Energy
8^th Producing Basin of India - Bengal Basin, dedicated to the nation

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Asokenagar-1, Bengal Basin + other basins - geographical location) + Mains ( GS III infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel dedicated the Bengal Basin, the 8th producing basin of India, to the nation.

Know! about Asokenagar-1, Bengal Basin

• ONGC took a major step by commencing oil production from the well Asokenagar-1, Bengal Basin in 24 Paragana district.
• The well Asoknagar-1 was completed as an oil producer under Early-Monetization Plan issued by Government of India.
• This makes ONGC having discovered and put to production seven out of the eight producing basins of India covering 83 percent of established oil & gas reserves.
• ONGC is India's largest oil and gas producer contributing 72 percent of the country's hydrocarbon production.
• The well Asokenagar-1 has heralded the end of painstaking search for hydrocarbons in the region by ONGC by sending its first hydrocarbon consignment produced during well testing to IOCL's Haldia Oil Refinery done earlier on 5 November 2020.

Major Sedimentary Basins in India.

• India has 26 sedimentary basins covering an area of 3.14 million square kilometres. The sedimentary basins of India, onland and offshore up to the 200m isobath, have an areal extent of about 1.79 million sq. km.
• In the deepwater beyond the 200m isobath, the sedimentary area has been estimated to be about 1.35 million sq. km. Thus, the total works out to 3.14 million sq. km.
• Broadly Indian sedimentary basins have been divided into four categories based on their degree of prospectivity as presently known. The categorization based on the prospectivity of the basin as presently known is as under:

Categories of Indian sedimentary basins

• Crude oil & natural gas production in the country is from 7 basins under category-I and deepwater areas. In category-II basins, hydrocarbon discoveries have been made but commercial production is yet to commence.
• The distribution of total Indian sedimentary area of 3.14 million square kilometre under different categories and deepwater is presented as under:

Indian Sedimentary Map of India


Miscellaneous
Indian Institute of Heritage to be set up soon
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about IIH + about initiatives taken by the ministry of tourism)
What's the NEWS

• The Minister of State for Culture and Tourism (IC), chaired a meeting of the National Museum Institute Society in New Delhi, relating to announcement of Government to establish Indian Institute of Heritage (IIH), and also to deliberate upon changing the nomenclature of existing National Museum Institute Society to Indian Institute of Heritage Society (IIHS)
• The Union Budget 2020-21 it was announced that the government would set up IIH.

Indian Institute of Heritage (IIH)

• As per the proposal of Culture Ministry, the certificate/diploma courses which were hitherto being run by the Institutions under the Ministry of Culture namely; Institute of Archaeology, IGNCA, National Archives of India and NRLC-Lucknow, will be brought under the umbrella of Indian Institute of Heritage along with the degree courses of National Museum Institute, for imparting research & higher education in the field of cultural heritage & conservation.
• It is to be established as a centre of excellence in arts and heritage studies and is to have the status of a ‘deemed university'
• The institute would offer MA, Ph.D., diploma and certificate courses in History of Art, Conservation, Museology, Archival Studies, Archaeology, Preventive Conservation, Epigraphy & Numismatics, Manuscriptology, and related fields, as well as training for in-service employees.
• It was decided that members would send their suggestions for setting up the new Institute within a period of 15 days, after which the Culture Ministry would take necessary actions for setting up of Indian Institute of Heritage (IIH) in accordance with the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and the prevalent UGC guidelines for setting up of institutes of higher education in India.
• It is to be set up in accordance with Societies Registration Act, 1860 and the UGC guidelines for setting up HEIs.
• The Finance Minister allocated Rs 3,150 crores for the Ministry of Culture to set up the museum and other activities.

Other initiatives of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism

• To set up a tribal museum in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
• The government proposes to set up an Indian Institute of Heritage and Conservation under the Ministry of Culture, and develop five archaeological sites as "iconic sites" with onsite museums in Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Sivsagar (Assam), Dholavira (Gujarat) and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu).

Rakhigarhi

• It is located in Haryana. It is one of the five townships of Harappan civilization. Around sixty-two graves of Harappan civilization were discovered here.

Hastinapur

• It is located in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh. The most significant discovery made at this site was the new ceramic industry. It was named Painted Grey Ware and were used by the early Indo-Aryans.

Sivasagar

• Excavation at this site was conducted in 2007-08. The structural remains found at this site were vessels, bowls, dishes, vases, terracotta smoking pipes.

Dholavira

• It is located in Gujarat. The site is unique as a complete water system was found at this site. It belongs to Harappan Civilization

Adichnallur

• It is located in Tamil Nadu. The site gains importance for its three important findings namely discovery of ancient Tamil-Brahmi script, fragment of broken earthenware and remains of living quarters.

Health
Black Fungus or Mucormycosis
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Mucormycosis fungus)
What's the NEWS

• Doctors have witnessed more than 12 cases of Covid-19 triggered Mucormycosis fungus - which causes loss of eyesight, removal of the nose and jaw bone, and 50 per cent mortality in cases where it affects the brain - within 15 days.

Mucormycosis fungus

• Black Fungus or Mucormycosis, previously called zygomycosis, is a serious but rare fungal infection caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes which exist in the environment.
• Mucormycosis mainly affects people who have health problems or take medicines that lower the body's ability to fight germs and sickness.
• Black Fungus or Mucormycosis is caused by a group of molds called mucormycetes.
• Mucor-mycosis mainly affects people who have health problems or take medicines that lower the body's ability to fight germs and sickness.
• Covid triggered mucormycosis with high morbidity and mortality is alarming.
• The symptoms are face numbness, one-side nose obstructions or swelling of eyes, or pain.
• The ENT surgeons take samples for culture and start definitive medical treatment which might prevent medical loss.

Infrastructure Development
World Bank approves 4 India projects worth USD 800 million
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about these 4 projects + about DRIP -2) + Mains (GS III infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• The World Bank approved four India projects worth over USD 800 million to support development initiatives.

The projects that have been approved are:

• Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated Agriculture Growth Project (CHIRAAG)
• Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project; and
• Second Dam Improvement and Rehabilitation Project (DRIP-2).
• The projects support a range of development initiatives - strengthening India's social protection architecture, promoting nutrition-supportive agriculture for tribal households in Chhattisgarh, enhancing quality education in Nagaland and improving the safety and performance of existing dams across various states in India

Second Dam Improvement and Rehabilitation Project (DRIP-2)

• The USD 250 million Second Dam Improvement and Rehabilitation Project (DRIP-2) will improve the safety and performance of existing dams across various states of India
• It will strengthen dam safety by building dam safety guidelines; bring in global experience; and introduce newer technologies.

Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project

• Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project (USD 68 million) will improve classroom instruction; create opportunities for the professional development of teachers; and build technology systems to provide students and teachers with more access to blended and online learning as well as allow better monitoring of policies and programs, it said.

CHIRAAG project

• The USD 100 million CHIRAAG project will develop sustainable production systems that allow tribal households in remote areas of Chhattisgarh to practice round-the-year production of diversified and nutritious food.
• It will be implemented in the southern tribal-majority region of the state where a large population is undernourished and poor.
• The project will benefit over 180,000 households from about 1,000 villages in eight districts of Chhattisgarh

Know! more about Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP II)

• It is being implemented with the loan assistance from the World Bank.
• The project was initially launched in seven states namely Karnataka, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu. It was launched in 2012.

The Project consists of three main components as follows

1. Rehabilitation and Improvement of Dams and associated appurtenances
2. Dam Safety Institutional Strengthening
3. Project Management

• Under DRIP-II, the safety of the dams is to be improved. Also, operational performance of selected dams is to be enhanced.
• The project is to be implemented for ten years between 2020 and 2030.
• The project is to be supervised by Central Water Commission.
• The total budget outlay of the project is 1.5 billion USD. Of this, the World Bank is to fund one billion USD.
• The six-year project was funded by the World Bank at a cost of Rs 2100 cr.
• Later in 2018, the Government revised the cost to Rs 3466 crores along with 2-year extension.
• 223 dam projects were originally selected to be developed under the scheme, which was also increased to 257.

Status of Dam Safety in India

• Around 80% of the large dams in India are twenty-five years old.
• Around 209 dams are 100 years old.
• These dams were built in an era when design practices and safety considerations were much below the safety norms.
• Thus, several dams are facing distress and are in need of attention for ensuring operational efficiency and structural safety.
• India ranks third globally in dam operation after China and USA. There are 5,334 large dams in the country and around 411 are under construction. The total storage capacities of these dams is 283 billion cubic metres.

Connect to the Past
DRIP Phase II & Phase III

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic in October has approved the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II & Phase III with the financial assistance of the World Bank (WB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to improve the safety and operational performance of selected dams across the whole country, along with institutional strengthening with system wide management approach.
• The project cost is Rs 10,211 crore. The Project will be implemented over a period of 10 years duration in two Phases, each of six years duration with two years overlapping from April, 2021 to March, 2031.
• The share of external funding is Rs 7,000 crore of the total project cost, and balance Rs 3,211 crore is to be borne by the concerned Implementing Agencies (IAs).
• The contribution of Central Government is Rs 1,024 crore as loan liability and Rs 285 crore as counter-part funding for Central Component.

DRIP Phase II & Phase III envisages the following objectives:-

• To improve the safety and performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner.
• To strengthen the dam safety institutional setup in participating states as well as at central level, and
• To explore the alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams

To achieve the above objectives, DRIP Phase II & Phase III has following components:

• Rehabilitation and improvement of dams and associated appurtenances
• Dam safety institutional strengthening in participating States and Central agencies,
• Exploration of alternative incidental means at few of selected dams to generate the incidental revenue for sustainable operation and maintenance of dams, and
• Project management.

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