PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 10-NOVEMBER`-2017
Topic: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.
National Green Tribunal
Context:
The National Green Tribunal has
issued a slew of directions to deal with the situation in Delhi, including
banning construction and industrial activities and entry of trucks, while
lambasting the Delhi government and civic bodies over the worsening air quality
in Delhi and neighbouring states.
The NGT also directed the
authorities and the civic bodies to sprinkle water where PM 10 is found to be
in excess of 600 micrograms per cubic metre.
Background:
The national capital is
experiencing ‘severe’ air quality under a blanket of thick haze, as pollution
levels have breached the permissible standards by multiple times. The Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has recorded ‘severe’ air quality, meaning that
the intensity of pollution was extreme.
About the National Green
Tribunal (NGT):
What is it?
NGT has been established under
the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of
cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and
other natural resources.
Ambit: The tribunal deals with
matters relating to the enforcement of any legal right relating to environment
and giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property.
Other facts:
§ The Tribunal is not bound by
the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be
guided by principles of natural justice.
§ The Tribunal’s dedicated
jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide speedy environmental
justice and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
§ The Tribunal is mandated to
make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6
months of filing of the same.
Members:
Sanctioned strength: currently, 10 expert
members and 10 judicial members (although the act allows for up to 20 of each).
Chairman: is the administrative
head of the tribunal, also serves as a judicial member and is required to be a
serving or retired Chief Justice of a High Court or a judge of the Supreme
Court of India.
Selection: Members are chosen by a
selection committee (headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India)
that reviews their applications and conducts interviews. The Judicial members
are chosen from applicants who are serving or retired judges of High Courts.
Expert members are chosen from applicants who are
either serving or retired bureaucrats not below the rank of an Additional
Secretary to the Government of India (not below the rank of Principal Secretary
if serving under a state government) with a minimum administrative experience
of five years in dealing with environmental matters. Or, the expert members
must have a doctorate in a related field.
Sources: the hindu.
Topic: Government policies and
interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of
their design and implementation.
FEMA norms eased to spur
investment from overseas
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
has simplified the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security
by a Person Resident outside India) Regulations, by putting all the 93
amendments under one notification, a move that will significantly make it easier
for foreign investors to invest in the country.
§ The new notification
combines two regulations on
foreign investments — one which is popularly called investment in an Indian
company or a partnership, or in a limited liability partnership, or FEMA 20,
and the other — FEMA 24, which is investment in a partnership firm.
§ Another significant change is
the introduction of a late submission fee that could allow an investor to
regularise any contravention due to non-reporting, by paying the fee.
About FEMA:
What is it?
The Foreign Exchange Management
Act, 1999 (FEMA) is an Act of the Parliament of India “to consolidate and amend
the law relating to foreign exchange with the objective of facilitating
external trade and payments and for promoting the orderly development and
maintenance of foreign exchange market in India”. It replaces the Foreign
Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).
What it does?
This act seeks to make offenses
related to foreign exchange civil offenses. It enables a new foreign exchange
management regime consistent with the emerging framework of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO). It also paved way to Prevention of Money Laundering Act
2002, which was effected from 1 July 2005.
Sources: the hindu.
GS Paper 3:
Topic: Inclusive growth and
issues arising from it.
RBI release new outsourcing
norms for NBFCs
RBI has issued fresh directions
on managing risks and code of conduct in outsourcing of financial services by
NBFCs. These norms have to be complied with in the next two months.
New directions are as follows:
§ Non-banking financial companies
(NBFCs) cannot outsource core management functions
like internal audit, strategic and compliance functions for know your customer
(KYC) norms, sanction of loans and management of investment portfolio.
§ Access to customer information
by staff of the service provider shall be on ‘need to know’ basis i.e., limited
to those areas where the information is required in order to perform the
outsourced function.
§ NBFCs also have been asked to
constitute a grievance redressal machinery with the name and contact details of
the redressal officer displayed prominently at their branches. It shall be
clearly indicated that NBFCs’ grievance redressal machinery will also deal with
the issue relating to services provided by the outsourced agency.
§ NBFCs would also be responsible
for making currency transaction reports and suspicious transactions reports to
the financial intelligence unit for activities carried out by the service
providers.
NBFCs:
What are they?
Non-bank financial companies
(NBFCs) are financial institutions that provide banking services without
meeting the legal definition of a bank, i.e. one that does not hold a banking
license.
What they can’t do?
§ These institutions typically
are restricted from taking deposits from the public depending on the
jurisdiction. Nonetheless, operations of these institutions are often still
covered under a country’s banking regulations.
§ NBFC cannot accept demand
deposits.
§ NBFCs do not form part of the
payment and settlement system and cannot issue cheques drawn on itself.
§ Deposit insurance facility of
Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available to
depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.
Who supervises them?
The Reserve Bank of India is
entrusted with the responsibility of regulating and supervising the Non-Banking
Financial Companies by virtue of powers vested under Reserve Bank of India Act,
1934.
Sources: ET.
Topic: Major crops cropping
patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and
irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and
issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.
Part-time jobs could fix
India’s farming crisis: Analysts
As farmers in India struggle
with dwindling incomes and soaring costs, with huge debts triggering a wave of
suicides, experts said one solution may be to only work part-time on the land.
Why farming should be taken up
as a part- time job?
§ Over the past decade, tens of
thousands of farmers have killed themselves across India, with debt or
bankruptcy cited as the main reason.
§ Problems usually stem from
failed monsoon rains or low prices due to a supply glut in produce like lentils
and cereals.
§ About 60% of people in India
make their living from the land, but earnings from agriculture have plunged to
one-third of a farm family’s income from two-thirds in the 1980s.
§ Employment in agriculture shrank
by 26 million jobs between 2011 and 2015, according to McKinsey Global
Institute, the research arm of the consulting firm.
§ Seven out of ten rural
households in India are landless or own plots of less than 1 hectare (2.5
acres).
Way ahead:
There is a strong case for
part-time farming: when opportunities arise elsewhere, they must go there. And
when there are new opportunities on the farm, they can return there. Common
alternative sources of income are the government’s rural jobs scheme, which is
often road-building work, and earning daily wages in cities, such as on
construction sites.
Sources: ET.
Topic: Issues related to direct and
indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System
objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and
food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
DBT helps states save Rs 1,557
crore till November 2017
A comprehensive review of the
delivery of its 461 schemes by the Centre, including NREGS, PDS, pensions and
LPG across states, showed that there has been a saving of Rs 1,557 crore due to
implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes.
Background:
The amount transferred through
DBT transactions in 2017-18 registered till November was Rs 52,737.32 crore,
reaching around 59.42 crore beneficiaries. In 2016-2017, Rs 74,607.55 crore
were transferred to 35.70 crore beneficiaries. This was significant growth,
considering the funds transferred in 2013-2014 was only Rs 7,367 crore and
number of beneficiaries was only 10.81 crore.
What is DBT?
The government’s DBT plan
involves transferring the subsidy amount directly to the beneficiaries’ bank
accounts. Here, the government does not have to fiddle around with differential
pricing for the underprivileged. This method can effectively address the issue
of leakages and go a long way in solving the mis-targeting problem.
DBT in India:
Launched in January 2013, DBT
in 2015 was brought in to cover all central and state schemes and expanded in
March 2016 to include “inkind” transfers to individual beneficiaries and a few
Aadhaar-based services and smaller schemes to do with internships and training.
DBT now covers major schemes that involve cash transfers such as Pahal, NREGS,
pensions, scholarships, as well as in-kind transfers such as food grains and
mid-day meals to children.
Sources: ET.
Facts for Prelims:
§ Blue Flag aerial training
exercise:
Blue Flag is a bi-annual
multilateral exercise which aims to strengthen military cooperation amongst
participating nations. The exercise is designed to strengthen Israel’s military
cooperation internationally. This is the first time India is participating in
the drill, along with the US, France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Poland.
§ Olive ridley turtles:
Context: Olive Ridley turtles have
started arriving at Gahirmatha beach in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, known as
world’s largest rookery of this endangered species.
About Olive Ridley turtles:
§ Also known as the Pacific
ridley sea turtle, Olive turtles are a medium-sized species of sea turtle found
in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
§ They are best known for their
behavior of synchronized nesting in mass numbers.
§ The olive ridley is classified
as Vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature
and Natural Resources (IUCN), and is listed in Appendix I of CITES.
§ The Convention on Migratory
Species and the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation
of Sea Turtles have also provided olive ridleys with protection, leading to
increased conservation and management for this marine turtle.
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