NITI Aayog
Student Entrepreneurship Program 3.0

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about SEP 3.O) + Mains ( GS II Education + GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) NITI Aayog in collaboration with La Fondation Dassault Systemes in India launched the third series of the ‘Student Entrepreneurship Program' (SEP 3.0) for the young innovators of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL).

Student Entrepreneurship Program (SEP 3.0)

• The theme of SEP 3.0 is based on the ‘Made in 3D - Seed the Future Entrepreneurs Program', conceptualized and rolled out in France by La Main à la Pate Foundation and La Fondation Dassault Systèmes Europe in 2017.
• As part of this program, a team from each school (6 students and a teacher) will be allocated seed funding towards creating their own start-up, design and prototype their innovation using 3D printing, prepare marketing campaign, define product pricing and create expansion strategy.
• At the end of the program, each school's startup will participate in a playful competition and present their marketing campaign in front of experts from industry and academia.
• SEP3.0 will allow student innovators to work closely with Dassault volunteers and gain - Mentor support, Prototyping and testing support, End-User feedback, Intellectual Property registration and Patenting of ideas/processes/products, Manufacturing support, and launch of the product in the market.
• A total of 50 teams from 26 states are selected for the SEP 3.0. Top 20 teams of ATL Marathon 2019, 10 teams selected by Dassault, 10 teams from Aspirational Districts and 10 teams from Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and North east regions are selected.
• The programme seeks to provide opportunity to school children to develop an entrepreneurial and inventive mind set, as well as suitable exposure through activities-based learning, exploration and challenges.
• School students and teachers will have a unique opportunity to connect and interact with French schools and students for cultural and technical knowledge sharing.
• The Top teams of SEP 3.0 are selected through the ATL Marathon, a nationwide contest where students identify community challenges and create grassroot innovations and solutions within their ATL lab.

Science & Technology
CSIR- Aroma Mission Phase-II

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about CSIR- Aroma Mission Phase-II)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Science and Technology inaugurating the one-day awareness cum training programme for farmers under CSIR- Aroma Mission Phase-II at CSIR- Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM)

Know! about Project Aroma

• Project Aroma of CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (Phase-II CSIR-IIIM) focuses on catalyzing setting up of cooperatives for marketing, promotion of cultivation and processing of high value Maps, development of superior varieties and their agro technologies, setting up of distillation units and processing facilities, skill and entrepreneurship development, value-addition and product development from MAPs.
• The Institute aims to cover 9000 Hectares in next three years in Jammu. Himrosa CK 10, Mint, lavender, Lemon grass Rosa grass, Ocimum, Rosemary, Wild Marigold, Salvia are some of the variety of aromatic plants under phase II of Aroma Mission.
• The project covers Fourteen high value aromatic crops extended on 3247 ha area covering 17 states and benefitting more than 3100 farmers.
• Around 190 Trainings/Awareness Programmes have been organized under CSIR Aroma Mission in 13 states.
• Till March 2021, more than 13 lakh rooted plants of Lavender were provided to more than 800 farmers in Jammu region (like DodaBaderwah) for more than 200 acres.
• As per estimates provided by the institute, income of farmers who adopted Lavender increased from around Rs. 20,000/- per acre to more than Rs. 180,000/- per acre.

First Phase of the Aroma Mission

• CSIR launched the First Phase of the Aroma Mission about three years back to bring decisive and transformative change in the rural economy, market dynamics, and growth opportunities in the aroma sector.
• Aroma Mission is one of its kind of project where an end-to-end technology on cultivation, processing, and marketing of high-value aromatic crops was provided to the farmers and other stakeholders.
• CSIR-IIIM provides full support to farmers for on ground implementation of objectives of this mega programme which is envisaged especially for farmers and rural prosperity.

National
Centre Notifies RoDTEP Scheme Guidelines and Rates

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about RoDTEP Scheme Guidelines -highlights) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions + governance)
What's the NEWS

• Centre has notified RoDTEP Scheme Guidelines and Rates (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products).
• The scheme for zero rating of exports will boost our exports & competitiveness in the global markets .The rates of RoDTEP will cover 8555 tariff lines.

Know! more about RoDTEP Scheme

• Scheme is to be implemented by Customs through a simplified IT System.
• Rebate will be issued in the form of a transferable duty credit/ electronic scrip (e-scrip) which will be maintained in an electronic ledger by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC).
• Identified export sectors and rates under RoDTEP cover 8555 tariff lines in addition to similar support being extended to apparel and made-ups exports under RoSCTL scheme of Ministry of Textiles.
• Employment Oriented Sectors like Marine, Agriculture, Leather, Gems & Jewellery etc. are covered under the Scheme.
• Other sectors like Automobile, Plastics, Electrical / Electronics, Machinery etc. also get support.
• The entire valve chain of textiles also gets covered through RoDTEP & RoSCTL.

Scheme's objective is to refund, currently un-refunded:

• Duties/ taxes/ levies, at the Central, State & local level, borne on the exported product, including prior stage cumulative indirect taxes on goods & services used in production of the exported product, and
• Such indirect Duties/ taxes/ levies in respect of distribution of exported products.

Benefits

• RoDTEP is going to give a boost to Indian exports by providing a level playing field to domestic industry abroad.
• RoDTEP support will be available to eligible exporters at a notified rate as a percentage of Freight On Board (FOB) value. Rebate on certain export products will also be subject to value cap per unit of the exported product.
• Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) is one such reform, based on the globally accepted principle that taxes and duties should not be exported, and taxes and levies borne on the exported products should be either exempted or remitted to exporters.

Science & Technology
United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about UNWGIC and UN-GGIM + GIS)
What's the NEWS

• The Global Geospatial Information Community was sensitized about the second United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) to be organized by India in October next year
• The curtain raiser event was organized on the margins of the Eleventh Session of the United Nation Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) to be held during the end of August 2021.

Know! about UN-WGIC

• The United Nation Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) organizes the United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) every four years with the objectives of enhancing international collaboration among the Member States and relevant stakeholders in Geospatial information management and capacities.
• The first UNWGIC was organized by China in October 2018.
• The UNGGIM has entrusted the responsibility of organizing the second UNWGIC to India during October 2022.
• India will organize the event as a part of the "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (Celebration of 75 years of Indian Independence)".
• The core theme of Second UNWGIC ‘Geo-enabling the Global Village'.
• The theme will help in focusing on the empowering role of Geospatial information to common citizens.

The United Nation Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM)

• ECOSOC established the Committee of Experts as the apex intergovernmental mechanism for making joint decisions and setting directions with regard to the production, availability and use of geospatial information within national, regional and global policy frameworks.
• Led by United Nations Member States, UN-GGIM aims to address global challenges regarding the use of geospatial information, including in the development agendas, and to serve as a body for global policymaking in the field of geospatial information management
• The first United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress held in Deqing, Zhejiang Province, China from 19 to 21 November 2018, convened under the purview of the United Nations, substantively improved and strengthened the role of geospatial information management, innovation and related technologies towards implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Geographic information system (GIS)

• Geographic Information System (GIS Software) is designed to store, retrieve, manage, display and analyze different types of geographic and spatial data, which allows users to produce maps and other graphic displays of geographic information for analysis and presentation and thus serves as a valuable tool to visualize spatial data and/or to build decision support systems for further use in any organization or research bodies.
• GIS stores data in geographical features and their characteristics; these features are typically classified as points, lines or areas, or as raster images.
• GIS stores information using spatial indices that make it possible to identify the features located in any arbitrary region of a map.
• Example - Empowering our rural population through the "SVAMITA" scheme, through which a digital certificate of landholding is being given to rural landowners.

Infrastructure Development
National Hydrogen Mission
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about National Hydrogen Mission + other initiatives announced by the PM) + Mains ( GS III infrastructure development - Energy )
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister announced the launch of the National Hydrogen Mission (NHM) on India's 75th Independence Day,
• The aim is to make the country a global hub for the production and export of green hydrogen.
• National Hydrogen Mission to accelerate plans to generate the carbon-free fuel from renewables as he set a target of 2047 for India to achieve self-reliance in energy.

Know! about National Hydrogen Mission

• The National Hydrogen Mission was first announced in the Union Budget for 2021-22 in February this year.
• The target is to make India a global hub for production as well as export of green hydrogen.
• Hydrogen is produced predominantly through Steam Methane Reforming, or SMR, which utilises fossils fuels, such as natural gas or coal, and through Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using a current of electricity.
• Currently, all hydrogen consumed in India comes from fossil fuels.
• By 2050, three-fourth of all hydrogen is projected to be green -- produced by renewable electricity and electrolysis.

To achieve self-reliance in energy ( initiatives or steps taken by the government)

• India can achieve self-reliance in energy through a mix of a gas-based economy, doping sugarcane extracted ethanol in petrol and electric mobility.
• India spends over Rs. 12 lakh crore on energy imports every year.
• While India is 85 per cent dependent on imports for meeting its oil needs, overseas supplies make up for roughly half of the local requirement for natural gas.
• India has to take a pledge that it will be energy independent by the year we celebrate 100th year of Independence.
• The roadmap for that is to increase usage of natural gas in the economy, setting up a network for supply of CNG and piped natural gas across the country, blending 20 per cent ethanol in petrol and electric mobility
• Out of the target of setting up 450 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity from renewable sources by 2030, India has already achieved 100 GW ahead of schedule
• The government is now looking at substituting some oil by one that is produced from sugarcane and other bio-materials.
• It is looking to supply petrol mixed with 20 per cent ethanol by 2023-24, up from the current 8 per cent.
• The government is looking at raising the share of natural gas in the economy to 15 per cent by 2030 from the current 6.2 per cent.

Hydrogen Fuel

• Hydrogen is the fuel of stars and packs awesome energy.
• It is also the most abundant element in the universe.
• But on Earth it is found in complex molecules such as water or hydrocarbons.
• Hydrogen is not a source of energy, like fossil fuels or renewable sources like sunlight and air, but an energy carrier, which means it has to be produced, or extracted, and stored before it can be used.
• But no matter how it is used, the by-product the burning of hydrogen produces is water.

Hydrogen fuel cells

• It is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, whose waste product, again, is water.
• Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as hydrogen and oxygen are supplied

Grey, Blue, Green of Hydrogen

• There are several ways of extracting hydrogen and, depending on the method, the hydrogen produced is classified as ‘grey', ‘blue', or ‘green' hydrogen.
• 96 per cent of hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels via carbon intensive processes".
• Hydrogen thus obtained is called ‘grey' hydrogen as the process, though not as expensive as the other methods, releases a lot of carbon dioxide.
• ‘Grey' hydrogen becomes ‘blue' hydrogen when the CO2 given out during its production is locked up through carbon capture and storage (CCS) processes.
• But while the CO2 output is lowered, this process is quite expensive.
• ‘Grey' and ‘blue' hydrogen, thus, are both produced by the same processes, the only difference for ‘blue' hydrogen being that the CO2 produced is sequestered.
• The government is aiming at Green' hydrogen that is produced from clean energy sources like renewables.
• ‘Green' hydrogen is released via electrolysis of energy from renewable sources.
• This process, though it gives rise to no CO2 emissions, is expensive and not commercially viable yet.

National
Rice provided under govt schemes to be fortified by 2024
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about rice fortification) + Mains ( GS II schemes for vulnerable section of population + social issues + government policies and interventions)
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister of India announced that rice distributed under various government schemes such as the public distribution system (PDS) and mid-day meal (MDM) will be fortified by 2024.
• Rice is the fifth item to get the government's fortification push after salt, edible oil, milk and wheat.

Know! about Fortification

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), fortification is the process of increasing the content of an essential micronutrient, such as vitamins or minerals, in a food item to improve its nutritional value and provide public health benefits at minimal cost.
• Food fortification is identified as one of the strategies used by WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization to tackle nutrient deficiencies at a global level with more than 86 countries working on cereal grain fortification like rice, wheat and maize amongst others.

Know! about Fortified rice

• Adding vitamins or minerals to most commonly eaten foods (fortification) has already been tried to reduce these deficiencies. For example, the addition of folate or iodine to items such as flour and salt. However, rice, which is a staple food for more than half of the world's population, is being added to the list.
• Cultivated and consumed in many parts of the world, rice makes for a promising avenue for ensuring fortified foods reach a large number of people.
• It helps tackle micronutrient deficiencies widespread in countries, which are also high consumers of rice, thereby helping vulnerable populations.
• India is one of the largest producers of rice, and accounts for 22 per cent of the world's rice production.
• It is also a leading consumer, with a per capita rice consumption of 6.8 kg/ month.
• According to the norms of the Food and Safety Standards Authority of India, 1 kg of fortified rice must contain iron (28mg-42.5mg), folic acid (75-125 mg) and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25mg).
• Rice can be fortified by adding a micronutrient powder containing iron, folic acid and other B-complex vitamins, vitamin A and zinc, which then sticks to the grains.
• A vitamin and mineral mix can also be sprayed on the surface of ordinary rice grains in several layers to form a protective coating.

Know! why it is a welcome step

• Rice has the highest uptake in government food safety net programmes such as the public distribution system, mid-day meal schemes, integrated child development services, etc.
• It has a potential to reach more than a million people, especially women and children making rice an ideal vehicle for fortification
• India bears the largest burden of iron-deficiency and anaemia globally, with nearly 59% of children and 50% of pregnant women being anaemic, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS 4) report.
• Child and maternal malnutrition is responsible for 15% of country's total disease burden.
• The NFHS-4, conducted in 2015-2016, found that the prevalence of underweight, stunted and wasted children under five was at 35.7, 38.4 and 21.0%.
• Child Malnutrition remains a major threat to the survival, growth and development of children.

Prelims Factoids
Greater Adjutant Storks

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about greater adjutant storks)
What's the NEWS

• In a first, Bihar has decided to tag endangered greater adjutant storks (Leptoptilos dubius), locally known as ‘Garuda', with GPS trackers to monitor their movement as a part of their conservation.

Know! about greater adjutant storks

• Bhagalpur's Kadwa Diara floodplains area is the third-most-popular breeding centre for the greater adjutant stork in the world after Assam and Cambodia.
• Historically the range of the Greater Adjutant covered India and Southeast Asia, but today the endangered storks are mostly found in the Indian state of Assam and in Cambodia.
• In India, the Greater Adjutant is now confined to the northeastern state of Assam, their last stronghold.
• There are only three known breeding grounds - one in Cambodia and two in India (Assam and Bihar).
• The greater adjutant is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae.There are about 20 species in the family.They are long-necked large birds.
• IUCN Red List: Endangered
• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972: Schedule IV
• They are considered the mount of Vishnu, one of Hinduism's prime deities.

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