November 2024

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Daily Current Capsules 26th November 2021

Government Policies and Interventions/GSII
River Cities Alliance
 

What's the NEWS

  • Union Minister for Jal Shakti launched the River Cities Alliance, a dedicated platform for river cities in India to ideate, discuss and exchange information for sustainable management of urban rivers

Know! more about the River Cities Alliance (RCA)

  • This first of its kind Alliance in the world symbolizes the successful partnership of the two Ministries i.e., Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
  • The Alliance will focus on three broad themes- Networking, Capacity Building and Technical Support.
  • The Secretariat of the Alliance will be set up at National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA), with NMCG's support.
  • The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA) have collaborated together to launch the River Cities Alliance (RCA).
  • The primary objective of RCA is to provide the member cities with a platform to discuss and exchange information on aspects that are vital for sustainable management of urban rivers such as minimizing their water footprint, reducing impacts on river and water bodies, capitalizing on natural, intangible, architectural heritage and associated services and develop self-sufficient, self-sustainable water resources through recycle, reuse strategy.
  • The Alliance cities will work towards adopting and localizing national policies and instruments with key river-related directions, prepare their Urban River Management Plans and develop city-specific sectoral strategies that are required for sustainable urban river management.
  • The Alliance gives opportunities to these cities to strengthen governance aspects for river cities and improves their liveability to attract external economic investments, access state of the art knowledge and frameworks as well as an opportunity to serve as the site for unique demonstration projects which will be implemented by NIUA and NMCG.
  • The 30 member cities include Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kanpur, Ayodhya, Patna, Howrah, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, etc. from Ganga basin states and Aurangabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Pune, Udaipur, Vijayawada, etc. from non-Ganga basin states.

Science and Technology/GSIII/Governance/International Organisations/GSII
India Internet Governance Forum 2021

What's the NEWS

  • Minister of Electronics & Information Technology inaugurated India Internet Governance Forum 2021 (IIGF 2021), a 3-day online event on internet governance, which is jointly being organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI).

Event Highlights

  • The event which is centered around the theme "Empowering India through Power of Internet", is bringing stakeholders of internet governance together to discuss the roadmap for digitization and reaffirm India as an essential participant globally.
  • Being held between 25-27 November, it is also going to highlight the role and importance of digitization in the international policy development on internet governance.

The India Internet Government Forum

  • It is an initiative associated with the UN Internet Governance Forum (UN-IGF).
  • The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multistakeholder platform bringing representatives together from various groups to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.
  • IIGF previously held a curtain-raiser event with an interesting insight into the roadmap for Digitisation in India in October 2021.
  • The event was a precursor to the institution of India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) formed in conformance to IGF - Paragraph 72 of the Tunis Agenda of the UN-based Internet Governance forum: (IGF).
  • All Indians have been waiting for the India chapter of the IGF for a long time which was constituted by the United Nations in the year 2006.
National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)
  • It is a non-profit company incorporated under Section 25 of the India Companies Act, 1956 (now section 8 under Companies Act 2013) with an objective of facilitating improved internet services in the country.
  • Registered on 19 June 2003,its primary purpose is to facilitate exchange of domestic internet traffic between the peering ISPs, Content players and any other organizations with their own AS number.
  • This enables more efficient use of international bandwidth, saving foreign exchange and also improves the Quality of Services (QoS) for internet users by avoiding multiple international hops and thus reducing latency.
  • Utilising servers routed through and administered by India, it also reduces the chances of Indian data being intercepted unlawfully by NSA and GCHQ.
  • Since 2005, NIXI has also created INRegistry (.in domain) as its autonomous body for maintenance of .IN domain.
  • Since December 2012, NIXI also manages the National Internet Registry of the country delegation Internet Protocol addresses (IPv4 and IPv6) and Autonomous System numbers to its Affiliates.
Science and technology/Cyber Awareness/GSIII
 24th CISO Deep Dive Training program
 

 

What's the NEWS

  • The National e-Governance Division under the Ministry of Electronics and IT is conducting a six-day Deep Dive Training program for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT officials from various Ministries & Departments, Government & Semi-Government organisations from Central and State Governments, PSUs, banks, among others.
  • Objective - Creating awareness around cyber security and develop an empowered and strong cyber ecosystem in Government organisations in India
Deep Dive Training program
  • Experts from both Government and private sector are attending the training program focused on topics like ISMS Standards, Mobile Security, Cyber Security products in India, data security, identity protection, cryptography, etc.
  • The Deep Dive Training program under the Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative is aimed to prepare the CISOs and frontline IT officials to face challenges of cyber security and handle cyber crisis.
  • This type of training empowers them to secure their organisations from cyber threats and for smooth delivery of e-Gov services and functioning of production units.
  • NeGD has been consistently organising such workshops with the primary goal of promoting a safe digital space among citizens.
Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative
  • The Cyber Surakshit Bharat initiative was launched in January 2018 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
  • It is the first public-private partnership of its kind that leverages the expertise of the IT industry in cyber security along with MeitY's organisations such as CDAC, CERT-In, NIC and STQC as the knowledge partners in this training program.
Other Highlights
  • India is ranked among top 10 countries, out of 182, in cyber security posture for the year 2020, jumping from the 47th position in the year 2018 to 10th position in 2020. This is a significant achievement with respect to the cyber preparedness in India.
Defence
 Fourth Submarine Of Project-75 ‘INS Vela' Commissioned
 
What's the NEWS
  • INS Vela, the fourth submarine in the series of six submarines of Project-75
  • The formal commissioning ceremony took place at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.
  • The Scorpene Class submarines are being built in India by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, under collaboration with M/s Naval Group (earlier DCNS), France.
  • The commissioning of the 4th in class submarine is a major milestone achieved .
  • INS Vela would form part of the Western Naval Command's Submarine fleet and would be another potent part of its arsenal.
  • Crew of the erstwhile ‘Vela', a Russian origin Foxtrot Class Submarine, which was decommissioned in 2010, were also present amongst the guests on this occasion.
Scorpene Class submarines
  • The Scorpene submarines are extremely potent platforms, they have advanced stealth features and are also equipped with both long range guided torpedoes as well as anti-ship missiles.
  • These submarines have a state of the art SONAR and sensor suite permitting outstanding operational capabilities.
  • They also have an advanced Permanent Magnetic Synchronous motor (PERMASYN) as its propulsion motor.
Education/GSII
 National Apprenticeship Training Scheme
 
What's the NEWS
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has accorded its approval for stipendiary support of Rs. 3,054 crore to apprentices who undergo apprenticeship training under National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) of Ministry of Education for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 (upto 31-03-2026).
  • Approximately 9 lakhs apprentices will be trained by industry and commercial organisations.
National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS)
  • NATS is a well-established scheme of Government of India which has demonstrated to enhance the employability of students who have successfully completed the apprenticeship training.
  • The apprentices who have completed graduate and diploma programme in Engineering, Humanities, Science and Commerce will be given stipend of Rs.9,000/- and Rs.8,000/- per month respectively.
  • The Government has increased expenditure on apprenticeship and it is in line with the thrust which National Education Policy 2020 has given to apprenticeship.
  • The scope of NATS has further been expanded to include students from Humanities, Science and Commerce besides students from engineering stream.
  • This scheme aims to raise the standards of skill level by strengthening the skill ecosystem and as a result, will provide employment to approximately 7 lakhs youths in the next five years.
  • The NATS will provide apprenticeship in the emerging areas under 'Production Linked Incentive' (PLI) such as Mobile manufacturing, Medical devices manufacturing, Pharma sector, Electronics/Technology products, Automobile sector etc.
  • The scheme will also be preparing skilled man power for connectivity/logistics industry sectors, identified under GatiShakti.
Agriculture/Prelims Factoids
 National Milk Day 2021
 
What's the NEWS
  • The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India,is organizing a mega event to commemorate the birth centenary of Dr. Varghese Kurien (Milk Man of India), which is celebrated as National Milk Day, on November 26, 2021, jointly with the National Dairy Development Board
  • During the ceremony, Union Minister for Animal Husbandry will confer the National GopalRatna Awards
Rashtriya Gokul Mission and GopalRatna Award 2021:
  • Indigenous bovine breeds of India are robust and possess the genetic potential to play crucial role in the national economy.
  • In the absence of a specific programme on development and conservation of indigenous breeds, their population has been declining and their performance is below the potential at present.
  • Thus the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, had initiated "RashtriyaGokul Mission", under National Programme for Bovine Breeding and Dairy Development in December 2014 with a view to conserve and develop indigenous bovine breeds.
  • The objective of the programme is genetic up-gradation of Cattle and Buffaloes.
  • To achieve this, Artificial Insemination (A.I.) service needs to be robust.
  • There are 302 million bovines in the country as per 20th Livestock census. The average productivity is 5 kg per day per animal at present.
  • AI technicians have a crucial role in transforming the bovine population from the state of low productivity to optimal productivity.
GopalRatna Award -
  • It one of the highest National Awards in the field of livestock and dairy sector, with an objective to encourage all individuals and Dairy cooperative societies / Milk Producer Company / Dairy farmers Producers Organizations working in this sector, are conferred in three categories, namely,
i. Best Dairy Farmer Rearing Indigenous Cattle/buffalo Breeds,
ii. Best Artificial Insemination Technician (AIT) and
iii. Best Dairy Cooperative/ Milk Producer Company/ Dairy Farmer Producer Organization).
  • For the first time, applications were invited on self-nomination through the online application portal https://gopalratnaaward.qcin.org developed by the Quality Council of India(QCI)
Disaster Management/GSIII
 World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM)
 

 

What's the NEWS

  • Raksha Mantri inaugurated the 5th World Congress on Disaster Management
Know! about WCDM
  • The 5th World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM) is being organised in New Delhi between November 24-27, 2021 at the campus of IIT Delhi on the overarching theme of ‘Technology, Finance and Capacity for Building Resilience to Disasters in the context of COVID-19'.
  • It is an initiative of Disaster Management Initiatives and Convergence Society (DMICS) having its headquarter in Hyderabad to bring researchers, policy makers and practitioners from around the world on the same platform to discuss various challenging issues of disaster risk management.
  • The aim is to promote interaction of science, policy and practices to enhance understanding of risks and advance actions for reducing risks and building resilience to disasters.
India's role in Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations
  • India's unique position in the IOR, complemented by a capability of the Armed Forces, enables it to contribute significantly in HADR situations.
  • Some notable HADR missions in the IOR undertaken by India in recent years, including Operation Rahat in Yemen in 2015
  • India taking lead and offering expertise of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (DRI) to its friendly countries
  • Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) was first proposed by India during the 2016 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in New Delhi.
  • It is today an international coalition of countries, United Nations (UN) agencies, multilateral development banks, the private sector and academic institutions, that aim to promote disaster-resilient infrastructure

 

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