PAPER I
PAPER II
Categories: POINT IAS
Launched under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme that aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and to promote formalization of the sector and provide support to Farmer Producer Organizations, Self Help Groups, and Producers Cooperatives along their entire value chain. With an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore over a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the scheme envisions to directly assist the 2,00,000 micro food processing units for providing financial, technical, and business support for up-gradation of existing micro food processing enterprises.
Grid management in the country, on a regional basis started in the sixties. At the beginning, state grids were interconnected to form a regional grid and India was demarcated into 5 regions namely Northern, Eastern, Western, North Eastern and Southern regions. With time each grid was connected to the other, to allow greater availability and transfer of power. It all came together when the Southern Region was connected to the Central Grid, with commissioning of 765 kV Raichur-Solapur Transmission Line, thereby achieving ‘ONE NATION-ONE GRID-ONE FREQUENCY’. The Srinagar Leh Transmission System was connected to the National Grid in 2019.
At COP 21, as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), India had committed to achieving 40% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030. The country has achieved this target in November 2021 itself. The country’s installed Renewable Energy (RE) capacity stands at 150.54 GW (solar: 48.55 GW, wind: 40.03 GW, Small hydro Power: 4.83, Bio-power: 10.62, Large Hydro: 46.51 GW) as on 30.11.2021 while its nuclear energy based installed electricity capacity stands at 6.78 GW. This brings the total non-fossil based installed energy capacity to 157.32 GW which is 40.1% of the total installed electricity capacity of 392.01 GW. In line with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s announcement at the recently concluded CoP26, the Government is committed to achieving 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by the year 2030.
The recently launched NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will be positioned at a spot known as L2. L2 is one of the five ‘Lagrange’s Points’. Lagrange’s Points are where, in any revolving two-body system like Earth and Sun, the gravitational forces of the two large bodies cancel each other out. The stability at these points is comparatively larger compared to other points. Minimal external energy is required to keep the objects there. L2 is a position directly behind Earth in the line joining the Sun and the Earth. Source: Indian Express.
The government is in the process of finalizing a draft National Retail Trade Policy. The aims of the national retail policy include:
Scientists have found the first clues to understand violent short duration flares from a compact star of rare category called magnetar located thirteen million light years away. These compact stars with the most intense magnetic field known, of which only thirty have been spotted so far in our galaxy, suffer violent eruptions that are still little known due to their unexpected nature and their short duration. Scientists have long been intrigued by such short and intence bursts --- transient X-ray pulses of energies several times that of the Sun and length ranging from a fraction of a few millisecond to a few microseconds.
Recently, Government has launched Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 on 1 October 2021 aimed to create water secure cities, providing universal coverage of water in all statutory towns and 100% coverage of sewerage/ septage management in 500 AMRUT cities. As regards sewerage/ septage management of other cities, they will be covered under Swachh Bharat Mission -Urban (SBM-U) 2.0, launched on 01 October 2021.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested the new generation nuclear capable ballistic missile ‘Agni P’ from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha. Various telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and down range ships positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile trajectory and parameters. The missile followed text book trajectory meeting all mission objectives with high level of accuracy.
A number of government organizations have applied to Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for recognition under the BIS scheme of Standards Development Organizations (SDOs). The Research Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), Ministry of Railways, has been granted the first recognition under the Scheme for Recognition of SDOs in the country.
In the last seven years, the installed nuclear power capacity grew from 4780 MW to 6780 MW, an increase of over 40%. India is pursuing an indigenous three-stage nuclear power programme to provide the country long term energy security in a sustainable manner. In addition, Light Water Reactors based on foreign cooperation are also being set up as additional facilities to provide the country clean electricity.
The Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention on Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has inscribed ‘Durga Puja in Kolkata’ on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during its 16th session being held at Paris, France from 13th to 18th December 2021. The Committee commended Durga Puja for its initiatives to involve marginalized groups, and individuals as well as women in their participation in safeguarding the element. This is a recognition of the confluence of our rich heritage, culture, rituals and practices and a celebration of the feminine divinity and the spirit of womanhood.
POINT IAS 