Various reforms/steps have been taken to enhance Defence exports. These reforms have provided a big boost to defence exports in the recent times. The authorisation for defence exports in the country have grown seven folds in the last two years. The steps taken to promote defence exports are as follows:-
Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment and Technologies (SCOMET) Category 6 titled “Munitions List” that was hitherto “Reserved” has been populated and Military Stores list notified vide Notification No.115(RE-2013)/2009-2014 dated 13th March, 2015 stands rescinded.
The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) vide Public Notice No. 4/2015-20 dated 24th April, 2017, notified Department of Defence Production (DDP) as the Licensing Authority for export items in Category 6 of SCOMET. The export of items specified in Category 6 (Munitions List) except those covered under Notes 2 & 3 of Commodity Identification Note (CIN) of the SCOMET is now governed by the Standard Operating Procedure issued by the Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence.
Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the export of munitions list items has been modified and placed on the website of the DDP.
A completely end-to-end online portal for receiving and processing authorisation permission has been developed. The applications submitted on this portal are digitally signed and the authorisation issued is also digitally signed.
In repeat orders of same product to the same entity, consultation process has been done away with and permission is issued immediately. For the repeat order of same product to different entity, the consultation earlier done with all stakeholders is now limited only with MEA.
In Intra-Company business (which is especially relevant for outsourcing of work by defence related parent company abroad to its subsidiary in India), the earlier requirement of getting End User Certificate (EUC) from the Government of importing country has been done away with and ‘Buying’ Company is authorized to issue the EUC.
The legitimate export of the parts and components of small arms and body armour for civil use are now being permitted after prior consultation with MEA.
For export of items for exhibition purposes, the requirement of consultation with stakeholders has been done way with (except for select countries). Powers have been delegated to DRDO, DGOF and CMD’s of DPSUs for exploring export opportunities and participation in global tenders.
New End User Certificate Format for Parts & Components has been provided in SOP.
Validity of Export Authorization has been increased for 02 years to date of completion of order/component whichever is later. A new provision for re-exporting parts and components for undertaking repair or rework to provide replacement for a component under warranty obligation is inserted in the SOP as a sub-classification of repeat orders.
MHA vide Notification dated 1.11.2018 has delegated its powers to this Department to issue export license under Arms Rules 2016 in Form X-A, for parts & components of small arms. With this the Department of Defence Production becomes the single point of contact for exporter for export of parts and components of Small Arms & Ammunitions.
The Government has notified the Open General Export License (OGEL) - a one time export license, which permits the industry to export specified items to specified destinations, enumerated in the OGEL, without seeking export authorisation during the validity of the OGEL.
Scheme for Promotion of Defence Exports has been notified to provide an opportunity to the prospective exporters an option to get their product certified by the Govt. and provides access to the testing infrastructure of Ministry of Defence for initial validation of the product and its subsequent field trials. The certificate can be produced by the prospective exporter for marketing their products suitably in the global market.
A separate Cell has been formed in the Department of Defence Production to co-ordinate and follow up on export related action including enquiries received from various countries and facilitate private sector and public sector companies for export promotion.
A Scheme to provide financial support to Defence Attaches for taking up actions for promoting exports of Indian made defence products both of public and private sector in the countries to which they are attached has been notified.
In May 2001, the Defence Industry sector, which was hitherto reserved for the public sector, was opened upto 100% for Indian private sector participation, with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) upto 26% both subject to licensing.
Further, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry vide Press Note No. 5(2016 Series), has allowed FDI under automatic route upto 49% and above 49% through government route wherever it is likely to result in access to modern technology or for other reasons to be recorded.
Further, FDI in defence industry sector is subject to industrial license under Industries (Development & Regulation) Act, 1951 and manufacturing of small arms and ammunition under the Arms Act, 1959.
As per the data furnished by 79 companies in Defence and Aerospace sector, so far (i.e. till December, 2019), FDI inflows of over Rs. 3155 crores have been reported in Defence and Aerospace sectors. Further, FDI inflows of over Rs. 1834 crores have been reported in Defence and Aerospace sector after 2014.
Background: The court was hearing a contempt case in connection with a civil suit on partition of a disputed property in Delhi.
What is contempt under the Indian law? In India, the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, divides contempt into civil contempt and criminal contempt.
‘Civil contempt’ is a ‘wilful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other processes of a Court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to the court’.
‘Criminal contempt’ is ‘the publication (whether by words, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise) of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which:
Scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, any court. Prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere with the due course of any judicial proceeding.
Interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any other manner.’
Need: Judiciary ensures justice and equality to every individual and institutions, therefore, the makers of the constitution upheld the sanctity and prestige of the revered institution by placing provisions under articles 129 and 215 of the constitution, which enables the courts to hold individuals in contempt if they attempt to demean or belittle their authority.
Is criticism allowed? Yes. The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, very clearly states that fair criticism of any case which has been heard and decided is not contempt.
Contempt of Courts (Amendment) Act, 2006: The statute of 1971 has been amended by the Contempt of Courts (Amendment) Act, 2006 to include the defence of truth under Section 13 of the original legislation.
Section 13 that already served to restrict the powers of the court in that they were not to hold anyone in contempt unless it would substantially interfere with the due process of justice, the amendment further states that the court must permit ‘justification by truth as a valid defence if it is satisfied that it is in public interest and the request for invoking the said defence is bona fide.’
Constitutional Background: Article 129: Grants Supreme Court the power to punish for contempt of itself.
Article 142(2): Enables the Supreme Court to investigate and punish any person for its contempt.
Article 215: Grants every High Court the power to punish for contempt of itself.
It aims at further increasing indigenous manufacturing and reducing timelines for procurement of defence equipment.
Key highlights of the draft: Indigenous Content (IC) stipulated in various categories of procurement has been increased by about 10% to support the ‘Make in India’ initiative. Leasing has been introduced as a new category for acquisition in addition to existing ‘Buy’ & ‘Make’ categories to substitute huge initial capital outlays with periodical rental payments. Here, the lessor can be both Indian as well as global.
New Category Buy (Global – Manufacture in India) has been introduced with minimum 50% indigenous content on cost basis of total contract value. There is also long-term product support — which would be three to five years after the warranty period is over.
A “price variation clause” has been introduced that will be applicable to all cases where the total cost of contract is more than Rs 1,000 crore and the delivery schedule exceeds 60 months.
Background: The first DPP was promulgated in 2002 and has since been revised a number of times to provide impetus to the growing domestic industry and achieve enhanced self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
What is DPP? The Defence Procurement Procedure mainly contains processes that needs to be followed to streamline and simplify defence procurement procedures and ultimately achieve the objective of self reliance in meeting all the security needs of the Indian Armed Forces by promoting indigenous design, development and manufacture of Defence weapon systems and, platforms in a time-bound manner without any delays.
Key features of the program: Aim: To transform 5 crore Tribal Entrepreneurs. It is supported by Ministry of MSME. It also aims at capacity building and imparting entrepreneurship skills to tribal forest produce gatherers enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri VanDhan Yojana (PMVDY).
The trainees will undergo a 30 days program over six weeks comprising 120 sessions.
The Partners will develop course contents relevant to Entrepreneurship in Value Addition and Processing of Forest Produces. The course curriculum will include Achievement Motivation and positive psychology, Entrepreneurial Competencies, Identification of locally available NTFP based Business Opportunities.
Significance of the program: It will ensure higher success rate of the Tribal Entrepreneurs by enabling and empowering them to run their business with marketable products with quality certifications.
What are Van Dhan Kendras? TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs is establishing 1,200 “Van Dhan Vikas Kendra (VDVK)”, across 28 States engaging 3.6 Lakhs Tribal Forest Produce gatherers. One typical VDVK comprises of 15 Self Help Groups, each consisting of 20 Tribal gatherers.
About Van Dhan Vikas Kendras initiative: The initiative aims to promote MFPs-centric livelihood development of tribal gatherers and artisans. It mainstreams the tribal community by promoting primary level value addition to MFP at grassroots level.
Significance: Through this initiative, the share of tribals in the value chain of Non-Timber Forest Produce is expected to rise from the present 20% to around 60%.
Implementation: The scheme will be implemented through Ministry of Tribal Affairs as Nodal Department at the Central Level and TRIFED as Nodal Agency at the National Level.
At State level, the State Nodal Agency for MFPs and the District collectors are envisaged to play a pivot role in scheme implementation at grassroot level.
Locally the Kendras are proposed to be managed by a Managing Committee (an SHG) consisting of representatives of Van Dhan SHGs in the cluster.
Huntingtin Disease
They also found that the Huntingtin clumps collect together (sequester) molecules of another protein called Orb2, which is involved in the process of protein formation.
In simple terms, Scientists have found that in a diseased person the Huntingtin protein interfered with the protein production of the cells. This is how wrong instructions are sent, mainly due to faulty protein level. They also reduced the level of protein production of a normal cell.
What is Huntingtin Disease? It is a progressive genetic disorder. It affects the brain that causes uncontrolled movements, impaired coordination of balance and movement, a decline in cognitive abilities, difficulty in concentrating and memory lapses, mood swings and personality changes.
How is it caused? It is caused by a mutation in a gene called HTT. The HTT genes are involved in the production of a protein called huntingtin.
They provide the instruction for making the protein. When the genes mutate, they provide faulty instructions leading to production of abnormal huntingtin proteins and these form into clumps.
The clumps disrupt the normal functioning of the brain cells, which eventually leads to death of neurons in the brain, resulting in Huntington disease.
About World Happiness Report: It is released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations by the UN General Assembly.
It is a landmarksurvey of the state of global happiness that ranks 156 countries by how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be.
What’s special about the 2020 report? This is the eighth World Happiness Report. The 2020 report for the first time ranks cities around the world by their subjective well-being and digs more deeply into how the social, urban and natural environments combine to affect our happiness.
How the countries are ranked? Nationally representative samples of respondents are asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10, and the worst possible life being a 0.
In the reports, experts in fields including economics, psychology, survey analysis, and national statistics, describe how measurements of well-being can be used effectively to assess the progress of nations, and other topics.
Interconnections between law, governance and happiness: Why do these connections matter? Happiness has come to be accepted as a goal of public policy. And this discourse has given a fillip to a new narrative where the interconnections between law, governance and happiness are being searched.
Experiences from several nations confirm that the countries with higher GDP and higher per capita income are not necessarily the happiest countries and there exists a link between the state of happiness and rule of law.
The WHRs, over the years, confirmed that people tend to have: Poor mental health. A low score of subjective well-being. Poor perception about the governance and law and order, despite high income levels.
Performance of various countries: Finland is the world’s happiest nation for the third year running. Nordic states dominated the top 10, along with countries such as Switzerland, New Zealand and Austria. India is at 144th
The United States heads the group of seven wealthy democracies in 2020 and Mr. Trump had been due to host fellow leaders at the presidential retreat known as Camp David in June.
The G7 summit is held by the presiding country each year. What is G7 Summit? G7 Summit is an event conducted annually where world leaders from seven powerful economies of the world come together to discuss burning issues happening around the globe.
They, by mutual understanding, also form policies or figure out remedies for the concerned issue.
What is G7? The G7, originally G8, was set up in 1975 as an informal forum bringing together the leaders of the world’s leading industrial nations.
The summit gathers leaders from the European Union (EU) and the following countries: Canada. France. Germany. Italy. Japan. the United Kingdom. the United States.
How did G7 become G8? Russia was formally inducted as a member in the group in 1998, which led G7 to become G8.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s condemnable act of moving Russian troops into eastern Ukrain and conquering Crimea in 2014 drew heavy criticism from the other G8 nations. The other nations of the group decided to suspend Russia from the G8 as a consequence of its actions and the group became G7 again in 2014.
Significance: G7 is capable of setting the global agenda because decisions taken by these major economic powers have a real impact. Thus, decisions taken at the G7 are not legally binding, but exert strong political influence.
What criticisms have been made of the G7? G7 gatherings tend to attract thousands of protesters, and it is protested by thousands every year.
Many protesters claim the G7 – which has no representative from any African, Russian or Middle Eastern nation – is completely outdated. Protest groups also use the worldwide platform as a stage to lobby and campaign on issues that are important to them.
G7 leaders are creating a wide gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ both in their countries as well as across the globe, according to a new report published by non-profit Oxfam International. As a result, they are making the fight against alleviating poverty more difficult, claimed the report.
Need of the hour: Work towards implementing tax models for the rich individuals and corporations to pay their fair share of tax. Consider how new and existing wealth taxes could be used as a tool to fight poverty and inequality.
Invest in healthcare and education and provide aid to developing countries. Work towards limiting greenhouse gas emissions down to zero well before mid-century.
Navroz is a 3,000-year-old Zoroastrian tradition, a ritual celebration that signals the start of Spring and the Persian new year.
In 1079 AD, an Iranian king named Jalaluddin Malekshah introduced the Navroz (New Year) festival to generate revenue and collect taxes from people. In India, the Parsi community, who follow Zoroastrianism, celebrate Navroz with full fervour.
What is Quorum? “Quorum“-The minimum number of members required to be present at a sitting of the House or a Committee for valid transaction of its business, which is one-tenth of the total number of members of the House, as provided under article 100(3) of the Constitution.
ICAR has launched a flagship network project National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA).
Under the provisions of Consumer Protection Act, 2019, Central Govt. is empowered to frame rules to prevent unfair trade practices in e-commerce.
A scheme on “Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS)” is being implemented w.e.f. April 2018 in all States/UTs. The main objective of the scheme is to introduce nation-wide portability of ration card holders under National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), through ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ system.
The Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) is governed under the provisions of the National Food security Act, 2013 (NFSA); which is implemented in all States/ UTs.
Under POSHAN Abhiyaan, there is also a provision of AAAA&LS (Anganwadi Workers, Anganwadi Helpers, Accredited Social Health Activist, Auxiliary Nurse and Midwives & Lady Supervisors) convergence award under which the field functionaries at ground level AAAA&LS are given award of Rs. 50,000 each.
The Ministry of Textiles is implementing converged Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana (MGBBY) for providing social security benefits like life, accidental & disability insurance coverage to handloom weavers/workers in the age group of 51-59 years across the country.