GS- 2nd Paper
Topic- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Global Exhibition on Services (GES)
Context
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways, inaugurate the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) 2019 to showcase India’s service sector in Bengaluru.
About GES 2019
- This is the 5th edition of GES.
- Global Exhibition on Services (GES) is India’s premier event for service trade promotion between nations.
- It is an attempt towards escalating the Indian services bar in the global arena.
- It will explore 12 Champion Services Sectors, encompassing participation from 100 countries and hosting sector-specific knowledge sessions.
Organisers
- The Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry,
- Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC),
- Confederation of Indian Industry (Cll).
Objectives
- To engage Industry and Governments across the world to promote greater exchange of trade inservices between India and rest of the world.
- To give the multifaceted Indian services the global visibility they deserve and to simultaneously encourage trade in services at a global level.
- Position India as a leader in the services sector and tap potential for exports in the services sector.
- Draw investments into the country in the services sector
Services Exports Promotion Council (SEPC)
- SEPC is an Export Promotion Council set by Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
- It is an apex trade body which facilitates service exporters of India.
- As an advisory body it actively contributes to the formulation of policies of Government of India and acts as an interface between the Services Industry and the Government.
- SEPC has been instrumental in promoting the efforts of Indian service exporting community, and in projecting India’s image abroad as a reliable supplier of high quality services.
- SEPC actively contributes to the formulation of policies of Government and acts as an interface between the services industry and the Government.
- It has a membership base of 4800 members from the 14 service sectors.
GS- 2nd Paper
Topic- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Automotive Mission Plan (AMP)
Context
The Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) taken up jointly by Government of India and the India automotive industry to lay down the roadmap for development of the industry.
About AMP 2006-16
- The Automotive Mission Plan (AMP) 2006-16 taken up jointly by Government of India and the India automotive industry.
- It has been largely successful in its endeavor to lay down the roadmap for development of the industry.
- The Automotive Mission Plan-I 2006-16 sought to make India world’s destination choice for design and manufacture of automobiles and auto components.
- India has attracted significant quantum of investments from global and local original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
AMP 2016-26
- Automotive Mission Plan-II 2016-26 (AMP 2016) has been released by the Government in September 2015.
- This plan outlines the broad vision of Government of India and the automobile industry on where the industry should stand after a decade.
- This plan seeks to propel the sector to be the engine of the Make in India programme.
Key features of AMP 2016-26
- By 2026, India’s automotive industry is to grow by 4 times of current value of USD 74 Billion.
- India will be one of the top three automotive industries in the world by 2026.
- The share of automotive sector will grow from 7.1% to 12% by 2026.
- The automotive sector will generate 12 million additional jobs.
- The plan aims to make automotive sector as engine of Make in India.
- AMP envisages implementing End of Life Policy for automotive vehicles and component.
- BS-V (Bharat Stage-V) norms to be adopted by 2019 and BS-VI norms to be implemented 2023 for passenger vehicle.
- Implementation of the End of Life policy for automotive vehicles and components.
- End of Life policy seeks to retire older vehicles and components that are not conducive for further use must be in place.
GS-3rd Paper
Topic–Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Indian Forest Act
Context
Government clears misgivings of amendment in the Indian Forest Act, 1927
About
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) finalised the first draft of the comprehensive amendments to the Indian Forest Act, 1927 (IFA).
The Mizoram government has rejected the Centre’s proposed amendment to Indian Forests Act, 1927, on the ground that it violates the special provisions guaranteed to the state under Article 371G of the Constitution.
Article 371(G) of the Constitution states that the Parliament cannot decide on the matters of the religious and social practices of the Mizos, civil and criminal law of the land, land ownership transfer, and customary law procedure without the consent of the Assembly.
Key highlights of the amendment Draft
- This legislation is to facilitate increase of forest cover from about 24% now to 33% (a stated directive of government policy).
- The amendment defines community as “a group of persons specified on the basis of government records living in a specific locality and in joint possession and enjoyment of common property resources, without regard to race, religion, caste, language and culture”.
- Forest is defined to include “any government or private or institutional land recorded or notified as forest/forest land in any government record and the lands managed by government/community as forest and mangroves, and also any land which the central or state government may by notification declare to be forest for the purpose of this Act
- “Village forests”, according to the proposed Act, may be forestland or wasteland.
- It will be the property of the government and would be jointly managed by the community through the Joint Forest Management Committee or Gram Sabha.
- The preamble of IFA, 1927, said the Act was focused on laws related to transport of forest produce and the tax on it.
- While the amendment has increased the focus to “conservation, enrichment and sustainable management of forest resources and matters connected therewith to safeguard ecological stability to ensure provision of ecosystem services in perpetuity and to address the concerns related to climate change and international commitments”.
- The Amendment has increased role of states.
- The amendments say if the state government, after consultation with the central government, feels that the rights under FRA will hamper conservation efforts, then the state
“may commute such rights by paying such persons a sum of money in lieu thereof, or grant of land, or in such other manner as it thinks fit, to maintain the social organisation of the forest dwelling communities or alternatively set out some other forest tract of sufficient extent, and in a locality reasonably convenient, for the purpose of such forest dwellers”
- The legislation has proposed a forest development cess of up to 10% of the assessed value of mining products removed from forests, and water used for irrigation or in industries.
- The amendment also introduces a new category of forests — production forest.
- These will be forests with specific objectives for production of timber, pulp, pulpwood, firewood, non-timber forest produce, medicinal plants or any forest species to increase production in the country for a specified period.
Concerns
- The draft says that the state governments could take away the rights of the forest dwellers if the government feels it is not in line with “conservation of the proposed reserved forest” by payment to the people impacted or by the grant of land.
- The Bill reinforces the idea of bureaucratic control of forests, providing immunity for actions such as use of firearms by personnel to prevent an offence.
- It proposed to penalise entire communities through denial of access to forests for offences by individuals.
- Such provisions of the draft invariably affect poor inhabitants, and run counter to the empowering and egalitarian goals that produced the Forest Rights Act.
- Impact assessment reports have mostly been reduced to a farce, and the public hearings process has been
- The exclusion of ‘village forestry’ from the preview of Forest Right Act (forest official supersedes Gram Sabha) is legally contradictory and would add confusion on the ground.
Indian Forest Act, 1927
- The act sought to consolidate and reserve the areas having forest cover, or significant wildlife.
- It also aimed to regulate movement and transit of forest produce, and duty leviable on timber and other forest produce.
- It also defined the procedure to be followed for declaring an area as Reserved Forest, Protected Forest or a Village Forest.
- The act has detailed definition of what a forest offence is, what are the acts prohibited inside a Reserved Forest, and penalties leviable on violation of the provisions of the Act.
For Prelims
DEFCOM India 2019
Highlights
- DEFCOM INDIA 2019 seminar is being held at Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi .
- The theme for the seminar is- “Communications: A Decisive Catalyst for Jointness”.
- The seminar is devoted to the seminal theme of leveraging communications for achieving jointness between the three services.
Assam roofed turtle
Highlights
- The Assamese gamosa, a ubiquitous, white cotton towel, has been assigned to, Conservation of rare freshwater turtles- Assam roofed turtle.
- It is an endangered small freshwater species.
- These Assam roofed turtle are protected under Schedule I of the wildlife protection act.
