The Daman and Diu Civil Courts (Amendment) Regulation, 2019                                                         

Ex Al Nagah 2019                                                                                                                                         

Cabinet approves proposal to align with global trademark system                                                      

World Kidney Day                                                                                                                                        

Karnataka has most number of stolen artefacts; none recovered                                                        

GS PAPER - 01 ART AND CULTURE -                                                                                                     

Swachh Survekshan rankings criteria myopic, says CSE study                                                           

Global Environmental Outlook Report 2019                                                                                             

India gets first TIR shipment via Chabahar Port from Afghanistan                                                    

 

The Daman and Diu Civil Courts (Amendment) Regulation, 2019

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

Context :

     ★ The Union Cabinet has approved

                    ★  Promulgation of the Daman and Diu Civil Courts (Amendment) Regulation, 2019 and

                    ★  The Dadra and Nagar Haveli (Civil Courts and Miscellaneous Provisions)Amendment Regulation, 2019

under Article 240 of the Constitution.

Benefits :

     ★  The move will be helpful in bringing uniformity in Judicial Service.

     ★  It will also help overcome the difficulties being faced by the litigants in travelling to Mumbai for filing appeals due to existing limited pecuniary jurisdiction.

     ★  Enhanced pecuniary jurisdiction will accelerate the justice delivery system, besides making access easier for litigants without having to travel outside the Union Territory.

     ★  Pecuniary jurisdiction sets the monetary limit on a court. All courts in the judicial system have pecuniary limits and cannot entertain cases beyond their limit.

Article 240 :      ★  Power of President to make regulations for certain Union territories       ★  The President may make regulations for the peace, progress and good government of the Union territory of                    ★  The Andaman and Nicobar Islands;                    ★  Lakshadweep;                    ★  Dadra and Nagar Haveli;                   ★  Daman and Diu;                    ★  Pondicherry      ★  Any regulation so made may repeal or amend any Act made by Parliament or any other law which is for the time being applicable to the Union territory and, when promulgated by the President, shall have the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament which applies to that territory

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

Context :

     ★  A joint military exercise between Indian and Royal Army of Oman (RAO) Al Nagah III 2019, commenced at HQ Jabel Regiment, Nizwa, Oman.

Al Nagah III 2019 :

     ★  Exercise Al Nagah 2019 will contribute immensely in developing mutual understanding and respect for each other’s military as also facilitate in tackling the worldwide phenomenon of terrorism.

    ★  The two sides will hone their tactical and technical skills in joint counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in a semi-urban scenario in mountainous terrain under UN mandate.

     ★  According to officials, both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed tactical drills for neutralization of likely threats that may be encountered in such a scenario.

India - Oman Relation :

     ★  Oman being India’s oldest defence partner in West Asia has given access to the port of Duqm, which can be used for military purpose and logistical support as it will also allow India to expand its footprints in the Indian Ocean Region.

     ★  Oman is the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to formalize Defence ties with India from joint military exercise and cooperation in anti-piracy and security matters.

     ★  The Gulf country which share the Indian Ocean with India is also the first country from the region to start tri-lateral exercises.

     ★  With a robust security and defence cooperation, both countries are keen to expand cooperation to new areas of mutual interest, including space, cyber security and energy security.

     ★  Oman which is already buying spare parts for some of its military equipment from Indian DPSUs, is also looking for ventures for joint production of defence equipment in India under `Make in India’.

                                                                                                                                               Source :- PIB

Cabinet approves proposal to align with global trademark system

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

Context :

     ★  The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for accession of India to:

     ★  The Nice Agreement concerned with the International classification of Goods and Services for the purposes of registration of marks

     ★  The Vienna Agreement establishing an International Classification of the figurative elements of marks

     ★  The Locarno Agreement establishing an International classification for industrial designs.

Impact :

     ★  Accession to these will help the Intellectual Property Office in India to harmonize the classification systems for examinational of trademark and design applications, in line with the classification systems followed globally.

     ★  It would give an opportunity to include Indian designs, figurative elements and goods in the international classification systems.

     ★  The accession is expected to instill confidence in foreign investors in relation to protection of IPs in India.

     ★  The accession would also facilitate in exercising rights in decision making processes regarding review and revision of the classifications under the agreement.

                                                                                                                                                                Source :- PIB

World Kidney Day

GS PAPER - 02

Context :

     ★  World Kidney Day is celebrated on March 14 every year, aiming to create awareness about kidney diseases all over the world.

     ★  The common kidney disease is Chronic Kidney disease and it affects about 10% of the world's population.

     ★  Theme for 2019: Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere.

World Kidney Day:

     ★  World Kidney day is a joint initiative of the International Society of Nephrology (ISN) and the International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF).

     ★  World Kidney Day started in 2006 and has not stopped growing ever since. Every year, the campaign highlights a particular theme.

     ★  2018 Kidneys & Women’s Health. Include, Value, Empower

     ★  2017 Kidney Disease & Obesity – Healthy Lifestyle for Healthy Kidneys.

Kidney disease :

     ★  850 million people worldwide are now estimated to have kidney diseases from various causes.

     ★  Chronic kidney disease (CKD) causes at least 2.4 million deaths per year and is now the 6th fastest growing cause of death.

     ★  Despite the growing burden of kidney diseases worldwide, kidney health disparity and inequity are still widespread. Kidney Health for Everyone Everywhere calls for universal health coverage (UHC) for prevention and early treatment of kidney diseases.

                                                                                                                                                Source :- PIB

Karnataka has most number of stolen artefacts; none recovered

GS PAPER - 01 ART AND CULTURE -

Context :

     ★  Karnataka tops the list in the country that has seen 30 idols or artefacts being stolen from Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) sites

Issue :

     ★  At least 12 idols have been stolen from protected monuments in Karnataka in the past six years, and none of them has been recovered by the police.

     ★  The demand for these Hoysala and Chalukya idols exist and the three southern States are susceptible as there are hundreds of unprotected or State-protected sites

     ★  In Hassan district, three sculptures of Hoysala period were stolen.

Reason :

     ★  Lack of sufficient staff to guard the monuments is said to be one of the reasons for the thefts.

     ★  the sculptures were stolen from a place that had no night watchmen.

                                                                                                                                                            Source :- The Hindu

Swachh Survekshan rankings criteria myopic, says CSE study

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

Context :

     ★  A study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-profit public interest research and advocacy group based in New Delhi, did a reality check of cities that secured the top 50 ranks in 2019.

     ★  It found that the ranking system was skewed towards cities that had only recently adopted various cleanliness measures.

Swachh Survekshan :

     ★  Swachh Survekshan was started in 2016 by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) to rank and recognise the performance of cities on sanitation and solid waste management (SWM).

     ★  The idea was that such a ranking would instil a sense of competitiveness among cities and thus improve waste management practices across the country.

     ★  Over the last four years, the number of cities covered under the survey has increased manifold – from 73 cities in 2016 to 4,237 in 2019.

     ★  The methodology has been modified to give more weightage to sustainable waste management practices instead of mere cleanliness.

A survey compromised :

     ★  But the 2019 survey has again rewarded cleanliness over sustainable waste management, thereby defeating the purpose behind this exercise.

     ★  Swachh Survekshan 2019 on-ground assessment was completed in a mere 28 days.

     ★  The survey did not use adequate numbers of expert and qualified surveyors and certifiers to visit cities for data collection and observation – in fact, many state urban departments and city administrations have raised their concerns about the incompetence of the surveyors.

     ★  Surveyors did not visit every city that they claimed to have assessed.

     ★  For instance, site visits were made in only in six-seven of the 26 cities that were rated in Bihar. The remaining cities were asked to share documents and pictures on the online portal.

Claims are over-exaggerated :

     ★  While releasing the results of the Survekshan, the MoHUA claimed that the country-wide segregation of waste at source has increased to 60 per cent and waste processing has gone up to 52 per cent (compared to a low 18 per cent at the start of the Swachh Bharat Mission). The CSE analysis indicates that both these claims are over-exaggerated.

     ★  CSE researchers say segregation levels have reached only about 40 per cent and waste processing is not more than 30 per cent. In fact, in the top 50 cities, only Indore, Mysuru and Ambikapur have segregation levels of over 80 per cent.

     ★  Tirupati, Ahmedabad, Kolhapur, Bhopal, Singrauli, Durg, Greater Hyderabad, Tiruchirapalli and Greater Mumbai have segregation levels between 40-59 per cent.

     ★  Other top-ranked cities like the New Delhi Municipal Council, GVMC Visakhapatnam, Chandrapur_M, Ambernath, Wardha, Vasai Vihar, Pune and Latur have segregation levels between 20-39 per cent only.

     ★  Some of the cities – such as Rajkot, Ranchi, Satara, Ghaziabad and Chandigarh -- launched their segregation campaign just a few months before the Survekshan and have segregation levels of below 20 per cent. Jaipur and Sagar(which also feature in the rankings) have no source segregation practice at all.

     ★  Sustainable waste processing has been missing from most of the top-rated cities.

     ★  In contrast, many cities in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Sikkim and Bihar are doing commendable work on sustainable waste management – they were relegated to the bottom of the ranking.

Waste to Energy Plants - Not Comply with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 :

     ★  Nearly half of India’s incineration based waste-to-energy (WTE) plants are defunct or are working below capacity.

     ★  None of the WTE plants comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, which say that only segregated non-recyclable high-calorific fractions be sent to these plants.

Way Forward :

     ★  There is a need for major reform in the way Swachh Survekshan is done. 

     ★  For instance, Swachh Survekshan has to follow the criteria established under the SWM Rules, 2016 that emphasise on segregation, have penalties for non-segregation and littering and user-fee collection

                                                                                                                                                         Source :- The Hindu

Global Environmental Outlook Report 2019

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

Context :

     ★  The sixth Global Environmental Outlook has been released while environmental ministers from around the world are in Nairobi to participate in the Fourth United Nations Environmental Assembly,the world’s highest-level environmental forum.

     ★  The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) — a report six years in the making compiled by 250 scientists from 70 nations — depicts a growing chasm between rich and poor countries as rampant overconsumption, pollution and food waste in the developed world leads to hunger, poverty and disease elsewhere.

     ★  Human activities are degrading the global environment at a pace that could endanger the “ecological foundations of society” and human health, according to a landmark United Nations report.

     ★  Theme : “Healthy Planet, Healthy People”

Highlights :

     ★  Deadly emissions, chemicals polluting drinking water, and the accelerating destruction of ecosystems crucial to the livelihoods of billions of people are driving a worldwide epidemic that hampers the global economy.

     ★  As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise amid a preponderance of droughts, floods and superstorms made worse by climbing sea levels, there is a growing political consensus that climate change poses a future risk to billions.

     ★  But the health impacts of pollution, deforestation and the mechanised food-chain are less well understood.

     ★  Nor is there any international agreement for the environment close to covering what the 2015 Paris accord does for climate.

     ★  The poor environmental conditions “cause approximately 25% of global disease and mortality” — around 9 million deaths in 2015 alone. The air pollution causes 6-7 million early deaths annually.

     ★  Lacking access to clean drinking supplies, 1.4 million people die each year from preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and parasites linked to pathogen-riddled water and poor sanitation.

     ★  The report called for a root-and-branch detoxification of human behaviour while insisting that the situation is not unassailable.

     ★  Food waste for instance, which accounts for 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions, could be slashed. The world currently throws away a third of all food produced. In richer nations, 56% goes to waste.

     ★  It also called for a rapid drawdown in greenhouse gas emissions and pesticide use to improve air and water quality.

Global Environment Outlook - India :

    ★  India could save at least $3 trillion (₹210 trillion approx.) in healthcare costs if it implemented policy initiatives consistent with ensuring that the globe didn’t heat up beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius by the turn of the century, says the sixth edition of the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO), prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme.

     ★  India’s stated commitment is to lower emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35% compared to 2005 levels by 2030; increase total cumulative electricity generation from fossil free energy sources to 40% by 2030, and create additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tons through additional forest and tree cover.

     ★  India is on track to achieve two of these goals — of emissions intensity and electricity generation However these actions are only enough — and provided other countries too live up to their commitments — to limit temperature rise to 2 degrees.

     ★  For India to leapfrog onto a 1.5-degree pathway it would have to “abandon plans to build new coal-fired power plants

         

Global environment Outlook :      ★  The GEO is often referred to as UN Environment’s flagship environmental assessment.     ★  The first publication was in 1997 and was originally requested by Member States.     ★  It is a flagship report because it fulfills the core functions of the organization, which date back to the UN General Assembly resolution that established the UNEP in 1972.     ★  The report is the sixth and is the UN’s most comprehensive report on the state of the global environment since the fifth edition in 2012.      ★  It is a consultative and participatory process to:             ★  prepare an independent assessment of the state of the environment,            ★  effectiveness of the policy response to address these environmental challenges and            ★  possible pathways to be achieve various internationally agreed environmental goals.

 

                                                                                                                                          Source :- The Hindu

India gets first TIR shipment via Chabahar Port from Afghanistan

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

Context :

     ★  The first shipment under the United Nations ‘Transports Internationaux Routiers’ (TIR) convention arrived in India from Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar Port.

United Nations ‘Transports Internationaux Routiers’ (TIR) convention :

     ★  TIR is the only global customs transit system for moving goods across international borders. Supporting trade and development for more than 60 years,

     ★  TIR is governed by the United Nations TIR Convention, overseen by UNECE, and managed by IRU.

 

IRU :     ★  IRU is the world’s road transport organisation, promoting economic growth, prosperity and safety through the sustainable mobility of people and goods.      ★  Founded in 1948, IRU has members and activities in more than 100 countries. IRU conceived TIR in 1949, and manages the system to this day.

 

     ★  TIR stands for “Transports Internationaux Routiers”.

     ★  One of the most successful international transport conventions, TIR makes border crossings faster, more secure and more efficient, reducing transport costs, and boosting trade and development.

    ★  The 1975 convention replaced the TIR Convention of 1959, which itself replaced the 1949 TIR Agreement between a number of European countries.

    ★  The TIR system not only covers customs transit by road but a combination is possible with other modes of transport (e.g., rail, inland waterway, and even maritime transport), as long as at least one part of the total transport is made by road

    ★  Along with India, now there are 70 parties to the Convention, including the European Union.

Benefits of TIR convention for India :

     ★  TIR will help facilitate India’s trade with its eastern and western neighbours

     ★  Is expected to boost India’s status as a trade transit hub in Asia and also help counter the impact of China’s OBOR (One Belt, One Road) project on India’s prospects as an emerging power.

     ★  The implementation of TIR in India echoes the impressive developmental progress of the nation, with this latest milestone taking regional connectivity to the next level.

     ★  It will be easier and more efficient to move cargo along multiple trade corridors, including the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) via Iran.

     ★  The INSTC provides global access to markets, connecting India to the wider TIR network, including Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia and Central Asia.

     ★  TIR could also contribute to the implementation of regional Motor Vehicle Agreements, which will help India integrate with Myanmar and Thailand as well as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.  

     ★  The Convention will help Indian traders to have access to fast, easy, reliable and hassle free international system for movement of goods by road or multi- modal means across the territories of other contracting parties.

     ★  With this convention, the need for inspection of goods at intermediate borders as well as physical escorts en route shall be obviated due to reciprocal recognition of Customs controls.

                                                                                                                                               Source :- The Hindu

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