NSIC signs MOU with Ministry of MSME                                                                    

HC seeks Centre’s response on plea for raising abortion time period                   

Scientists give the thumbs-up for Anthropocene epoch                                         

Petition in High Court to tackle population growth                                                  

Sri Lanka, Japan & India sign deal to develop container terminal                          

NSIC signs MOU with Ministry of MSME

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context :

• The National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).

Significance of MOU :

• The MOU envisages provision of enhanced services by NSIC under its marketing, financial, technology and other support services schemes for MSMEs in the country

• The Corporation projects to increase Revenue from Operation by 22%.

• NSIC also projects growth of 32% in Profitability during the year 2019-20.

• The Corporation also plans to enhance its activities in the areas of imparting entrepreneurship and skill development training by targeting 45% growth in the number of trainees.

                                                                                                                                                                  Source :- PIB

HC seeks Centre’s response on plea for raising abortion time period

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Context :

• The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre to respond to a public interest litigation(PIL) for extending the time period to terminate pregnancy to 24 to 26 weeks in case of health risks to the mother or foetus

More in news:

Issues with Abortion Act :

Background :

• Recently, the Calcutta High Court rejected a woman’s petition to terminate her 26-week-old foetus that would be born with Down’s Syndrome as it felt that the right to life of a 26-week-old foetus outweighed the mental trauma of the mother.

• In April 2017, the Supreme Court refused to allow a woman to abort her 27-week foetus diagnosed with polyhydramnios with Arnold Chiari malformation Type 2 severe hydrocephalus with lumbosacral meningomyelocele and spina bifida with tethered cord.

• In many cases, rape victims are not allowed to terminate the pregnancy if it is over 20 weeks and does not pose any risk to the life of the woman.

                                                                                                                                                       Source :- The Hindu

Scientists give the thumbs-up for Anthropocene epoch

GS PAPER  - 01 GEOGRAPHY - Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.,

Context :

• Recently, a 34-member panel of the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) has voted in favour of designating a new geological epoch — the Anthropocene.

More in the News :

• According to Nature, the panel plans to submit a formal proposal for the new epoch by 2021 to the International Commission on Stratigraphy, which oversees the official geologic time chart 

• Once a formal proposal is made by the AWG, it will be considered by several more groups of the International Commission on Stratigraphy. 

• The final ratification will be made by the executive committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences.

• The current epoch is the Holocene Epoch of the Quaternary Period. The Holocene epoch began 11,700 years ago. The proposed Anthropocene epoch would mark the end of the Holocene epoch.

 Anthropocene  :

• The term ‘Anthropocene’ was coined in 2000 by Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer. It describes the present geological time interval in which human activity has profoundly altered many conditions and processes on Earth.

• According to the AWG, the characteristics of the Anthropocene epoch are:

  •  unprecedented increase in erosion and sediment transport associated with urbanisation and agriculture,

  •  marked and abrupt anthropogenic perturbations of the cycles of elements such as carbon, environmental changes generated by these perturbations, including global warming, sea-level rise, and ocean acidification,

  •  rapid changes in the biosphere and

  •  proliferation and global dispersion of many new ‘minerals’ and ‘rocks’ including concrete, fly ash and plastics, and ‘technofossils’ produced from these and other materials.

• In the future course of action, scientists would have to find Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point for the Anthropocene epoch.

  • It is a definitive geologic marker or golden spike which marks the beginning of an epoch.

  • It must be present globally and should be a part of deposits for geological record.

• The AWG needs to make a formal proposal to designate the new geological epoch as Anthropocene.

  • This would be considered by several more groups of the International Commission on Stratigraphy.

  • The final ratification will be made by the executive committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences- an international non-governmental organization devoted to international cooperation in the field of geology.

                                                                                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu

Petition in High Court to tackle population growth

GS PAPER - 02 SOCIAL ISSUES - POPULATION AND ITS ASSOCIATED ISSUES

Context :

• A petition moved before the Delhi High Court has sought directions to the government to set ‘two-child norm’ as criteria for government jobs, aids and subsidies, to control the country’s rising population.

More in the news:

• The petition has also sought implementation of the recommendations for population control made by the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) headed by Justice Venkatchaliah.

• It appeals that The non-compliance of the norm should lead to the withdrawal of citizens statutory rights including the right to vote and contest elections

• The petitioner claimed that India’s population has marched ahead of China, as about 20% of the population does not have Aadhaar and therefore, is not accounted for, and there are also crores of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis living illegally in the country.

• He additionally claimed that “population explosion is also the root cause of corruption”, apart from being a contributory factor behind heinous crimes like rapes, domestic violence, etc.

• It was also claimed that without population control, campaigns like Clean India and Save the Girl Child would not succeed.

• The two-child norm for contesting local body elections has been adopted by states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Haryana has yielded very positive results in reducing the population growth in those states.

• The appeal argues that even though India was the first country in the world to have a population policy, it has not achieved much in terms of population control due to the negligence of the governments.

                                                                                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu

Sri Lanka, Japan & India sign deal to develop container terminal

GS PAPER  - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - India and its neighborhood- relations. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Context :

• Sri Lanka, Japan and India signed an agreement to jointly develop the East Container Terminal at the Colombo Port.

Key Highlights of the Agreement :

• The joint initiative is estimated to cost between $500 million and $700 million.

• As per the agreement signed the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) retains 100% ownership of the East Container Terminal (ECT), while the Terminal Operations Company, conducting its operations, is jointly owned, the SLPA said in a statement.

• Sri Lanka will hold a 51 per cent-stake in the project and the joint venture partners will retain 49%.

• Japan is likely to provide a 40-year soft loan with a 0.1 percent interest rate.

• Japan also had helped development of the Jaya Container Terminal at the Colombo Port, supporting its operations since the 1980s.

Significance :

• The signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) is significant, given that the countries had been negotiating the deal since last year, with little success.

• Last year, India’s possible role in developing the terminal had become a major flashpoint within the government.

• President Maithripala Sirisena had opposed any Indian involvement in the project, as roping in foreign actors for developing “national assets” remains a politically sensitive call in the island, especially among nationalist trade unions.

• India and the United States are both concerned that a Chinese foothold at Hambantota, south of Colombo, could give it a military naval advantage in the Indian Ocean.

• Sri Lanka has insisted that its ports will not be used for any military purposes.

• The ECT for which India has now entered into an agreement is located 3 km away from the China-backed international financial city, known popularly as “port city”, being built on reclaimed land on Colombo’s sea front.

                                                                                                          Source :- Economic Times

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