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Type: PIB

  • [pib] Lokpal-Online: Platform for management of complaints

    The (first) Chairperson, Lokpal of India, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose has inaugurated’ a digital Platform for Management of Complaints called ‘Lokpal-Online’.

    Lokpal-Online

    • Lokpal-Online is an end-to-end digital solution for the management of complaints against public servants filed under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.
    • It is a web-based facility, which will quicken the disposal of complaints in an accountable, transparent and efficient manner with benefits to all stakeholders.
    • It facilitates handling of complaints during the complete lifecycle of the Complaint, right from its filing to the final disposal.
    • It aims to bring more transparency and efficiency to the complaint handling mechanism.

    Notable features of Online-Lokpal

    • Convenience to complainants for filing complaints online from anywhere anytime
    • Information to the complainant about action on the complaint at every stage through e-mails and SMS
    • Facility to the complainant to ascertain the status of complaint at anytime
    • Identity of the complaint is kept confidential
    • The CVC, CBI and other inquiry agencies can upload their reports directly on the ‘Lokpal-Online’ platform.
    • Reminders to inquiry agencies through e-mails and SMS
    • Generation of analytical reports as per requirement

    Back2Basics: Lokpal

    • The Lokpal, the apex body to inquire and investigate graft complaints against public functionaries, came into being with the appointment of its chairperson and members in March 2019.
    • In March 2019, former SC judge Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose was selected as the first head of the Lokpal.

    Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013

    • The Lokpal Act 2013 is anti-corruption legislation that seeks to provide for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal.
    • It seeks to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain important public functionaries including the PM, cabinet ministers, MPs, Group A officials of the Central Government, etc.
    • The Bill was introduced in the parliament following massive public protests led by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare and his associates.
    • The Bill is one of the most widely discussed and debated Bills in India in recent times.

    Its history

    • The term Lokpal was coined in 1963 by Laxmi Mall Singhvi, a member of parliament during a parliamentary debate about grievance mechanisms.
    • The Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) headed by Morarji Desai submitted an interim report on “Problems of Redressal of Citizen’s Grievances” in 1966.
    • In this report, ARC recommended the creation of two special authorities designated as ‘Lokpal’ and ‘Lokayukta’ for a redress of citizens’ grievances.
    • Maharashtra was the first state to introduce Lokayukta through The Maharashtra Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act in 1971.

     

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  • [pib] Soil Health Card Scheme

    National Productivity Council (NPC) has carried out a study on ‘Soil Testing Infrastructure for Faster Delivery of Soil Health Card in India’ in 2017.

    What did the study find?

    • In the study it was found that application of fertilizer and micronutrients based on Soil Health Card (SHC) recommendations resulted in 8-10% of savings.
    • It has led to an overall increase in the yield of crops to the tune of 5-6% reported by adopting the SHC recommendations.

     About Soil Health Card Scheme

    • Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme is promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
    • An SHC is meant to give each farmer soil nutrient status of his/her holding and advice him/her on the dosage of fertilizers and also the needed soil amendments, that s/he should apply to maintain soil health in the long run.
    • SHC is a printed report that a farmer will be handed over for each of his holdings.
    • It will be made available once in a cycle of 2 years, which will indicate the status of soil health of a farmer’s holding for that particular period.
    • The SHC given in the next cycle of 2 years will be able to record the changes in the soil health for that subsequent period.

    Parameters of SHC:

    • N, P, K (Macro-nutrients)
    • Sulfur (S) (Secondary- nutrient)
    • Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Bo (Micronutrients)
    • pH, EC (Electrical conductivity) , OC (Organic content)

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. The nation-wide ‘Soil Health Card Scheme’ aims at:

    1. expanding the cultivable area under irrigation.
    2. enabling the banks to assess the quantum of loans to be granted to farmers on the basis of soil quality.
    3. checking the overuse of fertilizers in farmlands.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”2l7krk8ive” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • [pib] Mysuru Declaration on Service Delivery by Panchayats

    The Participants from 16 States signed the Mysuru Declaration and resolved to roll out the Common Minimum Service delivery by Panchayats across the country from April 1, 2022.

    Mysuru Declaration

    • The Mysuru declaration is aimed at recognising Citizen Centric Services as the “Heart of Governance”.
    • It provides key inputs on various aspects of service delivery that are either provided by the panchayats directly or services of other departments that are facilitated by panchayats.

    Highlights of the Declaration

    WE, the Representatives and Officials recognise the efforts to promote inclusive and accountable Local Self Governments in delivery of services, in consonance with the priorities and the aspirations of our citizens.

    We accept responsibility for seizing this moment to strengthen our commitments to promote transparency, empower citizens, and harness the power of new technologies towards timely and quality delivery of services; enhancing citizen service experiences

    We uphold the value of openness in our engagement with citizens to improve services, incorporating diverse views when designing and delivering services. We embrace principles of transparency and open government with a view towards achieving greater prosperity, well-being, and human dignity for sustainable development of local communities.

     

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  • [pib] Digital India Land Record Modernization Program

    Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has recently held a workshop on Digital India Land Record Modernization Programme (DILRMP).

    About DILRMP

    • The DILRMP was previously known as the National Land Record Modernization Programme (NLRMP).
    • It was launched in 2008 with the purpose to digitize and modernizing land records and developing a centralized land record management system.
    • The DILRMP is the amalgamation of two projects:
    1. Computerization of Land Records (CLR)
    2. Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA & ULR)
    • The district will be taken as the unit of implementation, where all activities under the programme will converge.

    Components of DILRMP

    The DILRMP has 3 major components

    1. Computerization of land record
    2. Survey/re-survey
    3. Computerization of Registration

    Key features: Unique Land Parcel Identification Numbers

    • It is just like the Aadhar Number of land parcels.
    • A unique ID based on Geo-coordinates of the parcels is generated and assigned to the plots.
    • This has been introduced to share the computerized digital land record data among different States/Sectors and a uniform system of assigning a unique ID to the land parcel across the country.

    Benefits offered

    The citizen is expected to benefit from DILRMP in one or more of the following ways;

    • Real-time land ownership records will be available to the citizen
    • Property owners will have free access to their records without any compromise in regard to the confidentiality of the information
    • Abolition of stamp papers and payment of stamp duty and registration fees through banks, etc. will also reduce interface with the Registration machinery
    • These records will be tamper-proof
    • This method will permit e-linkages to credit facilities

     

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  • [pib] E-Amrit Portal for E-Vehicles

    India today launched ‘E-Amrit’, a web portal on electric vehicles (EVs), at the ongoing COP26 Summit in Glasgow, UK.

    It is a must-go portal for every aspirant. Click here to visit E-Amrit.

    E-Amrit Portal

    • E-Amrit is a one-stop destination for all information on electric vehicles—busting myths around the adoption of EVs, their purchase, investment opportunities, policies, subsidies, etc.
    • The portal has been developed and hosted by NITI Aayog under a collaborative knowledge exchange programme with the UK government.

    Features of the portal

    • It intends to complement initiatives of the government on raising awareness about EVs.
    • It aims to sensitize consumers on the benefits of switching to electric vehicles.

    Need for E-Amrit

    • In the recent past, India has taken many initiatives to accelerate the decarbonization of transport and adoption of electric mobility in the country.
    • Schemes such as FAME and PLI are especially important in creating an ecosystem for the early adoption of EVs.

     

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  • [pib] Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme

    The PM will launch two innovative customer-centric initiatives of the Reserve Bank of India.

    What are the schemes?

    [A] Integrated Ombudsman Scheme

    • It aims to further improve the grievance redress mechanism for resolving customer complaints against entities regulated by RBI.
    • The central theme of the scheme is based on ‘One Nation-One Ombudsman’ with one portal, one email and one address for the customers to lodge their complaints.
    • There will be a single point of reference for customers to file their complaints, submit the documents, track status and provide feedback.
    • A multi-lingual toll-free number will provide all relevant information on grievance redress and assistance for filing complaints.

    [B] RBI Retail Direct Scheme

    • It is aimed at enhancing access to government securities market for retail investors.
    • It offers them a new avenue for directly investing in securities issued by the Government of India and the State Governments.
    • Investors will be able to easily open and maintain their government securities account online with the RBI, free of cost.

     

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  • [pib] Manipuri Basanta Raasa

    As part of the celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a celebration of Destination North East India, dance and music of Manipur was organised.

    Manipuri Raas Leela

    • The Raas Leela, also referred to as Manipuri Dance, is one of the major Indian classical dance forms, originating from the state of Manipur.
    • The dance form is based on Hindu Vaishnavism themes, and exquisite performances of love-inspired dance drama of Radha-Krishna called Raas Leela.

    Notable features

    • It is marked by a performance that is graceful, fluid, sinuous with greater emphasis on hand and upper body gestures.
    • It is accompanied with devotional music created with many instruments, with the beat set by cymbals (kartal or manjira) and double-headed drum (pung or Manipuri mrdanga) of sankirtan.
    • The dance drama choreography shares the plays and stories of Vaishnavite Padavalis, that also inspired the major Gaudiya Vaishnava-related performance arts found in Assam and West Bengal.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2017:
    With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements:
    It is a song and dance performance.
    Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance.
    It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
    (a) 1, 2 and 3.
    (b) 1 and 3 only
    (c) 2 and 3 only
    (d) 1 only

    Post your answers here.

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  • [pib] Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar

    The Prime Minister has recalled the rich contributions of Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar on Thevar Jayanthi.

    Who was M. Thevar (1908-1963)?

    • Muthuramalingam was a politician and a patriarch of Thevar community in the state of Tamil Nadu.
    • He was elected three times to the national Parliamentary Constituency.

    His legacy:

    (a) Association with INC

    • Thevar attended the 52nd annual session of the Indian National Congress, held in Tripuri in March 1939.
    • At this meeting the presidency of Subhas Chandra Bose was challenged by Pattabhi Sitaramayya. Sitaramayya had the active support of Gandhi.
    • Bose was elected president again over Gandhi’s preferred candidate Pattabhi Sitaramayya.
    • Thevar strongly supported Bose in the intra-Congress dispute and joined the Forward Bloc.

    (b) Opposition to the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA)

    • The CTA had been enacted in 1920 by the government of the Madras Presidency and was subsequently implemented in a piecemeal fashion.
    • CTA criminalized entire communities by designating them as habitual criminals.
    • Adult males of the groups were forced to report weekly to local police, and had restrictions on their movement imposed.
    • Thevar mobilised resistance to it, touring villages in the affected areas and leading protest rallies for the rights of the individuals registered under it.

    (c) Temple entry movement

    • The Temple Entry Authorisation and Indemnity Act was passed by the government of C. Rajagopalachari in 1939.
    • This removed restrictions prohibiting Dalits from entering Hindu temples.
    • Thevar supported this reform and on 8 July 1939 he helped the activist A. Vaidyanatha Iyer take Dalits to Meenakshi Temple in Madurai.

     

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  • Mission Samudrayan: India’s First and Unique Manned Ocean

    Union Minister of Earth Sciences has launched India’s First Manned Ocean Mission Samudrayan at Chennai.

    Mission Samudrayan

    • The Samudrayan project has been undertaken by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).
    • It will be a part of the Rs 6,000 crore Deep Ocean Mission.
    • It is designed to carry 3 persons in 2.1meter diameter Titanium Alloy Personnel Sphere with an operational endurance of 12hrs and systems to support emergency endurance up to 96hrs.
    • It could work at a depth between 1000 and 5500 meters.

    Objectives

    • Samudrayan shall facilitate carrying out deep ocean exploration of the non-living resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, gas hydrates, hydro-thermal sulphides and cobalt crusts.
    • The mission would carry out subsea activities such as high-resolution bathymetry, biodiversity assessment, geo-scientific observation, search activities, salvage operation and engineering support.

    Focus areas of the Project

    • Ocean climate change advisory services
    • Underwater vehicles
    • Underwater robotics-related technologies
    • Deep-sea mining: Exploitation of polymetallic nodules

    Components of the mission

    Some of the critical subsystems of the manned submersibles are:

    • Development of Titanium Alloy Personnel Sphere, Human support and safety system in enclosed space, low density buoyancy modules, Ballast and Trim System
    • Pressure compensated batteries and propulsion system, control and communication systems and Launching and Recovery System.

    Progress till date

    • The preliminary design of the manned submersible MATSYA 6000 is completed.
    • Sea trials of 500 metre rated shallow water version of the manned submersible are expected to take place in the last quarter of 2022 and the MATSYA 6000.
    • The deep-water manned submersible will be ready for trials by the second quarter of 2024.

    Why need such mission?

    • This manned submersible mission provides a feel of direct physical presence for researchers and has better intervention capability.
    • With the advancing subsea technologies, the recent Fendouzhe manned submersible developed by China in 2020 has touched ~11000m water depths.
    • With Samudrayan, India joins the elite club of nations such as USA, Russia, Japan, France and China to have such underwater vehicles for carrying out subsea activities.

    Back2Basics: India and International Seabed Authority (ISA)

    • The ISA, an autonomous international organization established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, allots the ‘area’ for deep-sea mining.
    • India was the first country to receive the status of a ‘Pioneer Investor’ in 1987 and was given an area of about 1.5 lakh sqkm in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) for nodule exploration.
    • In 2002, India signed a contract with the ISA, and after a complete resource analysis of the seabed, India surrendered 50%, and the country retained an area of 75,000 sqkm.
    • Further studies have helped narrow the mining area to 18,000 sqkm, the ‘First Generation Mine-site’.

     

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  • Krishi UDAN 2.0 Scheme

    The Union Minister of Civil Aviation has launched Krishi UDAN 2.0.

    Krishi UDAN 2.0

    • The scheme proposes to facilitating and incentivizing movement of Agri-produce by air transportation.
    • It lays out the vision of improving value realization through better integration and optimization of Agri-harvesting and air transportation.
    • It works by contributing to Agri-value chain sustainability and resilience under different and dynamic conditions.
    • It will be implemented at 53 airports across the country mainly focusing on Northeast and tribal regions and is likely to benefit farmer, freight forwarders and Airlines.

    Key highlights of the scheme

    • Facilitating and incentivizing movement of Agri-produce by air transportation: Full waiver of Landing, Parking, TNLC and RNFC charges for Indian freighters and P2C at selected Airports. Primarily, focusing on NER, Hilly, and tribal regions.
    • Strengthening cargo-related infrastructure at airports and off airports: Facilitating the development of a hub and spoke model and a freight grid.
    • Concessions sought from other bodies: Seek support and encourage States to reduce Sales Tax to 1% on aviation fuels for freighters / P2C aircraft as extended in UDAN flights.
    • Resources-Pooling through establishing Convergence mechanism: Collaboration with other government departments and regulatory bodies.
    • Technological convergence: Development of E-KUSHAL (Krishi UDAN for Sustainable Holistic Agri-Logistics).

    What is E-KAUSHAL?

    • It is a platform to be developed to facilitate information dissemination to all the stakeholders.
    • This will be a single platform that will provide relevant information at the same time will also assist in coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the scheme.
    • Furthermore, integration of E-KUSHAL with the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) is proposed.

    Airports under the scheme

    Proposed timeline Locations
    2021 – 2022 Agartala, Srinagar, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Hubballi, Imphal, Jorhat, Lilabari, Lucknow, Silchar, Tezpur, Tirupati, Tuticorin
    2022 – 2023 Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Jharsuguda, Kozhikode, Mysuru, Puducherry, Rajkot, Vijayawada
    2023 – 2024 Agra, Darbhanga, Gaya, Gwalior, Pakyong, Pantnagar, Shillong, Shimla, Udaipur, Vadodara
    2024 – 2025 Holangi, Salem

    7 focus routes & products

    Routes Products
    Amritsar – Dubai Babycorn
    Darbhanga – Rest of India Lichis
    Sikkim – Rest of India Organic produce
    Chennai, Vizag, Kolkata – Far East Seafood
    Agartala – Delhi & Dubai Pineapple
    Dibrugarh – Delhi & Dubai Mandarin & Oranges
    Guwahati  – Hong Kong Pulses, fruits & vegetables

     

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