Current Affairs Quiz 09 February 2024

Thermal Power Plants
• Coal is the main source of energy in India. Today, more than 50% of total electricity generation capacity is coal based, and more than 70% of energy generation comes from coal based thermal power plants.
• India is the second-largest coal importer despite having the world’s fourth-largest reserves, and coal powers nearly three-fourths of the country’s electricity demand.
• Coal currently accounts for over 50% of India’s installed capacity of 428.3 GW.
• As of May 31, 2023, the total installed capacity of thermal power plants in India was 417,668 MW, and it is expected to reach 260 GW by 2030.
o India has the 5th highest installed thermal power capacity globally.

Cancer and Its Types
– Cancer is a large group of different diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably.
– Cancers are further categorized based on their behavior, such as whether they are benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous), and their stage of progression.
– Some of the most common types of cancer include:
A. Carcinomas: These cancers originate in the skin or tissues that line the internal organs. The most common carcinomas include breast, lung, prostate, and colon cancer.
B. Sarcomas: Sarcomas develop in the connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, or other supportive tissues.
C. Leukemias: Leukemias are cancers that begin in the bone marrow, where blood is produced. They often involve abnormal production of white blood cells.
D. Lymphomas: Lymphomas affect the lymphatic system, which is part of the body’s immune system. They typically begin in lymph nodes and lymphoid tissues.
E. Central nervous system cancers: These cancers affect the brain and spinal cord. Gliomas, for example, arise from the glial cells in the brain.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)
• These are a more vulnerable group among tribal groups in India. These groups have primitive traits, geographical isolation, low literacy, zero to negative population growth rate and backwardness.
• There are 75 PVTGs in India, spread over 18 States and the Union Territory of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
o Odisha has the largest population of PVTGs followed by Madhya Pradesh.
• In India, tribal population makes up for 8.6% of the total population.
• Examples: Great Andamanese (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Bondo Poraja (Odisha), Paniyas (Kerala), Kattunayakan (Tamil Nadu and Kerala), Bonda (Odisha).

About Nagoya Protocol
• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilisation is a supplementary agreement to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• It is an offshoot of the CBD that addresses fair and equitable benefit sharing in the context of biodiversity access.
o Cameroon in central Africa is home to vast biological resources, which have long been exploited by foreign firms, without fair and equitable benefits to the communities that own them.
• It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of objectives of the CBD, that is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.
• The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan and entered into force in 2014, 90 days after the deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification.

Finance Bill
• A Finance Bill is a Money Bill as defined in Article 110 of the Constitution.
• It is introduced annually in the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) after the Union Budget presentation.
• It embodies the government’s budgetary proposals for taxation, spending, and other financial matters.
• The proposals of the government for levy of new taxes, modification of the existing tax structure or continuance of the existing tax structure beyond the period approved by Parliament are submitted to Parliament through this bill.
• The Finance Bill is accompanied by a Memorandum containing explanations of the provisions included in it.
• The Finance Bill can be introduced only in Lok Sabha.
o However, the Rajya Sabha can recommend amendments in the Bill.
• It requires approval from both houses of parliament before becoming law.
• The bill has to be passed by the Parliament within 75 days of its introduction.

Note:–
While all Money Bills are Financial Bills, all Financial Bills are not Money Bills.
a. For example, the Finance Bill which only contains provisions related to tax proposals would be a Money Bill.
– However, a Bill that contains some provisions related to taxation or expenditure, but also covers other matters would be considered as a Financial Bill.
a. Therefore, if a Bill merely involves expenditure by the government, and addresses other issues, it will be a financial bill.