Daily Current Capsules 27^th February 2021

Prelims Factoids
Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021)
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Rural Development inaugurated Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021 at Noida Haat

Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021

• The Saras Aajeevika Mela 2021 is being organized from 26th February to 14th March 2021 by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• More than 300 rural self-help groups and craftsman from 27 states are participating in the Mela.
• Around 150 stalls and 15 food stalls serving regional cuisines have been set up and more than 60 cultural performances will be performed.
• During the Mela, workshops on product packaging and design, communication skills, social media publicity and Business 2 Business marketing will be organised to educate the rural self-help groups and craftsman.
• The Ministry of Rural Development is working to include more women in Self Help Groups (SHGs).
• These SHGs played a vital role in increasing family income and improving quality of life.

Way Forward

• Atmanirbharta can't be achieved only by Government's schemes and efforts. People's participation is a must and SHGs can play a major role to achieve this goal.
• The empowered SHGs to come forward and help other SHGs to become Atmanirbhar.
• SHGs during COVID times played a very important role by employing rural women.
• SHGs have the potential to produce export quality material and with the help of these SHGs, the country can achieve the dream of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Environment Conservation
The Waste to Wealth Mission

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Waste to Wealth Mission of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser + about PM-STIAC)
What's the NEWS

• The Waste to Wealth Mission of the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF), launched a pilot technology today to clean the Gaunchi Drain at Sanjay Colony, Faridabad.
• The Gaunchi Drain is a key arterial drainage system in Faridabad.
• Gaunchi is amongst the 11 most polluted drains of Haryana that together release 1002 million litres of polluted water in the Yamuna every day.

Know! all about the Project

• The project has deployed a RISE (Research Initiative For Scientific Enhancement) machine from DESMI EnviRo-CLEAN A/S, a Danish company that specialises in cleaning water bodies.
• The machine will collect and remove up to 300 Kgs of floating waste and debris from the drain daily.
• The Waste to Wealth Mission and MCF will jointly monitor and operate this machine and build the evidence to scale up such projects in other water bodies across India.
• The project will also explore technologies to treat and utilise the waste removed from the drain.

Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

• In November 1999, Cabinet Secretariat established the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
• The PSA's office aims to provide pragmatic and objective advice to the Prime Minister and cabinet on matters related to science, technology and innovation with a focus on application of science and technology in critical infrastructure, economic and social sectors in partnership with Government

Initiatives Undertaken by PSA

• The Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC)
• Empowered Technology Group (ETG)
• Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020 (STIP 2020)

The Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC)

• An overarching council that facilitates the PSA's Office to assess the status in specific science and technology domains, comprehend challenges, formulate interventions, develop a futuristic roadmap and advise the Prime Minister accordingly.
• The project management team at invest India, together with the office of the PSA, will facilitate the delivery and progress of all Nine national missions under PM-STIAC.

Nine Missions under PM-STIAC

• Natural Language Translation: The mission will facilitate access to teaching and research material across all regional languages.
• Quantum Frontier: This mission will initiate work in the understanding and control of quantum mechanical system with many degrees of freedom.
• Artificial Intelligence: This mission will facilitate the advancement in the field of Artificial Intelligence by engaging closely with academia and industry to develop core research capability.
• National Biodiversity: This mission will build a comprehensive documentation of India's biodiversity with the potential of cataloguing and mapping all lifeforms.
• Electric Vehicles: This mission is critical for India to reduce fossil fuel consumption and mitigate emissions by facilitating the production of Electric Vehicles (EVs) economically.
• Bioscience for Human Health: This mission will utilise healthy and disease samples to understand the impact of nature and nurture on human health.
• Waste to Wealth: This mission will identify, develop and deploy technologies to treat waste to generate energy, recycle materials and extract worth.
• Deep Ocean Exploration: This mission will explore the deep oceans to improve our understanding of the blue frontier.
• AGNIi: This mission will boost the innovation ecosystem in the country and help commercialise innovative solutions.

Other Major Projects of PM-STIAC

• Research Clusters
• Earth Museum
• Brahmaputra River System
• I-STEM
• Energy Security

Empowered Technology Group (ETG)
Established with the approval of the Union Cabinet, the Empowered Technology Group (ETG) aims to proactively lay down, coordinate, and oversee national-level policies relating to:

• Procurement and induction of technologies
• Research and Development (R&D) in technologies that require large outlays in resources, both financial and human
• Render sound and timely advice for determining direction and trajectory of Government's R&D and Technology Development Programmes

The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020 (STIP 2020)

• The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020 (STIP 2020) is a holistic and pragmatic policy dedicated to science, technology and most importantly innovation.
• The policy aims to reorient Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) in terms of priorities, sectoral focus and strategies.
• The STIP 2020 policy is initiated jointly by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (Office of PSA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• A Secretariat with in-house policy knowledge and data support unit, has been set up at Department of science and Technology to coordinate the entire process.
• An engaging and inclusive model with four interconnected tracks has been envisioned to formulate the STIP 2020.
• Key and novel features of the STIP 2020 are Bottom-up, Decentralised, Experts-Driven, Evidence-informed and Inclusive to provide holistic outline for a scientific future.

Way Forward

• To solve the country's waste challenges there is a need for applying innovative technologies that are customised to Indian conditions.
• Efforts towards making India free of plastic pollution is a driving force for all of us.
• The PM's Science Technology and Innovation Council (PMSTIAC) is committed to steering science-led mission to tackle India's waste challenges.
• This Faridabad pilot is a strong step towards developing and demonstrating solutions that can clean India's polluted urban drainage systems and water ways.

Science & Technology
DBT celebrates its 35^th Foundation Day

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the initiatives of DBT) + Mains (GS III awareness in the field of S&T)
What's the NEWS

• Department of Biotechnology (DBT) today celebrated its 35th Foundation Day.

Highlights of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT)

• A special grant of Rs. 900 crore under Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 has been allocated to the Department for the COVID-SURAKSHA towards development of vaccines against COVID-19

National Biomedical Resource Indigenisation consortium (NBRIC)

• This platform aims to achieve self-reliance towards diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19 and beyond

Missions in the Agri-Biotech Sector

• BIOTECH KISAN programme of DBT has been implemented in 105 Aspirational districts and more than 50,000 farmers have been benefitted till date
• DBT-NGGF - National Genotyping and Genomics Facility- for advanced crop genomics technology and genotyping services to Public and Private Institutions has been established.
• Three improved maize hybrids have been developed by Enrichment of Nutritional Quality in Maize through Molecular Breeding
• Indian Biological Data Centre (IBDC) was established by DBT for deposition, storage, annotation and sharing of biological data generated in the country through extensive funding from various Government Organizations
• Pan India Genome India was initiated for cataloguing the genetic variation in Indian population with a goal for whole genome sequencing and subsequent data analysis of 10,000 individuals

Infrastructure Development
Rooftop Solar
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about rooftop solar + Solar Rooftop Financing Program) + Mains (GS III infrastructure development - energy security)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and the Minister for Road Transport & Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari has invited MSMEs to avail concessional debt finance to install rooftop solar for business efficiency.
• Rooftop Solar offers an excellent value proposition to MSMEs by significantly bringing down cost of electricity consumption, which on an average, is up to one-fifth of their operations cost.

Know! about rooftop solar (RTS)

• A large amount (average INR 8 and higher per unit) is being paid by the MSMEs for power consumption, which contributes to up to one fifth of the overall production costs.
• To assist MSMEs in implementing rooftop solar projects, the Ministry is working with the World Bank on a credit guarantee program to make financing accessible to unrated MSMEs.
• Considering the rates of solar power from large utility power plants have come down to a record INR 1.99/kWh, MSMEs must leverage this opportunity to bring down their energy expenses.

Solar Rooftop Financing Program

• The World Bank - SBI's $625 million has supported India's significant Rooftop Solar roll out.
• The MSME sector, through SBI's current rooftop solar (RTS) lending portfolio can leverage concessional debt and fulfil India's ambitious target for large scale implementation of rooftop solar.
• The World Bank is working with the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, to bring in a credit guarantee mechanism catering to lending to MSMEs who would like to reduce their energy expenses in the long term by investing in rooftop solar.
• In 2016, The World Bank launched the ‘Solar Rooftop Financing Program' being implemented by the State Bank of India (SBI).
• With a view to addressing the issues on the debt side and to give a fillip to the sector, SBI has availed a $625 million line of credit from World Bank specifically, for financing RTS projects across the country through its identified branches.
• A countrywide customized financial product has been developed by SBI which covers 75% of the project financing requirement along with other favourable terms such as repayment period, moratorium, and security.

Economy
Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme 2020-21
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Sovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21)
What's the NEWS

• In terms of Government of India Notification Sovereign Gold Bonds 2020-21 (Series XII) will be opened for the period March 01-05, 2021 with Settlement date March 09, 2021.
• The issue price of the Bond during the subscription period shall be Rs 4,662 (Rupees Four thousand Six hundred Sixty two only) - per gram, as also published by RBI in their Press Release dated February 26, 2021.
• The Government of India in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow discount of Rs 50 (Rupees Fifty only) per gram from the issue price to those investors who apply online and the payment is made through digital mode.
• For such investors the issue price of Gold Bond will be Rs 4,612 (Rupees Four thousand Six hundred twelve only) per gram of gold.

Sovereign gold bond

• Sovereign gold bond 2020-21 has been issued by RBI on behalf of the Government of India.
• First launched in 2015, the government's sovereign gold bond scheme's objective was to reduce the demand for physical gold, by shifting the purchase of gold into financial savings.
• Gold bonds offer an annual interest rate of 2.50% per annum on the issue price to investors, which is paid half-yearly.
• One can trade gold sovereign bonds on stock exchanges within a specific date.
• They are a substitute for investment in physical gold. Gold bonds can be used as collateral for loans.
• Gold ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, come with a tenor of 8 years, and a lock-in period of 5 years.
• The maximum limit of subscription shall be 4kg for individuals and HUFs and 20kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal year.
• Bonds are denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold.
• The minimum investment limit in gold bonds is one gram of gold, where one unit of the bond is equal to one gram of gold.
• Owing a unit of gold ETF is cheaper than owning one gram of real gold.
• The Reserve Bank of India has issued a total of sovereign gold bonds in six tranches from October 2020 to March 2021.
• As per RBI's Annual Report 2019-20, a total of Rs 9,652.78 crore (30.98 tonnes) has been raised through the sovereign gold bond scheme (37 tranches) since its inception in November 2015.
• Investors can buy the SGB schemes through commercial banks, post offices, stock exchanges Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange, and the Stock Holding Corporation.
• Investors who can invest in the SGBs include individuals, trusts, charitable organisations, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and universities.

Governance
E-Daakhil portal

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about E-Daakhil portal for Consumer grievance redressal) + Mains ( GS II good governance - transparency and accountability)
What's the NEWS

• E-Daakhil portal for Consumer grievance redressal is now operational in 15 States/UTs. Department of Consumer Affairs is now proactively following up with the states to launch e-filing portal at their ends.

E-Daakhil portal

• The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which has come into force from 20^th July, 2020, has provision for e-filing of consumer complaints in the Consumer Commissions and online payment of the fees for filing a complaint.
• A web application for E-filing of consumer complaints named "edaakhil.nic.in" has been developed by NIC for the purpose.
• This digital software for filing consumer complaints has the many features like e-Notice, case document download link & VC hearing link, filing written response by opposite party, fling rejoinder by complainant and alerts via SMS/Email.
• The e-daakhil portal empowers the consumer and their advocates to file the consumer complaints along with payment of requisite fees online from anywhere for the redressal of their complaints.
• It also facilitates the consumer commissions to scrutinize the complaints online to accept, reject or forward the complaint to the concerned commission for further processing.
• To facilitate the rural consumers for e-filing, it has been decided to integrate the Common Service Centres (CSC) with the e-daakhil portal.
• As many consumers at Gram Panchayat level may either not have access to electronic modes of communication or unable to use the tools, they may avail the services of CSCs in filing their complaints in the Consumer Commission.
• The work for integration of this portal with CSC is in under process.

E-filing

• E-filing was launched by National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on 7^th September, 2020.
• Delhi was the first state to implement it on 8^th September, 2020.
• Department of Consumer Affairs had been proactively following up with the States/UTs to launch e-filing. Total 444 locations are covered including NCDRC, State Commissions and District Commissions.

Prelims Factoids
1^st digital toy fair

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about first-ever toy fair )
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister will inaugurate India's first-ever toy fair - a virtual exhibition of Indian toys on February 27 via video conferencing.
• The four-day fair aims to boost India's toy industry, bringing all stakeholders in one place to create sustainable linkages.

Know about toy fair

• The fair will be held on www.theindiatoyfair.in
• From February 27, 11am, the fair will be thrown open to children, parents, teachers, exhibitors.
• Over 1,000 exhibitors from all states and Union Territories will showcase their toys, which can be bought online.
• All these toys to be showcased in the fair are made in India.
• Apart from an open market of toys, there will be panel discussions, webinars to strengthen India's toy industry
• Over 1.5 million people have already registered for The India Toy Fair - the highest number of registrations ever recorded.
• India's toy market stands at around $1.5 billion, but it is dominated by imported toys.
• A government committee found that 30 per cent of the imported plastic toys have dangerous levels of chemicals and heavy metals which are not safe for children
• Hamleys, owned by Reliance Retail, is the title sponsor of the toy fair.
• Toys made of clay, cane and material locally available have been featured as Indian toys.
• The government also organised Toycathon - an opportunity for students, teachers, start-ups and toy professionals to submit their innovating toy concepts and win a prize.
• In this contest, the focus has been on toys that are eco-friendly, toys that are can be handled by disabled children, toys that uphold Indian values, promote Vedic maths etc.

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