MOST PROBABLE TOPICS- PART 10

1. Compulsory Licensing

• Compulsory Licensing (CL) allows governments to license third parties (that is, parties other than the patent holders) to produce and market a patented product or process without the consent of patent owners.
• Any time after three years from date of sealing of a patent, application for compulsory license can be made, provided:
  • Reasonable requirements of public have not been satisfied;
  • Patented invention is not available to public at a reasonably affordable price;
  • Patented inventions are not carried out in India.
• Chapter XVI of the Indian Patents Act 1970 and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights discuss compulsory licensing.
• According to Section 92 of the Act, compulsory licenses can also be issued suo motu by the Controller of Patents pursuant to a notification issued by the Central Government if there is either a “national emergency” or “extreme urgency” or in cases of “public non-commercial use”.

2. Fundamental Rights Available to Citizens and Foreigners

Fundamental Rights available to only citizens and not foreigners

• Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth (Article 15).
• Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment (Article 16).
• Six basic freedoms subject to reasonable restrictions (Article 19).
• Protection of language, script and culture of minorities (Article 29).
• Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions (Article 30).

Fundamental rights available to both citizens and foreigners except enemy aliens

The Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Articles 14,20,21, 21A, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 are available to all persons whether citizens or foreigners.

3. Continental Shelf

• Continental shelf, a broad, relatively shallow submarine terrace of continental crust forming the edge of a continental landmass. The geology of continental shelves is often similar to that of the adjacent exposed portion of the continent, and most shelves have a gently rolling topography called ridge and swale. Continental shelves make up about 8 percent of the entire area covered by oceans.
• A continental shelf typically extends from the coast to depths of 100–200 metres (330–660 feet). It is gently inclined seaward at an average slope of about 0.1°. 
• In nearly all instances, it ends at its seaward edge with an abrupt drop called the shelf break. Below this lies the continental slope, a much steeper zone that usually merges with a section of the ocean floor called the continental rise at a depth of roughly 4,000 to 5,000 metres.
• Sunlight penetrates the shallow waters, and many kinds of organisms flourish—from microscopic shrimp to giant seaweed called kelp. Ocean currents and runoff from rivers bring nutrients to organisms that live on continental shelves.
• Plants and algae make continental shelves rich feeding grounds for sea creatures.

4. Special Drawing Rights

• The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves
• The SDR is neither a currency nor a claim on the IMF.
• Initially SDR was defined as equivalent to 0.888671 grams of fine gold, which at the time, was also equivalent to one U.S. dollar. After the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, the SDR was redefined as a basket of currencies.
  • This basket Includes five currencies—the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling.
  • Gold Tranche– country’s reserves with IMF
• Currencies included in the SDR basket have to meet two criteria: the export criterion and the freely usable criterion.
• The SDR value in terms of the U.S. dollar is determined daily.
• The SDR basket is reviewed every five years, or earlier if warranted.

5. Periodic Labour Force Survey 2018-19

National Statistical Office (NSO) released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for July 2018 to June 2019.

• Unemployment Rate: India’s unemployment rate fell to 5.8% during 2018-19 from 6.1% during the same period of 2017-18.
  • The urban unemployment rate reduced to 7.7% from 7.8%.
  • The rural unemployment reduced to 5% from 5.3%.
• Labour Force Participation Rate: The labour force participation rate rose to 37.5% during 2018-19 from 36.9% of 2017-18.
• Female Participation Rate: The female participation rate also improved going up to 18.6% in 2018-19 from 17.5% the year before.
• Worker Population Ratio: The worker population ratio also increased, to 35.3% as against 34.7% in the 2017-18.

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

• PLFS is India’s first computer-based survey launched by the National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2017.
• It has been constituted based on the recommendation of Amitabh Kundu.
• PLFS has two fold objective:
  • To estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. Worker Population Ratio, Labour Force Participation Rate, Unemployment Rate) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the Current Weekly Status (CWS).
  • To estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both usual status and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.
• Before PLFS the NSSO (previous name of NSO) used to bring the data related to employment and unemployment based on its quinquennial household socio-economic survey programme.

Data need not be remembered ,only the trends.

6. Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010

• Foreign funding of voluntary organizations in India is regulated under FCRA act and is implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Under the Act, organisations require to register themselves every five years.
• As per the amended FCRA rules, all NGOs registered or granted prior permission under FCRA are now required to upload details of foreign contributions received and utilized by them every three months on their website or the FCRA website.
• NGOs now need to file their annual returns online, with the hard copy version dispensed with. The annual returns must be placed quarterly on the NGO’s website or the FCRA website maintained by the home ministry.
• The FCRA regulates the receipt of funding from sources outside of India to NGOs working in India.
• It prohibits receipt of foreign contribution “for any activities detrimental to the national interest”.
• The Act specifies that NGOs require the government’s permission to receive funding from abroad.
• The government can refuse permission if it believes that the donation to the NGO will adversely affect “public
  interest” or the “economic interest of the state”.

NGOs

• The term ‘NGO’ is used to describe a body that is neither part of a government nor a conventional for-profit business organisations.
• In India, NGOs can be registered under Indian Societies Registration Act, 1860, Religious Endowments Act,1863, Indian Trusts Act, etc.
• India has the largest number of active NGOs in the world.
• NGOs receive funds from abroad, if they are registered with the Home Ministry under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).

7. International Comparison Program (ICP)

• It is managed by the World Bank under the auspices of the United Nations Statistical Commission.

• The main objectives of the ICP are to:

  (i) produce purchasing power parities (PPPs) and comparable price level indexes (PLIs) for participating economies;

  (ii) convert volume and per capita measures of gross domestic product (GDP) and its expenditure components into a common currency using PPPs.  

• PPPs are calculated based on the price of a common basket of goods and services in each participating economy and are a measure of what an economy’s local currency can buy in another economy.
• The International Comparison Program (ICP) released economic indicators and results for the reference year 2017 in May 2020. 
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is National Implementing Agency (NIA) for India, which has the responsibility of planning, coordinating and implementing national ICP activities.
• In 2017, India retained and consolidated its global position, as the third largest economy, accounted for 6.7 percent ($8,051 billion out of World total of $119,547 billion) of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in terms of PPPs.
• China (16.4%) and United States (16.3%), respectively.
• India is also third largest economy in terms of its PPP-based share in global Actual Individual Consumption and Global Gross Capital Formation.

8. Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme 

• The PM SVANidhi scheme was launched by the Ministry of  Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, on June 01, 2020 .
• It is a special micro-credit facility plan to provide  affordable loan of up to ₹10,000 to more than 50 lakh street vendors, who had their businesses operational on or before 24 March.
• The scheme is valid until March 2022.
• Small Industries Development Bank of India is the  technical partner for implementation of this scheme.
• It will manage the credit guarantee to the lending  institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises.
• Under the scheme, vendors can avail working capital loan of up to  ₹10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments within one year.
• On timely/early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy of 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on six-months basis.
• There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan

PM SVANidhi Mobile App

• Mobile App of PM SVANidhi has also been launched to bring Microcredit facility for street vendors at their door steps.

9. Credit Guarantee Scheme for Sub-ordinate Debt (CGSSD)

• The scheme was announced as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
• It is also called as “Distressed Assets Fund–Sub- ordinate Debt for MSMEs”.
• It seeks to extend support to the promoter(s) of the operational MSMEs which are stressed and have become NPAs as on 30th April, 2020.
• Guarantee cover worth Rs. 20,000 crores will be provided to the promoters who can take debt from the banks to further invest in their stressed MSMEs as equity.
• It will be operationalised through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for MSEs (CGTMSE).

10. Global Terrorism Index- 2019

• Released by the Sydney based Institute for Economics  & Peace (IEP)
• Summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism since 2000 providing ranking of countries on the impact of terrorism.
• No of global deaths decreased
• Countries affected by terrorism increased
• Afghanistan– most impacted country-followed by Iraq,Nigeria and Syroa
• India- 7th rank.
• India has objected to this index.

11. Most Favoured Nation

• The Most Favoured Nation clause is the first clause in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It is a treatment accorded by one state to another to ensure non-discriminatory trade practices between the two countries vis-à-vis other trade partners.

• A most-favoured nation (MFN) clause requires a country to provide any concessions, privileges, or immunities granted in a trade agreement to one nation to all other World Trade Organization member countries. Although its name implies favouritism toward another nation, it denotes the equal treatment of all countries.

National Treatment

• The principle of giving others the same treatment as one’s own nationals. GATT Article 3 requires that imports be treated no less favourably than the same or similar domestically-produced goods once they have passed customs. GATS Article 17 and TRIPS Article 3 also deal with national treatment for services and intellectual property protection.Its also related to WTO.

12. Govt makes country of origin mandatory for GeM platform

• The GeM has issued orders that it is now mandatory for all sellers to mention the ‘Country of Origin‘ while registering new products. In the case of products that have already been uploaded, relevant sellers have been asked to update the country of origin entry. If they fail to do so, they would be evicted from the crucial government procurement portal.
• Make In India filter enabled on portal.
• Buyers can pick products that fit the minimum 50 per cent local content criteria.
• Registered sellers, with products that have over 50 per cent local content, will be categorised as Class I Local suppliers. Sellers, marketing products with 20-50 per cent local content, will be listed as Class II Local suppliers.

GeM

• The GeM portal was launched four years ago for the purchase of products and services ranging from office stationery to official vehicles online by all the central and state departments and ministries, central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) and central paramilitary forces (CPMFs).

• The GeM was launched as a single window to an entire range of products and sellers competing to improve cost-effectiveness, efficiency and transparent procurement.

13. Co-operative Banks Under RBI Supervision

• Central government approved an Ordinance to bring all urban and multi-state co-operative banks under the direct supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• Till now, all the co-operative banks came under dual regulation of the RBI and the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, resulting in regulatory and supervisory lapses at many of these banks.

Co-operative Banking

• A Co-operative bank is a financial entity which belongs to its members, who are at the same time the owners and the customers of their bank. It is distinct from commercial banks.
• They are broadly classified into Urban and Rural co-operative banks based on their region of operation.
• They are registered under the Co-operative Societies Act of the State concerned or under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002.
• The Co-operative banks are also governed by the
  • Banking Regulations Act, 1949.
  • Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955.

14. India joins the Climate and Clean Air Coalition

• India has formally joined the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), becoming the 65^th country to join the partnership.

• India plans to work with Climate Clean and Coalition countries on best practices and experiences for the effective implementation of India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP).

  Launched in January 2019, the NCAP is a comprehensive strategy with actions to prevent, control and reduce air pollution and improve air quality monitoring across the country. It aims to reduce fine particulate (PM_2.5) and particulate (PM₁₀) air pollution by 20 per cent–30 per cent by 2024.

• The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is a voluntary global partnership of 65 countries, 17 intergovernmental organizations, and 56 businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations committed to catalyzing concrete, substantial action to reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, including methane, black carbon and many hydrofluorocarbons.

15. Study In India

• Budget 2020 proposed to start an Indo-SAT exam under a ‘Study in India’ scheme.
• Objective is to target foreign students by branding India as an attractive education destination.
• The programme focuses on attracting international students from select 30 plus countries across South-East Asia, Middle East and Africa
• It is a joint initiative of Ministry of HRD,Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• EdCIL (India) Limited is the implementing agency of the for the Study in India education campaign.

16. Mission Sagar

• Mission Sagar has been launched as part of the government’s outreach initiative towards five Island nations in the Indian Ocean amidst the ongoing COVID-19.
• Under the mission, Indian Naval Ship Kesari had departed for Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, to provide food Items, COVID-related medicines including HCQ tablets and special Ayurvedic medicines with medical assistance teams.

17. NUCLEAR SUPPLIERS GROUP

• The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multilateral export control regime and a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons.
• “Non-Proliferation Principle” adopted in 1994, whereby a supplier, notwithstanding other provisions in the NSG Guidelines, authorises a transfer only when satisfied that the transfer would not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
• The NSG was founded in response to the Indian nuclear test in May 1974 and first met in November 1975.
• 48 members
• India is a not a member.China is a member.

18. Missile Technology Control Regime

• Established in April 1987, the voluntary Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) aims to limit the spread of ballistic missiles and other unmanned delivery systems that could be used for chemical, biological, and nuclear attacks.
• The regime urges its 35 members,which include most of the world’s key missile manufacturers, to restrict their exports of missiles and related technologies capable of carrying a 500-kilogram payload at least 300 kilometers or delivering any type of weapon of mass destruction

Important Points

1.India is a member.

2.China is not a member.

3.MTCR is not a treaty and does not impose any legally binding obligations on Partners.

4.The regime was formed in 1987 by the G-7 industrialized countries

5.It is an informal political understanding among states.

19. Annual Special 301 report

• The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has  released its Annual Special 301 Report.
• It is prepared annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) that identifies trade barriers to United States companies and products due to the intellectual property laws, such as copyright, patents and trademarks, in other countries.
• It is published pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
• The Report includes a list of “Priority Foreign  Countries”, that are judged to have inadequate intellectual property laws; these countries may be  subject to sanctions.
• In addition, the report contains a “Priority Watch List” and a “Watch List“, containing countries whose intellectual property regimes are deemed of concern.
• India continues to be on the ‘Priority Watch List’ for lack of adequate intellectual property (IP) rights protection and enforcement.

20. Indian Ocean Commission

• India was recently accepted as an observer in the Indian Ocean Commission, an organization that handles maritime governance in the western Indian Ocean.
• It is an intergovernmental organization created in 1982.
• It is composed of five African Indian Ocean nations: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (an  overseas region of France), and Seychelles.
• It’s principal mission is to strengthen the ties of  friendship between the countries and to be a platform of solidarity for the entire population of the African Indian Ocean region.
• Secretariat  located in Mauritius.
• The Commission has five observers — China, India, EU, Malta and International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).

21. Ammonium Nitrate

• Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula NH₄NO₃.  

• It is predominantly used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer.

• Its other major use is as a component  of  explosive mixtures used in mining, quarrying, and civil construction. It is the major constituent of ANFO, a popular industrial explosive which accounts for 80% of explosives used in North America; similar formulations have been used in improvised explosive devices.

• Explosion in Beirut was due to Ammonium Nitrate.

22. Global Fund for Ecosystem-based Adaptation

• Launched by UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) .
• The Fund will “provide targeted and rapid support mechanisms through seed capital for innovative approaches to ecosystem-based adaptation.”
• The Fund, which will run from 2020-2024, will receive €20m from the Federal Environment Ministry of Germany (BMU).
• The BMU made the announcement during the 2019 Climate Change Conference in Madrid.
• Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) refers to the set of approaches that involve the management of ecosystems to reduce the vulnerability of human communities to climate change. The restoration of mangroves and coral reefs, for example, protects coastal areas from the impacts of rising sea levels, while planting and restoring vegetation on hillsides and mountains prevents erosion and landslides during extreme rainfall.

23. IPCC Reports

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released 2 special reports:
  Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) and Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL).
• Cryosphere refers to frozen components of the Earth system that are at or below the land and ocean  surface- snow,glacier,ice sheets,icebergs,ice shelves etc
• Permafrost – “ground (soil or rock containing ice and  frozenorganic material) that remains at or below Zero degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years”. The northern hemisphere has an area of permafrost thrice larger than Antarctica’s. There is  approximately twice as much carbon in permafrost than is currently in the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Stimulated plant growth in permafrost areas could help in Carbon Sequestration.

24. UNFCCC  Convention

The key deliverables from the 25th Conference of Parties (CoP 25) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Madrid (originally scheduled in Santiago, Chile) were two-fold:

• • Rules under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which deals with carbon trading or carbon markets
  • The creation of a financial mechanism dedicated to loss and damage.
    
• The COP adopted the “Chile Madrid Time for Action” document.
• “Santiago Network of experts” as a part of the WIM to “catalyse the technical assistance of relevant organizations, bodies, networks and experts” was formed. This expertise is to be channeled toward the “implementation of relevant approaches at the local, national and regional level, in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change”.
• Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage (WIM) was set up in 2013 for vulnerable countries.
• Loss and damage has a specific meaning in climate policy. It deals with unavoidable and irreversible impacts of climate change, where mitigation has failed, and adaptation is not possible.Rich countries who have historical responsibility for climate change are asked to be iable to the developing countries who are already facing climate change impacts.

Focus on Loss and Damage definition.

25. GM Crops

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) asked Maharashtra Government to initiate action to stop cultivation of illegal Herbicide-Tolerant variety of Bt Cotton (Htbt cotton).

Only GM crop permitted for cultivation in India is Bt Cotton.

Only GM cotton permitted to be grown in India are  hybrids/varieties that contain ‘cry1Ac’ and ‘cry2Ab’ genes, isolated from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and coding for proteins toxic to bollworm insect pests.

GEAC

• GEAC established under Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the apex body for approval of activities involving large scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.
• The GEAC is also responsible for approval of proposals relating to release of genetically engineered organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.