NEWS TODAY

VISIONIAS

13th MAY, 2021

Production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the renewable sector could facilitate the development of an additional 8-12 GW of annual solar cell and module manufacturing capacity.

Also, in a related news, International Energy Agency (IEA) finds India’s renewable energy capacity addition in 2020 declined by more than 50% since 2019, primarily due to construction delays brought on by COVID-19 pandemic.

India’s initiatives for solar energy:

India has set a target to install 280GW of solar power plants by FY30 out of which about 240 GW is under pipeline or yet to be achieved.

Development of at least 25 Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects targeting over 20,000 MW of solar power installed capacity.National Solar Mission to establish India as a global leader in solar energy, by creating the policy conditions for its diffusion across the country as quickly as possible.Grid-Connected Rooftop Solar Scheme to achieve a cumulative capacity of 40,000 MW from Rooftop Solar Projects by the year 2022.Suryamitra Programme aims to develop the skills of youth, and prepare the candidates to become new entrepreneurs in Solar Energy sector.

PLI SCHEME CAN BRING 8-12 GW MORE SOLAR MANUFACT-URING CAPACITY’

Substandard medicines are pharmaceutical products that do not meet their quality standards and specifications.

non-uniformity in the interpretation of the provisions of laws and their implementation.

Act regulates the import, manufacture and distribution of drugs in India.

Lack of specially trained cadres and inadequate testing facilities,prevalent practice of self-medication,high cost of genuine medicines

WHO defines ‘counterfeit’ or fake medicine as ‘medicines that are deliberately and fraudulently mislabelled with respect to identity and/or source’.

According to research by the OECD and the EU Intellectual Property Office, despite presence of Drugs and Cosmetic Act,1940 and Drugs, India is the world’s leading producer of fake drugs.

Why India is leading producer of fake drugs?

Create an environment of cooperation and collaboration between various government agencies such as Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) customs, police etc to help combat the crisis of counterfeit drugs and ensure the safety of patients.The distribution channel should be upgraded with the latest technological instruments like Barcode, Holograms, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips.Raise awareness about the risks of counterfeit medicines

Measures to be taken

PROBLEM OF FAKE AND SUB-STANDARD DRUGS HAVERESURFACED IN THE WAKE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Department of Science and Technology (DST), the

Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA), in close co-ordination with NITI Aayog team have been work on this initiative.

Group has set a target price of less than Rs. 3500 ($50) for a smart AC charge point which can be operated with a smart phone.

New LAC infrastructure will be ratified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

Innovative, LAC infrastructure aims to accelerate the adoption of EVs

The user’s smartphone will communicate with the LAC via low-power Bluetooth and links up to a back-end where transaction payment and analytics are enabled.Also, LAC device is intended to be highly scalable and deployed in any place.

Also, cabinet has approved Production Linked Incentive scheme “National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Storage”.

It will reduce import dependence, support Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and facilitate demand for EVs, which are proven to be significantly less pollutingACCs are the new generation storage technologies that can store electric energy either as electrochemical or as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required.

INDIA TO LAUNCH LOW-COSTCHARGING (LAC) DEVICES FORELECTRIC TWO, THREE WHEELERS

National Electric Mobility Mission Plan: To achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country.FAME India Scheme (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles): To encourage electric vehicles by providing subsidies. 4 focus areas are Technology Development, Demand Creation, Pilot Projects and Charging Infrastructure.

Phased Manufacturing Programme: Sets a time bound policy to make India a mobile and component manufacturing hub.National mission for Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage by NITI Aayog: To promote clean, connected, shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives.

INDIA’S INITIATIVES FOR EV

Al-Aqsa mosque complex in Jerusalem's Old City is one of Islam's most revered location.

Reasons for recent conflictConflict at Al-Aqsa mosque: More than 160 people were wounded when Israeli riot police clashed with Palestinians at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque.

In 1947 the United Nations voted to split the Palestine between Arabs and Jews.The Jewish residents accepted the agreement and declared independence of Israel in 1948 while Arabs rejected the agreement.

Background of conflictThe conflict dates back to early 20th century. During World War II, over 3 lakh Jews migrated & resettled in Palestine and demanded a new country.

India’s stance on Israel Palestine conflictIndia believes in the 2-state solution. It supports the establishment of a sovereign independent and a viable state of Palestine along with maintaining India’s growing relationship with Israel.

Eviction of some Palestinian families in East Jerusalem: Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it later.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS: OLD GRIEVANCES FUEL NEW FIGHTING

It is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 37 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.VISIONIAS

WHO should have declared emergency soonerCountries that devalued science failed to build trust in their response and pursued inconsistent strategies that left them lagging behind the epidemic and with high infection and death rates.

Health systems and health workers were not prepared for a prolonged crisis.

The G7 nations should pay 60% of the $19 billion required to fund vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics via the WHO's Access to Covid Tools Accelerator programme in 2021.Voluntary licensing and technology transfers for Covid-19 vaccines or a waiver of intellectual property rights should come into force.The G20 should also create an International Pandemic Financing Facility.

National pandemic preparedness has been vastly underfunded,

Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (The Independent Panel) was appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General

WHO is United Nations’ specialized agency for Health that works world-wide to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable.

Key findings

Rich countries should provide the 92 poorest territories in the Covax scheme.

Recommendation to address the current pandemic:

COVID DISASTER COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED:GLOBAL EXPERT PANEL

ALSO IN NEWS

Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB) Scheme

B.1.617 variant

Covaxin receives nod for trials on children

WTO Draft text on fisheries subsidies

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD)

Kenyan tea is under threat due to climate change:

Report

SGBs are issued by Reserve Bank of India on behalf of the Government of India.

Health Ministry has recently clarified that WHO has not termed B.1.617 as an Indian variant.

Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin to conduct clinical trials on children between the age of 2 and 18, paving way for the first coronavirus inoculation to be tested in minors in the country.

India and 79-member African, Caribbean and Pacific group likely to oppose WTO draft text aimed at reducing global fisheries subsidies.It is seen as a major dilution of developing countries’ special and differential treatment (S&DT) rights.

WTO draft text proposes time bound exemptions for subsidies given by developing and least-developed countries for fishing close to shore.

Covaxin is the first Covid-19 vaccine developed in India by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).It is a whole virion inactivated vaccine, which uses a weakened or deactivated virus (Sars-Cov-2) responsible for the disease to trigger immunity against it.

About B.1.617:

Bonds are sold through Scheduled Commercial banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), designated post offices, and recognised stock exchanges.The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with exit option after 5th yearThe investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.50% per annum payable semi-annually on the nominal value.

SGBs are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold.

S&DT provides several flexibilities for developing countries, such as longer time periods for implementing agreements and commitments, lower levels of commitment and measures to increase trading opportunities.

Most OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries.OECD countries and Key Partners represent about 80% of world trade and investment.It is an official United Nations observer.

India is not a member, but a key economic partner.

According to WHO, the B.1.617 variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus, having three sub-lineages (B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2, B.1.617.3), has a higher rate of transmission.The variant B.1.617 has been detected in more than 44 countries and has now been declared as a variant of concern.

The B.1.617 variant is believed to have been detected in India in October 2020. 

Rise in temperature and extreme rainfall events in Kenya in the future will adversely affect tea production.

Tea requires well drained soil and deep loam in nature with high amount of organic matter and pH 4.5 to 5.5. The performance of tea is excellent at elevations ranging from 1000 - 2500 m. Optimum temperature: 20 – 27 degree C. China is the largest producer of tea followed by India (Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and  Karnataka).

Reports and Indices released by OECD are- International Migration Outlook, OECD Better Life Index.