27 June 2024, The Indian EXPRESS
Danish farmers to face carbon tax for flatulent cows, pigs, a world first
Page no- the world section
GS3- Environmental Pollution and Degradation
- Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country in the world to do so as it targets a major source of methane emissions, one of the most potent gases contributing to global warming.
- The aim is to reduce Danish greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent from 1990 levels by 2030, said Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus.
- As of 2030, Danish livestock farmers will be taxed 300 kroner ($43) per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2030.
Amazon admits lapse, tells govt action taken against staff
Page no-3
GS4- corporate governance, work culture
- Days after the Ministry of Labour and Employment sought a response from Amazon India, citing a media report on alleged workplace practices at its warehouse in Manesar, the e-commerce platform admitted that an employee had asked a group of workers to take a pledge.
- On June 14, The Indian Express reported that on May 16, a group of employees was made to take an oath that they would not take toilet and water breaks until their target was met.
- The National Human Rights Commission had quoted the Express report and asked for a report from the Labour Ministry. On June 21, the ministry wrote to Amazon, seeking a response to the alleged incident.
TN house OKs resolution asking Centre to conduct caste census
Page no- 6
GS2-Parliament and State Legislatures—Structure, Functioning, Conduct of Business, Powers & Privileges
- The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution on Wednesday urging the Centre to conduct a caste-based census along with the pending population census.
- The resolution, proposed by Chief Minister M K Stalin, talks about the necessity of a census to formulate policies ensuring equal rights and opportunities in education, economy, and employment for every citizen of India.
- “This House considers that caste-based population census is essential to formulate policies in order to ensure equal rights and equal opportunities in education, economy and employment to every citizen of India.
- This House, therefore, unanimously urges the Union Government to immediately commence the census work, which is due from the year 2021, along with caste-based population census,” the resolution said.
Chandrayaan-4 to be sent in parts, assembled in space: ISRO chief
Page no- 6
GS3- Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology; Indigenization of Technology and Developing New Technology
- Chandrayaan-4, which is supposed to bring back samples from the Moon, would not be launched at one go and instead, different parts of the spacecraft would be sent into orbit through two launches, and the spacecraft would be assembled in space before proceeding to the Moon, ISRO Chairman S Somanath said Wednesday.
- This would have to be done because Chandrayaan-4 is expected to be beyond the carrying capacity of even the most powerful rocket that ISRO currently has.
Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha: the position, role, responsibilities
Page no- 9
GS2- Parliament and State Legislatures—Structure, Functioning, Conduct of Business, Powers & Privileges
- Rae Bareli MP Rahul Gandhi is Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, a position that lay vacant for 10 years because no party had numbers equalling a tenth of the strength of the House, which has been by practice a requirement to lay claim to the post.
- The Congress, the largest opposition party, won 44 and 52 seats in the 543-member House after the elections of 2014 and 2019 respectively.
- The party has almost doubled its 2019 tally to 99 seats in this election.
Setting targets in rain-truncated matches: How the DLS method works
Page no-9
GS3- Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life
- Frank Duckworth, 84, passed away on June 21. It is not a stretch to say that he, along with fellow statistician Tony Lewis, has had a greater impact on cricket than many who have actually played the game.
- The duo co-invented the Duckworth-Lewis method, used to fairly determine results and set targets in rain-truncated matches.
- First used in international cricket in 1997, the method was fully adopted by the ICC in 1999.
- In 2014, the DL method became the DLS (Duckworth-Lewis-Stern) method in 2014, after Australian statistician Steven Stern made some crucial updates to better reflect modern scoring trends.
Moody’s warning
Page no-10
GS3- Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development
- India’s persistent water crises and increased vulnerability to climate change could dent its sovereign credit strength, at a time when the country is gearing up to be the world’s third-largest economy.
- The rare use of this non-economic metric is especially pertinent given the difficulties people face in several cities and towns this summer.
- With meteorologists warning of more exacting heat waves in the coming years, water security would be critical to the country’s economic ambitions.
- Any drop in water supply could disrupt operations in farms and factories, Moody’s has said.
- This, the firm, has cautioned can precipitate a rise in food prices and lead to a decline in people’s real incomes.
- The agency identifies coal-fired power generation and steel production as the industrial sectors most vulnerable to water stress.
Input delayed, IT system to cut EPF claim rejection hanging fire
Page no-13
GS2- E-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential
- Even as rejection rates for Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) are climbing, a key software intervention to meet the Labour Ministry’s requirement to reduce the number of rejected claims is facing a significant delay.
- The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), a unit of the Information Technology (IT) Ministry – which is building a central IT system for the EPFO – is yet to receive key information from the organisation despite the project having started over a year ago, The Indian Express has learnt.
- In a letter dated June 18, sent by the IT Ministry to the Labour and Employment Ministry, there is a tacit acknowledgement that the latter is working towards reducing the number of EPF rejections which have soared multifold in the last few years.
