Most Important CA for UPSC Prelims 2021 April-July Set-12

Table of Contents

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING RESEARCH BOARD- FUND FOR INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH ENGAGEMENT (SERB-FIRE)

Research initiative launched by SERB (statutory body of Department of Science and Technology) in collaboration with Intel India.
FIRE is a joint government-and-industry initiative with a co-funding mechanism to promote innovative technology solutions and strengthen academic research through collaboration with key research and development (R&D) organisations in India.
The new initiative aims to utilize the expertise available in academic institutions and national laboratories to solve industry-specific problems for the larger benefit of society.

NANO UREA LIQUID

Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) has introduced the world’s first Nano Urea Liquid for farmers across the world.
Nano Urea Liquid is developed to replace conventional Urea.
It can curtail its requirement by at least 50%.
Its use will boost balanced nutrition program by reducing the excess use of Urea application in the soil and will make the crops stronger, healthier and protect them from lodging effect.

NATRAX- THE HIGH SPEED TRACK (HST)

NATRAX is Asia’s longest and world’s fifth longest HST for automobiles.
HST is used for measuring the maximum speed capability of high-end cars like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Tesla and so forth.

multiple test capabilities like measurements of maximum speed, acceleration, constant speed fuel consumption, emission tests etc.
Being centrally located in Madhya Pradesh, it is accessible to most of the major Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

DISCOVERY OF ‘DRAGON MAN’ SKULL IN CHINA

140,000 years old massive fossilized skull which is a new species of ancient human.
Since new species are being considered to be more closely related to humans than even Neanderthals this could fundamentally alter understanding of human evolution.
The name is derived from Long Jiang, which literally means “Dragon River.“
It forms a third lineage of later humans alongside the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Neanderthals are our closest ancient human relatives. Scientific evidence suggests our two species shared a common ancestor.

SWAMITVA SCHEME

Recently, Prime Minister of India launched the distribution of e-property cards under the SWAMITVA scheme on National Panchayati Raj Day.

ABOUT SCHEME

It is a Central Sector Scheme that aims to provide an integrated property on for rural India,
engaging the latest Drone Surveying technology, for demarcating the inhabitant (Aabadi) land in rural areas.

OBJECTIVE

update the ‘record-of-rights’ in the revenue/property registers and issue property cards to the property owners in rural areas.
It is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) (Nodal Ministry for implementation of the scheme), State Panchayati Raj Departments, State Revenue / Land Records Departments and Survey of India (technology partner for implementation)
Components of the scheme
- Establishment of CORS network:
- Large Scale Mapping (LSM) using Drone:
- Information, Education and Communication:
- Enhancement of Spatial Planning Application “Gram Manchitra”:
- Online Monitoring and reporting dashboard would monitor the progress of activities.
- Program Management Units:

COPYRIGHT (AMENDMENT) RULES, 2021

Ministry of Commerce & Industry has notified Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021.
form of intellectual property protection granted under the Indian law to the creators of original works of authorship such as-
- Literary works including computer programs, tables and compilations including computer databases which may be expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any other form, including a machine readable medium.
- Dramatic, musical and artistic works.
- Cinematographic films and sound recordings.
These rights include the right of adaptation, right of reproduction, right of publication, right to make translations, communication to public etc.

Copyright regime in India

In India, the copyright regime is governed by the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright Rules, 2013.
The Copyright Rules, 2013 was last amended in 2016 through the Copyright Amendment Rules, 2016.
India is signatory to following International Copyright treaties:
- Berne Convention, 1886: Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
- The Universal Copyright Convention (UCC): It gives protection for original literary, artistic and scientific works
- Trade related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS): most extensive and rigorous in nature
- WIPO Copyright Treaty, 2002: Special agreement under Berne Convention and it has been adopted by 96 contracting parties.
- WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT), 2002 deals with rights of two kinds of beneficiaries, particularly in digital environment- performers (actors, singers, musicians etc.), and producers of phonograms (Sound recordings).
India is not a signatory to Rome Convention.
- The Rome Convention secures protection in performances for performers, in phonograms for producers of phonograms and in broadcasts for broadcasting organizations.
- WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) is responsible for the administration of the convention jointly with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

ENVIRONMENT

SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS

India held the first National Dialogue on agri-food systems (at Delhi) for exploring national pathways towards creating sustainable and equitable food systems.
first ever UN Food Systems Summit to be held in September 2021 to strategize the actions for change in global Agri-food systems.
focus on pathways to shape food systems nationally and
Globally to accelerate progress in the Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
The Summit is planned to be participatory and consultative for 5 Action Tracks:
- Action Track 1 : Ensure safe and nutritious food for all
- Action Track 2 : Shift to sustainable consumption patterns
- Action Track 3 : Boost nature-positive production
- Action Track 4 : Advance Equitable Livelihoods
- Action Track 5 : Build resilience to vulnerabilities to shock and stress

THE SECOND WORLD OCEAN ASSESSMENT

The first World Ocean Assessment was completed in 2015.
It concluded that many parts of the ocean had been seriously degraded which may produce a destructive cycle of degradation.

MARINE LITTER

Countries from across the oceans decided to tackle marine plastic litter under the ambitious global project called ‘GloLitter Partnerships Project’.
Marine litter is any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded into the sea or rivers or on beaches or brought indirectly to the sea with rivers, sewage, storm water or winds.
It is a form of marine pollution.
8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year, and make up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.
A plastic bottle can last up to 450 years
discarded plastics will outweigh the amount of fish in our oceans by 2050.

Global initiatives to reduce Marine Litter

London Convention/Protocol (1972 Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Matter) first global conventions
MARPOL: International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) pollution by garbage
The Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA)

THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL ON ACCESS AND BENEFIT-SHARING (ABS)

Brazil became the 130th country to ratify the Nagoya Protocol.
It was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan as a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources

NATIONAL CLIMATE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT REPORT

Department of Science and Technology (DST) has released the report titled ‘Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India Using a Common Framework’.
The report aims to
- carry out a current-climate state-level and district-level vulnerability assessment for India and also
- building the capacity of states to carry out vulnerability assessments using a common methodological framework.

STATE OF THE GLOBAL CLIMATE 2020

World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its annual report ‘State of the Global Climate, 2020’.
The WMO issued the first state of the climate report in 1993.
The report was initiated due to the concerns raised at that time about projected climate change.
Relentless, continuing climate change, an increasing occurrence and intensification of high-impact events and severe losses and damages affecting people, societies and economies.
The past six years, including 2020, have been the six warmest years on record. Temperatures reached 38.0 °C at Verkhoyansk, Russia, the highest recorded temperature anywhere north of the Arctic Circle.
The report provides five key indicators of irreversible changes in the global climate

NEW EMISSION NORMS FOR COAL- FIRED POWER PLANTS

The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had pushed the deadline for thermal power plant (TPP) by upto three years for complying emission norms in the country.
Major pollutants from coal-fired power plants are oxides of nitrogen (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM).
According to Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), TPPs account for more than 60 percent of total industrial emissions of particulate matter, 45 percent of SO2, 30 percent of NOx, and more than 80 percent of mercury in the country.
These are also responsible for 70 percent of the total freshwater withdrawal by all industries.
The emission from TPPs causes lung diseases, acid rain and smog.
Till 2015, power plants in India were required to meet only the PM emission norms which was less stringent than similar norms in China, the US and Europe.
There were no national regulations for SO2, NOx and mercury emissions from power plants.
Power plants in category A can install the emission control equipment by December 31, 2022.
As per the previous timeline, power plants in NCR were required to be in compliance by December 2019.
The units in category B have till December 31, 2023 to comply and those in category C till December 31, 2024