13 OCTOBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. PLASTIC WASTE RECYCLING

The Environment Ministry has issued draft rules that mandate producers of plastic packaging material to collect all of their produce by 2024 and ensure that a minimum percentage of it be recycled as well as used in subsequent supply.

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It has also specified a system whereby makers and users of plastic packaging could collect certificates — called Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificates — and trade in them.
The notification was expected to come into force by December 6 and, as of now, was open to public feedback.
Only a fraction of plastic that cannot be recycled — such as multi-layered multi-material plastics — would be eligible to be sent for end-of-life disposal such as road construction, waste to energy, waste to oil and cement kilns.
Only methods prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) would be permitted for their disposal.

Important Info :

Plastic packaging, as per the rules made public on October 6, fall into three categories.

The first is “rigid” plastic;
Category 2 is “flexible plastic packaging of single layer or multilayer (more than one layer with different types of plastic), plastic sheets and covers made of plastic sheet, carry bags (including carry bags made of compostable plastics), plastic sachet or pouches; and
The third category is called multilayered plastic packaging, which has at least one layer of plastic and at least one layer of material other than plastic.

Source : The Hindu

2. G20 EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT ON AFGHANISTAN

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated virtually in the G20 Extraordinary Summit on Afghanistan on October 12, 2021.

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The Meeting was convened by Italy, which currently holds the G20 Presidency, and chaired by Italian Prime Minister Mr. Mario Draghi.
Issues under consideration at the meeting related to the humanitarian situation; concerns relating to terrorism; and human rights in Afghanistan.
He conveyed support for the important role of the United Nations in Afghanistan and called for renewed support of the G20 for the message contained in UN Security Council Resolution 2593 on Afghanistan.
The meeting comes less than three weeks before the formal G20 leaders summit in Rome on Oct. 30-31, which is due to focus on climate change, the global economic recovery, tackling malnutrition and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: PIB

3. MORTALITY ATTRIBUTABLE TO LACK OF GREEN SPACE

A study in The Lancet Planetary Health ranks European cities with the highest and lowest rates of mortality attributable to lack of green space.

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Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) analysed cities in 31 European countries.
It concluded that up to 43,000 premature deaths could be prevented each year if these cities were to achieve the WHO recommendation that there should be a green space measuring at least 0.5 hectares at a distance of no more than 300 m from every home.
The study used the indicator Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).
The study found that over 60% of the population has insufficient access to green space. This lack of green space is associated with 42,968 deaths, which could be prevented through compliance with the WHO recommendations, the authors said.

Source: Indian Express

4. AKASA AIRLINE

Stock market investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed aviation venture SNV Aviation, which is planning an airline under the Akasa brand, has received a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

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The airline, which is planning to operate as a low-cost carrier or an ultra low-cost carrier, expects to launch services by the summer of next year.
The airline is being launched by Jhunjhunwala, who will hold a 40 per cent stake in the company. Jhunjhunwala has onboarded aviation industry veterans such as former Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube and ex-IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh to run the airline.

What is the ULCC model?

In the ULCC (ultra low cost carriers ) airline business model, the company focuses on keeping operating costs even lower than typical budget airlines like IndiGo and SpiceJet.
In the low-cost model, airlines unbundle certain amenities that are usually associated with the full-service airline experience — like seat selection, food and beverages, etc.
In the ultra low-cost model, there is an even further unbundling of services like checked-in baggage, cabin baggage, et

Source : Indian Express

5. POWER FINANCE CORPORATION LTD (PFC)

Govt. of India accorded ‘Maharatna’ status to the state-owned Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC), thus giving PFC greater operational and financial autonomy.

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An order to this effect was issued by the Department of Public Enterprises, under the Ministry of Finance. Incorporated in 1986, PFC is the largest Infrastructure Finance Company today, exclusively dedicated to Power Sector under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power.
This new recognition will enable PFC to offer competitive financing for the power sector, which will go a long way in making available affordable & reliable ‘Power For All 24x7’.

Benefits:

The grant of ‘Maharatna’ status to PFC will impart enhanced powers to the PFC Board while taking financial decisions.
The Board of a ‘Maharatna’ CPSE can make equity investments to undertake financial joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries and undertake mergers and acquisitions in India and abroad, subject to a ceiling of 15% of the Net Worth of the concerned CPSE, limited to Rs.5,000 crore in one project.
The Board can also structure and implement schemes relating to personnel and Human Resource Management and Training.
They can also enter into technology Joint Ventures or other strategic alliances among others.

Source: PIB

6. 100 SAINIK SCHOOLS

Union Cabinet approves affiliation of 100 Schools in Government and private sector with Sainik School Society, Ministry of Defence.

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To leverage the experience of administering 33 Sainik Schools across the country, it has been decided to set up 100 new affiliated Sainik Schools by inviting proposals from Government/ Private Schools /NGOs to apply for affiliation of existing or new Schools to the Sainik Schools Society.
The scheme will leverage Public/private partnership in the education sector, help tap into existing infrastructure available with reputed private and Govt. Schools and open-up new capacities to meet the growing aspirations of children desirous of receiving education in a Sainik School environment.
Beginning from the academic year 2022-23 approximately 5,000 students are expected to receive admission in class VI in such 100 affiliated Schools. At present, the existing 33 SainikSchools have admission capacity of approximately 3,000 students in class VI.

Source : PIB

7. AMRUT 2.0

The Union Cabinet approved the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) till 2025-26, as a step towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat and with aim of making the cities ‘water secure’ and ‘self-sustainable’ through circular economy of water.

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AMRUT 2.0, targets universal coverage of water supply by providing household tap connections in all 4,378 statutory towns. 100% coverage of household sewerage/ septage management in 500 AMRUT cities is other objective.
Mission targets to provide 2.68 crore tap connections and 2.64 crore sewer/ septage connections to achieve the intended outcomes.
Total indicative outlay for AMRUT 2.0 is ₹ 2,77,000 crore including central share of ₹76,760 crore for five years from FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26.
The projects will be geo-tagged.
Cities will assess their water sources, consumption, future requirement and water losses through a city water balance plan. Based on this, city water action plans will be prepared which will be summed up as State Water Action Plan and will be approved by the Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs.
The funds for the projects will be shared by Centre, State and ULBs. Central funds will be released to the States in three tranches based on allocation to the State as per State Water Action Plan

Source : PIB

8. SWACHH BHARAT MISSION (URBAN) [SBM U]

The Union Cabinet approved the continuation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) till 2025-26.

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It’s focus will be on sustainability of Open Defecation Free (ODF) outcomes, achieving scientific processing of Solid Waste in all cities, and managing Wastewater in cities with less than 1 lakh population in Census 2011 [cities not covered under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)].
A financial outlay of ₹1,41,600 crores has been finalized for SBM-U 2.0, including central share of ₹36,465 for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 which is over 2.5 times the financial outlay of ₹62,009 crores in the last phase of the Mission.

Fund sharing pattern between Centre and States is as follows:

Cities with million plus population: 25:75
Cities with population between 1-10 lakhs: 33:67
Cities with less than one lakh population: 50:50
Union territories without legislature: 100:0
Union territories with legislature: 80:20

Source : PIB

9. PM GatiShakti

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will launch PM GatiShakti - National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity, on 13th October 2021 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

PM GatiShakti is based on six pillars:

Comprehensiveness: It will include all the existing and planned initiatives of various Ministries and Departments with one centralized portal. Each and every Department will now have visibility of each other’s activities providing critical data while planning & execution of projects in a comprehensive manner.
Prioritization: Through this, different Departments will be able to prioritize their projects through cross–sectoral interactions.
Optimization: The National Master Plan will assist different ministries in planning for projects after identification of critical gaps. For the transportation of the goods from one place to another, the plan will help in selecting the most optimum route in terms of time and cost.
Synchronization: Individual Ministries and Departments often work in silos. There is lack of coordination in planning and implementation of the project resulting in delays. PM GatiShakti will help in synchronizing the activities of each department, as well as of different layers of governance, in a holistic manner by ensuring coordination of work between them.
Analytical: The plan will provide the entire data at one place with GIS based spatial planning and analytical tools having 200+ layers, enabling better visibility to the executing agency.
Dynamic: All Ministries and Departments will now be able to visualize, review and monitor the progress of cross-sectoral projects, through the GIS platform, as the satellite imagery will give on-ground progress periodically and progress of the projects will be updated on a regular basis on the portal. It will help in identifying the vital interventions for enhancing and updating the master plan.

Source : PIB

10. NUTRIENT BASED SUBSIDY (NBS) RATES

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for fixation of Nutrient Based Subsidy Rates for Phosphatic and Potassic fertilisers (P&K) for the year 2021-22.

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The approved rate for Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) in case of Nitrogen has been fixed at 18.789 rupees per kilogram, for Phosphorus it is 45.323 rupees per Kg, for Potash 10.116 rupees per Kg and 2.374 rupees per Kilogram for Sulphur.
The total amount of rollover will be 28,602 crore rupees and a special one-time package of additional subsidy on Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) at a tentative cost of 5,716 crore rupees has also been provided. The net subsidy required for the rabi season for 2021-22 will be 28,655 crore rupees after deducting savings.
The CCEA also approved the inclusion of Potash derived from Molasses under the Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme.
It will give 438 rupees per bag benefit on Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) and 100 rupees per bag benefit on NPK grades so as to maintain prices of these fertilizers affordable to the farmers.

Source : All India Radio

13 OCTOBER 2021 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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