Relevance IN - Prelims ( about TULIP and its aim and objective) + Mains ( GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation +Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health,
Education, Human Resources
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Human Resource Development, Housing & Urban Affairs, and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have jointly launched an online portal for `The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP)'
• A program for providing internship opportunities to fresh graduates in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Smart Cities across the country.
• The Ministries also launched the portal for this programme on the occasion.

• TULIP programme will provide access to internship opportunities through 4400 Urban local bodies and smart cities pan India.
• TULIP platforms will give an opportunity to youth to generate news ideas to reform Urban local bodies by modern techniques and innovative methods.
• 25000 fresh graduates will receive opportunity of internship in the first year itself.
• Any graduate who have completed B. Tech, B. Arch, B. Plan, BSc etc. can apply within 18 months from date of its graduation
• TULIP- "The Urban Learning Internship Program" helps fulfill twin goals of providing interns with hands-on learning experience as well as infusing fresh energy and ideas in the functioning of India's ULBs and Smart Cities.
• This launch is also an important stepping stone for fulfillment of MHRD and AICTE's goal of 1 crore successful internships by the year 2025.

• Relevance IN - Prelims (about World Environment Day) + Mains (GS III Environment conservation - steps taken by various organisations)

• World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on 5th June every year.
• Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change celebrates WED focusing on the theme declared by UNEP
• This year, the theme is ‘Celebrating Biodiversity'.
• The day will be hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany.

• The ministry will be holding virtual celebrations of World Environment Day on this year's theme with focus on Nagar Van (Urban Forests).
• India though having less land mass and more human and cattle population has nearly 8 percent of biodiversity.
• The country is endowed with rich biodiversity having several species of animals and plants and hosts 4 of the 35 global bio-diversity hotspots containing several endemic species.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change relaunched a scheme for creating urban forest in 200 corporations and cities because all these cities have gardens but not forest.
• The urban forest will help in creating and enhancing the lung capacities of these cities.

• Environment Protection and Green Initiatives have always been a key focus area of the Indian Navy.
• The World Environment Day has grown to become a global platform for raising awareness on environmental issues such as marine pollution, global warming and sustainable consumption
• With the aim of reducing pollution from engine exhausts, the Indian Navy collaborated with IOCL to revise the fuel specifications.
• The new specification surpasses international norms and includes reduced sulphur content which in the long run will reduce emissions levels as well as maintenance requirements onboard.
• Indian Navy has voluntarily implemented all six schedules of International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) regulations.
• All Naval ships have been fitted with MARPOL compliant pollution control equipment such as Oily Water Separators (OWS) and Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) for treating waste generated onboard.

• It is the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.
• It was developed by the International Maritime Organization with an objective to minimize pollution of the oceans and seas, including dumping, oil and air pollution.
• The Convention includes regulations aimed at preventing and minimizing pollution from ships - both accidental pollution and that from routine operations - and currently includes six technical Annexes.

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority
• It sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system
• It serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment.
• It is responsible for coordinating the UN's environmental activities and assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices.
• Policies such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 1988, it joined the World Meteorological Organization to establish the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
• UNEP is also one of several "Implementing Agencies" for the Global Environment Facility (GEF)

• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to help tackle our planet's most pressing environmental problems.
• An independently operating financial organization, the GEF provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer, persistent organic pollutants (POPs), mercury, sustainable forest management, food security, sustainable cities.

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
• Minamata Convention on Mercury

• Jorhat-based CSIR-NEIST (North East Institute of Science and Technology) got the mandate to organize and coordinate a country-wide CSIR-Summer Research Training Programme (CSIR-SRTP-2020).

• An online programme (CSIR-SRTP-2020) is going to be discharged through the faculties and mentors from 38 CSIR laboratories spread across the length and breadth of the country.
• A website http://www.neist.res.in/srtp2020/has been launched where aspiring students can log on to avail the online application form and the detailed brochure of the programme.
• The online programme has been designed for students pursuing such programmes as BSc, MSc, BTech/B.E., MCA, M.Tech, and M. Pharma and with excellent academic record throughout.
• The programme is also open to faculties from various colleges affiliated to UGC/AICTE/State/Central/Private Universities.

• The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), known for its cutting edge R&D knowledgebase in diverse S&T areas, is a contemporary R&D organization.

• Having a pan-India presence, CSIR has a dynamic network of 38 national laboratories, 39 outreach centres, 3 Innovation Complexes and 5 units. CSIR's R&D expertise and experience is embodied in about 4600 active scientists supported by about 8000 scientific and technical personnel.

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about CPEC + Kohala hydropower project + Diamer-Bhasha dam - location based questions + Mains ( GS II Bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• China under the multi-billion-dollar CPEC will set up a 1,124-megawatt power project in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir despite India's objection to it

Know! more about the project

• A tripartite agreement has been finalised among China's Three Gorges Corporation, the authorities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) to implement the 1,124-megawatt Kohala hydroelectric power project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) framework.
• The project will be built on the Jhelum River and aims at annually providing more than five billion units of clean and low-cost electricity for consumers in Pakistan.

Diamer-Bhasha dam.

• Last month, India protested to Pakistan awarding a mega contract to build a dam in Gilgit-Baltistan
• The Pakistan government has signed a whopping Rs 442 billion contract with a joint venture of a Chinese state-run firm and a commercial arm of Pakistan's army's commercial body Frontiers Works Organisation for construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam.
• Diamer Bhasha Dam, probably the world's highest concertized dam, will stand at a height of 272m with the capacity to hold 8 mn acre feet of water. It plans to generate 4,500 mw of power.
• The dam, to be constructed on the River Indus in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, which borders China, is set to produce 4,500 MW.
• Role of China in the construction of the Dam will allow Beijing to expand its presence in the area.

Know! about CPEC

• The 3,000-km-long CEPC is aimed at connecting China and Pakistan with rail, road, pipelines and optical cable fiber networks.
• It connects China's Xinjiang province with Pakistan Gwadar port, providing access to China to the Arabian Sea.
• The CPEC passes through PoK, over which India has conveyed its protests to China.
  
  
• The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a part of the One Belt One Road (OBOR)
• OBOR has two main components, One Belt - the land-based belt, and One Road refers to the ocean going ‘Maritime Silk Road', which aims to connect the East Asian economic region with the European economic circle and runs across the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa.

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