O°VISIONIAS INSPIRING INNOVATION @Bocr, 2020 NEWS TODAY ENVIRONMENT POLLUTION (PREVENTION AND CONTROL) AUTHORITY (EPCA) SUBMIT REPORT TO SC ON STUBBLE BURNING + EPCA stated that inclusion of cast of stubble removal in minimum support price may net be a viable option and any such incentive, if necessary, should be provided by state government. > Following the Supreme Court guideline to incentivse farmers to stop stubble burning, Punjab and Haryana last year announced ‘a bonus of Rs 2,500 an acre for small and marginal farmers. + Reasons for Stubble burning > Mechanization (use of combine harvesters) leaves behind ‘smaller stubble on the ground thats dificult to collect, > Laws like Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act which has delayed date for paddy transplantation, > Crop intensification leaves farmers with small windows to clear the fields so burning the residue i the easiest, + Measures to control Stubble burning sowing next crop winters. [2 Stubble burning isthe act of setting ire to the crop residue that remains after ‘grains lke paddy, wheat etc, have been harvested in order to prepare field for B It is one of the chief causes for rising air pollution levels in Dethi during Policy response to address stubble burning |e National Green Tribunal had banned crop residue burning in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. > In-situ Measures: Use of Happy seeder Machines; Custom Hiring Centers to make this equipment avallable to small and marginal farmers on reasonable rent; Promotion of short duration rice varieties and crop diversification etc > Exesitu measures: Using stubble in different ways lke cattle feed, compost manute, roofing n rural areas, biomass energy, packing materials etc IIT-MADRAS TEAM WORKING ON DEVELOPING INDIGENOUS HYPERLOOP TECHNOLOGY + The Avishkar’ project team has been working on developing Indias first self-propelled Hyperloop Pod. It was the only team from Asia to qualify fr the finals of 2019 Hyperloop Pod Competition conducted by Elon Musk's SpaceX. + Hyperloop isa high-speed train that travels in a near-vacuum tube. It is considered 5th mode of transportation (other 4 includes ralways, oadways, airways, waterways) > Itis among 6 new proposals fr the Public Transportation System, cleared by NIT Aayog, ‘Other five include metrino,stadler buses, pod taxis, hybrid buses and eight rll road + Hyperloop aims to remove the two things that slow down regular vehicles: friction and air resistance > For Friction, the pod hovers above its track, ke a magnetic levitation train and tube is used to reduce air resistance, + The reduced air resistance allows the capsule inside the tube to reach speeds of more than 11000 km/h, thereby drastically reducing travel times. ‘+ Hyperloop is environment friendly and doesn't cal for much maintenance too MINISTRY FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT (MoSJE) LAUNCHES AMBEDKAR SOCIAL INNOVATION & INCUBATION MISSION (ASIIM) © ASIIM Is launched under Venture Capital Fund fer SCs (VCF-SC) to promote innovation and enterprise among Scheduled Castes (SC) students studying in higher educational institutions (HE! > VCF-SC (by MoSJE) is for developing entrepreneurship amongst SC and Divyang youth, by providing concessional finance to entities of SC entrepreneurs, and enabling them to become Job-Givers © Under ASIIM, 1,000 ini lakhs in three year as eat © Objectives of ASIIM are: > Promoting entrepr smong SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs. > Supporting (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through Technology Business Incubators (TB). > TBlsare. Department of Science and Technology in HE! > Support, ld the start-up ideas til they reach commercial stage by Providing liberal equity support; students with innovative mind-set to take to entrepreneurship with confidence. ives for economic development of SCs > Stand-up India scheme for financing SC/ST and/or women entrepreneurs. > National Scheduled Castes Finance & Development Corporation to financing income ‘generating activities of SCs. > Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for SCs to support entrepreneurs es of SC youth would be identified and funded up to Rs. 30 INDIA SUCCESSFULLY TEST-FIRES BRAHMOS CRUISE MISSILE WITH EXTENDED STRIKE RANGE OF 450 KM ‘© Missile featuring indigenous Booster and Airframe Section along with many ether Made in India sub-systems was successfully fight tested from Balasore in Odisha ‘© BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic ‘ruise missile that can be launched from submarine, ships, aircraft or land having range of 300 km. > Supersonic includes speeds up to five times faster than the speed of sound. > Cruise missiles are Self-propelled till the end of flights and are used to deliver large warhead cover long distance with high precision, > It isa joint venture of the ORDO of india and the NPOM of Russia. It is named after rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva. «+ Extended-range version of BrahMos was developed after India's membership to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016, which removed! caps on the range ofthe cruise missle. > MCR, formed by G-7 countries, isan informal partnership among 35 countries that seek to limit the proliferation of missiles and missile technology capable of carrying over 500-kg payload over more than 300 kr, > MTCR forms part of multilateral export control regimes. ‘THERE ARE 4 MULTILATERAL EXPORT CONTROL REGIMES: Nuclear Suppliers Group for control of nuclear related technology. India isnot a member. for control of chemical and logy that could be weaponized Indias a member > Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies. India isa member. Missile Technology Control Regime.INDIA REPORTS CURRENT ACCOUNT SURPLUS FOR SECOND STRAIGHT QUARTER AT 3.9% OF GDP IN APRILJUNE «= Surplus is on account of contraction in trade deficit to USD 10. billion as merchandise imports declined amid the COVID-19 pandemic. > Decline in imports due to lower crude oll prices, lag in domestic demand, and effect of global supply chain disruptions. ‘It will allow RBI to build its stockpile of forex reserves which is critical for maintaining financial and external sector stability and boost economic ‘growth as country provides enough capita to pay for domestic production, ‘+ Current Account represents a country's current transactions including exports, imports, interest payments, private emittance and transfers. ‘+ Current Account is a component of country’s Balance of Payment (BoP), other component being Capital Account. > BoP is record of transactions in goods, services and assets between residents ofa country along with rest ofthe world > Current Account =Trade gap + Net current transfers + Net income abroad, > Capital account gives a summary of net flow of both private and public investment into an economy. External commercial borrowing, foreign direct investment, foreign portfolio investment etc form part of capital account. ALSO IN NEWS * NITI Aayog and Netherlands recently signed a Statement of Intent (Sel) in this regard to accommodate cleaner energy. * Key elements of S01 includes: Decarbonization and int in industrial activities. Energy Transition Agenda | > Realise target potential of natural gas. > Promote bio-energy technologies. > Adopt clean air technology. > Deliver and adopt limate change finance. * It was launched in 2074 with an aim of developing model villages with improved basic amenities, higher productivity, enhanced human development, better livelihood opportunities et. Saansad Adarsh Gram | « |t aimed to develop three Adarsh Grams by March 2019,by each MP, of which one was tobe achieved by 2016 Yojana (SAGY) > Thereafter, ive such Adarsh Grams (one per yeae) willbe selected and developed by 2024 Scheme has no budgetary allocation and aims to bring about convergence in government schemes, Treasury bills are issued when the government needs money for a short period. These bil are ssued only by the central government and interest on them is determined by market forces. Treasury bills are zero coupon securities and pay no interest, Instead, they are issued at a discount and redeemed at the face value at maturity [At present, treasury bills are issued in three maturities — 91-day, 182-day and 364-day. Report is prepared by |EMR-Natonal Institue of Nutriion, Report redefines reference age for indian adult man and woman to 1939 years instead of 20.28, tlody weight has been put at Sk for males and SSkq for fmales while carer, It was SOkg and SOkg respective + In Recommended Dietary Allowances, cefeal-epume-milkcompestion has been modified to 3:1:25 from na3. Ithas iso recommended a minimum of 400 g/day of frit and vegetables to obtain scent amounts of atorant tents Treasury Bills Recommended Dietary Allowances and Nutrient Requirements report Technologies were launched under a joint init Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA). ive of CSIR, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), IT Delhi and CouncilofScientificand | > Few technologies launched are improved beehive for quality and hygienic extraction of honey, Industrial Research (CSIR) ‘manufacturing of ginger paste, dehumidified drier for food and agri products etc launches Technologies for | * These technologies could be deployed in rural areas for development and livelihood generation and rural development achieving sustainable development goals. LUBA (Ministry of Education) is inspired by the vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture ofan Inclusive Inia, * The presence of the Cat Que virus has been largely reported in Culex mosquitoes in China and in pig: Vietnam. Cat Que virus: ‘This vius is known to cause encephalitis-like symptoms similar to Japanese encephalitis, in China Recently, Indian Council of Medical Research-National institute of Virology has stated that the Cat-Que Virusis net atall perceived as a majer public health threat at the present moment. Tes the fifth and last ina series of FPV built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd > [tis named after a teenage freedom fighter who was shot dead in Assam during the Quit India Movement. + These are suited for patrolling, maritime surveillance, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching operations and also aeoane fai FastPatrol Vessel(FPV) | > other four are ICGS Priyadarshini (named after Indira Gandhi), ICG Annie Besant, ICGS Kamala Devi (after for fishery protection, and rescue and search missions © wwwwisionias.in co iin I ICGS Kanaklata Barua Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay), and ICGS Amit Kaur Pao) F diy bali DELHI LUCKNOW JAIPUR HYDERABAD PUNE AHMEDABAD CHANDIGARH. © /enisiontasdethi Nision|AS ©) Aisionias_upsc ©) NVisionlAS_UPSC