Environment
Daring Cities 2020

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Daring Cities 2020)
What's the NEWS

• Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been invited among five urban leaders around the world to speak at the prestigious Daring Cities 2020 conference - a global, action-oriented forum to recognise courageous urban leaders taking bold climate action across the world

Know! all about the Daring Cities 2020

• The Daring Cities 2020 global virtual forum will be a three-week event comprising of high level and visionary speakers, a series of informative workshops
• The event will help to set the course to COP26, Daring Cities 2021 and beyond.
• Created by ICLEI and the Federal City of Bonn, Daring Cities is a virtual, action-oriented forum to recognize and empower courageous urban leaders - including mayors and other decision-makers, technical staff, researchers, private sector representatives, and community organizers - to disrupt business-as-usual and shift towards business-as-possible.
• The conference is being hosted by ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability and Bonn city with the support of the German government.
• The conference is a forum for global leaders to interact on how they are tackling climate change, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Leaders from Bogota (Colombia), Sao Paolo (Brazil), Los Angles (USA) and Entebbe (Uganda) will also take part in the conference.

Defence
44 Bridges Built by BRO across seven States and UTs
Foundation Stone for Nechiphu Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh
Relevance IN - Prelims (about BRO and its projects + about Nechiphu Tunnel
What's the NEWS

• Defence Minister dedicated 44 major permanent bridges to the Nation.
• He also laid the Foundation Stone for Nechiphu Tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh.

Know! about these bridges

• These bridges are of strategic importance and provide connectivity to remote areas.
• The 44 bridges are spread over seven states / union territories.
• These bridges improved connectivity in the far flung areas of Western, Northern and North East sectors and fulfilled the aspirations of local people.
• They would also meet the transport and logistics requirements of the armed forces throughout the year

Nechiphu Tunnel

• The defence Minister also laid the Foundation Stone of the strategically important Nechiphu Tunnel on the road to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.
• This 450 mtrs long, bi-lane tunnel would ensure all weather connectivity across Nechiphu Pass besides providing a safe and secure passage through accident prone areas.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO)

• It develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighbouring countries.
• BRO maintains operations in twenty-one states, one UT (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), and neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.
• The BRO operates in 18 Projects namely: Arunank, Beacon, Brahmank, Chetak, Deepak, Dantak, Himank, Hirak, Pushpak, Sampark, Setuk, Sewak, Shivalik, Swastik, Udayak, Vartak, Vijayak and sela tunnel.
• Officers from the Border Roads Engineering Service (BRES) and personnel from the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) form the parent cadre of the Border Roads Organisation.
•  The Government of India set up the Border Roads Development Board (BRDB) with the Prime Minister as Chairman of the Board and Defence Minister as Deputy Chairman.
• The BRO consists of Border Roads Wing under the Ministry of Defense and the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) Intergal part of Army.
• BRO is entrusted for construction of Roads, Bridges, Tunnels, Causeways, Helipads and Airfields.

Prelims Factoids
Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiyan
Relevance IN - Prelims (Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA)+Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiya)
What's the NEWS

• The Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) started a nationwide campaign to celebrate a pollution- free Deepawali, by introducing a whole series of products made from, cow-dung
• Through this campaign, the RKA is promoting extensive use of cow-dung/ Panchgavya products during this Diwali Festival.
• Encouraged by the response to Gaumaya Ganesha campaign, in which the cow-dung or Panchgavya was used extensively in products during Ganesh Chaturthi, the RKA has started a nationwide campaign to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali, with the help of cow-dung products

Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiya

• 'In this 'Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiyan' this year, RKA is promoting the use of cow dung based Diyas, Candles, Dhoop, Agarbatti and Idols of Lord Ganesha and Lakshmiji,

Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA)

• It has been constituted by Prime Minister for the conservation, protection and development of cows and their progeny and for giving direction to the cattle development programmes.
• It has been constituted by the resolution to organize animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and to take steps for preserving and improving breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle.
• RKA is high powered permanent body to formulate policy and to provide direction to the implementation of schemes related to cattle so as to give more emphasis on livelihood generation.
• Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog will function as an integral part of Rashtriya Gokul Mission.

Government Schemes
Tech for Tribals Initiative

Relevance IN - Prelims (Tech for Tribals initiative +Van Dhan Vikas Yojana ) + Mains (GS II Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes)
What's the NEWS

• TRIFED under Ministry of Tribal Affairs in collaboration with Chhattisgarh MFP Federation and IIT, Kanpur launched Tech for Tribals initiative

Know! all about Tech for Tribals initiative

• In order to provide advance level training to the Vandhan tribal beneficiaries, TRIFED has collaborated with MSME through its ESDP scheme for providing skill upgrading and entrepreneurial capacity building support to the Van Dhan tribal beneficiaries to establish their sustainable enterprise.
• The program titled "Tech for Tribals" aims at the holistic development of tribals with a focus on entrepreneurship development, soft skills, IT, and business development through SHGs operating through Van Dhan Kendras (VDVKs).
• Under this initiative, TRIFED has tied up reputed national institutions such as IIT, Kanpur; Art of Living, Bangalore; TISS, Mumbai; KISS, Bhubaneswar; Vivekananda Kendra, Tamil Nadu and SRIJAN, Rajasthan, for conducting Vandhan-ESDP Training Programs in the States of Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan.
• Tech for Tribals is a unique program to make tribals of India "Aatmanirbhar", focussing to bridge the gap between tribal entrepreneurs and urban markets.
• The beneficiaries will undergo a 30 days program over six weeks comprising 120 sessions.
• The training module developed by IIT, Kanpur will be disseminated among beneficiaries in a phased manner

The Van Dhan Scheme

• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED.
• It was launched on 14th April, 2018 and seeks to improve tribal incomes through value addition of tribal products.
• The scheme will be implemented through Ministry of Tribal Affairs as Nodal Department at the Central Level and TRIFED as Nodal Agency at the National Level.
• At State level, the State Nodal Agency for MFPs and the District collectors are envisaged to play a pivot role in scheme implementation at grassroot level.
• Locally the Kendras are proposed to be managed by a Managing Committee (an SHG) consisting of representatives of Van Dhan SHGs in the cluster.

Government Schemes
Jal Jeevan Mission: Lab on wheels!

Relevance IN - Prelims (Mobile Water Testing Laboratory Van + about Jal Jeevan Mission + 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

• Taking cognizance of the pressing need for water testing, Govt. of Haryana has come up with a novel approach by launching a State of the Art Mobile Water Testing Laboratory Van

Mobile Water Testing Laboratory Van

• It is fully equipped with multi-parameter system containing analyzers/ sensor/ probes/ instruments meant for water testing.
• Water Quality in State of Haryana is mainly affected by constituents like total dissolved solids (TDS), Fluoride, nitrate, iron and alkalinity.
• This mobile water testing lab van has been uniquely designed and fully loaded with latest technologies and features.
• It is GPS enabled for location tracking and the analyzed sample data can be transmitted to a centralized PHED server via GPRS/ 3G connectivity with power backup.
• This mobile van also has a fully automated sensor-based analysis controlled by centrally commanded software. The LED display unit in the mobile lab gives an instant display of the results immediately after analysis.

• It is a flagship programme of Union Government and under this program Government is fully committed to provide tap water connection to every rural household ensuring sustainable supply of potable water.
• The mission gives a lot of emphasis on water quality surveillance and monitoring.
• It mandates that in every village 5 persons especially women to be trained for use of Field Test Kits, so that water can be tested in villages.
• Public Health Engineering Department/ Rural Water Supply department of States are ensuring supply of safe drinking water to rural homes and monitoring water quality on regular basis by testing in the laboratories.

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