Daily Current Capsules

25 26 and 27 July 2023

International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi
• Named as  ‘Bharat Mandapam’
• Behind the name ‘Bharat Mandapam’ there is the inspiration of ‘Anubhav Mandapam’ of Bhagwan Basaveshwara.
• Anubhav Mandapam represented the tradition of debate and expression.

IECC Highlights

• World-class infrastructure for hosting meetings, conferences and exhibitions in the country has led to the conceptualization of the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) at Pragati Maidan.
• The IECC complex has been developed as India’s largest MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) destination.
• The shape of the building is derived from the Shankha (conch shell), and different walls and facades of the Convention Centre depict several elements of India’s traditional art and culture including ‘Surya Shakti’ highlighting India’s efforts in harnessing solar energy,  ‘Zero to ISRO’, celebrating our achievements in space,  Pancha Mahabhuta signifying the building blocks of universal foundation – Aakash (Sky), Vayu (Air), Agni (Fire), Jal (Water), Prithvi (Earth), among others.
• Further, the IECC complex features seven exhibition halls and each one serves as a versatile
• The development of the new IECC complex at Pragati Maidan will help in the promotion of India as a global business destination.

Anubhava Mantapa

• Anubhava Mantapa, established by Basavanna in the 12th century C.E. is located in Basavakalyan in Bidar district of Karnataka.
• It is the first religious parliament in the world, whose literal meaning is “experience pavilion”, and was an academy of mystics, saints and philosophers of the lingayat faith in the 12th century.
• It was the fountainhead of all religious and philosophical thought pertaining to the lingayat.
• Prabhudeva, a great Yogi of extraordinary achievement, was the president and Lord Basava acted as the prime minister.
• Chennabasava can be compared to the speaker while at the same time working as the editor, and compiler of Vachana literature.
• The only difference between the present day parliament and Anubhava Mantapa is that the members were not elected by the people, but were picked up or nominated by the higher authorities of the Mantapa; the necessary qualification expected being spiritual attainment.
• The problems tackled were of a various nature covering social, religious, spiritual, yogic psychological, economic and literary spheres.
• The Anubhava Mantapa is also called the Mahaamane.
• Anubhava Mantapa was the first parliment in history of mankind.

PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras

• Prime Minister released the 14^th instalment of the PM-KISAN scheme
• The event was organised jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers

The event highlights the following key initiatives:

1. Dedicating 1,25,000 PMKSKs to the nation: The  Prime Minister will  dedicate 1.25 lakh PM Kisan Samriddhi Kendras to the Nation. Government is converting the retail fertilizer shops in the country into PMKSKs in a phased manner. PMKSKs will cater to a wide variety of needs of the farmers and provide agri-inputs (fertilizers, seeds, implements), testing facilities for soil, seeds, and fertilizers; generate awareness among farmers; provide information regarding various government schemes and ensure regular capacity building of retailers at block/district level outlets.
2. Release of 14^th instalment of PM-KISAN: The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) is one of the world’s largest Direct Benefit Transfer schemes. A flagship scheme of the Government of India, it exemplifies the continued commitment of the Government of India to initiate policy actions for an inclusive and productive agricultural sector. It is a central sector scheme launched on 24^th February 2019 to supplement the financial needs of all land-holding farmers subject to certain exclusion criteria of higher income status. Financial benefit of Rs 6000/- per year in three equal instalments, every four months is transferred into the bank accounts of farmers’ families across the country through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
3. Launch of Sulphur Coated Urea (Urea Gold): The application of Sulphur Coated Urea, known as Urea Gold, will address sulphur deficiencies in the soil. This innovative fertilizer is more economical and efficient than Neem-Coated urea, ensuring improved nitrogen use efficiency, reduced consumption, and enhanced crop quality.
4. Launch of 1,600 FPOs On-boarded on ONDC: The FPO initiative was launched in February 2020 with a total budget of INR 6,865 Cr to set up 10,000 new FPOs in the next 5 years. The ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) will witness the on boarding of 1,600 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). ONDC empowers FPOs with direct access to digital marketing, online payment, B2B and B2C transactions, and encourages local value addition, catalysing growth of logistics in rural areas.
5. Inauguration of 5 Medical Colleges and Laying of foundation stone for 7 Medical colleges: The Prime Minister will be inaugurating 5 medical colleges in Rajasthan at Dholpur, Chittorgarh, Sirohi, Sri Ganganagar and Sikar. Besides, he will lay foundation stone for 7 more medical colleges to come up in the state.
6. Inauguration of 6 Eklavya Model Residential Schools and One Kendriya Vidyalaya: The programme also includes inauguration of 6 Eklavya Model Residential schools in Rajasthan and one Kendriya Vidyalaya at Tinwari in Jodhpur District of Rajasthan by the Prime Minister.

Global Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India

• The  Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) is organizing the 3^rd edition of the Summit on “Global Chemicals and Petrochemicals Manufacturing Hubs in India” (GCPMH 2023) on 27^th – 28^th July 2023 at New Delhi.
• Summit type and inception – biennially since 2019.

Summit Objective

• The summit will bring together global leaders, CEOs, government authorities, key industry players, state governments and subject matter experts from around the globe in an open dialogue to discuss the key developments, sectoral issues and the way forward with respect to Indian chemicals and petrochemicals industry.
• It will help to develop possible strategies, sharing insights, exploring opportunities and addressing challenges which will shape the Chemicals and Petrochemicals Industry in India and across the world in the next decade.

Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar

• Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation launched a unique initiative ‘Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar’  as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav 
• It is a pan-India initiative of Ministry of Culture under National Mission on Cultural Mapping.
• The Ministry of Culture initiated ‘Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar’ (MGMD) project under National Mission on Cultural Mapping in coordination with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
• The main objective the project is to culturally map India’s 6.5 lakh villages, spanning 29 States and 7 Union Territories, on a comprehensive virtual platform.
• Through MGMD, people will get an opportunity to immerse themselves in the diverse and vibrant cultural heritage of India.
• The core idea behind this project is to encourage appreciation for India’s culture and traditions, paving way for economic growth, social harmony, and artistic development in rural communities.

Digital village journey

• This comprehensive portal showcases essential information about each village, including its geographical location, demographic aspects, and description of traditional dresses, ornaments, arts and crafts, temples, fairs, festivals, and much more.
• It serves as a one-stop destination for discovering, exploring, researching, and virtually visiting every village in the country.

‘India AI’ and Meta, India sign MoU to foster advancements in AI & Emerging Technologies

• In order to foster collaboration in the field of AI and Emerging Technologies, ‘India AI’ – an IBD under Digital India Corporation and Meta, India have signed an MoU

MoU Objective

• The objective of the MoU is to establish a framework for collaboration and cooperation between ‘India AI’ and Meta in the field of Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technologies including to make Meta’s open-source AI models available for use by Indian AI ecosystem.
• ‘India AI’ and Meta have entered into a collaboration aimed at advancing research and development in AI & Emerging Technologies, seeking breakthroughs in AI technology and its applications.
• Leveraging Meta’s AI research models like LlaMA, Massively Multilingual Speech, and No Language Left Behind, the partnership will focus on building datasets in Indian Languages to enable translation and large language models, with priority given to low-resource languages.
• This effort will foster social inclusion, improve government service delivery, and spur innovation using large language models, Generative AI, cognitive systems, and translation models.
• India AI and Meta will strive to enhance accessibility to AI compute resources for researchers, startups, and organizations with limited resources.

INDIAai

• INDIAai is a web portal launched by the Government of India in May 2022 for artificial intelligence related developments in India.
• It is known as the National AI Portal of India, which was jointly started by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) with support from the Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L) and Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Lok Sabha passes the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023

• Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change moved the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill 2023 as reported by the Joint Committee of Parliament to be taken into consideration in Lok Sabha and subsequently requested the House to get the Bill passed.
• After deliberations and taking the views of Members of Parliaments, the Lok Sabha passed the Bill.
• The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, is an important Central statute for the conservation of forests in the country.
• The Bill seeks to amend the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
• The Government contention of proposed amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 is to incentivize private agro-forestry and tree plantation activities.

Salient Features of The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023

• The name of the Act is changed to (Sanrakshan Evam Samvardhan) Adhiniyam (translated as Forest Conservation and Augmentation) from the existing Forest (Conservation) Act.
• The Act would only apply to lands notified in, any Government record, as forest on or after 1980.
• If notified forest land was legally diverted between 1980 and 1996, for non-forest use, the Forest (Conservation) Act would not apply.
• For forest land situated 100 km away from international borders and to be used for strategic projects of national importance or for land ranging from 5-10 hectares for security and defence projects – the proposed Act will not be applicable.
• With the removal of the impediments now, the private parties can develop private plantations in degraded forests, or they can restore tree patches.

Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980

• The 1980 legislation was enacted to protect India’s forests and empowers the Central Government to regulate the extraction of forest resources – from timber and bamboo to coal and minerals by industries as well as forest-dwelling communities.
• A separate Act, the Forest Rights Act, 2006 protects the rights of tribals and forest-dwellers dependent on forests for their livelihood.
• During 1951-1975, about four million hectares of forest land has been diverted for various non-forestry purposes.
• From 1980 to 2023, under the purview of the Act, only a million hectares have been diverted and this clearly indicates the impact of the Act in reducing the pace of forest appropriation.

Concerns

• The Act waters down the Godavarman judgment.
• Restricting the legislation’s ambit only to areas recorded as “forests” on or after October 25, 1980, would mean leaving out significant sections of forest land and many biodiversity hot spots. Bulk of the Aravallis, tiger habitats of the Terai and Central India, parts of the Western Ghats and the biodiversity hot spots of the north-east may no longer be considered ‘forest’ and can potentially be sold, diverted, cleared, felled, utilized, exploited without any regulatory oversight.
• The exemptions proposed could be detrimental to significant forests in the Himalayan, trans-Himalayan and northeastern regions. Clearing such forests without an appropriate assessment and mitigation plan will threaten the biodiversity of vulnerable ecological and geologically sensitive areas and may trigger extreme weather events.
• Zoos, safaris and ecotourism facilities have been couched in the language of management and conservation of wildlife and forests, but these can be destructive. Safari parks such as the one proposed in the Aravallis will destroy the native vegetation and wildlife habitat.
• Massive tourism infrastructure has obliterated and fragmented wild habitats and corridors. The recent two examples are the Corbett landscape and Nilgiri Biosphere reserve.
• The move to allow forests to be used for “any other purposes specified by the Central Government” and vaguely defined term can potentially open the proverbial floodgates, easing the way for forests to be diverted from a mine to a mall and any purpose in between.
• The carbon sequestration potential of natural forests is 40 times greater as compared to plantations. Neither are plantations effective at harbouring biodiversity, nor at performing ecosystem functions.
• Forest conservation comes under the domain of both the Centre and States, i.e., in the Concurrent List, and the amendments tilted the balance towards the Centre.

Godavarman Thirumulpad Judgement Of 1996

• Originally, protection of 1980 Act was only available for areas already marked out as forest in Central or State Government records.
• A Supreme Court judgment in 1996 in the Godavarman Thirumulpad case, expanded the scope of such protection. Under it, even areas not formally notified as forest, but confirming to the dictionary meaning of forest, were protected.
• There is no all-encompassing definition of a forest and the Thirumalpad judgment directed States to define and demarcate forests using their own criteria.
• Not all States did, and over the years, there has been considerable debate over the extent to which the judgment abetted forest conservation!

Meri Maati Mera Desh

• Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) started on 12^th March, 2021 with a march from Sabarmati to Dandi.
• Now, Meri Maati Mera Desh campaign is envisaged as a culminating event of Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The campaign contains several programmes to be organized in rural areas covering Vasudha Vandan, Shila Phalakam (memorial).
• The programmes of this event should be planned well in advance and be organized during 9^th to 15^th August,2023.
• The selected youths from about 7500 blocks will assemble at Kartavya Path, Delhi.
• They will be carrying mitti (soil) from all the villages/Gram Panchayats of their States in the mega event to be organized in the month of August, 2023.
• The Amrit Vatika to be constructed at Kartavaya Path as outcome of Vasudha Vandan will have indigenous plants and Shilaphalakam.

VasudhaVandan.

• Each Gram Panchayat/village will renew and replenish mother earth by planting 75 saplings of indigenous species under VasudhaVandan.
• The VasudhaVandan programme may be carried out at the site of Amrit Sarovar or any water body or otherwise public places such as schools, Gram Panchayat Bhawans or any appropriate place decided by the Gram Panchayat.

Shilaphalakam.

• The fundamental aspect of the programme is to express heartfelt attitude towards all the veers who have made supreme sacrifice for the nation.

GSI confirms an inferred resource (G3) of 5.9 million tonne Lithium ore  in Reasi District, J & K

• Geological Survey of India has carried out a ‘preliminary exploration’ i.e. G3 stage mineral exploration project on Bauxite, Rare Earth Elements and Lithium in  Salal-Haimna areas of Reasi District, Jammu & Kashmir during FS 2020-21 & 2021- 22 and has confirmed an inferred resource (G3) of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium ore.
• There are scattered houses in the mineralised block of Salal-Haimna, Reasi District, Jammu & Kashmir.
• The processing and refining methods for lithium ore can vary depending on the type of lithium deposit, the characteristics of the ore, and the intended end-use of the lithium compounds.
• India is capable of developing technologies for beneficiation of lithium ore to lithium mineral concentrate.
• Successful experimentation has been done for extraction of lithium from mineral concentrate in laboratory scale.
• The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research under Department of Atomic Energy has established 1600 tonnes (inferred category) lithium resource in  Marlagalla area, Mandya District, Karnataka.

Permanent Aadhaar Enrolment Centre (PAEC)

• Director General Postal Services inaugurated first Permanent Aadhaar Enrolment Centre (PAEC) for Army at 1 Central Base Post Office (CBPO), New Delhi
• The PAEC will facilitate Aadhaar related services (enrolment and updation) for tri-services personnel (Defence & civil) and their dependents through their Field Post Offices (FPO) in 48 identified locations in the country.
• All Command HQs, Corps HQs and selected FPOs are identified for establishment of PAEC services.
• Department of Posts (DoP) and UIDAI, have supported immensely for establishment of these PAEC in terms of training, equipment’s and tech support. These 48 PAEC will be functional in both Field and Peace locations.

Bus Roof Mounted Air Purification Systems (BRMAPS)

• Government is exploring the potential of Bus Roof Mounted Air Purification Systems (BRMAPS) to capture Particulate Matter in the highly polluted cities.
• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), a Statutory Body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has installed Pariyayantra Filtration units on top of 30 buses to filter dust in Delhi-NCR.
• CPCB conducted pilot trials of various new technologies for management and improvement of air quality in Delhi-NCR through premier institutions.
• A pilot study was conducted on the deployment and evaluation of Wind Augmentation and Purifying (WAYU) units for traffic junction pollution abatement in Delhi.
• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CSIR-CECRI), Karaikudi and CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur are engaged in the R&D activities to address air pollution issues in six cities i.e. Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai.
• Department of Science and Technology (DST) has supported Research & Development (R&D) project for development of indigenous photonic system for real time remote monitoring of air quality parameters.

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