General Studies- II
Topic– Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Recycling of Ships Act, 2019
Context
The Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 becomes an Act after receiving assent of President of India.\
About the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019
- The Recycling of Ships Bill, 2019 has become an Act.
- It became Act after it received the assent of President of India on 13th December, 2019.
- The Act restricts the use of hazardous material on ships and regulates the recycling of ships.
Key features of the Act
The Act will apply to
- any new or existing ship which is registered in India,
- ships entering a port or terminal in India, or the territorial waters of India,
- any warship, or other ship owned and operated by an administration and used on government non-commercial service, and
- Ship recycling facilities operating in India.
Ship recycling:
- The Act defines ship recycling as the dismantling of a ship at a facility to recover the components and materials for reuse, and taking care of the hazardous material so produced.
- It includes associated operations such as storage and treatment of materials and components on site.
Requirements for ships
- Ships should not use prohibited hazardous materials as notified.
- The central government may exempt certain categories of ships from this requirement.
- The National Authority will carry out periodic surveys to verify the prescribed requirements.
- This Authority will be notified by the central government to administer, supervise and monitor all activities related to ship recycling.
- The owner of every new ship must make an application to the National Authority to obtain a certificate on the inventory of hazardous materials.
- Existing ship owners must apply for the certificate within five years of the commencement of the Act. The certificate must be renewed every five years.
- Using hazardous materials in a ship will be punishable with imprisonment of up to three months, or a fine of up to five lakh rupees, or both.
These requirements will not apply to
- any warship, or other ship owned and operated by an administration and used on government non-commercial service, and
- ships with internal volume less than 500 tonne
Recycling facilities
- Ships will be recycled only in authorised recycling facilities.
- Existing facilities must apply for authorisation within 60 days of the commencement of the Act.
- A facility will be authorised when the Competent Authority is satisfied that it follows the specified standards.
- Each Ship Recycler must maintain adequate measures for emergency preparedness and response, safety, health, training, and welfare of workers as per the Factories Act, 1948.
Recycling process
- A ship owner must apply to the National Authority for a ready for recycling certificate before recycling his ship.
- The Ship Recycler must prepare a ship recycling plan which should be approved by the Competent Authority.
- The Authority must grant such permission after physically inspecting the ship.
Every ship recycler must:
- ensure safe and environmentally sound removal and management of hazardous materials from a ship, and
- Comply with the specified environmental regulations.
- They must also ensure that no environmental damage is caused due to such recycling.
In case of an oil spill, a ship recycler will be punishable with:
- a fine of up to five lakh rupees in case of no response within 12 hours of issue of the first notice,
- a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh in case of no response within 24 hours of issue of the second notice, and
- imprisonment of up to three months, and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh in case of no response within 24 hours of issue of the third notice.
Appeals
- Decisions of the Competent Authority may be appealed with the National Authority within 30 days of receiving the decision.
- Decisions of the National Authority may be appealed with the central government within 30 days of receiving the decision.
Significance
- The Act imposes a statutory duty on ship recyclers to ensure safe and environmentally sound removal and management of hazardous wastes from ships.
- Appropriate penal provisions have been introduced in the Act to deter any violation of statutory provisions.
- Accession to Hong Kong Convention by India and enactment of Recycling of Ships Act, 2019 will raise the profile of our ship recycling industry as being environment friendly and safety conscious and would go a long way in consolidating India’s position as the market leader.
General Studies- II
Topic- Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes;
Breast Milk Banks
Context
The national guidelines with operational and technical guidance on establishment of Lactation Management Centres in public health facilities have been shared.
About
- Breast Milk Banks in India are known as Comprehensive Lactation Management Centres (CLMC) and Lactation Management Unit (LMU), depending on the level of health facilities where these units are established.
- These are established under “National Guidelines on Establishment of Lactation Management Centres in Public Health Facilities” by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Human milk banking
- It is universally accepted that breast milk is the optimum exclusive source of nutrition for the first six months of life.
- It may remain part of the healthy infant diet for the first two years of life and beyond.
- Despite advances in infant formulas, human breast milk provides a bioactive matrix of benefits that cannot be replicated by any other source of nutrition.
- When the mother’s own milk is unavailable for the sick, hospitalized newborn, pasteurized human donor breast milk should be made available as an alternative feeding choice followed by commercial formula.
- UNICEF India mentions mothers, both in high- and low-income countries, face challenges such as poor healthcare and nutrition.
- Sometimes, families end up giving babies honey or sugared water as their first oral feed, referred to as prelacteal feed.
- Milk banks have a dedicated set of counsellors to answer such queries about lactation management and convince new mothers about the benefits of donating milk.
Government’s Initiatives
- Mothers Absolute Affection (MAA)- It is a nationwide programme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to promote breastfeeding.
- Maatri Amrit Kosh (Vatsalya)- it was established in collaboration with the Norwegian government.
General Studies-III
Topic- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Sustainable Development Cell for Environmental Mitigation
Context
Ministry of Coal to Establish Sustainable Development Cell for Environmental Mitigation Measures.
About
- The Ministry of Coal has decided to establish a ‘Sustainable Development Cell’.
- It will promote environmentally sustainable coal mining in the country and address environmental concerns during the decommissioning or closure of mines.
Role of Sustainable Development Cell
- The Sustainable Development cell (SDC) will advise, mentor, plan and monitor the mitigation measures taken by the coal companies.
- It will maximise the utilisation of available resources in a sustainable way.
- It will minimise the adverse impact of mining.
- It will mitigate it for further ecosystem services.
- This cell will also formulate the future policy framework for the environmental mitigation measures including the Mine closure Fund.
Tasks of the Cell
- The SDC will adopt a systemic approach, starting from collection of data, analysis of data, and presentation of information, planning based on information; by domain experts, adoption of best practices, consultations, innovative thinking, site-specific approaches, knowledge sharing and dissemination.
- It aims to ease the lives of people and communities in general.
All of the above will be done by executing following tasks on a planned way:
- Land amelioration and afforestation:
- Air quality, emission and noise management:
- Mine water management:
- Sustainable Overburden Management:
- Sustainable Mine Tourism:
- Planning and Monitoring:
- Policy, Research, Education, and Dissemination
Significance
Sustainable Development Cell envisages to address the environment mitigation measures in a systemic manner and to provide a better environment to people working and residing in the vicinity of Mines.
For prelims
DefExpo 2020
Highlights
- 11th edition of DefExpo scheduled to be held in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
- Defence PSUs Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) organised a roadshow.
- The theme of DefExpo 2020 is ‘Digital Transformation of Defence’.
- The event would provide a common platform for Defence industries, both public and private, MSMEs and startups to showcase their capabilities and R&D strengths to potential customers from both India and abroad.
