Government has created Indian National Space, Promotion &Authorization Centre (INSPACe), under Department of Space to encourage, promote and hand hold the private sector for their participation in Space Sector. Private players will also be able to use ISRO infrastructure through INSPACe.The decision of Government was conveyed to the Members of the scientific community elaborately, and scientific community welcomed the Government decision.

The role of New Space India Limited (NSIL) in the post reformed space sector would be to build launch vehicles, providing launch services, build satellites, providing space based services, technology transfers, etc.

Farmers will now have freedom for direct marketing of their produce and will be able to get better prices, MSP procurement system will continue, consumers will also benefit - Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar

The reforms will accelerate agricultural growth through private sector investment in building agricultural infrastructure and supply chains for Indian farm produce in national and global markets, create employment opportunities and strengthen the economy Posted On: 17 SEP 2020 9:50PM by PIB Delhi

Two bills aimed at transforming agriculture in the country and raising farmers’ income were passed by Lok Sabha today. The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 and The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 were introduced in Lok Sabha on 14th September 2020 by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, to replace ordinances promulgated on 5th June 2020.

Replying to the discussion on the Bills before they were passed by the Lok Sabha today, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that the Government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is fully committed to the welfare of Gaon-Garib-Kisan. He reassured emphatically that while farmers will now be freed from the restrictions of having to sell their produce at designated places only, the procurement at Minimum Support Price will continue and mandis established under State laws will also continue to operate. The Union Agriculture Minister said that these legislations will bring about revolutionary transformation and transparency in the agriculture sector, electronic trading will increase, there will be accelerated agricultural growth as private investment will be attracted in building supply chains and agricultural infrastructure, new employment opportunities will be created and rural economy will get a boost, which will in turn help to strengthen the national economy.

The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for the creation of an ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of farmers' produce which facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels to promote efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-State and intra-State trade and commerce of farmers' produce outside physical premises of markets or deemed markets notified under various State agricultural produce market legislations; to provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Background Farmers in India suffered from various restrictions in marketing their produce. There were restrictions for farmers in selling agri-produce outside the notified APMC market yards. The farmers were also restricted to sell the produce only to registered licensees of the State Governments. Further, barriers existed in free flow of agriculture produce between various States owing to the prevalence of various APMC legislations enacted by the State Governments.

Benefits The new legislation will create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders will enjoy freedom of choice of sale and purchase of agri-produce. It will also promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade and commerce outside the physical premises of markets notified under State Agricultural Produce Marketing legislations. This is a historic-step in unlocking the vastly regulated agriculture markets in the country.

It will open more choices for the farmer, reduce marketing costs for the farmers and help them in getting better prices. It will also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices and consumers of regions with shortages, lower prices. The Bill also proposes an electronic trading in transaction platform for ensuring a seamless trade electronically.

The farmers will not be charged any cess or levy for sale of their produce under this Act. Further there will be a separate dispute resolution mechanism for the farmers.

One India, One Agriculture Market The Bill basically aims at creating additional trading opportunities outside the APMC market yards to help farmers get remunerative prices due to additional competition. This will supplement the existing MSP procurement system which is providing stable income to farmers.

It will certainly pave the way for creating One India, One Agriculture Market and will lay the foundation for ensuring golden harvests for our hard working farmers.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework in a fair and transparent manner and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Background Indian Agriculture is characterized by fragmentation due to small holding sizes and has certain weaknesses such as weather dependence, production uncertainties and market unpredictability. This makes agriculture risky and inefficient in respect of both input & output management.

Benefits The new legislation will empower farmers for engaging with processors, wholesalers, aggregators, wholesalers, large retailers, exporters etc., on a level playing field without any fear of exploitation. It will transfer the risk of market unpredictability from the farmer to the sponsor and also enable the farmer to access modern technology and better inputs. It will reduce cost of marketing and improve income of farmers.

This legislation will act as a catalyst to attract private sector investment for building supply chains for supply of Indian farm produce to national and global markets, and in agricultural infrastructure. Farmers will get access to technology and advice for high value agriculture and get ready market for such produce.

Farmers will engage in direct marketing thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realization of price. Farmers have been provided adequate protection. Sale, lease or mortgage of farmers’ land is totally prohibited and farmers’ land is also protected against any recovery. Effective dispute resolution mechanism has been provided for with clear time lines for redressal.

The National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building (‘NPCSCB’) – “Mission Karmayogi” has been launched with the objective of enhancing governance through Civil Service Capacity Building.Mission Karmayogi will have the following six pillars:-

(i) Policy Framework, (ii) Institutional Framework, (iii) Competency Framework,

(iv) Digital Learning Framework (Integrated Government Online Training Karmayogi Platform (iGOT-Karmayogi), (v) electronic Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS), and (vi) Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

For implementation and monitoring of the programme, following institutional framework has been approved: (i) Prime Minister’s Public Human Resource Council (PMHRC): A Council under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister is conceived to be the apex body for driving and providing strategic direction to civil service reforms and capacity building.

(ii) Cabinet Secretariat Coordination Unit: It will monitor the implementation of NPCSCB, align stakeholders and provide mechanism for overseeing capacity building plans.

(iii) Capacity Building Commission– It will be set up for functional supervision of training institutions and facilitate in preparation of annual capacity building plans.

(iv) Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV, an autonomous company) under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 – It will own and operate all the digital assets created for NPCSCB on behalf of the Government of India. (v) Programme Management Unit (PMU) - It will provide Program Management and Support services to the Department.

The training of Civil Servants at various Academies will be restructured to include optimum use of the digital learning platform of iGOT.

It is the endeavor of the Government to save and develop the handloom sector in the country. Keeping this in view, the Government of India is implementing the following schemes across the country for development of handloom sector and welfare of handloom weavers: -

National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP) Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) Handloom Weavers’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (HWCWS) Yarn Supply Scheme (YSS)

Under the above schemes, financial assistance is provided for raw materials, purchase of looms and accessories, design innovation, product diversification, infrastructure development, skill upgradation, lighting units, marketing of handloom products and loan at concessional rates.

1. National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP) Block Level Cluster: Introduced in 2015-16 as one of the components of National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP). Financial assistance upto Rs. 2.00 crore per BLC for various interventions such as skill upgradation, Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata, product development, construction of workshed, project management cost, design development, setting up of common facility centre (CFC) etc. is provided. Besides, financial assistance upto Rs. 50.00 lakh is also available for setting up of one dye house at district level. The proposals are recommended by the State Government.

Handloom Marketing Assistance is one of the components of National Handloom Development Programme. In order to provide marketing platform to the handloom agencies/weavers to sell their products directly to the consumers, financial assistance is provided to the States/eligible handloom agencies for organizing marketing events in domestic as well as overseas markets.

Weaver MUDRA Scheme: Under the Weaver MUDRA Scheme, credit at concessional interest rate of 6% is provided to the handloom weavers. Margin money assistance to a maximum of Rs. 10,000 per weaver and credit guarantee for a period of 3 years is also provided. MUDRA Portal has been developed in association with Punjab National Bank to cut down delay in disbursement of funds for margin money and interest subvention.

HATHKARGHA SAMVARDHAN SAHAYATA (HSS): Hathkargha Samvardhan Sahayata (HSS) was introduced on 1st December 2016 with an objective to provide looms/accessories to the weavers to enhance their earnings through improved productivity and quality of the handloom products. Under the scheme, 90% of the cost of loom/accessory is borne by the Government of India while remaining 10% is borne by the beneficiary. The Government of India’s share is released to the supplier through Weavers’ Service Centre.

EDUCATION OF HANDLOOM WEAVERS AND THEIR CHILDREN: Ministry of Textiles has signed Memorandums of Understanding with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) to secure educational facilities for the weavers and their families. NIOS offers Secondary and Senior Secondary level education with specialized subjects on design, marketing, business development, etc. through distance learning mode for handloom weavers, whereas IGNOU offers continuing education programs through accessible and flexible learning opportunities relevant to the aspirations of handloom weavers and their children for career progression.

The programme envisages reimbursement of 75% of the fee towards admission to NIOS/IGNOU courses in case of SC, ST, BPL, and Women learners belonging to handloom weavers’ families.

“India Handloom” Brand- During the celebration of 7th August 2015 as National Handloom Day, ‘India Handloom’ Brand was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister for branding of high quality handloom products. It promotes production of niche handloom products with high quality, authentic traditional designs with zero defect and zero effect on environment. Since its launch, 1590 registrations have been issued under 184 product categories and sale of Rs. 926.23 crore has been generated.

Initiatives with various leading brands has been undertaken to bring out a separate range of handloom garments in their brand.

E-COMMERCE- In order to promote e-marketing of handloom products, a policy frame work was designed and under which any willing e-commerce platform with good track record can participate in online marketing of handloom products. Accordingly, 23 e-commerce entities have been engaged for on-line marketing of handloom products. A total sales of Rs. 110.46 crore has been reported through the online portal.

URBAN HAATS are set up in the big towns/metropolitan cities to provide adequate direct marketing facilities to the craft persons/weavers and eliminate middle agencies. 39 such Urban Haats have been sanctioned across the country so far.

2. Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme: The Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme (CHCDS) is targeted at development of Mega Handloom Clusters in clearly identifiable geographical locations covering atleast 15000 handlooms with the Government of India (GoI) contribution upto Rs.40 crore per cluster over a period of 5 years. Components such as conducting diagnostic study, corpus for raw material, etc., are fully funded by the Government of India (GoI) whereas components like lighting units, technological up-gradation of looms and accessories are 90% funded by the GoI. Other components such as creation of infrastructure for design studio/ marketing complex/garmenting unit, marketing development, assistance for exports and publicity are 80% funded by the GoI. 08 Mega Handloom Clusters viz. Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Sivasagar (Assam), Virudhunagar(Tamil Nadu), Murshidabad (West Bengal), Prakasam & Guntur districts (Andhra Pradesh), Godda & neighbouring districts (Jharkhand), Bhagalpur (Bihar) and Trichy (Tamil Nadu) have been taken up for development.

3. Handloom Weavers’ Comprehensive Welfare Scheme Weavers Comprehensive Welfare Scheme (HWCWS) is providing life, accidental and disability insurance coverage under the components Pradhan Mantri Jivan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Converged Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana (MGBBY).

4. Yarn Supply Scheme: Yarn Supply Scheme is being implemented throughout the country to make available all types of yarn at Mill Gate Price. The scheme is being implemented through National Handloom Development Corporation. Under the Scheme freight is reimbursed and depot operating charges @2% is given to depot operating agencies. A component of 10% price subsidy also exists on hank yarn, which is applicable on cotton, domestic silk, wool and linen yarn with quantity caps.

Textile Sector in India provides largest source of employment in the country with over 4.5 crore people employed directly and another 6 crores people in allied sector including large number of women and rural population through various schemes and public programmes such as:-

Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme is being implemented to upgrade technology/machineries of textile industry with an outlay of Rs.17,822 crore during 2016-2022 which will attract investment of Rs.1 lakh crore and generate employment in the textile sector by 2022.

Under the Scheme of Integrated Textile Park (SITP), Government provides 40% subsidy with a ceiling of Rs.40 crore to set up Textile Parks for infrastructure creation and employment generation. 59 sanctioned textiles parks are under various stages of implementation, once fully operational it is expected to house about 5909 textile units and will generate employment for about 3,61,093 persons.

Under the Scheme for development of Knitting and Knitwear to boost production in knitting and knitwear clusters which provide employment to nearly 24 lakh persons.

Apart from the aforesaid programmes, Government has been implementing various schemes for promoting investment, production, employment generation in Powerloom Sector, Silk Samagra, North Eastern Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS), National Handicraft Development Programme (NHDP) and National Handloom Development Programme (NHDP) to provide direct job in rural India.

There is no specific scheme for branding of raw cotton. However, Government has launched Indian Handloom brand for high quality handloom product, with authentic traditional design with zero defect and zero effect on environment. Since its launch, 1590 registration have been issued under 184 product categories.

Under the broad objective of “Skill India” & “Make in India” initiatives, Government is taking many initiatives in addition to the above mentioned schemes such as:

(i). SAMARTH- Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector and placement oriented programme targeting skill development of 10 lakh youth in the entire value chain of textiles, excluding Spinning & Weaving in the organized Sector. SAMARTH scheme include Training of Trainers (ToT), Aadhar Enabled Biometric Attendance System(AEBAS), CCTV recording of training Programme, dedicated call center with helpline number, mobile app based Management Information System (MIS) and online monitoring of the training process.

Under this scheme, 18 State Government have been allocated a training target of 3.6 lakh beneficiaries for conducting training Programme in traditional programme in traditional and organized sectors. Sectoral Organization of Ministry (DC-Handloom, DC-Handicrafts, CSB & National Jute Board) has been allocated a training of 43,000 beneficiaries for skilling/ up-skilling in traditional sectors.

Further, undertaking industry oriented entry level skilling programme in the organized sector a total of 76 industries have been empanelled under entry level skilling and allocated a training target of 1.36 lakh beneficiaries. For up-skilling programme 44 industries have been empanelled and allocated training target of 30,000 beneficiaries.

(ii). Under Technical Textiles interventions, it is poised to create high value jobs in the country for textiles sector workers. Employment in the sector is expected to increase to 23 lakhs by 2024 from the present 16 lakhs. Interventions will help to achieve 40 Billion USD market size by 2024-25 from present level of 19 Billion USD and also to enhance target penetration level in domestic applications: Agro-textiles (10% - 40%), medical textiles (10% - 30%), Geo-textiles (20% - 60%), protection textiles (20% - 60%). To promote development and application of these high quality raw material. The product range into 12 broad segments. In the long run we aim at achieving a share of 30-35 per cent of fibre consumption for applications in technical textiles.

The Government is implementing Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP) which is demand driven and it provides support for creation of world-class infrastructure facilities for setting up of textile units, with a Government of India grant upto 40% of the project cost and Government of India grant upto 90% of the project cost for first two projects (each) in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh; with ceiling limit of Rs. 40.00 crores for each textile park.

The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed by the representatives of local industry, Financial Institutions, State Industrial and Infrastructural Corporations and other agencies of State and Central Governments registered as a Corporate Body under Companies Act would submit their proposal directly to the Ministry for consideration. SITP is thus a demand driven scheme. No representation is pending from Textile ‘Industry’ Federation from any State for development of textile industry and textile parks in their State.

Further, the proposal to set up Mega Textile Parks by the Ministry of Textiles is at the stage of discussion. The details of programmes initiated by Government to boost the textile industry and the incentives given for textile workers are placed below:-

(i) Knitting and Knitwear Sector: In order to boost production in knitting and knitwear clusters, Government has launched a separate scheme for development of Knitting and Knitwear Sectorto boost production in knitting and knitwear cluster at Ludhiana, Kolkata and Tirupur.

(ii) Government is implementing Amended Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for technology up-gradation of the textile industry to incentivize production with an outlay of Rs.17,822 crore during 2016-2022. It is expected to attract investment of Rs.1 lakh crore and generate 35.62 lakhs employment in the textile sector by 2022.

(iii) Government has launched a special package of Rs.6000 crore in 2016 to boost investment, employment and exports in the garmenting and made-ups sector with the following components viz., (i) full refund is provided under Remission of State Levies (ROSL) to the exporters for the State level taxes; (ii) production linked additional incentive of 10% is provided under the Amended Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS).

(iv) Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP): Government of India grant with a ceiling limit of Rs. 40 crore for setting up textiles parks for creation of world class infrastructure facilities for setting up of textile units.

(v) National Handloom Development Programme, Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme, Handloom Weaver Comprehensive Welfare Scheme and Yarn Supply Schemes under which financial assistance is provided for raw material purchase, looms and accessories, design innovation, product diversification, infrastructure development, skill upgradation, marketing of handloom products & loans at concessional rate etc. for enhancing production and boost the textile sector.

(vi) National Handicrafts Development Programme (NHDP) and Comprehensive Handicraft Cluster Development Schemes aims at holistic development of handicrafts clusters through integrated approach by providing support on design, technology up-gradation, infrastructure development, market support etc.

(vii) PowerTex India: A comprehensive scheme for Powerloom sector with components relating to Powerloom up-gradation, infrastructure creation, concessional access to credit, etc.

(viii) Silk Samagra – An integrated Scheme for development of silk industry with components of research & development, transfer of technology, seed organization and coordination, market development, quality certification and export.

(ix) Jute ICARE for increasing the income of farmers by at least 50% through promotion of certified seeds, better agronomic practices, use of microbial reusing of Jute plant, retting to produce quality of jute, increase productivity and to reduce the cost of jute production for the jute farmers.

(x) North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) for promoting textiles industry in the NER by providing infrastructure, capacity building and marketing support to all segments of textile industry.

Why in News? China, which has now gone over a month without any locally transmitted Covid-19 cases, was able to contain Covid-19 due to its ability to manage the serial interval.

What is it? The serial interval is the duration between symptom onset of a primary case and symptom onset of secondary cases (contacts) generated by the primary case. In simple terms, the serial interval is the gap between the onset of Covid-19 symptoms in Person A and Person B, who is infected by Person A.

When was it first used? The term was first used by British physician William Pickles, who had initially referred to it as transmission interval with reference to a hepatitis epidemic in the United Kingdom during 1942-45.

Mains Factors on which Serial Interval depends: Incubation period: The time between a person’s exposure to the virus and symptom onset. Reproduction rate or R naught: The number of people who will be infected by one infected person.

Significance? What does changes in serial interval indicate? The serial interval helps to gauge the effectiveness of infection control interventions besides indicating rising population immunity and forecast future incidence.

Thus, the more quickly persons who contracted Covid-19 are identified and isolated, the shorter the serial interval becomes and cuts down opportunities for transmission of the virus.

What India needs to do? To manage serial interval, a robust system of contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation protocols should be in place.

Case study: China: The serial interval in Wuhan came down from 7.8 days to 2.6 days between early January and early February.

Quarantining contacts within 1 day from symptom onset helped reduce Covid-19 transmission by 60 per cent.

This was made possible due to aggressive contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation, thereby ensuring that infected patients, because they were isolated, could not infect any more people later in the infection cycle.

Context: China has blamed India for “violating” border agreements and said India bore responsibility for the recent tensions.

This comes a day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Parliament that China had, by amassing troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) this summer, violated the 1993 and 1996 boundary agreements that have helped keep the peace along the border for years.

What do 1993 and 1996 agreements say? India and China have signed various agreements on border management— signed in September 1993, November 1996, April 2005 and October 2013.

Unfortunately, these are deeply flawed agreements and make the quest for settlement of the boundary question at best a strategic illusion and at worst a cynical diplomatic parlour trick.

1993 Agreement on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquility along the Line of Actual Control in the Sino-Indian Border: As per the agreement, both India and China agree to keep “military forces in the areas along the line of actual control to a minimum level” and “reduce troop levels” compatible with friendly and good relations between them.

1996 Agreement on Confidence-Building Measures: This agreement allows for “military disclosure when the parties are undertaking border exercises and for the reduction of troop levels in the border areas.

It also allows the parties to observe and inspect troop movements in each other territory upon invitation. In this agreement too, the two sides agreed to reduce or limit their military forces within mutually-agreed geographical zones along the LAC.

It also specifies the major categories of armaments to be reduced or limited: “combat tanks, infantry combat vehicles, guns etc. It also stipulates that “[n]either side shall open fire, cause bio-degradation, use hazardous chemicals, conduct blast operations or hunt with guns or explosives within two kilometers from the line of actual control.

What’s the issue now? These agreements are there just on papers. They have no bearing on the ground reality. The agreements do not reflect any attempt to have each side recognise the other’s line of deployment of troops at the time they were signed. Also, the absence of a definition of LAC allows ever new and surreptitious advances on the ground.

Background: India and China have recently agreed on a five-point course of action to disengage and reduce tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Context: Passed in Lok Sabha. The Bill replaces an ordinance to the same effect promulgated on June 26.

The Bill proposes amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. With this new Bill, the central government aims to bring cooperative banks under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Key changes: Now, Provisions applicable to banking companies will also applicable to cooperative banks. This ensures that cooperative banks are equally subject to better governance and sound banking regulations through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

With the amendments, RBI will be able to undertake a scheme of amalgamation of a bank without placing it under moratorium. It will help the central bank to develop a scheme to ensure the interest of the public, banking system, account holders in the bank and banking company’s proper management, without disrupting any banking functionalities.

The amendments also allow cooperative banks to raise money via public issues and private placements of equity or preference shares as well as unsecured debentures, with the central’s bank’s nod.

However, the changes will not: Affect the existing powers of the state registrars of co-operative societies under state laws. Apply to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or co-operative societies whose primary object and principal business is long-term finance for agricultural development, and which do not use the words “bank”, “banker” or “banking”.

Why this was necessary? This was felt necessary in the wake of the recent Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank crisis.

Cooperative banks have 8.6 lakh account holders, with a total deposit of about ₹5 lakh crore. Besides, Urban cooperative banks reported nearly 1,000 cases of fraud worth more than ₹220 crore in past five fiscal years.

How cooperative banks are regulated? Cooperative banks are currently under the dual control of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies and RBI. While the role of registrar of cooperative societies includes incorporation, registration, management, audit, supersession of board and liquidation, RBI is responsible for regulatory functions such as maintaining cash reserve and capital adequacy, among others.

Context: Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have announced their predictions about the new solar cycle, called Solar Cycle 25, which they believe has begun.

Key findings: The solar minimum for Solar Cycle 25 occurred in December 2019. Scientists predict a solar maximum (middle of the solar cycle) will be reached by July 2025.

This solar cycle will be as strong as the last solar cycle, which was a “below-average cycle” but not without risks.

But first, What is a solar cycle? The Sun is a huge ball of electrically-charged hot gas. This charged gas moves, generating a powerful magnetic field. This magnetic field goes through a cycle, called the solar cycle.

Every 11 years or so, the Sun’s magnetic field completely flips. This means that the Sun’s north and south poles switch places. Then it takes about another 11 years for the Sun’s north and south poles to flip back again. So far, astronomers have documented 24 such cycles, the last one ended in 2019.

How do scientists track solar activity? Scientists track a solar cycle by using sunspots. The beginning of a solar cycle is typically characterised by only a few sunspots and is therefore referred to as a solar minimum.

What is solar minimum and maximum? One way to track the solar cycle is by counting the number of sunspots.

The beginning of a solar cycle is a solar minimum, or when the Sun has the least sunspots. Over time, solar activity—and the number of sunspots—increases. The middle of the solar cycle is the solar maximum, or when the Sun has the most sunspots. As the cycle ends, it fades back to the solar minimum and then a new cycle begins.

Impacts of Solar Cycle on Earth: Solar eruptions can cause lights in the sky, called aurora, or impact radio communications. Extreme eruptions can even affect electricity grids on Earth.

Solar activity can affect satellite electronics and limit their lifetime. Radiation can be dangerous for astronauts who do work on the outside of the International Space Station.

Context: Launched at the recently held Environment Ministerial Meeting (EMM) of the G20 countries which took place under the Presidency of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

About the Initiative: It aims to strengthen the implementation of existing frameworks to prevent, halt, and reverse land degradation within G20 member states and globally, taking into account possible implications on the achievement of other SDGs and adhering to the principle of doing no harm.

What is Land Degradation? It is the reduction or loss of biological or economic productivity of the land resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including human activities and climatic variations.

What is Desertification? It is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. Desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts. It occurs because dryland ecosystems, which cover over one-third of the world‘s land area, are extremely vulnerable to overexploitation and inappropriate land use.

The major causes for land degradation include: Land clearance, such as clearcutting and deforestation Agricultural depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices Livestock including overgrazing and over drafting

Inappropriate irrigation and over drafting Urban sprawl and commercial development Vehicle off-roading Quarrying of stone, sand, ore and minerals

Steps taken by India: Desert Development Programme. Integrated Watershed Management Programme which is now subsumed under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana. National agriculture policy 2000. National Mission on Green India which is a part of National Action Plan on Climate Change.

National Afforestation Programme. Soil Conservation in the Catchment of River Valley Projects and Flood Prone Rivers. National Watershed Development Project for Rain fed Areas.

Fodder and Feed Development Scheme – a component of Grassland Development including Grass Reserves Command Area Development and Management Programme.

National water policy 2012 National forest Policy 1988

Context: Union Power Ministry has drafted Rules providing for Rights of Electricity Consumers for the First Time.

The main features are: Reliability of service: State Electricity Regulatory Commissions to fix average number and duration of outages per consumer per year for DISCOMs. (A power outage is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user.)

Timely and simplified procedure for connection: Only two documents for connection up to load of 10 kw and no estimation of demand charges for loads up to 150 kw to expedite giving connection.

Time period to provide new connection: Not more than 7 days in metro cities, 15 days in other municipal areas and 30 days in rural areas, to provide new connection and modify existing connection.

2 to 5% rebate on serving bills with delay of sixty days or more. Push to online payment: Option to pay bills in cash, cheque, debit cards, net banking etc but bills of Rs. 1000 or more to be paid online.

Prosumers: Recognition to the emerging category of consumers known as “Prosumers”.They will have right to produce electricity for self-use and inject excess in the grid using same point of connection up to limits prescribed by the SERC.

Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum with 2-3 representatives of consumers at various levels starting from Sub-division for ease of consumer grievance redressal.

Who are Prosumers? Persons who are consumers and have also set up a rooftop units or solarised their irrigation pumps.

Context: According to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), a total of 3,005 cases were registered in the country under anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in 2016, 2017 and 2018, and 3,974 people were arrested under the Act

About Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act: Passed in 1967, the law aims at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.

The Act assigns absolute power to the central government, by way of which if the Centre deems an activity as unlawful then it may, by way of an Official Gazette, declare it so.

It has death penalty and life imprisonment as highest punishments.

Key points: Under UAPA, both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged. It will be applicable to the offenders in the same manner, even if crime is committed on a foreign land, outside India.

Under the UAPA, the investigating agency can file a charge sheet in maximum 180 days after the arrests and the duration can be extended further after intimating the court.

Amendments and changes: The 2004 amendment, added “terrorist act” to the list of offences to ban organisations for terrorist activities, under which 34 outfits were banned. Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory.

As per amendments of 2019: The Act empowers the Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) to grant approval of seizure or attachment of property when the case is investigated by the said agency.

The Act empowers the officers of the NIA, of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate cases of terrorism in addition to those conducted by the DSP or ACP or above rank officer in the state.

Criticisms of UAPA: The law is often misused and abused. Could be used against political opponents and civil society activists who speak against the government and brand them as “terrorists.”

The 2019 amendment gives unfettered powers to investigating agencies. The law is against the federal structure, given that ‘Police’ is a state subject under 7th schedule of Indian Constitution.

Inaugurated recently in Bihar.

Sanctioned by the Centre during 2003-04. Connects Nirmali and Saraigarh districts of Bihar.

Provides a shorter route to the Northeast. The bridge is of strategic importance along the India-Nepal border.

Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill 2020: The bill has been passed by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

This paves the way to establish a state-of-the-art Ayurvedic institution called the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) at Jamnagar, Gujarat, and to confer the status of Institution of National Importance (INI) to it.

ITRA will be the first institution with INI status in the AYUSH Sector. It will be established by conglomerating the presently existing Ayurveda institutes at Gujarat Ayurved University campus Jamnagar.

Nuclear Power Generation in India: Presently, two public sector companies of the Department of Atomic Energy, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) are involved in nuclear power generation.

There is no proposal under consideration at present to permit non-Government sector in the area of nuclear power generation. There are presently twenty-two (22) reactors with a capacity of 6780 MW in operation in the country.

FDI in atomic energy: The present policy (Consolidated FDI Policy of Government) puts atomic energy in the list of prohibited sectors. However, there is no restriction on FDI in the nuclear industry for manufacturing of equipment and providing other supplies for nuclear power plants and related other facilities.

Besides, the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 was amended in 2015 to enable the licensing of NPCIL’s Joint Ventures for setting up nuclear power projects.

Why in News? Scientists have reported a first-of-its-kind discovery of morphological phenotypic plasticity (MPP) in the Kalinga cricket frog.

What is MPP? MPP is the ability of an organism to show drastic morphological (physical features) variations in response to natural environmental variations or stimuli.

About Kalinga Frog: Its documentation was done in 2018 and reported from the Eastern Ghats.

It was thought to be endemic to the hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats. But now, researchers have reported the Kalinga cricket frog from the central Western Ghats, with the evidence of considerable ‘morphological phenotypic plasticity (MPP)’.

Why in News now? The Supreme Court has asked for the government’s response to a plea that wide publication of the personal details of a couple who want to wed under the Special Marriage Act is a violation of their privacy.

What’s the issue? The petitioner had argued that the publication of confidential details through a public notice has a chilling effect on the right to marry, particularly in the backdrop of honour killings and violence committed against those who enter into inter-caste and inter-religious marriages.

In other words, couples are asked to waive the right to privacy to exercise the right to marry.