Context: Recently, the Odisha government announced that it will give a facelift to the 11th century Lingaraj Temple, akin to its pre-350-year structural status.

Lingaraj Temple

• Lingaraj temple at Bhubaneswar, Odisha is an 11th-century temple.
• It is a symbol of Kalinga style architecture.
• Lingaraj Temple was built by the King Jajati Keshari, who belonged to Soma Vansh.
• The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
• The balance and proportions of the various parts of the temple and the elegance of its surface treatment make it one of the crowning achievements of the Kalinga Style of Architecture.
• The Lingaraja temple faces east and is built of sandstone and laterite. It is believed that the original deity of the Lingaraj temple was under a Mango tree (Ekamra) and that is why is location was called Ekamra Khestra. 
• The present temple was probably built by the rulers of the Somavamshi dynasty as a Shaiva temple but with the arrival of the Vaishnavite Ganga dynasty, the temple was remodelled and elements of Vaishnavism were inculcated in it. 
• Thus, the temple deity came to be known of Harihara (Hari=Vishnu, Hara=Shiv), a mixed form of Shiva and Vishnu. The consort of HariHara is Bhubneshari.
• The main entrance is located in the east, while there are small entrances in the north and south. 
• The temple is built in the Deula style that has four components namely, vimana (structure containing the sanctum), jagamohana (assembly hall), natamandira (festival hall) and bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings). 
• The dance hall was associated with the raising prominence of the devadasi system that existed during those times. The various units from the Hall of offering to the tower of the sanctum increase in height.

Context: Recently Pandit Jasraj, one of the world's most prominent Indian classical vocalists, passed away.

• He was the foremost exponent of the Mewati gharana, who moved away from Dhrupad and brought an element of devotional singing (Bhakti rasa) to khayal by employing harkats and murkis that were associated with light classical music.
• Khayal is a musical form based on the elaboration of a Raga with lyrical composition consisting of two stanzas.
• The Padma Vibhushan awardee, was known for his mastery over shuddha madhyam notes and his ability to play with  rare ragas like Durga, Jog and Abeer Todi with equal felicity.  
• Recently, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) also named an asteroid after him, formally known as 2006 VP32, as Panditjasraj.

Hindustani classical music

• About: One of the two distinct schools of Indian Classical Music practiced mainly in North India (The other school - Carnatic music - practiced mainly in Southern India).
• Origin: While the historical roots of both the music types belong to the Bharata’s Natyasastra, divergence is witnessed later in the 14th century. 
• The Hindustani branch of music focuses more on the musical structure and the possibilities of improvisation in it. 
• The Hindustani branch adopted a scale of Shudha Swara Saptaka or the ‘Octave of Natural notes’.
• Descent: Most of the Hindustani musicians trace their descent to Tansen.
• Elements: The Hindustani classical has ancient Hindu tradition, Vedic philosophy and Persian tradition as its main elements. 
• Musical instruments used: Are Tabla, Sarangi, Sitar, Santoor, Flute and violin.
• Based on the Raga system: The Raga is a melodic scale comprising basic seven notes.
• Vocal-centric: The major vocal forms associated with Hindustani classical music are the khayal, Ghazal, dhrupad, dhammar, Tarana and thumri.
• Main styles of singing: There are 10 main styles in Hindustani music like the Dhrupad, Khayal, Tappa, Chaturanga, Tarana, Sargam, Thumri and Ragasagar, Hori and Dhamar.

About Gharana

• Gharana in Hindustani music of India, is a community of performers who share a distinctive musical style that traces to a particular instructor or region or ancestry.
• It includes not only peculiarities of performance and repertoire but also a broader ideology of music, aesthetics, and pedagogy.
• The style must be passed down through at least three generations before it and its practitioners may be considered a gharana.
• Gharanas exist for both vocal and instrumental traditions as well as for dance.
• The gharana concept gained currency only in the nineteenth century when the royal patronage enjoyed by performers weakened. Performers were then compelled to move to urban centres. To retain their respective identities, they associated themselves with the names of the regions they hailed from.
• Some of the gharanas well known for singing are: Agra, Gwalior, Mewati, Bhendibazar, Jaipur (Khyal Singing); Mathura, Rampur, Darbhanga (Dhrupad Singing); Banaras, Lucknow, Patiala (Thumri Singing).

Context: Exports of agricultural commodities from March to June 2020 increased by 23.24% compared to the corresponding period in 2019.
Key Points

• As per WTO’s Trade Statistics, the share of India’s agricultural exports and imports in the world agriculture trade in 2017 was 2.27% and 1.90%, respectively.
• Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, India continued to export.
• Agricultural exports as a percentage of India’s agricultural GDP has increased from 9.4 % in 2017-18 to 9.9 % in 2018-19.
• The agricultural imports as a percentage of India’s agricultural GDP have declined from 5.7 % to 4.9 % indicating exportable surplus and decreased dependence on import of agricultural products in India.

Concerns

• India has made giant strides in agriculture since independence, both in production and exports.
• While India ranks among the top nations in the production of many agricultural goods, it does not figure in the top when it comes to agri exports.
• For example, India holds the second rank in the world wheat production but ranks 34th in export. Similarly, despite being world No. 3 in the production of vegetables, the export ranking of India is only 14th. The same is the case for fruits, where India is the second-largest producer in the world but the export ranking is 23rd.

Interventions by the DAC&FW

• The Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW) has prepared a comprehensive action plan/strategy towards the promotion of agri trade.
• A detailed exploration of data and issues of pre-production, production, and post-harvest has been undertaken to evolve an end to end approach for developing a holistic strategy.
• An analysis of product groups and specific commodities has been done with regard to the present status of production & exports, strengths, challenges and thereafter interventions have been identified after consultations with stakeholders.
• The twofold approach addresses boosting Agri Export with emphasis on value addition and focussed action plan for Import Substitution. The interventions so identified have been converted into a timed action plan.

A few focus areas of agri exports are

• Fast evolving niche markets of wellness food/health-conscious food/nutraceuticals.
• Development of “Brand India” in campaign mode to help penetration into new foreign markets and of new products which automatically translates into higher value realisation.
• Gulf countries have been identified as a focus destination.

In Horticulture

• This is a growing sub-sector.
• India holds the 2nd position in the production of fruits and vegetables.
• It also exports fruits and vegetables worth more than Rs5000 crore annually.
• Grapes occupy the premier position in fresh fruit exports followed by Mango, Pomegranate, Banana, and Oranges. In the fresh vegetable export basket, Onions, Mixed Vegetables, Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Green Chillies are the major items.
• However, India’s share in the world trade of fruits and vegetables in minuscule. There is a huge potential in this area.

Context: Recently, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has decided to set up a National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to conduct a common preliminary examination for various recruitments in the central government.

Recruitment Reform - a major boon for the youth 

• At present, candidates seeking government jobs have to appear for separate examinations conducted by multiple recruiting agencies for various posts, for which similar eligibility conditions have been prescribed.  
• Candidates have to pay fee to multiple recruiting agencies and also have to travel long distances for appearing in various exams.  
• These multiple recruitment examinations are a burden on the candidates, as also on the respective recruitment agencies, involving avoidable/repetitive expenditure, law and order/security related issues and venue related problems.  
• On an average, 2.5 crore to 3 crore candidates appear in each of these examinations.  
• A common eligibility Test would enable these candidates to appear once and apply to any or all of these recruitment agencies for the higher level of examination. This would indeed be a boon to all the candidates.

About National Recruitment Agency (NRA) 

• A multi-agency body called the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) will conduct a Common Eligibility Test (CET) to screen/shortlist candidates for the Group B and C (non-technical) posts.  
• NRA will have representatives of Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance/Department of Financial Services, the SSC, RRB & IBPS.  
• It is envisioned that the NRA would be a specialist body bringing the state-of-the-art technology and best practices to the field of Central Government recruitment. 

Key Features
Access to Examination Centres 

• Examination Centres in every District of the country would greatly enhance access to the candidates located in far-flung areas.  
• Special focus on creating examination infrastructure in the 117 Aspirational Districts would go a long way in affording access to candidates at a place nearer to where they reside.  
• The benefits in terms of cost, effort, safety and much more would be immense. The proposal will not only ease access to rural candidates, it will also motivate the rural candidates residing in the far-flung areas to take the examination and thereby, enhance their representation in Central Government jobs.  
• Taking job opportunities closer to the people is a radical step that would greatly enhance ease of living for the youth. 

Major Relief to poor Candidates 

• Presently, the candidates have to appear in multiple examinations conducted by multiple agencies.   
• Apart from the examination fees, candidates have to incur additional expenses for travel, boarding, lodging and other such.  
• A single examination would reduce the financial burden on candidates to a large extent. 

Women candidates to benefit greatly 

• Women candidates especially from rural areas face constraints in appearing in multiple examinations as they have to arrange for transportation and places to stay in places that are far away.  
• They sometimes have to find suitable persons to accompany them to these Centres that are located far away.  
• The location of test centres in every District would greatly benefit candidates from rural areas in general and women candidates in particular. 

Bonanza for Candidates from Rural Areas 

• Given the financial and other constraints, the candidates from rural background have to make a choice as to which examination they want to appear in.   
• Under the NRA, the candidates by appearing in one examination will get an opportunity to compete for many posts.   
• NRA will conduct the first-level /Tier I Examination which is the stepping stone for many other selections.

CET Score to be valid for three years, no bar on attempts 

• The CET score of the candidate shall be valid for a period of three years from the date of declaration of the result.   
• The best of the valid scores shall be deemed to be the current score of the candidate.   
• There shall be no restriction on the number of attempts to be taken by a candidate to appear in the CET subject to the upper age limit.  
• Relaxation in the upper age limit shall be given to candidates of SC/ST/OBC and other categories as per the extant policy of the Government.  
• This would go a long way in mitigating the hardship of candidates who spend a considerable amount of time, money and effort preparing and giving these examinations every year.  

Standardised Testing 

• NRA shall conduct a separate CET each for the three levels of graduate, higher secondary (12th pass) and the matriculate (10th pass) candidates for those non-technical posts to which recruitment is presently carried out by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).   
• Based on the screening done at the CET score level, final selection for recruitment shall be made through separate specialised Tiers (II, III etc) of examination which shall be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies.  
• The curriculum for this test would be common as would be the standard.  
• This would greatly ease the burden of candidates who are at present required to prepare for each of the examinations separately as per different curriculum. 

Scheduling Tests and choosing Centres 

• Candidates would have the facility of registering on a common portal and give a choice of Centres. Based on availability, they would be allotted Centres.  
• The ultimate aim is to reach a stage wherein candidates can schedule their own tests at Centres of their choice. 

Outreach activities by NRA
Multiple languages 

• The CET would be available in a number of languages. This would greatly facilitate people from different parts of the country to take the exam and have an equal opportunity of being selected. 

Scores – access to multiple recruitment agencies 

• Initially the scores would be used by the three major recruitment agencies.  
• However, over a period of time it is expected that other recruitment agencies in the Central Government would adopt the same.  
• Further, it would be open for other agencies in the public as well as private domain to adopt it if they so choose.  
• Thus, in the long run, the CET score could be shared with other recruiting agencies in the Central Government, State Governments/Union Territories, Public Sector Undertaking and Private Sector.  
• This would help such organizations in saving costs and time spent on recruitment. 

Shortening the recruitment cycle 

• A single eligibility test would significantly reduce the recruitment cycle.  
• Some Departments have indicated their intention to do away with any second level test and go ahead with recruitment on the basis of CET scores, Physical Tests and Medical examination.  
• This would greatly reduce the cycle and benefit a large section of youth. 

Financial Outlay 

• The Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 1517.57 crore for the National Recruitment Agency (NRA).  
• The expenditure will be undertaken over a period of three years. Apart from setting up the NRA, costs will be incurred for setting up examination infrastructure in the 117 Aspirational Districts. 

Context: As many as 6.1 million young people (15-24 years) may lose jobs in India in 2020 if the containment of the virus takes six months (roughly till September), says a report by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Labour Organisation (ILO).

• India will be followed by Pakisan, which will see 2.3 million youth losing jobs, said the report, titled ‘Tackling the Covid-19 youth employment crisis in Asia and the Pacific'.

About the Report

• The report is based on a regional assessment by the ‘Global Survey on Youth and Covid-19’, whose estimates were arrived at based on available unemployment data in different countries.
• The report said that in India, two-thirds of firm-level apprenticeships and three quarters of internships were completely disrupted during the pandemic.
• The unemployment rate in India will rise to as much as 32.5 per cent, but it will be higher in Sri Lanka, at 37.8 per cent.
• Construction and farm sector workers account for the majority of job losses in India.

Global Scenario

• Overall, 14.8 million younsters will suffer job cuts in 13 countries in the region of Asia and the Pacific.
• Employment prospects of the young in Asia and the Pacific have been severely challenged due to the pandemic, most vulnerable youth (15–24 years) will be hit harder than adults (25 and older) in the immediate crisis.
• Even before the Covid-19 crisis, youth in Asia and the Pacific faced challenges in the labour market, resulting in high unemployment rates and large shares of youth excluded from both school and work.

Tackling Solution

• The report calls on governments in the region to adopt urgent, large-scale and targeted measures to generate jobs for the youth, keep education and training on track, and minimise future scarring of more than 660 million young people in the region.
• Self-employment should be encouraged more with introduction of liability free loans and government assistance for funding.
• Incubation centres need to be promoted to cultivate original business ideas that will be financially viable.
• Better irrigation facilities, better farming equipment, dissemination of knowledge regarding multiple crop rotation and crop management should be focused on.

Context: Recently, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has termed the current minimum wage fixing criteria in the Draft Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2020 as ambiguous.
Background

• On 7th July 2020, the Central government published the Draft Code on Wages (Central) Rules, 2020 in the Official Gazette and placed it in the public domain inviting objections and suggestions.

Key Points
Fixation of the Minimum Wage

• Number of Consumption Units: The Wage Code provides for the fixation of the minimum wage keeping in view the standard working class family, the equivalent of 3 adult consumption units.
• The assumption that a standard working class family consists just of 3 adult consumption units is questionable.
• This number has been arrived at by counting the male worker as 1 consumption unit, his wife as 0.8 consumption unit and two children as 0.6 consumption units each.
• Such an assumption about the food requirements of the members of a family seems flawed. Furthermore, families with dependent elders are not considered.
• Expenses: The minimum wage under the code has been fixed by considering the estimate of expenses incurred towards food, clothing, shelter, fuel, electricity, children's education and medical requirements. It also includes expenses on contingencies and miscellaneous items.
• However, the criteria prescribed for the fixation of the minimum wage have not taken into consideration all the expenses incurred to meet the minimum needs of a family in the present day.
• For instance, the expenses incurred towards transport, mobile phone bills and internet connection bills have not been considered at all.
• Clothing: The clothing requirement at 66 metres of cloth per year per standard working class family is unrealistically low.
• It also does not take into consideration the additional clothing requirements of people in cold regions.
• Housing: The housing rent expenditure will be factored at 10% of the expenditure on food and clothing, which is unrealistic considering that the rent towards decent housing for a family in and around metropolitan areas will amount to at least Rs. 5000 per month.
• Basis of Fixation of Wages: The fixation of minimum wages under the draft code has been kept on a day basis.
• However, trade union leaders have opined that fixation of wages on a day basis could disadvantage workers when compared to the fixation of minimum wages on a monthly basis.

Fixation of Floor Wage

• The Code on Wages, 2020 introduces the concept of a floor wage, which empowers the central government to fix floor wages taking into account the minimum living standards of workers.
• The floor wage is a baseline wage below which minimum wages cannot be fixed by state governments.
• The Wage Code permits the fixation of different floor level wages for different geographical areas. However, this has given rise to the fear of flight of capital from areas where the wage is higher to areas where the wage is lower.
• There is also fear that it will lead to fixation of low wages by state governments in a bid to attract greater investments thus depressing the minimum wage.
• Also, the wage rules do not outline the exact criteria and methods for fixation of floor wage rates by the Central Government.

Suggestions

• Stating the exact methods of fixation of floor wage. This would enable the setting of the floor wage at an appropriate level after the wage code comes into effect.
• Fixing the periodicity of revision of the minimum wage. Of the two components of the minimum wage — basic wage and dearness allowance — the paper suggests revision of the basic wage every five years, a part which is missing in the proposed minimum wage rules.
• Refining the rules and suggesting relying on the evidence-based approach by holding consultations with representative organizations of workers and employers.

Context:Recently, the Reserve Bank of India released a national strategy for financial education to be implemented in the next five years.
About the Strategy

• The NSFE for the period 2020-2025, the second one after the 2013-18 NSFE, has been prepared by the National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) in consultation with all the Financial Sector Regulators (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA.
• Other stakeholders include (DFIs, SROs, IBA, and NPCI) under the aegis of the Technical Group on Financial Inclusion and Financial Literacy (TGFIFL) under the Chairmanship of Deputy Governor, RBI.

 Key recommendations

• The strategy recommends the adoption of a multi-stakeholder approach to achieve financial well-being of Indians.

The document has recommended a ‘5 C’ approach for dissemination of financial education in the country. These include an emphasis on:

• Content: Financial Literacy content for various sections of population.
• Capacity: Develop the capacity and ‘Code of Conduct’ for financial education providers.
• Community: Evolve community led approaches for disseminating financial literacy in a sustainable manner.
• Communication: Use technology, media and innovative ways of communication for dissemination of financial education messages.
• Collaboration: Streamline efforts of other stakeholders for financial literacy.

 Other objectives

• The strategic objective is also towards improving usage of digital financial services in a safe and secure manner; as well as bringing awareness about rights, duties and avenues for grievance redressal.
• To achieve the vision of creating a financially aware and empowered India, certain strategic objectives have been laid down including:
• Inculcating financial literacy concepts among various sections of the population through financial education to make it an important life skill

Encouraging active savings behaviour and developing credit discipline.

Additional Information
Financial literacy

• According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD), it is defined as a combination of financial awareness, knowledge, skills, attitude, and behaviour necessary to make sound financial decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial well-being.

Financial Education

• It is defined as the process by which financial consumers/investors improve their understanding of financial products, concepts and risks and through information, instruction and/or objective advice, develop the skills and confidence to become more aware of financial risks and opportunities, to make informed choices, to know where to go for help and to take other effective actions to improve their financial well-being.

Context: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) actions over the past few months are guided by multiple considerations.
Key Points
Slew of measures taken to arrest economic slowdown and address the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Inflation and growth management
• Debt management
• Currency management

These measures have exposed the limitations of and the inherent contradictions in the central banking framework in India.

Monetary policy function of RBI and the limitation

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is guided by the goal of maintaining inflation at 4 plus/minus 2 percent.
• Issue associated: At the current juncture, should the MPC be driven by growth considerations or should short-term inflation concerns dominate?

Problem of Growth and inflation

• Recently, the MPC has attached more importance to reviving growth and has lowered the benchmark repo rate by 250 basis points.
• However, despite dire growth prospects, it chose to maintain the status quo, which was driven (in part) by elevated inflation which continues to average above the upper threshold of the inflation targeting framework.

Uncertainty over trajectory of inflation
Uncertainty regarding impact of COVID-19:

• Inflationary in the short run (retail inflation is elevated largely due to supply dislocations).
• Disinflationary over the medium term (with demand falling).
• Supply dislocations and disruptions:The current rise in inflation is mainly driven by supply-chain dislocations owing to the lockdowns.
• Implication: It means spurt in retail inflation will be temporary, and it will begin to trend lower as these disruptions ebb.
• Disconnect between the wholesale and consumer price index: Since April, while WPI has been in negative territory, CPI has been elevated, indicating excess supply or low demand at the producer or wholesale level but excess demand or low supply at the retail or consumer level.
• No firm projection of future inflation by MPC: Though the committee members are basing their decisions on some expectation of future inflation and growth, these should have been publicly disclosed.

Inherent contradictions between the MPC’s operations, and the RBI’s debt and currency management functions:

• As manager of the government debt: The RBI’s debt management functions have run up against its currency management functions.
• Responsibility: RBI is tasked with ensuring that the government’s borrowing programme sails through smoothly.
• Steps taken: Operation twist, which involve the RBI buying longer-dated government bonds, while simultaneously selling an equivalent amount of shorter-dated securities — pushing down long-term Gsec yields, and exerting upward pressure on short-term yields as a consequence.
• Contradiction: RBI ended up doing exactly the opposite of what the MPC was trying to achieve by cutting short term rates.

RBI’s interventions in the currency market

• Responsibility:To prevent the rupee from appreciating.
• Contradiction:It constrained its ability to carry out open market operations as these would have led to further liquidity injections.

Road Ahead

• Develop a clear strategy regarding its responsibilities.
• Look beyond the current spurt in inflation: test the limits of both conventional and unconventional monetary policy.
• Need for a further Monetary policy easing: It will be helpful as uncertainty remains over whether Covid having a deflationary or inflationary impact on the Indian economy in the medium term.

Context: Recently, the government has extended the scope of the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0 to provide greater flexibility to state-owned banks in purchasing bonds and Commercial Papers (CPs) of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).
Background

• The PCGS was announced in July 2019, allowing public sector banks to purchase high-rated (BBB+ or above) pooled assets from financially sound NBFCs and Housing Finance Companies (HFCs).
• A pool of assets is basically a securitisation of loan portfolio i.e. conversion of a loan into a marketable security, typically for the purpose of raising cash by selling them to other investors.
• These are sold by NBFCs/HFCs to banks in return for an advance payment. NBFCs/HFCs get the much needed money and banks get the interest paying assets.
• Credit ratings is an analysis of the credit risk associated with a financial instrument or a financial entity. These range from AAA to C and D.
• As a part of the Aatmanirbhar initiative, the scheme was extended in May 2020 (PCGS 2.0) to cover primary market issuance of bonds/CPs by NBFCs, HFCs and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) with low credit ratings.
• The Centre provided 20% first loss sovereign guarantee to public sector banks for purchase of bonds/CPs, resulting in liquidity infusion of Rs. 45,000 crore into the system.
• The scheme covered papers with ratings of AA and below, including unrated papers, aimed at providing access to fresh liquidity support to non-bank lenders.

Latest Extension

• The Scheme has been extended for three months, giving public sector banks time till 19th November 2020 to build their portfolios of bonds and CPs from non-banking financial institutions.
• Further, the government has allowed banks to invest upto 50% of total investments under the Scheme in AA and AA- rated bonds.
• This decision was taken as the earlier limit for such investments at 25% was almost met.

Criticism

• The latest announcement is a step towards increased funding for bigger NBFCs which have higher ratings, while the actual objective was to provide greater funding to small and medium NBFCs.
• Less than 100 NBFCs have been covered under the scheme as a majority of small and medium NBFCs turn to term loans, instead of raising funds via bonds or CPs.

Additional Facts

• Bonds: Borrowers issue bonds to raise money from investors willing to lend them money.
• Commercial Paper: It is a commonly used type of unsecured, short-term debt instrument issued by corporations, typically used for meeting the short-term liabilities.
• Primary Market: The primary market is where companies issue a new security, not previously traded on any stock exchange. Securities issued through a primary market can include stocks, corporate or government bonds, notes and bills.
• The secondary market is where investors buy and sell securities they already own.

Context: Recently, Women of village in Rewa district of Madshya Pradesh were given guns under National Rural Livelihood Mission for protecting their homes.
About National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)

• National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) – Aajeevika was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India in June 2011.
• The Mission aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms of the rural poor, enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services. 
• In November 2015, the program was renamed Deendayal Antayodaya Yojana (DAY-NRLM).
• The programme is supported partially by the World Bank.
• NRLM is being implemented in all the States and Union Territories except Delhi and Chandigarh.

NRLM three major pillars –    

• universal social mobilization
• financial inclusion
• livelihoods enhancement

Note: It works towards bringing at least one member (preferably a woman) from all poor families into the SHG network. 
NRLM Values

• Inclusion of the poorest, and meaningful role to the poorest in all the processes
• Transparency and accountability of all processes and institutions
• Ownership and key role of the poor and their institutions in all stages – planning, implementation, and, monitoring
• Community self-reliance and self-dependence

How is NRLM being implemented?

• The SRLMs are given the responsibility of implementing the programme in the states based on their States Perspective Implementation Plans (SPIPs) and Annual Action Plans (AAPs).
• At the national level, the National Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society (NRLPS) has been set up to serve as the technical support agency to NRLM.

Who are eligible for benefits under NRLM?

• The NRLM Target Households (NTH) are identified through the Participatory Identification of Poor (PIP) instead of the BPL. 

Context: Recently, the Pune Rural Administration has been able to implement the Provision of Urban Amenities in Rural Areas (PURA) initiative amid Covid-19 pandemic.
Key Points

• PURA was mooted by the former President Dr. Abdul Kalam in January 2003 as a way of empowering and accelerating rural development.
• The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) implemented the PURA scheme on a pilot basis in seven clusters for a period of three years (2004- 05 to 2006-07).
• PURA 2.0 as a central sector scheme was launched in 2012 focussing on the development of potential growth centres such as census towns.
• Objective: Provision of livelihood opportunities and urban amenities in rural areas to bridge the rural – urban divide.
• Mission: Holistic and accelerated development of compact areas around a potential growth centre in a Gram Panchayat (or a group of Gram Panchayats) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework for providing livelihood opportunities and urban amenities to improve the quality of life in rural areas.
• Amenities and economic activities provided under PURA include Water and Sewerage, Construction and maintenance of Village streets, Drainage, Solid Waste Management, Skill Development, village street lighting, telecom, electricity generation, village linked tourism, etc.
• In 2014-15, the government made no allocation to the PURA scheme and instead introduced the Rurban Mission with an initial allocation of Rs. 100 crore.
• The aim of the Rurban Mission is to create 300 rural growth clusters across the country.

Context: Recently, the Reserve Bank of India issued draft guidelines for establishing SROs responsible for framing and enforcing rules for payment systems operators.
About Self-regulatory organisations (SROs)

• An SRO is a non-governmental organisation that sets and enforces rules and standards relating to the conduct of entities in the industry.
• SRO shall be set-up as a not-for-profit company under the Companies Act.
• These will collaborate with all stakeholders in framing rules and regulations.
• Their self-regulatory processes will be administered through impartial mechanisms.
• It shall serve as a two-way communication channel between its members and RBI.
• It will work towards establishing minimum benchmarks, standards and help instil professional and healthy market behaviour among its members.
• The recognised SRO shall promptly inform RBI about any violation that comes to its notice of the provisions of the Payments and Settlement Systems Act or any other regulation.
• The organisation will establish a uniform grievance redressal and dispute management framework for its members.

Its Significance

• As the payment ecosystem matures and as the number of payments systems proliferate, it becomes necessary to optimally use regulatory resources to develop industry standards.
• Self-regulation will help release regulatory resources that can be better focused on issues of systemic importance.
• It would be more appropriate and encourage better compliance.

Context: Recently, RBI is going to introduced a new ‘Positive Pay’ mechanism to enhance the safety of cheque payments.
Meaning of Positive Pay 

1. All one needs to do is share the details of issued cheque like Cheque Number, Cheque date, Payee name, Account number, Amount etc along with an image of the front and reverse side of the cheque, before handing it over to the beneficiary.
2. When the beneficiary submits the cheque for encashment, the cheque details are compared with the details provided to the Bank through Positive Pay. If the details match, the cheque is honoured. In case of mismatch in cheque details, the cheque is referred to you.

About Positive Pay Mechanism

• Positive Pay is a fraud detection tool adopted by banks to protect customers against forged, altered or counterfeit cheques.
• It crosses verifies all details of the cheque issued before funds are encashed by the beneficiary.
• In case of a mismatch, the cheque is sent back to the issuer for examination.
• By following such a system, a bank knows of a cheque being drawn by the customer even before it is deposited by the beneficiary into his/her account.

Its working Mechanism

• Under Positive Pay feature, the issuer will first share the details of the issued cheque like cheque number, date, name of the payee, account number, amount and the likes through his/her net banking account.
• Along with this, an image of the front and reverse side of the cheque is also required to be shared, before handing it over to the beneficiary.
• When the beneficiary submits the cheque for encashment, the details are compared with those provided to the bank through Positive Pay.
• If the details match, the cheque is honoured. However, in the case of mismatch, the cheque is referred to the issuer.
• In this way, any cheque where any sort of fraud has happened cannot be cleared at all and hence, a depositor’s money can be protected.

Context: Recently, Maharashtra is set to become the first Indian coastal state to declare a state mangrove tree species.
Key Points

• Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife (SBWL) cleared a proposal to declare Sonneratia alba as the State mangrove tree and approved a recovery programme for the Arabian Sea Humpback Whale. 
• However, Maharashtra already has the state tree (mango), state animal (giant squirrel), state bird (green pigeon), state butterfly (Blue Mormon), and state flower (jarul).

About Sonneratia alba 

• Sonneratia alba or mangrove apple is an evergreen mangrove species found along the Maharashtra’s coastline.  
• Sonneratia alba grow up to five feet and bear white flowers with a pink base as well as green fruits, that resemble apple and are used to make pickles. 
• The flowers, which bloom at night, are pollinated by nocturnal creatures like bats. 
• The species was introduced in Maharashtra and is native to Andaman Islands. 

Its Distribution 

• Also Known as white chippi in Marathi, Sonneratia alba grow up to five feet and bear white flowers with a pink base as well as green fruits, that resemble apple and are used to make pickles. 
• They often grow on newly-formed mudflats and play an important role in combating land erosion. The flowers, which bloom at night, are pollinated by nocturnal creatures like bats.
• They often grow on newly-formed mudflats and play an important role in combating land erosion. 
• They are confined to the west coast and some parts of Odisha.
• It is found along wetlands in Thane creek, Bhandup, Vasai and Dombivli along major mudflats. 
• Sonneratia alba grows naturally in many tropical and subtropical areas from East Africa to the Indian subcontinent, southern China, the Ryukyu Islands, Indochina, Malesia, Papuasia, Australia and the Western Pacific region. 

Benefits of this move

• The move helps to enhance conservation of the salt-tolerant vegetation 
• Ecological importance of mangroves and biodiversity it hosts 
• Adds aesthetic value to the mangrove ecosystem 

About Mangroves

• The Mangroves are characterized by halophytic (salt loving) trees, shrubs and other plants growing in brackish to saline tidal waters.
• They are confined to tropical and subtropical regions as they need high solar radiation to filter saline water through their roots.
• These wetlands are often found in estuaries, where fresh water meets salt water and are infamous for their impenetrable maze of woody vegetation.
• They possess pneumatophores (blind roots) to overcome the respiration problem in the anaerobic soil.

Context: Recently, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has invited proposals from Indians for research in the area of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) to give a boost to a global initiative on clean energy innovations.
Key Fearures

• CCUS is one of the identified innovation challenges in the Mission Innovation (MI) Programme, a global initiative of 24 countries and the European Union to accelerate the global clean energy innovation in which the Department of Science & Technology (DST) is an active partner. 
• The DST has already funded 19 R&D projects in the area of CCUS under the MI umbrella, partnering with 13 MI countries. 
• "The DST has invited proposals from Indian researchers in the area of CCUS under Accelerating CCUS nologies (ACT) in collaboration with other ACT member countries. 
• This is an initiative to facilitate the emergence of CO2 Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) via translational funding of projects aimed at accelerating and maturing CCUS technology through targeted innovation and and research activities.

Background : CCUS Conference 

• The CCUS conference brings together carbon capture and GHG reduction technology decision-makers, scientists and government officials. 
• It involves high-level strategic updates, case studies on emerging technologies, and connect on research in the industry to advance this important technology. 

The goal of the program is:

• To raise awareness of diverse global initiatives and projects 
• Promote greater participation in international dialogue 
• To discuss the commercialisation of CCUS/CCS systems 

About Accelerating CCUS Technologies (ACT)

• ACT is seeking innovative projects that range from smaller research projects to new or already existing pilot and demonstration facility sites. 
• New pilot and demonstration facilities should have potential for upscaling to industrial size either in a demo phase or early commercial phase. 
• Each project proposal has to be submitted by a project consortium consisting of at least three eligible applicants funded by at least three countries/regions participating in this ACT call. 
• Each project's consortium must have the required expertise to undertake research and development within the specified themes. 
• The 15 ACT member countries and organizations have decided to participate in this third call and joined forces with each other. All funds will be allocated from national and regional budgets that support research and development as well as pilot and demonstration projects. 
• ACT is an international initiative to establish CO2 capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) as a tool to combat global warming. 
• ACT means Accelerating CCS Technologies, and the ambition of the 15 partners is to fund research and innovation projects that can lead to safe and cost-effective CCUS technology. 
• The first ACT Call for project proposals was published in 2016 and resulted in eight projects that were started autumn 2017.  
• The second ACT Call was published June 2018. The budget for the call was € 31 M and 12 new projects started autumn 2019.  

What is CCS? 

• Carbon Capture and Storage, is a technology which captures carbon dioxide (CO2) from the burning of coal and gas for power generation, and from the manufacturing of steel, cement and other industrial facilities. 
• It involves the transportation of CO2 either by pipeline or ship, for safe and permanent underground storage. Thus, it helps in preventing it from entering the atmosphere and contributing to anthropogenic climate change. 

How does CCS work? 
Capture: First, the carbon dioxide is removed, or separated, from coal and gas power plants, and from the manufacturing of steel and cement. 
There are three types of capture: 

• Post-combustion 
• Pre-combustion 
• Oxyfuel combustion 
• It can capture 90% of carbon dioxide emissions. 

Transport

• The carbon dioxide is then compressed and transported to a suitable storage site. 
• The transport is generally carried out in pipelines. 
• Ship transport is also an option for offshore carbon dioxide transport. 

Storage

• Carbon dioxide is the injected into a suitable storage site deep below the ground. 
• The storage site must be a geological formation that ensures safe and permanent storage. 
• Storage can either take place in depleted oil & gas fields, or deep saline formations. 

Utilization

• Plans  for the utilization of stored carbon. 

Context: Recently, a new study published in Nature Communications has estimated that the amount of microplastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean is 11.6-21.1 million tonnes.
Key findings of the Study

• It showed that the pollution from plastic, especially smaller microplastics, have reached the oceans and some of the most remote corners of the Arctic.
• It depicted that there is uncertainty about the magnitude of plastic pollution in marine environments and it cannot be exactly said how much pollution does plastic, especially microplastics cause.
• The scientists studied pollution of the Atlantic Ocean caused by three types of plastics i.e. polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene.
• It estimated that based on plastic waste generation trends from 1950-2015 and considering that the Atlantic Ocean has received 0.3-0.8 per cent of the global plastic waste for 65 years, the Atlantic waters could hold 17-47 million tonnes of plastic waste.

About Microplastics 

• They are plastic debris smaller than 5mm in length, or about the size of a sesame seed.
• They come from a variety of sources, most common is when larger pieces of plastic degrade into smaller pieces.
• The pollution from plastic, especially smaller microplastics, have reached the oceans and even some of the most remote corners of the Arctic Ocean.

How does plastic reach the oceans?
There are multiple pathways including:

• Riverine and atmospheric transport from coastal and inland areas
• Illegal dumping activities
• Direct-at-sea littering from shipping
• Fishing and aquaculture activities.

As per International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), at least 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans every year and makes up about 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.
Why is plastic pollution harmful?

• Plastic can take hundreds to thousands of years to decompose depending on the type of plastic and where it has been dumped.
• In the oceans, it impacts marine life, ocean health, coastal tourism and even human health.
• Marine animals such as whales, seabirds and turtles ingest plastic and often suffocate.
• Smaller plastic particles are easier to sink to greater ocean depths and some marine species such as zooplanktons show preferential ingestion of smaller particles.
• The marine plastic pollution via sea food is reaches the food chain and harmful for humans too. Example: Microplastics have been found in tap water, beer and even salt, which can be carcinogenic. 

Atlantic Ocean

• The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world’s oceans, with an area of about 106,460,000 sq. kms.
• It covers approximately 20% of Earth’s surface and about 29% of its water surface area.
• The Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west.
• It is connected in the north to the Arctic Ocean, to the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south.
• The Equatorial Counter Current subdivides it into the Northern Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Atlantic Ocean.

Context: Recently, a letter sent to principal secretaries for forests of all States and UTs complained that about 70% data on compensatory afforestation in the country was incorrect or incomplete.

• It asked the states to ensure units responsible for updating the compensatory afforestation data are strengthened and a system of robust scrutiny is created.

About Compensatory Afforestation

• It means that every time forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes such as mining or industry, the user agency pays for planting forests over an equal area of non-forest land, or when such land is not available, twice the area of degraded forest land.

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016

• The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act was passed by the centre in 2016.
• It was enacted to manage funds collected for compensatory afforestation which till then was managed by ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
• As per the rules, 90% of the CAF money is to be given to the states while 10% is to be retained by the Centre.

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning (CAMPA)

• Supreme Court ordered for establishment of Compensatory Afforestation Fund and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) in 2001.
• In 2009, Supreme Court permitted release of Rs.1000 crore every year to States/UTs for compensatory afforestation and other activities.
• It has provisioned that CAMPA funds shall be kept in interest bearing non-lapsable Public Account.
• The CAMPA Fund is now utilized as per the provisions of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016.

Objective of CAMPA

• To promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating for forest land diverted to non-forest uses.

Utilisation of Fund

• The funds can be used for catchment area treatment, wildlife and forest management, forest fire prevention, relocation of villages from protected areas, soil and moisture conservation work in the forest, managing human-wildlife conflicts, training and awareness generation etc.
• These fund cannot be used for payment of salary, travelling allowances, making buildings and buying office equipment for forest officers.

Mandate:

• Lay down broad guidelines for and assist State CAMPA.
• Make recommendations to State CAMPA based on a review of their plans and programmes.
• Provide a mechanism to State CAMPA to resolve issues of an inter-state or Centre-State character.

Context: Recently, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has developed an infrastructure to transport fly ash from power plants in bulk to cement plants, at a cheaper cost.

• It will pave the way for efficient and environment friendly transportation.
• This development is in line with NTPC's commitment towards 100% utilization of fly ash from power plants. At present, 63% of the fly ash is being utilised in India.

About Fly Ash

• It is a byproduct from burning of coal in electric power generating plants.
• It is called fly ash because it is transported from the combustion chamber by exhaust gases.
• It is collected from the exhaust gases by electrostatic precipitators or bag filters.
• Composition: Fly ash includes substantial amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminium oxide (Al2O3), ferric oxide (Fe2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO).

Properties

• Resemble Portland cement but is chemically different.
• Portland cement is a binding material in the form of a finely ground powder, that is manufactured by burning and grinding a mixture of limestone and clay.
• Its chemical composition includes calcium silicates, calcium aluminate and calcium aluminoferrite.

Exhibit cementitious properties

• A cementitious material is one that hardens when mixed with water.
• Uses: It is used in concrete and cement products, road base, metal recovery, and mineral filler among others.
• Harmful Effects: Fly ash particles are toxic air pollutants. They can trigger heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases and stroke.
• When combined with water they cause leaching of heavy metals in ground water.
• It also pollutes the soil, and affects the root development system of trees.

About NTPC

• NTPC Ltd. is a central Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Power.
• Its purpose is to provide reliable power and related solutions in an economical, efficient and environment-friendly manner, driven by innovation and agility.
• It became a Maharatna company in May 2010.
• It is located in New Delhi.

Context: Recently, the IIT-BHU has decided to play a vital role in developing a biotechnology-based water treatment system under SPRING Project for Ganga and Godavari.
About SPRING Project

• It stands for Strategic Planning for Water Resources and Implementation of Novel Biotechnical Treatment solutions and Good Practices (SPRING).
• It is joint initiative of Indian Department of Biotechnology (Ministry Science & Tech) and European Union.
• It is funded for a period of three years starting June 2020.
• The project will help in developing a biotechnology-based water treatment system for the purification of sewage water flowing into the rivers Ganga and Godavari.
• The specific goal of the project is to develop a prototype of the innovative low-cost advanced bio-oxidation treatment system for polluted water.
• The target for River Ganga is to cover major sources of pollution from upstream of the Varanasi city to the downstream up to the confluence of river Gomati near Kaithy.
• It envisages for the first time to apply geo-spatial analysis with respect to land use, land cover and water resources for identification of point and non-point sources of pollution using integrated remote sensing in the Godavari delta and Ganga.
• It is aimed at monitoring, developing enzyme biotechnology-based advanced oxidation process (AOP) for treatment of organic pollutants, and microbial fuel cell (MFC) based novel bio-sensing systems for identification of new pollutant in the study area.
• IIT Guwahati is the Indian coordinator for the project and foreign partners include University of Tromsø, Norway (UIT), University of PECS (UP), Hungary, Northern Research Institute, Narvik AS (NORUT Narvik), Norway, INESC TEC, Portugal, ENVIROINVEST, Hungary.

Additional Facts
Godavari River

• Source: Godavari river rises from Trimbakeshwar near Nasik in Maharashtra and flows for a length of about 1465 km before outfalling into the Bay of Bengal.
• Drainage Basin: The Godavari basin extends over states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha in addition to smaller parts in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Union territory of Puducherry.
• Tributaries: Pravara, Purna, Manjra, Penganga, Wardha, Wainganga, Pranhita (combined flow of Wainganga, Penganga, Wardha), Indravati, Maner and the Sabri.

Context: Recently, the Swachh Survekshan 2020 report has been launched by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA).

• It is the fifth edition of the annual cleanliness urban survey conducted by the MoHUA. It is one of the world’s largest sanitation surveys.

Key Points

• This year the Ministry has released rankings based on the categorisation of cities on population, instead of releasing overall rankings.
• The categories based on population were introduced in 2019 for the first time but the exact groupings have been changed this year.

Major Categories and Rankings
Cities with a population of more than 10 lakh

• Indore was ranked first, securing the rank for the fourth consecutive year, followed by Surat and Navi Mumbai.
• All the National Capital Region (NCR) cities, Greater Mumbai, Bruhat Bengaluru, Amritsar, Kota, Chennai, etc. have performed poorly.
• Patna with the rank 47, is at the bottom of the list.

Cities with a population of 1-10 lakh

• Chhattisgarh’s Ambikapur has been surveyed as the cleanest city in the country, followed by Mysore and New Delhi.
• Bihar’s Gaya with a rank of 382, is at the bottom.

Cities with a population of less than 1 lakh

• Karad has been ranked as the cleanest followed by Sasvad and Lonavala (all three in Maharashtra).

Other Categories

• Varanasi has been ranked the cleanest among 46 Ganga towns.
• Jalandhar got the top rank among cantonments.
• New Delhi was the cleanest capital city.
• Chhattisgarh was ranked the cleanest State out of those with over 100 urban local bodies (ULBs) or cities.
• Jharkhand was the cleanest state with less than 100 ULBs or cities.
• The dynamic and evolving nature of the Swachh Survekshan framework was also highlighted. From being just a monitoring framework for measuring outcomes, it has become an implementation accelerator for Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U), enabling sustainability of outcomes by institutionalizing cleanliness.
• SBM-U was launched in 2014, with the objective of making urban India 100% Open Defecation Free (ODF) along with 100% scientific solid waste management.
• It has a deep impact on health, livelihoods, quality of life and behaviour, which proved to be very helpful while dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic as well.

MoHUA is also actively working on coming up with a second phase of the SBM-U (SBM 2.0), which was initially supposed to be till March 2020 but has been extended till March 2021. It envisions to:

• Take current targets further, making cities open defecation-free, including 100% sludge management and zero dumping of waste in the open.
• Safe containment, transportation and disposal of faecal sludge and septage from toilets and also the grey and black water from households and establishments.
• Treat all wastewater before discharging into water bodies and their maximum possible re-use.
• Provide adequate safety gear and mechanised equipment to all sanitation workers with maximum attention.
• To ensure the sustainability of on-ground performance of cities, the MoHUA had also introduced Swachh Survekshan League in 2019.
• It is a quarterly cleanliness assessment of cities and towns done in three quarters with 25% weightage integrated into the final Swachh Survekshan results.

Additional Facts

• Swachh Survekshan 2021: The 2021 survey will focus on parameters pertaining to wastewater treatment, reuse along with faecal sludge. legacy of waste management, remediation of landfills among others.
• Prerak Daaur Samman: It is a new category of awards which will be announced as part of Swachh Survekshan 2021.
• The award has a total of five additional sub- categories -Divya (Platinum), Anupam (Gold), Ujjwal (Silver), Udit (Bronze), Aarohi (Aspiring) – with top three cities being recognized in each.

Context: Recently, three Cheetahs (one male and two females) arrived at Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens from South Africa Cheetah Centre at Johannesburg via Singapore and Bengaluru.

• The Mysuru zoo, Karnataka has become the second Indian zoo to house the African cheetah.
• The Sakkarbaug Zoological Gardens, in Junagarh Gujarat is the first zoo in India to have African Cheetah.

Key Facts on Cheetah

• One of the oldest of big cat species, with ancestors that can be traced back more than five million years to Miocene era.
• With great speed and dexterity, known for being an excellent hunter.
• Its killed animals feed many other animals in its ecosystem—ensuring that multiple species survive.
• The cheetah is also the world’s fastest land mammal.

African Cheetah

• The African cheetah is the cheetah subspecies native to East and Southern Africa.
• The cheetah lives mainly in the lowland areas and deserts of Kalahari, savannahs of Okavango Delta, and grasslands of Transvaal region in South Africa.
• Bigger in size as compared to Asiatic Cheetah.
• IUCN status: Vulnerable.

Asiatic Cheetah

• Smaller and paler than the African cheetah and has cat like appearance.
• India’s last known cheetah died in Chhattisgarh in 1947.
• Later, the cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952.
• IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
• Believed to survive only in Iran.

Context: On the eve of Independence day Prime minister has announced the launch of Project Dolphin and Project Lion to protect these species in their natural habitat in a holistic manner.
Project Dolphin

• Project Dolphin will focus on both river and sea dolphins.
• The Gangetic dolphin is an indicator species, whose status provides information on the overall condition of the ecosystem and of other species in that ecosystem.
• It is extremely vulnerable to changes in water quality and flow.
• A WWF-India and the Uttar Pradesh forest department assessment in 2012 and 2015 recorded 1,272 dolphins in the Ganga, Yamuna, Chambal, Ken, Betwa, Son, Sharda, Geruwa, Gahagra, Gandak and Rapti.
• Threats: Habitat degradation due to water development projects [dams, barrages and dredging operations], sand mining, overfishing, and pollution.

Protectional Status

• IUCN status: Endangered.
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
• CITES: Appendix I.

About Project Lion

• It will involve conservation of the Asiatic Lion and its landscape in a holistic manner.
• Project Lion focus on habitat development, by engage modern technologies in lion management and;
• Address the issues of disease in lion and its associated species through advanced world class research and veterinary care.
• The project will also address Human-wildlife conflict and will be inclusive involving local communities living in the vicinity of Lion landscape and will also provide livelihood opportunities.

Asiatic Lions

• Asiatic lions are confined to Gir National Park and its surrounding environs in Gujarat’s Saurashtra.
• The Gujarat forest department in June suggested their population has increased by 29%— from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020
• The distribution area of lions in Saurashtra has increased by 36% from 22,000 sq. km in 2015 to 30,000 sq. km.
• Experts have called for reintroduction of Asiatic lions outside Gujarat for their long term conversation.
• For example: Kuno Palpur Sanctuary in MP is being considered for reintroduction of lions.

Protectional Status

• Listed in Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
• Listed in Appendix I of CITES.
• Listed as Endangered on IUCN Red List.

Context: Recently, Efforts are being made to begin the country’s maiden exercise of collaring 10 fishing cats in the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in Andhra Pradesh.

• Experts to study the species’ ecology, home range, behaviour in different seasons, feeding habits, threats, movements and use of space.

About Fishing cat

• Fish cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) is mammal double the size of domestic cat which is a native to wetlands, swamps and marshy areas.
• Rapid depletion of wetland is posing a threat to the animal on a global scale and India is no exception. 
• The fishing cat is nocturnal (active at night) and apart from fish also preys on frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, and scavenges on carcasses of larger animals.
• Habitat: In India, fishing cats are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, on the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys and in the Western Ghats.

Protection Status

• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable. Despite multiple threats, the Fishing Cat was recently downlisted to “Vulnerable” from “Endangered” in the IUCN Red List species assessment.
• CITES: Appendix II
• Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
  

About Coringa Mangroves

• Godavari Mangroves at the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWLS) are touted to be the second largest mangroves in India. The largest mangrove forest in the world is Sundarbans, West Bengal.
• The mangrove forests in Andhra Pradesh are located in the estuaries of the Godavari and the Krishna rivers. The Godavari mangroves are located in Godavari estuary of East Godavari district.
• Located in Andhra Pradesh, the CWLS is home to numerous endangered species including the fishing cat, otter, jackal, sea turtles, sea gull, pelican, stork, heron, snipes, flamingos among others.
• Along with the mangrove forest, the Hope Island, a naturally formed sandy stretch amidst the sea that turned into a synonym for biodiversity, too comes under the purview of the sanctuary.
• Once the Coringa sanctuary gets the heritage site tag, UNESCO will help develop tourism and protect the wildlife in the mangroves.

About the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary

• Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary has the second largest stretch of mangrove forests in India with 24 tree species, after Sundarbans. 
• The sanctuary also has an 18-km-long sand pit where olive ridley sea turtles nest from January to March every year. 
• Hope Island and Sacramento Island located in the mangrove region are two important nesting sites for the endangered Olive Ridley turtles.
• Located on the backwaters of the Bay of Bengal, the sanctuary is home to numerous endangered species including the fishing cat, otter, jackal, sea turtle, sea gull, pelican, stork, heron, snipes, flamingos among others.

Context: Recently, Death Valley (USA) registered a temperature of 54.4°C which, once verified, could be the highest temperature in more than a century.
Current Scenario

• The temperature was recorded at the USA National Weather Service’s automated weather station at Furnace Creek on 16th August 2020.
• The Death Valley in southeastern California is the lowest point in the North American continent, and is a National Park. It is also the hottest and driest part of the continent.

Reasons for extreme Heat in Death Valley

• Solar heating: The valley’s surface undergoes intense solar heating because the air is clear and dry and the land is dark and sparsely vegetated.This is especially noticeable in summer when the sun is nearly directly overhead.
• Trapping of warm air: Warm air naturally rises and cools.But in Death Valley this air is subject to continual reheating as it is trapped by high, steep valley walls and recycled back to the valley floor.Warm air also is trapped by the valley’s north–south orientation which runs perpendicular to prevailing west-to-east winds.
• Migration of warm air from other areas (advection): Warm desert regions adjacent to Death Valley, especially to the south and east often heat air before it arrives in Death Valley.
• Warm mountain winds: As winds are forced up and over mountains (e.g. the numerous ranges west of Death Valley), the winds can be warmed in several ways.The resulting dry, warm winds are known as foehn winds.

About Death Valley

• It is a desert valley in Eastern California,US in the northern Mojave Desert bordering the Great Basin Desert.
• It is one of the hottest places on Earth along with deserts in the Middle East and the Sahara.
• The valley is extremely dry because it lies in the rain shadow of four major mountain ranges (including the Sierra Nevada and the Panamint Range).
• Moisture moving inland from the Pacific Ocean must pass eastward over the mountains to reach Death Valley; as air masses are forced upward by each range, they cool and moisture condenses, to fall as rain or snow on the western slopes.
• When the air masses reach Death Valley, most of the moisture has already been lost and there is little left to fall as precipitation.

Context: Recently, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel has said that the National Infrastructure Pipeline will not only revolutionize the creation of infrastructure in the country but also would pull India out of the economic impact of COVID-19. 

About the project

• The Coastal Highway project will link Gopalpur in Odisha and Digha of West Bengal.
• Digha-Gopalpur coastal highway would act as an economic corridor between the two major ports of Paradip and Dhamra.
• The coastal highway project, announced by Union Road Transport and Highways in April 2015, spreads over 415 kilometres from Gopalpur to Digha.
• As per the proposal, this 451-km-long coastal highway will be named as 516-A.
• Besides facilitating transportation of agri goods and fishery products, the coastal highway would play a crucial role in the supply chain during natural calamities like cyclones and floods.

Context: Recently, Indian Railways has started deploying “Ninja UAVs” (unmanned aerial vehicles) for establishing a drone-based surveillance system in a bid to intensify its security mechanism across its network, according to officials aware of the development.
NINJA UAVs 

• They are lightweight and economical micro contraptions built for mapping and surveillance.
• It is a drone or unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) procured by the Indian Railways to monitor its assets, ensure safety for passengers and aid the deployed security personnel.
• These drones are capable of Real-Time Tracking, Video Streaming and may be operated on Automatic Fail Safe Mode.
• So far, nine drones have been procured by the RPF and there are plans for buying 17 more in the future.

Uses of the drones:

• The purpose of the drone deployment is to provide a force multiplier and aid to the effectiveness of the security personnel deployed.
• It can help in the inspection of railway assets and safety of yards, workshops, car sheds, etc.
• It can be used to launch surveillance on criminal and anti-social activities like gambling, throwing of garbage, hawking, etc. in the railway premises.
• It may be deployed for data collection. Analysis of such data collected may prove to be extremely useful in vulnerable sections for safe operations of trains.
• The drones may also be pressed in service at disaster sites for helping in rescue, recovery and restoration and coordination of efforts of various agencies.
• They are very useful while undertaking mapping of railway assets to assess the encroachments on railway property.
• During large scale crowd management efforts, it may give vital inputs like crowd magnitude, probable time of arrival and dispersal based on which crowd regulation efforts may be planned and executed.
• A drone camera can cover a large area that requires 8-10 RPF personnel. Thus, it may lead to substantial improvement in utilization of scarce manpower.

Additional Facts

• Drones or unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV): It is an unmanned aircraft piloted from a remote pilot station.
• Drone Innovators Network(DIN): It was formed in 2018 at the World Economic Forum in Davos,Switzerland.
• Purpose: It is a community of progressive governments, supported by industry and other key stakeholders who are accelerating the adoption of drones with progressive regulatory approaches.

Context: At a recent meeting, the Punjab Chief Minister asked the Central government to be cautious on the contentious Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, saying it has the potential to disturb the nation’s security.

• The meeting was convened following the Supreme Court’s direction to the Centre on July 28 to mediate between the two States to resolve the issue.

Punjab’s demands:

• Suitable amendments should be made to the proposed Inter State River Water Disputes Act to set up a new tribunal, to ensure that Punjab gets adequate water “in a just and equitable manner in keeping with its total demand and securing livelihood of the future generations.”

Historical background

• The creation of Haryana from the old (undivided) Punjab in 1966 threw up the problem of giving Haryana its share of river waters.
• Punjab was opposed to sharing waters of the Ravi and Beas with Haryana, citing riparian principles, and arguing that it had no water to spare.
• However, Centre, in 1976, issued a notification allocating to Haryana 3.5 million acre feet (MAF) out of undivided Punjab’s 7.2 MAF.
• The Eradi Tribunal headed by Supreme Court Judge V Balakrishna Eradi was set up to reassess availability and sharing of water. The Tribunal, in 1987, recommended an increase in the shares of Punjab and Haryana to 5 MAF and 3.83 MAF, respectively.

The canal:

• To enable Haryana to use its share of the waters of the Sutlej and its tributary Beas, a canal linking the Sutlej with the Yamuna, cutting across the state, was planned.
• A tripartite agreement was also negotiated between Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan in this regard.
• The Satluj Yamuna Link Canal is a proposed 214-kilometer long canal to connect the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers. However, the proposal met obstacles and was referred to the Supreme Court.

What is Haryana’s demand?
Haryana has been seeking the completion of the SYL canal to get its share of 3.5 million acre-feet of river waters. 
It has maintained that Punjab should comply with the 2002 and 2004 Supreme Court orders in this regard. Haryana is getting 1.62 million acre-feet of the Ravi-Beas waters.

How this issue could disturb nation’s security?

• Pakistan has been making continuous attempts to foment trouble and to try and revive the separatist movement through the banned Sikhs for Justice organisation. The water issue could further destabilise the State.

Road Ahead

• Although the issue of water of Sutlej river was resolved through the Bhakra Nangal project, the issue of surplus waters of Ravi river and Beas river excluding the pre-Partition use remained.
• In order to make full use of the allocated water, a Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal issue needs a political solution, as even Supreme Court appears to be in a dilemma. It is time for the leaders to show wisdom and non-partisanship, giving due credits to the claims of all contending parties involved.

Context: Recently, the Gujarat government has awarded the contract for the Bhadbhut project in Bharuch.

• The Inland Waterway Authority of India has given clearance for this project.
• The project has faced protests from local fishermen because it is likely to impact fishing patterns, mainly those of hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha).

Bhadbhut project

• It is planned to be a 1.7-km causeway-cum-weir barrage across river Narmada.
• It is constructed at a place 25 km from mouth of the river, where it flows into the Gulf of Khambhat (Cambay).
• The barrage will stop most of excess water flowing out of Sardar Sarovar Dam from reaching the sea.
• It will thus create a sweet water lake of 600 mcm (million cubic metres) on the river.
• It also aims to prevent flooding in years when rainfall is higher than normal.
• The project has faced protests from local fishermen for its likely impact on fishing patterns, notably of hilsa fish.

Need of the project

• The main purpose of project is to prevent salinity ingress (the process of salt water invading areas which previously contained only fresh water).
• An estimated 16.30 million acre feet (MAF) of water used to be released from the Sardar Sarovar dam.
• By 2017, when height of the dam rose, flow into the Narmada river reduced to 4.7 MAF.
• Due to reduced flow of fresh water, saline seawater gushes into Narmada estuary during high tide, thus increasing salinity along the banks.
• The project is part of larger Kalpasar Project (which entails construction of a 30-km dam across Gulf of Khambhat between Bharuch and Bhavnagar districts, meant to tap waters of the Narmada, Mahisagar and Sabarmati.)

Why are fishermen upset?

• The barrage is expected to interfere with the migration and breeding cycle of hilsa.
• Hilsa is a marine fish that migrates upstream and arrives in the brackish water of Narmada estuary near Bharuch for spawning usually during monsoon (July and August) and continue doing so till November.
• Once the barrage is built, it is expected to block their natural entry.
• The fish production from Narmada estuary has fallen from 15,889 tonnes in 2006-07 to just 1,618 tonnes in 2014-15.
• The reduced outflow of water from the dam, industrial effluents flowing into the river and salinity ingress are believed to be the major causes of this decline.
• Part of Aliya Bet, and island in delta of Narmada, known for shrimp farming, is likely to get submerged due to the accumulation of water in Bhadbhut reservoir.

Narmada River

• It is a major river in peninsular India which flows in east-west direction, along with two other rivers Tapti and Mahi.
• The Narmada or Reva originates in the Amarkantak hills in Madhya Pradesh.
• It is the fifth largest river in the country, largest west flowing river and largest river in Gujarat.
• It flows towards the west in a rift valley between Satpura range in the South and the Vindhyan range in the North formed due to faulting.
• It is known as life Line of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
• After flowing a distance of about 1,312 km, it meets Arabian sea south of Bharuch, Gujarat forming a broad 27 km long estuary.
• Four important tributaries: Hallon, Banjar, Tawa and Barna.
• This river traverses through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is social movement spearheaded by native tribals, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against a number of large dam projects across river Narmada, particularly Sardar Sarovar Project.

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court has held that funds received into the PM-CARES Fund need not be credited to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Issue

• The Supreme Court of India on August 18, 2020, refused to direct the transfer of contributions made to PM CARES fund to National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The decision came in response to the petition by NGO seeking the transfer of the fund.
• The SC Bench in their decision also mentioned that the contributions made to PM CARES Fund were funds of a charitable trust, however, there was no statutory prohibition on contributions made to NDRF by individuals or any organizations.
• NDRF is a statutory fund that has been created under Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. While disposing of the petition, the Supreme Court also mentioned that there is no need for a fresh national disaster relief plan.
• SC has also held that individuals could make voluntary contributions to NDRF under Section 46(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act of 2005.
• There would be no statutory prohibition against them.

Government’s stand

• It has maintained that PM-CARES is a public charitable trust to which anyone can contribute.
• It is not subject to audit by the CAG. 
• It is not under public scrutiny. 
• Contributions to it are 100% tax free.

How is PM-CARES different from NDRF?

• The nature of National Disaster Response Fund and PM CARES Fund are entirely different.
• The NDRF is a statutory fund created under the Disaster Management Act (DM Act), 2005.
• PM CARES is a public charitable fund created to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and National emergencies.

Does PM Cares require audit by CAG of India?

• Any individual or institution can contribute to PM CARES.
• It does not get any budgetary support and no government money is credited in the PM Cares Fund.
• Since it is a public charitable trust with voluntary donations, no Comptroller & Auditor General audit is required.
• In case of NDRF, the guidelines issued by the central government as per DM Act, provide for audit of the NDRF by CAG.

Is PM Cares a bar on making contributions to NDRF?

• The existence of PM Cares fund is not a bar to contribute to NDRF.
• Any contribution, or grant of any individual or institution is open for contribution to the NDRF in terms of Section 46(1)(b) of the DM Act.
• The guidelines for administration of NDRF provide that any grant that may be made by any person or institution for the purpose of disaster management shall be credited into NDRF.

Can NDRF be used for providing assistance in the fight of Covid-19?

• The Centre can very well utilise NDRF for providing assistance in the fight of COVID-19 pandemic by way of releasing fund on the request of the States as per new guidelines.

Context: Recently, Indian PM’s announcement of the Digital India projects as part of his Independence Day (74th) speech, has been seen as a reaction to the present situation faced by the country - pandemic, border tensions among others.
Key Points

• The PM launched the National Digital Health Mission, announced a new cyber security policy and promised optical fibre connectivity to all six lakh villages in 1,000 days. 

1.) Optical-fibre connectivity

• The announcement, called as the world’s largest connectivity project, requires to analyze the present status of optical-fibre connectivity in India.

BharatNet: Snags in deployment

• The project envisages laying of about 8 lakh kilometre of incremental optical fibre cable (OFC) to all the 2,50,000-plus Gram Panchayats (GP) in the country.
• Unable to meet deadline: The project was unable to meet its March 2020 deadline for its second phase of deployment, which was shifted to August 2021. 
• Bidders are not showing interest: The state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) did not have any bidders for a maintenance and upkeep tender for the fibre already been laid. 
• This is mainly due to the decision to keep out Chinese equipment and vendors for 4G work and the dire financial situation of the teleco.
• Lack of resources: Shortage of financial resources at the State level and labour resources due to the migrant exodus, has hindered the progress.
• Private players showing no interest: In providing services by utilising the already-laid fibre, even as rural internet penetration is growing independently through private telecom players. 
• Poor quality and connectivity: Furthermore, the quality of BSNL’s existing fibre is subpar and OFC has not reached some of the locations, supposedly to be connected.

BharatNet 

• Started in 2011, was originally named National Optical Fibre Network or NOFN. 
• Financed by the Universal Service Obligation Fund of the Department of Telecommunications, through a 5 percent levy on the revenues of private telecom service providers. 
• The project’s primary objective is to extend fibre connectivity to every panchayat, thereby providing access to broadband internet services to 69 percent of India’s rural population.
• Phase I of BharatNet: Commenced in 2014, was completed in 2017. It has over-achieved the 1 lakh target for this phase by covering 1,22,908 panchayats. 
• Phase II: In the second phase, remaining 1,29,827 gram panchayats are to be covered through 5 km of new fibre per gram panchayats. 
• This phase incorporates a mix of both underground and aerial fibre as well as radio and satellite connectivity to reach more inaccessible locations such as Jammu and Kashmir, Northeast, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

2.) National Digital Health Mission

• The genesis: In the 2017 National Health Policy, which proposed a new National Digital Health Authority. 
• The NDHM is implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Health Ministry.
• Overseen by a Mission Steering Group with Ministers from IT, AYUSH, Women’s and Child Development, as well as Niti Aayog Member, NHA CEO, and others. 
• Satyanarayana committee: Then a committee headed by former UIDAI chairman released the National Digital Health Blueprint in 2019.
• National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) strategic document: Released recently, outlining the envisioned digital registries of doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and insurance companies, digital personal health records, and digital clinical decision systems.

Patients can create a Health ID: 

• Allowing them to share their data between hospitals and doctors digitally. 
• They can choose for how long or what specific documents they would like to share. 
• For example, if a government scheme is required, then individuals will be required to connect their ID to their Aadhaar.
• Decentralised storing: One copy of a patient’s records are stored in their doctor’s files and one is stored in their own individual locker (which can be owned by a company or by the government).  
• Unified interface: In the same way that a user can use PayTM or Google Pay on the UPI highway, the NDHM provides private applications on their government-owned interface. 
• Other features will include data analytics tools, telemedicine, and e-pharmacy.

3.) Cybersecurity Policy 2020

• The genesis of the existing policy - India’s first - released in 2013 lies in the allegations by Edward Snowden that NSA surveillance was also tracking India’s domestic issues.
• The National Cyber Security Strategy 2020 (NCSS 2020): Overseen by the National Security Council Secretariat, collected public comments. 
• Tensions with China: As it plays out in a technological battleground, a new cybersecurity policy would replace the present one.
• These frameworks will have a bearing on incidents similar to the hacking of 121 Indians’ WhatsApps in 2019 by the Isreali cyber firm NSO Group.

Need for a new policy

• New technologies: The present cyber threat landscape poses significant challenges due to rapid technological developments such as Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, internet of Things, 5G, etc. 
• New challenges: Include data protection/privacy, law enforcement in evolving cyberspace, access to data stored overseas, misuse of social media platforms, international cooperation on cybercrime & cyber terrorism, etc. 
• Bearing on existing laws: A pending data protection legislation right now under screening of a Joint Select Committee in Parliament and which mandates some amount of data localisation in its present form.

Context: Recently, India has seen famous mergers and acquisitions in the online pharmacy business. 
How is the pharmacy market in India currently shaped? 

• Unlike the US, where the top three pharmaceutical distributors have a 90 per cent share in the market, India’s is a fragmented market with over 8 lakh pharmacies — this gives online pharmacies an opportunity to capture their space without opposing large traditional retailers. 
• Currently, companies in the Indian e-pharmacy space mainly operate three business models — marketplace, inventory-led hybrid (offline/online) and franchise-led hybrid (offline/online) — depending on the way the supply chain is structured. 
• In addition to companies like Netmeds, Medlife and PharmEasy, other players in the segment include online healthcare startups such as 1mg, Practo, Myra as well as traditional chemists such as Apollo Pharmacy. 

E-pharmacies

• E-pharmacy, or online pharmacy takes an order of medicines over the Internet and then delivers it to a patient through dedicated delivery companies.
• From the first pioneering steps in 2015, the e-pharmacy industry has crossed Rs 3500 Cr in 2018 and is estimated to touch Rs 25000 Cr in 2022.
• The growth is mainly on account of the challenges faced by physical pharmacies.
• To require a large-scale presence, E-pharmacies need either huge investments or consolidation.

Pharmacy market in India

• India’s is a fragmented market with over 8 lakh pharmacies.
• Traditional retailers account for almost 85% of the country’s total pharmaceutical sales.
• Currently, companies in Indian e-pharmacy space mainly operate three business models – marketplace, inventory-led hybrid (offline/online) and franchise-led hybrid (offline/online) depending on the way the supply chain is structured.

Rules governing the pharmacy sector in India

• The government had floated draft regulations for e-pharmacies but these guidelines never saw light of the day. 
• While the lack of proper rules governing the online pharmacy space has kept large investments at bay, it has allowed the existing players in the market to grow and overcome the challenges faced by traditional retailers, which account for almost 85% of the country’s total pharmaceutical sales. 
• For pharmacies overall, India’s drug regulations require retailers to get a licence to dispense medicines from the state in which they are being sold. This may have been a factor in Amazon currently restricting its pharmacy sales to Bengaluru for the time being. 

What do the draft e-pharmacy regulations propose? 

• Considering that e-pharmacies currently are not regulated, their operations are constantly met with opposition from brick and mortar chemists. 
• In the absence of clear regulations, online pharmacies currently operate as marketplaces and cater to patients as a platform for ordering medicines from sellers that adhere to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules of India. Other regulations, like the Information Technology Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, also apply. 
• Draft rules for e-pharmacies sought to define the online sale of medicines, what an e-prescription means and what type of licences online firms would need to get from regulators to operate. 
• The draft had proposed to allow e-pharmacies to get a central licence to operate from the country’s apex drug regulator, which could be used to allow it to operate across the country. 
• It also proposed to define e-pharmacies in a way that would allow them to distribute, sell and stock medicines. 
• The proposed regulations prevent them from selling habit-forming drugs like cough syrups specified in Schedule X of the Indian drug regulations. 

Context: According to the National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020, cancer cases in the country are likely to increase to 15.6 lakhs by 2025 (12% increase) from the current estimated cases, based on current trends.
Key data

• The figures were released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru.
• The total number of cancer cases in 2020 in the country will be at 13.9 lakhs.
• As per the report, the cancer cases in the country are likely to increase to 15.6 lakhs by 2025.
• In 2020, tobacco-related cancers are estimated to contribute to 27.1% of the total cancer burden.
• The north-eastern region of the country accounts for the highest burden of cancer.
• The other common cancers included gastrointestinal tract cancers and breast cancer.
• The most common cancers among men: Lung, mouth, stomach and oesophagus.
• The most common cancers among women: Breast and cervix cancer.

About National Cancer Registry Programme

• The National Cancer Registry Programme is an organization of systematic collection, storage, analysis, interpretation and reporting of data on patients with cancer.
• The National Cancer Registry Programme under Indian Council of Medical Research was started in December 1981 with coordinating centre at Bengaluru.

Objectives: The main objectives of this Programme are:

• To generate reliable data on the magnitude and patterns of cancer
• Undertake epidemiological studies based on results of registry data
• Help in designing, planning, monitoring and evaluation of cancer control activities.
• Develop training programmes in cancer registration and epidemiology.

Cancer Registries
Two types of cancer registries under the programme

• Population Based Cancer Registries: They record all the new cancer cases occurring in a defined population within a geographic area.
• The Hospital Based Cancer Registries: They record information on cancer patients attending a particular hospital, with focus on clinical care, treatment and outcome.

Significance

• A cancer registry provides an economical and efficient method of ascertaining cancer occurrence rather than intervention trials and cohort studies.
• A proper analysis and interpretation of data provides insights with inputs for its prevention, control and management.
• It also helps to formulate and implement policies and programmes, monitor and evaluate cancer control activities.

About Cancer

• It is a generic term for a large group of diseases characterized by the growth of abnormal cells beyond their usual boundaries that can then invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs.
• Other common terms used for cancer are malignant tumors and neoplasms.
• Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally.
• World Cancer Day is organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and celebrated each year on 4th February.
• 2020 theme: ‘I Am and I Will’, which acknowledges that everyone has the capacity to address the cancer burden.

Context: Recently, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and Delhi Police for extending the Ayurveda Preventive and Promotive health services in the residential colonies of Delhi Police.
Key Points

• The MoU is aimed to extend the Ayurveda Preventive and Promotive health services in the residential colonies of Delhi Police.
• These services are to be provided through a mobile unit named Dhanwantari Rath and Police Wellness Centres catered by AIIA and supported by the Ministry of AYUSH.

About Dhanwantari Rath

• Dhanwantari Rath – is a Mobile unit of Ayurveda health care services.
• It would consist a team of Doctors who would be visiting Delhi Police colonies regularly.
• These Ayurveda Health care services are expected to reduce the incidence/prevalence of various diseases.
• They also aim to reduce the number of referrals to hospitals thereby reducing cost to healthcare system as well as patient.

About AYURAKSHA

• AYURAKSHA is a joint venture of AIIA and Delhi Police aims for maintaining the health of frontline COVID warriors like Delhi police.
• The joint programme ‘Corona Se Jung- Delhi Police Ke Sang’ aims to fight against corona through simple and time tested Ayurveda immunity boosting measures.
• Under the programme, AYURAKSHA kits have been distributed to nearly 80,000 police personnel for over a period of two months.
• In continuation of the project, Ayurveda Preventive and Promotive health care are now planned to be extended to the families of Delhi Police personnel.

Context: Recently, a Price Monitoring and Resource Unit has been set up in Karnataka under the aegis of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).
About PMRU

• It will function at the State level under the direct supervision of the State Drug Controller for increasing outreach of NPPA.
• They are societies registered under the Societies Registration Act having its own Memorandum of Association/ Bye laws.
• The Board of Governors of PMRU includes the representatives from Central Government and State Government concerned and other stakeholders.
• They are expected to strengthen drug security and affordability at regional levels.

Its Functions

• To assist NPPA in monitoring of prices of drugs, ensuring availability of drugs and raising consumer awareness.
• They act as collaborating partners of NPPA with information gathering mechanism at the grass-roots level.
• They will render necessary technical assistance to both the NPPA and the respective State Drug Controllers of States/ Union Territories.

About Consumer Awareness, Publicity and Price Monitoring (CAPPM)

• NPPA, under its Central Sector Scheme named Consumer Awareness, Publicity and Price Monitoring (CAPPM), has set up of PMRUs in 12 States/ UTs.
• They include Kerala, Odisha, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Nagaland, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram and Jammu & Kashmir.
• NPPA has plans to set up PMRUs in all the 36 States/ UTs.
• The expenses of PMRUs, both recurring and non-recurring are borne by NPPA under the Scheme.

Context: Recently, the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2020 rankings was announced. Around 674 institutions participated in the ARIIA rankings in 2020 compared with 496 in 2019.
Results were based on following parameters

• Budget and funding support 
• Infrastructure and facilities 
• Awareness 
• Promotions
• Support for idea generation and innovation.

List of Topper Institutes in 2020:
Institute of National Importance, Central Universities & CFTIs:

• Rank 1: IIT-Madras
• Rank 2: IIT-Bombay
• Rank 3: IIT-Delhi

Government and government-aided universities

• Rank 1: Institute of Chemical Technology
• Rank 2: Panjab University

Govt. and Govt. Aided College/Institutes:

• Rank 1: College of Engineering Pune
• Rank 2: PES College of Engineering

Private or Self-Financed Universities

• Rank 1: Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Khordha
• Rank 2: SRM Institute of Science and Technology

Private or Self-Financed College/Institutes

• Rank 1: S R Engineering College
• Rank 2: G H Raisoni College of Engineering, Nagpur & Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology

About Atal Rankings of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 

• Initiative by: Ministry of HRD/Education 
• Implemented by: AICTE and Ministry’s Innovation Cell, 
• Aim: To systematically rank higher education institutions and universities in India on indicators related to Innovation, Start-up and Entrepreneurship Development amongst students and faculty.
• The rankings are based on the indicators like Innovation, Startup and Entrepreneurship Development within students and faculty.
• ARIIA would include a special category for women-only higher education institutions for the first time in 2020.

Significance  

• ARIIA ranking will certainly inspire Indian institutions to reorient their mind-set and build ecosystems to encourage high quality research, innovation and entrepreneurship. 
• More than quantity, ARIIA will focus on quality of innovations and will try to measure the real impact created by these innovations nationally and internationally. 
• Moreover, ARIIA will set tone and direction for institutions for future development for making them globally competitive and in forefront of innovation. 

Context: Recently, India and Australia are sharing experiences on protecting critical infrastructure, including 5G networks. 
Current Scenario

• There is a huge increase in cybersecurity cooperation between India and Australia, through which they will exchange a range of  experiences, including protecting critical infrastructure, including  5G network. 
• Another area which the two countries are exploring are the regulatory space, including Australia’s encryption legislation, and how that could be used to prevent cyber-enabled crime. 
• The cyber agreement sets out practical actions to enhance digital trade, harness critical technology opportunities and address cybersecurity challenges. 

Why cybersecurity cooperation is important?
Issue of China

• In August 2018, Australia had banned Chinese companies from offering 5G services, citing national security.
• In January, India allowed Chinese firms to participate in 5G trials but with the current border standoff in Ladakh, there are reports that India may take a tougher stand.
• On June 29, India banned 59 Chinese apps citing national security and later banned 47 more Chinese apps but Australia mentioned that it  has no intention of banning Chinese apps like India has done. 

Threats

• The categories of threats that the two countries were looking at were criminal groups, financial gain, sophisticated state-based actors, terrorist groups, issues-based groups which might use the Internet to motivate, and countering terrorism including violent extremism.
• On August 6, Australia launched its Cyber Security Strategy 2020 under which it pledged to invest $1.67 bn over 10 years to protect the vulnerable, combat cyber-crime and protect critical infrastructure and systems of national significance.

About India-Australia Relations
Trade

• India is the 5th largest trade partner of Australia with trade in goods and services  at  A$ 29  billion  representing  3.6%  share  of  the  total  Australian  trade  in  2017-18,  with export at A$ 8 billion and import at A$ 21 billion. 
• India’s  main  exports  to  Australia  are  Refined  Petroleum,  medicaments, while our major imports are Coal, copper ores & concentrates, Gold, and  education  related  services.
• A  Civil  Nuclear  Cooperation  Agreement provides the framework for substantial new trade in energy between Australia and India. It ensures that Uranium mining companies in Australia may fulfil contracts to supply Australian uranium to India for civil use.

Strategic Relations

• Recently, the Ministry of Defence held a meeting to discuss the issue of adding Australia to the trilateral Malabar naval exercise.
• The two countries also have increasingly common military platforms as India’s defence purchases from the U.S. continue to grow.
• Australia is a member of the quad group. Quad is the informal strategic dialogue between India, the USA, Japan and Australia with a shared objective to ensure and support a free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region
• The exercises between armed forces of India and Australia are Pitch Black and AUSINDEX. 
• The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement has been signed between the nations that should enhance defence cooperation and ease the conduct of large-scale joint military exercises. 
• Since April 2017, Australia has been making repeated requests to join the exercises. But, India did not include Australia in the exercises in 2018 and 2019.

Context: In a major setback to the arguments on the state’s control of Hindu temples, the Uttarakhand High Court has recently upheld the constitutionality of the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board Act, 2019 that was enacted by the Uttarakhand government. 
What is the controversy? 

• The Uttarakhand law allegedly takes control of four of the most sacred places in the State including Kedarnath and Badrinath, which was challenged by MP and former Minister Subramanian Swamy. 
• Such laws are in place for a number of temples such as Jagannath Puri (1955), Vaishno Devi (1988), Shrinathji at Nathdwara (1959), Mahakal at Ujjain (1982), Kashi Vishwanath (1983), and Tirupati Balaji temple (1987). 
• Interestingly even Manu’s code provided that priests do not have the absolute right in temple management; instead, kings (state) in ancient India had a vital say in temple management. Even Kedarnath and Badrinath were under state management as prescribed by the Shri Badrinath and Kedamath Temples Act, 1939. The newly enacted law merely replaced this Act. 
• The Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court-led Bench examined all issues connected with the violation of religious rights of Hindus in temple management.

About Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act,2019

• The Act entrusted management of Char Dham temples to a Board whose Chairman and members are, by and large, nominated by the State Government.
• Two of the Chardham temples in Uttarakhand, Shri Badrinath and Shri Kedarnath temples, were, prior to the 2019 Act coming into force, under the control and management of a managing committee constituted under the U.P. Shri Badrinath and Shri Kedarnath Temples Act, 1939. 
• This 1939 Act was repealed by the 2019 Act. 
• The 2019 Act brings within its ambit the Gangotri and Yamunotri Dhams also.

Challenged in Court of Law

• The act was challenged on the ground that it violates Articles 14, 25, 26 and 31-A of the Constitution of India
• It was alleged that the 2019 Act divests ownership of its properties from the temple, and vests it in the Board controlled by government

What were the major Issues which was highlighted in this Judgement?
Distinction between religious and Secular activities

• Offerings (of money, fruits, flowers or any other thing) are given to the deity, religious practice ends with these offerings. 
• The collection and distribution of these offerings for the maintenance and upkeep of temple are secular activities

Char dhams Doesn’t belong to any religious denomination

• The Supreme Court in Nar Hari Sastri And Others vs Shri Badrinath Temple Committee (1952) had already held Badrinath to be a public temple of Hindus and not confined to any family or denomination.
• Also, SC held that secular activities of these temples can be regulated by the state. 
• The Court explicitly said that legislature is not bound to demonstrate mismanagement of temples while enacting such laws.

Regulation of religious practices/administration is not specific to Hinduism

• There are as many as 27 waqf laws and the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee Act too was enacted in 1925.
• In the latest judgment, Chief Justice Ranganathan observed that it is not necessary that the legislature should make a law uniformly applicable to all religious institutions 

Article 26 is not absolute

• The court clarified that ‘in matters of religion’, right to management is a guaranteed fundamental right under Article 26(b) 
• But in respect of properties, the right to administer properties under Article 26(c) is to be exercised in ‘accordance with law’. 
• Thus, the state is entitled to regulate administration of religious or temple properties by means of validly enacted law.
• Finally, the plea based on Article 31-A (saving of laws providing acquisition of estates) was also rejected though the 2019 Actindeed vested the administration of these temples in the Char Dham board in ‘perpetuity’ rather than for the limited duration as is permissible under Article 31A(b) because properties of these temples will continue to be owned by the deities and mere possession will be vested with the board. 

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court held Prashant Bhushan guilty of criminal contempt of court for his tweets against the CJI S.A. Bobde and against the judiciary.

• Now, Prashant Bhushan has asked the Court to defer the punishment till the review petition is filed and decided.
• He also submitted that the remedy of curative petition is also available.

About Curative Petition

• The concept was first evolved by the Supreme Court of India in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra and another case (2002) on the question whether an aggrieved person is entitled to any relief against the final judgement/order of the Supreme Court, even after the dismissal of a review petition.
• The court used the Latin maxim “actus curiae neminem gravabit”,which means that an act of the court shall prejudice no one. It’s objectives are twofolds- avoid miscarriage of justice and to prevent abuse of process.

Related Constitutional provisions

• The concept of the curative petition is supported by Article 137 of the Indian Constitution.
• It provides that in the matter of laws and rules made under Article 145, the Supreme Court has the power to review any judgement pronounced (or order made) by it.

Procedure

• A curative petition may be filed after a review plea against the final conviction is dismissed.
• It can be entertained if the petitioner establishes that there was a violation of the principles of natural justice, and that he was not heard by the court before passing an order.
• It must be rare rather than regular.
• A curative petition must be first circulated to a Bench of the three senior-most judges, and the judges who passed the concerned judgment, if available.
• Only when a majority of the judges conclude that the matter needs hearing should it be listed before the same Bench.
• The Bench at any stage of consideration of the curative petition can ask a senior counsel to assist it as amicus curiae (Friend of the court).
• A curative petition is usually decided by judges in the chamber unless a specific request for an open-court hearing is allowed.

Context: Judgement against Prashant Bhushan in Contempt of Court case has opened the pandora’s box regarding unbridled power of Court.
About Contempt of Court
According to Section 2 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971-

• “Contempt of court”means civil contempt or criminal contempt;
• “Civil contempt”means willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or willful breach of an undertaking given to a court;

“Criminal contempt”means the publication (whether by words, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise) of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which—

• scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, any court; or
• prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere with, the due course of any judicial proceeding; or
• interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any other manner.

Article 129 of the Constitution of India

• It provides that the Supreme Court of is a “court of record” and it has all the powers of such a court including power to punish for contempt of itself. Therefore, it is a constitutional power which cannot be taken away. Even the constituent power of judiciary itself may not do so otherwise basic structure of constitution will be offended.

Defense available against Contempt of Court

• Fair criticism: If a person publishes any fair comment on the merits of any case which has been heard and finally decided then it does not amount to contempt of court.
• Accurate report: If a person publishes a fair and accurate report of a judicial proceeding or any stage thereof then it does not amount to contempt of court..

Raising voice against the Judiciary: Criticism or Contempt

• People believe that the right to free speech is near absolute. However, there is a thin line separating criticism and contempt. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right guaranteed to every Indian citizen under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution which is also subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2).

Supreme Court’s Judgement

• The Supreme Court has held that if a comment is made against the functioning of a judge, it would have to be seen whether the comment is fair or malicious.
• If the comment is made against the judge as an individual, the Court would consider whether the comment seeks to interfere with the judge’s administration or is simply in the nature of libel or defamation.
• The Court would have to determine whether the statement is fair, bona fide, defamatory or contemptuous. If statements which affect the functioning of courts amount to criminal contempt since public perception of the judiciary plays a vital role in the rule of law.

Landmark Judgments
S Mugolkar  v. Unknown (1978): The Supreme Court held that the judiciary cannot be immune from fair criticism and contempt action is to be used only when an obvious misstatement with malicious intent seeks to bring down public confidence in the courts or seeks to influence the courts.
Justice Sabyasachi Mukherjee (1988): Speaking for the Supreme Court, Justice Sabyasachi Mukherjee said if antisocial elements and criminals have benefited by decisions of the Supreme Court, the fault rests with the laws and the loopholes in the legislation. The Courts are not deterred by such criticisms.
Indirect Tax Practitioners Association  v. R.K. Jain (2010): The Supreme Court held that truth is also a defense in matters of criminal contempt if is bona fide and made in public interest.
Arundhati Roy  vs.  Unknown (2002): The Supreme Court held that a statement that the court willingly issued notice on an unsubstantiated petition affected the reputation and credibility of the court before the public and therefore held her guilty of contempt.
Road Ahead

• Judiciary should consider the contempt proceedings carefully and only conclude after examining its facts and the circumstances.

Context: Recently, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has announced that the government jobs will be reserved for the “children” of the state and legal provisions will be made for the same.
Key Points
Arguments Against Providing Reservation Based on Place of Birth:

• Article 16 in the Constitution of India refers to equality of opportunity in government jobs.
• Article 16(1) provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to 'employment or appointment' to any office under the State.
• Article 16(2) provides that there cannot be any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them.
• Reservation on the basis of domicile and residence would mean discrimination as even a minimal departure creates an irrational class depriving a meritorious candidate of his fundamental rights.
• This kind of parochialism encourages regionalism and threatens the unity of the nation.

Arguments in Favour of Providing Reservation Based on Place of Birth

• Article 16(3), allows for making provisions in government appointments with respect to residence (not place of birth).
• The Parliament (and not the legislature of a state) can prescribe residence within a state or union territory as a condition for certain employments or appointments in that state or union territory, or local authority or other authority within that state or union territory.
• Some states have been using the loopholes in the laws to reserve government jobs for locals. They have used other criteria like language tests or proof of having resided/studied in the state for a certain period of time.
• In Maharashtra, only those living in the state for over 15 years with fluency in Marathi are eligible.
• In Jammu and Kashmir, government jobs are reserved for “domiciles”
• In West Bengal, reading and writing skills in Bengali is a criterion in recruitment to some posts.
• Last year, the Govt of Karnataka issued a notification mandating private employers to give “priority” to Kannadigas for clerical and factory jobs in the state.
• It is argued that giving preferential treatment to the residents of a state will help in rightful allocation of the resources of the state and would encourage people to work within the boundaries of their state.
• This is also seen as a way to stop migration of people from backward states to metropolitans, thereby reducing the burden on such cities.

Distinction between domicile status and place of birth

• According to the SC ruling in DP Joshi vs Madhya Bharat case,1955, Domicile or status of residence is a fluid concept that can change from time to time, unlike place of birth, which is fixed.
• Domicile of a person means his permanent home.
• The place of birth is one of several grounds on which domicile status is conferred.

SC Judgments

• In 2019, the Allahabad High Court struck down a recruitment notification issued by the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Service Selection Commission, which prescribed preference for women who were “original residents” of the state.
• In the Kailash Chand Sharma vs State Of Rajasthan case, 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that residence, be it within a state, district or any other area, cannot be a basis for preferential reservation or treatment.
• While the Constitution specifically prohibits discrimination based on place of birth, the Supreme Court, in DP Joshi vs Madhya Bharat case, 1955 has held domicile reservation, especially in educational institutions, as constitutional.

Road Ahead

• The move to give reservation to the candidates born in the state itself runs against the spirit of constitutional equality and fraternity. It is more likely that such politically motivated steps would be overturned by the judiciary as has been done several times in the past.
• Also, the government is not an employment guaranteeing agency rather an authority which should create an environment through its policies which minimizes inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities.

Context: Recently, the Lt. Governor of Delhi appointed all the public prosecutors in Delhi riots cases whose names were submitted by the Delhi Police and rejected the State government’s list.

• The Lt. Governor referred the issue under proviso to Article 239AA (4) to the President stating that there is a difference of opinion between him and the government over this matter.
• In the meantime, the Lt. Governor appointed all the prosecutors whose names were submitted by the Delhi Police and thus the State government’s list was rejected.
• The article argues that the act of the Lt. Governor to refer to the President the issue of appointment of prosecutors has not been in consonance with the principles enunciated in the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling.

Issues involved

• Supreme Court guidelines in Government of NCT of Delhi vs. Union of India (2018): SC directed the Lt. Governor not to refer to the President normal administrative matters as that would disturb the concept of Constitutional governance, principles of collaborative federalism and the standards of Constitutional morality.
• SC clarified that there is no requirement of the concurrence of the Lt. Governor and that he has no power to overrule the decisions of the State government.
• Faultline: the Court did not specify the matters which can be referred by the Lt. Governor to the President in the event of a difference of opinion between the Lt. Governor and the State government.
• For State Government: SC said, Delhi is a special category Union Territory and lays down the parameters to enabling the harmonious functioning of the government and the Lt. Governor.

About Articles 239AA

• Article 239AA of the Constitution of India granted Special Status to Delhi among Union Territories (UTs) in the year 1991 through the 69th constitutional amendment by the Parliament.
• It provided a Legislative Assembly and a Council of Ministers responsible to such Assembly. Delhi was named as ‘National Capital Region (NCT) of Delhi’.
• As per Article 239AA – Public Order, Police & Land in NCT of Delhi fall within the domain and control of Central Government which shall have the power to make laws on these matters. For remaining matters of State List or Concurrent List, in so far as any such matter is applicable to UTs, the Legislative Assembly shall have the power to make laws for NCT of Delhi.
• As per Article 239AA (4), in the case of a difference of opinion between the Lt. Governor and his Ministers on any matter, the Lt. Governor shall refer it to the President for decision and act according to that decision. In the meantime, if the Lt. Governor thinks that the matter is urgent he can take immediate action on his own.

Government of NCT of Delhi vs. Union of India (2018)

• The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in the Government of NCT of Delhi vs. Union of India (2018) dealt with the issue of jurisdictional conflicts between the government of NCT and the Lieutenant Governor (representative of the Union Government).
• The Supreme Court was called upon to determine the extent of powers of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.
• The constitutional bench made the following observations:

Representative government for Delhi

• Based on the argument that if the elected Government of Delhi could not usher in policies and laws over which the Delhi Legislative Assembly has powers to legislate for the NCT of Delhi, it would render the democratic and representative form of government ineffective in Delhi, the SC ruled that the Lt. Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers except in respect of ‘Land’, ‘Public Order’ and the ‘Police’.

Executive power with states

• The Court had held that though the Parliament can legislate for Delhi on any matter in the State List and the Concurrent List (Article 239AA (3)(a)), the executive power in relation to Delhi except the ‘Police’, ‘Land’ and ‘Public Orders’ vests only in the State Government headed by the Chief Minister (Article 239AA (4)).
• It held that the executive power of the Union does not extend to any of the matters which come within the jurisdiction of the Delhi Assembly.

Special status of Delhi

• The judgment also noted that Delhi being a special category Union Territory, there is the need to ensure harmonious functioning of the Delhi government and the Lt. Governor.

Powers of the Lt. Governor

• In case of a difference of opinion between the Lt. Governor and the State government, the Governor can refer a decision taken by the Council of Ministers to the President.
• The Supreme Court had observed that the powers conferred on the Lt. Governor to refer any matter to the President under the provision of the Article 239AA (4) did not mean every matter, and stated that such power should be used sparingly keeping in mind the standards of constitutional trust and morality, the principles of collaborative federalism and the concept of constitutional balance.
• The President is the highest constitutional authority and his decision should be sought only on constitutionally important issues.

Context: Recently, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has resigned after soldiers had arrested him and Prime Minister Boubou Cisse in the capital, Bamako as part of a coup.

• It has prompted its West African neighbours to threaten border closures and sanctions against the coup leaders.

Key Points

• Background: The 2011 crisis in Libya led Mali along the path to chaos.
• Weapons from Libya were supplied across the Sahara Desert and fuelled a separatist conflict in northern Mali. This turned into an Islamist militant offensive which prompted a coup in the capital Bamako (Mali).

Reasons: Mali has three overlapping sets of problems

• Political crisis that grew out of the disputed legislative elections of March 2020.
• Economic crisis due to economic stagnation, corruption and further complications by the Covid-19 pandemic. There was dissatisfaction among the troops due to poor payments.
• Security crisis due to the failure to contain terrorism and jihadists and the actions of the military against civilians.

Military Coup: It calls itself the National Committee for the Salvation of the People and has pledged to stabilise the country by enacting a political transition and stage elections within a reasonable time.

• It has imposed a curfew and closed the borders sealing the country.
• It would respect all the past agreements, including Mali’s support for anti-jihadist missions in the region and its commitment to the Algiers process which is a 2015 peace agreement between the Malian government and armed groups in the north of the country.
• It held that United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), France’s Barkhane force, the G5 Sahel (Institutional framework of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger), Takuba (a European special-forces initiative) will remain Mali’s partners.

Reactions

• France has urged Mali to return to civilian rule, saying "the fight against terrorist groups and the defence of democracy and the rule of law are inseparable".
• France, Mali's former colonial ruler, has several thousand troops based in Mali fighting Islamist militant groups.
• Various jihadist groups, some linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, are based in the deserts of northern Mali, from where they have spread to neighbouring countries, especially Burkina Faso and Niger.
• The African Union had already suspended Mali on the account that military coups were something of the past and cannot be accepted in present times.
• The 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has also taken swift action against Mali by closing borders, suspending financial flows and ejecting it from decision-making bodies.
• The UN's Security Council has demanded the immediate release of all government officials and the restoration of constitutional order.

Republic of Mali

• Mali is a vast country stretching into the Sahara Desert in western Africa.
• Once home to several pre-colonial empires, the landlocked, arid African country of Mali is one of the largest on the continent and is among the poorest in the world.
• Mali is bounded on the north by Algeria, on the east by Niger and Burkina Faso, on the south by Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, and on the west by Senegal and Mauritania.
• After independence from France in 1960, Mali suffered droughts, rebellions, a coup and 23 years of military dictatorship until democratic elections in 1992.
• It has experienced several military takeovers and is currently battling to contain a wave of jihadist attacks and ethnic violence.
• Mali, landlocked country of western Africa, mostly in the Saharan and Sahelian regions. Mali is largely flat and arid. The Niger River flows through its interior, functioning as the main trading and transport artery in the country.
• Sections of the river flood periodically, providing much-needed fertile agricultural soil along its banks as well as creating pasture for livestock.
• Although Mali is one of the largest countries in Africa, it has a relatively small population, which is largely centred along the Niger River.
• The Bambara (Bamana) ethnic group and language predominate, with several other groups—including the Fulani (Fulbe), Dogon, and Tuareg—also present in the population. Agriculture is the dominant economic sector in the country, with cotton production, cattle and camel herding, and fishing among the major activities.

World Solar Technology Summit
About the Summit

• The First World Solar Technology Summit will be organized by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on a virtual platform on the 8th of September.
• Ministers from all member countries of the ISA will attend the summit. It will also be attended by high-level dignitaries from the scientific research and development community, heads of global corporations, financial & multilateral bodies, think tanks and senior government functionaries.
• The summit will include many deliberations on low cost, innovative and affordable solar technologies.
• ISA would also be launching the ISA Journal on Solar Energy that would help authors from across the globe to publish their articles on solar energy, during the event.

Context: Recently, Germany has expressed interest in joining the International Solar Alliance (ISA), a treaty based inter-governmental alliance of 121 sunshine-rich countries that lie fully or partially between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Background
Change in membership criteria: 

• Membership to the ISA was earlier limited to 121 countries, which were partially or entirely located within the tropics which didn’t allow major solar energy economies such as Germany to join the alliance.
• The criteria was relaxed after the 30 ISA member countries ratified its framework agreement. 
• Now all members of the United Nations can join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) under the recently amended ISA Framework Agreement
• Germany plans to generate two-thirds of its energy needs from solar and wind power projects by 2030.

Significance of Germany's membership of ISA

• Strategic and financial weight to the ISA: Germany is a member of the P5+1 grouping, comprising five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US, and is one of the earliest green economy proponents.
• It will also boost India’s ambitious cross-border power grid plan, the One Sun One World One Grid as China attempts to co-opt countries into its One Belt One Road initiative.

About International Solar Alliance

• Indian PM and French President had launched the International Solar Alliance during COP21 in Paris aiming to contribute to the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement through rapid and massive deployment of solar energy.
• It is the first treaty-based international government organization headquartered in India (Gurugram,New Delhi). 
• The initiative is being leveraged by India’s state-run organizations to set up solar projects in member nations.

Its Objectives

• Develop integrated solar or solar hybrid based cold chain solutions that bring economic value to farmers and producers, and include the post-harvest in-field technologies that can secure an extended shelf-life of perishable items
• Encourage the use of sustainable, low global warming potential solar-based cooling technologies through financing and incentives for small- and medium-sized farms
• Promote applied research and industry engagement to introduce affordable refrigeration solutions for small- and medium-sized producers with special emphasis on post-harvest processing facilities and transportation

One Sun One World One Grid

• According to the draft plan prepared by the ministry of new and renewable energy, the ambitious OSOWOG will connect 140 countries through a common grid that will be used to transfer solar power. 
• The vision behind the OSOWOG mantra is “the Sun never sets” and is a constant at some geographical location, globally, at any given point of time. 
• With India at the fulcrum, the solar spectrum can easily be divided into two broad zones viz. 
• Far East which would include countries like Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Lao, Cambodia and 
• Far West which would cover the Middle East and the Africa Region,” MNRE said in the terms of reference in the RfP published to hire consultants for OSOWOG.

The plan is divided into three phases: 

• The first phase will connect the Indian grid with the Middle East, South Asia and South-East Asian grids to share solar and other renewable energy resources. 
• The second phase will connect the first phase nations with the African pool of renewable sources. 
• The third phase will be the concluding step of global interconnection.

Context: Recently, the 4th Session of the BRICS Anti-Drug Working Group comprising of Brazil, Russia, China, South Africa and India was held, with the Indian delegation led by the Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau.

• Issues Raised by India: India raised the misuse of darknet and modern technology used for drug trafficking by the international criminals in the meeting.
• It also called for nodal points to enable real-time information sharing among BRICS nations.
• Trends of Drug Trafficking: The BRICS grouping discussed international and regional trends of illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances among others.
• It also discussed steps to curb increased instances of drug trafficking through the maritime route.

A Global Menace

• According to the report released in May 2020 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Report (UNODC), Covid-19 induced lockdowns and movement restrictions may lead to an initial statistical reduction in drug seizures, but is unlikely to have any effect on illicit drug supply.

India and Illicit Drug Trade

• Major Hub of Illicit Drug Trade: According to UNODC, India is one of the major hubs of illicit drug trade ranging from age-old cannabis to newer prescription drugs like tramadol, and designer drugs like methamphetamine.
• Drug Trafficking Routes: India is in the middle of two major illicit opium production regions in the world, the Golden Crescent (Iran-Afghanistan-Pakistan) in the west and the Golden Triangle (South-East Asia) in the east.

Anti-Drug Action Plan
India has also launched the Anti-Drug Action Plan for 2020-21 which includes:

• De-addiction Facilities,
• Drop-in-Centres for Addicts,
• Integrated Rehabilitation Centre for Addicts (IRCAs),
• Drug-Free India Campaign.

About Darknet

• It refers to the hidden internet platform used for narcotics sale, exchange of pornographic content and other illegal activities by using the secret alleys of the onion router (ToR- a free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication) to stay away from the surveillance of law enforcement agencies.
• It is tough to crack because of its end-to-end encryption.
• The dark net is part of the deep web, which encompasses all unindexed sites that don't pop up when an Internet search is done.
• However, not all activities associated with the deep web are nefarious like darknet. In most cases, these pages are not searchable because they are password-protected and require authorization in order to access them.
• Personal email, online banking, and other similar sites are included under the umbrella of the deep web.
• The internet we see today is the only tip of the iceberg, the majority is deep web only.

About BRICS

• BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
• It is an association of five major emerging national economies established in 2009.
• It together represents about 42% of the world population, 23% of GDP, 30% of the territory and 18% of the global trade.
• The acronym BRIC was first used in 2001 by Goldman Sachs in their Global Economics Paper, projecting that economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China would individually and collectively be amongst the world’s largest economies in the next 50 years or so.
• South Africa joined this informal group in 2011 and BRIC became BRICS.
• The first formal summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
• The BRICS members are all developing or newly industrialised countries.
• All five BRICS nations are G-20 members.

Context: 15 August 1945 is remembered in history as Victory in Japan or V-J Day, when Allied forces mark their victory over Imperial Japan during World War II.

• Japan, which had entered the war in September 1940, was part of the Axis bloc– consisting of itself, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, and had occupied several parts of Asia during the international conflict. 

About V-J Day 

• In May 1945, Axis powers in Europe had been defeated (the Victory in Europe or V-E Day is marked every year on May 8). Allied forces, however, continued fighting Japan in East Asia in the following months. 
• As a part of the British Empire, India also played a key role in the war with Japan– its troops helping secure Singapore and Hong Kong for the Allies in August 1945. 
• Things started changing rapidly after the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and three days later, another one on Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of people. 
• On August 14, US President Harry S Truman announced that Japan was surrendering, and British Prime Minister Clement Atlee confirmed the news at midnight. 
• On August 15, the Japanese emperor Hirohito in his first radio address ever announced Japan’s surrender. V-J Day marked the complete end of World War II, and Japan formally signed surrender documents on September 2 that year. 

Japanese rule in India 

• During the war, Japan had also forced its exploitative control over one of India’s territories. 
• Japanese forces landed in South Andamans on March 23, 1942 and in the next three to four hours gained complete control over the area.  
• Japanese control over the Andamans coincided with Subhash Chandra Bose-led Indian National Army (INA)’s occupation over the area and the internal understanding between the two, ensured that the Japanese faced no resistance while trying to take over the Andamans. 
• Bose believed that India could never achieve independence without resorting to revolutionary forces, and held faith in acquiring help from international powers for expelling the British from Indian soil. 
• Once freed from the British, Bose convinced the Japanese to hand over the islands to him and consequently hoisted the tricolour there on December 30, 1943. He also named the islands Shaheed (martyr) and Swaraj (self-rule). 
• Soon after, however, things turned bitter as the Japanese force erupted over the island’s population with the kind of barbarity unheard of before, as administration remained only nominally in the hands of the INA. It is estimated that close to 2,000 Indians in the Andamans died as a result of Japanese brutality. Finally, the islands were again taken over by the British in October 1945. 

V-J Day and India’s Independence Day 

• For almost two decades before India actually became independent, the country’s freedom fighters had been celebrating January 26 as “Poorna Swaraj Day”– after Congress leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Bose pushed for complete independence from British rule over dominion status at the Lahore session of 1929-30. 
• But when independence finally arrived in 1947, British rulers coincided the date of transfer with the second anniversary of V-J Day, August 15. The historian Ramachandra Guha notes, “freedom finally came on a day that resonated with imperial pride rather than nationalist sentiment.” 
• Two years later when Indian leaders finished writing the country’s Constitution, it was decided to adopt the document on Poorna Swaraj Day in 1950 as it was associated with national pride. January 26 has since been celebrated as India’s Republic Day. 

Context: Recently, Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute Pune have come up with first synthetic route for producing flavonoids molecules related to the treatment of Tuberculosis and Chikungunya.
Flavonoid molecules

• Flavonoids are normally isolated from plants and most ayurvedic products are rich in flavonoids.
• Flavonoids are mostly present in tomato, onion, lettuce, grape, apple, strawberry, peach, and other vegetables.
• A diet rich in flavonoids protects us from diseases related to heart, liver, kidney, brain, and other infectious diseases
• The chemical structure of flavonoids is similar to the female hormone 17-beta-estradiol (estrogen).
• Therefore, flavonoids can ease the life of women who face problems in the premenopausal stage.

Note: ‘Rugosaflavonoid A’ is from medicinal plant Rosa rugosa, ‘Podocarflavone A’ is isolated from the plant Podocarpus macrophyllus.
Tuberculosis (TB)

• Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs.
• Tuberculosis is curable and preventable.

How it is spread?

• TB is spread through the air when people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit.
• Tobacco use greatly increases the risk of TB disease and death.

Diagnosis Test

• The use of the rapid test Xpert MTB/RIF has expanded substantially since 2010.
• The test simultaneously detects TB and resistance to rifampicin, the most important TB medicine.

Multidrug-resistant TB

• Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a form of TB caused by bacteria that do not respond to isoniazid and rifampicin, the 2 most powerful first-line anti-TB drugs.
• MDR-TB is treatable and curable by using second-line drugs.
• Extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) is a more serious form of MDR-TB caused by bacteria that do not respond to the most effective second-line anti-TB drugs, often leaving patients without any further treatment options.

Global TB strategy framework

• Vision: A world free of tuberculosis – zero deaths, disease and suffering due to tuberculosis
• Goal: End the global tuberculosis epidemic

Milestones for 2025

• 75% reduction in tuberculosis deaths (compared with 2015)
• 50% reduction in tuberculosis incidence rate (less than 55 tuberculosis cases per 100 000 population) – No affected families facing catastrophic costs due to tuberculosis

Targets for 2035

• 95% reduction in tuberculosis deaths (compared with 2015)
• 90% reduction in tuberculosis incidence rate (less than 10 tuberculosis cases per 100 000 population) – No affected families facing catastrophic costs due to tuberculosis

National Strategic Plan (NSP) for TB (2017 – 2025) – India

• The NSP proposes to rapidly decline TB in the country by 2030 in line with the global End TB targets and Sustainable Development Goal’s to attain the vision of a TB-free India.
• Vision: TB-Free India with zero deaths, disease and poverty due to tuberculosis.
• Goal: To achieve a rapid decline in burden of TB, morbidity and mortality while working towards elimination of TB in India by 2025.

About Chikungunya

• Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne virus caused by the bite of Aedes Aegypti mosquito.
• It causes a disease characterised by fever and severe joint pain, often in hands and feet.
• Symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling or rash.
• It has frequent outbreaks in tropical countries of Africa and Southeast Asia.

Context: Recently, USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorised the emergency use of a new saliva-based laboratory diagnostic test for Covid-19 - ‘SalivaDirect’.
About SalivaDirect

• It is a new rapid diagnostic test for novel coronavirus infection that uses saliva samples. It is simpler, less expensive and less invasive than the traditional method for such testing known as nasopharyngeal (NP) swabbing.
• NP swab is used to detect upper respiratory tract infections, such as whooping cough and Covid-19. It is used in Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and antigen tests.
• In this test, secretions from the back of the nose and upper throat are collected using a swab.
• The secretions are sent to a laboratory where they are grown in order to make it easier to identify which viruses, bacteria or fungi are present.
• It has been developed by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health in collaboration with the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Collecting and testing saliva samples include three steps

• Saliva is collected without preservative buffers.
• It is first treated with proteinase K followed by a heat inactivation step (to remove contamination).
• It is then directly used as an input in the dualplex RT-qPCR mechanism.
• In Quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) mechanism, the viral RNA is quantified to detect the novel coronavirus.
• Coronavirus is made up of Ribonucleic Acid (RNA).

Benefits:

• High Sensitivity: The sensitivity is about 93%. SalivaDirect test can detect when the number of virus copies in the saliva sample is as low as 6-12 copies per microlitre.
• Non-Invasive: It uses saliva, instead of relying on nasopharyngeal (nasal) specimens, which makes the sample collection non-invasive.
• Protects Healthcare Workers: Collecting the sample from the nasopharyngeal region requires a swab to be inserted into the back of the nostrils, which very often causes irritation leading to sneezing and coughing, thus exposing healthcare workers from getting exposed to the virus.
• Large-scale Testing: Saliva samples are a viable alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs and could allow for at-home, self-administered sample collection for accurate large-scale SARS-CoV-2 testing.

Further, collecting nasopharyngeal samples can be uncomfortable to people, discouraging them from getting tested. The saliva test is likely to increase testing compliance.

Context: Recently, Scientists from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences, Bengaluru have designed a metal mesh structure to make a transparent shield for electromagnetic interference.
Key Feature

• The transparent shield for electromagnetic interference is been called an ‘invisible’ shield that has various military stealth applications.
• These transparent and flexible EMI shields made of metal meshes have been fabricated using the crack templating method via spray coating.
• The copper metal mesh developed on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet as its substrate, exhibited a visible transmittance (T), a parameter of visible transparency of about 85% and high sheet resistance (~0.83 ohm per square).
• This invention has potential to satisfy the huge demand for highly effective transparent and flexible EMI shields, which can cover electromagnetic wave emitter/absorber devices without compromising their aesthetics.

Benefits

• The main purpose of the EMI shield is to isolate a device's energy so it doesn't affect anything else and blocks external energy from getting in.
• Without shielding, electronics wouldn't function as designed or may even stop working altogether.
• This ‘invisible’ shield can be used in various military stealth applications and can cover electromagnetic wave emitter or absorber devices without compromising aesthetics.
• Besides the physical shape, reducing the electromagnetic signature, which includes radar waves and radio signals, is an important element for enhancing the stealth capability of a weapon platform.

About Electromagnetic Interference(EMI)

• It is the disruption of operation of an electronic device when it is in the vicinity (area of influence) of an electromagnetic field (EM field) in the radio frequency (RF) spectrum that is caused by another electronic device.
• The internal circuits of most electronic devices generate EM energy over a wide band of frequencies.
• These emissions can interfere with the performance of sensitive wireless receivers nearby.
• The disturbance may degrade the performance of the circuit or even stop it from functioning, or can range from an increase in error rate to a total loss of the data.
• EMI can be used intentionally for radio jamming, as in electronic warfare.

Context: Recently, the Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index 2020 has been released by SurfShark, an online privacy solutions provider. According to it, India ranks among the lowest in the world in terms of Internet quality.
Key Points

• Coverage: It is global research on the quality of digital wellbeing in 85 countries (81% of the global population).
• Parameters: The study indexes the countries by looking at five fundamental pillars that define the digital quality of life namely, internet affordability, internet quality, electronic infrastructure, electronic security and electronic government.
• Underpinning these pillars are 12 indicators that are interrelated and work together to provide a measure of the overall digital quality of life.

GDP and DQL: Although GDP per capita has a strong correlation with the DQL, there are countries that have a better digital quality of life with a lower GDP per capita than expected.

• 13 countries (Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Greece, etc.) exceed the expected digital quality of life by outperforming others in providing higher levels of e-security and more affordable internet connectivity.
• Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia with relatively high GDP per capita are underperforming in providing better digital wellbeing for their citizens due to low levels of internet quality and e-security.

Affordability: The affordability of the internet plays a major role in ensuring accessibility but has a notably lower correlation with the DQL than the other pillars.

• For instance, the internet is less affordable in some Southern or Eastern European countries but people there still enjoy higher than the average digital quality of life.

Internet Infrastructure: The stability of the internet infrastructure has become of crucial importance during the Covid-19 pandemic when video conferences replaced live meetings. Consequently, it impacted the quality of people’s digital lives.

• During the first month of the lockdowns, 49 of 85 countries experienced deteriorated speeds of mobile internet and 44 countries experienced deteriorated speeds of broadband connection.

Global Rankings

• 7 out of 10 countries with the highest DQL are in Europe, with Denmark leading among 85 countries.
• Scandinavian countries excel in offering high-quality digital wellbeing to their citizens.
• Canada leads in American continents, Japan in Asia, South Africa in Africa and News Zealand in Oceania.

Indian Rankings: India stands at the overall rank of 57 out of the 85 countries.

• Internet Affordability: 9th place and outperforms countries like the UK, the USA and China.
• Internet Quality: 78th place and is almost at the bottom of the pillar.
• E-infrastructure: 79th place and below countries like Guatemala and Sri Lanka.
• Electronic Security: 57th position.
• E-government: 15th place and just below countries like New Zealand and Italy.

Government Initiatives Related to Internet

• Digital India Programme: It is an umbrella program to prepare India for a knowledge-based transformation.
• e-Kranti: National e-Governance Plan 2.0 which is an essential pillar of the Digital India initiative.
• Digilockers: It enables Indian citizens to store certain official documents on the cloud.
• BHIM App: To enable digital payments.
• Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan: To make citizens digitally literate.
• Bharat Net programme: To provide an optical fibre network in all gram panchayats.

Context: Recently, Defence Minister has approved a proposal of the National Cadet Corps for a major expansion scheme to meet the aspirations of youth in all the border and coastal districts.
Key Points

• A total of one lakh cadets from 173 border and coastal districts will be inducted in the NCC. One-third of the Cadets would be girl Cadets. More than 1000 schools and colleges have been identified in border and coastal districts where NCC will be introduced. 
• As part of the expansion plan, a total of 83 NCC units will be upgraded (Army 53, Navy 20, Air Force 10), to impart NCC training to the cadets in the border and coastal areas.  
• Army will provide training and administrative support to the NCC units located in the border areas, Navy shall provide support to NCC units in the coastal areas and similarly Air Force will provide support to the NCC units located close to the Air Force stations.  
• This will not only provide exposure to the youth of the border and coastal areas to military training and disciplined way of life but will also motivate them to join the armed forces.  
• The NCC expansion plan will be implemented in partnership with the States. 

Significance of expansion

• While the NCC does have units in several borders and coastal districts, officials believe there is a lot of scope for expansion.
• In the coastal regions, where youth are already familiar with the sea, the training will increase interest in careers in Navy, Coast Guard and also Merchant shipping avenues.
• In the border area, the trained cadets can play an important role in various contingencies and also in supporting roles to the Armed forces in various roles.

National Cadet Corps  

• NCC is a tri-service organisation comprising of the Army, Naval and Air wings. 
• The motto of the organisation is ‘Unity and Discipline’, following which it prepares youth as disciplined and patriotic citizens. 
• NCC was formed under the National Cadet Corps Act, 1948. 
• Cadets are given basic military and weapons training in NCC, by serving officers of the Armed forces. 
• It is a voluntary organisation which recruits cadets from high schools, higher secondary, colleges and universities all over India. 
• The officers and cadets have no liability for active military service once they complete their course. 
• It can be traced back to the ‘University Corps’, which was created under the Indian Defence Act 1917, with the objective to make up for the shortage in the Army. 
• The NCC is headed by a Director General with the rank of Lieutenant General. 
• NCC falls under the domain of Ministry of Defence. 

Context: Recently, Atal Innovation Mission(AIM) in collaboration with NASSCOM has launched the ‘ATL AI Step Up Module’ to school students nationwide.
About ATL AI Step up Module

• It is a comprehensive set of learning it yourself Advanced modules to those who wish to expand their knowledge base after becoming familiar with the basics of the Artificial Intelligence(AI) through the AI base module.

Additional Facts

• AI-based Module:It is an artificial intelligence module launched by Atal Innovation Mission in collaboration with NASSCOM for school students to leverage the full potential of AIM’s Atal Tinkering Lab(ATL) and empower them to innovate and create valuable solutions benefiting societies at large.
• Atal innovation mission(AIM): It was set up by NITI Aayog in 2016 to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.It also seeks to create institutions and programs that enhance innovation in schools, colleges, and entrepreneurs in general.
• Artificial Intelligence: It is the ability to imitate humans (such as using language/speech, vision/image recognition, making predictions, learning, problem-solving, ability to move and manipulate objects on their own)

Context: According to the Science and Technology Indicators (STI), 2018, India’s private sector research companies appear to employ a larger proportion of women in core research and development activities than government-funded major scientific agencies do.
About Science and Technology Indicators (STI) report

• The STI report is a periodic compilation of the state of scientific research in India.
• The STI is prepared by a division of the Department of Science & Technology, the National Science and Technology Management Information System.

Key Points
Dominance of government research institutes

• Almost 60% of the total scientists in the R&D domain in India are employed by government institutions or are in the higher education sector.

Low women representation

• Male scientists account for a higher proportion of the total scientists in India’s R&D establishments. The ratio of women to men scientists is the range 1:6 to 1:4.
• This indicates the inadequate representation of women scientists in the R&D domain.
• There has been a trend of a large drop in the number of women between the doctoral and professional stages due to social pressure on women to have a family that is seen as incompatible with a professional career.
• There are also patriarchal attitudes in hiring practices that might be leading to lower women hiring.

Private sector performance better

• Data from the STI report notes that India’s private sector research companies employ a larger proportion of women in core research and development activities than government-funded major scientific agencies.
• Private sector companies seem to have a greater commitment to ensuring that women scientists are fairly represented in recruitment, promotions and appraisal processes than in many scientific organisations.

Global Scenario
Women in STEM

• UNESCO data from 2014-16 shows that only around 30% of female students select STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)-related fields in higher education.
• Female enrolment is particularly low in information technology (3%), natural science, mathematics and statistics (5%) and engineering and allied streams (8%).

Research as a Profession

• According to a 2018 fact sheet prepared by UNESCO on women in science, only 28.8% of researchers are women.

Share in Nobel Prizes

• Between 1901 and 2019, 334 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to 616 Laureates in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine, of which just 20 have been won by women.

Share in Abel Prizes

• In 2019, the American mathematician Karen Uhlenbeck became the first woman to win the Abel Prize, following 16 male mathematicians.
• The Abel Prize is a Norwegian prize awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians.
• Share in Fields Medals:
• The Fields Medal so far has also been awarded to only one woman mathematician, the late Maryam Mirzakhani of Iran, as opposed to 59 men since 1936.
• The Fields Medal is awarded every four years by the International Congress of Mathematicians to recognize outstanding mathematical achievement for existing work and for the promise of future achievement.

National Scenario
Women in STEM

• The female enrolment in science streams rose from 2010-11 to 2015-16.
• According to the NITI Aayog report in 2015-16, 9.3% of female students in Undergraduate (UG) courses were enrolled in engineering, compared to 15.6% across genders. Conversely, 4.3% of female students were enrolled in medical science, compared to 3.3% across genders. 

Research as a Profession

• Only 13.9% of women work as a researcher in India. At master’s and doctoral levels, female enrolment remained lower than overall enrolment.

Presence at Technical Professions

• The NITI Aayog report has also found that in over 620 institutes and universities, including IITs, NITs, ISRO, and DRDO, the presence of women was 20.0% among Scientific and Administrative Staff, 28.7% among Post-Doctoral Fellows, and 33.5% among PhD scholars.

Gender Gap Index

• According to the Global Gender Gap Index 2020, a study covering 153 economies, India has slipped to the 112th spot from its 108th position in 2018.
• The report also says it would take nearly a hundred years to close the gender gap in various fields in India compared to the time it would take in other countries.

Work Participation

• According to the World Bank, India ranks 163rd out of 181 countries in female labour force participation.
• Also, India is one of the few countries in the world where women’s work participation rates have fallen sharply — from 29% in 2004-5 to 22% in 2011-12 and to 17% in 2017-18.

Inequality at WorK

• According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), a large percentage of all the jobs lost last year were held by women. Out of the 11 million jobs lost in 2018, women accounted for 8.8 million.
• Indian women receive 34% fewer wages than men for equivalent work, spend around five hours a day on unpaid care work compared to a mere half an hour for men and are primarily engaged in low-paying, informal sector work.

Initiatives to Promote Women in Science
Vigyan Jyoti Scheme

• Vigyan Jyoti Scheme is launched by the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
• It is intended to create a level-playing field for the meritorious girls in high school to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in their higher education.
• It also offers exposure for girl students from the rural background to help to plan their journey from school to a job of their choice in the field of science.

GATI Scheme

• The Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) will develop a comprehensive Charter and a framework for assessing Gender Equality in STEM

KIRAN Scheme

• Knowledge Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) Scheme is started by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) aimed to bring gender parity in the Science & Technology sector by inducting more women talent in the research & development domain.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme

• BBBP is the joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resource Development to ensure survival, protection, and empowerment of the girl child.

Road Ahead

• Inequalities in gender participation in science emanate from social-economic issues, which can be treated by bringing behavioural change.
• Also, better political representation of women can go a long way in deconstructing the stereotype of women.
• Better workforce participation can only be brought by collective effort of the society and the people in governance.
• Growth in jobs must be inclusive and new jobs need to be secure with better work conditions, including social security benefits.

Context: Recently, the Prime Minister has stated in his Independence Day speech that the government may take a relook at the age of marriage of women and announced that the central government has set up a committee to reconsider the minimum age of marriage for women, which is currently 18.

• The Centre will take a decision after the committee submits its report.

Minimum age of Marriage in India

• The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 prescribe that the minimum age of marriage is 21 years for men and 18 years for women.
• The minimum age of marriage is distinct from the age of majority which is gender-neutral.
• An individual attains the age of majority at 18 as per the Indian Majority Act, 1875.

About Jaya Jaitely Task Force

• On June 2, the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development set up a task force headed Jaya Jaitely.
• It will examine matters pertaining to age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering Maternal Mortality Ratio and improvement of nutritional levels among women.
• The task force will examine the correlation of age of marriage and motherhood with health, medical well-being, and nutritional status of the mother and neonate, infant or child, during pregnancy, birth and thereafter.
• It will look at key parameters like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) and Child Sex Ratio (CSR).
• It will examine possibility of increasing age of marriage for women from present 18 years to 21 years.

Need for minimum age for marriage:

• The law prescribes a minimum age of marriage to essentially outlaw child marriages and prevent the abuse of minors.
• Personal laws of various religions that deal with marriage have their own standards, often reflecting custom.
• For Hindus: Section 5(iii) of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, sets 18 years as minimum age for the bride and 21 years as the minimum age for the groom.
• However, child marriages are not illegal — even though they can be declared void at the request of the minor in the marriage.
• In Islam: Marriage of a minor who has attained puberty is considered valid.
• Sexual intercourse with a minor is rape and the consent of a minor is regarded as invalid.

How did the law evolve?

• 1860: Indian Penal Code was enacted which criminalised sexual intercourse with a girl below the age of 10.
• 1927: The provision of rape was amended in 1927 through The Age of Consent Bill, 1927, which declared that marriage with a girl under 12 would be invalid.
• The law faced opposition from conservative leaders of the Indian National Movement, who saw the British intervention as an attack on Hindu customs.
• Sarda Act 1929: The Child Marriage Restraint Act set 16 and 18 years as minimum age of marriage for girls and boys respectively.
• The law is known as the Sarda Act after its sponsor Harbilas Sarda, a judge and a member of Arya Samaj.
• It was eventually amended in 1978 to prescribe 18 and 21 years as the age of marriage for a woman and a man respectively.

Child marriages in India  

• A report published by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the year 2020 said that while child marriages were almost universally banned, “yet they happen 33,000 times a day, every day, all around the world”. 
• An estimated 650 million girls and women alive today were married as children, and by 2030, another 150 million girls under the age of 18 will be married. Although advances in India have contributed to a 50 per cent decline in child marriage in South Asia—to 30 per cent in 2018, the region still accounts for the largest number of child marriages each year, estimated at 4.1 million in 2017, the report said. 
• In India, an analysis of child marriage data show that among girls married by age 18, 46 per cent were also in the lowest income bracket. 
• UNICEF estimates suggest that each year, at least 1.5 million girls under the age of 18 are married in India, which makes the country home to the largest number of child brides in the world — accounting for a third of the global total. Nearly 16 per cent adolescent girls aged 15-19 are currently married. 

Rationale of revision of age
1. Reduce early pregnancy:

• To reduce the risks of early pregnancy among women.
• Early pregnancy is associated with increased child mortality rates and affects the health of the mother.
• Despite laws mandating minimum age and criminalising sexual intercourse with a minor, child marriages are very prevalent in the country.

2. To bring Gender neutrality:

• As per a petition, different legal ages for men and women to marry violate Articles 14 (right to equality)and 21 (Right to live with dignity) of the Constitution.

Road Ahead
Focus on empowerment

• While legal enactment to prevent child marriages is necessary, there is also the need to simultaneously work towards empowering the girls by ensuring education, ensuring economic and social empowerment of women and girls.
• There is the need for well resourced initiatives aimed at increasing girls’ access to education and health, create enabling opportunities for economic independence of the girls, which will result in empowerment of the girls. This will not just delay marriage but lead to a long term, positive health and education outcomes.

Context: Recently, a projections made by the National Commission on Population under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on India’s population which is expected to be more feminine and hold better future for women after 15 years from now.
Key highlights of the report

• The country’s sex ratio of the total population (females per 1000 males) is expected to increase from 943 in 2011 to 957 during 2036.
• It is observed that in 2036, sex ratio in eighteen states, except Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat will increase as compared to 2011.
• As per the report, the lowest sex ratio of 899 is expected to be in NCT of Delhi in 2036, followed by 900 and 908 in Gujarat and Haryana respectively.

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) status

• As per the report the infant mortality rate (IMR) of the country, which is reported to be 46 in 2010 is expected to go down to 30 by the end of the period 2031-35.
• The IMR is expected to decline in all the states during 2011-35.
• The IMR, which was highest in Madhya Pradesh at 58 followed by 57 in Uttar Pradesh in 2011-15 is expected to come down to 37 in Madhya Pradesh, followed by Uttar Pradesh (38) in 2031-35.
• The lowest IMR is expected to be in Kerala at 9 in 2031-35.

On reproductive Health and Demographic front

• According to the report, the population of India is expected to increase from 121.1 crores to 151.8 crores during the period 2011-2036 – an increase of 25% in 25 years at the rate of 1.0% annually.
• The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is expected to decline from 2.34 during 2011-2015 to 1.72 during 2031- 35. 
• The report has also highlighted that the youth population in the age- group 15-24 years is expected to increase from 23.3 crores in 2011 to 25.2 crores in 2021 and then continue to decrease to 22.7 crores in 2036.
• Its proportion to total population is expected to fall from 19.3 percent in 2011 to 14.9 percent in 2036.

About National Commission on Population

• The commission was set up by union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

It works under the chairmanship of Prime Minister with the following members:

• Chief ministers of all states,
• Chief ministers of UTs,
• Minister of Health and Family Welfare,
• Concerned ministries like Ministry of HRD, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Environment and Forest etc.
• Others like demographers, public health professionals, NGOs etc.

Mandate

• To monitor and give directions for the implementation of the National population Policy with an aim to achieve the goals targeted in the population policy.
• To achieve synergy among different sectors and agencies in centre and the states like health, educational, environmental and other developmental programmes to hasten the achievement of population stabilization.
• To develop a vigorous people friendly programme to support efforts put towards population stabilization.

Context: Recently, Union Tribal Affairs Minister has e-launched the tertiary processing centre of  “Trifood Project”.
About the Project

• It is being implemented by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India(TRIFED), Ministry of Tribal Affairs in association with Ministry of Food Processing (MoFPI),
• To achieve the aim of TRIFOOD, two Minor Forest Produce (MFP) processing units will be set up.
• The two units in Raigad, Maharashtra and Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh will be used for value addition to mahua, amla, custard apple and jamun and will produce mahua drink, amla juice, candy, jamun juice and custard apple pulp.
• These would be made into mahua drink, amla juice, candy, pure honey, ginger-garlic paste and fruit and vegetable pulp.
• The fully processed products will be sold across the country in Tribes India outlets, and franchisee stores.
• Aim: To enhance the income of tribals through better utilization and value addition to the Minor Forest Produce (MFPs) collected.

Significance

• This will significantly help in reviving the economic conditions of tribal food gatherers.
• This will help in the further conservation of the biodiversity of tribal life.
• The project will help in promoting tribal entrepreneurship.

Additional Facts

• Minor Forest Produce(MFP): The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act,2006 defines minor forest produce as all non-timber forest produce of plant origin.It includes bamboo, brushwood, stumps, canes, cocoon, honey, waxes, Lac, tendu leaves, medicinal plants, roots among others.
• TRIFED: It was established in 1987 to provide a good price to the products made or collected from the forest by the tribal people.It functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Tribal affairs.
• The objective of TRIFED is socio-economic development of tribal people in the country by way of marketing development of the tribal products on which the lives of tribals depends heavily.

Context: Recently, Union Tribal Affairs Minister to e-launch “Swasthya”, a first of its kind Tribal Health & Nutrition Portal.
SWASTHYA Portal (Tribal Health and Nutrition Portal)

• It is a one-stop solution presenting all information pertaining to tribal health and nutrition related to Scheduled Tribe people.
• It has a dashboard, knowledge repository, partner segment, Sickle Cell Diseases (SCD) support corner.
• The dashboard presents data curated from multiple sources for the 177 identified high priority tribal districts.
• The Portal also has research studies, innovations and best practices on tribal community curated from multiple sources related to tribal health and nutrition.
• The SCD Support Corner available in the Portal encourages people with Sickle Cell disease or trait to register themselves.
• The Portal will be managed by the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Knowledge Management in Health and Nutrition, established by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute.
• This CoE works towards consolidating data for tribal health & nutrition, facilitating evidence-based policy making, documenting successful models, best practices and innovative solutions, disseminating and facilitating exchange of knowledge, creating networks and collaborating with stakeholders to improve tribal health & nutrition outcomes.