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Monthly DNA
21 Apr, 2020
92 Min Read
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Bangalore Blue for Karnataka’s grape farmers
Part of: GS-III- Economy-WTO (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)
What is GI Tag?
A GI or Geographical Indication is a name or a sign given to certain products that relate to a specific geographical location or origins like a region, town or country. Using Geographical Indications may be regarded as a certification that the particular product is produced as per traditional methods, has certain specific qualities, or has a particular reputation because of its geographical origin.
Geographical indications are typically used for wine and spirit drinks, foodstuffs, agricultural products, handicrafts, and industrial products. GI Tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorized users are allowed to use the popular product name. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.
Who accords and regulates Geographical Indications?
Geographical Indications are covered as a component of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property. At the International level, GI is governed by the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In India, Geographical Indications registration is administered by the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 which came into force with effect from September 2003. The first product in India to be accorded with GI tag was Darjeeling tea in the year 2004-05.
Benefits of GI Tags
The Geographical Indication registration confers the following benefits:
Along with the benefits, there are certain issues associated with GI tags as well. Off late, there has been a rise in disputes over the question of the place of origin of the product under consideration. This gets aggravated due to a lack of clear historical evidence.
For example, the disputes surrounding the origin of Roshogulla, a popular dessert, from eastern India. Both West Bengal and Odisha claim that the dessert originated in their own states. By ‘winning’ a GI tag, each state is looking to promote its own cultural and regional jingoism over the other.
This sort of unhealthy competition tends to polarise the country on regional, cultural and linguistic lines. Most states in their rush to corner as many GI tags as possible have forgotten to pay attention to enhance the value of products already having a GI tag.
As a result, neither the local community nor the customer is benefitting economically. This trend undercuts the very idea of GI protection to native endemic products.
Significance of GI Tags
A geographical indication right facilitates those who have the right to use the indication to prohibit its usage by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards.
For example, in the purview in which the Darjeeling geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling tea can omit the term “Darjeeling” for tea not grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the norms set out in the code of practice for the geographical indication.
However, a protected GI does not permit the holder to forbid someone from making a product using the same approaches as those set out in the standards for that indication. Protection for a GI tag is usually procured by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication.
Role of GI in Rural Development
Geographical indications are mostly traditional products, produced by rural communities over generations that have gained prominence on the markets for their precise qualities.
The recognition and protection of the markets of these products allow the producers’ community to devote and maintaining the precise qualities of the product on which the reputation is built. This might also allow them to invest together in promoting the reputation of the product.
Some of the observed rural development impacts of GI are:
Geographical Indications Protection
Geographical indications are protected and preserved in various countries and regional systems through a wide array of approaches and often using a consolidation of two or more approaches.
There are three major ways to protect a geographical indication:
These approaches have been developed in consonance with different legal practices and within a framework of individual historical and economic conditions.
The approaches to protect GI comprise of differences with respect to critical questions like conditions for protection or the scope of protection. On the other hand, the two modes of protection mentioned above namely sui generis systems and collective or certification mark systems, share some common characteristics, such as the fact that they set up rights for collective use by those who comply with defined standards.
Way Forward for GI
Summary of Geographical Indications in India
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GI Tags 2019-2020 |
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Products |
Categories |
States |
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Kandhamal Haladi |
Agricultural |
Odisha |
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Rasagola |
Food Stuff |
Odisha |
|
Kodaikanal Malai Poondu |
Agricultural |
Tamil Nadu |
|
Pawndum |
Handicraft |
Mizoram |
|
Ngotekherh |
Handicraft |
Mizoram |
|
Hmaram |
Handicraft |
Mizoram |
|
Palani Panchamirtham |
Food Stuff |
Tamil Nadu |
|
Tawlhlohpuan |
Handicraft |
Mizoram |
|
Mizo Puanchei |
Handicraft |
Mizoram |
|
Gulbarga Tur Dal |
Agricultural |
Karnataka |
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Tirur Betel Leaf (Tirur Vettila) |
Agricultural |
Kerala |
|
Khola Chilli |
Agricultural |
Goa |
|
Idu Mishmi Textiles |
Handicraft |
Arunachal Pradesh |
|
Dindigul Locks |
Manufactured |
Tamil Nadu |
|
Kandangi Saree |
Handicraft |
Tamil Nadu |
|
Srivilliputtur Palkova |
Food Stuff |
Tamil Nadu |
|
Kaji Nemu |
Agricultural |
Assam |
Source: TH
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The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan on March 2, 2020. The Bill amends the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 which provides for the termination of certain pregnancies by registered medical practitioners. The Bill adds the definition of termination of pregnancy to mean a procedure undertaken to terminate a pregnancy by using medical or surgical methods.
Termination of pregnancy: Under the Act, a pregnancy may be terminated within 12 weeks, if a registered medical practitioner is of the opinion that:
The Bill amends this provision to state that a pregnancy may be terminated within 20 weeks, with the opinion of a registered medical practitioner. Approval of two registered medical practitioners will be required for termination of pregnancies between 20 to 24 weeks. The termination of pregnancies up to 24 weeks will only apply to specific categories of women, as may be prescribed by the central government. Further, the central government will notify the norms for the medical practitioner whose opinion is required for termination of the pregnancy.
Under the Act, if any pregnancy occurs as a result of failure of any device or method used by a married woman or her husband to limit the number of children, such an unwanted pregnancy may constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman. The Bill amends this provision to replace ‘married woman or her husband’ with ‘woman or her partner’.
Constitution of a Medical Board: The Bill states that the upper limit of termination of pregnancy will not apply in cases where such termination is necessary due to the diagnosis of substantial foetal abnormalities. These abnormalities will be diagnosed by a Medical Board. Under the Bill, every state government is required to constitute a Medical Board. These Medical Boards will consist of the following members: (i) a gynaecologist, (ii) a paediatrician, (iii) a radiologist or sonologist, and (iv) any other number of members, as may be notified by the state government. Note that, the central government will notify the powers and functions of these Medical Boards.
Protection of privacy of a woman: The Bill states that no registered medical practitioner will be allowed to reveal the name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated, except to a person authorised by any law. Anyone who contravenes this provision will be punished with imprisonment of up to one year, or with a fine, or both.
Source: PRS
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Singapore is currently in a "relatively stable" situation as the government has put in place a series of measures and adjusted them as needed. The measures taken by the Singapore government are:
South Korea's model to fight COVID19:
The country's first case was reported on January 20, but the largest outbreak started with a peak of 909 new cases on February 29.
On March 4, South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared "war" on the novel coronavirus, as the number of infections mounted up in the country. Less than a week later, the number of new cases halved.
Some of the measures taken by South Korea to contain corona virus spread are:
Source: WEB
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World Trade Organisation (WTO):
Objectives of WTO:
The WTO has six key objectives:
For example, whereas the GATT focused almost exclusively on goods—though much of agriculture and textiles were excluded—the WTO encompasses all goods, services, and intellectual property, as well as some investment policies. In addition, the permanent WTO Secretariat, which replaced the interim GATT Secretariat, has strengthened and formalized mechanisms for reviewing trade policies and settling disputes. Because many more products are covered under the WTO than under the GATT and because the number of member countries and the extent of their participation has grown steadily—the combined share of international trade of WTO members now exceeds 90 percent of the global total—open access to markets has increased substantially.
Functions of WTO:
Although shared by the GATT, in practice these goals have been pursued more comprehensively by the WTO.
For example, whereas the GATT focused almost exclusively on goods—though much of agriculture and textiles were excluded—the WTO encompasses all goods, services, and intellectual property, as well as some investment policies.
In addition, the permanent WTO Secretariat, which replaced the interim GATT Secretariat, has strengthened and formalized mechanisms for reviewing trade policies and settling disputes. Because many more products are covered under the WTO than under the GATT and because the number of member countries and the extent of their participation has grown steadily—the combined share of international trade of WTO members now exceeds 90 percent of the global total—open access to markets has increased substantially.
Singapore Issues,1996
Ministers of finance, trade, foreign and agriculture from more than 120 countries participated and the following issues were in discussion.
Doha Declaration,2001
The Doha Declaration is the November 2001 declaration that came out of the 4th Ministerial Conference of the WTO, that took place in Doha, Qatar.
Swiss Formula,2005:
Bali Package,2013:
The ‘Bali Package’ was adopted by the WTO that aimed at the following points:
The Bali Package is a selection of issues from the broader Doha Round negotiations.
Nairobi Package,2015
The Nairobi Package was adopted by WTO that delivered beneficial commitments to WTO’s poorest members.
Pt: WTO 2020 summit will be heald at NurSultan,Kazakhstan.
Source: WEB
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Mob lynching
Lynching is a form of violence in which a mob, under the pretext of administering justice without trial, executes a presumed offender, often after inflicting torture and corporal mutilation. The term lynch law refers to a self-constituted court that imposes a sentence on a person without due process of law.
The Manipur Law defined mob lynchings as “any act or series of acts of violence or aiding, abetting such act/acts thereof, whether spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity or any other related grounds.”
Steps were taken to counter mob lynching in India:
Supreme Court’s Guidelines on Preventing Mob Lynching,2018
Protection from Mob Violence Act (Manipur State):
Main features of the Act:
Definition
Its definition of lynching is comprehensive, covering many forms of hate crimes. These are “any act or series of acts of violence or aiding, abetting such act/acts thereof, whether spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity or any other related grounds .…”
It requires that hate crimes are undertaken by mobs (defined as a group of two or more individuals, assembled with a common intention of lynching).
Duty of the state
It clearly lays down the duty and responsibility of the State government to make arrangements for the protection of victims and witnesses against any kind of intimidation, coercion, inducement, violence or threats of violence.
It also prescribes the duty of State officials to prevent a hostile environment against people of the community who have been lynched, which includes economic and social boycott, and humiliation through excluding them from public services such as education, health and transport, threats and evictions.
Responsibility for Public Official
It lays down that “any police officer directly in charge of maintaining law and order in an area, omits to exercise the lawful authority vested in them under the law, without reasonable cause, and thereby fails to prevent lynching shall be guilty of dereliction of duty” and will be liable “to the punishment of imprisonment of one year, which may extend to three years, and with a fine that may extend to fifty thousand rupees”.
No prior sanction is required to register crimes against public officials who fail in their duties to prevent hate crimes such as lynching.
No prior sanction
It does away with the requirement of prior state sanction before acting on a hate crime. All hate crimes today should attract Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code, which is related to fostering enmity between people on the basis of religion, race, language and so on. But registering this crime requires prior permission from the State government, and most governments use this power to shield perpetrators of hate crimes who are politically and ideologically aligned to the ruling establishment. The Manipur law does away with this requirement, which would make acting against hate crimes far more effective and non-partisan.
Rehabilitation
The last substantial contribution of the law is requiring the state to formulate a scheme for relief camps and rehabilitation in case of displacement of victims, and death compensation.
Source: WEB
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National Health Policy,2017
The National Health Policy, 2017 (NHP, 2017) seeks to reach everyone in a comprehensive integrated way to move towards wellness. It aims at achieving universal health coverage and delivering quality health care services to all at affordable cost.
Objectives
Improve health status through concerted policy action in all sectors and expand preventive, promotive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative services provided through the public health sector with focus on quality.
Quantitative Goals
• Increase Life Expectancy at birth from 67.5 to 70 by 2025.
• Establish regular tracking of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY) Index as a measure of burden of disease and its trends by major categories by 2022.
• Reduction of TFR to 2.1 at national and sub-national level by 2025.
• Reduce Under Five Mortality to 23 by 2025 and MMR from current levels to 100 by 2020.
• Reduce infant mortality rate to 28 by 2019.
• Reduce neo-natal mortality to 16 and still birth rate to “single digit” by 2025.
• Achieve global target of 2020 which is also termed as target of 90:90:90, for HIV/AIDS i.e, - 90% of all people living with HIV know their HIV status, - 90% of all people diagnosed with HIV infection receive sustained antiretroviral therapy and 90% of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression.
• Achieve and maintain elimination status of Leprosy by 2018, Kala-Azar by 2017 and Lymphatic Filariasis in endemic pockets by 2017.
• To achieve and maintain a cure rate of >85% in new sputum positive patients for TB and reduce incidence of new cases, to reach elimination status by 2025.
• To reduce the prevalence of blindness to 0.25/ 1000 by 2025 and disease burden by one third from current levels.
• To reduce premature mortality from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases by 25% by 2025.
• Increase utilization of public health facilities by 50% from current levels by 2025.
• Antenatal care coverage to be sustained above 90% and skilled attendance at birth above 90% by 2025.
• More than 90% of the newborn are fully immunized by one year of age by 2025.
• Meet need of family planning above 90% at national and sub national level by 2025.
• 80% of known hypertensive and diabetic individuals at household level maintain "controlled disease status" by 2025.
• Relative reduction in prevalence of current tobacco use by 15% by 2020 and 30% by 2025.
• Reduction of 40% in prevalence of stunting of under-five children by 2025.
• Access to safe water and sanitation to all by 2020 (Swachh Bharat Mission).
• Reduction of occupational injury by half from current levels of 334 per lakh agricultural workers by 2020.
• Increase health expenditure by Government as a percentage of GDP from the existing 1.1 5 % to 2.5 % by 2025.
• Increase State sector health spending to > 8% of their budget by 2020.
• Decrease in proportion of households facing catastrophic health expenditure from the current levels by 25%, by 2025.
• Ensure availability of paramedics and doctors as per Indian Public Health Standard (IPHS) norm in high priority districts by 2020.
• Increase community health volunteers to population ratio as per IPHS norm, in high priority districts by 2025.
• Establish primary and secondary care facility as per norm s in high priority districts (population as well as time to reach norms) by 2025.
• Ensure district - level electronic database of information on health system components by 2020.
• Strengthen the health surveillance system and establish registries for diseases of public health importance by 2020.
• Establish federated integrated health information architecture, Health Information Exchanges and National Health Information Network by 2025.
• Ensuring Adequate Investment - The policy proposes a potentially achievable target of raising public health expenditure to 2.5% of the GDP in a time bound manner.
Problems of Indian medical system:
Ailing Public health sector: meagre healthcare budget, overcrowding, long waiting time and the need for multiple visits for investigations and consultations frustrate patients on a daily basis.
Paucity of Resources: Doctors work in extreme conditions ranging from overcrowded out-patient departments, inadequate staff, medicines and infrastructure.
Expensive Private Medical Education: increasingly high cost of medical education in the private sector is forcing many students in India to look for cheaper destinations abroad.
Overburdened Doctors: Owing to disproportionate Doctor Patient ratio, limited number of doctors, nurses and medical staff have to cater to a large number of patients.
Unaffordable Treatments: More than 17% of Indian population spends at least 10% of household budgets for health services.
Doctor Patient Relation: The highlighting of errors by doctors, medical staff, and hospitals, as well as corruption among doctors, has further eroded the trust patients have in the medical facilities.
Source: TH/WEB
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Part of: GS-II- Education (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)
Human Resource Development held a detailed review of the National online education platform SWAYAM and the 32 DTH Television Education Channels SWAYAM PRABHA. During the meeting, a brief presentation of the progress of these schemes was made. In the lockdown condition there has been a tremendous increase in demand and the usage of SWAYAM Courses and SWAYAM PRABHA videos. The Ministry in a statement said that 1902 courses are available currently in SWAYAM, which have been offered to 1.56 crore students since launch.
It was decided that all the 1900 SWAYAM Courses and 60 thousand SWAYAM PRABHA videos would be translated into ten regional languages and made available to the students so that more benefit can be derived from the same. The more popular content, and for engineering courses taught in first year shall, however, be prioritized for translation. The whole project will be started immediately and completed in a time bound manner. It said, UGC has been asked to prepare guidelines regarding online and Distance learning guidelines to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio.
On SWAYAM PRABHA, the Ministry said that is a group of 32 DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high-quality educational programmes on 24X7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite. It said that possibility of redistribution of channels to match available content, and viewership will be explored. It was also decided to enrich the content in SWAYAM PRABHA by collecting content from who so ever willing to contribute the same under Vidya Daan Programme. Subject expert committees shall be formed to approve the content received, before getting it uploaded on SWAYAM Prabha.
About Vidya Daan
CBSE is leveraging DIKSHA to launch ‘Vidya Daan’- A program to enable contributions to improve teaching & learning. Vidya Daan is an effort to encourage the sharing of high quality, curated, relevant & curriculum linked digital content. Teaching and Learning content in Vidya Daan have been contributed by teachers and schools across India.
This program attempts to synergize countrywide developments in the field of education by providing schools all over India, from the Metro cities to the smallest villages with good quality e-content that can be used by them anytime, anywhere at no cost. The aim of this program is to empower each school, teacher, and student and improve learning.
Several schools in India have participated in the program to contribute curriculum linked digital content for multiple resources required by the teacher.
DIGITAL EDUCATION
Digital education making way into education sysytem
Gone are the days when classroom training was restricted to textbook learning, teachers using the blackboard to students writing notes in copies. Its more chalk and talk in most schools. Digital education is making its way into the education system of India and is taking the place of the traditional classroom training.
Distance education beyond boundaries
Technology has made it possible for students who fall off the traditional path to jump back on and finish what they spent most of their childhood working towards. This may be in the form of taking remote classes from home, remedial classes in on-campus computer labs or even by enrolling in full-time online schools, public or private.
Flexible learning environment
A student who needs extra help on a particular topic need not hold up the entire class, or feel embarrassed asking for that help, when there are computer modules and tablet apps available for individual learning experiences.
Teachers who spot a trouble area with a particular student can gear that teen towards more exercises to master the topic. Of course, technology is not the magic wand to fix all problems, but it does allow for more flexibility of the learning process.
Many schools now come with a TV or a projector attached to their whiteboard where it is easy to shift from a normal classroom session to an interactive digital session. This can make students pay more attention as we are now in the digital era where Google is our go-to place.
Field trips turned to Online Webinars
If a school does not have the resources to send students on field trips, they can opt for web seminars related to their course work. Conducting online seminars and webinars, enabling all students to engage in commenting and participating in questionnaires can help them stay alert. It is very vital that students engage in seminars and the lectures involve two-way communication.
NASA is known to offer a program for students wherein they can talk to astronauts in space using such web seminars. This hybrid, collaborative online learning experience is broadly changing the aspects of education in India.
Usage of VR and AR for learning
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are already buzzwords in the technology space. Their advent in e-learning has massively impacted the efficiency with which it is offered to students and the way it assesses their performance.VR allows students using e-learning platforms on mobile devices to directly interact with study material. This keeps their engagement levels high and motivates them.
Globalized learning, maximized exposure
With the internet, it has become possible for students to communicate with students from other parts of the world. This makes it really easy to learn foreign languages and expand the exposure of young minds. Video conferencing is a boon to students who want to communicate or meet with their global counterparts.
Today, India is one of the world's top destinations for education. Where the pedagogy is all about the smartboards where teachers can drag and drop shapes, bring in online calculators on the board, measure with AR tools and voice out the text they want to see on the board.It is time to collaborate teaching methodology with technology and make education and classroom sessions livelier and more interesting!
The key e-Learning Projects being run by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) are as follows:
ICT in Education Curricula for students, teachers and teacher educators has been developed at the national level and being implemented across the country. 805 MRPs/ KRPs of thirty six States/UTs were oriented on ICT curriculum for students and teachers and their roll out in respective states. Guidelines for teacher, student and schools on cyber safety and security have been published.
e-pathshala has been developed by NCERT (National Council for Educational Research and Training) for showcasing and disseminating all educational e-resources including textbooks, audio, video, periodicals and a variety of other print and non-print materials. So far, 3444 audios and videos, 698 e-books (e-pubs) and 504 flip books have been made available on the portal and mobile app.
A web portal called ShaGun (from the words Shaala and Gunvatta) which has two parts, one of which is a Repository of good practices, photographs, videos, studies, newspaper articles etc on school education, State /UT wise has been developed which is in public domain. Its purpose is to showcase success stories and also to provide a platform for all stakeholders to learn from each other. This also instills a positive competitive spirit among all the States and UTs.
The National Repository of Open Educational Resources (NROER) is an initiative to bring together all digital and digitisable resources across all stages of school education and teacher education. So far, 13635 files including 401 collections, 2722 documents, 565 interactive, 1664 audios, 2581 images and 6105 videos have been made available over the portal. State/ UTs are motivated to contribute resources on NROER and create OERs for their own State/ UT.
The ‘Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds’ (SWAYAM) an integrated platform for online courses, using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and covering school (9th to 12th) to Post Graduate Level. SWAYAM provides one integrated platform and portal for online courses, using information and communication technology (ICT) and covering all higher education subjects and skill sector courses to ensure that the every student in the country has access to the best quality higher education at affordable cost. It also offers online courses for students, teachers and teacher educators. It may be accessed on swayam.gov.in. Besides, National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is promoting education through e-learning methods by providing courses on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the portal. There are 44 courses of NIOS offered on SWAYAM platform – 14 at secondary level, 16 at senior secondary level, 4 vocational courses and 10 courses of Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed.).
A programme for utilization of satellite communication technologies for transmission of educational e-contents through 32 National Channels i.e. SWAYAM PRABHA DTH-TV has been launched. CIET-NCERT is the national coordinator for one DTH TV channel i.e., Kishore Manch (#31) and has started feeding a 24×7 educational TV channel w.e.f. 09.07.2018.
Everyday four hour fresh slot is telecast and repeated 5 more times in 24 hours to provide learning opportunities for the stake holders, as per their convenience. Besides, NIOS is running 5 channels for teachers, for secondary and senior secondary levels and for sign language.
The National Digital Library of India (NDL) is a project to develop a framework of virtual repository of learning resources with a single-window search facility.
NOTE: For SWOT analysis of eLearning
https://www.aspireias.com/daily-news-analysis/Ethics/COVID-19-eLearning-SWOT-analysis
Source: TH/GOV WEB/India Today
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Fish gills for low-cost electro-catalysts – BIO FUEL CELL
Part of: GS-III- S&T (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)
Scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Mohali, have recently come up with an efficient, low-cost electro-catalyst from fish gills that can help develop environmentally friendly energy conversion devices. This bio-inspired carbon nanostructure can help overcome the bottleneck in the realization of several renewable energy conversion and storage technologies such as fuel cell, biofuel cell, and metal−air battery. It could be utilized as next-generation nonprecious carbon-based electrocatalyst for energy conversion and storage applications.
A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a bio-electrochemical systemthat drives an electric current by using bacteria and a high-energy oxidant such as O2, mimicking bacterial interactions found in nature. MFCs can be grouped into two general categories: mediated and unmediated. The first MFCs, demonstrated in the early 20th century, used a mediator: a chemical that transfers electrons from the bacteria in the cell to the anode. Unmediated MFCs emerged in the 1970s; in this type of MFC the bacteria typically have electrochemically active redox proteins such as cytochrome on their outer membrane that can transfer electrons directly to the anode. In the 21st century MFCs have started to find commercial use in wastewater treatment.
A biofuel cell uses living organisms to produce electricity. It may refer to:
Source: AIR
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FCI to use surplus rise to make alcohol-based sanitizers- Ethnol Policy
Part of: GS-III- S&T (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)
Surplus rice available with Food Corporation of India (FCI) would be converted to ethanol to ensure adequate availability of alcohol-based sanitizers in the country. Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, in a meeting of National Biofuel Coordination Committee approved this decision as per the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018. The ethanol produced from surplus rice would also be used in production of Ethanol Blended Petrol .The National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, allows such conversions of surplus food grains, in case the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare anticipates its over supply during a crop-year.
National policy on Bio fuels
The National Policy on Biofuels-2018 approved by the Government envisages an indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of bio-diesel in diesel by 2030.
National Policy on biofuels- salient features:
Categorization: The Policy categorises biofuels as “Basic Biofuels” viz. First Generation (1G) bioethanol & biodiesel and “Advanced Biofuels” – Second Generation (2G) ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to drop-in fuels, Third Generation (3G) biofuels, bio-CNG etc. to enable extension of appropriate financial and fiscal incentives under each category.
Scope of raw materials: The Policy expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production by allowing use of Sugarcane Juice, Sugar containing materials like Sugar Beet, Sweet Sorghum, Starch containing materials like Corn, Cassava, Damaged food grains like wheat, broken rice, Rotten Potatoes, unfit for human consumption for ethanol production.
Protection to farmers: Farmers are at a risk of not getting appropriate price for their produce during the surplus production phase. Taking this into account, the Policy allows use of surplus food grains for production of ethanol for blending with petrol with the approval of National Biofuel Coordination Committee.
Viability gap funding: With a thrust on Advanced Biofuels, the Policy indicates a viability gap funding scheme for 2G ethanol Bio refineries of Rs.5000 crore in 6 years in addition to additional tax incentives, higher purchase price as compared to 1G biofuels.
Boost to biodiesel production: The Policy encourages setting up of supply chain mechanisms for biodiesel production from non-edible oilseeds, Used Cooking Oil, short gestation crops.
Expected benefits:
Import dependency: The policy aims at reducing import dependency.
Cleaner environment: By reducing crop burning & conversion of agricultural residues/wastes to biofuels there will be further reduction in Green House Gas emissions.
Health benefits: Prolonged reuse of Cooking Oil for preparing food, particularly in deep-frying is a potential health hazard and can lead to many diseases. Used Cooking Oil is a potential feedstock for biodiesel and its use for making biodiesel will prevent diversion of used cooking oil in the food industry.
Employment Generation: One 100klpd 2G bio refinery can contribute 1200 jobs in Plant Operations, Village Level Entrepreneurs and Supply Chain Management.
Additional Income to Farmers: By adopting 2G technologies, agricultural residues/waste which otherwise are burnt by the farmers can be converted to ethanol and can fetch a price for these waste if a market is developed for the same.
Significance of Biofuels:
Globally, biofuels have caught the attention in last decade and it is imperative to keep up with the pace of developments in the field of biofuels. Biofuels in India are of strategic importance as it augers well with the ongoing initiatives of the Government such as Make in India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Skill Development and offers great opportunity to integrate with the ambitious targets of doubling of Farmers Income, Import Reduction, Employment Generation, Waste to Wealth Creation.
Classification of Biofuels:
1st generation biofuels are also called conventional biofuels. They are made from things like sugar, starch, or vegetable oil. Note that these are all food products. Any biofuel made from a feedstock that can also be consumed as a human food is considered a first generation biofuel.
2nd generation biofuels are produced from sustainable feedstock. The sustainability of a feedstock is defined by its availability, its impact on greenhouse gas emissions, its impact on land use, and by its potential to threaten the food supply. No second generation biofuel is also a food crop, though certain food products can become second generation fuels when they are no longer useful for consumption. Second generation biofuels are often called “advanced biofuels.”
3rd generation biofuels are biofuel derived from algae. These biofuels are given their own separate class because of their unique production mechanism and their potential to mitigate most of the drawbacks of 1st and 2nd generation biofuels.
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Major Types of Biofuels |
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Bioethanol |
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Biodiesel |
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Biogas |
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Biobutanol |
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Biohydrogen |
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About Ethanol: About 5% of the ethanol produced in the world in 2003 was actually a petroleum product. It is made by the catalytic hydration of ethylene with sulfuric acid as the catalyst. It can also be obtained via ethylene or acetylene, from calcium carbide, coal, oil gas, and other sources.
Bio-ethanol is usually obtained from the conversion of carbon-based feedstock. Agricultural feedstocks are considered renewable because they get energy from the sun using photosynthesis, provided that all minerals required for growth (such as nitrogen and phosphorus) are returned to the land. Ethanol can be produced from a variety of feedstocks such as sugar cane, bagasse, miscanthus, sugar beet, sorghum, grain, switchgrass, barley, hemp, kenaf, potatoes, sweetpotatoes, cassava, sunflower, fruit, molasses, corn, stover, grain, wheat, straw, cotton,other biomass, as well as many types of cellulose waste and harvesting, whichever has the best well-to-wheel assessment.
An alternative process to produce bio-ethanol from algae is being developed by the company Algenol.
Jai Hind Jai Bharat
Source: TH/WIKI/AIR
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Road Transport and Highways Ministry have launched a dashboard on its website to provide details of Dhabas and Truck. The list can be accessed at www.morth.nic.in. The Ministry said this is intended to facilitate the travel of truck and cargo drivers and cleaners. Regular contact is being maintained with various stakeholders providing information. National Highway Authority of India’s centralized call number 1033 has also been activated to answer calls and provide information about the habeas and repair shops along National Highways. The Ministry said, people, have to follow all necessary precautions and healthcare protocols of social distancing at these spots and use masks
Source: AIR
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Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed a bridge over the Subansiri river in Arunachal Pradesh in a record span of just 27 days. Amidst the nationwide lockdown, BRO undertook the developmental work for the construction of the Daporijo bridge maintaining utmost precautions against COVID-19. The bridge is of utmost importance in strategic connectivity as it links roads leading up to the LAC between India and China.
Other projects: Bogibeel bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the Brahmaputra river in the northeastern Indian state of Assam between Dhemaji district and Dibrugarh district, which was started in the year 2002 and took a total of 200 months to complete, Bogibeel river bridge is the longest rail-cum-road bridge in India measuring 4.94 kilometres over the Brahmaputra river. As it is situated in an earthquake-prone area it is India's first bridge to have fully welded steel-concrete support beams that can withstand earthquakes of magnitudes up to 7 on the Richter Scale. It is Asia’s 2nd longest rail-cum-road bridge and has a serviceable period of around 120 years. It is the 5th longest bridge in India after Bhupen Hazarika Setu, Dibang River Bridge, Mahatma Gandhi Setu and Bandra-Worli Sea, Link. The bridge was constructed by a consortium of construction companies headed by Hindustan Construction Company. The bridge has a double rail line on the lower deck and a 3 lane road on the upper deck.
It was inaugurated by prime minister Narendra Modi on 25th December 2018 on the occasion of Good Governance Day.
The Dhola–Sadiya Bridge, also referred to as the Bhupen Hazarika Setu, is a beam bridge in India, connecting the northeast states of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge spans the Lohit River, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra River, from the village of Dhola (Tinsukia District) in the south to Sadiya to the north. The bridge is the first permanent road connection between northern Assam and eastern Arunachal Pradesh.
At 9.15 kilometres (5.69 mi) in length, it is the longest bridge in India over water. However, the 9.76 kilometres (6.06 mi) Kacchi Dargah–Bidupur Bridge under construction in the Indian state of Bihar, is expected to become the longest bridge in India upon its estimated completion in November 2021.
Source: AIR/Wiki
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DCGI approves trial of a drug to reduce the mortality rate
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the trial of a drug for reducing the mortality rate in critically ill COVID-19 patients. The trial is likely to begin at multiple hospitals. The drug which has been developed by Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. with the support of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is meant to treat critically ill patients suffering from Gram-negative bacterial sepsis. CSIR appointed monitoring committee supervised the research trials and development of this drug which has proved it's efficacy in providing faster recovery from organ dysfunction seen in infected patients.
Looking at similarities between clinical characteristics of patients suffering from COVID-19 and Gram-negative sepsis, CSIR, is now initiating a randomized, active comparator-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of this drug for critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Source: AIR
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Researchers from the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism, Navi Mumbai have developed a global model to predict the ionospheric electron density with larger data coverage - a crucial need for communication and navigation.
A new Artificial Neural Network-based global Ionospheric Model has been developed using long-term ionospheric observations to predict the ionospheric electron density and the peak parameters.
Artificial Neural Networks replicate the processes in the human brain to solve problems such as pattern recognition, classification, clustering, generalization, linear and nonlinear data fitting, and time series prediction. Very few attempts have been made to model the global ionosphere variability using ANNs.
Source: AIR
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Department of Biotechnology, DBT and Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, BIRAC had invited applications to COVID-19 Research Consortium.
Sixteen proposals related to devices, diagnostics, vaccine candidates, therapeutics and other interventions have been recommended for receiving funding support. DBT and BIRAC had sought proposals for the development of diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics and other interventions.
A multi-faceted approach is being adopted to ensure that vaccine candidates utilizing different platforms and at different stages of development are fast-tracked through this Research Consortium which receives funding from National Bio-Pharma Mission.
In order to boost indigenous production and scale up the production of molecular and rapid diagnostic tests, several companies will be given financial support. A Common shared facility to manufacture diagnostic kits and ventilators will be established at Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone under National Bio-pharma Mission to provide support to manufacturers for scaling up production capacity.
Development and deployment of contactless, affordable thermopile-based ultrasonic sensors for screening of COVID-19 suspects and indigenous production of Novel Personal Protective Equipment for health care professionals will also be supported.
Source: AIR
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The Mysuru-based CSIR unit, Central Food Technological Research Institute- CFTRI has made available high-protein biscuits to the COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment at All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi.
The Institute has supplied 500 kilograms of high-protein biscuits and rusks each to the Dietetics department of AIIMS for the patients. Ministry of Science and Technology in a statement said that the biscuits contain 14 per cent of protein while usual biscuits contain around 8 to 9 per cent protein. Director of CSIR- CFTRI said the enriched biscuits will provide the protein needed for recuperating patients. COVID patients undergoing treatment in the hospital along with others will be receiving the biscuits as part of their routine diet.
Source: AIR
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Union Government has constituted six Inter-Ministerial Central Teams to make an on-spot assessment of the COVID-19 situation, issue necessary directions to State Authorities for its redressal and submit their report to the Centre.
The teams will focus on compliance and implementation of lockdown measures as per guidelines, supply of essential commodities, social distancing, preparedness of the health infrastructure, the safety of health professionals and conditions of the relief camps for labour and poor people.
Violations of lockdown measures have been reported, which pose a serious health hazard to the public and risk for the spread of COVID- 19. There have been incidents of violence against frontline healthcare professionals, complete violations of social distancing norms and movement of vehicles in urban areas.
Home Ministry has urged States and Union Territories to ensure strict compliance and implementation of revised consolidated guidelines on lockdown measures without any dilution to fight COVID-19. In a letter to states, the Ministry observed that certain states are allowing activities not permitted under Home Ministry guidelines.
Source: AIR
Govt. nod mandatory for FDI from neighbouring countries Part of: GS-III- Economy - FDI (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) China’s footprint in the Indian business space has been expanding rapidly, especially since 2014. The Chinese investment in India in 2014 stood at $1.6 billion.
Water Quality Report - Draft notification on RO systems Part of: GS-III- Environment-Pollution (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) Recently, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has released Water Quality Report for State capitals & Delhi as analysed by
Polyprotein – Virus and Bacteria Difference between Coronavirus and bacterium: Bacterium Coronavirus Bacteria are living even outside a host body. The viruses are basically inactive outside a host organism.
ISPRL to top up its caverns with cheap crude To make the best use of the low international crude prices, public sector oil companies, including Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) and Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), have been filling ISPRL’s ca
USA-WHO-COVID-19 Part of: GS-II- IO (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) The U.S. halting its funding of the WHO. The U.S. President has criticized World Health Organization (WHO) for its handling of the COVID-19 Pandemic and has alleged that the organisation was “very China centric&rdquo
Essential Commodities Act Part of: GS-II- Governance and recent act (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) In news recently: Government puts masks and hand sanitisers under Essential Commodities Act. ECA enacted by Parliament in 1955 provides for the regulation and control of produ
Home Ministry issued Standard Operating Procedures for the movement of stranded migrant Part of: GS-I- Geography -Migration (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) The Home Ministry issued Standard Operating Procedures for the movement of stranded migrant labourers for their engagement in industrial, manu
Active pharmaceutical ingredients and Schemes Approved to Promote Drug Manufacturing Part of: GS-III- Economy and Manufacturing (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) The pharmaceutical drugs which are biologically active are called active ingredients (AI). In medicine, terms such as bulk active and acti
COVID-19 and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) strategy Part of: GS-III- Health – S&T (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) Recently a person suffering from HIV has been treated in London called as ‘London Patient’. He is the second person after Timothy Ray Brown who got cured of
PM - CARES Fund The government has set up the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) to deal with any kind of emergency or distress situation posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This Fund has been set up owing to a number
Kisan Rath App Part of: GS-III-Food Security (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has launched the ‘Kisan Rath’ mobile application (app) to facilitate the transportation of foodgrains and perishable during
World Heritage Day-UNESCO-World Heritage site of India Part of: GS-I- CULTURE (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) Every year 18th April is celebrated as the International Day for Monuments and Sites or the World Heritage Day. The International Council on Monuments
Export curb removed from Paracetamol The Centre has permitted the export of formulations (medicinal products) made from Paracetamol. However, the restriction on export of Paracetamol Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) will continue. The API is the part of any d
Covid-19 tests among the tribal population living along the Godavari river valley area Part of: GS-I- CULTURE-Geography (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) Recently, a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court directing the Andhra Pradesh government to conduct Covid-19 tests among the tri
Safe drinking water supply and management – Water crisis and management Part of: GS-I- Geography and climate change (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) issued an advisory to state governments asking them to ensure sa
Cultural heritage list Part of: GS-I- CULTURE (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST) Draft intangible cultural heritage list released by the Union Culture Ministry. Details: 106 items have been listed as intangible cultural heritage in the draft released by the Union Culture Ministry as a p
06 Feb, 2024
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