24 Dec 2021: PIB Summary & Analysis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Gurpurab
2. Five pillars of Consumer Rights
3. Soya meal
4. 150th Birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo
5. Kisan Credit Card
6. IVF Banni calf

1. Gurpurab

Topic: GS I; Indian Culture

Prelims: About Guru Nanak Dev Ji

Mains: Contributions and teachings of Guru Nanak, About Sikhism

Context: The Prime Minister’s address at the celebrations of Gurpurab at Gurdwara Lakhpat Sahib in Kutch, Gujarat.

Gurpurab of Guru Nanak Dev Ji:

• The Sikh Sangat of Gujarat celebrates Gurpurab from 23rd of December to 25th of December, every year in order to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
• The celebration takes place at Gurudwara Lakhpat Sahib where Guru Nanak stayed while travelling.
• This Gurudwara was damaged due to the 2001 earthquake and was repaired and possesses the remains of Guru Nanak such as his wooden footwear and cradle (palkhi), manuscripts and scripts of Gurmukhi. 

Read more about Sikhism in the linked article.

2. Five pillars of Consumer Rights

Topic: GS 2; Governance, Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability

Mains: Interventions by government to secure consumer rights

Context: The Department of Consumer Affairs celebrated National Consumer Day 2021 with the theme “ Consumer – Know your Rights”.

Background of this day:

• Every 24th day of December is recognized as National Consumer Day which is backed by the fact that on this day, 1986 the Consumer Protection Act got the Presidential assent.
• This was for the first time the consumers were empowered to avail certain rights that serve as an integral part of governance.
• The act of 1986 was replaced by the Consumer Protection Act of 2019 and provided widened scopes of consumer safety and protection.

Aim of National Consumer Day:

• This day acknowledges the importance of strengthening consumer rights and aims at leading India in ‘One Nation One Standard’ along with more awareness spread across the consumers. 
• Emboldening the five pillars of Consumer Rights has been a major objective of the celebration.

Measures taken for protecting Consumer Rights:

• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is working towards improving the standards and quality of products for the consumers. 

Also read about BIS Act, 2016 in the linked article.

• Five major initiatives of the government to assure timely redressal of complaints include:
  • Direct selling rules
  • Simplified Mediation Rules
  • Guidelines against misleading advertising
  • Introducing new E-Commerce Rules
  • Hallmarking that offers consumers a long term right to quality, purity and transparency.
• The E-Dakhil portal has facilitated a speedy resolution of complaints filed by the consumers. This portal has been largely instrumental in addressing customer complaints during the pandemic. There are 544 consumer commissions that enable e- filing of a huge number of cases ensuring accountability towards consumer rights. 
• E-books on Landmark Judgements on consumer law and practice, handbook on Mediation under Consumer Protection Act 2019 were inaugurated.
• The National Consumer Helpline portal has been set up to protect consumers from cybercrime.
• BIS Care Mobile app assists the consumers to verify the authenticity of the standard mark on products.
• Hallmarking has been made mandatory for 256 districts with proper guidelines for the establishment of offsite hallmarking centres. 
• The National Test House carried out testing of packaged drinking water for consumers and manufacturers. Water sample testing was done in rural areas with the help of a Mobile Drinking Water Testing Van. 
• The National Test House also created a toy testing facility to ensure that toys are safe for children.

3. Soya meal

Topic: GS 3, Economy, Public Distribution System 

Prelims: About Essential Commodities Act, Nutritive value of soya meal         

Context: In order to bring down the domestic prices of Soya Meal, the Government has issued an order to notify it under the Essential Commodities Act till the end of June 2022.

Details:

• The schedule of the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 has been amended with the addition of soya meal to better the sale and availability of the item.
• This will help in the regulation, distribution and production of soya meal.

4. 150th Birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo

Topic: GS 1, Modern Indian History; Significant Personalities

Prelims: About Sri Aurobindo

Mains: Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo and his contributions as a spiritual leader

Context: The Prime Minister chaired a high-level committee meeting to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo.

Important Highlights:

• Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy of ‘Revolution’ and ‘Evolution’ has been emphasised in order to inspire the youth of the country towards greatness.
• The concept of greatness has been echoed through the philosophy of Aurobindo that advocates the transition of Nar to Narayan resulting in the creation of Mahamanav.
• It has been proposed by the high-level committee that Sri Aurobindo should be included in the academic curriculum under the New Education Policy (NEP, 2020). 

Read more about Sri Aurobindo in the linked article.

5. Kisan Credit Card

Topic: GS 3; Economy, Mobilisation of resources

Prelims: About Kisan Credit Card Scheme

Mains: Policies to improve the fisheries sector in India

Context: The Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying organised a webinar on the Nation-Wide Campaign on Kisan Credit Card for the fisheries sector. 

Aim: 

• The facility of the Kisan Credit Card scheme attempts to provide the fishers and farmers with working capital assistance along with adequate and timely credit support.
• This aims to bring together all the states and union territories to cooperate towards the noble objective of improving aquaculture and fisheries in the country. 

Significance:

• Extending the credit facilities to the fisheries sector will pave a transformative way for the development of the socio-economic scenario of fish farmers and fishermen. 

To know more about the Kisan Credit Card Scheme follow the linked article.

6. IVF Banni calf

Topic: GS 3; Science and Technology, Development and their applications in everyday life

Prelims: About In-vitro Fertilisation (IVF)

Mains: Significance in livestock farming

Context: The Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying visited the IVF centre Bovege Jix in Pune. This IVF centre produced India’s first IVF calf named Banni.

Read more about IVF calf Banni in PIB dated October 23, 2021.

Read previous PIB here.

December 24th, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here