GM mustard study to be released soon
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) will consider making public, immediately, the results of tests and studies so far conducted to test the safety of transgenic (or GM) mustard.
The Supreme Court has sought an explanation from the central government on its proposed move to introduce herbicide resistant mustard, cotton and corn in the face of a court-imposed ban on their introduction.
A three-judge bench, asked Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi to explain his stand on a contempt petition filed against the members of the committee which cleared the proposal.
The top court had in a series of orders passed in February 2007, April 2008 and August 2008 sought to restrain both small-scale and large scale field trials in any food crops as well as their commercial introduction in the country.
Analysis
What are GM crops? – Genetically modified crops (GMCs, GM crops, or biotech crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering techniques. In most cases, the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species. Examples in food crops include resistance to certain pests, diseases, or environmental conditions, reduction of spoilage, or resistance to chemical treatments (e.g. resistance to a herbicide), or improving the nutrient profile of the crop.
What is GEAC? – Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) is the apex body for regulating GM crops. Its functions are given below.
- To authorize large scale production and release of GMOs and products thereof into the environment.
- To adopt producers for restriction or prohibition, production, sale, import & use of GMOs both for research and applications under EPA.
- To permit the use of GMOs and products thereof for commercial applications.
- To approve for conduct of large scale field trials, evaluation of large scale field trial data and final approval for release of transgenic crop in to the environment.
- To authorize agencies or persons to have powers to take punitive actions under the EPA.
Source: TheHindu, EconomicTimes
Bharat Biotech to prepare vaccine for Zika virus
Bharat Biotech has developed two candidates for the vaccine to fight Zika virus. The company said the two candidates were in an advanced stage of development and could be ready soon.They  are planning to test the vaccine on animals in the next two weeks.
Bharat Biotech submitted necessary information to the Indian Council of Medical Research four days ago. The company is now planning to seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s help in expediting regulatory clearances. When Ebola vaccine candidates were being discussed, the company had skipped Phase-II trials and went on to Phase-III with a small sample size. Given the urgency of the situation, something of that sort will be required.
Analysis
About Bharat Biotech – Bharat Biotech is an Indian Biotechnology company, headquartered in Hyderabad, India. The company was founded by Indian scientist, Krishna Ella.
The company had also tested vaccines in the case of Ebola breakout. It is also working on Chikungunya which has a similar vector like Zika virus.
Source: TheHindu
Slump in Exports
India’s exports since December 2014 have been declining. While the primary reason has been the slowdown in the global economy, declining crude oil prices coupled with low commodity prices have added to the woes of the exports sector.  However, domestic challenges like slowdown in manufacturing, high logistics cost, increasing transaction cost and product profile of our exports have also contributed in no less measure.
But during the last six months when the Indian exports have been declining countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam have shown a positive growth in exports.
Analysis
What has been done so far? – Government has so far made revisions in Merchandise Exports from India Scheme(MEIS) benefits and announcement of Interest Equalisation Scheme on Export Credit along with the benefits on all Industry Rates of Duty Drawback.
What are the main issues? – The inverted duty structure is creating difficulties in competing in domestic as well as foreign markets for Indian firms. It not only affects exports but also the manufacturing sector and adversely impacts Make in India and the import substitution strategy. Providing the Special Additional Duty (SAD) exemption to manufacturers can help in giving a boost.
The biggest challenge affecting MSME exports is on the marketing front. The total marketing support extended by Department of Commerce under MAI and MDA is insufficient.
What could be done? – Budget 2015 extended SAD exemption on import of certain products for use in manufacture of IT hardware. However, appliance and consumer electronics (ACE) manufacturers still face the same issue as the value addition in this sector, for several products, is quite low and results in an inverted duty structure.
Overhauling of Special Valuation Branch (SVB) procedure to simplify imports, viz. specifying a definitive time frame for issuance of the SVB order, shorter time frames for issuance of renewal orders and relaxation/removal of SVB orders on goods that attract a nil rate of basic customs duty. Removal of mandatory pre-deposits of tax/duty and lower limits for startups and SMEs.
Export Development Fund (EDF) should be created with a corpus of 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent of total export value so that sizeable money is available to promote MSME exports.
Most importantly immediate launch of the Integrated Trade Portal by CBEC to provide for online flow of exports and import documents amongst all regulatory agencies, will also help in reducing overall transaction cost by about 1-2 per cent.
Source: TheHindu
From DBT to Social Security
The government has drawn a blueprint over the past three months  that aims to transform the direct benefits transfer (DBT) regime launched in January 2013, into a social security platform linked to the beneficiary database that will have details about the household. A unified national database of beneficiaries  is under consideration that can be updated in real-time and automatically trigger new benefits such as vaccine shots for a newborn baby.
While the trinity of Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and mobile connectivity, referred to as JAM, would still play a key role, the government believes there are still several operational issues with the three elements that will take time to sort out. For instance, improvement in mobile network coverage and higher enrolments under Aadhaar would take time.
A committee in the Cabinet Secretariat is also working with the Finance Ministry to create a network of 2 million cash points such as kirana stores, chemists and Grameen Dak Sewaks in 6 lakh villages by March 2017, so that getting the cash in hand isn’t an ordeal for the rural poor.
Analysis
What is Direct Benefit Transfer? – Under the ‘Direct Benefits Transfer’ or ‘DBT’, the entitled benefit from several schemes of the central government in the form of subsidy, stipend, scholarship or other monetary benefits is directly transferred to the beneficiary’s bank account which will eventually be linked to an ‘Aadhaar’ number.
DBT aims to target the beneficiaries accurately and reduce corruption. It will eliminate waste in subsidy transfer.
JAM Trinity – An abbreviation for Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile number. JAM trinity can help take DBT to every citizen of India. With Aadhaar helping in direct biometric identification of disadvantaged citizens and Jan Dhan bank accounts and mobile phones allowing direct transfers of funds into their accounts, it may be possible to cut out all the intermediaries.
A nationalised database would help in further streamlining the DBT scheme but at the same time there are threats like cyber security and seamless integration of the database. An error of inclusion or exclusion could result in a loss of social security net for a poor individual.
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