Press Information Bureau (PIB) IAS UPSC – 6th Jan to 13th Jan – 2019

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Passage of One Hundred and Twenty-Fourth Constitution Amendment Bill, 2019

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

Amendment carves up additional quota for poor not under SC/ST, OBC categories

• 10% seats reserved for poor in higher education institutions, including private aided or unaided institutions
• 10% state jobs reserved for poor. Reservation only in initial appointment
• 10% reservation for ‘economically weaker sections’ will be in addition to the existing reservation

Articles 15 & 16 amended

• New clause 6 inserted in Article 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth)
• New clause 6 inserted in Article 16 (Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment)

Govt to notify who is poor: ‘Economically weaker sections’ to be defined by the State from time to time on the basis of family income and other indicators of economic disadvantage

Government’s reasoning for bringing in the legislation

• Poor citizens outside the SC, ST and OBC categories are unable to compete with those who are better off
• Reservation benefits in line with the directive principles of state policy which call for extending help to the weaker sections

No need for ratification by states as extension of reservation to (non-SC/ST-OBC) poor not listed in Art 368(2) 

• While motions for introduction of Constitution Amendment Bills are adopted by simple majority, a majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting is required for adoption of effective clauses and motions for consideration and passing of these Bills

Lok Sabha passes “The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill – 2019”

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

The Bill has been formulated recognizing the need for regulation of the use and application of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) technology, for establishing identity of missing persons, victims, offenders, under trials and unknown deceased persons.

The purpose of this Bill is to expand the application of DNA-based forensic technologies to support and strengthen the justice delivery system of the country. The utility of DNA based technologies for solving crimes, and to identify missing persons, is well recognized across the world.

By providing for the mandatory accreditation and regulation of DNA laboratories, the Bill seeks to ensure that with the proposed expanded use of this technology in this country, there is also the assurance that the DNA test results are reliable, and furthermore that the data remain protected from misuse or abuse in terms of the privacy rights of our citizens.

The key components of this Bill include:

• Establishment of a DNA Regulatory Board
• Accreditation of DNA laboratories undertaking DNA testing, analysing, etc.
• Establishment of the National and Regional DNA Data Banks, as envisaged in the Bill, will assist in forensic investigations. This will aid in scientific up-gradation and streamlining of the DNA testing activities in the country with appropriate inputs from the DNA Regulatory Board which would be set up for the purpose.

The Bill will add value in empowering the criminal justice delivery system by enabling the application of DNA evidence, which is considered the gold standard in crime investigations.

Cinematograph Act, 1952

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

In order to check film piracy, particularly release of pirated version of films on internet which causes huge losses to the film industry and government exchequer, Ministry of I&B intends to have an enabling provision in the Cinematograph Act, 1952.

Ministry proposes for introduction of Cinematograph Act (Amendment) Bill for inclusion of a new Sub-Section (4) of Section 7 of the Cinematograph Act, 1952 with the following text:

“Notwithstanding any law for the time being in force including any provision of the Copyright Act, 1957, any person who, during the exhibition of an audiovisual work, cinematographic in an exhibition facility used to exhibit cinematograph films or audiovisual recordings and without the written authorization of the copyright owner, uses any audiovisual recording device to knowingly make or transmit or attempt to make or transmit or abet the making or transmission of a copy or visual recording or sound recording embodying a cinematograph film or audiovisual recording or any part thereof or a copy of sound recording accompanying such cinematograph film or audiovisual recording or any part thereof during subsistence of copyright in such cinematograph film or sound recording, shall be punishable with imprisonment not exceeding three years and shall also be liable to fine not exceeding Rs.10 Lakhs, or to a term of imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.”

Government notifies High Level committee for implementation of Clause 6 of Assam Accord

(Topic:

• Refugee issue; Citizenship Amendment Bill.

• Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes)

Committee headed by: Shri M.P. Bezbarauah and includes eminent Assamese persons from different fields

To submit report: Within 6 months

The HLC has been constituted as per Clause 6 of the Memorandum of Settlement, known as the Assam Accord, signed on 15th August, 1985. Clause 6 of the Accord states that:

“Constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, as may be appropriate, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.”

The Terms of Reference for the Committee are as under: –

• The Committee will examine the effectiveness of actions taken since 1985 to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
• The Committee will hold discussions with various stakeholders including social organizations, legal and constitutional experts, eminent persons from the field of art, culture and literature, conservationists, economists, linguists and sociologists.
• The Committee will assess the appropriate level of reservation of seats in Assam Legislative Assembly and local bodies for the Assamese people.
• The Committee will also suggest measures to be taken to protect Assamese and other indigenous languages of Assam.
• The Committee will recommend the appropriate level of reservations in employment under the Government of Assam for the Assamese people.
• The Committee may suggest any other measures as may be necessary to protect, preserve and promote cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.

Must read: Updated National Register of Citizens(NRC) of Assam

National Policy on Domestic Workers

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

As per the National Sample Survey (NSSO Statsitics-2011-2012,68th round) according to which estimated 39 lakhs people are employed as domestic workers by private households, of which  26 lakhs are female domestic workers.

The Ministry of Labour & Employment is considering to formulate a National Policy on Domestic Workers which is in the draft stage. The salient features of the proposed draft National Policy on Domestic Workers are as under: –

• Inclusion of Domestic Workers in the existing legislations
• Domestic workers will have the right to register as unorganized   workers. Such registration will facilitate their access to rights & benefits.
• Right to form their own associations/unions
• Right to minimum wages, access to social security
• Right to enhance their skills
• Protection of Domestic Workers from abuse and exploitation
• Domestic Workers to have access to courts, tribunals for grievance redressal
• Establishment of a mechanism for regulation of private placement agencies.
• Establishment of a grievance redressal system for domestic workers

Regulation of Functions of MSMEs

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

In order to promote the Ease of Doing Business, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has introduced various initiatives including online filing of UdyogAadhaar Memorandum (UAM). The Ministry has also taken the following steps:

• MSME SAMADHAAN Portal– for empowering micro and small entrepreneurs across the country to directly register their cases relating to delayed payments.
• MSME SAMBANDH Portal– to help in monitoring the implementation of public procurement policy for micro and small enterprises.
• MSME SAMPARK Portal – A digital platform wherein jobseekers (passed out trainees/students of MSME Technology Centres) and recruiters get connected.
• Digital Payments– to pass on the benefits of the schemes of Ministry of MSME through digital payment gateway.

Two new Skill Development Scheme approved

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

1. Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood (SANKALP): To reform the skill development landscape, strengthen institutions at Central and State levels, enable greater decentralization of skill development governance, and improve industry connect of skill development programs. The main objectives of the project are:

• • Creating convergence among all skill training activities, both State-led and Government of India funded, at the state level;
  • Improving quality of skill development programs through enablers such as building a pool of quality trainers and assessors, developing model curriculum and content, and standardizing assessment and certification;
  • Establishing robust monitoring and evaluation system for skill training programs;

• Providing access to skill training opportunities to the disadvantaged sections; and

• Creating industry led and demand driven skill training capacity

1. Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) covering 4 result areas –

• Improved performance of ITI.
• Increased Capacities of State Governments to support ITIs and Apprenticeship Training
• Improved Teaching and Learning.
• Improved and Broadened Apprenticeship Training.

Launch of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

Aim: A time bound national level strategy for pan India implementation to tackle the increasing air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner

• A mid-term, five-year action plan with 2019 as the first year.
• Taking into account the available international experiences and national studies, the tentative national level target of 20%–30% reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 concentration by 2024 is proposed under the NCAP taking 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration.
• Overall objective of the NCAP is comprehensive mitigation actions for prevention, control and abatement of air pollution besides augmenting the air quality monitoring network across the country and strengthening the awareness and capacity building activities
• The approach for NCAP includes collaborative, multi-scale and cross-sectoral coordination between the relevant central ministries, state governments and local bodies.
• Other features of NCAP include, increasing number of monitoring stations in the country including rural monitoring stations, technology support, emphasis on awareness and capacity building initiatives, setting up of certification agencies for monitoring equipment, source apportionment studies, emphasis on enforcement, specific sectoral interventions etc.

India & Export of Herbs and Herbal Products

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

The total world herbal trade is currently assessed at USD 120 billion. India’s share in the global export of herbs and herbal products is low due to the following reasons:

• Inadequate Agricultural practices.
• Inadequate Quality Control procedure.
• Lack of large-scale Organic Cultivation.
• Lack of Processing and R&D.
• Lack of Standardization in Products, Processes and Services.
• Lack of regulatory framework in trade of Medicinal Plants.

Numbers speak: The export of herbs and value-added extracts of medicinal herbs are gradually increasing over the years. India exported USD 330.18 Million worth of Herbs during 2017-18 with a growth rate of 14.22% over the previous year. Also, the export of value-added extracts of medicinal herbs / herbal products during 2017-18 stood at USD 456.12 Million recording a growth rate of 12.23% over the previous year.

In order to promote India’s exports, the Government has taken several measures:

• Department of Commerce has set up Export Promotion Councils for promoting exports of various product groups / sectors. The mandate of export promotion of Herbs and Medicinal Plants has been assigned to Shellac & Forest Products Export Promotion Council (SHEFEXIL), headquartered at Kolkata. The export promotion of several Herbal Products has been assigned to Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (PHARMEXCIL), besides others. These EPCs facilitate the exporting community and undertake various export promotional measures for promotion of export of their products.
• Under Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme of the Department of Commerce, the EPCs / Trade Bodies are provided financial assistance for participation and organizing Trade Fairs, Buyer Seller Meets (BSMs), Reverse Buyer Seller Meets (RBSMs), Research & Product Development, Market Studies, etc.
• Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) provides incentives to the exporting community for specified goods so as to offset infrastructural inefficiencies and the associated costs of exporting products produced in India, giving special emphasis to those which are of India’s export interest and have the capability to generate employment and enhance India’s competitiveness in the world market.
• ‘Niryat Bandhu Scheme’ has been galvanised and repositioned to achieve the objectives of ‘Skill India’ and trade promotion/awareness.
• International Cooperation Scheme of Ayush Ministry provides financial assistance to the exporters for the participation in Trade Fairs, organising International Business Meets & Conferences and product registration reimbursements.
• The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India has launched a “Voluntary Certification Scheme for Medicinal Plants Produce (VCSMPP)” on 22nd November, 2017 in order to encourage the Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Field Collection Practices (GFCPs) in medicinal plants. The VCSMPP will enhance the availability of the certified quality medicinal plants raw material in the country and also boost their export and increase India’s share in the global export of herbs.
• Ministry of Ayush through its Quality Certification programme like Ayush mark and Premium mark is also assisting industry in setting up of quality standards.
• Ministry of Ayush has entered into MoUs with few countries for promotion of traditional medicine which will help exports in long run.

India & Gems and Jewellery Industry

(Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

The gem and jewellery sector contribute significantly to the economy of the country in terms of exports as well as employment generation. In the year 2017-18, the gem and jewellery exports was 13.69% of total merchandise exports from the country. As per estimates, the sector provides employment to around 5 million people.

Steps taken to strengthen the gems and jewellery industry:

• Establishment of Special Notified Zone (SNZ)
• Setting up of common facility centres for gems and jewellery sector
• Creation of separate ITC HS Code for lab grown diamond
• Reduction of GST rates for cut and polished diamonds and precious stones
• Exempting IGST on import of gold by specified agencies and banks
• Exemption from GST on supply of gold by Nominated Agencies to exporters
• Providing financial assistance for participation of international fairs, for organizing buyer seller meets, creation of export related infrastructure etc. under various schemes of Department of Commerce

Cabinet approves

MoU on Maritime issues between India and Denmark: Signing of the MoU will pave way for both countries for exploration of areas for bilateral collaboration:

• Facilitating cross-border cooperation and investments between the maritime sectors of India and Denmark;
• Enabling both the countries to exchange expertise, publications, information, data and statistics to improve mutual capabilities for ensuring quality shipping;cooperation in the field of green maritime technology and shipbuilding, granting the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) the status of Recognized Organization (RO), cooperation in the fields of maritime training and education;
• Research and development for sustained cooperation in the field of merchant shipping and maritime transport related matters; and
• It will also further extend and deepen the cooperation on the opportunities of mutual benefits to both the countries, at both bilateral and international level.

MoU between India and Japan on Development of Advanced Model Single Window: The MoU would lead to cooperation between India and Japan on the development of ‘Advanced Model Single Window’ and its operationalization in Central and State Governments in India for taking administrative procedures necessary for business operations, and to develop a structure in which those procedures are completed in an expeditious manner, so as to accelerate India’s effort to promote Ease of Doing Business in India. The ‘Advanced Model Single Window’ is based on the best practices in and outside India, with measurable parameters and identify possible obstacles for establishment of the Single Window in India. It will thus, facilitate investments.

MoU between India and France on technical bilateral cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy: India and France aim to establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship to encourage and promote technical bilateral cooperation on new and renewable issues on the basis of mutual benefit, equality and reciprocity. The technical cooperation will cover joint research working groups, pilot projects, capacity building programs, study tour, case studies and the sharing of experience/expertise.

Signing of the TOR provide tax assistance to Swaziland: Will give impetus to India’s support in capacity building in tax matters in developing countries.

• Background: The Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) Programme which is jointly launched by UNDP and OECD is intended to support developing countries to strengthen national tax administrations through building audit capacity and to share this knowledge with other countries. The TIWB Programme aims to strengthen tax administrations of developing countries by transferring technical know-how and skills to their tax auditors, and through the sharing of general audit practices and dissemination of knowledge products with them. The TIWB Programme complements the efforts of the international community to strengthen cooperation on tax matters and contribute to domestic tax mobilisation efforts of developing countries. India has been supportive in capacity building in tax matters in developing countries. India being a global leader in this respect has a very important role to play in South-South Cooperation in tax matters.

Bilateral Swap Arrangement between India and Japan: The swap arrangement is an agreement between India and Japan to essentially exchange and re-exchange a maximum amount of USD 75 Billion for domestic currency, for the purpose of maintaining an appropriate level of balance of payments for meeting short-term deficiency in foreign exchange.

Must Read – Ayushman Bharat: Link 1 + Link 2

Prelims oriented News

Kumbh Sangam: the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati

‘Police’ and ‘Public’ are State subject as per the Constitution of India and States are primarily responsible for prevention, detection and investigation of crime through their law enforcement machinery.

Performance Grading Index (PGI): The PGI is for the purpose of grading States and UTs on their performance across 70 indicators on school education. The PGI has seventy (70) indicators divided into two categories viz Outcomes and Governance processes. The first category is divided into four domains viz. Learning outcomes, Access outcomes, Infrastructure and Facilities and Equity outcomes; the second category is about Governance processes which covers attendance, teacher adequacy, administrative adequacy, training, accountability and transparency.

Shagun Portal: It has two modules – (1) Repository of innovation and (2) Online monitoring.

• Repository: This repository of good practices focuses on positive stories and developments that are driving performance improvements in school education. These innovative practices are documented in the form of case studies, videos, testimonials and images.
• Monitoring: The online monitoring module of Shagun measures state-level performance and progress against key educational indicators which enables DSEL and education departments of State and UTs to conduct real-time assessments. The main functions are fund utilisation tracking, performance measurement on key educational indicators, online planning & goal setting, physical targets and outcomes monitoring.

Section 34(1) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 mandates reservation of not less than four percent of the total number of vacancies in Government Establishments for persons with benchmark disabilities.

The International Civil Aviation Organization has predicted a 100 percent increase in global air travel by the year 2030, creating a need for extensive efforts to bring the entire aviation ecosystem to pace.

India takes over operations of part of Chabahar Port in Iran: This is the first time India will be operating a port outside its territories.

Blue Revolution Scheme: For overall development of fisheries sector, including enhancement of production and productivity, improving the livelihood of the fishers and welfare of fishermen for realizing “Blue Revolution” in the country.

Restructured National Bamboo Mission (NBM): The scheme aims to inter-alia supplement farm income of farmers with focus on the development of complete value chain of bamboo sector linking growers with industry.

Launch of Sino-Indian Digital Collaboration Plaza (SIDCOP): An initiative to bring Indian IT companies and Chinese enterprises closer to each other on a single AI enabled platform. This is a partnership by National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) with Municipal Governments of Guiyang and Dalian. This platform could be useful to connect with top providers from India and help Chinese enterprises source the right solution providers for their projects.

Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) Scheme: To have an effective mechanism to handle cybercrimes against women and children in the country

• Online cybercrime reporting platform
• One national level cyber forensic laboratory
• Training of Police officers, judges & prosecutors
• Cybercrime awareness activities
• Research & Development

Swachh Bharat Mission well on track to achieve ODF India: Under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), over 5.4 lakh villages and 585 districts have been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF). 27 States and Union Territories have declared themselves ODF so far. Over 9 crore toilets have been built across rural India so far, taking the national rural sanitation coverage up from 39% in 2014 to over 98% today. This progress has been independently verified by a large scale third-party National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey 2017-18 under the World Bank-supported project across 90,000 households in over 6000 villages, which found the rural toilet usage to be 93.4%.

Formulation of a new Labour Code

The Ministry has prepared a Labour Code on Industrial Relations, by simplifying, amalgamating and rationalizing the relevant provisions of the following three Labour Laws: –

• The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947,
• The Trade Unions Act, 1926,
• The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946.

UGC decides to set up Consortium for Academic and Research Ethics (CARE) to refine and strengthen research publication: The good quality Research Journals in disciplines under Social Sciences, Humanities, Languages, Arts, Culture, Indian Knowledge Systems etc., will be maintained by CARE and referred to as ‘CARE Reference List of Quality Journals’.

HRD Minister approves addition of 5000 more seats in Navodaya Vidyalayas from AY 2019-20: This is the biggest-ever expansion of quality education for rural students. This unprecedented expansion of JNVs, nearly free of cost residential schools, will provide more opportunity for talented children from rural areas to get quality education.

Navodaya is the only education system in the country where students give entrance examination for admission into Class 6. The Navodaya Vidyalaya system, which began as a unique experiment, is today unparalleled in the annals of school education in India and elsewhere and have become passport out of poverty for thousands of underprivileged children.  In the past five years Navodaya Vidyalaya have consistently recorded a pass percentage of over 97 per cent in Class 10 and Class 12, of which 86% securing first division, which is far better than private schools and CBSE’s national average.

The National Health Policy 2017 addresses the current and emerging challenges necessitated by the changing socio-economic, technological and epidemiological landscape.

• Assurance based approach – The Policy advocates progressively incremental assurance-based approach with focus on preventive and promotive healthcare
• Health Card linked to health facilities- The Policy recommends linking the health card to primary care facility for a defined package of services anywhere in the country.
• Patient Centric Approach- The Policy recommends the setting up of a separate, empowered medical tribunal for speedy resolution to address disputes /complaints regarding standards of care, prices of services, negligence and unfair practices, standard regulatory framework for laboratories and imaging centers, specialized emerging services, etc
• Micronutrient Deficiency- There is a focus on reducing micronutrient malnourishment and systematic approach to address heterogeneity in micronutrient adequacy across regions.
• Quality of Care- Public hospitals and facilities would undergo periodic measurements and certification of level of quality. Focus on Standard Regulatory Framework to eliminate risks of inappropriate care by maintaining adequate standards of diagnosis and treatment.
• Make-in-India Initiative- The Policy advocates the need to incentivize local manufacturing to provide customized indigenous products for Indian population in the long run.
• Application of Digital Health– The Policy advocates extensive deployment of digital tools for improving the efficiency and outcome of the healthcare system and aims at an integrated health information system which serves the needs of all stake-holders and improves efficiency, transparency, and citizen experience.
• Private sector engagement for strategic purchase for critical gap filling and for achievement of health goals.

National Medical Commission Bill 2017

The Bill envisages to:

• replace the Medical Council 1956 Act.
• enable a forward movement in the area of medical education reform.
• move towards outcome-based regulation of medical education rather than process-oriented regulation.
• ensure proper separation of functions within the regulator by having autonomous boards.
• create accountable & transparent procedures for maintaining standards in Medical Education.
• create a forward-looking approach towards ensuring sufficient health workforce in India.

Expected benefits of the new legislation:

• End of heavy-handed regulatory control over medical education institutions and a shift towards outcome-based monitoring.
• Introduction of a national licentiate examination. This will be the first time such a provision is being introduced in any field of higher education in the country, as was the introduction of NEET and common counseling earlier.
• Opening up the medical education sector will lead to significant addition in the number of UG and PG seats and substantial new investment in this infrastructure sector.
• Better coordination with AYUSH systems of treatment.
• Regulation of up to 40% seats in medical colleges to enable all meritorious students to have access to medical seats irrespective of their financial status.

National Nutrition Mission
A joint effort of MoHFW and the Ministry of Women and Child development (WCD) towards a life cycle approach for interrupting the intergenerational cycle of under nutrition.

The impact of the mission is envisioned to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anemia and low birth weight babies. It will create synergy, ensure better monitoring, issue alerts for timely action, and encourage States/UTs to perform, guide and supervise the line Ministries and States/UTs to achieve the targeted goals.

The mission aims to benefit more than 10 crore people.

Major components/features of the Mission:

• Mapping of various Schemes contributing towards addressing malnutrition
• Introducing a very robust convergence mechanism
• ICT-based real time monitoring system
• Incentivizing States/UTs for meeting the targets
• Incentivizing Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) for using IT based tools
• Eliminating registers used by AWWs
• Introducing measurement of height of children at the Anganwadi Centres (AWCs)
• Social Audits
• Setting-up Nutrition Resource Centres, involving masses through Jan Andolan for their participation on nutrition through various activities, among others.

Mission Indradhanush: A targeted programme to immunize children who have either not received vaccines or are partially vaccinated. The activity focuses on districts with maximum number of missed children.

LABOUR ROOM QUALITY IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVE – LaQshya: MoHFW launched LaQshya to improve the quality of care that is being provided to the pregnant mother in the Labour Room and Maternity Operation Theatres, thereby preventing the undesirable adverse outcomes associated with childbirth. The goal is to reduce preventable maternal and new-born mortality, morbidity and stillbirths associated with the care around delivery in Labour room and Maternity OT and ensure respectful maternity care.

RADHAN MANTRI SURAKSHIT MATRITVA ABHIYAN (PMSMA): The program aims to provide assured, comprehensive and quality antenatal care, free of cost, universally to all pregnant women on the 9th of every month.

National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP)

By: Ministry of Commerce & Industry since 2001

• To provide the means of evaluation of certification programme for organic agriculture and products (including wild harvest, aquaculture, livestock products) as per the approved criteria.
• To accredit certification programmes of Certification Bodies seeking accreditation.
• To facilitate certification of organic products in conformity with the prescribed standards.
• To facilitate certification of organic products in conformity with the importing countries organic standards as per equivalence agreement between the two countries or as per importing country requirements.
• To encourage the development of organic farming and organic processing.

The newly introduced Agriculture Export Policy provides an assurance that no restrictions will be placed on export of organic products. The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), an autonomous organisation under the administrative control of Department of Commerce, has been mandated with the export promotion of organic products. APEDA provides assistance to the exporters of organic products under various components of its export promotion scheme.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been constituted under the NIA Act, 2008 to investigate and prosecute offences affecting the sovereignty, security and integrity of India, security of State, friendly relations with foreign States and offences under Acts enacted to implement international treaties, agreements, conventions and resolutions of the United Nations, its agencies and other International organisations and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Person in News:

Swami Vivekananda

1. Arise awake and stop not till the goal is reached — Swami Vivekananda (This quote can be used in Ethics/Essay answers dealing with Hope/Corruption/Faith)
2. One ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big talk (Swami Vivekananda – This quote can be used to conclude almost every essay).
3. “It is impossible to think about the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is impossible for a bird to fly on only one wing” – Swami Vivekananda. (On women empowerment)
4. All nations have attained greatness by paying proper respect to women. That country and that nation which do not respect women have never become great, nor will ever be in future – Swami Vivekananda.
5. “All the different religions are but applications of the one religions adapted to suite the requirements of different nations”. – Swami Vivekananda. (on Religion)
6. “If in this hell of a world one can bring a little joy & peace even for a day into the heart of a single person, that much alone is true; this I have learnt after suffering all my life, all else is mere moonshine” – Swami Vivekananda (on serving Humanity)