Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 March 2021

::NATIONAL::

Ease of Living Index & Municipal Performance Index 2020

Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the release of the final rankings of Ease of Living Index (EoLI) 2020 and the Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2020.

About:

The Ease of Living Index (EoLI) is an assessment tool that evaluates the quality of life and the impact of various initiatives for urban development.
It provides a comprehensive understanding of participating cities across India based on quality of life, economic-ability of a city, and its sustainability and resilience.
The assessment also incorporates the residents’ view on the services provided by city administration through a Citizen Perception Survey.
The Municipal Performance Index (MPI) was launched as an accompaniment to the Ease of Living Index. It seeks to examine local government practice in municipalities across areas of services, finance, policy, technology and governance.
It seeks to simplify and evaluate the complexities in local governance practice and promote the ethos of transparency and accountability.

Highlights the report:

The rankings under Ease of Living Index 2020 were announced for cities with a population of more than a million, and cities with less than a million people. 111 cities participated in the assessment exercise that was conducted in 2020.
The analysis categorises them into Million+ populated cities (those with a population of more than a million) and Less than Million populated cites (those with a population of less than a million) along with all the cities under the Smart Cities Program.
Bengaluru emerged as the top performer in the Million+ category, followed by Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Vadodara, Indore, and Greater Mumbai.
In the Less than Million category, Shimla was ranked the highest in ease of living, followed by Bhubaneshwar, Silvassa, Kakinada, Salem, Vellore, Gandhinagar, Gurugram, Davangere, and Tiruchirappalli.
Similar to the EoLI index, the assessment framework under MPI 2020 has classified municipalities based on their population- Million+ (municipalities having over a million population) and Less than Million Population.
In the Million+ category, Indore has emerged as the highest ranked municipality, followed by Surat and Bhopal. In the Less than Million category, New Delhi Municipal Council has emerged as the leader, followed by Tirupati and Gandhinagar.
The MPI examined the sectoral performance of 111 municipalities (with Delhi being assessed separately for NDMC, and the three Municipal Corporations) across five verticals which comprise of 20 sectors and 100 indicators in all totality.
The five verticals under MPI are Services, Finance, Policy, Technology and Governance.

Similipal Biosphere reserve

A forest fire which started in Simlipal in February and has been raging for nearly a week now, was finally brought under control.

About:

Similipal, which derives its name from ‘Simul’ (silk cotton) tree, is a national park and a tiger reserve situated in the northern part of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.
This protected area is part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 2009.
Similipal and the adjoining areas, comprising 5,569 sq km, was declared a biosphere reserve by the Government of India on June 22, 1994, and lies in the eastern end of the eastern ghat.
Similipal is the abode of 94 species of orchids and about 3,000 species of plants.
The identified species of fauna include 12 species of amphibians, 29 species of reptiles, 264 species of birds and 42 species of mammals, all of which collectively highlight the biodiversity richness of Similipal. Sal is a dominant tree species.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India presses for waiver of TRIPS proposal at WTO

India has urged WTO members to reach consensus on a proposal on waiver of certain provisions in a multilateral agreement on intellectual property to deal with COVID-19 crisis, stating that one cannot continue to engage in endless discussions when millions of lives are lost to the pandemic.
Permanent Representative of India to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said that there is a need for concerted efforts by all the members to ensure that WTO makes a meaningful contribution to defeat COVID-19 and prove that it can indeed deliver in a crisis.
In October 2020, India and South Africa submitted a proposal suggesting a waiver for all WTO members on the implementation, application and enforcement of certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19.
The agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights or TRIPS came into effect in January 1995.
It is a multilateral agreement on intellectual property (IP) rights such as copyright, industrial designs, patents and protection of undisclosed information or trade secrets.

Hurun Global Rich List 2021

According to the 10th Edition of Hurun Global Rich List 2021, the world added 8 billionaires a week in 2020 – 421 in a year – taking their total number to a record 3,288.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the total wealth of all billionaires across the globe surged 32 per cent during the period under review to $14.7 trillion.
The Hurun Global Rich List 2021 ranked 3228 billionaires from 2,402 companies and 68 countries. The wealth calculations are a snapshot of January 15, 2021.
Tesla’s Elon Musk added a massive $151 billion during the year to become richest man in world for first time, with $197 billion in net worth.
In the list of Indian billionaires, Mr Ambani was followed by Adani Group’s Gautam Adani & family with his wealth nearly doubling to $32 billion.
::ECONOMY::

Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency regulations

Recently, automobile industry has urged postponement of implementation of Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) Phase II regulations toApril 1,2024.
They aim at improving fuel efficiency of vehicles by lowering carbon dioxide (C02) emissions.
The norms are applicable for petrol, diesel, LPG and CNG passenger vehicle.
They came into force from April 1, 2017 in India. Under this, average corporate C02 emission must be less than 130 gm per km till 2022 and below 113 gm per km thereafter.
While CAFE regulations focus on reducing C02 emissions, BS VI focusses on other harmful exhaust from vehicles.

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

World’s first platypus sanctuary

Australian conservationists unveiled plans to build the world’s first refuge for the platypus.
It aims to promote breeding and rehabilitation as the duck-billed mammal faces extinction due to climate change.

About:

The platypus, sometimes referred to as the duck-billed platypus, is a semiaquatic, egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania.
The platypus is the sole living representative of its family and genus, though a number of related species appear in the fossil record.
Platypus is vulnerable to pollution and climate change.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recently downgraded the platypus’ conservation status to the Near Threatened category in the Red List.

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