I. Steps for easing urban building
norms
1) Ahead of
launching ambitious ‘smart cities’ scheme, the Centre is taking steps for
easing the norms for construction in urban areas by substantially reducing the
number of approvals and no-objections required for taking up new projects.
2) There is
suggestion that all approvals should be given within 30 days from the date of application.
3) At present
30-50 approvals were required to be taken from the Centre and State
governments, which led to an average approval time of 90-600 days for
construction projects.
4) Based on
the parameters of procedures, cost and time taken for approvals, India is
ranked 182 among 185 countries, adversely impacting investments.
5) Cooperation among various ministries :
i.
There is suggestion that most of the forest and
environment-related regulations can be included in the building by-laws for
ensuring compliance by the urban local bodies concerned.
ii.
Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) has agreed
that the issue of the Coastal Zone Regulations would be resolved soon and
delineation of exact boundaries of 639 ecologically sensitive zones would be
expedited to remove ambiguities and enable quick approvals.
iii.
Ministry of Civil Aviation has agreed to furnish
necessary maps and information regarding height restrictions for construction
in the funnel zone of all airports to the urban local bodies concerned for
necessary action.
iv.
Similarly, the Department of Culture would revisit the
restrictions for construction near monuments and maps for each site would soon
be published for the benefit of urban bodies for according quick approval.
6) The
National Building Code-2015 will be finalised by September this year with the
objective of enabling single window clearance for construction projects.
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II. Facebook launches 'internet.org'
in India
1) Facebook
has announced a tie-up with Reliance Communications to launch Internet.org in
India, becoming the sixth destination apart from Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Colombia
and Ghana.
2) The tie-up
gives subscribers of Reliance Communications who have Internet-enabled handsets
free access to 38 websites – a mix of news, music, education, weather and health
sites. The list includes Facebook, Wikipedia, and Reliance Astrology. The lone search
option available is Microsoft’s Bing. They can be accessed via an Android app.
3) According
to Reliance Communications, this partnership will not only accelerate internet
penetration in India, it will also open new socio-economic opportunities to
users in fields like education, information and commerce.
4) The service
has gone live in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.
The pan-India launch is planned in three month.
Internet.org
a) Internet.org
is a Facebook-led initiative was launched on August, 2013 with six other
founding partners viz. Samsung, Ericsson, Meida Tek, Microsoft, Opera Software
and Qualcomm.
b) It aims to
bring affordable Internet access to everybody by increasing affordability,
increasing efficiency, and facilitating the development of new business models
around the provision of Internet access.
c) Criticism :
i.
Critics see little altruism in Internet.org. Rather
they see it as a huge challenge to the neutrality of the Internet.
ii. They're offering a limited version of the internet,
one that centers on Facebook, to low-income internet users. That raises real
concerns that this is not a charitable effort, but a customer acquisition
strategy.
iii.
A selective access to the Internet makes it extremely
difficult for rivals not part of the service.
iv.
The Internet.org model violates most definitions of
net neutrality, as it provides access to a limited menu of services claiming to
be the Internet rather than providing actual access to the Internet at a low
cost.
Net Neutrality
1) Net
neutrality/network neutrality/Internet neutrality/net
equality is the principle that Internet service providers and
governments should treat all data on the Internet equally, not discriminating or charging
differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached
equipment, or mode of communication.
2) Neutrality
proponents claim that telecom companies seek to impose a tiered
service model in
order to control the pipeline and thereby remove competition, create artificial scarcity, and oblige subscribers to buy their otherwise uncompetitive
services.
3) Example : In
December, 2014 Airtel planned to charge VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
data i.e. levying charge on skype calls, video and voice chats etc. They could
not implement planned changes due to heavy criticism.
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III. Alternative to injections for
drug delivery
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have
successfully tested an alternative to injections for drug delivery. The method
delivers medicine through tiny capsules when triggered by a micro-shock wave.
Why need alternative drug
delivery method?
1) Developing
methods for alternative delivery of drugs has gained importance considering the
large number of infections that are spread through contaminated, non-sterilised
syringes.
2) Each year,
1.3 million early deaths are caused by unsafe injections.
Methodology
1) The tiny
bio-capsules are made of a polymer (spermidine-dextran sulfate or Sper–DS). The
capsules are very small.
2) The
capsules are loaded with either insulin or the antibiotic ciprofloxacin.
3) They are
then placed on the infection site — for instance, external diabetic wounds —
and are triggered by micro-shock waves produced by a handheld machine.
4) The
micro-shock waves last a millionth of a second, and affect a small area. They
don’t affect living cells in the body
5) A
controlled portion of the drug is released with every shock wave (on an average
20 per cent of the medicine is released with every wave). Almost 90 per cent of
the drug releases when the particles are exposed to micro-shock waves five
times.
Uses
1) It can be used
where there is a need for frequent injections for example diabetes.
2) This method
can help do away with invasive procedures.
3) Infections
by bacteria such as Staphylococcus
(cause of foot infections that people living with diabetes are susceptible to)
are lethal as they form a bio-film around the protein in the cell. The shock
waves tear this bio-film and aid the treatment.
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IV. Heavy Water may aid in oil
exploration
1) Heavy water
is likely to be used in oil exploration studies in India.
2) Some oil
exploring companies, especially having contract with the Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC), have approached the Heavy Water board in this connection.
3) Heavy water
is a form of water with a unique atomic structure and properties coveted for
the production of nuclear power.
4) Heavy water
is used in West Asian (Gulf) countries in oil exploration studies as it helps
in making accurate analysis.
5) Technically
the method is called 'Core Invasion Study' which help in profiling oil field.
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