20 Apr 2018: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting

• The meeting of the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors was held in the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings on 19thApril, 2018 in Washington D.C.
• The main issues that the meeting discussed were related to enhancing the project pipelines of New Development Bank (NDB) evenly across member countries.
• The expansion of NDB’s membership.
• the proposal of the South African Presidency for setting up a working group on illicit financial flows and a BRICS Task Force on Public Private Partnership.
• Issues related to BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) as well as BRICS Bond Fund were also discussed.

New draft Coastal Regulation Zone Notification

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has framed a new draft Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2018. 
• This draft has been formed by considering the recommendations of Dr. Shailesh Nayak committee constituted by The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

The salient features of the draft CRZ Notification, 2018 and changes with respect to CRZ Notification, 2011, are as under:-

• The High Tide Line (HTL) has been demarcated by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) and shall be reckoned as a universal standard for the HTL for all regulatory purposes under the CRZ Notification, 2018.
• Hazard line mapping shall be used only as a tool for Disaster Management and planning of adaptive and mitigation measures.
• CRZ limits on land along the tidal influenced water bodies has been proposed to be reduced from 100 meters or the width of the creek, whichever is less, to 50 meters or the width of the creek, whichever is less.
• A No Development Zone (NDZ) of 20 meters has been proposed to be stipulated for all Islands close to the main land coast and for all Backwater Islands in the main land. 

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