PM GatiShakti National Master Plan has the potential to save over Rs. 10 Lakh Crore annually by improving logistics efficiency

• The LEADS is an indigenous data-driven index to assess logistics infrastructure, services, and human resources across all 36 States and UTs.
• The index is an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports and economic growth.
• The index aims at enhancing the focus on improving logistics performance across states which is essential for improving the country''s trade and reducing transaction cost.
• Unlike the previous versions of LEADS which were based on ranking systems for all states, LEADS 2022 has adopted a classification-based grading, states have been now classified under four categories viz coastal states, hinterland/landlocked states, north-eastern states, and Union Territories.
• Three performance categories namely,
  • Achievers: States/UTs achieving 90% or more percentage,
    • Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat are among the 15 States and UTs categorised as achievers.
  • Fast Movers: States/UTs achieving percentage scores between 80% to 90%,
    • Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tripura are the other States categorised as fast movers.
  • Aspirers: States/UTs achieving percentage scores below 80% have been made.
    • The 15 States and UTs ranked in the aspirers category include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The LEADS 2022 survey report would assist PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP) and National Logistics Policy (NLP).

PM GatiShakti National Master Plan has the potential to save over Rs. 10 Lakh Crore annually by improving logistics

• The PM GatiShakti National Master Plan was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 13, 2021.
• It is a digital platform to bring 16 Ministries including Railways and Roadways together for integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects.
• It will facilitate the last mile connectivity of infrastructure and reduce logistics costs.
• It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc.
• Economic Zones like textile clusters, pharmaceutical clusters, defence corridors, electronic parks, industrial corridors, fishing clusters, agri zones will be covered to improve connectivity & make Indian businesses more competitive.

CERT-In and Power-CSIRTs jointly conduct Cyber Security Exercise “PowerEX-2022”

• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) in collaboration with Power-CSIRTs (Computer Security Incident Response Teams in Power sector), successfully designed & conducted the Cyber Security Exercise “PowerEX”.
• The theme of the exercise was “Defending Cyber induced disruption in IT & OT infrastructure”.
• The Objective of the exercise was to “Recognize, Analyse & Respond to Cyber Incident in IT & OT Systems”.

CERT-In:

• The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security in India and strengthen security-related defence of the Indian internet domain.

Over Rs 6,000-crore scheme for Northeast gets Cabinet nod

• It is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% central funding.
• It will be implemented by Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
• It will have an outlay of Rs.6,600 crore for the four year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• The infrastructure projects will be funded in line with the priorities laid down under the PM Gati Shakti program.
• The objectives of PM-DevINE are to:
  • Fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti;
  • Support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER;
  • Enable livelihood activities for youth and women;
  • Fill the development gaps in various sectors.

IMF terms India''s Direct Benefit Transfer scheme, as a ''logistical marvel''

• The aim of DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) is to transfer the benefits and subsidies of various social welfare schemes directly in the bank account of the beneficiary on time by bringing efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and also to eliminate the intermediary body.
• It was started on 1st January, 2013.
• It was created in the Planning Commission to act as the nodal point for the implementation of the DBT programmes.
• The Mission was transferred to the Department of Expenditure in July, 2013 and continue to function till 14.9.2015.
• To give more impetus, DBT Mission and matters related thereto has been placed in Cabinet Secretariat under Secretary (Co-ordination & PG) w.e.f. 14.9.2015.
• According to the government data, more than Rs 24.8 lakh crore has been transferred through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode since 2013.

MoS External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi criticises Pakistan for raising Kashmir issue at CICA platform

• The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a multi-national forum for strengthening cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
• It was founded by the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, on 5 October 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
• India is one of the founding members of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
• To be a member of CICA, a state must have at least a part of its territory in Asia.
• The CICA Summit is convened every four years. The Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs is required to be held every two years.
• The CICA Secretariat - administrative body of CICA - is located in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

India’s first sanctuary for endangered Slender Loris to be set up in Tamil Nadu

• The state government notified ''Kadavur slender loris sanctuary'' under Section 26 (A)(1)(b) of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Slender Loris:

• Slender Loris is a small nocturnal mammal that spends most of its life on trees.
• They are native to India and Sri Lanka and are also amongst the world’s top 25 endangered primates.
• They are listed under endangered species as per the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• They are also protected under Schedule 1 of the Indian legislation of the Wildlife (Protection) Act (WPA), 1972.
• They act as biological predators of pests that harm agricultural crops and help farmers.
• As per reports, there are 14,000 Slender Loris in the Dindigul and Karur forests in Tamil Nadu.

A quest for the ‘ghost’ cat: Behind Arunachal’s snow leopard survey

• The snow leopard has never been spotted nor recorded in the Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh.
• The belief that the national park is also the habitat of the snow leopard is based on the claim of a hunter from the Lisu ethnic community that he possessed the skin of the snow leopard.

Snow leopards:

• Snow leopards are native to the alpine regions of Central Asia.
• The 12 snow-leopard range countries are – Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Russia and Uzbekistan.
• In India, snow leopards inhabit the higher Himalayan and trans-Himalayan region at an altitude between 3,000-5,400 metres.
• Snow leopard states are Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.

Conservation:

• It is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN red list of threatened species.
• It is protected under Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
• Also, it is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES).

ISRO’s Next-Gen Launch Vehicle may assume PSLV’s role

• NGLV will feature semi-cryogenic propulsion (refined kerosene as fuel with liquid oxygen (LOX) as oxidiser) for the booster stages which is cheaper and efficient.
• According to ISRO the NGLV should be a cost-efficient, three-stage, reusable heavy-lift vehicle with a payload capability of 10 tonnes to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
• NGLV will feature a simple, robust design which allows bulk manufacturing, modularity in systems, sub-systems and stages and minimal turnaround time.
• Potential uses will be in the areas of launching communication satellites, deep space missions, future human spaceflight and cargo missions.

PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle):

• It is an indigenously-developed expendable launch system of the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization). It was developed in the 1980s.
• It comes in the category of medium-lift launchers with a reach up to various orbits, including the Geo Synchronous Transfer Orbit, Lower Earth Orbit, and Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.
• All the operations of PSLV are controlled from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, east coast, India.
• It has a four-stage system comprising a combination of solid and liquid-fuelled rocket stages.
  • The first stage at the very bottom is solid fuelled having six strap-on solid rocket boosters wrapped around it.
  • Second stage is liquid fuelled whereas the third stage has a solid fuelled rocket motor.
  • At the fourth stage, the launcher uses a liquid propellant to boost in the outer space.

69% drop in wildlife population globally in 50 years: Living Planet Report

• The highest decline (94 per cent) was in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.
• Africa recorded a 66 per cent fall in its wildlife populations from 1970-2018 and the Asia Pacific 55 per cent.
• Freshwater species populations globally reduced by 83 per cent. Habitat loss and barriers to migration routes were responsible for about half of the threats to monitored migratory fish species.
• It identified six key threats to biodiversity — agriculture, hunting, logging, pollution, invasive species and climate change — to highlight ‘threat hotspots'' for terrestrial vertebrates.
• Mangroves continue to be lost to aquaculture, agriculture and coastal development at a rate of 0.13 per cent per year.
• Around 137 square kilometres of the Sundarbans mangrove forest in India and Bangladesh has been eroded since 1985.

Living Planet Report:

• It is published biennially by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
• It is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet.
• The Living Planet Report 2022 is the 14th edition of the report.