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National News Part 1 of 3

CBSE Launches Competency Based Education Project

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched a competency-based assessment framework for classes 6-10 for three subjects -- English (reading), Science, and Maths.
The framework is a part of the CBSE Competency Based Education Project that aims to replace the existing rote learning model as directed in the new National Education Policy (NEP) over the next 2-3 years.
The CBSE has had collaborated with British Council and three UK agencies, Cambridge, NARIC and Alphaplus who are helping CBSE in attaining this objective.

Food Habit & Ritual Practices Of Harappan People Deciphered

A study, jointly conducted by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, and Archeological Survey of India (ASI), New Delhi has recently published their findings from material found during the excavation of a Harappan archaeological site at 4MSR (earlier known as Binjor) in western part of Rajasthan (near Pakistan border) between 2014 and 2017.

What were found during excavation?

At least seven big-size brown ‘laddoos’, two figurines of bulls, and a hand-held copper adze (a tool similar to an axe, used for cutting or shaping wood.
The Harappan people used to consume high-protein, multigrain ‘laddoos’ (food balls) around 4,000 years ago, which indicates that the inhabitants practised agriculture under good (wet) climatic conditions.
Primary microscopic investigations showed that these were composed of barley, wheat, chickpea and a few other oilseeds. The presence of pulses, starch and protein was further confirmed by discovery of significant excesses of magnesium, calcium and potassium. These laddoos had cereal and pulses, and moong dal dominated the ingredients.

Mines And Minerals (Development And Regulation) Amendment Bill 2021

The Parliament has passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill 2021.
The Bill seeks to amend the Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 and provides for removal of distinction between captive and merchant mines.
It empowers the Central Government to issue directions regarding composition and utilization of funds maintained by the District Mineral Foundation.
The legislation provides that captive mines other than atomic minerals may sell up to 50 per cent of their annual mineral production in the open market after meeting their own needs.
The Bill empowers the central government to specify a time period for completion of the auction process in consultation with the state government.
Note: The Government is proposing to make National Mineral Exploration Trust NMET an autonomous and professional body, which would provide funds for exploration.

UN World Happiness Report 2021

The World Happiness Report 2021 has been released by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
India has been ranked 139 out of 149 countries in the list of UN World Happiness Report 2021. In 2019, India was ranked 140th.

· Happiest Countries: Finland has been ranked as the happiest country in the world for the fourth consecutive year. The Nordic nation is followed by Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany and Norway.

· Most unhappy Countries: People in war-torn Afghanistan are the most-unhappy with their lives, followed by Zimbabwe (148), Rwanda (147), Botswana (146) and Lesotho (145).

AIM, NITI Aayog, AWS Announce New Initiatives To Boost Innovation

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, and Amazon Web Services have announced new initiatives to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in India.
This will be done by empowering school students with cloud computing skills, and enabling entrepreneurs to build innovative education technology solutions on the cloud.
Atal Innovation Mission will leverage Amazon Web Services Educate, which is Amazon’s global program that provides resources for students and educators to accelerate cloud-related learning.
This program will introduce the fundamentals of cloud computing such as cloud storage, virtual compute power, web hosting, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality, to students at more than 7000 Atal Tinkering Labs.

National Commission For Allied & Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020

The Rajya Sabha on 16th March 2021 passed the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020.
The Bill seeks to regulate and standardise the education and practice of allied and healthcare professionals.
It defines ‘allied health professional’ as an associate, technician, or technologist trained to support the diagnosis and treatment of any illness, disease and injury.

KVIC Rolls Out Project RE-HAB To Prevent Elephant – Human Conflict

On 15^th March, 2021 the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), has launched Project RE-HAB of creating “bee-fences” to mitigate human – elephant conflicts in the country.

The pilot project was launched at four locations around village Chelur in Kodagu district of Karnataka.
These spots are located on the periphery of Nagarhole National Park and Tiger Reserve and prone to human-elephant conflicts.

Objective

The objective of Project RE-HAB (Reducing Elephant – Human Attacks using Bees) is to thwart elephant attacks in human habitations using honey bees and thus reducing loss of lives of both, humans as well as elephants.

About Project RE-HAB

Project RE-HAB is a sub-mission under KVIC’s National Honey Mission.
While the Honey Mission is a programme to increase the bee population, honey production and beekeepers’ income by setting up apiaries, Project RE-HAB uses bee boxes as a fence to prevent the attack of elephants.

How will it Work?

The bee boxes are connected with a string so that when elephants attempt to pass through, a tug or pull causes the bees to swarm the elephant herds and dissuade them from progressing further. Bee boxes have been placed on the ground as well as hung from the trees to block the passage of elephants.
It has been scientifically recorded that elephants are annoyed and even frightened of honey bees. Elephants fear that the bee swarms can bite their sensitive inner side of the trunk and eyes. The collective buzz of the bees is annoying to elephants and it forces them to return.
Elephants, who are the most intelligent animal and carry their memories for long, avoid returning to the place where they have encountered honey bees.

Advantage

The biggest advantage of Project RE-HAB is that it dissuades elephants without causing any harm to them.
It is extremely cost-effective as compared to various other measures like digging trenches or erecting fences.

Promotion Of Agroforestry In Silk Sector

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on 7th March 2021 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Central Silk Board under the Ministry of Textiles on a convergence model for the implementation of Agroforestry in the silk sector under the ongoing Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF) Scheme.

Aim

To incentivize the farmers to take up sericulture based Agroforestry models.
This linkage will add another dimension to agroforestry for faster returns to the growers as well as support the production of the range of silks that India is famous for.

About Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF)

The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare (DAC & FW) has been implementing the Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF) since 2016-17 as part of the recommendation of the National Agroforestry Policy 2014. At present, the scheme is being implemented in 20 States and 2 UTs.
Aim of SMAF Scheme: SMAF aims to encourage farmers to plant multi-purpose trees together with the agriculture crops for climate resilience and an additional source of income to the farmers, as well as enhanced feedstock to inter alia wood-based and herbal industry.
There is a concerted effort to include medicinal, fruits, fodder, tree-borne oilseeds, lac host etc. in addition to the longer rotation timber species.

SMAF Scheme & Sericulture

The initiative of formalizing the collaboration in the sericulture sector is especially targeted for augmentation of sericulture host plants e.g. Mulberry, Asan, Arjuna, Som, Soalu, Kesseru, Bada Kesseru, Phanat, etc. to be cultivated both as block plantations and border or peripheral plantations on farmlands.
Benefits to Farmers: Planting sericulture based tree species on the farm bunds and rearing silkworms has the potential of creating additional income opportunities for farmers besides their regular source of income from agriculture activities.

GI Mahotsav Being Organized To Sensitize IAS Probationers

The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation Ltd (TRIFED), Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India is organizing “GI Mahotsav” in collaboration with Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie and Ministry of Culture, Government of India on 4th and 5th March 2021.

More than 40 authorized sellers of identified GI products and tribal artisans will be participating and exhibiting their goods at this event which is being held in the premises of Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration (LBSNAA).

Swachhta Saarthi Fellowships

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India under its “Waste to Wealth” Mission launched the “Swachhta Saarthi Fellowship” to recognize students, community workers/self-help groups, and municipal/sanitary workers who are engaged in tackling the enormous challenge of waste management, scientifically and sustainably.
This fellowship is aimed to empower interested students and citizens to continuously engage in their attempts to reduce waste in cities and rural areas.
The Waste to Wealth Mission is one of the nine national missions of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).

City Innovation Exchange (CiX) Launched For Fostering Innovation In Urban Ecosystem

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched City Innovation Exchange (CiX) platform.

The City Innovation Exchange (CiX) will connect cities to innovators across the national ecosystem to design innovative solutions for their pressing challenges. The platform will ease the discovery, design & validation of solutions through a robust, transparent and user centric process that will reduce barriers for innovators and cities to discover fitting solutions.
Built on the concept of ‘open innovation’, the platform will help in the flow of ideas ‘outside in and inside out’,

12 Sites Will Be Developed In Phase-IV Of Swachh Iconic Places

For transforming iconic heritage, spiritual and cultural places in the country as ‘Swachh Tourist Destinations’ under Swachh Iconic Places (SIP) initiative of Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti has announced the selection of the following Twelve (12) iconic sites under Phase IV of SIP.

Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra
Sanchi Stupa, Madhya Pradesh
Kumbhalgarh Fort, Rajasthan
Jaisalmer Fort, Rajasthan
Ramdevra, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
Golconda Fort, Hyderabad, Telangana
Sun Temple, Konark, Odisha
Rock Garden, Chandigarh
Dal Lake, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir
Banke Bihari Temple, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
Agra Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
Kalighat Temple, West Bengal

Govt. To Set Up Digital Intelligence Unit

To address rising concerns of harassment consumers over calls or messages by telecallers and fraudsters, the Ministry of Communications will set up a Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU).
DIU will be the Nodal agency to deal with unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) and financial fraud related complaints, especially in the digital space.
DIU’s main function will be to coordinate with various Law Enforcement Agencies, Financial Institutions & Telecom Service Providers to investigate any fraudulent activity involving telecom resources.
Further, a Telecom Analytics for Fraud Management and Consumer Protection (TAFCOP) system will be created at 21 License Service Area level.
The above system will strengthen the trust of people in the digital ecosystem and will make financial digital transactions primarily through mobile more secure and reliable, which will result in the promotion of Digital India.

Nuclear Energy Production & India

There are presently 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MW in operation and one reactor, KAPP-3 (700 MW) has been connected to the grid on January 10, 2021.
In addition, there are 8 reactors (including 500 MW PFBR being implemented by BHAVINI) totaling to 6000 MW under construction at various stages.
The Government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of 12 nuclear power reactors - 10 indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode & 2 units of Light Water Reactors (LWRs) to be set up in cooperation with Russian Federation.
On progressive completion of the projects under construction and accorded sanction, the nuclear capacity is expected to reach 22480 MW by 2031.
The Government has also accorded ‘In-Principle’ approval for five new sites for locating nuclear power plants in future.

Strategic Crude Oil Reserves Facilities In India

Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), a Government of India Special Purpose Vehicle, has established Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) facilities with total capacity of 5.33 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) at 3 locations, namely (i) Vishakhapatnam, (ii) Mangaluru and (iii) Padur.
As per the consumption pattern of 2019-20, the total capacity is estimated to provide for about 9.5 days of crude oil requirement.
In addition, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the country have storage facilities for crude oil and petroleum products for 64.5 days, thus the current total national capacity for storage of crude oil and petroleum products currently is 74 days.

Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0

During her Budget speech, the Finance Minister announced that Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0 will be launched under the “Health and Wellbeing” vertical.
In this mission, focus will be on complete fecal sludge management, waste water treatment, source segregation of garbage, reduction in single use plastic, reduction in air pollution by effectively managing waste from construction and demolition activities, and bio-remediation of all legacy dumpsites.
This will be a continuation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), with the following components for funding and implementation across all statutory towns:

Sustainable sanitation (construction of toilets)
Wastewater treatment, including fecal sludge management in all ULBs with less than 1 lakh population (this is a new component added to SBM-U 2.0)
Solid Waste Management
Information, Education and Communication, and
Capacity building.

Sector-wise Highlights Of The Union Budget 2021-22

In the Union Budget for 2021-22, the proposals for this financial year rest on six pillars — health and well-being, physical and financial capital and infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, reinvigorating human capital, innovation and R&D, and 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance'.

Health and Sanitation

A new scheme, titled PM Atma Nirbhar Swasthya Bharat Yojana, to be launched to develop primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare.
Mission POSHAN 2.0 to improve nutritional outcomes across 112 aspirational districts.
Operationalisation of 17 new public health units at points of entry.
Modernising of existing health units at 32 airports, 15 seaports and land ports.
Jal Jeevan Mission Urban aimed at better water supply nationwide.
Strengthening of Urban Swachh Bharat Mission.

Education

100 new Sainik Schools to be set up.
750 Eklavya Schools to be set up in tribal areas.
A Central University to come up in Ladakh.

Infrastructure

Vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles – all vehicles to undergo fitness test in automated fitness centres every 20 years (personal vehicles), every 15 years (commercial vehicles).
Highway and road works announced in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam.
National Asset Monetising Pipeline launched to monitor asset monetisation process.
National Rail Plan created to bring a future ready Railway system by 2030.
100% electrification of Railways to be completed by 2023
Metro services announced in 27 cities, plus additional allocations for Kochi Metro, Chennai Metro Phase 2, Bengaluru Metro Phase 2A and B, Nashik and Nagpur Metros.
National Hydrogen Mission to be launched to generate hydrogen from green power sources.
Recycling capacity of ports to be doubled by 2024.
Gas pipeline project to be set up in Jammu and Kashmir.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (LPG scheme) to be extended to cover 1 crore more beneficiaries.

Tax

No IT filing for people above 75 years who get pension and earn interest from deposits
Reopening window for IT assessment cases reduced from 6 to 3 years. However, in case of serious tax evasion cases (Rs. 50 lakh or more), it can go up to 10 years.
Affordable housing projects to get a tax holiday for one year.
Compliance burden of small trusts whose annual receipts does not exceed Rs. 5 crore to be eased
Duty of copper scrap reduced to 2.5%.
Custom duty on gold and silver to be rationalized.
Duty on naphtha reduced to 2.5%.
Duty on solar inverters raised from 5% to 20%, and on solar lanterns from 5% to 15%.
All nylon products charged with 5% customs duty.
Tunnel boring machines to attract customs duty of 7%.
Customs duty on cotton raised from 0 to 10%.
Agriculture infrastructure and development cess proposed on certain items including urea, apples, crude soyabean and sunflower oil, crude palm oil, kabuli chana and peas.

Economy and Finance

Fiscal deficit stands at 9.5% of the GDP; estimated to be 6.8% in 2021-22.
Proposal to allow States to raise borrowings up to 4% of GSDP this year.
A Unified Securities Market Code to be created, consolidating provisions of the Sebi Act, Depositories Act, and two other laws.
Proposal to increase FDI limit from 49% to 74%.
An asset reconstruction company will be set up to take over stressed loans.
Deposit insurance increased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for bank depositors
Proposal to decriminalise Limited Liability Partnership Act of 2008
Two PSU bank and one general insurance firm to be disinvested this year.
An IPO of LIC to debut this fiscal.
Strategic sale of BPCL, IDBI Bank, Air India to be completed.

Agriculture

Agriculture infrastructure fund to be made available for APMCs for augmenting their infrastructure
1,000 more Mandis to be integrated into the E-NAM market place
Five major fishing hubs, including Chennai, Kochi and Paradip, to be developed.
A multipurpose seaweed park to be established in Tamil Nadu

Employment

A portal to be launched to maintain information on gig workers and construction workers.
Social security to be extended to gig and platform workers
Margin capital required for loans via Stand-up India scheme reduced from 25% to 15% for SCs, STs and women.

100 Years Of The ‘Chauri Chaura' Incidence

To mark 100 years of the ‘Chauri Chaura' incident as a landmark event in the country's fight for independence, the Uttar Pradesh Government has announced to hold year-long centenary programmes and plans to develop the place as a heritage tourist spot.
The Chauri Chaura incident took place on 4 February 1922 at Chauri Chaura in the Gorakhpur district of the United Province (modern Uttar Pradesh) in British India, when a large group of protesters participating in the Non-cooperation movement, clashed with police who opened fire. In retaliation the demonstrators attacked and set fire to a police station, killing all of its occupants. Mahatma Gandhi, who was strictly against violence, halted the non-co-operation movement on the national level on 12 February 1922, as a direct result of this incident.

‘Khadi Prakritik Paint’: India’s First Cow Dung Paint

The Khadi and Village Industries Commission has developed India’s first cow dung based paint.
The project is being developed by Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute, Jaipur (a KVIC unit).
An eco-friendly, non-toxic paint, called “Khadi Prakritik Paint” is a first-of-its-kind product, with anti-fungal, anti-bacterial properties.
Based on cow dung as its main ingredient, the paint is cost-effective and odorless, and has been certified by Bureau of Indian Standards.
Khadi Prakritik Paint is available in two forms – distemper paint and plastic emulsion paint.
The paint is free from heavy metals like lead, mercury, chromium, arsenic, cadmium and others.
It will be a boost to local manufacturing and will create sustainable local employment through technology transfer. This technology will increase consumption of cow dung as a raw material for eco-friendly products and will generate additional revenue to farmers and gaushalas.
This is estimated to generate additional income of Rs 30,000 (approx) per annum per animal to farmers/ gaushalas. Utilization of cow dung will also clean the environment and prevent clogging of drains.

GSI Finds Vanadium In Arunachal Pradesh

Geological Survey of India (GSI) has found promising concentration of vanadium in the palaeo-proterozoic carbonaceous phyllite rocks in the Depo and Tamang areas of Arunachal Pradesh’s Papum Pare district.

“Good prospects” of vanadium for a cumulative length of 15.5 km and an average thickness of 7m were found in the Deed, Saiya and Phop areas of Lower Subansiri district. Vanadium content was also found in the Pakro area of Pakke-Kesang district, Palin-Sangram in Kra Daadi, Kalamati in West Siang, Kalaktang in West Kameng and Kaying in Siang district.

Vanadium Deposits/Consumption

The largest deposits of vanadium are found in China, followed by Russia and South Africa.
India is a significant consumer of vanadium but is not a primary producer of the strategic metal.
India consumed 4% of about 84,000 metric tonnes of vanadium produced across the globe in 2017. China, which produces 57% of the world’s vanadium, consumed 44% of the metal.

About Vanadium Metal

Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol ‘V’ and atomic number 23.
It is a hard, silvery-grey, malleable transition metal.
The elemental metal is rarely found in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of an oxide layer (passivation) somewhat stabilizes the free metal against further oxidation.
Vanadium resists corrosion due to a protective film of oxide on the surface.

Applications

Most of the vanadium (about 80%) produced is used as ferrovanadium or as a steel additive. Mixed with aluminium in titanium alloys is used in jet engines and high speed air-frames, and steel alloys are used in axles, crankshafts, gears and other critical components. Vanadium alloys are also used in nuclear reactors because vanadium has low neutron-adsorption abilities and it does not deform in creeping under high temperatures.
Vanadium oxide (V2O5) is used as a catalyst in manufacturing sulfuric acid and maleic anhydride and in making ceramics. It is added to glass to produce green or blue tint. Glass coated with vanadium dioxide (VO2) can block infrared radiation at some specific temperature.
Apart from increasing fuel-efficiency in automotive and aviation industries due to its high strength-to-weight ratio, the metal forms the integral part of vanadium redox batteries that have the least ecological impact in energy storage.

Toycathon 2021: A Step Towards Indigenous Toys

To reduce import of toys (currently India imports 80 per cent of toys) and making the country self-reliant in this sector, Toycathon 2021 has been launched.
Toycathon is an inter-Ministerial initiative of six Ministries wherein nine themes will be promoted under three tracks for junior level participants, senior level participants and start-ups & professional level.
This is a special kind of hackathon where students and teachers from schools and colleges, design experts, toy experts and startups will get together to crowd source ideas for developing toys and games that are based on Indian culture and ethos, local folklore and heroes, and Indian value systems.

Renaming Of Aurangabad To Sambhaji Nagar: A Brief History Of Aurangabad

Recently, there is discussions/collusion towards renaming Aurangabad city in Maharashtra as Sambahji Nagar.
Originally called Khadki, the city in its present-day avatar was founded in 1610 by the Deccan-based military commander Malik Ambar (Nijamshahi dynasty), originally a slave from Ethiopia, who relentlessly fought against the Mughals.
Malik Ambar’s son Fateh Khan later changed its name to Fatehnagar.
In 1636, Aurangzeb, who had not yet become the Mughal emperor, captured Fatehnagar and made it part of the Mughal empire.
In 1653, he renamed it Aurangabad, and it was made the regional capital of the Mughal Empire.
He tortured and later killed Chhatrapati Sambahji Maharaj, son of Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Aurangabad where he lived until his death.
After the Mughals’ hold over power weakened in the early 18th century, Aurangabad became part of the Hyderabad Nizams’ territory.
It was part of the Bombay state briefly after India attained independence.
Since the formation of Maharashtra in 1960, Aurangabad has been a part of the state.

Light House Projects Under GHTC-India

On 1-1-2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Light House Projects (LHPs) under Global Housing Technology Challenge (GHTC)-India at six sites across six States- Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh).

What are Light House Projects?

The LHPs showcase the best of new-age alternate global technologies, materials and processes in the construction sector for the first time in the country at such a large scale.
They are being constructed under GHTC-India, which envisage providing an ecosystem for adoption of innovative technologies in the housing construction sector in a holistic manner.
They comprise about one thousand houses at each location along with allied infrastructure facilities.
These projects will demonstrate and deliver ready to live houses at an expedited pace within twelve months, as compared to conventional brick and mortar construction, and will be more economical, sustainable, of high quality and durability.
They will serve as live laboratories for facilitating transfer of technology to the field and its further replication.

Global Housing Technology Challenge - India

Global Housing Technology Challenge - India (GHTC- India) is an initiative under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban (PMAY – U) by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to fast-track the construction of affordable housing and meet the target of constructing 1.2 crore houses by 2022 and to identify and mainstream a basket of innovative technologies from across the globe that are sustainable and disaster-resilient.

R P Tiwari Committee

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has set up a seven-member committee on December 23, headed by Vice-Chancellor of Central University of Punjab R P Tiwari, to consider the issue of holding common entrance test at undergraduate level only from the next academic year.
It is the first attempt, after the introduction of the new National Education Policy, at moving away from unrealistic cut-off marks for admissions to universities.

India's Highest Meteorological Centre Inaugurated At Leh

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has set up India's highest (Located at 3,500 metres above sea level) Meteorological Centre (MC) at Leh.
After Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, the Leh centre is the second MC located in the Himalayas.
It will provide specialised weather forecasts for traffic movement on highways, agriculture, and defence personnel from its Ladakh centre.
Even though there are only two districts, Kargil and Leh, the Union Territory has varying micro-climatic zones ranging from plains, cold desert, hills and extreme dry places. All these micro-climatic regions require specific and localised weather monitoring and information.
The IMD will install ten Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) at key locations — Nubra and Zanskar valleys, Pangong Tso, Drass and Kargil.
Being a seismologically active region, the scientists will also gather seismological data here.

India’s First Lithium Refinery To Come Up In Gujarat

India’s first Lithium refinery which will process Lithium ore to produce battery-grade material will be set up in Gujarat.
Manikaran Power Limited, one of the country’s largest power trading and renewable energy company will set up this refinery.
With India poised to become one of the largest electric car market of the world, the country is also looking to access raw materials like Lithium needed to produce batteries. India currently imports most of the Lithium needed.
Lithium is a rare element not usually found in India. The company will be importing Lithium ore from Australia and will be processing it here.
Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol ‘Li’ and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in mineral oil. It never occurs freely in nature, but only in (usually ionic) compounds, such as pegmatitic minerals, which were once the main source of lithium.

Electricity (Rights Of Consumers) Rules, 2020

On 21st December 2020, the Union Ministry of Power has for the first time promulgated rules laying down the rights of power consumers in the country.
Distribution companies across the country are monopolies – whether government or private – and the consumer had no alternative – therefore this step will prove a milestone towards the consumers’ rights.
These rules are also an important step towards furthering the ease of doing business across the country.
Implementation of these Rules shall ensure that new electricity connections, refunds and other services are given in a time bound manner.
Willful disregard to consumer rights will result in levying penalties on service providers.

Other Major Provisions

Rights and Obligations

It is the duty of every distribution licensee to supply electricity on request made by an owner or occupier of any premises in line with the provisions of Act.
It is the right of consumer to have minimum standards of service for supply of electricity from the distribution licensee.

Release of New Connection and Modification in Existing Connection

Maximum time period of 7 days in metro cities and 15 days in other municipal areas and 30 days in rural areas identified to provide new connection and modify an existing connection

Reliability of Supply

The distribution licensee shall supply 24x7 power to all consumers. However, the Commission may specify lower hours of supply for some categories of consumers like agriculture.
The distribution licensee shall put in place a mechanism, preferably with automated tools to the extent possible, for monitoring and restoring outages.

Consumer as Prosumer

While the prosumers will maintain consumer status and have the same rights as the general consumer, they will also have right to set up Renewable Energy (RE) generation unit including roof top solar photovoltaic (PV) systems – either by himself or through a service provider.
Net metering for loads up to ten kW and for gross metering for loads above ten kW.

Standards of Performance

The Commission shall notify the standards of performance for the distribution licensees.
Compensation amount to be paid to the consumers by the distribution licensees for violation of standards of performance

Compensation Mechanism

Automatic compensation shall be paid to consumers for which parameters on standards of performance can be monitored remotely.

Call Centre for Consumer Services

Distribution licensee shall establish a centralised 24x7 toll-free call centre.
Licensees shall endeavour to provide all services through a common Customer Relation Manager (CRM) System to get a unified view.

Grievance Redressal Mechanism

Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF) to include consumer and prosumer representatives.
The consumer grievance redressal has been made easy by making it multi-layered and the number of consumers representatives have been increased from one to four.
The licensee shall specify the time within which various types of grievances by the different levels of the forums are to be resolved. Maximum timeline of 45 days specified for grievance redressal.

General Provisions

Use of online access to various services such as application submission, monitoring status of application, payment of bills, status of complaints raised ,etc., to consumers through its website, web portal, mobile app and its various designated offices area-wise.
The distribution licensee shall provide all services such as application submission, payment of bills, etc., to senior citizens at their door-steps.
The details of scheduled power outages shall be informed to the consumers. In case of unplanned outage or fault, immediate intimation shall be given to the consumers through SMS or by any other electronic mode along with estimated time for restoration.

Gas Production Started From R-Cluster - Asia’s Deepest Project

Reliance Industries Ltd. and its partner BP(British Petroleum)of the U.K. have started the natural gas production from ultra-deepwater R-Cluster - Asia's deepest project.
R-Cluster is the first of the three deep-sea projects other than ‘Satellites Cluster’ and ‘MJ’, Reliance-BP are developing in the eastern offshore KG D6 block.
Together these projects are expected to meet about 15% of India's gas demand by 2023.
Reliance is the operator of KG D6 with a 66.67% participating interest and bp holds a 33.33% stake.
Located at a water depth of greater than 2,000 metres, it is the deepest offshore gas field in Asia.
The next project, the Satellites Cluster, is expected to come on-stream in 2021, followed by the MJ project in 2022.

ONGC Begins Production In Bengal Basin

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited has begun crude oil production from the Asokenagar-1 well, Bengal Basin in 24 Paragana district.
This has made the Bengal basin India’s eighth producing basin.
Other producing basins of India are Krishna-Godavari (KG), Mumbai Offshore, Assam Shelf, Rajasthan, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and Cambay.
“The Asokenagar-1 well was completed as an oil producer under Early-Monetization Plan issued by the Government of India. This makes ONGC having discovered and put to production seven out of the eight producing basins of India covering 83 percent of established oil and gas reserves.”
According to the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, there are 26 sedimentary basins in India, covering a total area of 3.4 million square kilometer. Of these, 16 are on-land basins, 7 located both on-land and offshore and 3 completely offshore.

Ministry Of Road Transport And Highways’ Proposal On ‘E20’ Fuel

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has published a draft notification and invited comments from the public for adoption of the E20 fuel.
The adoption of E20 fuel means a blend of 20% of ethanol and gasoline as an automobile fuel in order to reduce vehicular emissions as well as the country’s oil import bill.
The current permissible level of blending is 10% of ethanol though India reached only 5.6% of blending in 2019.
The proposal facilitates the development of E20-compliant vehicles.
It will help in reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons, etc.

Vehicle Compatibility

The compatibility of vehicles with the percentage of ethanol in the blend would be defined by the vehicle manufacturer, which would have to be displayed on the vehicle with a sticker.

National Security Directive On Telecommunication Sector

To tighten security of communications network, the Cabinet Committee on Security on 16th December 2020 announced the National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector.
The directive has been framed from the perspective of national security, which will mandate service providers to purchase equipment from trusted sources.

Major Provisions

The government will declare a list of trusted sources and trusted products for installation in the country's telecom network.
The methodology to designate trusted products will be devised by the designated authority, the National Cyber Security Coordinator.
Telecom service providers are required to connect new devices that are designated as ‘trusted products’.

National Security Committee on Telecom

A committee - National Security Committee on Telecom will decide list of trusted source and product headed by the deputy national security advisor.
The committee will consist of members from relevant departments, ministries and will also have two members from the industry and independent experts.
The government will also create a list of designated sources from whom no procurement can be done.

The Directive on Existing Structures/ Equipments

The present directive does not envisage mandatory replacement of the existing equipment already inducted in the network of TSPs.
It will also not affect annual maintenance contracts or updates to existing equipment already inducted in the network as on date of effect of the directive.

For Domestic Players

The directive has provisions to qualify telecom gears made by domestic players in the trusted category.
Those that meet the criteria of the Department of Telecommunications' preferential market access (PMA) scheme will be certified as India trusted sources.
The National Security Committee on Telecom will take measures to increase use of equipment from such Indian trusted sources.
The PMA scheme gives weightage to telecom gears developed and manufactured by indigenous companies.

Vijay Diwas: 50th Anniversary Celebrations Of Indo-Pak War

From 16 December (Vijay Diwas), India is celebrating 50 Years of Indo-Pak War, also called ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’.
In December 1971, the Indian Armed Forces secured a decisive and historic victory over Pakistan Army, which led to creation of a Nation - Bangladesh and also resulted in the largest military surrender after the World War – II.
Inaugural event was held at the National War Memorial (NWM) in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi lit up the ‘Swarnim Vijay Mashaal’ from the eternal flame of NWM on the occasion.

PM-WANI (Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) Scheme

The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal of DoT for setting up of Public Wi-Fi Networks by Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOAs) to provide public Wi-Fi service through Public Data Offices (PDOs) spread across length and breadth of the country to accelerate proliferation of Broadband Internet services through Public Wi-Fi network in the country.

There shall be no license fee for providing Broadband Internet through these public Wi-Fi networks.
The proposal will promote the growth of Public Wi-Fi Networks in the country and, in turn, will help in proliferation of Broadband Internet, enhancement of income and employment and empowerment of people.

Objectives

While no registration would be required for PDOs, PDOAs and App Providers will get themselves registered with DoT through online registration portal of DoT, without paying any registration fee.Registration shall be granted within 7 days of the application.
This is expected to be more business friendly and in line with efforts for ease of doing business. COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated delivery of stable and high speed Broadband Internet (data) services to an increasingly large number of subscribers in the country including areas which do not have 4G mobile coverage. This can be achieved by deployment of Public Wi-Fi.
Further, the proliferation of public Wi-Fi will not only create employment but also enhance disposable incomes in the hands of small and medium entrepreneurs and boost the GDP of the country.
Proliferation of Broadband Services through public Wi-Fi is a step towards digital India and consequential benefit thereon.
No License Fee for providing broadband internet services using public Wi-Fi Hotspots will massively encourage its proliferation and penetration across the length and breadth of the country.
Availability and use of Broadband will enhance incomes, employment, quality of life, ease of doing business etc.

Who will Operate PM-WANI?

PM-WANI eco-system will be operated by different players:

Public Data Office (PDO): It will establish, maintain, and operate only WANI compliant Wi-Fi Access Points and deliver broadband services to subscribers.
Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA): It will be an aggregator of PDOs and perform the functions relating to Authorization and Accounting.
App Provider: It will develop an App to register users and discover WANI compliant Wi-Fi hotspots in the nearby area and display the same within the App for accessing the internet service.
Central Registry: It will maintain the details of App Providers, PDOAs, and PDOs. To begin with, the Central Registry will be maintained by C-DoT.

I&B Ministry Advisory On Advertisements On Online Gaming, Fantasy Sports

Information and Broadcasting Ministry has issued an advisory on Advertisements on Online gaming, fantasy sports and others.

Finer Points

No gaming advertisement may depict any person under the age of 18 years or who appears to be under the age of 18 engaged in playing a game of Online Gaming for Real Money Winnings or suggest that such person can play these games.
For print and static, every such gaming advertisement must carry the disclaimer that this game involves an element of financial risk and may be addictive, so please play responsibly and at your own risk. Such a disclaimer should occupy no less than 20 per cent of the space in the advertisement.
For Audio and Video, it said, this game involves and elements of financial risk and may be addictive and play responsibly at your own risk. It said, such a disclaimer must be placed in normal speaking pace at the end of the advertisement.
The advertisement should not present as an income opportunity or an alternative employment option. The advertisement should also not suggest that a person engaged in gaming activity is in any way more successful as compared to others.
The guidelines will be effective from the 15th December 2020.

Consent For Contempt Of Court

Section 15 of Contempt of Courts Act 1971, describes the procedure for contempt of court.
In the case of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General or the Solicitor General, and in the case of High Courts, the Advocate General, may bring in a motion for initiating a case of criminal contempt.
If the motion is brought by a private citizen, the consent of the Attorney General or the Advocate General in writing is mandatory and this is exercised to save the judicial time of the court.
The court itself can initiate a contempt of court case (suomotu) through its power (Article 129 of the Constitution).
If AG denies consent, petition ends there itself. However, complainant can urge the court to take suomotu cognizance.

Nisarg Gram: 21st Century Abode Of Naturopathy

The Ministry of AYUSH is setting up a new campus of National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune called “Nisarg Gram”.
This decision has been taken to invoke recollections of Mahatma Gandhi's famous nature cure campaign of 1946 at the 'NisargUpchar' Ashram in UruliKanchan village near Pune.
The new institute’s curricula will be prepared in the light of National Education Policy, 2020. The curricula will be rationalised to bring about qualitative, pedagogical understanding of Naturopathy and allied disciplines at the UG and PG level.
Bachelors and Masters courses in Naturopathy and allied disciplines will be the focal programmes at Nisarg Gram.
The proposed Doctoral programs in Naturopathy at Nisarg Gram will be the first of its kind and will further strengthen the Naturopathy and Yoga education in the country.
The institution will place emphasis on the symbiotic relationship between research and teaching and the need to foster this relationship with respect to Naturopathy. The research activities at Nisarg Gram will provide scope for clinical, basic and literary researches.

Jallikattu: India’s Official Entry For Oscars 2021

Malayalam film Jallikattu, directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery, has been selected as India’s official entry for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category for the 93rd Academy Awards to be held in 2021.
Jallikattu is the third Malayalam film after Guru (1997) and Adaminte Makan Abu (2011) to be chosen as the country’s official entry for the Oscars.
The film is based on writer S. Hareesh’s acclaimed story ‘Maoist’.
The selection has been made by a 14-member committee of the Film Federation of India from a shortlist of 26 films.
Last year, Zoya Akhtar’s Gully Boy was sent as India’s official entry to the 92nd Academy Awards.
So far no Indian film has won in this category but three films were nominated- Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay (1988) and Lagaan (2001).