Factoids

Seoul Peace Prize.

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the prize)

What’s the NEWS

·         Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been honoured with the Seoul Peace Prize.

·         The South Korean government has awarded the Seoul Peace Prize for PM Modi in recognition of his service to international cooperation, global growth and human development. 

·         PM Modi is the 14th recipient of the award. Past winners of the Seoul Peace Prize include former UN Secretary General Ko Annan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and international relief organisations like Doctors Without Borders and Oxfam.

Know! about Seoul Peace Prize

·         The Seoul Peace Prize is sponsored by the Seoul Peace Prize Foundation and it was established in 1990 to commemorate the success of the 24th Olympic Games held in Seoul.

 

·         The Seoul Peace Prize reflects the wishes of the Korean people and to crystallize their desire for everlasting peace on earth.

 

·         The awardee receives a diploma, a plaque and honorarium of US$200,000.

 

·         The Seoul Peace Prize is awarded to Individuals or institutions which have made great contributions to the harmony of mankind and world peace

National affairs

All India Citizens Survey of Police Services

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the survey) + Mains (GS II government policies and intervention)

What’s the NEWS

·         To strengthen the good governance practices in the working of police, Ministry of Home Affairs has commissioned the Bureau of Police Research and Development to conduct a pan-India survey called “ALL INDIA CITIZENS SURVEY OF POLICE SERVICES”. 

·         The survey will be conducted through the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi.

Know! more about the survey

·         The survey is aimed to understand public perceptions about Police, gauge the level of non-reporting of crimes or incidents to Police, the position on ground relating to crime reporting & recording, timeliness and quality of police response and action, and to assess citizens' perception and experience about women and children’s safety. 

·         The survey will commence in March, 2019 and cover a representative sample of 1.2 lakh households spread over 173 districts across the country, based on the National Sample Survey framework. All States and UTs would be included in this survey. The survey will be completed in 9 months.

 

NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog  Organizes Conference on Future of Indian Banking  and role of technology Foundation) 

Relevance IN – Mains ( GS III economic development + awareness in the field of IT)

Know! about the conference 

·         The conference aims to increase and elevate the discourse on the banking sector in India, and help develop insights to inform the continued evolution of the Indian banking sector for optimally supporting the growing credit needs of the Indian economy. 

·         There will be panel discussions in the morning session with policy and banking industry experts. 

·         Two academic sessions will be held with selected papers being presented. It will be followed by a valedictory session that includes a presentation on the role of technology in Indian banking. 

·         The event is expected to host 200 domestic and international participants, including policy makers, academicians, researchers, professionals, and students from various banks, universities and institutes.

 

Defence

HAL hands over three Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv) ALHS to Indian Army Ahead of Schedule

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about ALHS) + Mains (GS III defence + indigenization of technology 

What’s the NEWS

·         Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over first three ALHs as part of the 22 ALH MK III contract to the Indian Army in the on-going Aero India 2019

·         HAL had entered into a contract with the Indian Army for 40 ALH (22 ALH Mk III and 18 Mk IV Rudra) in August 2017.  

·         Of the 22 helicopters, 19 helicopters have already been produced and will be progressively delivered.

Know! about ALH Dhruv

·         The Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv) is a multi-role, new generation helicopter in the 5.5-ton weight class, indigenously designed and developed by HAL.

·         Powered by two Shakti engines, it provides superlative performance throughout its flight envelope.

·         It is suited for a high-speed cruise for rapid deployment and to maximize the area of operations. 

·         The basic helicopter is produced in skid version and wheeled version. In the wheeled version, options for fixed and retractable undercarriages are available.

 

Energy Conservation

Super-Efficient Air Conditioning programme launched by EESL

Dedicated web portal EESLmart.in launched for online sale of energy efficient appliances

Relevance IN – prelims(about EESL initiative) + Mains (GSIII infrastructure development – energy)

What’s the NEWS

·         Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of four National Public Sector Enterprises under Ministry of Power, Government of India,  launched its Super-Efficient Air Conditioning Programme for residential and institutional consumers in the BSES area. 

Know! more about the programme

·         These Super-Efficient Air Conditioners are 40 percent more efficient than, but priced comparably with, the 3-star ACs currently available in the market (ISEER 3.8).

·         EESL is working towards making this programme and its benefits available to all consumers across the nation with the other DISCOMs likely to partner with EESL in future. 

·         EESL and BSES have joined hands to implementa12-month pilot of the programme by exchanging an agreement through which BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) would assist in aggregating demand and providing local marketing and outreach support to promote energy efficient technologies in the areas it currently services, thereby covering over 25 lakh residential and institutional consumers in South and West Delhi.

·         During the event, EESL also launched its e-Commerce website, EESLmart.in, through which customers of BRPL, and of other DISCOMs that partner with EESL in future, can purchase the super-efficient air conditioners.

 

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

·         EESL’s investment in the programme is partially supported by a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), an independent financing mechanism that was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to address global environmental issues. 

·         The GEF is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector.

·         Further, Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing necessary grant support and loan while United Nations Environment (UNEP) is providing technical assistance support to the Super-Efficient AC programme.

 

Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation

Indus Waters Treaty 1960 : Present Status of Development in India

Know! all about the treaty

·         The Indus system comprises of main Indus River, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The basin is mainly shared by India and Pakistan with a small share for China and Afghanistan.

·         Under the Indus Waters Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of three rivers, namely Ravi,Sutlej and Beas ( Eastern Rivers)averaging around 33 million acre feet ( MAF) were allocated to India for exclusive use. 

·         The waters of Western rivers - Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab averaging to around 135 MAF were allocated to Pakistan except for specified domestic , non-consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India as provided in the Treaty.

·         India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run of the river(RoR) projects on the Western Rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation is unrestricted.

 

PRESENT STATUS OF DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

·         To utilize the waters of the Eastern rivers which have been allocated to India for exclusive use,  India has constructed Bhakra Dam on Satluj, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi. 

·         These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej Link, Madhopur-Beas Link, Indira Gandhi Nahar Project etc has helped India utilize nearly entire share (95 %) of waters of Eastern rivers.

·         However, about 2 MAF of water annually from Ravi is reported to be still flowing unutilized to Pakistan below Madhopur. To stop the flow of these waters that belong to India for its utilization in India, following steps have been taken:

1. Resumption of Construction of Shahpurkandi project:

·         This project will help in utilizing the waters coming out from powerhouse of Thein dam to irrigate 37000 hectares of land in J&K and Punjab and generate 206 MW of power.

 

1. Construction of Ujh multipurpose project:

·         This project will create a storage of about 781 million cu m of water on river Ujh , a tributary of Ravi for irrigation and power generation in India itself and  provide a total irrigation benefits of 31,380 ha in Kathua, Hiranagar and Samba district of J&K apart from providing water for the district Kathua of J&K. 

1. The 2nd  Ravi Beas link below Ujh:

·         This project is being planned to tap excess water flowing down to Pakistan through river Ravi, even after construction of Thein Dam, by constructing a barrage across river Ravi for diverting water through a  tunnel link to Beas basin.  

·         The project is expected to utilize about 0.58 MAF of surplus waters below Ujhdam by diverting the same to Beas basin for benefits of other co-basin states. Govt. of India declared this project as National Project .

·         The above three projects will help India to utilize its entire share of waters given under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960.  

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Team CL IAS