1. Get a dose of emotional vaccination too READ MORE
2. Satisfaction & Contentment READ MORE
3. The Illusion of Freedom READ MORE

1. Watch | India’s Changing Rainfall Patterns Could Be Due to Climate Change READ MORE
2. Climate change is already disrupting US forests and coasts. Here’s what we’re seeing at 5 long-term research sites READ MORE

1. Several trade-offs impede Zero Hunger goal. A UN report explains why, and how READ MORE
2. Opinion: Government priorities in health – where did it go wrong? READ MORE

1. A language ladder for an education roadblock: The dreams of many Indian students seeking to pursue professional courses in their mother tongue can be realised READ MORE
2. In India, bridging the gap between home learning and school learning READ MORE
3. Two Years Since Abrogation of Article 370: Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelims and Mains

1. Cabinet approves continuation of Samagra Shiksha Scheme for School Education from 1st April, 2021 to 31st March, 2026 READ MORE
2. Maiden indigenous aircraft carrier starts sea trials off Kochi READ MORE
3. 50% funds allotted for ongoing MPLADS projects lapse READ MORE
4. Centre nod to continuation of scheme for spl courts for rape, POCSO cases READ MORE
5. India’s Female Labour Participation Rate Falls to 16.1% As Pandemic Hits Job Sector READ MORE
6. Earth’s inner core is expanding more on one side than the other READ MORE
7. New discovery gives world’s most endangered turtle a fighting chance READ MORE

Main exam

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. A language ladder for an education roadblock: The dreams of many Indian students seeking to pursue professional courses in their mother tongue can be realised READ MORE
2. In India, bridging the gap between home learning and school learning READ MORE
3. Two Years Since Abrogation of Article 370: Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Several trade-offs impede Zero Hunger goal. A UN report explains why, and how READ MORE
2. Opinion: Government priorities in health – where did it go wrong? READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. US vs China is the new Cold War READ MORE
2. Keep distance from Taliban: The Modi government has rightly ignored the calls for ‘talks’ READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. A grand tax bargain in danger of coming apart: A Goods and Services Tax version 2.0 may have to be designed soon given the flaws in the existing structure READ MORE
2. Privatization of banks should not need an alibi READ MORE
3. Right solution, wrong problem READ MORE
4. An innovative Institution: SWIFT bridges financial inequalities by offering financial services to the underprivileged READ MORE
5. What is e-RUPI & how it could be the first step towards launching digital currency in India READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Watch | India’s Changing Rainfall Patterns Could Be Due to Climate Change READ MORE
2. Climate change is already disrupting US forests and coasts. Here’s what we’re seeing at 5 long-term research sites READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Get a dose of emotional vaccination too READ MORE
2. Satisfaction & Contentment READ MORE
3. The Illusion of Freedom READ MORE

Questions for MAIN exam

1. ‘For effective GST system, policy gaps along with compliance gaps do need to be addressed.’ Examine.
2. ‘The limited scope and coverage of the insurance schemes cannot address the all-encompassing requirements of universal health coverage’. In the light of the statement, discuss how the insurance model can be an effective way to achieve universal health coverage?

ESSAY TOPIC

• Education in mother tongue: benefits & challenges

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• A Goods and Services Tax version 2.0 may have to be designed soon given the flaws in the existing structure.
• It’s a bumpy ride ahead, with China seeking to displace America and remake the world order in its own image.
• It’s not a matter of guilt but an economic must-do for India. Decentralized credit flows will raise the efficiency of capital allocation and enhance growth. The state must loosen its control.
• Actual service delivery to the poor is the real problem, not leakage. A major overhaul of how the government works is needed.
• The relation between SDG 2 and SDG 1 (poverty elimination) is highly synergetic. Food security does not only rely on food availability, but also on food access.
• The insurance model of healthcare promoted by the government is questionable, particularly so in the backdrop of the current global pandemic that has exposed the inadequacies of our health system.
• Although health policy experts pushed for higher resource allocation on the state health programmes, politicians needed quick tangible results that investment in long-term health programmes can’t provide.
• Instead of fixing the loopholes in the existing paradigm and making healthcare equitable, the government chose the insurance model as a way to achieve universal health coverage.
• The limited scope and coverage of the insurance schemes cannot address the all-encompassing requirements of universal health coverage.

50-WORD TALK

• Alleged gang-rape and forcible cremation of a nine-year-old in Delhi is another devastating instance of dangers Indian women face. That she was Dalit matters, because it shows how caste is a brutal reality. Don’t diss ‘politicisation’ of such issues. In democracies, politics is the prime instrument for ensuring justice.
• China is vital to shaping the future of the world order. The assessment of China is convincing. But there are two issues. The first is whether the US can execute a China-style grand strategy domestically without compromising its openness or attracting allies. It is still America First by any other name.
• The limited scope and coverage of the insurance schemes cannot address the all-encompassing requirements of universal health coverage. It is through a comprehensive assurance-based model of healthcare with strong foundations in primary healthcare that inequalities in health can be reduced and healthcare made accessible and affordable to all sections of the population. It is only then that the goal of “Health for All” can be truly achieved.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do a map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers etc. same applies for the national places.)
• For economy related news (banking, agriculture etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related with various economic aspects, for examples if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing prices rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates etc.
• For main exam related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occurs frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment in your writing.

CONTEXT: In a new study, scientists reveal how Earth’s inner core is growing faster on one side than the other, which could help explain how old the inner core is, and the intriguing history of Earth’s magnetic field

Analysis:

• The eastern and western halves of the inner core showed different seismic wave speed variations. The eastern part of the inner core is beneath Asia, the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean, and the west lies under the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern Pacific.
• The new study found that the eastern inner core located beneath Indonesia’s Banda Sea is growing faster than the western side beneath Brazil.
• You can think of this uneven growth as like trying to make ice cream in a freezer that is only working on one side: ice crystals form only on the side of the ice cream where the cooling is effective. In the Earth, the uneven growth is caused by the rest of the planet sucking heat more quickly from some parts of the inner core than others.
• But unlike the ice cream, the solid inner core is subject to gravitational forces which distribute the new growth evenly through a process of creeping interior flow, which maintains the inner core’s spherical shape. This means that Earth is in no danger of tipping, though this uneven growth does get recorded in the seismic wave speeds in our planet’s inner core.

Reference: Earth’s inner core

CONTEXT: The much-awaited sea trials of the country’s maiden indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-1), built by the public sector Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), began.

Analysis:

• The 40,000-tonne behemoth, whose keel-laying was done in 2009, is expected to join the Navy as INS Vikrant late next year.
• Its induction will give a fillip to the ‘sea control’ capabilities of the Navy in the Indian Ocean Region, a theatre of growing geostrategic competition.
• The Navy at present operates one aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya.
• The carrier construction project was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2002 and the contract for the first phase of construction was signed with the CSL in 2007.

FEATURES:

• The IAC is equipped with numerous high-end technologies, including network-centric distributed data processing and control systems, and state-of-the-art weapons such as the Barak LR-SAM (long-range surface to air missile) and sensors.
• It can carry about 30 assorted aircraft, including fighter jets and helicopters.
• It is capable of a top speed of 28 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots with an endurance of 7,500 nauticalmiles.
• The ship, which is 262 m long, has over 2,300 compartments and is designed to have a complement of about 1,700 people with specialised cabins to accommodate women officers.

Reference: The Hindu

THE CONTEXT: Conservationists aim to help at least one male and female of Rafetus swinhoei to breed to ensure that this species can return from the brink of extinction.

Analysis:

• Despite the Rafetus swinhoei being revered in Vietnam, it is also extremely threatened. For two decades it has been listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ on the Red List maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
• When two of the last remaining Swinhoe’s softshell turtles died without producing any known offspring between 2016 and 2019, this species became the most endangered turtle in the world.
• In response, conservationists made the recovery of this turtle one of their highest priorities. Swinhoe’s softshell turtles were included in the five-year conservation plan of Hanoi People’s Committee in 2018 and added to the committee’s 2030 vision plan.
• Then, in October 2020, a female turtle was captured in Vietnam and confirmed by veterinarians to be a female Rafetus swinhoei. This imperiled turtle species may now have a second chance at survival. The confirmation of Swinhoe’s softshell turtle in Hanoi’s Dong Mo lake means there is now a female in addition to a male, who is at the Suzhou Zoo in China.
• Ultimately, conservationists aim to help at least one male and female to breed to ensure that this species can return from the brink of extinction. The race to save this flagship species in Hanoi highlights the importance of working in partnership to mobilise resources and address issues like water pollution, safer habitat and more sustainable resource management. It also helps to replicate that success to save other species.
• At the same time, scientists are working to better understand the ecological role of this species.

Reference: Down to earth

CONTEXT: Researchers from University of Delhi have named a newly-discovered frog species after former vice chancellor and renowned plant geneticist Prof. Deepak Pental.

Analysis:

• The newly-discovered species, named Minervarya Pentali, is endemic to the southern Western Ghats.
• It is also known as false Malabar gliding frog or false Malabar tree frog.
• Habitat in two protected areas, Indira Gandhi National Park and Parambikulam Tiger Reserve.
• IUCN Conservation status: Critically endangered
• Threats: Habitat loss due to clearing of land for cardamom plantations and timber harvesting.

Reference: The Hindu

CONTEXT: According to report by the Ministry of Statistics, female labour participation rate in India fell to 16.1% during the July-September 2020 quarter.

Analysis:

• The percentage of women in the labour force had fallen to a record low of 15.5% during the April-June 2020 quarter, when India imposed strict lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 virus.
• According to World Bank estimates, India has one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in the world. Less than a third of women – defined in the report as 15 or older – are working or actively looking for a job.
• The female labour participation rate in India had fallen to 20.3% in 2019 from more than 26% in 2005, according to World Bank estimates, compared with 30.5% in neighbouring Bangladesh and 33.7% in Sri Lanka.
• Most employed women in India are in low-skilled work, such as farm and factory labour and domestic help, sectors that have been hit hard by the pandemic.
• The unemployment rate among women touched 15.8%, compared with 12.6% among male workers during three months that ended in September 2020, the latest quarter for which data was released.

Reference: The Wire

CONTEXT: The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of 1,023 Fast Track Special Court (FTSCs), including 389 exclusive POCSO Courts, as a Centrally-Sponsored Scheme (CSS) from April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2023.

Analysis:

• The Cabinet has provided an outlay of Rs 1572.86 crore (Rs 971.70 crore as Central share and Rs 601.16 crore as state share) for the purpose. The Central share is from the Nirbhaya Fund, which is disbursed by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• The Scheme for fast track special courts was launched in 2019.
• Government sources said that there were around 1.67 lakh cases of rape and POCSO in 2019, but this number has increased to 2.34 lakh cases. A backlog of cases amid the pandemic has been one of the reasons for the jump.

                                                                                                 About POCSO

• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was enacted in 2012, and is a special law to protect children.
• It was enacted to protect the children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography with due regard for safeguarding the interest and well-being of children.
• It was amended in August 2019 to provide more stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for sexual crimes against children.
• It defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age and regards the best interests and welfare of the child as a matter of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child.
• It deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority like a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor.
• It also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process.
• The Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.
• It is gender neutral — it recognises that boys can be victims of sexual violence as well. It defines a child as someone under the age of 18. The Indian Penal Code does not recognise that sexual assault can be committed on boys

Reference: Indian Express

CONTEXT: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for continuation of the revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme for a period of five years i.e., from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total financial outlay of Rs.2,94,283.04 crore. The scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students and 5.7 million Teachers of Govt. and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level).

                                                                                 ABOUT SAMAGRA SHIKSHA SCHEME

• The Samagra Shiksha scheme is an integrated scheme for school education covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII.
• The scheme treats school education as a continuum and is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4).
• The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.
• The major interventions, across all levels of school education, proposed under the scheme are: (i) Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention; (ii) Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, (iii) Gender and Equity; (iv) Inclusive Education; (v) Quality and Innovation; (vi) Financial support for Teacher Salary; (vii) Digital initiatives; (viii) RTE Entitlements including uniforms, textbooks etc.; (ix) Support for ECCE; (x) Vocational Education;(xi) Sports and Physical Education; (xii) Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training; (xiii) Monitoring; (xiv) Programme Management; and (xv) National Component.
• The Scheme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through a single State Implementation Society (SIS) at the State level. At the National level, there is a Governing Council/Body headed by the Minister of Education and a Project Approval Board (PAB) headed by Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy.

Reference: PIB 

CONTEXT: Half of 2,200 crore allotted for completing ongoing MPLADS projects in 2020-21 lapsed, as the Finance Ministry granted barely a week to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to release the funds.

                                                                                                  ABOUT MPLADS

• Each MP is granted 5 crore under the scheme, adding up to 3,950 crore rupees a year for 790 MPs, to undertake development projects in their respective constituencies.
• The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is the nodal department responsible for policy formulation and release of funds.
• The district authorities are responsible for work scrutiny, cost estimation, identification of the implementing agency, and transfer of funds.
• The funds are non-lapsable and can be carried forward.
• MP should recommend work annually.
• At least 15 percent of the MPLADS entitlement for areas inhabited by Scheduled Caste population and 7.5 percent for areas inhabited by the ST population.
• Nominated Members of both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha can recommend works anywhere in the country.
• The Government of India releases an annual entitlement of Rs. 5 crores in two equal installments.
• This amount is given to the District Authority of the Nodal District selected by the concerned MP.

Reference: The Hindu

CONTEXT: Government of India has released “National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga for management of COVID-19” prepared by the National Task force in consensus from various expert committees.

Analysis:

• Government of India has released “National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga for management of COVID-19” prepared by the National Task force in consensus from various expert committees.
• AYUSH-64 and Kabasur Kudineer has been identified for Covid-19 treatment. It was observed that AYUSH-64 as adjunct treatment to Standard Care resulted in significant improvement in clinical recovery. AYUSH 64 is also recommended in “National Clinical Management Protocol based on Ayurveda and Yoga for management of COVID-19” prepared by National Task Force in consensus from various expert committees.
• Further, Kabasur Kudineer, a siddha preparation was also subjected to clinical trials for studying the efficacy in Covid-19 patients by Central Council for Research in Siddha (CCRS) under Ministry of Ayush and is also found useful in the treatment of mild to moderate covid-19 infection.
• A nationwide campaign has been undertaken for distribution of AYUSH-64 and Kabasura Kudineer through the Research Councils and the National Institutes under the Ministry of Ayush across the country.
• The Ministry of AYUSH has constituted an Interdisciplinary Technical Review Committee (ITRC).So far, the following applications have been approved in the ITRC with respect to COVID-19 claims: –
• Divya Coronil tablet of Patanjali Research Foundation Trust, Haridwar, Uttarakhand- recommended as supporting measure in the management of COVID-19 without claiming cure.
• Clevira Tablet of M/s Apex Laboratories Private Ltd., Tamilnadu has been recommended as a supporting measure for mild to moderate condition of COVID-19.
• Kabasura Kudineer of Sri Sri Tattva, Sriveda Sattva Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore has been recommended as an intervention for prevention and mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.

Reference: PIB

CONTEXT:  Pakistan’s Law and Justice Ministry has finalized draft legislation to incorporate Gilgit-Baltistan, the region known before 2009 as Northern Areas, as a province of the country. The area’s strategic importance for India has increased in light of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor agreement and the concerns of a two-front war after the standoff in Eastern Ladakh last year.

HISTORY OF THE REGION

• Gilgit was part of the princely state of Jammu & Kashmir, but was ruled directly by the British, who had taken it on lease from Hari Singh, the Hindu ruler of the Muslim-majority state. When Hari Singh acceded to India on October 26, 1947, the Gilgit Scouts rose in rebellion, led by their British commander Major William Alexander Brown. The Gilgit Scouts also moved to take over Baltistan, which was then part of Ladakh, and captured Skardu, Kargil and Dras. In battles thereafter, Indian forces retook Kargil and Dras in August 1948.
• Before that, on November 1, 1947, a political outfit called the Revolutionary Council of Gilgit-Baltistan had proclaimed the independent state of Gilgit-Baltistan. On November 15, it declared it was acceding to Pakistan, which accepted the accession only to the extent of full administrative control, choosing to govern it directly under the Frontier Crimes Regulation, a law devised by the British to keep control of the restive tribal areas of the northwest.
• Following the India-Pakistan ceasefire of January 1, 1949, Pakistan in April that year entered into an agreement with the “provisional government” of “Azad Jammu & Kashmir” to take over its defence and foreign affairs. Under this agreement, the “AJK” government also ceded administration of Gilgit-Baltistan to Pakistan.

BEYOND THE PROVINCES

• In 1974, Pakistan adopted its first full-fledged civilian Constitution, which lists four provinces —Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakthunkhwa. Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan were not incorporated as provinces. One reason ascribed to this is that Pakistan did not want to undermine its international case that the resolution of the Kashmir issue had to be in accordance with UN resolutions that called for a plebiscite.
• In 1975, PoK got its own Constitution, making it an ostensibly self-governed autonomous territory. This Constitution had no jurisdiction over the Northern Areas, which continued to be administered directly by Islamabad (the Frontier Crimes Regulation was discontinued in1997 but repealed only in 2018). In reality, PoK too remained under the control of Pakistani federal administration and the security establishment, through the Kashmir Council.
• The main difference was that while the people of PoK had rights and freedoms guaranteed by their own Constitution, which mirrors the Pakistan Constitution, the people of the minority Shia-dominated Northern Areas did not have any political representation. Although they were considered Pakistani, including for citizenship and passports, they were outside the ambit of constitutional protections available to those in the four provinces and PoK.

FIRST CHANGES

• It was only in the first decade of the new century that Pakistan began considering changes to its administrative arrangements in the Northern Areas, as the constitutional limbo became untenable due to the new post-9/11 dynamics of the region and the increasing Chinese involvement in strategic development ventures. Gilgit-Baltistan was vital to those projects, given that it provides the only land access between the two countries.
• In 2009, Pakistan brought in the Gilgit-Baltistan (Empowerment and Self-Governance) Order, 2009, replacing the Northern Areas Legislative Council (NALC) with the Legislative Assembly, and the Northern Areas were given back the name of Gilgit-Baltistan. The NALC was an elected body, but had no more than an advisory role to the Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas, who ruled from Islamabad.
• The Assembly is only a slight improvement. It has 24 directly elected members and nine nominated ones. The ruling party in Islamabad has won every election held to the region’s Assembly since 2010. In November 2020, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan-Tehreek-i-Insaf won with 24 of 33 seats.

PROVINCIAL STATUS

• On November 1, 2020, observed in Gilgit-Baltistan as “Independence Day”, Imran Khan announced that his government would give the region “provisional provincial status”.
• In March this year, the newly elected Assembly passed a unanimous resolution demanding an amendment to the Constitution to make Gilgit-Baltistan a provisional province of Pakistan, “without prejudice to the Kashmir dispute”.
• The proposed law is believed to suggest that because of its status as part of the unresolved Kashmir issue, Gilgit-Baltistan be given provisional provincial status by amending Article 1 of the Constitution.

The change in status, when it happens, will meet a long-standing demand of the 1.5 million people of Gilgit-Baltistan. There is anger against Pakistan for unleashing sectarian militant groups that target Shias, but the predominant sentiment is that all this will improve once they are part of the Pakistani federation. There is a small movement for independence, but it has very little traction.

Reference: Indian Express

CONTEXT: Parliament passes Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Analysis:

• It amends the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.  Insolvency is a situation where individuals or companies are unable to repay their outstanding debt.  The Bill replaces the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, which was promulgated on April 4, 2021.
• The Code provides a time-bound process for resolving the insolvency of corporate debtors (within 330 days) called the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).  Under CIRP, a committee of creditors is constituted to decide on the insolvency resolution.  The committee may consider a resolution plan which typically provides for the payoff of debt by merger, acquisition, or restructuring of the company.  If a resolution plan is not approved by the committee of creditors within the specified time, the company is liquidated.  During CIRP, the affairs of the company are managed by the resolution professional (RP), who is appointed to conduct CIRP.
• Pre-packaged insolvency resolution: The Bill introduces an alternate insolvency resolution process for MSMEs called the pre-packaged insolvency resolution process (PIRP).  Unlike CIRP, PIRP may be initiated only by debtors.  The debtor should have a base resolution plan in place.  During PIRP, the management of the company will remain with the debtor.
• Minimum default amount: Application for initiating PIRP may be filed in the event of a default of at least one lakh rupees.  The central government may increase the threshold of minimum default up to one crore rupees through a notification.
• Debtors eligible for PIRP: PIRP may be initiated in the event of a default by a corporate debtor classified as an MSME under the MSME Development Act, 2006.  For initiating PIRP, the corporate debtor himself must apply to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).  The authority must approve or reject the application for PIRP within 14 days of its receipt.
• Approval of financial creditors: For applying for PIRP, the debtor must obtain approval of at least 66% of its financial creditors (in value of debt due to creditors) who are not related parties of the debtor.  Before seeking such approval, the debtor must provide creditors with a base resolution plan.  The debtor must also propose the name of RP along with the application for PIRP.  The proposed RP must be approved by at least 66% of the financial creditors.
• Proceedings under PIRP: The debtor will submit the base resolution plan to the RP within two days of the commencement of the PIRP.  A committee of creditors will be constituted within seven days of the PIRP commencement date, which will consider the base resolution plan.  The committee may provide the debtor with an opportunity to revise the plan.  The RP may also invite resolution plans from other persons.  Alternative resolution plans may be invited if the base plans: (i) is not approved by the committee, or (ii) is unable to pay the debt of operational creditors (claims related to the provision of goods and services).
• A resolution plan must be approved by the committee (with at least 66% of the voting shares) within 90 days from the commencement date of PIRP.  The resolution plan approved by the committee will be examined by the NCLT.  If no resolution plan is approved by the committee, the RP may apply for the termination of PIRP.  The authority must either approve the plan or order termination of PIRP within 30 days of receipt.  Termination of PIRP will result in the liquidation of the corporate debtor.
• Moratorium: During PIRP, the debtor will be provided with a moratorium under which certain actions against the debtor will be prohibited.  These include filing or continuation of suits, execution of court orders, or recovery of property.
• Management of debtor during PIRP: During PIRP, the board of directors or partners of the debtor will continue to manage the affairs of the debtor.  However, the management of the debtor may be vested with the RP if there has been fraudulent conduct or gross mismanagement.
• Initiation of CIRP: At any time from the PIRP commencement date but before the approval of the resolution plan, the committee of creditors may decide (with at least 66% of the voting shares) to terminate PIRP and instead initiate CIRP.

Reference: PRS legislative research

CONTEXT: The Government, under the Sub Mission on National Food Security Mission (NFSM) – Nutri Cereals is creating awareness among farmers for Nutri Cereals (Millets) such as ragi, sorghum, bajra and small millets through demonstration and training.

Analysis:

• Under NFSM–Nutri Cereals, incentives are provided to the farmers, through the state governments, on crop production and protection technologies, cropping system based demonstrations, production & distribution of seeds of  newly released varieties/ hybrids, Integrated Nutrient and Pest Management techniques, improved farm implements/tools/ resource conservation machineries, water saving devices, capacity building of farmers through trainings during cropping season, organizing events / workshops, distribution of seed minikits, publicity through print and electronic media etc.
• The interventions such as formation of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) for Nutri Cereals, setting up Centers of Excellence (CoE) and seed hubs for Nutri Cereals have also been supported under NFSM.
• The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare also provides support to the States under  a Centrally Sponsored Scheme  “Support to State Extension Programme for Extension Reforms” , different extension activities like Farmers’ Training, Exposure visits, Demonstrations, Kisan meals, Kisan Ghostie,  farmers – Scientists – Interaction, Mobilization of Farmers Interest Groups and setting up of Farm Schools in the field of awardee / progressive farmers are implementation to promote modern agriculture technologies including Millets cultivation.
• The States can promote Nutri Cereals (Millets) under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY), Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER).
• Under All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Small millets, Sorghum and Pearl millet, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) provides support to 45 collaborating Centers located in different State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and ICAR Institutes for development of new varieties / hybrids of nutri cereals (millets).

Reference: PIB

CONTEXT: The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare is funding various projects for Crop Production Forecasting, which includes FASAL Scheme (Forecasting Agricultural output using Space, Agro-meteorology and Land based observations) and CHAMAN (Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management using geo-informatics).

Analysis:

• FASAL is used for crop production forecasting of field crops while CHAMAN is for horticulture crops.
• In both the projects, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has played a major role in developing methodologies.
• However, currently the programmes are being operationalized by Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC) of Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, with technology support from ISRO.
• Nine crops which are assessed under FASAL are Rice, Wheat, Tur, Rabi Pulses, Rapeseed & Mustard, Rabi Jowar, Cotton, Jute and Sugarcane. The seven crops which are being assessed under CHAMAN project are Potato, Onion, Tomato, Chilli, Mango, Banana and Citrus.
• The Government is using satellite based estimates for planning and decision making purposes with respect to storage, pricing and import/export.
• In addition to this satellite based indices are used for drought assessment and satellite data is also being used for various applications under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Crop Intensification in Rice fallow areas and horticulture expansion in North-eastern States.
• The Government has identified various advanced technologies which includes Space and Geo-spatial technology as one of the major technologies.

Reference: PIB 

CONTEXT: Oxfam in its a new report titled “Tightening the Net” has said that ‘net zero’ carbon targets by many countries may be a “dangerous distraction” from the priority of cutting carbon emissions.

WHAT THE REPORT SAYS?

• If the challenge of change is tackled only by way of planting more trees, then about 1.6 billion hectares of new forests would be required to remove the world’s excess carbon emissions by the year 2050.
• To limit global warming below 1.5°C and to prevent irreversible damage from climate change, the world needs to collectively be on track and should aim to cut emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 from 2010 levels.
• Currently, countries’ plans to cut emissions will only lead to a one per cent reduction by the year 2030. Significantly, if only land-based methods to deal with climate change are used, food rises are expected to rise even more. Oxfam estimates that they could rise by 80 per cent by the year 2050.
• If the entire energy sector -whose emissions continue to soar- were to set similar ‘net-zero’ targets, it would require an area of land nearly the size of the Amazon rainforest, equivalent to a third of all farmland worldwide.
• Way forward: reducing emissions cannot be considered a substitute for cutting emissions and these should be counted separately.

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED NET-ZERO TARGETS?

• The New Zealand government passed the Zero Carbon Act, which committed the country to zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner.
• The UK’s parliament passed legislation requiring the government to reduce the UK’s net emissions of greenhouse gases by 100 per cent relative to 1990 levels by the year 2050.
• US president Joe Biden announced that the country will cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
• John Kerry, who is US’s climate envoy and considered one of the chief architects of the Paris Climate agreement, launched a bipartisan organization called World War Zero in 2019 to bring together unlikely allies on climate change and with the goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions in the country by 2050.
• The European Union has plan called “Fit for 55”, the European Commission has asked all of its 27 member countries to cut emissions by 55 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.
• China also announced that it would become net-zero by the year 2060 and that it would not allow its emissions to peak beyond what they are in 2030.

WHAT DOES NET-ZERO MEAN?

• Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero. That would be gross-zero, which means reaching a state where there are no emissions at all, a scenario hard to comprehend. Therefore, net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
• One way by which carbon can be absorbed is by creating carbon sinks. Until recently, the Amazon rainforests in South America, which are the largest tropical forests in the world, were carbon sinks. But eastern parts of these forests have started emitting CO2 instead of absorbing carbon emissions as a result of significant deforestation.

This way, it is even possible for a country to have negative emissions, if the absorption and removal exceed the actual emissions. Bhutan has negative emissions, because it absorbs more than it emits.

Reference Link: Indian Express

CONTEXT: The Supreme Court held that the Governor of a State can pardon prisoners, including death row ones, even before they have served a minimum 14 years of prison sentence.

Analysis:

• The Governor’s power to pardon overrides a provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure — Section 433A —which mandates that a prisoner’s sentence can be remitted only after 14 years of jail.
• Section 433-A of the Code cannot and does not in any way affect the constitutional power conferred on the President/Governor to grant pardon under Articles 72 or 161 of the Constitution.
• Such power is in exercise of the power of the sovereign, though the Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice of the State Government.

The court noted that the sovereign power of a Governor to pardon a prisoner under Article 161 is actually exercised by the State government and not the Governor on his own.

Reference Link: The Hindu