UniFocus IAS ( UNIFOCUS UNIVERSAL )

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Thursday notified amendment in the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023 to include Para 1.07A and 1.07B  to bring legal backing in the FTP to make it necessary to do consultation with stakeholders to seek views, suggestions, comments or feedback from relevant stakeholders, including importers/exporters/industry experts concerning the formulation or amendment of the Foreign Trade Policy. It also provides the mechanism to inform reasons for not accepting views, suggestions, comments or feedback concerning the formulation or amendment of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023. The latest amendments in the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023 reflect upon the Central Government’s commitment towards strengthening the scope of Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in India by encouraging stakeholder and expert participation through consultation in the decision-making process. The key objective of the amendments is to encourage the participation of all stakeholders in the d...

The Government of India has decided to constitute a Working Group for base revision of the current series of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) from base 2011-12 to 2022-23. The composition of the Working Group is as follows:   1. Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member, NITI Aayog Chairman 2. Additional Director General, Field Operations Division, Ministry of Statistics & P.I. Member 3. Deputy Director General, Economic Statistics Division, Ministry of Statistics & P.I. Member 4. Deputy Director General, National Accounts Division, Ministry of Statistics & P.I. Member 5. Deputy Director General, Enterprise Survey Division, Ministry of Statistics & P.I. Member 6. Economic Adviser, Department of Economic Affairs, ...

  India’s  4 th  Biennial Update Report (BUR-4)   to the United Nations  Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was submitted on 30 th  December, 2024. The BUR-4 updates the Third National Communication (TNC) and contains the National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory for the year 2020.  In 2020, India’s total GHG emissions decreased by 7.93 per cent with respect to 2019. The emissions, excluding Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF), were 2,959 million tonnes of CO 2 e and net emissions of 2,437 million tonnes of CO 2 e with the inclusion of LULUCF. The energy sector contributed the most to overall emissions (75.66 percent), followed by the agriculture (13.72 percent), Industrial Processes and Product Use (8.06 percent), and Waste (2.56 percent). In 2020, India's forest and tree cover, along with other land use, sequestered approximately 522 million tonnes of CO 2 , equivalent to reducing 22% of the country's total carbon dioxide emiss...

 Article 243ZD. Committee for district planning.— (1) There shall be constituted in every State at the district level a District Planning Committee to consolidate the plans prepared by the Panchayats and the Municipalities in the district and to prepare a draft development plan for the district as a whole. (2) The Legislature of a State may, by law, make provision with respect to—     (a) the composition of the District Planning Committees;      (b) the manner in which the seats in such Committees shall be filled: Provided that not less than four-fifths of the total number of members of such Committee shall be elected by, and from amongst, the elected members of the Panchayat at the district level and of the Municipalities in the district in proportion to the ratio between the population of the rural areas and of the urban areas in the district;     (c) the functions relating to district planning which may be assigned to such Committees;   ...

Union Cabinet has approved the One Nation One Subscription (ONOS) scheme on 25 th  Nov 2024. This initiative is a key component of the Viksitbharat@2047 vision.  ONOS Scheme Overview: To provide all eligible students, faculty, researchers, and scientists with access to top-tier international research articles and journals. It covers more than 6,300 government-managed higher education institutions and central government-managed research and development institutions across the country. The scheme provides: Access to more than 13,000 scholarly journals from 30 major international publishers. Benefits about 1.8 crore students, faculty, and researchers across disciplines such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), Medicine, Social Sciences, Finance & Accounts, etc. Inclusive access to research for institutions in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, ensuring equitable access to knowledge. Key Objectives and Goals: Access to Scholarly Knowledge : The scheme provides acces...

Relevance:  Frito-Lay today issued a recall of a limited number of 13 oz. bags of Lay’s Classic Potato Chips that may contain undeclared milk, after being alerted through a consumer contact. Those with an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the recalled product. The product included in this recall was distributed to certain retail stores and e-commerce distributors in Oregon and Washington. Consumers would have been able to purchase these chips as early as November 3, 2024. Reason for Recall: Presence of Potential or Undeclared Allergen namely Milk Unreported Allergens: The consumption of meat and poultry products containing ingredients of public health concern, such as Undeclared Allergens, may result in adverse health outcomes for certain individuals. The most common undeclared allergens -- wheat, shellfish, eggs, fish, peanuts, milk, tree nuts, and soybeans -- account for 90 percent of all food all...