India Cooling Action Plan Launched                                                                                                         

SC appoints 3-member panel to mediate in Ayodhya dispute                                                               

‘You will be in trouble if anything is done to Aravali’                                                                              

‘Do forest surveys separately’                                                                                                                    

Cancer drugs 87% cheaper after trade margin cap                                                                                 

82% of Ujjwala families return for LPG refill                                                                                            

India Cooling Action Plan Launched

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

Context:

     ★ Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr Harsh Vardhan released the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP)

More about the news :

     ★ India is one of the first countries in the world to develop a comprehensive Cooling Action plan which has a long term vision to address the cooling requirement across sectors and lists out actions which can help reduce the cooling demand.

     ★ India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) provides an integrated vision towards cooling across sectors encompassing inter alia reduction of cooling demand, refrigerant transition, enhancing energy efficiency and better technology options with a 20-year time horizon.

     ★ One of the major demand is to reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by 2037-38 and refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by 2037-38.

Need :

     ★ Cooling requirement is cross sectoral and an essential part for economic growth and is required across different sectors of the economy such as residential and commercial buildings, cold-chain, refrigeration, transport and industries

     ★ Cooling is also linked to human health and productivity.

     ★ Linkages of cooling with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are well acknowledged.

     ★ Its cross-sectoral nature of cooling and its use in development of the economy makes provision for cooling an important developmental necessity.

Benefits :

     ★ Thermal comfort for all – provision for cooling for EWS and LIG housing,

     ★ Sustainable cooling – low GHG emissions related to cooling,

     ★ Doubling Farmers Income – better cold chain infrastructure – better value of produce to farmers, less wastage of produce,

     ★ Skilled workforce for better livelihoods and environmental protection,

     ★ Make in India – domestic manufacturing of air-conditioning and related cooling equipment’s,

     ★ Robust R&D on alternative cooling technologies – to provide push to innovation in cooling sector.

                                                                                                                                                                    Source :- PIB

SC appoints 3-member panel to mediate in Ayodhya dispute

GS PAPER - 01 SOCIETY - communalism, regionalism & secularism.

Context :

      ★ The Supreme Court referred the decades-old Ayodhya-Babri Masjid title dispute case for mediation.

      ★ The five-judge bench headed by CJI Gogoi constituted a three-member mediation panel headed by former SC judge Justice F M Kalifullah to resolve the issue.

3 Member panel :

     ★ The court said that Justice Kalifulla (retd) will be the chairman for court appointed and monitored mediation for a "permanent solution".

     ★ Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu will be the other members in the panel.

     ★ The mediators have the liberty to co-opt more members to the panel. The mediators can also seek further legal assistance as and when required.

     ★ The panel has to submit a progress report of the mediator proceedings within four weeks.

Mediation :

     ★ Mediation is one of the methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). ADR is the procedure for settling disputes without litigation.

     ★ Mediation is a procedure in which the parties discuss their disputes with the assistance of a trained impartial third person(s) who assists them in reaching a settlement.

Background :

                       Source :- The Hindu

‘You will be in trouble if anything is done to Aravali’

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

Context :

The Supreme Court has warned the Haryana government that it will be in “trouble” if it has done “anything” with Aravalli hills or forest area.

Background :

This comes in the backdrop of Haryana government seeking to amend the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA), 1900.

The PLPA was enacted by the then Punjab government in 1900. It provided for conservation of subsoil water and prevention of erosion in areas found to be subject to erosion or likely to become liable to erosion.

The Haryana government had recently passed the Punjab Land Preservation (Haryana amendment) Act, 2019.

 The Act amends the PLPA 1900. It permits construction activities in areas that were protected as forests under PLPA 1900.

The Supreme Court had stayed the PLPA 2019 on 1st March 2019.

The Supreme Court had previously ordered demolition of illegal constructions in the Aravalli area which were in violation of August 18, 1992 notification issued under PLPA 1900.

The 1992 notification had prohibited clearing or breaking up of land not ordinarily under cultivation.

Haryana government’s decision to amend PLPA 1900 has been criticised for violating 1992 notification and violation of Supreme Court orders in which it has been stated that areas under PLPA are deemed forest

                                                                                                                                                           Source :- The Hindu

‘Do forest surveys separately’

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

Context :

★A high-power committee constituted by the MoEFCC has recommended that the biennial forest surveys exercise by the government to estimate forest cover explicitly demarcate trees grown in forests from those grown outside.

Need for Separate Survey :

★Currently, the government counts both plantations and private lands towards estimating the portion of India’s geographical area covered by forest.

★This isn’t an ecologically sound principle.

★India posted a marginal 0.21% rise in the area under forest between 2015 and 2017, according to the India State of Forest Report (SFR) 2017, which was made public in Feb 2018.

★The document says that India has about 7,08,273 sq. km. of forest, which is 21.53% of the geographic area of the country (32,87,569 sq. km.).

                                                                                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu

Cancer drugs 87% cheaper after trade margin cap

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Context :

★The government today announced a massive reduction in the prices of anti-cancer drugs and put out a list of 390 drugs that will get price slash.

★Earlier,National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) had invoked powers under Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 and brought 42 non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs under price control by capping trade margin at 30%.

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) :

★National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) was constituted vide Government of India Resolution dated 29th August, 1997 as an attached office of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers as an independent Regulator for pricing of drugs and to ensure availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.

Functions of NPPA :

★To implement and enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order in accordance with the powers delegated to it.

★To deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the Authority.

★To monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps.

★To collect/ maintain data on production, exports and imports, market share of individual companies, profitability of companies etc, for bulk drugs and formulations.

★To undertake and/ or sponsor relevant studies in respect of pricing of drugs/ pharmaceuticals.

★To recruit/ appoint the officers and other staff members of the Authority, as per rules and procedures laid down by the Government.

★To render advice to the Central Government on changes/ revisions in the drug policy.

★To render assistance to the Central Government in the parliamentary matters relating to the drug pricing.

                                                                                                                           Source :- The Hindu ; PIB

82% of Ujjwala families return for LPG refill

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

Context :

★Recently, Oil Minister has handed over LPG connection under the Ujjwala scheme to beneficiary number 7 crore, achieving 87% of the revised target of covering eight crore poor households a year before the March 2020 deadline.

★Some 82% of these beneficiary households are returning for a refill

Datas and Facts:

★Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar have received maximum benefit from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission to provide clean cooking fuel to poor households.

★According to latest data, more than 1.26 crore poor families have received free gas connections under the scheme

★Nearly 70,000 free gas connections are being issued daily under the scheme, which has increased the LPG coverage in the country to 93% in 2019 as against 55% coverage in 2014. Over 40% beneficiaries of the scheme belong to SC/ST sections of the society.

★Earlier the scheme was criticised for handing out free LPG gas connections to those poor households that were not in a position to afford a refill.

★However, the latest official data shows that over 82% beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana have opted for refill of their cylinder.

                                                                                                                                           Source :- Times Of India

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