1. Indian Rubber industry can double its exports by 2025
Tags: National News
According to the All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA), the $2 billion non-tire rubber sector is aiming to double its exports by 2025.
AIRIA organised an event for the exchange of ideas and suggestions for the smooth functioning of the rubber industry in the coming years.
The objective of the meeting was to highlight the problems and prospects of the rubber industry in India.
The meeting emphasised that Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and Export Promotion Councils should educate MSMEs on export procedures, documentation requirements and export finer points.
All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA)
Established - 1945
Head Office - Mumbai
Regional offices - New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai and a Chapter Office at Pune
It is the largest not-for-profit non-government body serving the rubber industry and trade.
Its objective is to safeguard and promote the interests of the Indian rubber industry with over 1200 country-wide members.
It provides a forum for interaction between Indian entrepreneurs within India and the rest of the world.
Some important facts about rubber
Natural rubber is a polymer of isoprene.
Rubber is obtained from the latex of a number of tropical trees of which Hevea brasiliensis is the most important.
Thailand is the largest Producer of Rubber in the World followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, India, China etc.
India is the fourth largest producer and consumer of rubber in the world.
The leading countries importing natural rubber from India are Germany, Brazil, the United States and Italy.
The first rubber plantation in India was established in 1895 on the hill slopes of Kerala.
Kerala is the largest producer of natural rubber in India.
Some other rubber producing states are Tripura, Assam, Andaman and Nicobar, Goa etc.
2. U.K. PM Boris Johnson faces no-confidence vote
Tags: International News
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson won the trust vote on 6 June. The no-confidence motion was brought by MPs from his ruling Conservative Party. Johnson garnered the support of 59% of his lawmakers. He got 211 votes out of a total of 359 MPs.
What is a No-Confidence Motion?
In a parliamentary democracy, the government can be in power only if it has a majority in the directly elected house.
Article 75(3) of the Constitution of India specifies the rule that the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
But there is no mention of a no-confidence motion in the Constitution.
Rule 198 of the Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Lok Sabha provides a mechanism for examining this collective responsibility.
According to this rule, any Lok Sabha MP who has the support of 50 colleagues can move a no-confidence motion against the Council of Ministers.
The MPs who supported the proposal highlight the shortcomings of the government.
The prime minister or minister then responds to the allegations made.
If the government loses the vote of confidence, it is expected to resign.
There is no procedure for bringing a no-confidence motion against the government in the Rajya Sabha.
Process of voting
Voting can be conducted by following mode-
By voice vote the legislators (MPs) respond orally.
By division vote voting is done using electronic gadgets, slips or in a ballot box.
By ballot vote just like how people vote during state or parliamentary elections.
3. Amit Shah inaugurates National Tribal Research Institute in New Delhi
Tags: National News
Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated National Tribal Research Institute in New Delhi on 7 June.
The National Tribal Research Institute will play a crucial role in tribal development.
It is being established at a cost of ten crore rupees.
It will be a premier institution that will provide the necessary resources and expertise to address the educational, legislative and executive concerns of the tribal communities.
It will collaborate with other research organisations and academic institutions and supervise the activities of its various research departments and award scholarships to the best students.
It will provide policy inputs to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and State Welfare Departments along with programs and studies that support the socio-economic aspects of the tribes.
It will also help in setting up and running effective tribal museums.
It will also maintain a database of PMAGY, an online repository of information about the tribes of India.
Some important facts about Tribes
Population of Scheduled Tribes in India - Approximately 10.43 crores
Rural population of STs in India - approximately 9.38 crores
Urban population of STs in India - approximately 1.05 crores
Notified Tribes in India - 705
Indian state that has the largest population of STs - Madhya Pradesh has 14.7% of total STs population, followed by Maharashtra (10.1%)
Indian states/UTs have no listed STs - Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, NCT of Delhi, Puducherry
4. Nirmala Sitharaman launched single nodal agency dashboard
Tags: International News
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the Single Nodal Agency Dashboard on 7th June during the iconic week celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav in New Delhi.
About Single Nodal Agency (SNA) dashboard
This Single Nodal Agency (SNA) dashboard will provide a platform to the Ministries/Departments to monitor the transfer of funds to the States and their utilisation.
SNA Dashboard is developed by the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).
This is a part of a major public financial management reform that was initiated in 2021 with regards to the manner in which funds for Centrally Sponsored Schemes are released, disbursed and monitored.
This revised process, now referred to as the SNA model, requires each state to identify and designate one SNA for each plan.
All funds for that state in a particular scheme will be deposited in this bank account, and all expenses will be borne by all other implementing agencies linked to this account.
The SNA model ensures that funds for centrally sponsored schemes are allocated to the states in a time bound manner and after fulfilling various conditions.
Significance of SNA Dashboard
It will bring greater efficiency in fund utilisation, tracking of funds, viability and timely release of funds to the states of Centrally Sponsored Schemes.
This will contribute to better cash management of the government.
5. President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Sant Kabir Academy and Research Centre at Maghar
Tags: National Person in news
President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the Sant Kabir Academy and Research Centre Swadesh Darshan Yojana at Maghar, Uttar Pradesh on June 5.
Kabir and the Bhakti movement
The Bhakti movement began in the 7th century in South India to spread across north India in the 14th and the 15th centuries.
The movement included popular poet-saints, who sang devotional songs in local languages, with several preachings for the abolition of the varna system and for Hindu-Muslim unity.
They emphasised a deep emotional attachment with God.
Within the Bhakti movement there was a school Nirguna tradition and Sant Kabir was a prominent member of it.
In this tradition, God was understood as a universal and formless being.
Kabir was a 'low caste' weaver, Raidas was a leather worker and Dadu was a cotton carder.
His campaign against conservatism and rejection of caste made him extremely popular among the masses and his ideology of egalitarianism spread across India.
His early life
He was born in Varanasi and lived between the years 1398 and 1448, or until the year 1518 according to popular belief.
According to other belief, Kabir was born to a Brahmin widow, who placed him in a basket and set him afloat on a pond, after which he was rescued and adopted by a Muslim couple.
He is also believed to be a disciple of the famous guru Ramananda, a 14th century Vaishnava poet-saint.
His verses are found in the Guru Granth Sahib, the scripture of Sikhism.
His work was collected by the fifth Sikh Guru, Guru Arjan Dev.
Kabir's works were written in Hindi language, which was easy to understand.
Kabir Granthawali, Anurag Sagar, Bijak and Sakhi are his main texts.
6. UN agrees to change Turkey’s official name to ‘Türkiye’
Tags: International News
Turkey will henceforth be officially known as 'Turkeys' at the United Nations, after agreeing to Ankara's formal request.
This is a part of a rebranding campaign launched by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2021.
Why does Turkey want to change its name?
Turkish President Erdoan argued that instead of matching the name of a bird (Turkey), it better represented the country if it was called Turkiye.
According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, the meaning of turkey is fool or loser.
Erdoan said that Turkiye best represents the culture, civilization and values of the people of this country and it also best expresses them.
The country's government was not happy with the Google search results for the word 'Turkey'.
Some of these results included the large bird that is served for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals in North America.
Countries that changed its name in the past
The Netherlands was changed from Holland in 2020.
Macedonia changed its name to North Macedonia due to a political dispute with Greece.
Swaziland, a landlocked country in Southern Africa changed to Eswatini in 2018.
Iran used to be called Persia, Siam is now called Thailand, and Rhodesia was changed to Zimbabwe.
7. PM inaugurated 'Iconic Week Celebrations' and launch Jan Samarth portal
Tags: National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ‘Iconic week celebrations’ of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi on 6 June.
The "Iconic Week" is being observed as part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' (AKAM) from June 6 to June 11, 2022.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated a digital exhibition, which traces the journey of the two Ministries, Finance and Corporate Affairs, over the past eight years.
He also released a special series of coins of Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20.
These special series of coins will have the theme of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' logo and will be easily recognizable by the visually impaired.
Jan Samarth Portal
PM Modi launched the national portal for credit-linked government schemes - Jan Samarth Portal on this occasion.
It is a one-stop digital portal linking government credit schemes that directly connects the beneficiaries with the lenders.
The main objective of the portal is to encourage inclusive growth and development of various sectors by providing them appropriate government benefits through simple and easy digital processes.
The portal ensures complete coverage of all linked schemes.
What is the eligibility to apply?
Anyone can apply for the loan.
Firstly the eligibility will be checked under the required loan category and if the individuals are eligible, can apply for the loan under the category through online application.
Documents required to apply under Credit-linked Government schemes
Each scheme has different documentation requirements.
To apply online on the portal, the following basic documents are required-
Aadhaar Number
Voter ID
PAN
Bank statements etc.
8. World’s first fishing cat census done in Chilika
Tags: National
As per the census conducted by the Chilka Development Authority (CDA) in collaboration with The Fishing Cat Project (TFCP), there are 176 fishing cats in Chilka Lake.
The Chilika Lake is Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon.
This is the world's first population estimate of a fishing cat, conducted outside a protected area network.
How was the census conducted?
The estimation was done in two phases.
The first phase was conducted in 2021 on 115 sq km of marshy land in the north and north-eastern section of Chilka.
The second phase took place in Parikud along the coastal islands of Chilika.
During the entire process, a total of 150 camera traps were deployed, each in the field for 30 days.
The Spatially Sxplicit Capture Recapture (SECR) method was used to analyze the data.
The local fishermen and the villagers of Chilka were the primary participants in this exercise.
Ten undergraduate and postgraduate students also volunteered in the exercise.
About fishing cats
Scientific Name - Prionailurus viverrinus
It is nocturnal (active at night)
In India, these are mainly found in the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, on the foothills of the Himalayas along the Ganga and Brahmaputra river valleys and in the Western Ghats.
IUCN Red List - Vulnerable
Threats - Habitat Destruction, Shrimp Farming, Poaching etc
About Chilika Lake
It is the largest lagoon in Asia and the second largest in the world.
In 1981, Chilka Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
This salt water lake is spread over Ganjam, Puri and Khurda districts of Odisha.
The lake is home to millions of migratory birds and endangered plants and animals.
What is a lagoon?
The word "lagoon" is derived from the Italian word laguna, means 'pond' or 'lake'.
This is a body of water separated from larger bodies of water by a natural barrier.
There are two types of lagoons - atoll and coastal.
9. India to contest for re-election to International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council
Tags: International News
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The Ministry of Communications said in a statement on June 4 that India will contest for re-election to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council.
As a member since 1869, India is contesting re-election, to the International Telecommunications UnionCouncil (ITU), for the term 2023-2026.
Devusinh Chauhan led the Indian delegation to WSIS 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland which was held from May 31 to June 3, 2022.
Chouhan said that India is a connected society and shares ITU's vision to enable ICT to meet SDG 2030.
WSIS 2022 is co-organized by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
About International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
ITU is the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs.
It was established in the year 1865 to facilitate international connectivity in communications networks.
It is committed to connecting all the world's people.
In line with its mandate and the WSIS outcome documents, it continues playing a key role in WSIS implementation.
Its members come from all over the globe.
Its global membership includes 193 Member States as well as 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organisations.
10. Supreme Court Mandates Minimum 1 KM ESZ For Protected Forests
Tags: National News
In a significant order, the Supreme Court on 3 June directed that each protected forest, national park and wildlife sanctuary should have an Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of 1 kilometre.
Directions of the court
The Court also directed that no permanent structure shall be allowed within the ESZ.
Mining cannot be permitted within a National Wildlife Sanctuary or a National Park.
If the existing ESZ extends beyond the 1 km buffer zone or if any statutory instrument prescribes a higher limit, such extended limit shall prevail.
The Chief Conservator of Forests of each state has been directed to make a list of the existing structures in the ESZ and submit a report to the court.
A three-judge bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, BR Gavai and Aniruddha Bose, in its 60-page judgment, highlighted how the country's natural resources have been depleted over the years by mining and other activities.
What are the Eco-sensitive Zones (ESZs)?
ESZ are also called Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs).
These are areas notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
They also act as transition zones from areas of high security to areas of low security.
An ESZ can go up to 10 kilometres around a protected area, as provided in the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002.
