National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)

• It was established in 1998 under the Charitable Endowments Act 1890.
• It was notified by Government of India in November, 1998.
• The purpose of creation of the fund is to impart momentum and flexibility to assisting the cause of sports.
• Role of the Fund is supplementary to the overall policy and activities of the Department of Sports in achieving excellence in sports.
• The Fund is managed by a Council constituted by the Central Government.
• Union Minister in charge of Youth Affairs and Sports is the Chairperson of the Council. 

TOP (Target Olympic Podium) Scheme

• It has been formulated within the overall ambit of NSDF with the objective of identifying and supporting potential medal prospects for 2020 Olympic Games.
• The selected athletes are provided financial assistance for their customized training at Institutes having world class facilities and other necessary support.

• NCAVES India Forum 2021 is being organised by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) recently.

Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of the Ecosystem Services (NCAVES) Project

• The main objective of the project is to mainstream natural capital accounting and the valuation of ecosystem services in data-driven decision and policy-making at the national, regional and local levels.
•  It was funded by the European Union (EU).
• It has been jointly implemented by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). 
• India is one of the five countries taking part in this project - the other countries being Brazil, China, South Africa and Mexico.
• In India, the NCAVES project is being implemented by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC).

• India’s participation in the NCAVES project helped Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to commence the compilation of the Environment Accounts as per the UN-SEEA framework and release environmental accounts in its publication “EnviStats India” on an annual basis since 2018.
• Several of these accounts are closely related to the social and economic attributes, making them a useful tool for the Policy.

System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA)

• It is the accepted international standard for environmental-economic accounting, providing a framework for organizing and presenting statistics on the environment and its relationship with the economy.
• It brings together economic and environmental information in an internationally agreed set of standard concepts, definitions, classifications, accounting rules and tables to produce internationally comparable statistics.
• The SEEA is produced and released under the auspices of the United Nations, the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.
• The SEEA provides frameworks for producing accounts in several thematic areas, including:

1. Land Accounts
2. Water Accounts
3. Ecosystems Accounts
4. Material Flow Accounts
5. Air Emissions Accounts
6. Energy Environmental Activity Accounts
7. Agriculture, Forests, and Fisheries Accounts

• The second and final Session of India’s seventh Trade Policy Review (TPR) concluded recently at the World Trade Organization in Geneva.

Trade Policy Review (TPR)

• It is an important mechanism under the WTO’s monitoring function.
• It was an early result of the Uruguay Round.
• The objectives of the TPRM, as expressed in Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement, include facilitating the smooth functioning of the multilateral trading system by enhancing the transparency of Members’ trade policies.
• All WTO Members are subject to review under the TPRM.
• The Annex mandates that the four Members with the largest shares of world trade (currently the European Union, the United States, Japan and China) be reviewed each three years, the next 16 be reviewed each five years, and others be reviewed each seven years.
• A longer period may be fixed for least-developed country Members.
• Reviews are conducted by the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB) on the basis of a policy statement by the Member under review and a report prepared by economists in the Secretariat's Trade Policy Review Division.

• The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) has recently announced that it will offer a free IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) in any of their preferred 22 official Indian language along with every IN domain booked by the registrant.
• Applicant will also get a free email in local language.

National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)

• It is a not for profit Organization under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013, and was registered on 19th June, 2003.
• NIXI was set up for peering of ISPs among themselves for the purpose of routing the domestic traffic within the country, instead of taking it all the way to US/Abroad, thereby resulting in better quality of service (reduced latency) and reduced bandwidth charges for ISPs by saving on International Bandwidth.
• NIXI is managed and operated on a Neutral basis, in line with the best practices for such initiatives globally.
• Any ISP can join NIXI. 
• NIXI is not an ISP and will not provide Internet connections or Transit services.

Functions

• It is working since 2003 for spreading the internet technology to the citizens of India through the following activities: -

1. Internet Exchanges through which the internet data is exchanged amongst ISPs and between ISPs and CDNs.
2. IN Registry, managing and operation of IN country code domain and IDN domain for India.
3. IRINN, managing and operating Internet protocol (IPv4/IPv6).

Ozone Depleting Substances (OSD)

• ODS compound contributes to stratospheric ozone depletion, they include

1. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – used in production of plastic foams and tubeless tyres, and as pressurizing agents in aerosol cans.
2. Hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and Halon - Used in fire extinguishers
3. Hydro bromo fluorocarbons,
4. Chloro bromo methane,
5. Methyl chloroform - used in degreasing, as a solvent and spot cleaner, and in making other chemicals.
6. Methyl bromide - Used for fumigation of soil, structures and goods to be imported or exported.
7. Carbon Tetrachloride

• Production and import of these chemicals are controlled by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Montreal Protocol).

Digital Services Tax

• It is a levy on the overall revenues earned by the supplier of specific digital services.
• It is different from Netflix tax, which is essentially a “value-added tax” on digital services where the consumer bears the entire tax burden on the value of the final product.
• GAFA tax named after Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon is a French proposed digital tax that is to be levied on large technology and internet companies.
• Recently India has expanded the scope of the Equalization Levy, or digital tax, to the sale of goods and services in the country by overseas e-commerce firms.
• The transactions were to be taxed at 2 per cent if businesses earned more than Rs 2 crore.
• The Equalization Levy was introduced for the first time in 2016 as 6% tax on revenues earned by non-residents from online advertising and related services.

Committee headed by G Kishan Reddy

• Recently, the Union Cabinet has decided to form a committee to protect language, culture & land of Ladakh.
• The committee is aimed at protecting the language, culture and land of Ladakh and ensuring citizen's participation in the Union Territory's development.
• The Committee will be headed by the Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy.
• The Committee will include elected representatives from Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, central government, and the Ladakh administration.

Blackbucks or Indian Antelope

• It is found widely in grassy plains and slightly forest areas of found Central- Western India (MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Odisha) and Southern India (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu).
• IUCN altered the status of blackbucks from “Vulnerable to Near Threatened”.  
• In India, hunting of blackbuck is prohibited under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972
• The strong cultural connect with the species dates back to the Harappan era.
• In mythology, the blackbuck is variously described as the vehicle (vahana) of Vayu (the wind god) and Chandrama (the Moon god).
• Bishnoi community of Rajasthan is known worldwide for their conservation efforts to blackbuck and Chinkara.
• Kalbelia is a dance from Rajasthan, performed by the tribe of the same name.

Judicial Review in India

• Judicial review is the power of the judiciary to examine the constitutionality of legislative enactments and executive orders of both the Central and State governments.
• Few constitutional provisions that may be related with judicial review are

1. Article 13 declares that all laws that are inconsistent with or in derogation of the Fundamental Rights shall be null and void.
2. Article 32 guarantees the right to move the Supreme Court for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights and empowers the Supreme Court to issue directions or orders or writs for that purpose.
3. Article 226 empowers the High Courts to issue directions or orders or writs for the enforcement of the Fundamental Rights and for any other purpose.
4. Article 227 vests in the High Courts the power of superintendence over all courts and tribunals within their respective territorial jurisdictions (except military courts or tribunals).