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National News part 2 of 3
Draft Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020
The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has issued a draft of the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020 for public consultation.
- It aims to repeal and replace the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (Act No. 44 of 1958) and the Coasting Vessels Act, 1838 (Act No. 19 of 1838).
- The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020 has been drafted, with the primary aim of promoting the growth of the Indian shipping industry by incorporating the best practices adopted by other advanced countries like the U.S., Japan, U.K., Singapore and Australia.
- All up-to-date IMO Conventions / protocols, to which India is a party, have been adopted in it.
- Adequate provisions are incorporated to ensure the safety and security of vessels, safety of life at sea, prevent marine pollution, provide for maritime liabilities and compensations, and ensure comprehensive adoption of India’s obligations under International Conventions.
The envisioned advantages of the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020 are following:
- Promoting ease of doing business: The Bill does away with requirement of general trading license for Indian vessels.
- Embracing digital technology: It enables electronic means of registration, and grants statutory recognition to electronic agreements, records, and log books, in addition to electronic licenses, certificates and payments.
- Increasing tonnage and Vessel as a Tradable Asset: The Bill seeks to increase India’s tonnage by widening the eligibility criteria for ownership of vessels and providing for the registration of bareboat charter cum demise, thereby increasing opportunities for international trade.
- India as a Bankable Shipping Jurisdiction & avoidance of situations leading to wreck: The proposed Bill seeks to introduce for the first-time statutory framework for regulating maritime emergency response against maritime incidents. The provisions seek to provide for time effective implementation of response mechanisms in order to ensure that the same is prevented from becoming a wreck or other catastrophic event.
- Welfare of Indian seafarers on abandoned vessels and safety of abandoned vessels: Provisions for repatriation of abandoned seafarers have been enhanced, in line with the MLC regulations.
- Strengthening adjudication and predictability of claims: In order to strengthen the investigation and adjudication of claims arising out of collision of vessels, assessors may be tasked by the High Courts to present their findings on the degrees of fault of each vessel.
- India as an Active Enforcement Jurisdiction: The Bill incorporates powers of the Director-General to take action against vessels that are unsafe, and pose a threat to safety of life at sea and environment, and includes a procedure for appeal from detention orders. The Bill also incorporates provisions that encourage active enforcement of pollution prevention standards and the Central Government has been granted the power to mandate compulsory insurance or such other financial security, for pollution damage.
Other Recent Initiatives to Overcome Archaic Colonial Laws
- To replace all archaic colonial laws with modern and contemporary International laws, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways recently issued two draft Bills for public consultation, namely ‘Aids to Navigation Bill 2020’ and ‘Coastal Shipping Bill 2020’.
- Major Port Authorities Bill 2020 is also under consideration of Rajya Sabha, which has been already passed by Lok Sabha in the last Parliament session.
IMO Recognizes Indian Navigation System (IRNSS)
- The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has recognized Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) as a part of the World Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS).
- Now India is the fourth country in the world to have its independent regional navigation satellite system recognised by IMO.
- The other three countries that have its navigation systems recognised by the IMO are - US-owned Global Position System (GPS), Russia’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) and China’s Beidou.
- The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is designed to provide accurate position information services to assist in the navigation of ships in Indian Ocean waters within the area of approximately 1,500 km from the Indian boundary (50°N latitude, 55°E longitude, 5°S latitude and 110°E longitude).
Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0
- On 12th November 2020, Government launched Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 to boost Covid-hit economy
Aim
- To boost job creation, provide liquidity support to stressed sectors and encourage economic activity in housing and infrastructure areas.
12 Key announcements under Aatmanirbhar Bharat 3.0
1. Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana
- It aims to incentivise the creation of new employment opportunities during the COVID-19 recovery phase.
- The scheme will be effective from 1st October, 2020 and operational till 30th June 2021.
Beneficiaries (new employees) under Scheme
- Any new employee joining employment in EPFO registered establishments on monthly wages less than Rs.15000/.
- EPF members drawing monthly wage of less than Rs.15000/- who made exit from employment during COVID Pandemic from 01.03.2020 to 30.09.2020 and is employed on or after 01.10.2020
Eligibility Criteria
Establishments registered with EPFO if they add new employees compared to reference base of employees as in September, 2020. Scheme to be operational till 30th June 2021-
- Establishments, with up to 50 employees, would have to add a minimum of two new employees.
- The organisations, with more than 50 employees, would have to add at least five employees.
Subsidy Support from Central Govt.
- Establishments employing up to 1000 employees: Employee’s contributions (12% of Wages) & Employer’s contributions (12% of wages) totalling 24% of wages.
- Establishments employing more than 1000 employees: Only Employee’s EPF contributions (12% of EPF wages).
- The subsidy support to get credited upfront in Aadhaar seeded EPFO Account (UAN) of eligible new employees.
2.Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme
- It is for MSMEs, businesses, MUDRA borrowers, and individuals (loans for business purposes).
- Under this credit scheme, banks will be able to lend to stressed sectors from 26 sectors identified by the K.V. Kamath committee.
- The new scheme will have a 1-year moratorium and 5 years of repayment.
3. Atmanirbhar Manufacturing Production-linked incentives for 10 Champion Sectors
- 10 more Champion Sectors will be covered under the Production Linked Incentives Scheme to help boost the competitiveness of domestic manufacturing.
- Ten Sectors–Advance Cell Chemistry Battery, Electronic/Technology Products, Automobiles & Auto Components, Pharmaceuticals Drugs, Telecom & Networking Products, Textile Products, Food Products, High Efficiency Solar PV Modules, White Goods (ACs & LED) & Specialty Steel.
- This will give a big boost to the economy, investment, exports and job creation.
4. PM Awas Yojana - Urban
- A sum of Rs. 18000 crore is being provided for PMAY- Urban over and above Rs. 8000 crore already allocated this year.
- This will help ground 12 Lakh houses and complete 18 Lakh houses, create additional 78 Lakh jobs and improve production and sale of steel and cement, resulting in a multiplier effect on the economy.
- PMAY - Urban Mission was launched in 2015 with an intention to provide housing for all in urban areas by year 2022.
5. Support for Construction & Infrastructure – Relaxation of Earnest Deposit Money & Performance Security on Government Tenders
- To provide ease of doing business and relief to contractors whose money otherwise remains locked up, performance security on contracts has been reduced from 5-10% to 3%.
- It will also extend to ongoing contracts and Public Sector Enterprises.
- EMD for tenders will be replaced by the Bid Security Declaration. The relaxations in the General Financial Rules will be in force till December 31, 2021.
6. Income Tax relief for Developers & Home Buyers
- The differential between circle rate and agreement value in real estate income tax under Section 43 CA of IT Act has been increased from 10% to 20%.
- This is for the primary sale of residential units up to Rs 2 Crore (from date of announcement of this scheme, till June 30 2021).
- Consequential Relief up to 20% shall also be allowed to buyers of these units under section 56(2)(x) of the IT Act for the said period.
- Income Tax relief provides incentives to the middle class to buy homes.
7. The Platform for Infra Debt Financing
- The government will make Rs 6,000 Crore equity investment in the debt platform of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).
- It will help NIIF provide a debt of Rs. 1.1 Lakh Crore for infrastructure projects by 2025.
8. Support for Agriculture
- As fertilizer consumption is going up significantly, Rs. 65,000 Crore is being provided to ensure an increased supply of fertilizers to farmers to enable the timely availability of fertilizers in the upcoming crop season.
9. Boost for Rural Employment
- An additional outlay of Rs.10, 000 Crore is being provided for PM Garib Kalyan Rozgar Yojana to provide rural employment.
- This will help accelerate the rural economy.
10. Boost for Project Exports
- Rs. 3,000 Crore boost is being provided to EXIM Bank for promoting project exports under Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS Scheme).
- It will help EXIM Bank facilitate Lines of Credit development assistance activities and promote exports from India.
11. Capital and Industrial Stimulus
- Rs.10, 200 Crore additional budget stimulus is being provided for capital and industrial expenditure on domestic defense equipment, industrial infrastructure, and green energy.
12. R&D Grant for COVID Vaccine
- Rs. 900 Crore is being provided to the Department of Biotechnology for Research and Development of Indian COVID Vaccine.
Significance
- These measures provided by the government reinforce the ‘fiscal conservatism’ ideology of the government — rather than large cash transfers, the growth philosophy centres around creating an ecosystem that aids domestic demand, incentivises companies to generate jobs and boost production, and simultaneously extends benefits to those in severe distress, be it firms or individuals.
Analysis
- As per the government, the total stimulus announced by the Government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) till date (including Atmanirbhar 1.0 and Atmanirbhar 2.0), to help the nation tide over the Covid-19 pandemic, works out to Rs. 29.87 lakh crore, which is 15% of national GDP.
- Out of this, the stimulus worth 9% of GDP has been provided by the government.
- While the fiscal stimulus has been small, monetary policy has been extremely accommodative.
- The focus should extend from announcement of reforms to their effective implementation.
- Also, nurturing an environment of policy certainty with regard to taxes, foreign direct investment rules and payment of dues to small businesses can have a meaningful impact on kick-starting the private capital spending cycle.
- The economic rebound from the debilitating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic seems stronger than what most analysts had predicted.
- The estimates for the fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) have already been upgraded by many institutions. The government will hope that the green shoots visible in the high-frequency data further translate into GDP uplift.
- The measures announced under Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 – pragmatic and specific – should help towards that cause.
Digital/Online Media Now Under Govt. Regulation
The Union Govt. has issued a notification on 9th November to bring digital/online media platforms and films and audio-visual programmes provided by online content providers within the ambit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The 2nd Schedule of the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 has been amended and will be called the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Three Hundred and Fifty Seventh Amendment Rules, 2020 for the same.
Two new entries - 22A and 22B - to the Second Schedule of the Rules inserted are:
- Films and Audio Visual programmes made available by online content providers
- News and Current Affairs on online platforms.
Why such Regulation?
- Currently, there is no law or autonomous body governing digital content.
- Online content providers and news platforms come under the legal framework of the Information Technology Act, 2000 but, unlike print and broadcast media, were not directly under any Ministry.
- Since 2019, more than half-a-dozen cases have been filed in the Supreme Court and various high courts over “unregulated content” on OTT platforms.
- Increasing OTT platform users as well as industry, hence the need for regulation for quality of content that should not hamper the social fabric of nation as well as mislead people.
What are OTT platforms?
- It is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet.Examples include Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video, Hotstar and others.
Current Regulating Bodies
At the moment, there is a mix of autonomous, government and self-regulatory bodies for entertainment and news providers, depending on the platform:
- Print Media: Press Council of India, a statutory, quasi-judicial authority
- Television news:News Broadcasting Standards Authority, a self-regulatory body
- Films:Central Board of Film Certification, under the I&B Ministry
- Television Entertainment: Broadcasting Content Complaints Council, an independent and self-regulatory body.
- Advertising: Advertising Standards Council, a self-regulatory body.
Other Control Mechanisms
- The Information & Broadcasting Ministry has a mechanism to penalize television channels for any violation of the programming and advertising codes under the Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995.
- Complaints can be sent directly to the Ministry, or raised through the internal mechanism of the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre.
Niti Aayog Releases Draft Model Act On Land Titles
NITI Aayog has released the draft model Act and rules for states for regulation on conclusive land titling.
Aim
- To reduce litigations and ease the land acquisition process for infrastructure projects.
Salient Features
- It provides state governments power to order for establishment, administration and management of a system of title registration of immovable properties.
- Under the model Act, the land dispute resolution officer and land title appellate tribunal are one-shot institutions which will fade away as the work reduces.
- Also, after three years of its notification, the register of title attains conclusivity without any external action. Conclusive land titles are guaranteed by the state for correctness and entail provision for compensation by the state in case of any dispute.
- Any person aggrieved by an entry in the Record of Titles may file an objection before the Title Registration Officer within three years from the date of such notification.
- Following this, the Title Registration Officer shall make an entry to that effect in Register of Titles and in the Register of Disputes and refer the case to the land dispute resolution officer.
- A party aggrieved with an order of the land dispute resolution officer may file an appeal before the Land Titling Appellate Tribunal within 30 days of passing of such an order.
- A special bench of High court shall be designated to deal with appeals against the orders passed by the Land Titling Appellate Tribunal.
Land Title
- Land title is a document that determines the ownership of land or an immovable property.Having a clear land title protects the rights of the title holder against other claims made by anyone else to the property.
- In India, land ownership is determined through various records such as sale deeds that are registered, property tax documents, government survey records, etc.
- The current system of land records was inherited from the Zamindari system of pre-independence days. Currently, the rules for title of land, is provided by the Transfer of Property Act, 1882.
- The primary law that regulates the registration of land related documents is Registration Act, 1908.
Issues with Land Title in India
Land Ownership in India is Presumptive
- In India, land ownership is primarily established through a registered sale deed (a record of the property transaction between the buyer and seller).
- Other documents used to establish ownership include the record of rights (document with details of the property), property tax receipts, and survey documents.
- However, these documents are not a government guaranteed title to the property, but only a record of the transfer of property.
- Therefore, land ownership in India, as determined by such sale deeds, is presumptive in nature, and subject to challenge.
Land Records are Poorly Maintained
- Land records consist of various types of information (property maps, sale deeds) and are maintained across different departments at the district or village level.
- These departments work in silos, and the data across departments is not updated properly.Hence, discrepancies are often noted in land records.
- Therefore, in several records, the property documents do not match the position on the ground.
- Poor land records also affect future property transactions. It becomes difficult and cumbersome to access land records when data is spread across departments and has not been updated.
- One has to go back several years of documents, including manual records, to find any ownership claims on a piece of property.Such a process is inefficient and causes time delays.
Registration of Property is not Mandatory for all Transactions
- Under the Registration Act, 1908, registration of property is not mandatory for all transaction
- These include acquisition of land by the government, court decrees, land orders, heirship partitions, and property that is, leased for less than one year.
- Since heirship partitions do not require registration, several property divisions are not recorded, and hence, do not correctly reflect who is in possession of the property.
- This often leads to litigation related to rightful owner among heirs.
Government Initiative to Improve the System of Land Records
- Around 1988-89, the central government started the Computerisation of Land Records scheme to computerise all land records. Other schemes to improve land records and administration that were introduced around the same time were the Strengthening of Revenue Administration and the Updating of Land Records schemes.
- In 2008, all these schemes were merged into a centrally sponsored scheme, the National Land Records Modernization Programme (NLRMP).
- The scheme has now been renamed as the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) and is a part of the Digital India initiative.
- The scheme was changed into a Central Sector Scheme in April 2016.
Way Forward
While conclusive titling has been suggested as the solution to solve the problem around land records in India, several steps need to be completed before the government starts giving out guaranteed land titles.
These steps include-
- amending laws across centre and states;
- administrative changes at the state level that streamline the collection and maintenance of land data; and
- ensuring that all data is regularly updated and easily accessible (on a digital platform).
“Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau (SPFB)”: Policy Unit Of Ministry Of AYUSH
- The Ministry of AYUSH and M/s Invest India will form a collaboration to set up a strategic policy unit called “Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau (SPFB)” to facilitate planned and systematic growth of the Ayush Sector and to make the Ayush systems future-ready.
- This Bureau will support the Ministry in strategic and policy making initiatives that shall help pave the way to reach the full potential of the Sector and stimulate growth and investment.
- As a partner in the project, M/S Invest India would collaborate extensively with the Ministry to frame the work plan of the Bureau and define its short-and long-term targets. Invest India would deploy highly trained and expert resources to implement and execute the plans of the Ministry of AYUSH.
- The activities to be undertaken by the SPFB would include:
- Knowledge Creation and Management,
- Strategic & Policy-Making Support,
- State Policy Bench marking: Undertaking State Policy bench marking to formulate uniform guidelines/regulations regarding AYUSH sector in India,
- Investment Facilitation: Follow up and facilitation of investment cases and MoUs, and coordination among different Department, organisations and States.
- Issue Resolution: Invest India would work with companies and other institutions on issue resolution across States and among various sub-sectors.
- Some of the Specific Deliverables of Bureau would include project monitoring for Inter-Ministerial Groups, Skill Development Initiatives, setting up Strategic Intelligence Research Unit and initiating an Innovation Program.
- The Ministry of AYUSH would assist the Bureau in responding to investment proposal, issue and queries and fund Invest India for undertaking activities assigned. The Ministry will also support the Bureau in building links with various stakeholders such as industry associations, affiliate bodies of Ministry and Industry representation.
Kerala, Tamil Nadu And Goa - Best Governed States: PAI
- The Public Affairs Index-2020 report was released on 30th October 2020 by a Bengaluru-based not-for-profit organisation Public Affairs Centre.
- The annual report on governance considers three broad parameters — equity, growth and sustainability.
- Former ISRO chairman, Dr K Kasturirangan, is the chairman of PAC.
Key Findings
- Larger States: According to the report, Kerala topped the list in the category of large states followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar were at the bottom of the ranking.
- Smaller States: In the small states category, Goa topped the list followed by Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim. The worst performers in the index with negative points were Manipur, Delhi and Uttarakhand.
- Union Territories: Chandigarh emerged at the top in the category of Union Territories followed by Puducherry and Lakshadweep. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Andaman, Jammu and Kashmir and Nicobar were the worst performers.
National Authority For Recycling Of Ships
- On 15th October, 2020, the Central Government notified the Directorate General (DG) of Shipping as National Authority for Recycling of Ships under the section 3 of the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019.
About National Authority for Recycling of Ships(NARS)
- NARS will be set up in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
- The location of the office will benefit the Ship Recycling yard owners situated in Alang, Gujarat which is home to Asia’s largest ship breaking and ship recycling industry in the world.
Functions
- As an apex body, DG Shipping is authorized to administer, supervise and monitor all activities relating to Ship Recycling.
- It will look after the sustainable development of the Ship Recycling industry, monitoring the compliance to environment-friendly norms and safety and health measures for the stakeholders working in the ship recycling industry.
- It will be the final authority for the various approvals required by the Ship-Recycling yard owners and State Governments.
The Recycling of Ships Act, 2019
Key Features
Hong Kong Convention for Ship Recycling
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Status of Recycling of Ships Industry in India
- India is home to one of the largest ship breaking facilities in the world with over 150 yards along its coast.
- On an average, close to 6.2 Million GT is scrapped in India every year, which accounts for 33% of the total scrapped tonnage in the world.
Issues with Ship Recycling Industry in India
Safety Issues
- Inadequate safety controls, badly monitored work operations and high risk of explosions create very dangerous work situations.
- Lack of coordination for work procedures, basic risk-reducing or eliminating measures are often ignored and ultimately accidents occur.
Health Related Issues
- Exposure to other heavy metals found in many parts of ships such as in paints, coatings, anodes and electrical equipment can result serious health issues such as cancers.
- Workers have very limited access to health services and inadequate housing, welfare and sanitary facilities which further exacerbate the plight of the workers.
Waste Management Issues
- Management of solid wastes generated in ship breaking is a major concern in India.
- Although these wastes constitute only around 1% of dead weight of a ship, the total amount in millions of tonne, make these wastes difficult to handle, posing a major risk both to health and environment.
Water Pollution
- Water body, primarily the marine environment gets polluted in terms of suspended solids, nitrates, phosphate, heavy metals, oil and grease from bilge water.
Air Pollution
- Various air pollutants like furans and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), fine particulates are released during the breaking process of ship.
- It further contributes to air pollution from various ship breaking processes.
Way Forward
- Given the current high human and environmental costs, it seems likely that ship owners and breakers, state mechanisms and international legislation will each need to continue to evolve and increase their cooperation to fill the gaps.
- Ship owners from their side need to incorporate a sustainable social and ecological responsibility as well when it comes to the recycling of their vessels.
- A well balanced global list of compliant facilities can only remain when the facilities on it receive a good and constant flow of end-of-life vessels.
- With the back drop of sustainability issues, this industry has the potential to be the prime economic activity in India.
Vaibhav Summit On Precision Agriculture
- On 5th October, 2020, Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) organized a session on “Sensors and Sensing for Precision Agriculture” as a part of the Vaishwik Bhartiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit 2020.
- It aims at strengthening the S&T base for providing the impetus to endeavour of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat.
Key Points
- The initiative sought to bring together the thought process, practices, R&D culture of Overseas and Indian scientists/academicians and develop a road map for translational research/academic culture for tangible output.
- A total of 18 verticals have been identified for deliberation of which “Agro-economy and Food Security” deals directly with agriculture with several horizontals.
- The horizontal on “Precision Agriculture” aims at discussing recent advances in the field on sensors, remote sensing, deep learning, artificial intelligence and IoT for monitoring and quantification of soil, plant and environment to enhance farm productivity with increased input use efficiency and environmental sustainability.
Precision Agriculture(PA)
- It can be defined as a whole-farm management strategy that utilises information technology and that the aim of management is to improve production and minimise environmental impact.
- It also refers to the farming system which in modern agriculture may include the supply chain from the farm gate to the consumer.
Need for PA in India
- The decline in the total productivity, diminishing and degrading natural resources, stagnating farm incomes, lack of eco-regional approach, declining and fragmented land holdings, trade liberalization on agriculture, limited employment opportunities in non-farm sector, and global climatic variation have become major concerns in agricultural growth and development.
- Therefore, the use of newly emerged technology adoption is seen as one key to increase agriculture productivity in the future.
Benefits
- Enhances agricultural productivity and prevents soil degradation in cultivable land resulting in sustained agricultural development.
- Help reducing excessive chemical usage in crop production.
- Allow efficient use of water resources.
- Applying sensing devices throughout the field will allow a continuous monitoring of the chosen parameters and offers real-time data to help inform decisions.
- Provides opportunities for better resource management and hence reduce wastage of resources.
Challenges
Technology related Challenges
- Precision farming requires some degree of competence in the use of software and hardware.Illiteracy among Indian farmers reduces technology adoption and trial possibilities.
- The lack of awareness and absence of dedicated education of precision agriculture among farming communities is major obstacle for its adoption.
- Lack of local technical expertise and assistance is another obstacle for precision agriculture.
Economy related Challenges
- Indianagricultureispredominantlyfeaturedassmallandmarginallandholdings, which is major constraint in adoption of precision agriculture.
- It’s quite difficult and impractical to expect this segment to adopt high cost involvement technologies used in precision farming.
- Further, PA involves highinitial cost which includes many expensive machine sand tools which are beyond the economic reach of small and marginal farmers.
Social and Behavioral related Challenges
- Indian farming is predominated by age old farming practices.
- The same agriculture practices are being carried out from generations. Resistance and rigidity are two major hurdles in adoption of precision farming.
Way Forward
The policy approach to promote precision agriculture at farm level-
- Identify the niche areas for the promotion of crop specific precision farming.
- Creation of multidisciplinary teams involving agricultural scientists in various fields, engineers, manufacturers and economists to study the overall scope of precision agriculture.
- Provide complete technical backup support to the farmers to develop pilots or models, which can be replicated on a large scale.
- Pilot study should be conducted on farmers’fields to show the results of precision agriculture implementation.
- Evolve policy for efficient technology transfer and ensure complete end to end technical support to farmers.
India Gets Its First Ever Brand & Logo For Its Cotton On 2nd World Cotton Day
- The Ministry of Textiles has launched the 1st ever Brand & Logo for Indian Cotton on 2nd World Cotton Day on 7th October. The Day was initiated by the Group of Cotton-4 countries namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali.
- Now India’s premium Cotton would be known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world cotton Trade.
- The Kasturi Cotton brand will represent Whiteness, Brightness, Softness, Purity, Lustre, Uniqueness and Indianness.
Importance of Cotton in Indian Economy
- Cotton is one of the principal commercial crops of India and it provides livelihood to about 6.00 million cotton farmers.
- India is the 2nd largest cotton producer and the largest consumer of cotton in the world.
- India produces about 6.00 Million tons of cotton every year which is about 23% of the world cotton.
- India produces about 51% of the total organic cotton production of the world, which demonstrates India’s effort towards sustainability.
New Rules For Postal Ballot
To make the procedure to opt for postal ballot more convenient for those above 80 years of age and people with disabilities, the Election Commission has come out with a set of new instructions.
- If he/she opts for postal ballot, then the booth level officer will deliver the form required to opt for the postal ballot at the residence of all those aged above 80 and people with disabilities under his polling station. He will collect the filled-in form 12-D from the house of the elector within five days of the notification and deposit it with the returning officer forthwith.
- The returning officer would deploy polling teams, which will deliver and collect the postal ballot on pre-informed dates and then deposit it with the returning officer.
- It would be up to these two categories of voters to opt for postal ballot.
- The voting will bevideographed to ensure transparency.
Postal Ballot Facility Entitled to Others
- Members of the armed forces like the Army, Navy and Air Force, members of the armed police force of a state (serving outside the state), government employees posted outside India and their spouses are entitled to vote only by post. In other words, they can’t vote in person. Voters under preventive detention can also vote only by post.
- Special voters such as the President of India, Vice President, Governors, Union Cabinet ministers, Speaker of the House and government officers on poll duty have the option to vote by post. But they have to apply through a prescribed form to avail this facility.
- Recently, the Law Ministry, at the Election Commission’s behest, introduced a new category of ‘absentee voters’, who can now also opt for postal voting. These are voters employed in essential services and unable to cast their vote due to their service conditions. Currently, officials of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Northern Railway (Passenger and Freight) Services and media persons are notified as absentee voters.
Note:Recently, senior citizens above the age of 65 and voters who test positive for COVID19 or are suspected to be COVID-affected were allowed to cast their vote by post.
Agnikul Cosmos Partners With Alaska Aerospace To Test Its Launch Vehicle
- Chennai-based space startupAgnikul Cosmos has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Alaska Aerospace Corporation to test launch its launch vehicle -- Agnibaan -- from the Pacific Spaceport Complex - Alaska on Kodiak Island in the US.
- Agnikul is building a small satellite rocket, Agnibaan capable of carrying up to 100 kg of payload to low Earth orbits up to 700 km.
ICGS Kanaklata Barua Commissioned
- A Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) named ICGS KanaklataBaruawas commissioned into the Indian Coast Guard at Kolkata.
- It is named after a teenage freedom fighter who was shot dead in Assam during the Quit India Movement.
- It the fifth and last in a series of FPVs built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd. The other four are ICGS Priyadarshini (named after Indira Gandhi), ICGS Annie Besant, ICGS Kamala Devi (after Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay), and ICGS Amrit Kaur.
Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission (ASIIM)
The Union Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the “Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM)” to promote innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions.
The ASIIM initiative will be implemented by the Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SCs) that has been created to provide concessional finance to the entities of the SC entrepreneurs.
Objectives of ASIIM
- To promote entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs.
- To support (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) set up by Department of Science and Technology.
- To support, promote, hand-hold the start-up ideas till they reach commercial stage by providing liberal equity support.
- To incentivise students with innovative mind-set to take to entrepreneurship with confidence.
Rules For Protection Of Good Samaritans
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has published the rules for the protection of Good Samaritans on 29th September 2020.
Finer Points
- Good Samaritan shall be treated respectfully without any discrimination on the grounds of religion, nationality, caste or sex.
- No police officer or any other person shall compel a Good Samaritan to disclose his/her name, identity, address or any such other personal details. However, he may voluntarily choose to disclose the same.
- Every public and private hospital shall publish a charter in Hindi, English and vernacular language, at the entrance or other conspicuous location, and on their website, stating the rights of Good Samaritans under the Act and the rules made thereunder.
- If a person has voluntarily agreed to become a witness in the case in which he has acted as a Good Samaritan, he shall be examined in accordance with the provisions of this rule, for which detailed guidelines and process has been mentioned in the rules.
Section 134A of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019
- The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, inserted a new section 134A, viz. "Protection of good Samaritans" which provides that a Good Samaritan shall not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of the victim of an accident involving a motor vehicle, where such injury or death resulted from the Good Samaritan's negligence in acting or failing to act while rendering emergency medical or non-medical care or assistance and that the Central Government may by rules provide for the procedure for questioning or examination of the Good Samaritan, disclosure of personal information of the Good Samaritan and such other related matters.
Tribes India E-Marketplace’:Largest Market Of Tribal Products
- The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched India’s largest handicraft and organic products marketplace, Tribes India E-Marketplace (market.tribesindia.com) on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti(October 2, 2020).
- TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs will showcase the produce and handicrafts of tribal enterprises from across the country and help them market their produce/ products directly, is also a major leap towards the digitisation of tribal commerce.
Decade Of Healthy Ageing (2020-2030)
On International Day for Older Persons (1st October, 2020) that was observed under the theme “Pandemics: Do They Change How We Address Age and Ageing?”, the Union Health Ministry has launched Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020-2030), a campaign aimed at mainstreaming issues related to the elderly and for deliberating upon ways to ensure better and effective delivery of services to them.
- Under this campaign many activities will be undertaken throughout the year, aimed at mainstreaming issues related to elderly and to deliberate upon ways to ensure better and effective delivery of services, making full use of convergence mechanisms.
- According to Population Census 2011, there are nearly 104 million elderly persons in India. It has increased from 5.5% in 1951 to 8.6% in 2011. And projected a rise upto 19% in 2050.
Some Recent initiatives towards Elders
- LASI: The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare launched the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) that will provide scientifically validated data on various issues of the elderly.
- The Pradhan MantriVaya Vandana Yojana: To provide social security during old age.
- Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY): Under this scheme, aids and assistive living devices are provided to senior citizens belonging to BPL category who suffer from age-related disabilities.
- Integrated Programme for Older Persons (IPOP): To improve the quality of life of older persons by providing basic amenities.
- Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS): Under this scheme, financial assistance is provided to person of 60 years and above and belonging to family living below poverty line.
- Varishtha Pension BimaYojana (VPBY): It is a social security schemes for senior citizens intended to give an assured minimum pension on a guaranteed minimum return on the subscription amount.
Ambedkar Social Innovation And Incubation Mission
- On 30th September, 2020, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment launched the Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM) in order to promote innovation and enterprise in Schedule Caste (SC) students studying in higher educational institutions.
Objectives
- To promote entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs.
- To support innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs).
- To support and promote the start-up ideas till they reach commercial stage by providing liberal equity support.
Need
- There is a need to identify innovative ideas and provide focussed support to young entrepreneurs who are engaged in working on innovative and technology-oriented business ideas.
Key Points
Implementation
- The ASIIM initiative will be implemented by the Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SCs).
Eligibility
- Youth who have been identified by the TBIs.
- Students who have been awarded under the Smart India Hackathon or Smart India Hardware Hackathon being conducted by Ministry of Education.
- Innovative ideas focusing on the socio-economic development of the society identified in the TBIs.
- Start-ups nominated and supported by corporates through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.
Benefits
- 1,000 SC youth would be identified in the next 4 years with start-up ideas through the TBIs in various higher educational institutions.
- Successful ventures would further qualify for venture capital funding of up to Rs. 5 Crore from the VCF-SCs.
- This initiative will help promote innovation in the SC youth and would help them to become job-givers from job-seekers.
- The mission would further give fillip to the ‘Stand Up India’ initiative of the government.
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Venture Capital Fund For Scheduled Castes
Objectives
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