Governance/Government Initiatives/GSII
Cabinet approves Restoration and continuation of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)
 

What's the NEWS

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the restoration and continuation of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) during the remaining part of Financial Year 2021-22 and up to Financial Year 2025-26 co-terminus with the period of 15^th Finance Commission.

• The MPLADS is a Central Sector Scheme fully funded by Government of India.
• The objective of the scheme is to enable MPs to recommend works of developmental nature with emphasis on the creation of durable community assets in the areas of drinking water, primary education, public health, sanitation and roads, etc. primarily in their Constituencies.
• The annual MPLADS fund entitlement per Member of Parliament (MP) constituency is Rs.5 crore, released in two instalments of Rs.2.5 crore each, subject to the fulfilment of conditions as per the MPLADS Guidelines.
• For managing the health and adverse impacts of covid 19 in the society, the Cabinet in its meeting held on 6^th April 2020, had decided not to operate MPLADS during the FY 2020-21 and 2021-22 and place the fund at the disposal of Ministry of Finance for managing the impacts of covid 19 pandemic.
• The Union Cabinet has now decided to restore Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS)

What's the NEWS

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) Contingent has inducted for participation in the biennial Dubai Air Show to be held at the Al Maktoum International Airport from 14^th to 18^th November 21.
• The IAF has been invited by the Government of UAE to participate with the Sarang and Suryakiran Aerobatics Teams.
• These teams will be performing along with some of the best aerobatics and display teams in the world, including the Saudi Hawks, Russian Knights and the UAE's Al Fursan.
• In addition, the IAF's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas shall be part of the aerobatics and static displays during the show.
• The induction of five Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) Dhruvs of the Sarang Team, 10 BAE Hawk 132s of the Suryakiran Team and the three LCA Tejas was completed by 09^th November 21.
• While the Sarang Team has previously participated in the Al Ain Grand Prix in UAE in 2005, the Dubai Air Show will be the first occasion for the Suryakirans and the Tejas to show off their swashbuckling aerial manoeuvres

What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has paid tributes to Acharya Kripalani on his Jayanti.

• Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani (1888 - 1982), popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, was an independence activist, Indian politician and an Educationist.
• Kripalani was also well-known for his work in the field of education. From 1912 to 1927, he taught at various places before becoming wholly involved in freedom movement.
• He earned the moniker ‘Acharya' around 1922 when he was teaching at the Gujarat Vidyapith, founded by the Mahatma a couple of years before.
• He was involved in the organization of Non-Cooperation Movement and the Civil Disobedience movements and Quit India Movement.
• He was the President of Indian National Congress (INC) at the time of independence.
• He served in the Interim government of India (1946-1947) and the Constituent Assembly of India.
• Post-independence, he left the Congress and became one of the founders of the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP). This party subsequently merged with the Socialist Party of India to form the Praja Socialist Party (PSP).
• He remained in opposition for the rest of his life and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1952, 1957, 1963 and 1967 as a member of Praja Socialist Party.
• Kripalani moved the first-ever No confidence motion in Lok Sabha in 1963, immediately after the India-China War.
• He remained a critic of Nehru's policies and Indira Gandhi's authoritarian rule. He was arrested during Emergency.
• He along with Vinoba Bhave, was involved in in preservation and conservation activities throughout the 1970s.
• He was married to Sucheta Kripalani, India's first woman Chief Minister, who led Uttar Pradesh from 1963 to 1967. She remained in Congress after Independence.

Personalities in NEWS/Prelims Factoids
ONAKE OBAVVA
 

What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister Narendra Modi bowed to the great Kannada warrior woman, Onake Obavva on the special occasion of her Jayanti.

• She belonged to the Holayas (Chalavadi) community.
• Onake Obavva was a brave hindu woman who fought the forces of Hyder Ali single-handedly with a pestle (Onake) in the kingdom of Chitradurga of Karnataka.
• Her husband was a guard of a watchtower in the rocky fort of Chitradurga.
• In the state of Karnataka, she is celebrated along with Abbakka Rani, Keladi Chennamma and Kittur Chennamma, as the foremost women warriors and patriots.

Location in NEWS
Central Institute of Horticulture, Nagaland
 

What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, virtually inaugurated the Kisan Bhawan and Beekeeper Conference at the Central Institute of Horticulture, Nagaland.
• Government of India set-up the "Central Institute of Horticulture" at Medziphema, Nagaland under the Central Sector Scheme in the year 2006.
• The Central Institute of Horticulture (CIH) is headed by Director under the supervision of Horticulture Commissioner, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

• National Achievement Survey (NAS) to be held on 12th November, 2021 across the country.

• The Government of India has been implementing a rolling programme of sample based National Achievement Survey (NAS) aimed at classes III, V, VIII and X with a cycle period of three years.
• The last National Achievement Survey (NAS) was held on 13th November, 2017 for assessing the competencies developed by the children at the grade levels III, V and VIII.
• The next round of NAS will be held on 12th November 2021 across the country, which will help to assess the learning interruptions and new learnings during the COVID pandemic and help to take remedial measures.
• The instrument development, testing, finalization of the test items, sampling of the schools etc. has been done by NCERT.
• However, the actual administration of the test in the sampled schools will be done by CBSE in collaboration with the respective states/UTs.
• NAS 2021 will cover the entire spectrum of schools i.e. Government Schools (Central Government and State Government), Government Aided Schools and Private schools across the country.
• It is expected that nearly 1.23 lakh schools and 38 lakh students in 733 districts across 36 States and UTs will be covered in the NAS 2021.

Health/GSII
NUTRITION SMART VILLAGE
 

What's the NEWS

• As part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, to commemorate the 75th year of Independence of India a programme on "Nutrition Smart Village" will be initiated to strengthen the Poshan Abhiyan.

• The objectives of the initiative are promoting nutritional awareness, education and behavioural change in rural areas involving farm women and school children, harnessing traditional knowledge through the local recipe to overcome malnutrition and implementing nutrition-sensitive agriculture through homestead agriculture and Nutri-garden.
• This new initiative aims to reach out to 75 villages across India through the network of All India Coordinated Research Project on Women in Agriculture (AICRP-WIA) which is in operation at 13 centres in 12 States of India besides the coordinating institute located at Bhubaneswar.
• The initiative has been undertaken in line with the Prime Minister's call to all the academicians, agricultural scientists and all the institutions to adopt and transform 75 villages.
• Under the initiative, A total of 75 villages will be adopted by AICRP centres and ICAR-CIWA, for which the AICRP centres will adopt 5 villages each with the remaining to be adopted by ICAR-CIWA with an aim to develop 75 Nutri-Smart villages.

Environment Conservation/GSIII
Mandatory use of jute in packaging
 

What's the NEWS

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved reservation norms for mandatory use of jute in packaging for the Jute Year 2021 -22 (1st July, 2021 to 30th June, 2022) on 10th November, 2021.

• The Mandatory packaging norms approved for Jute Year 2021-22 provide for 100% reservation of the foodgrains and 20% of sugar to be compulsorily packed in jute bags.
• The Jute industry occupies an important place in the national economy of India in general and Eastern Region in particular i.e. West Bengal, Bihar, Odisa, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
• The reservations norms under JPM Act provide for direct employment to 0.37 million workers and 4 million farmers in the Jute Sector.
• Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing Commodities) Act 1987 protects interest of Jute farmers, workers and persons engaged in jute goods' production.
• 75% of the total production of the Jute Industry is Jute Sacking Bags of which 90% is supplied to the Food Corporation of India (FCl) and State Procurement Agencies (SPAs) and remaining is exported/sold directly.

Governance/GSII
Mineral Conservation And Development (Amendment) Rules, 2021
 

What's the NEWS

• Ministry of Mines has notified the Mineral Conservation and Development (Amendment) Rules, 2021 on 3^rd November, 2021 to amend the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, 2017 [MCDR].

• Rules prescribed that that all plans and sections related to mine shall be prepared by combination of Digital Global Positioning System (DGPS) or Total Station or by drone survey in relation to certain or all leases as may be specified by Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM).
• New Rule inserted to provide for submission of digital images of mining area by lessees and Letter of Intent holders.
• Requirement of submitting satellite images obtained from CARTOSAT-2 satellite LISS-IV sensor on the scale of cadastral map deleted in view of the insertion of provision for submission of high resolution Georeferenced Ortho-rectified Multispectral satellite and use of drone survey as per Rule 34A.
• Provision of daily return omitted to reduce compliance burden. Power of taking action against incomplete or wrong or false information in monthly or annual returns given to IBM, in addition to State Govt.
• Allowed engagement of a part-time mining engineer or a part-time geologist for category 'A' mines having leased area below 25 hectares. This will ease compliance burden for small miners.

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