What’s the issue? Stubble burning is adversely affecting environment and public health. The problem has not been fully tackled and the adverse impacts on the air quality and consequent impacts on the citizens’ health and lives are undisputed.
What needs to be done- Supreme Court’s observations? The problem is required to be resolved by taking all such measures as are possible in the interest of public health and environment protection. Incentives could be provided to those who are not burning the stubble and disincentives for those who continue the practice.
The existing Minimum Support Price (MSP) Scheme must be so interpreted as to enable the States concerned to wholly or partly deny the benefit of MSP to those who continue to burn the crop residue. Secretary, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has also been directed to be present to “find a lasting solution.” The Central government should convene a meeting with the States.
About the National Green Tribunal (NGT): What is it? NGT has been established under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources. Ambit: The tribunal deals with matters relating to the enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property.
Members: Sanctioned strength: currently, 10 expert members and 10 judicial members (although the act allows for up to 20 of each).
Chairman: is the administrative head of the tribunal, also serves as a judicial member and is required to be a serving or retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a judge of the Supreme Court of India. Selection: Members are chosen by a selection committee (headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India) that reviews their applications and conducts interviews. The Judicial members are chosen from applicants who are serving or retired judges of High Courts.
Expert members are chosen from applicants who are either serving or retired bureaucrats not below the rank of an Additional Secretary to the Government of India (not below the rank of Principal Secretary if serving under a state government) with a minimum administrative experience of five years in dealing with environmental matters. Or, the expert members must have a doctorate in a related field.
Other facts: The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice. The Tribunal’s dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide speedy environmental justice and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the same.
Key facts: ISPRL is an Indian government-owned company mandated to store crude oil for emergency needs. ADNOC is the only foreign oil and gas company, so far, to invest by way of crude oil in India’s strategic petroleum reserves program.
Benefits of the agreement: India is an important oil market and the MoU underscores the strategic energy partnership between the UAE and India that leverages the UAE and ADNOC’s expertise and oil resources.
The agreement will allow ISPRL to explore, with ADNOC, opportunities related to the possible storage of ADNOC crude at Padur, which would help to significantly strengthen the country’s strategic petroleum reserves. It also reflects the strong bonds of cooperation between India and the UAE and provides a foundation for strengthening and expanding the strategic energy relationship between the two nations.
Background: ISPRL has already built 5.33 million tonnes of underground storage capacity at three locations – Visakhapatnam (1.33 million tonnes), Mangalore (1.5 million tonnes) and Padur (2.5 million tonnes), that can meet around 9.5 days of the country’s oil needs as per consumption data of last financial year.
In June 2018, the Union Government had announced the creation of two new reserves, a 4 million tonnes storage facility at Chandikhol in the eastern state of Odisha and an additional 2.5 million-tonne facility at Padur.
What is it? It is the world’s largest supercomputer designed to work in the same way as the human brain. It has been switched on for the first time. The newly formed million-processor-core Spiking Neural Network Architecture (SpiNNaker) machine is capable of completing more than 200 million million actions per second, with each of its chips having 100 million transistors.
What are biological neurons? The SpiNNaker machine, designed and built in The University of Manchester in the UK, can model more biological neurons in real time than any other machine on the planet. Biological neurons are basic brain cells present in the nervous system that communicate primarily by emitting ‘spikes’ of pure electro-chemical energy. Neuromorphic computing uses large scale computer systems containing electronic circuits to mimic these spikes in a machine.
What is unique about SpiNNaker? SpiNNaker is unique because, unlike traditional computers, it does not communicate by sending large amounts of information from point A to B via a standard network. Instead it mimics the massively parallel communication architecture of the brain, sending billions of small amounts of information simultaneously to thousands of different destinations.
How it works? Researchers eventually aim to model up to a billion biological neurons in real time and are now a step closer. To give an idea of scale, a mouse brain consists of around 100 million neurons and the human brain is 1,000 times bigger than that.
One billion neurons is one per cent of the scale of the human brain, which consists of just under 100 billion brain cells, or neurons, which are all highly interconnected via approximately one quadrillion synapses.
One of the fundamental uses for the supercomputer is to help neuroscientists better understand how our own brain works. It does this by running extremely large scale real-time simulations which simply aren’t possible on other machines.
For example, SpiNNaker has been used to simulate high-level real-time processing in a range of isolated brain networks. This includes an 80,000 neuron model of a segment of the cortex, the outer layer of the brain that receives and processes information from the senses.
Potential for neurological breakthroughs: It also has simulated a region of the brain called the Basal Ganglia – an area affected in Parkinson’s disease, meaning it has massive potential for neurological breakthroughs in science such as pharmaceutical testing. The power of SpiNNaker has even recently been harnessed to control a robot, the SpOmnibot. This robot uses the SpiNNaker system to interpret real-time visual information and navigate towards certain objects while ignoring others.
Key facts: The first consignment containing food and beverage had set sail from Kolkata in the last week of October. This is the first of the four multi-modal terminals being constructed on the National Waterway-1 (river Ganga) as part of the World Bank-aided Jal Marg Vikas project of the Inland Waterways Authority of India.
Benefits of container movement on inland waterways: Container cargo transport comes with several inherent advantages. Even as it reduces the handling cost, allows easier modal shift, reduces pilferages and damage, it also enables cargo owners to reduce their carbon footprints.
About Jal Marg Vikas Project: What is it? The Jal Marg Vikas Project seeks to facilitate plying of vessels with capacity of 1,500-2,000 tonnes in the Haldia- Varanasi stretch of the River Ganga. The major works being taken up under JMVP are development of fairway, Multi-Modal Terminals, strengthening of river navigation system, conservancy works, modern River Information System (RIS), Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS), night navigation facilities, modern methods of channel marking etc.
Implementation: The JMVP, which is expected to be completed by March, 2023, is being implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Bank. The project will enable commercial navigation of vessels with the capacity of 1500-2,000 tons on NW-I.
Its objective is to promote inland waterways as a cheap and environment-friendly means of transportation, especially for cargo movement. The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) is the project implementing agency.
NW 1: Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia was declared as National Waterway No.1. The NW-1 passes through Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and serves major cities and their industrial hinterlands.
Concerns: The refrigerants used for cooling are the major contributors to global warming, and if left unchecked, they could cause global temperatures to rise by 0.5 degrees Celsius. Under a business-as-usual growth trajectory, about 4.5 billion room air-conditioners are estimated to be installed by 2050 — a nearly four-fold jump from today’s installed base, with emerging economies observing a five-fold increase.
HFCs are a family of gases that are largely used in refrigerants at home and in car air-conditioners. However, they substantially worsen global warming. India, China, the United States and Europe have committed themselves to reducing the use of HFC by 85% by 2045.
In 2016, India was a signatory to a compact of 107 countries to “substantially phase” out a potent greenhouse gas, called hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), by 2045 and move to prevent a potential 0.5 C rise in global temperature by 2050.
Need for energy efficiency in the area of air- conditioning: Every one degree increase in the air-conditioner temperature setting results in saving of 6% of electricity consumed. The new campaign will result in substantial energy savings and also reduce greenhouse gas emission.
Besides, normal human body temperature is approximately 36-37 degree Celsius, but large number of commercial establishments, hotels and offices maintain temperature around 18-21 degree Celsius. This is not only uncomfortable but is actually unhealthy. Setting the temperature in the range of 18-21 degree Celsius compels people to wear warm clothing or use blankets; therefore, this is actually wastage of energy.
Efforts by government in this regard: Union Power Ministry has launched a campaign to promote energy efficiency in the area of air-conditioning. This initiative is launched on voluntary basis to increase awareness and encourage consumers to adopt the guidelines. It will save energy and reduce greenhouse gases.
Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti’: The aim of the exercise is to strengthen bilateral relations, expand maritime co-operation, enhance interoperability and exchange best practices. The exercise seeks to promote India’s solidarity with Indonesia towards ensuring good order in the maritime domain and to strengthen existing bonds between the navies of the two nations.
Context: Amnesty International has stripped Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi of its highest honour, the ‘Ambassador of Conscience’ award, over her indifference to atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against and increasing intolerance of freedom of expression.
What’s the issue? The Amnesty International, an international human rights group, named Suu Kyi as its 2009 Ambassador of Conscience Award recipient when she was still under house arrest for her opposition to Myanmar’s oppressive military. However, considering her failure to speak out and her shielding of the security forces from accountability for the violence against the Rohingya, the organisation withdrew the honour from her.
The Public Service Broadcasting Day was observed across India on November 12, 2018. The day is observed every year to commemorate the first and last visit of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi to the studio of All India Radio, Delhi in 1947.
Mahatma Gandhi had on November 12, 1947 visited the studio of All India Radio to address the displaced people from Pakistan who were temporarily settled in Kurukshetra, Haryana after the partition of the Indian subcontinent.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today met and interacted with the members of his Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). This Council renders advice on all matters related to Science, Technology and Innovation and monitors the implementation of the Prime Minister’s vision on these issues.
Members of the Council briefed the Prime Minister on various steps being taken to nurture innovation and research in key sectors of science and technology.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the fruits of science, technology and innovation must reach the common man, solve common day-to-day problems, and facilitate ease of living for the people of India. In this context, he urged the Council members to work towards establishing strong linkages between the educational institutions, R&D labs, industry and various government departments. He reiterated the need to break silos among academic and research institutions.
The Prime Minister called for development of suitable platforms and mechanisms which can identify and nurture scientific talent among schoolchildren, and link them to Atal Tinkering Labs at the district and regional level. In this context, the Prime Minister mentioned some priority areas of research such as raising agricultural income, solutions for chronic and genetic diseases such as sickle cell anaemia, waste management and cyber security.
The meeting was attended by Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister, Prof. K. VijayRaghavan, members of the Council, and senior officers of the Government of India.
The Cyclonic storm ‘GAJA’ over Westcentral and adjoining Eastcentral & South Bay of Bengal moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 12 kmph during past 06 hours and lay centred at 1130 hrs IST of today, the 13th November, 2018 over West central and adjoining East central & South Bay of Bengal near latitude 13.5°N and longitude 86.6°E, about 690 km east-northeast of Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and 790 km east-northeast of Nagappattinam (Tamil Nadu).
It is likely to move west-southwestwards and intensify further into a Severe Cyclonic Storm during next 24 hours. While moving west-southwestwards further, it is likely to weaken gradually on 15th November and cross Tamil Nadu coast between Pamban and Cuddalore as a Cyclonic Storm during 15th November afternoon.
Dr. Satya Pal Singh, Minister of State, Ministry of Human Resource Development, launched two new initiatives; Leadership for Academicians Programme (LEAP) and Annual Refresher Programme In Teaching (ARPIT) today at New Delhi. He also released information brochures of both the initiatives during the event. While addressing the gathering, Dr Satya Pal Singh said that developing good teachers is an arduous task and if teachers show enough commitment, ARPIT will go a long way in empowering the teaching faculty. Committed teachers will develop confidence and competence and must become effective communicators so that they can spread knowledge like the rays of the sun. Combining the qualities of a good teacher and an effective leader is still more daunting task but not an impossible task, the Minister said. LEAP will fulfill this critical need which will make higher education institutions perform their roles of developing better students who will be future torch bearers. A leader must talk for all generations, present and future; only then institutional growth can be achieved, Dr. Satya Pal Singh explained.
Shri Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Human Resource Development in his video message lauded these initiatives which are set to transform quality of teaching and improve leaders, thereby enhancing the quality of higher education institutions. He highlighted the need for constant updation to keep abreast of recent developments which will enrich the teaching learning experiences. Combining academic and administrative leadership is an equal requirement for those heading educational institutions and he hoped that LEAP will help in creating better higher education leaders of tomorrow. He appealed to all faculties in higher education to take benefit of these two initiatives.
The launch event was graced by Secretary (HE), Chairman UGC, Vice-Chairman AICTE and senior officials of the Department of Higher Education, UGC and AICTE. It was attended by Vice-Chancellors, Directors, heads of autonomous bodies, Project Coordinators of National Resource Centres of ARPIT and representatives of LEAP training institutions.
Shri R Subrahmanyam, Secretary (HE) stated that these two initiatives are extremely significant as they will create transformative teachers and leaders.
Prof D P Singh, Chairman, UGC in his concluding remarks assured that UGC will shortly bring out a notification recognizing ARPIT for career advancement of faculty. He urged all Vice-Chancellors and Directors to encourage their faculty across all disciplines to register and complete these refresher courses.
Leadership for Academicians Programme (LEAP) is a three weeks Flagship leadership development training programme (2 weeks domestic and one week foreign training) for second level academic functionaries in public funded higher education institutions. The main objective is to prepare second tier academic heads who are potentially likely to assume leadership roles in the future. The programme would provide senior faculty, with high academic credentials, the required leadership and managerial skills including skills of problem-solving, handling stress, team building work, conflict management, developing communication skills, understanding and coping with the complexity and challenges of governance in HEIs, financial & general administration.
The implementation of LEAP Programme will be through 15 NIRF top ranked Indian Institutions namely, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee; IIT Kanpur; NIT Trichy; Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata; Jawaharlal Nehru University; IIT (BHU); University of Delhi; Indian Institute of Technology Bombay; TISS Mumbai; University of Hyderabad ; NIEPA, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur; Jamia Milia Islamia; Banaras Hindu University and AMU.
The foreign Universities identified for the training are also within the top 100 in the world global rankings. The foreign collaborating institutions are University of Michigan; NTU Singapore; Harvard University; Purdue University, USA ; University of Chicago; University of Pennsylvania / Stanford; Monash University; London School of Economics/ Oxford University; University of Cambridge and University of Virginia, USA.
Annual Refresher Programme in Teaching (ARPIT), a major and unique initiative of online professional development of 15 lakh higher education faculty using the MOOCs platform SWAYAM. For implementing ARPIT, 75 discipline-specific institutions have been identified and notified as National Resource Centres (NRCs) in the first phase, which are tasked to prepare online training material with focus on latest developments in the discipline, new & emerging trends, pedagogical improvements and methodologies for transacting revised curriculum.
In 2018, the inaugural year itself, the NRCs are expected to cater to around 13 lakh faculty of the total 15 lakh faculty in higher education. The courses cover a diverse range of topics such as, inter alia, Indian culture & Heritage Studies, Pedagogical Innovations & Research Methodology, Latest Trends in Pedagogy and Assessment, Personal-Emotional Development and Counselling , Neural Networks and Deep Learning & Knowledge discovery, ICT in Science and Maths teaching, Innovation and Best Practices in Educational Skills, Leadership and Governance in Higher Education, Public Policy and Administration, English Language Teaching, Hindi Literature & Linguistics, Methodology of Teaching Sanskrit, Effective Creations and Innovative Researches in Medieval Gujarati Literature, Tribal and Regional languages, Urdu, French Studies, Tools, techniques and experiments in Earth Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Zoology, Chemistry, Physics, Biotechnology , Biomechanics, Marine Science, Calculus, Real Time Power Analysis and Smart Grid, Civil Infrastructure for Smart City Development, Engineering Mechanics, Design Spectrum, DIY Manufacturing Technology, Advanced Concepts in Fluid Mechanics, Energy Systems Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, Physics of Semiconductors and Devices, Internet of Things, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Electrical Engineering, Bio-Medical engineering, Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Sciences, Chemical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Political Science, Economics, Psychology, Development Perspectives in Agriculture, Gender/Women's studies, Law, Disaster Management, Climate change, Library & Information Science, Ethics, Human Rights and Environment , Social and Rural Development, Anthropology etc. Currently, registrations are open for the online refresher courses on SWAYAM platform, https://swayam.gov.in/courses/public
The course is a 40 hour module with 20 hours of video content and 20 hours of non-video content. They are offered in a highly flexible format and can be done at one’s own pace and time. There are built-in assessment exercises and activities as part of the academic progression in the course. At the end of the course, they will be a terminal assessment which can be either online or a written examination. All faculties who have successfully completed the online refresher course will be certified. The courses will remain open from 1st November, 2018 to 28th February, 2019. All in-service teachers, irrespective of their subject and seniority are requested to register and complete these refresher courses which will help them in career advancement.
NRCs are located in a mixed range of institutions such as, Central Universities, IISc, IUCAA, IITs, IISERs, NITs, State Universities under the Ministry’s Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT); UGC’s Human Resource Development Centres (HRDCs), National Institutes for Technical Teachers Training (NITTTRs), IIITs and IGNOU.
Out of 75 institutions, already 68 have uploaded their courses and started registering the teachers. Till now, more than 30,000 teachers have enrolled to obtain online professional development training. Necessary regulations will be taken out by UGC, recognising the MOOCs based online refresher training of teachers for the CAS (Career Advancement Scheme). The production of MOOCs courses by the teachers is also recognised for the CAS. This is expected to be a major incentive for the higher education faculty to undergo training through MOOCs courses and also to produce MOOCs courses.
ARPIT will be an ongoing exercise so that every year NRCs will continuously develop new refresher module in their earmarked discipline each year. The training materials will be uploaded and made available through SWAYAM. NRC will publish the list of the faculty who have been certified. The NRCs will revolutionize professional development of faculty by catering to massive numbers by leveraging ICT and online technology platform of SWAYAM.
The joint military exercise between Indian and Russia EXERCISE INDRA 2018 on combating insurgency under the aegis of United Nations (UN) is being conducted at Babina Field Firing Ranges, Babina Military Station from 18 November 2018. Company sized contingents of the 5th Army of the Russian Federation and a Mechanised Infantry Battalion of Republic of India will participate in the training exercise spanning for eleven days including induction and de-induction of the Russian contingent. The training will be supervised by a joint directing panel comprising of senior officials of both the national contingents.
The aim of the exercise is to practice joint planning and conduct to enhance interoperability of the two Armies in the peace keeping/ enforcement environment under the aegis of the UN. It focuses upon training on enhancing team building, special tactical level operations such as Cordon and Search, house intervention, handling and neutralisation of Improvised Explosive Devices and integrated employment of force multipliers. The primary focus of the tactical field exercise is to share best practices amongst the militaries and hone existing skills of the troops in the backdrop of interoperability between the two Armies in the peace keeping/ enforcement environment. The topics chosen for the exercise are both live and contemporary affecting both the nation alike.
The tenth exercise in the series of Exercise INDRA is aimed at sending a strong message to the world with an intent of appreciation of interoperability between Indian and Russian Armies for joint tactical level operations in the peace keeping / enforcement environment under the aegis of UN.
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, in consultation with National Institute of Wind Energy Chennai, has prepared a draft of new Scheme called Indian Wind Turbine Certification Scheme (IWTCS) incorporating various guidelinesTurbine Certification Scheme (IWTCS).
The IWTCS is a consolidation of relevant National and International Standards (IS/IEC/IEEE), Technical Regulations and requirements issued by Central Electricity Authority (CEA), guidelines issued by MNRE and other international guidelines. It has also strived to incorporate various best practices from other countries to ensure the quality of the wind energy projects.
The draft Scheme enlists the guidelines for the benefit of all the stakeholders from concept to lifetime of wind turbine, including Indian Type Approved Model (ITAM), Indian Type Certification Scheme (ITCS), Wind Farm Project Certification Scheme (WFPCS) and Wind Turbine Safety & Performance Certification Scheme (WTSPCS).
The IWTCS is envisaged to assist and facilitate the following stakeholders; (i.) Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) (ii.) End Users -Utilities, SNAs, Developers, IPPs, Owners, Authorities, Investors and Insurers (iii.) Certification Bodies (iv.) Testing Laboratories
Wind energy has matured over the decades to be the mainstream source of renewable power generation in India. The steady growth of the sector has seen different types of wind turbines with diverse performance and safety criteria. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India through various policies and schemes has facilitated the healthy and orderly growth of the wind energy sector. The guideline for the recognition of the certification schemes in India by MNRE was paramount for the success of quality wind turbines installed in India. The successful evaluation under the recognised schemes resulted in the wind turbines being listed in the Revised List of Models and Manufacturers (RLMM). This listing has resulted in stakeholders having confidence on the quality of the wind turbines offered by various manufacturers in India.Wind sector in India is growing at a rapid pace with increased utilization of wind energy for the power development. The modern wind turbines have higher hub heights, larger rotor diameter, higher capacity and improved Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF) along with technological improvements. Under these developments, there is a need for comprehensive document which provides the complete technical requirements which shall have to be complied by the wind turbines for the safe and reliable operation by all the stakeholders viz, OEMs, Independent Power Producers (IPPs), wind farm developers, Financial Institutions, Utilities and others. Also, there is a need for technical regulations which shall facilitate common ground for OEMs, Developers, Investors and Financial Institution for systematic development.
Type Certification of wind turbines plays an active role in ensuring that wind turbines in India meet the requirements of requisite IS/IEC/IECRE standards in vogue. Internationally, IEC /IECRE Certification schemes for wind turbines are well recognized and widely used and the IWTCS in its formulation has incorporated the rules and procedures of IS/IEC/IECRE.
DG, WIPO addressing Press Conference in New Delhi The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is hosting a conference on Global Digital Content Market (GDCM)2018, on14th- 15thNovember 2018, in New Delhi.The conference will feature sessions on music, film, broadcasting and publishing, as well as collective management, emerging models and the implications for the market and policy makers.
India has been chosen as a host nation for the conference byWorld Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO) due to the strong creative industry in the country in films, music and media. The focus for this year’s conference is the Asia Pacific region. The GDCM 2018 will see participation of professionals from various creative fields, the digital industry around the world and delegates of the diplomatic community from Missions to the United Nations.
The aim of GDCM 2018 is to give industry stakeholders a platform to come together and discuss new avenues in the films, music, gaming and creative industry along with points of challenge that is presented due to thechanging creative landscape because of the disruption brought about by digital technologies.It is hoped that through the GDCM 2018 an exchange of knowledge, culture and good practices amongst the nations of the Asia Pacific region will take place.GDCM is a platform to discuss vital issues and enhance development of the digital and IP generating industries such as publishing, films, music, and gaming all of which are major contributors to the Indian GDP. The presence of key stakeholders from India in GDCM will place it on the global digital stage.
GDCM 2018 is the second edition of the conference.The first conference was held in Geneva 2016. Speaking at a press conference today in New Delhi, Mr. Francis Gurry, the Director General of World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Geneva, said that the aim of WIPO is to ensure that a creative artist continues to be protected and receives better remuneration on the digital platform. He appreciated India’s efforts of integration with international systems through the National IPR policy 2016 under which the Government of India has taken efforts for creating an environment in the country that is conducive for the generation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) by increasingawareness among the citizens on the subject and strengthening IPR enforcementmechanisms.
Secretary DIPP, Ramesh Abhishek, informed in the press conference that India’s rank in the Global Innovation Index 2018 has improved by 24 places from that of 2015 and now ranks 57th. India is the top-ranked economy in Central and Southern Asia and has now outperformed on innovation relative to its GDP per capita for seven years in a row.
Secretary DIPP further stated that to better equip the enforcement agencies to deal with IP related crimes 33 enforcement training programmes have already been conducted in 9 states in order to train police, customs and the judiciary for tackling cases on IP. Government has also pulled down 80 rogue websites to combat online piracy. India has recently approvedaccession to the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) and WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) that has increased the coverage of protection of copyrights in the international IP regime as it is extended to even the internet and digital environment. This will bring the Indian creative industry under and international copyright system, secure distribution of their work and provide them with a level playing field.
Secretary DIPP also informed that large scale augmentation of man power of Indian IP offices has been done which has brought down pendency of IP applications. Trademark registration has increased by leaps and bounds and patent applications have quadrupled in 2017-18 as compared to 2015-16. These efforts are being made to ensure that the country moves towards realizing the goals of Creative India; Innovative India.