UPSC Quiz – 2023 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 11th August 2023

·       ACTO is an international organisation that is aimed at the promotion of sustainable development of the Amazon Basin.

·       The declaration recognises Indigenous knowledge as a condition for biodiversity conservation and calls for ensuring full and effective participation of Indigenous People.

·       In the Declaration member countries have also agreed to establish a new scientific body to conduct research and report annually on the state of the rainforest.

·       In addition, the Declaration promises closer cooperation between governments on other shared environmental priorities such as:

o   Water management,

o   Tackling cross-border environmental crimes and

o   Joint negotiating positions for future global climate summits.

·       Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization:

·       It is an intergovernmental organization formed by the eight Amazonian countries by signing the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT).

·       The Amazon Cooperation Treaty was drafted and signed on July 3, 1978.

·       In 1995, the eight nations decided to create the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), to strengthen and implement the objectives of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty.

·       Member countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.

·       It was founded to promote the preservation of the Amazon basin and regulate Amazonian development through international cooperation.

·       It is the only socio-environmental block in Latin America.

·       It works in different dimensions within the framework of the implementation of the ACT: political-diplomatic, strategic, and technical, building synergies among governments etc.

·       It has four official languages: Dutch, English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

·       The Directorate of the Permanent Secretariat and the coordination of the projects plan and execute their activities in close collaboration and through consultations with the Member Countries.

·       Green minerals are also referred to as “minerals of the future”.

·       According to the International Energy Agency, electric vehicles (EV) and battery storage account for about half of the mineral demand.

·       The platform has been developed by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI).

·       The Government of India has clarified that IMEs are those enterprises which are unable to get registered on the Udyam Registration Portal (URP) due to lack of mandatory required documents such as Permanent Account Number (PAN) or Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN).

Benefits:

·       A large number of IMEs aren’t registered under GST. To facilitate such IMEs to get a registration certificate through Assist mode of Designated Agencies (Das) such as banks/ NBFCs/MFIs, who have information about IMEs available with them.

·       The certificate issued on the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) would be treated at par with Udyam Registration Certificate for IMEs for availing of the benefits of Priority Sector Lending (PSL).

Implementation Process:

·       Registration of DAs, who are eligible regulated entities to assist IMEs for generation of Udyam Registration in the UAP.

·       Registration of IMEs by the DAs. IMEs are not required to share any documents for registration with DAs separately.

·       DAs have to share the required information as available with them of IMEs on UAP.

·       The registered IMEs can then download their certificate from UAP.

·       The Udyam Registration Number (URN) generated for enterprises via UAP is of an exclusive number series called the Udyam-I

·       Under Rule 125 of the Rajya Sabha Rules and Procedures, any member may move an amendment that a Bill be referred to a Select Committee.

·       According to the Rajya Sabha rules, “The Select Committees on Bills are constituted by the House(s) on specific motion moved by the Minister in-charge of the Bill or any member.

·       A Joint Committee has members from both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

·       No member is appointed to a Select Committee if he is not willing to serve on the Committee.

·       The actual number of membership of the Select Committee is not fixed. It varies from Committee to Committee.

·       If it is a Joint Committee, the proportion of members from the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is 1:2.

·       The Chairman of the Committee is appointed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha from among the members of the Committee.

·       The quorum for each sitting needs to be 1/3rd of the total number of members of the committee.

·       In case of equality of votes on any matter, the chairman (or any other person presiding) will have a second or casting vote.

·       A select committee may appoint a sub-committee to examine any special points connected with the Bill.

·       The report of the committee is of a recommendatory nature.

·       Fractional Ownership is a concept wherein a percentage of an asset is owned as a fraction, on payment of a proportionate sum of money, which in turn provides the investor the following benefits:

·       Usage rights and income sharing.

·       Priority access and capital gains from the upside potential of high-value assets.

·       It provides investors with a unique investment opportunity that offers benefits such as access to high-value assets, diversification, liquidity, professional management and fixed passive income.

·       Fractional Ownership is not just limited to real estate investing, it works wonders for a plethora of high-value asset classes.