Current Affairs 13 August 2022 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 13 August 2022 focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM)

Source : PIB
GS II : Governance

What is discussed under National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM)?

1. National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM)
2. Intellectual Property Rights
3. Indian Laws to protect IPR

Why in News ?

National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) has achieved target of imparting Intellectual Property (IP) awareness and basic training to 1 million students on 31^st July 2022, ahead of the deadline which was 15 August 2022.

Key Facts

• • NIPAM, a flagship program to impart IP awareness and basic training, was launched on 8 Dec 2021 as a part of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”

    

    celebrations.

  • The program is being implemented by Intellectual Property Office, the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • During the period 08 December 2021 to 31st July 2022, the following milestones achieved:
    • No. of participants (students/faculty) trained on IP = 10, 05, 272
    • Educational institutes covered = 3662
    • Geographical coverage = 28 states and 7 Union Territories

National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM)

• • The pan-India ambitious mission aims to provide awareness on intellectual property and its rights to 1 million students.
  • It aims to inculcate the spirit of creativity and innovation to students of higher education (classes 8 to 12) and ignite and inspire the students of college/Universities to innovate and protect their creations.
    • Level A– It includes school students of class 9th to 12th.
    • Level B – It includes students from Universities or Colleges
  • Program is being implemented by the Intellectual Property Office, the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Significance 

• • IP awareness is significant to ensure that intellectual capital developed in country is recognised and protected in order for IP producers to take advantage.
  • It encourages inventors, artists and authors, as well as ensures sustainability of research and development.
  • IP encourages and extends support to innovation and creativity, that are contributing towards societal cultural and economic progress.

Intellectual Property Rights

• • Intellectual property rights (IPR) refers to the legal rights given to the inventor or creator to protect his invention or creation for a certain period of time.
  • These legal rights confer an exclusive right to the inventor/creator or his assignee to fully utilize his invention/creation for a given period of time.

Intellectual property (IP) pertains to any original creation of the human intellect such as artistic, literary, technical, or scientific creation.

• • IPR is a strong tool, to protect investments, time, money, effort invested by the inventor/creator of an IP.
  • It will promoting healthy competition and encouraging industrial development and economic growth.

IP protection can be sought for a variety of intellectual efforts including

• • Copyrights
    • The rights of authors of literary and artistic works are protected by copyright, for a minimum period of 50 years after the death of the author.
  • Geographical indications
    • Indications, which identify as good as originating in the territory of a country or a region or locality in that territory where a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic of the goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
  • Trademarks
    • Any mark, name, or logo used in commerce for any good or service and used to identify the producer or provider of that good or service.
    • Trademark has no existence apart from the goodwill of the product or service it symbolizes.
  • Industrial Designs
    • In order to features of any shape, configuration, surface pattern, composition of lines and colours applied to an article.

Indian Laws to protect IPR

National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy 2016

• • Union Cabinet has approved the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy on 12th May, 2016 that shall lay the future roadmap for IPRs in India.
  • The Policy recognises the abundance of creative and innovative energies that flow in India, and the need to tap into and channelize these energies towards a better and brighter future for all.
  • The National IPR Policy is a vision document that encompasses and brings to a single platform all IPRs.
  • It views IPRs holistically, taking into account all inter-linkages and thus aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), concerned statutes and agencies.
  • It sets in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review.
  • It aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario.

Way Forward

To strengthen the NIPAM program further to nurture and encourage innovation and creativity, thereby contributing towards cultural and economic development of the society through a revamped manner utilizing the existing resources of the IP Office in collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), AICTE, UGC etc.

Previous Year Question
1. In a globalized world, Intellectual Property Rights assume significance and are a source of litigation. Broadly distinguish between the terms – Copyrights, Patents and Trade Secrets. (2014)

UN Security Council 1267 : China Blocked Proposal To Blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar

Source : Deccan Chronicle
GS II : Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate;  GS II :  Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism

What is discussed under UN Security Council 1267 : China Blocked Proposal To Blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar?

1. Key Facts on issue
2. United Nation Security Council (UNSC)

Why in News ?

China has blocked a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and the deputy chief of the Pakistan-based terror group, in the second such move by Beijing in less than two months.

Key Facts

• • Beijing put a hold on the latest proposal without giving any justification must end and asserted that the credibility of the sanctions regime was at an all-time low.
  • Abdul Rauf Azhar, born in 1974 in Pakistan, was sanctioned by the US in December 2010.
  • He was the mastermind of the hijacking of the Indian Airlines Flight IC-814 in 1999 that led to the release of his brother Masood Azhar from a prison in India.
  • China has however placed a technical hold on the proposal while all other 14 member states of the UN Security Council were supportive of the listing proposal.

United Nation Security Council (UNSC)

• • The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of International peace and security.
  • The council has 15 members :
    • 5 Permanent – US, UK, Russia, France and China
    • 10 members elected by the General Assembly for 2-year terms.
  • Present ten non-permanent members (with end of term date) are
    • Belgium
    • Dominican Republic
    • Estonia, Germany
    • Indonesia
    • Niger
    • Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
    • South Africa
    • Tunisia
  • While other organs of the UN can only make recommendations‖ to member states, the Security Council has the power to make binding decisions on member states. 
  • All the members have one vote and permanent members have veto power.
  • Decisions on procedural matters should have vote of at least 9 of the 15 members and decision on substantive matters require nine votes and the absence of negative vote by any of the 5 permanent members. 
  • The presidency of the Security Council rotates alphabetically each month. 

Nations Seeking Reforms and Their Demand

• • G4 Nations : 4 countries bids for permanent seats in UNSC. They are Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan.
  • Uniting for Consensus (Coffee Club) : These are group of countries who are opposing the expansion of permanent seats in the United Nations Security Council under the leadership of Italy. 
  • Other Members in Coffee Club : Spain, Malta, San Marino , Pakistan , South Korea, Canada , Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Turkey. 

National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE)

Source : The Hindu
GS II : Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

What is discussed under Project Seabird Karwar ?

1. National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE)
2. Swachhta Udyami Yojana

Why in News ?

Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E) is now preparing to undertake a nationwide survey to enumerate all people engaged in hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks an activity that has led to at least 351 deaths since 2017.

Key Facts

• • Drawing a distinction between this work and manual scavenging, the Ministry insisted that the practice of manual scavenging no longer

    

    takes place in the country as all manual scavengers had been accounted for and enrolled into the rehabilitation scheme.

  • Enumeration exercise, soon to be conducted across 500 AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) cities, is part of the Union government’s National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE)
  • This will streamline the process of rehabilitating sanitation workers and eventually merge with and replace the Self-Employment Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS), which was started in 2007.
  • Eventually, the idea is to also link these sanitation workers to the Swachhta Udyami Yojana through which the workers will be able to own sanitation machines themselves and the government will ensure that at the municipality level, the work keeps coming in.

Major Challenges

• • Officials added that since 2018, several attempts have been made to identify more manual scavengers, including through the Swachhta mobile app.
  • Registrations on the app turned out to be fake only 6,500 app registrations claiming benefits under the SRMS, none were found to be genuine.

National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE)

• • The government has developed the NAMASTE scheme—to clean septic tanks and sewers.
  • The NAMASTE project, is a joint project of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
  • Zero fatalities in sanitation work in India achieved through skilled workers.
  • No sanitation workers should come in direct contact with human faecal matter.
  • Capital subsidies of up to ₹5 lakh on sanitation machinery costing up to ₹15 lakh and interest subsidies on loans, where interest rates will be capped between 4-6% for the beneficiaries
  • Scheme also provides for training the workers in the use of these machines, during which time a stipend of up to ₹3,000 per month will be provided.
  • The scheme will also provide for sanitation workers to train for and go into any of the approved list of alternative occupations in sectors like agriculture, services, electronics assembling, handicrafts and so on.

What is Butterfly Mine?

Source : Indian Express
GS III : Internal Security

What is discussed under “What is Butterfly Mine”?

1. About Butterfly Mine
2. International Conventions against deadly weapons

Why in News ?

The UK Ministry of Defence, in its intelligence assessment of the ongoing war in Ukraine, has and sounded an alarm on the possible use of PFM-1 series ‘Butterfly Mines’ by the Russian military in Donetsk and Kramatorsk.

What is Butterfly Mine?

• • Russia has highly likely attempted employment of PFM-1 and PFM-1S scatterable anti-personnel mines.
  • Commonly called the ‘butterfly mine’, the PFM-1 series are deeply controversial, indiscriminate weapons.
  • It is also called as Green Parrots it looks like a coloured toy Since these mines were green in colour when they were first put to use they also earned the name Green Parrots.
  • PFM-1s were used to devastating effect in the Soviet-Afghan War where they allegedly maimed high numbers of children who “mistook them for toys. 
  • The main difference between the PFM-1 and PFM-1S mine is that the latter comes with a self destruction mechanism which gets activated within one to 40 hours.
  • It is very sensitive to touch and just the act of picking it up can set it off. Because of the relatively lesser explosive packed in this small mine, it often injures and maims the handler rather than killing them.
  • These mines are also difficult to detect because they are made of plastic and can evade metal detectors.
  • These mines can be deployed in the field of action through several means, which include being dropped from helicopters or through ballistic dispersion using artillery and mortar shells.
  • These mines glide to the ground without exploding and later explode on coming in contact.
  • Technical Specification
    • PFM series mines are moulded in polythene plastic and have two wings, one of which is heavier than the other.
    • The thicker wing is the pressure activation for the main fuse which is contained in the central body.
    • The thinner wing acts as a stabiliser for the mine when it is air-dropped, thus giving it the name ‘butterfly’. As per data available on the mine, a pressure exceeding 5 kg will activate the mine which contains 40g of explosive.

How it used in the past?

• • A million Butterfly mines litter Afghanistan and were airdropped in valleys and mountain passes to impede the movement of the Afghan Mujahideen.
  • More than 30,000 Afghans are believed to have been victims of these mines and a large number of children were among the casualties.

International Conventions against deadly weapons

• • 1996 Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons-the Landlines Protocol to which Russia and Ukraine are signatories.
  • Anti personal mines are banned by international convention on land lines but Russia and Ukraine are not signatories to it.

Essential Commodities Act of 1955

Source : The Hindu
GS II :  Policies and Developmental Studies;  GS III :  Food and Agriculture 

What is discussed under Essential Commodities Act of 1955?

1. What is Essential Commodities Act of 1955?
2. What is Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020?
3. What are the impacts of Essential Commodities Amendments?

Why in News?

With tur dal prices rising, the Centre has invoked the Essential Commodities Act of 1955, requesting states to monitor and verify the supplies available with dealers who create an artificial supply squeeze by restricting sales.

Key Facts

• • States and Union Territories directed stockholder entities to upload the data of stocks held by them on an online monitoring portal of the Department of Consumer Affairs, on a weekly basis. 
  • This will control attempts by some traders and stockists to push the price for tur dal upwards, by resorting to ‘restricted sales’ and creating an artificial scarcity.

What is Essential Commodities Act of 1955?

• • The Essential Commodities Act was enacted to prevent food hoarding and black marketing when the country was suffering food scarcity owing to persistently low levels of food grain production.

    

  • The Act empowers the central government to control the production, supply, distribution, trade, and commerce of certain essential commodities.
  • These essential commodities include drugs, fertilizers, foodstuffs, petroleum products, raw jute, and cottonseed.
  • The government can also fix the minimum support price (MSP) of any packaged product that it declares an essential commodity.
  • In March 2020, the Union Government brought masks and hand sanitizers under the act to prevent the spread of COVID-19 but later removed from the Essential Commodity List.

Issues related to the Act 

• • Based on the recent Economic Survey report, the effort by government missionaries was not successful to restrain inflation in the agriculture commodity sector.
  • The facility to store the extra produce is not utilised by the traders during the surplus harvest, especially for perishable agricultural produce.
  • This led to farmers being unable to get better prices.
  • Because of these concerns, Parliament approved the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020.

Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020

• • The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 was implemented on June 5, 2020.
  • Cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes are removed from the list of essential commodities.
  • Stock limit can only be imposed if there is a 50% rise in the retail price of non-perishable agricultural foodstuff over the price prevailing in the preceding 12 months or the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower.
  • The ordinance states that the action on imposing stock limits will be based on the price, if the retail price of: 
    1. Horticulture produce increases by 100%
    2. Non-perishable agricultural food goods increases by 50%
  • The ordinance allows the government to regulate the supply and prices of certain commodities only under extraordinary circumstances such as:
    1. War
    2. Famine
    3. Extraordinary price rise
    4. Natural calamity of grave nature
  •  If a stock limit is imposed, it will not apply to a processor or value chain participant or exporter.

Impact of Essential Commodities Amendments

• • Cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onions, and potatoes will be removed from the list of regulated essential commodities.
  • The move is likely to promote private investment in the commodity value chain.
  • The private businesses may stock up the commodities in which India has only marginal surpluses, like pulses and oilseeds, by building up stock of non-perishables as they are of higher value and can be stored for a much longer period.

Way Forward

• • India has now become a surplus exporter of several agricultural products so that the amendments in the ECA 1955 helps to achieve doubling farmers’ income and ease of doing business.
  • The private investment in supply chain can be much higher than in the past.

Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) Centre to File Review Petition In SC

Source : The Hindu
GS III : Environment and Conservation

What is discussed under Eco-Sensitive zones (ESZ) Centre to File Review Petition In SC ?

1. What are Eco-Sensitive Zones?
2. What are the challenges to Eco-Sensitive Zones?
3. Way forward

Why in News ?

Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav has said the Ministry will file a review petition in the Supreme Court urging a relook into its judgment on eco-sensitive zones.

Key Facts

• •  SC had, on June 3, pronounced the verdict to create a one-km Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) around all wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, which is generally considered to affect normal life of people living in such areas of the southern State for decades.
    • The judgment came on a petition instituted for the protection of forest lands in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.
    • Scope of that writ petition was enlarged by the court so as to protect such natural resources throughout the country.
  • These zones would act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to those involving lesser protection.
  • Centre would seek a review of Sections 44A and 44E of the judgment as more clarity was required on the issue.
    • Sections pertained to the directive to notify Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ) of minimum 1 km from the demarcated boundaries of protected areas, and the exemption provided for ongoing activities within the proposed ESZ, provided they did not figure on the prohibited list.
    • Committee had been formed to adopt a ‘holistic’ approach on the reports of the Kasturirangan and Gagdil committees for the conservation of the Western Ghats.
    • The panel will also consider the representations submitted by the public.

What are Eco-Sensitive Zones?

• • Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas notified by the MoEFCC around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
  • The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of shock absorbers to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.
  • Hydroelectric projects, brick kilns, commercial usage of firewood, and discharge of untreated effluents in natural water bodies or land regions are among the activities forbidden in the eco-sensitive zone.

    

Demarcation of such zones

• • An ESZ could go up to 10 kilometres around a protected area as provided in the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002.
  • Procedure
    • A small group comprised of a Wildlife Warden, an Ecologist, Revenue Department officials, and representatives from local governments was formed to investigate the activities surrounding protected areas.
    • This committee prepares an inventory of land use patterns, different types activities and number of industries around Protected Areas and Wildlife Corridors and Chief Wildlife Warden groups the activities under prohibited, restricted or permissible categories.
    • These are sent to the MoEFCC for further processing and notification
  • Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall be carried out or shall not, subject to certain safeguards.
  • Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 states that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of certain considerations.

The term “Eco-Sensitive Zones” is not mentioned in the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.

• • ESZs should comprise sensitive corridors, connectivity, and biologically significant regions that are critical for landscape connection that are wider than 10 km.
  • No new commercial hotels and resorts shall be permitted within 1 km of the boundary of the protected area or up to the extent of the eco-sensitive zone, whichever is nearer, except for small temporary structures for eco-tourism activities.
  • Activities Allowed in ESZs
    1. Prohibited activities : Commercial mining, saw mills, industries causing pollution (air, water, soil, noise etc), establishment of major hydroelectric projects (HEP), commercial use of wood, Tourism activities like hot-air balloons over the National Park, discharge of effluents or any solid waste or production of hazardous substances.
    2. Regulated activities : Felling of trees, establishment of hotels and resorts, commercial use of natural water, erection of electrical cables, drastic change of agriculture system, e.g. adoption of heavy technology, pesticides etc, widening of roads.
    3. Permitted activities : Ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, use of renewable energy sources, adoption of green technology for all activities.
  • The government has declared No Development Zones based on the same grounds (NDZs).

Buffer Zone

• • The protected areas are based on the core and buffer model of management, through which local area communities are also protected and benefitted.
  • These areas are meant to act as a transition zone from areas requiring higher protection to those requiring lesser protection.

Benefits of the ESZ

• • Conservation of an endangered species in its natural habitat.
  • Minimise forest depletion.
  • To reduce man-animal conflict.
  • Transition zone from high protection to areas involving lesser protection.
  • Reduce the impact of development in sensitive areas.
  • Curbing poaching of animal.

What are the challenges to Eco-Sensitive Zones?

• • Climate change 
    • Rise in global temperature has generated land, water and ecological stress on the ESZs.
    • The events like increased forest fires, landslide are example for the impact of climate change over ESZ. 
  • Development Activities in the region 
    • Activities of development impact the Eco-Sensitive Zones.
    • For example activities such as construction of dams, roads, urban and rural infrastructures in the ESZ, create interference, leads to the depletion of EZS. 
  • Tourism and Related activities
    • The tourist business in the region has been dominated by mass tourism that leads to the depletion and damage. 
    • This also increased vehicular pollution in the area. 
    • For instance, tourists leave waste behind, such as plastic bags and bottles, which contribute to environmental damage.
    • Government promotes ecotourism contributes business like Hotels and mega resorts dominate the area. 
  • Impact of Local Communities
    • The already existing park regulations have adversely affected the traditional practices of the locals.
    • They have come together not only with the demand to scrap the ESZ but also to raise other livelihood issues.
    • Besides the agriculture activities in the near by regions also impact the ESZ. 
    • On the increasing wild boar menace human wildlife conflict in these areas are increased. 
  • Plantation of Non regions species 
    • The region is dominated by the plantation of non regional species like Eucalyptus, Cardamom etc.
    • These mass  plantation leads to the deforestation of the  region that impact the local species to grow. 

Way forward

• • Centre needs to come up with a plan to incentivise farmers for sticking to green practices in Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs).
  • Government focus on the benefit of the general public in relation to the natural resources so that sustainable development could be achieved in the long term.
  • Rethinking on the impacts of the environmental policies at the local level and prospects of local participation.

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