The Banganapalle mango has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, making Andhra Pradesh the proprietor of the variety.
A GI is a sign that identifies a product as originating from a particular location which gives that product a special quality or reputation or other characteristic.
Under Articles 1 (2) and 10 of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, geographical indications are covered as an element of IPRs.
They are also covered under Articles 22 to 24 of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, which was part of the Agreements concluding the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations.
India, as a member of the WTO, enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection)Act, 1999 has come into force from 15th September 2003. Darjeeling Tea was the first Indian product to get the GI tag.
Although a GI is not strictly a type of trademark, there are usually prohibitions against registration of a trademark which constitutes a geographical indication.
Some of the Recently Granted GIs
National Steel Policy 2017
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has given its approval for National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017.
It seeks to enhance domestic steel consumption and ensure high quality steel production and create a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry.
Key features of the NSP 2017:
Create self-sufficiency in steel production by providing policy support & guidance to private manufacturers, MSME steel producers, CPSEs,
Encourage adequate capacity additions,
Development of globally competitive steel manufacturing capabilities,
Cost-efficient production,
Domestic availability of iron ore, coking coal & natural gas,
Facilitating foreign investment,
Asset acquisitions of raw materials &
Enhancing the domestic steel demand.
The Indian steel sector has grown rapidly over the past few years and presently it is the third largest steel producer globally, contributing to about 2% of the country's GDP.
India has also crossed 100 MT mark for production for sale in 2016-17. The New Steel Policy aspires to achieve 300MT of steel-making capacity by 2030.
DMI&SP Policy
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the policy for providing preference to domestically manufactured iron & steel products on Government procurement.
The policy mandates to provide preference to DMI&S products, in Government Procurement.
Thus, it seeks to accomplish the PM's vision of 'Make in India' with objective of nation building and encourage encourage domestic manufacturing.
It shall be the responsibility of every Government Agency to ensure implementation of the policy.
GSAT – 9
South Asia Satellite GSAT-9 was launched by GSLV-F09 on Friday, May 05, 2017 from Sriharikota.
GSAT-9 is a Geostationary Communication satellite realised by India. The primary objective of GSAT-9 is to provide various communication applications in Ku-band with coverage over South Asian countries.
No-fly list
The government plans to empower domestic airlines to ban unruly passengers for up to two years in a move that comes after a Shiv Sena MP beat up an Air India staffer.
The ministry has categorised “disruptions” by flyers into three levels.
level 1 is for disruptive behaviour like physical gestures;
level 2 is for physically abusive behaviour like pushing, kicking, and sexual harassment; and
level 3 for life-threatening behaviour and damage to aircraft operating systems.
For offences under level 1, a passenger can be grounded for three months, while for level 2 and level 3 offences, he or she can be banned for six months and two years, respectively.
The global airline lobby group International Air Transport Association (IATA) urged India to ratify the Montreal Protocol 2014, which deals with the safety of flights and passengers.
Cassini
NASA has released a new movie sequence showing a close view of Saturn’s atmosphere as the Cassini spacecraft swooped over the ringed planet during the first of its ‘Grand Finale’ dives.
Cassini-Huygens was a joint project between NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency.
