Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

NEWS

Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (PMAYG) Dashboard was recently launched

DETAILS

AIM OF THE DASHBOARD - Stringent monitoring of the implementation of the scheme

ABOUT THE SCHEME

• Launched on 1st April 2016
• Restructured erstwhile rural housing scheme Indira Awaas yojana (IAY)
• Objective –
  • “Housing to All” by the year 2024
  • Pakka house, with basic amenities, to all houseless householder and those households living in kutcha and dilapidated house
• Being implemented and monitored through end to end e-governance solutions, AwaasSoft and AwaasApp
• AwaasSoft provides functionalities for data entry and monitoring of multiple statistics related to implementation aspects of the scheme
• Cost sharing - 60:40 in plain areas and 90: 10 for North Eastern and Himalayan States

WHAT OTHER THINGS ARE ENVISAGED

• Training of Rural Masons
• WHY
  • Improving workmanship and quality of construction of houses
  • Increasing availability of skilled masons
  • Enhancing employability of such masons

HOW ARE BENEFECIARIES SELECTED

• On housing deprivation parameters of Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011
• Subject to 13 point exclusion criteria
• Followed by Gram Sabha verification

NEWS

PM CARES for Children Scheme Extended

PM CARES FOR CHILDREN

WHAT  - Special scheme for all those orphaned due to Covid-19

ELIGIBILITY - Children who have lost both parents or their lone surviving parent or their legal guardian or adoptive parent due to Covid-19

OTHER FEATURES

STIPEND

• Amount -  corpus of Rs. 10 lakh
• Allocated from the PM CARES fund
• Will be used to give a monthly stipend from 18 years of their age, for the next five years and on reaching the age of 23 years, he or she will get the corpus amount as one lump-sum for personal and professional use

EDUCATION

• Supported by way of admission to Kendriya Vidyalayas and private schools up to higher secondary level
• Will also be supported during their higher education through either a scholarship equivalent to the tuition fees or educational loans where the interest on the loan will be paid by the PM-CARES fund

HEALTH INSURANCE

• All children will be enrolled as a beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat Scheme with a health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakh
• The premium amount will be paid by PM-CARES till a child turns 18

NEWS

25th Meeting of Financial Stability and Development Council held

FINANCIAL STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

• Been set up by the government in consultation with financial market regulators
• Set up in 2010
• Not a statutory body, but autonomous
• Idea to create such a super regulatory body was first mooted by the Raghuram Rajan Committee in 2008

AIM-

• Strengthen and institutionalize the mechanism for maintaining financial stability
• Enhance inter-regulatory coordination and promote financial sector development

FUNCTIONS

• Monitors macro-prudential supervision of the economy, including functioning of large financial conglomerates
• Addresses inter-regulatory coordination and financial sector development
• Focuses on financial literacy and financial inclusion

NEWS

An FIR has been registered against three Mumbai Police officials last week for allegedly threatening Angadias and extorting money from them in south Mumbai

WHAT IS ANGADIA SYSTEM?

• Century-old parallel banking system in the country
• Traders send cash generally from one state to another through a person called Angadia that stands for courier
• Used in the jewellery business with Mumbai – Surat being the most popular route as they are two ends of the diamond trade
• Cash involved is huge and it is the responsibility of the Angadia to transfer cash from one state to another for which they charge a nominal fee
• Generally, it is the Gujarati, Marwari and Malbari community that are involved in the business

IS THE SYSTEM LEGAL?

• System per se is legal
• Activity as it is suspected that a lot of times it is used to transfer unaccounted money
• Been suspicions that it is also used for transfer of black money like the hawala transaction which is generally used across countries.
• Large quantities of cash makes them susceptible as targets of robbery

NEWS

The All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in association with Startup India has launched the ‘Ayush Start-up Challenge’ to encourage start-ups and individuals working on innovations in the field of Ayurveda and alternative healing

AYUSH

WHAT

• Stands for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy
• Sanskrit meaning is “life”

Ayurveda

• “Ayur” means age and ‘veda’ denotes knowledge
• Defines knowledge about age or the knowledge which describe age
• Oldest references are found in Atharvaveda
• Principle objectives is maintenance and promotion of health, prevention of disease and cure of sickness

Yoga

• According to Maharishi Patanjali (The Father of Yoga), Yoga is the suppression of five modifications of the mind
• Advocated eight folds of Yoga, popularly known as “Ashtanga Yoga” for all-round development of human beings.

Unani

• Unani system is originated in Greece
• In India, Unani system of medicine was Arabs and Persians sometime around eleventh century.
• Based upon Four Humors Balance Theory i.e. Dam (blood), Balgham (phlegm), Safra (yellow bile) and Sauda (black bile).

Siddha

• One of the oldest systems of medicine in India
• 'Siddha' means achievements and 'Siddhars' were saintly persons who achieved result in medicine
• According to its tradition it was Lord Shiva who unfolded the knowledge of 'Siddha system' of medicine to his concert Parvati who handed it down to Nandi Deva and then to Siddhas.
• Largely therapeutic in nature. According to this system the human body is the replica of the universe and so are the foods and drugs irrespective of their origin

Homeopathy

• Youngest of all these medicinal system, yet rapidly growing and being practiced almost all over the world
• Was given a scientific basis by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) in the early 19th century
• Based on the natural law of healing - “Similia Similibus Curantur” which means “likes are cured by likes”

MINISTRY OF AYUSH

Created in 2014

Objectives

• For upgrading the educational standards of Indian Systems of Medicines and Homoeopathy colleges in the country.
• For strengthening existing research institutions and to ensure a time-bound research programme on identified diseases for which these systems have an effective treatment.
• Formulate schemes for promotion, cultivation and regeneration of medicinal plants used in these systems.
• For the evolution of Pharmacopoeial standards for Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy drugs

NEWS

Alcyoneus Galaxy was discovered using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) telescope and the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) network

ALCYONEUS GALAXY

• Currently is the largest galaxy discovered
• Largest known structure created by a single galaxy
• A supermassive black hole weighing 400200 million solar masses has also been found in the host galaxy
• Named Alcyoneus who was one of Heracles’ opponents according to Greek mythology

LOFAR

• Stands for Low-Frequency Array
• Large radio telescope network
• Located in the Netherlands
• Completed in the year 2012 by ASTRON, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, along with international partners

WIDE-FIELD INFRARED SURVEY EXPLORER (WISE)

• NASA Explorer program’s infrared astronomy satellite telescope
• Launched in the year 2009

NEWS

Japan has launched its first hydrogen-powered train named HYBARI

WHICH COUNTRY HAS ROLLED OUT THE FIRST HYDROGEN-FUELLED TRAIN?

• In hydrogen-fuelled trains, Europe has been a pioneer
• Germany launched the world’s first train in 2018 which was built by Alstom SA

Working 

• Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, a process that leaves steam and water as the only emissions
• Excess energy is stored in ion lithium batteries on board the train
• Hydrogen powered vehicles convert the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy
• The process of conversion takes place either by burning hydrogen in hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicle, or by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to run electric motors
• Widespread use of hydrogen for fuelling rail transportation is an important element of proposed fuel economy

NEWS

The Kerala Nattukala Kshema Sabha (KNKS), an outfit that works for the promotion of local art forms in the state, has demanded that Karakattam (also known as Kumbakkali in certain parts) be recognised as the agricultural art form of Kerala

ABOUT

• Folk art performed at festivals, conferences, roadshows and primarily at Mariamman festivals
• One of many creative traditions that owe its existence to Mariamman, the rain goddess
• Undergone an exceptional degree of change and adaptation in recent years
• In Kerala after Makarakkoythu (harvest season), the Mariamman pooja is in the Medam month and Mariamman is considered as the goddess of rain
• Even though Karakattam is mostly famous in Tamil Nadu, it’s performed in different parts of Kerala

• India’s Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has defeated the reigning world champion Norway’s Magnus Carlsen
• Storm Eunice hits Britain
• On 20th February, the World Day of Social Justice is observed annually by UNGA. This day works towards promoting social justice. Theme 2022 - ‘Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment’.