What is the Biodiversity Act? What changes has the Lok Sabha cleared in the law?

 

The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on July 25, bringing in a number of changes to the over 20-year old Biological Diversity Act of 2002.

Lok Sabha on Tuesday (July 25) gave its approval to a Bill to amend some provisions of the Biological Diversity Act of 2002. The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill seeks to address concerns of several central ministries, state governments, researchers, industry, and other stakeholders, regarding the implementation of the 20-year-old law that is meant to preserve the country’s biological diversity and to ensure its sustainable use.

Among other things, the amendments aim to encourage Indian systems of medicine like Ayurveda, attract more foreign investment in the preservation and commercial utilisation of India’s biological resources, and simplify and streamline processes so that it is easy for everyone to comply with its provisions.

What is the biodiversity law, and why does India need one?

Biological diversity refers to all kinds of life forms — animals, plants and microorganisms — their gene pools, and the ecosystems that they inhabit. The 2002 Act was a response to the global need to protect and conserve biological resources, which are under threat due to human activities.

The extent of the damage was highlighted, much later, in a landmark 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), a scientific body similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

That report issued a stark warning: about 1 million animal and plant species, out of a total of about 8 million, were facing the threat of extinction. About 75 per cent of the Earth’s land surface and 66 per cent of the oceans had been “significantly altered”, it said.

But efforts to protect biological diversity had begun much earlier. In 1994, countries including India had agreed to a Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), an international framework agreement similar to the more famous one on climate change. There was a general agreement on three things: (i) that indiscriminate use of biological resources needed to be halted, (ii) that sustainable use of these resources, for their medicinal properties for example, needed to be regulated, and (iii) that people and communities helping in protecting and maintaining these resources needed to be rewarded for their efforts.

India’s Biological Diversity Act of 2002 was enacted by the government of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee with these objectives in mind. It set up a National Biodiversity Authority as a regulatory body, and prescribed the conditions in, and purposes for, which biological resources could be utilised. The purposes mainly related to scientific research and commercial use.

So why did the need for amendments to the law arise?

Over the years, several stakeholders, like those representing the Indian system of medicine, the seed sector, pharmaceutical and other industries, and the research community, have pointed out that some of the provisions of the 2002 law restricted their activities, and thus needed to be modified.

In addition, countries agreed to the Nagoya Protocol in 2010, an important international agreement under the CBD, that contained an Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism.

Under this mechanism, biodiversity-rich countries needed to provide access to their biological resources to those wanting to use it for research or commercial reasons, and the user agencies, in turn, were mandated to share the benefits of their use with the local communities. This access and benefit-sharing works at both the domestic and the international levels.

Over the last few years, the government too has been trying to encourage traditional systems of medicine, all of which rely on these biological resources.

What amendments have been proposed in the biodiversity law?

The Bill passed on Tuesday makes several amendments to the 2002 Act, addressing most of the concerns raised by the practitioners of traditional systems of medicine, the seed sector, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Certain categories of users of biological resources, like practitioners of Indian systems of medicine, have been exempted from making payments towards the access and benefit-sharing mechanism.

Companies registered in India and controlled by Indians are now treated as Indian companies, even if they have foreign equity or partnership, thereby reducing the restrictions on them. Provisions have been included to speed up the approval process in cases of use of biological resources in scientific research, or for filing of patent applications.

The penalty provisions for wrongdoing by user agencies have been rationalised.

Source: Indian Express, 27/07/23

Pathways for digital inclusion

 

Unlocking the benefits of digital public goods requires catering to diverse needs, situations and experiences

The remarkable transformation of India’s digital landscape has been made possible by pioneering digital public infrastructure (DPI) experiments. Functionally mimicking physical infrastructures, these DPIs are digital pathways that enable a seamless provision of essential services, benefiting society. The Indian DPI ecosystem envisioned as “India Stack” has been pivotal in unlocking the power of identity, payments, and data sharing to drive economic growth and foster a more inclusive digital economy. Imagine the India Stack as interconnected yet independent “blocks of a stack”. Each block serves as a vehicle for financial and social inclusion across sectors, ultimately catering to our diverse population. Its transformative ability lies in its potential to be used across multiple use cases, enabling the creation of novel solutions that drive innovation, inclusion and competition in the digital realm through its modular layers.

India has so far had a successful run in creating DPIs that have seen wide adoption. The World Bank estimates that Aadhaar has facilitated financial inclusion. The Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trinity has played a pivotal role in transparent direct benefit transfers of welfare subsidies to bank accounts of the underserved. On the payments front, Unified Payments Interface — the interoperable electronic payment system — has empowered us to conveniently transfer money from one bank account to another bank account digitally and in real-time.

From promoting financial as well as digital inclusion of citizens belonging to less privileged socio-economic backgrounds and empowering small businesses to improve access to healthcare, Indian DPIs hold the promise to bridge the wealth gaps and build an efficient and resilient digital economy that supports citizens and organisations. The next decade of India’s DPI journey will witness sector-specific DPIs such as account aggregators, Open Network for Digital Commerce, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and Agristack. To unlock the enormous benefits and efficiencies of DPIs, their adoption and acceptance at the population scale are paramount, requiring a comprehensive approach to cater to diverse needs, situations, and experiences.

As India leads the conversation on DPIs and digital transformation at the G20, it is an opportune moment to steer the wheel towards inclusive DPIs, both globally and locally. Through knowledge and resource sharing, while simultaneously scaling local DPI initiatives, we can ensure that no one is left behind. Reflecting on past experiences and developments occurring internationally, we can draw several key lessons to inform our path forward.

First, the importance of placing users at the forefront. We must prioritise user-centric design to reduce the risks arising from the use of technology and prevent the exacerbation of extant inequalities amongst rural and urban populations, genders or economic groups. To avoid reinforcing disparities in DPI usage, enabling compatible protocols for feature phones, assisted-tech models and Interactive Voice Response System should be explored and implemented, offering handholding support to consumers with limited smartphone access or low digital literacy. The RBI’s launch of UPI123Pay is a notable step towards inclusivity, which gives feature phone owners an app that enables them with most UPI features. The RBI has even enabled cardless cash withdrawals at ATMs through the UPI app.

Second, inclusion should be a key policy objective for DPI participants, embedded within the regulatory framework. Several jurisdictions, including Nigeria, the UK and Brazil, have embraced open banking with the aim of financial inclusion within the regulatory framework itself. Estonia’s information policy emphasises avoiding information disparities between regions or communities — an important consideration for data-sharing DPIs equipped with advanced consent technologies, where there is a risk of the ecosystem benefiting only digitally-savvy consumers. By prioritising inclusion from the outset, DPIs can create an ecosystem that benefits all individuals, regardless of their digital literacy, thereby cultivating a more equitable and accessible digital economy.

Third, to truly drive inclusivity, DPI participants must identify the underserved target segments and proactively develop use cases tailored to their needs. For instance, for the MSMEs, who have limited access to formal sources of credit, the account aggregator ecosystem holds immense potential to enable access to low-cost, low-ticket-size, collateral-free sources of credit by utilising the digital trail of all consented transactional data, including cash flows generated by the enterprise. Moreover, monitoring the impact of DPIs on vulnerable consumers through disaggregated data collection is essential to prevent the deepening of gaps for underserved customers and foster equitable growth.

Lastly, to meaningfully adopt any DPI at the population scale, it is necessary to build engagement with the DPI. In a country like ours, where digital connectivity and literacy pose obstacles, it becomes crucial to address these challenges. Offline channels must be considered, alongside building institutional capacity to generate trust and awareness. It would not only ensure last-mile access but also foster digital comfort among vulnerable consumers, empowering them to leverage these tools for their benefit. For instance, business correspondents are a vital cog on which banks rely to increase access to and usage of financial products. Exploring the potential of leveraging these trusted human points of contact to mitigate further exclusion risks can be immensely valuable for DPIs in the financial sector as they move forward.

Written by Manvi Khanna

Source: Indian Express, 31/07/23

 

“Cherish all your happy moments: they make a fine cushion for old age.”
Christopher Morley

“अपनी खुशियों के प्रत्येक क्षण का आनन्द लें; ये वृद्धावस्था के लिए अच्छा सहारा साबित होते हैं।”
क्रिस्टोफर मोर्ले

Current Affairs- June 22, 2023

 

INDIA

• Two-day G20 Labour Engagement Group meeting begins in Patna, Bihar.
• A record was achieved in the United Nations Headquarters by setting a Guinness World Record for participation by the maximum number of nationalities in the Yoga session.
• 2,250 Child adoption orders issued across the country after Amended Juvenile Justice Act came into force.
• North India’s first Skin Bank inaugurated at New Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital.
• National Medical Commission (NMC) has brought in changes in the undergraduate medical curriculum.
• 16 tigers were dead in Uttarakhand since January
• Odisha Cabinet approves increase of outlay for Puri’s development by ₹1,000 crore.

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

• World Bank is set to pause loan repayments by disaster-hit nations.
• India’s rising imports of Russian oil hit a record high of about 1.95 million barrels per day (bpd) in May.
• India unable to fill 30% of cybersecurity jobs due to skill gap.

WORLD

• India climbs eight places to 127 in global gender index: WEF report.
• St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF): Putin seeks alternative partnerships.
• U.S. bombers land in Sweden for training exercises for first time.

SPORTS

• Taipei Open: HS Prannoy to face Tommy Sugiarto for spot in Men’s Singles quarterfinal
• Sunil Chhetri hat-trick powered India to 4-0 victory over Pakistan in its SAFF Championship opener.
• Venus Williams has been awarded a wildcard for next month’s Wimbledon championships.

Current Affairs-June 23, 2023

 

INDIA

• India and US identify around 25 areas of technology for partnership.
• Ladakh holds UT-level Science, Mathematics and Environment exhibition-2023, organized by DIET.
• US to open two new consulates in India – Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.
• Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy virtually inaugurates three industrial units in the state.
• L&T, DRDO sign pact to build two Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) System Modules.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifted 7.5-carat eco-friendly laboratory-grown diamond to the U.S. First Lady.
• G-20 Education Ministers agree on equitable use of Artificial Intelligence.

ECONOMY & CORPORATE

• American chipmaker Micron to invest 825 million dollars to build Chip Assembly and Testing Facility in Gujarat.
• Monetary Policy Committee stresses need for inflation vigil.
• Indians’ funds in Swiss banks slid 11% to ₹30,000 crores in 2022.

WORLD

• All five people killed aboard submersible “Titan,” on exploration dive to wreckage of Titanic.
• ‘Summit for New Global Financing Pact’ commenced in Paris, France.
• Dhaka remains 7th in least liveable city in world, reveals EIU Global Liveability Index 2023.
• U.S. approves deal aimed at deepening economic relations with Taiwan, trade deal despite Chinese ire

SPORTS

• Uttar Pradesh unveils first ticket for first race of world’s fastest motor bike race ‘Moto GP’ 2023.
• Indian contingent passes 50-medal mark at Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.

Nutraceutical Properties of Joha Rice

 Joha rice, a variety cultivated in the Northeastern region of India, has gained attention for its distinct aroma and notable taste. Beyond its sensory appeal, Joha rice has been traditionally associated with health benefits, including a low incidence of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In recent years, scientists at the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST) have conducted research to explore the nutraceutical properties of this unique grain.

Unveiling Joha Rice’s Nutraceutical Potential  

Researchers at the IASST have made significant strides in unraveling the nutraceutical properties of Joha rice. Through their studies, they identified two essential fatty acids: linoleic acid (omega-6) and linolenic acid (omega-3). These fatty acids, which are not produced by the human body, play a vital role in maintaining various physiological conditions. Notably, omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to the prevention of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. 

Balanced Ratio and Patented Rice Bran Oil  

The scientists discovered that scented Joha rice exhibits a more balanced ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids compared to the widely consumed non-scented variety. This finding suggests that the scented variety may offer enhanced nutritional benefits. Building upon this, the scientists utilized Joha rice to create a patented rice bran oil, which has demonstrated efficacy in the management of diabetes.

Antioxidants and Bioactive Compounds  

Joha rice is not only rich in essential fatty acids but also contains a range of beneficial compounds. It boasts antioxidants, flavonoids, and phenolics, which contribute to its potential health advantages. Among the identified bioactive compounds present in Joha rice are oryzanol, ferulic acid, tocotrienol, caffeic acid, catechuic acid, gallic acid, and tricin. These compounds have been associated with antioxidant, hypoglycemic, and cardio-protective effects. 

Top 10 technology to learn for significant professional growth in 2023

 Technology is constantly evolving and has become an integral part of our daily lives. As we move into 2023, it is no secret that technology is changing the way we live, work and interact with one another. With technological advancements occurring at a rapid pace, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest trends. However, staying informed and up to date with them can be a huge advantage, especially when it comes to career growth.

Here are 10 booming technologies that are expected to drive significant professional growth in 2023.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

These are two of the fastest-growing technologies today. AI involves the creation of intelligent machines that can work and think like humans, while ML involves the use of algorithms to help machines learn from data and improve their performance over time. With these technologies, machines now have become capable of performing tasks that previously required human intelligence and decision-making.

The use of AI and ML is becoming increasingly popular in various industries, including finance, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing. Companies are now looking for professionals who can help them integrate AI and ML into their processes to increase efficiency and productivity.

Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT refers to a network of interconnected devices that can communicate with each other and exchange data in real-time. This technology has revolutionized the way we live and work, and it is expected to have an even greater impact in the coming years, especially in industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and transportation.

And as it continues to grow, there will be an increasing need for professionals who can develop and maintain these systems. Jobs such as IoT developers, network architects, and data analysts will be in high demand in the coming years.

Blockchain

This technology has been gaining popularity in recent years due to its ability to provide secure and decentralized record-keeping. Blockchain is being used in a variety of industries, including finance, healthcare, and logistics.

And as it continues to grow, it is expected that there will be an increasing need for professionals who can develop and implement this technology. Jobs such as blockchain developers, security analysts, and project managers could be in demand in times to come.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly important as we continue to rely on technology to conduct our daily lives. With the rise of cyber threats, companies are now looking for professionals who can help protect their systems and data from cyber-attacks. Therefore cybersecurity jobs such as security analysts, network security engineers, and ethical hackers will be great career choices for professionals in the coming years.

Cloud Computing

Cloud computing has been a game changer for businesses, allowing them to store and access data from anywhere in the world. This technology has revolutionized the way we work and is being leveraged by various companies across healthcare, finance, and e-commerce.

Therefore jobs such as cloud architects, cloud engineers, and cloud security specialists are expected to witness an uptick in the coming years.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

Although in their infancy, both these technologies have the potential to change our perception of the world around us. AR involves the overlay of digital information onto the real world, while VR involves the creation of a completely immersive digital environment.

These technologies are being used in a variety of industries, including gaming, education, and healthcare with high degrees of success. Therefore from a career perspective, jobs like AR/VR developers, UX designers, and 3D artists will prove to be a good investment.

Data Science and Analytics

Data Science and Analytics are two fields that are becoming increasingly important as companies strive to make data-driven decisions. Data Science involves the extraction of insights from data, while Analytics involves the use of statistical and mathematical methods to analyze data and make predictions.

As companies continue to collect vast amounts of data, there will be an increasing need for professionals who can extract insights from this data. From an employee point of view investing time and effort in profiles such as data scientists, data analysts, and data engineers will prove beneficial in coming years.

Robotics and Automation

Robotics and Automation have had a large-scale impact on the manufacturing and logistics sectors. These technologies not only allow machines to perform tasks that would otherwise require human intervention but also allow for the use of software to automate repetitive tasks.

Quantum Computing

Quantum Computing is a technology still in its early stages, but it has the potential to revolutionize how we process and store data. It basically involves the use of quantum-mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform computations. And given its vast growth potential, there is expected to be an increasing need for professionals in the future who can develop and implement this technology.

5G Technology

5G Technology is the latest generation of cellular networks, offering faster speeds, lower latency, and increased capacity. By enabling the development of new applications and services, 5G is expected to revolutionize the way we interact with the world around us.

Staying up to date with the latest trends and technologies can be a huge advantage, especially when it comes to career growth. Whether you are a seasoned professional or just starting out, investing in developing skills in some of these areas can help you stay ahead of the curve and secure a successful career in the tech industry.

Gaurv Bhatia

Source: The Telegraph, 27/05/23