PM visits IRRI, Mahaveer Philippine Foundation Shri Narendra Modi, today visited the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), at Los Banos, in Philippines. A rice field laboratory named after Prime Minister Modi was also inaugurated by him at the institute. He unveiled a plaque marking the inauguration of the Shri Narendra Modi Resilient Rice Field Laboratory. What is it? IRRI is a premier research organisation dedicated to reducing poverty and hunger through rice science; improving the health and welfare of rice farmers and consumers; and protecting the rice growing environment for future generations. IRRI aims to improve livelihoods and nutrition, abolishing poverty, hunger and malnutrition among those who depend on rice-based agri-food systems. In doing so, IRRI s work protects the health of rice farmers and consumers, and the environmental sustainability of rice farming in a world challenged by climate change. IRRI s work promotes the empowerment of women and supports opportunities for youth in an equitable agri-food system. IRRI is one of 15 agricultural research centers in the world that form the CGIAR Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers, a global partnership of organizations engaged in research on food security. It is also the largest non-profit agricultural research center in Asia India and its relationship India is also setting up a regional centre of the IRRI in Varanasi, to develop high-yielding rice varieties. The IRRI, which has offices in 17 countries, is known for its work in developing rice varieties that contributed to the Green Revolution in 1960s. Prime Minister Narendra Modi contributed two Indian rice seed varieties to the gene bank of the international rice research centre India not to pursue Islamic banking: RBI. Sharia banking refers to banking activity that conforms to Islamic law or Sharia. The fundamental principle of Islamic finance is the rejection of usury, along with the requirement that there must be no engagement in immoral businesses. Usury is seen as the levying of unreasonably high interest rates while lending money. Interest is Riba, which in its current interpretation, covers all interest not just excessive interest. Under Islamic law, a Muslim is prohibited from both paying and accepting interest.
Thus, Sharia banking means money can only be parked in a bank without interest and this money cannot be used for speculative trading, gambling, or trading in prohibited commodities such as alcohol or pork. Chennai now part of UNESCO s creative cities network The 180 cities which currently make up this network work together towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level. The Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music. Plotting social progress The measurement of well-being went into creating what is termed as the Social Progress Index (SPI). It goes beyond the traditional measure of GDP and has most parameters that are required to fulfil SDGs. It is a measure of wellbeing of our society completely separate from GDP. It is a whole new way of looking at the world. The SPI begins by defining what it means to be a good society based around three dimensions. Basic Human needs (Nutrition and Basic Medical care, Water and Sanitation, Shelter, Personal Safety) Foundation of wellbeing (Access to basic knowledge, Access to info and Communication, Health and Wellness, Ecosystem sustainability) Opportunity (Personal Rights, Personal freedom and choice, Tolerance and inclusion, Access to Advanced education) Together these 12 components form Social Progress framework. It does not measure how much a country spends on health care; it measures the length and quality of people s lives. SPI focuses on outcomes rather than inputs that are used in GDP. It does not measure whether governments pass laws against discrimination; it measures whether people experience discrimination. SPI can best be described as a complementary index to GDP and can be used along with GDP to achieve social progress. The global Social Progress Index ranks India at the 93rd position. However, the country-level insights are not sufficient to devise a plan of action as the conditions vary significantly within the country. Kerala emerges as the top performer by making remarkable progress across social indicators.
Other states that demonstrate strong social progress performance include Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and Goa. The top performers on social progress reveal that there are several ways to achieve world-class social progress,economic growth being one of them. The state scores range from low 40s to high 60s on a scale of 0-100, exemplifying the immense scope of improvement for even the best performing states. Inclusion of high income states, like Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, in the tier of Middle Social Progress reflects that social progress not only depends on the economic development but also on the use of revenues generated by economic expansion. Public credit registry to speed up digitization The PCR will be an extensive database of credit information for India that is accessible to all stakeholders. The idea is to capture all relevant information in one large database on the borrower PCR is managed by a public authority like the central bank or the banking supervisor, and reporting of loan details to the PCR by lenders and/or borrowers is mandated by law. PCR can potentially help banks in credit assessment and pricing of credit as well as in making risk-based, dynamic and counter-cyclical provisioning. Further, it can help supervisors, regulators and banks in early intervention and effective restructuring of stressed bank credits. Nations may focus on human and economic losses at climate talks Officials from 196 countries gathering in Bonn to work on a collective plan to slow down global warming at the 23rd round of UN-sponsored climate talks Issues raised by the developing countries Developing countries are highlighting the urgent need to step up efforts to address the serious human and economic losses already taking place due to climate change Developing countries are calling for the urgent need to secure long-term finance flows to help poor countries take the measures required to tackle climate change and deal with its impaact Developing countries are suggesting that a quantified goal for long-term finances, beyond the $100 billion by 2020, be agreed on to help poor countries Focus of the G-77 and China
It is planning to focus on the need to proactively address the clear impact that climate change is already having Their focus will be on ensuring the flow of finance, technology, and building capacities in developing countries to deal with climate change The group will also push for increased discussions of adaptation that will help countries to adjust to changes that are already underway The G-77 and China is expected to draw attention to the serious human and economic losses to urge greater focus on efforts by countries, particularly industrialised ones, in the period before 2020 India to contribute USD 100 million to UN partnership fund India has pledged an additional USD 100 million towards the UN partnership fund, significantly scaling up its support to sustainable development projects across the developing world. India-UN Development Partnership Fund was set up as a partnership between India and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). Fund will support Southern-owned and led, demand-driven, and transformational sustainable development projects across the developing world. Reducing poverty and hunger, improving health, education and equality, and expanding access to clean water and energy. Banaganapalle mangoes get GI tag Banaganapalle mangoes of Andhra Pradesh and Tulaipanji rice of West Bengal are among the seven commodities that have been granted Geographical Indication (GI) Five products which have received the GI tag this year include Pochampally Ikat of Telangana; Gobindobhog rice of West Bengal; Durgi stone carvings and Etikoppaka toys of Andhra Pradesh; and Chakshesang shawl of Nagaland. Once the GI protection is granted, no other producer can misuse the name to market similar products. It also provides comfort to customers about the authenticity of that product. China launches 2 navigation satellites The two newly-launched satellites represent the third phase of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System. Beidou currently consists of 10 satellites and covers a swath of the Asia-Pacific region from Australia in the south to Russia in the north. Global navigational systems: Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)- India, GPS (Global Positioning System)- US, Glonass- Russia and Galileo- Europe.