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PM CARES for Children Scheme UPSC The Union government announced a special “PM-CARES for Children” scheme for all those orphaned due to COVID-19. It will include a corpus of 10 lakh for each child till he or she reaches the age of 18. Children who have lost both parents or the lone surviving parent or their legal guardian or adoptive parent due to COVID-19 will be supported under the scheme. The Women and Child Development Ministry has said that there are a total 577 CO
YUVA- Prime Minister’s Scheme For Mentoring Young Authors The Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education today launched YUVA- Prime Minister’s Scheme For Mentoring Young Authors, an Author Mentorship programme to train young and budding authors (below 30 years of age) in order to promote reading, writing and book culture in the country, and project India and Indian writings globally. The launch of YUVA (Young, Upcoming and Versatile Authors) is in t
APEDA (Agri and Processed Food Export Development Authority), 1985 It is a statutory body under APEDA Act, 1985. It functions under Commerce Ministry. Functions Export promotion and development of scheduled products like fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, dairy, confectionary, biscuits, bakery, honey, jaggery, floriculture, etc. by giving them financial assistance, and surveys. Responsibility to monitor the import of Sugar. It r
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India As in March 2021, India has 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups across 18 states and the Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) In India, tribal population makes up for 8.6% of the total population. PVTGs are more vulnerable among the tribal groups. Due to this factor, more developed and assertive tribal groups take a major chunk of the tribal development funds. I
eCourts Project of Supreme Court In another major initiative, the committee Supreme Court has prepared the draft vision document for Phase III of the eCourts Project under the auspices of the Supreme court of India. E-Courts Project is a mission mode project undertaken by the Department of Justice, Government of India. The eCommittee Supreme Court of India yesterday released the Draft Vision document for Phase III of the aforementioned e-Courts Project. The eCommittee of the
Personal guarantors liable for corporate debt Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 It deals with debt default of companies and limited liability entities, partnership firms and individuals. It was based on T K Vishwanathan Committee on Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee (BLRC) in 2014. It proposes a framework to ensure early detection of stress in a business, initation of the insolvency resolution process by the debtor, financial creditor or operational creditor; the liquidation of un
Sunderlal Bahuguna and Chipko Movement The 94-year-old environmentalist succumbed to Covid-19 on May 21, 2021, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. With his demise, India has lost one of the finest environmentalists and social workers who had also been part of India’s freedom movement. About Sundarlal Bahuguna Born in village Maroda near Tehri, Uttarakhand on January 9, 1927, he was an active revolutionary during the Indian Free
Khelo India Programme It is a Central Sector Scheme with 12 components and achieves twin objectives of National Youth Policy, 2001: broad basing sports and achieving excellence in sports. It was introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass root level. Talented players will be given annual financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakh/ year for 8 years. It was launched after merging Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan, Urban Sports Infra Scheme (USIS) and National Sports Ta
Mouda River Rejuvenation Case Study: Water crisis NTPC, Central Public Sector Undertaking under the Ministry of Power in Mouda, Maharashtra has helped over 150 villages in and around its operational area to overcome water crisis through a groundwater rejuvenation project. As part of its CSR initiative, NTPC Mouda is supporting the Jalyukta Shivar Yojana project which has successfully managed to turn Mouda into a water-surplus tehsil. This project was carried out by the Maharashtr
One Stop Centre Scheme One Stop Centre Scheme (OSCs) is a centrally sponsored scheme for addressing the problem of violence against women. One Stop Centre Scheme (OSCs) is being implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It is a sub-scheme of the umbrella scheme for the National Mission for Empowerment of Women including the Indira Gandhi Mattritav Sahyaog Yojana. The scheme is being implemented across the country since 1st April 2015 through State Governments/ Unio
COVID Transmission through Aerosols Aerosols can be carried in the air for up to 10 m and improving the ventilation of indoor spaces will reduce transmission, a government advisory on stopping the spread of COVID-19. The advisory, issued by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, said there was a need to remember the simple measures that could reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. “Ventilation can decrease the risk of transmission from one infe
Sri Lanka passes bill on Laws governing China-backed Colombo Port city The Sri Lankan Parliament on Thursday passed a controversial Bill on laws governing the China-backed Colombo Port City, with a majority of 149 legislators — in the 225-member House — voting in its favour. The development comes after the Supreme Court suggested certain amendments, following over a dozen petitions challenging the Bill that political opposition and civil society groups said “directl
Colombo Port City: China OBOR in Sri Lanka A Chinese-funded tax-free enclave billed as Sri Lanka’s answer to Dubai and Singapore cleared the final legal hurdle on Tuesday as the Supreme Court in Colombo ruled it could go ahead with only minor tweaks. The largest single foreign investment in Sri Lanka is one of several massive Asian infrastructure projects funded by China as Beijing increases its regional footprint. Sri Lanka’s top court rejected 19 petitions challenging the
How are new districts carved? Malerkotla recently became the 23rd district in Punjab Section 5 of the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1887 says the “State government may, by notification, vary the limits and alter the numbers of tehsils, districts and divisions into which the State is divided”. The power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing districts rests with the State governments. This can either be done through an executive order or by passing a law in the St
Iran to develop the Farzad B gas field domestically Iran on Monday gave the Farzad B gas field to Petropars, a domestic gas producer. This is a setback for India’s energy ties with Iran as ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) discovered the gas field in 2000 and has been part of the ongoing cooperation on that front. The Ministry of External Affairs has not yet commented on the development but OVL had discovered the Farzad B gas field in the Farsi region, which is located between the Iranian a
China’s Mars Mission China landed a spacecraft on Mars carrying its first Mars rover in a big boost to its space ambitions, the country’s space agency said on Saturday. China had in July last year launched its first Mars mission, called Tianwen-1, meaning Questions to Heaven, carrying a lander and rover. Tianwen-1 had been in orbit since February, and on Saturday, a lander descended successfully on to the surface of the red planet carrying a rover named Zhurong, named
What is the Iron Dome System? The Iron Dome aerial defence system intercepted a Hamas Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Friday that crossed from Gaza into Israel, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said on social media. Iron Dome is a multi-mission system capable of intercepting rockets, artillery, mortars and Precision Guided Munitions like very short-range air defence (V-SHORAD) systems as well as aircraft, helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) over short ranges of up to 70 km.
What does Community transmission (CT) mean? CT happens when new cases in the last 14 days cannot be traced to those who have an international travel history when cases cannot be linked to a specific cluster. The WHO guidelines further suggest four subcategories within the broader definition of CT. CT-1 implies “low incidence of locally acquired, widely dispersed cases... and low risk of infection for the general population” with the highest, a CT-4 suggesting “very
What is medical oxygen? The air we breathe is a mix of several gases, such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The term ‘medical oxygen’ means high-purity oxygen, which is used for medical treatments and developed for use in the human body. The medical oxygen cylinders actually contain highly pure oxygen gas. To get medical oxygen, a person requires a prescription. To prevent contamination, no other types of gases are allowed in the cylinder. How d
Sovereign Gold Bonds This scheme is for those individuals who intend to purchase gold for investment. These bonds are issued by RBI on behalf of Govt on payment of Rs denominated in gms of Gold. The interest not fixed (unlike G-secs): given on the prevailing price of Gold. Like G-secs, they are backed by a Sovereign guarantee. Gold Monetization Scheme, 2015 The scheme was launched in November 2015 along with sovereign gold bonds and India gold coins.
PRAYAAS Scheme The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) sent the pension payment orders to the retiring employees under the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995 through the “PRAYAAS” initiative. PRAYAAS is an initiative of the EPFO to disburse pension payment orders on the very day of retirement/ superannuation.
Model Insurance Villages The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has come out with the concept of Model Insurance Villages (MIV). The idea behind the MIV concept is to offer comprehensive insurance protection to all the major insurable risks that villagers are exposed to and make available covers at an affordable or subsidised cost. Such MIVs are expected to tackle losses due to natural calamities like floods and earthquakes. There’s no catastrophe insu
State Disaster Response Fund The Centre has released the first instalment of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for 2021-22 to all the States, in the wake of the second wave of COVID-19. Normally, the annual exercise of the release of the first instalment is usually done in June, as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission. As a special dispensation, the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, at the recommendation of the Home Ministry, has released in advance the
China halts economic dialogue with Australia China cut off a channel for diplomatic and trade talks with Australia in a largely symbolic act of fury, following clashes over a wide range of issues, including human rights, espionage and the origins of COVID-19. Tensions between the two sides have soared since Canberra called last year for an independent probe into the origins of the pandemic and banned telecom giant Huawei from building Australia’s 5G network. China — Austral
What is an Oxygen Concentrator? How does a concentrator help? With the demand for medical oxygen continuing unabated and several States struggling to keep pace with demand, the oxygen concentrator has emerged as a sought-after device. Unlike medical oxygen sourced from industrial units, which are supplied via cylinders, concentrators are devices that can be operated at home. When is an oxygen concentrator needed? The device can aid those whose oxygen saturation levels are
G7 countries What is G-7 grouping? It is an intergovernmental organisation that was formed in 1975. The bloc meets annually to discuss issues of common interest like global economic governance, international security and energy policy. The G-7 does not have a formal constitution or a fixed headquarters. The decisions taken by leaders during annual summits are non-binding. G-7 is a bloc of industrialized democracies i.e. France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Un
Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) It is the biggest civilian evacuation exercise to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions. It has surpassed the large-scale airlift of 1,77,000 people in 1990 at the onset of the Gulf War. The mission is undergoing its 10th phase and has carried 32 lakh passengers approximately both inbound and outbound. National carrier Air India, along with its budget carrier Air India Express (AIE) carried out the
International Labour Day and Labour Reforms Context: Labour is an important topic of UPSC GS Paper II and Paper III in Mains Examination. Recent Labour Codes are highly important even for Essay. Labour is in the Concurrent List in Schedule 7 of the Constitution. Hence, both the Parliament and the state legislatures can enact laws on it. International Labour Day Every year 1st May is observed as May Day and is also known as International Labour Day wo