Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Exchange of Electronic Advance Data) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• Department of Posts, Government of India (India Post) and United States Postal Service (USPS) have entered into an agreement for Electronic Exchange of Customs data related to postal shipments exchanged between the two countries.

• The agreement will make it possible to transmit and receive electronic data of international postal items prior to their physical arrival at the destination and would enable customs clearance of postal items in advance in line with the evolving global postal framework.
• This will also improve the performance of postal services in terms of reliability, visibility and security.
• USA is the top export destination for India (~17%) which is also reflected in exchange of goods through postal channel.

• EAD will be a key driver towards promoting mutual trade with emphasis on the exports from different parts of India to USA through postal channel considering that USA is a major destination of MSME products, Gems &Jewellery, Pharmaceuticals and other local products from India.
• This will fulfil a major demand of export industry to expedite customs clearances of export items.
• The primary objective that will be served by this agreement is to facilitate ‘ease of exports' for small and large exporters through postal channels from different parts of the country and will contribute towards making India an Export Hub for the world.

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the role of DST-IIEST Solar PV Hub and about IIEST)
What's the NEWS

• The Education Ministry virtually inaugurated the DST-IIEST Solar PV Hub at IIEST, Shibpur

• It is one of its kind in India, has been established at IIEST, Shibpur through a generous Research and Development grant from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt of India, under the aegis of Centre of Excellence for Green Energy and Sensor System at IIEST, Shibpur.
• This Hub will help in aligning the national as well as local industries, research institutes, and start-ups with the "Make in India Mission" towards a smooth transition from fossil fuel energy to solar energy scenario
• Direct interactions with this DST-IIEST Solar Hub will enable the transfer of indigenous knowhow and training for the fabrication, characterization and testing of solar cells and solar PV modules and systems as no such facility is available elsewhere in this region

• Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur (IIEST Shibpur) is a public technical university located at Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal.
• It is recognised as an Institute of National Importance under MHRD by the Government of India.
• It comes under the Council of National Institutes of Technology.

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act)
What's the NEWS

• Government has declared eighteen more individuals as designated terrorists, under the provisions of the UAPA Act 1967 (as amended in 2019) and included their names in the Fourth Schedule of the said Act.
• The Central Government had amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 in August 2019, to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.
• Prior to this amendment, only organizations could be designated as terrorist organizations.
• Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967
• The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 enables more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations and for dealing with terrorist activities, and other related matters.
• Any Indian or foreign national charged under UAPA is liable for punishment under this Act, irrespective of the location of crime/offense committed
• UAPA will be applicable to the offenders in the same manner, even if the crime is committed on foreign land, outside India
• It is applicable across the entire country and the provisions of this Act apply also to citizens of India and abroad.

Definition of the Unlawful Activity in India

• unlawful activity" refers to any action taken by individual or association (whether by committing an act or by words, either spoken or written or by signs to questions, disclaims, disrupts, or is intended to disrupt the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.

Changes in The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967

• Amendment to Schedule 4 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act will allow the NIA to declare an individual suspected to have terror links as a terrorist.
• Currently, only organisations are designated as 'terrorist organisations' but after the change in the UAPA, 1967 an individual can also be termed a terror suspect.

Social Issues
MSDE and NCVET unveil the new guidelines and operation manuals

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about MSDE + NCVET) + Mains ( GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

• Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in collaboration with their unified regulator- National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) unveiled robust set of guidelines for the Awarding Bodies (AB) and Assessment Agencies (AA)

Know! about the guidelines

• The guidelines and operation manuals have been developed for the recognition and regulation of these two entities, key elements of skilling ecosystem.
• The guidelines aim at establishing quality, improved outcomes and standardizing the processes under Skill India Mission.

Know! about Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)

• MSDE was formed on November 9, 2014 by the Government of India to focus on enhancing employability of skills.
• Since its inception, MSDE has undertaken significant initiatives and reforms in terms of formalizing the policy, framework and standards; launching of new programs and schemes; creating new infrastructure and upgrading the existing institutions; partnering with States; engaging with industries and building societal acceptance and aspirations for skills.
• The Ministry aims to bridge the gap between demand and supply of skilled manpower to build new skills and innovation not only for existing jobs but also for jobs that are to be created.
• Till date, more than three crore people have been trained under Skill India. Under its flagship programme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2016-2020, the Ministry has trained more than 92 lakh candidates so far.

The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET)

• The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) was notified by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on 5th December 2018.
• The NCVET acts as an overarching skills regulator which regulates the functioning of entities engaged in vocational education and training, both long and short term, and establishes minimum standards for the functioning of such entities.
• With NCVET's sincere efforts in framing the guidelines and the operational manuals, country's skilling ecosystem will witness robust regulations addressing the needs of multitude of stakeholders.
• The uniform certificate formats developed by NCVET is also a step in the right direction and a much needed reform. It will bring about uniformity and enhance the authenticity of the certification.

Prelims Factoids
Direct Port Entry Facility
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about DPE facility + about V.O. Chidambaranar Port - location)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of State for Shipping inaugurated the ‘Direct Port Entry (DPE) facility' of V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust

Know! about DPE facility

• DPE facility will help in reducing logistics cost and increasing the velocity of the cargo.
• DPE will help in increasing Ease of Doing Business for the exporters, as the facility will bring efficiency and reduce dwell time, lower tariff cost and improve the competitiveness of shipper in the international trade.
• The state-of-the-art Direct Port Entry (DPE) facility would enable direct movement of containers from factories, without intermediate handling at any CFS, thus facilitating the shippers to Gate-In their factory stuffed exports directly to the Container Terminal on 24x7 basis.
• The facility is created in an area of 18,357 sqm inside the Truck Parking Terminal which was developed under the ‘Sagarmala' for issuing customs clearance of export cargo i.e. Factory stuffed/e-sealed containers.
• Indian Customs through the Central Warehousing Corporation, DPE facility will generate the Let Export Order (LEO) under a single roof without any hassle
• Port developed the DPE facility to enable the export clearance of factory stuffed e-sealed containers on a 24x7 basis resulting in faster & cost-effective export admittance.

V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust

• The V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust is one of the 13 major ports in India.
• It was declared to be a major port on 11 July 1974. It is second-largest port in Tamil Nadu and fourth-largest container terminal in India.
• After Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust will be India's premier port and one of the major ports of Asia equal to Port of Singapore.
• V. O. Chidambaranar Port Trust is an artificial port.This is the third international port in Tamil Nadu and its second all-weather port.

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