1) Rule 176 and Rule 267: While the govt agreed to a short discussion on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, the Opposition insisted that the Prime Minister make a suo motu statement followed by a discussion, suspending all business under Rule 267.
- According to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States.
- Under Rule 267, a Rajya Sabha MP has the special power to suspend the pre-decided agenda of the House, with the approval of the Chairman.
- Rule 176 allows for a short-duration discussion, not exceeding two-and-a-half hours, on a particular issue.
2) Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023: The Government introduced the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Rajya Sabha which aims to tackle film piracy.
- It seeks to amend the Cinematograph Act 1952.
- Cinematograph Act, of 1952 was enacted to make provision for the certification of cinematograph films.
- The bill classifies films on the basis of age group, instead of the current practice of ‘U’, ‘A’, and ‘UA’.
- It seeks to bring about uniformity in the categorization of films and content across platforms.
- The bill considers the act of piracy as an offence legally and will include even transmitting pirated content punishable.
3) Solar Technology Application Resource Centre [STAR C] Initiative: India is recently considering expanding International Solar Alliance’s STAR-C initiative to Pacific Island countries.
- About Solar Technology Application Resource Centre [STAR C] Initiative.
- It is a project to build STAR centres that will act as hubs of technology, knowledge, and expertise on solar energy.
- The International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), with funding from the Government of France, are implementing the project.
- It performs the following four primary functions: Capacity Building, Testing, Innovation and Knowledge Management.
4) Heat Index: IMD has recently launched Heat Index on an experimental basis to provide general guidance for the regions within India, where apparent temperatures are on the higher side causing discomfort to the poor.
- It will provide information about the impact of humidity on the high temperatures, as an indication of human discomfort.
- Colour codes for Heat Index: Green: Experimental Heat Index (EHI) <35 °C; Yellow: EHI between 36-45 °C; Orange: EHI between 46-55 °C and Red: EHI between >55 °C.
5) India Climate Energy Dashboard (ICED) 3.0: NITI Aayog released the ICED 3.0.
- About ICED:
- One-stop platform for near real-time data on the energy sector, climate, and related economic datasets based on government-published sources.
- Developed as a user-friendly platform, it enables users to freely access and analyse datasets using an analytical engine.
- Facilitates insights and enhances understanding about the energy and climate sectors while identifying the key challenges.
- Immensely useful in monitoring the progress of India’s clean energy transition journey.
