Daily Mains Practice Questions 22-03-2023

KEY POINTS

·        India’s e-commerce exports have the potential to grow at a faster pace than the IT exports in early 2000s.

·        Despite its potential, India’s current e-commerce exports remain far below their potential.

·        Currently, they account for only $2 billion, less than 0.5 per cent of India’s total goods export basket. The country must plan to export $350 billion, or about one-third of its total goods, through e-commerce by 2030.

·        Redefine the responsibilities of sellers. Small and medium-sized firms rely on e-commerce platforms for global exposure and value-added services, such as timely payment assurance.

·        However, this conflicts with FEMA regulations as the platform is responsible for receiving payment, while the ownership of goods remains with the seller.

·        Sellers must receive forex within nine months of shipment, which is challenging for shipments sold over 12-18 months. More time is needed to reconcile payments.

·        Simplify foreign inventory management documentation: Documentation burden for forward deploy inventory to an overseas warehouse is cumbersome.

·        Reduce the Courier Shipping Bill processing time from 3-4 hours to less than 20 minutes by making changes in the Express Cargo Clearance System (ECCS).

·        Set up e-commerce national trade network. This network will bring together the RBI, Customs, DGFT, GSTN, India Post, courier companies, platforms like Amazon and eBay.

KEY POINTS

·        NITI Aayog is piloting the project and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation is the project proponent.

·        The government hopes to establish the offices of multinational corporations by clearing about a million trees in the tropical rain forest and destroying large parts of coral reefs.

·        The quick approvals, clearances, exemptions and de-notifications show that the Union government is keen to implement this project.

·        The ecological and environmental cost of this urbanisation project in an area known for its marine and terrestrial biodiversity appears to have been set aside without any serious consideration.

·        The island, which is spread over 900 sq km, was declared a biosphere reserve in 1989 and included in the UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme in 2013.

·        More than three-fourth of it is designated as a tribal reserve under The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Amendment Regulation.

·        Further, the Great Nicobar Island is located close to the epicentre of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake which displaced the sea floor by 10-20m vertically as well as trillions of tonnes of undersea rock.

·        It is high time that the Prime Minister’s expressed vision of ‘green developmental model’ becomes the guiding principle for future economic activities.

KEY POINTS

·        Humanity today faces numerous global challenges. These include the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic hardships, international conflicts, food insecurity, poverty, climate change, land degradation, water pollution, and biodiversity loss.

·        Forests have the ability to combat climate change and provide a range of ecosystem services that could support livelihoods for rural communities.

·        The United Nations General Assembly declared 21 March as the International Day of Forests (IDF) in 2012.

·        The COVID-19 pandemic also had a significant impact on forest value chains and trade in early 2020. There is a possible longer-term link between forests and disease.

·        More than 30% of new diseases since 1960 are ascribed to land-use change, including deforestation, and 15% of 250 emerging infectious diseases have been linked to forests.

·        Deforestation, specifically in the tropics, has been associated with an increase in infectious diseases such as malaria and dengue.

·        Moreover, worldwide almost 90% of deforestation is driven by agricultural expansion such as the conversion of forest to cropland or grassland for livestock grazing.

·        The Government of India (GoI) has launched a global movement on Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), or Mission LiFE.

·        Healthy forests are crucial for all aspects of a healthy planet, from livelihoods and nutrition to biodiversity and the environment, but they are facing risk. It’s up to us to safeguard these priceless natural resources.