Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

• Certificate of Origin is an instrument which establishes evidence on origin of goods imported into any country. These certificates are essential for exporters to prove where their goods come from and therefore stake their claim to whatever benefits goods of Indian origin may be eligible for in the country of exports.
• There are two categories of CoO- Preferential and Non-preferential.

Preferential CoO

• Rules of origin are the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product. Their importance is derived from the fact that duties and restrictions in several cases depend upon the source of imports. The arrangement/scheme under which India is receiving tariff preferences for its exports are:
• Generalised System of Preferences (GSP)
• Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP)
• SAARC Preferential Trading Agreement (SAPTA)
• Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA)
• India-SriLanka Free Trade Agreement (ISLFTA)
• Indo-Thailand Free Trade Agreement
• India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (IMCECA)
• India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
• India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IJCEPA)
• ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement

Non Preferential CoO

• Non-preferential Rules of Origin are the instruments used to determine the “nationality” of a good when entering a country. The country of import is then entitled to request a certificate of origin to prove the non-preferential origin of the good imported. Exporters desiring Non preferential CoO may apply with following documents:
• Details of quantum/origin of inputs/consumables used in export product.
• Two copies of Invoices
• Packing List in duplicate for concerned invoice
• Fee not exceeding Rs.100 per certificate as may be prescribed by concerned agency.

Explanation :

• The Rudrasagar Lake falls in the Melaghar Block under Sonamura Sub-Division in the West Tripura District.
• It is a natural sedimentation reservoir, which receives flow from three perennial streams namely- Noacherra, Durlavnaraya cherra and Kemtali cherra.
• It has been included in the list of Ramsar site as wetland of international importance in November, 2005

Explanation :

• Pangong Lake is located in the Changthang region of eastern Ladakh.The lake stretches for nearly 135 kilometers and 5 kilometers wide.
• Approximately 60% of the length of the lake lies within the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
• It is an example of an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m.
• The eastern part of the lake is fresh, with the content of total dissolved solids at 68 g/L, while the western part of the lake is saline, with the salinity at 11.02 g/L.

Explanation :

• The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is aneight-member multilateral organization, established on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• These countries, except for Uzbekistan, had been members of the Shanghai Five group, formed on 26 April 1996 with the signing of the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions.
• SCO has two Permanent Bodies — (i) SCO Secretariat in Beijing and (ii) Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) in Tashkent. The Chairmanship of SCO is by rotation for a year by Member States. Presently Kyrgyzstan is the Chair of SCO for 2018-19.
• At the July 2005 Astana Summit, India, Iran and Pakistan were granted Observer status.
• In July 2015 in Ufa, Russia, the SCO decided to admit India and Pakistan as full members. India and Pakistan signed the memorandum of obligations in June 2016 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, thereby starting the formal process of joining the SCO as full members. On 9 June 2017, at the historic summit in Astana, India and Pakistan officially joined SCO as full-fledged members.

Explanation :

• Collegium is a system under which judges are appointed by an institution comprising judges. The Collegium of judges is the Supreme Court’s invention. It does not find its mention in the Constitution.
• The First Judges Case (1981) ruled that the “consultation” with the CJI in the matter of appointments must be full and effective. However, it rejected the idea that the CJI’s opinion should have primacy.
• The Second Judges Case (1993)introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”. It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. 
• The Third Judges Case (1998)expanded the Collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior-most colleagues.

Explanation :

• INTERPOL is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 194 member countries.
• It is headquartered in Lyon, France.
• INTERPOL Notices are international requests for cooperation or alerts allowing police in member countries to share critical crime-related information.
• Notices are published by the General Secretariat at the request of a National Central Bureau and are made available to all our member countries.
• In its RCN issued against a fugitive, the Interpol asks its 194 member countries to arrest or detain the person if spotted in their countries after which extradition or deportation proceedings can begin.

Explanation :

• Natgrid is the integrated intelligence grid connecting databases of core security agencies of the Government of India to collect comprehensive patterns of intelligence that can be readily accessed by intelligence agencies.
• The project, initially started in 2009 after the Mumbai terror attack in 2008, with a budget of Rs. 2,800 crore, is an online database for collating scattered pieces of information and putting them on one platform.

Significance

• Natgrid, once fully functional, will help in real-time tracking of a terror operative or suspect.

Explanation :

• On 14^th September, 2019, Rajasthan launched the first-ever public information portal named Jan Soochna Portal-2019.
• The portal has been developed by the information and technology department and will have information pertaining to 13 departments on a single platform.
• It is being launched in accordance to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005.

Aim

• It aims to provide information to the public about government authorities and departments empowering them with access to useful information.

Explanation :

• The Government has launched the Curriculum for Life Skills (JeevanKaushal) programme designed by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
• The program has been framed for Undergraduate courses across the country.
• The Designed program is for 8 credit points and can be accommodated in any semester of the course.

Aim

• Inculcation of an Emotional Intelligence
• Development of Intellectual Competencies
• Development of verbal and non-verbal communication skills

It will comprise of four courses:

• Communication skills
• Professional and Leadership skills
• Problem-solving and Decision-making
• Universal human values

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• On 12^th September, the ongoing 14^thConference of Parties (COP14) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) witnessed the official release of the Drought Toolbox, which can be used by countries to assess drought risks in their regions much in advance, and prepare to deal with the water scarcity.
• It uses 30 parameters, including soil moisture, rainfall data and temperature data of the present and past.
• It has been developed by UNCCD in collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Meteorological Organization(WMO) as well as from the University of Nebraska in the USA.

Significance

• It will help the countries in framing their respective national drought policies in due course based on monitoring, forecast, and early warning.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online