Prelim Bits 06-06-2019

Emission Trading Scheme

• Gujarat has launched India’s first Emission Trading Scheme to combat particulate air pollution.
• The programme is a market-based system where the government sets a cap on emissions and allows industries to buy and sell permits to stay below the cap.
• Under the cap and trade system, the regulator first defines the total mass of pollution that can be put into the air over a defined period by all factories put together.
• Then, a set of permits is created, each of which allows a certain amount of pollution, and the total is equal to the cap.
• These permits are the quantity that is bought and sold, each factory is allocated a share of these permits (this could be equal or based on size or some other rule).
• After this, plants can trade permits with each other, just like any other commodity on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX).
• The reason for trading is that in a cap and trade market, the regulator will measure pollution over a period of time and industries must own enough permits to cover their total emissions.
• Factories who find it very expensive to reduce pollution, will seek to buy more permits.
• Those who can easily reduce pollution are encouraged to do so because then they have excess permits to sell.
• Globally, cap-and-trade systems have been used to reduce other forms of pollution, such as programmes that have successfully reduced Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the United States.
• But the Gujarat programme is the first in the world to regulate particulate air pollution.

International Disability Alliance

• The International Disability Alliance (IDA) was established in 1999 as a network of global and regional organizations of persons with disabilities (DPOs) and their families.
• IDA is a key player in the negotiation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).
• The Alliance aims to promote the effective and full implementation of the UN CRPD worldwide.
• IDA represents the estimated one billion people worldwide living with a disability.
• This is the world’s largest and most frequently overlooked minority group.
• IDA is hosting its 2^nd Global Disability Summit in Argentina.

Cabinet Committee

• Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) of 1961, prescribed the procedure in which the Executive arm of the Government would conduct its business in a convenient and streamlined manner.
• In terms of the TBR, 1961, inter-alia, there shall be “Standing Committees of the Cabinet”, with the functions specified therein.
• The Prime Minister may, from time to time, amend the Schedule by adding to or reducing the numbers of such Committees or by modifying the functions assigned to them.
• Every Standing Committee shall consist of Prime ministers and ministers of other departments, who may from time to time.
• Conventionally, while Ministers with Cabinet rank are named as ‘members’ of the Standing Committees, Ministers of State, irrespective of their status of having ‘Independent Charge’ of a Ministry/Department, and others ‘with rank of’ a Cabinet Minister or Minister of State are named as ‘special invitees’.
• Standing Committees of the Cabinet shall be competent to take a final decision on a matter presented before it, except in cases where the relevant entries in the respective Schedules themselves preclude the Committees from taking such decisions.
• Any decision taken by a Standing Committee can be reviewed by the Cabinet.
• Apart from standing committees government can form Ad-hoc committees (temporary) to deal with specific tasks.
• Cabinet committees are extra-constitutional in nature and are nowhere mentioned in the Constitution.
• Recently union government has formed two new cabinet committees namely Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth, and Cabinet Committee on Employment & Skill Development.

World Environment Day

• June 5th of every year is celebrated as World Environment Day.
• The World Environment Day is a part of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) for creating awareness and action worldwide for the environment.
• The first World Environment Day was celebrated in 1973.

Ganga Praharis

• Ganga Praharis are cadre of self-motivated volunteers from the local communities.
• Ganga Praharis have been created by Wild Life Institute of India.
• These Praharis are working for biodiversity conservation and cleanliness of the Ganga River.

Source: PIB, the Hindu