Daily Current Capsules

27th October 2022

 

 

150th Birth Anniversary of Shri Vijay Vallabh Surishwar

What's the NEWS

 

• The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addressed the gathering on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Shri Vijay Vallabh Surishwar Ji

 

Know! all about Shri Vijay Vallabh Surishwar

 

• Acharya Vijay Vallabhsuri was a Jain monk.
• He was a disciple of Vijayanandsuri.
• Vallabhsuri was born on 26 October 1927 at Vadodara, Gujarat.
• He was named Chhagan.
• He met Vijayanandsuri at Janisheri Jain Upashray, Vadodara.
• At the age of seventeen, he was initiated as a Jain monk and named Muni Vallabhvijay
• Vallabhsuri was in Gujranwala for Chaturmas in 1947. Due to the partition of India, Gujaranwala fell in Pakistan.
• There was a widespread communal violence across both nations. He refused to travel by aeroplane which was arranged by the Government of India as Jain monks do not use vehicles.
• He travelled by foot along with other Jains of Gujaranwala and entered India via the Wagah Border and reached Amritsar in September
• Vallabhsuri placed emphasis on education and inspired Jains to build more educational institutions.
• He is well known as the founder of Shree Parshwanath Jain Vidyalaya in 1927 at Varkana Village in Pali district of Rajasthan.
• He wrote some books and religious texts in Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi Languages.
• He also established the Atmanand Jain Sabha.
• He was also instrumental in establishing Jain unity and accessibility of Jain literature.
• He supported Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent movement for independence of India.

 

 

Neral-Matheran Toy Train

What's the NEWS

 

• Indian Railways' Neral-Matheran Toy Train in Maharashtra has resumed its services post an infrastructure upgrade in the section.
• The Matheran Hill Railway covers a distance of 20 kilometers between Neral and Matheran in the West of the Matheran Hill Railway

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two more Indian Beaches enter the coveted list of Blue Beaches

 

What's the news

 

• The globally recognized and the coveted International eco-label "Blue Flag", has been accorded to two new beaches - Minicoy Thundi Beach and Kadmat Beach- both in Lakshadweep.
• This takes the number of beaches certified under the Blue Flag certification to twelve (12).
• India now has 12 Blue Flag beaches, an eco-label given to the cleanest beaches in the world

 

 

Kadmat Beach and Thundi Beach

 

• The Thundi Beach is one of the most pristine and picturesque beaches in the Lakshadweep archipelago where white sand is lined by turquoise blue water of the lagoon. It is a paradise for swimmers and tourists alike.
• The Kadmat Beach is especially popular with cruise tourists who visit the island for water sports.
• It is a paradise for nature lovers with its pearl white sand, blue lagoon waters, its moderate climate and friendly locals.
• Both the beaches have designated staff for beach cleanliness and maintenance; and for safety and security of swimmers.
• Both the beaches comply with all the 33 criteria as mandated by the Foundation for Environment Education (FEE).
• The other Indian beaches in the blue list are Shivrajpur-Gujarat, Ghoghla-Diu, Kasarkod and Padubidri-Karnataka, Kappad-Kerala, Rushikonda- Andhra Pradesh, Golden-Odisha, Radhanagar- Andaman and Nicobar, Kovalam in Tamil Nadu and Eden in Puducherry beaches.

 

 

 

 

 

Know! About FEE

 

• Foundation for Environment Education in Denmark (FEE) accords the globally recognized eco-label - Blue Flag certification.
• The Blue Flag programme was started in France in 1985 and in areas out of Europe in 2001. It promotes sustainable development in freshwater and marine areas through four main criteria: water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety.
• In order to qualify for this prestigious award, a series of stringent environmental, educational, safety-related and access-related criteria must be met and maintained.
• The mission of Blue Flag is to promote sustainability in the tourism sector, through environmental education, environmental protection and other sustainable development practices.
• It can be obtained by a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator, and serves as an eco-label.
• The certification is awarded by the Denmark-based non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). It is awarded annually to beaches and marinas in FEE member countries.
• Forty-eight countries currently participate in the program, and 5042 beaches, marinas, and boats have this certification.

 

 

 

7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agro-Forestry

 

What's the NEWS

 

• The 7th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting (AIMMAF) on Agriculture and Forestry was held virtually.

 

Meeting Highlights

 

• The meeting was co-chaired by the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Agriculture Ministers of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
• In the meeting, the progress in implementation of various programs and activities under the Medium Term Action Plan of ASEAN-India Cooperation (Year 2021-2025) was reviewed.
• The meeting also welcomed the 30th anniversary of ASEAN-India relations.
• In the meeting, the commitment to ASEAN-India cooperation in agriculture and forestry was reaffirmed.

 

 

Know! about ASEAN

 

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional organization which was established to promote political and social stability amid rising tensions among the Asia-Pacific's post-colonial states.
• ASEAN Secretariat - Indonesia, Jakarta.
• Member Nations - Indonesia, Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , Thailand , Brunei , Vietnam , Laos , Myanmar , Cambodia

 

 

 

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

 

What's the NEWS

 

 

• Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman recently attended the 7th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of AIIB via video conference.
• The theme of this year's Annual Meeting was "Sustainable Infrastructure Toward a Connected World".

 

 

Know! about AIIB

 

 

• AIIB is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia.
• HQ - Beijing, China.
• All powers of the Bank are vested in the Board of Governors, which is the highest decision-making body.
• AIIB has 105 members.
• China is the AIIB's largest shareholder with a 26.5% voting share. India is the second-largest, with 7.5%, followed by Russia, which has a 5.97% voting share.
• India is a Founding Member of AIIB. India also has the largest project portfolio within AIIB.

 

National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS)

What's the NEWS

 

 

• The National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS) 2022 registration for the year 2022-23 will be closed on October 31.
• The NMMSS registration was scheduled to be closed September 30, but extended to October 15, and further to October 31.

 

 

Know! about NMMSS

 

 

• Under the Scheme, scholarships are awarded to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue their education at secondary stage.
• This is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme.
• NMMSS is boarded on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP) - a one stop platform for scholarship schemes given to students.
• The scholarships are disbursed directly into the bank accounts of selected students by electronic transfer through Public Financial Management System (PFMS) following DBT mode.
• One lakh fresh scholarships are awarded to selected students from class IX every year and their continuation / renewal in classes X to XII for students studying in State Government, Government-aided and local body schools. The amount of scholarship is Rs. 12000/- per annum
• Students whose parental income from all sources is not more than Rs. 3,50,000/- per annum.
• The students must have minimum of 55% marks or equivalent grade in Class VII examination for appearing in the selection test for award of scholarship (relaxable by 5% for SC/ST students).

 

 

 

 

 

Semi-confined unreinforced brick masonry (SC-URBM)

 

What's the NEWS

 

• Researchers have found a solution for retrofitting old non-earthquake-resistant buildings with a technology that can prevent major damage to such buildings from earthquakes without compromising on their strength.
• The technology called semi-confined unreinforced brick masonry (SC-URBM) can resolve the problem of spread of settlements in earthquake-prone areas with constructions that have been built without following earthquake-preventive building codes.

Semi-confined unreinforced brick masonry (SC-URBM) - need of the hour

• Historically, most buildings, technically called unreinforced masonry (URM), were not built using modern building codes.
• Thus they are much more likely to experience damage or collapse during an earthquake.
• URM buildings have traditionally been widely adopted worldwide due to inexpensive and locally available construction materials.
• Just like in most developing countries located in earthquake-prone regions unreinforced brick masonry (URBM) has been a common practice in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas of India.
• Considering that major parts of India are under seismic zone III or above and most of the URBM buildings are old and structurally deficient, strengthening of URBM buildings located in earthquake-prone areas is extremely important.

 

 

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