CONTENTS

1. GSAP SKILLS Platform
2. National Council for Cement and Building Materials-Incubation Centre

GSAP SKILLS Platform

Context:

Recently, the GSAP SKILLS Platform was launched at the Fourth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Implementation, Convention on Biological Diversity.

Relevance:

GS II: Government Policies and Interventions

About GSAP SKILLS Platform

Overview

• GSAP SKILLS Platform: The Global Species Action Plan (GSAP) utilizes the Species Conservation Knowledge, Information, Learning, Leverage, and Sharing (SKILLS) platform to make GSAP content accessible online, allowing real-time updates of technical tools and resources.
• Aim: Facilitates global collaboration and partnership, connecting decision-makers, species conservation practitioners, and experts at all levels.

Features:

• Real-time Updates: Provides up-to-date technical tools and resources.
• Global Biodiversity Framework: Each target is accompanied by a summary, rationale, and detailed actions, facilitating implementation efforts.
• Management: Managed proactively by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to meet the needs of governments and stakeholders for species conservation actions.
• Support: Developed with principal support from the Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea, and additional resources from the Tech4Nature Initiative by IUCN and Huawei in 2020.

What is the Global Species Action Plan?

• Implementation Support: Developed to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
• Addressing Biodiversity Loss: Aims to tackle increasing biodiversity loss worldwide.

Strategic Interventions

• Conservation Actions: Outlines strategic interventions and actions to conserve and sustainably manage species.
• Equitable Benefits: Ensures actions provide equitable benefits to all stakeholders involved in biodiversity conservation.

National Council for Cement and Building Materials-Incubation Centre

Context:

Recently, the National Council for Cement and Building Materials-Incubation Centre (NCB-IC) was inaugurated by the Joint Secretary, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Relevance:

Facts for Prelims

National Council for Cement and Building Materials (NCB)

• Incubation and Mentorship
• NCB-IC: At the NCB Incubation Center, incubated startups and entrepreneurs will receive mentorship from NCB scientists and experts from the cement and building materials industry.
• Objective: The aim is to further improve and develop market-ready products for commercialization.

DPIIT-Recognised Startups

• Growth: The number of startups recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has increased to 1,36,584.

Role and Functions of NCB

• Apex Organization: NCB is an apex research and development organization under the administrative control of DPIIT.
• Dedicated Services: NCB focuses on research, technology development and transfer, education, and industrial services for the cement, allied building materials, and construction industries.