1. M. TECH. PROGRAM IN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY

A regular M.Tech. Program in Defence Technology has been launched by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to impart necessary theoretical & experimental knowledge, skill and aptitude in various defence technology areas.

About:

• This M.Tech. defence technology program can be conducted at any AICTE affiliated Institutes/Universities, IITs, NITs or private engineering institutes.
• Institute of Defence Scientists & Technologists (IDST) will provide support to the institutes for conducting this program, which can be conducted in online as well as offline formats.
• The program has six specialized streams - Combat Technology, Aero Technology, Naval Technology, Communication Systems & Sensors, Directed Energy Technology and High Energy Materials Technology.

Source : Indian Express

2. VIRBHADRA SINGH

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed deep grief over the demise of the former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra Singh.

About:

• Virbhadra Singh (1934 – 2021) was an Indian politician. He was a member of the Indian National Congress.
• He was popularly known by the honorific Raja Sahib. He was born in the royal family of the princely state of Bushahr. He was the titular Raja of Bushahr from 1947 until 1971, when, by the 26th Amendment to the Constitution of India, the privy purses of the princes were abolished and official recognition of their titles came to an end.
• He was the longest-serving Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, he served as the Chief Minister from 2012 to 2017.He previously served as Chief Minister from 1983 to 1990, from 1993 to 1998 and from 2003 to 2007.
• He was an elected member of the Lok Sabha in 1962, 1967, 1971, 1980 and in 2009.

Important Info :

Bushahr

• Bushahr, also spelt as 'Bashahr' and 'Bussahir' or 'Bushair' was a princely state in India during the British Raj.
• The territory of this former state is now part of Kinnaur and Shimla districts of the present Himachal Pradesh state.
• The erstwhile Bushahr state was traversed by the Sutlej river.

Source : The Hindu

3. EMVÓLIO

DBT-BIRAC supported startup Blackfrog Technologies has developed Emvolio.

About:

• Emvólio is a portable, battery-powered medical-grade refrigeration device that improves the efficiency of the immunization by strictly maintaining preset temperature for up to 12 hours, thus enabling the safe and efficient transportation of vaccines to the last mile.
• Emvólio has a 2-litre capacity, enabling it to carry 30-50 vials, the standard for a daylong immunization campaign.
• The device also includes continuous temperature monitoring, location tracking, state-of-charge indication, communication with headquarters via live-tracking, and vital statistics for improved coverage.
• Blackfrog is an ISO-13485 certified manufacturer of medical devices, and Emvólio has been designed in accordance with WHO-PQS E003 standards.
• About BIRAC: Set up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), is a not-for-profit Section 8, Schedule B, Public Sector Enterprise. 

Source : PIB

4. COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT

The government announced the formation of a separate Union Ministry of Cooperation, a subject that till date was looked after by the Ministry of Agriculture. In the Cabinet reshuffle of July 7, Home Minister Amit Shah was given charge of the new Ministry.

About:

Cooperatives are organisations formed at the grassroots level by people to harness the power of collective bargaining towards a common goal.

In agriculture, cooperative dairies, sugar mills, spinning mills etc are formed with the pooled resources of farmers who wish to process their produce. The country has 1,94,195 cooperative dairy societies and 330 cooperative sugar mill operations. Cooperative sugar mills account for 35% of the sugar produced in the country.

In banking and finance, cooperative institutions are spread across rural and urban areas. Village-level primary agricultural credit societies (PACSs) formed by farmer associations are the best example of grassroots-level credit flow.

There are also cooperative marketing societies in rural areas and cooperative housing societies in urban areas. 

Important Info :

What laws govern cooperative societies?

• Like agriculture, cooperation is in the concurrent list, which means both the central and state governments can govern them.
• A majority of the cooperative societies are governed by laws in their respective states.
• In 2002, the Centre passed a MultiState Cooperative Societies Act that allowed for registration of societies with operations in more than one state. 

Source : Indian Express

5. NARGOL VILLAGE

Public protests have rekindled in South Gujarat, nearly 21 years after the state government decided to float global bids for a second time to develop an all-weather, multipurpose port at Nargol village in Umargam taluka of Valsad district.

About:

• Being positioned as a future alternative to Jawaharlal Nehru Port or JNPT in Mumbai, the Gujarat government has been planning to develop a port in Valsad since 1997.
• The present location identified for building the port is at Nargol, located 140 kilometres north of Mumbai and 120 kilometres south of Surat.
• Recently Chief Minister Vijay Rupani gave the go-ahead to Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to float global bids for a second time to build a multi-functional port at a cost of Rs 3,800 crore that will be capable of handling solid, liquid and container cargo.
• A port in Nargol has been in the pipeline to help divert port traffic from JNPT which is operating close to its full capacity.

Source : Indian Express

6. SPARSH

Ministry of Defence has implemented SPARSH [System for Pension Administration (Raksha)], an integrated system for automation of sanction and disbursement of defence pension.

About:

• This web-based system processes pension claims and credits pension directly into the bank accounts of defence pensioners without relying on any external intermediary.
• A Pensioner Portal is available for pensioners to view their pension related information, access services and register complaints for redressal of grievances, if any, relating to their pension matters.

Source : PIB

7. MADURAI MALLI

Consignments of Geographical Indications (GI) certified Madurai malli and other traditional flowers such as button rose, lily, chamanthi and marigold were exported to USA and Dubai from Tamil Nadu.

About:

• Indian community in Dubai and USA would be able to offer freshflowers to Hindu deities both at home and temples while celebrating religious and cultural festivals after exports of flowers from India continue at regular interval.
• During 2020-2021, fresh cut flowers jasmine flowers and bouquets (comprising of jasmine and other traditional flowers) valued at Rs 66.28 crores were exported to countries like USA,UAE, Singapore, etc.
• Jasmine (Jasminum Officinale) is one of the most popular flowers found across the world. The scent of Jasmine is synonymous with the splendor of Madurai’s Meenakshi temple.
• Madurai has emerged as a major market for the malligai grown in its neighbourhood, and has evolved into the ‘jasmine capital’ of India. 

Source : The Hindu

8. COCONUT DEVELOPMENT BOARD

The Union Cabinet has approved amendment in the Coconut Development Board Act, 1979 to make the post of Chairman, Coconut Development Board as Non-Executive one.

About:

• Coconut Development Board (CDB) is a statutory body established under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.
• Its mandate is the integrated development of coconut cultivation and industry in the country with focus on productivity increase and product diversification.
• Its headquarters is located at Kochi in Kerala.
• The Board came into existence in 1981. 

Source : PIB

9. AGRICULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE FUND

The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the various modifications in Central Sector Scheme of Financing Facility under ‘Agriculture Infrastructure Fund’.

These are:

• Eligibility has now been extended to State Agencies/APMCs, National & State Federations of Cooperatives, Federations of Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs) and Federations of Self Help Groups (SHGs).
• For APMCs, interest subvention for a loan upto Rs. 2 crore will be provided for each project of different infrastructure types e.g. cold storage, sorting, grading and assaying units, silos, et within the same market yard.
• The power has been delegated to Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare to make necessary changes with regard to addition or deletion of beneficiary in such a manner so that basic spirit of the scheme is not altere
• The period of financial facility has been extended from 4 to 6 years upto 2025-26 and overall period of the scheme has been extended from 10 to 13 upto 2032-33.

Source : The Hindu

10. INDIA COVID 19 EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND HEALTH SYSTEMS PREPAREDNESS PACKAGE: PHASE II

The Union Cabinet has approved a new scheme ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response & Health System Preparedness Package: Phase-II’ amounting to Rs. 23,123 crore for FY 2021-22. The Phase-II of the Package has Central Sector (CS) and Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) components.

Under the Central Sector components:

• National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) would be strengthened by providing Genome Sequencing machines, besides sanctioning Scientific Control room, Epidemic Intelligence Services (EIS) and INSACOG Secretariat support.
• Support would be provided for implementation of Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) in all the District Hospitals of the Country (presently, it is implemented only in 310 DHs).
• Support would also be provided for expanding the National Architecture of eSanjeevani Tele-consultation platform to provide upto 5 lakhs tele-consultations per day from the present 50,000 Tele-consultations per day.
• Support would also be provided for IT interventions, including strengthening the Central War room at DoHFW, strengthening Country’s COVID-19 Portal, 1075 COVID help lines and COWIN platform.

Important Info :

Under the CSS components, States/UTs would be supported to:

• Create Paediatric units in all 736 districts and also, to establish Paediatric Centre of Excellence (PaediatricCoE) in each State/UT, for providing Tele-ICU services, mentoring and technical hand-holding to the District Paediatric units.
• Augment 20,000 ICU beds in public healthcare system out of which 20% will be Pediatric ICU beds.
• Install 1050 numbers of Liquid Medical Oxygen Storage Tanks with Medical Gas Pipeline System (MGPS), with an aim to support at least one such unit per district.
• Augment the existing feet of ambulances - 8,800 ambulances will be added under the package.

Source : PIB