O°VISIONIAS INSPIRING INNOVATION @ZDnov, 2020 NEWS TODAY SARFAESI ACT MAY BE AMENDED TO ALLOW ARCs BECOMING RESOLUTION APPLICANTS (RAs) IN INSOLVENCIES. Bc + Recently RBI rejected Aircel’ resolution plan en the grounds that Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCS) cannot infuse equity in an insolvent company atthe resolution stage, + This brought into focus the conflict between the process and liquidation, © Itprovides a comprehensive legal framework for time-bound insolvency resolution © Itempowers banks and other financial institutions to directly auction residential or commercial properties that have been pledged with them to recover loans from borrowers, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and SARFAESI Act on whether an ARC can bid for bankrupt firms or not © IBCs ambit is wider, asit takes into consideration ofall kinds of creditors: bth financial and ‘operational; secured and the unsecured. © Itempowers secured creditors to enforce their security interest, > ARC, a registered company under Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAES!) Act, is special type of Bankruptcy Board of India, financial institution that buys the debtors of the © itis regulated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs through the Insolvency and ® Itis regulated by the Ministry of Finance and the RBI. bank at a mutually agreed value and attempts to recover the debts or associated securities by itself. © IBC specifically permits ARCs registered with Ito act as RAs and submit resolution plans. © SARFAESI Actis silent on whether such firms ean do so. > RBI regulates ARCs as Non-Banking Financial Companies. += While IBC specifically permits ARCs registered with RBI to act as RAs and submit resolution plans, the Sarfaesi Act issilent on whether such firms can do so > RAmeansa person who individually or jointly with any other person, submits a resolution plan to the resolution professional. ACCURATE FORECAST HELPS FARMERS, FISHERMEN SAVE CRORES: NCAER SURVEY ff holed zon seh NCAT ascot a iyo ees the National Monsoon Mission (NMM) and High-Performance Computing (HPC) fects on farmers vestock overs a fishefolks > NMM was setup in 2012 with the objective to set up a dynamical prediction system for ‘seasonal forecast, and to improve the monsoon forecasting skills in the country > HPC facility at MoES was augmented to 10 PetaFlop for better operational weather forecasts. + Key finding: > With an initial investment of Rs. 1000 crores, NMIM and HPC facilities result in a S0-old increase in its economic benefits > Agricultural practices based on weather parameters help farmers in reducing their losses and increasing thelr incomes. > Timely weather-based advisories help livestock owner adhere to proper vaccination schedules, fodder practices, and other livestock management practices 3 Decision on venturing inte sea based on Ocean State Forecast (OSF) advisories for fishing has substantially impacted the livelihood of fishermen by reducing operational cost. > Accuracy of weather information has improved its access and frequency of use over ime. SUPREME COURT (SC) UNHAPPY WITH PARDON PLEA OF RAJIV GANDHI ASSASSINATION CONVICT PENDING FOR 2 YEARS of the sentence of A G Perarivalan, convict in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, pending before Governor for over two years. > Tamil Nadu government’ Cabinet had passed a resolution in 2018 and recommended te ‘Tamil Nadu Governor for the premature release of all seven convicts in the case. + SC made it clear during the hearing that it was reluctant to exercise its jurisdiction under Article 142 when Governor was already seized of Perarvalan’s plea for pardon under Article 161 > Article 142 grants the power to SC for passing any decree to do “complete justice’ > Article 161 deals with pardoning power of Governor rdoning power of Governor > According to Article 161, Governor shall have power to grant pé respleserrenisins ef punisisnant ef te eesperdl remit or cormata th semence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the ‘executive power of the State extends > Governor has to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers. However, ‘governors decision is subject to judicial review. > Unlike President's pardoning power, Governor cannot pardon death sentence. CENTRALLY SPONSORED PILOT SCHEME ON FORTIFICATION OF RICE & ITS DISTRIBUTION THROUGH PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM ‘+ Department of Food & Public Distribution has been running this scheme, approved for a period of three years beginning 2019-2020, to improve nutritional security > Fifteen State Governments have identified their respective districts (1 district per state) for implementing the scheme. + Fortification is the addition of key vitamins and ‘minerals such as iron, iodine, zinc Vitamin A& D te staple foods such as rice, milk and salt to Improve their nutritional content. These nutrients may oF may not have been originally present in the food before processing. > This is an excellent method to improve the health of a large section of the population, all atonce, > It does not alter the characteristics of the food-taste feel, look, sation has the potential to have a wide It is a staple food for 659% of Indian population > Ithas the highest offtake in the Government safety net programs such as the Public Distribution System, Mid-Day Meal program, Integrated Child Development Services program withthe potential to reach 800 million vulnerable people, especially women and children.DEPLOYING BACKEND TECH FOR 5G FACES ROADBLOCKS + There could be a delyin he olot of 56 technolngy because of ferences hetween mest states and Centr in pales for sting up ctl tnecor infastrare + Some sues ced re eit oncorpnetrnuiagnate - COMPARING 4;G AND SG (Snes and hinge ces > States hove muliple pois a diferent levels sich 5 vom muna poncyatte hich ene consent ond > Ony 8 sates opted for ight of Way Ra) policy, 9 Tocasedeveopmentefelecom nase 2055 the county, Union government in 2016 came St woth no pai. I LATENCY DATA TRAFFIC 7.2 Exobytes/Mont 4p PEAK DATA RATES ¥ 1Gb/s PEAK DATA RATES 20 Gb/s" PAVAILABLE SPECTRUM |) Itisa framework to set up telecom towers, lay fibre 30 Che ‘cables, settle disputes in a time-bound manner ‘CONNECTION DENSITY ComMeTION Dg ] and to improve coordination among private firms, 100 Thousand Million eae. ines olalaialilind ‘Connections/ Km Connections Kin states and local bodies ‘As India gears up for the launch of 5G services, volume of data trafic is expected to increase further. Therefore, it is necessary that operators deploy fibre across their tower sites > According to National Digital Communications Policy of 2018, fbersation of towers across the country needs te be raised to 60% from the current 3196 to sustain the increasing demand for 4G data and evolution to 5G technology. ALSO IN NEWS *= Duarte Pacheco of Portugal elected as new President of Inter Parlamentary Union. * The [PU is the global organization of national parliaments. itis dedicated to promoting peace through mentary Union | _ parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue. > Ithas 179 Member Parliaments out ofthe 193 countries in the world ineluding India. «= The President is elected by the governing council for a 3-year term through secret ballot. * In line with the Budget announcement, Central Board of Direct Taxes has allowed income-tax exemption to ‘Abu Dhabi's SWF, MIC Redwood 1 RSC, > It is the first foreign SWF to get 100% tax exemption in the case of income from interest, dividend, and Sovereign Wealth Fund long-term capital gains for its investment in infrastructure, (SWF) + SWF isa state-owned investment fund comprised of money generated by the government, often derived from a country’s surplus reserves. > Ex: National investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is India’s first SWF Securities and Exchange | * SE8!might permit an optionalT+1 (trade plus one day) settlement process, a move that wil allow investors to joard of India (SEBI) may | decide whether they want to conclude the transaction ata faster pace or stick to the existing T+2 system, allow a two-speed > settlement date represents the time at which ownership is transferred, trade-settlement system _| + SEBI wants to advance the settlement process by a day to improve liquidity, boost efficiency and reduce risks ‘The government's rural ecommerce venture has touched Rs 100 crore in turnover and nearly a million transactions within eight months of launch. tive by the CSC SPV to promote digital ordering and delivering *# CSC Grameen eStore is an eCommerce safely tothe consumer doorstep, The CSC eGrameen Store has also roped in big brands & private sector lender to further scale up its operation. CSC Grameen eStore promotes Vocal for Local: partnering with Local manufacturers like SHGs, Farmers, MSMEs etc * Union government approved funds to fight air pollution to 42 cities with a population in excess of a milion Money will be used under National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to improve air quality in these cities, Delhi States granted Rs 2,200 | __willnot receive funds under this grant croreto fight air pollution | > NCAP aims to reduce by 20-30%, the PM 255 (respirable, pollution particles) concentrations in over a hundred cities compared to 2017 levels + Money will go towards capacity building of the local urban bodies and state pollution control boards. ‘Common Service Centre (CSC) Grameen ester ‘= MyGov in collaboration with UN Wemen, launched this Challenge in April 2020. > UN Women isthe United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. COVID-19 Shri Shake It was to support and promote women entrepreneurs and women led startups as also solutions by Challenge entrepreneurs impacting a large number of women, * Entrepreneurs and individuals proposing technology solutions in the field Bioinformatics, datasets, Apps for diagnosis etc that can be leveraged for strengthening the fight against Corona, ROE ZT eye ee) sree a Case eStn aaa iA atts Id DELHI LUCKNOW JAIPUR HYDERABAD PUNE AHMEDABAD CHANDIGARH ‘ison IAS ©) Nsionias upse ©) NsioniAS_UPSC /cNVisionlASdelhi