28 JUNE 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS

 1.ARUN JAITLEY RECREATION CUM SPORTS COMPLEXES

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh asked the authorities to expedite the work on Arun Jaitley multiple complex, coming up in this border area of Hiranagar, Jammu.

About:

• It is going to be among the three or four largest Recreation cum Sports Complexes in the country, probably after Ahmedabad and Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
• It is in memory of Late Arun Jaitley who was known to promote the youth talent
• Funded by the Centre, the Foundation Stone of this project was laid soon after the first death anniversary of Arun Jaitley. 

Important Info :

• Arun Jaitley
• Arun Jaitley (1952 – 2019) was an Indian politician and attorney. He was a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India.
• A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Jaitley served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India from 2014 to 2019.
• He oversaw the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax which brought the country under one GST regime, demonetisation, merger of Railway budget with general budget and introduction of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
• He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, posthumously in 2020 in the field of Public Affairs.
• On 12 September 2019, Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla stadium was renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium as he was once the president of Delhi & District Cricket Association (DDCA) and also the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Source : PIB

2.LGBTQIA+

Empathising with the LGBTQIA+ community, the Madras High Court directed the Union Ministry of Social Justice to enlist NGOs that could provide counselling, monetary support, legal assistance and protection to them until a law could be enacted to protect them.

About:

• Ministry should upload the details of the NGOs on its website within eight weeks and revise the information periodically. Any person who faced an issue because he/she/they belonged to the LGBTQIA+ community could approach any of the enlisted NGOs for safeguarding their rights.
• NGOs should also coordinate with the police with respect to offences committed against them.
• Appropriate changes should be made to the existing government short stay homes, anganwadi shelters, Garima Greh (shelter home for transgender persons) for providing accommodation, food, medical care facilities to those from the community in need of such assistance.
• Sensitisation programmes could also be conducted for stakeholders, including police and prison authorities, judges, physical and mental health professionals, educational institutions, health workers, public and private workplaces.
• LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and such others’ (LGBTQIA+) community.

Source : The Hindu

3.SINGLE USE PLASTICS

Environment minister announced the “India Plastic Challenge – Hackathon 2021” to spur innovation and entrepreneurship in area of tackling plastic waste pollution and elimination of single use plastic.

About:

• It is a unique competition calling upon start-ups /entrepreneurs and students of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to develop innovative solutions to mitigate plastic pollution and develop alternatives to single use plastics.
• Steps in India
• PM Modi gave a clarion call to phase out single use plastics by 2022
• Government of India has already banned import of plastic waste in the country.
• Ministry of Environment brought out Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, for handling plastic waste in an environmentally sound manner. Under the rules plastic carry bags below 50 microns have been banned.
• Further, the Ministry has issued a draft notification in March 2021 for amending the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, with respect to prohibiting identified 12 single use plastic items such as disposable plastic cutlery etc.”

Source : PIB

4.E-CONTENT FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

Union Education Minister released guidelines for the Development of e-Content for Children with Disabilities prepared by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education.

About:

• A comprehensive initiative, PM e-VIDYA was launched on 17th May 2020, with an aim to unify all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education.
• The programme interalia envisages development of special e-content for the Divyang (Children with Disabilities-CwDs).
• For the first time, an attempt was made to prepare guidelines for CwD also referred to as Children with Special Needs (CWSN) children so that the goal of inclusive education is fulfilled. 

Important Info :

• The salient highlights of the e- content guidelines in the report are:
• e-Content for CwDs should be developed based on the four principles namely: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
• e-Content including text, tables, diagrams, visuals, audios, videos etc. should comply with accessibility standards: national standards (GIGW 2.0) and international standards (WCAG 2.1, E-Pub, DAISY etc).
• Distribution platforms on which content is uploaded (e.g. DIKSHA) and Reading platforms/devices on which content is accessed and interacted (e.g. e-pathshala) must comply with technical standards
• In a phased manner textbooks may be adapted into Accessible Digital Textbooks (ADTs).

Source : PIB

5.NATIONAL MEDICINAL PLANTS BOARD (NMPB)

Minister of State for Ayush (IC), released an e-book “20 Medicinal Plants for 2021 for Covid-19 care”. National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB), has prepared it. NMPB and National Botanical Research Institute(CSIR-NBRI), Lucknow signed an MoU to boost the cultivation of medicinal plants and herbs in India.

About NMPB:

• In order to promote medicinal plants sector, Government of India set up National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) on 24th November 2000. Currently the board is working under the Ministry of AYUSH
• NMPB is mandated to coordinate all matters relating to medicinal plants and support Policies and Programs for growth of trade, export, conservation and cultivation of medicinal plants.
• HQ: Delhi.

Source : PIB

6.INDIA’S FIRST VSC BASED HVDC SYSTEM

POWERGRID has fully commissioned India’s First Voltage Source Convertor (VSC) based High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) System.

About:

• It has commissioned Monopole-I of the 2000 Mega-Watt (MW), Pugalur (Tamil Nadu) – Thrissur (Kerala) Voltage Source Convertor (VSC) based High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) System.
• This Project strengthens the power system of Southern Region of our Country.
• Monopole-II of the project was inaugurated by PM Modi in February, 2021 and with the commissioning of Monopole-I, the project has attained its full capacity.
• The Pugalur-Thrissur HVDC system, costing Rs. 5070 crore, is a part of the Raigarh-Pugalur-Thrissur 6000 MW HVDC system and enables transfer of 2000 MW to Kerala through the VSC HVDC station at Thrissur.

Important Info :

• Voltage Source Convertor (VSC)
• An HVDC converter converts electric power from high voltage alternating current (AC) to high-voltage direct current (HVDC), or vice versa.
• Electronic converters for HVDC are divided into two main categories.
• Line-commutated converters (HVDC classic) are made with electronic switches that can only be turned on.
• Voltage-sourced converters are made with switching devices that can be turned both on and off. It uses transistors, usually the Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT).
• Benefits
• The VSC technology significantly reduces the land requirement compared to the conventional HVDC systems and is particularly suitable for areas, where land is scarce.
• It also facilitates development of smart grid and improves system resilience under various operating conditions.
• The state-of-the-art VSC Technology has been brought to India for the first time by POWERGRID through this Project.

Source : PIB

7.DEFENCE INDUSTRIAL CORRIDORS IN INDIA

During a webinar on India-Sweden Defence Industry Cooperation, Rajnath Singh invited Swedish firms to invest in Defence Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

About:

• To support the growth of the Defence sector and enhance manufacturing capacity in the sector, Two Defence Industrial Corridors are being set up in India, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu.
• Promoting Make in India, the Defence Industrial Corridors will catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace-related items. This will reduce our imports and promote the export of these items to other countries.
• Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor consists of the following six nodal points with the potential to develop defence industries in the corridor: Agra, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur and Lucknow.
• The Tamil Nadu Defence Corridor, being set up by the Government of Tamil Nadu, consists of the following five nodal points: Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem and Tiruchirappalli

Source : PIB

8.SARDAR SAROVAR DAM

Sardar Sarovar Dam is providing irrigation water in summer for the first time in history.

About:

• The Sardar Sarovar Narmada Dam is a terminal dam built on the Narmada river at Kevadia in Gujarat’s Narmada district.
• According to the 1979 award of the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal, the power benefits from the project are to be shared in the following ratio: Madhya Pradesh at 57 per cent, Maharashtra at 27 per cent, and Gujarat at 16 per cent.

Important Info :

• Garudeshwar Weir
• Garudeshwar weir is being constructed on the river Narmada near the Statue of Unity.
• The total height of the weir will be 31.75 metre.
• It is located at Garudeshwar at a distance of 9 kilometre from Sadhu bet island and 12 kilometre downstream from Sardar Sarovar dam.

Source : Indian Express

9.PMAY (URBAN)

The Government approved 708 proposals for construction of 3.61 lakh houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U). With this, as on date, the total number of sanctioned houses under PMAY(U) is now 112.4 of which 48.31 lakh have been completed/delivered.

• PMAY- U Awards 2021 - 100 Days Challenge
• In addition, ‘PMAY- U Awards 2021 - 100 Days Challenge’ was also launched by Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) .
• The awards are given to recognize and celebrate the outstanding performances by States, Union Territories (UTs), Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and beneficiaries for successful implementation of the Mission.
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (URBAN)
• Implementation period: The Mission will be implemented during 2015-2022.
• Mission: To achieve the goal of Housing for All in Urban areas by 2022, when the Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.
• Features: Under it, central assistance will be provided to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and other implementing agencies through States/UTs for:
• In-situ Rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers using land as a resource through private participation
• Credit Linked Subsidy
• Affordable Housing in Partnership
• Subsidy for Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancement.
• Funding: Credit linked subsidy component will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme while other three components will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).
• Eligibility: All statutory towns as per Census 2011 and towns notified subsequently would be eligible for coverage under the Mission.

Source : PIB

10.LADAKH RESERVES ALL JOBS FOR REGION RESIDENTS

All jobs in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh have been reserved for the residents of the region, according to an order issued by Lieutenant-Governor R.K. Mathur.

About:

• No person shall be qualified for appointment to the service unless the person is a resident of the UT of Ladakh.
• The new recruitment rules are mentioned in the Clause 11 of the Union Territory of Ladakh Employment (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2021.
• The move has met a long-pending demand of the people of Ladakh, after it was carved out as a UT on August 5, 2019.
• The population of Ladakh, which comprises the districts of Leh and Kargil, is around 2.8 lakh as per the last census.
• Last year, J&K introduced the domicile certificate as eligibility criteria for appointment to government services.

Source : The Hindu