Prelims Factoids
PM launches ‘Asom Mala'

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Asom Mala + about RAMS + Bharatmala Pariyojana) + Mains ( GS III Infrastructure development + GS II governance)
What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister, laid the Foundation Stone of two hospitals and launched ‘Asom Mala', a programme for state highways and major district roads, at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur District, Assam.

Know! about the project

• ‘Asom Mala' has been started in line with ‘Bharat Mala Project".
• Asom Mala project will fulfil the dreams of the state to have a network of broad roads and connectivity for all villages and modern cities.
• 'Asom Mala', aimed at helping improve state highways and major district roads network in the state.
• "The programme is unique for its emphasis on effective maintenance through continuous field data collection and its linkage with the Road Asset Management System (RAMS),
• These works will gain new momentum in coming days as unprecedented emphasis has been place on infrastructure in this Budget for rapid growth and progress

Road Asset Management System (RAMS)

• It enables the Road department to manage road related information is desired.
• It is a decision support system, which would help the Road department make crucial decisions about prioritization of roads with regard to repair and maintenance, especially given that the resources allocated to the department to do so are limited.
• The needs of Road maintenance management are addressed through a software tool termed Road Asset Management System (RAMS).
• A RAMS is a technical or operational method for managing or directing and controlling maintenance resources, in a scientific manner, for optimum benefits.
• The RAMS includes the development of guidelines to devise the methodologies for systematic data collection.
• The data is collected on the structural and functional performance of all categories of road under varying climate, traffic, and environmental conditions.
• Judicious allocation of maintenance funds is dependent on this data and its analysis.
• The prime purpose of the maintenance phase of the RAMS is to determine the cost associated with providing various levels of serviceability for any given road section.
• This is very useful information for the Municipal authorities for planning budgetary requirements based on a scientific and rational analysis of the present road condition.
• The RAMS uses engineering parameters like International Roughness Index (IRI) and the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) for this purpose and also as trigger values for treatment timing and treatment alternative selection, using predefined standards.

Bharatmala Pariyojana

• The Ministry has taken up detailed review of NHs network with a view to develop the road connectivity to Border areas, development of Coastal roads including road connectivity for Non-Major ports, improvement in the efficiency of National Corridors, development of Economic Corridors, Inter Corridors and Feeder Routes along with integration with Sagarmala, etc., under Bharatmala Pariyojana.
• The Bharatmala Pariyojana envisages development of about 26,000 km length of Economic Corridors, which along with Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and North-South and East-West (NS-EW) Corridors are expected to carry majority of the Freight Traffic on roads.
• Further, about 8,000 km of Inter Corridors and about 7,500 km of Feeder Routes have been identified for improving effectiveness of Economic Corridors, GQ and NS-EW Corridors.
• Further, in order to reduce congestion on proposed Corridors, enhance logistic efficiency and reduce logistics costs of freight movements, 35 locations have been identified for development of Multimodal Logistics Parks.

Prelims Factoids
Astro-Tourism
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Astro-tourism and Astro stays )
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Tourism's Dekho Apna Desh Webinar series titled "Astro- Tourism: The Next Frontier of Nature-based Tourism focused on promoting nature-based tourism which is emerging strongly in a post - COVID world, the major thrust of the webinar was sustainable and responsible travel.

Astro-tourism

• The webinar focused on exploring the evolution of Astro-tourism as one of the most authentic and environment-friendly ways of travelling along with its immense potential to bring positive social, economic and conservation benefits to remote communities.
• Astro-tourism is a new phenomenon that is taking hold across the world.
• Capturing people's inherent interest in the mysterious provides the drive for tourism through the ages.

Astro stays

• Astro stays which is a community-driven astro tourism model that puts communities at the heart and center of the tourism model.
• The program is aimed at empowering and strengthening communities by diversifying economic bases and creating new opportunities for livelihood creation using astrotourism as a key development intervention.
• This model is also an innovative form of experiential and sustainable tourism that generates economic benefits for remote and rural regions of the world that have access to clear night skies while creating unique life-changing experiences for travellers.
• Trained on basics of astronomy and know-how of operating telescopes, the local homestay owners (mostly women) conduct night sky gazing sessions for the incoming tourists, creating a new channel of revenue generation for the communities, that has eventually led to increase in stimulus to local economy, reducing local youth migration and preservation of age-old cultural Himalayan heritage.
• Till date, 35 local women have been trained across 5 Astro-stays in the high-altitude Himalayan desert of Ladakh, generating a strong annual income for the local communities.
• some of the major destinations which can be promoted as Astrotourism destinations in India such as Pangong Lake (Ladak), Rann of Kutchh (Gujarat), Mandu (Madhya Pradesh), Lahaul & Spiti (Himachal Pradesh) etc.

Dekho Apna Desh Webinar Series

• The ‘Dekho Apna Desh' Webinar Series is presented in technical partnership with National e Governance Department, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The Sessions of Webinar are now available on

Defence
iDEX - Start-up Manthan to promote innovation in defence organised at Aero India 2021

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about DISC + iDEX4Fauji initiatives)
What's the NEWS

• Raksha Mantri has revealed that 60 winners out of more than 1,200 start-ups and innovators who participated in Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) have received grants of up to Rs 1.5 crore each to build prototypes.

iDEX4Fauji

• It as an initiative providing opportunities to innovate to the Indian Armed Forces.
• iDEX4Fauji opens up a new window allowing Indian soldiers and service personnel to be recognised and rewarded as innovators.
• iDEX had been designed to infuse the latest technology into military warfare closely intertwined with the needs of services and to reduce dependence on imports.

iDEX4Fauji and DISC 4 challenges

• Start-up Manthan is organised under the iDEX banner annually.
• The iDEX was launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in April 2018 with the core aim to create corporate models for Indian Defence needs and allow the defence sector to harness start-ups.
• Since its launch, iDEX has emerged as a national scale ecosystem bringing together military users and operators with start-ups, innovators and entrepreneurs.
• The event provided a unique opportunity to firms associated with DIO-iDEX to showcase capabilities, products and services to industry leaders and business decision makers.

Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC 4)

• The Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC 4) was launched aimed at expanding the horizons of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) ecosystem.
• iDEX4Fauji initiative and Product Management Approach (PMA) guidelines were also launched
• Each of these initiatives is expected to facilitate iDEX-DIO to scale up the program qualitatively and quantitatively.

iDEX4Fauji

• iDEX4Fauji is a first of its kind initiative, launched to support innovations identified by members of the Indian Armed Forces and will bolster frugal innovation ideas from soldiers/ field formations.
• There are more than 13 Lakh service personnel working in the field and on borders, handling extreme conditions and equipment and would be having many ideas and innovations to improve such equipment.
• There was no mechanism to support such innovations.
• iDEX4Fauji would open this window and allow our Faujis to become part of the innovation process and get recognised and rewarded.
• Services Headquarters will provide support to the soldiers and field formations all over the country to ensure maximum participation.
• Under Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 4, eleven challenges from Armed forces, OFB&DPSUs were thrown open to prospective startups, innovators, MSMEs alike to provide their innovative ideas on technologies which find their application in the defence sector.

The challenges are as follows:

• Autonomous Underwater Swarm Drones
• Predictive, Preventive & Prescriptive Machine Monitoring
• Super Resolution for Improving Spatial Resolution
• AI based Satellite Image Analysis
• Prediction and forecasting of atmospheric visibility
• Computer Generated Targets for Virtual Training
• Remote Real Time In-Flight Health Monitoring of Aircrew
• MF-TDMA based Wideband SATCOM Modem
• Foliage Penetration Radar
• Reduction of RCS of Naval Warships
• Target Detection in Chaff Environment

Environment
Centre approves 51st tiger reserve for India in Tamil Nadu
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Srivilliputhur and Meghamalai sanctuaries + NTCA) + Mains ( GS III Environment conservation)
What's the NEWS

• The Centre has approved tiger reserve status for the sanctuaries spanning the forests of Meghamalai and Srivilliputhur in Tamil Nadu.
• The 1 lakh-hectare area, home to 63 mammal species and 323 bird species - will be India's 51st tiger reserve.
• The tiger reserve will spread to 1.48 lakh hectares of land comprising of the Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary, Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary and Tirunelveli Wildlife
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) conveyed the approval to the Tamil Nadu government.
• The Srivilliputhur and Meghamalai sanctuaries will be notified as tiger reserves.
• The last tiger reserve was notified six years ago in Arunachal Pradesh, Kamlang.

Srivilliputhur and Meghamalai sanctuaries

• The Meghamalai Wildlife Sanctuary is spread across the districts of Theni and Madurai (Highwavys mountains and Cardamom Hills) while the Srivilliputhur Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary lies along Kerala's Periyar Tiger Reserve.
• Srivilluputhur, meanwhile, hosts leopards, Nilgiri tahrs, lion tailed macaques, jungle cats and sambars.
• The eastern part of Srivilliputhur falls in the rain shadow zone of the Western Ghats (it receives poor rainfall), wild animals do congregate along the Deviar, Periyar and Kovilar dams.
• There are 18 streams between the eastern slopes of Deviar and Mudangiar. "Many of these streams join the Arjuna river.
• Such perennial streams act as wildlife riparian habitats, playing an important role in the conservation of elephants and tigers
• The reserve's location would mean that it could act as a buffer zone for Kerala's Periyar's tigers as well.

Benefits

• As a tiger reserve, illegal entry into the area will become a punishable offence, with five years' imprisonment. It will also get a dedicated team of forest range officers, wildlife wardens and researchers.
• Under a tiger reserve management, effective steps could be taken to evict the illegal encroachments and restore the ecological health of the forests
• The establishment of the tiger reserve will help in the protection of the wildlife and it will also rejuvenation the Vaigai river by protecting the origins of the river in the tiger reserve.

Srivilliputhur Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is also known as the Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary (GSWS).
• The sanctuary was established in the year 1988 with the objective of protecting the Near threatened grizzled giant squirrel.
• It is bordered by the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the southwest.
• The sanctuary is also called as one of the best-preserved forests lying south of the Palghat Gap.

National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)

• The National Tiger Conservation Authority was established in December 2005 following a recommendation of the Tiger Task Force, constituted by the Prime Minister of India for reorganised management of Project Tiger and the many Tiger Reserves in India
• It was established under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.