Cabinet Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba chaired the third meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) to review the preparedness of States and Central Ministries/Agencies to deal with the Cyclonic Storm ‘AMPHAN’.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated that the Super Cyclone is expected to impact the West Bengal coast by the afternoon/evening of 20th May. Very high wind speeds ranging up to 155-165 kmph gusting to 185 kmph are expected, accompanied by heavy rainfall and storm surges of 4-5 metres in the coastal districts of the State. Districts of East Medinipur, South & North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, and Kolkata are expected to be impacted. The damage potential of the cyclone is expected to be higher than that of Cyclone ‘Bulbul’, which hit the West Bengal Coast on 9th November 2019.
The cyclone will also bring heavy rainfall, squally winds and storm surges in the coastal districts of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak, Jajpur and Balasore in Odisha.
MOHUA announces results of Star rating of garbage free cities Posted On: 19 MAY 2020 1:51PM by PIB Delhi
Shri Hardeep S, Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs, hs informed that for the assessment year 2019-2020, a total of six cities have been certified as 5-Star (Ambikapur, Rajkot, Surat, Mysuru, Indore and Navi Mumbai), 65 cities as 3-Star and 70 cities as 1-Star. While announcing the results of the Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities, here today, Shri Puri also launched the revised protocol for the Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities at the event. The Star Rating Protocol was launched by the Ministry in January 2018 to institutionalize a mechanism for cities to achieve Garbage Free status, and to motivate cities to achieve higher degrees of cleanliness. Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs and senior officials of the Ministry were also present.
Addressing the media, the Minister said, “The importance of sanitation and effective solid waste management has been brought to the forefront now due to the COVID crisis. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the present situation could have been much worse had it not been for the critical part that SBM-U has played in the last five years to ensure a high degree of cleanliness and sanitation in urban areas. Five years ago, we introduced Swachh Survekshan (SS), the annual cleanliness survey for urban India that has proven immensely successful when it comes to improving urban cleanliness through a spirit of healthy competition. However, since it is a ranking system, several of our cities, despite doing exceptionally well, were not being recognized appropriately.
The Ministry, therefore, devised the Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities - a comprehensive framework similar to our examination systems where each ward in every city must achieve a certain standard across 24 different components of solid waste management (SWM) and is graded based on overall marks received”. He further added, “Our aim is to institutionalize as well as bring consistency and transparency when it comes to SWM. This certification is not only an acknowledgement of the clean status of Urban Local Bodies and strengthened SWM systems but also a mark of trust and reliability akin to universally known standards. Moreover, the performance of cities under the Star Rating Protocol is crucial as it carries significant weightage when it comes to their final assessment in Swachh Survekshan.”
The protocol has been devised in a holistic manner including components such as cleanliness of drains & water bodies, plastic waste management, managing construction & demolition waste, etc. which are critical drivers for achieving garbage free cities. While the key thrust of this protocol is on SWM, it also takes care of ensuring certain minimum standards of sanitation through a set of prerequisites defined in the framework.
Also present at the conference was Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary, MoHUA who added, “To ensure that the Protocol has a SMART framework, we developed a three-stage assessment process. In the first stage, ULBs populate their progress data on the portal along with supporting documents within a particular timeframe. The second stage involves a desktop assessment by a third-party agency selected and appointed by MoHUA. Claims of cities that clear the desktop assessment are then verified through independent field level observations.
In the recent phase of Star Rating Assessment, 1435 cities applied. During the assessments, 1.19 crore citizen feedbacks and over 10 lakh geo-tagged pictures were collected and 5175 solid waste processing plants were visited by 1210 field assessors. While 698 cities cleared the desktop assessment, 141 cities have been certified with Star Rating during field assessment. The low number of certifications signifies the rigorous and robust certification mechanism of the protocol”. Launching the revised protocol for the Star Rating Framework, Shri Mishra elaborated, “Our endeavor is to constantly revisit and strengthen the framework basis the feedback received from cities. The new protocol will consider ward-wise geo-mapping, monitoring of SWM value chain through ICT interventions like Swachh Nagar App and zone-wise rating in cities with population of 50 lakh+”.
Additionally, in the light of the COVID crisis, MoHUA has issued detailed guidelines to all States and cities on special cleaning of public places and collection and disposal of bio-medical waste from quarantined households. MoHUA, in the first week of April, also revised its hugely popular citizen grievance redressal platform, Swacchata App in order to enable citizens to get their COVID-related issues also redressed by their respective ULBs. Touching upon the aspect of safety and well-being of sanitation workers, the Minister added, “MoHUA has also issued an advisory in this regard which touches upon the aspect of provision of PPEs, health-check-ups and payment of regular wages to sanitation workers. I am happy to see that the services of sanitation workers are being duly recognized by authorities and citizens alike. Cities have also undertaken several other innovations to tackle COVID - some cities have been making use of drones for the sanitization of public areas while others have been making extensive use of fire tenders for the same. Cities like Ghaziabad have done commendable work in provision of food and shelter to needy. Technology has been leveraged to provide all essential services to citizens and monitor the status of Quarantined Homes.”
He added, “My Ministry is aware of the adverse impact in terms of financial stress during lockdown. A Special Micro-Credit facility for the Street Vendors to facilitate easy access is being launched to support nearly 50 lakh vendors. Similarly, to mitigate the hardships of urban migrants be it workers in manufacturing industries etc, Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (AHRCs) is being launched.”
Elaborating on the way forward for the Mission, the Minister said, “Our vision is to ensure holistic and sustainable sanitation across urban India through effective faecal sludge management through safe containment, transportation, disposal and processing along with 100% wastewater treatment in cities before discharging into water bodies, and their maximum possible reuse.
We also intend to achieve 100% scientific and resource efficient SWM based on 3R and circular economy. While we will continue our work on the fundamentals of SWM, i.e. effective collection, segregation and processing, our focus will also include bioremediation of all dumpsites, single use plastic free India and efficient construction and demolition waste management. We are confident that in the next phase of SBM – U, we will be able to make all our cities ODF+ and at least 3-Star Garbage free certified and our cities and towns will continue to set new benchmarks in Swachhata thus paving the way for a “Swachh”, “Swasth”, “Shashakt” and “Sampann” AtmaNirbhar New India.
Since its launch in 2014, Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) has made significant progress in the area of both sanitation and solid waste management. Today, 4324 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) have been declared ODF (4204 certified ODF), 1306 cities certified ODF+ and 489 cities certified ODF++. Moreover, 66 lakhs individual household toilets and over 6 lakhs community/ public toilets have been constructed/ or are under construction. In the area of solid waste management, 96% of wards have 100% door-to door collection while 65% of the total waste generated is being processed.
Students set to appear for exams by National Testing Agency can now take mock tests on their newly launched mobile app. Posted On: 19 MAY 2020 8:08PM by PIB Delhi
Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank launched a new mobile app called the ‘National Test Abhyas'. The App has been developed by NTA to enable candidates to take mock tests for upcoming exams such as JEE Main, NEET under the NTA’s purview.
The app has been launched to facilitate candidates’ access to high quality mock tests in the safety and comfort of their homes since there was a demand for making up the loss to students due to closure of educational institutions and NTA’s Test-Practice Centers (TPCs) due to the continuing lockdown.
NLDC and ERLDC of POSOCO have been nominated as the main control centres
Emergency Restoration Systems (32 at 400 kV and 24 at 765 kV) along with adequate man power have already been placed at key locations Posted On: 19 MAY 2020 7:34PM by PIB Delhi
Union Ministry of Power, Govt of India , has stated that it has put in place adequate arrangements/preparedness to handle power supply situation in the wake of forecast that Super Cyclonic Storm AMPHAN is expected make landfall tomorrow, 20.5.2020 afternoon and is likely to affect West Bengal and Odisha . Ministry of Power, Govt of India has been monitoring the situation and coordinating with all stakeholders ie State Governments and their Power Utilities ,Generators and Tansmission Companies , Grid Operators and the manufacturers for supply of materials etc.
Proud moment for Indian Railways, as it became 6th country in the world to join the elite club of producing high horse power locomotive indegenously.
It is the first time, high horse power locomotive has been operationalised on broad gauge track in the world. . The locomotive has been produced under Make in India programme.
The locomotive has made its maiden commercial run between DeenDayalUpadhaya Station to Shivpur on 18.05.2020 Manufactured by Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt. Ltd. (MELPL), locomotive operated from Pt DeenDayalUpadhyayaJn
These locomotives are state of the art IGBT based, 3 phase drive and 12000 horse power electric locomotive These high horse power locomotives will help to decongest the saturated tracks by improving average speed and loading capacity of freight trains
Since March, 2020, there has been a consistent rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in India. As of May 18, 2020, there were 96,169 confirmed cases of the infectious disease, of which 3,029 persons died. To contain the spread of COVID-19 in India, the central government imposed a nation-wide lockdown on March 24 till April 14, now extended till May 31. To ensure continued supply of agriculture produce during the lockdown and control the spread of the disease, some states have amended their respective Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) laws. This blog explains the manner in which agriculture marketing is regulated in India, steps taken by the centre for the agriculture sector during the COVID-19 crisis, and the recent amendments in the APMC laws that are being announced by various states.
How is agriculture marketing regulated in India? Agriculture falls under the State List of the Constitution. Agriculture marketing in most states is regulated by APMCs established by state governments under the respective APMC Acts. The APMCs provide infrastructure for marketing of agricultural produce, regulate sale of such produce and collect market fees from such sale, and regulate competition in agricultural marketing.
In 2017, the central government released the model Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2017 to provide states with a template to enact new legislation and bring comprehensive market reforms in the agriculture sector. The 2017 model Act aims to allow free competition, promote transparency, unify fragmented markets and facilitate flow of commodities, and encourage operation of multiple marketing channels. In November 2019, the 15th Finance Commission (Chair: Mr N. K. Singh) in its report provided that states which enact and implement all features of this Model Act will be eligible for certain financial incentives.
What steps were taken by the central government in light of COVID-19? On April 2, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare launched new features of the electronic-National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform to strengthen agriculture marketing by reducing the need of farmers to physically come to wholesale mandis for selling their harvested produce. The e-NAM platform provides for contactless remote bidding and mobile-based any time payment for which traders do not need to either visit mandis or banks. This helps in ensuring social distancing and safety in the APMC markets to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
On April 4, 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare issued an advisory to states for limiting the regulation under their APMC Acts. The advisory called for facilitating direct marketing of agricultural produce, enabling direct purchase of the produce from farmers, farmer producer organisations, cooperatives by bulk buyers, big retailers, and processors.
On May 15, 2020 the Union Finance Minister announced certain reforms for the agriculture sector of the country to reduce the impact of COVID-19 and the lockdown. Some of the major reforms include: (i) formulating a central law to ensure adequate choices to farmers to sell agricultural produce at attractive prices, barrier free inter-state trade, and framework for e-trading of agricultural produce, (ii) amending the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 to enable better price realisation for agricultural produce such as all cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onions, and potatoes, and (iii) creating a facilitative legal framework for contract farming, to enable farmers to engage directly with processors, large retailers, and exporters.
Which states have made changes to agriculture marketing laws? The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved an ordinance, and Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka have promulgated ordinances, to relax regulatory aspects of their APMC laws. These Ordinances are summarised below:
Madhya Pradesh On May 1, 2020, the Madhya Pradesh government promulgated the Madhya Pradesh Krishi Upaj Mandi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The Ordinance amends the Madhya Pradesh Krishi Upaj Mandi Act, 1972. The 1972 Act regulates the establishment of an agricultural market and marketing of notified agricultural produce. The following amendments have been made under the Ordinance:
Market yards: The 1972 Act provides that in every market area, there should be a market yard, with one or more sub-market yards, for conducting all marketing activities such as assembling, grading, storage, sale, and purchase of the produce. The Ordinance removes this provision and specifies that for every market area, there may be: (i) a principal market yard and sub-market yard managed by the APMC, (ii) a private market yard managed by a person holding a license (granted by the Director of Agriculture Marketing), and (iii) electronic trading platforms (where trading of notified produce is done electronically through internet).
Director of Agricultural Marketing: The Ordinance provides for the appointment of the Director of Agricultural Marketing by the state government. The Director will be responsible for regulating: (i) trading and connected activities for the notified agricultural produce, (ii) private market yards, and (iii) electronic trading platforms. He may also grant licenses for these activities.
Market fee: The Ordinance also provides that market fee for trading under licenses granted by the Director of Agricultural Marketing will be levied as prescribed by the state government.
Gujarat On May 6, 2020, the Gujarat government promulgated the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Markets (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The Ordinance amends the Gujarat Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1963. The amended Act is called the Gujarat Agricultural Produce and Livestock Marketing (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 1963. Key amendments made under the Ordinance are as follows:
Regulation of livestock market: The Ordinance brings the regulation of marketing of livestock such as cow, buffalo, bullock, bull, and fish under the ambit of this Act.
Unified market area: The Ordinance provides that the state government may declare the whole state as one unified market area through a notification. This can be done with the purpose of regulation of marketing of notified agricultural produce.
Unified single licence: The Ordinance provides for the grant of a single unified trading license. The license will be valid across the state in any market area. Existing trade licenses must be converted into the single unified licenses within six months from the date of commencement of the Ordinance.
Markets for conducting trading: The Ordinance allows the state government to notify any place in the market area as the principal market yard, sub-market yard, market sub-yard, or farmer consumer market yard for the regulation of marketing of notified agricultural produce. Certain places in the market area can also be declared a private market yard, a private market sub-yard, or a private farmer-consumer market yard. The Ordinance adds that the notified agricultural produce may also be sold at other places to a licence holder, if especially permitted by a market committee.
Market sub-yards: The Ordinance provides that a market area should have market-sub yards (warehouse, storage towers, cold storage enclosure buildings or such other structure or place or locality). Further, it also provides that the owner of a warehouse, silo, cold storage or such other structure or place notified as market sub-yard, may collect a market fee on notified agricultural produce. He may also collect user charge on de-notified agricultural produce transacted at the market sub-yard. The rate of the fees should not exceed the rates notified by the state government. However, no market fee shall be collected from farmers.
E-trading: The Ordinance provides for the establishment and promotion of electronic trading (e-trading) platforms. It provides that a license granted by the Director of Agricultural Marketing is necessary to establish an e-trading platform. Further, it provides that applications on the e-trading platform shall be inter-operable with other e-platforms as per specifications and standards laid down by the Director. This has been done to evolve a unified National Agricultural Market and integrate various e-platforms.
Karnataka On May 16, the Karnataka government promulgated the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The Ordinance amends the Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) Act, 1966. The 1966 Act regulates the buying and selling and the establishment of markets for agricultural produce throughout the state. Key amendments made under the Ordinance are as follows:
Markets for agricultural produce: The 1966 Act provides that no place except the market yard, market sub-yard, sub-market yard, private market yard, or farmer - consumer market yard shall be used for the trade of notified agricultural produce. The Ordinance substitutes this to provide that the market committee shall regulate the marketing of notified agricultural produce in the market yards, market sub-yards and submarket yards. Thus, the Act no longer bars any place for the trade of notified agricultural produce.
Penalty: The 1966 Act provides that whoever uses any place for purchase or sale of notified agricultural produce can be punished with imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to Rs 5,000, or both. The Ordinance removes this penalty provision from the Act.
Uttar Pradesh On May 6, the Uttar PradeshCabinet approved the Uttar Pradesh Krishi Utpadan Mandi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. According to the state’s press release, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to remove 46 fruits and vegetables from the ambit of the Uttar Pradesh Krishi Utpadan Mandi Act, 1964. The 1964 Act provides for the regulation of sale and purchase of notified agricultural produce and for the establishment and control of agricultural markets in Uttar Pradesh.
Certain fruits and vegetables exempted from the provisions of the Act: These fruits and vegetables include mango, apple, carrot, banana, and ladies’ finger. The proposed amendment aims to facilitate the purchase of these products directly from farmers from their farms. Farmers will be allowed to sell these products at the APMC mandis as well, where they will not be charged the mandi fee. Only the user charge will be levied as prescribed by the state government. As per the state government, this will entail a loss of revenue of approximately Rs 125 crore per year to the APMCs.
License: Specific licenses can be procured to carry on trade at places other than APMC markets. This will encourage the treatment of warehouses, silos, and cold storages as mandis. The owners or managers of such establishments can charge the user fee for managing the mandi. Further, unified license can be used to trade at village level.
Mother Dairy procuring an average milk volume of 2.55 lakh litres per day in Vidarbha and Marathwada region
Posted On: 19 MAY 2020 11:19AM by PIB Mumbai Nagpur, 19 May 2020
With the country fighting Covid-19 pandemic and under lockdown, availability of essentials like food and health services to the masses is crucial. While for the consumers it is important that their supplies are maintained; for farmers too, it is imperative that the value chain starting with them is up and running to market their produce even under restrictions.
Taking the initiative further in this context , Mother Dairy, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), contributed in stabilizing the dairy supply chain in Vidarbha and Marathwada Region amid Lockdown. Located in Civil Lines area of Nagpur city, Mother Dairy is extending all possible support to farmers and procuring an average milk volume of 2.55 lakh litres per day in Vidarbha and Marathwada region.
These rules provide a simple time-bound and transparent procedure for issuance of domicile certificates. The notification has been provided through an amendment of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act, 2010.
Overview of the ‘J&K Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules 2020’: Under the amended rules, eligible non-locals can also apply for the certificate. There is a timeline of 15 days for issuance of certificates. Domicile certificates have now been made a basic eligibility condition for appointment to any post under the Union Territory of J&K following the amendments in the previous Act.
To make the process transparent and time-bound, any officer not able to issue the certificate would be penalised ₹50,000. The amount would be recovered from his salary. All Permanent Resident Certificate holders and their children living outside J&K can apply for the certificates.
Kashmiri migrants living in or outside J&K can get domicile certificates by simply producing their Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC), ration card copy, voter card or any other valid document. Bonafide migrants can apply with the Relief and Rehabilitation department by providing documents like electoral rolls of 1988, proof of registration as a migrant in any State in the country or any other valid document.
Background: On March 31, 2020, the Government of India issued Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Adaptation of State Laws) order, 2020. According to the order, the domicile of a person is defined as
“A person who has resided in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for a period of 15 years or has studied in the UT for a period of 15 years and appeared in Class 10 or 12 examination in an educational institution of J&K” is considered to be a domicile of J&K.
Implications of this move: Due to the order, the West Pakistan Refugees and children of the women married outside J&K and Safai Karamcharis are now eligible to obtain domicile status.
Accepted recommendations: Speeding up road construction, Outsourcing road construction work beyond optimal capacity of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
Mandatory to adopt Engineering Procurement Contract (EPC) mode for execution of all works costing more than Rs 100 crore. Delegating enhanced procurement powers from Rs 7.5 crore to Rs 100 crore to BRO, for domestic and foreign procurements.
The land acquisition and all statutory clearances like forest and environmental clearance are also made part of approval of Detailed Project Report (DPR).
With the adoption of EPC mode of execution, it is mandatory to award work only when 90 per cent of the statutory clearances have been obtained, implementing the recommendation of CoE regarding obtaining prior clearances before the commencement of the project.
Other recommendations made by the committee and which are under implementation include: Optimization of Signals Establishments to include Radio Monitoring Companies, Corps Air Support Signal Regiments, Air Formation Signal Regiments, Composite Signal Regiments and merger of Corps Operating and Engineering Signal Regiments.
Restructuring of repair echelons in the Army to include Base Workshops, Advance Base Workshops and Static / Station Workshops in the field Army. Redeployment of Ordnance echelons to include Vehicle Depots, Ordnance Depots and Central Ordnance Depots apart from streamlining inventory control mechanisms.
Better utilization of Supply and Transportation echelons and Animal Transport Units. Closure of Military Farms and Army Postal Establishments in peace locations. Enhancement in standards for recruitment of clerical staff and drivers in the Army.
Other reforms suggested: India’s defence budget should be in the range of 2.5 to 3 per cent of the GDP, keeping in mind possible future threats. A Joint Services War College for training middle-level officers should be established.
The Military Intelligence School at Pune be converted to a tri-service intelligence training establishment.
Measures announced: A comprehensive initiative called PM e-VIDYAwill be launched which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education. This will enable multi-mode access to education, and includes:
DIKSHA (one nation-one digital platform). TV (one class-one channel) where one dedicated channel per grade for each of the classes 1 to 12 will provide access to quality educational material. SWAYAM online courses in MOOCS format for school and higher education. IITPALfor IITJEE/NEET preparation.
Air through Community radio and CBSE Shiksha Vani podcast. Study material for the differently abled developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube.
The Manodarpan initiative is being launched to provide such support through a website, a toll-free helpline, national directory of counselors, interactive chat platform, etc. This initiative will benefit all school going children in the country, along with their parents, teachers and the community of stakeholders in school education.
Expanding e-learning in higher education – by liberalizing open, distance and online education regulatory framework. Top 100 universities will start online courses. Also, online component in conventional Universities and ODL programmes will also be raised from present 20% to 40%. This will provide enhanced learning opportunities to nearly 7 crore students across different colleges and Universities.
A new National Curriculum and Pedagogical Framework for school education, teacher education and early childhood stage to prepare students and future teachers as per global benchmarks.
A National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission will be launched, for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy in Grade 3 by 202 For this, teacher capacity building, a robust curricular framework, engaging learning material – both online and offline, learning outcomes and their measurement indices, assessment techniques, tracking of learning progress, etc. will be designed to take it forward in a systematic fashion. This mission will cover the learning needs of nearly 4 crore children in the age group of 3 to 11 years.
Need for these measures: Investing in the human capital is equivalent to an investment in productivity and prosperity of the nation. The present pandemic situation has presented new challenges and several opportunities for our education system.
Overview of the deal: Mr Ghani will stay on as president. Dr Abdullah will lead peace talks with the Taliban, should they get under way.
The deal calls for Abdullah to lead the country’s National Reconciliation High Council and some members of Abdullah’s team would be included in Ghani’s Cabinet.
The Reconciliation Council has been given the authority to handle and approve all affairs related to Afghanistan’s peace process.
What’s the issue? Mr Ghani and Dr Abdullah – who both claimed victory in last September’s election – last month held rival inauguration ceremonies. The Afghan electoral commission says incumbent Ashraf Ghani narrowly won the vote, but Mr Abdullah has alleged the result is fraudulent.
Significance of the deal: The deal comes as Afghan authorities are hoping to enter peace talks with the Taliban to end years of violence. It is hoped the deal in the capital Kabul will help to maintain the balance of power that existed before last year’s disputed presidential election.
U.S.- Taliban peace deal: A peace deal between the U.S. Government and the Taliban was signed on 29 February, 2020. The deal calls for U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops to leave Afghanistan.
The deal is seen as Afghanistan’s best chance to come at peace in decades of war. Since then, the U.S. has been trying to get the Taliban and the Afghan government to begin intra-Afghan negotiations, but the political turmoil and personal hostility between Mr. Ghani and Mr. Abdullah has impeded talks.
Significance of Peace in Afghanistan for India: India has welcomed the deal. It has called for renewed efforts for establishing enduring peace and stability, and putting an end to externally-sponsored terrorism and violence in Afghanistan.
Economically, it is a gateway to the oil and mineral-rich Central Asian republics.
Afghanistan has also become the second-largest recipient of Indian foreign aid over the last five years.
Background: With the pandemic throwing both international and domestic trade and travel out of gear since earlier this year, such ‘travel bubbles’ are now being recommended to keep at least parts of the global economy afloat.
What is a travel bubble? Creating a travel bubble involves reconnecting countries or states that have shown a good level of success in containing the novel coronavirus pandemic domestically.
Such a bubble would allow the members of the group to rekindle trade ties with each other, and kickstart sectors such as travel and tourism.
How it works? In the Estonia-Latvia-Lithuania travel bubble, residents would be able to travel freely by rail, air, and sea without quarantine measures. Those wanting to enter this corridor from countries outside would first have to go into isolation for 14 days.
To be able to freely travel in the zone, one should not have travelled outside the three countries in the past 14 days, should not be infected with coronavirus, and should not have come in contact with anyone who has been coronavirus infected.
Significance and potential: Potential travel bubbles among better-performing countries around the world would account for around 35 per cent of the global GDP. Such arrangements are especially being favoured by smaller countries, who are likely to benefit after being able to trade again with larger partners.
It is a campaign launched in Madhya Pradesh for the migrant labourers passing through the state.
Under this campaign, the migrant labourers going barefoot are being providing shoes and slippers to reduce their pain.
The most notable thing is that this campaign is being conducted by the police at most places.
It is a personal stamp generally made from wood or plastic.
Small-sized and circular or square-shaped, the stamp is wet by an ink pad called ‘shuniku’, and the mark that it leaves on a document is called ‘inkan’.
It is used for authorising official documents ranging from contracts, marriage registrations and even delivery slips.
Why in News? Even in the wake of COVID 19 pandemic, the centuries-old practice is causing employees to go to their workplace, as companies prefer to keep their registered seals at the office premises for security reasons. Many are thus having to take packed trains to work, chiefly for stamping-related work.
LISA has been developed as a lung protective strategy for respiratory management and ventilation in view of the mechanical ventilation causing damage to the preterm lungs of newborns.
Infants consideredsuitable for LISA are those being managed with primary continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or high flow with the evidence of increasing respiratory distress and with a rising oxygen requirement.
The regular application of LISA would turn out to be very useful and help save the lives of premature babies.
It is an IUCN critically endangered species and one of the least known among the endemic palms of the Andaman Islands.
The name is derived from ‘Penang’, the modern-day Malaysian state. Its entire population of some 600 specimens naturally occurs only in a tiny, evergreen forest pocket in South Andaman’s Mount Harriet National Park.
Why in News? The species is finding a second home at Thiruvananthapuram-based Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI).