Wind project addition to peak by 2024, says report

• As part of its transition away from fossil fuels, India has committed to sourcing half its electricity in 2030 from non-fossil fuel sources and installing 60 gigawatt (GW, or 1000 MW) of wind power by 2022.
• So far, only 40 GW of wind power capacity has been established.
• Wind industry installations have been slowing down in India since 2017. Only 1.45 GW of wind projects were installed in 2021 with many delayed due to the second wave of COVID-19 and supply chain-related disruptions.
• To compensate, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) granted a blanket timeline extension for seven-and-a-half months after the scheduled commissioning date (SCD) for projects with power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed before June 2021, which pushed the SCD of 0.7 GW projects to 2022.

Expand food security coverage to benefit more needy persons, SC tells Centre

• The coverage under the NFSA is still decided by the population figures of the 2011 census.
• The SC ordered the Union government to re-determine the NFSA coverage in the States and Union Territories after considering the population increase between 2011 and 2021 so that benefits were not restricted to beneficiaries identified back in 2011.
• “The right to food is a fundamental right available under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the Supreme Court noted.

e-Shram portal

• In the order, the court directed the States which were not able to register unorganised workers, including migrant labourers, in the e-Shram portal to do so within six weeks.
• The Union Labour Ministry has developed a National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW) portal and the e-Shram portal for registration of labourers spread over 400 occupations including in constructions, agriculture, fishing, and dairy, those self-employed and even ASHA and anganwadi workers.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to leave for Tashkent to attend SCO meet

• The SCO defence ministerial meeting is taking place around three weeks ahead of the annual summit of the SCO scheduled for September 15-16 in Samarkand.
• The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.
• India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.
• The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
• India has shown a keen interest in deepening its security-related cooperation with the SCO and its Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS), which specifically deals with issues relating to security and defence.

The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022

• changes in certain definitions like “enterprise”, “relevant product market”, “Group”, “Control”, etc., to provide clarity;
• broadening the scope of anti-competitive agreements and inclusion of a party facilitating an anti-competitive horizontal agreement under such agreements;
• provisions for reduction of time-limit for approval of combinations from two hundred and ten days to one hundred and fifty days and forming a prima facie opinion by the Commission within twenty days for expeditious approval of combinations;
• provisions for “value of transaction” as another criteria for notifying combinations to the Commission;
• limitation period of three years for filing information on anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant position before the Commission;
• appointment of the Director General by the Commission with the prior approval of the Central Government;

Researchers want Odisha’s Angul to plan transition to green energy

• Angul currently accounts for 12% of India’s and 56% of Odisha’s coal production.
• The coal production in Angul is expected to increase nearly by three times in the next 10 years, reaching over 300 million metric tonnes (MMT) by 2033.
• The sector has given direct employment to 1,68,000 — nearly 69% of them are informal.

The Supreme Court verdict on PMLA, and why petitioners have sought a review

• In Vijay Madanlal Choudhary & Ors v Union of India, a judgment delivered on July 27, the Supreme Court upheld the key provisions of the PMLA.
• The SC accepted the government’s arguments on virtually every aspect that was challenged by the petitioners: from reversing the presumption of innocence while granting bail to passing the amendments as a Money Bill under the Finance Act to defining the contours of the powers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
• A ruling by the Supreme Court is final and binding. However, Article 137 of the Constitution grants the SC the power to review its judgments or orders.
• A review petition must be filed within 30 days of pronouncement of the judgment.

Swiggy’s moonlighting policy that allows staff to take up gigs beyond regular job

• Moonlighting is the act of working at an extra job beyond regular working hours, usually without the knowledge of the employer. Since the side job was mostly at nighttime or on weekends, it was referred to as moonlighting.
• The term gained popularity when workers in the US started seeking a second job beyond their regular 9-to-5 work for additional income.
• Moonlighting as an issue has been controversial, and seemingly commenting on the new Swiggy policy, Wipro chairman Rishad Premji tweeted on August 22, “There is a lot of chatter about people moonlighting in the tech industry. This is cheating – plain and simple.

Govt invites applications for National Gopal Ratna Awards -2022

• The last date for the submission of applications is 15th of next month. The awards will be conferred on the occasion of National Milk Day, 26th November.
• The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is making all efforts to provide sustainable livelihood to the farmers. The Rashtriya Gokul Mission was launched in December 2014 for the first time in the country, with a view to conserve and develops indigenous bovine breeds in a scientific manner.

E-passports set to be rolled out by January next year

• He said an e-chip and a few more features will be added to the passport book which will provide security upgradation of the Indian passport and enable machine reading.
• Stating that the interests of diaspora are important, the secretary said several steps are being taken to facilitate Indian citizens who are migrating to work in other countries and providing legal support.
• He said 87 billion dollars have been remitted to India by diaspora last year, compared to the 83 billion dollars in the previous year.
• Sayeed said maximum number of Immigration clearances are being given in Telangana.
• Referring to immigration processes, he said 15 more countries have been identified for singing Migration and Mobility Agreements while the agreement with 12 countries is currently in force.

Retired CJIs to get rent-free bungalow for six months

• A notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice said the accommodation would be other than the designated official residence.
• The amended Rules added that a retired Chief Justice and Judges of the Supreme Court shall be entitled to a chauffeur, a secretarial assistant and round-the-clock security cover, in addition to his or her personal security guard for a period of a year from the date of retirement.
• Further, the amended Rules mandated that a retired Chief Justice and judges should be extended, as per protocol, courtesies at ceremonial lounges at airports.
• The government has amended the original Supreme Court Judges Rules of 1959 in exercise of powers conferred on it under the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958.
• A 2013 decision of the Supreme Court had taken a serious view of former Ministers, MPs and even retired Judges and government servants overstaying in bungalows beyond the allotted period.