Daily Current Capsules 25^th November 2021

Infrastructure Development/GSIII/Governance/GSII
PM Gati Shakti- BISAG-N

What's the NEWS

• The PM Gatishakti National Master Plan has been developed by BISAG-N (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics) in a dynamic Geographic Information System (GIS) platform wherein data on specific action plan of all the Ministries/Departments is being incorporated within a comprehensive database.
• The system will be further developed as a Digital Master Planning tool with Project Management tools, dynamic dashboards, MIS reports generation etc.

Know! about the capacity building exercise conducted by the BISAG-N team

• In order to facilitate the process, capacity building exercise is being conducted by the BISAG-N team with senior-level officers of relevant ministries and departments under Government of India with an aim to integrate and synchronise data on their existing/planned projects in a single platform.
• This exhaustive exercise shall mark an exchange of data between the respective departments and BISAG-N for updation of the National Master Plan.
• The exercise will assist the departments to gain a better know-how of the GIS tool and enable them to prioritize and plan the timeline of their projects in coordination with other infrastructural projects.
• This will increase efficiency of logistics leading to improved competitiveness of Indian economy.

Examples of integrate and synchronise data between ministries

• The infrastructure ministries are ensuring updation of existing and proposed infrastructure in National Master Plan Portal. Similarly, the economic ministries are updating the existing economic zones in the country.
• This exercise will lead to identification of gap in infrastructure and the need for economic zones.
• Such gap analysis will be examined by the Network Planning Group.

Benefits

• With the updation of entire infrastructure and economic zones by the central and state governments, the National Master Plan would become a real time decision making tool for infrastructural and economic ministries.
• This will bring in cost efficiencies and competitiveness and thus will improve overall logistics efficiency in the country.

Personalities in NEWS/Prelims Factoids
Chaudhary Harmohan Singh Yadav
 

 

What's the NEWS

• The President of India graced and addressed the birth centenary celebrations of Chaudhary Harmohan Singh Yadav in Kanpur (November 24, 2021).

Chaudhary Harmohan Singh Yadav

• He was an Indian educationist, social worker, independence activist, and an active politician from Samajwadi Party.
• He received the Shaurya Chakra award for valour from the president of India in 1991, for protecting Sikhs from attack during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

 

State Specific/Prelims Factoids
PM pays tributes to Lachit Borphukan on Lachit Diwas 

 

What's the NEWS

 

• The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Lachit Borphukan on Lachit Diwas.

Lachit Borphukan

• Lachit Borphukan is a cultural idol in Assam after he defeated a large Mughal Army on the banks of Brahmaputra in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671 to defend Guwahati.
• On November 24, each year, Lachit Divas is celebrated statewide in Assam to commemorate the heroism of Lachit Borphukan and the victory of the Assamese army at the Battle of Saraighat.

Polity/GSII/Prelims Factoids
Constitution Day on 26 November

What's the NEWS

• The nation will celebrate Constitution Day on 26 November to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India by the Constituent Assembly in 1949.
• The observation of Constitution Day started in 2015, based on the vision of the Prime Minister to give due recognition to the significance of this historic date.
• The roots of this vision can also be traced back to the "Samvidhan Gaurav Yatra" organised by the then Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2010.
• As a part of Constitution Day celebrations this year, Prime Minister will participate in the programmes being organised in Parliament and Vigyan Bhawan on 26th November, 2021.
• Prime Minister will inaugurate the two day Constitution Day celebrations organised by the Supreme Court

Government Schemes/Social Issues/GSII
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-Phase V)
 

 

What's the NEWS

• The Union Cabinet has approved the extension for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-Phase V) for a period of another 4 months i.e. December 2021 till March 2022 @ 5 kg per person per month free of cost for all the beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) [Antodaya Anna Yojana & Priority Households] including those covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• Phase-I and Phase-II of this scheme was operational from April to June, 2020 and July to November, 2020 respectively.
• Phase-III of the scheme was operational from May to June, 2021.
• Phase-IV of the scheme is currently operational for July-November, 2021 months.
• The PMGKAY scheme for Phase V from December 2021 till March, 2022 would entail an estimated additional food subsidy of Rs. 53344.52 Crore

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana

• In the wake of economic disruptions caused by the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19 in the country last year, the Government in March 2020 had announced the distribution of additional free-of-cost foodgrains (Rice/Wheat) to about 80 Crore National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries at the scale of 5 Kg per person per month under the PM Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY), over and above the regular monthly NFSA foodgrains i.e., regular entitlements of their ration cards, so that the poor, needy and the vulnerable households/beneficiaries do not suffer on account of non-availability of adequate foodgrains during the times of economic crisis.

Science and Technology/GSIII
Atmosphere' & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)
 

 

What's the NEWS

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister gave its approval for continuation of the umbrella scheme "Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)" along with its eight sub-schemes to the next finance cycle of five years i.e. 2021-2026 at an estimated cost of Rs.2,135 crore.

The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) through its units namely

1. India Meteorological Department (IMD),
2. National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF);
3. Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and
4. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).

Atmosphere & Climate Research-Modelling Observing Systems & Services (ACROSS)

• ACROSS scheme pertains to the atmospheric science programs of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and addresses different aspects of weather and climate services.
• Each of these aspects is incorporated as eight sub-schemes under the umbrella scheme "ACROSS" and is implemented in an integrated manner through the aforesaid four institutes.

Implementation Strategy and target:

• The eight sub-schemes under the ACROSS scheme are multi disciplinary in nature and will be implemented in an integrated manner through IMD, IITM, NCMRWF and INCOIS to cover all the aspects of the weather and climate.

Each institute has a designated role for accomplishing the above tasks through the following eight schemes:

1. Commissioning of Polarimetric Doppler Weather Radars (DWRs)-IMD
2. ( Upgradation of Forecast System-IMD
3. Weather & Climate Services-IMD
4. Atmospheric Observations Network-1 MD
5. Numerical Modelling of Weather and Climate -NCMRWF
6. Monsoon Mission III- IITM/NCMRWF/INCOIS/IMD
7. Monsoon Convection, Clouds and Climate Change (MC4)- IITM/NCMRWF/IMD
8. High Performance Computing System (HPCS)-IITM/NCMRWF

Major impact
The scheme will provide improved weather, climate, ocean forecast and services, and other hazard related services thereby ensuring transfer of commensurate benefits to the end -user through various services like

• Public weather service
• Agro-meteorological Services
• Aviation services
• Environmental monitoring services
• Hydro-meteorological services
• climate services
• tourism
• pilgrimage
• power generation,
• water management
• Sports & adventure etc.

Background:

• One of the mandates of the Ministry of Earth Sciences is to observe weather, climate and ocean parameters and carry out R&D activities to develop and improve capability to forecast weather, climate and hazard related phenomena for societal, economic and environmental benefits including addressing science of climate change and developing climate services.
• The increased incidence of extreme weather events due to Global Climate change and the risk associated with severe weather has prompted MoES to formulate many target oriented programs, which are carried out in an integrated manner through IMD, IITM, NCMRWF and INCOIS.
• As a result, these activities are put together under the umbrella scheme "ACROSS".

Science and Technology/GSIII
Ocean Services, Modelling, Application, Resources and Technology (O-SMART)
 

 

What's the NEWS

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister gave its approval for continuation of the umbrella scheme "Ocean Services, Modelling, Application, Resources and Technology (O-SMART)" of Ministry of Earth Sciences, for implementation during the period from 2021-26 at an overall cost of Rs. 2177 crore.

The scheme encompasses seven sub-schemes namely

1. Ocean Technology,
2. Ocean Modelling and Advisory Services (OMAS),
3. Ocean Observation Network (OON),
4. Ocean Non-Living Resources,
5. Marine Living Resources and Ecology (MLRE),
6. Coastal Research and Operation and Maintenance of Research Vessels.

These sub-schemes are being implemented by autonomous/attached institutes of the Ministry, viz.

• National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai;
• Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad;
• National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa,
• Center for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi; and
• National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Chennai
• A fleet of oceanographic and coastal research vessels of the Ministry provide required research support for scheme.

Ocean Research

• The research and technology development pertaining to oceans in India was initiated by Department of Ocean Development (DoD), which was set up in 1981 which later merged to Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and continuing since then.
• The O-SMART scheme encompassing oceanographic research activities is being implemented with the objectives for providing forecast and services based on the continuous observation of our oceans, development of technologies and exploratory surveys for sustainable harnessing of our oceanic resources (both living and non-living) and promotion of front-ranking research in ocean sciences.

Achievements of the scheme

• India recognised as Pioneer Investor with International Seabed Authority (ISA) for conducting extensive research on deep sea mining of Poly Metallic Nodules (PMN) and hydrothermal sulphides in the allotted area of the India Ocean.
• The technology development for desalination using low temperature thermal desalination installation of such facility in Lakshadweep islands is also a significant achievement.
• India's ocean related activities are now extended from the Arctic to Antarctic region covering large ocean space which have been monitored by through in-situ and satellite-based observation.
• India has taken leadership role in implementing Indian Ocean component of Global Ocean Observing System in Intergovernmental.
• A state-of-the-art early warning system for oceanic disasters viz. tsunami, storm surges, has been established at INCOIS, Hyderabad to provide services for India and countries of the Indian Ocean, which have been recognized by UNESCO.

Benefits of extending OSMART
 

• OSMART being a multidisciplinary continuing scheme, the ongoing extensive research and technology development activities would augment capacity building of the nation in the oceanographic field at the international level.
• The present decade has been declared as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development by the United Nations (UN) and continuation of the scheme would strengthen our stand in the global oceanographic research and technology development.
• This continuation of the scheme would contribute significantly towards national policy on blue economy for effective and efficient use of the vast ocean resources in a Sustainable way.

Infrastructure Development/GSIII
PM-WANI Framework
 
What's the NEWS

• Webinar on PM-WANI Framework organized by Department of Telecom
• The PM-WANI scheme, launched by the Department of Telecommunications, aims to setup Public Wi-Fi Networks by Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs) to provide public Wi-Fi services through Public Data Offices (PDOs) spread across length and breadth of the country to accelerate proliferation of Broadband Internet services.
• Light-touch regulation of Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access network Interface (PM-WANI) framework will encourage entrepreneurs to set up public wifi hotspots and generate additional revenue for themselves,

Know! about PM WANI

• As per the National Digital Communication Plan, the Central government has set a target of setting up of 10 million Wi-Fi hotspots by 2022 and the PM-WANI scheme will facilitate this.
• There shall be no license required by PDOs from DoT for providing Broadband Internet through these public Wi-Fi networks.
• The proliferation of public Wi-Fi networks in the country through PM WANI will accelerate the proliferation of public broadband services through Wi-Fi networks and it will enable local entrepreneurs such as chaiwalas, kirana stores and eateries to earn additional revenue.
• DOT will assist all the stakeholders in implementation and proliferation of PM WANI.

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