30 July 2018: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

Read the daily PIB update and stay up-to-date on current affairs for the UPSC exam

NRC in Assam

• Today NRC Draft List has been published in Assam.
• Everyone will have full opportunity to file Claims / Objections as per provision in law. Only after the disposal of claims and objections, the Final NRC will be published.
• Some people who may not have been able to submit necessary documents. They will get full opportunity through Claims and Objections process.
• Even after the Final NRC, every person will get an opportunity to approach the Foreigners Tribunal.
• This means that even those whose names do not figure in the Final NRC will get an opportunity to approach the Tribunal. There is no question of any coercive action against anyone.
• NRC process is being carried out with complete fairness and transparency. It has been monitored by the Honourable Supreme Court.

Penal Provision of Fema Covers Violation of FDI Policy Regulations

• FDI in retail has been allowed in a calibrated manner after intensive consultations with stakeholders including concerned Ministries and departments, State Governments, apex industry chambers, associations and other organizations.
• The Minister of State of Commerce and Industry, C. R. Chaudhary said that there is no proposal to set up a special group to keep tabs on any violation of its foreign investment policy by online retail platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra.
• However, any violation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy regulations is covered by the penal provision of the FEMA, 1999.
• Reserve bank of India administers the FEMA and Enforcement Directorate under the Ministry of Finance is the authority for the enforcement of FEMA.
• The Minister also informed the House that the Government has not made any assessment of the direct impact of Walmart and Flipkart deal on small traders.

Female Employment Rate

• Estimates of employment and unemployment are obtained through Labour force surveys conducted by National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• As per the last three rounds of Annual Employment –Unemployment (EUS) Surveys conducted by Labour Bureau in the year 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2015-16, the Worker Population Ratio for Female  aged 15 years & above according to Usual Status basis are 25.0%, 29.6% and 25.8% respectively. State/UT-wise details are given below.
• Under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), a special rebate of 0.25% is extended to women borrowers.
• Almost 75% loans (9.02 crore out of total 12.27 crore sanctioned loan as on 31st March, 2018) given under the MUDRA scheme, have been given to women entrepreneurs.

Various steps to increase female labour participation rate:

1. The enactment of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 which provides for enhancement in paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks and provisions for mandatory crèche facility in the establishments having 50 or more employees;
2. Issue of an advisory to the States under the Factories Act, 1948 for permitting women workers in the night shifts with adequate safety measures.
3. Payment of equal remuneration to men and women workers for same work or work of similar nature without any discrimination.
4. The wages fixed by the appropriate Government are equally applicable to both male and female workers and the Act does not discriminate on the basis of gender.

CETF Battalion of Territorial Army for Environment Protection

• Sanction has been accorded for raising a new Composite Ecological Task Force (CETF) of Territorial Army to patrol sensitive river areas for protection of bio-diversity and other tasks.
• The task of pollution abatement and Ganga rejuvenation has to be taken to a level so that it becomes a people’s movement.
• The CETF is expected to be largely manned by ex-service men who would bring their spirit of dedication and expertise to the tasks related of pollution abatement on the lines of Ecological Task Force Battalions, which are already successfully functioning in different parts of the country.
• The Battalion is supposed to perform its role under the guidance of authorities who have the mandate to perform a particular role and they do not have the powers to arrest those found polluting the river.

Study on Groundwater Contamination

• Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) regularly monitors ground water quality of shallow aquifers on a regional scale, once every year.
• Ground water quality data generated during various scientific studies and ground water quality monitoring indicate that the ground water in major part of the country is potable.
• Some parts of various states are contaminated by Salinity, Arsenic, Fluoride, Iron, Nitrate and Heavy metals beyond the permissible limits of BIS.
• The possible sources of contamination of ground water are either geogenic or anthropogenic in nature. Anthropogenic contamination of ground water is due to industrial discharges, landfills, diffused sources of pollution like fertilizers and pesticides from agricultural fields etc.

Steps taken to check the ground water pollution are –

1. Control of industrial pollution under the provision of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 by consent mechanism being applied by SPCBs/ PCCs.
2. A mutually agreed time targeted programme is implemented under Corporate Responsibility on Environment Protection (CREP).
3. Establishment of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) for cluster of Small Scale Industrial units.
4. Continuous water quality monitoring systems are being established on industrial units in the country, through the directives issued by CPCB, for getting real time information on the effluent quality.

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