Global Innovation Index & National Mineral Exploration Policy (GII & NMEP): Important Topics for UPSC Exams
Global Innovation Index & National Mineral Exploration Policy (GII & NMEP): Important Topics for UPSC Exams
Global Innovation Index
What?
- The annual ranking of countries based on their capacity for and success in innovation.
- It aims to arrest the multi-dimensional facets of innovation and offer the tools that can help in formulating policies to promote long-term output growth, improved productivity, and job growth.
- The GII helps in creating sustainable innovation environment.
Publisher
- INSEAD and WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization).
2016 Theme
- Winning with Global Innovation, Switzerland is at the apex position.
- India is ranked at 66 and is at the top in the Central and South Asian region.
National Mineral Exploration Policy
What?
- Prepared by Ministry of Mines, approved by the Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister.
- Expected to fuel investment in the exploration sector from both domestic and foreign investors and further bring in the best in class practices in the mining sector.
- Competitive bidding of the mineral block through the process of e-auction on the revenue sharing model.
- The state government will be responsible for identifying mineral blocks for bidding.
Why?
- To uncover full potential and put nation's mineral resources (non-fuel and non-coal) to the best use and thereby maximising sectoral contribution to the Indian economy
Main Emphasis and Features
- Making public baseline geoscientific data of world standards
- Quality research in a public-private partnership
- Special initiatives for search of deep-seated and concealed deposits,
- Quick aero-geophysical surveys of the country,
- Creation of a dedicated geoscience database
- Establishment of a not-for-profit autonomous institution, National Centre for Mineral Targeting (NCMT), to address the mineral exploration challenges.
- Reimbursement of the exploration expenditure on the normative cost basis, if no mineral reserves are found.