PIB 30th July

Contents

1. Indian and Mauritian PM inaugurate SC Building
2. Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar
3. Central Consumer Protection Authority
4. AIM-iCREST
5. CII National Digital conference

INDIAN AND MAURITIAN PM INAUGURATE SC BUILDING

Focus: GS-II International Relations

Why in news?

Indian Prime Minister and Prime Minister of Mauritius jointly inaugurated the new Supreme Court building in Mauritius through video conference.

Details

• The building is the first India assisted infrastructure project within the capital city of Port Louis to be inaugurated after the Covid pandemic.
• The landmark project has been completed with grant assistance of more than US $ 25 million from the Government of India.
• Prime Minister of India said that development cooperation with Mauritius is at the heart of India’s approach to development partnerships, stressing that India’s development cooperation does not come with any conditions, nor is it influenced by any political or commercial considerations.
• India’s core principle for development cooperation is respect for our partners and the central motivation is sharing of our development lessons.

India–Mauritius relations

• India–Mauritius relations date back to 1730, diplomatic relations were established in 1948, before Mauritius became independent state.
• The cultural affinities and long historical ties between the two nations have contributed to strong and cordial relations between the two nations.
• More than 68% of the Mauritian population are of Indian origin, most commonly known as Indo-Mauritians.
• India and Mauritius co-operate in combating piracy, which has emerged as a major threat in the Indian Ocean region and Mauritius supports India’s stance against terrorism.
• From the 1820s, Indian workers started coming into Mauritius to work on sugar plantations.
• In the 1830s, when slavery was abolished by the British Parliament, large numbers of Indian workers began to be brought into Mauritius as indentured labourers.
• Novermber 2^nd is observed as ‘Aapravasi Day’ to mark the ship named ‘Atlas’ docking in Mauritius in1834 carrying the first batch of Indian indentured labourers

SUBHASH CHANDRA BOSE AAPDA PRABANDHAN PURASKAR

Focus: GS-II Social Justice

Why in news?

The Government of India invites nominations for the “Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar” for excellence in the field of Disaster Management.

Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskaar

• Government of India, to recognize the excellent work done by individuals and institutions in India in the field of Disaster Management, has instituted an annual award. known as Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskaar.
• These awards are announced on the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose on 23rd January every year.
• Both institutions and individuals are eligible for these awards.
• Only Indian nationals and Indian institutions can apply for the award.
• For institutional awards, voluntary organizations, corporate entities, academic/research institutions, response/ uniformed forces or any other institution may apply for the award.
• Any Indian national or institution can nominate a candidate for consideration for this award. Candidates can also self-nominate themselves.
• The applicant must have worked in the area of Disaster Management like Prevention, Mitigation, Preparedness, Rescue, Response, Relief, Rehabilitation, Research, Innovation or Early Warning related work in India.

CENTRAL CONSUMER PROTECTION AUTHORITY

Focus: GS-III Indian Economy

Why in news?

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has come into force in 2020, and as provided in the act – the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has been established.

Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)

• Central Consumer Protection Authority is being constituted under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 replacing the 1986 act seeking to widen its scope in addressing consumer concerns, hence CCPA is a Statutory Body.
• The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 recognises offences such as providing false information regarding the quality or quantity of a good or service, and misleading advertisement.
• It also specifies action to be taken if goods and services are found “dangerous, hazardous or unsafe”.
• The CCPA aims to protect the rights of the consumer by cracking down on unfair trade practices, and false and misleading advertisements that are detrimental to the interests of the public and consumers.
• The CCPA will have the powers to inquire or investigate into matters relating to violations of consumer rights or unfair trade practices suo motu, or on a complaint received, or on a direction from the central government.
• The CCPA can file complaints of violation of consumer rights or unfair trade practices before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. It will issue safety notices to alert consumers against dangerous or hazardous or unsafe goods or services.

What will the CCPA do if any goods or services are found not meeting the standards?

Under the act, CCPA will have powers to recall goods or withdrawal of services that are “dangerous, hazardous or unsafe; pass an order for refund the prices of goods or services so recalled to purchasers of such goods or services; and discontinuation of practices which are unfair and prejudicial to consumer’s interest”.

AIM-ICREST

Focus: GS-III Indian Economy

Why in news?

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), has launched AIM iCREST – an Incubator Capabilities enhancement program for a Robust Ecosystem focused on creating high performing Startups.

Significance

• AIM iCREST is a first of its kind initiative for advancing innovation at scale in India, to encourage and enable holistic progress in the incubator ecosystem across the country.
• AIM has joined hands with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation – organizations that can lend credible support and expertise in the entrepreneurship and innovation space.
• Under the initiative, the AIM’s incubators are set to be upscaled and provided requisite support to foster the incubation enterprise economy, that will help them to significantly enhance their performance.
• This will be complemented by providing training to entrepreneurs, through technology driven processes and platforms.
• Given the current pandemic crisis, the effort will focus on supporting start-up entrepreneurs in knowledge creation and dissemination as well as in developing robust and active networks.

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is NITI Aayog’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in India
• AIM has been established to create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in a holistic manner through various initiatives at school, university and industry levels

The Atal Innovation Mission has thus two core functions:

1. Innovation promotion: to provide a platform where innovative ideas are generated.
2. Entrepreneurship promotion: Wherein innovators would be supported and mentored to become successful entrepreneurs at Incubation Centres.

CII NATIONAL DIGITAL CONFERENCE

Focus: GS-III Industry and Infrastructure

Why in news?

Commerce and Industry Minister said that the Government is committed to policy simplification and asked for industry’s feedback and cooperation. Inaugurating CII National Digital conference on Ease of Doing Business for Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Highlights

• The Minister emphasized that a single window system for industrial approvals will soon be in place.
• He urged both industry and government to work as partners and urged the industry to play a proactive role in helping the government identify the tax evaders and violators.
• On the incentive scheme for exports- Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) – the Government is looking for an early solution and the government will find a way that does not impact exports.
• The Minister said that his Ministry has already identified 20 industrial sectors for giving focused push.

Merchandise Exports From India Scheme (MEIS)

• MEIS was introduced in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for the period 2015-2020.
• The MEIS was launched as an incentive scheme for the export of goods. The rewards are given by way of duty credit scrips to exporters.
• The MEIS is notified by the DGFT (Directorate General of Foreign Trade) and implemented by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.