04 July 2022 – Current Affairs

 

Alluri Sitarama Raju

Paper 1 – History

Why Should You Know?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the year-long celebrations in connection with the 125th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju in Andhra Pradesh on 4 July 2022.

In details –

• Prime Minister Modi will launch the year-long 125th birth anniversary celebration of legendary freedom fighter Alluri Sitarama Raju at Bhimavaram in Andhra Pradesh On July 4, 2022.
• The Prime Minister will also unveil a 30-feet tall bronze statue of Alluri Sitarama Raju. As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Government is committed to giving due recognition to the contribution of freedom fighters and making people across the country aware of them.
• Born on 4th July 1897, Alluri Sitarama Raju is remembered for his fight against the British, in order to safeguard the interests of the tribal communities in the Eastern Ghats region. He had led the Rampa rebellion, which was launched in 1922.
• The government has planned a series of initiatives as part of the year-long celebration. The birthplace of Alluri Sitarama Raju at Pandrangi in Vizianagaram district and Chintapalli Police Station will be restored.
• The government has also approved the construction of Alluri Dhyana Mandir at Mogallu with a statue of Alluri Sitarama Raju in Dhyana Mudra, depicting the life story of the freedom fighter through mural paintings and an AI-enabled interactive system.

Who was Alluri Sitarama Raju ?

• Alluri Sitarama Raju was an Indian revolutionary who waged an armed campaign against British colonial rule in India.
• He was born on 4 July 1897 in Pandrik village of Visakhapatnam district.
• His real name was Sriramaraju, which was after his maternal grandfather. He became a saint at a young age.
• Sitarama Raju became involved in anti-British activities against the Madras Forest Act of 1882.
• The British Government of India had passed the Madras Forest Act and banned the local tribals from going into the forest. For this he fought for the tribals and called for an armed rebellion against the colonial forces.
• At the age of 27, he managed to fuel armed rebellion with limited resources and inspire the poor, illiterate tribals against the British. Growing discontent with the British led to the Rampa Rebellion of 1922, in which Alluri Sitarama Raju played a major role as a leader.
• In this rebellion that took place between 1922 and 1924, Alluri organized the tribal people of Visakhapatnam and East Godavari districts to revolt against the Britishers. During this rebellion many police stations and British officers were attacked and weapons were collected for fighting.
• It was because of his heroic exploits that the locals gave him the nickname ‘Manyam Veerudu’ (hero of the forests).
• When the rebellion of Alluri Sitarama Raju was at its peak in the year 1924, the police started persecuting the tribals to trace them. In such a situation, when Raju came to know about this, his heart melted. He decided to surrender and giving his own information told the police that he was in Koiyur. Come and arrest them.
• In no time the British police took him into their custody and later betrayed him by tying him to a tree, then publicly gunning him down. He was brutally murdered but became a hero for the tribals.

International Cooperative Day Celebration

Paper 2 – Government Policies

Why Should You Know?

The 100th International Cooperative Day celebrations is being organized in New Delhi in which Home Minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest.

In details –

• On July 4, 2022 Home Minister Amit Shah will be the Chief Guest at the celebrations of the 100th International Day of Cooperatives in New Delhi.
• The theme of 100th International Cooperative Day is “Cooperatives Build a Better World”.
• Considering the importance of Atmanirbhar Bharat in creating a better world, the Ministry of Cooperation and National Cooperative Union of India are organizing the event with the theme “Cooperatives Build an Atmanirbhar Bharat and Better World.”
• The basic concept and vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat is based on the self-sustainable growth of the Indian economy, and India’s cooperative model is aligned with the Government’s emphasis on building an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• The cooperative movement in India is the largest in the world. At present, cooperatives in India with a network of over 8.5 lakh covering 90 percent of the villages, are pivotal institutions for bringing socio-economic development for inclusive growth in both rural and urban areas.

About International Day of Cooperatives –

• International Day of Cooperatives is marked annually on the first Saturday of July. This year, the day will be observed on 2 July to highlight the contributions of the cooperative movement.
• The occasion also spreads awareness about how cooperatives work in harmony for social, cultural, and economic development.

History –

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution on 16 December 1992 to declare the first Saturday of July 1995 as the International Day of Cooperatives.
• The date was chosen as it marked the centenary of the International Cooperative Alliance’s establishment. It is also called Coops Day.

Significance of the day-

• The International Day of Cooperatives celebrates the formation of the International Co-operative Alliance and how cooperatives work towards making the world a better place.
• The International Day of Cooperatives is celebrated by organising activities and discussions. This involves the screening of short documentaries that feature the work of different co-operatives.
• The day also uses radio programs, newspapers and various other mediums to highlight the achievements of the sector.
• Despite their focus at the community level, co-operatives aspire to bring the benefits of their economic and social model to people all over the world. According to them, inequality of resources, compounded by globalisation, needs to be governed by a set of values to result in a more sustainable distribution of wealth.
• The cooperative movement is democratic and locally autonomous. At the same time, cooperatives are integrated at the global level as an organisation of associations and enterprises where citizens rely on self-help to meet social, environmental and economic objectives.

Amendment in Foreign Contribution Regulation Act

Paper 3 – Economy

Why Should You Know?

Centre government amends FCRA rules, Indians will now be able to get up to ten lakh rupees without informing the authorities

In details –

• The Centre government has amended the rules of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), allowing relatives to send more money under foreign funding and giving more time to organisations to inform the government about bank accounts for utilisation of funds received under the “registration” or “prior permission” category.
• The government has also removed a provision wherein an organisation/individual receiving foreign funds had to declare such contributions every quarter on its official website.
• The new rules — Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2022 — were notified by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) through a gazette notification on July 1, 2022.
• According to that notification “In the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011, in rule 6, for the words “one lakh rupees”, the words “ten lakh rupees” shall be substituted; and for the words “thirty days”, the words “three months” shall be substituted
• It is noteworthy that Rule 6 deals with intimation of receiving foreign funds from relatives. It stated earlier that “any person receiving foreign contribution in excess of one lakh rupees or equivalent thereto in a financial year from any of his relatives shall inform the Central government (details of funds) within 30 days from the receipt of such contribution”.
• Similarly, making changes in rule 9, which deals with application of obtaining ‘registration’ or ‘prior permission’ under the FCRA to receive funds, the amended rules give individuals and organisations 45 days to inform the MHA about bank account(s) that are to be used for utilisation of such funds. This time limit was earlier 30 days.
• The Centre has also omitted provision ‘b’ in rule 13, which dealt with declaring foreign funds including details of donors, amount received, and date of receipt every quarter on its website.
• Now, anyone receiving foreign funds under the FCRA will have to follow the existing provision of placing the audited statement of accounts on receipts and utilisation of the foreign contribution, including income and expenditure statement, receipt and payment account and balance sheet for every financial year beginning on the first day of April, within nine months of the closure of the financial year, on its official website or on the website as specified by the Centre.
• Making changes in clause (e) of sub-rule (2) of rule 9, the government has substituted the words “fifteen days” with “forty-five days”. In case of change of bank account, name, address, aims or key members of the organisation(s) receiving foreign funds, the MHA has now allowed 45 days’ time to inform it, instead of previous 15-day deadline.

Offences under FCRA –

• In a separate notification, the MHA made five more offences under FCRA “compoundable”, making 12 such offences compoundable instead of directly prosecuting the organisations or individuals. Earlier, only seven offences under FCRA were compoundable.
• The FCRA violations that have become compoundable now include — failure to intimate about receipt of foreign funds, opening of bank accounts, and failure to place information on website etc. Earlier, offences related to accepting hospitality from foreign entity without informing, defraying of foreign funds for administrative use beyond permissible limit, receiving money in account other than specified for foreign funds and four others were compoundable.
• The amount of penalty ranges from ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh or five percent of foreign funds, whichever is higher.
• The FCRA Act aims at prohibiting acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest.

Background –

• In November 2020, the MHA made the FCRA rules stricter, stating that organisations which may not be directly linked to a political party but engage in political action like bandhs, hartal (strike) or rasta roko (road blockades) will be considered of political nature if they participate in active politics or party politics.
• The organisations covered under this category include farmers’ organisations, students or workers’ organisations and caste-based organisations.
• In the amended FCRA — the law was amended in September 2020 — the government barred public servants from receiving foreign funding and made Aadhaar mandatory for every office-bearer of the NGOs.
• The new law also says that organisations receiving foreign funds will not be able to use more than 20% of such funds for administrative purposes. This limit was 50% earlier.
• The ministry informed Parliament in March this year that it has refused to renew the FCRA of total 466 non-government organisations since 2020 for not fulfilling the eligibility criteria in accordance with the provisions of the law.
• There were 100 refusals in 2020, 341 in 2021 and 25 till March this year, MHA said in Parliament. A key rejection was that of Oxfam India’s application for renewal of its foreign-funding licence in December 2021, which is yet to be renewed.
• As of July 2, 2022, there are 16,790 FCRA-registered organisations in the country.

What is Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act ?

• The Foreign Contribution (regulation) Act, 2010 is an act of the Parliament of India, by the 42nd Act of 2010.
• It is implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• It is a consolidating act whose scope is to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by certain individuals or associations or companies and to prohibit acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to the national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• It is designed to correct shortfalls in the predecessor act of 1976. The bill received presidential assent on 26 September 2010.

National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme

Paper 2- Governement Policies

Why Should You Know?

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has announced that the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme will be a part of the DBT scheme.

In details –

• Recently The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) announced that National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) will be a part of Direct Beneficiary Transfer (DBT) scheme, providing direct government benefits to all apprentices.
• Earlier companies used to pay apprentices the entire amount and then seek reimbursement from the government. With the launch of the DBT scheme, the government will directly transfer its contribution to bank accounts of apprentices through National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), 25% of the stipend payable up to Rs. 1500/- per month.

Significance-

• Lauding the initiative, Union Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, said that apprenticeship is getting a big boost under Skill India. He said the first set of apprentices have received stipend subsidy in their accounts through DBT under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme. This is not only a boost to apprenticeship but also takes us closer to realising the potential of Skill India.
• To skill, reskill and upskill young India, increase per capita economic production, and support national missions, it is imperative to turn apprenticeship into a participatory movement. It not only exposes candidates to real-time industrial environments but allows them the opportunity to contribute to the economy even during training. It also gives a boost to the Skill India Mission by creating sustainable skill development strategies in association with the government, businesses, and educational systems. MSDE’s objective is to give further boost to youth’s employability through such sustainable model of skill development and help realize Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat

What is National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme ?

• National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) was launched on August 19, 2016, to promote apprenticeship training in the country and to provide financial support to establishments undertaking apprenticeship.
• The program aims to motivate employers to hire apprentices and aid them in discovering the right job roles while maximising their potential through in-depth skill development. As of today, more than 12 lakh apprentices have been engaged with various industries.
• The dream of India becoming the ‘Skill Capital of the World’ seems to be on the path to fruition with the introduction of various apprenticeship reforms aimed at building a skilled manpower. It is envisioned that these schemes will be further scaled up in the coming years and all contracts will be DBT contracts.

India’s largest floating solar power project

Paper 3- Infrastructure

Why Should You Know?

Recently India’s largest floating solar power project commissioned.

In details –

• India’s largest floating solar power project is now fully operational. NTPC declared commercial operation of the final part capacity of 20 MW out of 100 MW Ramagundam Floating Solar PV Project at Ramagundam, Telangana with effect from 1st of July.
• With the operationalisation of the 100-MW Solar PV Project at Ramagundam, the total commercial operation of floating solar capacity in the Southern Region rose to 217 MW.
• Earlier, NTPC declared commercial operation of 92 MW Floating Solar at Kayamkulam in Kerala and 25 MW Floating Solar at Simhadri in Andhra Pradesh.
• The 100-MW Floating Solar project at Ramagundam is endowed with advanced technology as well as environment-friendly features. Constructed with a financial implication of 423 crore rupees, the project spreads over 500 acres of its reservoir.
• An official release said that with the presence of floating solar panels, the evaporation rate from water bodies is reduced, thus helping in water conservation.
• Nearly 32.5 lakh cubic meters per year water evaporation can be avoided. The water body underneath the solar modules helps in maintaining their ambient temperature, thereby improving their efficiency and generation.

Digital India week

Paper 3 – Science & Technology

Why Should You Know?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch Digital India Week in Gujarat on 4th July.

In details –

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to visit Gandhinagar in Gujarat on 4th July. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Digital India Week 2022 in Gandhinagar at around 4.30 pm.
• It is noteworthy that in the Digital India Week 2022, there will be physical events in Gandhinagar from July 4 to 6. In this program it will be demonstrated how public digital platforms like Aadhar, UPI, Cowin, Digilocker etc. have made life easier for the citizens.
• The theme of Digital India Week is New India Technology Inspiration.
• In the program, he will introduce several digital features. These are aimed at increasing people’s access to technology, making life easier and strengthening startups.
• PM Modi will launch ‘Digital India Bhashini’, which will enable easy access to the Internet and digital services in Indian languages, including voice-based access.

Chips to Startup (C2S) program –

• Along with this, PM Modi will also announce the first group of 30 institutions supported under the Chips to Startup (C2S) program.
• The objective of the C2S program is to train specialized manpower in the field of semiconductor chips design at the undergraduate, postgraduate and research levels and act as a catalyst for the growth of start-ups involved in semiconductor design in the country.

Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat

Paper 2 – Government Policies

Why Should You Know?

Students from Himachal Pradesh are visiting Kochi in Kerala under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat scheme.

In details –

• As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav – Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (AKAM-EBSB) initiative facilitating the visits of students to paired states, 50 students from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh are visiting Kochi, Kerala from june 28^th 2022.
• Of the 50 students, 25 are 11th and 12th standard students of Senior Secondary Schools in and around Shimla and Una (13 boys and 12 girls) and 25 are B.Tech students (15 boys and 10 girls) from the University Institute of Technology (UIT), Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla.
• They will be accompanied by four teachers. The team will visit various places in Kochi from June 28 to July 03, 2022. SCMS Cochin School of Business is the host institute.
• As part of the programme, the team will visit famous ASI monuments and local museums such as the Museum of Kerala History in Edappally, Durbar Hall Art Gallery in Ernakulam,  Hill Palace Museum in Tripunithura and Kerala Folklore Museum at Thevara.
• In addition, a special session of Kalaripayatt has been arranged for the group to learn about indigenous arts and sports.
• The team will also visit Rasa Gurukulam in Chalakudy, Parade Ground in Fort Kochi, and Mattancherry Jew Street and  Kochi Metro’s Muttam station to learn about water conservation activities.
• The visit is being facilitated by the Union Ministry of Education and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi.

About Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat –

• “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” was announced by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 31st October, 2015 on the occasion of the 140th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• Subsequently, the Finance Minister announced the initiative in his Budget Speech for 2016-17.

Objective –

• Through this innovative measure, the knowledge of the culture, traditions and practices of different States & UTs will lead to an enhanced understanding and bonding between the States, thereby strengthening the unity and integrity of India.

How it works?

• All States and UTs will be covered under the programme. There will be pairing of States/UTs at national level and these pairings will be in effect for one year, or till the next round of pairings.
• The State/UT level pairings would be utilized for state level activities. District level pairings would be independent of the State level pairings.
• The activity will be very useful to link various States and Districts in annual programmes that will connect people through exchanges in areas of culture, tourism, language, education trade etc. and citizens will be able to experience the cultural diversity of a much larger number of States/UTs while realising that India is one.

Report on India’s Gig and Platform Economy

Paper 3 – Economy

Why Should You Know?

Recently NITI Aayog Launches Report on India’s Gig and Platform Economy.

In details –

• On June 27, 2022 NITI Aayog launched a report titled ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’.
• The report was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery, CEO Amitabh Kant and Special Secretary Dr. K Rajeswara Rao. 

Significance –

• The report is a first-of-its-kind study that presents comprehensive perspectives and recommendations on the gig–platform economy in India.
• The report provides a scientific methodological approach to estimate the current size and job-generation potential of the sector.
• It highlights the opportunities and challenges of this emerging sector and presents global best practices on initiatives for social security and delineates strategies for skill development and job creation for different categories of workers in the sector.
• This report will become a valuable knowledge resource in understanding the potential of the sector and drive further research and analysis on gig and platform work.
• CEO Amitabh Kant highlighted the job creation potential of this sector given rising urbanization, widespread access to internet, digital technologies and smartphones in India.
• The recommendations in this report will serve as a crucial resource for ministries, state governments, training providers, platform companies and other stakeholders to work in collaboration for promoting growth and employment opportunities in this sector.

What the report says?

• The report estimates that in 2020–21, 77 lakh (7.7 million) workers were engaged in the gig economy.
• They constituted 2.6% of the non-agricultural workforce or 1.5% of the total workforce in India.
• The gig workforce is expected to expand to 2.35 crore (23.5 million) workers by 2029–30.
• Gig workers are expected to form 6.7% of the non-agricultural workforce or 4.1% of the total livelihood in India by 2029–30.
• At present, about 47% of the gig work is in medium skilled jobs, about 22% in high skilled, and about 31% in low skilled jobs.
• Trend shows the concentration of workers in medium skills is gradually declining and that of the low skilled and high skilled is increasing.

Suggestions –

• To harness the potential of the gig-platform sector, the report recommends accelerating access to finance through products specifically designed for platform workers, linking self-employed individuals engaged in the business of selling regional and rural cuisine, street food, etc., with platforms to enable them to sell their produce to wider markets in towns and cities.
• The report puts forth suggestions for platform-led transformational and outcome-based skilling, enhancing social inclusion through gender sensitization and accessibility awareness programmmes for workers and their families and extending social security measures in partnership mode as envisaged in the Code on Social Security 2020.
• Other recommendations include undertaking a separate enumeration exercise to estimate the size of the gig and platform workforce and collecting information during official enumerations (Periodic Labour Force Survey) to identify gig workers.

What Is a Gig Economy?

• The gig economy is based on flexible, temporary, or freelance jobs, often involving connecting with clients or customers through an online platform.
• The term “gig” is a slang word for a job that lasts a specified period of time. Traditionally, the term was used by musicians to define a performance engagement.
• So the Gig workers are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers and temporary workers. Gig workers enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company’s clients
• The gig economy is a recent trend, with a number of factors contributing to its rise.

 National Highway Excellence Awards -2021

Paper 3- Infrastructure

Why Should You Know?

on June 28, 2022 the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) organised the “National Highways Excellence Awards” (NHEA) 2021.

In details –

• This year, the Ministry  organizing the award ceremony on June 28 ,the Awards will be conferred  in the presence of Union Minister, Shri Nitin Gadkari to honor the companies/ stakeholders for the best performing road assets & toll plazas across the country.
• For the 4th award cycle, two new categories of Bridge Construction and Tunnel Construction were introduced. For the 2021 cycle of awards, the categories are as follows:
• Excellence in Project Management: Acknowledges efficient execution of all-project milestones, with timely achievement, balanced budgetary, and no compromise to quality standards with two subcategories based on the mode of implementation of the Project- EPC & PPP
• Excellence in Highway Safety: Focuses on efforts taken to reduce road casualties, and establish preventive measures and emergency response services with two subcategories based on the mode of implementation of the Project- Hilly & Plain Terrain.
• Excellence in Operation and Maintenance: Recognizes projects with the swift and smooth execution of repair works, periodic inspections, maintenance of special structures, unparalleled quality in riding experience, and perfect smoothness of pavements. On the basis of pavement type, there are two categories- Rigid and Flexible Pavement.
• Excellence in Toll Management: Focuses on the efficient management of traffic and services at the toll.
• Innovation: Focuses on significant achievement in devising or adapting a new construction technology or structural and geometric design.
• Green Highway: Focuses on exemplary efforts for Innovative practices adopted to protect or enhance the natural environment and/or minimize the effect of project development.
• Outstanding Work in Challenging Condition: Acknowledges the efforts of the concessionaire/contractor who has worked in a challenging environment.
• Bridge Construction: Recognizes if any unique measures are undertaken for infrastructural development about quality and safety enhancement, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness.
• Tunnel Construction: Focuses on projects that devised or adapted a unique technology or design in construction that enhances the quality, timeliness, cost-effectiveness, safety, and/or efficiency of the project.

Background –

• With a view to strengthen and augment the road infrastructure in the country, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) initiated “National Highways Excellence Awards”(NHEA) in 2018 in order to incentivize stakeholders in the highway construction and maintenance process and to create a spirit of healthy competitiveness amongst them.
• The idea is to recognize and award companies for the best-performing road assets and toll plazas across the country. Acknowledging companies which are performing exceptionally and delivering the finest quality services during construction, operations & maintenance, innovation, greenery, tolling stages of highway development as well as in the arena of road safety.
• The aim of the award is to create world-class road infrastructure, highways, toll plazas, expressways, bridges, tunnels every day through new and innovative construction processes along with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and cleanliness factors.

Categories –

• The awards are designed across multiple categories. It identifies players which have adhered to construction and operational guidelines, upheld high quality and safety standards, and employed innovation and sustainable practices in their work.
• Detailed, category-specific evaluation frameworks have been developed for this purpose.
• The companies nominate themselves on an online portal https://bhoomirashi.gov.in/awards by uploading the project information and documents specific to the award category.
• The first round is Desktop Assessment (DA), wherein the validity and propriety of the submitted data are verified and evaluated by a 4-sub rounds of quality check by trained officials.
• This is followed by second round of assessment – Field Assessment of the shortlisted projects for verifying the claims made during the DA. In the third round, an expert jury panel reviews the shortlisted projects and identifies the winners after detailed deliberations.

the first award cycle –

• In the first award cycle in 2018, a total of 107 nominations were received across 5 categories (Excellence in Construction Management, Excellence in Operation and Maintenance, Excellence in Highway Safety, Excellence in Toll Plaza Management and Innovation).
• The final 11 winners were facilitated by the RTH Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari on 8 January 2019.

the second award cycle –

• In the second award cycle in 2019, two new categories were introduced – Green Highways and Outstanding Work in Challenging Conditions.
• As many as 104 nominations were received across 7 categories The final 12 winners were facilitated by the RTH Minister on 14 January 2020.

the third award cycle –

• A total of 157 nominations were received in 2020 across all categories, and one additional special award category, Bridge & Tunnel, was added to the pool of categories from 2019.
• Union Ministers Shri Rajnath Singh and Shri Nitin Gadkari felicitated the final winners at an award ceremony, held at Vigyan Bhavan, on 18 January 2021.

 N95 mask with 3D printing

Paper 3 – Science & Technology

Why Should You Know?

Researchers have developed N95 mask with nanoparticle coating developed using 3D printing technology.

In details –

• Researchers have developed a reusable, recyclable, washable, odourless, non-allergic and anti-microbial N95 mask by using 3D printing technology.
• The four-layer mask whose outer layer is made up of silicon has a shelf life of more than 5 years depending upon the use.
• Apart from its well-known uses to prevent infections like COVID 19, the mask can also be used by workers in different industries where they are exposed to high volumes of dust like cement factory, brick kilns, cotton factories and pain industries.

Can be modified –

• It can be modified according to the requirement by changing the filter configuration according to the place in which it will be used and can help prevent severe lung diseases such as SILICOSIS. A trademark and a patent have also been filed for the mask called Nano Breath.

4-layer filtration mechanism –

• A 4-layer filtration mechanism has been provided in the mask wherein the outer and first layer of the filter is coated with nanoparticles.
• The second layer is a high-efficiency particulate absorbing (HEPA) filter, third layer is 100 µm filter and fourth layer is moisture absorbent filter.

Researchers team –

• Dr. Atul Thakur, Dr. Preeti Thakur, Dr. Lucky Krishnia, and Prof. P. B. Sharma, Dinesh Kumar research scholar from Amity University Haryana (AUH) and Prof. Rakesh Srivastava from University of Nebraska, USA have jointly developed this product that has immense potential as a prophylactic.
• A Zetasizer Nano ZS, a facility supported by ‘Fund for Improvement of Science & Technology Infrastructure’ (FIST) project of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India which enables high temperature thermal analysis for ceramic materials and catalysis applications, has been used to carry out this work.  It is a high performance, versatile system for measuring particle size, zeta potential, molecular weight, particle mobility and micro-rheology.