Daily Prelims Notes 3 August 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

3 August 2022

Table Of Contents

1. The functioning of the Enforcement Directorate
2. Hellfire R9X missile: the drone missile with razor-sharp blades used to kill Ayman al-Zawahiri
3. Eucalyptus, acacia and teak, not Sal: Why CAG is critical of Odisha’s afforestation efforts
4. 117 Chinese nationals were deported for indulging in illegal acts, MHA informs Lok Sabha
5. No question of recession or stagflation in India, says FM Sitharaman
6. Reserve Bank of India’s financial inclusion index
7. World Breastfeeding Week (WBW)
8. Why is heavy rainfall battering Kerala?
9. Baba Ramdev saystargeted medicine a crime against humanity
10. Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh
11. Quality control of Ayush drugs
12. Food processing sector
13. Promotion of renewable energy
14. Senior citizens
15. Newly developed biopolymer nano composite
16. National Waterways
17. Schemes in news

1. The functioning of the Enforcement Directorate

Subject: Polity

Section: National Organisation

Context:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is in the news now and often. It goes back to May 1, 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed in the Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).

What are the powers of the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act?

• The ED today is a multi-dimensional organisation investigating economic offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, Foreign Exchange Management Act.

From where does the ED get its powers?

• ED got its power to investigate under Sections 48 (authorities under act) and 49 (appointment and powers of authorities and other officers).
• If money has been laundered abroad, the PMLA court (constituted as per the Act) has the right to send a letter of rogatory under Section 105 (reciprocal arrangements regarding processes) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

At what stage does the ED step in when a crime is committed?

• Whenever any offence is registered by a local police station, which has generated proceeds of crime over and above ₹1 crore, the investigating police officer forwards the details to the ED.
• Alternately, if the offence comes under the knowledge of the Central agency, they can then call for the First Information Report (FIR) or the chargesheet if it has been filed directly by police officials. This will be done to find out if any laundering has taken place.

What differentiates the probe between the local police and officers of the ED?

• If a theft has been committed in a nationalised bank, the local police station will first investigate the crime. If it is learnt that the founder of the bank took all the money and kept it in his house, without being spent or used, then the crime is only theft and the ED won’t interfere because the amount has already been seized.
• But if the amount which has been stolen is used after four years to purchase some properties, then the ill-gotten money is brought back in the market; or if the money is given to someone else to buy properties in different parts of the country, then there is ‘laundering’ of money and the ED will need to step in and look into the layering and attachment of properties to recover the money.

What are the other roles and functions of the ED?

• The ED carries out search (property) and seizure (money/documents) after it has decided that the money has been laundered, under Section 16 (power of survey) and Section 17 (search and seizure) of the PMLA. On the basis of that, the authorities will decide if arrest is needed as per Section 19 (power of arrest).
• Under Section 50 (powers of authorities regarding summons, production of documents and to give evidence etc), the ED can also directly carry out search and seizure without calling the person for questioning. It is not necessary to summon the person first and then start with the search and seizure.
• If the person is arrested, the ED gets 60 days to file the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) as the punishment under PMLA doesn’t go beyond seven years. If no one is arrested and only the property is attached, then the prosecution complaint along with attachment order is to be submitted before the adjudicating authority within 60 days.

The PMLA being relatively new, can the ED investigate cases of money laundering retrospectively?

• If an ill-gotten property is acquired before the year 2005 (when the law was brought in) and disposed off, then there is no case under PMLA. But if proceeds of the crime were possessed before 2005, kept in cold storage, and used after 2005 by buying properties, the colour of the money is still black and the person is liable to be prosecuted under PMLA.
• Under Section 3 (offence of money laundering) a person shall be guilty of the offence of money-laundering, if such person is found to have directly or indirectly attempted to indulge or knowingly assist a party involved in one or more of the following activities — concealment; possession; acquisition; use; or projecting as untainted property; or claiming as untainted property in any manner.

2. Hellfire R9X missile: the drone missile with razor-sharp blades used to kill Ayman al-Zawahiri

Subject: Defence

• The US military used its ‘secret weapon’ — the Hellfire R9X missile – to kill Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri on the balcony of a safehouse in Kabul on July 31.

What is the Hellfire R9X missile?

• Better known in military circles as the AGM-114 R9X, the Hellfire R9X is a US-origin missile known to cause minimum collateral damage while engaging individual targets.
• Also known as the ‘Ninja Missile’, this weapon does not carry a warhead and instead deploys razor-sharp blades at the terminal stage of its attack trajectory. This helps it to break through even thick steel sheets and cut down the target using the kinetic energy of its propulsion without causing any damage to the persons in the general vicinity or to the structure of the building.
• The blades pop out of the missile and cut down the intended target without causing the massive damage to the surroundings which would be the case with a missile carrying an explosive warhead.

When did the Hellfire missile enter active service?

• The Hellfire 9RX missile is known to have been in active service since 2017. However, its existence became public knowledge two years later in 2019.
• It is a variant of the original Hellfire missile family which is used in conventional form with warheads and is traditionally used from helicopters, ground-based vehicles, and sometimes small ships and fast moving vessels. For several years now, the Hellfire family of missiles, including the ‘Ninja Missile’, are armed on Combat Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones that the US Military uses in offensive military operations around the world.

Where has the Hellfire missile been used on previous occasions?

• In 2017, the ‘Ninja Missile’ was reportedly used to kill the then No. 2 leader of Al Qaeda, Abu Khayr Al Masri, in Syria. It was also used against other targets in Syria at around the same time. The damage caused to the vehicles which carried the targets, particularly the shredded roofs of cars, gave the first clues that a normal warhead was not used on the missile and that it had sharp blades. It has also been used against Taliban targets in Afghanistan in 2020 and again in 2022

What is known about the other Hellfire missile variants?

• Hellfire is actually an acronym for Heliborne, Laser, Fire and Forget Missile and it was developed in the US initially to target tanks from the Apache AH-64 attack helicopters. Later, the usage of these missiles spread to several other variants of helicopters and also ground and sea-based systems and drones.
• Developed by Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, the Hellfire missile has other variants such as ‘Longbow’ and ‘Romeo’ apart from the ‘Ninja’.

3. Eucalyptus, acacia and teak, not Sal: Why CAG is critical of Odisha’s afforestation efforts

Subject: Environment

Section: Conservation

• There was an ‘acute shortfall’ in achieving plantation targets in Odisha due to lack of coordination, working plan, improper selection of plantation sites and plant species
• Odisha’s forest cover was estimated to be 51,619 square kilometres, 15 per cent of the state’s geographical area, according to the India State of Forest Report 2019.
• Out of total 1,187 plantation journals selected for audit; 491 journals were scrutinised under the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act (CAMPA), 2016
• The report added that while Sal is the principal indigenous species of Odisha, teak, acacia and eucalyptus were planted as major species, affecting the native vegetation and biodiversity in the state.

India State of Forest Report 2021

• The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021.
• The biennial report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) is an assessment of the country’s forest resources.

 Highlights of the Report:

• India’s forest and tree cover has risen by 2,261 square kilometers in the last two years with Andhra Pradesh growing the maximum forest cover of 647 square kilometers.
• The total tree-and-forest cover in the country includes an increase of 1,540 square kilometres of forest cover and 721 sq km of tree cover compared to the 2019 report.
• India’s total forest and tree cover is now spread across 80.9 million hectares, which is 24.62 per cent of the geographical area of the country.
• The top five states in terms of increase in forest cover are Andhra Pradesh (647 sq km), Telangana (632 sq km), Odisha (537 sq km), Karnataka (155 sq km) and Jharkhand (110 sq km).
• The gain in forest cover or improvement in forest canopy density may be attributed to better conservation measures, protection, afforestation activities, tree plantation drives and agroforestry.
• Among the mega cities in the country, Ahmedabad has been the biggest loser when it comes to forest cover.

States with maximum forest cover:

• Area-wise, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover in the country followed by Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Maharashtra.
• 17 states/UTs have above 33 per cent of the geographical area under forest cover.
• Out of these states and UTs, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya have more than 75 per cent forest cover.
• Forest cover as a percentage of total geographical area: Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Nagaland.

 Mangrove cover in the country:

• There is an increase of 17 sq km in mangrove cover in the country as compared to the previous assessment of 2019.
• Total mangrove cover in the country is 4,992 sq km.
• Top three states showing mangrove cover increase are Odisha (8 sq km) followed by Maharashtra (4 sq km) and Karnataka (3 sq km).

 Carbon stock:

• The total carbon stock in the country’s forest is estimated to be 7,204 million tonnes and there is an increase of 79.4 million tonnes in the carbon stock of the country as compared to the last assessment of 2019.
• The annual increase in the carbon stock is 39.7 million tonnes.

Forest Prone to Fires:

• 46% of the forest cover is prone to forest fires.
• 81% are extremely prone, 7.85% are very highly prone and 11.51% are highly prone.
• By 2030, 45-64% of forests in India will experience the effects of climate change and rising temperatures.
• Forests in all states (except Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland) will be highly vulnerable climate hot spots.
• Ladakh (forest cover 0.1-0.2%) is likely to be the most affected.

Bamboo Forests:

• Bamboo forests have grown from 13,882 million culms (stems) in 2019 to 53,336 million culms in 2021.

 Concerns:

• The north-east did not show positive results as the current assessment showed a decrease of forest cover to the extent of 1,020 sq km in the region.
• Arunachal Pradesh lost the maximum forest cover of 257 sq km, followed by Manipur which lost 249 sq km, Nagaland 235 sq km, Mizoram 186 sq km and Meghalaya 73 sq km.
• In total 140 hill districts of the country, the forest cover reduced by 902 sq km in the last two years. In the 2019 report, the forest cover in the hill regions had increased by 544 sq km.

Compensatory Afforestation Fund

• The CAF Act was passed by the centre in 2016 and the related rules were notified in 2018.
• The CAF Act was enacted to manage the funds collected for compensatory afforestation which till then was managed by ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
  • Compensatory afforestation means that every time forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes such as mining or industry, the user agency pays for planting forests over an equal area of non-forest land, or when such land is not available, twice the area of degraded forest land.
• As per the rules, 90% of the CAF money is to be given to the states while 10% is to be retained by the Centre.
• The funds can be used for treatment of catchment areas, assisted natural generation, forest management, wildlife protection and management, relocation of villages from protected areas, managing human-wildlife conflicts, training and awareness generation, supply of wood saving devices and allied activities.

4. 117 Chinese nationals were deported for indulging in illegal acts, MHA informs Lok Sabha

Subject: Polity

• 81 Chinese nationals were given “Leave India Notice”; 726 were placed on adverse list
• The government maintains the records of foreigners (including Chinese nationals) who enter with valid travel documents, but some of them overstay beyond the visa period owing to ignorance or under compelling circumstances like a medical emergency or other personal reasons.
• In genuine cases, where overstay is unintentional or because of ignorance or under compelling circumstances, the period of overstay is regularised after charging the penalty fees and the visa is extended if required
• Action is initiated as per the Foreigners Act 1946 , if they overstay intentionally or unjustifiably, which includes the issuance of a Leave India Notice and charging penalty.
• The MHA has also ordered CBI probe to probe irregularities in the issuance of visas to Chinese employees.

Model Poisons Rules

• The MHA has circulated the Model Poisons Rules to all states and Union Territories to notify them to regulate the sale of acid for the purpose of curbing attacks on women.
• As per data published by the National Crime Records Bureau, 386 cases of acid attacks on women were reported from States over three years, beginning in 2018.
• The Poisons Act, 1919, demands states and UTs regulate the possession and sale of acids and corrosive chemicals, including wholesale and retail sales, through their Poison Rules.
• No data is maintained centrally on sale of acids and corrosive chemicals.

5. No question of recession or stagflation in India, says FM Sitharaman

Subject: Economy

Section: National income

Context: According to Finance Minister ,India is nowhere near a recession or stagflation and the government is making all efforts to bring down retail inflation below 7 per cent.While many major economies have triple-digit debt-to-GDP ratios, the central government’s debt-to-GDP ratio declined to 56.29 per cent of GDP in FY22 from the revised estimate of 59.9 per cent for the same year. According to the IMF, India’s general government (centre+states) debt stood at 86.9 per cent of GDP in FY22.Comparing the economic situation during the 2013 taper tantrum when India was considered one of the fragile five economies, FM said the NDA government has kept inflation under control

Key concepts:

CPI:

• Inflation is measured using CPI. A comprehensive measure used for estimation of price changes in a basket of goods and services representative of consumption expenditure in an economy is called consumer price index.
• The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is releasing CPI (Rural, Urban, Combined) on Base 2012=100
• An inflation measure which excludes transitory or temporary price volatility as in the case of some commodities such as food items, energy products is called core inflation

WPI:

• Wholesale Price Index, or WPI, measures the changes in the prices of goods sold and traded in bulk by wholesale businesses to other businesses
• The numbers are released by the Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

WPI Vs CPI

• While WPI keeps track of the wholesale price of goods, the CPI measures the average price that households pay for a basket of different goods and services.
• Even as the WPI is used as a key measure of inflation in some economies, the RBI no longer uses it for policy purposes, including setting repo rates. The central bank currently uses CPI or retail inflation as a key measure of inflation to set the monetary and credit policy.

Stagflation

• It is a seemingly contradictory condition described by slow economic growth and relatively high unemployment, or economic stagnation, which is at the same time accompanied by rising prices (i.e. inflation).
• Stagflation can also be alternatively defined as a period of inflation combined with a decline in gross domestic product (GDP).

Recession

• Recession is a slowdown or a massive contraction in economic activities. A significant fall in spending generally leads to a recession.
• Such a slowdown in economic activities may last for some quarters thereby completely hampering the growth of an economy.
• In such a situation, economic indicators such as GDP, corporate profits, employments, etc., fall.
• This creates a mess in the entire economy. To tackle the menace, economies generally react by loosening their monetary policies by infusing more money into the system, i.e., by increasing the money supply.
• The debt-to-GDP ratio indicates how likely the country can pay off its debt. Investors often look at the debt-to-GDP metric to assess the government’s ability of finance its debt. Higher debt-to-GDP ratios have fuelled economic crises worldwide.

Fragile Five:

In August 2013, a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley coined the term “Fragile Five” to represent emerging market economies that have become too dependent on unreliable foreign investment to finance their growth ambitions. The five members of the Fragile Five include Turkey, Brazil, India, South Africa and Indonesia.

6. Reserve Bank of India’s financial inclusion index

Subject: Economy

Section: Monetary Policy

Context: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) composite financial inclusion index (FI-Index) that captures the extent of financial inclusion across the country, rose to 56.4 in March 2022, up from 53.9 in March 2021, reflecting growth across all sectors.

Concept:

• The annual FI­ Index will be published in July every year, the RBI said in a release.
• The index incorporates details of banking, investments, insurance, postal as well as the pension sector in consultation with the government and respective sectoral regulators.
• The index captures information on various aspects of financial inclusion in a single value ranging between 0 and 100, where 0 represents complete financial exclusion and 100 indicates full financial inclusion.
• The FI Index comprises three broad parameters (weights indicated in brackets)
  • Access (35 percent),
  • Usage (45 percent), and
  • Quality (20 per cent)with each of these consisting of various dimensions, which are computed based on a number of indicators.
• It has been constructed without any ‘base year’.
• A unique feature of the index is the Quality parameter that captures the quality aspect of financial inclusion as reflected by financial literacy, consumer protection, and inequalities and deficiencies in services
• The FI-Index is responsive to ease of access, availability and usage of services, and quality of services, comprising in all 97 indicators. A unique feature of the FI-Index is the quality parameter, which captures the quality aspect of financial inclusion as reflected by financial literacy, consumer protection, and inequalities and deficiencies in services.
• The RBI had conceptualised the FI-Index as a comprehensive index incorporating details of banking, investments, insurance, postal as well as the pension sector in consultation with the government and respective sectoral regulators. The FI-Index is published annually in June every year.

7. World Breastfeeding Week (WBW)

Subject: Government Schemes

Context: World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) being observed from 1^st to 7^th August

Breast milk is the ideal food for infants, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It contains nutrients and antibodies crucial for their early days

The objectives of World Breastfeeding Week are:

• To create awareness among the parents about breastfeeding
• Encourage parents to adopt breastfeeding
• Creating awareness about the importance of initiation and exclusive breastfeeding, and adequate and appropriate complementary feeding
• Providing advocacy material about the importance of breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding

• Infants should be breastfed within one hour of birth, breastfed exclusively for the first six months of their lives, and be breastfed after six months in combination with solid, semi-solid and soft food until they are about two years old.
• Both the mother and new born are vulnerable for the first 12 weeks. Getting used to breastfeeding takes at least 14 days.

The correct norms of infant and young child feeding are:

• Initiation of Breastfeeding within an hour of birth
• Exclusive breastfeeding for first six months of life i.e. only breast Milk ‘NO’ other milk, food, drink or water
• Appropriate and adequate complementary feeding from six months of age while continuing breastfeeding
• Continued breastfeeding up to the age of two years or beyond

This important nutrition intervention will help in breaking the vicious cycle of malnutrition and aid the Government to achieve National Nutrition Goals and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030. According to WHO, increasing breastfeeding to near-international levels will help in saving more than 800000 lives every year, the majority being children under 6 months.

Many advantages

• Breastfeeding provides greater immunity for children against infection, allergies, cancers and obesity; and improves brain maturation.
• It is also beneficial for the mother: it promotes faster weight loss after birth, reduces postpartum bleeding, and protects her against breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and osteoporosis.
• Data from The Lancet show that more investment in breastfeeding could add $300 billion to the global economy and prevent about 8,20,000 child deaths every year.
• Globally only 25%-40% of babies are breastfed. Breastfeeding and later wet nursing were the norm for millions of years.
• However, the National Family Health Survey-5 data show that there has been a decline in early breastfeeding in as many as 12 of the 22 surveyed States and Union Territories while the share of institutional births has increased. Maternity and paternity leave
• The theme for World Breastfeeding Week this year is ‘Protect Breastfeedng: A Shared Responsibility’. Breastfeeding has decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is important that the promotion

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA)

• The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) was established in 1991 to create awareness about the importance of breastfeeding. I
• In 1992, WABA in coordination with UNICEF introduced World Breastfeeding Week during the first week of August every year. India enacted the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods Act in 1992 with stringent regulations.
• The breastfeeding should be a continuous process, not an event restricted to a week

Colostrum

• Colostrum is a breast fluid produced by humans, cows, and other mammals before breast milk is released.
• It’s very nutritious and contains high levels of antibodies, which are proteins that fight infections and bacteria.
• Colostrum promotes growth and health in infants and newborn animals, but research shows that taking bovine colostrum supplements may promote immunity, help fight infections, and improve gut health throughout life.

8. Why is heavy rainfall battering Kerala?

Subject: Geography

Section: Climatology

Concept:

Why is Kerala witnessing heavy rains?

Kerala is presently under the influence of at least three rainfall triggering weather conditions.

1. There are strong Westerly winds flowing-in from the Arabian Sea, and bringing moisture over Kerala.
2. The presence of an east-west shear zone located 10 degrees north over the southern peninsula. This vertical zone — that can prevail either in the lower, middle or upper atmospheric levels — allows active winds of high speeds to interact. This zone also allows monsoon winds to remain active, thus causing intense rainfall over the area under its influence.
3. The IMD further stated that the presence of a north-south trough running between Chhattisgarh and Comorin areas, which are located closer to south Kerala is causing widespread rainfall.

Why more rainfall this year?

The expectations of a normal monsoon in August and September are premised on the persistence of La Nina, the converse of El Nino and characterised by the cooling of the waters of the Central Pacific. The ensuing effects are expected to help bring more rain to the Indian subcontinent, unlike the El Nino which normally dries up the rain. However, the Indian Ocean Dipole, another index of significance, marked by a swing of warm waters between the eastern and western halves of the Indian Ocean, to the monsoon is expected to be negative. A negative outlook is expected to be unfavourable for the monsoon, though M. Mohapatra, Director-General, IMD, said that this was not expected to translate into a serious deficit due to the favourable effect of La Nina.

9. Baba Ramdev says targeted medicine a crime against humanity

Subject: Science and Technology

Section: Biotechnology

Concept:

Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that targets proteins that control how cancer cells grow, divide, and spread. It is the foundation of precision medicine. As researchers learn more about the DNA changes and proteins that drive cancer, they are better able to design treatments that target these proteins.

 Targeted therapies are classified as either small or large molecule drugs.

• Small molecule drugs are tiny enough to enter a cancer cell once they find it. They work by targeting a specific substance inside the cell and blocking it.
• Large molecule drugs usually can’t fit into a cell. They work by attacking then weakening or destroying proteins or enzymes on the surface of the cell. They are often described as a “lock and key” because the molecule is like a key that opens the enzyme or protein on the surface of the cell like a lock. The key fits into the lock, allowing the drug to work.

10. Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh

Subject: International Relations

Section: Mapping

Context: Former Nepalese PM KP Sharma Oli has claimed that he was removed from power last year after his government published a new map of Nepal that included Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekha sits territories

Concept:

• The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory

• Lipulekh is a Himalayan pass. The pass is near the Chinese trading town of Taklakot (Purang) in Tibet and used since ancient times by traders, mendicants and pilgrims transiting between India and Tibet.
• This pass links the Byans valley of Uttarakhand, India with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, and forms the last territorial point in Indian territory.
• The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a Hinduism pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, traverses this pass.
• Presently, Lipulekh Pass is open for cross-border trade every year from June through September.
• It is also known as Lipu-Lekh Pass/Qiangla or Tri-Corner is a high altitude mountain pass situated in the western Himalayas with a height of 5,334 metre or 17,500 feet.
• It is an International mountain pass between India, China and Nepal.

Nepalese claims

• The Nepalese claims to the southern side of the pass, called Kalapani territory, are based on 1816 Sagauli Treaty between British East India Company and Nepal. The treaty delimited the boundary along the Kali River (also called the Sharda River and Mahakali River).
• India claims that the river begins at the Kalapani village as this is where all its tributaries merge. But Nepal claims that it begins from the Lipulekh Pass.
• The historical record shows that, sometime around 1865, the British shifted the border near Kalapani to the watershed of the Kalapani river instead of the river itself, thereby claiming the area now called the Kalapani territory. This is consistent with the British position that the Kali River begins only from the Kalapani springs, which meant that the agreement of Sugauli did not apply to the region above the springs.

Kali River

• It is also known as Sharda River or Kali Ganga in Uttarakhand.
• It joins Ghagra river in Uttar Pradesh, which is a tributary of Ganga.
• River Projects: Tanakpur hydro-electric project, Chameliya hydro-electric project, Sharda Barrage.

11. Quality control of Ayush drugs

Subject : Government Schemes

Section: Health

Steps taken:

 Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940:

• It enforces the legal provisions and provides the regulatory guidelines for the issuance of drug license of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathic drugs.
• The power to issue license is vested with the State drug Controllers/ State Licensing Authorities appointed by the concerned State/ Union Territory Government.

Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H):

• It is a subordinate office under Ministry of Ayush lays down Pharmacopocial Standards and Formulary specifications for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy (ASU&H) drugs within the ambit of Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940, which serve as official compendia for ascertaining the quality of the drugs included therein.
• It has an appellate drug testing laboratory that receives the samples from Government agencies.

AYUSH OushadhiGunvatta Evam UttpadanSamvardhan Yojana (AOGUSY):

• It is implemented by Ministry of Ayush(Central Sector Scheme)to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports and facilitate adequate infrastructural & technological upgradation.
• It strengthens regulatory frameworks for effective quality control and Pharmacovigilance of ASU&H drugs by surveillance of misleading advertisements of Ayush drugs and develop standards and accreditation/ certification of Ayush products & materials in BIS, QCI) and other R&D centres.

AYUSH

AYUSH is an acronym for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy and are the six Indian systems of medicine prevalent and practiced in India and some of the neighboring Asian countries with very few exceptions in some of the developed countries

12. Food processing sector

Subject : Government Schemes

Context: As per latest Annual Survey of Industries(ASI) 2018-19, the total output in food processing sector has been increased from Rs. 9,34,272.19 crore in 2014-15 to Rs.12,76,995.11 crore in 2018-19

Concept:

• As per latest Annual Survey of Industries(ASI) 2018-19, the Compound Annual Growth Rate of the sector is 13%
• As per the 73^rdround of National Sample Survey (NSS) 2015-16, a total of 24.59 lakh are unregistered segment and 40,579 are in registered sector. The number of persons engaged in the registered food processing sector has increased
• A study on “All India Cold Chain Infrastructure Capacity (Assessment of Status & Gap)” conducted by NABARD Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd , the requirement of cold storage in the country is 35 million MT, while capacity of such storage is around 32 million MT.
• Some processed food exports: refined sugar/ cane sugar/ cane molasses, soyabean oilcake and other residues, processed shrimps/prawns, coffee, preparation of animal feed, rape or cozla seed residues, sweet biscuits and other bakery products, sugar confectionery, whiskies, preps/ preserved gherkins and cucumbers, milling products including malt extracts etc.

Efforts being made for promoting exports of processed food products are:

• A comprehensive “Agriculture Export Policy” and Products Specific Export Promotion Forums set up by APEDA to give impetus to the export of potential products and remove the bottlenecks in the supply chain for the products, viz., Grapes, Onions, Mango, Banana, Pomegranate, Floriculture, Rice, Dairy Products and Nutri cereals.
• A Farmer Connect Portal for providing a platform for farmers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and cooperatives to interact with exporters.
• Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme for food products, marketing and branding support is provided by MoFPI for enhancing global visibility of Indian food products.
• Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme from the year 2020-21 for providing financial, technical and business support for upgradation / setting up of 2 lakh micro food processing enterprises based on One District One Product (ODOP) approach is being implemented for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores.
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY) is a Central Sector Scheme since 2016, provides boost to the growth and helps getting better prices for their produces due to higher demand for agricultural produce by the food processing industries as raw material.
• Assistance several other schemes to promote exports,, viz. Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES), Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme, Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP), Export Promotion schemes of APEDA &Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) etc.

13. Promotion of renewable energy

Subject : Government Schemes

Context: A study was carried out by Central Electricity Authority, Ministry of Power with an objective to project the Optimal Generation Capacity mix for 2029-30, the results of which were published in January, 2020.

Concept:

• According to the study, the estimated electricity generation from renewable energy sources was assessed to be 39% of the total electricity generation by the year 2029-30.
• Government have taken several steps to promote renewable energy in the country to achieve the goal of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.

Steps taken:

• Permitting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 100 percent under the automatic route.
• Waiver of Inter State Transmission System (ISTS) charges for inter-state sale of solar and wind power for projects to be commissioned by June 2025
• Declaration of trajectory for Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) up to the year 2030.
• Setting up of Ultra Mega Renewable Energy Parks to provide land and transmission to RE developers on a plug and play basis.
• Schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM), Solar Rooftop Phase II, 12000 MW CPSU Scheme Phase II, etc.,
• Laying of new transmission lines and creating new sub-station capacity under the Green Energy Corridor Scheme for evacuation of renewable power.
• Setting up of Project Development Cell for attracting and facilitating investments.
• Standard Bidding Guidelines for tariff based competitive bidding process for procurement of Power from Grid Connected Solar PV and Wind Projects.
• Government has issued orders that power shall be dispatched against Letter of Credit (LC) or advance payment to ensure timely payment by distribution licensees to RE generators.

14. Senior citizens

Subject :Government Schemes

Section :Vulnerable sections

Context: The projected population of Senior Citizens aged 60+ years of the country for 2026 (is expected to be 17.32 crore, as per the report of Technical Group on Population Projections constituted by the National Commission on Population.

Concept:

• As per Census 2011, population of Senior Citizens (people aged 60 years and above) is 38 Crore in the country.
• As per Census 2011, the number of senior citizens suffering from any disability in their old age isapproximately 18 percent of total population of senior citizens.

Steps taken:

• RashtriyaVayoshri Yojana (RVY):
• It is implemented by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment through Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO),
• The objective to provide with such physical aids and assisted living devices to the senior citizens ( who are suffering from age related disability) belonging to BPL category or senior citizens with monthly income not more than 15000/- who are suffering from age related disabilities/ infirmities.
• Atal VayoAbhyuday Yojana (AVYAY) is a grant in aid is provided to NGOs/Voluntary Organisations for running and maintenance of Senior Citizen Homes (Old Age Homes), Continuous Care Homes, etc. All these Homes are mandated to maintain the standard norms prescribed in the scheme

15. Newly developed biopolymer nano composite

Subject : Science and Technology

Section : Biotechnology

Context: A biodegradable, biopolymer nanocomposite is newly developed by the scientists from the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST)

Concept:

• Biopolymers are polymers that are produced by or derived from living organisms, such as plants and microbes, rather than from petroleum, the traditional source of polymers. The primary sources of biopolymers are renewable.
• A biodegradable, biopolymer nanocomposite is newly developed by the scientists from the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), have developed a smart biodegradable biopolymer nanocomposite which can detect relative humidity.
• In this, two biopolymers, Guar Gum (a variety of beans obtained from plant) and Alginate (obtained from brown algae), were blended with carbon dots (nanomaterial) to make a nanocomposite film that was successfully used to detect relative humidity.
• The fabricated nanocomposite film was an excellent smart sensor based on the fluorescence ‘on-off’ mechanisms against humidity.
• The nanocomposite film shows change in fluorescence in presence of high Hence, the fabricated nanocomposite film can monitor the packed food freshness using just a UV light source.

Application:

• A Smart and active packaging can help consumers select a fresh product without breaking the pack. Such innovative packaging boosts sales and reduces consumers’ time to identify fresh food products.
• It can detect relative humidity can find application as smart packaging materials, especially for the food industry as perishable packed foods are easily damaged by the change in relative humidity.
• It is non-toxic, biodegradable material for use as packaging material to replace petroleum-based material like plastics .

16. National Waterways

Subject : Geography

Section : Economic Geography

Context: To promote inland water transport (IWT) in the country, 111 inland waterways spread over 24 states have been declared as National Waterways (NWs) under National Waterway Act, 2016.

Concept:

Based on the outcome of techno-economic feasibility and Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of these NWs, action plan has been formulated by IWAI for 26 NWs found viable for cargo/passenger movement.

Important National Waterways:

• National Waterway-1: Allahabad-Haldia stretch of the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly River (1620 Km) declared as NW in 1986 in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. It has been undertaken by IWAI with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank at a revised estimated cost of Rs. 4633.84 cr.
• National Waterway-2: Sadiya-Dhubri stretch of the Brahmaputra River (891 Km) declared as National Waterway in 1988 in the state of Assam.
• National Waterway-3: Kollam-Kottapuram stretch of West Coast Canal and Champakara and Udyogmandal canals (205 Km) declared as National Waterway in 1993 in the state of Kerala
• National Waterway-4: Kakinada-Pudducherry stretch of canals and Kaluvelly tank, Bhadrachalam-Rajahmundry stretch of river Godavari and Wazirabad-Vijayawada stretch of river Krishna (1078 Km) declared as National Waterway in 2008 in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Union Territory of Puducherry. The Krishna River (Vijayawada – Muktyala)  over a length of 82 kms, the  stretch of river Krishna between Vijayawada and Galagali is part of declared National Waterway-4. However, no development work on this stretch has been undertaken under Sagarmala scheme.
• National Waterway-5: Talcher-Dhamra stretch of Rivers, Geonkhali-Charbatia stretch of East Coast Canal, Charbatia-Dhamra stretch of Matai River and Mahanadi Delta Rivers (588 Km) declared as National Waterway in 2008 in the states of West Bengal and Orissa.

Inland Waterways Authority of India

• It is a statutory body that came into existence on 1986 for development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
• It primarily undertakes projects for development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grants received from the Ministry of Shipping.
• It is headquartered at Noida with regional offices at Patna (Bihar), Kolkata (West Bengal), Guwahati (Assam) and Kochi (Kerala) and sub-offices at other places throughout India.

17. Schemes in news

Subject :Government Schemes

Concept: