Government Scheme
SVAMITVA Scheme

Relevance IN = Prelims (about the scheme) + Mains (GS II government policies and interventions + governance)
What's the NEWS

• Union Minister for Panchayati Raj released the new framework for implementation of the SVAMITVA Scheme and Coffee Table Book (CTB) to mark the nationwide roll-out of the SVAMITVA Scheme

SVAMITVA Framework

• The SVAMITVA Framework developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj provides a detailed roadmap and guidelines for the various States in terms of the Scheme objectives, coverage, various components involved, year-wise funding pattern, survey approach and methodology, stakeholders involved and their roles and responsibility, monitoring and evaluation, and deliverables.
• The event was virtually joined by all States/UTs - Revenue and Panchayati Raj Secretaries, officers from Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Survey of India (SoI), Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

SVAMITVA Scheme (updates so far)

• Property cards have been distributed in more than 7400 villages and more than 7,00,000 beneficiaries have been benefited from the Scheme across the country.
• The scheme will benefit rural residents by providing them with property cards that can be used for taking loans and the creation of accurate land records for rural planning.
• Beneficiaries have also started to reap benefits of the Scheme and many have availed of bank loans and other financial benefits to construct houses or expand businesses.

Know! about SVAMITVA Scheme

• SVAMITVA, a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj was nationally launched by the Prime Minister on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2021 after successful completion of the pilot phase of the Scheme in 9 States.
• SVAMITVA Scheme aims to provide property rights to the residents of rural inhabited areas in India by using Drone survey and CORS Networks which provides mapping accuracy of 5 cms.
• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of the SVAMITVA scheme. In the States, the Revenue Department/Land Records Department will be the Nodal Department and shall carry out the scheme with the support of State Panchayati Raj Departments.

Prelims Factoids
Baricitinib tablets
Relevance IN - Prelims (about Baricitinib tablets + about the role of CDSCO)
What's the NEWS

• Drugmaker Natco Pharma has received emergency use approval for Baricitinib tablets, 1 mg, 2 mg and 4 mg strengths, from Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) in India.
• Baricitinib, in combination with Remdesivir, is used for treatment of COVID-19 positive patients, a release from Natco on the approval said.
• The company said it intends seeking a compulsory license based on emergency use and in light of the grave and serious public health emergency across India due to the pandemic.
• It is ready to launch the product this week, so as to make it available to the patients across India

Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO)

• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) under Directorate General of Health Services,Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,Government of India is the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India.
• The Drugs & Cosmetics Act,1940 and rules 1945 have entrusted various responsibilities to central & state regulators for regulation of drugs & cosmetics.
• It envisages uniform implementation of the provisions of the Act & Rules made there under for ensuring the safety, rights and well being of the patients by regulating the drugs and cosmetics.
• CDSCO is constantly thriving upon to bring out transparency, accountability and uniformity in its services in order to ensure safety, efficacy and quality of the medical product manufactured, imported and distributed in the country.
• Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of New Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations by providing expert advice with a view of bring about the uniformity in the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
• Further CDSCO along with state regulators, is jointly responsible for grant of licenses of certain specialized categories of critical Drugs such as blood and blood products, I. V. Fluids, Vaccine and Sera.

Prelims Factoids
Oral COVID-19 drug Molnupiravir
Relevance IN - Prelims (about molnupiravir)
What's the NEWS

• MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck Sharp & Dohme and known as Merck & Co., Inc., has entered into non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreements with five top Indian generic manufacturers for supply of molnupiravir, an investigational oral antiviral agent currently being studied in a Phase-3 trial for the treatment of non-hospitalised patients with confirmed COVID-19, in India.

Know! about the agreement

• MSD which is developing molnupiravir in collaboration with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics has entered into these agreements to accelerate availability of molnupiravir in India and in other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) following approvals or emergency authorisation by local regulatory agencies
• The agreements have been signed with Cipla Ltd., Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Emcure Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Hetero Labs Ltd. and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.
• Under the agreements, Merck & Co., Inc., U.S. will provide licenses to these manufacturers to supply molnupiravir to India.
• Merck & Co., Inc., U.S. is also in discussions with the Medicines Patent Pool to explore the potential for additional licenses.
• Molnupiravir (EIDD-2801/MK-4482) is an investigational, orally bioavailable form of a potent ribonucleoside analog that inhibits the replication of multiple RNA viruses including SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of COVID-19.

State Specific
Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi Project and Rythu Bharosa
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the various schemes of the state government)
What's the NEWS

• The State Cabinet of Andhra Pradesh presided over by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, has given its nod to the A.P. Industrial Electronics Policy and financial sanction to the Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi Project phases 1 and 2, and administrative and financial sanctions to create infrastructure at the Krishnapatnam Port as a part of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor.

Know! the various projects of the State government

• The Cabinet also approved the decision to credit Rs.4,050 crore directly into the bank accounts of the farmers under the YSR Rythu Bharosa - PM Kisan
• The number of beneficiaries under the scheme was now increased to 54 lakh with the inclusion of tenant farmers of BC, SC and ST communities.
• Under YSR Bima, Rs.2,589.60 crore would be credited into the bank accounts of 38.30 lakh farmers so as to insulate them from the losses suffered in kharif 2020.
• The Cabinet also approved a world-class greenfield Electronics Manufacturing Cluster in Kadapa district that would provide jobs to 39,000 people.
• A decision to create infrastructure from Kailasagiri to Bhogapuram International Airport was also taken.
• Administrative sanction was given to Handri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi Phase 1 works to be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs.6,182 crore.
• The Cabinet also decided to lift water from the dead storage level and sanction works pertaining to the Yeleru Tandava Canal Link.
• The Cabinet also decided to give administrative sanction to the Polavaram project for works pertaining to the construction of earth dam, spillway channel, approach channel, pilot channel, and hydro electric power house.
• It also approved the decision to opt for loan to implement the YSR Palnadu Drought Mitigation Project with an outlay of Rs.2,746 crore.

Prelims Factoids
Sauropod dinosaurs
Relevance IN - Prelims (about Sauropods dinosaurs)
What's the NEWS

• Researchers have identified fossil bone fragments of long-necked dinosaurs called sauropods, dating back to about 100-million-years from an area around West Khasi Hills District in Meghalaya.

Know! all about Sauropods

• The GSI researchers noted that this is the first record of sauropods of probable Titanosaurian origin discovered in the region.
• Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads relative to the rest of their body, and four thick, pillar-like legs.
• They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land.
• The finding makes Meghalaya the fifth state in India after Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu and the only state in the North-East to report Sauropod bones having titanosaurian affinity
• Titanosaurs were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from Africa, Asia, South America, North America, Europe, Australia and Antarctica.
• Titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs were the most diverse and abundant large-bodied terrestrial herbivores in the Southern Hemisphere landmasses during the Cretaceous Period but they were not endemic to the Gondwanan landmasses
• Gondwana is the southern half of the Pangaean supercontinent that existed some 300 million years ago and is composed of the major continental blocks of South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, India, Antarctica, and Australia.
• In India, the Late Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur generally belong to the titanosaurian clade and has been reported from the Lameta Formation of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and Kallamedu Formation of Tamil Nadu

Energy Security
Used Cooking Oil-based Biodiesel
Relevance IN - Prelims (about UCO (Used Cooking Oil) based Biodiesel
What's the NEWS

• Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas flagged off the first supply of UCO (Used Cooking Oil) based Biodiesel blended Diesel under the EOI Scheme from IndianOil's Tikrikalan Terminal, Delhi.

Know! more about it

• To create an eco-system for collection and conversion of UCO into Biodiesel and developing entrepreneurship opportunities, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, along with Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, had initiated Expressions of Interest for "Procurement of Bio-diesel produced from Used Cooking Oil" on the occasion of World Biofuel Day on 10th August 2019.
• Such "Expressions of Interest" are being periodically released by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
• In the first phase, 11 EoIs were floated between 10.08.2019 to 09.11.2020 for 200 locations. Publication of EoIs has been extended for one more year up to 31.12.2021, for 300 locations across the country.
• Under this initiative, OMCs offer periodically incremental price guarantees for five years and extend off-take guarantees for ten years to prospective entrepreneurs.

First supply of UCO-based Biodiesel

• This is a landmark in India's pursuance of Biofuels and will have a positive impact on the environment.
• This initiative will garner substantial economic benefits for the nation by shoring up indigenous Biodiesel supply, reducing import dependence, and generating rural employment
• Feedstock availability in Biodiesel is a challenge, and leveraging UCO can be a major breakthrough that will enable us to reach the target of 5% Biodiesel blending.
• It will also help divert the unhealthy used oil from the food chain to a more productive purpose
• IndianOil is committed to contributing to this remarkable drive to retrieve the unhealthy Used Cooking Oil and usher in a revolution through "Randhan se Indhan".
• IndianOil has started constructing eight Biodiesels plants across Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.

Biodiesel

• It is an alternative fuel, similar to conventional or ‘fossil' diesel.
• It can be produced from vegetable oils, animal fats, tallow and waste cooking oil.
• A significant advantage of Biodiesel is its carbon-neutrality, i.e. the oilseed absorbs the same amount of CO2 as is released when the fuel is combusted in a vehicle.
• Biodiesel is rapidly biodegradable and completely non-toxic.

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