Governance
Government launches National Logistics Excellence Awards

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about National Logistics Excellence Awards + facts about Indian logistics sector + Logistics Performance Index (LPI) + Mains ( GS III infrastructure development + GS II Governance - government policies and interventions)
What's the NEWS

• The Government announced the launch of National Logistics Excellence Awards.
• The framework of awards has been finalised in consultation with the logistics associations and forum user industry partners.

Know! about the award

• The awards are in two categories, the first group includes logistics infrastructure/service providers and second one is for various user industries.
• There was wide scale appreciation from user industries for giving the due recognition to various players involved in the logistics supply chain.
• The awards will highlight best practices including consolidation, process standardisation, technological upgrade, digital transformations, and sustainable practices.
• It aim to turn the spotlight on logistics service providers who have attained operational excellence, adopted digitisation and technology, improved customer service and pursued sustainable practices, among other achievements
• For user industries, the awards will showcase efforts towards supply chain transformation, supplier ecosystem development, skill development, automation, and other similar endeavours".
• The awards will also be an opportunity to laud the extraordinary measures organisations have taken to address the deficiencies exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic
• Organisations will be invited to submit entries via the ministry of commerce and industry website.
• Shortlisted entrants will present their case to a National Jury panel, which will decide the winners.
• The winners will be announced on 31 October 2021. All case studies by finalists in the National Jury round will be showcased in the Logistics Excellence Gallery.

Logistics Excellence Gallery

• An important outcome of the event will be a library of case studies on best practices in logistics, showcased as a "Logistics Excellence Gallery" under URL https://excellenceawardslogistics.gov.in hosted at the website of Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Logistics service providers and end-user industries doing exceptional work in the field of logistics will be featured in the gallery.

Indian logistics sector

• Indian logistics sector has been growing at a CAGR of 10.5%, reaching approximately USD 215 billion in value in 2020
• Comprehensive logistics costs amount to almost 14% of India's GDP.
• Closing India's competitiveness gap vis-à-vis the global average of 8 percent, would make the Indian logistics sector advanced, organised and efficient, on par with global peers with the ambition of being amongst the top 25 countries in the global Logistics Performance Index (LPI).
• In 2018, India was ranked 44th in the Logistics Performance Index

The Logistics Performance Index (LPI)

• It is an interactive benchmarking tool created by the World Bank to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.

It is the weighted average of the country scores on six key dimensions:

1. customs performance,
2. infrastructure quality,
3. ease of arranging shipments,
4. logistics services quality
5. consignments tracking and
6. tracing timeliness of shipments.

• This measure indicates the relative ease and efficiency with which products can be moved into and inside a country.
• Germany and Sweden are the most efficient and highest ranked LPI countries as per the 2018 LPI.
• The Logistics Performance Index is reported by the World Bank in every two years.
• The LPI is based on a worldwide survey of stakeholders on the ground providing feedback on the logistics "friendliness" of the countries in which they operate and those with which they trade.
• They combine in-depth knowledge of the countries in which they operate with informed qualitative assessments of other countries where they trade and have experience of global logistics environment

The Logistics Performance Index (LPI) - India specific

• The LPI 2018 allows for comparisons across 160 countries.
• India ranks 44 in the Logistics Performance Index 2018
• India had moved up from 54th position in 2014 to 35th in 2016, riding on massive capacity investments made since 2014, in almost all sectors of transport (by way of mega projects like DFCs/UDAN/ Bharatmala / Sagarmala etc.), major policy reforms like GST and measures in support of EODB.
• The next 5 years the targets set by the National Logistics policy to improve India's ranking in Logistics Performance Index to 25 and to reduce cost of logistics in India by 40% from 13% to 8% of GDP will be met.
• With logistics costs in the India still high (~13% of GDP in comparison compared to single digit levels in developed countries), integrated development of the logistics sector was identified as a key area of reform.

National Issues
Government Issues two Gazette Notifications for Jurisdiction of Krishna & Godavari River Management Boards

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the role of GRMB and KRMB + Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014 (APRA) + about Godavari and Krishna river +Mains ( GS II Centre -state relations)
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti through Gazette Notification has notified the jurisdiction of Godavari River Management Board and Krishna River Management Board, which provide the required authority and power to the two Boards in terms of administration, regulation, operation and maintenance of listed projects in Godavari and Krishna rivers in the two States.
• This step is expected to ensure judicious utilization of water resources in the two states.
• It empowers both the Boards to regulate the supply of water and power from respective river basins in both the states.

The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014 (APRA)

• It contains provisions for the effective management of river waters in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
• Constitution of the Godavari and Krishna River Management Boards and the constitution of an Apex Council for the supervision of the functioning of these Boards, is laid down in this Act.
• The Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 85 of the APRA, 2014, constituted the two River Management Boards effective from 2nd June, 2014 for the administration, regulation, maintenance and operation of such projects on Godavari and Krishna rivers
• The long pending issue of notifying the Jurisdiction of the two Boards was addressed in the 2nd meeting of the Apex Council held in October, 2020
• In accordance with the provisions under Section 87 of APRA, 2014, Government of India has issued two gazette notifications, one for the jurisdiction of GRMB and the other for KRMB, for administration, regulation, maintenance and operation of projects in Godavari and Krishna river basins respectively, in the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Know! the role of GRMB and KRMB

• The respective Boards will take care of water sharing as per awards made by the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal and the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal.
• The Board will have power to direct the respective state governments for maintenance of the projects or components specified in its schedule to carry out such works promptly.
• The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) will assist the Boards in the day-to-day management of projects specified in the schedule and any other work related to security.
• No person from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be appointed as the Chairman, Member-Secretary, Members and Chief Engineers of either the KRMB or the GRMB.
• As per the notification, both the state governments will stop all the ongoing works on unapproved projects as on the date of publication of this notification until the said projects are appraised and approved as per the provisions of the concerned Act and in accordance with the decisions taken in the second meeting of the Apex Council
• If approvals are not obtained within six months after the publication of this notification, full or partial operation if any of the said ongoing unapproved projects shall cease to operate

Godavari River

• It is India's second longest river after the Ganga.
• Its source is in Triambakeshwar, Maharashtra.
• The Godavari basin extends over states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha in addition to smaller parts in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Union territory of Puducherry
• The basin is bounded by Satmala hills, the Ajanta range and the Mahadeo hills on the north, by the Eastern Ghats on the south and the east and by the Western Ghats on the west.
• The river ultimately empties into the Bay of Bengal through an extensive network of tributaries.
• It forms one of the largest river basins in the Indian subcontinent, with only the Ganga and Indus rivers having a larger drainage basin.
• In terms of length, catchment area and discharge, the Godavari is the largest in peninsular India, and had been dubbed as the Dakshina Ganga (Ganges of the South).

The Krishna River

• It is the fourth-biggest river in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Godavari and Brahmaputra.
• The river is almost 1,288 kilometres (800 mi) long.
• The river is also called Krishnaveni. It is one of the major sources of irrigation for Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
• The Krishna river originates in the Western Ghats near Mahabaleshwar at an elevation of about 1,300 metres in the state of Maharashtra in central India.
• It is one of the most suitable arable basins in the world as 75.6 % area of the Krishna basin is under cultivation because of the availability of water.
• The river's source is at Mahabaleshwar , Maharashtra in the west, and it empties into the Bay of Bengal at Hamasaladeevi (near Koduru) in Andhra Pradesh on the east coast.
• The river flows through the state of Karnataka before entering Telangana State.
• The delta of this river is one of the most fertile regions in India and was the home to ancient Satavahana and Ikshvaku Sun Dynasty kings.
• Vijayawada is the largest city on the Krishna.

Infrastructure Development(Energy)
Aiming for Sustainable Habitat: New Initiatives in Building Energy Efficiency 2021
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Aiming for Sustainable Habitat: New Initiatives in Building Energy Efficiency 2021+ about BEE + Eco-Niwas Samhita) + Mains ( GS III Infrastructure development - Energy)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister for Power inaugurates "Aiming for Sustainable Habitat: New Initiatives in Building Energy Efficiency 2021" as part of 'Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav'
• ‘Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav' is the Government's endeavour to commemorate India's 75th anniversary of Independence.
• The commemorations will include 75 events for 75 weeks by the Ministry of Power.

Aiming for Sustainable Habitat: New Initiatives in Building Energy Efficiency 2021

• Launched today by Bureau of Energy Efficiency
• It aims to enhance energy efficiency in the economy, especially in the buildings sector.
• Building sector is second largest consumer of electricity after industry but it is expected to become the largest energy consuming sector by 2030.
• Realizing its importance, the Government of India is focusing on improving energy efficiency across residential as well as commercial building establishments.
• These initiatives will help enhance the energy-efficiency levels in residential buildings across the country, thereby leading to sustainable habitation.
• With future-driven initiatives like smart home ecosystems, optimizing energy-efficiency in any given structure will surely be the need in the coming years.
• More energy-efficiency means less energy consumption in household and reduced carbon emissions.

The initiatives launched included:

• Specifying code compliance approaches and minimum energy performance requirements for building services, and verification framework with Eco Niwas Samhita 2021.
• The web-based platform ‘The Handbook of Replicable Designs for Energy Efficient Residential Buildings' as a learning tool, which can be used to create a pool of ready-to-use resources of replicable designs to construct energy-efficient homes in India.
• Creating an Online Directory of Building Materials that would envisage the process of establishing Standards for energy efficient building materials.
• Announcement of NEERMAN Awards, (National Energy Efficiency Roadmap for Movement towards Affordable & Natural Habitat), with the goal of encouraging exceptionally efficient building designs complying with BEE's Energy Conservation Building Codes.
• Online Star Rating tool for Energy Efficient Homes created to improve energy-efficiency and reduce energy consumption in individual homes. It provides performance analysis to help professionals decide the best options to pick for energy-efficiency of their homes.
• Training of over 15,000 Architects, Engineers and Government officials on Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017 and Eco Niwas Samhita (ENS) 2021).

Eco-Niwas Samhita (Energy Conservation - New Indian Way for Affordable & Sustainable homes)

• It is developed by the Ministry of Power, New & Renewable Energyto set minimum building envelope performance standards to limit heat gains and to limit heat loss to ensure adequate natural ventilation and daylighting.
• The code applies to all residential use building projects built on plot area ≥ 500 m2.
• The code has been developed for its adoption by the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs)
• Under the initiative, few tools have been developed for Building performance evaluation.
• These tools are resourceful with a simple and interactive interface to raise awareness and sensitize people in telling them for adopting energy efficiency measures in buildings and educate users with energy-saving potential, cost savings, and CO2 emission reduction.
• There are three different types of tools with different specifications for the use of common individuals and building professionals who want to exercise energy efficiency of various customizable options including analyzing the compliance status of the building design as per Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) guidelines and regulation.

Energy Conservation Building Code (Code), 2017

• The purpose of the Energy Conservation Building Code (Code) is to provide minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design and construction of buildings.

Know! about BEE

• The Government of India has set up the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) on 1st March 2002 under the provision of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• The mission of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is to assist in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles with the primary objective of reducing energy intensity of the Indian economy within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• This will be achieved with active participation of all stakeholders, resulting in accelerated and sustained adoption of energy efficiency in all sectors.

Social Issues/Education
School Innovation Ambassador Training Program (follow up news)
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about SIATP) + Mains ( GS II Education + Social Issues - policies for vulnerable section of population)
What's the NEWS

• Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Tribal Affairs Minister Shri Arjun Munda jointly launched the ‘School Innovation Ambassador Training Program' for 50,000 school teachers
• The innovative and one-of-its-kind training program for school teachers, it aims at training 50,000 School Teachers on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, IPR, Design Thinking, Product development, Idea generation, among others.
• The program has been designed by the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education and AICTE for school Teachers based on its "Innovation Ambassador Training Program for Higher Educational Institution's faculty members". The training will be delivered in online mode

Know! about the collaborative approach of the Ministries and the role of Tribal Ministry towards tribal students

• The program launched is a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Education's Innovation Cell, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, CBSE and AICTE, which will in turn nurture lakhs of students with innovation capabilities, develop a culture of innovation and lay the foundation of a new and vibrant India, he added.
• SIATP will give wings to the creativity of the children and provide a platform so that they can give something new to the world with their ideas.
• Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) for tribal children is another ambitious programme under which 740 EMRS will be established in tribal dominated areas over the next three years
• The students of EMRS will greatly benefit from SIATP since it is also the endeavour of Tribal Affairs Ministry to give the best possible education to the tribal children.
• Through this unique capacity building programme for teachers, prominence has been given to development of creativity, collaboration , critical thinking and communication skills among children and the integration of Eklavya Schools into the entire programme is a big step in this direction for the meaningful development of tribal children.

Adi-Prashikshan portal

• Apart from running Ekalavya World Education School, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has been supporting initiatives of States/Union Territories in spreading scientific education to tribal students and the new initiative will help promote quality education among tribal children.
• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched an Adi-Prashikshan portal which is also a repository of training inputs.
• It will be of great benefit if SIAP training module also gets connected to this portal

Social Issues
Women's Reservation Bill [The Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, 2008]
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Women's reservation bill) + Mains ( GS II Parliament proceedings + Social Issues
What's the NEWS

• Recently a Political Party has raised the demand of bringing the long-pending Women's Reservation Bill to Parliament.
• It was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in May 2008
• In 2010, it was passed in the House and transmitted to the Lok Sabha.
• The Bill lapsed with the 15th Lok Sabha

Women's reservation bill ( highlights)

• The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.
• The allocation of reserved seats shall be determined by such authority as prescribed by Parliament.
• One third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be reserved for women of those groups in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies.
• Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the state or union territory.
• Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of this Amendment Act.
• The seats would be determined by a draw of lots in such a way that a seat would only be reserved once in every three consecutive general elections.
• The original idea for this bill originated from a constitutional amendment which was passed back in 1993.
• The constitutional amendment stated that a random one third of village council leader, or Sarpanch, positions in the gram panchayat should be reserved for women.
• The Women's Reservation Bill was launched as a long term plan to extend this reservation to Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies.
• Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) have played a significant role in bringing women representatives at grass-root level. Many States have granted 50% reservation for women candidates in elections.

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