EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
19th March 2021
Jal Shakti Abhiyaan-Catch the Rain (JSA-CTR)
Recently, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has announced a campaign called ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyaan-Catch the Rain (JSA-CTR)’.
- The campaign “Catch the Rain” with the tag line “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls” was launched in 2020 to nudge the states and all stakeholders to create Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS).
- A massive awareness drive was launched in 2020 in collaboration with the "Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan" (NYKS) as a preparatory step for the 2021 Jal Shakti Abhiyaan-Catch the Rain campaign.
Catch the Rain Campaign
- It is a nationwide campaign of the Ministry of Jal Shakti under National Water Mission.
- Its focus will be on saving and conserving rainwater with the theme “Catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls”.
- It would cover both urban and rural areas of all the districts in the country during the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods of 2021.
- The activities involved during the campaign are:
- Drives to make check dams, water harvesting pits, rooftop RWHS etc.;
- Removal of encroachments and de-silting of tanks to increase their storage capacity;
- Removal of obstructions in the channels which bring water to them from the catchment areas etc.; and
- Repairs to step-wells and using defunct bore-wells and unused wells to put water back to aquifers etc.
Vehicle Scrapping Policy
Recently, the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways has announced the Vehicle Scrapping Policy or Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Program (VVMP).
- In the Union Budget 2021-22, the Finance Minister has announced that the government intends to go ahead with a “Vehicle Scrappage Policy”.
- The automotive sector has long been undergoing multiple regulatory challenges on a frequent basis for over 2 to 3 years.
Key Provisions of Vehicle Scrapping Policy
- The criterion for a vehicle to be scrapped is primarily based on the fitness of vehicles through Automated Fitness Centres in case of commercial vehicles and Non-Renewal of Registration in case of private vehicles.
- The criterion is adapted from international best practices after a comparative study of standards from various countries like Germany, UK, USA and Japan.
- The vehicle failing the fitness test or failing to get a renewal of its registration certificate may be declared as End of Life Vehicle.
- The criteria to determine vehicle fitness will be primarily emission tests, braking, safety equipment, among many other tests which are as per the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.
- The policy will not be applicable on vintage cars.
Proposals of Vehicle Scrapping Policy
- It is proposed that commercial vehicles be de-registered after 15 years in case of failure to get the fitness certificate.
- The increased fees for fitness certificate and fitness test may be applicable for commercial vehicles 15 year onwards from the date of initial registration.
- It is proposed that Private Vehicles be de-registered after 20 years if found unfit or in case of a failure to renew registration certificate.
- The increased re-registration fees will be applicable for private vehicles 15 year onwards from the date of initial registration.
- It is being proposed that all vehicles of the Central Government, State Government, Municipal Corporation, Panchayats, State Transport Undertakings, Public Sector Undertakings and autonomous bodies may be de-registered and scrapped after 15 years from the date of registration.
- The scheme shall provide strong incentives to owners of old vehicles to scrap old and unfit vehicles through registered scrapping centres, which shall provide the owners with a scrapping certificate.
Financial Incentives under Vehicle Scrapping Policy
- The scrap Value for the old vehicle given by the scrapping centre, which is approximately 4-6% of ex-showroom price of a new vehicle.
- The state governments may be advised to offer a road- tax rebate of up to 25% for personal vehicles and up to 15% for commercial vehicles
- The vehicle manufacturers are also advised for providing a discount of 5% on purchase of new vehicle against the scrapping certificate.
- The registration fees may also be waived for purchase of new vehicle against the scrapping certificate.
Need for Vehicle Scrapping Policy
- The older vehicles pollute the environment 10 to 12 times more than fit vehicles and pose a risk to road safety.
- India has approximately 7 lakh trucks, buses and taxis manufactured before 31 December 2000 that contributes 15-20 per cent of vehicular pollution
- The policy is touted as a major step to boost the Indian automobile sector which is reeling under the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- The deregistering of vehicles is a nightmarish experience for most owners who want to sell or get their old vehicle scrapped.
- It deters many owners interested to discard their old vehicles
Significance of Vehicle Scrapping Policy
- It is aimed at creating an Eco-System for phasing out of Unfit and Polluting Vehicles.
- The objectives of the policy are to:
- Reduce population of old and defective vehicles;
- Achieve reduction in vehicular air pollutants to fulfil India’s climate commitments;
- Improve road and vehicular safety,;
- Achieve better fuel efficiency;
- Formalize the currently informal vehicle scrapping industry; and
- Boost availability of low-cost raw materials for automotive, steel and electronics industry.
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will promote setting up of Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF) across India.
Possible Implications of Vehicle Scrapping Policy
- It is expected to attract additional investments of around Rs. 10,000 Crore and 35,000 job opportunities.
- It is expected to be a ‘win-win’ for all as it helps reduce India’s oil import bills by improving fuel efficiency, reduce environmental pollution and improve road and vehicular safety.
- It has the potential to increase automobile industry’s turnover to Rs. 10 lakh crore from the existing Rs. 4.5 lakh crore.
- The financial incentive for a vehicle user is lucrative enough to scrap their vehicle and is expected to lead to an increase in sales volumes of the industry in the medium to long term.
US India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI) Initiative
Recently, the Ministry of Science & Technology has unveiled the US India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI) Initiative.
US India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI) Initiative
- It is an initiative of the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF).
- It focuses on AI cooperation in critical areas that are priorities for both countries.
- It will serve as a platform to discuss opportunities, challenges, and barriers for bilateral AI R&D collaboration.
- It will enable AI innovation, help share ideas for developing an AI workforce, and recommend modes and mechanisms for catalyzing partnerships.
- It will provide an opportunity for key stakeholder groups to share experiences, identify new R&D areas and opportunities that would benefit from synergistic activities.
- It leverages IUSSTF’s unique ability to bring together stakeholders from India and the US to create synergies that address challenges and opportunities at the interface of science, technology and society.
National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS)
- It is a comprehensive Mission aimed at complete convergence with all stakeholders by establishing strong linkages between academia, industry, Government and International Organizations.
- It will work with all the concerned Ministries/Departments to identify their technology needs, develop solutions and technical support in CPS implementation.
- The Cyber-Physical System (CPS) combines digital/ cyber elements with physical objects and data with capabilities of communication, data collection & processing, computing, decision making and action.
- It is a Pan India Mission and covers entire gamut of India that includes Central Ministries, State Governments, Industry and Academia.
Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF)
- It established under an agreement between the Governments of India and the United States of America in March 2000.
- It is an autonomous bilateral organization jointly funded by both the Governments that promotes Science, Technology, Engineering and Innovation.
- The Department of Science & Technology, Governments of India and the U.S. Department of States are respective nodal departments.
Compendium on Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers
Recently, the Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment has released the Compendium on Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers.
Key Highlights
- The digitization of historical data on CPI-IW will bridge the data gap on the subject.
- The compendium will be an inspiration to other agencies compiling price indices or other statistics to follow the suit.
- The Compendium is a first of its kind publication and is being released at a time when the Labour Bureau is celebrating the centenary year of its formation.
- The Compendium contains detailed and comprehensive information and explanations on compiling consumer price index (CPI).
What is Consumer Price Index?
- It is a comprehensive measure used for estimation of price changes in a basket of goods and services representative of consumption expenditure in an economy.
- It is generally based on the weighted average of the prices of commodities.
- It gives an idea of the cost of living.
- The inflation is measured using CPI.
- The percentage change in this index over a period of time gives the amount of inflation over that specific period, i.e. the increase in prices of a representative basket of goods consumed.
- It is a helpful pointer in understanding the real value of wages, salaries and pensions, the purchasing power of a country’s currency; and regulating prices.
Who maintains Consumer Price Index in India?
- In India, there are four consumer price index numbers, which are calculated, and these are as follows:
- CPI for Industrial Workers (IW)
- CPI for Agricultural Labourers (AL)
- CPI for Rural Labourers (RL) and
- CPI for Urban Non-Manual Employees (UNME)
- The Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation collects CPI (UNME) data and compiles it but the remaining three are collected by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour.
Lokayukta
Recently, the Bihar state assembly has passed the Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
Key Highlights
- It proposes to punish people filing false cases before the anti-corruption ombudsman body to prevent any waste of time or misuse of the institution.
- The bill proposes that a case against a person filing a false case can be filed in the district court.
- If the person is found guilty of it or for giving false testimony or filed wrong affidavit, he/she will be sentenced to a jail term of upto three years besides a provision for fine.
Who is Lokayukta?
- The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act (2013) seek to establish the institution of the Lokpal at the Centre and the Lokayukta at the level of the State.
- It must be noted here that the institution of Lokayukta was established first in Maharashtra in 1971.
Structural Variations
- The structure of the Lokayukta is not same in all the states.
- The states like Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have created the Lokayukta as well as Upalokayuktas whereas some states have created only Lokayuktas.
Appointment of Lokayukta
- The Lokayukta and Upalokayuktas are appointed by the governor of the state.
- The governor in most of the states consults the chief justice of the state high court and the Leader of Opposition in the state legislative assembly while appointing Lokayuktas.
Tenure of Lokayuktas
- In most of the states, the term of office fixed for Lokayukta is of 5 years duration or 65 years of age, whichever is earlier.
- He is not eligible for reappointment for a second term.
Jurisdiction of Lokayukta
- There is no uniformity regarding the jurisdiction of Lokayukta in all the states.
- The chief minister is included within the jurisdiction of Lokayukta in the states of Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, while he is excluded from the purview of Lokayukta in the states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Orissa.
- The ministers and higher civil servants are included in the purview of Lokayukta in almost all the states.
- The authorities of the local bodies, corporations, companies and societies are included in the jurisdiction of the Lokayukta in most of the states.
Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility (LCU) L58
Recently, the Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility (LCU) L58 has been commissioned into the Indian Navy at Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Indian Naval Landing Craft Utility (LCU) L58
- It is the eighth and last ship of the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Mark IV Class.
- It is indigenously designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata.
- The LCU 58 is an amphibious ship which can carry 160 troops, in addition to its crew.
- It is capable of carrying various types of combat vehicles such as Main Battle Tanks (MBTs), BMPs, Armoured Vehicles, trucks, etc.
- It is fitted with an advanced Electronic Support Measure (ESM) suite to intercept enemy radar transmissions, an advanced Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and a sophisticated Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).
- It will allow single station monitoring of the ship’s navigational and machinery equipment respectively.
- The main armament of the ship includes two indigenously manufactured 30 mm CRN 91 guns which are controlled by a Stabilised Optronic Pedestal (SOP).
- The SOP is an electronic day-night director sight manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
- It is manned by a motivated team of five officers and 50 sailors.
Anangpal Tomar II
Recently, a government seminar was conducted in Delhi which highlighted the legacy of the long-forgotten Tomar king Anangpal II.
Anangpal Tomar II
- He belonged to the Tomar dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Delhi and Haryana between the 8th and 12th centuries.
- He was instrumental in populating Indraprastha and giving it its present name, Delhi.
- Anangpal of the Tomar Rajputs founded Delhi between 1053 and 1109 AD.
- Anangpal Tomar II was succeeded by his grandson Prithviraj Chauhan.
Tomar Dynasty
- The Delhi Sultanate was established in 1192 after Prithviraj Chauhan’s defeat in the Battle of Tarain (present-day Haryana) by the Ghurid forces.
- In middle of 11th century, he built a fort called Lal Kot (literally Red Fort), in which the Qutb Minar stands today, and founded a town.
- Tomars and their Delhi link find mention in some modern-day literature as well.
- The noted medieval historian Professor K A Nizami’s Urdu book, Ehd-e-Wusta ki Dilli, translated in English as Delhi in Historical Perspectives, looks at Delhi across six centuries (from 1300 to 1800).
- It mentioned that Delhi formally emerged as a city only in the 11th century, when Tomar Rajputs took over the mountainous Aravalli region.
- It said that the most reliable evidence about the early history of Delhi is inscribed on the iron pillar of Masjid Quwaatul Islam, adjacent to the Qutab Minar.
- Basheeruddin Ahmed in Waqeat-e-Darul Hukumat Dehli and Gordon Risley Hearns in The Seven Cities of Delhi refer to an invasion and conquest of Delhi by Chauhan Rajputs in AD 1151.
- It provides that they reached an arrangement that the Tomar should marry a Chauhan princess so that their offspring becomes the king of Delhi.
GRAM UJALA Programme
Recently, the Ministry of Power has launched the GRAM UJALA programme in Arrah, Bihar.
Need of GRAM UJALA Programme
- The rural population of India is still unable to afford discounted LEDs.
- The programme will have a significant impact on India’s climate change action.
- If all 300 million lights in India were replaced, the total energy savings would be 40,743 million kWh/year, avoided peak demand of 22,743MW/year and CO2 reductions of 37 million tons per year.
- It will not only give a fillip to our fight against climate change by increasing energy efficiency, but also usher in a better standard of life, financial savings, and better safety for the citizens in rural areas.
GRAM UJALA Programme
- It is a customized program for rural India, based uniquely and innovatively on carbon finance.
- Under the programme, the LEDs will be available for only Rs 10 each for each household, in exchange for working condition old incandescent lamps.
- Under the programme, 7 watt and 12-Watt LED bulbs with 3 years warranty will be given to rural consumers against submission of working Incandescent bulbs.
- It will be implemented in villages of the 5 districts only and consumers can exchange a maximum of 5 LED bulbs.
- Under the GRAM UJALA programme, CESL will distribute high quality LED bulbs, at an affordable cost of 10 rupees per bulb in rural areas.
- The Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a PSU under Ministry of Power.
- In the first phase of this programme, 15 million (1.5 crore) LED bulbs will be distributed across villages of Aarah (Bihar), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Vijaywada (Andhra Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), and village in western Gujarat.
Significance of GRAM UJALA Programme
- Under the programme, the carbon credit documentation will be sent to UN accredited validators for inclusion into the Shine Program of activities.
- It will provide clean energy access and make a significant contribution towards mitigating climate change and achieving a sustainable future.
- It will have a significant impact on India’s climate change action energy savings of 2025 million KWh/year and CO2 reductions of 1.65 million T CO2/year.
- It will enable better illumination, at an affordable price of INR 10/bulb.
- It will usher in a better standard of life, financial savings, more economic activity, better safety for rural citizens and help in achieving a sustainable future.
MILAN Anti-Tank Guided Missiles
Recently, the Ministry of Defence has signed a ₹1,188 crore deal with state-run Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for supply of 4,960 MILAN-2T Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) for the Indian Army.
MILAN-2T Anti-Tank Guided Missiles
- The Milan-2T is a Tandem Warhead ATGM with the range of 1,850 metres.
- The tandem warheads comprise a forward charge and a rear charge separated by a blast shield.
- It is produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) under license from MBDA Missile Systems, France.
- It can be fired from ground as well as vehicle-based launchers.
- It can be deployed in anti-tank role for both offensive and defensive tasks.
MILAN ATGM
- It is a portable medium-range, anti-tank weapon manufactured by Euromissile, based in Fontenay-aux-Roses in France.
- The system was developed for the French and German Armies and over 360,000 missiles and 10,000 launch units have been produced since 1972.
- It is in service in 41 countries.
- MILAN 3, armed with a tandem warhead with a new firing post with jam-resistant pulsed-beacon infrared guidance, has been in production since 1996.
- The MILAN ADT/ER is the latest version of the missile system with new digitised firing post and new extended-range missile.
Applications to predict Weather Phenomena
Recently, the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has provided that the Western Himalayan Region will witness light to moderate scattered to widespread rainfall under the influence of Western Disturbances.
Applications to predict Weather Phenomena
Mausam App
- It has been designed and developed jointly by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
- It will provide city-wise weather forecasts, nowcasts and other warnings.
- It will provide current weather information, including temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, for 200 cities.
- It will also issue nowcasts, three-hourly warnings, for local weather phenomena and their intensity for about 800 stations and districts.
- It has a system which will issue colour-coded alerts (red, yellow, orange) for all districts twice a day for up to five days to warn people ahead of dangerous weather.
Meghdoot App
- It gives out weather forecast-based agro advisories to farmers in different regions in their own languages.
- The advisories include wind speed, its direction, humidity and rainfall every three hours.
- It provides crop and livestock advisories for selected locations every Tuesday and Friday.
- It is developed by the India Meteorological Department, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and Indian Council of Agricultural Research
- The advisories come in 10 languages, including Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Odia and Hindi.
- It also advises farmers on how to keep the livestock healthy, detailing the preferable amount of fodder that can be given.
- Another feature is ‘Past weather’ using which one can track weather patterns in the selected region of the past seven days.
Damini App
- It is a Mobile App on Lightning Location Network.
- It has been developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.
- It gives exact location of current lightning strikes, probable locations of impending lightning around area of 40 sq.km and movement and direction of thunderstorm.
- It also lists precautionary steps to be taken during lightning and some general information on lightning.
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