Report by Ramsar Convention
- Ramsar convention adopted in the year 1971 that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
- This intergovernmental treaty came into force in 1975.
- It has been ratified by most of the world’s nations, including the U.S., China and India.
- It has designated more than 2,300 sites of international importance.
- The convention has recently issued its first-ever global report on the state of World's wetlands.
- The report is titled as "Global Wetland Outlook".
- The report found that around 35% of wetlands were lost between 1970 and 2015.
- Wetlands include lakes, rivers, marshes and peatlands, as well as coastal and marine areas like lagoons, mangroves and coral reefs.
- In India, The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal Ministry for wetlands conservation.
- Wetlands in India account for 4.7% of the total geographical area.
State Disaster Response Fund
- Under the Disaster Management Act 2005, a financial mechanism has been set up by way of National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) at national level and State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF) at state level.
- The funds are to meet the rescue and relief expenditure during any notified disaster.
- The funding for disaster relief are governed by the National Disaster Management Policy.
- As per the policy, the State governments have to provide disaster relief from their respective State Disaster Response Funds (SDRFs).
- Additional assistance will be provided from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) only for a “calamity of severe nature”.
- SDRF has been constituted in each state in which the Centre had been, so far, contributing 75 per cent for general category states and 90 per cent for special category states of hilly regions.
- The Centre has announced to enhance its contribution to the (SDRF) from 75 per cent to 90 per cent for general category states with effect from April 1 this year.
- With the declaration, the contribution of all states to the SDRF fund would be only 10 per cent.
- The NDRF is funded through a National Calamity Contingent Duty levied under GST for selected goods and contribution from any person or institutions.
India-United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF)
- India and United Nations will sign India-United Nations Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF) for 2018-2022.
- The NITI Aayog is the national counterpart for the UN in India for the operationalization of the UNSDF.
- SDF 2018-2022 outlines the work of UN agencies in India, to support the achievement of key development outcomes that are aligned to the national priorities.
- The seven priority areas outlined in the UNSDF are,
1. Poverty and Urbanization;
2. Health, Water, and Sanitation;
3. Education and Employability;
4. Nutrition and Food Security;
5. Climate Change, Clean Energy, and Disaster Resilience;
6. Skilling, Entrepreneurship, and Job Creation; and
7. Gender Equality and Youth Development.
Model Code of Conduct (MCC)
- Election Commission has recently asserted that MCC will come into effect from the day the premature dissolution of an Assembly in a State or a Union Territory is announced.
- It will remain in force till the new government is formed.
- Election Commission has highlighted the judgment of SC in the SR Bommai versus Union of India case, 1994 to support its view on MCC.
- According to the judgment, the caretaker government should merely carry on day-to-day work and desist from taking any major policy decisions.
- The EC’s decision assumes importance as the Telangana Assembly was prematurely dissolved recently. Its term was to end in June 2019.
- Prohibitions under MCC - Neither the caretaker State Government nor the Central Government shall
- Announce any new schemes or projects
- Use of official resources for any non-official purposes, and
- Combining of official visits with electioneering work
Liquidity Coverage Ratio
- The liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) refers to highly liquid assets held by financial institutions to meet short-term obligations.
- Statutory Liquidity Ratio is the percentage of deposits that banks have to mandatorily invest in government and state government securities, which is currently at 19.5 %.
- RBI has recently notified that banks are allowed to use up to 15 % (currently 13%) of holdings under the SLR reserves to meet their liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) requirements.
- This move will take the total carve-out from SLR available to banks to 15 per cent of their deposits.
- The RBI move follows concerns over tight liquidity conditions and banks’ unwillingness to lend to NBFCs.
Source: PIB, The Hindu, The Indian Express
