Daily Current Capsules 04^th January 2021

Prelims Factoids
National Police K-9 Journal

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about National Police K-9 Journal)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Home Minister released the inaugural issue of the National Police K-9 Journal
• It is the first such publication in the country on the subject of Police Service K9s (PSKs) i.e. Police Dogs.

Know! more about it

• This is a unique initiative that will further enrich the subjects related to Police Service Dog (K-9) (PSK) teams in the country
• The police dog squad can act as a force multiplier to ensure the safety of society, much like the way drones or satellites are being used in the country
• A special ‘Police K9 Cell' was established in November 2019 under the Police Modernization Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs with the mandate of ‘Mainstreaming and Augmentation of Police Service K9s in the country'.
• The publication of the Police K9 Journal is another step in creating an ecosystem in the country to train and learn on augmenting this vital resource.
• The journal comprises of different section in Hindi and English. Apart from Force personnel, few foreign experts of eminence have also contributed their articles in the inaugural issue.
• It is a biannual journal which will be released in April and October every year.

Health Sector
Subject Expert Committee of CDSCO
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the Subject Expert Committee of CDSCO and its role)
What's the NEWS

• The Subject Expert Committee of CDSCO met on 1st and 2nd January, 2021 and made the following recommendations for the consideration and final decision of the Drugs Controller General of India :-

• Grant of permission for restricted emergency use of vaccine, subject to multiple regulatory conditionalities, to M/s Serum Institute of India, Pune.
• Grant of permission for restricted use in emergency situation in public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode, specially in the context of infection by mutant strains, to M/s Bharat Biotech International Ltd., Hyderabad.
• Grant of permission for conduct of Phase-III Clinical Trial Protocol to M/s Cadila Healthcare Ltd, Ahmedabad.

Know! all about CDSCO and Subject Expert Committee (SEC)

• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) plays an important role in safeguarding and enhancing public health by ensuring the quality, safety, and efficacy of drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices.
• It is the Central Drug Authority for fulfilling functions allocated to the Central Government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
• CDSCO also plays a vital role in taking care of health services such as making committees of eligible members to review clinical trials in various scopes of practice such as ophthalmology, cardiology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and many more.
• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India, through CDSCO, endorses 25 panels of experts from various therapeutic areas that come together to evaluate various categories of applications of clinical trials, new drugs, and medical devices.
• Experts are selected and approved by the government from various therapeutic fields of medicine all over the country.
• SEC is one such committee formed by CDSCO. SEC comprises of 8 experts, whose names are drawn from the 25 panels; 7 of the 8 members need to be medical specialists whereas 1 has to be a pharmacologist.
• These experts need to be priorly approved by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• The experts are expected to make essential statements and give advice to Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on the upcoming clinical trials, drugs, and medical devices.

Economy
Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme gets implemented from 01.01.2021

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about RoDTEP scheme) + Mains ( GS III Economic developments)
What's the NEWS

• Taking a major step to boost exports, Government has decided to extend the benefit of the Scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) to all export goods with effect from 1stJanuary, 2021.

Know! about RoDTEP scheme

• The RoDTEP scheme would refund to exporters the embedded Central, State and local duties/taxes that were so far not being rebated/refunded and were, therefore, placing our exports at a disadvantage.
• The refund would be credited in an exporter's ledger account with Customs and used to pay Basic Customs duty on imported goods. The credits can also be transferred to other importers.
• The RoDTEP rates would be notified shortly by the Department of Commerce, based on the recommendation of a Committee chaired by Dr. G.K. Pillai, former Commerce and Home Secretary.
• The RoDTEP shall be allowed, subject to specified conditions and exclusions. The notified rates, irrespective of the date of notification, shall apply with effect from 1st January, 2021 to all eligible exports of goods.

Know! about the genesis of RoDTEP Scheme

• The RoDTEP Scheme was launched in 2020 to boost exports of India in International markets.
• Under the scheme, a mechanism will be created for reimbursement of levies, taxes or duties at central, state and local levels. Prior to the scheme, the reimbursements were not done under any mechanism.
• Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) was replaced by RoDTEP Scheme as MEIS was not WTO-compliant.
• The RoDTEP Scheme will coordinate with the World Trade Organization to reduce the post production transaction costs for the exporters.
• Under the RoDTEP Scheme, the exporters of India will meet international standards for exports. This will boost the value of Indian products in the international market.
• It is being achieved through certification and affordable testing that will be provided under the scheme rather than relying on international organizations.

Connect to the Past ( March 2020)

• Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) of World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled that India's export subsidy schemes violate global trade norms and has been asked to withdraw some export subsidy programmes, since subsidy schemes run by the Indian government were giving undue advantage to Indian businesses.
• Indian Government has appealed to the appellate body of WTO, challenging the decision of DRP.
• Currently the appeal is pending before the dysfunctional appellate body of WTO which provides time to Indian Government time to replace the present subsidy schemes.
• Meanwhile, Indian government decided to discontinue existing export incentive schemes which are in compliant with global trade rules.
• Indian Government has come up with a WTO compliant proposed scheme called ‘Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Products' (RoDTEP) to replace the present scheme of MEIS.
• RoDTEP is a new scheme to replace the existing MEIS scheme for exports of goods from India, which aims to reimburse the taxes and duties incurred by exporters
• The rebate would be claimed as a percentage of the Freight On Board (FOB) value of exports.
• The Indian government has recently approved this scheme and will be notified in a phased manner and accordingly Items will be shifted from existing scheme MEIS to RoDTEP with proper monitoring &audit mechanism.
• This scheme will incentivise exporters at an estimated cost of Rs. 50,000croreto the exchequer.
• 

Evolution of RoDTEP
Key differences between MEIS and RoDTEP?

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