22 Jul 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Har Ghar Jal
2. Ayush Mark Certification Scheme
3. Government E-Marketplace (GeM)
4. Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

1. Har Ghar Jal

Syllabus: GS-2, Governance; Important Govt schemes

Prelims: Jal Jeevan Mission Features

Mains: Significance of Jal Jeevan Mission

Context:

Burhanpur, Madhya Pradesh becomes the first Har Ghar Jal certified district in the country.

Details:

• The Jal Jeeven Mission was launched in 2019 with the objective of bringing tap water connections to every rural household of the country by 2024. 
• Jal Jeevan Mission – Har Ghar Jal aims to make available safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. 

Read more on the Jal Jeevan Mission in the linked article.

2. Ayush Mark Certification Scheme

Syllabus: GS-2; Health; Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Prelims: Ayush Mark Certification Scheme and Quality Council of India (QCI)

Ayush Mark Certification Scheme:

• It is a voluntary certification scheme for ASU&H products having two levels: 
  • Ayush Standard Mark: It is based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani medicines (Schedule T) as per Drugs and Cosmetic Rules, 1945. 
  • Ayush Premium Mark: It is based on WHO’s GMP guidelines covering herbal medicines.
• Ayush Mark Certification Scheme is operated by the Quality Council of India (QCI) since 2009. 
• The Department of AYUSH is the Scheme owner and QCI is responsible for managing the Scheme. 
• Under this scheme, each manufacturing unit would obtain a certification from a approved certification body (CB) which is accredited to appropriate international standards by the National Accreditation Board For Certification Bodies (NABCB) and will be under regular surveillance of the certification body. 

Additional Information:

• The Ayush products are regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 by the Drugs Controller General of India through the State Governments. 

Context:

This information was given by the Minister of Ayush in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

3. Government E-Marketplace (GeM)

Syllabus: GS-2; Governance; e-governance applications

Prelims: About Government e-Marketplace (GeM)

Mains: Importance of e-governance applications

Context:

Government sets a target of 75% procurement by 15th August and 100% by the end of financial year 2022-23 for procurement through GeM.

Details:

• The Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is a dedicated online platform where goods and services can be procured by various organizations and departments under the Government of India, and by the PSUs also.
• GeM has taken a host of steps to onboard products of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), tribal communities, craftsmen, weavers, and MSMEs with a view to making the platform more inclusive. 
• It is also integrating with Panchayati Raj Institutions to allow online buying and selling by the Panchayats at the grassroot level. 
• GeM is also integrating with IndiaPost for extending logistics services at the grassroot level.

4. Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

Syllabus: GS-3, Economy; Economics of animal-rearing – Fisheries

Prelims: Agreement on Fisheries, WTO Agreements

Mains: Relevance and the impact of Agreement on Fisheries on India’s Fisheries sector

What is the Agreement on Fisheries?

• The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022, marks a major step forward for ocean sustainability by prohibiting harmful fisheries subsidies, which are a key factor in the widespread depletion of the world’s fish stocks. 

How it affects India?

• The agreement will prohibit subsidies from being provided for Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and overfished stocks. 
• Under the Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT), Developing Countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have been allowed a transition period of two years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement.  
• The Agreement also prohibits providing subsidies for fishing on high seas, which are outside the jurisdiction of coastal countries and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations/Arrangements (RFMO/As).
• As per the Agreement, no prohibition has been imposed on a WTO Member regarding granting or maintaining subsidy to its vessel or operator as long as it is not carrying out IUU. 
• Similarly, no prohibition on providing subsidies has been imposed for fishing regarding overfished stocks as long as such subsidies are implemented to rebuild the stock to a biologically sustainable level.
• The Agreement will eliminate the subsidies granted to fishing vessels or fishing operators engaged in IUU fishing. Such disciplining will check large-scale IUU fishing which deprives coastal countries like India of fisheries resources, thereby significantly impacting the livelihoods of our fishing communities. 

India’s stand:

• India is one of the lowest fisheries subsidisers despite such a large population.
• India is also disciplined in sustainably harnessing the fisheries resources. 
• India does not exploit the resources indiscriminately like other advanced fishing nations.
• India’s fisheries sector chiefly depends on millions of small-scale and traditional fishers. 
• Therefore, those WTO Members that have provided huge subsidies in the past, and engaged in large-scale industrial fishing, which is responsible for the depletion of fish stocks, should take more obligations to prohibit subsidies based on the ‘polluter pay principle’ and ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’.  

Click the link to read more about the WTO Agreements.

Read previous PIB here.

July 22nd, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here