Current Affairs August 2020 - Reports

1 - 15^th Finance Commission’s HLEG on Agricultural Exports submitted report

The High Level Group (HLEG) on Agricultural Exports set up by the Fifteenth Finance Commission submitted its report to the Commission. The HLEG was set up to recommend measurable performance incentives for states to encourage agricultural exports and to promote crops to enable high import substitution.

The recommendations include demand driven approach and focus on 22 crop value chains, creation of state led export plan with participation from all stakeholders and that private sector players should play an anchor role in driving outcomes and execution of the agricultural export plan.

2 - Third edition of the ‘Elephants.Not commodities’ report

The international animal welfare organisation, World Animal Protection, released the third edition of the report - "Elephants. Not commodities" on the occasion of World Elephant Day. As per the report, over 200 elephants in India are kept in “severely inadequate conditions”.

According to the report, India is home to the second highest number of elephants used in tourism in Asia. 21 such venues house 509 elephants. The report covered venues across Thailand, India, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

3 - IIT Madras ranked number-one in the list of top innovative educational institutes in India

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has retained its number-one position in the list of top innovative educational institutes in India for the second consecutive year. The premier institute has been ranked number-one in the 'Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements'.

The ranking was launched by the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education. 674 Institutions of National Importance, Central Universities and centrally funded technical institutions participated in the rankings this year, as compared to 496 last year.

4 - India ranks first in number of organic farmers

India ranks first in the number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming. Sikkim became the first state to become fully organic.

The Government initiated Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD) and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) in 2015 to encourage chemical free farming. It also aims at assisting farmers to adopt organic farming and improve remunerations due to premium prices.

5 - NCERT survey reports 27% students lack smartphones, laptops for online classes

According to a survey by the NCERT, minimum 27% students do not have access to smartphones or laptops to attend online classes. 28% students and parents believe intermittent or lack of electricity is one of the major concerns hindering teaching-learning.

36% students used the textbooks and other books available with them. Laptops were the second most favoured option amongst teachers and principals. The majority of the participants pointed out that mathematics as a subject was difficult to learn through online.

6 - ICMR released National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru released National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020. According to the report, cancer cases in India are likely to increase by 12% to 15.6 lakhs by 2025.

The key findings of the report are as follows:

Tobacco-related cancers are estimated to contribute 27.1% of the total cancer burden.
Breast cancers are estimated to contribute 14.8% and cervical cancer 5.4%.
Cancers of the gastrointestinal tract are estimated to contribute 19.7% of the total cancer burden.

7 - India filed less than 1% of patents filed across the world in 2019

Geneva-based World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) unveiled that India filed less than 1% of the global patent applications with total filings of 2,053 in 2019. China topped with 58,990 applications, making up for as many as 22% of the global filings, followed by U.S.A. with 57,840 applications at second position. Japan with 52,660 applications at third position and Germany with 19,353 applications at fourth position.

WIPO is the global forum for intellectual property (IP) services, policy, information and co-operation. It is one of the 15 specialised agencies of the United Nations.

8 - Global tourism lost USD 320bn due to coronavirus

United Nation had surveyed that the tourism global industry has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, with USD 320 billion lost in exports in the first five months of the year 2020 and more than 120 million jobs are at risk. The international tourist arrivals decreased by more than half and earnings plummeted.

The tourism is the third-largest export sector of the global economy, behind fuels and chemicals, and in 2019 it accounted for 7 % of global trade.

9 - NITI Aayog released Export Preparedness Index 2020

NITI Aayog released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020. EPI unveiled that most Indian states performed well on average across the sub-pillars of Exports Diversification, Transport Connectivity and Infrastructure. Overall, most of the Coastal States are the best performers. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu occupied the top three ranks.

EPI intends to identify challenges and opportunities; enhance the effectiveness of government policies and encourage a facilitative regulatory framework. Export Preparedness Index evaluates states’ potentials and capacities.

10 - Tamil Nadu women topped the list of MUDRA loan scheme

Ministry of Finance unveiled in its statistical data that Tamil Nadu state topped the list of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) in availing loans to women. West Bengal and Karnataka secured second and third position. Tamil Nadu state had provided Mudra loans of upto Rs. 58,227 crores to women as on 31^st March, 2020 whereas, women of West Bengal availed Rs. 55,232 crores loan and women of Karnataka state availed Rs. 47,714 crores loan.

The Government of India launched Prime Minister Mudra Yojana in 2015. The loans are availed to activities allied to agriculture, services, trading, processing, manufacturing, etc.