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Pb. Current Affairs

6th, September , 2022

Topic: Innovation Mission, IM Punjab’s Accelerator.

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

Punjab PCS Prelims: Economy: Agriculture, animal husbandry, industrial & service sectors, major occupations, development & economic growth, public finance (including central-state fiscal issues), public sector institutions, cooperatives, etc.

Punjab PCS Mains:

Paper 5: General Aptitude II: Topic: Governance: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Development processes and the development organizations- the role of NGOs, SHGs, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders.
Paper 6: General Aptitude III: Topic: Punjab Economy: Planning- various aspects of developmental planning; Industry; Infrastructure.

What is the news?

Chief Minister while inaugurated the (Innovation Mission) IMPunjab’s Accelerator.
Punjab Chief Minister vowed to provide conducive environment for the youth of the state for utilizing their innovative ideas to give a major push to socio-economic growth of the state
My target is to ensure that the youth are not branded as ‘aimless’ but they are transformed into a formidable asset for the state.

CM shared:

1) Chief Minister said that the youth of the state are full of new and innovative ideas which can be very helpful for the growth and prosperity of Punjab. He said that these ideas need to be utilised in a positive direction so that Punjab can emerge as a front running state in the country. Bhagwant Mann said that his government will leave no stone unturned for ensuring that youth of the state get the required platform and support from the Punjab government.

2) The Chief Minister asserted that Punjabis are blessed with the qualities of entrepreneurship and leadership. He said that due to these qualities the Punjabis have carved a niche for themselves across the globe. Bhagwant Mann emphasised that Punjabi entrepreneurs have made huge empires from humble ideas and have proved their mettle in every arena.

3) CM envisioned that world-class facilities like IM Punjab Accelerator will help to create jobs, bring investments, ensure economic development and bring positive social change in the state.

About Innovation Mission, IMPunjab’s Accelerator:

Vision:

Aim to build, empower and act as a catalyst for local startup communities.
Envisaged as a private sector-led initiative supported by the Government to establish Punjab amongst the top 3 innovation ecosystems in the country.

APPROACH:

The Mission will build a thriving innovation ecosystem in Punjab via three pillars:

1) POLLINATOR: Building Communities
The pollinator brings together stakeholders to galvanise the startup ecosystem by creating a network of incubators, academia and investors to leverage each other’s strengths and ideas

2) ACCELERATOR: Scaling your venture
The accelerator provides structured guidance and business services to help startups build a strong foundation and grow their business.

3) INNOVATION FUND: Funding bold ideas
A 150Cr venture capital fund for early to growth stage entrepreneurs experimenting with innovative ideas and rethinking traditional businesses.

FOUNDING PARTNERS:

1) Invest Punjab
2) Asha Impact
3) Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare
4) Startup Punjab

(Source: Punjab Government)

Topic: Initiative to ensure that people taking ration illicitly are kept out of the scheme.

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

Punjab PCS Mains:

Paper 6: General Aptitude III: Topic: Economy: Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security.
Paper 5: General Aptitude II: Topic: Governance: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability

What is the news?

The Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is fully committed to ensure benefit of food security to the people of the State.
Hence, it has been decided to go for the verification of the beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, 2013/Smart Ration Card Scheme so as to ensure that people taking ration illicitly are kept out of the scheme.

Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Mr. Lal Chand Kataruchak shared the initiatives:

A decision has been taken to start the verification of the beneficiaries under the scheme from the word go. Under the process, the names/cards of ineligible beneficiaries would be cut off during the verification of beneficiaries of every category on RCMS portal (Except HIV/AIDS afflicted, Women Workers and those children whose parents or head of the family died during Covid pandemic).
The exercise would be carried out in the entire State under the supervision of concerned DC/SDM and committees would be constituted for the purpose.

For the rural areas:

Revenue Patwari and any officer, a G.O.G. member, nominated by the DC can be its member.

For the urban areas:

Executive Officer, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation or his representative and the concerned G.O.G. member (as per availability) would be the members of the committees.

The lists of the current beneficiaries and the prescribed form would be procured from the District Food Supply Controller and the details of the current beneficiaries whether eligible/ineligible would be recorded in these. Besides, the reasons would also be specified for cutting off the names of the beneficiaries found ineligible during verification. Apart from this, the verification in the cantonment areas would be conducted by the DC of concerned district through committee formed by him.

Divulging more, the Minister said that verified forms must be sent on daily basis to the concerned DFSC so that this entire data is uploaded on the RCMS. This entire exercise is to be completed by September 30,2022 and the attested final complete lists of the eligible/ineligible beneficiary families are to be sent to the office of the DFSC concerned.

The lists would be based on the criterion of the beneficiaries before verification, beneficiaries found ineligible during verification and beneficiaries found eligible during verification. In the light of the fixed criteria, the concerned DC/SDM would be the final competent officer to declare a beneficiary eligible or ineligible.

(Source: Punjab Government)

Topic: Steps for Good Governance

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

Punjab PCS Prelims: Punjab (Current Events)

Punjab PCS Mains:

Paper 5: General Aptitude II: Topic: Governance: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures; Role of civil services in a democracy; Changing trends in Governance.

What is the news?

In line with the commitment of Chief Minister Mr. Bhagwant Mann to ensure smooth and hassle free delivery of business and citizen centric services, Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua has asked all the departments to ensure implementation of reforms under Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) 2022 within a month.

Chairing a meeting to review the implementation of BRAP 2022, Chief Secretary shared:

Along with implementation of BRAP, sufficient database of beneficiaries should be created for the purpose of user feedback exercise by Government of India.
He also directed the departments to provide list of direct beneficiaries with contact no, so that real feedback is received.
Government of India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) ranks different States for the implementation of several Ease of Doing Business Reforms.
The in the last ranking, Punjab has been ranked in the category of ‘Top Achievers’. He said that under the current BRAP 2022 release by DPIIT in the month of June,2022, there are 261 Reforms pertaining to Ease of Doing Business and for the first time 94 additional Reforms pertaining to Ease of Living have also been added.
He said that for the identified services online systems including Single Window System are being developed by the concerned Departments which includes online submission of application, online payment, online tracking, download final certificate, online third party verification, no physical visit, stipulated timelines and others.
Chief Secretary said that prominent reforms included in the BRAP 2022 pertain to the Departments of Revenue, PPCB, Labour, Housing and Urban Development, Local Government, Legal Metrology and Department of Governance Reforms. He asked the officers to ensure that this work is completed in time bound and result oriented manner for benefitting the people.

About 2020 Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP):

Under the 2020 Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP), states were classified into four categories, namely:

1) Top achievers.

2) Achievers.

3) Aspires.

4) Emerging business ecosystems.

In this report, states were categorized, as opposed to the previous practice of proclaiming ranks.

The BRAP report comprises of 301 reform points, covering 15 business regulatory areas like access to Information, labour, single window system, sectoral reforms, environment, and other reforms related to lifecycle of a typical business.
For the first time, sector-specific reforms were implemented. In this document, 72 reforms have been identified in nine areas. , health care, business permits, movie theaters, legal metrology, NOC fire, reception, film shooting, telecommunications and tourism.

Categorisation of States:

States like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Punjab, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu have been categorised as ‘top achievers’ in the rankings, according to the plan.
Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh have been categorised as ‘achievers’.
Assam, Goa, Kerala, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Rajasthan were categorized into ‘aspires category’.
In ‘emerging business ecosystems’ category, 11 states and UTs including Puducherry, Delhi and Tripura have been listed. Others include- Andaman & Nicobar, Chandigarh, Bihar, Daman & Diu, Jammu & Kashmir, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura and Nagaland.

Significance of the new method:

As per secretary of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under new categorisation method, difference between various states and UTs was so little that, it will not make sense to rank them.

BRAP Objective:

1) The broader aim is to boost investor confidence, foster business friendly climate and augment Ease of Doing Business through a system of assessing states based on their performance in the implementation of Business Reforms Action Plan.

2) The objective of assessing the States/UTs is not to create a hierarchy amongst States/UTs but to rather create an enabling framework wherein learnings can be shared amongst States/UTs which in turn will lead to a nationwide spill over of good practices.

3) The assessment gives full weightage to the feedback obtained from actual users/respondents at the ground level, who provided their feedback about the effective implementation of reforms.

4) DPIIT since 2014 has been assessing States/UTs based on their performance in implementation of prescribed reforms in Business Reforms Action Plan (BRAP) exercise.

Background:

‘Business Reforms Action Plan report is being released by DPIIT, since 2014 for steering business reforms, in order to create investor-friendly ecosystem across India.

(Source: Punjab Government and pib)

Topic: Punjab Vision for North India’s first film and entertainment city

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

Punjab PCS Prelims: Punjab (Current Events)

Punjab PCS Mains:

Paper 5: General Aptitude II: Topic: Governance

What is the news?

In order to cater to national and international film & music industry, Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government is keen to set up North India’s first film and entertainment city. This will provide a platform to the Punjabi film and music industry in India and abroad.
Punjab Housing and Urban Development Minister Mr. Aman Arora, who visited Ramoji Film City and Annapurna Studios along with a delegation to study their infrastructure and concept in detail, said that the Punjab Government has envisaged establishing a state-of-the-art film and entertainment city at a place suitable for the entertainment industry.

The Cabinet Minister shared:

1) The wonderful landscape of Punjab was always in demand of the film industry but lack of required infrastructure had created a void. “The state being blessed with the natural beauty, four seasons and also known for its rich culture and heritage, has enough potential to satiate the cameras”, Mr Aman Arora added.

2) Sharing the feedback of entertainment experts from Hyderabad, Mr. Aman Arora said that Punjab with two International Airports, India’s best road connectivity especially to every village of the state, rail connectivity and modern lifestyle, would act like a magnet for Hollywood, Bollywood, Pollywood and Tollywood.

3) The delegation on its one-day study tour had deliberate discussion with industry experts of South India to chalk-out a draft plan for setting up a film and entertainment city as per modern requirements of the industry. As per the vision of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann to make the state as a hub of entertainment industry in the north region of the country, the delegation also undertook a feasibility study regarding the future requirements of this industry.

(Source: Punjab Government)

Topic: Bar on bail in drug cases not valid if search provisions violated: Punjab and Haryana High Court

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

Punjab PCS Prelims: Punjab Current Events

Punjab PCS Mains:

Paper 4: General Aptitude I: Topic: Indain Constitution & Polity : Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary; Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity.

What is the news?

In a significant judgment liable to change the way drug cases are adjudicated, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the bar on bail in cases involving commercial quantity of narcotics will not apply where search provisions have prima facie been violated.

Why this ruling came?

1) The ruling by Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri of the High Court came on second regular bail petition filed by an accused in a case registered on September 11, 2021, under the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act at Sadar Dhuri police station in Sangrur district.

2) Taking up the matter, Justice Puri asserted a perusal of consent memo shown to the court, prima facie, made it clear that there was a violation of Section 50 of the Act related to search.

3) The provision is aimed at protecting an accused from false implication. The police are required to properly inform the accused of his right of getting searched in the presence of a magistrate or a gazetted officer.

4) Justice Puri asserted it was settled law that Section 50 was mandatory in nature. The purpose was to provide a safeguard to the accused that has an option to get searched in the presence of either a gazetted officer or a magistrate. But the only thing a police officer asked was whether he was ready to part with Tramadol tablets he was having, instead of giving an offer to him to get searched.

Allowing the bail plea, Justice Puri added:

“This court is of the view that since there is a prima facie violation of provisions of Section 50, the bar contained under Section 37 of the NDPS Act will not apply in the present case, especially in view of the fact that the petitioner is stated to be not involved in any other case.
It is also not the case of the state that in case the petitioner is released on bail, he may repeat the offence or may abscond from justice. Therefore, the twin conditions contained under Section 37 of the NDPS Act for making a departure contained therein remain satisfied.”
Section 37 makes it clear that the severity or strictness in granting bail was applicable to offences involving commercial quantity. It indicates that no person accused of an offence punishable under this law “shall be released on bail or on his own bond unless the public prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release and where the public prosecutor opposes the application, the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail”.

(News Source: The Tribune)

Topic: Steps to Curb Farm fires

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

Punjab PCS Prelims: Environmental studies

Punjab PCS Mains:

Paper 7: General Aptitude IV: Topic: Environment: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, Issues related to environmental, Climate change impact assessment

What is the news?

Farm fires, which usually start after paddy harvesting in the last week of September, are likely to set in by the middle of this month because the crop was sown a week before the official date.

How much area Paddy Sown?

This season, paddy was sown over 31.5 lakh hectares, from which more than 20 million tonnes of straw is expected to be generated.

Steps taken by Punjab Government:

More than 10,000 officers will be in the field to curb stubble burning.
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), along with the Agriculture Department, will start monitoring air quality from September 15, though farm fire incidentsrises by September-end or the first week of October.

Experts says:

The cases may rise this year as farmers are angry over now-repealed agricultural laws and the state government not paying the Supreme-Court-ordered financial incentive.

2013, NGT decision:

In 2013, the National Green Tribunal had prohibited the burning of paddy straw, saying: “The guilty will be liable to pay an environmental compensation ranging from Rs 2,500 to 15,000 per incident.”
Farmers, however, continue to burn stubble in the absence of any strict action.

Karunesh Garg, PPCB member secretary, said: “The board is sensitising farmers not to burn stubble. More awareness and red entries in land records of erring farmers can reduce the cases this season.”

Report on Incidents took place:

The state reported 52,991 incidents of fire fires in 2019 and this increased to 76,590 next year — a rise of 44.5 per cent. In 2021, the number was 71,304 in spite of spending crores of rupees on awareness drives.

In-situ crop residue management machines:

Between 2018-19 and 2020-21, the state received 76,626 machines under the Central Sector Scheme on Promotion of Agricultural Mechanisation for in-situ management of crop residue. It seems that machinery and awareness drives have failed to serve the purpose.
Meanwhile, at least 65,000 farmers have applied for 32,100 subsidised in-situ crop residue management machines that are to be provided by the state government during kharif harvesting.

Objectives of In-situ crop residue management machines:

Reducing the air pollution and preventing loss of nutrients and soil microorganisms caused by burning of crop residue. Promoting in-situ management of crop residue through the use of appropriate mechanization inputs.

Can manage 50% stubble:

Despite best efforts, Punjab can manage only 50% of stubble, leaving no option for farmers but to burn it. Any action against farmers is challenged by unions. — Senior official