Gist of The Hindu: Febuary 2021

Gist of The Hindu: MARCH 2021

Cabinet approves modified scheme for grain-based ethanol distilleries

  • The Union Cabinet approved an interest subvention of Rs 4,573 crore for new distilleries producing ethanol, which can be used for doping in petrol, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
  • The government was targeting to more than double the blending of ethanol in petrol to 20 per cent by 2030, for which domestic capacity has to be augmented. 
  • India will need about 1,000 crore litres of ethanol for doping in petrol by 2030 against the current capacity of 684 crore litres.
  • The cabinet has approved a modified scheme to enhance ethanol distillation capacity in the country for producing first-generation ethanol from feed stocks such as cereals (rice, wheat, barley, corn and sorghum), sugarcane and sugar beet.
  • The government would bear interest subvention for five years, including a one-year moratorium against the loan availed by project proponents from banks, at the rate of 6 per cent per annum or 50 per cent of the rate of interest charged by banks, whichever is lower.
  • The government has also approved a Rs 3,000-crore project to turn Paradip Port into a world-class port by setting up a dock. The Paradip port handles about 115 million tonnes (mt) of cargo which is likely to increase substantially to about 400mt by 2030.

Central Vigilance Commission sends 80-plus public views to ministries for systemic changes

  • The Central Vigilance Commission recently sent a list of 80-plus suggestions, gathered from the general public for bringing a “systemic improvement”, to various ministries and departments for possible implementation.
  • The suggestions include minor administrative and behavioural changes — like government officers not answering phone calls — to major policy shifts like getting each department to conduct inquiries through a third party, linking salary of a government servant to his performance in some way and job rotations at banks to check irregularities. In several cases, corrupt practices in schemes and systems have been red flagged for action.
  • The vigilance sought suggestions on “systemic improvements” of government departments as part of its “preventive vigilance” focus, rather than a “punitive vigilance” approach.
  • The commission has picked out 83 of these suggestions as “doable” and sent to relevant ministries from the departments of financial services and personnel and training, to the ministries of railways, power and telecom. Besides, recommendations have been sent to all ministries.
  • The CVC has asked the ministries concerned to inform it of the status of implementation or otherwise of the recommendations made.

India to open missions in Estonia, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic

  • The government announced that it would open three missions in Estonia, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic in 2021.
  • Cabinet approved opening of Indian Missions in these countries.
  • It will help expand India's diplomatic footprint, deepen political relations, enable growth of bilateral trade,investment and economic engagements, facilitate stronger people-to-people contacts, bolster political outreach in multilateral fora and help garner support for India's foreign policy objectives.
  • Indian mission in these countries will also better assist the Indian community and protect their interests.

India and Bhutan  on cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space

  • The Union Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bhutan on peaceful uses of outer space.
  • The MoU, which was signed between the two sides shall enable India and Bhutan to pursue cooperation in potential interest areas such as remote sensing of the earth, satellite communication and satellite based navigation, space science and planetary exploration, use of spacecraft and space systems and ground system and application of space technology.
  • Cooperation with Bhutan through this MoU would lead to a joint activity in the field of application of space technologies for the benefit of humanity.
  • India and Bhutan have been discussing establishing formal space cooperation.

IFSCA becomes member of International Organization of Securities Commissions

  • International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) said it has become an associate member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions.
  • The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) works closely with the G20 and the Financial Stability Board in setting up the standards for strengthening the securities markets.
  • The IOSCO Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation have been endorsed by Financial Stability Board as one of the key standards for sound financial systems.
  • The membership of IOSCO would provide IFSCA the platform to exchange information at the global level and regional level on areas of common interests.
  • Further, the IOSCO platform would enable IFSCA to learn from the experiences and best practices of the regulators of other well established financial centres.
  • The first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in the country has been set up at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar.

Geoengineering

  • Geoengineering has steadily shifted over the last few decades from the margins towards the mainstream of climate discourse.
  • It is a deliberate, large-scale intervention carried out in Earth's natural systems to reverse the impacts of climate change.
  • This involves techniques to physically manipulate global climate to cool the planet. These techniques fall primarily under three categories:

1.    Solar radiation management, 

2.    carbon dioxide removal and 

3.    weather modification.

  • Some examples of geoengineering: carbon capture and storage, ocean fertilisation or dumping of iron or urea to stimulate phytoplankton growth to absorb more carbon; cloud brightening or spraying saltwater to make clouds more reflective etc.

Union Cabinet gives approval for Akash missile export

  • The Union Cabinet has approved the export of the indigenously developed and manufactured Akash short-range Surface to Air Missile (SAM) system. It also approved the high-level committee formed to expedite clearance of such exports.
  • The Defence Ministry said, besides Akash, there was interest coming in for other major platforms such as the Coastal Surveillance System, radars and air platforms.
  • For faster approval of export of such platforms, a committee comprising the Defence Minister, the External Affairs Minister and the National Security Advisor had been created.

Export of big platforms:

  • Akash is a Surface to Air Missile and it has a range of 25 km and can simultaneously engage multiple targets in all weather conditions. 
  • It has a large operational envelope from a low altitude of 30 metres to a maximum of up to 20 km. 
  • It was inducted in 2014 in the Air Force and in 2015 in the Indian Army.

Ginger Processing  Plant

  • North East’s first-ever specialised Ginger Processing Plant at district Ri-Bhoui in Meghalaya.
  • It is being revived and is likely to become functional in the beginning of 2021.
  • The only Ginger Processing Plant of North East India was established around the year 2004 but has remained non-functional for many years.
  • The NERAMAC has now undertaken the responsibility of reviving it and initiated steps to operationalise the closed Plant through PPP mode.
  • The North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) is a PSU working under the aegis of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).

 

International Financial Services Centres Authority

  • International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) said that it has become an associate member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).
  • The IOSCO works closely with the G20 nations and the Financial Stability Board (FSB), in setting up the standards for strengthening the securities markets, said IFSCA.
  • The IOSCO Objectives and Principles of Securities Regulation have been endorsed by FSB as one of the key standards for sound financial systems.
  • The membership of IOSCO will provide the IFSCA a platform to exchange information at the global level, and even at the regional level, on areas of common interests.
  • Further, the IOSCO platform will enable the IFSCA to learn from the experiences and best practices of the regulators of other well established financial centres.
  • The first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in the country has been set up at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) in Gandhinagar.
  • To regulate such institutions, the government established IFSCA on April 27 last year with its head office in Gandhinagar.
  • In December 2019, Parliament passed a bill to set up a unified authority for regulating all financial activities at IFSCs in the country.

Kazakhstan ratifies international protocol to abolish death penalty

  • Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a law ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which entails a formal commitment to abolish the death penalty.
  • In late September, the Second Optional Protocol was signed by Kazakhstan’s permanent envoy to the United Nations, Kairat Umarov. The document then went to the Kazakh parliament and was ratified by it on December 29.
  • The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights commits its signatories to ensuring the abolition of death penalty within their jurisdiction, with the exception of war time.
  • In 2003, the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, signed a decree temporarily suspending the death penalty. 
  • This suspended the execution of all death sentences but did not prohibit the courts from issuing death sentences. Life imprisonment was introduced in Kazakhstan in 2004 as an alternative punishment.

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Courtesy: The Hindu

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