Table of Contents
1. GST APPELLATE TRIBUNAL.
TAG: GS 2: POLITY
THE CONTEXT: Government notifies 31 Benches of GST Appellate Tribunal.
EXPLANATION:
- The Finance Ministry notified the constitution of 31 Appellate Tribunals across 28 States and eight Union Territories for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), setting the stage to resolve a growing number of taxpayer disputes with the Revenue Department.
- The establishment of these tribunals was envisaged at the time of the implementation of the GST regime from July 1, 2017
About GSTAT:
- Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal is the forum of second appeal in GST laws and the first common forum of dispute resolution between Centre and States. The appeals against the orders in first appeals issued by the Appellate Authorities under the Central and State GST Acts lie before the GST Appellate Tribunal, which is common under the Central as well as State GST Acts.
- CGST Act empowers the Central Government to constitute, an Appellate Tribunal on the recommendation of Council.
- CSTAT is for hearing appeals against the orders passed by the Appellate Authority or the Revisional Authority.
- The National Bench of the Appellate Tribunal shall be situated at New Delhi. GSTAT shall be presided over by its President and shall consist of one Technical Member (Centre) and one Technical Member (State).
Power of GSTAT:
- As per the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, the GST Appellate Tribunal holds the same powers as the court and is deemed Civil Court for trying a case. The Appellate Tribunal has been granted the powers to hear appeals and to pass orders and directions, including those for the recovery of amounts due, for the enforcement of its orders, and for the rectification of mistakes.
- The Tribunal also has the power to impose penalties, revoke or cancel registrations, and take such other measures as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the GST laws.
- GSTAT may be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India.
Benefits of GSTAT:
- It will make the GST regime more efficient.
- Setting up of state-level benches of GSTAT would help businesses by way of faster dispute resolution.
- Ensuring speedier and economic resolution of cases by dedicated and specialized GSTATs will help in bolstering business sentiments and ease of doing business in the country,”
- It will help to reduce the burden on high courts.
2. KUNO NATIONAL PARK AND CHEETAH
TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
THE CONTEXT: Kuno’s only cheetah cub has many guardians.
EXPLANATION:
- Kuno National Park’s officials are working towards ensuring the survival of the Cheetah cub.
- In 2022, five female and three male cheetahs were introduced from Namibia to India(Kuno national park) as part of a historic conservation action plan to reintroduce the species back to their former range.
About Kuno National Park:
- India’s Madhya Pradesh state is home to Kuno National Park and wildlife sanctuary. Kuno River is where it gets its name.
- With an initial area of 344.686 km, it was established as a wildlife sanctuary in the districts of Sheopur and Morena in 1981. In 2018, it received the status of national park.
- The Kuno River, one of the Chambal River’s major tributaries, runs the entire length of the National Park.
- All four of India’s big cats may have populations in the Kuno. All four of these animals—the tiger, the leopard, the Asiatic lion, and the cheetah—have coexisted in the same environments.
- Biogeographically this area falls under the Kathiawar-Gir dry deciduous forest eco-region and the forest types found in this area include the Northern tropical dry deciduous forest, Southern tropical dry deciduous forest, Dry Savannah forest & grassland, Tropical riverine forest.
- There are plenty of cattle, chinkara, chital, sambar, nilgai, wild pigs, and other animals.
Why Kuno is Suitable for Cheetah?
The Kuno National Park offers a variety of habitat types, including
- Dry deciduous forests.
- Savanna forest
- Open woodlands,
- Evergreen riverine forests.
are favorable for lions and cheetahs.
While plateau tops had shorter grasses, forest grass species were prevalent in ecosystems in valleys.
About cheetah:
- The cheetah is a big cat that is native to Africa and Southwest Asia.
- As the fastest land animal, it has developed special adaptations for speed, including a light frame, long, slender legs, and a long tail. It can run at speeds between 80 and 98 km/h.
- The cheetah inhabits savannahs in the Serengeti, dry mountain ranges in the Sahara, and steep desert terrain in Iran, among other habitats.
- Threats to the cheetah include habitat destruction, contact with humans, poaching, and a high susceptibility to disease.
African Cheetah:
- IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
- CITES: Appendix 1.
- WPA: Schedule-2.
Asiatic Cheetah:
- IUCN Red List: Critically endangered.
- CITES: Appendix 1.
- WPA: Schedule-2.
3. CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS ACT
TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE CONTEXT: The European Union, the world’s largest trading bloc, aims to reduce its dependence on China and increase its domestic capacity for critical minerals through this legislation.
EXPLANATION:
- The EU was 99 percent dependent on China for rare earth metals.
- Metals and critical minerals are crucial for the green transition as they are used to manufacture solar panels, windmills, and electric car batteries.
- Australia and Chile with huge reserves such as cobalt, lithium, and manganese are potential strategic partners for diversifying the supply chain.
Critical Raw Materials: Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) are those natural raw materials which are economically and strategically important for the country. It is Used in environmental technologies, consumer electronics, health, steel-making, defense, space exploration, and aviation, these materials are not only ‘critical’ for key industry sectors and future applications, but also for the sustainable functioning of the world economy.
The raw materials listed as critical include:
- Aluminum [Am. 5]
- Bismuth
- Boron — metallurgy grade
- Cobalt
- Copper
- Gallium
- Germanium
- Lithium — battery grade
- Magnesium metal
- Manganese — battery grade
- Natural Graphite — battery grade
- Nickel — battery grade
- Platinum group metals
- Rare earth elements for magnets
- Silicon metal
- Titanium metal
- Tungsten
Why they matter: Rare earth elements are crucial for the production of many high-tech products. They are key, for example, for producing permanent magnets — an essential component of smartphones, TVs, computers, as well as car and wind turbine engines ,and solar panels. Contrary to what their name may suggest, these elements are not rare in nature but their extraction is hazardous.
Concern related to Critical Raw Materials for India:
- Dependence on China: India will be forced to rely on other nations, notably China, to fuel its energy transition plans for electric vehicles if it is unable to explore and develop these minerals.
- Lack of Expertise: India’s absence of any relevant expertise makes it unlikely that it would have been accepted into the Minerals Security Partnership group.
- Difficult to mine: They are challenging to mine and expensive to process properly.
- Monopoly of few: The concentration of reserves in the hands of a small number of countries generates issues for the majority of the world’s population.
- Environmental Impact: The main issue is that the low-level radioactive element thorium, which has been associated with an increased risk of developing lung, pancreatic, and other malignancies, is tied up in mineral deposits with the rare earth elements.
4. JAL JEEVAN MISSION
TAG: GS 2: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
THE CONTEXT: In Mahoba district of Uttar Pradesh, inefficient implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission has been reported.
EXPLANATION:
- Mahoba is a water-starved district in south-eastern Uttar Pradesh, and it reported only 1,612 households with tap connections in 2019.
- Four years later, 1,29,209 households or about 98% of all rural homes in Mahoba district have water connections, according to the public dashboard of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
- No other district in India has reported such a dramatic increase in tap connections.
- However, a visit to some of the villages here suggests that a household certified as “connected” in JJM parlance does not mean one with an actual water supply.
JAL JEEVAN MISSION (JJM):
- It was launched in 2019 under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
- It is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India.
- The programme will also implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rainwater harvesting.
- It will be based on a community approach to water and will include extensive Information, Education, and communication as a key component of the mission.
- It looks to create a Jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority.
COMPONENTS UNDER JJM:
The following components are supported under JJM:
- Efforts should be made to source funds from different sources/ programmes.
- Development of in-village piped water supply infrastructure to provide tap water connection to every rural household.
- Development of reliable drinking water sources and augmentation of existing sources to provide long-term sustainability of water supply system.
- Wherever necessary, bulk water transfer, treatment plants and distribution network to cater to every rural household.
- Technological interventions for removal of contaminants where water quality is an issue.
- Retrofitting of completed and ongoing schemes to provide Functional Tap Connection (FHTC) at minimum service level of 55 litre per capita per day (lpcd).
- Greywater management
- Support activities, i.e., Information, Education and Communication (IEC), Human Resource Development (HRD), training, development of utilities, water quality laboratories, water quality testing & surveillance, R&D, knowledge centre, capacity building of communities, etc.
- Any other unforeseen challenges emerging due to natural disasters or calamities which affect the goal of FHTC to every household by 2024, as per guidelines of Ministry of Finance on Flexi Funds.
5. GENETICALLY MODIFIED (GM) MUSTARD DMH-11
TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE CONTEXT: The environmental release of GM mustard DMH-11 marks a new era in self-reliance and sustainability in agriculture in India.
EXPLANATION:
- India faces a major deficit in edible oils, with 60% of its demand being met by imports.
- Mustard is one of the most important edible oil crops in India; however, its per hectare yield is very low when compared to the global average.
- Thus, increasing the productivity of mustard in the country is vital for the economic well-being of farmers and self-sufficiency in edible oil production.
WHAT IS DMH-11?
- DMH-11 is an indigenously developed transgenic mustard. It is a genetically modified variant of Herbicide Tolerant (HT) mustard.
- DMH-11 is a result of a cross between Indian mustard variety ‘Varuna’ and East European ‘Early Heera-2’ mustard.
- It contains two alien genes (‘barnase’ and ‘barstar’) isolated from a soil bacterium called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens that enable breeding of high-yielding commercial mustard hybrids.
- Barnase in Varuna induces a temporary sterility because of which it can’t naturally self-pollinate. Barstar in Heera blocks the effect of barnase allowing seeds to be produced.
- DMH-11 has shown approximately 28% more yield than the national check and 37 % more than the zonal checks and its use has been claimed and approved by the GEAC.
- “Bar gene” maintains the genetic purity of hybrid seed.
APPROVAL AND TESTING OF DMH-11:
- The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, made a landmark decision of approving the release of DMH-11 and its parental line for cultivation in 2022.
- The hybrid DMH-11 has been tested against the varieties Varuna and RL-1359 during Biosafety Research Level Trials (BRL) I and II, where it gave 28.15% high over Varuna during 2010-11 to 2014-15.
- Field trials for three years were conducted to assess the impact on human health and environment as per the stipulated guidelines and applicable rules.
- Extensive studies carried out on toxicity, allergenicity, compositional analysis, field trials and environmental safety studies of GM mustard lines.
- Their non-transgenic comparators have provided evidence that the GE mustard hybrid DMH-11 and its parental lines are safe for cultivation and for food and feed use.
- Visitation of bees to the transgenic lines is similar to the non-transgenic counterparts during the BRL-I and BRL-II trials conducted as per the protocols approved by Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) and GEAC.
HOW DOES DMH-11 ADD SELF RELIANCE TO THE COUNTRY?
- As the mustard varieties in India have a very narrow genetic base, the decision by GEAC to allow barnase-barstar-based hybrid production in mustard paves the way for the breeding of mustard hybrids.
- It not only for higher yields but also to ensure resistance to diseases and improve oil quality.
- This advancement will benefit farmers by increasing yield per hectare, also leading to an increase in their incomes.
- Cultivation of these GM mustard hybrids developed indigenously could help enhance farmers’ income, reduce the oil-import burden and help achieve much-needed self-reliance in edible oil production.
- The domestic consumption of edible oils is around 25 million tonnes, while the domestic production of mustard oil was approximately 8.5 million tonnes in the year 2020-21.
- India’s edible oil imports were approximately 13 million tonnes, which touched ₹1.17 lakh crore in value terms.
- The environmental release of DMH-11 marks the beginning of a new era in self-reliance and sustainability in agriculture. More improved GM food crops are needed to boost the profitability of Indian farmers.
WAY FORWARD:
- The adoption of technologies for crop improvement such as genetically modified (GM) crops as a supplement to conventional breeding methods has become an absolute necessity to address the challenge of achieving global food and nutritional security.
- According to the global Food Security and Nutrition Report, 2019, it is difficult to achieve the ‘Zero Hunger’ target by 2030.
- To increase food production and become self-reliant, we require superior crop varieties and hybrids that provide enhanced yields and wide adaptability across environments and require fewer inputs of natural resources.
SOURCE: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-gm-crop-decision-that-cuts-the-mustard/article67312658.ece
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