Infrastructure Development/Governance
National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM) & Several Digital Initiatives Launched For Transforming Urban Governance

Relevance IN - Prelims (about NUDM + IUDX + Smart Code Platform + GMIS +Smart India Mission ) + Mains ( GS III Infrastructure development + GS II Governance)
What's the NEWS

• National Urban Digital Mission will create the ideal space to harness immense synergies from the domain of urban and technology towards creating a citizen-centric governance

National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM)

• The National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM) has been launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs along with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Several other digital initiatives of MoHUA vis.

1. India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX)
2. Smart Code
3. Smart Cities 2.0 website
4. Geospatial Management Information System (GMIS) were also launched.

• These initiatives are among the ongoing efforts of both Ministries to realise the vision of Digital India and AtmaNirbhar Bharat, by making cities more self-reliant and enabled to meet the needs of and provide services to their citizens.

National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM)

• The National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM) will create a shared digital infrastructure for urban India, working across the three pillars of people, process, and platform to provide holistic support to cities and towns.
• It will institutionalise a citizen-centric and ecosystem-driven approach to urban governance and service delivery in 2022 cities by 2022, and across all cities and towns in India by 2024.
• NUDM will create a shared digital infrastructure that can consolidate and cross-leverage the various digital initiatives of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, enabling cities and towns across India to benefit from holistic and diverse forms of support, in keeping with their needs and local challenges.
• NUDM is citizen-centric, ecosystem-driven, and principles-based in both design and implementation.
• NUDM has articulated a set of governing principles, and inherits the technology design principles of the National Urban Innovation Stack (NUIS), whose strategy and approach was released by MoHUA in February, 2019.
• The principles in turn give rise to standards, specifications, and certifications, across the three pillars of people, process, and platforms.

India Urban Data Exchange (IUDX)

• The India Urban Data Exchange has been developed in partnership between the Smart Cities Mission and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.
• IUDX serves as a seamless interface for data providers and data users, including ULBs, to share, request, and access datasets related to cities, urban governance, and urban service delivery.
• IUDX is an open-source software platform which facilitates the secure, authenticated, and managed exchange of data amongst various data platforms, 3rd party authenticated and authorised applications, and other sources.
• As the number of cities on IUDX expands, this will scale up to uniform and seamless sharing between data producers and data consumers across urban India.
• IUDX is designed to address the problem of data silos, both within and across cities.
• Cities generate large volumes of data, which are recorded by a wide range of entities, both within government and across industry, academia, and civil society.
• The combination of these datasets can enable rapid innovation, as well as a better understanding of and planning for urban needs and challenges.
• IUDX creates a secure and reliable channel for data producers or owners to share their data, with complete control over what is shared and with whom, in order to enable sharing while addressing security and privacy protections by design.

SmartCode Platform:

• SmartCode is a platform that enables all ecosystem stakeholders to contribute to a repository of open-source code for various solutions and applications for urban governance.
• It is designed to address the challenges that ULBs face in the development and deployment of digital applications to address urban challenges, by enabling cities to take advantage of existing codes and customising them to suit local needs, rather than having to develop new solutions from scratch.
• As a repository of open-source software, the source code available on the platform will be free to use without any licensing or subscription fees, thus limiting costs to those involved with customising the code and developing a locally-relevant solution.

New Smart Cities Website ver. 2.0 and GMIS

• In order to better connect with people on the Smart Cities Missions efforts and achievements, and to make it easier for ULBs and citizens to access resources related to their work, the Smart Cities Mission website has been redesigned to serve as a single stop for all Smart Cities initiatives.
• The Geospatial Management Information System (GMIS) is integrated with this website.
• The website creates a single window hub for Smart Cities Mission. A portal that works as a gateway to all the platforms and initiatives launched under the Mission.
• The website, through a seamless and a unified interface, aggregates all mission related information/initiatives from the various platforms and show automated mission updates catering to the needs of a public user.

Smart Cities Mission

• Since its launch in 2015, the Smart Cities Mission has made significant strides in its efforts to ensure that the benefits of technology reach all citizens.
• Over the last year, the Mission has seen accelerated project implementation with Smart Cities focusing on grounding and completion of projects.
• Of the total committed investments of Rs.2,05,018 crore as per approved Smart Cities Plans, as on 21.02.2021, Smart Cities under the Mission have tendered 5,445 projects worth Rs.1,72,425 crore (84% of total), issued work orders to 4,687 projects worth Rs.1,38,068 crore (67% of total) and completed 2,255 projects worth Rs.36,652 crore (18% of total).
• Further, 50+ smart cities have transformed their ICCCs into COVID-19 war rooms to enable collaboration with various government departments dealing with COVID response.
• Integrated dashboards were developed in a number of smart cities to enable effective decision-making, monitoring of COVID hotspots and medical infrastructure, tracking movement of goods and services, and managing lockdown.
• Other initiatives have reached beyond the 100 Smart Cities. Outcome and performance assessment frameworks to measure quality of life and city performance were rolled out in 114 Cities via the Ease of Living Index and Municipal Performance Index.

The Urban Learning and Internship Program (TULIP)

• It aims to match opportunities in ULBs with learning needs of fresh graduates.
• Over 280 ULBs have posted over 14,240 internships; so far, 932 students are undergoing internships, and 195 students have completed their internships.

Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF)

• To further make cities sustainable and resilient, The ClimateSmart Cities Assessment Framework (CSCAF) was rolled out in 100 Smart Cities to help cities look at urban planning and governance from a climate change lens, with a second round of annual assessment currently underway.
• A Climate Centre for Cities (C3) has been established in NIUA. A number of national challenges like India Cycles4Change Challenge, Streets for People Challenge, Nurturing Neighbourhoods challenge have been implemented as well.

Infrastructure Development
Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge) + Mains ( GS II governance- accountability and transparency)
What's the NEWS

• The Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, announced twenty-five(25) shortlisted cities for the ‘Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge' cohort, in collaboration with the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF) and technical partner WRI India.

Know! all about the challenge

• The Challenge is a 3-year initiative aimed at supporting early childhood-friendly neighbourhoods under the government's Smart Cities Mission.
• The cohort will receive technical assistance, capacity building and scale-up support to experiment, and implement trials and pilots over the next six months to demonstrate early wins, solicit citizen participation, and build consensus around their proposals.
• The first stage of the Challenge involved an open call for applications from city agencies and closed on February 7th, 2021.
• 63 cities from across India submitted applications proposing neighbourhood-level pilot projects in public space, mobility, and access to services to enhance the physical and psychological health of young children and their caregivers.
• From the list of applicant cities, the evaluation committee chose 25 cities based on the strength of their applications.
• This approach is well-aligned with the strategy of the Smart Cities Mission to promote inclusive, people-oriented development in compact, local areas towards scaling city-wide solutions that enhance our citizens' quality of life.

PARTICIPATION FROM CITIES

• By engaging cities to shape healthier urban environments for early childhood, the Challenge has refocused attention on the importance of neighbourhood-level interventions.
• During the three-month application period, over 100 cities were engaged through remote or in-person discussions and online capacity-building workshops under the Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge.
• There was an enthusiastic response from cities to focus on the needs of young children aged 0 - 5 years and their caregivers in the public realm.
• Cumulatively, over 300 pilot projects were proposed in neighbourhoods across India that would improve quality of life for over 12 lakh children aged 0-5 years old.
• In addition to physical interventions in public spaces, cities have also proposed public engagement activities designed to support behavioural changes and have considered long-term policy and administrative changes needed to place an early-childhood lens in their approach to urban planning and development.

Know! more about the Challenge

• Under its prime objective of inclusive development, the Government of India is committed to enhancing opportunities in urban areas for all vulnerable citizens, especially young children.
• The Nurturing Neighbourhoods Challenge, launched on November 4th, 2020, invited participation from all Smart Cities, capitals of States and UTs, and other cities with population above 5 lakhs were eligible to participate.
• Over the 3-year initiative, selected cities based on their proposal, readiness, and commitment - will receive technical support and capacity-building to develop, pilot and scale solutions that enhance the quality of life of young children.
• Over time, the programme will enable city leaders, managers, staff, engineers, urban planners, and architects to incorporate a focus on early childhood development into the planning and management of Indian cities.

Agreements
Government of India and World Bank Sign Project to Improve Quality of India's Education in Nagaland

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the Project)
What's the NEWS

• The Government of India, Government of Nagaland and the World Bank signed a $68 million project to enhance the governance of schools across Nagaland as well as to improve teaching practices and learning environments in select schools.

Know! about the Project

• The "Nagaland: Enhancing Classroom Teaching and Resources Project" 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.
• Such an integrated approach will complement conventional delivery models and help mitigate the challenges posed by COVID-19.
• About 150,000 students and 20,000 teachers in the government education system in Nagaland will benefit from the statewide reforms in schools.
• The education project in Nagaland will address the critical gaps faced by students and teachers and play an important role in the development of the state.
• Strengthening Nagaland's Education Management and Information System (EMIS) will enable wider access to education resources; support professional development and performance evaluation systems for teachers and education managers; facilitate school leadership and better management; and support examination reforms.

Agreements
Government of India & AIIB sign agreement for $304 million to improve reliability, capacity and security of the power transmission network in the state of Assam

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the loan agreement)
What's the NEWS

• The Government of India and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB signed a loan agreement for a $304 million Assam Intra-State Transmission System Enhancement Project to improve reliability, capacity and security of the power transmission network in the State of Assam.

The project aims to strengthen Assam's electricity transmission system by
a. constructing 10 transmission substations and laying transmission lines with the associated infrastructure;
b. upgrading 15 existing substations, transmission lines and existing ground wire to optical power ground wire; and
c. providing technical assistance to support project implementation.
Know! more about the Programme

• The programme would strengthen the existing intrastate transmission network of Assam by augmenting it with newer networks to achieve affordable, secure, efficient and reliable 24×7 power.
• This would, in turn, bring Assam closer to ensuring long-term sustainability of its electricity supply.
• The project is expected to improve the transmission network and reduce transmission losses.
• The strong backward and forward linkages associated with the project will create socio-economic opportunities for both households and business communities in the State

Science & Technology
Cadmium (Cd) doped Silver Antimony Telluride (AgSbTe2)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about AgSbTe2)
What's the NEWS

• Scientists have found a new Lead (Pb) free material which can efficiently convert waste heat to power our small home equipment and automobiles.
• Thermoelectric energy conversion allows generation of electrical voltage when one end of a material is heated while keeping the other side cold.
• It is quite difficult to find an efficient material to realize this scientific principle
• It entails fitting in three seemingly different properties into a single material-- high electrical conductivity of metals, high thermoelectric sensitivity of semiconductors, and low thermal conductivity of glasses.
• Most efficient thermoelectric materials developed by scientists so far use Lead (Pb) as a major constituent element, restricting their use for mass-market applications.

Cadmium (Cd) doped Silver Antimony Telluride (AgSbTe2)

• Scientists from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, an autonomous institution of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India have now identified a lead-free material called Cadmium (Cd) doped Silver Antimony Telluride (AgSbTe₂) which can efficiently allow recovery of electricity from ‘waste heat' marking a paradigm shift in the thermoelectric puzzle.
• Prof. Kanishka Biswas and his group doped (internally introduced) Silver Antimony Telluride with Cadmium (Cd) and used an advanced electron microscopy technique to visualize the resultant ordering of atoms in nanometer scale. The nanometer-scale atomic ordering scatters phonons that carries heat in a solid and enhances electrical transport by delocalizing the electronic state in the material.
• The team is now trying to commercialize the high-performance thermoelectric materials and devices; in collaboration with TATA steel where lots of waste heat is generated in steel power plant.
• This work is supported by Swarna-Jayanti fellowship and project fund from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) and Department of Science & Technology (DST), India, along with support from New Chemistry Unit (NCU) & International Centre for Materials Science (ICMS), JNCASR, Bangalore.

Bilateral Relations
India and Mauritius sign Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about CECPA - highlights) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• Government of India, and Government of Mauritius signed the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) in Port Louis

Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA)

• CECPA is the first trade Agreement signed by India with a country in Africa.
• The Agreement is a limited agreement, which will cover Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement of Natural Persons, Telecom, Financial services, Customs Procedures and Cooperation in other Areas
• CECPA provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries.
• The CECPA between India and Mauritius covers 310 export items for India, including food stuff and beverages (80 lines), agricultural products (25 lines), textile and textile articles (27 lines), base metals and articles thereof (32 lines), electricals and electronic item (13 lines), plastics and chemicals (20 lines), wood and articles thereof (15 lines), and others.
• Mauritius will benefit from preferential market access into India for its 615 products, including frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, juices, mineral water, beer, alcoholic drinks, soaps, bags, medical and surgical equipment, and apparel.
• As regards trade in services, Indian service providers will have access to around 115 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors, such as professional services, computer related services, research & development, other business services, telecommunication, construction, distribution, education, environmental, financial, tourism & travel related, recreational, yoga, audio-visual services, and transport services.
• India has offered around 95 sub-sectors from the 11 broad services sectors, including professional services, R&D, other business services, telecommunication, financial, distribution, higher education, environmental, health, tourism and travel related services, recreational services and transport services.
• Both sides have also agreed to negotiate an Automatic Trigger Safeguard Mechanism (ATSM) for a limited number of highly sensitive products within two years of the Signing of the Agreement.

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