The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution today held a press conference regarding mandatory hallmarking of Gold jewelry & artefacts in India for which notification will be issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs providing a period of one year for implementation i.e. till January, 2021. Addressing the media, Shri Paswan said that the purpose of making hallmarking mandatory for Gold Jewelry and Artefacts is to ensure that consumers are not cheated while buying gold ornaments and get the purity as marked on the ornaments, they are better informed about the purity of Gold which will now be in only 3 caratage i.e. 14, 18 and 22 and corruption is removed.

Explaining the reasons for the one-year implementation period, Shri Paswan said that this will ensure that Jewelers registration process can be completed and jewelers/retailers get time for clearing their old/existing stock and also so that additional A&H centres can be set up by private entrepreneurs at various locations where demand arises and priority shall be given to districts where such centres are not present. As on 31st December 2019, there are 892 Assaying and Hallmarking centres spread in 234 District locations across the country and so far 28,849 jewelers have been registered by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018 were notified w.e.f. 14.06.2018. BIS is running a hallmarking scheme for gold jewelry since April 2000. The BIS Act 2016 has enabling provisions under Section 14 & Section 16 for mandatory hallmarking of Gold jewellery & artefacts by the Central Government. This will make it compulsory for all the jewellers selling Gold jewellery and artefacts to register with BIS & sell only hallmarked Gold jewellery & artefacts. The draft Quality Control Order (QCO) for mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery and gold artefacts was hosted on WTO website on 10 October 2019 for comments for a period of 60 days. No comments have been received on the draft QCO.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is celebrating its 145thFoundation Day tomorrow. With a humble beginning in 1875, the IMD has marched forward with various milestones and paradigms to serve the society. A brief on the initiatives and achievements of IMD during 2019 are given below:

RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS Observations • WMO recognized 5 observatories of IMD - Chennai (Nungambakkam), Mumbai (Colaba), Panjim, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram as a long-term observing station for more than 100 years. • 27 Doppler Weather Radars are operational across the country including one portable DWR at Sonemarg, J&K meant for Shri AmarnathjiYatra.

• 13 Radiosonde/Radio Wind stations commissioned in 2019 taking the total number from 43 to 56 stations enabled with twice a day ascents. • Three (3) Nos. transmissometer - RVR (Drishti System) installed at Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Bhubaneswar making it to a total of 44 transmissometer – RVR (Drishti System). • Preparation of realtime rainfall statistics was enhanced from 681 to 683 numbers of districts.

• New Aeronautical Meteorological Stations commissioned under RCS-UDAN Scheme. • 341 numbers of new raingauge stations are added in the District-wise Rainfall Monitoring Scheme (DRMS). • 138 District Agrometeorological Units have been established in comparison to earlier 130 units.

• Agromet Observatories have been installed at Five (5) AMFUs in Roorkee, Bhubaneswar, G. Udaigiri, Pusa and Agwanpur, thus total becoming 122. • Monthly Meteorological Register (MMR) - Online was made operational at all surface observatories w. e. f. 1stOctober, 2019. • Air Pollution Section, IMD participated in 60th and 61stLaboratory Inter-comparison programme of WMO.

Modelling & Forecasting • IMD’s North Karnataka Agro Meteorological Forecasting Centre (NKAFC) established at University of Agriculture (UAS) Dharwad (Karnataka) on 14thFebruary, 2019.

• Global Forecast System (GFS) model upgraded and run 4 times a day to generate 10 days forecast. • Regional WRF mesoscale model upgraded from 9 km to 3 km resolution. • Hurricane WRF was run as a coupled model at a resolution of 2 km in collaboration with INCOIS.

• NWP Model based gridded rainfall data (WRF & GFS) are provided operationally to CWC for their flood forecasting model. • SWIRL application Nowcasting software has been installed at 12 DWR stations. • IMD in collaboration with NCMRWF & IITM implemented Thunderstorm and Lightning Modelling and Warning System.

• Impact based forecast initiated for different severe weather events. • Two Hundred &Sixty One (261) more stations were added on Nowcast Warning Page of Newly launched IMDwebsite for issue of three hourly nowcast warnings for severe weather, thus increasing the total number to694. • Within city local forecast and nowcast initiated for 100 places.

Communication System Networks • IMD launched its new website: www.mausam.imd.gov.in for general public and Mobile App ‘MEGHDOOT’ forAgromet Advisory Services.

• In collaboration with IITM, a webpage, web application and mobile application developed for providing weatherforecast for KumbhMela during 2019 along with current weather information. • New website of Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi has been launched during 2019. • A Data Supply Portal, http://dsp.imdpune.gov.inhas been made operational for automation of activities relatedto data enquiry, retrieval and supply.

• A new Web page made operational for INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR in stagger mode. • A web-based Centralised Data Entry System (CDES) package was launched on 8thAugust, 2019 to replace theoutdated DATEN9 software. At present, 91 surface stations, 40 airports and 11 PBO Observatories started sending datathrough this system.

• Agro-Meteorological Advisory Services (AAS) bulletins are disseminated under PPP mode and through KisanPortal to about 40.2 million farmers.

Improvement in Forecast Accuracy • Significant improvement in forecast accuracy of severe weather events by 15 to 35% during the last 5 years. • All India Severe Weather forecast (24 hrs) skill for 2019 has improved as compared to that of 2002-18. The Probabilityof Detection (POD) for 2019 had been 74%,92%, 85% and 85% for heavy rainfall, heatwaves, cold waves and nowcastrespectively.

• Annual average track forecast errors in 2019 for 24, 48 and 72 hours has been 69, 104 and 149 km against the meanforecast errors during 2014-18 of 86, 132 and 177 respectively Similarly, the track forecast skills in 2019 alsoimproved substantially and were 68, 79 and 77% for 24, 48 and 72 hours against the average of 58, 70 and 74% during theperiod of 2014 to 2018. Awards and Appreciation • Dr. M. Mohapatra, DG, IMD has been elected as Member Executive Council, WMO for 2019-2023.

• National Geographic Channel aired a story on “The Mega Cyclone FANI” on 7th October, 2019 highlighting therole of IMD in early warning services for ‘FANI’. • Fascinated with the pin point accuracy of monitoring of cyclone FANI, Prince Charles visited the IMD, Delhi on 13thNovember, 2019. Dr. M. Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences and Dr. MrutyunjayMohapatra, DirectorGeneral of Meteorology, India Meteorological Department welcomed His Royal Highness Prince Charles to IMD.

• IMD earned appreciations from United Nations and Hon’ble President of India for accurate prediction ofcyclone FANI. • Appreciation letters received from the State Governments of Gujarat, West Bengal, Tripura and Odisha forexemplary services provided by the IMD.

• President of India appreciated IMD for providing accurate forecast for Independence Day celebrations of 2019. • Dr. M. Mohapatra, DG, IMD honoured with Bharat Gourav Award, 2019 by Jay Bharat Foundation and felicitatedby Chief Minister of Odisha for outstanding contribution to Disaster Management.

• Dr. M. Mohapatra DG, IMD was conferred with Fellowship of IMS & Indian Climate Congress in 2019. • Indian Meteorological Society awarded Dr. H. R. Biswas for the best research paper published in 2019 in Weather &Climate Services.

Various festivals being celebrated across the Nations: Makar Sankranti: The festival of Makar Sankranti will be celebrated in Karnataka when the Sun enters the Makar zodiac and the days begin to lengthen compared to nights.

Pongal: In South India and particularly in Tamil Nadu, it’s the festival of Pongal which is being celebrated over 4 days at harvest time. Magha Bihu: In Assam and many parts of the North East, the festival of Magha Bihu is celebrated. It sees the first harvest of the season being offered to the gods along with prayers for peace and prosperity.

Uttarayan: Gujarat celebrates it in the form of the convivial kite festival of Uttarayan. Maghi: In Punjab, Makar Sankranti is celebrated as Maghi. Bathing in a river in the early hours on Maghi is important.

Saaji: In Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh, Makara Sankranti is known as Magha Saaji. Saaji is the Pahari word for Sankranti, start of the new month. Hence this day marks the start of the month of Magha. Kicheri: The festival is known as Kicheri in Uttar Pradesh and involves ritual bathing.

Outside India: Shakrain is an annual celebration of winter in Bangladesh, observed with the flying of kites. Maghe Sankranti is a Nepalese festival observed on the first of Magh in the Bikram Samwat Hindu Solar Nepali calendar (about 14 January).

How are the cities ranked? Cities are ranked based on “Total % change, 2015-20 forecast”.

The list is based on data from the United Nations Population Division. The Economist has listed the rate at which the populations of the “urban agglomerations” (UA) are expected to increase between 2015 and 2020.

Key facts: Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kollam were the only three cities to make it to the top 10 of the world’s fastest-growing cities. Malappuram was ranked No. 1 in the world rankings with a 44.1 per cent change between 2015 and 2020. While Kozhikode was ranked fourth with 34.5 per cent change and Kollam was at number 10 with 31.1 per cent. Why then are Malappuram (44%), Kozhikode (34.5%), and Kollam (31%) growing so fast? These cities are seeing rapid urbanisation, and the main reason is the inclusion of new areas in the UA’s limits.

In 2001, there were two municipal corporations within the UA of Malappuram. In 2011, the number of municipal corporations had doubled to four, and an additional 37 CTs were included within Malappuram. The population of the UA (excluding the residents of the outgrowths) increased almost 10 times in the same period — from 1,70,409 to 16,99,060 — obviously because of the inclusion of existing urban areas in the town.

Similarly, Kollam UA grew from one municipal corporation in 2001 to 23 CTs, one municipal corporation, and one municipal council in 2011. Its population increased by 130%, even though the population of the original ST of Kollam actually decreased by 4%.

What is Commissionerate system? What are the benefits? In the commissionerate system, the Commissioner of Police (CP) is the head of a unified police command structure, is responsible for the force in the city, and is accountable to the state government. The office also has magisterial powers, including those related to regulation, control, and licensing.

The CP is drawn from the Deputy Inspector General rank or above, and is assisted by Special/Joint/Additional/Deputy Commissioners. It is supposed to allow for faster decision-making to solve complex urban-centric issues.

How and who can implement this? Under the 7th Schedule of the Constitution, ‘Police’ is under the State list, meaning individual states typically legislate and exercise control over this subject.

Where is the system in force? Previously, only four cities had the system: Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. However, with rapid urbanisation, states felt an increasing need to replicate the system in more places.

The sixth National Police Commission report, which was released in 1983, recommended the introduction of a police commissionerate system in cities with a population of 5 lakh and above, as well as in places having special conditions. Over the years, it has been extended to numerous cities, including Delhi, Pune, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. By January 2016, 53 cities had this system.

Key facts: Developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M). It will be implemented by the National Informatics Centre. The project costs ₹258 crore and is being supported by the World Bank. The system will be first piloted in the six States with highest fatalities from road crashes — Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

How it works? The IRAD mobile application will enable police personnel to enter details about a road accident, along with photos and videos, following which a unique ID will be created for the incident. Subsequently, an engineer from the Public Works Department or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile device.

He or she will then visit the accident site, examine it, and feed the required details, such as the road design. Data thus collected will be analysed by a team at IIT-M, which will then suggest if corrective measures in road design need to be taken. Road users will also be able to upload data on road accidents on a separate mobile application, which is expected to go live from April 1.

Significance and benefits: It will help in analysing causes of road crashes and in devising safety interventions to reduce such accidents in the country.

Need for this data: India sees the largest number of road fatalities in the world. More than 1.5 lakh people lost their lives in road crashes in the country in 2018, according to government data. Of the total people killed in road crashes in 2018, 48% were between 18 years and 35 years old, and more than 60% of such fatalities were due to overspeeding.

Key facts: At 182 metre, the statue is 23 metre taller than China’s Spring Temple Buddha statue and almost double the height of the Statue of Liberty (93 metre tall) in US. Located on the Sadhu Bet island, near Rajpipla on the Narmada river, the Statue of Unity is located between the Satpura and the Vindhya mountain ranges.

The Eight Wonders of the SCO are: India — the Statue of Unity. Kazakhstan — the Archaeological Landscape of Tamgaly. China — The Daming imperial palace complex. Kyrgyzstan — Lake Issyk-Kul. Pakistan — The Great Mughals’ heritage at Lahore. Russia — The Golden Ring cities. Tajikistan — The Palace of Nowruz. Uzbekistan — the Poi Kalon complex.

About the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO): It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation. It’s creation was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism. The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed during the St.Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002, and entered into force on 19 September 2003.

The SCO’s main goals are as follows: Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order. The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.

Bodies under SCO: Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO. It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation. SCO Heads of Government Council (HGC) meets once a year to discuss the organisation’s multilateral cooperation strategy and priority areas, to resolve current important economic and other cooperation issues, and also to approve the organisation’s annual budget.

The organisation has two permanent bodies — the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent. The SCO Secretary-General and the Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO RATS are appointed by the Council of Heads of State for a term of three years.

Currently: SCO comprises eight member states, namely the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the People’s Republic of China, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan;

SCO counts four observer states, namely the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Republic of Belarus, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Mongolia; SCO has six dialogue partners, namely the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, the Republic of Turkey, and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

The meeting saw participation from key regional players including Oman and India besides Afghanistan and China.

About the Initiative: The initiative is led by Iran. It aims to stabilise the Strait of Hormuz, the gateway for a significant amount of global oil supplies.

What is the Strait of Hormuz? It is the waterway separates Iran and Oman, linking the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south are the UAE and Musandam, an enclave of Oman. The Strait is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, but the shipping lane is just two miles (three km) wide in either direction.

Why does Strait of Hormuz matter? The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically important choke points. Two-thirds of the oil and half the liquefied natural gas India imports come through the strait between Iran and Oman. As much as 18 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz every day, accounting for one-third of the global oil trade. A third of the world’s LNG trade also passes through the strait.

More than 700 international participants, including 80 from African countries, are attending the meet. This year`s Dialogue is titled `Navigating the Alpha Century`.

About the Raisina Dialogue: This is an annual geo-political event, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

It is designed to explore prospects and opportunities for Asian integration as well as Asia’s integration with the larger world. It is predicated on India’s vital role in the Indian Ocean Region and how India along with its partners can build a stable regional and world order.

Participants: The conference is a multi-stakeholder, cross-sectoral meeting involving policy and decision-makers, including but not limited to Foreign, Defence and Finance Ministers of different countries, high-level government officials and policy practitioners, leading personalities from business and industry, and members of the strategic community, media and academia.

Significance of the event: The Raisina Dialogue was born in 2016, in the belief that the Asian century that the world was talking about was not about any exclusive geographical region. It was rather about the engagement of global actors with Asia and of Asia with the world. So this dialogue took birth as a platform, where the old and the new could work together, to discover their connections, their inter-dependence.

What is it? The IDA was set up on June 1, 2017 for the development of islands. The meetings of the agency are chaired by the Union Home Minister.

Composition: Members of the IDA include cabinet secretary, home secretary, secretary (environment, forests and climate change), secretary (tourism) and secretary (tribal welfare).