Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 17th June 2021

What is it : Network which began last year as a voluntary effort to mobilise relief for stranded migrant workers across India. It was formed in 2020

What is in news : The network which has become active again has released a report on plight of stranded workers

What does the report say :

• The network was in contact with 1,396 worker groups: little over 8,000 people, including 4,836 women and children
• Once restrictions were imposed and work stopped, 92% of workers stopped receiving money from employers. Around 56% of workers reported that their work had stopped for more than a month, said the report.
• As per their findings, 57% of the callers had less than two days of rations left when they spoke with SWAN, while 76% of the workers had less than ₹200 left with them. Around 34% of the workers had not been paid their pending wages for completed work, while 13% of them had been paid only partially.
• A majority of the callers (60%), were daily wage workers; 6% were drivers, domestic help, etc. and 16% were self-employed. The median daily wages of those who reached out was ₹308.3, stated the authors of the report.

What is in news : Prime Minister launched ‘Customized Crash Course programme for Covid 19 Frontline workers’ recently

What is it :

• 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

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

• It is the flagship scheme for skill training of youth being implemented by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC).
• The objective of the scheme is to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood.
• Skill training would be done based on the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and industry led standards.
• PMKVY 1.0:
• PMKVY 1.0 was launched in July 2015 with the objective of encouraging skill development for youth by providing monetary rewards for successful completion of approved training programs during the period 2015-16.
• The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) was the designated implementing agency of this scheme.
• PMKVY 1.0 was a target-based scheme, and during this pilot phase in 2015-16, about 20 lakh candidates were trained.

PMKVY 3.0

• PMKVY 3.0 will be implemented in a more decentralized structure with greater responsibilities and support from States/UTs and Districts.
• District Skill Committees (DSCs), under the guidance of State Skill Development Missions (SSDM), shall play a key role in addressing the skill gap and assessing demand at the district level.
• PMKVY 3.0 is a step towards achieving the ‘Vocal for Local’ vision by establishing increased connect at state, district and block level.
• It will encourage healthy competition between states by making available increased allocation to those states that perform better.
• The government says that PMKVY 3.0 will usher in a new paradigm with focus on demand-driven skill development, digital technology and Industry 4.0 skills.
• The new scheme will be more trainee- and learner-centric addressing the ambitions of aspirational Bharat.
• The scheme will have additional courses that will help cater to local demand.
• The focus will also be on bridging the demand-supply gap by promoting skill development in areas of new-age and Industry 4.0 job roles.
• PMKVY 3.0 role will be a propagator of vocational education at an early level for youth to capitalize on industry-linked opportunities.

ECONOMY

What is in news : In a major boost to exports of Geographical Indications (GI) certified agricultural produce, a consignment of fibre and mineral rich ‘Jalgaon banana’ has been exported to Dubai

Details :

• Tandalwadi village, part of Jalgaon district of Maharashtra is a banana cluster identified under Agri Export Policy and it holds GI certification
• In 2016, Jalgaon Banana got GI certification which was registered with Nisargraja Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Jalgaon. India’s banana export has been rising sharply because of adoption of farm practices as per the global standards.
• India’s banana exports grew both in terms of volume as well as value from 1.34 lakh metric tonne valued at Rs 413 crore in 2018-19 to 1.95 lakh metric tonne valued at Rs 660 crore in 2019-20. During 2020-21 (April-February), India has exported banana worth of 1.91 lakh tonne valued at Rs 619 crore.
• India is the world's leading producer of bananas with a share of around 25% in total output. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh contribute more than 70% of the country's banana production.
• The process is supported by APEDA. APEDA promotes exports of agricultural & processed food products by providing assistance to the exporters under various components of its scheme such as Infrastructure Development, Quality Development and Market Development. In addition, APEDA also conducts international Buyer Seller Meets, Virtual trade fairs with importing countries to promote agricultural & processed food products.

What is the issue:

• Wide-open regions are home to Indian Bustard. These regions are also an ideal location for wind and solar projects. As a result, Indian Bustard are coming in way of renewable energy sources. Efforts to save bustard could set back India’s climate goals, which depend heavily on availability of such wasteland.
• The Great Indian Bustards are making it slow to manoeuvre while flying. They have poor frontal vision and a habit of scanning earth while flying over flat grasslands across western borders of India. As a result, they often collide with power lines.

WII survey: As per Wildlife institute of India (WII), 80 kilometres of power lines across Thar desert region Rajasthan had led to death of four bustard deaths during a single year because of high-transmission wires. Birds died because of impact of collision or electrocution.

SC’s order: In a bid to protect great Indian bustard from flying into power lines, of 20 gigawatts of awarded solar & wind projects, Supreme Court had asked the companies to install these powers lines underground. But this directive would cost an extra expense of $4 billion.

Great Indian bustards: In Old French, Great Indian Bustards means “slow bird”. They are heaviest flying creatures on earth. They are 1 meter tall with a wing span of about 2 meters. They weigh about 18 kilograms. They are found on Indian subcontinent. As per an estimate their number has reduced from 250 in 2011 to 150 in 2018. Thus, they have been listed in “critically endangered” species by birdlife international and are protected under Wildlife Protection Act 1972 of India.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Features of Card tokenization: This feature let users with Near-field communication (NFC) capable devices or phones to make contactless payments. Users would be able to pay their bills and recharge their numbers using credit cards. This feature also works with online merchants and provides seamless OTP experiences without redirecting to 3D Secure sites.

What is in news : Google has extended card tokenization by bringing in more banks for card on the Google Pay app. Google Pay had earlier rolled out the feature of card tokenization with State bank of India cards, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank and now has added IndusInd Bank & Federal Bank and Credit cards of IndusInd Bank & HSBC India

What is in news: The Union Cabinet has approved the long-pending deep ocean mission, which among other things involves developing a submersible vehicle that will allow a crew to plunge 6,000 metres into the ocean and hunt the floor for precious metals.

Details:

• In the works since 2018, the mission is expected to cost ₹4,077 crore over the next five years. The estimated cost for the first phase of three years (2021-24) would be ₹2,823.4 crore. The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will be the nodal Ministry implementing this multi-institutional mission.
• A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6,000 metres in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools.
• An integrated mining system will be also developed for mining polymetallic nodules at those depths 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 United Nations organisation.
• A component involves developing Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services, which entails developing a suite of observations and models to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales.
• The next component is searching for deep sea flora and fauna, including microbes, and studying ways to sustainably utilise them. The fourth component is to explore and identify potential sources of hydrothermal minerals that are sources of precious metals formed from the earth’s crust along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges. The fifth component involves studying and preparing detailed engineering design for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plants.
• The final component is aimed at grooming experts in the field of ocean biology and engineering. This component aims to translate research into industrial applications and product development through on-site business incubator facilities.
• The Deep Ocean Mission was in 2019 envisaged as a ₹8,000 crore mission, as The Hindu has earlier reported. India has been allotted a site of 75,000 square kilometres in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by the UN International Sea Bed Authority for exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN). These are rocks scattered on the seabed containing iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt.

What is in news : The Ministry of Culture (MoC) and  Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW)  signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for ‘Cooperation in Development of National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal, Gujarat

Details:

• National Maritime Heritage Complex, a world-class facility is to be developed in the vicinity of the ASI site of Lothal, located about 80 kms away from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. NMHC would be developed as an international tourist destination, where the maritime heritage of India from ancient to modern times would be showcased and an edutainment approach using the latest technology would be adopted to spread awareness about India’s maritime heritage.
• NMHC would be developed in an area of about 400 acres with various unique structures such as National Maritime Heritage Museum, Light House Museum, Heritage Theme Park, Museum Themed Hotels & Maritime themed eco-resorts, Maritime Institute etc. which would be developed in a phased manner.
• The unique feature of NMHC is the recreation of ancient Lothal city, which is one of the prominent cities of the ancient Indus valley civilization dating to 2400 BC. Apart from that, the evolution of India’s Maritime Heritage during various eras would be exhibited through various galleries. NMHC would have pavilion for each coastal states and union territories to showcase the artefacts/maritime heritage of the respective states and union territories.
• Various theme parks would be developed at NMHC such as Maritime & Naval Theme Park, Monuments Park, Climate Change Theme Park, Adventure & Amusement Theme Park through public-private partnership which would provide a complete tourist destiny experience to the visitors.
• MoC will provide required support for showcasing the maritime heritage of India at NMHC in the form of gallery contents, sharing relevant documents, books, artefacts, electronic media, articles, original artefacts/ replicas etc. During the construction, operation, sustenance, maintenance and growth of NMHC, MoC will share its technical understanding on design, lighting and digital technology.

LOTHAL: Lothal is a small mature Harappan settlement near Gulf of Khambat in Dhalka taluk of Ahmadabad in Gujrat. It was first excavated in 1957 by S R Rao.The notable structures at Lothal include a dockyard, warehouse, workshop for manufacturing of stone beads, evidence of shell working, rice husk and a cemetery.

• A 100-bedded ultramodern Covid care hospital will open in Yelahanka in a few days to bolster the health infrastructure ahead of the anticipated third wave.
• Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday inaugurated three Centres of Excellence in the state that have been sanctioned under the Indo-Israel Agricultural Project.Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday inaugurated three Centres of Excellence in the state that have been sanctioned under the Indo-Israel Agricultural Project.There are 29 operational Centers of Excellence in 12 states and they implementing advanced Israeli agro-technology tailored to local conditions. Karnataka has three of them - one in Kolar for mango, second in Bagalkot for pomegranate and third in Dharwad for vegetables.
• Bandhanada Bhaava Lahari (Emotions of the imprisoned) is a publication of an anthology of poems penned by prison inmates in shivamogga. It was idea of Chief Superintendent of Prison P. Ranganath.To encourage literacy and reading, he also conducted a quiz competition each month under the banner ‘Saavira Rupayiya Sardara’ which had a cash prize of ₹1,000.
• IKEA, the Swedish home furnishing retailer, launched its e-commerce services and mobile app in the city on Wednesday. This marked IKEA’s entry into Karnataka and customers in Bengaluru will now be able to choose from over 8,000 home furnishing products and solutions.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal to hike subsidy rates for phosphorus and potassium-based fertilizers by 140% in a bid to provide relief to farmers as the kharif sowing season begins
• India’s former Formula One driver Karun Chandhok was appointed to the Board of Directors of Motorsport UK, the governing body and membership organisation for four-wheeler motorsports in the United Kingdom on Wednesday. Karun has become Motorsport UK’s youngest-ever board member
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy Rates for P&K Fertilizers for the year 2021-22(till the present season)
• Minister of Tribal Affairs,  launched ADI PRASHIKSHAN portal.ADI PRASHIKSHAN portal developed by the Ministry  would act as a Central Repository of all training programs conducted by Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs), different divisions of Ministry, National Society for Education of Tribal Students (NESTS), Centre of Excellences funded by Ministry of Tribal Affairs and National Tribal Research Institute.
• Prime Minister delivered his keynote address at 5th edition of VivaTech. VivaTech is one of largest digital and start-up events in Europe. It was started in 2016 and is being every year in Paris. Other prominent speakers on the occasion will be President of France Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez and Ministers & MPs from various European countries.It will also witness participation of corporate leaders like Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft President Brad Smith and Facebook Chairman Mark Zuckerberg.
• European Space Agency (ESA) will  launch world’s first wooden satellite called WISA Woodsat in Earth’s orbit by the end 2021. WISA Woodsat will be launched to test the applicability of wooden materials such as plywood in spacecraft structures. Mission will expose wooden materials to extreme space conditions like heat, cold, vacuum and radiation. Wooden satellite will be launched to space by end of 2021 with a Rocket Lab Electron rocket. It will be launched from Mahia Peninsula launch complex in New Zealand.
• World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is marked on June 15 every year. The day raise awareness regarding abuses (verbal, physical or emotional) suffered by elderly population across the world. This year, theme of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is ‘Access to Justice’.