Daily Prelims Notes 31 March 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

31 March 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Decarbonising Indian Agriculture
2. Bamiyan Buddhas
3. Plastic Waste
4. Small Savings Schemes/Instruments
5. The Competition Act 2002 and the Competition Commission of India
6. Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)
7. Economic sanctions and impact
8. The members urged the Centre to reconvene the yearly Indian Labour Convention, which was last held in 2015
9. A massive fire broke out in the forests of the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan Alwar district on Tuesday

1. Decarbonising Indian Agriculture

Subject: Environment

Section: Climate Change

Context- Decarbonization of Indian Agriculture has to be carefully calibrated to avoid an adverse impact to over 120 million marginal farmers who are still in the ‘survival phase’ of their socio-economic development.

Concept-

Agricultural Emmissions:

• As per India’s third Biennial Update Report, in 2016, agriculture and livestock emitted 407,821 Gg of CO2e, around 14% of total emissions.
  • Out of this, 3% is linked to livestock.
  • Apart from livestock, the major constituents of agriculture GHG emissions are rice cultivation (17.5%), fertiliser application (19.1%), and field burning of agricultural residues (2.2%).
• India, with 75 million sq km arable land and a 300 million cattle population has 160 million rural households with agriculture being the main source of livelihood.
• Hence, decarbonisation has to be carefully calibrated to avoid an adverse impact to over 120 million marginal farmers who are still in the ‘survival phase’ of their socio-economic development.

Decarbonization:

• Deep decarbonising pathways would include:
  • reducing biogenic methane from cattle and rice cultivation;
  • inculcating resource efficiency by reducing consumption of irrigation water, chemical fertilisers, and energy for cultivation/ harvesting/transport as well as farm waste processing;
  • reducing waste in the food supply chain;
  • and building climate resilience through deploying automation and technology.
• The following factors are critical for both decarbonisation and sustainability:
  • Soil:
    • Fertile soil enhances farm yields and incomes apart from being a carbon sink.
    • Healthy soil holds more moisture and soil conservation methods reduce erosion.
    • The co-products of biogas/biofuels plants are compost/bio-char, which enrich soil, mitigate environment pollution, and displace chemical fertilisers.
  • Freshwater:
    • Agriculture consumes over 80% of freshwater in India, making conservation critical.
    • Micro-irrigation with automation and adoption of low water-intensive species and farming practices is essential.
    • Areas under water intensive crops must be reduced through crops diversification, examples being oil seeds, pulses, horticulture, and forage crops.
  • Alternate cropping:
    • This contributes to GHG mitigation and is an emerging area in climate-smart farming.
    • For example, seaweed cultivation as additive to cattle feed reduces biogenic methane emissions, improves feed quality, and enhances milk production.
  • Agro-forestry:
    • Trees act as windbreaks, reduce soil erosion, enrich soil, and filter water.
    • Studies suggest that 5% increase at 5 yearly intervals to the existing 16 mha area can help mitigate India’s projected emissions.
  • Bio-energy from farm waste:
    • Manure-based community biogas plants can support clean cooking and distributed power.
    • India’s National Policy for Biofuels/ SATAT scheme set a medium-term target of 15 million tonnes of bio-CNG.
    • IEA’s India Energy Outlook 2021 estimates the potential being of 30 million tonnes Bio-CNG.
    • BECCS (Bio Energy with Carbon Capture & Storage) involves capturing CO2 from bioenergy plants and permanent storage. This will lead to carbon removal as well as negative emissions.

2. Bamiyan Buddhas

Subject: Art & Culture

Section: Ancient India

Context- The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has said it would protect the ancient Buddha statues in MesAynak, also the site of a copper mine where the Taliban are hoping for Chinese investment.

Concept-

• The Taliban’s position is in marked contrast to the time they ruled Afghanistan earlier, when, in the face of global outrage, they brought down the centuries-old Buddha statues in Bamiyan using artillery, explosives, and rockets.
• The apparent change of heart over the MesAynak statues seems to be driven by economic interests, with the regime in desperate need of the income Chinese investment in the copper mines could generate.

Bamiyan Buddhas:

• In their Roman draperies and with two different mudras, the Bamiyan Buddhas were great examples of a confluence of Gupta, Sassanian and Hellenistic artistic styles.
• They are said to date back to the 5th century AD and were once the tallest standing Buddhas in the world.
• Salsal and Shamama, as they were called by the locals, rose to heights of 55 and 38metres respectively, and were said to be male and female.
  • Salsal means “the light shines through the universe”; Shamama is “Queen Mother”.
• The statues were set in niches on either end of a cliffside and hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs.

The significance of Bamiyan:

• The Bamiyan valley, in the Hindu Kush mountains in the central Highlands of afghanistan and along the river Bamiyan, was a key node of the early Silk Routes, emerging as a hub of both commercial and cultural exchange.
• When the Buddhist Kushan Empire spread, acting as a crucible of sorts, Bamiyan became a major trade, cultural and religious centre.
• As China, India and Rome sought passage through Bamiyan, the Kushans were able to develop a syncretic (mix) culture.
• In the rapid spread of Buddhism between the 1st to 5th centuries AD, Bamiyan’s landscape reflected the faith, especially its monastic qualities.

Taliban’s destruction of the Buddhas:

• The hardline Taliban movement, which emerged in the early 1990s, was in control of almost 90 per cent of Afghanistan by the end of the decade.
• The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas was part of this extremist culture.
• In February 2001, the Taliban declared its intention to destroy the statues, despite condemnation and protest from governments and cultural ambassadors’ world over.

The aftermath of the destruction:

• The Taliban’s destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas met with global criticism, many of whom saw it as a cultural crime not just against Afghanistan but also against the idea of global syncretism.
• India offered to arrange for a transfer and safeguarding of the artefacts.
• Following the fall, UNESCO included the remains in its list of world heritage sites in 2003, with subsequent efforts made to restore and reconstruct.

3. Plastic Waste

Subject: Environment

Section: Pollution

Context- Import of plastic bottles for waste processing allowed.

Concept-

• After banning the import of plastic waste in 2019, the Environment Ministry has permitted containers made of polyethylene terephthalate, as plastic waste, to be imported for processing.
• The decision to roll back the ban was taken last year after representations by several industries in the business of processing waste said there was too little waste available for them in India and this was causing them financial losses.
• An expert committee of the Environment Ministry, last December, recommended that firms which had applied for permission could import polyethylene terephthalate flakes and bottles up to 50% of their production capacity.

Polyethylene terephthalate:

• Polyethylene terephthalate is a category of plastic, and nearly 90% of the domestic supply of containers using them is already recycled.
• As per the industry data, more than 14 lakh tonnes of such plastic are consumed annually in India, and even with a global highest 80% recycling rate, approx. 2.8 lakh tonnes of plastic bottles waste never gets collected.
• While the whole world is banning such imports to strengthen local plastic waste management, India would have been the first country to re-allow the import of plastic waste.
• The main aim is to increase the collection of local waste. Our country’s waste must be recycled first, before importing waste from other countries to make textiles/recycled products.

About PET

• PET is short for polyethylene terephthalate, the chemical name for polyester.
• PET is a clear, strong, and lightweight plastic that is widely used for packaging foods and beverages, especially convenience-sized soft drinks, juices and water.
• It is also popular for packaging salad dressings, peanut butter, cooking oils, mouthwash, shampoo, liquid hand soap, window cleaner, even tennis balls.
• Special grades of PET are used for carry-home food containers and prepared food trays that can be warmed in the oven or microwave.
• The basic building blocks of PET are ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid, which are combined to form a polymer chain.

*** For further reading refer to https://optimizeias.com/latest-regulation-on-plastic-waste-management/

4. Small Savings Schemes/Instruments

Subject: Economy

Section: Banking

Context:

The government is unlikely to raise small savings rates for the coming quarter.

The interest rate on small savings instruments is reset every quarter, based on market yields on government securities (G-secs) with a lag, at a spread ranging from 0-100 basis points over and above yields of comparable maturities.

However, political factors also influence the rate change. The Shyamala Gopinath panel (2010) constituted on the Small Saving Scheme had suggested a market-linked interest rate system for small savings schemes.

Concept:

Small Savings Schemes are a set of savings instruments managed by the central government with an aim to encourage citizens to save regularly irrespective of their age. They are popular as they not only provide returns that are generally higher than bank fixed deposits but also come with a sovereign guarantee and tax benefits.

All deposits received under various small savings schemes are pooled in the National Small Savings Fund. The money in the fund is used by the central government to finance its fiscal deficit.

Types:

They are of two types viz fixed-rate products and variable products.

• Fixed rate product-The interest rate at the start of the investment will continue to be the same until the maturity of the bond.
•  Variable-rate investment scheme-the interest on the final corpus changes as per the new rate

The schemes can be grouped under three heads – Post office deposits, savings certificates and social security schemes.

• Post Office Deposits we have the savings deposit, recurring deposit and time deposits with 1, 2, 3 and 5 year maturities and the monthly income account.

• Savings Certificates includes the National Savings Certificate and the Kisan Vikas Patra.
  • The National Savings Certificate is a fixed income investment scheme. This NSC initiative is launched to promote small saving habits in the general public. This is a less risk-oriented product that offers a fixed interest that is currently at 6.8% per annum for a 5 year period.

NSCs are available in 2 fixed maturity periods – 5 years and 10 years. There is no maximum limit on the purchase of NSCs, but only investments of up to Rs 1.5 lakh can entitle you a tax exemption under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

• The Kisan Vikas Patra, which is open to everyone, doubles the one-time investment at the end of 124 months signifying a return of 6.9% compounded annually. The minimum investment amount is Rs 1000 while there is no upper limit.

• Social Security Schemes include Public Provident Fund, Sukanya Samriddhi Account and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme.
  • The Public Provident Fund is a government-supported savings scheme. It is open to everyone – unemployed, employed, self-employed or even retired. It is not mandatory and anyone can contribute any amount to the PPF subject to a minimum of Rs 500 and a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh per year. PPF is different from EPF. EPF is mandatory in nature while PPF is optional. PF is the popular name for EPF or Employees’ Provident Fund.
  • The Sukanya Samriddhi Account was launched in 2015 under the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign exclusively for a girl child. The account can be opened in the name of a girl child below the age of 10 years. The scheme guarantees a return of 7.6% per annum and is eligible for tax benefit under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act. The tenure of the deposit is 21 years from the date of opening of the account and a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh can be invested in a year.
  • Senior Citizen Savings Account can be opened by anyone who is over 60 years of age. It carries an interest of 7.4% per annum payable quarterly and qualifies for Section 80C tax benefit.

National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) in the Public Account of India was established in 1999.

The Fund is administered by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs) under National Small Savings Fund (Custody and Investment) Rules, 2001, framed by the President under Article 283 (1) of the Constitution.

Objective:

To de-link small savings transactions from the Consolidated Fund of India and ensure their operation in a transparent and self-sustaining manner.

Government-backed small saving instruments encourage small-income investors to invest to earn high returns and to save on income tax as well.

5. The Competition Act 2002 and the Competition Commission of India

Subject: Economy

Section: Msc

Context:

India’s antitrust agency the Competition Commission of India raided offices of tyre companies, including Germany’s Continental AG and India’s Apollo Tyres and CEAT in a case of suspected competition law violations.

Concept:

The Competition Act, 2002

It was passed by the Parliament in the year 2002, to which the President accorded assent in January, 2003.

It was subsequently amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007. In accordance with the provisions of the Amendment Act, the Competition Commission of India and the Competition Appellate Tribunal have been established.

Government replaced the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in 2017.

It replaced the erstwhile Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969. This was done based on the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee.

The following are the definitions cited under the Competition Act

• Acquisition: Acquisition is defined as the direct or indirect agreement to acquire shares, voting rights or control of assets over any enterprise.
• Cartel: A cartel is defined as an association of producers, sellers who limit control distribution, sale or promotions on goods through an arrangement previously made.
• Position: A dominant position means a position of power held by an enterprise in the related market. It enables the enterprise to function freely and influence the market to its directions.
• Predatory pricing: Predatory pricing is where the price of goods and services is reduced to well below the cost of production in order to eliminate competition.
• Rule of reason: The interpretation of activity on the basis of business justification, market impact on competition and on the consumer.

The following are the features of the Competition Act:

• Prohibits anti-competitive agreements: Any individual or enterprises shall not deal in production supply or distribution that may cause a negative impact regarding competition in India. Any existence of such agreements is considered illegal.
• Prohibits abuse of dominant position by enterprises: In the event, an enterprise or an associated individual, it is found to indulge in practices that are unfair or discriminatory in nature shall be considered an abuse of dominant position. If a party is found to be in abuse of its position, then they will be subjected to an investigation from the concerned authorities.

• Regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control, and M&A), which can cause or is likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on the competition within India. As per the act a combination is defined as terms which lead to acquisitions or mergers. But should such combinations cross the limits as put forth by the Act, and then the parties involved would be under the scrutiny of the Competition Commission of India.

Competition Commission of India:

The Commission used to consist of one chairperson and a minimum of two members and a maximum of six members. This has further been reduced to three members and one chairperson by the Cabinet.

The commission is a quasi-judicial body which gives opinions to statutory authorities and also deals with other cases. The Chairperson and other Members shall be whole-time Members.

Eligibility of members: The Chairperson and every other Member shall be a person of ability, integrity and standing and who, has been, or is qualified to be a judge of a High Court, or, has special knowledge of, and professional experience of not less than fifteen years in international trade, economics, business, commerce, law, finance, accountancy, management, industry, public affairs, administration or in any other matter Functions

• Ensuring that the benefit and welfare of the customers are maintained in the Indian Market.
• An accelerated and inclusive economic growth through ensuring fair and healthy competition in the economic activities of the nation.
• Ensuring the efficient utilization of the nation’s resources through the execution of competition policies.
• The Commission also undertakes competition advocacy.
• It is also the antitrust ombudsman for small organizations.
• The CCI will also scrutinize any foreign company that enters the Indian market through a merger or acquisition to ensure that it abides by India’s competition laws – the Competition Act, 2002.
• CCI also ensures interaction and cooperation with the other regulating authorities in the economy. This will ensure that the sectoral regulatory laws are agreeable with the competition laws.
• It also acts as a business facilitator, by ensuring that a few firms do not establish dominance in the market and that there is a peaceful co-existence between the small and the large enterprises.

The Competition Commission of India takes the following measures to achieve its objectives:

• Consumer welfare: To make the markets work for the benefit and welfare of consumers.
• Ensure fair and healthy competition in economic activities in the country for faster and inclusive growth and development of the economy.
• Implement competition policies with an aim to effectuate the most efficient utilization of economic resources.
• Develop and nurture effective relations and interactions with sectoral regulators to ensure smooth alignment of sectoral regulatory laws in tandem with the competition law.
• Effectively carry out competition advocacy and spread the information on benefits of competition among all stakeholders to establish and nurture competition culture in the Indian economy.

6. Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)

Subject: Economy

Section: Fiscal Policy

Context:

The government has expanded the scope of its flagship guaranteed loan scheme and extended its validity by a year through March 2023.

The finance ministry has also extended relief under the Rs 5-trillion emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) to hospitality, civil aviation and related enterprises.

Concept:

Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) was announced as part of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Package in 2020 with the objective to help businesses including MSMEs to meet their operational liabilities and resume businesses in view of the distress caused by the COVID-19 crisis, by providing Member Lending Institutions (MLIs), 100 percent guarantee against any losses suffered by them due to non-repayment of the ECLGS funding by borrowers.

Objective: To provide fully guaranteed and collateral free additional credit to MSMEs, business enterprises, MUDRA borrowers and individual loans for business purposes to the extent of 20% of their credit outstanding as on 29th February, 2020.

100% guarantee coverage is to be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) to the Member Lending Institutions (MLI), Banks, Financial Institutions, and Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC).

The credit will be provided in the form of a Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line (GECL) facility. No Guarantee Fee shall be charged by NCGTC from the Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) under the Scheme.

Interest rates under the Scheme shall be capped at 9.25% for banks and FIs, and at 14% for NBFCs.

ECLGS is under the operational domain of the Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services (DFS).

The eligibility criteria for availing credit under ECLGS are:

• For ECLGS 1.0; MSME units, Business Enterprises, Mudra Borrower and individual loans for business purpose having loan outstanding upto Rs.50 crore and days past due upto 60 days as on 29.02.2020.
• For ECLGS 2.0; Borrower belonging to 26 stressed sectors identified by Kamath Committee & Healthcare sector having loan outstanding above Rs.50 crore and upto Rs.500 crore and days past due upto 60 days as on 29.02.2020.
• For ECLGS 3.0; Borrower belonging to Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting and Civil Aviation sector having days past due upto 60 days as on 29.02.2020.
• For ECLGS 4.0; Existing Hospitals/Nursing Homes/Clinics/Medical Colleges/units engaged in manufacturing of liquid oxygen, oxygen cylinders etc. having credit facility with a lending institution with days past due upto 90 days as on March 31, 2021.

Limits:

• Enterprises with a turnover of up to Rs. 250 crores (FY 2019-20) with outstanding loans up to Rs. 50 crores, as of February 29, 2020
• The maximum amount of loan that can be availed under the scheme is Rs. 5 crore
• The loan tenure is for 4 years and the moratorium period of 1 year on the principal amount is also applicable [Now the loan tenure is 5 years]

National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited

NCGTC or the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited is registered under the Companies Act, 1956 in 2014 as a private limited company.

It is a wholly-owned company of the Government of India

It was established by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance to act as a common trustee company for multiple credit guarantee funds.

The main role of the Organisation is to design credit guarantee programs, to share the risk of lending among the lenders, and facilitate financial access to a prospective borrower.

Latest changes:

• Companies in the hospitality, civil aviation, travel and tourism industry can now borrow up to 50% of their highest fund-based credit outstanding, as against 40% earlier
• Borrowing by a single MSME from the hospitality, travel and tourism industry is still capped at Rs 200 crore. However, the borrowing limit for an aviation player has been raised to Rs 400 crore from Rs 200 crore earlier.
• To reduce the cost of accessing non-fund-based credit, bank guarantees, letters of credit and other non-fund based facilities sanctioned under the latest version of the scheme (ECLGS 3.0) will be issued without any cash margin. The fee or commission will be capped at 0.5% per annum.
• Individuals and proprietary concerns in the sectors covered under ECLGS 3.0 can also now avail of emergency credit facilities.

To know about ECLGS, please click here.

7. Economic sanctions and impact

Subject: Economy

Section: External Sector

The sanctions imposed by Western countries such as the United States on Russia, following Moscow’s invasion of Kyiv, may eventually hurt the dominance of the US dollar.

Concept:

Economic sanctions are penalties levied against a country, its officials or private citizens, either as punishment or in an effort to provide disincentives for the targeted policies and actions. By definition, such sanctions apply to parties not readily subject to law enforcement by the sanctioning jurisdiction.

Economic sanctions provide a policy tool short of military force for punishing or forestalling objectionable actions. They’re widely applicable beyond the sanctioning country’s borders and can be costly to their targets amid increased global trade and economic interdependence.

Sanctions measures include:

• Embargoes: A trade embargo is a broad ban on trading with a country, though it can sometimes include exceptions for the supply of food and medicines on humanitarian grounds. Cuba, Iran and North Korea have long been subject to U.S. trade embargoes.
• Export controls: Export restrictions bar the supply of specified products, services and intellectual property to targeted countries. They often restrict sales of weapons, technology with military applications or, as currently for Russia, oil drilling technologies and equipment.
• Capital controls: Capital controls can restrict investment in targeted countries or industries, or broadly bar access to international capital markets for a country’s issuers.
• Trade sanctions: Trade sanctions can include import controls for specific countries, regions or industries.
• Asset freezes or seizures: Assets within sanctioning jurisdictions can be seized or frozen, preventing their sale or withdrawal
• Travel restrictions: Officials and private citizens as well as immediate family members may be denied travel access to sanctioning jurisdictions.

Sanctions on Russia

• Financial measures
  • Western leaders have frozen the assets of Russia’s central bank, limiting its ability to access $630bn (£470bn) of its dollar reserves.
  • The US, the EU and UK have also banned people and businesses from dealings with the Russian central bank, its finance ministry and its wealth fund.
  • Selected Russian banks will also be removed from the Swift messaging system, which enables the smooth transfer of money across borders. The ban will delay the payments Russia gets for exports of oil and gas.
  • Major Russian banks were excluded from the UK financial system, stopping them from accessing sterling and clearing payments. Further major Russian companies and the state will be stopped from raising finance or borrowing money on UK markets
• Trade with Russia and travel
  • Curbs on products that can be sent to Russia have been announced by the UK, EU, US and others. These include dual-use goods – items that could have both a civilian and military use, such as chemicals or lasers.
  • The EU is aiming to make it impossible for Russia to upgrade its oil refineries. It is also banning the sale of aircraft and equipment to Russian airlines.
  • The US has joined the UK, EU and Canada in banning all Russian flights from its airspace.

Russia reaction 

• Russia more than doubled its key interest rate in an attempt to stem the decline of the rouble, which fell 30% against the US dollar after sanctions were introduced.
• Russia is blocking interest payments to foreign investors who hold government bonds, and banning Russian companies from paying overseas shareholders.
• Foreign investors hold tens of billions of dollars worth of Russian stocks and bonds. Russia has stopped them from selling those assets.
• The EU is worried many wealthy Russians are now converting their rouble savings into cryptocurrencies – such as Bitcoin – to get around the sanctions. However, many of the world’s largest crypto exchanges are refusing to impose a blanket ban on Russian clients.
• Russia’s foreign ministry has threatened sanctions of its own against the West. This may include reducing or shutting off gas supplies to Europe.

Impact?

• De dollarisation- lead to moving away from a single currency such as the US dollar to a broad set of alternative currencies such as Chinese yuan, Swedish krona or Singaporean dollar.
• Delay in payments and settlement of trade
• Introduction of a new Russia-China payment system, bypassing SWIFT and combining the Russian SPFS (System for Transfer of Financial Messages) with the Chinese CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System).
• Push to digital currency
• Supply chain disruption and related cost push inflation

8. The members urged the Centre to reconvene the yearly Indian Labour Convention, which was last held in 2015

Subject: Polity

Section: National Organization

Context: Discussion in RS on Working of Ministry of Labour and employment

Concept:

• The Indian Labour Conference (ILC) is the apex level tripartite consultative committee in the Ministry of Labour & Employment to advise the Government on the issues concerning working class of the country.
• As a matter of practice, and to maintain continuous dialogue with social partners, meetings of this apex body are convened once in a year to discuss the topical issues concerning labour.
• The first meeting of the Indian Labour Conference (then called Tripartite National Labour Conference) was held in 1942 and as on July 2015 a total of 46 Sessions have been held.
• ILC plays a very important role in policy formulation. For instance, the norms recommended by the Indian Labour Conference, held in 1957, are taken into account while fixing the minimum wages even now. These recommendations are as follows:
• 3 consumption units for one earner.
• Minimum food requirements of 2700 calories per average Indian adult.
• Clothing requirements of 72 yards per annum per family.
• Rent corresponding to the minimum area provided for under Government’s Industrial Housing Scheme.
• Fuel, Lighting and other miscellaneous items of expenditure to constitute 20% of the total minimum wage.
• All the 12 Central Trade Union Organisations, Central Organisations of employers, all State Governments and Union Territories and Central Ministries/Departments concerned with the agenda items, are the members of the ILC.
• Parity in number of representatives is maintained between the Employers’ and Workers’ Groups by allocation of equal number of seats to each Group.
• As recommended by the National Labour Conference held in September 17-18, 1982, only Trade Union Organisations, which have, a membership of more than five lakhs, spread over four States and four industries are given representation in the ILC.
• The Central Trade Union Organisations represented in ILC include –
• Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, (BMS)
• Indian National Trade Union Congress, (INTUC)
• All India Trade Union Congress, (AITUC)
• Hind Mazdoor Sabha,
• Centre of Indian Trade Unions, (CITU)
• All India United Trade Union Centre,
• Trade Union Coordination Centre, (TUCC)
• Self Employed Women’s Association, (SEWA)
• All India Central Council of Trade Union,
• Labour Progressive Federation,
• United Trades Union Congress,
• National Front of Indian Trade Unions. (DHN)

The Employers Organisations represented in ILC include,

• Council of Indian Employers {(Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE), Employers’ Federation of India (EFI) & All India Organisation of Employers (AIOE)},
• All India Manufacturers’ Organization(AIMO),
• Laghu Udyog Bharati (LUB),
• Confederation of Indian Industry (CII),
• Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) &
• The Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

The Government seats are determined so as to give representation to various Central Ministries, State Governments and Union Territories.

India being a founding member of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and also a permanent member of the Governing Body since 1922 as a country of Chief Industrial importance is deeply committed to provide decent quality employment to the vast workforce in accordance with the Decent Work Agenda of the ILO.

9. A massive fire broke out in the forests of the Sariska Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan Alwar district on Tuesday

Subject: Environment

Section: National Parks in news

Concept: 

• Sariska Tiger Reserve is located in Aravali hills and forms a part of the Alwar District of Rajasthan.

• The Reserve is immensely rich in flora and fauna, and is famous for Royal Bengal Tiger.
• The park has populations of leopards, Nilgai, Sambar, chital etc. It also shelters a large population of Indian peafowl, crested serpent eagles, sand grouse, golden backed woodpeckers, great Indian horned owls, tree pies, vultures, etc.
• Sariska was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and was declared the tiger reserve later in 1978, making it a part of India’s Project Tiger.
  • The Sanctuary houses ruined temples, forts, pavilions and a palace.
  • Kankarwadi fort is located in the center of the Reserve and it is said that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had imprisoned his brother Dara Shikoh at this fort in struggle for succession to the throne.
  • The Reserve also houses a famous temple of lord Hanuman at Pandupole related to Pandavas.