UPSC Prelims Bits For Today 27 June 2022 | Daily Important Selective Current Affairs For UPSC

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”UPSC Prelims Bits For Today” is every day published in the morning between 11:00 AM to 12:00 Noon and contains selective current affairs articles. ”UPSC Prelims Bits For Today” covers various topics from UPSC Prelims Syllabus and is very helpful and time managing for UPSC Aspirants. The framing of this daily current affairs compilation article is easy to read and understandable also.

In the ”UPSC Prelims Bits For Today” article, we focus on UPSC Preliminary exam-oriented current affairs covering various sections from leading National Newspapers, PIB, and other various official sources.

Gig Economy

Why Gig Economy is in News?

A major shift in the employment trends has been the rise of the gig economy globally.

About Gig Economy

The “gig economy involves the exchange of labour for money between individuals or companies via digital platforms that actively facilitate matching between providers and customers, on a short-term and payment-by-task basis. Examples include ride-hailing apps, food delivery apps, and holiday rental apps.
The gig economy is also a kind of labour market characterised by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.
According to the Code on Social Security, 2020, “A gig worker is a person who performs work or participates in work arrangements and earns from such activities, outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship.”
So, Gig economy is a free market system in which organisations hire or contract workers for a short span of time.

Indian Economy is turning into a Gig Economy?

According to a report by Boston Consulting Group, India’s gig workforce comprises 15 million workers employed across industries such as software, shared services and professional services.
An estimated 56% of new employment in India is being generated by the gig economy companies across both the blue-collar and white-collar workforce.
Another study indicates that Gig economy is gaining a foothold in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets.

UN Ocean Conference

Key Points about the UN Ocean Conference

United Nations Ocean Conference is set to take place in Lisbon, Portugal from June 27-July 1 and will be co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal.
It aimed at starting a new chapter of global ocean action.
Solutions for a sustainably managed ocean involve green technology and innovative uses of marine resources.
They also include addressing the threats to health, ecology, economy and governance of the ocean – acidification, marine litter and pollution, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and the loss of habitats and biodiversity.

Key Facts about Oceans

The ocean covers 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, is the planet’s largest biosphere, and is home to up to 80 percent of all life in the world.
It generates 50 percent of the oxygen we need, absorbs 25 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions and captures 90 percent of the additional heat generated from those emissions.
It is not just ‘the lungs of the planet’ but also its largest carbon sink – a vital buffer against the impacts of climate change.
It nurtures unimaginable biodiversity and produces food, jobs, mineral and energy resources needed for life on the planet to survive and thrive.
There is a great deal we still do not know about the ocean but there are many reasons why we need to manage it sustainably – as set out in the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.
The science is clear – the ocean is facing unprecedented threats as a result of human activities.
Its health and ability to sustain life will only get worse as the world population grows and human activities increase.
If we want to address some of the most defining issues of our time such as climate change, food insecurity, diseases and pandemics, diminishing biodiversity, economic inequality and even conflicts and strife, we must act now to protect the state of our ocean.

Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water

Adopted in 2015 as an integral aspect of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its set of 17 transformative goals.
Goal 14 stresses the need to conserve and sustainably use the world’s oceans, seas and marine resources.
Advancement of Goal 14 is guided by specific targets that focus on an array of ocean issues, including reducing marine pollution, protecting marine and coastal ecosystems, minimizing acidification, ending illegal and over-fishing, increasing investment in scientific knowledge and marine technology, and respecting international law that calls for the safe and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources.

Urban 2.0

Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, being implemented by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), has launched the Revised Swachh Certification Protocols for ODF, ODF+, ODF++, and Water+ certifications.
The revamped revised protocol is aligned with SBM-2.0 objectives and is designed to ensure:

- No untreated used water or faecal sludge is discharged into the environment and all used water (including sewerage and septage, grey water and black water) is safely contained, transported, and treated, along with maximum reuse of treated used water, in all cities with less than 1 lakh population.
- To sustain open defecation free status in all statutory towns.
- It contains provisions to encourage cities to have robust infrastructure with reliable Operation &Maintenance (O&M) mechanisms to achieve the goal ofclean urban India.Key interventions against each certification are:
- ODF – Robust monitoring mechanism ensured by increasing the number of survey sample size and location types.
- ODF+ – Focus on functionality of CT/PT and innovative O&M business model for their sustainability in long run.
- ODF++ – Emphasis on mechanized cleaning of septic tanks and sewers. Safe collection & treatment of used water as well as safe management of faecal sludge.
- Water+ – The focus is on collection, transportation, treatment, and reuse of both used water and faecal sludge to prevent environmental pollution. (1) For towns having population more than 20,000, a minimum of 25% households to be connected to sewerage network. (2) Striving to achieve sustainability. (3) No untreated used water is let out intheenvironment.

National Air Quality Resource Framework of India (NARFI)

National Mission on “National Air Quality Resource Framework of India (NARFI)” developed by the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru with the support from the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (O/o PSA) to the Government of India.
The framework will provide an all-inclusive guide to collecting air quality data, studying its impact and implementing science-based solutions.
The NARFI is an information mechanism to help decision-makers in government, municipalities, start-ups and in the private sectors to address air pollution issues in different climatic zones of India.

The NARFI will evolve around the following five modules:

- THEME-1: Emission Inventory, Air Shed, and Mitigation
- THEME-2: Impacts on Human Health and Agriculture
- THEME-3: Integrated Monitoring, Forecasting and Advisory Framework
- THEME-4: Outreach, Social Dimension, Transition Strategy and Policy
- THEME-5: Solutions, Public-Industry Partnership, Stubble Burning & New Technologies.