UPSC PIB NEWS

2021-05-06 12:58:41 Central Revenues Control Laboratory (CRCL)

Established in 1939, CRCL is the headquarters of 14 Revenue Laboratories, including 2 laboratories working at Government Opium & Alkaloid Works, Ghazipur & Neemuch.

CRCL is a subordinate office under the control of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, GOI.

Read more about the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in PIB dated Nov 7, 2019 under the headline, ‘DIN System of CBIC’.

Laboratories under the CRCL assist in the field formations in chemical analysis of samples of various trade commodities to enable appropriate assessment of duties.

These laboratories also assist in the enforcement of Customs Act, NDPS Act, GST Laws, Central Excise Act and other allied Acts including for the purpose of environment protection, food safety, etc.


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2021-05-06 12:58:39 India Science Research Fellowship (ISRF) 2021

As a part of India’s initiatives to engage with neighbouring countries to develop Science and Technology partnerships, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has launched the ISRF Programme for Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand researchers to work in Indian universities and research institutions. 

Launched in 2015, about 128 fellows from these countries have been awarded the fellowship under this programme.

The ISRF programme has provided an opportunity for young researchers from neighbouring countries to get access to the state of art facilities available in the Indian institutes/universities


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2021-05-05 14:32:46  #FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge

MeitY announces #FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge to accelerate adoption of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Government.

Background:

◆ India is well positioned to become a vibrant hub for Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) innovations, due to the large number of 4G data subscribers in India, 96% of whom access the digital world via open-source based mobile operating systems (primarily Android).

◆ Some of India’s largest-government projects (including Aadhaar) and many technology start-ups have also been built using FOSS.

◆ Acknowledging the huge potential of FOSS, the Government of India had issued a Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software in 2015.

What’s in News?

◆ To increase awareness about the usage of FOSS in governance and government functioning, and adoption of FOSS, a virtual roundtable discussion ‘Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Government’ was organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) in collaboration with Omidyar Network India in April 2021.

◆ The Ministry also announced a #FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge to accelerate adoption of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Government.

What is the #FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge?

◆ The #FOSS4GOVInnovation Challenge calls upon FOSS innovators, technology entrepreneurs and Indian Startups to submit implementable open source product innovations in CRM and ERP with possible applications for Govtech in Health, Education, Agriculture, Urban Governance, etc.

◆ This is a challenge for local developers to create open-source customer relationship management and enterprise resource management software worthy of use by Indian government agencies.

◆ Participants are eligible for incubation support, prize money, mentorship by domain experts, institutional support from eminent organizations for incubation of ideas and listing of solutions on GeM.

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2021-05-05 12:32:34 Topic- stubble buming and air pollution

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2021-05-05 10:17:16 Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH)

Fifth session of Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs under the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

About Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH):

◆ The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) is responsible for elaborating standards for spices and culinary herbs in their dried and dehydrated state in whole, ground, and cracked or crushed form.

◆ The Committee was established at the 36th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in July 2013.

◆ India is the host country and the Spices Board is the Secretariat for organising the sessions of the committee.

◆ Since its inception, the Codex Committee has been successful in developing harmonised global Codex standards for spices and herbs.

◆ In its past four sessions, the committee developed and finalized standards for four spices, viz. dried or dehydrated forms of black/white/green pepper, cumin, thyme, and garlic.

Codex Alimentarius Commission:

◆ Set up in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body established jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.

Codex Alimentarius:

◆ The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of internationally adopted food standards and related texts presented in a uniform manner.

◆ These food standards and related texts aim at protecting consumers’ health and ensuring fair practices in the food trade.

◆ The publication of the Codex Alimentarius is intended to guide and promote the elaboration and establishment of definitions and requirements for foods to assist in their harmonization and in doing so to facilitate international trade.

◆ The Codex Alimentarius includes standards for all the principal foods, whether processed, semi-processed or raw, for distribution to the consumer.

◆ It includes provisions in respect of food hygiene, food additives, residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs, contaminants, labelling and presentation, methods of analysis and sampling, and import and export inspection and certification.

◆ Codex standards and related texts are not a substitute for, or alternative to national legislation. Every country’s laws and administrative procedures contain provisions with which it is essential to comply.

◆ The Commission has 189 members including the European Union.

◆ India is a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission since 1964.


#GS3


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2021-05-04 18:33:10 Minimising loss during glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF)

An IIT Kanpur strategy put forth a strategy to reduce loss of lives during glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF).

Details:

◆ According to the study, satellite-based real-time monitoring of Himalayan glacial catchments would improve understanding of flood risk in the region and help inform an early flood warning system that could help curb disaster and save human lives.

◆ The study has been carried out by scientists from IIT Kanpur with support from the Department of Science & Technology.

◆ The IIT Kanpur team suggests that efforts to help mitigate GLOF events in the future should include the creation of a network of satellite-based monitoring stations that could provide in situ and real-time data on GLOF risk.

Background:

◆ Temperature and the numbers of extreme rainfall events are rising at an increased rate because of climate change.

◆ Suitably called Earth’s “Third Pole”, the Himalayan region is home to the largest ice mass outside of the planet’s Polar Regions.

◆ The glaciers in the Himalayas are melting at a faster rate creating new lakes and expanding the existing ones.

◆ Besides, the rising temperatures and extreme precipitation events make the region increasingly prone to a variety of natural hazards, including devastating glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

◆ GLOFs occur when either a natural dam containing a glacial lake bursts or when the lake’s level suddenly increases and overflows its banks, leading to catastrophic downstream destruction.

◆ With climate change, these events are likely to increase in frequency and magnitude throughout the Himalayas.

#GS3

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2021-05-04 16:31:14 National climate vulnerability assessment

National climate vulnerability assessment released.

Details of the Report:

◆ The report is titled ‘Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India Using a Common Framework’.

◆ It identifies the most vulnerable states and districts in India with respect to current climate risk and key drivers of vulnerability.

◆ The report has been submitted by the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi and the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.

Key findings of the vulnerability assessment:

◆ Based on an all-India assessment, this report identifies the most vulnerable states and districts in India with respect to current climate risk and the main drivers of vulnerability. 

◆ The states with a relatively high vulnerability, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, and West Bengal, are mostly in the eastern part of the country, requiring prioritisation of adaptation interventions. 

◆ Assam, Bihar, and Jharkhand have over 60% of districts in the category of highly vulnerable districts. 

Significance of the report:

◆ The vulnerability assessment can assist in ranking and identification of the most vulnerable districts and states and help states prioritise adaptation planning and investments.

◆ It is critical for developing adaptation projects for the Green Climate Fund, Adaptation Fund, and funds from multilateral and bilateral agencies.

◆ It will also facilitate Nationally Determined Contributions, which aims to adapt better to climate change by enhancing investments in development programmes in sectors vulnerable to climate change, particularly agriculture, water resources, health sector and regions such as the Himalayan region, coastal regions, etc. 

◆ It may also aid to plan disaster management.

#GS3

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2021-05-04 12:54:19 INSACOG

The Indian Genomic Consortium has so far processed more than 13,000 samples for Genome Sequencing.

Details:

◆ The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) is a network of ten laboratories established in December 2020 for continuously monitoring the genomic changes of SARS-CoV-2 in India, through Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS).

◆ As per the INSACOG guidelines, positive samples are sourced for Whole Genome Sequencing from:

● International travellers who are positive by RT-PCR.

● Community samples are coordinated by State Surveillance Officers who facilitate transfer of samples from districts/labs to the designated INSACOG labs. All states have been mapped to specific INSACOG labs.

● Samples from districts reporting exponential surge.

◆ The 10 identified laboratories of INSACOG Consortium report their sequencing results to Central Surveillance unit of National Centre for Diseases Control [NCDC] from where it is shared with the State Surveillance Units (SSUs) of IDSP by the Central Surveillance Unit (CSU).

Background:

◆ The Covid-19 virus has been mutating and various mutations have been found in many countries as well as in India, these include UK (17 mutations), Brazil (17 mutations), and South Africa (12 mutations) variants.

◆ These variants have higher transmissibility.

◆ The UK Variant has been found extensively in the UK, all across Europe and has spread to Asia and America.

◆ The Double mutation (2 mutations) is another variant and has been found in several countries like Australia, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, USA. Higher transmissibility of this variant is not established as yet.

◆ The RT PCR tests being used in India do not miss these mutations as the RTPCR tests being used in India target more than two genes.

#GS3

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2021-05-04 05:30:06 India Energy Dashboards

The India Energy Dashboards Version 2.0 was launched by NITI Aayog.

About India Energy Dashboards:

◆ India Energy Dashboards (IED) is an endeavour to provide single-window access to the energy data for the country.

◆ Energy data published/provided by Central Electricity Authority, Coal Controller’s Organisation, and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is compiled in the Dashboards.

◆ NITI Aayog had launched the Version 1.0 in 2017.

The features of version 2.0 are:

◆ Provides time series data from FY 2005-06 until FY 2019-20.

◆ Enables easy downloading of data into convenient spreadsheet formats in a cleaner, more intuitive way.

◆ Provides data at sub-yearly frequencies as well.

◆ API linked data from Saubhagya, UJALA, PRAAPTI, and Vidyut PRAVAH has been incorporated in the portal.

◆ A ‘Feedback and Suggestions’ forum for the engagement of energy data user community has been incorporated.

◆ There is a semi-automated workflow/issue-tracking system for managing periodic updates to the IED.

◆ The portal is public, free of cost, and doesn’t require login credentials to access the data.

Background:

◆ Reliable, robust and validated data are critical for informed planning, policy development and investment decision.

◆ Energy projections are key as the country moves ahead to build a sustainable tomorrow.

◆ India has five energy ministries and multiple energy-consuming sectoral ministries.

◆ India can no longer afford to operate in a siloed energy data paradigm and it is in this context that the NITI Aayog has come up with the dashboard.

#GS3


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2021-05-03 17:37:02 Leaders’ Summit on Climate 2021

Prime Minister addressed the Leaders’ Summit on Climate 2021.

About the Leaders’ Summit on Climate 2021:

◆ US President Joe Biden hosted a virtual meeting of world leaders titled ‘Leaders’ Summit on Climate’ on the occasion of Earth Day (22nd April).

◆ It is a two-day conference and is touted by some as a precursor to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) that will take place later this year in Glasglow.

◆ The summit is supposed to “galvanise efforts by the major economies to tackle the climate crisis” and “underscore the urgency – and the economic benefits – of stronger climate action.”

◆ The conference is streamed live and available for the public to witness.

Objectives of the summit:

◆ Get the world’s major economies to reduce emission in this decade while also getting the public and private sector involvement.

◆ Show how climate action can have economic and social benefits. Build new businesses and industries.

◆ Using the technology available to adapt to climate change but also reduce emissions. Use nature-based solutions to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

◆ Protect lives and livelihoods by finding ways to adapt to climate change.

◆ The US is also seeking to “reconvene the US-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate” that was started by former President Barack Obama in 2009.

◆ Biden had invited 40 leaders for the summit including PM Modi of India.

◆ China, Russia, Japan, the UK are attending, among others.

#GS3

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