to attractan investment

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of Rs. 10,000 crore when implemented in all the 53 clusters. Section 304B of IPC: Dowry Deaths

Why in News Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) has widened the scope of section 304B of Indian Penal Code (IPC) by indicating that there is no straitjacket formula to determine the cruelty against women.

Key Points ¾¾About Section 304B of IPC: €€According to Section 304B, to make out a case of dowry death, a woman should have died of burns or other bodily injuries or “otherwise than under normal circumstances” within seven years of her marriage. €€She should have suffered cruelty or harassment from her husband or in-laws “soon before her death” in connection with demand for dowry. ¾¾Horticulture Sector in India: ¾¾Highlights of the Judgement: €€ India is the second-largest producer of horticulture €€Section 304B of IPCmust be interpreted keeping crops globally, accounting for approximately 12% in mind the legislative intent to curb the social of the world’s production of fruits and vegetables. evil of bride burning and dowry demand. zz India is a leader in producing fruits like Mango, €€The court should use their discretion to determine Banana, Pomegranate, Sapota, Acid Lime and if the period between the cruelty or harassment Aonla. and the death of the victim would come within €€In 2018-19, Andhra Pradesh followed by Maharash- the term “soon before”. tra and UP were the top states in fruit production. zzFor such determination, an important factor zzWest Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh is the establishment of a “proximate and live were the top States in vegetable production. link” between the cruelty and the consequential €€The area under horticulture crops increased to death of the victim. 25.5 million hectare in 2018-19, which is 20% of zzOver the years, courts had interpreted the phrase the total area under foodgrain, and produced 314 ‘soon before’ in Section 304B as ‘immediately million tonnes. before’. This interpretation would make it €€Recent steps taken for this sector: necessary for a woman to have been harassed zzThe Ministry has provided an enhanced moments before she died. allocation ofRs. 2250 Crore for the year 2021- €€Even the spectrum of cruelty is quite varied, as it 22 for ‘Mission for Integrated Development of can range from physical, verbal or even emotional. Horticulture’ (MIDH). No straitjacket formulae can therefore be laid zzMIDH is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for down to define what exact the phrase ‘soon the holistic growth of the horticulture sector before’ entails. covering fruits, vegetables, root & tuber crops, €€Further, the phrase “otherwise than under normal mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, circumstances” in the section calls for a liberal coconut, cashew, cocoa and bamboo. interpretation.

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zzSection 304-B, IPCdoes not take a pigeonhole approach in categorising death as homicidal or BIS SDO Recognition Scheme suicidal or accidental. €€Also, the examination of the accused about the Why in News incriminatory material against him should be done Recently, the Research Design & Standards in a fair manner. Organization (RDSO) of Indian Railways has become the zzHowever, there is a need to balance other first Institution to be declared a Standard Developing important considerations such as the right to Organization (SDO) under One Nation One Standard a speedy trial. mission of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). ¾¾Reports on Dowry Death: ¾¾RDSO took the initiative to seek recognition as a €€Dowry deaths accounted for 40% to 50% homicides Standard Developing Organization (SDO) under the in the country for almost a decade from 1999 to BIS SDO Recognition Scheme. 2018. Research Designs & Standards Organization €€In 2019 alone, 7,115 cases of dowry death were ¾¾It is the sole R&D Wing of the Ministry of Railways, registered under Section 304B of the Indian Penal is one of India’s leading Standard formulating bodies Code. undertaking standardization work for the railway Dowry sector situated in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. ¾¾The term dowry has not been defined in IPC but Key Points in Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. According to the act, it has been definedas any property or valuable ¾¾About: security given or agreed to be given directly or €€The idea of One Nation One Standard Mission indirectly: was first conceived in 2019, it was envisioned on €€By one party to a marriage to the other party the line of one nation, one ration card scheme in to a marriage or order to ensure quality products in the country. €€By the parents of either party to a marriage €€To attain the One Nation One Standard vision of or by any other person to either party to the the Government of India, BIS launched a scheme marriage or any other person at or before or which provides for Recognition of SDO. any time after (on three occasions) the marriage zzThe recognition is valid for 3 years and will require in connection with the marriage of the said renewal after completion of the validity period. parties. ¾¾Objectives: ¾¾However, customary payments as are prevalent in €€Aggregating and integrating the existing capabilities different societies, such as at the time of birth of and dedicated domain specific expertise available child etc, are not covered within dowry. with various organizations in the country engaged ¾¾Giving & taking dowry both are offences. in standards development in their specific sectors. ¾¾In addition to the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, zzThe idea is to develop one template of standard the laws have been made more stringent namely, for one given product instead of having multiple €€Section 304B (dowry death) and Section agencies set it. 498A (cruelty by husband or his relatives) €€Enable convergence of all standard development have been integrated into the Indian Penal activities in the country resulting inOne National Code (IPC). Standard for One Subject. €€Section 113 B (presumption as to dowry death) zzThis will help in establishing in the long run Brand has been made part of the Indian Evidence Act India. This will also ensure market relevance (I.E.A.) so as to eradicate or at-least lower down for the Indian standards. this heinous act of dowry system and related ¾¾Other Initiatives of BIS: deaths. €€BIS-Care App:

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zzWith this app, consumers can check the reforms to the British-eraIndian Penal Code (IPC), is authenticity of the ISI-marked and hallmarked attempting for the first time to define Hate speech. products and lodge complaints. €€Covid-19 Standards: Key Points zzBIS developed Covid-19 standards for Cover-all ¾¾About the Case: and Ventilators and issued norms for grant of €€Channels blamed the state government for licence for N95 Masks, surgical masks and eye suppressing the right to freedom of speech by protectors which has resulted in an increased obstructing the media coverage and reportage production of ISI-markedPersonal Protection of the Covid-19 pandemic in the State. Equipment (PPE) items. zzArticle 19 guarantees freedom of expressing €€Quality Control Orders: one’s own views, opinions, beliefs and convictions zzBIS has been playing an important role in the freely by word of mouth, writing, printing, formulation of Quality Control Orders (QCO) picturing or in any other manner. to make the standards mandatory. €€Channels urged the SC to initiate contempt €€Portal for Consumer Engagement: proceedings against the senior officials of the for violating its previous order. zzBIS is developing a portal on Consumer State government Engagement, which will facilitate the online zzThe previous order of SC directed the state registration of Consumer Groups, submission of government to immediately cease any direct proposals and approval thereof and complaint and indirect threats of prosecution and arrest management. to citizens, who air their grievances. ¾¾SC’s Ruling: Bureau of Indian Standards €€Indiscriminate Use of Sedition: ¾¾It has been established for the harmonious zzSC flagged indiscriminate use of the sedition development of the activities of standardization, law against critics, journalists, social media marking and quality certification of goodsand for users, activists and citizens for airing their matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. grievances about the government’s Covid-19 ¾¾It was established by the Bureau of Indian Standards management. Act, 1986 which came into effect in December 1986. zzEven for seeking help to gain medical access, It works under the aegis of the Ministry of Consumer equipment, drugs and oxygen cylinders, especially Affairs, Food & Public Distribution. during the second wave of the pandemic. ¾¾A new Bureau of Indian standard (BIS) Act 2016 has €€Interpretation of ‘Sedition’: been brought into force with effect from October zzThe ambit and parameters of the provisions of 2017. Sections 124A (sedition),153A and 505 of the €€The Act establishes the Bureau of Indian Standards IPC would require interpretation. (BIS) as the National Standards Body of India. „„IPC Section 153 A: Punishes acts promoting enmity between different groups on ground Time to Define of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to Limits of Sedition:SC maintenance of harmony. „„IPC Section 505:Makes the publication and Why in News circulation of contentwhich may cause ill-will Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) while protecting or hatred between different groups an offence. two Telugu (language) news channels from coercive action zzParticularly in the context of the right of the by the Andhra Pradesh government noted that it is time electronic and print media to communicate to define the limits of sedition. news, information and the rights, even those ¾¾Presently, the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws that may be critical of the prevailing regime in constituted by the Union Home Ministry to suggest any part of the nation.

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€€Rights of Media: ments and even a separate court to take up zzAcknowledged the argument that the media was tenancy related disputes. well within its rights to air critical programmes about a prevailing regime without attracting sedition.

Sedition (Section 124A of IPC) ¾¾Sedition is a crime under Section 124A, IPC. ¾¾Section 124A, IPC defines sedition as an offence committed when “any person by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excitedisaffection €€Maximum Limit for Security Deposit: towards the government established by law in India”. zzLimit the tenant’s advance security deposit to for residential €€Disaffection includes disloyalty and all feelings a maximum of two months rent of enmity. However, comments without exciting purposes and to a maximum of six months for or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or non-residential purposes. disaffection, will not constitute an offence under €€Describes Rights and Obligations of both Landlord this section. and Tenant: ¾¾Punishment for the Offence of Sedition: zzThe landlord will be responsible for activities like €€Sedition is a non-bailable offence. Punishment structural repairs except those necessitated by under the Section 124A ranges from imprisonment damage caused by the tenant, whitewashing of up to three years to a life term, to which fine walls and painting of doors and windows, etc. may be added. zzThe tenant will be responsible for drain cleaning, €€A person charged under this law is barred from switches and socket repairs, kitchen fixtures a government job. repairs, replacement of glass panels in windows, €€They have to live without their passport and must doors and maintenance of gardens and open produce themselves in the court at all times as spaces, among others. and when required. €€24-hour Prior Notice by the Landlord: zzA landowner will have to give 24-hour prior Model Tenancy Act notice before entering the rented premises to carry out repairs or replacement. The Union Cabinet has approved the Model Tenancy €€Mechanism for Vacating the Premises: Act to be sent to the States and Union Territories to enact zzIf a landlord has fulfilled all the conditions legislation or amend laws on rental properties. stated in the rent agreement - giving notice ¾¾The draft Acthad been published by the Ministry of etc.- and the tenant fails to vacate the premises Housing and Urban Affairs in 2019. on the expiration of the period of tenancy or termination of tenancy, the landlord isentitled Key Points to double the monthly rent for two months ¾¾Some Provisions: and four times after that. €€Written Agreement is Mandatory: €€Coverage: zzMandatory for there to be a written agreement zzIt will apply to premises let out for residential, between the property owner and the tenant. commercial or educational use, but not for €€Establishes Independent Authority and Rent Court: industrial use. zzEstablishes an independent authority in every zzIt also won’t cover hotels, lodging houses, state and UT for registration of tenancy agree- inns, etc.

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zzIt will be applied prospectively and will not zzThe Ministry of Food Processing Industries is affect existing tenancies. implementing the Mega Food Park Scheme in €€Need: the country. zzAs per Census 2011, nearly 1.1 crore houses €€Mega Food Parks create modern infrastructure were lying vacant in the country and making facilities for food processing along the value these houses available on rent will complement chain from farm to market with strong forward the vision of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022. and backward linkages through a cluster-based approach. €€Significance: ¾¾Aim: zzThe authority will provide a speedy mechanism in resolving disputes and other related matters. €€To provide a mechanism to link agricultural production to the market by bringing together zzIt will help overhaul the legal framework with farmers, processors and retailers so as to respect to rental housing across the country. ensure maximizing value addition, minimizing zzIt will enable creation of adequate rental wastage, increasing farmers income and creating housing stock for all the income groups thereby employment opportunities particularly in the addressing the . issue of homelessness rural sector. zzIt will enable institutionalisation of rental ¾¾Approach: housing by gradually shifting it towards the €€The Scheme is based on the “Cluster” approach formal market. and envisages creation of state of art support zzIt is expected to give a fillip to private infrastructure in a well-defined agri/horticultural participation in rental housing as a business zone for setting up of modern food processing model for addressing the huge housing shortage. units in the industrial plots provided in the park €€Challenges: with a well-established supply chain. zzThe Act is not binding on the states as land ¾¾Components: and urban development remain state subjects. €€A Mega food Park typically consists of supply zzLike in the case with RERA (Real Estate (Regulation chain infrastructure including collection centers and Development Act), the fear is that states (cc), primary processing centers (ppc) central may choose not to follow guidelines, diluting processing centers (cpc), cold chain and around the essence of the Model Act. 25-30 fully developed plots for entrepreneurs to set up food processing units. Mega Food Park Scheme ¾¾Financial Assistance: €€The central government provides financial Why in News assistance upto Rs. 50 Crore per Mega Food Park (MFP) project. Recently, the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries virtually inaugurated the Indus Best Mega Food Park at Raipur, Chhattisgarh. ¾¾It is built under the Mega Food Park Scheme. By this food park, about 5000 people will get employment and about 25000 farmers will be benefited.

Key Points ¾¾About: €€It was launched in 2008-09 to give a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with a particular focus on perishables.

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€€The MFP project is implemented by a Special €€Objectives: Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which is a Body Corporate zzConnecting farmers to marketsso as to enable registered under the Companies Act, 2013. farmer producers to get a ready market for zzSPV is a subsidiary company that is formed to the bamboo grown and to increase the supply undertake a specific business purpose or activity. of appropriate raw material to the domestic ¾¾Present Status: industry. €€Presently, 22 Mega Food Parks are operational. zzIt also endeavours to upgrade skills of traditional It is in line with the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atma bamboo craftsmen as per the requirement Nirbhar Bharat’ vision of the Government of India. of contemporary markets with a tie-up with enterprises and premier institutes. Bamboo Market €€Nodal Ministry: zzMinistry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Window on GeM Portal ¾¾Government e-Marketplace: €€About: Why in News zzGeM is a one-stop National Public Procurement Recently, the government of India has dedicated a Portal to facilitate online procurement of window ‘The Green Gold Collection’ on the GeM common use Goods & Services required (Government e-Marketplace) portal for the marketing by various Central and State Government of Bamboo Goods. Departments / Organizations /Public Sector ¾¾This window is the collective work of the National Undertakings ( PSUs). Bamboo Mission (NBM) and GeM. zzThe procurement of goods and services by Ministries and the Central Public Sector Key Points Enterprises (CPSEs) is mandatory for goods ¾¾About: and services available on GeM. €€It showcases a range of exquisitely handcrafted zzIt also provides the tools of e-bidding and bamboo and bamboo products, handicrafts, dispos- reverse e-auction to facilitate the govern- als and office utility products on the GeM portal. ment users achieve the best value for their money. €€It aims to provide bamboo artisans, weavers and entrepreneurs in rural areas with market access zzAt present, GeM has more than 30 lakh products, to Government buyers. over Rs. 10 lakh crore worth of transactions have happened so far at the portal. €€It seeks to promote the adoption and use of bamboo products among Government buyers €€Launch: and usher a sustainable rural economy for an zzIt was launched in 2016 to bring transparency Atmanirbhar Bharat. and efficiency in the government buying process. ¾¾National Bamboo Mission: €€Nodal Ministry: €€Launch: zzMinistry of Commerce and Industry. zzThe restructured NBM was launched in 2018-19 Bamboo for the holistic development of the complete ¾¾18th September is observed as World Bamboo Day value chain of the bamboo sector and is being by the World Bamboo Organisation. implemented in a hub & spoke model. ¾¾India is the world’s second-largest cultivator of „„“Hub & Spoke” model wherein the Mentor bamboo after China, with136 species and 23 genera Institution, called the “Hub” is centralized spread over 13.96 million hectares, according to and will have the responsibility of guiding the the State of Environment report 2018. Mentee institution through the secondary branches the “Spoke” i.e. through the services ¾¾Green Gold, as bamboo is often known, is found provided to the mentee for self improvement. everywhere in India.

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¾¾Known as ‘poor man’s timber’, bamboo is omnipresent the Union Minister of Science and Technology is in tribal cultures and community living. Rural the Vice President (Ex-officio). communities engage with bamboo handicrafts, ¾¾Funding: textiles, artifacts, and household utilities. €€CSIR is funded by the Ministry of Science and €€Examples include Tripura bamboo silks, heritage Technology and it operates as an autonomous cuisines with roasted and pickled bamboo shoots, body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860. cultural symbols like the Assamese ‘Jaapi’ (made ¾¾Established: of bamboo, cane, and palm), widely popular €€September 1942. bamboo tree houses, machans, besides modern ¾¾Located: sustainable architectural concepts and musical €€New Delhi. instruments. ¾¾Objectives: ¾¾Initiatives Taken: National Bamboo Mission,Bamboo Clusters, Removal of Bamboo from ‘Tree’ Category €€Scientific and industrial/applied research of (Indian Forest Act 1927 was amended in 2017). national importance. It covers a wide spectrum of streams such as: Radio and space physics, oceanography, biotechnology, nanotechnology, Council of Scientific information technology, etc. and Industrial Research €€It provides significant technological intervention in many areas with regard to societal efforts which include the environment, health, drinking water, Why in News food, housing, energy, farm and non-farm sectors. Recently, the Prime Minister chaired a meeting of ¾¾Some Initiatives: the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) €€Covid-19: Society through video conference. zzCSIR has set up five technology verticals for ¾¾ Earlier CSIR Floriculture Mission was approved for addressing the emerging situation due to implementation in 21 States and Union Territories pandemic: of India. „„Digital and Molecular Surveillance. ¾¾It is also planning to undertake genome sequencing „„Rapid and Economical Diagnostics. of a sample of nearly 1000 Indian rural youth to determine unique genetic traits, susceptibility (and „„Repurposing of Drugs, Vaccine and resilience) to disease. Convalescent Plasma Therapy. „„Hospital Assistive Devices and PPEs (Personal Key Points Protective Equipment). ¾¾About: „„Supply Chain and Logistics Support Systems. €€It is the largest research and development (R&D) €€Strategic: organisation in India. It has a pan-India presence zzHead-Up-Display (HUD): It developed indigenous and has a dynamic network of 37 national Head-Up- display (HUD) for Indian Light Combat laboratories, 39 outreach centres, 3 Innovation Aircraft,Tejas . HUD aids the pilot in flying the Complexes and 5 units. aircraft and in critical flight maneuvers including €€It is ranked 37th among 1587 government weapon aiming. institutions worldwide and is the only Indian €€Energy & Environment: organization among the top 100 global government zzSolar Tree: It occupies minimum space to institutions, according to theScimago Institutions produce clean power. Ranking World Report 2021. zzLithium Ion Battery: India’s first lithium ion th zzCSIR holds the 7 rank in Asia and leads the battery fabrication facilitybased on indigenous country at the first position. novel materials for making 4.0 V/14 h standard €€The Prime Minister is the President (Ex-officio) and cells has been established.

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€€Agriculture: €€In FY20, the tourism sector in India accounted zzSamba Mahsuri Rice Variety: It developed a for 39 million jobs, which was 8% of the total Bacterial Blight Resistant Rice. employment in the country. By 2029, it is expected to account for about 53 million jobs. zzRice Cultivar (Muktashree): A rice variety has been developed which restricts assimilation of €€According to WTTC (World Travel and Tourism th Arsenic within permissible limits. Council), India ranked 10 among 185 countries in terms of travel & tourism’s total contribution to zzWhite-fly resistant Cotton variety: Developed in 2019. During 2019, the contribution of travel a transgenic cotton line which is resistant to GDP whiteflies. & tourism to GDP was 6.8% of the total economy. €€By 2028, international tourist arrivals are expected €€Healthcare: to reach 30.5 billion and generate revenue over zzGenomics and other omics technologies for USD 59 billion. Enabling Medical Decision – GOMED: It has ¾¾ been developed by the CSIR which provides a Other Initiatives of the Ministry of Tourism: platform of disease genomics to solve clinical €€DekhoApnaDesh Campaign: problems. zzIt is an initiative to encourage the citizens to €€Food & Nutrition: travel widely within the country and explore the wonders of India thus enabling the development zzKsheer-scanner: It detects the level of milk of Domestic Tourism tourist facilities and adulterationand adulterants in 45 seconds at infrastructure in tourism spots in the country. the cost of 10 paise. €€Prashad Scheme: zzDouble-Fortified Salt: Salt fortified with iodine and iron having improved properties developed zzThe Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual and tested for addressing anaemia in people. Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) was launched in the year 2014-15 with the objective of holistic development of identified pilgrimage Incredible India destinations. Tourist Facilitator €€Swadesh Darshan Scheme: zzSwadesh Darshan, a Central Sector Scheme, was Certification Programme launched in 2014-15 for integrated development of theme based tourist circuits in the country. Why in News zzCurrently, there are 15 theme based circuits Recently, on the occasion of World Environment Day - Buddhist, Coastal, Desert, Eco, Heritage, (5th June), the Tourism Minister appreciated the Incredible Himalayan, Krishna, North-east, Ramayana, Rural, India Tourist Facilitator Certification Programme (IITFC). Spiritual, Sufi, Tirthankara, Tribal and Wildlife. ¾¾Recent Initiatives: Key Points €€In January 2021, the Union Tourism Minister ¾¾About: announced plans to develop an international- €€IITFC Programme is a digital initiative of the level infrastructure in Kargil (Ladakh) to promote Ministry of Tourism (MoT), for the citizens of India adventure tourism and winter sports. to become a part of the booming Tourism Industry. €€As of March 2021, the e-Tourist Visa facility was €€It is an online programme where one can learn extended to citizens of 171 countries. about tourism at their own time, space, path €€The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism and pace. Corporation (IRCTC) runs a series of Bharat Darshan €€The successful completion of this programme would tourist trains aimed at taking people to various enable the learner to become a Certified Tourist pilgrimages across the country. Facilitator of the Ministry of Tourism. €€All India Tourist Vehicles Authorisation and Permit ¾¾Tourism & Hospitality Sector in India: Rules, 2021: It was introduced by the Ministry of

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Road Transport and Highways, in which a tourist zzAssisting other States to indulge in activities vehicle operator can register online for All India that are prohibited by the CWC. Tourist Authorisation/Permit. zzUsing riot-control devices as ‘warfare methods’. ¾¾Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons: Chemical Weapons Convention €€About: zzIt is an international organizationestablished Why in News by the CWC in 1997 to implement and enforce the terms of the CWC. Recently, the Organisation for the Prohibition of zzBy the between Chemical Weapons (OPCW) informed the United Nations 2001 Relationship Agreement the , the OPCW reports on (UN) that in 17 cases chemical weapons were likely or OPCW and the UN its inspections and other activities to the UN definitely used by Syria. through the office of the Secretary General. ¾¾OPCW was formed under the Chemical Weapons zzThe OPCW was awarded the Convention (CWC)1997 . Nobel Peace Prize in 2013. Key Points €€Headquarters: ¾¾Chemical Weapons: zzHague, Netherlands. €€A Chemical Weapon is a chemical used to cause €€Functions: intentional death or harm through its toxic zzIt is authorized to perform inspections to verify properties. that signatory states are complying with the €€Munitions, devices and other equipmentspecifically convention. designed to weaponize toxic chemicals also fall „„This includes a commitment to grant under the definition of chemical weapons. inspectors full access to chemical weapons ¾¾Chemical Weapons Convention: sites. €€About: zzIt also performs testing of sites and victims of zzIt is a multilateral treaty banning chemical suspected chemical weapons attacks. weapons and requiring their destruction within zzIt also provides for assistance to and protection the stipulated time. of States attacked or threatened with chemical zzNegotiations for the CWC began in 1980 at the weapons, cooperation in the peaceful use of United Nations Conference on Disarmament. chemicals. zzThe convention was drafted in September 1992 ¾¾Indian Initiative: and opened for signature in January 1993. It €€The Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000 became effective from April 1997. was passed to implement the CWC. zzIt makes it mandatory to destroy old and €€It provided for the establishment of a National abandoned chemical weapons. Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention zzMembers should also declare the riot-control or NACWC. This institution, formed in 2005, is agents (sometimes referred to as ‘tear gas’) in the chief liaison between the government of possession of them. India and the OPCW. It is an office in the Cabinet €€Members: Secretariat of the GoI. zzIt has 192 state parties and 165 signatories. Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions zzIndia signed the treaty in January 1993. (Hazardous Chemicals and Wastes) €€Convention Prohibits: ¾¾The Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions zzThe development, production, acquisition, are multilateral environmental agreements, which stockpiling, or retention of chemical weapons. share the common objective ofprotecting human zzTransferring of chemical weapons. health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes. zzUsing chemical weapons.

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¾¾The Basel Convention: €€It came into force in 1992, intended to reduce transboundary movements of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries (LDCs), and ensure their safe disposal as closely as possible to the source of generation. zzIndia is a member. ¾¾Rotterdam Convention: €€It was adopted in September 1998 by a Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Rotterdam, Netherlands and entered into force . in February 2004 €€Background: The PGI for States and Union Territories zzIndia is a member. was first published in 2019 with reference year €€It covers pesticides and industrial chemicals 2017-18. that have been banned or severely restricted for zzThe PGI : States/UTs for 2019-20 is the third health or environmental reasons by Parties and publication in this series. which have been notified by Parties for inclusion €€Objectives: in the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure. zzThe PGI exercise envisages that the index would €€The Convention creates legally binding obligations propel States and UTs towards undertaking for the implementation of the Prior Informed that will bring Consent (PIC) procedure. multi-pronged interventions about the much-desired optimal education ¾¾The Stockholm Convention: outcomes. €€It is a global treaty to protect human health zzThe PGI helps the States/UTs to pinpoint the gaps and the environment from Persistent Organic and accordingly prioritise areas for intervention Pollutants (POPs). India is a member. The to ensure that the school education system is Convention entered into force in May, 2004. robust at every level. zzPOPs are chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely €€Implementing Agency: distributed geographically, accumulate in the zzIt is initiated by the Department of School fatty tissue of living organisms and are toxic Education and Literacy (DoSEL). to humans and wildlife. €€Source of Information: zzThe information on the indicators are drawn Performance from data available with the DoSEL from the Unified District Information System for Grading Index (PGI) Education (UDISE), National Achievement Survey (NAS) of NCERT, Mid Day Meal website, Why in News Public Financial Management System (PFMS) The Union Education Minister has approved the and the information uploaded by the States and release of Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2019-20 for UTs on the Shagun portal of DoSEL. States and Union Territories. €€Methodology: ¾¾The PGI is a tool to provide insights on the status zzThe PGI is structured in two categories, namely, of school education in States and UTs including key Outcomes and Governance & Management levers that drive their performance and critical areas and comprises 70 indicators in aggregate with for improvement. a total weightage of 1000. zzDomains under categories include: Access, Key Points Infrastructure & Facilities, Equity, Governance ¾¾About the Performance Grading Index (PGI): process.

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¾¾Important Findings of the PGI 2019-20: zzNIRDPR is an autonomous organisationunder €€State-wise Performance: the Union Ministry of Rural Development. zzShows that 33 States and UTs have improved €€It has been developed for the delivery of the their PGI scores in 2019-20 compared to the services across the 29 sectors, aligning actions with previous year. localised Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). zzAndaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal €€It is expected that the Panchayats utilising this Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab and framework, and with the due approval of Gram Tamil Nadu have improved their overall PGI Sabha, would draw up a Citizens Charter, detailing scores by 10%. the different categories of services rendered to the , the €€Inter-state Differential: citizen by the Panchayat conditions for such service and also the time limit for such service. zzWith a maximum possible score of 1000 points, the range between the States and UTs with the €€It will help in making the citizens aware of their highest and the lowest score is more than 380 rights on the one hand, and to make the Panchayats points in the year 2019-20. and their elected representatives directly accountable to the people, on the other hand. ¾¾Domain-wise Performance: ¾¾Significance: €€Access: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Punjab have shown improvement of 10% or €€Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) constitute the more in the ‘Access’ domain. third tier of government in the rural areas and represent the first level of Government interaction €€Infrastructure and Facilities: Thirteen states and for over 60% of the Indian population. UTs have shown improvement by 10% or more in ‘Infrastructure and Facilities’ whileAndaman and €€PRIs are responsible for delivery of basic services Nicobar Islands and Odisha have improved their as enshrined under Article 243G of the Constitution scores in the domain by 20% or more. of India, specifically in the areas of Health & Sanitation, Education, Nutrition, Drinking Water. €€Equity: In ‘Equity’, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Odisha have shown an improvement of more ¾¾Other Initiatives for PRIs: than 10%. €€eGramSwaraj: €€Governance Process: 19 states have shown zzIt is a user-friendly web-based portal which improvement by 10% or more. unifies the planning, accounting and monitoring zzAndaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, functions of Gram Panchayats. Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan €€Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA): and West Bengal have shown improvement by zzLaunched in 2018, this centrally sponsored at least 20%. scheme is an effort in the direction of achieving “Sabka Sath, Sabka Gaon, Sabka Vikas”. Model €€People’s Plan Campaign (PPC)- Sabki Yojana Panchayat Citizens Charter Sabka Vikas: zzIt aims to draw up Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs) in the country and place them Why in News on a website where anyone can see the status Recently, the Union Minister of Panchayati Raj of the various government’s flagship schemes. released a Model Panchayat Citizens Charter. Citizen’s Charter Key Points ¾¾About: ¾¾About: €€It is a voluntary and written document that spells €€It is prepared by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj out the service provider’s efforts taken to focus (MoPR) in collaboration withNational Institute of on their commitment towards fulfilling the needs Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR). of the citizens/customers.

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zzIt preserves the trust between the service €€To make administration accountable and citizen provider and the citizens/users. friendly. zzIt includes what the citizens can expect out of €€To ensure transparency. the service provider. €€To take measures to improve customer service. zzIt also includes how citizens can redress any €€To adopt a stakeholder approach. grievances. €€To save time for both Administration and the citizens. €€The concept was first articulated and implemented ¾¾Challenges in India: in the United Kingdom by the Conservative €€In a majority of cases, not formulated through a Government of John Major in 1991 as a national consultative process with cutting edge staff who Programme. will finally implement it. €€ Citizen’s charters are not legally enforceable €€Lack of meaningful and succinct Citizen’s Charter, documents. They are just guidelines to enhance absence of critical information that end-users service delivery to citizens. need to hold agencies accountable. ¾¾ Originally Framed Principles: €€Only a small percentage of end-users are aware €€Quality – Improving service quality. of the commitments made in the Citizen’s Charter. €€Choice – Wherever possible. €€Measurable standards of delivery are rarely €€Standards – Specifically mention what to expect defined making it difficult to assess whether the and how to go about if standards are not met. desired level of service has been achieved or not. €€Value – For taxpayers’ money. €€Little interest shown by the organizations in adhering to their Citizen’s Charter since there is no citizen €€Accountability – At the level of the individual and the organization. friendly mechanism to compensate the citizen if the organization defaults. €€Transparency – Transparency in rules/schemes/ €€Citizen’s Charter has still not been adopted by procedures/grievances. all Ministries/Departments. This overlooks local ¾¾ Indian Initiative: issues. €€In India, the concept of citizen’s charter was first adopted at a ‘Conference of Chief Ministers of various States and Union Territories’ held in World Food Safety Day May 1997. Why in News zzA major outcome of the conference was a decision to formulate Citizen’s Charters by the The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare th central and state governments, beginning with virtually attended the World Food Safety Day (7 June) sectors with a large public interface such as the celebrations organized by Food Safety and Standards railways, telecom, posts, Public Distribution Authority of India (FSSAI). System, etc Key Points zzThe task of coordination, formulation, and ¾¾About: operationalization of citizen’s charters was done €€The and the by the Department of Administrative Reforms World Health Organization (WHO) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United and Public Grievances (DARPG). Nations (FAO) jointly facilitate the observance €€The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of World Food Safety Day, in collaboration with of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Member States and other relevant organizations. Grievances Bill, 2011 (Citizens Charter) was €€It was first celebrated in 2019, to strengthen the introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2011. commitment to scale up food safety made by the zzIt lapsed due to the dissolution of the Lok Addis Ababa Conference and the Geneva Forum Sabha in 2014. in 2019 under the umbrella of “The Future of ¾¾Need: Food Safety”.

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¾¾Aim: zzThe parameters include Human Resources €€To draw attention and inspire action to help and Institutional Arrangements, Compliance, prevent, detect and manage foodborne risks, Food Testing- Infrastructure and Surveillance, contributing to food security, human health, Training and Capacity Building and Consumer economic prosperity, agriculture, market access, Empowerment. tourism and sustainable development. €€Eat Right India Movement: ¾¾2021 Theme: zzIt is an initiative of the Government of India and €€Safe Food for a Healthy Tomorrow. FSSAI to transform the country’s food system in ¾¾Importance of Food Safety: order to ensure safe, healthy and sustainable €€Access to sufficient amounts of safe food is key food for all Indians. to sustaining life and promoting good health. zzEat Right India is aligned to the National Health zzFoodborne illnesses are usually infectious or Policy 2017 with its focus on preventive and toxic in nature and often invisible to the plain promotive healthcare and flagship programmes eye, caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or like Ayushman Bharat, POSHAN Abhiyaan, chemical substances entering the body through Anemia Mukt Bharat and Swachh Bharat contaminated food or water. Mission. zzAn estimated 4,20,000 people around the world €€Eat Right Awards: die every year after eating contaminated food zzFSSAI has instituted the ‘Eat Right Awards’ to and children under 5 years of age carry 40% of recognize the contribution of food companies the foodborne disease burden, with 1,25, 000 and individuals to empower citizens to choose deaths every year. safe and healthy food options, which would help €€Food safety has a critical role in assuring that food improve their health and well-being. stays safe at every stage of the food chain - from €€Eat Right Mela: production to harvest, processing, storage, distribu- tion, all the way to preparation and consumption. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) zzFood productionis responsible for up to 30% of ¾¾About: global greenhouse-gas emissions contributing €€ FSSAI is an autonomous statutory body to global warming. established under the Food Safety and Standards zzGlobal food waste accounts for 6.7% of global Act, 2006 (FSS Act). greenhouse gas emissions, directly leading to €€It has its headquarter in Delhi and its administrative climate change. Ministry is Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. ¾¾Related Global Initiative: ¾¾Functions: €€ The Codex Alimentarius, or “Food Code” is a €€Framing of regulations to lay down the standards collection of standards, guidelines and codes and guidelines of food safety. of practice adopted by the Codex Alimentarius €€Granting FSSAI food safety license and certification Commission. for food businesses. €€The Codex Alimentarius Commission is a joint €€Laying down procedure and guidelines for intergovernmental body of the Food and Agriculture laboratories in food businesses. Organization and World Health Organization. €€To provide suggestions to the government in zzCurrently, it has 189 members and India is a framing the policies. member. €€To collect data regarding contaminants in foods ¾¾Indian Initiatives for Food Safety: products, identification of emerging risks and €€State Food Safety Index : introduction of a rapid alert system. zzFSSAI has developed the State Food Safety €€Creating an information network across the Index (SFSI) to measure the performance of country about food safety. States on five parameters of food safety.

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zzOrganised by FSSAI, it is an outreach activity the Proceedings or any portion thereofwill be of for citizens to nudge them towards eating the Bench, however, the decision of the Bench right. It is organised to make citizens aware of will be guided by the principle of an open and the health and nutrition benefits of different transparent judicial process. types of food. zzThe decision of the Bench shall not be justiciable. €€Allow Objections:The rules allow for objections Draft Rules for Live- to be filed against live streaming in specific cases at the stage of filing of the case or at a later Streaming Court Proceedings stage. €€Record of Proceedings: The draft rules allow for Why in News archiving of court proceedings for six months. Recently, the Supreme Court has released the Draft zzThe use of authorised recordings in their original Model Rules for Live-Streaming and Recording of Court form may be permitted by the court, inter-alia Proceedings. to disseminate news and for training, academic ¾¾The Rules are part of the National Policy and and educational purposes. Action Plan for implementation of Information and €€Restrictions: Communication Technology (ICT)in the judiciary. zzDiscussion amongst judges, notes made by ¾¾The Rules would cover live-streaming and recording of judges during hearings or communication proceedings in High Courts, lower courts and tribunals. between the advocate and her client will ¾¾Earlier, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) launched an neither be telecast live nor archived. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based portal in ‘SUPACE’ zzThe rules also prohibit recording or sharing the judicial system aimed at assisting judges with the telecast on media platforms, including legal research. social media and messaging platforms, unless Key Points authorised by the court. zzRecordings will not be used for commercial, ¾¾Background: promotional purposes or advertising in any €€The Supreme Court in Swapnil Tripathi v Supreme form. Court of India (2018) had ruled in favour of opening ¾¾Possible Benefits: up the apex court through live-streaming. €€It can make the justice delivery system affordable, €€It held that the live streaming proceedings are transparent, speedy and accountable by limiting part of the right to access justice under Article the paper filings. 21 (Protection of Life and Personal Liberty) of the Constitution. €€It can be time saving and hence can reduce the backlog of pending cases and reduce the number €€Gujarat High Court was the first high court to of unscrupulous activities. livestream court proceedings followed by Karnataka high court. ¾¾Concerns: ¾¾Draft Rules: €€Lack of technical manpower in courts and awareness amongst litigants, advocates and their acceptance €€Telecast of Proceedings: All proceedings in high to the system change. courts can be telecast except for cases relating to matrimonial disputes, gender-based violence, €€A huge concern will be the cyber security those involving minors and “cases, which in threat. the opinion of the Bench, may provoke enmity €€The live streaming of the Courts are susceptible to amongst communities likely to result in a breach abuses. Thus, issues of privacy may arise. of law and order”. €€Infrastructure, especially the internet connectivity €€Deciding Authority: The final decision as to is also a big challenge in implementing the live whether or not to allow the Live-streaming of proceedings of Courts.

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¾¾ e-Courts Project Aim: ¾¾The e-Courts project was conceptualized on the €€To bring reading and authorship as a preferred basis of the “National Policy and Action Plan for profession at par with other job options. Implementation of Information and Communication €€To impart a positive psychological push to the Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary – 2005” young minds amidst the impact of the Covid-19 submitted by e-Committee, Supreme Court of India pandemic on the mental health of children. with a vision to transform the Indian Judiciary by ¾¾Implementation & Execution: ICT enablement of Courts. €€Implementing Agency: The National Book Trust ¾¾The e-Courts Mission Mode Project, is a Pan-India (under Ministry of Education) will ensure phase- Project, monitored and funded by the Ministry of wise execution of the Scheme. Law and Justice for the District Courts across the €€Phase-I (Training): country. zzNBT will organise training for three months for ¾¾The project envisages: the selected candidates. €€To provide efficient & time-bound citizen-centric €€Phase-II (Promotion): services delivery as detailed in e-Court Project zzThe selected candidates will get to expand their Litigant’s Charter. understanding and hone their skills through €€To develop, install & implement decision support interaction at various international events such systems in courts. as literary festivals, book fairs, virtual book fairs, €€To automate the processes to provide transparency cultural exchange programmes, etc. in the accessibility of information to its zzA book or a series of books written by these stakeholders. young authors will be published by NBT and €€To enhance judicial productivity, both qualitatively a royalty of 10% will be paid to the authors. & quantitatively, to make the justice delivery zzTheir published books will also be translated system affordable, accessible, cost-effective, into other Indian languages to ensure the predictable, reliable and transparent. exchange of culture and literature between different states, thereby promoting Ek Bharat YUVA Scheme for Young Writers Shreshtha Bharat.

Why in News Surakshit Hum Surakshit Tum Recently, the Indian Prime Minister announced the Abhiyan: Aspirational Districts ‘Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors’ (YUVA) scheme - a mentorship programme to train young authors. Why in News Key Points Recently, NITI Aayog and Piramal Foundation launched ‘Surakshit Hum Surakshit Tum Abhiyan’ in 112 ¾¾About: aspirational districts. €€The scheme is aimed at training 75 aspiring ¾¾This drive was launched to assist the administration writers below 30 years, who are ready to express in providing home care support to Covid-19 patients, themselves and project India and its culture and who are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. literature globally. ¾¾Most of these districts are in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, zzA total of 75 authors will be selected through Odisha and Maharashtra. an All India Contest at MyGov (Government of India’s Citizen Engagement Platform). Key Points €€A consolidated scholarship of Rs. 50,000 per ¾¾About: month for a period of six months per author will €€The campaign is under a special initiative – be paid under the mentorship scheme. Aspirational Districts Collaborative – in which

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local leaders, civil societies and volunteers will & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill work with the district administrations to address Development, and Basic Infrastructure. emerging issues across key focus areas of the €€With States as the main drivers, ADP seeks to Aspirational Districts Programme. focus on the strength of each district, identify €€It will be led by district magistrates in partnership low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, with over 1000 local NGOs, which will enlist and measure progress, and rank districts. train over 1 lakh volunteers to connect with ¾¾Broad Contours of the Programme (Triple-C): patients through inbound/outbound calls. €€Convergence (of Central & State Schemes) which €€Volunteers will be trained to support 20 affected brings together the horizontal and vertical tiers of families each by educating caretakers to follow the government. protocols, provide psycho-social support and timely €€Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ updates about patients to the administration. Officers & District Collectors) which enables ¾¾Objective: impactful partnerships between government, €€It is aimed to reach every affected person in these market and civil society. 112 districts. €€Competition among districts driven by a spirit €€The campaign is expected to play a key role in of the mass movement fosters accountability on district preparedness for managing nearly 70% district governments. of Covid-19 cases at home, reducing pressure on the health system, and stemming the spread of Railways Gets 5 MHz Spectrum fear amongst the people. €€It will provide long-term support to India’s poorest Why in News communities in the Aspirational Districts by addressing the lasting impact of Covid-19. Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the allotment of 5 MHz spectrum in the 700 MHz frequency band to Aspirational Districts Programme the Indian Railways for improving its communication and ¾¾About: signalling systems. ¾¾Railways has also approved a indigenously developed €€It was launched in January 2018, the ‘Transformation Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). of Aspirational Districts’ Programme (TADP). €€Aspirational Districts arethose districts in India that Key Points are affected by poor socio-economic indicators. ¾¾About: €€These are aspirational in the context, that €€The project, targeted to be completed in five improvement in these districts can lead to the years, is estimated tocost over Rs. 25,000 crore. overall improvement in human development in India. €€The spectrum charges will be levied based on formula as prescribed by Department of ¾¾Ministry: Telecommunications for Royalty Charges and €€At the Government of India level, the programme License Fee for captive use as recommended by is anchored by NITI Aayog. In addition, individual the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Ministries have assumed responsibility to drive €€With this spectrum, the railways will introduce the progress of districts. Long-Term Evolution (LTE)-based Mobile Train ¾¾Objective: Radio Communication (MTRC) on its routes. €€ To monitor the real-time progress of aspirational zzThe Railways currently relies on optical fibre districts. for its communication network but with the ¾¾Focus Areas: allocation of fresh spectrum, it will be able €€ADP is based on 49 indicators from the 5 identified to use high-speed radio on a real-time basis. thematic areas, which focuses closely on improving zzLTE is a fourth-generation (4G) wireless standard people’s Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture that provides increased network capacity and

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speed for cellphones and other cellular devices ¾¾RF bands spread in the range between 30 kHz and compared with third-generation (3G) technology. 300 GHz (alternative point of view offers coverage ¾¾Benefits: 3 KHz – 300 GHz). €€Seamless Connection: zzIt will be used for modern signalling and train protection systems and ensure seamless communication between loco pilots and guards. zzThe purpose of the LTE for Indian Railways is to provide secure and reliable voice, video and data communication services for operational, safety and security applications. ¾¾To prevent interference between different €€Reduced Accidents & Delays: users, the generation and transmission of radio zzIt will help prevent train accidents and reduce frequency bands is strictly regulated by national delays by enabling real-time interaction between laws, coordinated by an international body, the the Loco Pilot, Station Master and the Control International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Centre. €€Internet of Things: zzThis will also enable the railways to undertake Fast Tracking Internet of Things (IoT) based remote asset Freight in India: NITI Aayog monitoring, particularly of coaches, wagons and locos, and monitor live video feed of CCTV cameras in the coaches to ensure efficient, safer Why in News and faster train operations. NITI Aayog, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI „„IoT is a computing concept that describes India’s new report, Fast Tracking Freight in India: A the idea of everyday physical objects being Roadmap for Clean and Cost-Effective Goods Transport, connected to the internet and being able to present key opportunities for India to reduce its logistics identify themselves to other devices. costs. ¾¾Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). ¾¾RMI is an independent nonprofit organization €€It is a microprocessor based control system, which founded in 1982. continuously monitors the speed, direction of NITI Aayog travel, distance travelled, aspect of the signal ¾¾It is a public policy think tank of the Government of passed and alertness of the motorman and thus India, established with the aim to achieve sustainable increases the safety of the railway system. development goals with cooperative federalism by €€It will help in improving the safety and increasing fostering the involvement of State Governments of the line capacity to accommodate more trains India in the economic policy-making process using using the existing infrastructure. The modern rail a bottom-up approach. network will result in reduced transportation cost ¾¾It was established to replace the Planning Commission. and higher efficiency. The Prime Minister is its ex-officio chairman. Radio Spectrum ¾¾The radio spectrum (also known as Radio Frequency Key Points or RF) is a part of the electromagnetic spectrum, ¾¾Growing Freight Transport Demand: electromagnetic waves in this frequency range are €€Due to the rising demand for goods and services, called radio frequency bands or simply ‘radio waves’. freight transport demand is expected to grow €€Radio waves have the longest wavelengths rapidly in the future. in the electromagnetic spectrum. These were €€While freight transport is essential to economic discovered by Heinrich Hertz in the late 1880s. development, it is plagued by high logistics costs

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and contributes to rising carbon dioxide emissions €€E-Way Bill Integration with FASTag, RFID: and air pollution in cities. zzIt will enable tax officers to undertake live ¾¾India’s Potential:It has the potential to: vigilance in respect of E-Way Bill compliances €€Reduce its logistics cost by 4% ofGross Domestic by businesses, stop revenue leakage and will Product (GDP). facilitate movement of large goods vehicles. €€Achieve 10 gigatonnes of cumulative carbon €€FAME Scheme: between 2020 and 2050. dioxide emissions savings zzThe Indian government has created momentum €€Reduce Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Particulate Matter through its Faster Adoption and Manufacturing (PM) emissions by 35% and 28%, respectively, of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles schemes that until 2050. encourage, and in some segments mandates ¾¾Accommodating More Urban Citizens: the adoption of electric vehicles (EV), with a €€As India’s freight activity grows five-fold by 2050 goal of reaching 30% EV penetration by 2030. and about 400 million citizens move to cities, a €€Bharat Stage VI norms: whole system transformation can help uplift the freight sector. zzIt includes a wide list of technology modifications, the most significant being making OBD (On-board €€This transformation will be defined by tapping into opportunities such as: diagnostics) mandatory for all vehicles. €€ zzEfficient rail-based transport. Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) Regulations: zzOptimisation of logistics and supply chains. zzThe CAFÉ standards were first zzShift to electric and other clean-fuel vehicles. notified in 2017 by the Union Ministry of Power (MoP) under €€These solutions can help India save Rs. 311 lakh crore cumulatively over the next three decades. Energy Conservation Act, 2001. ¾¾Need to Make Freight Transportation Cost Effective: zzThe regulation is in accordance with the fuel consumption standards of 2015 that aim to €€Freight transportation is a critical backbone of India’s growing economy, and now more than increase fuel efficiency of vehicles on the road ever, it’s important to make this transport system by 35% by 2030. more cost-effective, efficient, and cleaner. €€Efficient freight transport will also play an essential Rengma Nagas Demand role in realising the benefits of existing government initiatives such as Make in India, Atma Nirbhar Autonomous District Council Bharat, and Digital India. ¾¾Recommendations: Why in News €€Increasing the rail network’s capacity, promoting The Rengma Naga Peoples’ Council (RNPC) or Rengma intermodal transport, improving warehousing Nagas have demanded an Autonomous District Council and trucking practices, policy measures and pilot (ADC) in Assam. projects for clean technology adoption, and stricter fuel economy standards. ¾¾The Central and the State governments recently upgraded the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council €€When successfully deployed at scale, the proposed solutions can help India establish itself as a leader (KAAC) and the North Cachar Hills Autonomous in logistics innovation and efficiency in the Asia– Council (NCHAC) to territorial councils like the Pacific region and beyond. Bodoland Territorial Council. ¾¾Recent Initiatives: €€The ‘status of territorial council’ will provide more €€Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC): autonomy and financial grantto them. zzIt is a high speed and high capacity railway ¾¾It is alleged that the creation of these tribal councils corridor that is exclusively meant for the trans- deprived the Rengma Nagas, the “legitimate owners”, portation of freight, or in other words, goods of the land. Both the KAAC and the NCHAC share and commodities. boundaries with Nagaland.

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four are nominated by the governor and the rest via elections. All of themremain in power for a term of five years. zzHowever, the Bodoland Territorial Council is an exception as it can constitute up to 46 members. €€Governor’s Control: zzDespite various degrees of autonomy, the 6th Schedule area does not fall outside the executive authority of the state concerned. zzThe governor is empowered to organise and re-organise the autonomous districts. €€Applicability of Central and State Laws: zzThe Acts passed by Parliament and state Key Points legislatures may or may not be levied in these regions unless the President and the governor ¾¾About the Rengma Naga Tribe: gives her or his approval, with or without €€Found in: modifications in the laws for the autonomous zzRengma is a Naga tribe found in Nagaland, regions. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. €€Civil and Criminal Judicial Powers: The Councils €€History: have also been endowed with wide civil and zzThe first official recording of the Rengma criminal judicial powers, for example establishing Nagas staying in Assam’s Karbi Hills (then village courts etc. known as Mikir Hills) was made in 1855 by zzHowever, the jurisdiction of these councils is Major John Butler, a British officer posted in subject to the jurisdiction of the concerned the Northeastern region. High Court. zzButler recorded that the Rengmas in Karbi €€Existing Autonomous Councils:The sixth schedule Anglong had migrated there from the Naga to the Constitution includes10 autonomous district Hills in the early part of the 18th century, councils in 4 states. These are: abandoned many of their tribal customs and zzAssam: Bodoland Territorial Council, Karbi married within the local communities. Anglong Autonomous Council and North Cachar €€Festival: The harvest festival of the Rengmas is Hills/Dima Hasao Autonomous Council. called Ngada. zzMeghalaya: Garo Hills Autonomous District ¾¾Autonomous District Council (ADC): Council, Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council €€About: and Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council. zzThe Sixth Schedule of the Constitution deals zzTripura: Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous with the administration of thetribal areas in the District Council. four northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, zzMizoram: Chakma Autonomous District Tripura and Mizoram. Council, Lai Autonomous District Council, Mara „„The special provision is provided under Article Autonomous District Council. 244 (2) and Article 275of the Constitution. ¾¾Arguments of Rengma Naga Peoples’ Council (RNPC): zzThe tribals have been given freedom to exercise €€Rengmas were the first tribal people in Assam to legislative and executive powers through an have encountered the British in 1839. autonomous regional council and ADCs. zzBut the existing Rengma Hills was eliminated €€Composition of Autonomous Councils: from the political map of the State and replaced zzEach autonomous district and regional council with that of Mikir Hills (now Karbi Anglong) consists of not more than 30 members, of which in 1951.

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€€The Rengmas gave shelter to the Ahom refugees Key Points during the Burmese invasions of Assam in 1816 ¾¾Total Student Enrolment: and 1819. €€In the last five years from 2015-16 to 2019-20, there zz The Ahom are an ethnic group from the Indian has been a growth of 11.4% in student enrolment. states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. €€Total Enrolment in Higher Education stands at €€The Rengma Hills and Mikir Hills were two 3.85 crore in 2019-20 as compared to 3.74 crore separate entities until 1951. The Rengma Hills in 2018-19, registering a growth of 11.36 lakh was partitioned in 1963 between Assam and (3.04 %). Nagaland. zzUttar Pradesh has highest student enrolment zzKarbis have no history in the Rengma Hills. in India, it has 49.1% male and 50.9% zzAt the time of creation of Nagaland State, the female students followed by Tamil Nadu and Karbis were known as Mikirs till 1976. Maharashtra. „„They were the indigeneous tribal people ¾¾Gross Enrolment Ratio: of Mikir Hills. €€The Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) increased by a €€The Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) minuscule 0.8% in 2019-20. population is around 12 lakh and the Karbis zzGER is the number of students enrolled in a constitute only 3 lakh, the remaining are non-Karbis, given level of education, regardless of age, including the Rengma Nagas, whose population expressed as a percentage of the official school- is around 22,000. age population corresponding to the same level ¾¾NSCN (I-M) Stand: of education. €€The National Socialist Council of Nagaland or NSCN €€The percentage of students belonging to the (Isak-Muivah) has said that the Rengma issue was eligible age group enrolled in higher education in one of the important agendas of the “Indo-Naga 2019-20 is 27.1% against 26.3% in 2018-19 and political talks” and no authority should go far 24.3% in 2014-2015. enough to override their interests. ¾¾Female Enrolment: €€NSCN (IM) had signed a Naga Peace Accord with €€There has been an overall increase of over 18% the Government of India in August 2015, but the in female enrolment in higher education from final accord is yet to be finalised. 2015-16 to 2019-20. zzOne of the most contentious demands of €€However, the share of girl students is lowest in the NSCN (IM) was the creation of a unified institutes of national importance while female Naga homeland, called ‘Greater Nagalim’ by participation in professional courses is lower in integrating the Naga-inhabited areas of Assam, comparison to academic courses. Manipur and Arunachal with Nagaland. ¾¾Gender Parity Index: €€Gender Parity Index (GPI) in Higher Education in AISHE-2020 2019-20 is 1.01 against 1.00 in 2018-19 indicating an improvement in the relative access to higher education for females of eligible age group Why in News compared to males. Recently, the Union Education Minister announced zzA GPI of 1 indicates parity between the sexes; the release of the report of All India Survey on Higher a GPI that varies between 0 and 1 typically Education (AISHE) 2019-20. means a disparity in favour of males; whereas ¾¾This Report provides key performance indicators a GPI greater than 1 indicates a disparity in on the current status of Higher education in the favour of females. country. ¾¾Teacher’s: ¾¾It is the 10th in the series of AISHE annually released €€Total Number of Teachers stands at 15,03,156 by the Department of Higher Education. comprising 57.5% male and 42.5% female.

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€€Pupil Teacher Ratio in Higher Education in 2019- the first time in the session 2021-22, to continue 20 is 26. their education through open/distance learning ¾¾Attractive Disciplines: mode. €€Nearly 85% of the students (2.85 crore) were ¾¾About PRABANDH Portal: enrolled in the six major disciplines such as €€PRABANDH (PRoject Appraisal, Budgeting, Humanities, Science, Commerce, Engineering & Achievements and Data Handling System) is a Technology, Medical Science and IT & Computer. step towards leveraging technology to increase ¾¾Recent Initiatives: efficiency and manage the implementation of €€National Education Policy (NEP), 2020: a centrally sponsored integrated scheme for schooling- Samagra Shiksha. zzIt aims at increasing the GER in higher education to 50% by 2035. €€It is to have transparency and accuracy in the System w.r.t Approvals, Releases, Financial Status. €€Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC): €€Also streamline the Financial Management System, to enable more accurate assessment of zzIt aims at improving the research ecosystem actual requirement of funds for implementation. of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations Samagra Shiksha between Indian institutions and the best institutions in the world. ¾¾Key Provisions: €€ €€Rashtriya Ucchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA): Samagra Shiksha is an integrated scheme for school education extending from pre-school to zzIt aims at providing strategic funding to higher class XII to ensure inclusive and equitable quality educational institutionsthroughout the country. education at all levels of school education. €€Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF): €€It subsumes the three Schemes of Sarva Shiksha zzIt will attract the talent pool of the country to Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha doctoral (Ph.D) programmes for carrying out Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). research in cutting edge science and technology domains, with focus on national priorities. €€The main emphasis of the Scheme is on improving the quality of school education by focussing on the two T’s – Teacher and Technology. Online Module for Compiling ¾¾Vision: Out-of-School Children’s Data €€It complements the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for Education , i.e. SDG 4 (Ensure inclusive Why in News and equitable quality education and promote lifelong opportunities for all). The Ministry of Education has developed an online module for compiling out-of-school (due to Covid-19 €€It aims to support States in the implementation pandemic) children’s data identified by each State/UT. of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory ¾¾The collected data will be mapped with special training Education (RTE) Act, 2009. centres on the PRABANDH portal of Samagra Shiksha. zzRight to Education Act (RTE) is a fundamental right under Article 21-A of the Constitution Key Points of India. ¾¾About the Module: zzThe Act makes education a fundamental right €€Through the module, the government will facilitate of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 age-appropriate admissions of children in the and specifies minimum norms in elementary age group of 6-14 years and those belonging to schools. socially and economically disadvantaged groups. ¾¾Funding Pattern: €€Also, for out of school children in the 16-18 years €€The Scheme is being implemented as a Centrally age group, financial assistance will be providedfor Sponsored Scheme.

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zzThe fund sharing pattern for the scheme ¾¾NISHTHA: Teachers’ Training Programme between Centre and States is at present in the €€To improve learning outcomes at the elementary ratio of90:10 for the North-Eastern States and level through an Integrated Teacher Training the Himalayan States and 60:40 for all other Programme. States and Union Territories with Legislature. ¾¾Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion zzIt is 100% centrally sponsored for Union Programme (EQUIP) Territories without Legislature. €€A five-year vision plan aiming at ushering ¾¾ Focus on Digital Education: transformation in India’s higher education system €€Support ‘Operation Digital Board’in all secondary by implementing strategic interventions in the schools over a period of 5 years, which will sector over five years (2019-2024). revolutionize education- easy to understand, €€Sets out to deliver further on principles of Access, technology based learning classrooms will become Inclusion, Quality, Excellence and enhancing flipped classrooms. employability in Higher Education. €€Digital initiatives like UDISE+, Shagun, to be strengthened. Sub-Mission on Agricultural €€Strengthening of ICT infrastructure in schools from upper primary to higher secondary level. Mechanization Scheme Other Important Schemes to Improve Online Education System Why in News ¾¾PM eVidya Programme: Recently, the Government of India has released funds €€A programme for multimode access to digital/ for various activities of Farm Mechanization under the online education. Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) ¾¾Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring scheme. Minds (SWAYAM): Key Points €€The objective is to ensure that every student in the country has access to the best quality higher ¾¾About: education at the affordable cost. €€The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare ¾¾Integrated Online junction for School Education launched SMAM in 2014-15. ‘Shagun’ €€Under it, subsidy is provided for purchase of various €€It is an overarching initiative to improve the school types of agricultural equipment and machinery education system by creating a junction for all to the extent of 40-50% for States other than NER online portals and websites relating to various (North Eastern Region) States and for NER States activities of the Department of School Education it is 100% limited to Rs.1.25 lakhs per beneficiary. and Literacy in the Government of India and all €€The agriculture ministry has also developed a States and Union Territories. Multilingual Mobile App, ‘CHC (Custom Hiring ¾¾Unified District Information System for Education Centres)- Farm Machinery’ which connects farmers (UDISE) and UDISE+ with Custom Hiring Service Centres situated in €€UDISE, initiated in 2012-13 for elementary their locality. and secondary education, is one of the largest ¾¾Aim: Management Information Systems on School €€Increasing the reach of farm mechanization to Education covering more than 1.5 million small and marginal farmers and to the regions schools, 9.4 million teachers and almost 250 and difficult areas where farm power availability million children. is low. €€UDISE+ is an updated and improved version of ¾¾Objectives: UDISE. €€Promoting ‘Custom Hiring Centres’ and ‘Hi-tech

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to offset the Hubs of High-Value Machines’ €€To boost up mechanization in the agriculture adverse economies of scale arising due to small sector, improved agricultural implements and and fragmented landholding and high cost of machinery are essential inputs. individual ownership. ¾¾Level of farm Mechanization: €€Creating awareness among stakeholders through €€India stands at about 40-45% with states such demonstration and capacity building activities. as UP, Haryana and Punjab having very high €€Ensuring performance testing and certification mechanization levels, but north-eastern states of agricultural machines at designated testing having negligible mechanization. centres located all over the country. €€This level of farm mechanization is still low as ¾¾ Other Related Initiatives: compared to countries such as the US (95%), €€Sub-Mission on Agroforestry Scheme. Brazil (75%) and China (57%). €€National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. ¾¾Significance: €€National Food Security Mission. €€It plays a vital role in optimizing the use of land, €€Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY). water energy resources, manpower and other €€Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture. inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc to max- €€Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichayee Yojana (PMKSY). imize the productivity of the available cultivable area and make agriculture a more profitable and €€Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. attractive profession for rural youth. €€Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana. €€It is one of the key drivers for the sustainable Agriculture/Farm Mechanization development of the agriculture sector. ¾¾About: ¾¾Negative Impact: €€Mechanised agriculture is the process of using €€Reduce workforce hence decreases farm agricultural machinery to mechanise the work employment. of agriculture. €€Use of machinery increases pollution.

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Economic Scenario

Highlights zz Minimum Support Price zz World Energy Investment Report, 2021: IEA zz El Salvador Adopts Bitcoin as Legal Tender zz US Suspends Retaliatory Tariffs on India zz Global Economic Prospects: World Bank zz EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences zz World Milk Day

€€It takes into account the supply and demand Minimum Support Price situation for the commodity, market price trends (domestic and global) and parity vis-à-vis other Why in News crops, and implications for consumers (inflation), environment (soil and water use) and terms of In a bid to encourage crop diversification, the Central trade between agriculture and non-agriculture Government has hiked the Minimum Support Price (MSP) sectors. for Paddy, Pulses and Oilseeds (for all mandated Kharif ¾¾ Crops). Three Kinds of Production Cost: €€The CACP projects three kinds of production Key Points cost for every crop, both at state and all-India ¾¾About: average levels. zz €€The MSP is the rate at which the government ‘A2’: purchases crops from farmers, and is based on „„Covers all paid-out costs directly incurred a calculation of at least one-and-a-half times by the farmer in cash and kind on seeds, the cost of production incurred by the farmers. fertilisers, pesticides, hired labour, leased-in €€MSP is a “minimum price” for any crop that the land, fuel, irrigation, etc. government considers as remunerative for farmers zz‘A2+FL’ and hence deserving of “support”. „„Includes A2 plus an imputed value of unpaid ¾¾Crops under MSP: family labour. €€The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices zz‘C2’It is a more comprehensive cost that factors (CACP) recommends MSPs for 22 mandated in rentals and interest forgone on owned land crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for and fixed capital assets, on top of A2+FL. sugarcane. €€CACP considers both A2+FL and C2 costs while zzCACP is an attached office of the Ministry of recommending MSP. Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. zzCACP reckons only A2+FL cost for return. €€The mandated crops include 14 crops of the kharif zzHowever, C2 costs are used by CACP primarily as season, 6 rabi crops and 2 other commercial crops. benchmark reference costs (opportunity costs) €€In addition, the MSPs of toria and de-husked to see if the MSPs recommended by them at coconut are fixed on the basis of the MSPs of least cover these costs in some of the major rapeseed/mustard and copra, respectively. producing States. ¾¾Factors for Recommending the MSP: €€The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) €€The CACP considers various factors while of the Union government takes a final decision recommending the MSP for a commodity, including on the level of MSPs and other recommendations cost of cultivation. made by CACP.

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¾¾Significance of MSP Hike: of foods rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals and €€The added focus on nutri-rich nutri-cereals is to dietary fibre — as opposed to just calories and incentivise its production in the areas where rice- sugar — by the people. wheat cannot be grown without long term adverse zzThe right way to do it is by freezing the MSPs implications for groundwater table. of paddy and wheat, besides capping their €€Concerted efforts have been made over the last procurement at, say, 10-15 quintal per acre few years to realign the MSPs in favour of oilseeds, per farmer. pulses and coarse cereals to encourage farmers shift to larger areas under these crops and adopt El Salvador Adopts best technologies and farm practices, to correct demand - supply imbalance. Bitcoin as Legal Tender ¾¾Issues with Hike: €€This increase seems modest keeping in mind the Why in News cultivation costs - particularly on account of diesel El Salvador, a small coastal country in Central used for powering tractors, irrigation pumps and America has become the first in the world to adopt harvester combines - have gone up. Bitcoin, as legal tender. €€Some increases, especially for maize, did not even ¾¾Legal tender is the legally recognized money within keep pace with inflation. a given political jurisdiction. €€Further, absence of assured procurement means farmers have no incentive to cultivate them. Key Points €€The announcement comes at a time when farm ¾¾Bitcoin: unions have been demanding legislation to €€Introduction: , and guarantee MSP for all farmers for all crops zzIntroduced in 2009, it is a type of cryptocurrency a repeal of three contentious farm reform laws. that enables instant payments to anyone. ¾¾Issues with MSP: „„Cryptocurrency is a specific type of virtual €€The major problem with the MSP is lack of currency, which is decentralised and protected government machinery for procurement for by cryptographic encryption techniques. all crops except wheat and rice, which the Food „„Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple are a few notable Corporation of India actively procures under the PDS. examples of cryptocurrencies. €€As state governments procure the last mile grain, zzBitcoin is based on an open-source protocol the farmers of states where the grain is procured and is not issued by any central authority. completely by the government benefit more while €€Use: those in states that procure less are often affected. zzOriginally, Bitcoin was intended to provide €€The MSP-based procurement system is also an alternative to fiat money and become a dependent on middlemen, commission agents universally accepted medium of exchange and APMC officials, which smaller farmers find directly between two involved parties. difficult to get access to. „„Fiat money is a government-issued currency ¾¾Solution: that is not backed by a commodity such as €€The CACP, in its price policy report for the 2018-19 gold. kharif marketing season, had suggested enactment ¾¾ of a legislation conferring on farmers ‘The Right to Reason behind this Decision: Sell at MSP’. This, it felt, was necessary “to instil €€Loss on Remittances: confidence among farmers for procurement of zzEl Salvador relies heavily on money sent back their produce”. from workers abroad. €€The government should be promoting crop and zzBitcoin adoption may make theseremittances animal agriculture that also leads to consumption quicker and cheaper.

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„„According to a World Bank report, India received over USD 83 billion in remittances in 2020. €€Impact on Money Laundering: zzThe implication of this move for money laundering is unclear at the moment. zzCurrently, El Salvador is not considered deficient under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) money laundering requirements. zzHowever, with large scale cryptocurrency €€Boost Financial Inclusion: inflows and outflows, it would be expected that zzIt is also expected to boost financial inclusion in El Salvador would comply with the 2019 FATF their country as the majority of the population guidance on Virtual Currencies. does not have access to formal banking channels. ¾¾India’s Current Stand on Cryptocurrency: ¾¾Concerns: €€In 2018, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued €€In the absence of a central regulating authority, a circular preventing all banks from dealing in legalizing bitcoin will have potential for fraud cryptocurrencies. This circular was declared and money laundering, high energy costs and unconstitutional by theSupreme Court in May 2020. extreme volatility. €€Recently, the government has announced to ¾¾Implications for the Crypto World: introduce a bill; Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021, to create a €€This could potentially encourage other smaller sovereign digital currency and simultaneously ban countries with weaker economies to open up to crypto as an alternative to fiat currencies, all private cryptocurrencies. paving the way for mainstream future adoption €€In India, the funds that have gone into the Indian worldwide. blockchain start-ups account for less than 0.2% of €€Already, Venezuela and many African countries the amount raised by the sector globally. have started using cryptocurrencies as a long term €€The current approach towards cryptocurrencies store of value, as their currencies are deflating makes it near-impossible for blockchain quickly. entrepreneurs and investors to acquire much ¾¾Some Lessons for India: economic benefit. €€Not a Instance for Monetary Policy: zzEl Salvador does not have its own monetary Global Economic policy, hence, no local currency to protect. It runs on the monetary policy of the US Federal Prospects: World Bank Reserve. Why in News „„Therefore, any changes in Federal Reserve policies will definitely affect the Country. Recently, the World Bank has released its June 2021 Hence, it is looking at such alternatives. Global Economic Prospects where it has forecast India’s zzSince, India has its own currency and a central GDP growth to be 8.3% for the year 2021-22. bank, therefore coexistence of bitcoin and rupee side by side becomes difficult. Key Points €€Impact on Remittances: ¾¾GDP Estimate: zzThe impact Bitcoin has on remittance inflows €€For India: would be worth monitoring for India, which zzIndia’s economy is expected to grow at 8.3% is home to the largest remittance market in for Fiscal Year 2021-22, 7.5% for 2022-23 and the world. 6.5% for 2023-24.

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€€For World: accelerate vaccine distribution and debt relief, zzThe world economy is expected to expand particularly for low-income countries. 5.6%, the fastest post-recession growth rate €€As the health crisis eases, policymakers will need in eighty years. to address the pandemic’s lasting effects and take zzHowever, global output will still be 2% below steps to spur green, resilient, and inclusive growth pre-pandemic projections by year-end. while safeguarding macroeconomic stability. €€For low-income countries, policies focusing on scaling up social safety net programs, improving logistics and climate resilience of local food supply would be more helpful.

Key Terms ¾¾Gross Domestic Product €€GDP is a measure of economic activity in a country. It is the total value of a country’s annual output ¾¾ Cause: of goods and services. It gives the economic €€For FY 2020-21: output from the consumers’ side. zzThe projected growth compares to the worst €€GDP = Private consumption + Gross investment + ever contraction of 7.3% in FY 2020-21 and 4% Government investment + Government spending expansion in 2019-20. + (exports-imports). zzIndia’s recovery is being hampered by the largest ¾¾Recession and Depression outbreak of any country since the beginning €€Recession: It is a macroeconomic term that of the pandemic. refers to a slowdown or a massive contraction €€For FY 2021-22: in economic activities for a long enough period, zzThe forecast for FY22 (8.3%) factors in expected or it can be said that when a recession sustains economic damage from an enormous second for long enough, it is called a recession. Covid-19 wave and localised mobility restrictions €€Depression: It is a deep and long-lasting period since March 2021. of negative economic growth, with output falling €€For FY 2022-23: for at least 12 months and GDP falling by over zzGrowth is expected to slow to 7.5% as a result 10% or it can be referred to as a severe and of the pandemic’s lingering effects on the prolonged recession. financial position of households, companies ¾¾Fiscal Policy and banks and possibly low levels of consumer €€Fiscal policy refers to the use of government confidence and heightened uncertainty around spending and tax policies to influence economic job and incomes. conditions. ¾¾Steps Taken by India: €€During a recession, the government may employ €€The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced expansionary fiscal policy by lowering tax rates measures to provide liquidity to Micro, Small to increase aggregate demand and fuel economic and Medium firms (MSMEs), and loosened growth. regulatory requirements on the provisioning for €€In the face of mounting inflation and other non-performing assets. expansionary symptoms, a government may €€Fiscal policy shifted in the FY 2021/22 budget pursue contractionary fiscal policy. toward higher expenditure targeted at healthcare and infrastructure to boost the post-pandemic World Bank recovery. ¾¾About: ¾¾Suggestions: €€The Bretton Woods Conference held in 1944, €€Globally coordinated efforts are essential to created the International Bank for Reconstruction

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and Development (IBRD) along with the International UMANG Platform Monetary Fund (IMF). ¾¾Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance zzThe IBRD later became the World Bank. (UMANG) Mobile App is a unified, secure, multi- €€The World Bank Group is a unique global partnership channel, multi-platform, multi-lingual, multi- of five institutions working for sustainable solutions service mobile app launched under the Digital that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity India initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and in developing countries. Information Technology (MeitY) in 2017. ¾¾Members: ¾¾It is a unified application that can beused to avail a €€It has 189 member countries. India is also a number of pan India e-government services such member country. as: Filing income tax, Employees Provident Fund ¾¾Major Reports: Organization (EPFO) services, Aadhar, Pension, ePathshala, e- Land Records, Crop Insurance etc. €€Ease of Doing Business. €€Human Capital Index. €€World Milk Day was established by the Food and €€World Development Report. Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2001. The day is intended to provide an opportunity €€Migration and Development Brief. to bring attention to activities that are connected with €€Global Economic Prospects. the dairy sector. ¾¾Its Five Development Institutions: zzFAO is one of the specialised agencies of the €€ International Bank for Reconstruction and Devel- United Nations that leads international efforts Provides loans, credits, and grants. opment (IBRD): to defeat hunger. €€International Development Association (IDA): ¾¾2021 Theme: Provides low- or no-interest loans to low-income €€Theme will countries. focus on Sustainability in the dairy sector with messages around the environment, €€International Finance Corporation (IFC):Provides nutrition and socio-economics. investment, advice, and asset management to companies and governments. zzIn doing so it will reintroduce dairy farming to the world. €€Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA): Insures lenders and investors against political risk such ¾¾Gopal Ratna Awards: as war. €€They are National Awards for the Cattle and Dairy €€International Centre for the Settlement of Invest- sector, the awards have been launched to promote ment Disputes (ICSID): Settles investment-disputes the best herd of Indigenous Breed and practicing between investors and countries. best management practices and it will be given in three categories: zzIndia is not a member of ICSID. zzBest Dairy farmer. World Milk Day zzBest Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT). zzBest Dairy Cooperative/ Milk producer Company/ Why in News Farmers Producer Organisation. ¾¾e-Gopala (Generation of wealth through Productive Every year, the first day of June is observed as World Livestock) App: Milk Day. €€It is a comprehensive breed improvement ¾¾On the occasion, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal marketplace and information portal for direct Husbandry & Dairying announced the launch of the use of farmers. Gopal Ratna Awards and integration of e-Gopala App with UMANG platform. €€It provides solutions on the aspects of: zzManaging livestock including buying and selling Key Points of disease-free germplasm in all forms (semen, ¾¾About: embryos, etc.).

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zzAvailability of quality breeding services (Artificial expand and gave a finishing touch to the pro- Insemination, veterinary first aid, vaccination, gramme. It also strengthened the infrastructure treatment, etc.). required to procure and market increasing ¾¾Other Initiatives Related to the Dairy sector: volumes of milk. €€National Action Plan on Dairy Development 2022: ¾¾Objectives: It seeks to increase milk production and double €€Increase milk production (“a flood of milk”). the income of dairy farmers. €€Increase rural incomes. €€National Animal Disease Control Programme & €€Reasonable prices for consumers. National Artificial Insemination Programme: It ¾¾Significance: was launched to control and eradicate the Foot €€It helped dairy farmers direct their own development, & Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis amongst placing control of the resources they create in their the livestock in the country, own hands. €€Pashu-Aadhar: It is a unique ID on a digital platform €€It has helped India become the largest producer for traceability for the animals. of milk in the world in 2016-17. €€Rashtriya Gokul Mission: It was launched in 2019 zzCurrently, India is the world’s largest milk for setting up of 21 Gokul Grams as Integrated producer, with 22% of global production. Cattle Development Centres. Operation Flood (White Revolution) World Energy ¾¾About: Investment Report, 2021: IEA €€The White Revolution in India was the brainchild of Dr Verghese Kurein. Under him many important Why in News institutions were established like the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd and Recently, the International Energy Agency (IEA) pub- the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB). lished the World Energy Investment Report, 2021. Global €€The White Revolution was started by the NDDB in energy investment, 2017-21. the 1970s and the bedrock of the revolution has been the village milk producers’ cooperatives. ¾¾Phases of the Revolution: €€Phase I: zzIt started from 1970 and lasted for 10 years i.e. till 1980. This phase was financed by the sale of butter oil and skimmed milk powder donated by the European Union through the World Food Program. €€Phase II: Key Points zzIt lasted for five years from 1981 to 1985. During ¾¾Increased Investment in Energy Sector: this phase, the number of milk sheds increased €€Global energy investment is expected to rebound from 18 to 136, milk outlets were expanded in 2021 and increase 10% year-on-year to around to about 290 urban markets, a self-sustaining USD 1.9 trillion. system was set up that included 4,250,000 €€Most of this investment will flow towards power milk producers spread across 43,000 village and end-use sectors, shifting out of traditional cooperatives. fossil fuel production. €€Phase III: €€The scenario is perfectly aligned with the projection zzIt also lasted for almost 10 years i.e. 1985-1996. that global energy demand will rise 4.6% year- This phase enabled the dairy cooperatives to on-year in 2021, offsetting its contraction in 2020.

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¾¾Renewable Energy: consumption in December 2020 was a historic €€Renewable power will have the largest share high — though the country has a commendable - around 70% of the total will be spent on new renewable growth. power generation capacity. €€The responsibility-share of developed nations €€There will be substantial gain of renewable energy should not be undermined. Their in-country as the future energy outlook has been dependent growth of emission is moderate but their exported on technological development, well-established emission is of concern. supply chain and demand from consumers for zzAustralia’s exported emission through coal is carbon-neutral electricity. double its domestic emission. ¾¾Fossil Fuels: €€Although the US has shown renewed commitment to the multilateral United Nations system for €€Upstream (production and exploration) invest- tackling climate change by re-joining the Paris ment in oil is expected to grow 10%. This agreement. Its fascination with cheap shale gas expansion in fossil fuels was planned with novel is creating an investment distortion andadversely technologies like Carbon Capture and Storage affecting the sustainability of developmental (CCS) and bioenergy CCS, which are yet to attain pathways of countries like India. commercial success. €€The increment of coal-fired power in 2020, mostly International Energy Agency driven by China, is indicating that coal is down ¾¾About: but not yet out. €€It is an autonomous Intergovernmental ¾¾Increased Emissions: Organisation established in 1974 in Paris, €€The above positive scenarios will still not deter France. the increase in carbon dioxide emission, after €€IEA mainly focuses on its energy policies which contraction in 2020 mainly due to economic include economic development, energy security slowdown induced by the novel coronavirus and environmental protection. These policies pandemic. are also known as the 3 E’s of IEA. zzGlobal emission is set to grow by 1.5 billion ¾¾India and IEA: tonnes in 2021. €€India became an Associate member of IEA €€Many developing nations’supporting policy and in March 2017 but it was in engagement with regulatory frameworks are not yet aligned with IEA long before its association with the long-term net-zero goals. organization. zzNet zero emissions refers to achieving an overall €€Recently, India has inked a Strategic Partnership balance between greenhouse gas emissions Agreement with the IEA to strengthen coop- produced and greenhouse gas emissions taken eration in global energy security, stability and out of the atmosphere. sustainability. ¾¾ : €€In many Emerging Market and Developing IEA Clean Coal Centre Economies (EMDEs), investment in renewables €€It is dedicated to providing independent was hit harder by Covid-19 than in developed information and analysis on how coal can become nations – and now many EMDEs have prioritised a cleaner source of energy, compatible with the coal and oil in recovery plans. UN Sustainable Development Goals. ¾¾Reasons of Increased Emissions: ¾¾Reports: €€ €€The emerging market is almost 70% responsible World Energy Investment Report, World Energy for demand growth and India plays an important Outlook Report , Global Energy Review. part in this block. €€Recently, it has released the India Energy Outlook 2021 Report and Net Zero by 2050, World’s first €€China is showing a tremendous expansion in coal-based power production — their coal comprehensive energy roadmap.

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zzTo allow time for ongoing international tax US Suspends negotiations to continue. The US is seeking Retaliatory Tariffs on India a multilateral solution while maintaining the option of imposing tariffs underSection 301 if warranted in the future. Why in News €€Damage to Global Economy: Recently, the US suspended imposition of retaliatory zzThe six countries potentially impacted are tariffs against six countries, including India, that had begun passing through a weak post­ Covid-19 recovery imposing digital services tax on companies such as Google and opening a new trade war front could be and Facebook. damaging not only to them, but also to the ¾¾Other than India, the countries slapped with this broader global economy. tariff proposal are Austria, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and zzThe combination of depressed economic activity the United Kingdom. owing to the effects of thepandemic and tectonic shifts in global supply chains engendered by Digital Services Taxes the US’ trade war with China has already left ¾¾DSTs are the adopted taxes on revenues that certain many economies in a weakened condition. companies generate from providing certain digital services. E.g. digital multinationals like Google, €€Change in Administration: Amazon and Apple etc. zzUnder the previous US government (Trump) USTR ¾¾The Organisation for Economic Cooperation was used to promote what his administration and Development (OECD) is currently hosting considered to be free, fair and reciprocal trade, negotiations with over 130 countries that aim to specifically to close the gap orbalance of trade adapt the international tax system. One goal is to between the US and foreign governments. address the tax challenges of the digitalization of zzHowever, the new administration (Biden) appears the economy. to be seeking a middle path of waving the stick €€Some experts argue that a tax policy designed of the USTR while allowing some space for to target a single sector or activity is likely to be continued tax negotiations with the nations unfair and have complex consequences. concerned. €€Further, the digital economy cannot be easily ¾¾Impact on India: separated out from the rest of the global €€Loss of Revenue: economy. zzThe tax levied by the Finance Bill, 2021, could yield approximately USD 55 million Key Points annually. ¾¾Background: zzNegotiations with the US that may result in the €€Tariffs were imposed after the office of the United scaling back of this tax would imply that a part States Trade Representative (USTR)noted that the of this revenue would be lost to the exchequer, Digital services taxes adopted by India, Italy and depending on the final rate agreed. Turkey discriminate against US companies and €€Impact on Exports: are inconsistent with international tax principles. zzClose to USD 118 million of India’s exports to zzUnder Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the US would be subject to the tariff proposed the USTR enjoys a range of responsibilities by the USTR, impacting 26 categories of goods and authority to investigate and take action such as: to enforce US national interests under trade „„Basmati rice, cigarette paper, cultured pearls, agreements and respond to certain foreign semi-precious stones, certain gold and silver trade practices. jewellery items and specific types of furniture ¾¾Reason for Suspension: products. €€Multilateral Solution: €€Growth Prospects:

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zzAny escalation matrix of retaliatory taxation with €€The Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) is a the US would damage its growth prospects at set of EU rules allowing exporters from developing a crucial point in its laborious recovery. countries to pay less or no duties on their exports zzHowever, India will also not be able to simply to the European Union. abandon its articulated intent to tax global zzIt helps developing countries to alleviate tech firms, which have generally enjoyed low­ poverty and create jobs based on international tax operations across numerous jurisdictions. values and principles, including labour and human rights. India’s Tax on Digital Companies €€The EU’s GSP is widely recognised as the most ¾¾The government had moved an amendment in the progressive in terms of coverage and benefits. Finance Bill 2020-21 imposing a 2% digital service ¾¾Types: tax (DST) on trade and services by non-resident €€Standard GSP: e-commerce operators with a turnover of over Rs. 2 crore. zzFor low and lower-middle income countries. This means a partial or full removal of customs €€This effectively expanded the scope of equalisation duties on two thirds of tariff lines. levy that, till last year, only applied to digital advertising services. zzDeveloping countries are automatically granted GSP if they are classified as having an income €€Earlier, the equalisation levy (at 6%) was intro- level below “upper middle income” by the duced in 2016 and imposed on the revenues World Bank and do not benefit from another generated on business-to-business digital ad- arrangement (like a Free Trade Agreement) vertisements and allied services of the resident granting them preferential access to the EU service provider. market. ¾¾The new levy came into effect from st1 April 2020. zzBeneficiaries: Bangladesh, Cambodia and E-commerce operators are obligated to pay the tax Myanmar. at the end of each quarter. €€GSP+: ¾¾The idea is to tax payments made to offshore entities zzThe special incentive arrangement for sus- which do not have a physical presence here and tainable development and good governance. therefore the income tax department cannot subject such income earned from India to tax. zzIt slashes these same tariffs (that under standard GSP) to 0% for vulnerable low and lower-middle income countries that implement international EU’s Generalised conventions related to human rights, labour rights, protection of the environment and good Scheme of Preferences governance. zzBeneficiaries: Armenia, Bolivia, Cabo Verde, Why in News Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, The Philippines Recently, a resolution was adopted by the European and Sri Lanka. Parliament, urging the European Union (EU) Commission €€EBA (Everything But Arms): to consider the temporary withdrawal of the Generalised zzThe special arrangement for least developed Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status given to Sri countries, providing them with duty-free, Lanka. quota-free access for all products except arms ¾¾Sri Lanka regained the GSP +, or the EU’s Generalised and ammunition. Scheme of Preferences in 2017. ¾¾Monitoring Beneficiaries: ¾¾The EU is Sri Lanka’s second-largest trading partner €€The EU continuously monitors and reviews GSP+ after China and its second main export destination. beneficiary countries’ effective implementation of the international conventions on human rights, Key Points labour rights, environmental protection, and ¾¾About: good governance.

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€€This monitoring includes exchanges of information, €€Provides Employment: dialogue and visits and involves various stakeholders, zzMoving GSP imports from the docks to including civil society. consumers, farmers, and manufacturers supports tens of thousands of jobs in the developed nation. Generalised System of Preferences €€Boosts Company Competitiveness: ¾¾About: zzIt is boosted by the GSP as it reduces costs €€Generalized System of Preferences is an umbrella of imported inputs used by companies to that comprises the bulk of preferential schemes manufacture goods. granted by industrialized nations to developing €€Promotes Global Values: countries. zzIt promotes Global values by supporting €€It involves reduced Most Favored Nations (MFN) beneficiary countries in affording worker rights Tariffs or duty-free entry of eligible products to their people, enforcing intellectual property exported by beneficiary countries to the markets rights, and supporting the rule of law. of donor countries. €€The idea of granting developing countries preferential UNCTAD tariff rates in the markets of industrialized countries ¾¾It is a permanent intergovernmental body established was originally presented at the firstUnited Nations by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964. It Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is headquartered at Geneva in Switzerland. conference in 1964. ¾¾It supports developing countries to access the €€The GSP was adopted at UNCTAD in New Delhi in benefits of a globalized economy more fairly and 1968 and was instituted in 1971. effectively. zzThere are currently 13 national GSP schemes ¾¾It has 194 member nations. India is a member. notified to the UNCTAD secretariat. ¾¾Some of the reports published by it are: ¾¾Countries which Grant Generalized System of €€Trade and Development Report Preferences: €€Investment Trends Monitor Report €€Australia, Belarus, Canada, EU, Iceland, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Norway, Russian €€World Investment Report Federation, Switzerland, Turkey and the United €€The Least Developed Countries Report States of America. €€Information and Economy Report zzIn 2019, US terminated India’s designation €€Technology and Innovation Report as a beneficiary developing nation under its €€Commodities and Development Report GSP trade programme. This was done after determining that India has not assured the US Most Favored Nations (MFN) that it will provide “equitable and reasonable ¾¾As per the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) General access” to its markets. Agreement on Tariffs and Trade MFN principle, ¾¾Benefits: each of the WTO member countries should “treat all the other members equally as ‘most-favoured’ €€Improves Growth: trading partners.” zzImproves Economic growth and development in the developing world by helping beneficiary ¾¾According to the WTO, though the term ‘MFN’ countries to increase and diversify their trade “suggests special treatment, it actually means with the developed nations. nondiscrimination.”

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International Relations

Highlights zz Joint Statement on Multilateralism: BRICS zz Maldives’ UNGA Presidency zz SCO Agreement on Mass Media Cooperation zz Atlantic Charter zz India-Australia Meeting zz 47th G7 Summit zz India Abstains from Latest Resolution Against Israel

€€Need: Joint Statement on zzIncreasing Incidences of Lawfare: Multilateralism: BRICS „„It means the misuse of existing International and national laws by several countries (via Why in News forced technology requirements, intellectual property rights violations, and subsidies), to The BRICS Foreign Ministers, in a recent meet, put gain an unfair advantage over other countries. out a joint statement on multilateralism. 1. The imposition of extraterritorial sanction ¾¾BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s (under CAATSA) by the US has affected leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, development in developing economies like India, China and South Africa. India and China. Key Points 2. Paralysis of the World Trade Organization (WTO), due to the tussle between the ¾¾Multilateralism: developed and developing world. €€ Meaning: zzDual Use of Global Supply Chain: zz It is the process of organizing relations between „„Some of the developed countries have groups of three or more states. jurisdiction and control over global supply zzIt generally comprises certain qualitative chains. Due to growing convergence between elements or principles that shape the character commercial interests and strategic goals, of the arrangement or institution. These these supply chains enable them to have vast principles are: extraterritorial influence and have created „„Indivisibility of interests among participants. new power asymmetries. „„Commitment to diffuse reciprocity, i.e. 1. China through BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) mutual exchange. is enhancing its role in global economic „„System of dispute settlement intended to governance. enforce a particular mode of behaviour. 2. There are fears pertaining to dual-use €€Significance: (commercial viability and military application) zzMultilateral institutions have played a significant of Industrial Revolution 4.0. role in post-war global governance and are zzLack of Global Framework: arguably more stable than other forms of „„The global community has not been able to organization because theprinciples underlying come on a single platform or frame aGlobal them appear to be more durable and more Agenda on issues related to terrorism, Climate able to adapt to external changes. Change, cybersecurity etc.

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„„Also, due to the lack of any global public health framework, Covid-19 has spread into SCO Agreement on a pandemic. Mass Media Cooperation ¾¾Six Principles laid out by BRICS for the task of Strength- ening and and Reforming the Multilateral System: Why in News €€First, it should make global governance more inclusive, representative and participatory to The Union Government approved the signing and facilitate greater and more meaningful particip- ratification of an Agreement onCooperation ‘ in the field ation of developing and least developed countries. of Mass Media’ between all the Member States of . €€Second, it should be based on inclusive consultation Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and collaboration for the benefit of all. ¾¾The Agreement was signed in June 2019. It will €€Third, it should make multilateral organisations provide an opportunity for the Member States to more responsive, action-oriented and solu- share new innovations and best practices in the tion-oriented based on the norms and principles field of Mass Media. of international law and the spirit of mutual respect, justice, equality, and mutually beneficial Key Points cooperation. ¾¾Main Areas of Cooperation: €€Fourth, it should use innovative and inclusive €€Creation of a favorable system for mutual and solutions, including digital and technological wide distribution of information via Mass Media tools. in a bid to deepen the knowledge about the lives €€Fifth, it should strengthen the capacities of of the people of their States. individual States and international organizations. €€Cooperation among the Editorial Offices of the €€Sixth, it should promote people-centered inter- Mass Media of their States as well as between the national cooperation at the core. relevant Ministries, Agencies, and Organizations in the field of Mass Media. BRICS €€Promoting equal and mutually beneficialcooperation ¾¾BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s between professional associations of journalists leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, of the States. India, China and South Africa. €€Aiding broadcast of television and radio programs ¾¾In 2001, the British Economist Jim O’Neill coined the and those distributed legally within the territory term BRIC to describe the four emerging economies of the State. of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. €€Encouraging the exchange of specialists and ¾¾ The grouping was formalised during the first meeting experience in the field of Mass Media, offer mutual of BRIC Foreign Ministers’ in 2006. assistance in training media professionals, and ¾¾South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December promote cooperation betweenscientific research 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym and educational institutions in the field of Mass BRICS. Media. ¾¾India has assumed the BRICS Presidency from ¾¾Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO): January 2021. €€About: Structure zzSCO is a permanent intergovernmental ¾¾BRICS does not exist in the form of organization, international organisation. but it is an annual summit between the supreme zzIt’s a Eurasian political, economic and military leaders of five nations. organisation aiming to maintain peace, security ¾¾The Chairmanship of the forum is rotated annually and stability in the region. among the members, in accordance with the €€Formation: acronym B-R-I-C-S. zzIt was created in 2001.

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zzThe SCO Charter was signed in 2002, and entered zzThe research on adaptation and mitigation into force in 2003. covers crops, livestock, fisheries, and natural €€Official Language: resource management. zzThe SCO’s official languages are Russian and ¾¾On Defence Cooperation: Chinese. €€Participation of Australia in Exercise Malabar. €€Members: zzAfter the Ladakh confrontation, India extended zzEight countries are part of SCO, which are: the invitation to Australia and an Australian Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, contingent participated in the 2020 Malabar Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. exercises. €€SCO has two Permanent Bodies: €€Various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives like zzSCO Secretariat in Beijing (China), and AUSINDEX, Mutual Logistic Support Arrangement (MLSA) and Defence Science & Technology zzExecutive Committee of theRegional Anti-Ter- were reviewed. rorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Implementing Arrangement (DSTIA) €€Expressed an intent to convene the 2+2 Ministerial €€The Chairmanship of SCO is by rotation for a year at the earliest. by Member States. Dialogue zz2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a format of dialogue zzThe Republic of Tajikistan has assumed chairmanship of SCO for 2021-22. where the defense and foreign ministers meet with their counterparts from another country. €€The 20th Summit of the SCO took place in 2020. It is the highest-level institutional mechanism €€Recently, the Vice President of India has launched between the two countries. the first ever SCO Online Exhibition on Shared ¾¾India-Australia Ties: Buddhist Heritage. €€On the Covid-19 front, Australia has sent oxygen, ventilators and Personal Protective Equipment India-Australia Meeting (PPE) kits to India as part of an immediate support package. Recently, India and Australia reviewed cooperation in the sectors of agriculture and defence. €€The trade Ministers of India, Japan and Australia have formally launched the Supply Chain Resilience Key Points Initiative (SCRI). ¾¾In the field of Agriculture: €€Recently, India-Australia Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE) was organised. €€The India-Australia Grains Partnership aims to use Australia’s expertise in post harvest management €€Both countries upgraded their relationship to a to strengthen rural grain storage and supply chains Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and signed so as to reduce losses and wastage. multiple defence agreements in 2020. zzNational Institute of Agricultural Marketing will €€India and Australia co-operate in various multilateral be the nodal organisation from India. fora. €€The flagship program of National Innovation zzAustralia supports India’s candidature in an for Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) was expanded UN Security Council. mentioned and collaboration could be set up with zzBoth India and Australia are members of the the research organisations of Australia. Quad, Commonwealth, Indian Ocean Rim zzNICRA is a network project of the Indian Council Association (IORA), ASEAN Regional Forum, of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched in Asia Pacific Partnership on Climate and Clean February 2011. Development, and have participated in the East zzThe project aims to enhance the resilience of Asia Summits. Indian agriculture to climate change and climate zzBoth countries have also been cooperating as vulnerability through strategic research and members of the Five Interested Parties (FIP) in technology demonstration. the World Trade Organization context.

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zzAustralia is an important player in Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and supports India’s membership of the organisation. €€A Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement between the two countries was signed in September 2014. €€The Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) and the Extradition Treaty between India and Australia, which were signed in June 2008, have been ratified by both the Governments. €€Both sides are also likely to explore other options such as a closer intelligence relationship, and in other areas such as high technology and outer space.

India Abstains from Latest Resolution Against Israel

Why in News Recently, Palestine blamed India for suppressing its human rights of all people as India abstained from the latest resolution on the Palestinian issue. €€As it was passed, an independent commission of ¾¾India abstained from voting on a resolution at the inquiry was formed to investigate violations of United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) that came up in the backdrop of the latest round of international law by Israel. conflict between Israel and Gaza strip, the coastal ¾¾Palestine’s Stand: part of the Palestinian territories. €€The resolutionis not an aberration to the Human ¾¾UNHRC is an inter-governmental body within the United Rights Council. It is the by-product of extensive Nations (UN) system responsible for strengthening multilateral consultations. the promotion and protection of human rights €€It is the consolidation of years and thorough around the world. investigations into and reporting on Israel’s grave violations by States, UN’s experts, Human Rights Key Points Treaty bodies, and international organisations. ¾¾The Resolution: zzThe Palestinian people were deprived of €€It called on the UNHRC to set up a permanent applicability of international human rights law. commission to probe human rights violations in zzThe root causes of the injustice against Gaza, West Bank and Palestine. the Palestinian people was dispossession, €€It was adopted with the vote of 24 members. Nine displacement, colonisation by Israel. voted against, and 14, including India, abstained. €€Therefore, India’s abstention stifles the important zzAmong the countries that abstained on work of Human Rights Council at advancing the vote, along with India, were France, Italy, human rights for all peoples, including those of Japan, Nepal, the Netherlands, Poland, and the Palestinian people. South Korea. zzIndia missed an opportunity to join the zzChina, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Russia were international community at this turning point, among those who voted in favour; Germany, both crucial and long overdue, on the path to the UK, and Austria voted against the resolution. accountability, justice and peace.

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¾¾Till Date India’s Position on Israel-Palestine Issue: €€India recognised Israel in 1950 but it is also the first non-Arab country to recognise Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as the sole representative of the Palestinian. zzIndia is also one of the first countries to recognise the statehood of Palestine in 1988. €€In 2014, India favored UNHRC’s resolution to probe Israel’s human rights violations in Gaza. Despite supporting the probe,India abstained from voting against Israel in UNHRC in 2015. €€As a part of Link West Policy, India has de- hyphenated its relationship with Israel and Key Points Palestine in 2018 to treat both the countries mutually independent and exclusive. ¾¾President of UNGA: €€In June 2019, India voted in favor of a decision €€This is a post held on an annual basis, rotated introduced by Israel in the UN Economic and amongst various regional groupings. The 76th session Social Council (ECOSOC) that objected to (2021-22) is the turn of the Asia-Pacific group. granting consultative status to a Palestinian non- This is the first time Maldives will be occupying governmental organization. the office of the President of UNGA. €€In March 2021, International Criminal Court (ICC) €€Maldives also sees it as a win for the 52-member launched investigatations into the war crimes in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which are Palestinian territories occupied by Israel (West battling climate change vulnerability and other Bank and the Gaza Strip). developmental challenges. ¾¾ zzIsrael wanted India to take a stand against it, Addu Atoll: however it did not happen. €€Addu Atoll, also known as Seenu Atoll, is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. €€So far, India has tried to maintain the image of its historical moral supporter for Palestinian self- zzApart from its strategic location in the Indian determination, and at the same time to engage Ocean, Addu is the second largest city in the in the military, economic, and other strategic archipelago, home to over 30,000 people. relations with Israel. ¾¾India’s Stand: €€India approved the opening of a new consulate in the Maldivian city of Addu, in reflection of the Maldives’ UNGA Presidency importance India attaches to its ties with the strategically located island nation. Why in News €€India’s decision to expand its diplomatic presence Recently, the Maldives’ Foreign Minister Abdulla in the Maldives comes amid China’s consistent Shahid was elected the President of the 76th session of efforts to increase its influence in the island nation. the United Nations (UN) General Assembly(GA) for €€Also Indian rationale for the consulate wasto help 2021-22. Addu residents with speedy visa services. ¾¾The win was welcomed by India as Indian diplomats ¾¾Opposition of the Initiative: had been helping the Maldives and India expects €€Some Maldivians see a new consulate with close cooperation with Maldives at the UN. suspicion, especially on the heels of a USD ¾¾However, the Maldives has made no decision on 33-million Maldivian police training facility that opening an Indian consulate in its southern Addu Atoll India is helping build in Addu. even as the Indian Cabinet cleared a proposal for it. zzThere is already an Indian Embassy in Male.

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¾¾Geo-Strategic Importance of Maldives to India: superspeciality healthcare, aided by a liberal €€Maldives, a Toll Gate in Indian Ocean: visa-free regime extended by India. zzLocated at the southern and northern parts €€Economic Cooperation: of this island chain lies the two important sea zzTourism is the mainstay of Maldivian economy. lanes of communication (SLOCs). Given the geographical limitations imposed on zzThese SLOCs are critical for maritime trade the Maldives, India has exempted the nation flow between the Gulf of Aden and Gulf of from export curbs on essential commodities. Hormuz in West Asia and the Strait of Malacca ¾¾Irritants in Relations: in Southeast Asia. €€Political Instability: zzNearly 50% of India’s external trade and 80% zzIndia’s major concern has been the impact of of its energy imports transit these SLOCs in political instability in the neighbourhood on the Arabian Sea. its security and development. €€Part of Important Groupings: zzThe February 2015 arrest of Maldives’ opposition zzBesides, Maldives is a member of the South leader Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and the consequent political crisis have posed a (SAARC) and the South Asia Subregional real diplomatic test for India’s neighbourhood Economic Cooperation (SASEC). policy. €€Radicalisation: India - Maldives Relations zzIn the past decade or so, the number of ¾¾Cooperation Between India & Maldives: Maldivians drawn towards terrorist groups €€Security Cooperation: like the Islamic State (IS) and Pakistan-based zzThrough the decades, India has rushed emer- madrassas and jihadist groups has been gency assistance to the Maldives, whenever increasing. sought. zzPolitical instability and socio-economic zzIn 1988, when armed mercenaries attempted uncertainty are the main drivers fuelling the a coup against President Maumoon Abdul rise of Islamist radicalism in the island nation. Gayoom, India sent paratroopers and Navy €€China Angle: vessels and restored the legitimate leadership zzChina’s strategic footprint in India’s neighbourhood under Operation Cactus. has increased. The Maldives has emerged as an zzIndia and Maldive conduct the joint military important ‘pearl’ in China’s “String of Pearls” exercise ‘Ekuverin’. construct in South Asia. €€Disaster Management: zzAlso, the Maldives have started using the China zzThe 2004 tsunami and the drinking water crisis card to bargain with India. in Male a decade later were other occasions when India rushed assistance. Atlantic Charter zzThe Maldives has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Covid-19 assistance and vaccines delivered by India among India’s all Why in News neighbouring countries. Recently, the US’ President and UK’s Prime Minister zzWhen the world supply chains were blocked signed a new version of the 80-year old Atlantic Charter. because of the pandemic, India continued to provide crucial commodities to the Maldives Key Points under Mission SAGAR. ¾¾Atlantic Charter (1941): €€People To People Contact: €€The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration released zzMaldivian students attend educational by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British institutions in India and patients fly here for Prime Minister Winston Churchill on 14th August,

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1941 (during World War II ) following a meeting of emerging technologies, cyberspace and sustainable the two heads of government in Newfoundland. global development. zzThe Atlantic Charter was subsequently incor- €€It calls on Western allies to oppose interference porated by reference in the Declaration of the through disinformation or other malign influences, United Nations in 1942. including in elections. zzWorld War II was a conflict that involved zzIt ranks the threats to democratic nations in virtually every part of the world during the a technological era. years 1939–45. €€It vows that as long as there are nuclear weapons, zzThe principal belligerents were: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) will „„Axis powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan. remain a nuclear alliance. „„Allies: France, Great Britain, the United ¾¾Opportunity for India: States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser €€The old Atlantic Charter alienated Indian extent, China. nationalism from the West but the new Charter €€The Atlantic Charterprovided a broad statement and the rebooting of western institutions should of US and British war aims such as: facilitate a productive phase of India’s cooperation and its allies. zzThey desired no territorial changes without the with the US free assent of the peoples concerned. zzIn 1941, the UK insisted that the principle of zzThey respected every people’s right to choose its self-determination highlighted in the charter own form of government and wanted sovereign did not apply to India. rights and self-government restored to those zzHowever, the presence of India and South forcibly deprived of them. Africa along with Australia and South Korea (as is a recognition zzThey would try to promote equal access for all guests) at the G-7 summit 2021 states to trade and to raw materials. of the urgent imperative to widen the basis of the West in dealing with global challenges. zzThey hoped to promote worldwide collaboration so as to improve labour standards, economic €€The current Anglo-American effort to institutionalise progress, and social security. western consultations with India is a long overdue correction. zzThe destruction of“Nazi tyranny,” (Germany) they would look for a peace under which all zzIndian Prime Minister, who is remotely joining nations could live safely within their boundaries, the discussions at the G-7 summit (2021), has without fear or want. an opportunity to signal a commitment to both address perceptions about shrinking democratic zzUnder such a peace the seas should be free. freedoms within India and offer substantive zzPending a general security through renunciation collaboration with the western democracies of force, potential aggressors must be disarmed. on global issues. ¾¾New Atlantic Charter (2021): €€The new charter, a 604-word declaration, is an th effort to stake out a grand vision for global 47 G7 Summit relationships in the 21st century, just as the original was a declaration of a Western commitment to Why in News democracy and territorial integrity just months Recently, the Indian Prime Minister addressed the before the US entered World War II. 47th G7 Summit 2021 through video conferencing. €€It is a statement of principles, a promise that the ¾¾Earlier, the Finance Ministers from the G7 nations UK and the US would meet the challenges of their reached a landmark accord setting Globala Minimum age together. It calls for both countries to adhere Corporate Tax Rate (GMCTR). to the rules-based international order. ¾¾Apart from India, Australia and South Korea were €€The new charter focuses on climate change and the also invited to participate in the proceedings of the need to protect biodiversity. With references to summit as “guest countries”.

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¾¾This year’s summit was hosted by the UK. The last zz11 billion doses are needed to vaccinate at least G-7 summit was in France in 2019, with last year’s 70% of the world’s population by mid-2022. event in the US canceled due to the pandemic. €€The doses would come both directly and through the international COVAX program. Key Points ¾¾Climate Change: ¾¾Build Back Better for the World Project: €€Renewed a pledge to raise their contributions to €€It is aimed squarely at competing with China’s meet an overdue spending pledge of USD 100 trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, billion a year to help poorer countries cut carbon which has been widely criticised for saddling small emissions. countries with unmanageable debt but has included €€Promised to halt and reverse biodiversity loss even G7 member Italy since launching in 2013. by 2030. €€It will collectively catalyse hundreds of billions of €€Pledged to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. infrastructure investment for low- and middle- ¾¾Against China: income countries (in Asia and Africa) and offer €€The G-7 statement which was not signed by India a values-driven, high-standard and transparent and other outreach countries hit out at China on partnership with G7. “human rights and fundamental freedoms” in ¾¾Democracies 11: Xinjiang (Uyghur Muslims) and Hong Kong, and €€Signed off on a joint statement (Democracies 11) the unilateral attempts to change the status quo by G-7 and guest countries on “open societies” that in the South China Sea. reaffirm and encourage the values offreedom of €€It also called for a transparent and timely World expression, both online and offline, as a freedom Health Organization’s Covid origins study in China. that safeguards democracy and helps people live zzIndia had also called for the same in a statement free from fear and oppression. during the World Health Assembly. zzThe statement also refers to politically motivated ¾¾India’s Stand: internet shutdowns as one of the threats to €€India is a natural ally for the G7 countries in freedom and democracy. defending the shared values from a host of threats zzWhile the statement is directed at China and stemming from authoritarianism, terrorism and Russia, India has been under scrutiny over violent extremism, disinformation and economic Internet curbs in Jammu and Kashmir even as coercion. the Government is locked in a face-off over its €€Expressed concerns that open societies are New IT rules 2021 with tech giants. particularly vulnerable to disinformation and €€Democracies 11 is facing threats to freedom cyber-attacks. and democracy from rising authoritarianism, €€It sought the support of the grouping to liftpatent electoral interference, corruption, economic protections for Covid-19 vaccines. coercion, manipulation of information, including €€Planet’s atmosphere, biodiversity and oceans disinformation, online harms and cyber attacks, cannot be protected by countries acting in silos, politically motivated internet shutdowns, human and called for collective action onclimate change. rights violations and abuses, terrorism and violent zzIndia is the only G-20 country on track to meet extremism. its Paris commitments. ¾¾Carbis Bay Declaration: €€Developing countries need better access to climate €€The G7 signed the Carbis Bay Declaration. It is finance, andcalled for a holistic approach towards aimed at preventing future pandemics. climate change that covers mitigation, adaptation, €€The G7 also pledged over 1 billion coronavirus technology transfer, climate financing, equity, vaccine doses for poorer nationswith half of that climate justice and lifestyle change. coming from the United States and 100 million €€Highlighted the revolutionary impact of digital from Britain. technologies on social inclusion and empowerment

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in India through applications such as Aadhaar, €€To Bring Uniformity: Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and JAM (Jan Dhan- zzGMCTR will end a decades-long race to the Aadhaar- Mobile) trinity. bottom in which countries have competed to attract corporate giants with ultra-low tax rates Global Minimum Corporate Tax Rate and exemptions. And it will bring uniformity in ¾¾About: corporate taxation worldwide. €€G7 would back a minimum global corporation tax ¾¾Challenges: rate of at least 15%, and put in place measures €€Uniting Nations: to ensure taxes were paid in the countries where zzGetting all major nations on the same page is a businesses operate. problem, since the GMCTR impinges on the right zzCorporation tax is a direct tax imposed on the of the sovereign to decide a nation’s tax policy. net income or profit that enterprises make from €€Policy Issues: their businesses. zzA global minimum rate would essentially take €€Applicability: away a tool that countries use to push policies zzIt would apply to companies’ overseas profits. that suit them. Therefore, if countries agree on a global zzA lower tax rate is a tool they can use to minimum, governments could still set whatever alternatively push economic activity. Also, a local corporate tax rate they want. global minimum tax rate will do little to tackle zzBut if companies pay lower rates in a particular tax evasion. country, their home governments could “top- ¾¾Other International Effort: their taxes to the agreed minimum rate, up” €€The Organization for Economic Cooperation and eliminating the advantage of shifting profits Development (OECD) has been coordinating to a tax haven. tax negotiations among 140 countries for years „„A tax haven is generally an offshore country on rules for taxing cross-border digital services that offers foreign individuals and businesses and curbing tax base erosion, including a global little or no tax liability in a politically and corporate minimum tax. economically static environment. ¾¾India’s Stand: ¾¾ Need of GMCTR: €€While taxation is ultimately a sovereign function, €€Reduce Tax Loss: and depends upon the needs and circumstances of zzIncreasingly, income from intangible sources the nation, the government is open to participate such as drug patents, software and royalties and engage in the emerging discussions globally on intellectual property has migrated to low around the corporate tax structure. tax jurisdictions, allowing companies to avoid €€India is likely to benefit from the global minimum paying higher taxes in their traditional home 15% corporate tax rate pact as the effective countries (tax base erosion of the higher-tax domestic tax rate is above the threshold, and the jurisdictions). country would continue to attract investment. zzThese companies typically rely on complex zzIn September 2019, the government had webs of subsidiaries to hoover profits out of reduced the corporate tax rate to 22% for major markets into low-tax countries such as companies that gave up all exemptions and Ireland or Caribbean nations such as the British incentives. Further, a 15% rate was offered to Virgin Islands or the Bahamas, or to central new manufacturing firms. American nations such as Panama. zzThe effective tax rate, inclusive of surcharge zzIndia’s annual tax loss due to corporate tax and cess, for Indian domestic companies is abuse is estimated at overUSD 10 billion. around 25.17%.

nnn

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Science and Technology

Highlights zz PASIPHAE: A Sky Surveying Project zz Disinfection System Vajra Kavach zz EnVision Mission to Venus: European Space Agency zz AmbiTAG zz CIBER-2: Counting of Stars zz First Human Case of H10N3 Bird Flu zz Corbevax Covid-19 Vaccine zz Supersonic Commercial Plane zz Crops Lost to Pests zz Fast Radio Bursts zz China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ EAST zz New Shephard: Taking Tourists to Space

eters to observe the northern and southern skies, PASIPHAE: A simultaneously. Sky Surveying Project €€The survey will be conducted concurrently from the South African Astronomical Observatory in Sutherland, South Africa in the southern Why in news hemisphere, and the Skinakas Observatory in The Wide Area Linear Optical Polarimeter (WALOP), Crete, Greece, in the north. a vital instrument for the PASIPHAE Project, is being €€It will focus on capturing starlight polarisation of developed at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and very faint stars that are so far away that polarisation Astrophysics (IUCAA), India. signals from there have not been systematically ¾¾Polar-Areas Stellar-Imaging in Polarisation High- studied. Accuracy Experiment (PASIPHAE) is an international €€The distances to these stars will be obtained from collaborative sky surveying project. measurements of the GAIA satellite. zzGAIA is on a mission to chart a three-dimensional Astronomical Polarimetry map of our Galaxy, the Milky Way, in the process ¾¾Polarimetry, a technique to measure the polarisation revealing the composition, formation and , is a powerful tool that allows astronomers of light evolution of the Galaxy. It is a European Space to infer information about celestial objects, from Agency astronomical observatory mission. passing comets to distant galaxies, that can not be €€Scientists from the University of Crete, Greece, obtained using other techniques. Caltech, USA, IUCAA, India, the South African ¾¾Polarization is a property of light that represents Astronomical Observatory and the University of the direction that the light wave oscillates. Oslo, Norway, are involved in this project, steered ¾¾Two decades ago, an Indian astrophysicist Sujan by the Institute of Astrophysics, Greece. Sengupta, put forth an idea, that the light emitted by ¾¾Importance of the Project: a cloudy brown dwarf, or reflected off an extrasolar €€Since its birth about 14 billion years ago, the universe planet, will be polarised. has been constantly expanding, as evidenced by the presence of Key Points Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation which fills the universe. ¾¾ About the PASIPHAE Survey: zzThe Milky Way Galaxy contains a lot of dust €€It is an opto polarimetric survey aiming to measure clouds that are present in the form of clusters. the linear polarization from millions of stars. When starlight passes through these dust clouds, €€The survey will use two high-tech optical polarim- they get scattered and polarised.

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€€The PASIPHAE polarimetric map will be used to €€Installation: perform magnetic tomography of the Milky Way zzA WALOP each will be mounted on the 1.3-metre Galaxy. Skinakas Observatory, Crete, and on the 1-metre zzThat is, it will deduce the 3-dimensional structure telescope of the South African Astronomical of the magnetic field and the dust that resides Observatory located in Sutherland. in our own Galaxy. zzThis map will provide invaluable information EnVision Mission to Venus: for future CMB B-mode experiments searching for inflationarygravitational waves. European Space Agency zzThe B-mode experiment was used to test the Why in News theory of cosmic inflation and distinguish between inflationary models of the very early Recently, European Space Agency (ESA) has an- universe by making precise measurements nounced a new mission- EnVision mission to Venus. of the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Key Points Background (CMB). ¾¾About: zzAccording to the theory of inflation, the early Universe expanded exponentially fast for a €€It is an European Space Agency (ESA) led mission fraction of a secondafter theBig Bang. with contributions from theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). €€Beyond studies of the early Universe, the survey will lead to leaps forward in some of the most €€It is likely to be launched sometime in the 2030s. actively pursued areas in Astrophysics, including Once launched on an Ariane 6 rocket, the spacecraft high-energy astrophysics, stellar astrophysics, and will take about 15 months to reach Venus and will interstellar medium dynamics. take 16 more months to achieve orbit circularisation. ¾¾ ¾¾Wide Area Linear Optical Polarimeter (WALOP): Aim: €€The mission will carry a range of instruments to €€It was planned in 2013 after the success of the RoboPol experiment survey during 2012-2017. study the planet’s atmosphere and surface, monitor trace gases in the atmosphere and analyse its zzWALOP and its predecessor RoboPol share the surface composition. photometry (measurement of the brightness ¾¾Significance: of celestial objects) principle. €€EnVision will follow another ESA-led mission to zzBut the WALOP will be capable of observing Venus called ‘Venus Express’ (2005-2014) that hundreds of stars concurrently present both in focussed on atmospheric research and pointed the northern and the southern skies as opposed to volcanic hotspots on the planet’s surface. to RoboPol, which has a much smaller field of view in the sky. ¾¾Other Missions: €€ €€Working Principle: US: zzNASA has announced two new robotic missions zzWALOP will operate on the principle that at any given time, the data from a portion of the to Venus - DAVINCI+ and VERITAS. It will be sky under observation will be split into four launched between 2028-2030. different channels. zzMariner series 1962-1974, Pioneer Venus 1 and Pioneer Venus 2 in 1978, Magellan in 1989. zzDepending on the manner in which light passes through the four channels, the polarisation €€Russia: value from the star is obtained. zzVenera series of space crafts 1967-1983,Vegas „„That is, each star will have four corresponding 1 and 2 in 1985. images which when stitched together will €€Japan: help calculate the desired polarisation value zzAkatsuki spacecraft has been studying the of a star. planet’s atmosphere since 2015.

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¾¾Indian Initiative: €€India plans to launch a new orbiter named Shukrayaan to Venus in 2024.

DAVINCI+ ¾¾DAVINCI+ is short for ‘Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging’ and is the first US-led mission to the planet’s atmosphere since 1978. ¾¾It will try to understand Venus’ composition to see how the planet formed and evolved. €€Unlike the other planets in our solar system, Venus ¾¾This mission also consists of a descent sphere that and Uranus spin clockwise on their axis. will pass through the planet’s thick atmosphere €€It is the hottest planet in the solar system because and make observations and take measurements of the high concentration of carbon dioxide which of noble gases and other elements. works to produce an intense greenhouse effect. ¾¾It will also try to return the first high resolution €€A day on Venus is longer than a year. It takes photographs of a geological feature-tesserae. Venus longer to rotate once on its axis than to €€Tesserae may be comparable to Earth’s continents. complete one orbit of the Sun. The presence of tesseraes may suggest that zzThat’s 243 Earth days to rotate once - the longest Venus has tectonic plates like Earth. rotation of any planet in the Solar System - and only 224.7 Earth days to complete one orbit VERITAS of the Sun. ¾¾VERITAS is short for ‘Venus Emissivity, Radio ¾¾Venus & Earth: Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy’ and will map the planet’s surface to determine its €€Venus has been called Earth’s twin because of the geologic history and understand the reasons why similarities in their masses, sizes, and densities and it developed so differently from Earth. their similar relative locations in the solar system. ¾¾It will orbit Venus with a radar that will help to create €€No planet approaches closer to Earth than Venus; a three dimensional reconstruction of its topography at its nearest it is the closest large body to Earth which might be able to confirm if processes such as other than the Moon. plate tectonics and volcanism are still active there. €€Venus has 90 times the atmospheric pressure ¾¾This mission will also map the emissions from of Earth. Venus’s surface that may help in determining the ¾¾Importance of Studying Venus: type of rocks that exist on Venus. €€It will help to learn how Earth-like planets evolve ¾¾It will also determine if active volcanoes are releasing and what conditions exist on Earth-sizedexoplanets water vapour into the atmosphere. (planets that orbit a star other than our sun). €€It will help in modelling Earth’s climate, and serves Venus as a cautionary tale on how dramatically a planet’s ¾¾About: climate can change. €€It is named after theRoman goddess of love and €€Scientists speculate about the existence of life on beauty. It is the second planet from the Sun and Venus in its distant past and the possibility that sixth in the solar system in size and mass. life may exist in the top layers of its clouds where €€It is the second brightest natural object in the night temperatures are less extreme. sky after the Moon, probably that is the reason zzIn 2020, scientists detected the presence why it was the first planet to have its motions of phosphine (a chemical produced only plotted across the sky, as early as the second through biological processes) in the atmosphere millennium BC. of Venus.

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cosmic infrared background, which is emitted by CIBER-2: Counting of Stars some of the most common stars. zzEssentially, this approach is aiming to look at how Why in News bright this light is to give scientists an estimate A NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Admini- of how many of these stars are out there. stration) funded CIBER-2 sounding rocket’s launch ¾¾Rough Estimate of Stars: window will open at the White Sands Missile Range in €€To get a rough estimate of the total number of New Mexico, USA. stars in the universe, scientists have calculated ¾¾The aim of CIBER-2 mission is to look for evidence the average number of stars in a galaxy – some of extra stars that may have been missed in stellar estimates put it at about 100 million, though it head counts. could be 10 or more times higher. ¾¾The ESA (European Space Agency) infrared space €€Multiplying it by the number of galaxies, taken observatory Herschel also counted the number of to be about 2 trillion (also very tentative), there galaxies in infrared and measured their luminosity are one hundred quintillion stars (or 1 with 21 previously. zeros after it). €€But this calculation assumes that all stars are Key Points inside galaxies, which might not be true and this ¾¾Sounding Rocket: is what the CIBER-2 instrument will try to find out. €€Sounding rockets take their name from the €€The European Space Agency (ESA) says there nautical term “to sound,” which means to take could be 100 thousand million stars in the Milky measurements. Way alone. €€Since 1959, NASA-sponsored space and earth science research has used sounding rockets to Corbevax Covid-19 Vaccine test instruments used on satellites and spacecraft and to provide information about the Sun, stars, galaxies and Earth’s atmosphere and radiation. Why in News ¾¾About CIBER-2 (Cosmic Infrared Background India has placed an advance order to block 300 million Experiment-2): doses of a new Covid-19 vaccine, Corbevax. €€The mission is the latest in a series of sounding rocket launches that began in 2009. The count Key Points from the first CIBER mission paved the way to ¾¾Corbevax: reorganize the research and give the counting of €€About: It is India’s indigenous Covid-19 vaccine stars another run. which is currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials. €€The CIBER-2 instrument will launch aboard a €€Working: sounding rocket, a small suborbital rocket that zzIt is a vaccine. will carry scientific instruments on brief trips into “recombinant protein sub-unit” space before it falls back to Earth for recovery. „„It means it is made up of a specific part of SARS-CoV-2 - the spike protein on the €€Once above Earth’s atmosphere, CIBER-2 will survey a patch of sky about 4 square degrees - virus’s surface. for reference, the full Moon takes up about half a zzThe spike protein allows the virus to enter the degree – that includes dozens of galaxy clusters. cells in the body so that it can replicate and €€It will not actually count individual stars but it cause disease. will instead detect the extragalactic background zzHowever, when this protein alone is given to light, which is all of the light that has been emitted the body, it is not expected to be harmful as throughout the history of the Universe. the rest of the virus is absent. €€From all of this extragalactic background light, zzThe body is expected to develop an immune the CIBER-2 will focus on a portion of this called response against the injected spike protein.

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zzTherefore, when the real virus attempts to €€They can also be used on people with weakened infect the body, it will already have an immune immune systems and long-term health problems. response ready that will make it unlikely for the €€These vaccines are used to protect against: Hib person to fall severely ill. (Haemophilus influenzae type b) disease, Hepatitis ¾¾Difference between Corbevax and Other Covid-19 B, HPV (Human papillomavirus), Pneumococcal Vaccines: disease among others. €€They are either mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and ¾¾Toxoid Vaccines: Moderna), viral vector vaccines (Covishield and €€Toxoid vaccines use a toxin made by the germ Sputnik V) or inactivated vaccines (Covaxin, that causes a disease. Toxoid vaccines are used Sinovac-CoronaVac and Sinopharm’s Vero Cell). to protect against: Diphtheria, Tetanus. €€Viral vector and mRNA vaccines use a code to induce our cells to make the spike proteins against Crops Lost to Pests which the body has to build immunity. zzIn the case of Corbevax, protein itself is given. Why in News zzmRNA vaccines work by using messenger RNA (mRNA), which is the molecule that essentially According to a recent report, as much as 40% of the puts DNA instructions into action. Inside a cell, world’s agricultural crops are lost to pests each year. mRNA is used as a template to build a protein. ¾¾The United Nations declared 2020 as the International zzViral vector vaccines use a modified version of a Year of Plant Health, which has been extended until st different virus (the vector) to deliver important 1 July, 2021. instructions to our cells. Key Points €€Inactivated vaccines include killed particles of the whole SARS-CoV-2 virus, attempting to target the ¾¾Reasons for the Spread: entire structure of the virus. €€Half of all emerging plant diseases are spread zzCorbevax, like the mRNA and viral vector Covid-19 by global travel and trade, which have tripled in vaccines, targets only the spike protein, but in volume over the last decade. a different way. €€Weather is the second-most important factor. ¾¾Impact of Climate Change: Other Types of Vaccine €€It will increase the risk of pests spreading in ¾¾Live-attenuated Vaccines: agricultural and forestry ecosystems, especially in €€Live vaccines use a weakened (or attenuated) cooler Arctic, boreal, temperate and subtropical form of the germ that causes a disease. regions. €€Because these vaccines are so similar to the natural ¾¾Controlling Invasive Pests: infection that they help prevent, they create a €€A single, unusually warm winter can be enough to strong and long-lasting immune response. assist the establishment of invasive pests. €€The limitation of this approach is that these vaccines €€Fall armyworm pests, which feed on crops like usually cannot be given to people with weakened maize, sorghum and millet and Tephritid fruit flies immune systems. (that damage fruit and other crops) have already €€Live vaccines are used against: Measles, mumps, spread due to a warmer climate. rubella (MMR combined vaccine), Rotavirus, €€Desert locusts (the world’s most destructive Smallpox among others. migratory pests), are expected to change their ¾¾Subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate migratory routes and geographical distribution Vaccines: because of climate change. €€They use specific pieces of the germ - like its protein, ¾¾Impact of the Plant Pests: sugar, or capsid (a casing around the germ). They €€It leaves millions of people without enough food give a very strong immune response. to eat.

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€€It adversely impacts agricultural activities and is the first line of defence taken by the countries thereby, the primary source of income for rural across the world. poor communities. ¾¾The quarantine system in India is governed by the €€Invasive pests cost countries at least USD 70 Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) billion annually and are one of the main drivers Order of 2003, which is notified under the Destructive of biodiversity loss. Insects and Pests Act of 1914. ¾¾Key Recommendations: €€In India, quarantine responsibility lies with the €€Farmers should adopt and policymakers should Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & encourage the use of environment-friendly methods Storage (headquartered in Faridabad, Haryana). such as integrated pest management. The short staffed directorate and the lack of a strong legislation have made the task of policing €€To make trade safe, it is important to implement borders difficult in India. international plant health standards and norms, such as those developed by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPCC) and Food and China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ EAST Agriculture Organization FAO).( zzThe IPPC is a plant health treaty signed by over Why in News 180 countries including India. Recently, China’s Experimental Advanced Super- zzIt aims to protect the world’s plant resources conducting Tokamak (EAST) achieved a peak temperature from the spread and introduction of pests, and of 288 million degrees Fahrenheit, which is over ten times promote safe trade. hotter than the sun. €€There is a need for more research as well as ¾¾China is not the only country that has achieved investment in strengthening national plant health high plasma temperatures. In 2020, South Korea’s systems and structures. KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced €€Policymakers and governments should ensure Research) reactor set a new record by maintaining their decisions are based on sound preparation a plasma temperature of over 100 million degrees and data. Celsius for 20 seconds. €€Regularly monitoring plants and receiving early Tokamak warning information about emerging threats, helps ¾¾The tokamak is an experimental machine designed governments, agricultural officers and farmers to harness the energy of fusion. take preventive and adaptive measures to keep plants healthy. ¾¾Inside a tokamak, the energy produced through the fusion of atoms is absorbed as heat in the walls Pest Controlling Methods of the vessel. ¾¾Like a conventional power plant, a ¾¾The most popular methods of containing the pest fusion power this heat to produce steam and then include the use of Genetically Modified (GM) crops plant uses electricity by way of turbines and generators. and pesticides, however, some armyworms have developed resistance to these tactics and are continuing Key Points to destroy crops. ¾¾About: ¾¾Natural approaches, including breeding predators such as wasps, to be released into fields when necessary, €€The EAST reactor is an advanced nuclear fusion as well as developing a “germ warfare” that isolates experimental research device located at the diseases to which the caterpillar (armyworm) is prone, Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy are being explored by the scientists. of Sciences (ASIPP) in Hefei, China. ¾¾A quarantine system, under which imports of grains ¾¾Establishment: and plants that can host such insects are inspected €€EAST first became operational in 2006. at shipping ports, airports and land border crossings ¾¾Purpose:

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€€The purpose of the artificial sun is to replicate Nuclear Reactions the process of nuclear fusion, which is the same ¾¾Description: reaction that powers the sun. €€A nuclear reaction is the process in which two €€This is part of the International Thermonuclear nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which will particle, collide to produce one or more new become the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor nuclides. when it becomes operational in 2035. €€Thus, a nuclear reaction must causea transfor- zzThe ITER Members include China, the European mationof at least one nuclide to another. Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the ¾¾ United States. Types: €€Nuclear Fission: ¾¾Working: zzThe nucleus of an atom splits into two €€It is based on the Nuclear Fusion Process that is carried out by the Sun and the Stars. daughter nuclei. zzThis decay can be natural spontaneous €€For nuclear fusion to occur, tremendous heat and splitting by radioactive decay, or can actually pressure are applied on hydrogen atoms so that be simulated in a lab by achieving necessary they fuse together. The nuclei of deuterium and conditions (bombarding with neutrons, alpha tritium -both found in hydrogen - are made to fuse particles, etc.). together to create a helium nucleus, a neutron along with a whole lot of energy. zzThe resulting fragments tend to have a combined mass which is less than the original. €€The gaseous hydrogen fuel is heated to temperatures The missing mass is usually converted into of over 150 million degrees Celsius so that it nuclear energy. forms a hot plasma (electrically charged gas) of subatomic particles. zzCurrently all commercial nuclear reactors are based on nuclear fission. €€With the help of a strong magnetic field, the plasma is kept away from the walls of the reactor to ensure €€Nuclear Fusion: it does not cool down and lose its potential to zzNuclear Fusion is defined as thecombining of generate large amounts of energy. The plasma two lighter nuclei into a heavier one. is confined for long durations for fusion to take zzSuch nuclear fusion reactions are the source place. of energy in the Sun and other stars. ¾¾Other Tokamaks in China: zzIt takes considerable energy to force the €€Apart from the EAST, China is currently operating nuclei to fuse. The conditions needed for this the HL-2A reactor as well as J-TEXT. process are extreme – millions of degrees of €€In December 2020, HL-2M Tokamak, China’s largest temperature and millions of pascals of pressure. and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental „„The hydrogen bomb is based on a thermo- research device, was successfully powered up for nuclear fusion reaction. However, a nuclear the first time — a key milestone in the growth bomb based on the fission of uranium of China’s nuclear power research capabilities. or plutonium is placed at the core of the ¾¾Significance: hydrogen bomb to provide initial energy. €€It is significant as far asChina’s Green Development is concerned. Disinfection €€Nuclear fusion is a process through which high System Vajra Kavach levels of energy are produced without gene- rating large quantities of waste. Unlike fission, fusion also does not emit greenhouse gases and Why in News is considered a safer process with lower risk of Vajra Kavach is a simple disinfection process that accidents. enables Corona Warriors to reuse their masks and PPEs.

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¾¾The technology has been developed under the NIDHI- Business Incubators (TBI) are supported PRAYAS program initiated by the Department of with PRAYAS grant to support innovators and Science and Technology (DST). entrepreneurs with grants for ‘Proof of Concept (PoC)’ and developing prototypes. zzPoC is evidence that a business idea works. €€A maximum grant of Rs. 220 lakh is given to a TBI for establishing a PRAYAS Centre which includes Rs.100 lakh for PRAYAS SHALA, Rs. 20 lakh for operational cost of PRAYAS Centre and maximum of Rs. 10 lakh to one innovator for developing prototype. Funding for ten innovators is given to the TBI in a year. €€Objectives: zzTo enable translation of an innovative idea to a prototype. zzTo provide a platform for faster experimentation and modify approaches in the idea to market journey. zzTo generate innovative solutions relevant to local and global problems. zzTo attract a large number of youth who Key Points demonstrate problem solving zeal and abilities. zzTo work on their new technology/knowledge/ ¾¾About Vajra Kavach: innovation based startups. €€Vajra Kavach’s UV (Ultra Violet) disinfection system zzTo enhance the pipeline in terms of quality and removes any possible traces of the disease- quantity of innovative startups to the incubators. causing SARS-Cov-2 (Covid-19) virus from Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), N95 masks, coats, gloves and gowns. AmbiTAG €€It enables reuse of PPEs and other materials used by healthcare workers. Why in News zzIt thus protects not only them, but our envi- Recently, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar, ronment too, by helping reduce biomedical Punjab has developed a first-of-its-kind IoT (Internet of waste generation. It is also making personal Things) device – AmbiTag that records real-time ambient protective equipment more available, afford- temperature during the transportation of perishable able, and accessible. products, vaccines and even body organs and blood. ¾¾NIDHI-PRAYAS: ¾¾The device has been developed under Technology €€NIDHI-PRAYAS is National Initiative for Developing Innovation Hub – AWaDH (Agriculture and Water and Harnessing Innovation Promoting and Accel- Technology Development Hub) and it’s Startup erating Young and aspiring Innovators & startups. ScratchNest. €€The Department of Science & Technology has launched a NIDHI program under which programmes Agriculture and Water Technology Development Hub for setting up of incubators, seed fund, accelerators ¾¾AWaDH is a research center at IIT Ropar established and ‘Proof of concept’ grants for innovators and with support from the Department of Science and entrepreneurs have been launched. Technology (DST) and Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) to carry out extensive zzUnder NIDHI, PRAYAS programme has been research in the initiated in which established Technology field of agriculture and water.

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Key Points ¾¾The strain is not a very common virus, only about 160 isolates of the virus have been reported in the past ¾¾About AmbiTAG: 40 years (till 2018), that too, mostly in wild birds or €€This is shaped as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) waterfowl in Asia and some parts of North America. device. €€None had been detected in chickens as of now. €€It is India’s first indigenous temperature data ¾¾There are many different strains of avian influenza in logger for cold chain management. China and some sporadically infect people, generally €€It continuously records the temperature of its those working with poultry. immediate surroundings from -40 to +80 degrees in €€However, there have been no significant numbers any time zone for a full 90 days on a single charge. of human infections with bird flu since the H7N9 zzMost of the similar devices available in the strain killed around 300 people during 2016-2017. international market record data only for a duration of 30- 60 days. Bird Flu €€It generates an alert when the temperature goes ¾¾About: beyond a pre-set limit. €€Bird flu, also known as Avian influenza (AI), is a €€The recorded data can be retrieved by connecting highly contagious viral disease affecting several the USB with any computer. species of food-producing birds (chickens, turkeys, ¾¾Significance: quails, guinea fowl, etc.) as well as pet birds and €€Besides perishable items including vegetables, wild birds. meat and dairy products, it can also monitor the €€Occasionally mammals, including humans, may temperature of animal semen during transit. contract avian influenza. €€The device will be made available to all companies ¾¾Types of Influenza Viruses: involved in Covid-19 vaccine transportation from €€Influenza viruses are grouped into three types; production facilities to the last mile vaccination A, B, and C. centers in the country. €€Only type A is known to infect animals and is €€It is a push towards Atmanirbhar Bharat as such zoonotic, meaning it can also infect humans. devices are being imported by India in a massive zzAvian influenza virus subtypes include A(H5N1), quantity from other countries such asSingapore, A(H7N9), A(H9N2) and A(H10N3). Hong Kong, Ireland, and China. €€Type B and C mostly infect humans and typically cause mild disease. First Human ¾¾Classification: Case of H10N3 Bird Flu €€Influenza viruses are classified into subtypes based on two surface proteins, Hemagglutinin (HA) and Why in News Neuraminidase (NA). zz For example, a virus that has an HA 7 protein Recently, China has reported the first case of human and NA 9 protein is designated as subtype H7N9. infection with the H10N3 strain of bird flu in Jiangsu province. €€Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus occurs mainly in birds and is highly contagious Key Points among them. ¾¾H10N3 is a subtype of the Influenza A virus which is €€HPAI Asian H5N1 is especially deadly for poultry. commonly known as the bird flu virus. ¾¾Impact: ¾¾It is a low pathogenic, or relatively less severe, strain €€Avian Influenza outbreaks can lead to devastating of the virus in poultry and the risk of it spreading on consequences for the country, particularly the a large scale is very low. poultry industry. €€Among animals, it can spread through respiratory €€Farmers might experience a high level of mortality droplets, similar to flu and Covid-19. in their flocks, with rates often around 50%.

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¾¾Prevention: zzUsually, supersonic planes can travel at the €€Strict biosecurity measures and good hygiene are speed of around 900 kmph, twice the speed essential in protecting against disease outbreaks. of normal aircraft. ¾¾Eradication: €€The technology for supersonic flights is actually over 70 years old, but only recently has been used €€If the infection is detected in animals,a policy of culling infected and contact animals is normally for commercial flying. used in an effort to rapidly contain, control and zzBefore 1976, when the first commercial eradicate the disease. supersonic flight took off, the planes wereused ¾¾India’s Status: entirely for military purposes. ¾¾Boom’s Overture Supersonic Aircraft: €€Fresh cases of bird flu were reported in different states of India between December 2020-January €€The Overture aircraft would travel at the speed 2021 causing alarm across the country. of Mach 1.7 or 1,805 kmph with a range of 4,250 nautical miles. €€Previously in 2019, India was declared free from Avian Influenza (H5N1), which had also been €€In a single flight, it couldcarry 65 to 88 passengers notified to the World Organization for Animal and reach an altitude of 60,000 ft. Health (OIE). €€Trial flights are scheduled to begin in 2026, with zzThe OIE is an intergovernmental organisation commercial use coming three year later. responsible for improving animal health €€It will build upon Concorde’s legacy through faster, worldwide. It is headquartered in Paris, France. more efficient and sustainable technology. €€The company has claimed to produce an eco-friendly aircraft with “net-zero carbon emissions’’, set to Supersonic Commercial Plane fly with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). zzSustainable aviation fuels include biofuels and Why in News synthetic kerosine that are manufactured using The US airline United has announced plans to buy renewable and sustainable materials. 15 new supersonic airliners and “return supersonic speeds €€It aims for “zero overland noise.” to aviation” in the year 2029. zzThis essentially means that it will cruise at ¾¾The Airline has agreed to purchase the Overture supersonic speeds only over water, ensuring aircraft from Boom Supersonic (a Denver-based that no sonic boom or excessive noise reaches start-up), with the planes able to fly at Mach 1.7 the surfaces where people live. faster than the speed of sound. zzIt will be equipped with advanced aerodynamics ¾¾The new supersonic “Overture” aircraft willbecome and carbon composite materials. the world’s fastest commercial airliner, reducing zzThis will be able to cut significant development travel time by about half of today’s planes. and maintenance costs in ways which the Concorde planes could not. Key Points ¾¾Challenges with Supersonic Planes: ¾¾ Background: €€High Manufacturing Cost: The costs of making €€Concorde, the British-French turbojet-powered “sustainable” supersonic planes are extremely high. commercial airliner, was the first aircraft to carry €€Environmental Cost: The very nature of its flying passengers at supersonic speed. Supersonic planes using excessive amounts of fuel and energy is likely flew passengers from 1976 until 2003. to have high environmental costs. €€But eventually had to discontinue, due to cost zzDespite the use of sustainable fuels, the green- and other concerns. house gas emissions are not nullified. ¾¾Supersonic Plane: zzThe plane consumes high amounts of fuel in €€Supersonic aircraft are planes that can fly faster order to take off, that too in a market where than the speed of sound. sustainable fuels aren’t readily available.

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€€Excessive Noise Pollution: The speed of the planes waves travel through matter, they spread out or result in producing excessive amounts of noise disperse with bursts at higher radio frequencies pollution in the environment. arriving at telescopes earlier than those at lower zzThe “Sonic Boom” created by these planes feels frequencies. like an explosion to the human ear. zzThis, thus, limits where and when the supersonic planes can fly. They can only reach their actual speed until they are far enough from people and completely over the ocean. €€Regulatory Approvals: To fly such planes can be unsuccessful, especially for transatlantic flights. Getting clearance from regulators around the world would be a challenging task, since the supersonic planes in the past have already been flagged for these hurdles. €€Too Costly: It would not be economically feasible for zzDispersion can result in signal degradation everyone. Only the very rich can afford supersonic in many applications, especially over large planes, as a ticket is likely to be way more costlier distances. than a first class ticket of a regular plane. €€This dispersion allows researchers to learn about two important things: Fast Radio Bursts zzThey can measure this dispersion to learn about the stuff that radio bursts pass through as they travel toward Earth Why in News zzThey can indirectly determine how far apart Recently, researchers from the Pune-based Tata things are. Institute for Fundamental Research (TIFR) and the ¾¾FRBs Catalogue & Findings: National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), have assembled the largest collection of Fast Radio Bursts €€The new catalogue significantly expands the current (FRBs) catalogue. library of known FRBs, and is already yielding clues as to their properties. ¾¾The data is from Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME). €€For instance, the newly discovered bursts appear to fall in two distinct classes: those that repeat, ¾¾In 2020, the National Aeronautics and Space -Ad ministration (NASA) spotted FRB for the first time and those that don’t. in the Milky Way. zzThe repeaters looked different, with each burst lasting slightly longer and emitting more Key Points focused radio frequencies than bursts from ¾¾Fast Radio Bursts: single, non-repeating FRBs. zz €€FRB are bright bursts of radio waves (radio These differences strongly suggest that emission waves can be produced by astronomical objects from repeaters and non-repeaters is generated with changing magnetic fields) whose durations either by different physical mechanisms or in lie in the millisecond-scale, because of which it different astrophysical environments is difficult to detect them and determine their €€The bursts were evenly distributed in space, position in the sky. seeming to arise from any and all parts of the sky. zzIt was first discovered in 2007. €€Bright FRBs occur at a rate of about 800 per day €€A defining property of these bursts is their across the entire sky - the most precise estimate dispersion (scattering or separation), the bursts of FRBs overall rate to date. produce a spectrum of radio waves, and as the ¾¾Origin of FRBs:

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€€FRBs have been spotted in various and distant Key Points parts of the universe, as well as in our own galaxy. ¾¾New Shephard: Their origins are unknown and their appearance €€New Shephard has been named after astronaut is highly unpredictable. Alan Shephard – the first American to go to space €€The CHIME project has nearly quadrupled the – and offers flights to space over 100 km above number of fast radio bursts discovered to date. the Earth and accommodation for payloads. zzThe telescope has detected 535 new FRBs in €€It is a rocket system that has been designed to its first year of operation itself,between 2018 take astronauts and research payloads past the and 2019. Karman line. zzWith more observations, astronomers hope €€The idea is to provide easier and more cost-effective soon to find the origins of the FRBs. access to space meant for purposes such as academic ¾¾Chime: research, corporate technology development and €€It is a novel radio telescope that has no moving entrepreneurial ventures among others. parts. Originally conceived to map the most €€It will also allow space tourists to experience abundant element in the universe - hydrogen - microgravity by taking them 100 km above the over a good fraction of the observable universe, Earth. this unusual telescope is optimized to have a high zzMicrogravity is the condition in which people mapping speed. or objects appear to be weightless. The effects of microgravity can be seen when astronauts €€It is located at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory, operated by the National Research and objects float in space. Council of Canada in British Columbia, Canada. Karman Line €€The telescope receives radio signals each day from ¾¾The Karman line is the internationally recognized half of the sky as the Earth rotates. boundary of space. ¾¾Significance of Studying FRBs: ¾¾The line is named after Theodore von Kármán €€The unique properties of fast radio bursts and their (1881–1963), a Hungarian American engineer and host galaxies combined with recent technological physicist, who was active primarily in aeronautics advancements have given researchers hope that and astronautics. these phenomena can be used to answer some long-standing questions about the universe. €€It can be used to understand the three–dimensional structure of matter in the universe and to learn about poorly understood early moments in the evolution of the universe.

New Shephard: Taking Tourists to Space

Why in News Recently, a company called Blue Origin concluded the online auction for the first seat on New Shephard, a rocket system meant to take tourists to space. ¾¾It takes its first human flight on th20 July, 2021, which marks the 52nd anniversary of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s moon landing.

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„„After Tito, there were €€He was the first person to calculate the altitude only seven other at which the atmosphere becomes too thin private citizens who travelled to space to support aeronautical flight and arrived at until 2009 when the Russian space agency 83.6 km himself. wound up the business of selling tickets to ¾¾The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale private citizens. (FAI) defines Karman Line as the altitude of 100 zzSpace Adventures is the only private company kilometres above Earth’s mean sea level. to send paying customers to orbital space so €€FAI is the world governing body for air sports, far. In 2004, test pilot Mike Melville became and also stewards definitions regarding human the first private astronaut to fly beyond the spaceflight. Karman Line. ¾¾However, other organizations do not use this definition. €€Significance: There is no international law defining the edge of zzHuge Market: space, and therefore the limit of national airspace. „„There is an estimated market of 2.4 million ¾¾Space Tourism: people for such flights. zz €€About: Base for Testing: „„ zzSpace tourism is about humans travelling into It can provide a base for testing supersonic space for recreational purposes. It seeks to travel between different destinations on give laypeople the ability to go to space for earth, significantly compressing travel time. recreational, leisure or business purposes. Besides, it heralds the entry of the private zzIt will make space more accessible to those sector into this arena. individuals who are not astronauts and want €€Concerns: to go to space for non-scientific purposes. zzClimate Change: Soot or black carbon that zzThree private companies – Blue Origin, Virgin results from rocket emissions accumulated in Galactic and SpaceX are now spearheading the the stratosphere (approximately 5 to 31 miles human endeavour to explore space. above the Earth) cannot be washed away by zzTheir progress will decide whether space travel rain or winds, as it is in the lower atmosphere. will one day become as accessible as air travel. As a result, black carbon may linger in the €€Previous Space Tourists: stratosphere for years, causing exponentially zzThe first space tourist was US millionaire Dennis more climate change. Tito, who in 2001 paid USD 20 million to hitch zzHealth: It can cause health concerns as pas- a ride on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to visit sengers could also face motion sickness and the international space station and spent eight disorientation, which can affect vision, cognition, days there. balance and motor control.

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Environment and Ecology

Highlights zz Rescuing Gharials: Mahanadi River zz CEM-Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative zz Dehing Patkai and Raimona National Parks: Assam zz ‘Sea Snot’ Outbreak in Turkey zz CEO Water Mandate zz Hindu Kush Himalayan Mountains zz Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve and Vaigai River: Tamil Nadu zz India’s Ethanol Roadmap zz State of Finance for Nature Report zz Operation Oliva for Olive Ridley Turtles zz Blue-finned Mahseer zz Dialogue on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought

„„All the three are listed on Appendix I of CITES Rescuing and Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Gharials: Mahanadi River Act, 1972. „„Exception: Saltwater Crocodile populations Why in News of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are included in Appendix II of Recently, Odisha announced a cash award of Rs.1,000 CITES. to conserve gharials in Mahanadi River Basin. €€Habitat of Gharials: Key Points zzNatural Habitat: Fresh waters of the northern part of India. ¾¾About Gharials: zzPrimary Habitat: Chambal river (a tributary €€Gharials, sometimescalled gavials, are a type of of Yamuna). Asian crocodilian distinguished by their long, thin snouts. Crocodilians are a group of reptiles that zzSecondary Habitat: Ghagra, Gandak river, includes crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and more. Girwa river (Uttar Pradesh), the Ramganga river (Uttarakhand) and the Sone river (Bihar). €€India has three species of Crocodilians namely: €€Significance: Population of Gharials are a good zzGharial (Gavialis gangeticus): IUCN Red List- indicator of clean river water. Critically Endangered €€Conservation Efforts: zzMugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris): IUCN- Vulnerable. zzBreeding Centres of Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Uttar Pradesh, zzSaltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus): Centre in Lucknow, National IUCN- Least Concern. Chambal Sanctuary (Gharial Eco Park, Madhya Pradesh). €€Threats: zzIncreased river pollution, dam construction, massive-scale fishing operations and floods. zzIllegal sand mining and poaching. ¾¾Mahanadi River: €€About: zzThe Mahanadi River system is the third largest of peninsular India after Godavari and Krishna, and the largest river of Odisha state.

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zzThe catchment area of the river extends National Park to Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, ¾¾An area, whether within a sanctuary or not, can be Jharkhand and Maharashtra. notified by the state government to be constituted zzIts basin is bounded by the Central India hills as a National Park, by reason of its ecological, faunal, on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south floral, or zoological association or importance, needed and east and by the Maikala range on the west. to for the purpose of protecting & propagating or €€Source: developing wildlife therein or its environment. zzIt rises from a place near Sihawa in Bastar ¾¾No human activity is permitted inside the national hills in the state of Chhattisgarh to the south park except for the ones permitted by the Chief of Amarkantak. Wildlife Warden of the state under the conditions €€Major Tributaries: Seonath River, Hasdeo river, given in WPA (Wildlife Protection Act) 1972. Mand river, Ib river, Jonking river, Tel river ¾¾Some human activities can be allowed inside a €€Mahanadi River Dispute: The Central Government wildlife sanctuary, but no human activity is allowed constituted Mahanadi Water Disputes Tribunal in a national park. in 2018. €€Major Dams/Projects on Mahanadi: Key Points zzHirakud Dam: This is the longest dam of India. ¾¾About Dehing Patkai National Park: zzRavishankar Sagar, Dudhawa Reservoir, Sondur €€Location: Reservoir, Hasdeo Bango and Tandula are other zzIt is located within the larger Dehing Patkai major projects. Elephant Reserve, which spreads across the coal- and oil-rich districts of Upper Assam (Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts). zzThe oldest refinery of Asia in Digboi and ‘open cast’ coal mining at Lido are located near the sanctuary. zzThe Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary is also known as the Jeypore Rainforest. €€Naming: zzDehing is the name of the river that flows through this forest and Patkai is the hill at the foot of which the sanctuary lies. €€Flora: zzIt is believed to be the last remaining contiguous patch of lowland rainforest area in Assam. Dehing Patkai and Raimona €€Fauna: zzRare fauna found in the region include Chinese National Parks: Assam pangolin, flying fox, wild pig, sambar, barking deer, gaur, serow and Malayan giant squirrels. Why in News zzIt is the only sanctuary in India which is home Recently, the Assam government notified Dehing to seven different species of wild cats - tiger, Patkai as the 7th National Park of the state. leopard, clouded leopard, leopard cat, golden ¾¾It was created shortly after Raimona reserve forest cat, jungle cat and marbled cat. in western Assam’s Kokrajhar district was upgraded zzAssamese macaque, a primate found in the to a national park (6th) on the occasion of World forest, is in the red list of Near Threatened Environment Day (5th June). species.

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zzIt has the highest concentration of the rare €€The seven National Parks in the State are Dehing endangered White Winged Wood Duck. Patkai, Raimona, Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, ¾¾Raimona National Park: Orang, and Dibru-Saikhowa. €€Location: €€Kaziranga and Manas are UNESCO World Heritage zzThe Raimona National Park is within the Sites. They are also tiger reserves along with Bodoland Territorial Region. Nameri and Orang. zzThe area of the park includes the northern part of the notified Ripu Reserve Forest, which forms CEO Water Mandate the western-most buffer to the Manas National Park that straddles the India-Bhutan border. Why in News €€Borders and Boundary: zzIt is bounded on the west by the Sonkosh river NTPC Ltd. has become a signatory to the United and the Saralbhanga river on the east . Nations’ Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate. „„Both the rivers are tributaries of Brahmaputra. ¾¾NTPC Ltd is India’s largest power utility under the zzThe Pekua river defines Raimona’s southern Ministry of Power. boundary. Key Points €€Transboundary Conservation Landscape: ¾¾ zzIt shares contiguous forest patches ofPhipsoo About: Wildlife Sanctuary and Jigme Singye Wangchuck €€It is a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General National Park of Bhutancreating a transboundary and the UN Global Compact, implemented in conservation landscape of more than 2,400 sq km. partnership with the Pacific Institute. It was €€Flora and Fauna: established in 2007. zzIt is famous for Golden Langur, an endemic €€It aims to demonstrate commitment and efforts species which has been named as the mascot of companies to better their water and sanitation of Bodoland region. agendas as part of long term Sustainable zzIt also has Asian elephant, Royal Bengal tiger, Development Goals. Clouded leopard, Indian gaur, Wild water buffalo, €€It is a global commitment platform for corporate Spotted deer, Hornbill, more than 150 species water stewardship. Water stewardship is the of butterflies, 170 species of birds, 380 varieties use of water in ways that are socially equitable, of plants and orchids. environmentally sustainable, and economically ¾¾National Parks in Assam: beneficial. €€Assam now has the third most National Parks €€It has six commitment areas: after the 12 in Madhya Pradesh and nine in the zzDirect operations (i.e. Measuring and Reducing Andaman and Nicobar Islands. water use). zzSupply chain and watershed management. zzCollective action. zzPublic policy. zzCommunity engagement. zzTransparency. ¾¾UN Global Compact: €€The United Nations Global Compact is anon-bind - ing United Nationspact to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their im- plementation.

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€€It is a principle-based framework for busin- esses, stating ten principles in the areas of human rights, labor, the environment and anti- corruption. €€Under the Global Compact, companies are brought together with UN agencies, labor groups and civil society. Cities can join the Global Compact through the Cities Programme. €€India is also a part of the UN Global Compact. ¾¾Other Initiatives which make companies a part of Environmental Conservation: €€Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI): zzIt is a global coalition of public and private organisations who are working to stimulate demand for low carbon industrial materials. zzCoordinated by UNIDO (United Nations Development Industrial organisation), the IDDI is co-led by the UK and India. €€Race to Zero Campaign: zzRace to Zero is the UN-backed global campaign rallying non-state actors – including companies, cities, regions, financial and educational zzIts main tributaries are Suruliyaru, Mullaiyaru, institutions – to take rigorous and immediate Varaganadhi, Manjalaru, Kottagudi, Kridhumaal action to halve global emissions by 2030 and and Upparu. deliver a healthier, fairer, zero-carbon world zzThe Vaigai is 258 kms long and finally empties in time. into the Palk Strait near the Pamban Bridge in Ramanathapuram district. Srivilliputhur-Megamalai €€Heritage River: Tiger Reserve and Vaigai zzThe Vaigai was the river that flowed through the noted city of Madurai, the capital (4th - 11th River: Tamil Nadu century CE) of the ancient and prosperous Pandya kingdom located in southern Tamil Nadu. Why in News zzThe river finds a mention inSangam literature The recently declared Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger dated to 300 before the Common Era. Reserve in Tamil Nadu will provide protection to €€Significance: Megamalai, the Vaigai’s primary catchment, in turn zzThe river fulfils thedrinking water requirement helping water levels to rise in the river. of five districts of Tamil Nadu namely Theni, Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Sivagangai and Key Points Dindigul. ¾¾About Vaigai River: zzIt also provides irrigation to 2,00,000 hectares €€Origin and Tributaries: of agricultural land. zzIt originates in the Western Ghats (Varushanad ¾¾Rejuvenation of Vaigai: Hills). €€Its deterioration happened at the end of the 18th zzIt travels through the Pandya Nadu region of century when the British started deforesting the Tamil Nadu. Megamalai region which acts as a major catchment

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for Vaigai. Consequently, the water flow in the meet the climate change, biodiversity and land degra- river reduced gradually. dation targets(set in three Rio Conventions). zzSome 2,00,000 people died in this region during ¾¾The report was jointly produced by the United Nations the Great Famine of 1876-77. Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Economic €€Following the famine, the British Crownproposed Forum and the Economics of Land Degradation. diverting water from the Periyar river (Kerala)and feeding it to the Vaigai through a tunnel. Key Points ¾¾ zzThe Vaigai presently gets about 80% of its About the ‘Nature-based solutions (NbS)’: water from the Periyar dam. The balance €€The NbS refers to sustainable management and use 20% is obtained from the major watershed of of nature to tackle socio-environmental challenges, the Megamalai region during the northeast which range from disaster risk reduction, climate monsoon season. change and biodiversity loss to food and water €€The Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve will security as well as human health. protect wild animals and the natural forests, their €€NbS creates harmony between people and nature, habitats which act as watersheds. enables ecological development and represents ¾¾Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve: a holistic, people-centred response to climate change. €€Establishment: zzThus, NbS underpin the Sustainable Development zzIt was established in February 2021. It was Goals, as they support vital ecosystem services, jointly declared by the Centre and Tamil Nadu biodiversity, and access to fresh water, improved governments. livelihoods, healthy diets and food security zzFor this, the Megamalai WLS and the adjoining (organic agriculture) from sustainable food Srivilliputhur WLS were clubbed together. systems. zzSrivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve is the zzAlso, NbS are an essential component of the th fifth Tiger Reserve of Tamil Nadu, and 51 tiger overall global effort to achieve the goals of the reserve of India. Paris Agreement on Climate Change. €€Ecological Diversity: Animals seen here are Bengal tiger, elephants, gaur, Indian giant squirrel, leopard, Nilgiri Tahrs, etc. zzIt has a mix of tropical evergreen forests and semi-evergreen forests, dry deciduous forests and moist mixed deciduous forests, grassland. ¾¾Other four Tiger reserves of Tamil Nadu: €€Anamalai tiger reserve €€Kalakkad - Mundanthurai tiger reserve €€Mudumalai tiger reserve €€Sathyamangalam tiger reserve ¾¾Key Findings of Report: State of Finance €€Current Investments: for Nature Report zzApproximately USD 133 billion currently flows into nature-based solutions annually (using 2020 as base year). It comprises about 0.10% Why in News of global gross domestic product. The UN report, titled State of Finance for Nature, zzThe funds flow to protect biodiversity and analyzes the investment flow in nature-based solutions landscapes, mixed with activities such as (NbS) and identifies the future investment needed to sustainable forestry.

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zzNbS finance is much smaller in scale than €€System to Track Finances: climate finance and relies more heavily on zzThere is a need for a comprehensive system and public finance. framework for labelling, tracking, reporting and €€Public vs Private Funds: verifying the state of finance for NbS. zzPublic funds make up 86% and private finance zzThis would improve data comparability and 14% of these investments. quality as an input to future decision-making. zzThe public financial services providersincluded zzFurther, there is a need to increase positive the government, development finance institutions financial flows by de-risking & incentivizing and (DFIs), environmental / climate funds. reducing harmful financial flows. €€Top Spenders: zzPublic sector spending for the same is dominated Blue-finned Mahseer by the United States and China, followed by Japan, Germany and Australia. Why in News zzCountries such as Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia are likely spending large amounts of money Recently, the International Union for Conservation too, but they do not report internationally of Nature (IUCN) has moved Blue-finned Mahseer from comparable data. Endangered to the Least Concern’ status on its Red List. ¾¾Recommendations: €€More Investments: zzPublic and private actors will need to scale up their annual investments by at least four times to meet future climate, biodiversity and land degradation targets. zzAnnual investment should reach USD 536 billion by 2050. €€Enhancing Cash Flows for Investment: zzReforming taxes, repurposing agricultural policies and trade-related tariffs and harnessing the Key Points potential of carbon markets. ¾¾About: €€Smart Investments: €€The Mahseer belongs to the genus Tor, of which zzRestoration of natural vegetation and there are several subspecies to be found in India afforestation are essential to meet international and in other range countries in South Asia. targets. €€The Blue-finned Mahseer or Tor Khudree is one „„The most important component of annual of the subspecies of the Mahseer. investment needs is the cost of establishing ¾¾ new forests, as it accounts for 80% of total Habitat: costs. €€Mainly found in the Mota Mola river east of Pune. This species is also found in other €€Making Nature-based Solution a part of Govern- rivers of the ment Policies: Deccan Plateau. €€The species is migratory; zzSupporting inclusion of nature-based solutions moving upstream during in current nationally determined contribution rains. It prefers clean, fast flowing and well revisions, national adaptation plans and domestic oxygenated waters. sectoral legislation. ¾¾Threats: zzAligning private finance with public policy for €€Threatened by habitat manipulation, over scaling up capital flows to nature to a level that harvesting and competition from other fish species. can meet the targets of the three Rio Conventions. ¾¾Significance:

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€€Freshwater Ecosystem Indicator: ¾¾It was launched in the ongoing 12th CEM (CEM12) zzIt is very sensitive to dissolved oxygen levels, Meeting, which is virtually hosted by Chile. water temperature and sudden climatic changes. Key Points It just cannot bear pollution. ¾¾ th €€Cultural: About 12 CEM Meeting: €€ zzThey have cultural and religious significance as The objective is to infuse green technologies well as they are protected in ‘temple sanctuaries’ and stimulate demand for low-carbon industrial across India. material. ¾¾Conservation Initiatives: €€India is committed to cut emissions intensity per unit of GDP by 33 to 35% by 2030 (stated in €€Tata Power (private company) is involved in Nationally Determined Contributions). conservation of the blue-finned for 50 years in Lonavala (near Pune), Maharashtra. €€The commitment hinges on effective deployment of low carbon technologies in Energy Intensive ¾¾Protection status: Sectors like Iron & Steel, Cement and Petrochemicals. €€IUCN Red List: Least Concern €€Government policies have resulted in substantial International Union for Conservation of Nature savings in energy at the demand side such as ¾¾About: AgDSM (Agriculture Demand Side Management programme), MuDSM (Municipal Demand Side €€IUCN is a membership union uniquely composed Management) etc. of both government and civil society organisations. ¾¾About Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM): €€Created in 1948, it is the global authority on the €€ status of the natural world and the measures Establishment: needed to safeguard it. It is headquartered in zzIt was established in December 2009 at the UN’s Switzerland. Framework Convention on Climate Change conference of parties in Copenhagen. ¾¾The Red List: zzThe Framework for the Clean Energy Ministerial, €€The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, is the adopted at the seventh Clean Energy Ministerial world’s most comprehensive inventory of the in 2016, defines the CEM governance structure global conservation status of plant and animal and outlines the mission statement, objectives, species. membership, and guiding principles. €€It divides species into nine categories: Not €€Purpose: Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically zzCEM is a high-level global forum to promote Endangered, Extinct in the Wild and Extinct. policies and programs that advance clean energy technology, to share lessons learned and best €€It is recognized as the most authoritative guide practices, and to encourage the transition to a to the status of biological diversity. global clean energy economy. €€Focus Areas: The CEM is focused on three global CEM-Industrial Deep climate and energy policy goals: Decarbonization Initiative zzImprove energy efficiency worldwide. zzEnhance clean energy supply. Why in News zzExpand clean energy access. €€Members: Recently, India and the UK have launched a new zz29 countries are part of CEM. workstream to promote industrial energy efficiency under Clean Energy Ministerial’s (CEM) Industrial zzIndia is also a member country. Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI) coordinated €€11th Clean Energy Ministerial: by UNIDO (United Nations Development Industrial zzThe CEM11 was hosted by the Kingdom of organisation). Saudi Arabia in 2020 that was convened at

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a critical moment to consider the role of clean ¾¾Mandate: energy in supporting a rapid, sustainable €€UNIDO’s mandate is fully recognized in SDG-9, which recovery, and the role of the CEM community in calls to “Build resilient infrastructure, promote shaping the next clean energy decade. inclusive and sustainable industrialization and ¾¾ Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI): foster innovation”. €€About: ¾¾Headquarters: Vienna, Austria. zzIDDI is an initiative of CEM. zzIt is a global coalition of public and private organisations who are working to stimulate ‘Sea Snot’ Outbreak in Turkey demand for low carbon industrial materials. zzIn collaboration with national governments, Why in News IDDI works to standardise carbon assessments, Recently, Turkey’s Sea of Marmara, which connects establish ambitious public and private sector the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, has witnessed the largest procurement targets, incentivise investment outbreak of ‘sea snot’. into low-carbon product development and ¾¾A ‘sea snot’ outbreak was first recorded in the design industry guidelines. country in 2007. €€Supporting Countries: zzCoordinated by UNIDO, the IDDI is co-led by the UK and India and current members include Germany and Canada. €€Goals: zzEncouraging governments and the private sector to buy low carbon steel and cement. zzSourcing and sharing data for common standards and targets.

United Nations Development Industrial Organisation ¾¾About: €€UNIDO is the specialized agency of the United Key Points Nations that promotes industrial development ¾¾Sea Snot and its Formation: for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization €€It is marine mucilage that is formed when algae and environmental sustainability. are overloaded with nutrients as a result of water ¾¾Members: pollution combined with the effects of climate €€There are 170 Member countries as of 1st April change. 2019. zzThe nutrient overload occurs when algae feast €€India is also a member country. on warm weather caused by global warming. ¾¾Discussion: €€It looks like a viscous, brown and foamy substance. €€Members regularly discuss and decide UNIDO’s ¾¾Concerns: guiding principles and policies in the sessions of €€Threat to the Marine Ecosystem: the Policy Making Organs. zzIt has caused mass deaths among the fish ¾¾Mission: population, and also killed other aquatic €€The mission of UNIDO, as described in the Lima organisms such as corals and sponges. Declaration adopted at the fifteenth session of zzIt is now covering the surface of the sea and has the UNIDO General Conference in 2013, is to also spread to 80-100 feet below the surface promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable which eventually can collapse to the bottom industrial development (ISID) in Member States. and cover the sea floor.

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€€Livelihoods of Fishermen Affected: €€They can occur naturally as a result of weathering zzAs the sludge is getting collected in their nets, of rocks and soil in the watershed and they can making them so heavy that they break or get lost. also come from the ocean due to mixing of water zzMoreover, the mucilage coating the strings makes currents. the nets visible to fish and keeps them away. €€There are more nutrients entering our coastal waters from , €€Water-borne Diseases: wastewater treatment facilities runoff from land in urban areas during rains, and zzIt can cause an outbreak of water-borne diseases from farming. such as cholera in cities like Istanbul. ¾¾Impact: ¾¾Steps that are being Taken: €€Severe algal growth blocks light that is needed €€The entire Sea of Marmara will be turned into a for plants, such as seagrasses, to grow. protected area. €€When the algae and seagrass die, they decay and €€Moreover, steps are being taken to reduce pollution in this process the oxygen in the water is used up and improve treatment of waste water from and this leads to low levels of dissolved oxygen in coastal cities and ships. the water. This, in turn, can kill fish, crabs, oysters, €€Turkey’s biggest maritime clean-up operation is and other aquatic animals. being launched and called on local residents, artists and NGOs to join hands to extend assistance. Hindu Kush Nutrient Pollution Himalayan Mountains ¾¾About: €€It is the process where too many nutrients, mainly Why in News nitrogen and phosphorus, are added to bodies of water and can act like fertilizer,causing excessive According to UNDP (United Nations Development growth of algae. Programme), the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) mountain ranges could lose up to two-third of its ice by 2100. €€This process is also known as eutrophication. ¾¾About 2 billion people may face food, water shortages ¾¾Sources of Nutrients: by 2100. World Oceans Day ¾¾The World Oceans Day is celebrated every year on Key Points 8th June to create awareness about the benefits ¾¾About HKH Region: that mankind gets from the ocean. €€It is often referred to as the Third‘ Pole’, on earth, €€The Day was designated by the United Nations is spread over 3,500 square kms across eight General Assembly in 2008. countries including India, Nepal and China. €€Oceans are considered to be the lungs of the €€It contains the world’s third-largest storage of planet, a critical part of the biosphere and are frozen water after Antarctica and the Arctic. a major source of food and medicine. €€Over 240 million people live in the region’s ¾¾The theme of the World Oceans Day 2021 is ‘The mountains. 1.7 billion live in the river basins Ocean: Life and Livelihoods’. downstream, while food grown in these basins ¾¾It is especially relevant in the lead-up to the reaches three billion people. UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable €€The glaciers feed at least 10 major river systems, Development, which will run from 2021 to 2030. which have bearings on agricultural activities, ¾¾The decade is aimed at strengthening inter- drinking water and hydroelectricity production national cooperation to develop scientific research in the region. and innovative technologies that are capable of ¾¾Challenges: connecting ocean science with the needs of modern €€According to ICIMOD’s (International Centre society. for Integrated Mountain Development) 2019

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changing diets and agricultural practices to move to net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases. €€The countries in the region need to reduce emissions of black carbon and other air pollutants as well. ¾¾Suggested Policies and Actions to Mitigate the Problem: €€Farmers will need support to design and invest in locally-appropriate water storage solutions, or to shift to agricultural practices that consume less water. assessment, the HKH region will continue to €€Designs of new hydropower plants and grids will warm through the 21st century even if the world need to take into account the changing climate is able to limit global warming at the agreed 1.5 and water availability. degrees Celsius. €€Data and information, capacity-building and zzThe Paris agreement aims to substantially early warning systems and infrastructure design reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in an will need to be improved. This calls for sufficient effort to limit the global temperature increase funding and large-scale coordination. in this century to 2 degrees Celsius above pre ¾¾Related Initiative Taken by India: industrial levels, while pursuing the means to €€National Mission on Sustaining Himalayan limit the increase to 1.5 degrees. Ecosystem (NMSHE) is one of the eight missions €€In the future, even if global warming is kept to 1.5 under the National Action Plan on Climate Change degrees C above the pre-industrialisation levels, (NAPCC). warming in the HKH region is likely to be at least 0.3 €€The mandate is to evolve measures to sustain degrees C higher, and in the northwest Himalaya and safeguard the Himalayan glaciers, mountain and Karakoram at least 0.7 degrees C higher. ecosystems, biodiversity and wildlife conservation ¾¾Threat: & protection. €€ High Mountain Asia (the Asian mountain ranges The International Centre surrounding the Tibetan Plateau) will lose a for Integrated Mountain Development substantial part of its cryosphere in the next ¾¾ICIMOD is an intergovernmental knowledge and decades and thus a substantial part of its water learning centre working for the people of the Hindu storage abilities. This will lead toincreased water Kush Himalaya (HKH). stress in high mountain areas. ¾¾It is based in Kathmandu, Nepal and works in and zzA cryosphere comprises portions of Earth’s for eight regional member countries – Afghanistan, surface where water is in solid form, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, and Pakistan. ice caps, ice sheets, etc. ¾¾Causes for the Melting of Glaciers: €€The melting is driven by larger anthropogenic India’s Ethanol Roadmap modifications (i.e. influenced by humans) of the atmosphere. Why in News €€The HKH region lies downwind from some of the The central government has released an expert most heavily polluted places on Earth. This threatens committee report on the Roadmap for Ethanol Blending agriculture, climate as well as monsoon patterns. in India by 2025. ¾¾Recommendations: ¾¾The roadmap proposes a gradual rollout of ethanol- €€It is recommended to shift away from fossil fuel blended fuel to achieve E10 fuel supply by April 2022 use in energy, transport, and other sectors, while and phased rollout of E20 from April 2023 to April 2025.

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Key Points €€Notifying Ethanol Blending Roadmap: MoP&NG should immediately notify the plan for pan-India ¾¾About the Report: availability of E10 fuel by April, 2022 and its €€The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoP&NG) continued availability thereafter until 2025 for had instituted an Expert Group to study the issues older vehicles, and launch of E20 in the country such as pricing of ethanol, matching pace of the in phases from April, 2023 onwards so as to make automobile industry to manufacture vehicles E20 available by April, 2025. with new engines with the supply of ethanol, €€ pricing of such vehicles, fuel efficiency of different Augmenting Infrastructure for Oil Marketing OMCs will need to prepare for the engines etc. Companies: projected requirement of ethanol storage, handling, ¾¾ : Ethanol Blending blending and dispensing infrastructure. €€About Ethanol: €€Expediting Regulatory Clearances: Currently, zzIt is one of the principal biofuels, which is ethanol production plants/distilleries fall under naturally produced by the fermentation of sugars the “Red category” and require environmental by yeasts or via petrochemical processes such clearance under the Air and Water Acts for new as ethylene hydration. and expansion projects. €€Blending Target: zzThis often takes a long time leading to delays. zzThe Government of India has advanced the zzWhile several steps have been taken to target for 20% ethanol blending in petrol (also expedite Environment Clearances (EC) under called E20) to 2025 from 2030. the Environment Protection Act there are zzCurrently, 8.5% of ethanol is blended with few areas of concern which if addressed, will petrol in India. facilitate early setting up of ethanol distillation €€Objectives of Ethanol Blending: capacities in the country. zzEnergy Security: €€Incentivising Ethanol Blended Vehicle: Globally, vehicles compliant with higher ethanol blends are „„Increased use of ethanol can help reduce provided with tax benefits. the oil import bill. India’s net import cost stands at USD 551 billion in 2020-21. zzA similar approach may be followed so that the cost increase due to E20 compatible design may „„The E20 program can save the country USD be absorbed to a certain extent, as is being done 4 billion (Rs 30,000 crore) per annum. in some states for promotingElectric Vehicles. zzIncentives for Farmers: €€Pricing of Ethanol Blended Gasoline: For better „„The oil companies procure ethanol from acceptability of higher ethanol blends in the country, farmers that benefits the sugarcane farmers. retail price of such fuels should be lower than „„Further, the government plans to encourage normal petrol to compensate for the reduction use of water-saving crops, such as maize, to in calorific value and incentivize switching to the produce ethanol, and production of ethanol blended fuel. from non-food feedstock. zzTax breaks on ethanol as a fuel may be considered zzImpact on Emission: by the government. „„Use of ethanol-blended petrol decreases Initiatives Already Taken emissions such as carbon monoxide (CO), ¾¾The , provides an hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). National Policy on Biofuels – 2018 indicative target of 20% ethanol blending under the „„The , such unregulated carbonyl emissions Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme by 2030. as acetaldehyde emission were, however, ¾¾The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways higher with E10 and E20 compared to has mandated stickers on vehicles mentioning their normal petrol. However, these emissions E20, E85 or E100 compatibility. were relatively lower. €€This will pave the way for flex fuel vehicles. ¾¾Recommendations:

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€€Flex fuel engines can run any ratio of blended petrol from E20 to E100. ¾¾E100 pilot project: It has been inaugurated in Pune. €€TVS Apache two-wheelers are designed to run on E80 or pure ethanol (E100). ¾¾Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana, 2019: The scheme aims to create an ecosystem for setting up commercial projects and boost Research and Development in the 2G Ethanol sector. ¾¾GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) DHAN Scheme, 2018: The scheme aims to positively €€Round-the-clock surveillance is conducted from impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and November till May utilising Coast Guard assets energy from cattle and organic waste. such as fast patrol vessels, air cushion vessels, €€It also aims at creating new rural livelihood interceptor craft and Dornier aircraft to enforce laws opportunities and enhancing income for farmers near the rookeries (colony of breeding animals). and other rural people. zzFrom November 2020 to May 2021, the Coast ¾¾Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO): The Food Guard devoted 225 ship days and 388 aircraft Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has hours to protect 3.49 lakh turtles that laid eggs launched this initiative that will enable collection along the Odisha coast. and conversion of used cooking oil to biodiesel. ¾¾Olive Ridley Turtles: €€Features: Operation Oliva zzThe Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most for Olive Ridley Turtles abundant of all sea turtles found in the world. zzThese turtles are carnivores and get their name from their olive colored carapace. Why in News zzThey migrate thousands of kilometers between Recently, the Indian Coast Guard has pressed into feeding and mating grounds in the course of service an aircraft for‘Operation Oliva’to protect Olive a year. Ridley turtles. zzThey are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of Indian Coast Guard females come together on the same beach to ¾¾It is an Armed Force, Search and Rescue and Maritime lay eggs. Law Enforcement agency under the Ministry of €€Habitat: Defence. It was established in 1978. zzThey are found in warm waters of the Pacific, ¾¾It has a wide range of task capabilities for both Atlantic and Indian oceans. surface and air operations. It is one of the largest zzThe Odisha’s Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary coast guards in the world. is known as the world’s largest rookery of sea Key Points turtles. €€Protection Status: ¾¾Operation Oliva: zzIUCN Red List: Vulnerable €€Every year, the Indian Coast Guard’s “Operation zz : Appendix I Olivia”, initiated in the early 1980s, helps protect CITES Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along zzWildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting from €€Threats: November to December. zzThey are extensively poached for their meat, zzIt also intercepts unlawful trawling activities. shell and leather, and their eggs.

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zzHowever, the most severe threat they face is 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (a the accidental killing through entanglement part of the Nationally Determined Contribution in trawl nets and gill nets due to uncontrolled (NDC) target under the 2015 Paris Agreement). fishing during their mating season around €€Over the last 10 years, around 3 million hectares nesting beaches. of forest cover has been added. zzAn ever-increasing debris of plastics, fishing €€For Example: The Banni region in Rann of Kutch nets, discarded nets, polythene and other in Gujarat suffers from highly degraded land and garbage dumped by tourists and fishing workers. receives very little rainfall. €€Other Initiatives: zzIn that region, land restoration is done by zzTo reduce accidental killing in India, the Odisha developing grasslands, which helps in achieving government has made it mandatory for trawls land degradation neutrality. to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs), a net ¾¾On Challenges Faced by Developing World: specially designed with an exit cover which allows €€Today, land degradation affects over two-thirds the turtles to escape while retaining the catch. of the world. €€India is assisting fellow developing countries to Dialogue on develop land restoration strategies. Desertification, Land €€A Centre of Excellence is being set up in India to promote a scientific approach towards land Degradation and Drought degradation issues. It is atIndian Council of Forestry Research and Education. Why in News zzICFRE, based in Dehradun, is an autonomous of the Recently, the Prime Minister delivered a keynote body Ministry of Environment, Forest address at the United Nations (UN) “High-Level Dialogue and Climate Change. on Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought” via Land Degradation video conference. ¾¾ ¾¾He spoke as the President of the 14th Session of About: the Conference of Parties (CoP) of United Nations €€Land degradation is caused by multiple forces, Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). including extreme weather conditions, particularly ¾¾The Dialogue will encourage all member states to drought. adopt and implement Land Degradation Neutrality €€It is also caused by human activities that (LDN) targets and National Drought Plans. pollute or degrade the quality of soils and land utility. Key Points ¾¾Impact: ¾¾Highlighted Steps Taken by India: €€Desertification is a consequence of severe land €€India is on track to achieve its national commitment degradation and is defined as a process that creates on Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) (Sustainable arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. Development Goal target 15.3). €€It accelerates climate change and biodiversity zzLDN is a state whereby the amount and quality of loss, and contributes to droughts, wildfires, invol- land resources, necessary to support ecosystem untary migration and the emergence of zoonotic functions and services and enhance food security, infectious diseases. remains stable or increases within specified ¾¾Global Efforts to Check Land Degradation: temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems. €€United Nations Convention to Combat Deserti- €€Working to restore 26 million hectares of degraded fication (UNCCD): It was established in 1994, the land by 2030. sole legally binding international agreement linking zzThis would contribute to India’s commitment environment and development to sustainable land to achieving an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to management.

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zzThe Delhi Declaration of 2019, signed by 14th €€Some of the major programmes which address CoP of the UNCCD, called for better access issues related to land degradation and deser- and stewardship over land, and emphasised tification, being implemented currently are as gender-sensitive transformative projects. follows: €€The Bonn Challenge: To bring 150 million hectares zzIntegrated Watershed Management Prog- of the world’s deforested and degraded land into ramme (IWMP) (Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030. Yojana). €€Great Green Wall: Initiative by Global Environment zzNational Afforestation Programme (NAP). Facility (GEF), where eleven countries in Sahel- zzNational Mission for Green India (GIM). Saharan Africa have focused efforts to fight against zzThe Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employ- land degradation and revive native plant life to ment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). the landscape. zzSoil Conservation in the Catchment of River ¾¾India’s Efforts to Check Land Degradation: Valley Project. €€India is focusing on sustainable land and resource zzNational Watershed Development Project for management for livelihood generation at commu- nity level for making the local lands healthier and Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA). productive for providing a better homeland and a zzFodder and Feed Development Scheme- better future for its inhabitants. component of Grassland Development including €€The National Action Programme for combating Grass Reserves. desertification was prepared in 2001 to take zzCommand Area Development and Water appropriate action in addressing the problems Management (CADWM) programme. of desertification. zzSoil Health Card Scheme, etc.

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Highlights zz Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj zz Ram Prasad Bismil

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Why in News On the occasion of the anniversary of Maratha king’s coronation day (6th June), the Goa government has released a short film on Chhatrapati Shivaji.

Key Points ¾¾Birth: €€He was born on 19th February, 1630 at Shivneri Fort in District Pune in the present-day state of Maharashtra. €€He was born to Shahaji Bhonsle, a Maratha general who held the jagirs of Pune and Supe under the ¾¾Conflict with Mughals: Bijapur Sultanate and Jijabai, a pious woman €€He raided Mughal territory near Ahmednagar and whose religious qualities had a profound influence in Junnar, 1657. on him. €€Aurangzeb responded to the raids by sending ¾¾Early Life: Nasiri Khan, who defeated the forces of Shivaji €€He displayed his military zeal for the first time at Ahmednagar. in 1645 when as a teenager, he successfully €€Shivaji defeated a large force of Shaista Khan got control of the Torna Fort which was under (Aurangzeb’s maternal uncle) and the Bijapur Bijapur. army in Pune,1659. €€He also acquired the Both these Kondana Fort. €€In 1664, the wealthy Mughal trading port of Surat forts were under Adil Shah of Bijapur. was sacked by Shivaji. €€In June 1665, the Treaty of Purandar was signed between Shivaji and Raja Jai Singh I (representing Aurangzeb). zzAs per this treaty, many forts were relinquished to the Mughals and it was agreed that Shivaji would meet Aurangzeb at Agra. Shivaji also agreed to send his son Sambhaji as well. ¾¾Arrest of Shivaji: €€When Shivaji went to meet the Mughal emperor at Agra in 1666, the Maratha warrior felt he was ¾¾Important Battles: insulted by Aurangzeb and stormed out of the court.

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€€He was arrested and kept prisoner. The clever €€The revenue system was patterned on the Kathi escape of Shivaji and his son from imprisonment system of Malik Amber in which every piece of in disguise out of Agra is legendary today. land was measured by Rod or Kathi. €€After that there was peace between the Marathas €€Chauth and Sardeshmukhi were other sources and the Mughals until 1670. of income. €€The jagir of Berar which was granted to Sambhaji zzChauth amounted to 1/4th of the standard by the Mughals was taken back from him. which was paid to Marathas as a safeguard €€Shivaji in response attacked and recovered many against Shivaji’s forces raiding Non-Maratha territories from the Mughals in a short span of territories. four months. zzSardeshmukhi was an additional levy of 10% €€Through his military tactics, Shivajiacquired a large demanded from areas outside of the kingdom. part of the land in the Deccan and western India. ¾¾Military Administration: ¾¾Granted Title: €€Shivaji organised a disciplined and efficient army. €€He was crowned as the king of the Marathas on €€The ordinary soldiers were paid in cash, but the th 6 June, 1674, at Raigad. chief and military commander were paid through €€He took on the titles ofChhatrapati, Shakakarta, jagir grants (Saranjam or Mokasa). Kshatriya Kulavantas and Haindava Dharmodh- €€The army consists of Infantry i.e. Mavali foot haarak. soldiers, Cavalry i.e. Horse riders and equipment €€The Maratha Kingdom founded by Shivaji grew holders, Navy. larger over time and became the dominant Indian power in the early 18th century. ¾¾Death: Ram Prasad Bismil €€He died on 3rd April 1680. Why in News Administration under Shivaji Recently, the Ministry of Culture organised a special ¾¾Central Administration: ceremony at Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh to mark the €€It was founded by Shivaji for the sound system of birth anniversary of freedom fighterRam Prasad Bismil. administration which was greatly inspired from the Deccan style of administration. Key Points €€Most of the administrative reforms were inspired ¾¾Birth: from Malik Amber reforms in Ahmednagar. €€Was born on 11th June, 1897, in a village in Uttar €€The King was the supreme head of state who was Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur district to Murlidhar assisted by a group of eight ministers known as and Moolmati. the ‘Ashtapradhan’. ¾¾About: €€The peshwa, also known as the mukhya pradhan, €€Was among the most noteworthy Indian freedom originally headed the advisory council of the raja fighters who resisted British colonial forces till his Shivaji. last breath. ¾¾Revenue Administration: €€Joined the Arya €€Shivaji abolished the Jagirdari System and replaced Samaj founded it with Ryotwari System, and changes in the by Dayananda position of hereditary revenue officials which Saraswati in 1875. was popularly known as Deshmukhs, Deshpande, This had a pro- Patils and Kulkarnis. found influence €€Shivaji strictly supervised the Mirasdars who had on him, he often hereditary rights in land. employed poetry

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as his weapon of choice in the fight against the „„Published a pamphlet titled ‘Deshwasiyo ke imperialist forces. Naam’ and distributed it along with his poem €€The ideals of a revolution first took root in his mind ‘Mainpuri ki Pratigya’. To collect funds for when he read about the death sentence awarded the parties, they looted government coffers. to Bhai Parmanand, an Indian nationalist and „„He escaped arrest by jumping into the Arya Samaj missionary. Yamuna River. zzHe was all of 18 then and vented his anguish zzIn 1925, Bismil and his companions Chandrasekhar through his poem ‘Mera Janm’. Azad and Ashfaqulla Khan decided to loot a train €€Believed that freedom cannot be achieved without in Kakori near Lucknow. violence, bloodshed, which meant his views were „„They were successful in their attempt but in stark contrast to Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals of were arrested alongside a dozen other HRA ‘ahimsa’. members within a month of the attack and ¾¾Contributions: tried under the Kakori Conspiracy Case. €€Organizations: „„The legal process lasted 18 months. Bismil, Lahiri, Khan and Thakur Roshan Singh were zzFormed organisationMatrivedi and got in touch with Genda Lal Dixit, a school teacher. awarded death sentences. €€Others: „„Both shared revolutionary ideas and wanted to organise the youth of the country to fight zzAttended the 1921 session of the Indian National the British government. Congress at Ahmedabad. zzBismil was one of the chief founders of the zzWhile lodged in Gorakhpur Central Jail, Bismil Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) along went on a hunger strike demanding to be with Sachindra Nath Sanyal and Jadugopal treated as a political prisoner. Mukherjee. zzIn Lucknow Central Jail, Bismil wrote his „„HRA was founded in 1924 and its constitution autobiography, considered as one of the finest was drafted chiefly by Bismil. works in Hindi literature and also the cult song “Mera rang de Basanti chola”. €€Major Cases: ¾¾Death: zzWas involved in the Mainpuri Conspiracy of th 1918 in which police found a few young people €€Hanged on 19 December 1927 at Gorakhpur Jail. including Bismil selling books that were not €€Was cremated on the banks of river Raptiand the prescribed by the government. site was rechristened as Raj Ghat later.

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Highlights zz Rare Earth Metals and China’s Monopoly zz Black Carbon and Glacier Melting zz Devika River Project: J&K zz Southern Ocean

€€Even so, the dominant share of processed Rare Rare Earth Metals Earths lies with China. and China’s Monopoly ¾¾Heavy dependence on China (India and the World): €€India has the world’s fifth-largest reserves of rare , nearly twice as much as Australia, Why in News earth elements but it imports most of its rare earth needs in China’s dominance in the rare earth metals, key to finished form from China. , is posing a major concern the future of manufacturing €€In 2019, the US imported 80% of its rare earth for the West. minerals from China while the European Union gets 98% of its supply from China. ¾¾Opportunity for India: There are three possible approaches to maximising India’s rare earth potential. €€New Department for Rare Earths (DRE): zzIndia should create the new Department for Rare Earths (DRE) under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas which could secure access to Rare Earth Elements (REEs) of strategic importance by offering viability gap funding to companies to set up facilities in the upstream sector. zzThis could make Indian Rare Earth Oxide (REOs) globally competitive. €€Downstream Processes and Applications: zzAlternatively, it could focus on downstream Key Points processes and applications, such as manufacturing ¾¾China’s Monopoly: rare earth magnets and batteries. €€China has over time acquiredglobal domination zzThis would require a focus on port infrastructure of rare earths, even at one point, it produced 90% and ease of doing business measures to allow of the rare earths the world needs. Indian manufacturers to import REOs from €€Today, however, it has come down to 60% and white-listed producers cheaply. the remaining is produced by other countries, €€Coordination with Other Agencies: including the Quad (Australia, India, Japan and zzFinally, it could coordinate with other agencies United States). to partner directly with groupings such as the €€Since 2010, when China curbed shipments of Rare Quad, building up a strategic reserve as a buffer Earths to Japan, the US, and Europe, production against global supply crises. units have come up in Australia, and the US along „„With adjustments to the existing policy, India with smaller units in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. could emerge as a rare earths supplier to

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the world and use these resources to power a high-end manufacturing economy geared to the needs of the 21st century.

Rare Earth Elements ¾¾They are a set of seventeen metallic elements. These include the fifteen lanthanides on the periodic table in addition toscandium and yttrium that show similar physical and chemical properties to the lanthanides. ¾¾The 17 Rare Earths are cerium (Ce), dysprosium (Dy), erbium (Er), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), holmium (Ho), lanthanum (La), lutetium (Lu), neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), ¾¾IREL produces rare earth oxides (low-cost, low-reward promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), scandium (Sc), “upstream processes”), selling these to foreign terbium (Tb), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), and firms that extract the metals and manufacture end yttrium (Y). products (high-cost, high-reward “downstream ¾¾These minerals have unique magnetic, luminescent, processes”) elsewhere. and electrochemical properties and thus are ¾¾IREL’s focus is to provide thorium — extracted from used in many modern technologies, including monazite — to the Department of Atomic Energy. consumer electronics, computers and networks, communications, health care, national defense, etc. Devika River Project: J&K ¾¾Even futuristic technologies need these REEs (For example high-temperature superconductivity, Why in News safe storage and transport of hydrogen for a post- Recently, the Minister of State for Development of hydrocarbon economy, environmental global warming North Eastern Region has asked for suggestions for the and energy efficiency issues). Devika River project in Udhampur, J&K. ¾¾They are called ‘rare earth’ because earlier it was ¾¾This project is compared with the Namami Gange difficult to extract them from their oxides forms Project. technologically. ¾¾They occur in many minerals but typically in low Key Points concentrations to be refined in an economical ¾¾About: manner. €€This is a Rs. 190 crore Project. India’s Current Policy on Rare Earths €€The work on the project was started in March ¾¾Exploration in India has been conducted by the 2019 under the National River Conservation Bureau of Mines and the Department of Atomic Plan (NRCP). Energy. Mining and processing has been performed €€Under the project, bathing “ghats” (places) on by some minor private players in the past, but is the banks of the Devika River will be developed, today concentrated in the hands of IREL (India) encroachments will be removed, natural water Limited (formerly Indian Rare Earths Limited), a bodies will be restored and catchment areas will Public Sector Undertaking under the Department be developed along with cremation ground. of Atomic Energy. €€The project includes the construction of three ¾¾India has granted government corporations such sewage treatment plants, sewerage network as IREL a monopoly over the primary mineral that of 129.27 km, development of two cremation contains REEs: monazite beach sand, found in many ghats, protection fencing and landscaping, small coastal states. hydropower plants and three solar power plants.

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€€On completion of the project, the rivers will see reduction in pollution and improvement in water Black Carbon quality. and Glacier Melting ¾¾About Devika River: €€Devika river originates from the hilly Suddha Why in News Mahadev temple in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir and flows down towards western The report titled “Glaciers of the Himalayas: Climate Punjab (now in Pakistan) where it merges with Change, Black Carbon and Regional Resilience” says that the Ravi river. the glaciers are melting faster than the global average ice mass. However, the strong policy on black carbon €€The river holds religious significance as it is revered can sharply cut glacier melt. by Hindus as the sister of river Ganga. ¾¾The research report is released by the World Bank €€In June 2020, Devika Bridge was inaugurated and covers the Himalaya, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush in Udhampur. Apart from taking care of traffic (HKHK) mountain ranges. congestion, the Devika Bridge was also meant ot help smooth passage of Army convoys and vehicles. Black Carbon ¾¾Black carbon is a kind of an aerosol. National River Conservation Plan €€An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles ¾¾About: or liquid droplets in the air. €€National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) is a ¾¾Among aerosols (such as brown carbon, sulphates), centrally funded scheme launched in 1995 aimed Black Carbon (BC) has been recognized as the second at preventing the pollution of rivers. most important anthropogenic agent for climate €€Programs for river conservation are being change and the primary marker to understand the implemented under National River Conservation adverse effects caused by air pollution. Plan (NRCP) and NGRBA (National Ganga River ¾¾It gets emitted from gas and diesel engines, coal- Basin Authority). fired power plants, and other sources that burn ¾¾Activities under NRCP: fossil fuel. It comprises a significant portion of €€Interception and Diversion works to capture the particulate matter or PM, which is an air pollutant. raw sewage flowing into the river through open HKHK Mountain Region: drains and divert them for treatment. ¾¾HKHK Region spans eight countries; Afghanistan, €€Sewage Treatment Plants for treating the diverted Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Bangladesh sewage. and Myanmar and also has some of the world’s €€Low Cost Sanitation works to prevent open tallest mountains including Mt. Everest and K2. defecation on riverbanks. ¾¾HKHK Glaciers feed into river systems including €€Electric Crematoria and Improved Wood Crematoria Ganga, Yangtze, Irrawaddy, and Mekong. to conserve the use of wood and help in ensuring €€The water that runs down from glaciers feeds proper cremation of bodies brought to the burning the agriculture, on which nearly 2 billion people ghats. are dependent upon. €€River Front Development works such as improvement ¾¾HKHK Region, also known as the third pole, along of bathing ghats. with China’s Tien Shan Mountains holds most ice €€Public awareness and public participation. outside the North and the South Pole. €€Human Resource Development (HRD), capacity building, training and research in the area of River Key Points Conservation. ¾¾About Black Carbon: €€Other miscellaneous works depend upon location €€BC is a short-lived pollutant that is the second- specific conditions including the interface with largest contributor to warming the planet behind

human population. carbon dioxide (CO2).

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zzUnlike other greenhouse gas emissions, BC is zzRadiative forcing is a measure of the change quickly washed out and can be eliminated from in energy balance as a result of a change in a the atmosphere if emissions stop. forcing agent (e.g., greenhouse gases, aerosol, zzUnlike historical carbon emissions it is also a cloud, and surface albedo) to affect the global localised source with greater local impact. energy balance and contribute to climate change. ¾¾Source of Black Carbon in Himalayan Region: ¾¾Steps to be Taken by Regional Governments: €€Industry (primarily brick kilns) and residential €€Review the policies on water management, with an burning of solid fuel together account for 45-66% of emphasis on basin-based regulation and use of price regional anthropogenic (man-made) BC deposition, signals (value of a particular action) for efficiency. followed by on-road diesel fuels (7-18%) and open €€Careful planning and use of hydropower to reflect burning (less than 3% in all seasons) in the region. changes in water flows and availability. ¾¾Impact of Deposits of BC: €€Increasing the efficiency of brick kilns through €€It acts in two ways hastening the pace of glacier proven technologies. melt: €€There must also be greater knowledge sharing zzBy decreasing surface reflectance of sunlight. in the region. zzBy raising the air temperature. ¾¾Rate of De-glaciation: Southern Ocean €€The rate of retreat of HKHK glaciers is estimated to be 0.3 metres per year in the west to 1.0 metre Why in News per year in the east. Recently, on the occasion of World Ocean Day (8th €€Full implementation of current policies to mitigate June), the National Geographic magazine has recognised but BC can achieve a 23% reduction enacting the ‘Southern Ocean’ as the world’s fifth ocean. new policies and incorporating them through ¾¾The International Hydrographic Organization too regional cooperation among countries can achieve had recognised ‘Southern Ocean’ as a distinct body enhanced benefits. of water surrounding Antarctica in 1937 but had zz National Mission on Sustaining Himalayan repealed the same in 1953. Ecosystem (NMSHE) is one such policy adopted ¾¾Other four Oceans are: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and in India. It is one of the eight missions under the Arctic Oceans. National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). €€BC deposits can be sharply reduced through new, International Hydrographic Organization currently feasible policies by an additional 50% ¾¾IHO is an intergovernmental consultative and from current levels. technical organization that was established in ¾¾Impact of Glacier Melt: 1921 to support the safety of navigation and the €€Glacier melt produces flash floods, landslips, soil protection of the marine environment. erosion, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF). ¾¾India is also a member of IHO. €€In the short run, the higher volumes of melt water could replace receding groundwater downstream. Key Points But in the long run, decreased water availability ¾¾About: would aggravate water shortage. €€Most of the waters that surround Antarctica out ¾¾Measures to be Taken: to 60 degrees south latitude, excluding the Drake €€In the Himalayas, reducing black carbon emissions Passage and Scotia Sea, constitute the newly from cookstoves, diesel engines, and open acknowledged Southern Ocean. burning would have the greatest impact and €€The Southern Ocean is the only ocean ‘to touch could significantly reduce radiative forcing and three other oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian help to maintain a greater portion of Himalayan Ocean) and to completely embrace a continent glacier systems. rather than being embraced by them’.

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links the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceansand is the primary means of inter-basin exchange of heat, carbon dioxide, chemicals, biology and other tracers. €€The ACC is created by the combined effects ofstrong westerly winds across the Southern Ocean, and the big change in surface temperatures between the Equator and the poles. €€Ocean density increases as water gets colder and as it gets more salty. The warm, salty surface waters of the subtropics are much lighter than the cold, fresher waters close to Antarctica. zzThe depth of constant density levels slopes up towards Antarctica. The westerly winds make this slope steeper, and the ACC rides eastward along it, faster where the slope is steeper, and weaker where it’s flatter. ¾¾Significance of Recognition: €€It is also defined by its Antarctic Circumpolar €€Step towards conservation of World’s Oceans, Current that was formed 34 million years ago. The focusing public awareness onto a region in particular current flows from west to east around Antarctica. needing a conservation spotlight. ¾¾Antarctic Circumpolar Current: €€In addition to the rapid warming of the Southern €€ACC is the only current in the global ocean to Ocean due to global warming, industrial fishing close upon itself in a circumpolar loop. on species like krill and Patagonian toothfish had zzThis trait makes the ACC the most important been a concern for decades. It hoped to draw current in the Earth’s climate system because it attention to these issues.

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Social Issues

Highlights zz Resolution 75/260 of UNGA: HIV/AIDS zz China Relaxes Two Child Policy: Lessons for India zz PM-CARES for Children Scheme zz Seniorcare Aging Growth Engine Initiative zz EPFO and ESIC Extension To Covid-Hit Families zz Women in Military zz World No Tobacco Day zz China-ASEAN Meeting

keeping the immune system strong enough to Resolution 75/260 fight off the disease. of UNGA: HIV/AIDS zzIt, besides reducing the risk of transmission of HIV, also helps in stopping its progression to AIDS (a spectrum of conditions caused by Why in News infection due to HIV). th The Union Health Minister addressed the 75 session €€National AIDS Control Program: of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on zzThe National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) prevention of HIV/AIDS. launched the first phase of the National AIDS ¾¾The Resolution 75/260 of UNGA deals with the Control Programme in (1992-1999). Implementation of the Declaration of Commitment „„NACO is a division of the Ministry of Health on HIV/AIDS and the political declarations on HIV/ and Family Welfare. AIDS. „„It was constituted in 1992 to provide Key Points leadership to HIV/AIDS control programmes ¾¾Important Points of Address: in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies. €€HIV/AIDS Prevention Model: India’s unique HIV prevention model is centered around the concept zzIndia is gradually transitioning the people living of ‘Social Contracting’ through which the ‘Targeted with HIV to Dolutegravir (a safer and efficacious Interventions Program’ is implemented with support anti-retro-viral medication regimen). from civil society. €€The target of Elimination of Mother to Child zzThe program is aimed at behaviour change, Transmission of HIV: For this, viral load testing communication, outreach, service delivery, facilities have been scaled up, and HIV counselling, counselling & testing and ensuring linkages testing and community-based screening for early to HIV care. diagnosis have been ramped up. €€Legal Framework: The HIV & AIDS Prevention and ¾¾Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) and HIV/ Control Act, 2017, provides a legal and enabling AIDS: There are a number of SDGs related to the framework to safeguard the human rights of HIV response: infected and affected populations. €€SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing €€Free Treatment: India is providing free anti-retro- for all at all ages. viral treatment to close to 1.4 million people. zzTarget 3.3: End AIDS as a public health threat zzAnti-retro-viral therapy: It is a combination by 2030 of daily medications that stop the virus from €€SDG 4: Quality education, including targets on reproducing. comprehensive sexual and reproductive health zzThe therapy helps in protecting CD4 cells thus (SRH) education and life skills.

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€€SDG 5: Gender equality, including targets on ¾¾Weak immune system makes a person prone to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) opportunistic infections and cancer. It becomes and the elimination of violence, harmful gender difficult for a person infected with this virus to norms and practices. recover from even a minor injury or sickness. €€SDG 10: Reduced inequalities, including targets ¾¾By receiving treatment, severe forms of HIV can on protection against discrimination, and the be prevented. empowerment of people to claim their rights and enhance access to HIV services. €€SDG 16: Peace, justice and strong institutions, PM-CARES for Children Scheme including reduced violence against key populations and people living with HIV. Why in News ¾¾ Other Initiatives: The government has announced a special “PM-CARES €€Project Sunrise: The initiative was launched by the for Children” scheme for all those orphaned due to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2016, to Covid-19. tackle the rising HIV prevalence in north-eastern ¾¾Also, the Supreme Court has ordered the district states in India, especially among people injecting authorities to upload the details of children in need of drugs. care and protection on NCPCR (National Commission €€The Red Ribbon: The red ribbon is the universal for Protection of Child Rights) portal Bal Swaraj. symbol of awareness and support for people living with HIV. zzWearing a ribbon is a great way to raise aware- ness on and during the run up to World AIDS Day. €€90-90-90: 90% of those who are HIV positive in the country know their status, 90% of those who know their status are on treatment and 90% of those who are on treatment experience effective viral load suppression. €€Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM): The Global Fund is a 21st-century Key Points partnership organization designed to accelerate ¾¾About the ‘PM-CARES for Children’ Scheme: the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as €€Eligibility: epidemics. zzChildren who have lost both parents or their Human Immunodeficiency Virus lone surviving parent or their legal guardian ¾¾HIV attacks CD4, a type of White Blood Cell (T cells) or adoptive parent due to Covid-19. in the body’s immune system. T cells are those cells „„There are a total 577 Covid-19 orphans that move around the body detecting anomalies identified across the country. Also, there and infections in cells. has been a rise in cases of child trafficking. ¾¾After entering the body, HIV multiplies itself and €€Features of the Scheme: destroys CD4 cells, thus severely damaging the zzCorpus of Rs. 10 Lakh: human immune system. Once this virus enters the „„A corpus of Rs. 10 lakh will be allocated to body, it can never be removed. each of these children from the PM CARES €€The CD4 count of a person infected with HIV fund. reduces significantly. In a healthy body, CD4 „„This corpus will be used to give a monthly count is between 500- 1600, but in an infected stipend from 18 years of their age, for the body, it can go as low as 200. next five years and on reaching the age

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of 23 years, he or she will get the corpus National Commission for Protection of Child Rights amount as one lump-sum for personal and ¾¾NCPCR is a statutory body set up in March 2007 professional use. under the Commissions for Protection of Child zzEducation to the Children: Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005. „„The education expenses of younger children ¾¾It is under the administrative control of the Ministry will be supported by way of admission to of Women & Child Development. Kendriya Vidyalayas and private schools ¾¾The Commission’s mandate is to ensure that all up to higher secondary level. laws, policies, programmes, and administrative „„These children will also be supported during mechanisms are in consonance with the child rights their higher education through either a perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of scholarship equivalent to the tuition fees India and also the UN Convention on the Rights or educational loans where the interest of the Child. on the loan will be paid by the PM-CARES ¾¾It inquires into complaints relating to a child’s right fund. to free and compulsory education under theRight zzHealth Insurance: to Education Act, 2009. „„All children will be enrolled as a beneficiary ¾¾It monitors the implementation of Protection of under Ayushman Bharat Scheme with a Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakh. „„The premium amount will be paid by PM- EPFO and ESIC Extension CARES till a child turns 18. To Covid-Hit Families PM-CARES Fund ¾¾The government has set up the Prime Minister’s Why in News Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) to deal with any kind of Recently, the government has announced an emergency or distress situation like posed by the extension of pension coverage and insurance benefits Covid-19 pandemic. for families of those who died due to Covid-19. ¾¾The Fund is a public charitable trust with the Prime ¾¾The pension coverage will be extended under the Minister as its Chairman. Other Members include Employees’ state Insurance Corporation of India (ESIC) Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance scheme and insurance benefits under theEmployees’ Minister. Deposit-Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme for members ¾¾The Fund enables micro-donations as a result of registered under the Employees’ Provident Fund which a large number of people will be able to Organisation (EPFO). contribute with the smallest of denominations. Key Points ¾¾It will strengthen disaster management capacities and encourage research on protecting citizens. ¾¾Extension of Benefits Under ESIC Scheme: ¾¾Contribution to PM - CARES Fund Qualifies as CSR €€All dependent family members of such persons(who (Corporate Social Responsibility) Expenditure. died of Covid) will be eligible for a pension equivalent to 90 % of the average daily wage drawn by the ¾¾Bal Swaraj COVID-Care worker as per the existing rules. €€The NCPCR has devised an online tracking portal zzThis benefit will be available retrospectively with “Bal Swaraj (COVID-Care)” for children in need of effect from 24th March 2020 till 24th March 2022. care and protection. €€The eligibility conditions for the ESIC benefits €€This has been created with a purpose for online are likely to include the norm that the insured tracking and digital real time monitoring person must have been registered on the ESIC mechanism of children who are in need of care online portal at least three months prior to the and protection. diagnosis of Covid resulting in death, the insured

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person must have been employed for wages and Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous contributions for at least 78 days. Provisions Act, 1952. ¾¾Under EPFO-EDLI: ¾¾The EDLI scheme is managed on the basis of 0.5 % €€The maximum insurance benefit has been increased of monthly wages paid by the employer to the fund to Rs 7 lakh from Rs 6 lakh. and there is no employee contribution. The nominee €€The provision of minimum insurance benefit of registered by the employee is eligible to claim the Rs 2.5 lakh has been restored and it will apply benefit under the scheme. retrospectively from February 2020 for the next Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation three years. ¾¾It is a government organization that manages €€Benefits are being made available to families of provident fund and pension accounts for the who may have changed jobs even those employees workforce engaged in the organized sector in India. in the last 12 months preceding his/her death. ¾¾It implements the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) €€All surviving dependent family members of EPFO and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. are eligible to avail benefits of EDLI in case of death of the member. €€The Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 provides for the institution zzAbout 6.53 crore families are expected to be of provident funds for employees in factories eligible. and other establishments. Employees’ State Insurance(ESI) Scheme: ¾¾It is administered by the Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India. ¾¾About: €€It is a multidimensional social system which Employees’ Provident Funds Scheme provides socio-economic protection to the worker ¾¾EPF is the main scheme under the Employees’ population and immediate dependent or family Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Act, 1952. covered under the ESI scheme. ¾¾It offers the institution of provident funds for factory €€The ESI is an integrated measure of social Insurance employees and other establishments. embodied in the Employees’ State Insurance ¾¾The employee and employer each contribute Act, 1948. 12% of the employee’s basic salary and dearness ¾¾Coverage: allowance towards EPF. €€ESI Act applies to all factories and notified €€The Economic Survey 2016-17 had suggested establishments located in implemented areas that employees be allowed to choose whether employing 10 or more persons and is applicable or not to save 12% of their salary into EPF or on employees drawing wages up to Rs 21,000 per keep it as take home pay. month (Rs 25,000 for persons with disabilities). ¾¾As per current laws, a person mandatorily becomes €€It covers about 3.49 crore of family units of workers a member of EPF if his monthly salary does not and provides cash benefits and medical facilities exceed Rs. 15,000. to 13.56 crore beneficiaries.

Employees’ Deposit-Linked Insurance World No Tobacco Day ¾¾It is an insurance cover provided by the EPFO for private sector salaried employees. It was launched in 1976. Why in News €€Any employee who has an EPF account automatically Every year, on 31st May, the World Health Organization becomes eligible for the EDLI scheme. (WHO) and global partners celebrate World No Tobacco ¾¾The registered nominee receives a lump-sum payment Day (WNTD). in the event of the death of the person insured, during the period of the service. Key Points €€It applies to all organisations registered under the ¾¾Focus of WNTD 2021:

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€€The theme for the World No Tobacco Day 2021 is reach a large number of tobacco users with the sole “Commit to Quit”. objective to provide telephone-based information, €€The WHO has honoured Indian Union health advice, support, and referrals for tobacco cessation. minister Harsh Vardhan with Director-General €€mCessation Programme: It is an initiative using Special award for his efforts to control tobacco mobile technology for tobacco cessation. consumption in India. zzIndia launched mCessation using text messages zzHis leadership was instrumental in the 2019 in 2016 as part of the government’s Digital national legislation to ban E-cigarettes & heated India initiative. tobacco products. ¾¾Decline in Tobacco Consumption: ¾¾ Socio Economic Burden of ‘Tobacco’: €€The prevalence of tobacco use has decreased by €€In India, over 1.3 million deaths are attributable six percentage points from 34.6% in 2009-10 to to tobacco use every year amounting to 3500 28.6% in 2016-17. deaths per day, imposing a lot of avoidable socio- €€Under the National Health Policy 2017, India has economic burden. set an ambitious target of reducing tobacco use €€In addition to the death and diseases it causes, by 30% by 2025. tobacco also impacts the economic development of the country. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control zzSmokers face a 40-50% higher risk of developing ¾¾Governments adopt and implement the tobacco control severe disease deaths from Covid-19. provisions of the WHO Framework Convention on €€As per the WHO study (Published in August 2020) Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). titled “Economic Costs of Diseases and Deaths ¾¾It is the first international treaty negotiated under Attributable to Tobacco Use in India”, the auspices of the WHO. zzIt has been estimated that theeconomic burden ¾¾It was adopted by the World Health Assembly (apex of diseases and deaths attributable to use of decision making body of WHO) on 21st May 2003 and tobacco in India was as high as Rs. 1.77 lakh entered into force on 27th February 2005. crores, amounting to approx 1% of GDP. ¾¾It was developed in response to the globalization ¾¾Measures towards Tobacco Control in India: of the tobacco epidemic and is an evidence-based €€India adopted the tobacco control provisions treaty that reaffirms the right of all people to the under WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco highest standard of health. Control (WHO FCTC). ¾¾The FCTC’s measures to combat tobacco use include: €€Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003: €€Price and tax measures. €€ zzIt replaced the Cigarettes Act of 1975(largely Large, graphic warnings on tobacco packages. limited to statutory warnings- ‘Cigarette Smoking €€100% smoke-free public spaces. is Injurious to Health’ to be displayed on cigarette €€A ban on tobacco marketing. packs and advertisements. It did not include €€Support for smokers who want to quit. non-cigarettes). €€Prevention of tobacco industry interference. zzThe 2003 Act also included cigars, bidis, cheroots, pipe tobacco, hookah, chewing tobacco, pan masala, and gutka. China Relaxes Two €€Promulgation of the Prohibition of Electronic Child Policy: Lessons for India Cigarettes Ordinance, 2019: Which prohibits Production, Manufacture, Import, Export, Transport, Sale, Distribution, Storage and Advertisement of Why in News e-Cigarettes. Recently, China relaxed its two child policy and €€National Tobacco Quitline Services (NTQLS): announced it will now allow three children per married Tobacco Quitline Services have the potential to couple.

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¾¾It also announced that it would increase the retirement €€Increased Social Spending: age by a few months every year. For the past four zzMore older people also means that demands for decades, the retirement age in China has been 60 healthcare and pensions can soar, burdening the for men and 55 for women. country’s social spending system further when fewer people are working and contributing to it. Key Points €€Critical for Developing Nations: ¾¾ China’s Population Policies: zzA problem unique to China, though, is that unlike €€One Child Policy: the other developed countries part of this trend, zzChina embarked upon its one-child policy in it is still a middle-income society, despite being 1980, when its government was concerned the world’s second-largest economy. that the country’s growing population, which zzProsperous countries like Japan and Germany, at the time was approaching one billion,would which face similar demographic challenges, can impede economic progress. depend on investments in factories, technology „„Chinese authorities have long hailed the and foreign assets. policy as a success, claiming that it helped zzChina, however, stilldepends on labour-intensive the country avert severe food and water manufacturing and farming. shortages by preventing up to 40 crore zzA drop in demographic dividend could thus people from being born. hurt China and other developing nations like zzIt was a source of discontent, as the state used India more than those in the rich world. brutal tactics such as forced abortions and ¾¾Lessons For India: sterilisations. €€Avoid Stringent Measures: zzIt also met criticism and remained controversial zzStringent population control measures have for violating human rights, and for being unfair landed China in a human crisis that was inevitable. to the poor. If coercive measures like a two-child limit are €€Two Child Policy: enforced, India’s situation could be worse. zz From 2016, the Chinese government finally €€Women Empowerment: allowed two children per couple – a policy zzThe proven ways to lower the fertility rate are change that did little to arrest the rapid fall in to give women the control over their fertility population growth. and ensure their greater empowerment through €€Three Child Policy: increased access to education, economic zzIt was announced afterChina’s 2020 census data opportunities and healthcare. showed that the country’s rate of population „„As a matter of fact,China’s fertility reduction growth is falling rapidly despite the 2016 is only partly attributable to coercive policies, relaxation. and is largely because of the sustained zzThe country’s fertility rate has dropped to 1.3, investments the country had made in far below the replacement level of 2.1 required education, health and job opportunities for a generation to have enough children to for women. replace it. €€Need to Stabilize Population: „„ The United Nations expects China’s population zzIndia has done very well with its family planning to begin declining after 2030, but some measures and now it is at replacement level experts say this could happen as early as in fertility of 2.1, which is desirable. the next one or two years. zzIt needs to sustain population stabilisation ¾¾Concerns of Falling Population: because in some States like Sikkim, Andhra €€Decreased Labour: Pradesh, Delhi, Kerala and Karnataka, the total zzWhen the young population in a country declines, fertility rate is way below replacement level, it creates labour shortages, which have a major which means it can experience in 30-40 years detrimental impact on the economy. what China is experiencing now.

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India’s Case Silver Economy ¾¾India’s Population Growth: ¾¾Silver economy is the system of production, €€India’s population is estimated to be over 1.36 distribution and consumption of goods and services billion as of March 2021, indicating an estimated aimed at using the purchasing potential of older 12.4% growth over the last decade. and ageing people and satisfying their consumption, zzThat is lower than the 17.7% between 2001 living and health needs. and 2011. ¾¾The silver economy is analyzed in the field of social €€However, a 2019 United Nations report had gerontology (study of aging) not as an existing projected India to overtake China as the most economic system but as an instrument of ageing populous country by 2027. policy and the political idea of forming a potential, needs-oriented economic system for an aging zzIndia is expected to add nearly 273 million population. people between 2019 and 2050. ¾¾Its main element is gerontechnology (Technology ¾¾Indian Measures for Population Control: pertaining to aged people) as a new scientific, €€Prime Minister’s Appeal: During his Independence research and implementation paradigm. Day Speech in 2019, the Prime Minister appealed to the country that population control was a form ¾¾About: of patriotism. €€The SAGE portal will be a “one-stop access” of €€Mission Parivar Vikas: The Government launched elderly care products and services by credible Mission Parivar Vikas in 2017 for substantially start-ups. increasing access to contraceptives and family €€It has been launched with a view to help such planning services in 146 high fertility districts. persons who are interested in entrepreneurship €€Compensation Scheme for Sterilization Acceptors: in the field of providing services for elderly care. Under the scheme, the Ministry of Health and €€The SAGE project aims to identify, evaluate, verify, Family Welfare provides compensation for loss of aggregate, and deliver products, solutions and wages to the beneficiary and also to the service services directly to the stakeholders. The Ministry provider (& team) for conducting sterilizations will act as a facilitator, enabling the elderly to from the year 2014. access the products through identified start-ups. €€National Family Planning Indemnity Scheme ¾¾Features: (NFPIS) : This scheme was launched in the year €€Start-ups can apply for being a part of SAGE through 2005. Under this scheme, clients are insured in the a dedicated portal. eventualities of death, complication and failure following sterilization. €€The start-ups selected under SAGE will be those which will provide new innovative products and services to elderly persons in various areas like Seniorcare Aging health, travel, finance, legal, housing, food among Growth Engine Initiative others. €€An allocation ofRs. 25 crores has been made for Why in News the SAGE project in the current financial year i.e 2021-22. Recently, the MInistry of Social Justice and Empower- ¾¾Need for the Initiative: ment virtually launched the SAGE (Seniorcare Aging Growth Engine) initiative and SAGE portal for elderly €€The share of elders, as a percentage of the total persons. population in the country, is expected to increase from around 7.5% in 2001 to almost 12.5% by ¾¾An amount of Rs. 100 crore has been assigned for 2026, and surpass 19.5% by 2050. the promotion of the silver economy. ¾¾Other Government Initiatives for Elderly People: Key Points €€Integrated Programme for Older Persons (IPOP):

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Women in Military

Why in News Two women officers have been selected to undergo helicopter pilot training for the first time in the Army Aviation Corps. They will join front-line flying duties on completion of their training in July 2022. ¾¾Till now, women officers were assignedonly ground duties in the Army Aviation Corps.

Army Aviation Corps ¾¾Raised in November 1986, it operates the Dhruv advanced light helicopter, Chetaks, Cheetahs and zzThe main objective of the scheme is to improve Cheetal helicopters. the quality of life of older persons by providing ¾¾It carries out an important role in supporting the basic amenities like shelter, food, medical care army’s deployment in high altitude areas, including and entertainment opportunities, etc. the Siachen Glacier. €€Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY): Key Points zzThis is a central sector scheme funded from ¾¾ the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund. The fund Deployment in the Armed Forces: was notified in the year 2016. €€The Army, Air Force and Navy began inducting women as short-service commission (SSC) officers zzIt aims to provide aids and assistive living in 1992. devices to senior citizens belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) category who suffer from zzThis was the first time when women were allowed age-related disabilities such as low vision, to join the military outside the medical stream. hearing impairment, loss of teeth and locomotor €€One of the turning points for women in the military disabilities. came in 2015 when Indian Air Force (IAF) decided to €€Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY): induct them into the fighter stream. €€In 2020, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the central zzPMVVY was launched in May 2017 to provide social security during old age. government to grant permanent commission (PC) to women officers in the Army’s non-combat zzIt is a pension scheme for senior citizens that support units on par with their male counterparts. comes with guaranteed returns on monthly, zzThe SC had rejected the government’s stand quarterly, half-yearly or on an annual basis for of women officers’physiological limitations as a period of 10 years. It is exclusively available being based on “sex stereotypes” and “gender to those who are 60 years of age and above. discrimination against women”. €€Vayoshreshtha Samman: zzWomen officers have been granted PC in the zzConferred as a National award, and given to Indian Army in all the ten branches where eminent senior citizens & institutions under women are inducted for SSC. various categories for their contributions zzWomen are now eligible to occupy all the st on International day of older persons on 1 command appointments, at par with male October. officers, which would open avenues for further €€Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior promotions to higher ranks for them. Citizens (MWPSC) Act, 2007: €€In early 2021, the Indian Navy deployed four zzTo ensure need-based maintenance for Parents women officers on warships after a gap of almost and Senior Citizens and their welfare. 25 years.

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zzIndia’s only aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and fleet tanker INS Shakti are the warships China-ASEAN Meeting that have been assigned their first women crews since the late 1990s. Why in News €€In May 2021, the Army inducted the first batch Recently, China hosted a meeting of foreign ministers of women into the Corps of Military Police, the from the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations first time that women joined the military in the (ASEAN) countries. non-officer cadre. ¾¾The meeting marks the 30th anniversary of China- zzHowever, Women are stillnot allowed in combat ASEAN dialogue. arms like Infantry and Armored Corps. ¾¾With this meeting China looks todeepen its economic ¾¾Increment in Numbers: ties with the region as well as push back the renewed €€It has increased almost three-fold over the last six effort at regional engagement from the US, as well as years, with more avenues being opened to them from the QUAD (Quadrilateral Framework) grouping. at a steady pace. €€QUAD earlier this year came out with a regional €€There are 9,118 women currently serving the vaccine initiative. army, navy and air force. Key Points. €€According to 2019 figures, women comprise only 3.8% of the world’s second-largest army - compared ¾¾China’s Stand: to 13% of the air force and 6% of the navy. €€China’s Cultural Diplomacy: ¾¾Significance: zzReiterated that China and ASEAN should jointly €€Gender is not a Hindrance: As long as an applicant carry forward Asian values in a subtle dig at is qualified for a position, one’s gender is arbitrary. the West. In modern high technology battlefield technical „„China in 2014 had put forward the idea that expertise and decision-making skills are increasingly it was for “Asian people to uphold Asia’s more valuable than simple brute strength. security”. €€Military Readiness: Allowing a mixed gender €€Covid-Vaccines: force keeps the military strong. The armed forces zzChina offered ASEAN countries its vaccines are severely troubled by falling retention and as well as closer cooperation on joint vaccine recruitment rates. This can be addressed by development and production. allowing women in the combat role. €€Maritime Security & Disputes: €€Effectiveness: The blanket restriction for women zzChina called for considering the lifting of limits the ability of commanders in theater to pick China-ASEAN ties to comprehensive strategic the most capable person for the job. partnership and strive for an early agreement €€Tradition:Training will be required to facilitate the on a code of conduct in the South China Sea. integration of women into combat units. Cultures zzChina is banking on deep economic links to both change over time and the masculine subculture offset maritime disputesand the push among can evolve too. some ASEAN countries for closer defence ties €€Global Scenario: When women officially with the US amid their concerns about China’s became eligible for combat positions in the growing military footprint in the South China Sea. American military in 2013, it was widely hailed €€Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership: as another step towards the equality of zzChina pushed for the early implementation sexes. In 2018, the UK military lifted a ban on of the Regional Comprehensive Economic women serving in close combat ground roles, Partnership (RCEP), which was signed by China, clearing the way for them to serve in elite ASEAN countries, Japan, South Korea, Australia special forces. and New Zealand in November 2020.

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„„India withdrew from the RCEP largely because its previous incarnation, focusing on engagement of concerns it would open it up to Chinese not just with Southeast Asian countries but also goods amid an already wide trade imbalance those in the Pacific. with China, and the failure of the agreement zzThe main focus of the Act East policy is on to adequately open up to services. enhancing connectivity between India and ¾¾ASEAN’s Importance for China: South East Asia. €€ASEAN plays a key role in Chinese economic and Association of Southeast Asian Nations strategic interests. ¾¾About: €€The region straddles vital sea lanes of communication €€It is a regional grouping that promotes economic, that represent China’s access to the global market, political, and security cooperation. including vital imports of Middle Eastern oil. €€It was established in August 1967 in Bangkok, €€Economically entwined with China, the relatively Thailand with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration small nations of the region also offer ample (Bangkok Declaration) by the founding fathers of opportunities for China to advance its influence ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and weaken what Chinese strategists perceive Singapore and Thailand. as a US (Presence of US) engineered chain of €€Its chairmanship rotates annually, based on encirclement around the Chinese mainland. the alphabetical order of the English names of ¾¾ ASEAN and India: Member States. €€Traditionally the basis of India-ASEAN ties has been €€ASEAN countries have a total population of 650 trade and people-to-people ties due to shared million people and a combined Gross Domestic historical and cultural roots, a more recent and Product (GDP) of USD 2.8 trillion. It is India’s 4th urgent area of convergence has been balancing largest trading partner with about USD 86.9 China’s rise. billion in trade. th zzIn 2020, 17 ASEAN-India Virtual Summit ¾¾Members: was held. €€Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, th zzThe 8 East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Meeting (EAS-EMM) was also held in 2020. It and Vietnam. comprises the ten member states of the ASEAN, along with 8 other countries namely Australia, China, Japan, India, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Russia and the USA. €€Both India and ASEAN aim to establish a rules-based security architecture for peaceful development in the region, in contrast to China’s aggressive policies. €€Like India, several ASEAN members such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei have territorial disputes with China, the China factor does form an important component of the relationship. €€India in 2014 reinvigorated the Look East policy into Act East, with a more strategic outlook than

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Highlights zz Tulu Language

Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala. Tulu Language zzThis region is informally known as Tulu Nadu. There has been a demand for separate statehood Why in News for Tulu Nadu. The Tulu speakers, mainly in Karnataka and Kerala, €€As per the 2011 Census report, there are 18,46,427 have been requesting the governments to give it official Tulu-speaking people in India. language status and include it in the eighth schedule to €€The oldest available inscriptions in Tulu are from the Constitution. the period between 14th to 15th century AD. ¾¾In 2020, there was a demand to include Tulu in the €€Tulu was introduced as a language in school by new National Education Policy (NEP). the Karnataka Government a few years ago. ¾¾Tulu Art and Culture: Official Language or Languages of a State €€Tulu has a rich oral literature tradition with folk- ¾¾Part XVII of the Indian Constitution deals with the song forms like paddana, and traditional folk official language in Articles 343 to 351. theatre yakshagana. ¾¾Article 345 of the Constitution says “the Legislature €€Tulu also has an active tradition of cinema with of a State may by law adopt any one or more of around 5 to 7 Tulu language movies produced a year. the languages in use in the State or Hindi as the ¾¾ language or languages to be used for all or any of Case for Recognition: the official purposes of that State”. €€Article 29 of the Constitution: It deals with the “Protection of interests of minorities”. It states Eighth Schedule of the Constitution that any section of the citizens residing in any ¾¾The Constitutional provisions relating to the Eighth part of India having a distinct language, script or Schedule occur in Article 344 (1) and 351 of the culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve Constitution. the same. ¾¾The languages listed under Eighth Schedule are: €€Yuelu Proclamation: €€(1) Assamese, (2) Bengali, (3) Gujarati, (4) zzThe Yuelu Proclamation was adopted at the Hindi, (5) Kannada, (6) Kashmiri, (7) Konkani, first international conference on language (8) Malayalam, (9) Manipuri, (10) Marathi, (11) resources protection in Changsha, Central Nepali, (12) Oriya, (13) Punjabi, (14) Sanskrit, China’s Hunan province in 2018 by UNESCO (15) Sindhi, (16) Tamil, (17) Telugu, (18) Urdu (19) (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Bodo, (20) Santhali, (21) Maithili and (22) Dogri. Cultural Organization). ¾¾Languages are added through Constitutional zzIt calls upon the international community, Amendments. states, governments and non-governmental organizations, among others, to reach a Key Points consensus on the protection and promotion ¾¾About ‘Tulu’ Language: of linguistic diversity in the world. €€Tulu is a Dravidian language spoken mainly in two ¾¾Advantages of Recognition under Eighth Schedule: coastal districts Dakshina Kannada and Udupi of €€Recognition from the Sahitya Akademi.

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zzSahitya Akademi is also called India’s National the Legislative Assembly (MLA) could speak Tulu Academy of Letters, which preserves and in Parliament and State Assemblies, respectively. promotes literature contained in different €€Option to take competitive exams in Tulu including Indian languages. all-India competitive examinations like the Civil €€Translation of Tulu literary works into other Services exam. languages. €€Special funds from the Central government. €€Members of Parliament (MP) and Members of €€Teaching of Tulu in primary and high school.

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Highlights zz Project 75 India zz Recent Reforms in Defence Sector zz Positive Indigenisation List zz Innovations for Defence Excellence

€€One of the Largest ‘Make in India’ Projects: Project 75 India zzIt will serve to facilitate faster and more significant absorption of technology and create Why in News a tiered industrial ecosystem for submarine construction in India. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the issuance of a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the €€To Ensure Self-Reliance: construction of six conventional submarines under zzFrom a strategic perspective, this will help reduce Project-75I (India). current dependence on imports and gradually ¾¾RFP is a project announcement posted publicly by ensure greater self-reliance and dependability an organization indicating that bids for contractors of supplies from indigenous sources. to complete the project are sought. €€To Protect Indo-Pacific: zzThis is keeping in mind the rapid increase of Key Points nuclear submarine arsenal by People’s Liberation ¾¾About the Project: Army Navy (PLAN)(CHINA) and to protect the €€This project envisages indigenous construction of Indo-Pacific from future domination by the submarines equipped with the state-of-the-art Air adversary. Independent Propulsion system at an estimated ¾¾About 30-year Submarine Plan: cost of Rs. 43,000 crore. €€The Cabinet Committee on Security, in June 1999, €€Project 75 (I), approved in 2007, is part of the Indian had approved a 30-year submarine-building plan Navy’s 30 year Plan for indigenous submarine which included construction of 24 conventional construction. submarines indigenously by 2030. €€It will be the first under the strategic partnership €€P75I succeeded the P75 under which six diesel- model which was promulgated in 2017 to boost electric attack submarines of the Kalvari class, based indigenous defence manufacturing. on the Scorpene class, were being built at MDL zzThe strategic partnership model allows domestic (Mazagon Dock Limited) – the third submarine, defence manufacturers to join hands with INS Karanj, was commissioned in March 2021. leading foreign defence majors to produce €€Of the total 24 submarines to be built in India, six high-end military platforms to reduce import will be nuclear-powered. dependence. €€India has only one nuclear submarine, INS zzAcquisitions under the Strategic Partnership Arihant, at the moment. The INS Arighat, also a model refer to participation of private Indian nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, is to firms along with foreign OEM (Original be commissioned soon. Equipment Manufacturer) in ‘Make in India’ €€INS Chakra, a nuclear submarine, which is taken in defence. on lease from Russia, is believed to be on its way ¾¾Significance: back to the country of origin.

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Defence Acquisition Council zzNot only does the list recognise the potential of the local defence industry, it will also invigorate ¾¾DAC is the highest decision-making body in the impetus to domestic Research & Development Defence Ministry for deciding on new policies and by attracting fresh investment into technology capital acquisitions for the three services (Army, and manufacturing capabilities. Navy and Air Force) and the Indian Coast Guard. zzIt also provides an excellent opportunity for ¾¾The Minister of Defence is the Chairman of the , as Council. ‘start-ups’ Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will get a tremendous ¾¾It was formed, after the Group of Ministers recom- boost from this initiative. mendations on ‘Reforming the National Security ¾¾ System’, in 2001, post Kargil War (1999). Other Initiatives Taken to Boost Domestic Production of Defence Equipment: €€Increased Capital Acquisition Budget (CAB) for Positive Indigenisation List DomesticSector: The Ministry of Defence has decided to earmark around 64% of its modernisation Why in News funds under the capital acquisition budget for The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has notified the 2021-22, a sum of Rs 70,221 crore, for purchases second negative import list, now renamed as the ‘positive from the domestic sector. indigenisation list’ of 108 items. zzFor FY 2020-21, the capital budget allocation ¾¾The ‘First Negative Indigenisation’ List comprising for domestic vendors was made at 58%, an 101 items was notified in August 2020. amount of Rs. 52,000 crore. €€Defence Industrial Corridors: India has inaugurated Key Points two defence industrial corridors, one in Tamil ¾¾About the Second Positive Indigenisation List: Nadu and the other in Uttar Pradeshto boost the €€Procurement: All the 108 items will now be procured flagship “Make in India” programme that in turn from indigenous sources as per provisions given would attract investment as well as encourage in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. employment generation. €€Timeline: It is planned to be implemented zzThe Central government has increased the For- progressively with effect from December 2021 eign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the defence to December 2025. sector from 49 to 74% under automatic route and beyond 74% through the government route. €€Items Included: €€ : zzIt comprises complex systems, sensors, simulator, Corporatization of the Ordnance Factory Boards weapons and ammunitions like Helicopters, Next This was announced for better management, so Generation Corvettes, Airborne Early Warning that they can be listed on the stock market and and Control (AEW&C) systems, Tank Engines, people can buy their shares. Medium Power Radar for Mountains, MRSAM €€Defence India Startup Challenge: DISC aims at (Medium Range Surface to Air Missile) Weapon supporting Startups/MSMEs/Innovators to create Systems and many more such items to fulfil the prototypes and/or commercialize products/solutions requirements of Indian Armed Forces. in the area of National Defence and Security. €€Potential Benefits: zzIt has been launched by the Ministry of Defence in partnership with . zzIt will give a boost to indigenisation withactive Atal Innovation Mission participation of public and private sector for €€SRIJAN Portal: It is a one stop shop online portal fulfilling the twin objectives of achieving self- that provides access to the vendors to take up reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat) and promoting items for indigenization. defence exports. Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 zzImport substitution of ammunition which is a recurring requirement has been given special ¾¾It enables the notification of a List of Weapons or focus. Platforms that will be banned for import.

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¾¾It focuses on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in €€The appointment of India’s first Chief of Defence defence manufacturing and indigenization of the Staff (CDS) and creation of the Department of manufacturing prices. Military Affairs (DMA) were among the major ¾¾It also introduces several new ideas such as the need decisions taken by the Government. to incorporate artificial intelligence in platforms zzGeneral Bipin Rawat was appointed as the and systems, use of indigenous software in defence first CDS who also fulfilled the responsibilities equipment and ‘innovation’ by Start-ups and MSMEs of Secretary, DMA. as a new category of defence acquisition. €€The post of CDS was created to increase efficiency ¾¾It includes following procurement categories: Buy & coordination among the Armed Forces and (Indian – Indigenously Designed Developed and reduce duplication, while DMA was established Manufactured), Buy (Indian), Buy and Make (Indian), to ensure improved civil-military integration. Buy (Global - Manufacture in India) and Buy (Global). ¾¾Self-Reliance in Defence: €€ It increases the Indigenous Content (IC) requirement €€To promote ‘Make in India’ in the defence sector, a for all projects from 40% to 50% earlier, depending list of 101 defence items for which there would be on the category, to 50% to 60%. an embargo on the import was notified in August €€Only under procurement through Buy (Global), 2020, while Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 foreign vendors can have 30% IC from Indian was unveiled in September 2020. companies. €€There was a 10% budget increase in 2020-21 over the previous year. ¾¾Increased Defence Exports: €€The increased partnership with the private sector has led to a substantial rise in defence exports. €€The value of total defence exports rose from Rs 1,941 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 9,116 crore in 2019-20. Also, for the first time, India figured in the list of defence equipment exporting nations, as the exports expanded to more than 84 countries. ¾¾Defence Acquisitions: €€First five Rafale fighter aircraft arrived in India in July 2020 and several more since then, adding firepower to the arsenal of the Indian Air Force. ¾¾Reforming Defence R&D: Recent Reforms €€To promote innovation by young minds, five Young Scientists Laboratories of Defence Research and in Defence Sector Development Organisation (DRDO) were launched in 2020. Why in News €€DRDO has joined hands with the private sector in Recently, the Defence Minister released an E-booklet design & development and identified 108 Systems titled‘20 Reforms in 2020’ highlighting themajor reforms & Subsystems for the industry to design, develop undertaken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2020. and manufacture. ¾¾Digital Transformation: Key Points €€Directorate General Quality Assurance (DGQA) ¾¾Chief of Defence Staff & Department of Military started online Pre-Delivery inspection in May 2020 Affairs: to address security threats.

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€€The Armed Forces Tribunal began digital hearing for the first time in August 2020. Innovations for ¾¾Strengthening Border Infrastructure: Defence Excellence €€Reforms of processes and workflows within Border Roads Organisation (BRO) enabled it Why in News to achieve targets ahead of schedule, in some Recently, the Defence Minister has approved the instances. budgetary support of Rs. 498.8 crore to Innovations for €€World’s longest Atal tunnel above 10,000 feet, Defence Excellence (iDEX) challenge under the Defence at Rohtang on the Leh-Manali Highway was Innovation Organisation (DIO) for the next five years. inaugurated. ¾¾Participation of Women in Armed Forces: Key Points €€Ten streams of Indian Army were opened for ¾¾About: giving Permanent Commission to Short Service €€The iDEX initiative was launched by the Prime Commission (SSC) Women officers. Minister in April 2018. €€All Sainik Schools were thrown open for girl students €€It aims to achieve self - reliance and foster from academic session 2020-21. innovation and technology development in ¾¾Reforms in National Cadet Corps: Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries €€Expanding the reach of the National Cadet including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Corps (NCC) to remote locations was a major (MSMEs), start-ups, individual innovators, R&D announcement. institutes and academia. €€iDEX is funded and managed by the DIO, and €€It was decided to give preference to NCC cadets functions as the executive arm of DIO. in employment in Central Armed Police Forces from May 2020. zzDIO is a ‘not for profit’ company registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013. ¾¾Aid to Civil Administration during Covid-19: zzIts two founding members are Hindustan €€The Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces have Aeronautics Limited (HAL) & Bharat Electronics mobilised resources to aid the civil administration Limited (BEL) - Defence Public Sector Undertakings in the fight against Covid-19. (DPSUs). HAL and BEL are navratna companies. €€DRDO has set up several hospitals to treat Covid €€It will provide the engaging industries with patients across the states, passed on technology funding and other support to carry out Research expertise to the private sector for mass production & Development. of covid related medicines and equipment. zzSelf-reliance in manufacturing of defence ¾¾Help beyond Boundaries: equipment is a crucial factor for maintaining €€The Armed Forces extended a helping hand to the India’s strategic autonomy. countries in distress. Indian Navy mounted eight zzIndia’s arms imports fell 33% between 2011- relief missions during 2020-21. 15 and 2016-20, said a report released by €€Besides evacuating stranded Indians from Iran, Sri the Stockholm International Peace Research Lanka and Maldives under Vande Bharat Mission, Institute (SIPRI). Indian Naval ships provided Covid-19 medical relief €€iDEX has partnered with leading incubators in the to five countries. country to provide hand holding, technical support €€INS Airavat provided 270 MT food aid to Sudan, and guidance to the winners of iDEX challenges. Djibouti and Eritrea struck by natural calamities. ¾¾Other Related Initiatives: €€The Indian Coast Guard led the rescue operation €€Defence Industrial Corridors: to save the Sri Lanka coast from its biggest oil zzTo support the growth of the Defence sector and spill. enhance manufacturing capacity in the sector,

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two Defence Industrial Corridors are being set (MoD) has also notified a ‘positive indigeni- up in India, one in Uttar Pradeshand another sation list’ of 108 items. in Tamil Nadu. €€Artificial Intelligence in Defence: €€Strategic Partnership (SP) Model: zzN Chandrasekaran Task Force was set up in zzIt identifies a few Indian private companies 2018 to study implications of AI in national who would initially tie up with global Original security. Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to seek zzDefence Artificial Intelligence Project Agency technology transfers to set up domestic (DAIPA) was created in March, 2019. manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains. zzDAIPA aims for greater thrust on Artificial It is a part of Defence Acquisition Procedure Intelligence (AI) in Defence, formulation of an (DAP) 2020. AI roadmap for each Defence PSU and Ordnance „„Under DAP 2020, the Ministry of Defence Factory Board to develop AI-enable products.

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Note: www.drishtiIAS.com CURRENT AFFAIRS JUNE 2021 105 Miscellaneous

Highlights zz Global Liveability Index: EIU zz Saral Jeevan Bima: IRDAI zz 37th Anniversary of Operation Blue Star zz Padma Awards zz Operation Pangea XIV: Interpol zz Heritage Trees zz Nano Urea Liquid: IFFCO zz Dagmara Hydro-Electric Project: Bihar

Covid-19 pandemic, which allowed its society to Global Liveability Index: EIU remain open and the city to score strongly on a number of metrics including education, culture Why in News and environment. Auckland (New Zealand) has topped the Economist €€Damascus remains the world’s least liveable city, Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Liveability Index of 140 as the effects of the civil war in Syria continue to cities around the world. take their toll. €€Most of the previous ten least liveable cities Key Points remain in the bottom ten this year, including ¾¾About Global Liveability Index: Dhaka (Bangladesh) and Karachi (Pakistan) in €€The index takes into account more than 30 the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. qualitative and quantitative factors spanning €€However, there is a strong contingent of cities in five broad categories: stability (25%), healthcare the APAC region at the top of the rankings, with (20%), culture and environment (25%), education Osaka, Adelaide, Tokyo and Wellington rounding (10%), and infrastructure (20%). out the top five. €€Due to the pandemic, the EIU added new indicators zzApart from cities in New Zealand, Australia and such as stress on health-care resources as well as Japan, other cities in the Asia-Pacific region such restrictions around local sporting events, theatres, as Taipei (Taiwan) (33rd) and Singapore (34th) music concerts, restaurants and schools. have also performed well. €€Each factor in a city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, ¾¾Top 3 Liveable Cities: uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. €€Auckland (New Zealand), Osaka (Japan), Adelaide ¾¾General Scenario: (Australia). €€Overall, the Covid-19 pandemic caused liveability ¾¾Bottom 3 Liveable Cities: to decline - as cities experienced lockdowns and €€Damascus (Syria), Lagos (Nigeria), Port Moresby significant strains on their healthcare system. (Papua New Guinea). This led to an unprecedented level of change in the rankings, with many of the cities that were previously ranked as the most liveable tumbling. 37th Anniversary zzAustria’s Vienna, number one in both 2018 of Operation Blue Star and 2019, has completely dropped out of the top 10 after being heavily affected by Covid-19, and now ranks 12. Why in News €€Auckland rose to the top of the ranking owing Recently, the 37th anniversary of Operation Blue Star to its successful approach in containing the was observed by the country.

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Key Points €€Hence, Operation Blue Star was launched between 1st June and 6th June 1984, with the aim of getting ¾¾Operation Blue Star: rid of Bhindranwale and his demands. €€It is a code name given to an Indian Military Operation to remove the separatists who were hidden inside the Golden Temple at Amritsar on Operation Pangea XIV: Interpol 5th June 1984. €€The operation was ordered by the then Prime Why in News Minister Indira Gandhi, primarily to take control Recently, the International Criminal Police Organi- of the Harmandir Sahib Complex in Amritsar zation (Interpol) through its Operation Pangea XIV (popularly known as the Golden Temple). targeted the sale of fake medicines and products online. €€The Indian military entered into the premises ¾¾More than 1.10 lakh web links, including websites of the temple to drive out the Sikh extremist and online marketplaces, were taken down in the religious leader, Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and operation. his armed followers. €€The operation hadtwo components to it, Operation Key Points Metal which was the invasion on the temple ¾¾About: complex and Operation Shop which was confined €€Operation Pangea, is a well-established international to the countryside of the state. effort of Interpol to disrupt the online sale of €€This Operation helped in eliminating Khalistani counterfeit and illicit health products. Just as terrorism. importantly, Pangea works to raise awareness of zzIt resulted in the death of Bhindranwale. the risks associated with buying medicines from unregulated websites. zzFew months post-Operation Blue Star, Indira zzThe first Operation Pangea was Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards, conducted in 2008. followed by severe anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. €€The current operation (14th) involved the police, ¾¾Background: customs and health regulatory authorities of 92 €€Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale wanted the Indian countries. It was coordinated by Interpol. Indian government to pass the Anandpur Resolution, agencies also participated in the operation. and thereby agree to the formation ofa separate zzCentral Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that is state of Khalistan for Sikhs. the nodal body for the Interpol in the country. €€Since 1982, this radical leader of Sikhism had ¾¾Significance: managed to gain enough support for his cause €€The online sale of illicit medicines continues to pose and by mid-1983 had set up a base inside the a threat to public safety, which is why operations Golden Temple complex, with ammunition and such as Pangea remain vital in combating this his followers. global health menace. National Security Guard €€Criminals were continuing to cash in on the huge ¾¾It is a counter-terrorism unit that formally came into demand for personal protection and hygiene existence in 1986 by an act of Parliament- ‘National products due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Security Guard Act, 1986’. €€Its headquarters is located in Manesar, Gurugram. Nano Urea Liquid: IFFCO ¾¾The idea behind raising such force came in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, Akshardham Why in News Temple attack and the assassination of former PM Recently, the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Indira Gandhi, for combating terrorist activities with Limited (IFFCO) introduced the world’s first Nano Urea a view to protect states against internal disturbances. Liquid for farmers across the world.

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Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited zzIt will boost a balanced nutrition program by reducing the excess use of Urea application ¾¾About: in the soil and will make the crops stronger, €€ It is one of India’s biggest cooperative societies healthier and protect them from lodging effect. which is wholly owned by Indian Cooperatives. „„Lodging is the bending over of the stems €€Founded in 1967 with just 57 cooperatives, near ground level of grain crops, which today it is an amalgamation of over 36,000 makes them very difficult to harvest, and Indian Cooperatives with diversified business can dramatically reduce yield. interests ranging from General Insurance to €€Improves Environment: Rural Telecom apart from its core business of manufacturing and selling fertilisers. zzIt will also have a huge positive impact on the quality of underground water, a very significant ¾¾Objective: reduction in global warming with an impact on €€ To enable Indian farmers to prosper through climate change and sustainable development. timely supply of reliable, high quality agricultural €€Increase Farmers’ Income: inputs and services in an environmentally sustainable manner and to undertake other zzIt is easy on the pocket of farmers and will be activities to improve their welfare. effective in increasing farmers’ income. It will also significantlybring down the cost of logistics Key Points and warehousing. ¾¾About: €€It is a nutrient (liquid) to provide nitrogen to Saral Jeevan Bima: IRDAI plants as an alternative to the conventional urea. Why in News €€It is developed to replace conventional ureaand it can curtail the requirement of the same by at Saral Jeevan Bima, launched by IRDAI (Insurance least 50%. Regulatory and Development Authority of India) in 2020, zzIt contains 40,000 mg/L of nitrogen in a 500 has become a popular term life insurance product among ml bottle which is equivalent to the impact masses. of nitrogen nutrient provided by one bag of ¾¾IRDAI is an autonomous body that was established in conventional urea. 1999 to regulate and develop the insurance industry. €€Conventional urea is effective 30-40% in delivering Term Life Insurance nitrogen to plants, while the effectiveness of the ¾¾Term life insurance guarantees payment of a stated Nano Urea Liquid is over 80%. death benefit to the insured’s beneficiaries if the zzIts has been tested in over effectiveness 11,000 insured person dies during a specified term. farmers’ fields for 94 crops like rice and wheat. ¾¾These policies have no value other than the zzAn average has been 8% increase in yield guaranteed death benefit and feature no savings witnessed. component as found in a whole life insurance product. ¾¾Developed At: ¾¾Term life premiums are based on a person’s age, €€It has been indigenously developed at Nano health, and life expectancy. Biotechnology Research Centre, Kalol, Gujrat in line with Atmanirbhar Bharat and Atmanirbhar Krishi. Key Points zzIndia is dependent on imports to meet its urea ¾¾IRDAI in October 2020 had mandated all life insurers requirements. to launch the Saral Jeevan Bima plans from 1st ¾¾Significance: January 2021. €€Improves Plant Nutrition: ¾¾Saral Jeevan Bima is a regulator-mandated standard zzIt has been found effective and efficient for term life insurance plan offering basic protection to plant nutrition which increases the production people who are self-employed or belong to a lower with improved nutritional quality. income category.

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¾¾It is a pure term life insurance product that can zzPadma Vibhushan (for exceptional and be purchased by people in the age group of 18 distinguished service), to 65 years and will have a policy term of 5 to 40 zzPadma Bhushan (distinguished service of years. higher-order) and ¾¾ The sum assured for the term life insurance policy zzPadma Shri (distinguished service). ranges from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh (in multiples of €€Padma Vibhushan is highest in the hierarchy of Rs 50,000). Padma Awards followed by Padma Bhushan and €€However, the insurer will have the option of Padma Shri. providing a sum assured beyond Rs 25 lakh. ¾¾Disciplines: ¾¾It provides for payment of sum assured in lump sum €€The Awards are given in various disciplines/ fields to the nominee in case of the life assured’s unfortunate of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, death during the policy term. science and engineering, trade and industry, ¾¾ There are no exclusions, other than suicides. medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service etc. Padma Awards ¾¾Eligibility: €€All persons without distinction of race, occupation, Why in News position or sex are eligible for these Awards. Online nominations/recommendations for thePadma ¾¾Selection Process: Awards to be announced on the occasion of Republic €€Padma Awards Committee: Day, 2022 are open. zzThe Awards are conferred on the recommenda- ¾¾In 2021, a total of 119 Padma awards were conferred, tions made by the Padma Awards Committee, including 7 padma vibhushan, 10 padma bhushan which is constituted by the Prime Minister and 102 padma shri. every year. €€Awarded by President: zzThe awards are presented by the President of India usually in the month of March/April every year.

Bharat Ratna ¾¾It is the highest civilian award of the country. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/ performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. Key Points ¾¾It is treated on a different footing from Padma Award. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made ¾¾Background: by the Prime Minister to the President of India. €€The Padma Awards are announced annually on ¾¾The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to Republic Day (26th January). a maximum of three in a particular year. €€Instituted in 1954, it is one of the highest civilian honours of India. ¾¾Objective: Heritage Trees €€To recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service Why in News is involved. The Maharashtra Cabinet has passed an action plan ¾¾Categories: to protect and preserve trees older than 50 years in urban €€The Awards are given in three categories: areas by terming them heritage trees.

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Key Points Kosi River ¾¾Concept of Heritage Tree: ¾¾The Kosi is a trans-boundary river which flows €€Few important criteria for considering a tree as a through Tibet, Nepal and India. “heritage tree” are: size, shape, rarity, aesthetical/ ¾¾It has its source in Tibet that includes the world’s historical values, association with historic person, highest upland; it then drains a large part of Nepal place or even myths. before emerging onto the Gangetic plains. €€A certain species need not be native to an area ¾¾Its three major tributaries, the Sun Kosi, Arun and for this tag. Tamur meet at one point just upstream of a 10 km ¾¾Components of Plan: gorge cut through the Himalayan foothills. €€The provisions included in the plan are the concept of ¾¾The river crosses into northern Bihar, India where heritage trees and a plan of action for conservation, it branches into distributaries before joining the method to define the age of the tree, rules to be Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district. followed before hacking trees etc. ¾¾Its unstable nature has been attributed to course €€Compensatory Plantation: changes and the heavy silt it carries during the zzIt will include planting the number of trees monsoon season, and flooding in India has extreme equivalent to the age of trees to be cut. effects. zzThe saplings need to be six to eight feet in €€The Kosi carries the maximum amount of silt height while planting and they will undergo and sand after the Brahmaputra in India. geo-tagging with seven years of caring period. ¾¾It is also known as the “Sorrow of Bihar” as the annual zzThe option ofmonetary compensation has also floods affect about 21,000 km2 of fertile agricultural been given, instead of compensatory plantation. lands thereby disturbing the rural economy. €€State-level Tree Authority: The authority will be formed to protect and preserve heritage trees. zzTree Census: It will ensure that the tree census is conducted afterevery five years. zzLand Use: Ensuring that 33% of government land is used for tree plantation.

Dagmara Hydro- Electric Project: Bihar

Why in News Recently, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between National Hydro Power Corpor- ation (NHPC)Limited and Bihar State Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (BSHPC) for Implementation of Dagmara Hydro-Electric Project, Supaul, Bihar. Key Points ¾¾NHPC is a Category-A Miniratna Company under the ¾¾About: Ministry of Power, in the field of Hydropower. €€The project is located near village Dagmara on €€It is the largest organisation for hydropower the right bank and Simri on the left bank, about development in India, currently, NHPC has 24 22.5 km downstream of Bhimnagar barrage on operational power stations with a total installed Kosi river. capacity of 7071 Mega Watt (MW). €€It is a Run-of-the-River scheme. Run-of-river

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hydro projects use the natural downward flow €€The estimatedcost of construction of this project of rivers and micro turbine generators to capture is at Rs. 2478.24 crore. the kinetic energy carried by water. ¾¾Significance: zzTypically water is taken from the river at a high €€It will be a landmark project in the power sector point and diverted to a channel, pipeline, or scenario of Bihar as far as green power is concerned. pressurised pipeline (or penstock). €€Apart from generating clean and green power, €€The project will have the total capacity of generating the execution will boost the socio-economic and 130 MW energy, in which 17 units of 7.65 MW infrastructure development in the area and shall will be installed for power generation. also create employment opportunities.

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