10th AUG, 2022

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UNION COOPERATION MINISTER LAUNCHES THE ONBOARDING OF COOPERATIVES ON
THE GOVERNMENT e-MARKETPLACE (GeM)

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The move will allow cooperatives to

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procure through the GeM portal like
other government buyers.
GeM is a one-stop portal, developed
by Directorate General of Supplies
and Disposals under Ministry of

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Electronics, delivering economies of
scale through online procurement of
goods and services.
In the first phase, all eligible cooperatives
with a turnover and deposits of ₹100

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crore will be able to start placing orders on the GeM portal.
This move will provide cost efficiency for the Co-operatives.

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Until now, cooperatives were purchasing goods and services from the open market.
About cooperatives
Cooperative is a voluntary association of individuals having common needs who join hands for the achievement of common
economic interest.
It is based on the principles of: autonomy; voluntary and open membership; concern for the community; etc.

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Benefits of Cooperatives: Building local expertise and profits; generates employment; fosters gender equality; builds social
cohesion; reducing poverty and inequality; etc.

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Key challenges: Government Interference; regional imbalance in growth; absence of Economics of Scale; etc.

INDIA TERMS GAZA VIOLENCE AS A GRAVE CONCERN AT UN MEET

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India urged all parties to de-escalate the situation and resumption of
talks between the Israeli and Palestinian during an emergency
session at the U.N. Security Council.
India asserted that long-term peace in Israel and Palestine can be
achieved through negotiation on the Two-State Solution.
Two-State Solution is the establishment of a sovereign,
independent and viable State of Palestine living within secure
and recognized borders, side by side, at peace with Israel, taking
into consideration the legitimate security needs of Israel.
The UN resolution 181 of 1947, proposed Two-State-Solution
which was later also agreed in the Oslo Accords of 1993.
India’s Israel-Palestine Policy
India voted against the creation of Israel in historic Palestine in 1947
in the UN General Assembly.
During the Cold war era, India remained a strong supporter of
Palestinian freedom, taking a moral and legal position against the
Israeli occupation, in line with international laws and norms.
India established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992.
In 2018, India adopted a de- hyphenation policy which meant that India’s relationship with Israel would stand on its own merits,
independent and separate from India’s relationship with Palestine.

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CHHATTISGARH IMPLEMENTS PANCHAYATS (EXTENSION TO THE SCHEDULED AREAS)

OR PESA RULES, 2022
Rules framed to implement the mandates of PESA Act, 1996 ensure that 50% of the members of the Gram Sabha will be from tribal
communities of which 25% would be the female members.
PESA was enacted by the Parliament for extension of the provisions of Part IX to Part X under article 244 of the Constitution
relating to the Panchayats in the Scheduled Areas.

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Ten states — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha,
Rajasthan, and Telangana — have notified Fifth Schedule Areas that cover (partially or fully) several districts in each of these states.
However, implementation of the PESA Act depends on the State-specific rules and so far, only 7 states have notified these Rules.
The PESA Act ensures self-governance through Gram Sabhas (village assemblies) for people living in the Scheduled Areas.

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Under the Act Gram Sabhas is empowered for approving development plans and controlling social sectors.
This includes the processes and personnel who implement policies, exercising control over minor (non-timber) forest

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resources, minor water bodies and minor minerals, among other things.

ASSESS MARINE BIODIVERSITY BEFORE PERMITTING INDO-US JOINT RESEARCH

DEEP-SEA MINING: EXPERTS PROJECTS TO BE IMPLEMENTED
THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

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Experts during the 27th session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA)
meeting highlighted that deep sea mining can lead to loss of species and
ecosystem (or fragmentation) of Deep-Sea Habitat. INNOVATION HUBS (TIH)
India also has a Deep-Sea mission for mining Central Indian Ocean Basin, Experts from both the countries interacted to
access for which was granted by ISA. bring out the best plans for joint research

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About Deep-Sea Mining projects that would be implemented
Deep-sea mining involves extracting ores rich in cobalt, manganese, zinc through 6 TIHs.

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and other rare metals from the sea floor of the deep ocean. The TIH identified under National Mission
54% of the world’s ocean seafloor is beyond national jurisdiction and their on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical
mineral resources are designated as the common heritage of all mankind. Systems (NM-ICPS) would:
Deep-sea contains a number of critical minerals needed for batteries, Leverage unique resources, such as test
smartphones, laptops and renewable energy capacity; found in three main beds and datasets available in India and

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resource types- in the US.
Polymetallic Nodules, i.e. the precipitated iron oxyhydroxides and manganese Expand collaborations on critical

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oxides on abyssal plain sediments at about 3,500–6,000 m water depths. technologies like AI and advanced wireless.
Encourage student and researcher
Seafloor Massive Sulphides or Polymetallic Sulphides formed along tectonic
exchange programs.
plate boundaries and volcanic provinces in water depths from <500 to 5000m.
About NM-ICP
Cobalt-rich Ferromanganese Crusts on rock outcrops on seamounts and
It was launched in 2018 under the

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ridges at water depths of 400–7,000 m.
Department of Science & Technology for a
period of five years to encourage
innovation in new age technologies.
It is a comprehensive Mission aimed at
complete convergence with all
stakeholders by establishing strong linkages
between academia, industry, Government
and International Organizations.
It will work with all the concerned
Ministries/Departments to identify their
technology needs, develop solutions and
technical support in CPS implementation.
It would create a foundation and a
seamless ecosystem from R&D, technology
development, innovation to
ISA (HQ: Kingston, Jamaica) is an autonomous international organisation commercialization.
which came into existence in 1994 when United Nations Convention on the The Mission has four major activities:
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982 came into force. Technology Development; Human Resource
UNCLOS also established two other bodies namely, International Tribunal for & Skill Development; Innovation,
the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and Commission on the Limits of the Continental Entrepreneurship & Start-Up Ecosystem and
Self (CLCS). International Collaborations.

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HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT ON THE REVIEW OF GUARDIANSHIP AND ADOPTION LAWS

Key Observations of current provisions
Under the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (HMGA), 1956 (applies to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists), the natural
guardian of a minor is the father, and after him, the mother is provided the custody of a minor.
The SC judgment in Githa Hariharan vs Reserve Bank of India 1999, challenged the HMGA for violating the guarantee of
equality of sexes under Article 14 of the Constitution.

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Adoption Regulations, 2017 prescribe the eligibility condition for adoption for parents.
Presently, Adoption Regulations, 2017 is silent on adoption by LGBTQI community.
Recommendations
Need to amend the HMGA, 1956 and accord equal treatment to both mother and father as natural guardians.

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Need to relook at child custody which is generally restricted to just one parent where mothers tend to get preference.
The court should be empowered to grant joint custody to both parents.

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Harmonizing the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 and the HAMA 1956, and incorporating LGBTQI
community as well.
Also, the Law Commission has made the same recommendations.

ALSO IN NEWS

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Microsoft has announced onboarding efforts with ONDC.
ONDC is a globally first-of-its-kind initiative launched by the Department of Promotion of
Industry and Trade to pave way for decentralizing and democratizing digital commerce.

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It is a platform that will allow buyers and sellers to connect and transact with each other
online.

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It will make a process/software open source by providing technology, and code deployment to
everyone to use, redistribute, and modified.
Open Network of Digital
ONDC would function in the e-commerce domain, akin to the UPI in the digital payment
Commerce (ONDC)
domain.

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Quality Council of India will provide the integration of the e-commerce platform for it.
Nallathamby Kalaiselvi has become the first woman director general of the CSIR.

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CSIR, established in 1942, is an autonomous Society whose president is the Prime Minister of
India. It is known for its cutting edge R&D knowledge base in diverse S&T areas.
It is a dynamic network of national laboratories, outreach centres, Innovation Complexes and
units. Radio and space physics, oceanography, geophysics, etc. are its broad spectrums.
Council of Scientific and

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It has also launched CSIR-Jigyasa programme in collaboration with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathans
Industrial Research
to connect school students and scientists.

Lions are the second-largest cats in the world, after tigers. Lions are social cats and live in groups
called prides. Male lions have a distinctive thick mane of hair around their heads that females
lack.
They once roamed Africa, Asia and Europe, but now only live in parts of Africa and India
(Gujarat's Gir National Park).
Asiatic Lions face significant threats of poaching and genetic inbreeding arising from a single
World Lion’s Day population inhabiting one place.
IUCN Red List: Asiatic lion: Endangered; African Lion: Vulnerable.

As part of the River Yamuna rejuvenation project, Delhi Development Authority is developing
‘Baansera’- the first Bamboo theme park of Delhi along the Yamuna riverfront.
Bamboo is a tall treelike grass of the Poaceae family (subfamily: Bambusoideae) with over 1,000
species distributed along the tropical, subtropical and mild temperate regions in Asia, Africa and
Americas.
They can reach up to 30 metres and some species can have growth of as much as 30 cm or more
per day.
Bamboo Common Uses: As food by humans, fodder for livestock, making fabrics and fine-quality
paper, building homes, rafts, medicine etc.

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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has suggested an obligatory purchase
mechanism, along the lines of the Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO), for reviving gas-based
power plants.
RPO mandates that all electricity distribution licensees should purchase or produce a
minimum specified quantity of their requirements from Renewable Energy Sources.
There are 31 stranded gas-based power plants of which one belongs to the central
government, 6 to the state governments, and 24 to the private sector.
Gas-based power plants
Significance of Gas-Based power Plant: cleaner in respect of environmental norms including

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particulate matter, SOx, Nox and CO 2 emissions compared to coal-based power plants.
China has reported 35 cases of a novel Langya Henipavirus.
Part of genus Henipavirus, it is a zoonotic virus first detected in 2018 with shrews as its most likely
natural hosts.

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It is also detected among domestic goats and dogs.
Symptoms: Fever, fatigue, cough, loss of appetite etc. with health impacts such as Renal and Liver

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Langya Henipavirus (LayV)
Failure.
Recently, an actor survived the Vasculitis Diseases.
It is an auto-immune disorder involving inflammation of the blood vessels, causing thickening of
blood vessels.
An auto-immune disorder is a condition when a person's own immunity starts acting against

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the body’s own tissues.
It can cause visual impairment, vision and hearing problems, blood clots, organ and tissue
damage etc. due to the restricted blood flow.
Vasculitis
Symptoms: Fever, headache, fatigue, weight loss etc.

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Causes: Infections, blood cancers, reactions to certain drugs etc.
Ministry of Education holds inter-ministerial meeting for seeking inputs for reconfiguring

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curricular and pedagogical structure under NCF.
The key deliverables of NCF are early childhood care and education, foundational literacy and
numeracy, competency based education, integration of arts and craft, community
involvement, etc.
As per the National Education Policy, 2020, following four NCFs will be developed:

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National Curriculum For Early Childhood Care and Education.
Framework (NCF) School Education.

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Teacher Education.
Adult Education.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs organized ‘Samvaad’, a virtual interaction of students of EMRS.
EMRS started in the year 1997-98 to impart quality education to ST children in remote areas in

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order to enable them to avail of opportunities in high and professional educational courses
and get employment in various sectors.
The schools focus on the all-round development of the students.
Eklavya Model Residential
Schools (EMRS) It is envisaged that every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal
persons, will have an EMRS.

Chad (Capital: N’Djamena)

Chad's military government and more than 40 rebel groups
signed a pledge in Qatar.
Political boundaries
Landlocked country in north-central Africa.
Bounded on north by Libya, on east by Sudan, on
south by Central African Republic, and on west by
Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger.
Places in News Geographical features
Semi-desert country, rich in gold and uranium.
Major rivers: Chari and the Logone.
Major lake: Lake Chad (has shrunk by 90% since the 1960s).
Mount Koussi (Emi Koussi) highest summit in Sahara. It is an extinct volcano.

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