Daily Current Capsules 21^st May 2022
Location in NEWS
Nechiphu Tunnel
What's the NEWS

• Border Road Organisation (BRO) conducted final "break through blast" to mark the successful completion of excavation work of the Nechiphu Tunnel, in Arunachal Pradesh on May 20, 2022.

The Nechiphu Tunnel

• The Nechiphu Tunnel, at an altitude of 5,700 feet, is a unique 500-metre-long "D-shaped, Single Tube Double Lane Tunnel" on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) Road in West Kameng District.
• The tunnel has been conceived to bypass extreme foggy conditions prevailing around Nechiphu Pass which have caused hindrance to general traffic and military convoys since many decades.
• The tunnel will be provided with a state-of-the-art electro-mechanical system including firefighting devices, auto illumination system and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) controlled monitoring systems.
• In tandem with the Nechiphu Tunnel project, the Project Vartak of BRO has also completed the excavation work on another strategic tunnel, the Twin Tube (1,555 meter and 980 meter) "Sela Tunnel Project" on the same road, on January 22, 2022.
• Once in service, the Nechiphu Tunnel along with the Sela Tunnel will provide safe, all weather strategic connectivity on the BCT Road

BRO successful projects

• Atal Tunnel, Rohtang in Himachal Pradesh the Chamba Tunnel in Uttarakhand

Science and Technology
Artificial breeding of Olive barbs
What's the NEWS

• Researchers from the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (Kufos),have succeeded in developing a fishery of a local native species Kuruva Paral (Olive Barbs).
• The project is part of the UNDP- India High Range Mountain Landscape Project which aims to enhance the reservoir fishery with native species and also help develop a sustainable livelihood for the tribespeople in the region.
• Kufos has standardised the techniques for artificial breeding of Olive barbs (Kuruva Paral) and Filament barb (Kalakkodiyan), and have developed brood stocks for Highfin barb (Kooral) and Carnatic carp (Pachilavetti).

Know! more about it

• These freshwater species of barbs and carp used to be found widely in the Idamalayar Dam, Bhoothathankettu, and the Kol fields of Thrissur district.
• However, indiscriminate fishing and changes in habitat conditions have brought these species, especially Kuruva Paral, to the brink of extinction.
• The conservation measures being taken up by Kufos are supported under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-India High Range Landscape project that also aims to help trained aquaculturists among Adivasis to take up farming of these freshwater species.
• The brood stocks for Kooral and Pachilavetti have been stored at the freshwater aquaculture facility at Kufos.

Report/Index
Drought in Numbers report

What's the NEWS

• Global findings centred on drought were collated in the Drought in Numbers, 2022 report presented by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) at the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15), currently underway in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Know! about the report highlights

• The Drought in Numbers report is a collection of data on the effects of droughts on our ecosystem and how they can be mitigated through efficient planning for the future.
• According to the report, the number and duration of droughts around the world has increased by an alarming 29% since 2000. Globally, droughts between 1998 and 2017 caused economic losses of approximately $124 billion.
• If global warming reaches 3°C by 2100, drought losses could be five times higher than today's levels. The largest increase in drought losses is projected in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic regions of Europe.
• Indian scenario: Many parts of India fall under the list of regions that are vulnerable to drought globally.
• India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reduced by 2 to 5% between 1998 and 2017 due to severe droughts in the country.

NITI Aayog
Atal Catalyst ISB program
What's the NEWS

• In December 2021, Atal Innovation Mission(AIM), NITI Aayog partnered with the prestigious Indian School of Business (ISB) to curate a special program - "Atal Catalysts @ISB" with the goal of nurturing the Top 100 Business Venture Ideas that emerged from the ATL Tinkerpreneur Bootcamp.
• The Tinkerpreneur bootcamp was a first of its kind initiative by AIM to teach students entrepreneurship during the summer break.
• Students learnt various skills such as latest technology skills, building a product, business models, marketing, branding, business finance, building an online store and finally how to pitch their venture.
• ATL Tinkerpreneur witnessed participation from over 9000 students and leveraged the knowledge and hands-on involvement of over 650 Mentors of Change to build a complete digital business venture at the end of the bootcamp.
• The Top 100 Students/teams were mapped to ISB to nurture their ideas further.

Flagship schemes/initiatives of NITI Aayog
Atal Tinkering Lab

• In ATLs, students of class 6th to 12th acquire a problem-solving attitude, develop innovative solutions leveraging technologies like 3D printers, robotics, miniaturised electronics, IOT and programming and DIY kits, with support from teachers and mentors.

Atal Innovative Mission

• AIM is the Government of India's flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
• AIM's objective is to develop new programmes and policies for fostering innovation in different sectors of the economy, provide platform and collaboration opportunities for different stakeholders, create awareness and create an umbrella structure to oversee innovation ecosystem of the country.

Six major initiatives of AIM:

• Atal Tinkering Labs-Creating problem-solving mindset across schools in India.
• Atal Incubation Centers-Fostering world class start-ups and adding a new dimension to the incubator model.
• Atal New India Challenges-Fostering product innovations and aligning them to the needs of various sectors/ministries.
• Mentor India Campaign- A national Mentor network in collaboration with public sector, corporates and institutions, to support all the initiatives of the mission.
• Atal Community Innovation Centre- To stimulate community centric innovation and ideas in the unserved /underserved regions of the country including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
• ARISE-To stimulate innovation and research in the MSME industry

Environment
NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL (NGT)
What's the NEWS

• Parliament did not excessively delegate power to the Centre by authorising it to establish the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Supreme Court held in a judgment.
• Judgement highlights
• NGT was not an excessive case of delegation of powers to the central government.
• The NGT came into existence as a sui generis institution established for enforcement of environmental rights protected under the Right to Life (Article 21 of the Constitution).

Know! about NGT

• The National Green Tribunal has been established on 18.10.2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection.
• The Tribunal shall not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.
• New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai shall be the other four place of sitting of the Tribunal.

Health
RESPIRATORY SYNCYTIAL VIRUS (RSV)
What's the NEWS

• Lower respiratory infection attributable to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was responsible for more than 1,00,000 deaths in children under five worldwide in 2019, according to a new estimate published in The Lancet.

Know! about RSV

• The study is the first to examine RSV disease burden in narrow age brackets.
• According to the report the incidence rate in India is 53 per 1,000 children per year (5.3%) and there were an approximate 61,86, 500 episodes of RSV-associated acute lower respiratory infection in children below five years.
• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is also called human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) and human orthopneumovirus.
• It is a common, contagious virus that causes infections of the respiratory tract.
• It is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus, and its name is derived from the large cells known as syncytia that form when infected cells fuse.
• RSV is the most common cause of acute lower respiratory infection in young children.
• Globally, only 26% RSV-associated deaths occur in a hospital. This is particularly apparent in low- and middle-income countries.

Personalities in NEWS
NIKHAT ZAREEN
What's the NEWS

• Nikhat Zareen won the gold medal in the 52kg category at the Women's World Championship defeating Thailand's Jitpong Jutamas in the fly-weight final in Istanbul, Turkey.
• Zareen became the fifth Indian women's boxer to win a gold medal at the World Championships, joining Mary Kom, Laishram Sarita Devi, Jenny R. L., and Lekha K. C..
• Nikhat Zareen (born 1996) is an Indian amateur boxer born in Nizamabad, Telangana.
• She won gold medal at the International Boxing Association (amateur) Women's Youth & Junior World Championships Antalya 2011.

Economy
INTEROPERABLE CARD-LESS CASH WITHDRAWAL (ICCW) AT ATMs
What's the NEWS

• Reserve Bank of India has directed banks and ATM operators to provide cardless cash withdrawal facilities at all ATMs.

Know! about ICCW

• In a circular, the RBI said, all banks, automated teller machine (ATM) networks, and White Label ATM Operators (WLAOs) may provide the option of ICCW at their ATMs.
• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has been advised to facilitate Unified Payments Interface (UPI) integration with all banks and ATM networks.
• The RBI said, while UPI would be used for customer authorization in such transactions, settlement would be through the National Financial Switch (NFS) and ATM networks.
• The on-us and off-us ICCW transactions shall be processed without levy of any charges other than those prescribed under the circular on Interchange Fee and Customer Charges, it added.
• In a bid to check fraud, RBI last month said, it has been decided to permit all banks to introduce card-less cash withdrawal through ATMs. According to the central bank, currently, cardless cash withdrawal through ATMs is offered by a few banks.
• A transaction carried out at an ATM of the card-issuing bank is called an On-Us transaction.
• A transaction carried out at any other ATM is called an Off-Us transaction.

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