Environment/GSIII
India Votes Against UN Draft Resolution On Climate Change.

What's the NEWS

• India voted against a UN Security Council draft resolution that linked climate change with global security challenges

• The draft resolution, would undermine progress made at Glasgow, where the latest round of talks under the UNFCCC, the 26^th Conference of the Parties (COP26), concluded in November.
• The attempt to discuss climate action and climate justice issues at the UNSC was "motivated by a desire to evade responsibility in the appropriate forum."
• India is second to none when it comes to climate action and climate justice, but the Security Council is not a place to discuss either issue.
• It was an attempt to shift climate talks from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to the Security Council and a "step backward" for collective action on the issue.
• Negotiators from nearly 200 countries accepted a new climate agreement after the COP26 summit in Glasgow last month, which recognises India's intervention for the world to "phase down" rather than "phase out" fossil fuels.

• The resolution was sponsored by Ireland and Niger, and it did not pass, with 12 UNSC members voting for it, India and Russia voting against it and China abstaining.
• The draft resolution called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to "integrate climate-related security risk as a central component into comprehensive conflict-prevention strategies."
• The resolution was vetoed by Russia, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
• Niger, which holds the UNSC presidency for December, organised a debate on December 9 titled ‘Maintenance of international peace and security: security in the context of terrorism and climate change.'
• One of the objectives of the debate was to examine how terrorism and security risks could be linked to climate change, as per a concept note circulated by Niger.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has introduced the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).
• The new NBFC framework will be applicable all deposit taking NBFCs in middle, upper and top layers.

Know! more about it

• The PCA framework for NBFCs will come into effect from October 1, 2022, based on the financial position of NBFCs on or after March 31, 2022,
• This is in line with the PCA framework for banks, whose aim was to help improve their financial condition and governance issues.
• The framework will apply to all deposit-taking NBFCs, all non-deposit taking NBFCs in the middle, upper and top layers, including investment and credit firms, core investment firms, infrastructure debt funds, infrastructure finance firms and microfinance institutions.
• It has excluded NBFCs not accepting or not intending to accept public funds, primary dealers and housing finance firms, along with government-owned ones.
• The objective of the framework is to enable supervisory intervention at the appropriate time and require the supervised entity to initiate and implement remedial measures in a timely manner, so as to restore its financial health.
• Among large NBFCs (assets exceeding Rs.25,000 crore), rating agency ICRA noted that three entities were in breach of the net NPA criterion as of September. However, all the entities have established parentage.

Polity and Governance/GSII
CENTRAL VIGILANCE COMMISSION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2021

What's the NEWS

• Parliament passed two Bills to extend the tenure of the chiefs of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to a maximum of five years from the earlier minimum period of two years.
• Rajya Sabha approved the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021, and the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021, by voice vote in the absence of the Opposition
• The two laws now replace the Ordinances promulgated by the Ministry of Law and Justice last month.

• The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 3, 2021. It replaces the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021.
• The Bill seeks to amend the Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003.
• The 2003 Act provides for the constitution of a Central Vigilance Commission to conduct inquiries into offences alleged to have been committed under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
• Presently, the Director of Enforcement has a tenure of a minimum of two years.
• The Bill adds that the tenure of the Director may be extended by up to one year at a time, till the completion of five years from the initial appointment.
• Such extensions may be granted in the public interest, on the recommendation of the Committee.
• Under the 2003 Act, the Director of Enforcement is appointed by the central government, on the recommendation of a Committee.
• This Committee is chaired by the Central Vigilance Commissioner and includes the Secretaries from the Ministries of Home Affairs, Personnel, and the Revenue department.

Polity and Governance/GSII
Rajya Sabha passes Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021

What's the NEWS

• Parliament has passed the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
• The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill. The Bill will replace the ordinance promulgated in this regard.

• The Bill seeks to amend the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946. Under the Act, the minimum tenure of the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation is of two years.
• The Bill permits extension of the tenure of the CBI Director up to one year at a time, till the completion of five years from the initial date of appointment.
• Such extensions may be granted in the public interest, on the recommendation of the Committee.
• In several countries, the term of Director and Chief of premier investigation agency is in the range of 6 to 10 years, and in the case of CBI, the tenure of Director is fixed as a minimum of 2 years but how much beyond it, is not defined.
• With a view to make the Agency more democratized and institutionalized, the amendment to the existing Act has been brought.
• After two years the tenure of Director of CBI will be extended for one year at a time.

Government Initiatives/GSII
NMCG and c-Ganga organize 6^th India Water Impact Summit in hybrid mode

What's the NEWS

• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) along with the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (c-Ganga) are organizing the 6th edition of the India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) from 9th December to 14th December 2021.

• The summit is being organized in a hybrid mode - online and physically at the NMCG office, New Delhi and IIT, Kanpur.
• The IWIS 2021 is a five-day event and this year's theme is ‘River Resources Allocation "Planning and Management at the Regional Level"'.
• Last year, the 5th edition of the India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) was successfully organized by the NMCG and c-Ganga on the theme of comprehensive analysis and holistic management of local rivers and water bodies with the focus on Arth Ganga - River Conservation Synchronized Development.
• This year the Summit will enlighten the participants on the complexities and peculiarities as well as the scales of managing the rivers across the basin.
• The focus will be on synchronizing river conservation with long term developmental needs by river resource budgeting.
• The international focus of the 6th IWIS would be on collaborations with the European Union, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, USA, UK, Australia and the BRICS countries.
• This year the international sessions will have the presence of Indian Ambassadors and High Commissioners and their counterparts.
• The IWIS 2021 will provide a knowledge enriching platform to all stakeholders and aim to discuss, debate and develop the model solutions for some of the important challenges before not only Ganga but all rivers and the water sector in India.

What's the NEWS

• The National Education Policy 2020 at para 4.22, inter-alia,recommends for standardization of the Indian Sign Language (ISL) across the country and development of National and State curriculum materials for use by students with hearing impairment.

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