16 September 2019: PIB Summary & Analysis

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

September 16th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here

President of India in Slovenia

Context:

President Mr. Ramnath Kovind is on the final leg of his visit to Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia. This is the first-ever presidential visit from India to Slovenia.

Details:

• The president pointed out in his address in the occasion, that there were immense possibilities for India-Slovenia ties to further develop.
• Slovenia has developed niche technology in the defence sector and is a proven leader in the field of Artificial Intelligence, defence equipment and clean water technologies.
• The President thanked Slovenia’s support for India’s permanent membership of the UN Security Council and sought continued support for India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
• Kovind also urged Slovenia to join the International Solar Alliance.
• Both countries signed and exchanged seven MoUs and Programmes of Cooperation in the fields of Investment, Sports, Culture, River Rejuvenation (Clean Ganga Mission), Science & Technology and Standards.

Call on Prime Minister by Governor of New Jersey, Mr. Phillip D. Murphy

Context:

The Governor of the state of New Jersey Phillip Murphy is on a visit to Mumbai, Agra, Hyderabad and Delhi.

Details:

• A Governor in the United States is akin to a Chief Minister of a State in India.
• New Jersey has the highest population of Indian-Americans in the USA.
• The state has emerged as a top destination for India’s trade and investment into the U.S.
• Both Mr. Murphy and PM Modi agreed to the significance of cooperation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and higher education.

Measures to Enhance IPR Ecosystem through Lower Fees

Context:

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has proposed to reduce the fees for various IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights).

Details:

• The fee structure reduced is for both e-filing and physical filing.
• The reduction in fees ranges from a 50% decrease to a 100% reduction (waiver of fees) for different sectors.
• Geographical Indications have been given a 100% reduction in the fees.
• Domestic filing for patents has increased from 22% in 2013-14 to 34% in 2018-19.
• Awareness programmes for IP are being conducted at schools, colleges, universities, R&D institutes and industry clusters.
• To address the issue of pendency in IP applications, the government has streamlined the process, and also increased manpower in this field.

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) introduces Nirvik

Context:

The Ministry of Commerce & Industry through Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) has introduced a new Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS) called NIRVIK to enhance loan availability and ease the lending process.

Details:

• The scheme was announced by the Finance Minister on 14^th September as a measure to boost exports.
• The details of the scheme were announced by the Commerce and Industry Minister on 16^th
• Enhanced cover will ensure that Foreign and Rupee export credit interest rates will be below 4% and 8% respectively for exporters.
• Under this scheme, insurance cover percentage has also been enhanced to 90% from the present average of 60% for both principal and interest.

Common Digital Platform for Issuance of Electronic Certificates of Origin

Context:

The Common Digital Platform for Issuance of electronic Certificates of Origin (CoO) was launched on 16^th September. This is a digital platform to give single point access to exporters.

Details:

• This platform will be a single access point for all exporters, for all FTAs/PTAs and for all agencies concerned.
• Certificate of Origin will be issued electronically which can be in paperless format if agreed to by the partner countries.
• Authorities of partner countries will be able to verify the authenticity of certificates from the website.
• Further, it provides administrative access to the Department of Commerce for reporting and monitoring purposes.

Maiden IN-RSN-RTN Trilateral Exercise Commences

Context:

A trilateral exercise, involving the navies of the Republic of Singapore, Thailand and India has commenced at Port Blair on 16^th September.

Details:

• The five-day-long exercise is aimed at bolstering the maritime inter-relationships between Singapore, Thailand and India, and to contribute significantly to enhancing the overall maritime security in the region.
• This would also strengthen the mutual confidence amongst the three navies in terms of interoperability and development of a common understanding of procedures.

World Ozone Day

Context:

The Union Minister of State (MoS) for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Mr. Babul Supriyo was speaking at an event in New Delhi to mark World Ozone Day.

Cooling Action Plan:

• The minister highlighted the fact that India became one of the first countries in the world to launch a comprehensive Cooling Action plan in March, 2019, which has a long term vision to address the cooling requirement across sectors such as residential and commercial buildings, cold-chain, refrigeration, transport and industries.
• The India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) lists out actions which can help reduce the cooling demand, which will also help in reducing both direct and indirect emissions.
• The India Cooling Action seeks to
  • Reduce cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25% by 2037-38
  • Reduce refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by 2037-38
  • Reduce cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by 2037-38
  • Recognize “cooling and related areas” as a thrust area of research under the national S&T Programme
  • Training and certification of 100,000 servicing sector technicians by 2022-23, synergizing with Skill India Mission.

About World Ozone Day:

• Every year September 16 is marked as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer or World Ozone Day.
• This day was designated by the UN in 2009.
• This date was chosen because it was the day in 1987 when nations signed the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
• The theme for this year: 32 Years and Healing

Related Links:

September 16th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here

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