Daily Current Capsules
07th September 2020
Space Awareness
Images sent by Chandrayaan-1 indicate possible impact of Earth's atmosphere on Moon

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Chandrayaan I and its recent findings + about Chandrayaan II and III ) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of space)
What's the NEWS

• ISRO's maiden mission to the Moon has sent images which show that Moon may be rusting along the poles.

Know! about the finding

• The sign of this finding is that even though the surface of the Moon is known to have iron - rich rocks, it is not known for the presence of water and oxygen, which are the two elements needed to interact with iron to create rust
• This could be because the Earth's own atmosphere could be protecting the Moon as well.
• Chandrayaan-1 Moon data indicates that the Moon's poles are home to water, this is what the scientists are trying to decipher.

Know! about Chandrayaan

Chandrayaan -1

• Chandrayaan was launched aboard PSLV C-11 on October 22, 2008, which was an XL variant of ISRO's PSLV, one of the world's most reliable launchers.
• PSLV was later used to launch the Mars Orbiter Mission in 2013.

Chandrayaan -2

• Chandrayaan-2 is an Indian lunar mission to explore the unchartered south pole of the celestial body by landing a rover.
• On September 7 2019, India attempted to make a soft landing on to the lunar surface.
• However, lander Vikram missed the primary landing site and went for the second. The visuals went missing henceforth.
• If India does succeed, it will be the fourth country to land on the moon, after the erstwhile USSR, US and China, to cement its place among the world's space-faring nations.

Chandrayaan -3

• Chandrayaan-3 will be a mission repeat of Chandrayaan-2 and will include a Lander and Rover similar to that of Chandrayaan-2, but will not have an orbiter.
• Chandrayaan-3 launch may now take place somewhere in early 2021.

Miscellaneous
Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states.) + Mains ( GS II Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, announced the 4thedition of Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states.
• Andhra Pradesh retained its top position in ease of doing business ranking 2019, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.
• Ranking of States based on the implementation of Business Reform Action Plan started in the year 2015.
• Till date, State Rankings have been released for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017-18.

Business Reform Action Plan 2018-19

• The Business Reform Action Plan 2018-19 includes 180 reform points covering 12 business regulatory areas such as Access to Information, Single Window System, Labour, Environment, etc.
• The larger objective of attracting investments and increasing Ease of Doing Business in each State was sought to be achieved by introducing an element of healthy competition through a system of ranking states based on their performance in the implementation of Business Reform Action Plan.
• The ranking this time gives full weightage to the feedback from over thirty thousand respondents at the ground level,
• State rankings will help attract investments, foster healthy competition and increase Ease of Doing Business in each State.

The top ten states under State Reform Action Plan 2019 are:

1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Uttar Pradesh
3. Telangana
4. Madhya Pradesh
5. Jharkhand
6. Chhattisgarh
7. Himachal Pradesh
8. Rajasthan
9. West Bengal
10. Gujarat

Social Issues
24x7 Toll-Free Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline ‘KIRAN' launched

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline "KIRAN) + Mains ( GS II Social issues)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment will launch the "24x7 Toll-Free Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline "KIRAN" (1800-500-0019)"

Know! more about the Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline "KIRAN"

• This Helpline has been developed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment to provide relief and support to persons with Mental Illness.

• This assumes great significance in view of the growing incidence of Mental Illness, particularly in the wake of COVID-19 Pandemic
• This helpline will offer mental health rehabilitation services with the objective of early screening, first-aid, psychological support, distress management, mental well-being, promoting positive behaviors, psychological crisis management etc.
• It will function as a lifeline to provide 1st stage advice, counseling and reference to individuals, families, NGOs, Parent Associations, Professional Associations, Rehabilitation Institutes, Hospitals or anyone in need of support across the country.

Environment
PM Modi announces launch of Project Dolphin


Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Dolphins ) + Mains ( GS III Environment conservation)
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister has announced the launching of the Project Dolphin for the conservation and protection of the Dolphins in the rivers and in oceans of the country.

Know! about the Project

• The Project Dolphin will involve conservation of Dolphins and the aquatic habitat through use of modern technology specially in enumeration and anti-poaching activities.
• The proposed project is aimed at saving both river and marine dolphins.
• Project Dolphin will be on the lines of Project Tiger, which has helped increase the tiger population.
• The project will engage the fishermen and other river/ ocean dependent population and will strive for improving the livelihood of the local communities.
• The conservation of Dolphin will also envisage activities which will also help in the mitigation of pollution in rivers and in the oceans.

Know! the objective of Project Dolphin

• It got in-principle approval in December last year , at the first meeting of the National Ganga Council (NGC), headed by the Prime Minister.
• So far, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), which implements the government's flagship scheme Namami Gange, has been taking some initiatives for saving dolphins.
• Now, Project Dolphin is expected to be implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Gangetic dolphin

• The Gangetic river system is home to a vast variety of aquatic life, including the Gangetic dolphin (Platanista gangetica).
• The Gangetic dolphin is one of five species of river dolphin found around the world.
• It is found mainly in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems.

Why is it declining and why it important to save a declining river species?

• The construction of dams and barrages, and increasing pollution have led to a decline in the population of aquatic animals in the rivers in general and of dolphins in particular.
• Aquatic life is an indicator of the health of river ecosystems. As the Gangetic dolphin is at the top of the food chain, protecting the species and its habitat will ensure conservation of aquatic lives of the river.

Wildlife Act Protection and Conservation Plan

• The Gangetic dolphin remains listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
• After the launch of Ganga Action Plan in 1985, the government on November 24, 1986 included Gangetic dolphins in the First Schedule of the Indian Wildlife (Protection), Act 1972.

• For instance, Vikramshila Ganges Dolphin Sanctuary was established in Bihar under this Act.
  
• The Conservation Action Plan for the Ganges River Dolphin 2010-2020, which "identified threats to Gangetic Dolphins and impact of river traffic, irrigation canals and depletion of prey-base on Dolphins populations".

National aquatic animal.

• The maiden meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (On October 5, 2009, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) declared the Gangetic river dolphin as the national aquatic animal.
• The National Mission for Clean Ganga celebrates October 5 as National Ganga River Dolphin Day.

Know! about Project Tiger

• The Government of India has taken a pioneering initiative for conserving its national animal, the tiger, by launching the ‘Project Tiger' in 1973.
• The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy.
• The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple use area.
• The Project Tiger aims to foster an exclusive tiger agenda in the core areas of tiger reserves, with an inclusive people oriented agenda in the buffer.

Government Schemes
Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about SVEP + DAY-NRLM)
What's the NEWS

• Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) is implemented by Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana -National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development, as a sub-scheme since 2016.

Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP)

• Its objective is to support the rural poor come out of poverty, supporting them setup enterprises and provide support till the enterprises stabilize
• SVEP focusses on providing self-employment opportunities with financial assistance and training in business management and soft skills while creating local community cadres for promotion of enterprises.
• SVEP addresses three major pillars of rural start-ups namely - finances, incubation and skill ecosystems.
• Activities under SVEP are strategically designed to promote rural enterprises
• One of the key areas is to develop pool of community resource persons - enterprise promotion (CRP-EP) who are local and support entrepreneurs setting-up rural enterprises.
• The CRP-EPs are certified and provides business support services to the entrepreneurs.
• Another key area is to promote the block resource center (BRC) in SVEP blocks, to monitor and manage the community resource persons, appraise SVEP loan application and acts as the repository of enterprise related information in the concern block.
• BRCs play the role to support sustainable revenue model to operate effectively and independently.
• Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad is the technical support partner of SVEP.
• SVEP promotes both individual and group enterprises, set-up and promote enterprises majorly on manufacturing, trading and service sectors.

Dayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)

• It was launched by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India in June 2011 as a restructured version of Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna (SGSY).
• The Mission aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms of the rural poor enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services.
• In November 2015, the program was renamed Deendayal Antayodaya Yojana (DAY-NRLM).

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