25 Nov 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Constitution Day
2. India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to pursue resumption of FTA Negotiations
3. International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
4. National Milk Day

1. Constitution Day

Syllabus: GS II, Polity; Constitution of India

Prelims: Constitution Day and various initiatives launched as a part of Constitution Day 2022

Context: The Prime Minister of India will participate in the Constitution Day celebrations in the Supreme Court.

Constitution Day

• Constitution Day of India, also known as “Samvidhan Divas”, is celebrated on 26th November every year.
• Constitution Day is celebrated to mark the adoption of the Constitution of India as the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India on the 26th of November 1949; it came into force on 26 January 1950.
• The 26th of November has been celebrated as Constitution Day since 2015 with the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment notifying the government to celebrate Constitution Day every year.
• The celebration of Constitution Day aims to promote constitutional values among citizens.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is the nodal agency for the celebrations.

Read more about – Constitution Day

Constitution Day 2022

• During the celebration of Constitution Day in 2022, the Prime Minister will launch various new initiatives under the e-court project.
  • The key objective of the e-court project is to provide services to litigants, lawyers and the judiciary through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) enablement of courts.
• Various incentives under the project include:
  • Virtual Justice Clock: This initiative aims to exhibit key statistics of the justice delivery system at the Court level by giving the details of the cases disposed and pendency of cases in a timely manner thereby increasing the accountability and transparency of the functioning of the courts.
  • JustIS mobile App 2.0: It is a tool available to judicial officers for effective court and case management by monitoring pendency and disposal. The App will be available to the Judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court who can monitor the pendency and disposal of cases in all the States and Districts under their jurisdiction.
  • Digital court: It is an initiative to make the court records available to the judge in digitised form to enable the transition to Paperless Courts. 
  • S3WaaS Websites: It is a framework to generate, configure, deploy and manage websites for publishing information and services related to the district judiciary.  
    • S3WaaS is a cloud service provided for government agencies to generate secure, scalable and accessible websites. 
    • The website is multilingual and citizen-friendly.

2. India-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to pursue resumption of FTA Negotiations

Syllabus: GS II, International Relation; Bilateral, regional and global agreements involving India

Prelims: About Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Mains: Trends in India-GCC Relations and the significance of FTA

Context: The Government of India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) announced the intent to pursue negotiations on the India-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA). 

India-GCC FTA

• Both India and the GCC have acknowledged the need to expedite the conclusion of the FTA negotiations. 
• The FTA between the two is envisaged to be an advanced and comprehensive agreement that covers wide aspects of goods and services. 
• The FTA between India and the GCC is expected to help create new jobs, better living standards, and provide increased social and economic opportunities to India and the GCC countries. 
• Both sides have agreed to expand and diversify the trade basket in line with the huge potential existing because of the complementary business and economic ecosystems of India and the GCC. 

India-GCC Trade Relations

• At present, GCC is India’s largest trading partner bloc with bilateral trade in FY 2021-22 crossing $154 billion with exports being valued at about $44 billion and imports at $110 billion. 
• The bilateral trade in services between India and the GCC was valued at around $14 billion in FY 2021-22 (Exports: $5.5 Billion and Imports: $8.3 Billion). 
• Further, the GCC countries account for close to 35% of India’s total oil imports and 70% of overall gas imports.
• India’s total crude oil imports from the GCC in 2021-22 were valued at $48 billion with LNG and LPG imports being valued at $21 billion. 
• Also, the investments from the GCC in India are valued at over $18 billion.

3. International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

Syllabus: GS II, International Relation; Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

Prelims: About International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

Context: India won the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Vice Presidency and Strategic Management Board (SMB) Chair for the 2023-25 term.

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

• The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) was founded in 1906 in London.
• IEC is the world’s leading organisation for the preparation and publication of international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies which are collectively known as “electrotechnology”.
• IEC International Standards serve as the basis for risk and quality management.
• The IEC is a global not-for-profit membership organisation that helps collaborate with over 170 countries and coordinates the work of experts from across the world.
• Headquarters: Geneva in Switzerland
• Standardization Management Board (SMB) is an apex governance body of the IEC responsible for technical policy matters.

India and IEC

• India started taking part in IEC in 1911 and subsequently, the then-Indian Standards Institution which is now the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) took over the responsibility of the Indian National Committee of IEC (INC-IEC) in 1949 from the Institution of Engineers. 
• Since then the INC-IEC has been actively participating in the activities of the IEC both at the policy level and technical work and carrying out the responsibilities as a member body of the IEC Council.
• The representation of BIS in policy and governance bodies of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and IEC ensures that Indian viewpoints on important strategic and policy matters are heard and also provides opportunities to align the national standardisation priorities with global best practices.
• By securing about 90% of the votes cast by full members of IEC during its General Meeting held in San Francisco, USA, India’s representatives were elected as Vice President of IEC and the Chair of SMB for the 2023-25 term.
  • Vimal Mahendru will be the IEC Vice President representing India. 

4. National Milk Day

Syllabus: GS III, Economy; Economics of animal-rearing.

Prelims: About National Milk Day

Mains: Trends in the dairy sector of India

Context: The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is celebrating “National Milk Day”.

National Milk Day

• National Milk Day in India is celebrated every year on the 26th of November.
• The National Milk Day is observed throughout the country in honour of Dr. Verghese Kurien who is regarded as the “Father of the White Revolution in India” and the “Milkman of India”.
• National Milk Day has been observed in India since 2014 by the Indian Dairy Association (IDA).

Learn more about – National Milk Day

Milk production in India

Image Source: PIB

• As per the Economic Survey of India 2021-2022, India is ranked first in global milk production.
• India accounts for over 23% of global milk production.
• Production of milk in the county has increased from 17 MT in 1950-51 to 209.96 MT in 2020-21.
• The per capita availability of milk was found to be 427 g/day in 2020-2021 which has increased from 130 g/day in 1950-51.
• The dairy sector in the country is the single largest agricultural commodity that contributes close to 5% to the national economy and provides direct employment to over eight crore farmers.

Read the previous PIB articles here.

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