Kumaon Himalayas

Recently the Supreme Court has halted 90-acre project in Kumaon Himalayas on a plea challenging ‘single window’ clearances.

• Kumaun Himalayas is the west-central section of the Himalayas in India.
• It extends from the Sutlej River to the Kali River.
• It comprises part of the Siwalik Range in the south and part of the Great Himalayas in the north.
• It lies largely within the state of Uttarakhand and northwest of Nepal.
• At elevations above 14,000 feet (4,300 metres), snow covers the mountains throughout the year. Glaciers and snowmelt feed the headstreams of the Ganges River in torrents that rush through gorges and steep-sided ravines.
• It rises to 7,817 metres at Nanda Devi, the range’s highest peak and to 7,756 metres at Kamet, near the Chinese border.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)

BIMSTEC has recently acquired ‘legal personality’ and will be able to enter into structured diplomatic dialogue with other groupings and countries.

• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization that was established on 06 June 1997 with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
• This Declaration was signed by Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
• The main aim of the regional group was the promotion of economic cooperation between countries bordering the Bay of Bengal.
• The Myanmar joined in 1997 and the group was renamed BIMST-EC.
• With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan in July 2004, the grouping was renamed during the First Summit in Bangkok on 31 July 2004 as BIMSTEC.
• Member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.
• Charter – The BIMSTEC Charter was signed and adopted during the 5th BIMSTEC Summit held in virtual format in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 30 March 2022.
• The charter recently came into force and BIMSTEC can now admit new members and observers, and enter into diplomatic dialogues with other countries/groupings.
• Mechanism – BIMSTEC is a five-tiered organization.
  1. Summit – Comprising the Heads of State or Government of the Member States.
  2. Ministerial Meeting – Comprising the Ministers dealing with foreign relations of the Member States.
  3. Sectoral Ministerial Meetings – Comprising the Ministers of line ministries responsible for carrying out the activities of the respective sectors.
  4. Senior Officials’ Meeting – Consisting of the Foreign Secretaries/ Secretaries/ appropriate Senior officials nominated by the BIMSTEC Member States.
  5. BIMSTEC Permanent Working Committee (BPWC) -Comprising senior officials of the respective National Focal Points.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

Spain recently became the 99th member of International Solar Alliance

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an action-oriented, member-driven, collaborative platform.
• It aids to increase deployment of solar energy technologies as a means for bringing energy access, ensuring energy security, and driving energy transition in its member countries.
• ISA’s partnerships with multilateral development banks development financial institutions (DFIs), private and public sector organisations, civil society and other international institutions is key to delivering the change its seeks to see in the world going ahead.
• The ISA is guided by its ‘Towards 1000’ strategy which aims to mobilise USD 1,000 billion of investments in solar energy solutions by 2030.
• India and France jointly launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA) during COP21 in Paris.
• Member states – 99 countries have signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement.
• Panama, Yemen Chile and Spain are member countries.
• At present, 119 countries are signatories to the ISA Framework Agreement.
• The Assembly of the ISA is the apex decision-making body which comprises of representatives from each Member Country.
• The first Assembly of the ISA was held on 2018 in Greater Noida, National Capital Region, India.

Price Stabilisation Fund

The union government has planned to expand the irradiation process to boost the shelf life of the onion buffer stock under the Price Stabilisation Fund.

• The Price Stabilisation Fund was introduced to address the price volatility of essential agricultural commodities such as onions, potatoes and pulses.
• It was introduced as an intervention mechanism to stabilize the prices of the commodities in 2014-15 with a corpus of 500 crore rupees.
• Objectives – To promote direct purchase from farmers or farmers’ association at farm gate or Mandi.
• To maintain a strategic buffer stock that would discourage hoarding and unscrupulous speculation.
• To protect consumers by supplying such commodities at reasonable prices through calibrated release of stock.
• Interest free advance or loans – The interest free advance towards working capital are provided to the procurement agencies to enable the procurement of perishable agri-horticulture produce.
• The interest free advance is provided to the following:
  • State Government/Union Territories (UTs) and
  • Central Agencies/Central PSUs/Cooperative organizations as decided by respective Ministries.
• Fund management – PSF is managed by the Price Stabilisation Fund Management Committee (PSFMC).
• Function of PSFMC – Releases from the Fund will be made subject to approval of PSFMC only.
• PSFMC may decide on addition of other agri-commodities, if need so arises, in order to increase availability of the same.
• It may decide on import of notified agri-commodities, if need so arises, in order to increase availability of the same.
• It will monitor the progress of implementation of the Price Stabilization Operations by the implementing agency.
• PSFMC works under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
• Agriculture commodities covered – Onions, potatoes and pulses.
• Recent developments – Recently the union government has approved inclusion of wheat and rice under the price stabilization fund (PSF).

Furlough

Recently the Supreme Court cancelled its previous order allowing the extension of temporary release (furlough) for a convict, as he had hidden the fact that he was not eligible for early release until completing 30 years of his prison sentence.

• Furlough is an interim/temporary release of a prisoner.
• It is considered a basic right/entitlement of prisoners.
• It is not granted based on application, but a provision for prisoners to avail it periodically.
• It is different from Parole.
• Parole - Is a temporary release of a prisoner.
• It is granted on the request/application of the prisoner.
• It can be denied by authorities.