PIB Analysis : 12th, 13th & 14th February

PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

  1. Bimstec disaster management exercise -2020
  2. School Health Ambassador Initiative
  3. Arbitration Council of India
  4. Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI)
  5. Apiary on Wheels
  6. Arth Ganga
  7. India’s OrganicMarket Potential
  8. Facts for Prelims

1 . BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise : 2020


About the BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise:

  • This exercise will help in sharing best practices and expertise, consolidating the disaster response, coordination and cooperation among BIMSTEC countries during disasters.
  • The first such exercise was held in 2017.
  • The exercise is hosted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
  • The theme of this year’s exercise is “A cultural heritage site that suffers severe damage in the earthquake and flooding or storm.”
  • Five member countries namely, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nepal are participating in this three-day-long exercise.
  • Two other member countries Bhutan and Thailand are not participating in the exercise this year.
  • The purpose of the exercise is to test the existing emergency procedures for notification, preparedness and emergency response during a major natural disaster.

2 . School Health Ambasadors Initiative


Context : Dr. Harsh Vardhan & Sh. Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” releases curriculum for School Health Ambassador Initiative under Ayushman Bharat

About the Initiative

  • This initiative will be implemented by by two teachers identified in every school as Health and Wellness Ambassador. These ambassadors will be supported by class monitors as Health and Wellness Messengers.
  • Initially, the programme, under the Ayushman Bharat Mission
  • The first phase of implementation will be in all public upper primary, secondary, and senior secondary schools of aspirational districts.
  • The ambassadors are appointed under the aegis of the School Health Programme of the Central Government.
  • Objectives of the School Health Programme:
    • To provide age-appropriate information about health and nutrition to the children in schools.
    • To promote healthy behaviours among the children that they will inculcate for life.
    • To detect and treat diseases early in children and adolescents including identification of malnourished and anaemic children with appropriate referrals to PHCs and hospitals.
    • To promote the use of safe drinking water in schools.
    • To promote safe menstrual hygiene practices by girls.
    • To promote yoga and meditation through Health & Wellness Ambassadors.
    • To encourage research on health, wellness and nutrition for children.
  • Services under the School Health Programme are shown in the image below:
Services under School Health Programme

3 . Arbitration Council of India


Context : The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced and passed in the Parliament in 2019. It seeks to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.  The Act contains provisions to deal with domestic and international arbitration, and defines the law for conducting conciliation proceedings. 

About Arbitration Council Of India

  • Arbitration Council of India is an independent body for the promotion of arbitration, mediation, conciliation and other alternative dispute redressal mechanisms.  
  • Its functions include: (i) framing policies for grading arbitral institutions and accrediting arbitrators, (ii) making policies for the establishment, operation and maintenance of uniform professional standards for all alternate dispute redressal matters, and (iii) maintaining a depository of arbitral awards (judgments) made in India and abroad. 
  • Composition of the ACI: The ACI will consist of a Chairperson who is either: (i) a Judge of the Supreme Court; or (ii) a Judge of a High Court; or (iii) Chief Justice of a High Court; or (iv) an eminent person with expert knowledge in conduct of arbitration.  Other members will include an eminent arbitration practitioner, an academician with experience in arbitration, and government appointees.

4 . Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI)


About Directorate General of GST Intelligence

  • Erstwhile Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI), now renamed as Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), is an apex intelligence organization functioning under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, entrusted with the task of collection, collation and dissemination of intelligence relating to evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST) (introduced w.e.f. 01.07.2017) and duties of Central Excise and Service Tax on an all India basis.
  • It was earlier known as Directorate General of Anti-Evasion (DGAE). It was established in the year 1979 as an independent wing under the control of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, New Delhi with the Regional Units located at Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai.
  • It became a full-fledged Directorate in 1983, headed by a Director. In 1988, the Directorate was upgraded to Directorate General under a Director General with four Zonal Units located at Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, headed by Additional Director Generals.
  • The role of the Directorate General in tackling the menace of duty evasion is manifolds. It develops intelligence, especially in new areas of tax evasion through its intelligence network across the country and disseminates such information, by issuing Modus Operandi Circulars and Alert Circulars to sensitize the field formations about the latest trends in duty evasion. Wherever found necessary, this Directorate General, on its own or in co-ordination with field formations, organizes operations to unearth evasion of GST, Central Excise Duty and Service Tax.

Functions

  • Collection, collation and dissemination of intelligence relating to evasion of Central Excise Duty, Service Tax and GST, on an all India basis.
  • Unearthing modus operandi of evasion relating to Central Excise Duty, Service Tax and GST, and alerting the concerned field formations.
  • Analyzing the price structure, marketing pattern and classification of evasion prone goods and services; advising the field formations for plugging the loopholes; and suggesting policy measures to CBIC.
  • Coordinating the efforts of field formations in investigating cases of Central Excise Duty, Service Tax and GST evasion.
  • Coordinating action with Intelligence Agencies like Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) & FIU-IND; and with law enforcement agencies including DRI, Income Tax, Enforcement Directorate & GST Departments of States, in respect of cases in which evasion of Central Excise Duty, Service Tax and GST are involved.
  • Investigating offenses involving evasion of Goods and Services Tax, Central Excise duty and Service Tax having ramifications in more than one Commissionerate including investigation of complicated cases selected by the Directorate or entrusted to it by the Ministry.
  • Having at all times, a complete detailed & up-to-date study of the Taxation Laws and implementation machinery and to have proper appreciation and assessment of possibilities of evasion.
  • Examining and studying the effects and implementation of various tax concessions, exemptions and relaxations in controls and to make recommendations to the government from time to time, to ensure that they do not become a source of evasion.

5 . Apiary on Wheels


Context : Shri Nitin Gadkari Flags off Apiary on Wheels

About Apiary

  • An apiary (also known as a bee yard) is a location where beehives of honey bees are kept. Apiaries come in many sizes and can be rural or urban depending on the honey production operation.

About Apiary on Wheels

  • Apiary on Wheels is a platform which can carry 20 Bee Boxes from one place to another without any difficulty. Two large wheels on either side of the Apiary on Wheels and 4 separate compartments with independent doors, having 5 bee boxes each help the platform to remain intact without disturbing the live bee colonies.
  • The Apiary on Wheels is also connected with a solar panel system which automatically triggers a fan inside the compartment as soon as the temperature reaches 35 degree centigrade or above.
  • Apiary on Wheels also has sugar drips which helps to feed the bees in the summer season.
  • The Apiary on Wheels is like an attachment which can be easily connected with a Tractor or a Trolley and may be pulled to any suitable destination. Specially, in summers, the beekeepers usually adopted crude methods to feed the bees and many bees used to die in the process.
  • This concept of migration, cooling with the help of solar panels and sugar drips with zero risk to the lives of bees, will prevent any damages to the bee boxes or bee colonies and help produce quality honey.

Benefits

  • Apiary on wheels is a holistic approach to address the challenges faced by the beekeepers.
  • It is designed so as to reduce the labour and cost of maintaining and upkeeping Bee Boxes and live bee colonies across India

6 . Arth Ganga


Context : “Arth-Ganga” will channelize economic activity along the banks of Ganga River

What is Arth Ganga

  • Arth Ganga’ implies a sustainable development model with a focus on economic activities related to Ganga.
  • Economic activity around the river would include encouraging farmers to engage in sustainable agriculture practices like zero budget farming, planting of fruit trees and setting up nurseries on the banks.
  • Activities like water sports, camping, cycling or walking should be encouraged along the river to tap into the hybrid tourism potential of the river basin area.
  • The income generated from eco-tourism, Ganga wildlife conservation and cruise tourism would help generate sustainable income streams for cleaning the Ganga,

7 . India’s Organic Market Potential


Context : With an aim to empower women and promote organic produce, Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is organizing a National Organic Festival with a special focus on women entrepreneurs. The festival cum exhibition that is being held under the theme “Unleashing India’s Organic Market Potential”

India’s Organic Market Potential

  • With 9th largest World’s Organic Agricultural land and largest number of producers India is fast growing in the organic food segment. India produced around 1.70 million MT (2017-18) of certified organic products which includes all varieties of food products namely Oil Seeds, Sugar cane, Cereals & Millets, Cotton, Pulses, Medicinal Plants, Tea, Fruits, Spices, Dry Fruits, Vegetables, Coffee etc.
  • On the demand side, increasing disposable incomes, increasing awareness around health and wellness and increasing acceptability are driving the growth in the organic food segment which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% during the period 2016-21.
  • At the same time the demand for Indian organic food products is on constant increase worldwide with India exporting organic products worth $ 515 million in 2017-18 with organic products being exported to USA, European Union, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Israel, South Korea, Vietnam, New Zealand, Japan etc. The major demands under the organic product category are for oil seeds, cereals & millets, sugar, fruit juice concentrates, tea, spices, pulses, dry fruits, medicinal plant products etc.
  • As per the Indian Organic Sector – Vision 2025 report, India’s organic business has immense potential to reach the INR 75,000 crore mark by 2025 from INR 2,700 crore (in 2015).

8 . Facts for Prelims


CSIR

  • Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), known for its cutting edge R&D knowledgebase in diverse S&T areas, is a contemporary R&D organization. Having a pan-India presence, CSIR has a dynamic network of 38 national laboratories, 39 outreach centres, 3 Innovation Complexes and 5 units. CSIR’s R&D expertise and experience is embodied in about 4600 active scientists supported by about 8000 scientific and technical personnel.
  • CSIR covers a wide spectrum of science and technology – from radio and space physics, oceanography, geophysics, chemicals, drugs, genomics, biotechnology and nanotechnology to mining, aeronautics, instrumentation, environmental engineering and information technology. It provides significant technological intervention in many areas with regard to societal efforts which include environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, farm and non-farm sectors. Further, CSIR’s role in S&T human resource development is noteworthy.
  • Pioneer of India’s intellectual property movement, CSIR today is strengthening its patent portfolio to carve out global niches for the country in select technology domains. CSIR is granted 90% of US patents granted to any Indian publicly funded R&D organization. On an average CSIR file about 200 Indian patents and 250 foreign patents per year. About 13.86% of CSIR patents are licensed – a number which is above the global average. Amongst its peers in publicly funded research organizations in the world, CSIR is a leader in terms of filing and securing patents worldwide.
  • CSIR is ranked at 84th among 4851 institutions worldwide and is the only Indian organization among the top 100 global institutions, according to the Scimago Institutions Ranking World Report 2014. CSIR holds the 17th rank in Asia and leads the country at the first position.
  • Although it is mainly funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, it operates as an autonomous body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860. The Prime Minister acts as the President of the Society.

Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)

  • NCB is the apex agency for exercising powers and functions of the Central Government under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and is also the nodal agency for matters pertaining to drug law enforcement in India.
  • It coordinates and actions taken by various agencies of Central and State Governments related to drug law enforcement in the country and matters pertaining to drug abuse.
  • Further, NCB is also the nodal agency of the Government of India at the international level in all matters pertaining to Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances.

INS Jamuna

  • INS Jamuna is Indian Navy’s Sandhayak class Hydrographic Survey Ship
  • The ship has been deployed to Sri Lanka based on a mutual agreement to carry out Joint Hydrographic Survey off the South West Coast of Sri Lanka.

Golden Crescent and Golden Triangle

  • The ‘Golden Crescent’ comprises the opium producing areas of South-West Asia, including Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province and Baluchistan.
  • The ‘Golden Triangle’ is situated in South-East Asia and comprises parts of Myanmar, Thailand, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Vietnam.

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