EAC clears pen monument project in T.N.

• The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recommended the proposal to construct Pen Monument in the Marina beach, for coastal regulation zone clearance with conditions.
• The EAC has noted that the National Centre for Coastal Research must monitor erosion and sand accretion and a no-objection certificate must be sought
• The EAC has mandated that the number of visitors be maintained at any given time as stated in the crowd management plan and groundwater not be extracted within the CRZ area for construction.
• Moreover, construction should not be carried out during the turtle nesting season.
• The CRZ clearance is also subject to the final order of the National Green Tribunal

Expert Appraisal Committees

• Expert Appraisal Committees (EAC), also known as Environmental Appraisal Committees, exist at the Union as well as state levels (state expert appraisal committee or SEAC) to advise the government on environmental clearance of development projects.
• According to the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, evaluation of proposals involves four steps: screening, scoping, public hearing and appraisal.
• EAC/SEAC are involved in various capacities in all the stages, except for public hearing. The selection criteria for EAC chairpersons are also given in the EIA Notification, 2006.
• Such committees have been constituted (but not limited to) for different sectors such as River Valley/Hyrdo, Industrial projects, Coal mining, Non-coal mining, Thermal power plants, Infrastructure/Coastal Regulation Zone, Nuclear etc.
• The EACs'' primary role in the environmental clearance (EC) process is to give recommendations to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on project proposals after considering the potential impacts of the project.
• The MoEFCC normally accepts these recommendations, but it could disagree and ask the EAC to reconsider its recommendations.
• EAC members are appointed because of their expertise and their role in the process is to provide an expert opinion on a proposed project, its impacts and possible mitigative measures to the MoEFCC.
• The financial implications of the process or any delay in approving a project should not be a relevant consideration for the EACs.

Union Minister for MSME launches the revamped CGTMSE Scheme

CGTMSE has been provided with an additional corpus support of ₹9,000 crore in the Union Budget for FY 2023-24 to revamp its Scheme to provide guarantee for additional ₹2 lakh crore to Micro & Small Enterprises.

• Other major changes made in the revamped version include:
  • Reduction in guaranteed fees for loans up to ₹1 crore by 50%.
  • Raising of ceiling for guarantee from ₹2 crore to ₹5 crore.
  • Raising the bar for claim settlement without taking legal action from the previous limit of Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 10 lakhs.

CGTMSE Scheme

• About:
  • It was launched in 2000 by the Government of India (GoI) to make available collateral-free credit to the micro and small enterprise sector.
• Scope:
  • Both the existing and the new enterprises are eligible to be covered under the scheme.
• Funding:
  • The corpus of CGTMSE is contributed by the GoI and SIDBI in the ratio of 4:1 respectively.
  • The Ministry of MSMEs, and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) established a trust named Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) to implement the CGTMSE Scheme.
• Financial Inclusion for MSMEs:
  • While launching the revamp of CGTMSE, it was announced that CGTMSE will collaborate with National Institute for MSME, Hyderabad for setting up a Centre of Financial Inclusion.
  • The Centre is expected to provide financial literacy and credit counselling to MSEs, thus helping them to better utilize the benefits of the CGTMSE Scheme.

Dima Hasao insurgent group signs peace pact with Assam, Centre

An Assam-based insurgent group — Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA)/Dimasa People’s Supreme Council (DPSC) — which operates in the Dima Hasao district, signed a peace agreement with the State Government and the Centre in the presence of Union Home Minister.

• The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed which makes the DNLA lay down its arms and abide by the Constitution of India.
  • The group will disband their armed organisation, vacate all camps occupied by DNLA cadres and join the mainstream.
  • A total of 179 DNLA cadres will surrender their arms and ammunition.
• The central and state governments will provide Rs 500 crore each for the development of the Dimasa tribal areas.
• Dimasa Welfare Council will be set up by the Government of Assam to protect, preserve and promote a social, cultural, and linguistic identity to meet political, economic and educational aspirations and will ensure speedy and focused development of the Dimasa people residing outside the jurisdiction of North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC).
  • Dimasa Tribal Region is run by NCHAC.
• The MoU also provides for the appointment of a Commission under Paragraph 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India to examine the demand for the inclusion of additional villages contiguous to the NCHAC with the Council.
  • The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 provides for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions — Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) — that have some legislative, judicial, and administrative autonomy within a state.

DNLA

• It is an insurgent group operating in Dima Hasao and Karbi Anglong districts in Assam.
• The DNLA was established in April 2019 seeking a sovereign territory for the Dimasa tribals and launched an armed insurgency to achieve its goal.
• The group aims to “develop a sense of brotherhood among the Dimasas and also to rebuild the trust and faith among the Dimasa society for regaining the Dimasa Kingdom”.
• The group runs on extortion and taxation. “It draws its support and sustenance from the NSCN(IM) of Nagaland.

Dimasas

• The Dimasas (or Dimasa-Kacharis) are the earliest known rulers and settlers of Assam, and now live in Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, Cachar, Hojai and Nagaon districts of central and southern Assam, as well as parts of Nagaland.
  • Some of the historians describe them as “aborigines” or the “earliest known inhabitants of the Brahmaputra Valley”.
• Prior to **[Ahom rule,]the Dimasa kings — believed to be the descendants of the rulers of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom — ruled large parts of Assam along the south bank of the Brahmaputra between the 13th and 16th centuries.
• Their earliest historically known capital was Dimapur (now in Nagaland), and later Maibang in North Cachar Hills.
• It was a powerful kingdom and had almost all of the southern belt of Brahmaputra under its control in the 16th century.
• Protection:
  • Dima Hasao district and Karbi Anglong both enjoy the Sixth Schedule status granted by the Constitution of India.
  • They are run by the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) and the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) respectively.
    • The Autonomous Council is a powerful body and almost all the departments of government are under its control except the police and Law & Order are under Assam Government.

The BCG vaccine, did not provide any significant protection against Covid-19 infection

The BCG vaccine, typically administered to prevent tuberculosis, did not provide any significant protection against Covid-19 infection to healthcare workers, a new study said.

• The clinical trial to repurpose the BCG vaccine against Covid-19 started during the early days of the pandemic when there were fewer ways to treat Covid-19.
• The BCG vaccine has existed for over 80 years and is part of India’s Universal Immunisation Programme.
• The vaccine, containing weakened strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is administered to fight against tuberculosis, meningitis and other respiratory tract infections, according to another study.
• The current study was supposed to have 10,000 participants from five countries and continue for 12 months, but was stopped once mRNA vaccines were developed.
• The paper reported the results of a trial where 4,000 adults were observed over six months.

Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine:

• It is a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB)
• The vaccine was developed by Calmette and Guerin and was first administered to human beings in 1921.
• It is the most widely administered vaccine and is usually a part of the routine newborn immunization schedule.
• BCG vaccine also offers protection against non-tuberculous mycobacterial infectionslike leprosy and Buruli ulcer.
• It is often given to infants and small children.
• It is rarely given to anyone over the age of 16 because there is little evidence it works very well in adults.

Sun halo spotted in Prayagraj leaves many awe-inspired.

The skies of Uttar Pradesh''s Prayagraj were graced by an awe-inspiring phenomenon on Friday. Sun halo or the “22 degree halo” was seen in the city by many. The mysterious ring was seen for a few hours.

Sun halo:

• It is an optical phenomenon that occurs due to sunlight refracting millions of hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere.
• When white light passes through unique hexagonal ice crystals found in upper-level cirrus clouds, causing the halo to have colours.
• The clouds contain millions of tiny ice crystals, which refract, split and even reflect the light to give an impression of a circular rainbow ring.
• The crystals have to be oriented and positioned just so with respect to your eye, for the halo to appear.
• Light undergoes two refractions as it passes through the ice crystals and the bending that occurs depends on the ice crystal''s diameter.
• The two refractions bend the light by 22 degrees from its original point, producing a ring of light around the Sun or the Moon.
• The lunar halos are mostly colourless as moonlight is not very bright.
• In the case of the Sun, these colours are more noticeable and appear as bright as a rainbow.