Current Affairs 25 May 2021 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 25 May 2021  focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

1. India and Israel Agriculture Pact
2. GI Certified Shahi Litchi
3. Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery
4. Pastoralists in Banni grasslands
5. MCA21 Version 3.0 Compliance Portal
6. National Award for Recycling Carbon Technology
7. FDI Inflow Nearly $82 Bn in FY21

India and Israel Agriculture Pact

Source : PIB
GS I : Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Why in News ?

India and Israel sign a three-year work program for cooperation in Agriculture. It is considered as The work program 2021-2023 will strengthen India-Israel bilateral relationship.

Key Facts

• Partnership in agriculture between Israel and India, the two governments have agreed to enhance their cooperation in agriculture.
• Signed a three-year work program agreement for development in Agriculture cooperation, while affirming the ever-growing bilateral partnership and recognising the centrality of agriculture and water sectors in the bilateral relationship.
• The exchange of technology between India and Israel will greatly improve the productivity and quality of horticulture.
• India and Israel are implementing the
  1. INDO-ISRAEL Agricultural Project Centres of Excellence
  2. INDO-ISRAEL Villages of Excellence
• INDO-ISRAEL Agricultural Project Centres of Excellence
  • Centres of Excellence generate knowledge, demonstrate best practices and train farmers.
  • Every year, these COEs produce more than 25 million quality vegetable seedlings, more than 387 thousand quality fruit plants.
  • Train more than 1.2 lakh farmers about latest technology in the field of horticulture.
• INDO-ISRAEL Villages of Excellence
  • Aimed at creating a model ecosystem in agriculture across eight states, along side 13 Centers of Excellence within 75 villages.
  • The program will promote the increase of net income and better the livelihood of the individual farmer, transforming traditional farms into modern-intensive farms based on IIAP standards.
  • Large scale and complete value chain approach with economic sustainability.
  • Focused with Israeli novel technologies and methodologies will be tailored to local conditions.
  • The IIVOE program will focus on:
    1. Modern Agriculture infrastructure
    2. Capacity Building
    3. Market linkage
• The work program will aim to grow existing Centres of Excellence, establish new centers, increase CoE’s value chain, bring the Centres of Excellence into the self-sufficient mode, and encourage private sector companies and collaboration.

GI Certified Shahi Litchi

Source : PIB
GS III : Major crops cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers

Why in News ?

First consignment of GI certified Shahi Litchi from Bihar exported to the U.K.

Key Facts

• A major boost to export of GI certified products, season’s first consignment of Shahi Litchi from Bihar was exported to United Kingdom
• Because of short shelf life of litchi, there is need to explore exports opportunities for the processed and value-added products.

GI Certified Shahi Litchi

• Shahi litchi was the fourth agricultural products to get GI certification from Bihar in 2018, after Jardalu mango, Katarni rice and Magahi paan.
• Muzzafarpur, Vaishali, Samastipur, Champaran, Begusarai districts and adjoining areas of Bihar have favorable climate for growing Shahi Litchi.
• India is the second largest producer of litchi (Litchi chin) in the world, after China.
• Bihar tops in terms of production of litchi.

What is Geographical Indication or GI ?

• Sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin.
• Possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
  • It provides legal protection to Indian Geographical Indications thus preventing unauthorized use of the registered GIs by others.
• Geographical Indications are part of the intellectual property rights that comes under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
• It comes under Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act of 1999.
  • Registration of GIs began in the financial year 2004-05 after the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 came into effect from September 2003.
• Geographical indications are typically used for
  • Agricultural products
  • Foodstuffs
  • Wine and spirit drinks
  • Handicrafts
  • Industrial products.
• Geographical Indications Registry has a total of 361 GIs registered in India as of September 2019.
  • So far 65 Handloom products and 6 product logos are registered under GI Act.
  • Karnataka has the highest number of GI-tagged products.
  • Darjeeling tea became the first GI tagged product in India, in 2004–2005.

Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery

Source : PIB
GS III : Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Why in News ?

The government on Monday extended its deadline for mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery to June 15 from its previous deadline of June 1.

Key Facts

• A committee was formed to ensure proper coordination and resolve the implementation issues.
• Quality control order for mandatory hallmarking of Gold Jewellery/artefacts were issued by the Government on 15th Jan 2020.
• There has been 25% increase in A&H centers in the last five years.
  • Assaying and Hallmarking Centres qualified to act as Collection and Purity Testing Centre (CPTC) for handling gold.

What Hallmarking scheme ?

• Gold hallmarking is a purity certification of the precious metal and is voluntary in nature at present.
• The Hallmarking of jewellery/artefacts is required to enhance the credibility of gold Jewellry and Customer satisfaction.
• Under Hallmarking scheme of Bureau of Indian Standards, Jewellers are registered for selling hallmarked jewellery and recognise testing and Hallmarking centres.
• BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, were implemented w.e.f. 14.06.2018.
• Hallmarking will enable Consumers/Jewellery buyers to make a right choice and save them from any unnecessary confusion while buying gold.
• At present, only 30% of Indian Gold Jewellery is hallmarked.
• According to World Gold Council,India has around 4 lakh jewellers, out of this only 35879 have been BIS certified.
• This step will also help to develop India as a leading gold market center in the World.

How purity is checked ?

• There are three procedure to understand the fineness of a Gold Jewellery
  • Touch Stone method
  • X- Ray fluorescence or laser testing
  • Fire Assay or Cupellation method
• There are Hallmarking & assaying centres all major cities of India to check the purity.

Pastoralists in Banni grasslands

Source : Down To Earth
GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Why in News ?

Banni Pashu Uchherak Maldhari Sangthan (BPUMS) had filed a case against the rampant encroachment in the ecologically-sensitive grassland in May 2018.

• NGT upholds rights of pastoralists in Banni grasslands, wants encroachments removed.

Key Facts

• All encroachments to be removed from Gujarat’s Banni grasslands within six months and directed a joint committe to prepare an action plan in a month.
• The region’s nomadic pastoralist community, the Maldharis, whose livelihoods are depend on this protected shrub-savanna who Breed Banni Buffalo.
• The Maldharis will continue to hold the right to conserve the community forests in the area.
• The region was granted to them as per the provisions in Section 3 of Forest Rights Act, 2006.
• What is the reason for encroachment and destructions ?
  • Lack of coordination between the forest department and the revenue department lead to the problem of encroachment.
  • Studies have found many wetlands to be polluted by chemical effluents from industries at Banni’s borders.
• The tribunal ordered to demarcate the boundaries of the Banni grassland and restricted non-forest activities in 2019.

Breed Banni Buffaloes

• Breed Banni Buffaloes a species endemic to the region.
• The buffaloes are adaptive to Kutch’s hot weather condition and yields 12-18 litres milk a day.
• Buffalo breed survives by feeding on the Banni grasslands.
• The Banni Buffalo was recognized as the 11th breed of buffalo in the country in 2010.

Banni Grassland and its importance ?

• Banni grassland is spread over 2,618 kilometre and account for almost 45 per cent of the pastures in Gujarat Rann of Kutch region.
• It comprises 48 hamlets / villages organised into 19 panchayats, with a population of about 40,000.
• Two ecosystems, wetlands and grasslands, are existed together in Banni.
• The area is rich in flora and fauna with 192 species of plants, 262 species of birds, several species of mammals, reptiles and amphibians.
• Banni grasslands, traditionally, were managed following a system of rotational grazing.
• The court notified that the grassland will be a reserve forest in 1955.

Maldhari Community

• • A tribal herdsmen community in Gujarat, India and basically nomads having occupational term.
  • They are notable as the traditional dairymen of the region.
  • They are came from Pakistan, Rajasthan and other parts of Gujarat, and finally settled in the Banni grasslands.
  • Their livestock including sheep, goats, cows, buffalo, and camels.
  • Their main sources of cash income are sale of high quality ghee, milk, wool, animals and handicrafts.
  • The literacy rate of the community is very low.

Grassland and Conservation

• Grassland is a community dominated by grasses or grass-like plants.
• Natural grasslands occur in temperate zones with annual rainfall 25 to 80 cm, while in tropics they may be found in areas receiving rainfall up to 150 cm.
• Grasslands occupy approximately 24% of India’s geographical extent.
• Most grasslands in India are anthropogenic in origin, evolving under the influence of fire, grazing, floods and droughts, and the clearing of forest cover.
• Grasslands are the last home of the Great Indian Bustard.
• India’s grasslands is summarised in the Task Force Report on Grasslands and Deserts submitted to the Planning Commission of India.

MCA21 Version 3.0 Compliance Portal

Source : PIB
GS II : Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures

Why in News ?

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs launched the first phase of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) MCA21 Version 3.0 Compliance Portal (V3.0) to transform the corporate regulatory environment in India. 

About MCA21

• MCA21 V3 Project is a technology-driven forward looking project.
• It aims to
  • Strengthen  enforcement, promote Ease of Doing Business
  • Enhance user experience
  • Facilitate seamless integration and data exchange among Regulators
• The project will have Micro-services architecture with high scalability and capabilities for advanced analytics.
• It comprising of revamped website, new email services for MCA Officers and two new modules, namely, e. Book and e. Consultation.
• The MCA V3.0 is going to be implemented in two phases.
  • The second and final phase shall be launched from October 2021 onwards.
• The entire project is proposed to be launched within this Financial Year and will be data analytics and machine learning driven.
• The MCA21 V3.0 in its entirety will not only improve the existing services and modules, but will also create new functionalities like e-adjudication, compliance management system, advanced helpdesk, feedback services, user dashboards , self-reporting tools and  revamped master data services.

Major Components of the MCA21 Version 3.0 Compliance Portal

It is designed to fully automate all processes related to the proactive enforcement and compliance of the legal requirements under various statutory acts. It has the following components.

e-consultation module

• Virtual public consultation of proposed amendments and new legislations to be introduced by MCA from time to time.
• Leverage Artificial intelligence for compiling, grouping and categorising comments/inputs received from stakeholders and create analytical reports for quick policy decision making.
• New email service for officers of MCA will provide them with advanced features and capabilities for organised and managed communication with internal as well as external stakeholders. 

e-Scrutiny

• MCA is in process of setting up a Central Scrutiny Cell which will scrutinise certain Straight Through Process (STP) Forms filed by the corporates on the MCA21 registry.
• It will flag the companies for more in depth scrutiny.

e-adjudication

• To manage the increased volume of adjudication proceedings by Registrar of Companies (RoC) and Regional Directors (RD)
• This will facilitate end to end digitisation of the process of adjudication for the ease of users.
• It will provide a platform for conducting online hearings with stakeholders and end to end adjudication electronically.

Compliance Management System

• CMS will assist MCA in identifying non-compliant companies/LLPs, issuing e-notices to the said defaulting companies/LLPs, generating alerts for internal users of MCA.
• CMS will serve as a technology platform/solution for conducting rule based compliance checks and undertaking enforcement drives of MCA wherein e-notices will be issued by MCA for effective administration of corporates.

MCA Lab :

• MCA LAB is being set up for MCA21 V3.0 Portal.
• It will consist of corporate law experts.
• MCA Lab will evaluate the effectiveness of
  • Compliance Management System
  • e-consultation module
  • enforcement module with others
• The Lab will help MCA in ensuring the correctness of results produced by these key modules.

National Award for Recycling Carbon Technology

Source : PIB
GS III : Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life

Why in News ?

A Bangalore based startup has received the National Award 2021 from Technology Development Board (TDB) for developing a commercial solution for conversion of CO₂ to chemicals and fuels.

Key Facts

• Breathe Applied Sciences a startup incubated at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) developed efficient catalysts and methodologies for the conversion of CO₂ to methanol and other chemicals.
• This helps to enhance the production of chemicals and fuels from anthropogenic CO2 generated from various sources including c
  • Coal and natural gas power generation sectors
  • Steel industry, cement industry, and chemical industries and integrating multiple components involved in the CCUS (Carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration)
• Leads to develop a complete solution for the environmental issues due to global warming.
• The research in the area of CO2 reduction to useful chemicals and fuels from the laboratory scale to pilot scale economically.

What is the Impact of CO₂

Carbon-dioxide is a greenhouse gas. 

• Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have increased since the Industrial Revolution.
• The primary causes are deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels such as coal.
• Carbon dioxide accounts for less than 1 percent of the atmospheric gases.
• Carbon dioxide contributes
  • The greenhouse effect
    • Carbon dioxide traps radiation at ground level
  • Contribute to climate change
  • Acid rain
  • Human Health Impacts as hisgh level of CO2 indicate other pollutants in the atmosphere.

Greenhouse Gases

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. They let sunlight pass through the atmosphere, but they prevent the heat that the sunlight brings from leaving the atmosphere. 

• Carbon dioxide (CO₂) : Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, and oil, solid waste, trees and other biological materials
  • Also as a result of certain chemical reactions like manufacture of cement.
• Methane (CH4) : Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil.
• Nitrous oxide (N2O) : Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural, land use, industrial activities, combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste, as well as during treatment of wastewater.
• Fluorinated Gases : Hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride are synthetic, powerful greenhouse gases that are emitted from a variety of industrial processes.
• Water vapor (H2O) : Produce by normal Evaporation and Boiling of water. accounts for the largest percentage of the greenhouse effect, between 36% and 66% for clear sky conditions and between 66% and 85% when including clouds
• Ozone (O3) : Its highest concentration high in the ozone layer of the stratosphere, which absorbs most of the Sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Contribution to warming is 3-4 %. 

Initiative to tackle Global Methane and Global Warming

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
  • International environmental treaty addressing climate change
  • Negotiated and signed by 154 states at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
  • Informally known as the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro
• Kyoto Protocol
  • international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus
  • The Kyoto Protocol applies to the six greenhouse gases
    • Carbon dioxide (CO2)
    • Methane (CH4)
    • Nitrous oxide (N2O)
    • Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
    • Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
    • Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
• International Carbon Action Partnership
  • Founded in 2007 by more than 15 government representatives as an international cooperative forum.

FDI Inflow Nearly $82 Bn in FY21

Source : Business Today
GS III : Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment

Why in News ?

India managed to rake in the highest ever foreign direct investment during financial year 2020-21 at $81.72 billion.

• This happens to be 10 per cent higher than $74.39 billion in the previous fiscal.

Key Facts

• FDI Inflow Nearly $82 Bn in FY21 as result of Measures taken by the government on the fronts of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business have resulted in increased FDI inflows into the country.
• FDI equity inflow increased 19 per cent during FY21 to $59.64 billion, as against $49.98 billion in FY20
  • Singapore was the biggest investor in India last fiscal accounting for 29 per cent FDI
  • United States at 23 per cent
  • Mauritius at 9 per cent
• Saudi Arabia was the top investor in terms of percentage increase during FY21.
• Invested States
  • Gujarat received the highest FDI at 37 per cent of the total equity inflows
  • Maharashtra had the second at 27 per cent
  •  Karnataka  third highest flow 13 per cent
• Which Segment Received highest ?
  • Computer software and hardware segment received the most FDI in FY21, accounting for 44 per cent of total FDI equity inflow.
  • Construction and infrastructure) activities with 13 per cent
  • Services sector followed and 8 per cent share

What is Foreign Direct Investment ?

• When a firm or individual in one country invest into business located in another country.
• Economic Regulation
  • Foreign direct investments are commonly made in open economies that offer a skilled workforce and above average growth prospects for the investor, as opposed to tightly regulated economies.
• It establishes either effective control of or at least substantial influence over the decision-making of a foreign business.
• FDI can help foster and maintain economic growth, both for the recipient country and for the country making the investment.
  • Economic stimulation
  • Development of human capital
  • Increase in employment
  • Access to management expertise, skills, and technology
• What is the disadvantage of FDI ?
  • The entry of large firms may displace local businesses.
  • firms will not reinvest profits back into the host country and leads to large capital outflows from the host country.

FDI in India

• Since Economic liberalisation started in India in 1991 FDI has steadily increased in the country.
• How can Investment made in India ?
  • Automatic Route : The non-resident investor or the Indian company does not require any approval from Government of India for the investment.
    • Agriculture & Animal Husbandry, Asset Reconstruction Companies, Auto-components, Biotechnology (Greenfield), Thermal Power, Tourism & Hospitality and White Label ATM Operations are some Automatic Routed Sectors.
  • Government Route : Approval from the Government of India is required before investment considered by concerned Ministry and Department.
    • Banking & Public sector, Broadcasting Content Services, Mining & Minerals separations of titanium bearing minerals and ores, Core Investment Company are some Government Routed Sectors
• Which sectors are prohibited from FDI ?
  • There are a few industries where FDI is strictly prohibited under any route.
  • Atomic Energy Generation, Any Gambling or Betting businesses, Lotteries all Kind, Investment in Chit Funds, Nidhi Company, Agricultural or Plantation Activities (although there are many exceptions like horticulture, fisheries, tea plantations, Pisciculture, animal husbandry, etc) Housing and Real Estate (except townships, commercial projects, etc) Trading in TDR’s, Cigars, Cigarettes, or any related tobacco industry.

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