Daily Current Capsules - 24^th August 2019

Economic Development
Sabka Vishwas - Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme to be operationalized from 1st September 2019

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Sabka Vishwas-Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2019 + Mains ( GS III economic developments)
What's the NEWS

• In the Union Budget 2019-20, the Hon'ble Finance Minister announced the Sabka Vishwas-Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2019.
• The Scheme has now been notified and will be operationalized from 1st September 2019. The Scheme would continue till 31^st December 2019.

Know! about the objective of this scheme

• Government expects the Scheme to be availed by large number of taxpayers for closing their pending disputes relating to legacy Service Tax and Central Excise cases that are now subsumed under GST so they can focus on GST.

The two main components of the Scheme are dispute resolution and amnesty.

• The dispute resolution component is aimed at liquidating the legacy cases of Central Excise and Service Tax that are subsumed in GST and are pending in litigation at various forums.
• The amnesty component of the Scheme offers an opportunity to the taxpayers to pay the outstanding tax and be free of any other consequence under the law.
• The most attractive aspect of the Scheme is that it provides substantial relief in the tax dues for all categories of cases as well as full waiver of interest, fine, penalty,
• In all these cases, there would be no other liability of interest, fine or penalty. There is also a complete amnesty from prosecution.
• The Scheme is especially tailored to free the large number of small taxpayers of their pending disputes with the tax administration.

NITI Aayog
‘San-Sadhan' Hackathon
Relevance IN - Prelims ( San - Sadhan Hackathon)+ Mains ( GS II social justice + welfare schemes for the vulnerable section of population)
What's the NEWS

• The government calls for applications for its latest initiative under the Swachh Bharat Mission, called the ‘San-Sadhan' Hackathon, an initiative to ease lives of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) by making toilets smarter, more accessible, and easier to use.

Objective

• In this hackathon, the government is looking for smart, scalable and innovative solutions for economical toilets for individual and community use in rural and urban contexts.

Organising Ministries

• The initiative is being organized jointly by the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, in collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and 91springboard.

Know! more about the Hackathon

• The Hackathon invites researchers, start-ups, student innovators, technology enthusiasts, and industry experts to participate. This hackathon is a great opportunity to win exciting prizes and get handholding and mentoring support by ministry, industry experts and ecosystem enablers.
• The shortlisted applicants will work to develop their prototype during the two-day Hackathon scheduled to be held in the month of September in New Delhi.
• The applicants will be showcasing their innovations on the final day of the hackathon and the winners shall be felicitated during the valedictory function which is slated to be held in mid-September.

Know! about the ministries involved
Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti:

• The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation manages the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G) and is the coordinating department for the overall SBM.
• Since the launch of the SBM, India's rural sanitation coverage has increased from 39% in 2014 to over 99% as of August 2019, and the Mission is on track to achieve its goal of an ODF India by 2019.
• The Department also manages rural drinking water supply, and is responsible for the Jal Jeevan Mission, aiming at providing piped water supply to all rural households.

Ministry of Social justice and Empowerment:

• In order to give focused attention to Policy issues and meaningful thrust to the activities aimed at welfare and empowerment of the Persons with Disabilities, a separate Department of Disability Affairs was carved out of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment on May 12, 2012.
• The mission of this department is to empower Persons with Disabilities, through its various Acts/Institutions/Organizations and Schemes for rehabilitation and to create an enabling environment that provides such persons with equal opportunities, protection of their rights and enables them to participate as independent and productive members of society.

Atal Innovation Mission:

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is a flagship initiative of Government to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

New and Renewable Energy
Power Minister Shri RK Singh approves proposal to declare ocean energy as Renewable Energy

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about renewable energy) + Mains ( GS III energy security
What's the NEWS

• In a decision that would give boost to the ocean energy in India,the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has clarified to all the stakeholders that energy produced using various forms of ocean energy such as tidal, wave, ocean thermal energy conversion etc. shall be considered as Renewable Energy and shall be eligible for meeting the non-solar Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).

Ocean Energy

• Oceans cover 70 percent of the earth's surface and represent an enormous amount of energy in the form of wave, tidal, marine current and thermal gradient.
• Total identified potential of Tidal Energy is about 12455 MW, with potential locations identified at Khambat & Kutch regions, and large backwaters, where barrage technology could be used.
• The total theoretical potential of wave energy in India along the country's coast is estimated to be about 40,000 MW - these are preliminary estimates. This energy is however less intensive than what is available in more northern and southern latitudes.

Tidal Energy

• The tidal cycle occurs every 12 hours due to the gravitational force of the moon. The difference in water height from low tide and high tide is potential energy.
• Similar to traditional hydropower generated from dams, tidal water can be captured in a barrage across an estuary during high tide and forced through a hydro-turbine during low tide.
• The Gulf of Cambay and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat on the west coast have the locations in the country where potential exists.

Wave Energy

• Wave energy is generated by the movement of a device either floating on the surface of the ocean or moored to the ocean floor.
• Many different techniques for converting wave energy to electric power have been studied. Wave conversion devices that float on the surface have joints hinged together that bend with the waves. This kinetic energy pumps fluid through turbines and creates electric power.
• Stationary wave energy conversion devices use pressure fluctuations produced in long tubes from the waves swelling up and down. This bobbing motion drives a turbine when critical pressure is reached. Other stationary platforms capture water from waves on their platforms. This water is allowed to runoff through narrow pipes that flow through a typical hydraulic turbine.

Current Energy

• Marine current is ocean water moving in one direction. This ocean current is known as the Gulf Stream.
• Tides also create currents that flow in two directions. Kinetic energy can be captured from the Gulf Stream and other tidal currents with submerged turbines that are very similar in appearance to miniature wind turbines. Similar to wind turbines, the movement of the marine current moves the rotor blades to generate electric power.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC)

• Ocean thermal energy conversion, or OTEC, uses ocean temperature differences from the surface to depths lower than 1,000 meters, to extract energy.
• A temperature difference of only 20°C can yield usable energy. Research focuses on two types of OTEC technologies to extract thermal energy and convert it to electric power: closed cycle and open cycle.

NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog to release a Report on the Composite Water Management Index 2.0

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about composite water management index)
What's the NEWS

• NITI Aayog will release the second Round of Composite Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0) tomorrow
• Inspired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's impetus on Jal Sanchay, Jal Shakti Ministry on 1st July, 2019 launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyaan a campaign for water conservation and water security in 1592 water stressed blocks in 256 districts, to ensure important water conservation interventions.
• To supplement the efforts of Jal Shakti Ministry, NITI Aayog has prepared the second Round of Composite Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0).

Know! more about CWMI

• The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States and Union Territories in efficient management of water resources.
• This has been done through a first of its kind water data collection exercise in partnership with Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Rural Development and all the States/ Union Territories.
• The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.
• CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the base year 2016-17.

CWMI 1.0

• NITI Aayog first launched and conceptualized the Composite Water Management Index in 2018 as a tool to instill the sense of cooperative and competitive federalism among the states.
• This was a first ever attempt at creating a pan-India set of metrics that measured different dimensions of water management and use across the lifecycle of water.
• The report was widely acknowledged and provided actionable guidance to States on where they were doing well absolutely and relatively and what they needed to focus on to secure their water future.

Centre - States Relations
24^th Meeting of Western Zonal Council at Panaji

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Zonal council) + Mains ( GS II centre-state relations)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah chaired the 24th meeting of the Western Zonal Council at Panaji (Goa).

Know! more about Zonal Councils

• The five Zonal Councils - Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Central - were set up under the States Reorganization Act, 1956 to foster Inter-State co-operation and co-ordination among the States.
• The Zonal Councils are mandated to discuss and make recommendations on any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning, border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-State transport etc.
• They are regional fora of cooperative endeavour for States linked with each other economically, politically and culturally.
• Being compact high-level bodies, specially meant for looking after the interests of respective Zones, they are capable of focusing attention on specific issues taking into account regional factors, while keeping the national perspective in view.
• The deliberations of the Council were warm and cordial, in the true spirit of cooperative federalism and ended with the decision to host the next meeting in Maharashtra.

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