THE ASSAM TRIBUNE ANALYSIS - For Preliminary and Mains examination As per new Pattern of APSC Also useful for UPSC and other State level ...

THE ASSAM TRIBUNE ANALYSIS

                       DATE – 21st June, 2021

              For Preliminary and Mains examination

                    As per new Pattern of APSC

(Also useful for UPSC and other State level government examinations)

Answer of 17-06-2021

   1.   D
   2.   B
   3.   A
   4.   A

MCQs of 21-06-2021

Q1. Which of the following state is the first to started the ‘One District One Product Scheme’ ?

A. Uttar Pradesh

B. Bihar

C. Odisha

D. Telangana

Q2. Recently , the Centre has pushed a proposal to set up a central university in which among the
following Union Territories?

A. Andaman & Nicobar Islands

B. Ladakh

C. Jammu and Kashmir

D. Puducherry

Q3. In which state, multi a seaweed park will be setup?

A. Chhattisgarh

B. Tamil Nadu

C. Punjab

D. Haryana

Q4. The headquarters of IUCN located at?

A. Gland, Switzerland

B. Paris, France

C. Vienna, Austria

D. Brussels, Belgium

Q5. The International Day of yoga has been celebrated annually on

A.15 June

B. 21 June

C. 21 May

D. 15 July

CONTENTS

  •   IT rules framed post talks with stakeholders: India to UN (GS 2 – IR)
  •   FIDC seeks liquidity support for NBFCs for on-lending to MSMEs (GS 3 – Economy)
  •   Govt open to more measures to boost economy: CEA (GS 3 – Economy)
  •   Govt bid to use space tech in flood control State in touch with NE-SAC, says CM (GS 5 – Disaster
      Management)
  •   MoU signed to boost conservation of endangered turtles in Assam (GS 5 – conservation of
      species)

EDITORIALS

  •   An extraordinary athlete

ARTICLES

IT rules framed post talks with stakeholders: India to UN

   •   The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations Office has responded to the concerns
       raised by Special Procedures Branch of the Human Rights Council regarding India's new IT norms,
       wherein the Permanent Mission has stressed that India's democratic credentials are well
       recognised and the new norms were finalised after due consultation with various stakeholders.
   •   The letter by the Mission said: "The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and
       Ministry of Information and Broadcasting undertook broad consultations in 2018 with various
       stakeholders, including individuals, civil society, industry association and organizations and
       invited public comments to prepare the draft Rules."
   •   Thereafter an inter-ministerial meeting had discussed in detail the comments received and,
       accordingly, the rules were finalised. It also told the UN arm: "India's democratic credentials are
       well recognized".
   •   The right to freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed under the Indian Constitution, the
       Permanent Mission of India said in its letter, adding that the independent judiciary and a robust
       media are part of India's democratic structure.
   •   "The Permanent Mission of India requests that the enclosed information may be brought to the
       attention of the concerned Special Rapporteurs," it said.
   •   The Indian Government and the US-headquartered Twitter are in sort of a tussle over the new
       norms, wherein the Centre has said that the social media platform has failed to comply with the
       norms. The company, however, recently said that it has appointed an Interim Chief Compliance
       Officer as suggested under new intermediary guidelines.

•   The Government of India, in exercising its powers under section 87 (2) of the Information
      Technology Act, 2000, and in supersession of the earlier Information Technology (Intermediary
      Guidelines) Rules 2011, framed the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital
      Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 ('new IT Rules') and notified the same on 25 February, 2021.
  •   For the significant intermediaries, the Rules have come into effect from May 26, 2021.
  •   Although initially the significant intermediaries were largely reluctant to comply with the new
      norms, by and large all the players have complied by now, and Twitter has said that it will provide
      details of the interim Chief Compliance Officer to the government soon.
  •   Twitter has also lost its status of intermediary platform in India over non-compliance to the new
      intermediary guidelines.
  •   A day after Twitter said that it has appointed an Interim Chief Compliance Officer, Union
      Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad last Wednesday said that the US-based company
      has failed to comply with the new intermediary guidelines.

FIDC seeks liquidity support for NBFCs for on-lending to MSMEs

  •   Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) has written to the government requesting setting
      up of a refinance window for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), especially smaller
      players, for on-lending to the MSME sector.
  •   In a letter addressed to Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Nitin
      Gadkari, FIDC said banks are one of the major sources of funding for NBFCs, with the small and
      medium-sized non-bank players being totally dependent on banks.
  •   With the changing economic environment and the associated developments, NBFCs, especially,
      small and medium- sized ones, are facing liquidity crunch.
  •   Moreover, banks are constrained by the exposure limits prescribed for the NBFC sector, the
      letter said, adding that it is therefore important that a permanent refinancing mechanism is
      developed for NBFCs.

•   "We suggest that SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) may be allocated funds
    exclusively for refinancing NBFCs for on-lending to MSMEs, with a carve-out for small NBFCs.
    This refinance may be provided for a period of at least three years, FIDC, an industry body of
    NBFCs, said.
•   It said retail and wholesale traders who contribute significantly to the country's economy and are
    integral part of the business community have been excluded from the definition of MSMEs.
•   These traders constitute around 35 percent of total MSMEs in the country and are thus not
    eligible for liquidity support from the banking system and extension of priority sector benefits
    much needed for them, it said.
•   "We therefore request you to include wholesale and retail trade in the list of activities allowed
    for registration as MSME," it said.
•   On Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for NBFCs (CGS-II), FIDC requested that all claims filed during
    FY21 (especially during March 24, 2021 to March 31, 2021) but not processed, be treated as
    claims for FY21 as a one-time exception.
•   In absence of this, there will be a huge financial loss to banks and NBFCs, it said.
•   Under CGS 11, in order to lodge any claim, the account should have been classified as an NPA as
    per RBI norms and it should have completed the 12 months' lock-in period requirement, post
    crystallisation of the portfolio.
•   The industry body also suggested that NBFCs should be covered under Interest Subvention
    Scheme for MSNIEs, so that they can pass on the subvention cred- it pertaining to FY20-21 to its
    MSME customers.
•   "We also request that the interest subvention scheme be relaunched and be extended to both
    MSME and retail and wholesale traders, it said. PTI

Govt open to more measures to boost economy: CEA

  •   The government is open to coming out with more measures to the economy which has been hit
      by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, says Chief Economic miser (CEA) KV
      Subramanian.
  •   He, however, added that the demand for a fresh stimulus package has to be considered against
      the backdrop of a host of initiatives taken by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget
      for 2021- 22 presented in February.
  •   The Chief Economic Adviser was responding to a suggestion made by some industry bodies that
      the government needed to come out with a Rs 3-lakh-crore stimulus package to the economy
      which was badly hit by the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in April-May.
  •   According to an assessment by the Reserve Bank, the second wave has cost the nation about Rs
      2-lakh crore in terms of output loss.
  •   "Like last year, we do remain very open to coming up with more measures as well...but I think it
      is really important to take into account the big differences between last year and this year when
      we talk about stimulus," he told PTI in an interview.
  •   Elaborating his point, the CEA said that unlike the previous Budget which was framed before the
      pandemic, the 2(Y21 Budget was presented amid the pandemic and had already incorporated
      significant fiscal expansion.
  •   The focus is particularly on infrastructure spending which leads to construction activity and
      subsequently creation of jobs in the informal sector and demand generation, he said. It was
      witnessed during the January-March quarter of the last financial year, he added.
  •   The significant capital spending by the government led to a 15 per cent increase in the
      construction sector in the fourth quarter and the gross fixed capital formation to GDP surged to
      34 per cent, the highest in the last six years.

•   Emphasising that the final objective is to ensure that the economic recovery gathers pace, he
       said the government will do whatever is necessary to ensure that.
   •   With regard to food security for the poor, he said the government has already extended the free
       food programme for 80 crore population till November.
   •   The extension of PM Garib Kalyan yojana would cost about Rs 70,000 crore, he said, adding, free
       vaccination for all is another important economic measure.
   •   "Vaccine as you would appreciate is by far the most important from the perspective to get back
       into the path of economic recovery," he said.
   •   On the effect of the second wave on growth, Subramanian said there will be some impact but it is
       not likely to be very large.

Govt bid to use space tech in flood control State in touch with NE-SAC, says CM

   •   The Assam Government is in touch with the North Eastern-Space Applications Centre (NESAC),
       located at Shillong, to see how space science and technology could help control floods in the
       State.
   •   After reviewing the flood preparedness and Covid scenario here on Sunday, Chief Minister
       Himanta Biswa Sarma told newsmen that since flood control is in the priority list of the State
       Government, adequate steps are being taken and the Government is focused on the issue.
   •   "My minister discussed the flood issue with Prof Nayan Sharma of IIT, Roorkee and day before
       yesterday (June 18), I had talks with the space agency in Shillong to know how can we apply the
       space technology for flood control measures in the State.
   •   Further, cooperation of all seven states in controlling floods will be discussed during the visit of
       Union Home Minister Amit Shah in July. Flood control is our priority and we are sticking to it,"
       he said.
   •   On mitigation measures, the Chief Minister said that in the event of destruction of houses,
       damage to property, schools, Anganwadi centres or transformers, etc., the Deputy

Commissioners can sanction from their respective district and need not seek approval from State
      capital Dispur.
  •   "Through this process, we want to expedite relief and rehabilitation works," said the Chief
      Minister.

MoU signed to boost conservation of endangered turtles in Assam

  •   In a move aimed at boosting endangered turtle conservation in Assam, an MoU was signed
      between Turtle Survival Alliance India (TSA), Assam Zoo-cum- Botanical Garden, the Kamrup
      district administration, Help Earth, and Hayagriva Madhava Temple Committee on Saturday.
  •   The signing ceremony held at the Deputy Commissioner's office also marked the launch of a
      vision document 2030 for the black soft-shell turtle (Nilssonia nigricans).
  •   Various temple ponds in Assam like the Hayagriva Madhava Temple at Hajo harbour various
      threatened species of turtles. However, since the turtles are con- served in these ponds only
      based on the religious grounds, many biological requirements for building a sustainable wild
      population have long been overlooked.
  •   "This multi-stakeholder association eventually aims to restock the wild, viable, self-sufficient
      and genetically pure threatened turtle in the region.
  •   Turtle Survival Alliance will offer assistance for the improvement of husbandry of turtles kept in
      such ponds, and further recovery efforts are recommended for the long-term survival and
      existence of the endangered freshwater turtles," Arvita Dutta, project cordinator — North-east
      for TSA, said. The MoU signing ceremony was attended by Kailash Kartik N, DC, Kamrup, Tejas
      Mariswamy, DFO, Assam State Zoo, Arpita Dutta and Dr Jayaditya Purakayatha of Help Earth.
  •   The Kamrup DC emphasised on the importance of generating mass awareness via print and
      virtual media platforms on the conservation issues of the turtles in the region while working on

threats and conservation opportunities to strengthen the black soft-shell turtle population in
    Assam.
•   It was also proposed that hatchlings from upper Assam could be retained at Nature Discovery
    Centre, Biswanath Ghat under aegis of ISA India for proper upkeep and monitoring before being
    released in the wild.
•   The vision document for black soft-shell turtles launched at the event envisions establishing an
    ecologically viable of adults in the State by
•   The species was thought to be 'Extinct in Wild', only being confined to some religious sites in
    north-eastern India and Bangladesh. However, based on the preliminary information, its IUCN
    status has been downlisted to 'Critically Endangered' in 2021 but does not enjoy legal protection
    under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
•   "Traditionally being hunted ruthlessly for its meat and cartilage and challenged by illegal trade in
    regional and international markets, the recent sightings indicate the presence of fragmented
    though number of adult individuals may be drastically low. species has a limited scope towards
    natural population recovery, unless supplemented with sustainable conservation initiatives," Dr
    Purkayastha said.
•   The multi-stakeholder engagement will be implemented within the framework of the Wildlife
    Protection Act, 1972, the guidelines and rules of Central Zoo Authority and regulation in the State
    of Assam initially on black soft-shell turtle and might be further expanded to cover other
    freshwater turtles and tortoises and areas considering this as a model.

EDITORIALS

An extraordinary athlete

  •   Arguably the country's greatest athlete, Milkha Singh the Flying Sikh as he was called so aptly —
      is no more. Among those very few legendary athletes the country has produced, Singh was able
      to make a mark in the global arena long back in a sporting discipline where we have not
      produced another athlete of his calibre till today.
  •   This alone speaks volumes about the talent, hard work, discipline and perseverance of this great
      athlete. And when one considers the times and the hardships he had to endure to make a name
      for himself in his chosen field, his achievements seem all the more overwhelming.
  •   It was those days when India hardly had any international sportsperson worth the name in sports
      barring hockey and the Flying Sikh showed the world that here was somebody who could
      compete with the best in the world that too in a sprinting event like the 400-metre dash.
  •   Agonizingly, an Olympic medal eluded him just by the 1/100th of a second and this has to rank
      among the most famous 'misses' in Olympic history. Nonetheless, his feat was nothing short of
      the extraordinary given the debilitating constraints he had to face.
  •   More importantly, his feat triggered a renaissance in Indian sports with athletics emerging to
      attract youngsters amid the craze for hockey and cricket. Milkha won many a laurel in the his
      sporting career including four gold medals in Asian Games and in the 1958 Commonwealth
      Games but it is his miss for the bronze medal at the 1960 Rome Olympics that will continue to
      remain in perennial limelight.

•   After his win at the Commonwealth, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had rang him up
    and asked him for a wish. The gentleman that Milkha was, he requested humbly for a public
    holiday back home for the people to celebrate.
•   Even as we take pride in Milkha's accomplishments, the lack of a cohesive sports policy continues
    to be an irritant in producing world champions, especially in the most demanding disciplines of
    track and field. The success behind the top athlete-producing countries has largely been due to
    their system that accords utmost stress on talent hunt at an early age and professional grooming.
•   This is something utterly lacking in the manner sports is managed in India where talents are
    rarely picked up and nurtured from an early age. No doubt we have had some global performers
    in events such as badminton, wrestling, weight-lifting and boxing in recent times but India's
    presence in track and field events remains abysmally low.
•   It is a big question why we have failed to produce another Milkha Singh all these decades. The
    various sports associations headed by politicians have done precious little over the years in
    matters of talent hunt, creation of sports infrastructure, and grooming. For sports to flourish,
    the uncalled-for nexus with politics has to be severed and sports bodies must be manned by
    genuine sportspersons.