22 May 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ISO COPOLCO Plenary
2. Janganana Bhavan
3. International Biodiversity Day

1. ISO COPOLCO Plenary

Syllabus – GS2, Important international institutions.

Prelims – ISO COPOLCO Plenary, BIS.

Context – India is hosting the 44th annual ISO COPOLCO Plenary in New Delhi (23-26 May 2023).

Details –

• Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution and Textiles will inaugurate the ISO COPOLCO event. The event is being organised by the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) – the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act, 2016.
• ISO COPOLCO, or the Committee on Consumer Policy is a committee of the International Standards Organisation (ISO) which is responsible for promoting consumer interests in the standardisation process and ensures that standards are developed with the needs of consumers in mind. ISO’s Committee on Consumer Policy (COPOLCO) is dedicated to promoting consumer participation in standards.
• With a people-centric approach and themes such as Challenges and Good Practices for Consumer Engagement, Consumer Protection and Legal Framework and Empowering Consumers for a Sustainable Future, this year’s plenary is important for India and the international community.
• The International Standards Organisation (ISO) is an international body with 168 countries as members and India is an active and permanent member of the ISO and has played an important role in both the technical work and the governance of the ISO. 
• India has had the honour of hosting the ISO COPOLCO earlier also in 2009. BIS is also a member of regional standards bodies – South Asian Regional Standards Organisation (SARSO), Pacific Area Standards Congress (PASC) and is under the framework of IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa).

2. Janganana Bhavan

Syllabus – GS1, Population and associated issues.

Prelims – Janganana Bhavan.

Context – Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the Janganana Bhavan in New Delhi.

Details –

• The Union Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the Janganana Bhavan, the office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India. The minister also inaugurated a web portal for the registration of births and deaths.
• The minister also upgraded the SRS (Sample Registration System) mobile application equipped with geo-fencing and the web portal for the online sale of census publications. Also, a treatise on Indian Censuses since 1981 was released. SRS is the tool through which census and other demographic data are officially recorded by the government.
• Census is a process that outlines a nation’s development process. So, it is very much necessary to make it fool-proof and flawless by using technologies like an upgraded version of the SRS mobile app equipped with a geofencing facility. 
• The next census will be conducted electronically in which every person will have the right to fill the data, it will be verified and audited and will include more than 35 parameters of socio-economic development. The data of the census is important to make the basic plan of development for the country and in providing basic amenities to the underprivileged and exploited. 

Also read – Census of India 2011

3. International Biodiversity Day

Syllabus – GS3, Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Prelims – International Biodiversity Day, 22nd May.

Context – Celebrating the International Biodiversity Day – 22nd May.

Details –

• The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Mr Bupendra Yadav while speaking at a function to celebrate the International Biodiversity Day in Mumbai highlighted the need to foster a sense of responsibility towards the environment. The minister proposed to establish People’s Biodiversity Registers in every village as a part of the Mission LiFE initiative.

About International Biodiversity Day –

• Every year on 22nd May, the International Day for Biological Diversity is celebrated to emphasise the vital significance of biodiversity in upholding life on our planet. The UN General Assembly established this day in 1993 to mark the passing of the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).
• This day’s origins can be attributed to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Leaders from around the world agreed at this summit that biodiversity is essential to supporting life on Earth and that its protection is urgently needed. To preserve biodiversity, encourage sustainable use of its components, and ensure the equitable distribution of benefits resulting from genetic resources, the CBD was consequently approved.

Read the previous PIB articles here.

May 22nd, 2023, PIB:- Download PDF Here