Prelim Bits 05-07-2022 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Planned Obsolescence

• Planned obsolescence describes a strategy of deliberately ensuring that the current version of a given product will become out of date or useless within a known time period.
• It is a trick used by companies to turn a customer into a repeat customer, with or without their knowledge.
• Producers and manufacturers of electronics and textiles use planned obsolescence to increase consumerism in a variety of ways.
• Tricks - In terms of hardware, the companies use inferior parts designed to decrease the life of a product to 2-3 years.
• Some products are inherently designed to make repair difficult or even impossible.
• In terms of software, products are designed to lose functionality by excluding them from the software/ operating systems upgrades.
• Advantages - Planned obsolescence is great for goods manufacturers and for the economy because it keeps sales stable and even growing year after year by encouraging consumption.
• Society also benefits from constant investment in R&D&i.
• Disadvantages - Planned obsolescence leads to an increase in electronic-waste.
• It is particularly dangerous today because electronics is the world’s largest and fastest growing industry and is increasingly finding applications in all sectors of the economy.

The National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2019 envisions positioning India as a global hub for electronics system design and manufacturing.

Reference

1. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/waste/gadgets-not-lasting-as-long-as-you-would-like-them-to-welcome-to-planned-obsolescence-83498
2. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/planned_obsolescence.asp
3. https://www.iberdrola.com/sustainability/planned-obsolescence#:~:text=Planned%20obsolescence%20describes%20the%20practice,been%20banned%20in%20some%20countries.

TiHAN Testbed for Autonomous Navigation

TiHAN Testbed for Autonomous Navigation was inaugurated in the IIT Hyderabad campus to develop unmanned ground and aerial vehicles.

• TiHAN - Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN) is a multidisciplinary initiative of the IIT-Hyderabad.
• It aims to make India a global player in the futuristic “Smart Mobility technology”.
• TiHAN is developing and deploying a real-time Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) utilising autonomous UAVs and ground/surface vehicles for many application sectors of the national importance of this decade.
• TiHAN is recognised as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
• TiHAN testbed - TiHAN testbed on Autonomous Navigations is a first of its kind futuristic autonomous navigation facility to develop unmanned terrestrial & aerial vehicles.
• This testbed will provide a unique platform for high quality research between academia, industry and R&D labs both at the national and international level.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1839079
2. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/countrys-first-testbed-for-autonomous-navigation-launched-at-iit-hyderabad/article65599829.ece
3. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/indias-first-autonomous-navigation-facility-tihan-launched-at-iit-hyderabad-11656943204369.html

National IPR Policy 2016

At a DST-Centre for Policy Research (DST-CPRs) meeting, the need for interventions in National IPR policy was highlighted.

• In 2016, the Union Cabinet has approved the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy.
• The IPR policy laid down the future roadmap for IPRs in India.
• The National IPR Policy brings to a single platform all IPRs.
• It views IPRs holistically, taking into account all inter-linkages and thus aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), concerned statutes and agencies.
• It sets in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review.
• It aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario. The policy is entirely compliant with the WTO’s agreement on TRIPS.
• The plan will be reviewed every 5 years in consultation with stakeholders.
• Objectives of the NPR Policy
  1. To create public awareness about the economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society
  2. To stimulate the generation of IPRs
  3. To have strong and effective IPR laws, which balance the interests of rights owners with larger public interest
  4. To modernize and strengthen service-oriented IPR administration
  5. Get value for IPRs through commercialization
  6. To strengthen the enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for combating IPR infringements
  7. To strengthen and expand human resources, institutions and capacities for teaching, training, research and skill building in IPRs
• Implementation - Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) shall be the nodal point to coordinate, guide and oversee implementation and future development of IPRs in India.
• But, the responsibility for actual implementation of the plans of action will remain with the Ministries/ Departments concerned in their assigned sphere of work.
• Public and private sector institutions and other stakeholders, including State governments, will also be involved in the implementation process.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1832213
2. https://dpiit.gov.in/policies-rules-and-acts/policies/national-ipr-policy#:~:text=The%20National%20IPR%20Policy%20is,)%2C%20concerned%20statutes%20and%20agencies.
3. https://www.meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/National_IPR_Policy.pdf

Green Climate Fund

• In 2010, Green Climate Fund (GCF) was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• It is the world’s largest climate fund.
• It is mandated to support developing countries raise and realize their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) ambitions towards low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, climate-resilient pathways.
• It is mandated to help vulnerable societies adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change, particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and African States.
• This Fund tries to achieve the above goals by investing across 4 transitions,
  1. Built environment;
  2. Energy & industry;
  3. Human security, livelihoods and wellbeing; and
  4. Land-use, forests and ecosystems.
• This Fund tries to achieve the above goals by employing a 4-pronged approach,
  1. Transformational planning and programming - To maximise the co-benefits between mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development.
  2. Catalysing climate innovation - By investing in new technologies, business models, and practices to establish a proof of concept.
  3. De-risking investment to mobilize finance at scale.
  4. Mainstreaming climate risks and opportunities into investment decision-making to align finance with sustainable development.
• Related Links - Climate Funds

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1836784
2. https://www.greenclimate.fund/about
3. https://www.unep.org/about-un-environment/funding-and-partnerships/green-climate-fund

National Air Quality Resource Framework of India

The Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government inaugurated the National Mission on "National Air Quality Resource Framework of India (NARFI)".

• This science-based integrated air quality resource framework will provide an all-inclusive guide to
  1. Collecting air quality data,
  2. Studying its impact and
  3. Implementing science-based solutions.
• The NARFI was developed by the Bengaluru-based National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), with the support from the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (O/o PSA) to the Government of India.
• It is implemented by NIAS is a timely step in the right direction. 
• It is an information mechanism to help decision-makers in government, municipalities, start-ups and in the private sectors to address air pollution issues in different climatic zones of India.
• Research-based audited Information and industry-oriented solutions will be shared in an easy-to-understand format.
• The short-term basic training modules tailored for different groups such as active ground level staff in government establishments, implementers, media and policymakers, would be an integral part of the framework.
• The NARFI will evolve around the following five modules or themes,
  1. Emission Inventory, Air Shed, and Mitigation
  2. Impacts on Human Health and Agriculture
  3. Integrated Monitoring, Forecasting and Advisory Framework
  4. Outreach, Social Dimension, Transition Strategy and Policy
  5. Solutions, Public-Industry Partnership, Stubble Burning & New Technologies.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1836725
2. https://kashmirreader.com/2022/06/25/brainstorming-workshop-held-on-national-air-quality-resource-framework-of-india/