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Type: PIB

  • Agricultural Sector and Marketing Reforms – eNAM, Model APMC Act, Eco Survey Reco, etc.

    [pib] Kasturi Cotton

    8 October 2020 | PIB | Agriculture
    Mains Paper 3: Major Crops & Cropping Patterns

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Kasturi Cotton Brand

    Mains level: Not Much

    Now India’s premium Cotton would be known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world cotton trade.

    Kasturi Cotton

    • It is the first-ever Brand and Logo for Indian Cotton on Second World Cotton Day.
    • The Kasturi Cotton brand will represent Whiteness, Brightness, Softness, Purity, Luster, Uniqueness and Indianness.

    Do you know?

    1. Cotton is one of the principal commercial crops of India and it provides livelihood to about 6.00 million cotton farmers.
    2. India is the 2nd largest cotton producer and the largest consumer of cotton in the world.
    3. India produces about 6.00 Million tons of cotton every year which is about 23% of the world cotton.
    4. India produces about 51% of the total organic cotton production of the world, which demonstrates India’s effort towards sustainability.

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  • Coronavirus – Health and Governance Issues

    [pib] Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness for Innovation (CEPI)

    6 October 2020 | PIB | Governance
    Mains Paper 2: GS2-13.Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness for Innovation (CEPI)

    Mains level: Not Much

    Translational Health Science And Technology Institute (THSTI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology, has now been recognized by Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness for Innovation (CEPI) as one of the Global Network of Laboratories for centralized assessment of COVID 19 Vaccines.

    Note: CEPI is neither a WHO subsidiary nor a UN body .

    Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness for Innovation (CEPI)

    • The CEPI is a foundation that takes donations to finance independent research projects to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases (EID).
    • It is focused on the WHO’s “blueprint priority diseases.
    • These diseases include the Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), the SARS coronavirus 2 the Nipah virus, the Lassa fever virus, and the Rift Valley fever virus, as well as the Chikungunya virus and the hypothetical, unknown pathogen “Disease X”.
    • CEPI investment also requires “equitable access” to the vaccines during outbreaks.
    • CEPI was conceived in 2015 and formally launched in 2017 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.

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  • Water Management – Institutional Reforms, Conservation Efforts, etc.

    JAL JEEVAN MISSION (PIB)

    3 October 2020 | PIB |
    Mains Paper 3: GS3-18.Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Jal Jeevan Mission , Margdarshika

    Mains level: Water management

    What is Jal Jeevan Mission ?

    The Union Minister of Jal Shakti launched a special mission mode campaign to provide potable piped water supply in all schools and anganwadi centres across the nation within 100 days.

    About Jal Jeevan Mission

    • This mission was envisaged by the Prime Minister on 29th September, 2020 while releasing the ‘Margdarshika’ for Gram Panchayats and Paani Samitis for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
    • Provisions have been made under Jal Jeevan Mission for ensuring safe water through tap water connection in schools, anganwadi centres, health care centres, etc.
    • National Jal Jeevan Mission has reached out to States/ UTs to ensure that during this campaign, Gram Sabhas are convened at the earliest to pass a resolution for providing safe water in all schools, anganwadi centres and other public institutions in the village in the next 100 days.
    • These facilities will be operated and maintained by the Gram Panchayat and/ or its sub-committee i.e. Village Water & Sanitation Committee or Paani Samiti.
    • Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) aims at the universal coverage of provision of tap water connection to every rural home by 2024. Under the mission, special focus is on women and children.

     

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  • Swachh Bharat Mission

    Swachh Bharat Puraskar (PIB)

    3 October 2020 | PIB |
    Mains Paper 2: GS2-13.Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Swachh Bharat Puruskaar, Gandgi se Mukt Campaign

    Mains level: Efforts for sanitation and cleanliness

    What are Swachh Bharat Puruskar ?

    • he Swachh Bharat (2020) Awards were conferred to the best performing States/UTs, districts, blocks, GPs and others in various categories marking six years of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) launch.
    • The awards were given by Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS).
    • Top Awards were conferred upon Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab& others.
    • Gujarat was felicitated with the first prize in the state category; Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu as best district; Khachrod, Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh as best block; and Chinnaur, (Salem) as the best Gram Panchayat for Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) campaign organized from 1st Nov 2019 to 30th April 2020.
    • For the week-long Gandagi Se Mukt campaign launched by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on 8th August 2020, Telangana received the top award for maximum Shramdaan participation.

     

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  • Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

    Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (PIB)

    1 October 2020 | PIBPrelims Only |
    Mains Paper 2: Schemes For Vulnerable Sections

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission

    Mains level: Significance of Venture Capital Fund for Schedule caste

    Union Social Justice Minister launched the Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission(ASIIM) under Venture Capital Fund for SCs, with a view to promoting innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions.

    What is ASIIM ?

    • Under Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission initiative, one thousand SC youth will be identified in the next four years with start-up ideas through the Technology Business Incubators in various higher educational institutions.
    • They will be funded 30 lakh rupees in three years as equity funding to translate their start-up ideas into commercial ventures.
    • Successful ventures would further qualify for venture funding of up to five Crore rupees from the Venture Capital Fund for SCs.

    Venture Capital Fund for SCs:

    • The Social Justice Ministry had launched the Venture Capital Fund for SCs in 2014-15 with a view to developing entrepreneurship amongst the SC and Divyang youth and to enable them to become job-givers.
    • The objective of this fund is to provide concessional finance to the entities of the SC entrepreneurs. Under this fund, 117 companies promoted by SC entrepreneurs have been sanctioned financial assistance to set up business ventures.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    [pib] Who was Pritilata Waddedar?

    26 September 2020 | PIB |
    Mains Paper 1: GS1-02.Modern Indian History- Mid-18th century – Present (significant events, personalities, issues);

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Pritilata Waddedar

    Mains level: Not Much

    The government of Bangladesh is financing a film on the life of revolutionary freedom fighter Pritilata Waddedar.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The Ghadr (Ghadar) was a –

    (a) Revolutionary association of Indians with headquarters at San Francisco.

    (b) Nationalist organization operating from Singapore

    (c) Militant organization with headquarters at Berlin

    (d) Communist movement for Pritilata Waddedar

    Pritilata Waddedar (1911-1932)

    • She was a Bengali revolutionary nationalist from the Indian subcontinent who was influential in the Indian independence movement.
    • After completing her education in Chittagong and Dhaka, she attended Bethune College in Kolkata.
    • She graduated in philosophy with distinction and became a school teacher.
    • Pritilata joined a revolutionary group headed by Surya Sen. She is known for leading fifteen revolutionaries in the 1932 armed attack on the Pahartali European Club, during which one person was killed and eleven injured.
    • The revolutionaries torched the club and were later caught by the British police. To avoid arrest, Pritilata consumed cyanide and died.

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  • Indian Missile Program Updates

    [pib] ABHYAS Air Vehicle

    23 September 2020 | PIBPrelims Only | Internal Security
    Mains Paper 3: GS3-16.Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: ABHYAS-HEAT

    Mains level: Not Much

    Successful flight test of ABHYAS – High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) was today conducted by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from the Interim Test Range, Balasore in Odisha.

    Try this PYQ:

    What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news?

    (a) An Israeli radar system

    (b) India’s indigenous anti-missile programme

    (c) An American anti-missile system

    (d) A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea

    ABHYAS Air Vehicle

    • ABHYAS is designed & developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), DRDO.
    • The air vehicle is launched using twin underslung booster.
    • It is powered by a small gas turbine engine and has a MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System (INS) for navigation along with the Flight Control Computer (FCC) for guidance and control.
    • The vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check out of air vehicle is done using laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).
    • During the test campaign, the user requirement of 5 km flying altitude, vehicle speed of 0.5 mach, the endurance of 30 minutes and 2g turn capability of the test vehicle were successfully achieved.

    Its uses

    • Abhyas’s radar cross-section (RCS), as well as its visual and infrared signatures, can be augmented to simulate a variety of aircraft for air-defence weapon practices.
    • It can also function as a jammer platform and decoy.
    • The HEAT system is utilized to do away with the post-launch recovery mode, which is time-consuming and difficult in a scenario as the sea.

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  • Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

    [pib] Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) Scheme

    23 September 2020 | PIBSchemes | Governance
    Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: MANF Scheme

    Mains level: Not Much

    The Ministry of Minority Affairs has provided information about the progress of MANF Scheme in the Parliament.

    Note: As the name suggests, the scheme particularly aims to target the Minority community. Here, six major groups are considered a minority. Statement based questions often create bluffs on such conditions.

    MANF Scheme

    • The Ministry of Minority Affairs implements MANF Scheme for educational empowerment of students belonging to six notified minority communities i.e. Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Muslim, Sikh, Zoroastrian (Parsi).
    • The Scheme is implemented through the University Grants Commission (UGC) and no waiting list is prepared under the Scheme by UGC.
    • Candidates belonging to the Six centrally notified minority are considered for award of fellowship under the MANF Scheme.
    • The selection of candidates is done through JRF-NET (Junior Research Fellow- National Eligibility Test) examination conducted by the National Testing Agency.
    • Prior to 2019-20, the merit list was prepared on the basis of marks obtained by the candidates in their Post Graduate examination.
    • However, in 2018-19, only the candidates who had qualified CBSE-UGC-NET/JRF or CSIR-NET/JRF were eligible to apply.

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  • Digital India Initiatives

    [pib] YuWaah Platform

    23 September 2020 | PIB | Governance
    Mains Paper 2: GS2-13.Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: YuWaah Portal

    Mains level: Not Much

    Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) are set to establish YuWaah, Generation Unlimited (GenU), a global multi-stakeholder platform in India.

     YuWaah Platform

    As per the Statement of Intent, the objectives of this project are:

    • Support young people by providing entrepreneurship classes (online and offline) with successful entrepreneurs and experts, towards establishing an entrepreneurial mindset among young people.
    • Upskilling of young people on 21st-century skills, life skills, digital skills through online and offline channels and support them through self-learning, for their productive lives and the future of work.
    • Create linkages with aspirational economic opportunities to connect young people with employment opportunities, including building pathways to connect them with jobs or self-employment.
    • Providing career guidance support to young people through career portal as well as through job-readiness and self-exploration sessions to make young people career-ready.

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  • Indian Ocean Power Competition

    Ocean Services, Modelling, Applications, Resources and Technology (O-SMART) SCHEME

    22 September 2020 | PIB | Science and Technology
    Mains Paper 3: GS3-17.Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property Rights.

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: O-Smart Scheme

    Mains level: India's deep ocean mission

    The Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has informed about the progress of O-SMART Scheme.

    Do you know?

    India’s ambitious Deep Ocean Mission is an umbrella scheme under O-SMART initiative. Bottom of Form

    O-SMART Scheme

    • The services rendered under the O-SMART will provide economic benefits to a number of user communities in the coastal and ocean sectors, namely, fisheries, offshore industry, coastal states, Defence, Shipping, Ports etc.
    • It seeks to address issues relating to SDG-14, which aims to conserve the use of oceans, marine resources for sustainable development.
    • It also provides the necessary scientific and technological background required for the implementation of various aspects of Blue Economy.
    • The State of Art Early Warning Systems established Scheme will help in effectively dealing with ocean disasters like Tsunami, storm surges.
    • The technologies being developed will help in harnessing the vast ocean resources of both living and non-living resources from the seas around India.
    • A fleet of research vessels viz., Technology Demonstration vessel SagarNidhi, Oceanographic Research Vessel SagarKanya, Fisheries and Oceanographic Research Vessel SagarSampada and Coastal Research Vessel SagarPurvi have been acquired to provide required research support.

    Some of the modified objective

    The objectives of O-SMART are:

    • To generate and regularly update information on Marine Living Resources and their relationship with the physical environment in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),
    • To periodically monitor levels of seawater pollutants for health assessment of coastal waters of India, to develop shoreline change maps for assessment of coastal erosion due to natural and anthropogenic activities,
    • To develop a wide range of state-of-the-art ocean observation systems for the acquisition of real-time data from the seas around India,
    • To generate and disseminate a suite of user-oriented ocean information, advisories, warnings, data and data products for the benefit of society,
    • To develop high-resolution models for ocean forecast and reanalysis system,
    • To develop algorithms for validation of satellite data for coastal research and to monitor changes in the coastal research,
    • Acquisition of 2 Coastal Research Vessels (CRVs) as replacement of 2 old CRVs for coastal pollution monitoring, testing of various underwater components and technology demonstration,
    • To carry out exploration of Polymetallic Nodules (MPN) from a water depth of 5500 m in the site of 75000 sq.km allotted to India by United Nations in Central Indian Ocean Basin, to carry out investigations of gas hydrates,
    • Exploration of polymetallic sulphides near Rodrigues Triple junction in 10000 sq. km of the area allotted to India in International waters by International Seabed Authority/UN and,
    • Submission of India’s claim over continental shelf extending beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone supported by scientific data, and Topographic survey of EEZ of India.

    Also read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/explained-indias-deep-ocean-mission/

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