14 June 2022 – Current Affairs

Rice fortification programme

(Paper 2 health)

Why in News?

Under the rice fortification programme, the central government is planning to cover 291 aspirational and heavily demanded districts by March 2023.

Key Points –

• Under the rice fortification programme, the government plans to cover 291 aspirational and heavily demanded districts by March 2023. This was disclosed by Shri Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution in New Delhi.
• He said that under the second phase of “distribution of fortified rice which started in April 2022 through the Public Distribution System (PDS)”, 90  lakh metric tonnes of fortified rice has already been produced, overcoming all production challenges.
• The second phase of the programme will cover a total of 291 districts with all aspirational and heavy demand by  March, 2023  . This includes Phase-I  plus TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System) and OWS (other welfare schemes).
• Under Phase-I, ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) and Prime Minister’s Nutrition were covered all over India till March, 2022  and about 17 lakh METRIC Tonnes of fortified rice was distributed. However,  more than 90 districts (in 16 states) have started offtake of farfied rice under pds  and around 2.58 lakh metric tonnes have been distributed so far.
• An independent concurrent evaluation of rice fortification will be carried out by the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) under NITI Aayog to assess the outcomes and impact of the programme. The Steering Committee in the States will monitor the implementation of the programme.
• As part of its efforts for speedy implementation,  the Department of Food and Public Distribution is coordinating all activities related to the ecosystem with all relevant stakeholders such as the State Government/Union Territories, concerned Ministries/Departments, Development Partners, Industry, Research Institutes etc.
• FCI and state agencies are procuring fortified rice. Under this, about 126.25 lakh metric tonnes of fortified rice has been procured for supply and distribution so far.
• It may be mentioned that the entire cost of fortified rice (about Rs.2700 crore per annum) will be borne under the food subsidy only by the Government of India till June, 2024 i.e. till its full implementation.

Government’s plan –

• It is worth mentioning that more than 200 crore people globally are deficient in many micronutrients, 160 crore people have anemia, more than 50 per cent of the people have iron deficiency, every year 2,60,100 pregnancies are affected by neural tube defects (NTDs) and many micronutrient deficiencies.  All these are important causes of death, morbidity and low human development.
• Due to this, the Central Government had implemented the Centrally Sponsored Pilot Scheme on “Fortification and Distribution of Rice under Public Distribution System” for a period of 3 years from 2019-20 to the next 3 years.
• Under this pilot scheme, eleven (11) States have successfully distributed fortified rice in their identified districts (1 district in each State). The pilot scheme expired on March 31, 2022. Under this, about 4.30 lakh metric tonnes of fortified rice has been distributed.
• In line with the government’s announcement to provide nutritional security,  the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has announced the supply of fortified rice by 2024 in a phased manner through targeted public distribution system (TPDS), integrated child development services (ICDS) under  the National Food Security Act (NFSA), Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman- PM POSHAN [First Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM)] and other welfare schemes (OWs) of the Government of India in all states and Union Territories by 2024  have given your approval for.

What is Fortified Rice?

• Nutrients (vitamins and minerals) reach our body through food.  But in today’s era, due to the changing eating patterns and the unbalanced food of the poor class, their shortage has increased.
• To overcome this, vitamins and minerals made by companies are mixed with food through processing. That is, separate vitamins and minerals are delivered to our food. This whole process itself is called food fortification.
• Thus,  fortification of rice is the way to increase the amount of micronutrients required in rice and improve the nutritional quality of rice. It is a process similar to the iodized salt.

• According to the FSSAI norms, 1 kg of fortified rice should contain iron (28mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125 micrograms) and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 micrograms). In addition, rice is covered with micronutrients, single or in combination, zinc (10mg-15 mg), vitamin A (500-750 micrograms re), vitamin B1 (1 mg-1.5mg), vitamin B2 (1.25mg-1.75 mg), vitamin  B3 (12.5mg-20 mg) and vitamin B6(1.5 mg-2.5mg) can also be strengthened at the level per kg.

Need in India –

• There is no exact data available as of now on the status of nutrients in the citizens of the country. For this, based on the survey of various agencies of the government, it is believed that about 60-70 per cent of the people of the country are deficient in nutrients.
• According to the report of the National Institute of Nutrition, 40 per cent of households in the country have unbalanced food for children. 55% of children under the age of five are underweight. 
• Similarly, children up to the age of five have lower than normal levels of vitamin A. 52% of the children are less than normal. At the same time, 35% of men and women are facing energy shortages.
• Apart from this, the amount of protein, iron, calcium, thiamine in people’s food is constantly decreasing.
• Malnutrition is a serious problem in India. India’s rank in the Global Food Security Index of 113 countries was 71st in 2021. According to the Food Ministry, on an average, every second woman in the country is short of blood and every third child is weak.
• According to the National Family Health Survey-4, 38.4 per cent of children under the age of five in India are below normal height. Of the women and girls, 53.1 per cent were anaemic. When women suffering from anemia give birth to a child, they are also prone to anemia.

Source – Indian Express

Holy Relics of Lord Buddha

(Paper 1 History)

Why in News?

Recently, the four Kapilavastu holy relics of Lord Buddha arrived in Mongolia for an 11-day exhibition, let’s know about them

Key Points –

• On 13 June 2022, the four Kapilavastu holy relics of Lord Buddha arrived in Mongolia for an 11-day exhibition. The holy relics have arrived there with a 25-member delegation led by The Union Minister of Law and Justice, Shri Kiren Rijiju  .
• These sacred relics were received at ullanbaatar international airport with great reverence and formal pomp by a large number of Buddhist monks along with The Minister of Culture of Mongolia, Ms. Ch. Nomin, Mp/President of India Mongolia Friendship Group Ms. Sarchimeig, Advisor to the President of Mongolia, Mr. Khamba Nomun Khan, along with other dignitaries.
• Speaking on the occasion, The Union Minister of Law and Justice, Shri Kiren Rijiju said that the historic relationship between India and Mongolia will be further strengthened when these holy relics come to Mongolia from India.
• The Union Minister also said that through the delegation, India is taking the peace messages of Lord Buddha to the world.
• It may be recalled that the main statue of Buddha in Gandan Monastery was gifted by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, to the people of Mongolia in 2015  and was installed in 2018.
• These holy relics were welcomed to the Gandan Monastery with prayers and Buddhist chants. A large number of Mongolians gathered and showed their respect for the holy relics of God.
• These sacred relics were handed over to the Gandan Monastery in the presence of Buddhist monks of the Gandan Mutt to be preserved for the 11-day  exhibition starting from tomorrow (June 14, 2022).
• It is worth mentioning that these sacred relics are related to 22  special holy relics kept in the National Museum of the Ministry of Culture of India.

About Mahatma Buddha –

• Mahatma Buddha was born on the  day of Vaishakh Purnima in the house of King Shuddodhana of the Kshatriya Shakya clan of Ikshvaku dynasty in 563 BC in Lumbini, located in the tarai of Nepal.
• His mother’s name was Mahamaya, who belonged to the Koliya dynasty, who passed away seven days after her birth, then He was brought up by Mahaprajapati Gautami, the younger real sister of the Queen.
• He was named Siddhartha in his childhood. At the same time, due to being born in the Gautama tribe, he was also called Gautama.
• At the age of sixteen, Siddhartha got married to Yashodhara. He began to live with Yashodhara in the palace, which was built by his father to suit the seasons, with all the enjoyments, where his son Rahul was born. But after marriage, his mind went into disinterest and for the sake of proper happiness and peace, he abandoned his family.
• In his youth, he saw the sufferings of human life such as sick person, old age and death. On the contrary, influenced by a cheerful sannyasin, the Buddha  at the age of 29 renounced the worldly life and went out in search of the truth. In Buddhism, his renunciation of home is known as Mahabhinishkramana. 
• Mahatma Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating under a peepal tree in Bodh Gaya on the day of Vaisakha Purnima in 528 BC. The peepal tree under which Siddhartha attained enlightenment was called the Bodhitree and the place adjacent to Gaya was called Bodhgaya.
• On the day of Vaishakh  Purnima,  mahatma buddha attained nirvana at a place called Kushinara in 483 BC.
• After his death, his disciples called for a council in rajgriha, where the main teachings of Buddhism were codified. To integrate these teachings into pitakas, four Buddhist musicians were organized, followed by three main pitakas. 
• Vinaya Pitak (Rules of Law for Buddhist Believers), Suta Pitak (Buddha’s teaching principle) and Abhidhamma Pitak (Buddhist philosophy), which are jointly called Tripitaka. All of them are written in Pali language.

Source – PIB

Intensive Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) – 2022

(Paper 2 Health)

Why in News?

Recently, The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar launched the Intensive Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) – 2022.

Key Points –

• Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar launched the Intensive Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) – 2022 in the presence of Manipur Health Minister Dr. Sapam Ranjan Singh  .
• The IDCF programme will be available from June 13  to June 27, 2022  in all states/UTs. being implemented in the Union Territories. The aim of this programme is to bring the death of children due to diarrhoea in childhood to zero.
• Dehydration is the biggest cause of diarrhea in children and other causes include changes in the mother’s diet during breastfeeding, changes in the baby’s diet, use of antibiotics by the baby, or use by the mother during breastfeeding, or any kind of bacterial or parasitic infection.
• According to the latest survey (NFHS-5) conducted by the ministry, only 60.6 per cent of children below the age of five years suffering from diarrhoea were given ORS and only 30.5 per cent of children were given zinc. This means that there is a lack of awareness among mothers. ”

About the program –

• Intensive Diarrhoea Control Fortnight (IDCF) is being organized since 2014 with the objective of bringing  down the number of deaths due to childhood diarrhoea to zero.
• In view of the high incidence of diarrhoea, this fortnight is being organized especially in the summer/summer season. It is done during the rainy season so that preventive measures can be taken.
• Creating awareness on a large scale from a multi-sectoral partnership approach at various governance levels for better impacts, rallies, competitions in schools, campaigns by leaders at the state and district level will also be beneficial in achieving this goal.
• It is worth mentioning that diarrhoea can be prevented through sanitation measures such as clean drinking water, breastfeeding/proper nutrition, sanitation and hand washing. This has also been emphasized through initiatives like swachh bharat mission.

What is diarrhoea?

• Diarrhoea is a disease related to digestion in which a person starts to have Loose motions or Diarrhea.
• The biggest reason for diarrheal disease is a virus that has a bad effect on the intestines. It is also called Viral gastroenteritis and intestinal flue.
• By the way, the disease of diarrhea of a person is a common disease, but its treatment is very important. Even in diarrhea, the person has frequent loose motions which if not cured can cause dehydration.
• Diarrhea is a simple disease, which every person has to do once or twice a year. This creates a lot of weakness within the person. If it happens for several days in a row, it can lead to death.
• In diarrhoea, the excretion that a person has is very thin. This disease is seen due to the parasites living in the intestines. In this disease, the amount of water is removed from the body of the person is very high. Due to the disease of diarrhea, the health of the person has a bad effect. The disease starts suddenly and lasts for a long time. Due to frequent diarrhea, there is a lot of lack of water and salt in the body which can also cause death.
• The disease of diarrhea can be easily controlled. The easiest way to get control of this disease is to compensate for the amount of water and salt that has been exhausted from the body. The best way to do this is to make a solution of ORS or a solution of salt water and sugar and drink it several times a day.

Source – PIB

National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment 2021

(Paper 2 Governance)

Why in News?

Recently, the Union Minister released the second edition of the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment-2021 Report.

Key Points –

• The NeSDA 2021 report has been prepared covering the assessment of states, UTs and focuses on the effectiveness of central ministries in delivering online services to citizens.
• The report also makes suggestions to governments to further improve their e-governance service delivery system.
• It may be recalled that the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) had constituted the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) in 2019  under its mandate to promote e-government efforts and drive digital government excellence.
• This biennial study assesses states, UTs and focuses on the effectiveness of e-governance service delivery to central ministries. NeSDA helps the respective governments to improve the delivery of citizen-centric services and shares best practices across the country for all states, Union Territories and Central ministries to follow.

Beginning of the second edition –

• The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances launched the second edition of the NeSDA study  in  January 2021. The NeSDA 2021 framework was finalised after several consultation workshops with states,  Union Territories and Central ministries from March 2021 to May 2021.
• The formally complete evaluation process of  the NeSDA 2021 portal was started online in June 2021. The data collection, synthesis and analysis processes  lasted  over the  next 12 months until May 2022.
• Regular review meetings were held to provide necessary guidance to stakeholders during this period. Apart from the DARPG team supported by NASSCOM and KPMG, 36 nodal officers from states and Union Territories  and 15 nodal officers  from central ministries  came together to ensure the successful operation of NeSDA 2021.
• Over one lakh responses were reviewed from across the country to finalise the conclusion of the NeSDA 2021 report.
• The portals evaluated were classified into one of two categories. State/ State Union Territory / Ut The Central Ministry portal is in the first category, which provides single window access to information and service links, a designated portal of the respective government. These portals were evaluated on four parameters, such as accessibility, content availability, ease of use, and information security and privacy.
• In the second category, state/ Union Territory / Ut The Union Ministries include service portals that focus on digital delivery of services and provide service-related information.
• The service portals were evaluated on an additional three parameters, viz., final service delivery, integrated service delivery and status and request tracking. To facilitate a comparative assessment of the progress in e-services across the country, the evaluation criteria  have remained the same as in the 2019 study.

The inclusion of seven areas –

• The NeSDA 2021  covers services in seven sectors – finance, labour and employment, education, local governance and utility services, social welfare, environment and tourism sectors.
• The evaluation covered 56  essential services for each of the states and Union Territories and 27  services for major central ministries.
•  In the second edition of NeSDA, there are eight states/s. It includes UT level services and four Union Ministry services.  The State/State assessed in NeSDA 2019  Five UT level services are now launched through central ministries and therefore  not considered for the 2021 assessment.

Following the Good Governance Index Group –

• NeSDA has followed the Good Governance Index 2021 group of states and Union Territories. The North-East and hill states form the first group while the Union Territories form the second group.
• The other states of India are classified into two states as the remaining states – Group A and the rest of the States – Group B.
• NeSDA 2021 has shown clear progress for e-governance services across the country. The States and UTs have adopted the integrated State/UTs. The Union Territories have attempted to implement the recommendations of NeSDA 2019  to build portals and increase the number of services provided on their service portals.
• Moreover, in times of the pandemic the regime necessitated the operation of security measures such as VPNs, flexible working policies including working from home, and the development of several new apps, which bring citizens and governments closer through the use of technology, inter alia, providing services to home on time.

About NeSDA 2021 –

• In NeSDA 2021, 1400 services were assessed across all states and UTs as compared to 872 in 2019, an increase of over 60 per cent.
• 74 per cent of respondents from the nationwide citizen survey conducted during the study had said they were satisfied with the e-services provided by the states and Union Territories.
• E-services of the finance and local governance and utility service sectors were most widely used by citizens. The increasing trend of e-service delivery from single silo departmental portals to integrated/centralised portals has resulted in citizens being quite satisfied.
• The findings of NeSDA 2021 demonstrate the journey of e-services towards citizen centricity and benchmarking governance. Governments across the country have laid greater emphasis on integrated service delivery due to which more number of e-services are being offered through integrated/centralized portals.
• These portals provide integrated access to services, improve access and usability. They provide users with a similar digital experience,  creating ease of use through intuitive navigation, similar looks and experience, improved content availability, robust information security and privacy mechanisms. These factors led to an increase in scores in all evaluation parameters.
• An overall improvement has been observed in scores at all standards and at all levels, with information security and privacy being the best parameters among all portals. In the portals of the Union Ministry, the scores of 4 portals have improved.
• Among the Central Ministry Service Portals, the scores of 6 portals have improved. In the States and Union Territories, the State/UTs 28 portals of Union Territories and state/state portals. The score of 22 of the UT Seva portals has improved. The NeSDA 2021 rankings are given below.

rank	North-East and Hill States	Remaining States – Group A	Remaining States – Group B	union territory
1	Nagaland	Kerala	Odisha	Jammu and Kashmir
2	Meghalya	Tamil Nadu	Uttar Pradesh	Andaman and Nicobar Islands
3	Assam	Punjab	Bihar	puducherry
4	Sikkim	Karnataka	Jharkhand	Delhi
5	Tripura	Telangana	West Bengal	Chandigarh
6	Himachal Pradesh	Goa	Madhya Pradesh	Ladakh
7	Uttarakhand	haryana	Chhattisgarh
8	Mizoram	Andhra Pradesh	Rajasthan
9	Arunachal Pradesh	Maharashtra
10	Manipur	Gujarat

Note –

•  In 2021, the Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have not provided enough data for the evaluation of their UT portals. Therefore they are not considered for analysis.
• In the North Eastern and Hill states,  Meghalaya and Nagaland are the major state portals with overall compliance of over 90  per cent in all assessment standards.
• Among the Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir  ranks highest with overall compliance of about 90 per cent. Among the remaining states, Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh  had a compliance of over 85 per cent. Among all the states and Union Territories, Kerala had the highest overall compliance score.

The ranking of State/UT Service Portals is as follows:

rank	North-East and Hill States	Remaining States – Group A	Remaining States – Group B	union territory
1	Meghalaya	Punjab	Rajasthan	Jammu and Kashmir
2	Tripura	Tamil Nadu	Uttar Pradesh	Andaman and Nicobar Islands
3	Assam	haryana	Madhya Pradesh	Delhi
4	Uttarakhand	Telangana	Odisha	Chandigarh
5	Himachal pradesh	Gujarat	West Bengal	puducherry
6	Nagaland	Kerala	Jharkhand	Ladakh
7	Arunachal Pradesh	Karnataka	Bihar	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
8	Mizoram	Goa	Chhattisgarh
9	Manipur	Andhra Pradesh
10	Sikkim	Maharashtra

Note –

• In 2021, the Union Territory of Lakshadweep has not provided enough data for the evaluation of its UT service portals and hence it is not considered for analysis.
• Among the service portals for the northeastern and hilly states, the highest ranked states of Meghalaya and Tripura showed  improvement in all six regions compared to NeSDA 2019. In the category of Union Territories, Jammu and Kashmir was first  assessed in NeSDA 2021 and was the highest scored among all union territories for six regions.
• Among the remaining states, Tamil Nadu’s overall score increased the most in 2021 compared to 2019. Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Goa and Odisha also improved compliance with their service portals by 100 per cent. Punjab,  Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan are the leading states with compliance of over 75  per cent in all standards for their service portals.

The ranking of central ministries is as follows:

rank	Ministry Portal	Ministry Service Portal
1	Home Affairs	Finance – Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP)
2	rural development	Home Affairs – Digital Police
3	Education	Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions – Bhavishya Portal
4	Environment, Forests and Climate Change	Finance – Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
5	Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions	Environment, Forests and Climate Change
6	Commerce and Industry	Finance – Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)
7	Labour and Employment	Commerce and Industry – Government e-Marketplace (GeM)
8	Social Justice and Empowerment	Labour and Employment
9	Health & Family Welfare	Education
10	finance	Health & Family Welfare
11	agriculture	rural development
12		agriculture

Note –

• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has not made available enough data for the evaluation of its service portal in 2021.
• Among the Union ministries are  the home ministry, rural development, education and environment, forest and climate change the major ministry portals with an overall compliance of over 80 per cent in all assessment standards. The overall compliance score of the Home Ministry portal was the highest. The Central Public Procurement Portal, Digital Police Portal, and Bhavishya Portal are the major ministry service portals with overall compliance of over 85 per cent of all assessment standards.

Importance of NeSDA 2021 –

• The NeSDA 2021 report presents ample examples of integrated service delivery portals of states and UTs that provide citizens with an integrated access point for various government services.
• The report also includes some portals of central ministries that provide easy access to common services and create universally accessible digital resources.
• Initiatives of various district administrations for service delivery to reach the citizens by the last mile have also been showcased in the report. This edition of the report also highlights the measures implemented under the Digital India programme that enables COVID-19 pandemic management.
• While NeSDA 2021 has provided encouraging findings for the journey of e-service excellence across India, there remains scope for improvement in digital service delivery. The NeSDA 2021 report also provides suggestions for further improvement in the depth and effectiveness of e-governance service delivery. Recommendations to improve assessment standards and incorporate learning from global digital government trends have also been included.
• In the future, some of these recommendations could be included as evaluation parameters to encourage alignment of e-service delivery with the best practices of the global digital government.  The progress shown by NeSDA adopts the vision of Digital India. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) therefore intends  to conduct the next edition of NeSDA in 2023  .

Source – PIB

Growing investment in India’s renewable energy sector

(Paper 3: Environment, Pollution)

Why in News?

A report released by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) recently revealed that investment in India’s renewable energy sector has increased by 125 per cent.

Key Points –

• India’s renewable energy sector is setting new records, which is good news from the point of view of energy as well as climate. A new report on investment in the sector has recently revealed that a record investment of over Rs 1.13 lakh crore has been made  in the sector during the financial year ended  March 31, 2022.
• It is the result of this investment that India has added 15.5  GW to its renewable energy capacity this year. According to the report released by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), if compared to the figures of the previous year, the investment in the sector  has increased by 125 per cent.
• It may be recalled that in the last financial year (2020-21),  about Rs 49,838 crore was invested in this sector. In the 2019-20 financial year before the pandemic, the investment was around  Rs 65,222 crore. This means that there has been a growth of about 72 per cent in investment in this sector  compared to before the pandemic.
• According to the report, the biggest reason for the increasing investment in renewable energy is the continuous increase in its demand since the pandemic. At the same time, the way banks, corporations and other financial institutions have committed to move away from fossil fuels, it has also had an impact on the investment in renewable energy, due to which the investment in this sector is increasing rapidly.

The target of 450 GW requires more investment –

• In this regard, the  report and  researcher Vibhuti Garg associated with IEEFA says that the reason behind the investment in the renewable energy sector is due to the increasing demand for electricity after the decline in corona and their commitment to net zero emission by financial institutions, due to which they are moving away from fossil fuels at a rapid pace.
• However, despite this growing investment, IEEFA believes that it is not enough to achieve the targets set by India for renewable energy. The total installed generation capacity of renewable energy in India is now 156 GW, including hydropower generation capacity. In such a situation, if India has to achieve the target of 175 GW by the end of this year, then it has a long way to go.
• The report emphasised that if India is to increase its renewable energy capacity to 450 GW by 2030, it will have to double its investment in the sector. This means that to achieve this goal, more than 3 lakh crores will have to be invested every year on renewable energy.

Source – Down to Earth

Prime Minister’s National Apprentice Fair organized

(Paper 2 Governance)

Why in News?

Recently, the Prime Minister’s National Apprentices’ Fair was organized on June 13 at 200 locations across the country.

Key Points –

• The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship will now organize Prime Minister’s National Apprentice Fairs every month to provide more opportunities to the youth to impart on-field training and increase their opportunities to get employment in the corporate world.
• In this order, on June 13, 2022,  the fair was organized from 9 am to  5 pm at more than 200 places across the country.
• More  than 1,000 companies belonging to more than 36 sectors will participate in the fair and select trainees to impart training in the company. Those with certificates of passing from 5th to 12th standard, skill development certificates, ITI diploma holders or graduate degree holders can give interviews for these professions/opportunities.
• Candidates will be given the option to select any of the more than 500 jobs, including welders, electricians, housekeepers, beauticians,  mechanics and other works.

The goal of the program –

• It may be mentioned that the primary objective of this programme is to promote the process of employing trainees from these cities and to help the employers to recognize the potential of the trainees and enhance their capacity through training and skill development. This will increase the importance of the workplace.
• On completion of the training period, the candidates will also be given a trainee certificate recognized by the National Council for Vocational Education and Training(  NSSB), which will give recognition to the trainees in the industry.

Importance –

• The organisations participating in the Prime Minister’s National Apprentice Fairs will get an opportunity to meet the prospective trainees on a single platform. They can select the hopefuls on the spot there.
• In addition, small enterprises with at least four workers will also get a chance to hire trainees from one place.
• The concept of credit bank will also be introduced soon, in which the credit that the trainee will earn during training will be deposited there. These credit points can be used to further qualify.

PMNAM will be held every month

• Expressing his views on the Prime Minister’s National Apprentice Fair, Shri Rajesh Agarwal, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said that keeping in view the success of the earlier Apprentice Fair held in April, we have decided that the Prime Minister’s National Apprentice Fair (PMNAM) will be held every month.
• “We hope that both the candidate and the establishment will benefit from this method of skill development, and our goal is to engage more than one million youth in training through these fairs.
• He said this will not only give the candidates experience on the spot, but also address the challenge of displacement at the local level.

Source – Business Standard

National Highways

(Paper 3 Infrastructure)

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Road and Transport informed that  the work of NH-140 and NH-133B is progressing at a fast pace, let us know about these National Highways

Key Points –

National Highway-140 –

• Recently, The Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari said that a team of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways # New India becomes ‘World’s Infrastructure Hub” 24 on mission mode to create x 7 is working.
• Under this, the project of six-laning of NH-140 from Chittoor to Mallavaram in   Andhra Pradesh is progressing at a fast pace under #Bharatmala project.
• This National Highway section connects the important cities of Chittoor district, namely, Chittoor and Tirupati, through the religious place Of Kanipakkam. The length of the project starts at Kukkalpally and ends at Mallavaram which includes two bypasses at Kasipantla and Kanipakkam, 14 grade separators, 6 major bridges and 15 minor bridges.
• After the completion of the project, there will be a dynamic change in the region with enhanced connectivity, which will further boost economic activities and religious tourism.
• It is to be noted that National Highway 140 (NH-140) is a National Highway of India. It is entirely in Andhra Pradesh and goes from Putalpattu in the west to Tirupati in the east. It is a branch road of National Highway 40.

NH-133B –

• Construction of New Link  NH-133B in Jharkhand including Ganga Barrage, construction of Manihari Bypass in Bihar and  widening of NH-131  to 4-lane standards are in full swing.
• The new link to the 21.68 km-long NH-133B project is a special project of its kind, which includes the 6-km-long Ganga Bridge (the third largest bridge in the world), Manihari bypass and  widening of NH-131A.
• After the completion of the construction, sahibganj (Jharkhand) and Manihari will be connected by this highway and the aim is to reduce the distance travelled to 10 per cent as compared to the existing journey. It will also serve as a strategic point of contact for the Northeast. “At present,  there are 2,750 construction workers working in the project, which costs Rs 1,900 crore.
• This will reduce traffic on Vikram Shila Setu in Bhagalpur and promote creation of employment opportunities for the local population. He said the project is targeted to be completed by October, 2024. He said new India is being built with a vision of extraordinary infrastructure everywhere.
• It is worth mentioning that NH-133B is a National Highway of India. It goes from Sahibganj in Jharkhand in the south to Manihari in Bihar in the north. It is a branch road of National Highway 33.

Source – PIB

Ban on advertising that promotes online betting

(Paper 3 : Security, Internal Security)

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a warning to the media banning advertising promoting online betting.

Key Points –

• The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has issued a warning to print, electronic and digital media, asking them to refrain from advertising online betting platforms.
• The warning has been issued after several instances of advertisements of online betting websites/platforms were detected in print, electronic, social and online media.
• The warning pointed out that betting and gambling is illegal in most parts of the country and poses extreme financial and socio-economic risks to consumers, especially youth and children.
• It also points out that these advertisements on online betting promote this prohibitive activity on a large scale.
• “Online betting advertisements are misleading, and do not conform to the consumer protection act 2019,  the advertising code under the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995 and the norms of journalistic conduct prescribed  by the Press Council of India under the Press Council Act, 1978,” it pointed out. “
• The warning has been issued in the wider public interest, and it has advised the print and electronic media to refrain from publishing advertisements of online betting platforms.
• It has advised online and social media, including online advertising intermediaries and publishers, not to display such advertisements in India or target such advertisements to the Indian audience.
• It may be recalled that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had  issued an advisory on December 4, 2020  to private satellite TV channels, asking them to adhere to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) guidelines specifically do’s and don’ts on advertisements of online gaming for print and audio visual advertising.

Source – PIB

Binary Super Massive Black Hole

(Paper 1 Geography)

Why in News?

Recently astronomers discovered a binary super-massive black hole, which could be a major site for detecting gravitational waves in the future.

Key Points –

• An international collaboration of astronomers has discovered a binary super massive black hole in a system which will be a strong candidate for future detection of gravitational waves (GWs).
• Blazars which are super massive black holes (SMBH) feeding on gas in the heart of a very distant galaxy, are among the most luminous and energetic objects in the Universe.
• When the jet, composed of ionized matter traveling at nearly the speed of light, is pointed towards an observer, it is called a blazar.
• The blazar AO 0235+164 is unique as it is gravitationally lensed by intervening galaxies (phenomenon by which light shining from far away to be bent and pulled by the gravity of an object between its source and the observer).
• A group of astronomers from Argentina, Spain, Italy, USA and India has discovered a binary super massive black hole system in the gravitationally lensed blazar AO 0235+164 using extensive optical photometric observations carried out around the globe during last 4 decades (1982 – 2019).
• They discovered periodic double-peaked flaring events at an interval of around 8 years, and the separations between two peaks of these flares are around 2 years.
• Five such periodic patterns were detected, and it was predicted that the next such flaring event will occur between November 2022 and May 2025.  To confirm the next periodic pattern, a global optical photometric monitoring campaign has been initiated under WEBT (Whole Earth Blazar Telescope) consortium. The observational campaign will be led by Dr. Alok C. Gupta.
• Dr. Alok C. Gupta, Senior Scientist from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, an autonomous institution of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, has participated in this study which has been recently published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS).
• The study was led by Mr. Abhradeep Roy, a Ph.D. student of the Department of High Energy Physics (DHEP), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. The other members of the Indian team include Prof. V. R. Chitnis, Dr. Anshu Chatterjee and Dr. Arkadipta Sarkar from TIFR, Mumbai.
• The team detected five sets of double-peaked flaring activities during time ranges — January 1982 – October 1984, March 1989 – July 1993, April 1996 – March 2001, June 2006 – June 2009 and May 2014 – May 2017.
• They expect the next such 2 years long flaring episode to happen between November 2022 and May 2025.  An intensive multi-wavelength WEBT campaign will be conducted during this period to test the persistence of this apparent nearly-periodic oscillation (QPO) in AO 0235+164.
• The blazar AO 0235+164 is the first binary SMBH gravitationally lensed system, which will be a strong candidate of its kind for future detection of gravitational waves (GWs) using the pulsar timing array and future space-based GW detectors.

Source – PIB

India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol

(Paper 2 International Relations, Issues)

Why in News?

Recently 38th India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol begins in Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca.

Key Points –

• The 38th India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (IND-INDO CORPAT) between the Indian Navy Units of Andaman & Nicobar Command (ANC) and Indonesian Navy is being conducted from June 13 to 24 2022 in the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca. 
• The 38th CORPAT is the first post pandemic Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) between the two countries.
• It includes a visit by the Indonesian Navy units to ANC at Port Blair from June 13 to 15, 2022 followed by a Sea Phase in the Andaman Sea and visit by IN Units to Sabang (Indonesia) from June 23 to 24, 2022.
• As part of Government of India’s vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region), Naval Component under the aegis of HQ ANC undertakes coordinated patrols with other littoral countries of the Andaman Sea along respective Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) towards enhancing regional maritime security.
• It is noteworthy that India and Indonesia have enjoyed especially close relations, covering a wide spectrum of activities and interactions which have strengthened over the years.
• The two Navies have been carrying out CORPAT along their International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) since 2002.
• This has helped build understanding and interoperability between both the Navies and has facilitated measures to prevent and suppress Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing, drug trafficking, maritime terrorism, armed robbery and piracy, etc.
• The IND-INDO CORPAT contributes towards forging strong bonds of friendship across the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca.

Source – Economics Times