Context: Recently ISO Member Countries resolve to boost consumer engagement, and renew focus on sustainability in Standardisation.
About ISO
ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 168 national standards bodies.
The ISO story began in 1946 when delegates from 25 countries met at the Institute of Civil Engineers in London.
Its headquarters is based in Geneva Switzerland.
Through its members, it brings together experts to share knowledge and develop voluntary, consensus-based, market-relevant International Standards that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges.
An International Standard provides rules, guidelines or characteristics for activities or for their results, aimed at achieving the optimum degree of order in a given context.
ISO standards are internationally agreed upon by experts Think of them as a formula that describes the best way of doing something. It provides standards for various sectors like-
Context: Recently two-day National Workshop commenced with presentations from representatives of top tech companies informing the delegates about the developments in the field of emerging technologies for enabling good governance representing Microsoft, IBM and Google Inc, for making National e- Vidhan Application (NeVA) more accessible, discoverable, insightful by use of Generative Artificial Intelligence models.
About National e- Vidhan Application (NeVA)
NeVA is a workflow system deployed on NIC Cloud, MeghRaj which helps the Chair of the House to conduct the proceedings of the House smoothly.
Hon’ble Members to carry out their duties in the House efficiently and to conduct Legislative Business of the House in a Paperless manner.
NeVA is a device-neutral and member-centric application created to equip them to handle diverse House Businesses smartly by putting entire information regarding member contact details, rules of procedure, list of business, notices, bulletins, bills, starred/unstarred questions and answers, papers laid, committee reports etc. in their handheld devices/ tablets and equip all Legislatures/ Departments to handle it efficiently.
NeVA will completely eliminate the process of sending out a notice/request for the collection of data.
The application hosts a secure page for each Member of the House for submitting questions & other notices.
The aim of the project is to bring all the legislatures of the country together, in one platform thereby creating a massive data depository without having the complexity of multiple applications.
mNeVA is a user-friendly Mobile App of NeVA that is available on Android as well as on iOS.
mNeVA has made information on the conduct of business in Legislatures accessible anytime, anywhere to everyone.
Context: The European Union’s approval this week of new deforestation regulations poses a threat to Indian exports of items like coffee, leather, paper and wooden furniture.
What is the law?
The EU Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR) is the new EU initiative to limit deforestation caused by forestry and agricultural activities all over the world.
EU Deforestation-free regulation (EUDR) defines those obliged as ‘operators’ and ‘traders’. Operators (companies who first place products in the single market) will be required to implement the due diligence on their supply chains to ensure they are deforestation and forest-degradation-free, while traders will be responsible for storing and sharing information on their supply chain to operators.
The legislation seeks to prohibit products such as palm oil, coffee, cattle, cocoa, rubber, soya, timber, printing paper and derived products in the EU, that came from land that was deforested after December 31, 2020. The rules cover imports and domestic production.
Four levels of penalties have been planned for any violations of this norm, which include monetary fines up to 4% of a firm’s annual turnover in the EU, confiscation of products, confiscation of revenues gained from a transaction and exclusion from public procurement processes.
To implement the regulation, the EU, within 18 months from now, will classify countries as low, standard, or high-risk. High-risk countries must meet more obligations and be subject to more checks. For instance, EU Customs will check 9% of firms or consignments from high-risk countries, 3% from standard-risk countries, and 1% from low-risk countries
Issues:
The EU itself has extensively expanded agricultural land by cutting down primary forests, which now account for less than 0.7% of its total forest area, compared to the global average of 33%.
Many other countries, facing the need to convert primary forests into cultivable land to feed growing populations will stand at loss.
Arbitrary categorization of countries violates both the national treatment and most favoured national principles of the WTO
Conclusion
EU Deforestation Regulation appears to use real issues of deforestation to promote its selfish interests by prioritising its own farm sector and making imports difficult
Context: The finance ministry has tasked a high-level committee under Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to PM, to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the characteristics or parameters defining infrastructure and its financing framework.
Infrastructure refers to basic physical and structural facilities, which are essential for an economy to function. There is no universally accepted definition of infrastructure. National Statistical Commission headed by C. Rangarajan identified six characteristics of infrastructure sector.
Characteristics of Infrastructure:
Natural Monopoly: A natural monopoly typically has high fixed costs meaning that it is impractical to have more than one firm competing to provide same good or services.
E.g., Electricity transmission lines, Gas pipelines.
High Sunk Costs: Sunk cost refers to the money that has already been spent and cannot be recovered even when the firm goes out of business. Typically, infrastructure projects incur high sunk costs.
Non-tradability of output: Non tradable outputs are those which are produced and sold at the same location and cannot be transported to other location. Generally, the infrastructure outputs are consumed at the place they are produced and are non-tradeable. E.g., Fly over.
Non-rivalness in consumption: non-rivalness implies that the cost of providing a good or service to an additional individual is zero. That means consumption of an individual does not affect the consumption of others.
Price exclusion: Price exclusion means that the enjoyment of benefits is contingent on payment of user charges.
Externalities: The benefits of Infrastructure projects go beyond the immediate provision of services for which they are built, which are not directly measured.
E.g., A gas pipeline contributes not only provides access to energy but also results in environmental and social benefits.
Based on the above features, Harmonized Master List of Infrastructure sub-sectors is updated from time to time. The latest updated list is as follows.
Harmonized master list of Infrastructure sub-sectors:
Category
Infrastructure sub-sectors
Transport and Logistics
Roads and bridgesPortsShipyardsInland WaterwaysAirportRailway track including electrical & signalling system, tunnels, viaducts, bridgesRailway rolling stock along with workshop and associated maintenance facilitiesRailway terminal infrastructure including stations and adjoining commercial infrastructureUrban Public Transport (except rolling stock in case of urban road transport)Logistics InfrastructureBulk Material Transportation Pipelines
Energy
Electricity GenerationElectricity TransmissionElectricity DistributionOil/Gas/Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) storage facility
Water & Sanitation
Solid Waste ManagementWater treatment plantsSewage collection, treatment and disposal systemIrrigation (dams, channels, embankments, etc.)Storm Water Drainage System
Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir and ritonavir tablets) is manufactured by US pharma major Pfizer.
It is the fourth drug — and first oral antiviral pill — approved by the FDA to treat COVID-19 in adults.
So far, Paxlovid was being sold under emergency use authorisation (EUA) in the US.
With the pandemic now in its endemic stage, oral treatments, or pills, are believed to be a potential game changer for mild to moderate infections.
SARS-CoV-2 Virus:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious viral illness caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).
SARS-CoV-2 is a novel beta coronavirus belonging to the same subgenus as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).
It was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and then caused a global pandemic leading to the disease COVID-19.
Coronaviruses (CoVs) are positive-stranded RNA viruses with a crown-like appearance due to the presence of spike glycoproteins on the envelope.
Like other RNA viruses, SARS-CoV-2, while adapting to their new human hosts, is prone to genetic evolution with the development of mutations over time, resulting in mutant variants that may have different characteristics than its ancestral strains.
Although the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is currently unknown, it is widely postulated to have originated from an animal, implicating a zoonotic transmission.
Transmission: Via exposure to respiratory droplets carrying the infectious virus from close contact or droplet transmission from presymptomatic, asymptomatic, or symptomatic individuals harbouring the virus.
Context: The Allahabad High Court ordered scientific survey that includes Carbon dating of a ‘Shivling’, found at the Gyanvyapi mosque complex in Varanasi.
Radiocarbon Dating Pioneer
An American physical chemist, Willard Libby spearheaded a group of scientists in devising a technique to gauge radiocarbon activity.
He is acknowledged as the first scientist to propose the existence of the unstable carbon isotope known as radiocarbon or carbon-14 within living organisms.
He measured the rate of decay of radiocarbon and established a half-life of 5568 years ± 30 years.
In recognition of his contributions to the development of radiocarbon dating, Mr. Libby was honoured with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1960.
Carbon dating
The most prevalent carbon isotope in the atmosphere is C-12, while a small amount of C-14 is also present. The ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the atmosphere remains relatively constant.
Plants obtain carbon through photosynthesis, and animals primarily acquire it from their diet. As plants and animals derive their carbon from the atmosphere, they accumulate C-12 and C-14 in a similar proportion to what is available in the atmosphere.
When they die, their interaction with the atmosphere ceases. While C-12 remains stable, the radioactive C-14 undergoes a process called "half-life," wherein it reduces to half its initial amount in approximately 5,730 years.
Carbon-14 serves as an isotopic timekeeper. By measuring the amount of carbon-14 present in a sample and comparing it to an internationally recognized reference standard, an approximate age can be determined.
Significance
It stands as a ground breaking scientific method that has not only transformed our comprehension of the present but has also unravelled events that occurred thousands of years ago.
Archaeology and various fields within the realm of human sciences heavily rely on radiocarbon dating to validate or refute theories.
Moreover, throughout the years, carbon-14 dating has found practical applications in diverse disciplines such as geology, hydrology, geophysics, atmospheric science, oceanography, paleoclimatology, and even biomedicine.
Limitations
While carbon dating is highly reliable, it does have limitations in its applicability.
For instance, it cannot be employed to ascertain the age of inanimate objects like rocks.
Carbon dating is not suitable for determining the age of items that exceed approximately 40,000-50,000 years. The majority of rocks of interest surpass this timeframe.
This restriction arises from the fact that, after undergoing 8-10 half-life cycles, the quantity of C-14 becomes exceedingly minuscule and becomes nearly undetectable.
Alternative methods
Alternative methods exist for determining the age of inanimate objects, many of which operate on the same principles as carbon dating. Instead of carbon, the decay of other radioactive elements present in the material serves as the basis for these dating techniques.
Potassium-Argon dating: Radioactive isotope of potassium decays into argon, and analysing their respective ratios provides insights into the age of rocks.
Uranium-Thorium-Lead dating: They possess multiple radioactive isotopes, all of which decay into stable lead atoms. By measuring the ratios of these elements within a material, estimates about its age can be derived.
Cosmogenic Nuclide dating:
Additionally, there are techniques to determine the duration of an object's exposure to sunlight.
These methods employ different approaches but are also based on radioactive decay, making them particularly valuable for studying buried objects or changes in topography.
One commonly used technique is cosmogenic nuclide dating, or CRN, which is frequently applied to assess the age of ice cores in polar regions.
Indirect use of Carbon dating method:
The age of ice cores in glaciers and polar regions can be determined by examining the trapped carbon dioxide molecules within large ice sheets.
These molecules have had no interaction with the external atmosphere and are preserved in the same state as when they were trapped.
Estimating their age provides a rough approximation of when the ice sheets were formed.
Practice MCQ
Q. With reference to the Radioactive dating methods, consider the following statements:
1. Carbon dating is the most effective method to estimate age of organisms as well as inanimate objects.
2. Carbon-14 is the most prevalent carbon isotope in the atmosphere and its ratio remains stable to that of Carbon-12.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Context: The recent decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Inc. versus Goldsmith et al. case has added more unpredictability to the process of being exempted from copyright infringement liabilities. The judgment is set to have implications for how we regulate a powerful form of artificial intelligence.
Generative AI programs (like ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL-E etc.) may infringe copyright in existing works, either by making copies of existing works to train the AI or by generating outputs that resemble those existing works.
Copyright law in India:
The Copyright Act in India, 1957 provides a legal framework for the protection of copyright and related rights. The Act grants copyright protection to:
Original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works
Cinematograph films
Sound recordings, and
Computer programs
Copyright holders have exclusive rights over their works, including the right to reproduce, communicate to the public, perform, adapt, and translate the work. In contrast to patents, copyright safeguards expressions rather than ideas.
Under Section 52(1)(a) of the Copyright Act, certain acts are exempted from copyright infringement if they fall within the scope of fair dealing.
Fair dealing allows for the use of copyrighted works for specific purposes such as private study, research, criticism, review, news reporting, or incidental use.
In addition to fair dealing, India's Copyright Act also includes a detailed list of enumerated exceptions under Section 52(1)(a), which provides specific situations where the use of copyrighted works is allowed without obtaining permission from the copyright owner.
They include reproduction for educational purposes, certain library and archive use, performance or display of works during religious ceremonies etc.
AI and Copyright issues:
Under Indian Copyright Law, the authorship of works created by artificial intelligence (AI) is currently a topic of debate and does not have a clear legal framework. The Copyright Act, 1957, does not specifically address the issue of AI-generated works or the determination of authorship in such cases.
Traditionally, copyright law recognizes human authors as the creators of original works, as they exercise creative judgment and skill in their creation.
However, with the rise of AI technology and its ability to generate original works independently, questions have emerged regarding the attribution of authorship.
According to Section 2 (d) of the Copyrights Act, the "author" means the person who causes the work to be created (concerning any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work which is computer generated). This bars the AI from owning any authorship because it is generally not regarded as a legal person.
Hence, in the absence of specific legislation or judicial precedents in India, determining authorship for AI-generated works remains uncertain.
Context: Recently, the Navy’s Kilo-class submarine INS Sindhuratna underwent a major upgrade (Medium Refit Life Certification process) in Russia which extended its life.
About INS Sindhuratna:
INS Sindhuratna is a Sindhughosh-class diesel-electric submarine of the Indian Navy that was commissioned in 1988.
The Sindhughosh-class submarines were built in the Soviet Union (now Russia) and were later acquired by the Indian Navy.
The submarine with its modernised weapon and sensor suite enhances the force level in the Indian Ocean Region.
Main classes of submarines in service with the Indian Navy:
Sindhughosh-class: Variant of the Russian Kilo-class submarines. E.g., INS Sindhurakshak, INS Sindhuvir, INS Sindhuratna.
Shishumar-class: Based on the German Type 209 design, these are diesel-electric submarines equipped with advanced systems. E.g., INS Shishumar, INS Shankush, INS Shalki, and INS Shankul.
Kalvari-class (Scorpène-class): Based on the Scorpène design developed by Naval Group (France). E.g., INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela, INS Vagir, and INS Vagsheer (yet to be commissioned).
Arihant-class: India's indigenous nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs). Currently, INS Arihant is the only operational submarine of this class. The second in the series, INS Arighat, is in the final stage of sea trials. These submarines are equipped with nuclear propulsion and are capable of carrying ballistic missiles.
Chakra-class: Nuclear-powered attack submarines leased from Russia. Currently, INS Chakra-II, the submarine of this class, is in service with the Indian Navy. Chakra-III is expected to be delivered to the Indian Navy by 2025.
Project 75:
Project 75 includes the indigenous construction of six Kalvari-classScorpene submarines developed by the Naval Group- a French defence major and the Spanish state-owned entity Navantia.
The submarines are being constructed at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai in collaboration with Naval Group.
The submarines are INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela and INS Vagir (already commissioned into the Navy) and INS Vagsheer (under sea-trail) was launched in April 2022.
This class of submarines have Diesel Electric transmission systems and are attack submarines or the ‘hunter-killer’ type which are designed to target and sink adversary naval vessels.
They have the capability of operating in a wide range of Naval combat including anti-warship and anti-submarine operations, intelligence gathering and surveillance, and naval mine laying.
Project 75-I:
Project 75-I is distinct from Project 75. Project 75-I seeks to acquire submarines with more advanced capabilities to meet evolving maritime challenges and technological advancements.
Project 75-I is an initiative by the Indian Navy to acquire six conventional, diesel-electric attackadvanced submarines for its fleet. The advanced capabilities include air-independent propulsion (AIP), ISR, special operations forces (SOF), anti-ship warfare (AShW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), land-attack capabilities and other features.
Air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems allow submarines to remain submerged for longer durations without the need to surface, and thus, significantly enhance the operational endurance and stealth capabilities of submarines.
The project aims to build these submarines under the strategic partnership model, which involves collaboration between Indian shipyards and foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
Context: Scientists are studying how the Mexican axolotl quickly regenerates lost limbs, gills, tails, eyes, and even parts of the head. Studying regeneration in other species could help researchers understand how to increase human’s chances to regenerate lost body parts and develop regenerative medicines.
Regeneration of body parts:
Regeneration means the regrowth of a damaged or missing organ part from the remaining tissue.
Regeneration can happen in different ways using pluripotent stem cells or somatic stem cells(tissue-specific stem cells).Some regeneration can also happen without stem cells at all (E.g., the regeneration of Zebra fish hearts)
Some human organs, E.g., the liver and skin, also regenerate when they are damaged.
If part of the liver is lost by disease or injury, the liver grows back to its original size, though not its original shape.
Our skin is constantly being renewed and repaired. However, skin cannot restore lost or damaged tissue to its original state.
About Axolotl:
Axolotl is a species of salamander (lizard-like amphibian) originally found in Lake Xochimilco, near Mexico City.
It is renowned for its ability to regenerate its spinal cord, heart and limbs. These amphibians can regenerate parts of their brains, even if a large section was completely removed and can readily make new neurons throughout their lives.
They are now almost extinct in the wild and bred in captivity.
Context: Human Pangenome Reference Consortium has released a pangenome reference map built using genomes from 47 anonymous individuals (19 men and 28 women), mainly from Africa but also from the Caribbean, Americas, East Asia, and Europe.
What is a genome?
The genome is the blueprint of life, a collection of all the genes and the regions between the genes contained in our 23 pairs of chromosomes.
Each chromosome is a contiguous stretch of DNA string, i.e., the human genome consists of 23 different strings, each composed of millions of individual building blocks called nucleotides or bases [adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T)]. These bases or building blocks (A, T, G and C) are arranged and repeated millions of times in different combinations to make all of our 23 chromosomes.
Genome sequencing is the method used to determine the precise order of the four bases and how they are arranged in chromosomes. Sequencing individual genomes helps us understand human diversity at the genetic level and how prone we are to certain diseases.
What is a reference genome?
Human reference map or reference genome, represents a single, representative genome sequence for a given species or individual. The reference map is typically derived from the genome of an individual that is chosen as a representative of the species or a reference panel of individuals from the same population.
When genomes are newly sequenced, they are compared to a reference genome, i.e., it serves as a standard or reference against which other genomes can be compared and aligned. This helps us to understand the regions of differences between the newly sequenced genome and the reference genome.
One of this century’s scientific breakthroughs was the making of the first reference genome in 2001. It helped scientists discover thousands of genes linked to various diseases; better understand diseases like cancer at the genetic level; and design novel diagnostic tests.
The reference genome of 2001 was 92% complete and contained many gaps and errors. Additionally, it was not representative of all human beings as it was built using mostly the genome of a single individual of mixed African and European ancestry.
Since then, the reference genome map has been refined and improved to have complete end-to-end sequences of all 23 human chromosomes and is still continuously evolving to fill the gaps.
What is a pangenome?
The pangenome refers to the entire set of genes present in a species, including both the core genome (genes present in all individuals) and the accessory genome (genes present in only some individuals or strains).
A pangenome map typically involves the identification and annotation of genes and their genomic locations within a species. It provides insights into the genetic diversity and variability within a species, as well as the presence of specific genes or gene variants in different individuals or populations.
By comparing the genomes, researchers can identify shared genes and gene clusters as well as unique genes present in specific individuals.
Importance of pangenome map:
Humans are more than 99% similar in their DNA, there is still about a 0.4% difference between any two individuals. This may be a small percentage, but considering that the human genome consists of 3.2 billion individual nucleotides, the difference between any two individuals is a whopping 12.8 million nucleotides.
A complete and error-free human pangenome map will help us understand those differences and explain human diversity better.
It will also help us understand genetic variants in some populations, which result in underlying health conditions. E.g., The pangenome reference map has added nearly 119 million new letters to the existing genome map and has already aided the discovery of 150 new genes linked to autism.
Limitations:
The genomes from many populations are still not a part of it. E.g., In the current version of the pangenome map, genomes from people from the Indian sub-continent, indigenous groups in Asia and Oceania, and West Asian regions are not represented.
Context: Recently,Under the Namami Gange initiative, over 4,000 volunteers actively combat littering and poaching in the river. Their efforts aim to preserve the river's flora and fauna.
Ganga Pollution
Rapidly increasing population, rising standards of living and exponential growth of industrialization and urbanisation have exposed water resources, in general, and rivers to various forms of degradation. The mighty Ganga is no exception.
The deterioration in the water quality impacts the people immediately. Ganga, in some stretches, has become unfit even for bathing. The threat of global climate change, the effect of glacial melt on Ganga flow and the impacts of infrastructural projects in the upper reaches of the river, raise issues that need a comprehensive response.
Sources of pollution of Ganga River:
In the Ganga basin approximately 12,000 million liters per day (mld) sewage is generated, for which presently there is a treatment capacity of only around 4,000 mld.
Approximately 3000 mld of sewage is discharged into the main stem of the river Ganga from the Class I & II towns located along the banks, against which treatment capacity of about 1000 mld has been created till date.
The contribution of industrial pollution, volume-wise, is about 20 per cent but due to its toxic and non- biodegradable nature, this has much greater significance. The industrial pockets in the catchments of Ramganga and Kali rivers and in Kanpur city are significant sources of industrial pollution. The major contributors are tanneries in Kanpur, distilleries, paper mills and sugar mills in the Kosi, Ramganga and Kali River catchments.
Issues Faced in cleaning Ganga River
• Inadequate Sewage treatment: As opposed to around Four thousand MLD treatment capacity available, Ganga basin produces around twelve thousand MLD sewage.
• Pollution from Agriculture: The cumulative use of pesticides has doubled in the last one decade and most of it runs off in our rivers.
• Disruption of Ecological Flow(e-flow): Many interruptions in the flow of the river lead to the reduction in the flow which results in reduced velocity and siltation. This also increases the pollutant concentration. The decrease in flow has led to an increase in groundwater extraction for various uses.
• Challenges of Swachh Bharat: About 180 mld sludge would be generated in five Ganga basin states when they become open defecation free (ODF) and if proper faecal sludge management is not in place, it would invariably pollute the Ganga.
• Escalating costs due to delays in setting up of STPs. An IIT report predicted the cost of treating sewerage to be about 1 paisa per litre at 2010 price levels.
NMCG could not utilize any amount out of the Clean Ganga Fund and the entire amount was lying in banks due to non-finalization of action plan.
• Lack of coordination: The cleaning of the Ganga requires seamless coordination between the agencies responsible for carrying out different tasks. Jal Shakti ministry signed MOUS with 10 ministries for better implementation of Namami Gange. However, till date no detail is available as to how these ministries are functioning for better convergence.
Nation Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)
It has a five-tier structure at national, state and district level to take measures for prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga and
to ensure continuous adequate flow of water to rejuvenate the river Ganga as below.
2. Empowered Task Force (ETF) on river Ganga under chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti (Department of Water Resources, River Development
NMCG has a two-tier management structure and comprises of Governing Council and Executive Committee. Both are headed by Director General, NMCG.
Thus, the newly created structure attempts to bring all stakeholders on one platform to take a holistic approach towards the task of Ganga cleaning and rejuvenation.
The Director General (DG) of NMCG is an Additional Secretary in Government of India. For effective implementation of the projects under the overall supervision of NMCG, the State Level Program Management Groups (SPMGs) are, also headed by senior officers of the
concerned States.
National River Conservation Plan
• The river conservation program was initiated with the launching of the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) in 1985.
• The Ganga Action Plan was expanded to cover other rivers under National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) in the year 1995.
• The objective of NRCP is to improve the water quality of rivers, which are major water sources in the country, through implementation of pollution abatement works in various towns along identified polluted stretches of rivers on cost sharing basis between the Central and state governments.
Namami Gange Programme
It is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
Its implementation has been divided into Entry-Level Activities (for immediate visible impact), Medium-Term Activities (to be implemented within 5 years of time frame) and Long-Term Activities (to be implemented within 10 years).
Ganga Task Force
It is a special unit of the Territorial Army raised under the public participation component of the Namami Gange Programme.
The unit is mandated to carry out rejuvenation of River Ganga through activities such as afforestation, monitoring of river pollution, patrolling of ghats, public awareness campaigns and assist civil administration during natural calamities in the three districts of Uttar Pradesh - Prayagraj, Varanasi and Kanpur.
Way forward
• Multi-dimensional approach: Many of the separated approaches like river-linking, riverfront development projects, access to toilets, making villages open defecation free, piped water supply in rural areas, need to integrate long-term ecological and sustainability goals.
• Organic agriculture: Agriculture along the entire riverbed should be organic.
• Liquid Waste Management:
o Decentralization of STPs: at the colony level.
o Reuse treated wastewater for irrigation and empty into natural drains. For all upcoming cities, smart cities and for those, whose master plans are not in place, earmark land for STPs.
• Develop and restore local storages (ponds, lakes, wetlands) as permanent solutions to both floods and droughts. Only 10 per cent of water received during monsoon rainfall is harvested. Restoration of ponds, lakes and wetlands should be an integral part of river
restoration and conservation strategy
• Restoring lower order streams and smaller tributaries in the Ganga Basin.
Context: The Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently approved the transfer of ₹87,416 crore as surplus to the Union government for the accounting year 2022-23, almost thrice the ₹30,307 crore transferred for the previous fiscal year. The RBI’s board also decided to raise the Contingency Risk Buffer to 6%, from 5.5% in the preceding year.
Source of Earnings for RBI:
Interest on Government securities held
Interests on loans and advances made
Interest earned on Liquid Adjustment Facility operations
Interest income from foreign currency assets held
Earnings from forex swaps
Seigniorage
Composition of RBI’s balance sheet
Liabilities
Assets
Capital Reserves Revaluation AccountsDeposits of Banks and Government Currency notes in circulation
Foreign Currency AssetsGoldInvestments in domestic securitiesLoans & Advances
Capital reserves: Two important components are
Contingency fund: The fund is set aside by RBI for meeting unforeseen contingencies like risks arising out of monetary policy operations, exchange rate risks or systemic risks.
Asset development fund: This fund is set aside forinvestments in subsidiaries and associate institutions and to meet internal capital expenditure.
These two funds are considered as Risk provisions of the RBI and provisioned from the earnings of RBI. Such capital required to withstand risks is also known as Economic Capital.
Revaluation Accounts: RBI maintains revaluation accounts to insulate its assets (Gold, foreign currency, Investments in domestic and foreign securities) from prevailing market trends. They include Currency and Gold Revaluation Account (CGRA), Investment Revaluation Account (IRA) and Foreign Exchange Forward Contracts Valuation Account (FCVA).
Deposits: In its traditional role as a banker to the government, RBI usually accepts government deposits, which constitutes a liability for the central bank. The central bank also accepts deposits from other banks and other financial instituions.
Currency notes in circulation is a liability of the central bank.
How surplus is shared with Central government?
After meeting the risk provisions and other operational expenditures (salaries etc.) from the earnings of RBI, the surplus is transferred to the central government in the form of dividends. Surplus transfer from the Reserve Bank is an important component of non-tax revenues to the central government. However, the quantum of dividends shared with the central government depends upon the amount of money provided for risk provisioning, especially for contingency fund.
There occurred a controversy regarding the excess capital reserves accumulated with the RBI and sharing of dividend with the central government in 2018. To sort out this controversy a committee (Bimal Jalan committee) was appointed to review the Economic Capital Framework. The Committee had prescribed a Contingency Risk Buffer in the range of 5.5% to 6.5% of its balance sheet.
