UN alarmed over dumping in Great Barrier Reef
The UN has expressed alarm at Australia’s proposal to dump 3m cubic metres of dredged material into the Great Barrier Reef world heritage site, saying the development could place the site on UNESCO’s list of shame.
The Australian and Queensland governments have granted approval for dumping as part of the expansion of the Abbot Point coal port, which lies on the fringes of the reef.
Conservation groups have said the dumping could irreparably damage the coral. The reef survives on a delicate symbiosis between its plants and animals. Corals provide the skeleton on which the entire ecosystem is built. These interactions are already significantly threatened by the runoff of agricultural chemicals and destruction of increasingly fragile corals by cyclones. In three decades the coral cover on the reef has fallen by 50 per cent.
Gyaan:
The List of World Heritage in Danger is designed to inform the international community of conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List, and to encourage corrective action.
No sites from India are listed in it.
Artcile talks about Anti-Muslim violence taking place in Sri lanka. Nothing much important but mentioning the following from Current Affairs point of view:
Bodu Bala Sena : recently formed extremist Buddhist organisation in Sri Lanka
Steps taken by government recently to tackle inflation:
1. high minimum export prices on two important staples, onions and potatoes, to discourage their exports.
2. It has advised State governments to exempt perishables such as fruits and vegetables from the purview of the state-administered APMC Act. This legislation gives near-monopoly status to traders and middlemen to procure, stock and trade food produce.
3. The Food Corporation of India has been asked to offload 5 million tonnes of rice from its overflowing godowns.
Long term strategy should be:
1. reduce the numerous intermediaries between farmers and consumers. It should be possible for farmers to fetch a higher price without pushing up the price paid by consumers. Though talked about for a long time, this has been difficult to implement because of political opposition from lobbies representing middlemen and traders.
2. minimise wastage of farm produce, especially of perishables such as vegetables and milk.To do this it is necessary to put in place a robust system of logistics including cold chain facilities. Reforming the outmoded food management system is a subject that has gained traction recently.
The phenomenon of overflowing granaries co-existing with high cereal inflation is totally unacceptable, but continues for want of the political will to reform the system.
Issue: the need for periodic review and removal of outdated laws
Government's initiation: Narendra Modi called for the identification of 10 laws from each ministry that are burdensome and should be repealed
Importance of the issue:
>> India has been characterised as one of the most over-regulated countries in the world.
>> No central database of all laws and regulations exists in the country.
>> Burdensome and unnecessary laws and regulations :
1. impose heavy economic costs
2. provide fertile grounds for corruption
3. contribute to the perpetuation of red-tapism and the classical Indian malaise of the ‘Inspector Raj.’
Author proposes a two step approach:
1. We should realise that this is not just an Indian problem. Other countries have also faced similar problem and we need to learn from them.
2. Establishment of a statutory nodal body which would:
a. identify laws to be repealed
b. design and implement mandatory process for periodic evaluation, impact assessment and coordination of various appeals.
Lessons which can be learnt from other countries:
>> UK's “one in, two out” rule:
when new regulation which imposes increased costs needs to be introduced, the department has to remove or alter existing regulations to introduce a saving of two pounds for every pound of cost imposed. This leads to a formal impact assessment of introducing new regulation and of removing/modifying existing ones.
>> Incorporation of sunset and review clauses:
A sunset clause results in the automatic repeal of a law after a specified period of time unless the law is expressly extended by Parliament.
A review clause mandates formal periodic review, but does not result in automatic repeal. This review generally determines whether the policy objects of the law are still relevant, and whether the law still best serves those objectives.
>> biannual ‘Repeal Day' of Australia:
On the first such day in 2014, the Prime Minister introduced omnibus legislation to repeal more than 10,000 pieces of law and regulation and save over an estimated $700 million (Australian) in compliance costs, in one stroke. Such initiative requires:
1. Political will
2. Significant coordination
3. Political backing to handle the opposition.
Even as the controversy over the Narendra Modi government’s plan to ease out Governors plays out, the government has sent out signals that it would like the heads and members of various commissions, committees and other government-constituted groups to make way for its nominees.
There are several national commissions, councils, committees and groups to which appointments are made by the government — those which exist by virtue of a statute and those which function under the supervision of the Centre. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is a statutory body by virtue of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
Indians’ money in Swiss banks has risen to over two billion Swiss franc (nearly Rs.14,000 crore), despite a global clampdown against the famed secrecy wall of the Switzerland banking system.
Infrastructure finance firms can raise long-term funds
- The government, on Thursday, allowed infrastructure finance companies to issue secured debentures with a tenure of up to 30 years, a move that will help in raising long-term funds for the sector.
- Besides, infrastructure debt fund non-banking financial companies (ID-NBFCs) have been allowed to issue secured debentures for up to 30 years.
- Similarly, housing finance companies have been allowed relaxed terms for maintaining debenture redemption reserve on the lines similar to NBFCs registered with the RBI (Reserve Bank of India).
- A debenture redemption reserve is an account that can only be utilised to redeem debentures.
- As per the XII Plan document, India is projected to require investments of about $1 trillion in infrastructure during 2012-17.
- The government also clarified that companies can appoint an independent merchant banker, registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to prepare valuation reports required before making a preferential allotment of shares.
- The firms can also engage an independent chartered accountant with a minimum experience of 10 years to prepare valuation reports, the statement said.
SEBI unveils slew of reforms
1. all listed public sector undertakings (PSUs) to ensure at least 25 per cent public shareholding within three years.
Why?
a. to ensure uniformity among listed entities irrespective of their promoters
b. help the government raise close to Rs.60,000 crore
2. decided to share know your client (KYC) information with entities regulated by other financial sector watchdogs, a move aimed at having common norms across the financial market
3. to revive the primary market, the market regulator has eased norms related to the size of an initial public offer (IPO) and pricing of preferential shares while allowing anchor investors to have a greater exposure to the offering.
4. to safeguard investors from manipulative reports and usher in more transparency, the SEBI board has approved detailed norms for ‘research analysts’ that include stringent disclosure requirements.
5. the proposal allowing non-promoter shareholders having over 10 per cent stake to use the OFS mechanism has been cleared by the SEBI board
6. SEBI has decided to make OFS route available to the top 200 listed firms by market capitalisation, compared with the top 100 listed companies at present.
7. easier set of regulations for employee stock option schemes that among other things would classify ESOP Trusts as a separate category of shareholding entities.
Gyaan:
The process of listing for the first time is known as the 'primary market'. The most common way for a company to come to market is by an 'Offer for Sale'.
1.The company publishes a prospectus describing its business, who its directors are, what its financial position is, and what profits it thinks it is going to make.
2. The prospectus announces the issue of new shares, sets an offer price for the shares, and invites subscriptions.
3. Offer prices are often pitched low to make sure the issue is successful.
Brilliant. Thanks a lot
ReplyDeletePlz make it section wise so that it may help in mains
ReplyDelete