The

Analyst Forest Conservation Act, 2023

Handout
20th February 2024

CONTEXT: SC directed the Centre that “Forest” will continue to have broad
encompassing meaning against the provisions of FCA 2023.

PROVISIONS OF THE ACT ● Contradicted Godavarman

● Includes: Recorded Forest land,
Private Forest land, plantations etc
● Exemptions: Strategic projects
related to National security within 100
kms of International Borders
● New Forestry activities: Eco-tourism,
Zoo, Safari into array of Forestry
activities
○ Owned by Govt and set up in
Outside Protected areas
● Diversion of “Forest land” for
“Non-Forest purposes”:
○ Commercial or Infrastructure
projects
○ Assignment of Forest land to
any private person by way of
lease
○ Earlier: Cultivation of
Commercial & Horticulture
crops
● Central Govt: Regional Empowered
Committee (REC)
● State Govt: Project Steering
Committee (PSC)
● Accredited Compensatory
Afforestation (ACA): People can raise
vegetation on their land & provide it
to Companies for monetary
compensation
● State Govt: Land Banks for ACA
Judgement 1996:
○ SC: “Forest will include
dictionary meaning of Forest”
○ FCA 2023: Protected “Declared
forest” & Land recorded as
Forest in Govt record after 1980
○ 1.97 Lakh Km2: Unprotected
JUDGEMENT OF SC
● Revert to “dictionary meaning” of
Forest as upheld in TN Godavarman
Case 1996
○ Protection of forest irrespective
of Nature, Classification &
Ownership
○ Not confined to “Forest” under
Government Land records
● Any fresh proposal for opening a Zoo
or starting a Safari on “Forest land”
will require approval of Supreme
Court

ISSUES WITH THE ACT

● Violation of Provisions of FRA 2006
● Issues with Accredited
Compensatory Afforestation
 The
Analyst Regulation of FinTech Apps
Handout
20th February 2024

CONTEXT: In its recent report, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communication &

IT, has expressed concern over Foreign owned Fintech apps in India.

STATUS OF FINTECH IN INDIA: ISSUES IN FINTECH SECTOR:

● Fintech adoption rate: 87% (Global ● Money laundering: Eg - Paypal app
average: 64%) being administered by Chinese
● Third highest Fintech apps investment scamsters
● NPCI: 70% digital payment ● Cyber attacks: Eg - 13 Lakh cases of
transactions (Oct 2022- Nov 2023) Digital frauds reported in 2022
● Financial inclusion: WB Global Findex ● Digital Divide: 30% population in rural
Survey: 80% pop has bank accounts areas (45% in Bangladesh, 70% in
(54% in 2014) Kenya)
● Cross country adoption: Eg - UPI in ● Regulatory issues
UAE ● Data Privacy issues
● Market Distortion practices
DOMINATION OF FOREIGN OWNED
FINTECH REGULATORY MECHANISMS IN INDIA
PhoneP Google BHIM ● Payment & Settlement System Act of
e Pay UPI 2007
(Walmart) (NPCI)
● Peer - to - Peer lending guidelines of
2017
Market 47% 36% 0.22% ● NPCI for Payments through UPI
share ○ Eg - Nov, 2020- 30% Volume
(% of cap on transaction through UPI
volume) ● NBFCs under RBI Act 1934
● Payment Banks under Banking
Transac 5642 4375 24
Regulation Act of 1949
tions million million million
txn txn txn
STEPS TO TAKE
● Promotion of Local Fintech players
● RBI’s Fintech Regulatory Sandbox
● DeFi under Regulatory Framework
● Supporting FinTech Penetration
● Strengthening Cyber Security
Infrastructure
● Increasing Digital Literacy
 The
Analyst Crop: Rubber
Handout
20th February 2024

CONTEXT: GOI has raised funding for development of Natural rubber sector for 2 years.

CURRENT RUBBER LANDSCAPE IN INDIA

● Polymer of Isoprene derived from latex or
milky sap of Rubber tree
● Tropical climate: Annual rainfall of
2000-4500 mm
● Deep & Fertile Laterite soil
● 5th largest producer: 8.5 Lakh hectares of
Rubber plantation
● 2nd largest consumer

INITIATIVES BY GOI
● Increase in allocation of development of NR
sector by 23% to ₹708 crore
● Rate of Assistance: ₹40,000 per hectare
● Bringing Non-traditional areas under
Rubber cultivation
● Promotion of Research: Allocation of ₹29
crore for 2024-26 period

AlphaFold

CONTEXT: Use of AlphaFold by Google’s Deepmind to create Protein Data Bank (PDB).

● AI system developed by DeepMind ● Development of Vaccines

which uses Neural networks ● Universal Database: Eg - Protein
● Predicts Protein’s 3D structure from Data Bank (PDB)
the sequence of Amino Acids
● Predicted structure of entire 214
million unique protein sequences
deposited in Universal Protein
Resource (UniProt) database

APPLICATIONS
● Solve “Protein folding” problem
● Precision based Healthcare
 The
Analyst
Handout Einstein-Bose Condensate
20th February 2024
CONTEXT: The year 2024 marks the Centenary of Bose-Einstein condensate theory
which revolutionised the Quantum Physics.

Planck's law of Black Body radiation:

● All objects emit radiation in range of
Frequencies
● “Black body” as they emit light and
do not reflect it like other objects
● This Electromagnetic radiation from
heated body is not emitted as
continuous flow rather made up of
quanta of energy
● SN BOSE: Treated Radiation as Photon
APPLICATIONS
gas and used new statistical
● Principle of Superimposition,
techniques to count photon states
Quantum Computing &
Superconductivity
● Use of Quantum Entanglement
● Precision Measurement & Sensor
Technology

THEORY
● Fifth state of matter
● “Atoms of Specific elements cooled
to very low temperature (0°K or
-273.15 ° C ), they stop behaving like
individual particles with different
state of energy”
● “Rather they condense into lowest
state of quantum state and behave
as one giant wave”