Relevance IN - Prelims ( about World Accreditation Day + about QCI) + Mains GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation + Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance)

What's the NEWS

• National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), the two accreditation boards of the Quality Council of India (QCI), organised a Webinar to commemorate the World Accreditation Day (WAD) event

Know! about World Accreditation Day (WAD)

• The World Accreditation Day (WAD) is celebrated on 9^th June every year to highlight as well as promote the role of accreditation in trade & economy.

• The theme for WAD 2020 is "Accreditation: Improving Food Safety", as decided by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC).

Know! about QCI

• Quality Council of India (QCI) was set up in 1997 jointly by the Government of India (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations i.e.

•  to establish and operate national accreditation structure and promote quality through National Quality Campaign.

QCI (highlights)

• QCI establish and operate national accreditation structure and promote quality through National Quality Campaign.
• QCI is registered as not-for-profit society with its own Memorandum of Association and Rules & Regulations.
• The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is the nodal ministry for QCI.
• QCI is governed by a Council comprising of 38 members including the Chairman and Secretary General.
• Chairman of QCI is appointed by the Prime Minister on recommendation of the industry to the government.
• The Council has an equal representation of Government, Industry and other Stakeholders.

Know! the importance of accreditation and role of QCI

• Accreditation facilitates international trade by way of establishing equivalence and global acceptance of certification, inspection and testing being undertaken by various conformity assessment bodies, in areas of quality, environment, food safety etc.
• National Quality Campaign aims at promoting quality by enabling manufacturers and suppliers of goods/ services to apply quality standards and tools and simultaneously empowering consumers to demand quality goods/services.
• The Council is the apex level body responsible for formulating the strategy, general policy, constitution and monitoring of various components of QCI including the accreditation boards with objective to ensure transparent and credible accreditation system.
• It provides accreditation services in the fields of education, healthcare, industries, institutions, professionals, quality promotion and quality assessment.
• It promotes the adoption of quality standards relating to Quality Management Systems (ISO 14001 Series), Food Safety Management Systems (ISO 22000 Series) and Product Certification and Inspection Bodies through the accreditation services provided by National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB).

Infrastructure Development - Energy Sector
Methodology Issued for Rationalization of Linkages/ Swapping of Coal

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the mechanism and benefits of liberalised framework) Mains ( GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation + Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance)

What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Coal has further liberalised the framework under which coal linkages can be swapped in the country.
• A linkage is a coal supply assurance from Coal India Limited to a consumer.
• These commitments are binding and the coal cannot be transferred to other consumers.

Know! about the liberalised framework

• The coal linkages from coal companies have been rationalized in order to reduce the distance in transportation of coal from the coal mines to the consumer.
• The exercise shall help in reducing the load on the transportation infrastructure and easing the evacuation constraints.
• The past rationalization exercises were implemented only for Power Sector but the present methodology on linkage rationalization, covers the Power as well as Non-Regulated Sector (NRS), for all types of consumers and coal swapping with imported coal has also been permitted.
• It was implemented to examine the swapping of imported coal to hinterland and domestic coal transported to coastal areas.
• The scheme envisages transfer of coal quantity in terms of gross Calorific Value (GCV) equivalence and is applicable for non-coking coal only.
• The Arrangement shall be allowed only within the same sector viz. NRS (non-regulated sector) with NRS and Power (regulated sector) with Power.
• Participation in the scheme shall be voluntary and arrangement between the parties rationalizing/swapping coal through rail and/or sea mode shall be bilateral.
• Coal India Limited (CIL) shall be the nodal agency for conducting the process of linkage rationalization/swapping of coal.

Coal trading platform

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the Coal trading platform and its objective) +Mains GS II - Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance)

What's the NEWS

• India has decided to set up a coal trading platform, taking a giant leap towards completely throwing open the sector to market forces
• India gears up for commercial coal mining auctions, which will increase the number of sellers of coal.
• The coal ministry is likely to begin auctions of about 50 coal blocks for commercial coal mining

Know! about Coal Exchange

• As per the proposal, entire coal produced in the country will be traded on a ‘Coal Exchange,' an online platform where pricing is determined transparently through demand and supply.
• The exchange is being thought out on the lines of commodity exchanges, power bourses or the proposed gas exchange.
• This could mean the end of new Fuel Supply Agreements (FSA) regime of Coal India where the state-run miner signs contracts for coal supply with consumers.

Know! about Fuel Supply Agreements (FSA)

• FSAs will be signed with power plants that have entered long term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with distribution companies
• The FSAs will be signed for a period of 20 years and will be reviewed after every five years

Environment
Asiatic Lion
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Asiatic lion)
What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister, has expressed his happiness over the increasing population of the majestic Asiatic Lion, living in Gujarat's Gir Forest.
• Population of the majestic Asiatic Lion, living in Gujarat's Gir Forest, is up by almost 29%.
• Geographically, distribution area is up by 36%.
• Over the last several years, the Lion population in Gujarat has been steadily rising.
• This is powered by community participation, emphasis on technology, wildlife healthcare, proper habitat management and steps to minimise human-lion conflict.

Know! about Asian lions

• There are only several hundred Asiatic lions in the wild, and they only live in the Gir Forest, India
• Asian lions are slightly smaller than African lions
• Asian lions used to range from Turkey, across Asia, to eastern India
• The most distinguishing characteristic of the Asiatic lion is the longitudinal fold of skin that runs along its belly. This is absent in African lions.

Know! more about Asian lions

• The Asian lion population has recovered from the brink of extinction to several hundred individuals.
• They occupy remnant forest habitats in the two hill systems of Gir and Girnar that comprise Gujarat's largest tracts of dry deciduous forest, thorny forest and savannah.
• Five protected areas currently exist to protect the Asian lion: Gir Sanctuary, Gir National Park and Pania Sanctuary to form the Gir Conservation Area (GCA) as a core protected area
• The other two wildlife sanctuaries, Mitiyala and Girnar, protect satellite areas within dispersal distance of the Gir Conservation Area.
• An additional sanctuary is being established in the nearby Barda forest to serve as an alternative home for Gir lions.

Prelims Factoids
Union Minister Launches "COVID BEEP" App For Coronavirus Patients
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the objective of COVID BEEP)

What's the NEWS

• Union Minister Launches 'COVID BEEP' App For Coronavirus Patients
• COVID BEEP is a wireless physiological parameters monitoring system for coronavirus patients.
• It is country's first indigenous wireless physiological parameters monitoring system for the affected patients.
• COVID BEEP would emerge as an effective antidote to the pandemic which the entire world is currently grappling with

Know! more about COVID BEEP

• It has been developed by Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) medical college, Hyderabad in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad and the Department of Atomic Energy
• COVID BEEP, that stands for Continuous Oxygenation and Vital Information Detection Biomed ECIL ESIC Pod, is India's first indigenous, cost effective, wireless physiological parameters monitoring system for COVID-19 patients
• The latest version of COVID BEEP has incorporated NIBP (non-invasive blood pressure) monitoring, ECG (electrocardiogram) monitoring and the respiratory rate
• COVID BEEP will greatly reduce the transmission risk as well as help save resources like personal protective equipment (PPEs)

Prelims Factoids
Coral Triangle Day
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about coral triangle day+ Coral Triangle Initiative(CTI)
What's the NEWS

• The Coral Triangle Day (held every June 9) is a massive celebration of the Coral Triangle, the world's epicentre of marine biodiversity, which encompasses the seas of 6 countries in the Asia-Pacific region:
• Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste.

 
Know! about the Coral Triangle Day (9 June)

• The Coral Triangle Day is an annual, open-sourced event that brings together individuals, organizations, and establishments on one special day of the year to shed light on ocean conservation and the numerous ways to protect and conserve the Coral Triangle
• It is an annual event started by Coral Triangle Initiative(CTI) since 2012 in conjunction with the World Oceans Day on June 8.
• This celebration is not exclusive to these six nations though and includes other countries that benefit from the Coral Triangle's rich marine resources.
• The event is celebrated in several locations around the Coral Triangle region through numerous activities
• CTI is a multilateral partnership of six countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste).

Know! about the Coral Triangle

• The Coral Triangle, the world's epicentre of marine diversity, is one of the 3 mega ecological complexes on our planet, together with the Congo Basin and the Amazon Rainforest.
• It is a vast ocean expanse that geographically spreads across 6 countries in Asia and the Pacific: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Timor Leste (the "CT6" countries).
• The region contains 76% of all known coral species, 37% of all known coral reef fish species and 53% of the world's coral reefs.

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