UPSC 2017: PIB Summary and Analysis July 24

Industrially Backward States

• The primary responsibility of industrial development of backward areas rests with the State Governments.
• The Union Government supplements their efforts through various Schemes launched by it with a view to promote industrialization in industrially backward areas of the Country.
• Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) was implementing Schemes for development of North East region and Special Package Scheme for Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir, which have now ended.

FDI in Food Processing Industries

• As per extant Policy, FDI up to 100%, under the automatic route, is allowed in food processing industries.
• Further, 100% FDI under Government route for retail trading, including through e-commerce, is permitted in respect of food products manufactured and/or produced in India.

Intangible Cultural Heritage

• Yoga was inscribed in UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during the 11th session of Intergovernmental Committee held from 28th November to 02nd December, 2016 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
• The dossier for nomination of Yoga for inclusion in the UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was submitted to UNESCO Headquarters before the first International Yoga Day.
• The inclusion of Yoga on the UNESCO’s Representative List will contribute to the visibility of intangible cultural heritage in general and raise awareness of its importance at the local, national and international levels as its practice is universal and widespread cutting across community, class, income, gender, faith and age.
• Additionally, Yoga’s inscription on the Representative List will promote respect for cultural diversity and human creativity as it will create a commonality and a bond between and across practitioners, transmitters and the diverse communities and individuals that follow the practice.

Project Mausam                                          

• Project ‘Mausam’ is the initiative of Ministry of Culture to be implemented by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) as the nodal agency with research support of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) and National Museum as associate bodies.
• This project aims to explore the multi-faceted Indian Ocean ‘world’–collating archaeological and historical research in order to document the diversity of cultural, commercial and religious interactions in the Indian Ocean.
• It also aims to promote research on themes related to the study of Maritime Routes. Main objective of the project is to inscribe places and sites identified under Project Mausam as trans-national nomination for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Rise in Average Temperatures 

• Average Temperature during last ten years (2007 to 2016) was 26.10 0C.
• Rise in the average temperature was 0.510C during this period.
• The latest Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report (2014) highlights that mean surface temperature of the globe has risen by 0.850C + 0.180C. However, all India mean temperature has risen around 0.640C over the last 110 years.
• Following steps have been undertaken in the area of Climate Change:
• Launched a high-priority Programme to address the Science issues of Global and Regional Climate Change (GRCC) with a well-equipped state-of-the-art Center for Climate Change Research (CCCR) at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune for interdisciplinary research and training in the area of science of climate change.
• The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) released in 2008 by Government of India. Outlines eight missions in specific areas of Solar Energy, Enhanced Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Habitat, Water, Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, Green India, Sustainable Agriculture and Strategic knowledge for Climate Change. Eight National Missions form the core of the National Action Plan, representing multipronged, long term and integrated strategies for achieving key goals in the context of climate change.

Setting up of a High Altitude Cloud Observatory Near Munnar, Kerala

• A high altitude cloud physics observatory has been established at Munnar (Kerala), in Western Ghats, the region which is gateway for the monsoon of India.
• High altitude cloud physics observatory at Munnar is used to observe cloud and rain processes over that region with state of the art observations.
• Such facility will enable understanding of rainfall distribution and will allow better characterization of rainfall processes in the numerical models used for prediction of monsoon rainfall.
• It is expected that long term monitoring of cloud and rainfall processes will enable for accurate representation of cloud micro-physical process in forecast models to improve over all skill of rainfall prediction for severe weather phenomena viz, heavy rainfall, thunderstorm etc., not only over Kerala but for the whole country.
• High altitude cloud physics laboratories are functional at Mahabaleshwar (Konkan) and Munnar (Kerala) to study the monsoon cloud microphysics process modulated by the Western Ghats only and hence no such additional facility are contemplated.
• Studies were undertaken in four climate sensitive regions of the country, viz. Himalayan Region, Western Ghats, North Eastern Region, Coastal Areas to assess the possible impacts on the four sectors viz. agriculture, water, forests and health and associated ecosystem.

Global Conventions on Child Labour

• After the enactment of the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016, Government has recently ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions No. 138 concerning minimum age for employment and No. 182 concerning prohibition and elimination of worst forms of child labour.
• Sustainable Development Goal7 stipulate to take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.
• In order to achieve Sustainable Development Goal with respect to eradication of child labour, Government has already strengthened the legislative framework by completely prohibiting child labour upto 14 years in all forms and prohibiting employment or work of adolescent in hazardous occupations & processes.
• Subsequently the ratification of two core ILO Conventions regarding child labour would further strengthen the commitment of Government for effective enforcement of the provision of Child & Adolescent Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986.

The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2017 Passed
 Unanimously by Rajya Sabha 

• Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2017, introduced during the Winter Session of Parliament came up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha today and was passed unanimously by the house.
• The Bill aims to establish a legal framework for consolidation of related laws to replace the age old archaic laws with modern Indian legislation and to confer admiralty jurisdiction on all High Courts of the coastal states of the country. The bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha in March, 2017.

Ramayana and Krishna Circuits 

• Ramayana Circuit and Krishna Circuit are among the thirteen thematic circuits identified for development under Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
• 13 thematic circuits and 13 pilgrimage sites/destinations each have been identified by Ministry of Tourism (MOT) under the new Plan Scheme Swadesh Darshan and National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) respectively.

Details are as given below: