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September 18th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here
National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT)
Context:
Officials from the Ministry of Earth Sciences apprised the Vice-president of the status of the National Institute of Ocean Technology’s research facility at Thupilipallam village in Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh.
Details:
- The foundation stone for the research facility at Thupilipallam was laid in 2016 but the project has seen delays due to legal hurdles.
About the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT):
- NIOT is an autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, established in 1993.
- It has its main office at Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- The chief objective of the institute is to develop reliable indigenous technologies to solve the various engineering problems associated with the harvesting of non-living and living resources in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which is about two-thirds of the land area of India.
- The institute engages in developing technologies for sustainable utilization of ocean resources.
- It also engages in providing solutions to organisations working in the field.
About the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ):
- The EEZ is a sea zone prescribed by the UNCLOS in 1982, over which a country has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.
- It stretches from the baseline out to 200 nautical miles from a country’s coast.
- The term EEZ does not include the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. It also does not include the territorial sea.
- The difference between territorial sea and the EEZ is that the former confers full sovereignty over the waters, whereas the latter is merely a “sovereign right” which refers to the coastal nation’s rights below the surface of the sea.
- The surface waters are international waters.
Atomic Energy Commission
Context:
The Chairman of India’s Atomic Energy Commission gave a statement at the 63rd General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at Vienna.
About the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC):
- The AEC is the governing body of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), GOI.
- The Department of Atomic Energy is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister.
- The AEC was established in 1948.
- Its functions encompass organising research in atomic science, training atomic scientists, promoting nuclear research in the Commission’s own laboratories and undertaking prospecting of atomic minerals and extracting such minerals for use on industrial scale.
About the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA):
- It is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons.
- It is also the international centre for cooperation in the nuclear field.
- It works with its member states and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.
- It was established in 1957.
- It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
- It has 171 members. India became a member in 1957.
- The IAEA, along with its former Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.
Company Law Committee
Context:
The government constituted the Company Law Committee for examining and making recommendations on various provisions and issues pertaining to the implementation of the Companies Act.
Details:
- The Committee will examine and make recommendations on various issues pertaining to the Companies Act, 2013 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008.
- The Committee will comprise of a chairperson and members.
- The Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is the Chairman.
- The Committee will analyse the nature of offences (compoundable and non-compoundable) and submit its recommendation as to whether any of the offences could be re-categorized as ‘civil wrongs’ along with measures to optimize the compliance requirements under the Companies Act, 2013 and to provide further Ease of Doing Business.
- It will also study the feasibility of introducing settlement mechanism, deferred prosecution agreement, etc., within the ambit of the Companies Act, 2013.
- It will also examine the LLP Act and recommend measures to promote Ease of Doing Business.
Zonal Councils
Context:
The 29th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council will be held on 20th September at Chandigarh.
About Zonal Councils:
- Zonal Councils are statutory bodies established under the States Reorganisation Act 1956.
- They are advisory bodies and were established to promote interstate cooperation and coordination.
- There are five zonal councils in India, as follows:
- Northern Zonal Council: Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Rajasthan
- Central Zonal Council: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh
- Eastern Zonal Council: Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal
- Southern Zonal Council: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana
- Western Zonal Council: Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as Lakshadweep, are not members but are special invitees to the Southern Zonal Council.
- The north-eastern states are not members of any of the above councils. Their problems are addressed by another statutory body, the North Eastern Council, created by the North Eastern Council Act, 1971.
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September 18th, 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here
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