Current Affair 1:

Mapping India’s Energy Subsidies 2021

 

Now directly to major points of topic:

Nothing more is needed here. Just see trend.

Current Affair 2:

The genome of a Salt-secreting Mangrove Species Decoded

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Scientists at the DBT have reported for the first time a reference-grade whole genome sequence of a highly salt-tolerant and salt-secreting true-mangrove species, Avicennia marina.

Significance of Study:

• This study assumes significance as agriculture productivity globally is affected due to abiotic stress factors such as limited water availability and salinization of soil and water.
• The genomic resources generated in the study will pave the way for researchers to study the potential of the identified genes for developing drought and salinity tolerant varieties of important crop species of the coastal region that is significant for India with 7,500m of coastline and two major island systems.

About Mangroves:

• Mangroves are salt-tolerant vegetation that grows in intertidal regions of rivers and estuaries. They are referred to as ‘tidal forests’ and belong to the category of ‘tropical wetland rainforest ecosystem’.
• Mangroves give protection to the coastline and minimise disasters due to cyclones and tsunami. Recent studies have shown that mangroves store more carbon dioxide than most other forests.
• Mangroves are an intermediate vegetation between land and sea that grow in oxygen deficient water-logged soils which have Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S). They perform important ecological functions like nutrient cycling, hydrological regime, coastal protection, fish-fauna production, etc.
• Mangroves act as shock absorbers. They reduce high tides and waves and help prevent soil erosion. They also provide livelihood opportunities to coastal communities.

Latest data on Mangroves:

Current Affair 3:

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines And Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules (2021)

 

The newly notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 (IT Rules 2021)1 have replaced the previous decade-old Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011 (IT Rules 2011).

The IT Rules 2021 bring to the forefront several new obligations for social media and digital streaming platforms to follow. It is important to mention here that these new rules are mandatory for social media and digital streaming platforms if they want to claim the "intermediary safe harbour" status - which is basically protection from being held liable for any third-party content that they carry on their platform.

Scope

While the IT Rules 2011 regulated all "intermediaries" without any distinction in terms of their user base or the content hosted on their platform, the IT Rules 2021 are divided into two parts based on their applicability. Part II regulates intermediaries and Part III is applicable to digital media including publishers of news and current affairs or publishers of online content as follows:

• Social Media Intermediary < 50 lakh registered Indian users;
• Significant Social Media Intermediary > 50 lakh registered Indian users-
• Additional due diligence to be observed by these intermediaries include: (i) appointing a chief compliance officer to ensure compliance with the IT Act and the Rules, (ii) appointing a grievance officer residing in India, and (iii) publishing a monthly compliance report.
• Publisher of news and current affairs content including news aggregators;
• Publisher of online curated content which covers all online streaming platforms including Over-the-Top ('OTT') platforms.

What is safe harbour status?

The very need to expand safe harbour provisions came to light in the year 2008, when the officer of a website was charged under the Indian Penal Code for an obscene video uploaded on its website by a third-party entity. Following this incident, the Information Technology Act 2000 was amended in the year 2008 (2008 Amendment) wherein it was inserted that the intermediaries which merely acted as platforms for the transmission of information shall not be held accountable for any liability accrued through an offence being committed on their platform without their knowledge. Further, the 2008 Amendment widened the definition of 'intermediary' which included online payment sites, search engines, internet service providers, etc.

Conclusion

In recent times, we are already witnessing the battle between the Indian Central Government and Twitter - India regarding 'compliance' as mentioned in the IT Rules 2021, but since the IT Rules 2021 are self-explanatory, non-compliance would automatically mean that the intermediaries would not be able to claim the safe harbour principle and therefore would be responsible for any acts committed of the third party even if the same has been done without the knowledge of the intermediary. The penalties for non-compliance are very much severe and therefore, the intermediaries ought to comply with the IT Rules 2021 to secure themselves against penalties and to avoid losing the safe harbour principle.

Current Affair 4:

Behali Reserve Forest

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A neglected and fragmented biodiversity-rich forest patch, Behali Reserve Forest in Assam, needs urgent protection. Experts say it must be upgraded to a protected area for conserving the flora and fauna.

Lying on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the forest is part of a disputed territory and has witnessed rampant encroachment over the years.

Behali, in the north of the Brahmaputra River, became a 140-square km reserve forest (designated under the then British laws) in 1917, during the First World War. The area straddling a disputed Assam and Arunachal Pradesh border was never upgraded to a protected forest despite its remarkable flora and fauna.

Watch this small video: https://youtu.be/r8gLO6cXmjw

Current Affair 5:

Adaptation fund under united nations framework convention on climate change (UNFCCC)

 

The Adaptation Fund (AF) was set up under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It was established in 2001 and officially launched in 2007 at CoP 7 in Marrakech, Morocco.

1. It aims to finance concrete projects and programmes that help vulnerable communities in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol to adapt to climate change.
2. The Fund is financed in part by government and private donors, and also from a two percent share of proceeds of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) issued under the Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects.
3. The Adaptation Fund headquartered in Washington, USA is supervised and managed by the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB).
4. The AFB is composed of 16 members and 16 alternates and holds periodic meetings throughout the year. The World Bank serves as trustee of the Adaptation Fund on an interim basis.
5. Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Govt. of India is the National Designated Authority (NDA) for Adaptation Fund and proposals are submitted with endorsement of NDA.
6. NABARD has been accredited as National Implementing Entity (NIE) for Adaptation Fund in July 2012 and is the only NIE for India.

The NIEs are those national legal entities nominated by Parties (to the Kyoto Protocol) that are recognized by the Board as meeting the fiduciary standards established by the Board. The NIEs bear full responsibility for the overall management of the projects and programmes financed by the Adaptation Fund and have all financial, monitoring, and reporting responsibilities.

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