RBI cuts interest rate by 25 bps                                                                                  

Mega CCTV project draws flak                                                                                    

Ebb in the Yamuna flow                                                                                               

NGT forms panel to discuss plea seeking ban on plastic packaging                     

CCI imposes penalty on pharma companies, trade associations                           

Centre to come up with policy on AI, cybersecurity soon                                       

Russia willing to drop New START pact: Putin                                                         

Why Cabinet Committees are formed, what are the functions of each [ Editorial / Opinion ]                                                                                                                      

RBI cuts interest rate by 25 bps

GS PAPER - 03 ECONOMY - Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.

Context :

• The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) Monetary Policy Committee has unanimously cut the repo rate by 25 basis points from 6% to 5.75%.

More about the news:

• The reverse repo rate was also lowered to 5.50% from 5.75%.The reverse repo rate is the rate at which the central bank borrows money from commercial banks.

• The RBI has changed the monetary policy stance from neutral to accommodative.

  • The change in stance to accommodative means there is a possibility of further monetary easing in the months ahead.

• The RBI has also lowered India’s Gross Domestic Product(GDP) growth estimate to 7% for the year 2019-20 from 7.2% that it forecast in April,2019.

• The GDP growth estimate was lowered due to weak domestic investment activity and slowdown in exports.

                                                                                                                                 Source :- The Hindu

Mega CCTV project draws flak

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures.

Context :

• Raising concerns of the creation of a ‘surveillance state’ with the planned installation of up to 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras in Delhi, privacy advocacy group Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) sent a legal notice to Chief Minister Kejriwal calling upon him to halt the project.

Concern :

• The letter alleged that the policy was pushed through in an opaque manner without public consultation or feasibility studies.

• It highlighted the lack of legal standing for the ‘Standard Operating Procedure’, which acts as the governing framework for the policy.

• It also raised concerns on the lack of safeguards regarding whom the footage may be shared with, duration for which the footage will be stored, and the rights of residents to access or seek deletion of the footage.

• The absence of these safeguards will lead to the creation of a powerful surveillance architecture that will inevitably be prone to misuse it argued.

• It claimed that there is emerging global acknowledgement that CCTVs have little to no impact in acting as a deterrent or reducing the incidence of crime.

                                                                                                                                                           Source :- The Hindu

Ebb in the Yamuna flow

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• The Yamuna is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, especially in Delhi, and it is getting more polluted,

Reason for Pollution :   

• The National Green Tribunal state that less flow in the river is one of the main reasons for pollution.

• Three plans to augment the Yamuna’s volume and flow have either missed deadlines or are progressing very slowly.

Details :

• The NCMG had last year ordered the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, to conduct a study on the minimum flow needed in the river.

• It set a deadline of April 30, 2019, but the study is nowhere near completion.

• A National Mission for Clean Ganga-commissioned study on minimum flow needed in the Yamuna, a project to rejuvenate water bodies and recharge groundwater, and a plan to build an off-channel reservoir to store water along the river.

• An NGT judgment of 2015, had also sought the immediate preparation of a plan to ensure proper flow in the river.

• Cleaning of Yamuna is also part of the Namami Gange Mission and Government of India has been supplementing the efforts of the States for checking the rising level of pollution of river Yamuna, a tributary of River Ganga, by providing financial assistance to States of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in phased manner since 1993 under the Yamuna Action Plan (YAP).

Recommendations:

• Measures including creating off-river reservoirs along the floodplain to increase the river’s flow. Such reservoirs would be filled by diverting excess water from the Yamuna during the monsoon and allowed to percolate, thus recharging the groundwater and in turn helping the river’s flow.

                                                                                                                       Source :- The Hindu

NGT forms panel to discuss plea seeking ban on plastic packaging

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• The National Green Tribunal has set up an expert committee to probe whether there is a need for further norms to restrict plastic packaging of food products after a plea has sought a ban on it citing health and environment concerns.

More about the committee:

• The newly formed committee comprises representatives of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Bureau of Indian Standards, Central Pollution Control Board and Directorate General of Health Services.

• The FSSAI has been made nodal agency for coordination and compliance of the order.

Background :

• The move has come after a petition was filed by NGO Him Jagriti Uttaranchal Welfare Society seeking ban on the use of use of plastic bottle and multi-layered/plastic packages /pet bottles.

• The plea has highlighted that the use of plastics, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and multi-layered packs such as Tetra Packs, have an adverse impact on health and environment.

• It further added that the Packaging and Labelling Regulations, 2018 under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 do not deal with the issue in entirety and are not adequate to deal with the problem.

• The plea also said that the Environment Ministry has only focused on waste management and not on the subject of restrictions on use of plastic as packaging material. The Environment Ministry, on the other hand, has advocated that phasing out multi-layered plastic may not be immediately possible without alternatives.

                                                                                                                                                         Source :- The Hindu

CCI imposes penalty on pharma companies, trade associations

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Context :

• The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed a heavy fine amounting to Rs 74 crore on four chemists and pharmaceutical companies for indulging in anti-competitive trade practices,

Issue :

• The CCI found activities of Madhya Pradesh Chemists and Druggist Association (MPCDA) and Indore Chemists Association (ICA) to be in contravention of the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002.

More about the news:  

• The Commission directed MPCDA to organise at least five competition awareness and compliance programmes in the next six months for its members and directed ICA to organise one competition awareness programme in Indore.

• Further, the Commission further directed HDC and IPL to organize a Competition Compliance Programme and file compliance report with the Commission.

                                                                                                             Source :- PIB ; The Hindu

Centre to come up with policy on AI, cybersecurity soon

GS PAPER - 03 SECURITY - Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security

Context :

• The NITI Aayog has come up with a policy on artificial intelligence and cyber security and it would be taken up by the Union Cabinet soon.

More about the news:

• At a time when the government promoted the digitisation programme and India emerged the second country with most Internet access, the protection of data becomes crucial — be at home, workspace or institutions.

• The need for giving access to National Knowledge Network for setting up centres of excellence for research on AI for which funding would be provided by the Union Government has also been emphasised.

• This disruptive technology is used by various sectors, including agencies for crime control.

Concern :

• Those wanting to cause harm are also becoming smarter with AI necessitating 24×7 protection of the entire command and control of data network.

• The main challenge to use AI is to get highly trained manpower.         

                                                                                                                   Source :- The Hindu

Russia willing to drop New START pact: Putin

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora

Context :

• Russian President has said that Russia is prepared to suspend the NEW START treaty with the U.S.He said that the US has showed no interest in conducting talks on extending the New START treaty.

NEW START :

• The New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation.It was signed in 2010.

• New START replaced the 1991 START I treaty which expired in 2009 and superseded the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) which was terminated when New START treaty entered into force.

• The treaty limits the US and Russia to possess a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers well below Cold War caps.

• The duration of the treaty is ten years and can be extended for a period of no more than five years at a time.It includes a standard withdrawal clause like most arms control agreements.

• If this treaty is withdrawn then it will be the second nuclear weapons treaty to collapse under the leadership of current US President.

Background :

• Recently,Russia had officially suspended it’s participation in the intermediate Range Nuclear Forces(INF) on the grounds that US have violated the INF treaty.

• The US had already withdrawn from the treaty claiming that Russia had secretly developed a missile that violated the INF.

                                                                                                                                                          Source :- The Hindu

Why Cabinet Committees are formed, what are the functions of each [ Editorial / Opinion ]

GS PAPER - 02 POLITY - Parliament and State Legislatures - structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

 Context :

• The Government of India has reconstituted eight key cabinet committees including two new ones — one on Investment, the other on Employment and Skill Development  under the Transaction of Business Rules.

Transaction of Business Rules :

• The executive works under the Government of India Transaction of Business Rules, 1961.

• These Rules emerge out of Article 77(3) of the Constitution which states that the President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India, and for the allocation among Ministers of the said business.

• The Prime Minister constitutes Standing Committees of the Cabinet and sets out the specific functions assigned to them. He can add or reduce the number of committees.

2 Types oF cabinet Committees :

• Standing Cabinet Committees : Standing cabinet Committees are permanent in nature with a specific job.

  • The Cabinet Ministers are called its members while the people without the rank of Cabinet Committee are called special invitees.

  • The Prime Minister constitutes Standing Committees of the Cabinet and sets out the specific functions assigned to them.He can add or reduce the number of committees.

• Ad-hoc Cabinet Committees :

  • Ad-hoc Cabinet Committee are temporary in nature and are formed from time to time to deal with specific tasks.

 Cabinet committees formed :

1. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

2. Cabinet Committee on Accommodation.

3. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

4. Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.

5. Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.

6. Cabinet Committee on Security.

7. Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth.

8. Cabinet Committee on Employment & Skill Development.

New Panels :

• Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth :

  • The Cabinet Committee on Investment will “identify key projects required to be implemented on a time-bound basis”, involving investments of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or any other critical projects, as may be specified by it, with regard to infrastructure and manufacturing.

  • It will prescribe time limits for giving requisite approvals and clearances by the ministries concerned in identified sectors.

  •  It will also monitor the progress of such projects.

• Cabinet Committee on Employment & Skill Development :

  • The Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development is supposed to provide “direction to all policies, programmes, schemes and initiatives for skill development aimed at increasing the employability of the workforce for effectively meeting the emerging requirements of the rapidly growing economy and mapping the benefits of demographic dividend”.

  •  It is required to enhance workforce participation, foster employment growth and identification, and work towards removal of gaps between requirement and availability of skills in various sectors.

  • The panel will set targets for expeditious implementation of all skill development initiatives by the ministries and to periodically review the progress in this regard.

  • The addition of the two committees is indicative of the new focus areas for the government. The goal of both is new jobs.

                                                                                                                                                       Source :- Indian Express

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