Daily Current Capsules
28,29 and 30 June 2023
Port Beira
- INS Sunayna, based at Southern Naval Command Kochi, entered Port Beira, Mozambique
- To enhance Maritime partnership and interoperability, both Navies will engage in professional exchanges, cross-deck visits and sports fixtures.
Port of Beira
- The Port of Beira is a Mozambican port located in the city of Beira, the capital of the Sofala Province.
- It is located in Sofala Bay, which forms a huge complex with the mouth of the Pungoe River, known as the Beira estuary, facing the Mozambique Channel.
- It is the second largest port in Mozambique, built to replace the port of Old Sofala in the 1890s.
Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting between India and Tanzania
- The second edition of the Joint Defence Cooperation Committee (JDCC) meeting between India and Tanzania was held in Arusha
Meeting Highlights
- During the meeting, the two sides discussed a wide range of opportunities for collaboration with a view to enhancing security in the Indian Ocean Region.
- The Indian delegation highlighted the growing prowess of the Indian Defence manufacturing to export to friendly countries.
- A five-year roadmap for defence cooperation was also agreed to between the two sides, which covers initiatives ranging from customised training & capacity building to maritime cooperation, infrastructure building and collaboration in defence equipment and technology.
Statistics Day is celebrated on 29th June 2023
- In recognition of the notable contributions made by (late) Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the field of statistics and economic planning, the Government of India has been celebrating his birth Anniversary, on 29th June, as “Statistics Day”, every year since 2007.
Theme
- The theme of this year’s Statistics Day is Alignment of State Indicator Framework with National Indicator Framework for Monitoring Sustainable Development Goals
Professor Mahalanobis
- Professor Mahalanobis was part of the first planning commission of India and was instrumental in establishing the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in 1931.
- Mahalanobis is best known for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure used to find the distance between a point and a distribution.
- Prof Mahalanobis also established the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in 1950.
Event Highlights
- The Sustainable Development Goals-National Indicator Framework, Progress Report, 2023 was released during the event.
- Along with the report, Data Snapshot on Sustainable Development Goals-National Indicator Framework, 2023 and Sustainable Development Goals-National Indicator Framework, 2023 were also released.
Significance
- The significance of Statistics Day is to create public awareness in the young generation about the role and importance of statistics in strategizing, economic planning and policy formulation. The occasion is celebrated as a reminder to learn from the achievements of Professor Mahalanobis in the field of statistics.
National Statistics Day is not be confused with World Statistics Day, which is a UN-designated day and is celebrated on October 20 every 5 years.
Associated Ministry
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
- The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is a ministry of Government of India concerned with coverage and quality aspects of statistics released.
- The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) came into existence as an Independent Ministry on 15 October 1999 after the merger of the Department of Statistics and the Department of Programme Implementation.
- The Ministry has two wings, one relating to Statistics and the other Programme Implementation.
- The Statistics Wing called the National Statistical Office (NSO) consists of the Central Statistical Office (CSO), the Computer center and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
- The Programme Implementation Wing has three Divisions, namely, (i) Twenty Point Programme (ii) Infrastructure Monitoring and Project Monitoring and (iii) Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme.
- Besides these two wings, there is National Statistical Commission created through a Resolution of Government of India (MOSPI) and one autonomous Institute, viz., Indian Statistical Institute declared as an institute of National importance by an Act of Parliament.
Ulta Rath Yatra at Kumarghat, Tripura
- The Prime Minister has expressed deep grief over the loss of lives in the mishap during the Ulta Rath Yatra at Kumarghat, Tripura.
Ulta Rath Yatra
- The ‘Ulta Rath Yatra’ festival is celebrated to commemorate the return of the revered deities, Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath, to their sacred abode, occurring one week after the Rath Yatra.
Vitasta
- The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi praised the wonderful initiative “Vitasta-The Festival of Kashmir” showcasing rich culture, arts and crafts of Kashmir.
Know! about Vitasta
- Vitasta program was organized to take the rich art, culture, literature, craft and cuisine of Kashmir to the whole country.
- Vitasta festival organised by – Ministry of Culture
- The festival focuses on the folk beliefs associated with the Vitasta (Jhelum) river, which has been considered very sacred since Vedic times.
- This river finds mention in many ancient texts like Neelmat Purana, Vitasta Mahamaya, Harcharita Chintamani, and Rajatarangini and it is believed that the pure currents of this revered river destroy all the evils of human nature,
- The series of these programmes, which started from Chennai, ended in Srinagar, in which the youth showed enthusiasm to know the Kashmiri culture.
- Many events like workshops, art installation camps, seminars, craft exhibitions were organised to bring Kashmir culture to the masses, in which people participated and got acquainted with the culture of Kashmir.
PRAGATI Interaction
- Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the meeting of the 42nd edition of PRAGATI, the ICT-based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving Centre and State governments.
- In the meeting, twelve key projects were reviewed.
- During PRAGATI meetings, 340 projects having total cost Rs 17.05 lakh crore have been reviewed till now.
Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI).
- PRAGATI is an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) platform under the ambit of Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)
- It reviews and monitors various Government Projects across the country.
- It was launched in 2015.
- It is an interactive and integrated platform chiefly for addressing the grievances of the common man, while at the same time, monitoring government projects and programmes/schemes.
- The platform was designed by the PMO in coordination with the National Informatics Centre.
- It brings together the different secretaries of the GOI and the States’ Chief Secretaries, along with the Prime Minister.
Aims of the PRAGATI platform:
- Project implementation
- Project monitoring
- Grievance redressal
The platform combines three technologies namely
- Digital data management
- Video conferencing
- Geo-spatial technology
Kreta-Vikreta Gaurav Samman Samaroh 2023.
- GeM India have been recognised and rewarded at the Kreta-Vikreta Gaurav Samman Samaroh 2023.
- MOHFW wins Kreta Vikreta Gaurav Sammaan Samaaroh 2023.
- The award event was organised by Government e-Marketplace of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
- The awards were organised to celebrate those who share the vision of a transparent, inclusive and efficient public procurement landscape in India.
Know! about GeM
- GeM facilitates online procurement of common use Goods & Services required by various Government Departments / Organisations / PSUs.
- The initiative was launched in August 2016, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
- It provides the tools of e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users, achieve the best value for their money and aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement.
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, has given its approval for ratification of the Headquarters Agreement (HQA) between Government of India (Gol) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) signed on 22nd August, 2022.
Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) -background
- The CDRI was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India during the United Nations Climate Action Summit on the 23’d September, 2019, at New York.
- It is a major global initiative launched by the Government of India and is seen as India’s attempts to obtain a global leadership role in climate change and disaster resilience matters.
- On the 28* August, 2019, the Cabinet had approved the setting up of CDRI along with its supporting Secretariat in New Delhi and also gave the approval for Government of India financial support of Rs. 480 crore to CDRI over a period of 5 years from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
- Subsequently, on the 29th June, 2022, the Cabinet had approved recognition of CDRI as an International Organization and for signing of Headquarters Agreement (HQA) for granting CDRI exemptions, immunities and privileges as contemplated under Section-3 of the UN (P&I) Act, 1947.
- In pursuance of the Cabinet decision, on 22nd August, 2022 the HQA was signed between the Gol and CDRI.
Know! more about CDRI
- It is a global partnership of National Governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, academic and knowledge institutions that aims to promote the resilience of infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks, thereby ensuring sustainable development.
- Since its launch, thirty-one (31) Countries, six (06) International Organizations and two (02) private sector organizations have become members of CDRI.
- CDRI has been expanding its membership consistently by attracting a wide variety of economically advanced countries, developing countries, and countries that are most vulnerable to climate change and disasters.
- Ratification of the signed Headquarters Agreement between Gol and CDRI will facilitate grant of exemptions, immunities and privileges as contemplated under Section- 3 of the United Nations (Privileges & Immunities) Act, 1947 will provide CDRI an independent and international legal persona so that it can carry out its functions internationally, more efficiently.
National Research Foundation Bill, 2023
- The Union Cabinet, approved the introduction of the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, 2023 in the Parliament.
National Research Foundation (NRF) – Highlights
- The approved Bill will pave the way to establish NRF that will seed, grow and promote Research and Development (R&D) and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories.
- The bill, after approval in the Parliament, will establish NRF, an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country as per recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP), at a total estimated cost of Rs. 50,000 crore during five years (2023-28).
- The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be the administrative Department of NRF which will be governed by a Governing Board consisting of eminent researchers and professionals across disciplines.
- The Prime Minister will be the ex-officio President of the Board and the Union Minister of Science & Technology & Union Minister of Education will be the ex-officio Vice-Presidents.
- NRF’s functioning will be governed by an Executive Council chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
- NRF will forge collaborations among the industry, academia, and government departments and research institutions, and create an interface mechanism for participation and contribution of industries and State governments in addition to the scientific and line ministries.
- It will focus on creating a policy framework and putting in place regulatory processes that can encourage collaboration and increased spending by the industry on R&D.
- The bill will also repeal the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) established by an act of Parliament in 2008 and subsume it into NRF
Report Fish Disease App
- Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India launched an android-based mobile app as “Report Fish Disease”
- The ‘Report Fish Disease’ has been developed by ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources (NBFGR), Lucknow and launched under the National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases.
Background:
- The Department of Fisheries has allocated ₹33.78 crore for a period of three years for the implementation of the second phase of the NSPAAD under the PMMSY scheme.
- With the launch of this App, NSPAAD was able to meet the national and international obligations through transparent reporting.
- The app will be a central platform for connecting and will integrate fish farmers, field-level officers and fish health experts seamlessly.
- The disease problem faced by the farmers will now reach to the experts and the problem will be addressed in efficient manner within a short period of time.
Benefits:
- The farmers using this app will be able to connect directly to district fisheries officers and scientists.
- The Farmers and stakeholders can make self-reporting of diseases of finfish, shrimps and molluscs on their farms through this app
- Early warning system and scientific advice being provided to the farmers will be helping the farmers to reduce their losses due to diseases
Relevant Schemes
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
The Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying under central sector component of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) has approved two projects
- National Surveillance Programme on Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD)
- Genetic Improvement Programme of Penaeus indicus (Indian white shrimp)
Features
National Surveillance Programme on Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD)
- To improve the collection of information on the distribution and occurrence of aquatic animal diseases
- To rapidly detect new and exotic infectious diseases in aquatic animals
- To implement a national information management system for aquatic animal diseases of national concern
- To carry out effective active and passive disease surveillance programme in the coastal districts
- To develop a disease database based on the outcome of surveillance programme
- To create awareness among farmers about the impact of disease and surveillance programme
Genetic Improvement Programme of Penaeus indicus (Indian white shrimp)
- To Establish pilot-scale shrimp breeding and domestication facility for Genetic improvement program (GIP)
- To refine the technology for captive maturation, breeding, seed production and indigenous feed processing for different life stages of the Indian white shrimp.
- To refine and optimize different farming models of Indian white shrimp with a special focus on eco-friendly sustainable farming with better utilization of input resources.
- To establish a baseline population after characterizing the genetic diversity, perform short term selection program assessing suitable traits and genetic gains for the genetically improved stock.
DURAND CUP
- The Chief of the Army Staff flagged off the “Trophy Tour” of the 132nd edition of Durand Cup, India’s oldest football tournament at a ceremony organised at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantt on 30 June 2023.
- The tournament is scheduled to commence at Kolkata from 03 August to 03 September 2023.
Know! about Durand Cup
- Durand Cup is Asia’s oldest and the world’s third oldest football tournament, in which top Indian football clubs from across the country participate.
- Organised by the Indian Armed Forces, the Durand Cup has been the breeding ground for India’s best footballing talent over the years.
- The inaugural edition took place in Shimla in 1888, when it started off as an Army Cup, open only to the British Indian Army troops in India, but soon opened up to civilian teams as well.
- The Durand Cup tournament is unique where in the winning team walks away with three trophies, i.e the Durand Cup (a rolling trophy and the original prize), the Shimla Trophy (also a rolling trophy and first given by the residents of Shimla in 1904) and the President’s Cup (for permanent keep and first presented by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, India’s first President, in 1956).
- The 132nd edition of the tournament will witness participation of 24 teams including teams from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, the foreign teams are taking part in the tournament after a gap of 27 years.
- The tournament is open to all club teams and conducted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) under the aegis of All India Football Federation (AIFF).
KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving
TEAM CL/GKP