CURRENT AFFAIRS 10-08-2020

BEEG (BIO-COMPOST ENRICHED ECO-FRIENDLY GLOBULE)

What is in news?

IIT Kanpur has developed indigenous seed balls named BEEG (Bio -compost Enriched Eco-friendly Globule) which will help people and farmers in plantation with safety in Corona times and will also provide employment to people.

About:

• The BEEG is developed in collaboration with Agnys Waste Management Private Limited (start-up at IIT Kanpur).

• The Seed Balls are comprised of indigenous variety of seeds, compost, and clay. There is no need for digging pits for planting  saplings . These seed balls are to be thrown at aimed places and they will germinate  when come into contact with water.

• BEEG is enriched with the right ingredients and seeds to germinate early, and are the best way to utilise Monsoon and plant as many trees as possible without risking lives by social gathering during Covid 19.

AIM iCREST

What is in news?

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), has launched AIM iCREST – an Incubator Capabilities enhancement program for a Robust Ecosystem focused on creating high performing Startups.

About:

• AIM has joined hands with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation for launching it.

• AIM iCREST has been designed to enable the incubation ecosystem and act as a growth hack for AIM’s Atal and Established incubators across the country.

• Under the initiative, the AIM’s incubators are set to be upscaled and provided requisite support to foster the incubation enterprise economy, that will help them to significantly enhance their performance.

• This will be complemented by providing training to entrepreneurs, through technology driven processes and platforms.

KAVKAZ

What is in news?

India will take part in the Russian Kavkaz 2020 strategic command-post exercise next month. A small tri-service contingent will take part in the exercise to be held in Astrakhan.

About:

• The Kavkaz 2020 - also referred to as Caucasus-2020 - is an exercise aimed at assessing the ability of the armed forces to ensure military security in Russia’s southwest.

• The invitees also include China and Pakistan, apart from other member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

SUB-MISSION ON AGRICULTURAL MECHANISATION (SMAM)

What is in news?

The Centre has released ₹553 crore to States under a scheme to promote mechanisation in the agriculture sector.

About:

• The Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) was introduced in April 2014 with an aim to have inclusive growth of farm mechanisation to boost productivity.

• In the year 2020-21, budget of ₹1,033 crore has been provided for the scheme, out of which ₹553 crore has been released to state governments.

• Agricultural mechanisation helps in increasing production through timely farm operations and cut in operations by ensuring better management of inputs.

FOOD VISION 2050 PRIZE

What is in news?

US-based Rockefeller Foundation has selected Anand Mahindra-backed Naandi Foundation, the Hyderabad based non-profit as one of the top 10 Visionaries in the world for the Food Vision 2050 Prize.

About:

• The award, which was announced in New York, carries a cash prize of $200,000.

• The Rockefeller Foundation award recognised the application of the Arakunomics model in the regions of Araku, Wardha and New Delhi by Naandi Foundation.

• This model leads to the Food Vision 2050 that follows an ‘ABCDEFGH’ framework -- Agriculture, Biology, Compost, Decentralised decision-making, Entrepreneurs, Families, Global Markets, and ‘Headstands’, or turning current approaches on their head.

Arakunomics?

• Naandi’s vision titled “Arakunomics” was based on work with tribal farmers in Araku for nearly 20 years.

• Arakunomics is a new integrated economic model that ensures Profits for farmers, Quality for consumers through Regenerative Agriculture (PQR).

• The economic model is a tribute to the tribal farmers of Araku region for the world-class coffee produced and launched in Paris in 2017, as well as for the high carbon landscape transformation they did in over 955 villages there by planting 25 million trees.

PYROLYSIS

What is in news?

Plastic from used personal protective equipment (PPE) can be transformed into renewable liquid fuels, according to a new study published in the journal Biofuels.

About:

• The research describes a strategy for converting billions of items of disposable PPE from its plastic state into biofuels.

• The transformation into biocrude, a type of synthetic fuel, will not just prevent the severe after-effects to humankind and the environment but also produce a source of energy.

• The researchers call for PPE waste to be converted into fuel using chemical a process called pyrolysis. This breaks down plastic at high temperature – between 300-400°C for an hour – without oxygen.

eSanjeevani

What is in news?

Union Health Minister presided over a review meeting with States/UTs on the “eSanjeevani” and “eSanjeevaniOPD” platforms.

About:

• In a short span of time since November 2019, tele-consultation by eSanjeevani and eSanjeevaniOPD have been implemented by 23 States (which covers 75% of the population) and other States are in the process of rolling it out.

• eSanjeevani, the Tele-Medicine platform rolled out by Health Ministry, has completed more than 1,50,000 tele-consultations enabling patient to doctor consultations from the confines of their home, as well as doctor to doctor consultations.

• This eSanjeevani platform has enabled two types of telemedicine services viz. Doctor-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani) and Patient-to-Doctor (eSanjeevani OPD) Tele-consultations. The former is being implemented under the Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre (AB-HWCs) programme.

MATHERAN

What is in news?

After a long gap of 125 years, scientists have found 140 rare species of butterflies, including 77 new ones, in Matheran. The last time butterflies were codified in this eco-sensitive zone was in 1894, when a researcher identified 78 species.

About:

• Matheran is a hill station and a municipal council in Karjat Tahsil in the Raigad district, Maharashtra. It is located on the Western Ghats range.

• Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

• Matheran, which means "forest on the forehead" (of the mountains) is an eco-sensitive region, declared by the Union Ministry of Environment.

MAKE IN INDIA IN DEFENCE

What is in news?

The Department of Military Affairs (DMA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) has prepared a list of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them.

About:

• The list of 101 embargoed items comprises of some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircrafts, LCHs, radars and many other items to fulfil the needs of the defence Services.

• The list also includes wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) with indicative import embargo date of December 2021, of which the Army is expected to contract almost 200 at an approximate cost of over ₹5,000 crore.

• The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 to 2024.

• The Government also intends to reach a turnover of $25 billion through indigenously manufactured defence products and also expects to export products worth $5 billion.

• Government has also decided that in any government contract over ₹200 crore, no foreign company can participate in the tendering process. This year ₹52,000 crore items are to be bought only from Indian companies.

• MoD has also bifurcated the capital procurement budget for 2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement routes.