UN E-Government Development Survey

• With an EGDI index score of 0.5669, India is just above the world average of 0.55.
• It scored a rank of 96 among 193 countries.
• The UN E-Government Development Survey is the only global initiative to measure and track how governments are faring on the e-governance front.
• Prepared by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs(UN-DESA)
• It conducts a bi-annual e-government survey.
• It is a comparative ranking of 193 countries of the world according to three primary indicators:
  1. The OSI – Online Service Index that measures the online presence of the government in terms of service delivery.
  2. The TII – Telecommunication Infrastructure Index.

National Consultation for Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition

• National Consultation for Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition organised by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation was inaugurated by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu to address the persistent problem of malnutrition in the country.
• Calorie deficiency, protein deficiency and micro-nutrient deficiency are the kinds of nutritional deficiency observed in India which has adopted the National Nutrition Strategy in September 2017 to address malnutrition.
• National Nutrition Strategy was launched by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog on 6^th September 2017 aimed at Kuposhan Mukt Bharat.
• It intends at bringing nutrition to the centre-stage of National Development Agenda.
• The nutrition strategy envisages a framework wherein the four proximate determinants of nutrition – uptake of health services, food, drinking water & sanitation and income & livelihoods – work together to accelerate the decline of undernutrition in India.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account Rules, 2016

• Recently Sukanya Samriddhi Account Rules, 2016, was amended by the Union Government has reduced minimum yearly deposit required under popular girl child savings scheme, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana to Rs 250 from Rs 1,000 earlier. This has been lowered to enable more people to enjoy benefits of this scheme.
• Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a small deposit scheme for the girl child launched as a part of the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign.
• It is currently 8.1 per cent and provides income-tax benefit under section 80 C of the Income Tax Act,1961. Even the returns are tax free in the scheme.
• A Sukanya Samriddhi Account can be opened any time after the birth of a girl till she turns 10, with a minimum deposit of Rs 250 (Earlier it was Rs 1,000). In subsequent years, a minimum of Rs 250 and a maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh can be deposited during the ongoing financial year.
• The account can be opened in any post office or authorised branches of commercial banks.
• The account will remain operative for 21 years from the date of its opening or till the marriage of the girl after she turns 18.
• To meet the requirement of her higher education expenses, partial withdrawal of 50% of the balance is allowed after she turns 18.

National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE)

• It is statutory body of Central Government set up under NCTE Act, 1993 in 1995 to formally oversee standards, procedures and processes in Indian education system.
• NCTE plans and co-ordinates the development of teacher education system throughout the country (for both central as well as state governments).
• It also ensures the maintenance of norms and standards in the teacher education system. Its headquarters are in New Delhi.
• This council functions for the central as well as state governments on all matter with regard to the Teacher Education.

Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP)

• Government of India launched a new policy regime for Exploration & Production (E&P) sector namely Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) in 2016 which is paradigm shift from earlier policy regime.
• The main features of new Policy regime are Revenue Sharing Contract, single Licence for exploration and production of conventional as well as unconventional Hydrocarbon resources, marketing & pricing freedom, etc.
• Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) under HELP, is main innovative feature wherein investor can carve out Blocks of their own interest and submit an Expression of Interest (Eol) throughout the year. Based on the areas for which expression of interest has been expressed bidding will be conducted every 6 months.

New Definition of Petroleum

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has liberalised the definition of petroleum to bring more hydrocarbons such as coal bed methane and shale gas under its fold. Petroleum and Natural Gas (Amendment) Rules, 2018 have been amended in this regard.
• Petroleum will now mean naturally occurring hydrocarbons, whether in the form of natural gas, in a liquid, viscous or solid form, or a mixture of these. It, however, does not include coal, lignite and helium occurring in association with petroleum or coal or shale.

Global Footprint Network

• It is an international nonprofit organization founded in 2003 to enable a sustainable future where all people have opportunity to thrive within the means of one planet.
• It develops and promotes tools for advancing sustainability, including ecological footprint and biocapacity, which measure amount of resources we use and how much we have. These tools aim at bringing ecological limits to center of decision-making.
• Earth Overshoot Day is date when humanity annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth can regenerate over the entire year.
• It is calculated by Global Footprint Network and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).