Current Affairs Question - 04 January 2020

Explanation :

• The Blue Flag beach is an Eco-tourism model endeavouring to provide to the tourists/beachgoers clean and hygienic bathing water, facilities, amenities, safe and healthy environment and sustainable development of the area.
• This Certification is accorded by an international agency, ‘Foundation for Environment Education’, Denmark, based on 33 stringent criteria in four major heads i.e. (i) Environmental Education and Information, (ii) Bathing Water Quality, (iii) Environment Management and Conservation and (iv) Safety and Services in the beaches.
• It started in France in 1985 and has been implemented in Europe since 1987, and in areas outside Europe since 2001, when South Africa joined.
• Japan and South Korea are the only countries in South and southeastern Asia to have Blue Flag beaches.
• The Chandrabhaga beach on the Konark coast of Odisha is the first in India to get the Blue Flag certification.

Features of a Blue Flag beach

• These beaches will have proper waste disposal systems and access to clean drinking water for the tourists. Knowledge about the coastal ecosystem and sensitive natural areas will also be given to the tourists.
• A choice of environment-friendly activities will be offered to all the visitors and fully functional toilets will be available to all.
• The rules and regulations will be very strict and no unauthorized camping or dumping is allowed.

Explanation :

• Open Market Operations (OMO)is the sale and purchase of government securities and treasury bills by the central bank of the country.
• The objective of OMO is to regulate the money supply in the economy.
• When the central bank wants to increase the money supply in the economy, it purchases the government securities from the market and it sells government securities to suck out liquidity from the system.
• It carries out the OMO through commercial banks and does not directly deal with the public.
• OMO is one of the tools that central banks use to smoothen the liquidity conditions throughout the year and minimise its impact on the interest rate and inflation rate levels.