Science and Technology
Cabinet approves Deep Ocean Mission

Relevance IN - Prelims (about deep ocean mission) + Mains (GS II government polices and interventions+ GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Prime Minister has approved the proposal of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) on "Deep Ocean Mission", with a view to explore deep ocean for resources and develop deep sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.
• The estimated cost of the Missionwill be Rs. 4077 crore for a period of 5 years to be implemented in a phase-wise manner.
• The estimated cost for the first phase for the 3 years (2021-2024) would be Rs.2823.4 crore. Deep Ocean Mission with be a mission mode project to support the Blue Economy Initiatives of the Government of India.
• Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will be the nodal Ministry implementing this multi-institutional ambitious mission.

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The Deep Ocean Mission consists of the following six major components:
1. Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining, and Manned Submersible:

• A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6000 metres in the ocean with suite of scientific sensors and tools.
• Only a very few countries have acquired this capability. An Integrated Mining System will be also developed for mining Polymetallic Nodules from 6000 m depth in the central Indian Ocean.
• The exploration studies of minerals will pave way for the commercial exploitation in the near future, as and when commercial exploitation code is evolved by the International Seabed Authority, an UN organization.
• This component will help the Blue Economy priority area of exploring and harnessing of deep sea minerals and energy.

2. Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services:

• A suite of observations and models will be developed to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales under this proof of concept component.
• This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of coastal tourism.

3. Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity:

• Bio-prospecting of deep sea flora and fauna including microbes and studies on sustainable utilization of deep sea bio-resources will be the main focus.
• This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Fisheries and allied services.

4. Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration:

• The primary objective of this component is to explore and identify potential sites of multi-metal Hydrothermal Sulphides mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges.
• This component will additionally support the Blue Economy priority area of deep sea exploration of ocean resources.

5. Energy and freshwater from the Ocean:

• Studies and detailed engineering design for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plant are envisaged in this proof of concept proposal.
• This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of off-shore energy development.

6. Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology.

• This component is aimed as development of human capacity and enterprise in ocean biology and engineering.
• This component will translate research into industrial application and product development through on-site business incubator facilities.
• This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Biology, Blue trade and Blue manufacturing.

Deep Ocean Mission (other highlights)

• The technologies required for deep sea mining have strategic implications and are not commercially available.
• Hence, attempts will be made to indigenise technologies by collaborating with leading institutes and private industries.
• A research vessel for deep ocean exploration would be built in an Indian shipyard which would create employment opportunities.
• This mission is also directed towards capacity development in Marine Biology, which will provide job opportunities in Indian industries.
• In addition, design, development and fabrication of specialised equipment, ships and setting up of required infrastructure are expected to spur the growth of the Indian industry, especially the MSME and Start-ups.
• Oceans, which cover 70 per cent of the globe, remain a key part of our life. About 95 percent of Deep Ocean remains unexplored.
• For India, with its three sides surrounded by the oceans and around 30 per cent of the country's population living in coastal areas, ocean is a major economic factor supporting fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods and blue trade.
• Oceans are also storehouse of food, energy, minerals, medicines, modulator of weather and climate and underpin life on Earth.
• Considering importance of the oceans on sustainability, the United Nations (UN) has declared the decade, 2021-2030 as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
• India has a unique maritime position. Its 7517 km long coastline is home to nine coastal states and 1382 islands.
• The Government of India's Vision of New India by 2030 enunciated in February 2019 highlighted the Blue Economy as one of the ten core dimensions of growth.

Prelims Factoids
Customized Crash Course programme
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Customized Crash Course programme)
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister will launch ‘Customized Crash Course programme for Covid 19 Frontline workers' on 18^th June 2021
• The launch will commence the programme in 111 training centres spread over 26 states.

Know! about the programme

• The programme aims to skill and upskill over one lakh Covid warriors across the country.
• The training will be imparted to Covid warriors in six customised job roles namely Home Care Support, Basic Care Support, Advanced Care Support, Emergency Care Support, Sample Collection Support, and Medical Equipment Support.
• The programme has been designed as a special programme under the Central Component of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0, with total financial outlay of Rs. 276 crore.
• The programme will create skilled non-medical healthcare workers to fill the present and future needs of manpower in the health sector.

Agriculture
Indo-Israel Agriculture project

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP) + about Centres of Excellence (COEs) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations + farmers welfare)
What's the NEWS

• For taking forward the Israeli technologies in the field of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka and Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India jointly inaugurated the 3 Centers of Excellence (COEs) established in Karnataka under Indo-Israel Agricultural Project (IIAP).
• MIDH Division of Ministry of Agriculture & Farmer's Welfare, Government of India and MASHAV - Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation - are leading Israel's largest G2G cooperation, with 29 operational Centres of Excellence (COEs) across India in 12 States, implementing advanced Israeli Agro-Technology tailored to local conditions.

Centres of Excellence (COEs)

• These Centres of Excellence generate knowledge, demonstrate best practices and train officers and farmers.
• These Centers will help farming community of Karnataka to get access to the latest innovative Israeli technologies and adopting them to increase production and productivity which will help in increasing the farmers income.
• These COEs have the capacity of 50,000 grafts production and 25 lakh vegetables seedlings production annually.
• About 20,000 farmers have visited these COEs to gain knowledge about the modern cultivation practices in horticulture".
• There is a lot of scope for adoption of new technologies in crop production and post-harvest management to increase the production and productivity of the horticulture produce
• To provide these latest technologies to the farmers, Government of India in collaboration with State of Israel has helped in establishment of these Centres

Education
IIT Bombay Hosts Conference of BRICS Network Universities as part of 13^th BRICS Summit

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Conference of BRICS Network Universities) + Mains ( GS II Bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• A three day virtual Conference of BRICS Network Universities on the theme of electric mobility was inaugurated at IIT Bombay

Know! about the conference of BRICS network universities

• This conference is part of the engagements that India is hosting under the education stream during its Chairship of the 13^th BRICS Summit this year.
• Eighteen experts from Brazil, Russia, India, China and S. Africa will talk about various aspects of electric mobility like traffic management, hydrogen technology, hybrid vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and linkage between e-mobility and livelihoods over the next three days.
• Over 100 students, researchers and faculty from the BRICS Network Universities of the five member countries are expected to participate in the conference.
• BRICS Network University is a union of higher education institutions of the five BRICS member countries, formed with the objective of enhancing educational cooperation in general, and especially in the realm of research and innovation . IIT Bombay is the lead institution of India for the BRICS Network University.

International Organisations/Infrastructure Development
ADB, India sign $484 million loan to upgrade road network in Tamil Nadu industrial corridor

Relevance IN - Prelims (all about CKIC and Industrial Corridors) + Mains (GS III Infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India here today signed a $484 million loan to improve transport connectivity and facilitate industrial development in the Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Know! about Chennai-Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC)

• CKIC is part of India's East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC), which stretches from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu and connects India to the production networks of South, Southeast, and East Asia. ADB is the lead partner of the Government of India in developing ECEC.
• The project is key to providing seamless road connectivity across industrial clusters, transport gateways and consumption centers, and help reduce logistics and production costs for CKIC's targeted industries to boost their competitiveness
• The project is part of the priority infrastructure projects identified for corridor development under the ADB-supported CKIC comprehensive development plan
• The overall objective is to spur industrial transformation through provisioning of essential transport, energy and urban infrastructure for holistic development of industrial growth centres.
• The project will upgrade about 590 km of state highways in the CKIC influence areas that cover 23 of the 32 districts between Chennai and Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu.
• Enhanced connectivity of industrial hubs with hinterland and ports will particularly help increase the participation of Indian manufacturing in global production networks and global value chains, thereby creating jobs along the corridor.
• In line with Strategy 2030, ADB's long-term corporate strategy, the project emphasises sustainability, climate change resilience, and road safety elements.
• ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members-49 from the region.

Know! the genesis of ADB agreement

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India in the year 2017 have signed $375 million in loans and grants to develop 800-kilometer Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor, which is the First Phase of a planned 2,500-kilometer long East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC).
• The ECEC, which runs along the entire east coast from Kolkata to Kanyakumari, is a multimodal, regional maritime corridor that can play a vital role in unifying the large domestic market, as well as integrating the Indian economy with the dynamic global value chains of Southeast and East Asia.
• Phase 1 of the ECEC is the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) which covers 11 districts in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
• ADB has developed a South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation(SASEC) Operational Plan (OP) 2016-2025 which identifies promoting economic corridor development (ECD) as of one its key strategic focus areas.
• The SASEC OP, adopted by the SASEC member countries in June 2016, is the SASEC program's first comprehensive long-term plan to promote greater economic cooperation among its member countries, bringing regional cooperation to a higher level with the aim of extending physical and economic linkages not only within SASEC but also with East and Southeast Asia.

Know! about Industrial Corridors

• Government of India is developing Industrial Corridors with the objective of fast-tracking growth and facilitates development of a well- planned and resource - efficient industrial base served by world-class sustainable connectivity infrastructure, bringing significant benefits in terms of innovation, manufacturing, job creation and resource security to the nation.
• DMIC Project is the first Industrial Corridor which is being implemented in the country.
• For coordinated and unified development of industrial corridor projects, Government of India on 7^th December 2016, approved expansion of the scope of existing DMIC Project Implementation Trust Fund (PITF) and re-designated it as National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT).
• Industrial corridor projects will be implemented through National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT).
• NICDIT is an apex body under the administrative control of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry for coordinated and unified development of the 5 Industrial Corridors in India.
• NICDIT supports project development activities and appraisal, approval and sanction of projects.
• It also coordinates and monitors all central efforts for the development of Industrial Corridor projects.

Presently, following Industrial Corridors have been undertaken for development:

• Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC);
• Chennai Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) with extension to Kochi via Coimbatore;
• Amritsar Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC);
• East Coast Economic Corridor(ECEC) with Vizag- Chennai Industrial Corridor (VCIC) Project as part of phase- I.
• Bengaluru Mumbai Industrial Corridor (BMIC).
• Extension of CBIC to Kochi via Coimbatore;
• Hyderabad Nagpur Industrial Corridor (HNIC);
• Hyderabad Warangal Industrial Corridor (HWIC);
• Hyderabad Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (HBIC);
• Odisha Economic Corridor (OEC);
• Delhi Nagpur Industrial Corridor (DNIC).

Role and Functions of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) was established in the year 1995 and was reconstituted in the year 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development.
• Earlier, separate Ministries of Small Scale Industries & Agro and Rural Industries (SI &A& RI) and Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (HI&PE) were created in October, 1999.
• The department was earlier called Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion and was renamed as DPIIT in January, 2019.
• In 2018, matters related to e-commerce were transferred to the Department and in 2019, the Department has been given charge for matters related to Internal Trade, welfare of traders and their employees and Startups. The role of DPIIT is to promote/accelerate industrial development of the country by facilitating investment in new and upcoming technology, foreign direct investment and support balanced development of industries.

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