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Daily Current Capsules 10th February 2022

Prelims Factoids
Atal Tunnel officially recognised as ‘Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 feet' by World Book of Records

What's the NEWS

  • Atal Tunnel has officially been certified by World Book of Records, as the ‘World's Longest Highway Tunnel above 10,000 Feet
  • Director General of Border Roads Organisation (DGBR) received the award for the stupendous achievement of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in constructing this engineering marvel connecting Manali to the Lahaul - Spiti Valley.
  • World Book of Records UK, is an organisation that catalogues and verifies extraordinary records across the world with authentic certification.
Know! about Atal Tunnel
  • It was dedicated to the Nation by the Prime Minister on October 03, 2020.
  • The 9.02 km long, strategically significant, Atal Tunnel, that runs under the ‘Rohtang Pass' was constructed on the Manali - Leh Highway
  • Prior to the construction of the tunnel, the highway remained closed during winter season for six months, isolating Lahaul & Spiti from the mainland.
  • Construction of this tunnel has reduced the distance on Manali - Sarchu road by 46 km and travel time by four to five hours, providing all-weather connectivity on the Manali - Leh axis.
  • The construction of this tunnel, nestled in Pir Panjal Ranges of the Himalayas
  • It has been constructed in extremely harsh and challenging terrain
Defence and Security/GSIII
Indian Army Implements Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) of Ammunition Stock

What's the NEWS
  • The Indian Army commenced implementation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging of its ammunition inventory
  • The first consignment of RFID tagged ammunition, comprising three lots of 5.56mm ammunition was despatched from Ammunition Factory Khadki to Central Ammunition Depot (CAD) Pulgaon.
  • The event was flagged off by the Director General Ordnance Services.
Know! about the objective and benefits of RFID tagging
  • The RFID implementation has been steered by the Ordnance Services Directorate of the Indian Army, in conjunction with Munitions India Limited (MIL), Pune, the newly created entity formed post corporatisation of the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB).
  • The RFID tagging is in conformity with global standards in consultation with GS-1 India, a Global Standards organisation set up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
  • The RFID tags will be interpreted and used for assets tracking by the Enterprise Resource Application run by the Computerised Inventory Control Group (CICG) of the Ordnance Services Directorate.
  • The implementation of the RFID solution for ammunition asset visibility will transform management of ammunition and bring in a quantum jump in ammunition lot management and tracking capability.
  • The endeavour will make ammunition storage and use by soldiers safer and provide enhanced satisfaction to the field Army.
  • The implementation shall lead to increased efficiency in all technical activities carried out in Ammunition Depots and reduce inventory carrying costs.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID)
  • RFID uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects.
  • An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter.
  • When triggered by an electromagnetic interrogation pulse from a nearby RFID reader device, the tag transmits digital data, usually an identifying inventory number, back to the reader.
  • This number can be used to track inventory goods.
  • Passive tags are powered by energy from the RFID reader's interrogating radio waves.
  • Active tags are powered by a battery and thus can be read at a greater range from the RFID reader, up to hundreds of meters.
  • Unlike a barcode, the tag does not need to be within the line of sight of the reader, so it may be embedded in the tracked object.
  • RFID is one method of automatic identification and data capture (AIDC).
Information given by Ministers in the Parliament
Environment Conservation/GSIII
CONSERVING MARINE RESOURCES

What's the NEWS
  • Government of India has already undertaken several initiatives focusing on the conservation of coastal and marine resources especially, wetlands, mangroves and coral reefs and their management through implementation of law and continuous monitoring.
Few examples are:
i. The Wild Life Protection Act of India (1972) provides legal protection to many marine animals. There are total of 31 major Marine Protected Areas in India covering coastal areas that have been notified under Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
ii. The National Committee on mangroves, wetlands and coral reefs constituted in 1993 advise the Government on relevant policies and programmes regarding marine species.
iii. The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification (1991 and later versions) prohibit developmental activities and disposal of wastes in the fragile coastal ecosystems.
iv. The Biological Diversity Act of India,2002 and the Biological Diversity Rules 2004, and the guidelines thereof advise the Government on matters related to the protection and conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use and equitable sharing of its components, Intellectual Property Rights, etc.
v. The Department of Fisheries, Govt. of India is implementing a flagship scheme namely the PradhanMantriMatsyaSampadaYojana (PMMSY) for sustainable and responsible development of fisheries sector in India. Two of the key objectives of the scheme are (a) harnessing of fisheries potential in a sustainable, responsible, inclusive and equitable manner and (b) Robust fisheries management and regulatory framework.
vi. The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), an attached office of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is mandated with the management strategies development for marine living resources through ecosystem monitoring and modelling activities.

 

Governance- transparency and accountability/GSII
Status of SVAMITVA Scheme

  • The Central Sector Scheme, Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA) Scheme commenced from the Financial Year 2020-21.
  • It aims to provide the ‘Record of Rights' to village household owners possessing houses in inhabited areas in villages with issuance of legal ownership rights (Property cards/Title deeds).
  • It is being implemented with the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Survey of India (SoI), State Revenue Department, State Panchayati Raj Department and National Informatics Centre.
  • States need to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SoI for implementation of the scheme.
  • So far 29 States, including State of Uttar Pradesh, have signed MoU with SoI.

Space Awareness/GSIII
STARTUPS IN SPACE TECH

What's the NEWS
  • The Government on 24th June, 2020 approved far reaching reforms in the Space Sector aimed at boosting private sector participation in the entire range of space activities.
  • Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) is constituted as an autonomous agency in Department of Space (DoS) for enabling space activities, as well as, usage of Department of Space owned facilities by Non-Governmental Private Entities (NGPEs) and to permit, regulate, promote, hand-hold, monitor and supervise Space Activities of NGPEs in India.
  • The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken steps to attract new startups in the field of Defence and Space.
Technology Development Fund (TDF) Scheme
  • It is a program of MoD executed by DRDO under Make in India initiative.
  • The scheme was approved in September 2016.
  • The Government has approved TDF Scheme to encourage industries especially MSMEs and Startups to develop various defence technologies.
  • The scheme operates in Grants-in Aid Mode.
  • At present, a total of 06 projects costing Rs. 3310.58 Lakhs, have been awarded to 06 Startups under TDF scheme and out of which 01 project in the field of Space tech has been awarded to two startups.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
  • AIM with its mandate to support entrepreneurship and innovation across India has supported various initiatives and challenges related to Space Tech over the years.
Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) Scheme
  • Under Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) Scheme: Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) launched the ATL Space Challenge in September 2021.
  • The ATL Space Challenge was open to all school students across the country and was presented with four broad challenge themes - Explore Space, Reach Space, Inhabit Space and Leverage Space.
  • A total of 8 virtual YouTube LIVE sessions were conducted to guide and motivate the students over a period of 6 weeks.
Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) Scheme
  • Under Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) Scheme: AIM has supported more than 15 startups working in Space Tech and related industry across India.
  • The focus areas for these startups are in UAV, Drone and Surveillance Equipment, Aero tech, Air Taxi, Space debris tracking and monitoring service, space education among others.

Under ANIC Scheme
  1. ANIC-ARISE program of AIM in association with Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched challenge statements in the below focus areas:
  2. Propulsion - Green propellants, Electric propulsion, advanced air-breathing.
  3. Geo-spatial information using Machine Learning /Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI).
  4. Application of robotics, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) techniques.

  • These problem statements were made open for start-ups / MSMEs through a call for application.
  • After 3 rounds of technical and financial reviews, 6 start-ups are supported with grant-in-aid up to Rs. 50 lakhs over a duration of 12 months.
Science and Technology/GSIII/Education/GSII
VIGYAN JYOTI SCHEME

 


What's the NEWS

  • Vigyan Jyoti programme is being implemented in 100 schools of the country and all the schools are situated in rural areas.
  • Since the inception, around 1820 tribal girls have been benefited under Vigyan Jyoti Programme
  • Vigyan Jyoti Gyan Kendras are covering girl students from different government schools for various activities and interventions under Vigyan Jyoti Programme which would continue in future.
Know! more about the programme
  • The Department of Science & Technology started a unique programme ‘Vigyan Jyoti' for meritorious girls with the aim to address the underrepresentation of women in different fields of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the country.
  • As a first step, the "Vigyan Jyoti" has been introduced in the year 2019-20 at the school level wherein meritorious girl students of Class 9-12 are being encouraged to pursue higher education and career in STEM field.
  • The Vigyan Jyoti envisaged hand-holding and interventions right from the school level i.e., Class IX and which will continue till the PhD level to encourage girls to pursue a career in underrepresented areas of STEM.
  • The Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), an autonomous organization of MHRD, is the implementation partner of Vigyan Jyoti.
  • NVS has a network of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) in more than 600 districts of India and at present, 100 JNVs are acting as ‘Vigyan Jyoti Knowledge Centres' to cater for girls from JNVs, KVs, Govt. schools, army schools of small cities and rural areas for more diversity in STEM.
Social Issues/GSII
ASSISTANCE TO NOMADIC TRIBES

  • Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has constituted a Board namely Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNCs) on 21.02.2019 for development and welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities.
  • The Board has formulated a Scheme for Economic Empowerment for DNTs (SEED).
  • The Ministry is also implementing schemes for pre and post matric scholarships to DNT students.
  • The SEED scheme has one of the objective to facilitate livelihood initiatives in community level to build up and strengthen small clusters of DNT/NT/SNT Communities institutions.
  • This information was given by Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha
NATIONAL FELLOWSHIP SCHEME FOR SC STUDENTS

 

 

  • The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment implements the Central Sector Scheme of 'National Fellowship for SC Students' to provide fellowship in the form of financial assistance to students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) category to pursue higher studies leading to M.Phil/Ph.D in Indian Universities/Institutions/Colleges recognized by University Grants Commission(UGC).
  • This is a Central Sector scheme directly implemented by the Ministry without involvement of the State Governments and since the year 2018-19 the selection of students is done on the basis of merit determined through the National Eligibility Test(NET) examination of the UGC and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR).
  • Therefore, State/District wise allocation of funds is not done and district-wise data of beneficiaries is not maintained.
REHABILITATION/VOCATIONAL SKILL SCHEMES FOR BEGGARS

 

 

  • Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated an umbrella scheme "SMILE - Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise", which includes the sub-scheme - ‘Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of Begging'.
  • This umbrella scheme cover of several comprehensive measures including welfare measures for persons who are engaged in the act of begging with focus extensively on rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, education, skill development, economic linkages etc. with the support of State Governments/UTs/Local Urban Bodies, Voluntary Organizations, Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and institutions and others.
  • Scheme provides for the use of the existing shelter homes for rehabilitation of the persons engaged in the act of begging.
  • In case of non-availability of existing shelter homes, new dedicated shelter homes to be set up for the Persons engaged in the act of begging by the implementing agencies.
  • Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has initiated pilot projects on Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons engaged in the act of Begging in major seven cities of the Country including Delhi, Patna, Nagpur, Indore, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Lucknow.
  • Objective of this project is awareness generation, identification, rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling skill development, sustainable settlement and education to person engaged in Begging.
STATUS OF COMMISSION FOR DENOTIFIED AND NOMADIC TRIBES

 

 

  • A National Commission for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was constituted by Government of India in February 2014, inter-alia, to prepare a state-wise list of castes belonging to De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes.
  • As per the report, a total of 1262 communities have been identified as De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic communities across the country
  • A committee has been set up by the NITI Aayog to study the De-Notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities.
  • The committee has entrusted the task to Anthropological Survey of India which is currently under progress.
Main recommendations of National Commission De-Notified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT).
  • Setting up of a Permanent Commission at the Centre for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities.
  • Setting up of a Separate Department/Directorate for DNT/NT communities in States.
  • Define NT and DNT. Uniformity in categorization of DNT/NT as SC/ST/OBCs across the States/UTs. Issue of single caste certificate. Sub-quota for DNT/NT/SNT within the quota of SC/ST/OBCs.
  • Caste based Census in respect of DNT/NT/SNT communities in 2021 Census.
  • Creating awareness among DNT/NT/SNT communities for their inclusion in mainstream.
  • Sensitization of different government officials, law enforcing authorities and local bodies so that DNT/NT/SNT do not get differential treatment and benefits of mainstream schemes reach to DNT/NT/SNT communities.
  • Schemes focusing DNT/NT/SNT communities for their health, education, housing, traditional art, traditional expertise.
  • Livelihood of DNT/NT/SNT communities is largely dependent on the forests. Review "Indian Forest Act" and "Wild Life Protection Act" to give them their natural habitats.
Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DNCs)
  • The term 'De-notified Tribes' stands for all those communities which were once notified under the Criminal Tribes Acts, enforced by the British Raj between l87l and I947.
  • These Acts were repealed by the Independent lndian Government in l952, and these communities were "De-Notified".
  • A few of these communities which were listed as de-notified were also nomadic.
  • Terms such as nomads and semi-nomads are applied to 'social groups who undertook a fairly frequent, usually seasonal physical movement as port of their livelihood strategy in the recent past.
  • The term semi-nomad is mostly used to describe those sections of nomads whose duration, distance and frequency of movement is comparitively less than others.
  • The distinction between nomads and semi-nomods do not involve distinguishable ethnic categories or social groups, it rather describes the degree of mobility practiced by them.
  • The De-notified and Nomadic communities have diverse ideological patterns, culture, political and social lifestyle, customs and traditions.
  • The social and cultural characteristics of nomadic communities are closely related with their economic activities.
  • Large majority of De-notified and nomadic communities are primarily patriarchal.
  • Historically, Nomadic Tribes and De-notified Tribes never had access to private land or home ownership. These tribes used forests and grazing lands for their livelihood and residential use.
  • It has been estimated that South Asia has the world's largest nomadic population.
  • In India, roughly 10 per cent of the population is Denotified and Nomadic.
  • Idate Commission - The Government in July 2014 had constituted National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) for a period of three years to prepare a State-wise list of castes belonging to Denotified and Nomadic Tribes and to suggest appropriate measures in respect of Denotified and Nomadic Tribes that may be undertaken by the Central Government or the State Government.
  • The Renke Commission (2008) was earlier commissioned to identify and list the DNT communities.
  • A Development and Welfare Board for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic communities has also been constituted vide gazette Notification dated 21.02.2019 for Development and Welfare of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic communities.
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing the following schemes for the welfare of the DNTs.
Dr. Ambedkar Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship for DNTs
  • This Centrally Sponsored Scheme was launched w.e.f. 2014-15 for the welfare of those DNT students who are not covered under SC, ST or OBC.
  • The income ceiling for eligibility is Rs. 2.00 lakh per annum.
  • The scheme is implemented through State Governments/UT Administrations.
  • The expenditure is shared between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25.
Nanaji Deshmukh Scheme of Construction of Hostels for DNT Boys and Girls.
  • This Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched w.e.f. 2014-15 is implemented through State Governments/ UT Administrations/ Central Universities.
  • The aim of the scheme is to provide hostel facilities to those DNT students; who are not covered under SC, ST or OBC; to enable them to pursue higher education.
  • The income ceiling for eligibility is Rs. 2.00 lakh per annum.
  • The expenditure is shared between the Centre and the States in the ratio of 75:25.
Assistance to Voluntary Organization working for the Welfare of Other Backward Classes (OBCs)
  • From the year 2017-18, the scheme "Assistance to Voluntary Organization working for the Welfare of Other Backward Classes (OBCs)" has been extended for DNTs and EBCs as "Central Sector Scheme of Assistance for Skill Development of Backward Classes (OBCs)/ De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs)/ Economic Backward Classes (EBCs)".

 

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