Safeguard duty:

• When imports of a particular product, as a result of tariff concessions or other WTO obligations undertaken by the importing country, increase unexpectedly to a point that they cause or threaten to cause serious injury to domestic producers of like or directly competitive products, a safeguard which is a form of temporary relief is used. Safeguards give domestic producers a period of grace to become more competitive vis-à-vis imports.
• If this happens, the government of the importing country may suspend the concession or obligation, but will be expected to provide compensation by offering some other concession. Otherwise, the affected WTO member(s) can retaliate by withdrawing equivalent concessions. Industries or companies often request safeguard action by their governments.
• Safeguards usually take the form of increased duties to higher than bound rate or standard rates or quantitative restrictions on imports.

Safeguard Duty in India

• The Central Government after conducting an enquiry is satisfied that any article is imported into the country in such increased quantities and under such conditions so as to cause or threatening to cause serious injury to domestic industry, then it may by notification impose a safeguard duty on that article.
• Provided that no such duty shall be imposed on an article originating from a developing country so long as the share of imports of that article from that country does not exceed 3% or where the article is originating from more than one developing countries then so long as the aggregate of the imports from all such countries taken together does not exceed 9% of the total imports of that article into India.

Ayushman Bharat is National Health Protection Scheme

Ayushman Bharat is National Health Protection Scheme, which will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage upto 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes - Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).

Salient features

• Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission will have a defined benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.
• Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals across the country.
• Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission will be an entitlement based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC database.
• The beneficiaries can avail benefits in both public and empanelled private facilities.
• To control costs, the payments for treatment will be done on package rate (to be defined by the Government in advance) basis.
• One of the core principles of Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission is to co-operative federalism and flexibility to states.
• For giving policy directions and fostering coordination between Centre and States, it is proposed to set up Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Council (AB-NHPMC) at apex level Chaired by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister.
• States would need to have State Health Agency (SHA) to implement the scheme.
• To ensure that the funds reach SHA on time, the transfer of funds from Central Government through Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission to State Health Agencies may be done through an escrow account directly.

In partnership with NITI Aayog, a robust, modular, scalable and interoperable IT platform will be made operational which will entail a paperless, cashless transaction.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

• The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a management tool to minimize adverse impacts of developmental projects on the environment and to achieve sustainable development through timely, adequate, corrective and protective mitigation measures.
• The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) uses Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2006 as a major tool for minimizing the adverse impact of rapid industrialization on environment and for reversing those trends which may lead to climate change in long run.

The Notification is issued under relevant provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

• Category A projects are looked into by the Central Governmen.
• Category B Projects go to the State Government.
• Category B projects are further sub divided into Category B1 and Category B2.
• B1 require a public hearing for EIA
• B2 don’t require.