Disappointment in global carbon market
Why in news?
- Negotiators at the Madrid climate talks finally threw up their hands on the contentious issue of setting up a new carbon market under the Paris Agreement.
News summary
- Carbon markets allow the buying and selling of emission reductions in the form of carbon credits, and enable countries struggling to meet their climate targets to buy these credits from countries that are in a position to reduce their emissions beyond their own targets.
- Such a carbon market existed under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol as well but that regime is coming to an end next year. The current negotiations are about creating a similar market under the successor Paris Agreement regime.
Article 6 of Paris agreement:
- The provisions relating to setting up a new carbon market are described in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. These provisions allow for two different approaches of carbon trading.
- Article 6.2 enables bilateral arrangements for transfer of emissions reductions, while ensuring that they do not double-count the reductions. Article 6.4 talks about a wider carbon market in which reductions can be bought and sold by anyone.
- Article 6.8 provides for making ‘non-market approaches’ available to countries to achieve targets. They could include any cooperative action, like collaboration on climate policy or common taxation, that are not market-based.
Disagreement: - The big disagreement is over the transition of unsold carbon credits from the Kyoto regime to the new market.
- Countries like India, China and Brazil want their unsold carbon credits to be valid in the new market while the developed countries are opposing it on the ground that many of these credits were bogus and did not represent actual emission reductions.
Sexed semen
Why in news?
- During the recently held 14th Progressive Dairy Farmers Association (PDFA) International Dairy and Agri Expo 2019 at Jagraon, Union Minister for animal husbandry said that the plan is to provide dairy farmers with ‘sexed semen’ for cattle for as cheap as Rs 100 per straw by 2020.
News summary
- Sexed semen is specially processed semen of bulls from which ‘Y’ chromosomes in sperm cells — which lead to the birth of a male calf — are either removed through a ‘sorting’ process or killed. Semen which has only ‘X’ chromosomes can ensure that a female calf is born.
- There are two techniques to produce sexed semen: One is the ‘sorting process’ in which ‘X’ and ‘Y’ chromosomes are separated. ‘X’ are retained and ‘Y’ discarded. The other is in which ‘Y’ chromosomes are altogether killed. Both technologies use an instrument called ‘Flow Cytometer’
- Considered a financial burden, male calves are either killed or abandoned on the roads by farmers as they do not give milk. This had led to an increasing number of cattle roaming the streets, which has caused fatal road accidents as well.
- The guarantee of a female calf being born is never 100 per cent. It can be up to 90 per cent. In 10 per cent cases, a male calf might be born despite using sexed semen because even after sorting/killing, some Y chromosomes may pass.
International Migrants Day
Why in news?
- International Migrants Day 2019 is being celebrated on December 18 with the theme #WeTogether.
News summary
• The United Nations (UN) International Migrants Day is annually held on December 18 to recognize the efforts, contributions, and rights of migrants worldwide.
• It is celebrated through the UN-related agency International Organization for Migration (UN Migration).
• This date was chosen because it was on 18 December 1990 that the UN adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
Why in news?
- According to activists working at the grassroots level, The Maternity scheme namely the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is exclusionary. Thus there is a growing louder demand for a scheme that is truly universal.
News summary
- Registration for the scheme requires an applicant to provide her husband’s Aadhaar details along with her own, affecting single women which include unwed mothers, deserted wives and widows.
- A mother seeking benefits needs to provide proof of address of her marital home, which proves challenging for a newlywed expecting a child and often residing in her natal home during pregnancy.
- While the scheme is solely for the first living child, it ironically leaves out those who are most likely to give birth to one — a newlywed woman. A mother is unable to get the compensation when she needs it the most,
i.e. during the nine months of her pregnancy. - The requirement that the applicant has to be at least 19 years old also leaves out younger brides, who hesitate in getting their marriages registered as the legal age of marriage is 18 years.
- Documentation work is likely to result in many women living on the margins, such as sex workers, women in custody, migrant and those living in post-conflict situations.
24 hrs availability of NEFT transactions
Why in news?
- Giving a big boost to digital funds movement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) operationalised round-the-clock (24 X 7 basis) availability of the National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT).
- RBI also asked the banks not to levy any charges on NEFT transfer from savings bank account holders.
News summary
- The NEFT system, which was first introduced in the late 1990s as the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) system, attained its present avatar in 2005.
- Now that NEFT is 24×7, 365 days a year, is it still different from IMPS? Yes, very much so.
- For one, NEFT transactions will only be credited to the beneficiary account in batches, unlike the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) system, which transfers money in real time.
- Secondly, unlike IMPS, for which banks charge a certain amount depending on the quantum of money being transferred, NEFT transactions have been made free by RBI from July 1, earlier this year.
- Thirdly, unlike IMPS, which can only be transacted online, a NEFT transaction can be done offline by visiting a bank branch.
- Additionally, as per the RBI mandate, there’s no limit on the amount of money that may be transferred via NEFT — unlike IMPS, where a maximum of Rs 2 lakh per day can be transferred.