Daily Current Capsules - 16^th JULY 2019

Prelims Factoids
Lunar Eclipse 2019:Partial Lunar Eclipse will be witnessed in many parts of the world including India

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about lunar eclipse)
What's the NEWS

• Lunar Eclipse 2019: July 16 and 17 will witness the partial lunar eclipse in India and some other parts of the globe. In year 2019 this lunar eclipse will be the last one. The partial lunar eclipse is a part of Moon comes under the Earth's shadow.

A special coincidence after 149 years

• This year's lunar eclipse is also important because of its position. Lunar eclipse which is also known as Chandra Grahan and is taking place with Guru Purnima at the same day after 149 years.
• The Moon should be about half-covered by the Earth's shadow at maximum eclipse. This is the last lunar eclipse of this year and the next lunar eclipse will take place on May 26, 2021.

Know! about Lunar Eclipse

• When Moon passes exactly behind the Earth and into its shadow a lunar eclipse occurs. It happens when the Sun, Moon and the Earth come exactly or very closely aligned.
• It is also important to know that a lunar eclipse occurs only on the full moon night. The type and length of a lunar eclipse depend on the Moon's proximity to either node of its orbit.

Types of Lunar Eclipse

• When Earth casts its shadow on the Moon a lunar eclipse occurs. This shadow has two types of shadows called umbra and penumbra.
• A total lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon completely passes through the umbra or when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are correctly aligned.
• Partial lunar eclipse occurs on the Earth when Moon partially crosses through the umbra and penumbra.
• When the Moon doesn't fall in the umbera but present in the penumbra, a penumbral lunar eclipse occurs.

Government Schemes
Fourth anniversary of Skill India Mission

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about skill India mission ) + Mains ( GS II government interventions and schemes)
What's the NEWS

• The fourth anniversary of the Skill India Mission is being observed. Several functions are being organised across the country to mark the occasion.
• National Skill Development Mission also known as Skill India Mission was launched on this day in 2015. Nearly One Crore youth are being presently imparted skills training annually under the mission.

Know! the various steps/events taken by the ministry to boost skill development

• Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship made an array of announcements including Degree Apprenticeship Programme, new courses in ITIs on Electric Vehicles (EVs)and IoT in Smart Agriculture courses
• Hosted Kaushal Yuva Samwaad, a nation-wide youth dialogue to discuss issues and potential solutions from the candidates' perspective
• Announced collaborations with SBI Bank and HDFC Bank for promotion of Apprenticeship training in the financial sector; MoU with India Post Payments Bank to certify 170,000 Grameen Dak Sewaks under PMKVY
• MoU signed with private players
• Kaushal Pakhwada (fortnight celebration of skills) kicked off; from 16^th to 31^st July
• Team India announced for WorldSkills International, Russia

Know! more about skill India mission

• The Mission has been developed to create convergence across sectors and States in terms of skill training activities.
• Further, to achieve the vision of ‘Skilled India', the National Skill Development Mission would not only consolidate and coordinate skilling efforts, but also expedite decision making across sectors to achieve skilling at scale with speed and standards.
• It will be implemented through a streamlined institutional mechanism driven by Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• Key institutional mechanisms for achieving the objectives of the Mission have been divided into three tiers, which will consist of a Governing Council for policy guidance at apex level, a Steering Committee and a Mission Directorate (along with an Executive Committee) as the executive arm of the Mission.
• Mission Directorate will be supported by three other institutions: National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), and Directorate General of Training (DGT) - all of which will have horizontal linkages with Mission Directorate to facilitate smooth functioning of the national institutional mechanism.

Seven sub-missions have been proposed initially to act as building blocks for achieving overall objectives of the Mission.
They are:
(i) Institutional Training, (ii) Infrastructure, (iii) Convergence, (iv) Trainers, (v) Overseas Employment, (vi) Sustainable Livelihoods, (vii) Leveraging Public Infrastructure.

Bilateral Relations
Indian waterways to facilitate cheaper, efficient transport for Bhutan-Bangladesh trade

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the trade between Bangladesh and Bhutan via IWAI route) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• Bhutan is transporting 50 trucks worth of crushed stone aggregates to Bangladesh through India.
• The transportation that will save 30 per cent cost and eight-ten days of time is a first of many to come as Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will facilitate trade between Bhutan and Bangladesh via the country's waterways.

Know! more about it

• The move will facilitate Bhutan and Bangladesh trade through the Brahmaputra as part of the Indo-Bangladesh protocol route.
• It will also help India access the North-East states through Kolkata, Haldia through the inland waterways via Bangladesh
• India will provide Rs 300 crore to Bangladesh to maintain the depth of water on this route for five years.
• 1,000 tonnes of cargo in a single 2,000-tonne, self-propelled vessel of IWAI is replacing 70 trucks of 12 wheels of 50 trucks of 16 wheels. Cost saving will be higher if the return cargo were to be taken into consideration
• The stone aggregates will set sail from the Dhubri port in Assam to Narayanganj in Bangladesh through India's National Waterways 2 and Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route.The stone aggregates were transported by trucks from Phuentsholing in Bhutan.

• Until now, Bhutan has been exporting significant quantity of stone aggregates to Bangladesh via land route by trucks from Phuentsholing in Bhutan which is 160 KMs from IWAI's Dhubri jetty in Assam.
• This new route development is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of promoting cargo transportation via inland waterways.

Know! more about IWAI

• The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) came into existence on 27^th October 1986 for development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
• The Authority primarily undertakes projects for development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grant received from Ministry of Shipping.
• India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprise of rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc.
• About 55 million tones of cargo is being moved annually by Inland Water Transport (IWT), a fuel - efficient and environment -friendly mode.
• Its operations are currently restricted to a few stretches in the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers , the Brahmaputra, the Barak river, the rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the deltaic regions of the Godavari - Krishna rivers.

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