Connect to Current -Daily Current Capsules 16th March 2019

Economic Developments
Festival of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (FINE)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about FINE 2019) + Mains ( GS III economic development + GS II government policy and interventions)

What's the NEWS

• The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Gandhinagar, Gujarat . He also presented the 10th Biennial National Grassroots Innovation Awards.

• The Festival of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (FINE) {previously known as Festival of Innovation FOIN)} is a unique initiative of the Office of the President of India to recognise, respect and reward grassroots innovations and foster a supportive ecosystem.

Know! all BOUT fine 2019

• Hosted in the month of March at The President's House, the FOIN has become a national celebration of creativity and innovation at and for grassroots.

• This year it has been decided to organize Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE) from March 15-17, 2018

• This Festival is a celebration of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. Till 2018, it had been hosted at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• This year it was decided to organise it outside Rashtrapati Bhavan by the President's Secretariat in association with National Innovation Foundation-India and Department of Science & Technology.

• FINE is a celebration of country's Innovation potential, particularly those ideas which stem from grassroots level including the citizen at the last mile and also a reflection of power of children's creativity.

• FINE would provide platform to the innovators for building the linkages with potential stakeholders whose support can improve their prospects in coming years for the larger social good.

• It will also help in promoting lateral learning and linkages among the innovators to enrich the ecosystem for new India.

• It would also be a great opportunity to create awareness about the importance of various Ministries of Government of India attaches to their effort and participation in the FINE.

• It is imperative that India becomes a growth engine for the world and provides a new model of inclusive development by providing a large number of open technological and other solutions for the developing and developed world.

• In sync with the policies of the government of India, FINE will provide a window to the creative and innovative solutions for social development through grassroots innovations, student ideas and other technologies for agriculture, rural development, sanitation, health, women and child development, biotechnology and medical innovation for grassroots.

Environment Conservation
A climate vulnerability index for India on the anvil

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the vulnerability index) + Mains ( GS III environment conservation)

What's the NEWS
• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be commissioning a study to assess the climate risks faced by States in India.

• This follows an assessment of the global warming risks faced by 12 Himalayan States - and discussed at last year's U.N. climate change conference in Poland - that found States such as Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand vulnerable to climate change.
• DST also planning to have a climate portal, whereby users can zoom in on any district in the country and get a sense of what kind of risks - climate, socio-economic - are present

Know! about the Common methodology and about the index outcome
• Last year the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) at Mandi and Guwahati, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, coordinated with State authorities in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, the hill districts of West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, to evolve a common methodology, and determine how districts there are equipped to deal with the vagaries of climate change

• The researchers prepared a ‘vulnerability index' of each of these States based on district-level data.

• Vulnerability would be a measure of the inherent risks a district faces, primarily by virtue of its geography and socio-economic situation.

Vulnerability score bases on eight parameters
• The scientists conducted workshops with the States and culled eight key parameters on the basis of which a vulnerability score could be generated.

• They included: percentage of area in districts under forests, yield variability of food grain, population density, female literacy rate, infant mortality rate, percentage of population below poverty line, average man-days under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), and the area under slope > 30%.

• On a scale ranging 0-1, 1 indicating the highest possible level of vulnerability, at the top of the scale were Assam with a score of 0.72 and Mizoram at 0.71, whereas Sikkim, with an index score of 0.42 was relatively less vulnerable.
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Defence
India-Africa joint field training exercise to kick off on March 18
AFINDEX -2019
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about AFINDEX -19 ) + Mains ( GS II international relations)

What's the NEWS
• A 10-day long Africa-India Joint Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX-19) between the Indian Army and 16 African nations will be conducted in Pune from March 18 to 27.

• As many as 10 personnel, each from the participating nations from the African continent and personnel of Maratha Light Infantry of Indian Army, will participate in the joint exercise which will be conducted at two locations in Pune's Foreign Training Node at Aundh Military Station and College of Military Engineering in Kirkee.

Know! all about AFINDEX-19
• AFINDEX-19 aims to train the participating contingents in Humanitarian Mine Assistance (HMA) and Peace Keeping Operations (PKO) under the United Nations Charter through practical and comprehensive discussions and tactical exercises Contingents from Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, South Africa, Tanzania, Namibia, Mozambique, Uganda, Niger & Zambia are part of the joint exercise together with officers from Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar as Observers.

• The joint exercise will also focus on achieving interoperability, learning each other's methodologies and tactics through synchronised operational level planning and tactical level training.

Global Environment Outlook (GEO)

What's the NEWS
• The sixth edition of the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO), prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme.
• The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP) flagship environmental assessment.

Know! about the findings of the Report

• The report warns that deadly emissions, chemicals polluting drinking water, and the accelerating destruction of ecosystems crucial to the livelihoods of billions of people are driving a worldwide epidemic that hampers the global economy.

• The report highlights the growing divide between rich and poor as rampant overconsumption, pollution and food waste in the developed world leads to hunger, poverty and disease elsewhere.
• The report notes that as greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise amid a preponderance of droughts, floods and superstorms made worse by climbing sea levels, there is a growing political consensus that climate change poses a future risk to billions.

• The report expresses concern that the health impacts of pollution, deforestation and the mechanised food chain are less well understood.
• The report notes that poor environmental conditions cause approximately 25% of global disease and mortality and resulted in around 9 million deaths in 2015 alone.

• Due to lack of access to clean drinking supplies, 1.4 million people die each year from preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and parasites linked to pathogen riddled water and poor sanitation.
• The report notes that chemicals pumped into the seas causes potentially multi-generational adverse health effects, and land degradation through mega farming and deforestation occurs in areas of Earth home to 3.2 billion people.

• The report advises adopting less-meat intensive diets, and reducing food waste in both developed and developing countries, would reduce the need to increase food production by 50% to feed the projected 9-10 billion people on the planet in 2050. At present, 33% of global edible food is wasted, and 56% of waste happens in industrialised countries.

About the role OF India
• India's stated commitment is to lower emissions intensity of its GDP by 33-35% compared to 2005 levels by 2030; increase total cumulative electricity generation from fossil free energy sources to 40% by 2030, and create additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tons through additional forest and tree cover.

• India is on track to achieve two of these goals - of emissions intensity and electricity generation - according to independent climate-watch site Climate Tracker.

• For India to leapfrog onto a 1.5-degree pathway it would have to "abandon plans to build new coal-fired power plants," said Climate Tracker's most updated analysis as of Dec 2018.

• The landmark Paris Agreement of 2015 aims to keeping a global temperature rise this century well to "...below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius."

• Currently environmental ministers and delegates from around the world are participating in a UN conference in Nairobi to discuss issues such as stopping food waste, promoting the spread of electric mobility, and tackling the crisis of plastic pollution.

Economic Developments
Young Global Leaders 2019
WEF recognises Nara Lokesh as Young Global Leader for 2019
Relevance IN - Prelims( about young global leader) + Mains ( GS III economic development + GS II international organisations)

What's the NEWS
• The World Economic Forum (WEF) on recognised Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh as their Young Global Leader for 2019.

• The WEF announced the 2019 Young Global Leaders Nara Lokesh which included 127 individuals from across the globe.
Know! more about it
• Lokesh has been recognised as Young Global Leader for fifth consecutive time this year. The forum of Young Global Leaders 2019 witnessed the participation of social activists, business leaders, public servants, artists and technologists under the age of 40.

• Launched by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2004, the Global Young Leaders forum is a community of young leaders from all walks of life and from every region of the world, including Heads of governments to UN Goodwill Ambassadors and Nobel Prize winners.
• According to WEF, more than half of the new members who made it to the list are females.

• Most of the young leaders are from developing countries with enhanced understanding and promoting innovative ideas in the fields of art, business , civil society, energy, government and health.

• The individuals are expected to take part in a five year programme that will help them identify new ways to learn more innovative ideas.
• These leaders to take forward the challenge of improving the state of the world. In offering opportunities and experiences to transform their understanding of the possibilities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, WEF are investing in them to drive a future where all can flourish

Know! more about the forum
• The Forum of Young Global Leaders, the World Economic Forum's foundation for remarkable leaders under 40, was founded to fuel new models of leadership.

• Young Global Leaders participate in the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, established in 2007 and known informally as "Summer Davos", alongside Global Growth Companies and other delegations to the World Economic Forum.

• Young Global Leaders are united by the belief that the urgent problems of today present an opportunity to forge a better future across sectors, generations and borders.

Know! about WEF
• The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.

• The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
• It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests.
• The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance. Moral and intellectual integrity is at the heart of everything it does.

• The WEF hosts annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland.

• The meeting brings together some 2,500 business leaders, international political leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists for up to four days to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world.

Prelims Practise Question

Consider the following statements
1. A 10-day long ASEAN -India Joint Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX-19) between the Indian Army and 10 ASEAN nations will be conducted in Pune.

2. AFINDEX-19 aims to train the participating contingents in Humanitarian Mine Assistance (HMA) and Peace Keeping Operations (PKO) under the United Nations Charter through practical and comprehensive discussions and tactical exercises

3. The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation and it was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

Find the correct statements from the option given below
a. 2 and 3
b. 1 and 3
c. 1 and 2
d. All

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