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1st Aqua Mega Food Park
Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processingcommissioned Godavari Mega Aqua Food Park at Tundurru Village in West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh.
About Godavari Mega Aqua Food Park
- Godavari Mega Aqua Food Park Pvt Ltd (GMAFP) India’s First Aqua Food Park is set up at Bhimavaram of West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh.
- Conceptualized as a Hub & Spoke Model, the Mega Food Park is constructed with its Core Processing Center (CPC) at Tundurru Village in Bhimavaram region acting as the Hub and the Spoke comprises of Two Primary Processing Centers (PPC) at Amalapuram in East Godavari District (PPC1) and Karlapalem in Guntur District (PPC2) along with the 9 Collection Centers (CC), one each in the 9 coastal districts of the state of Andhra Pradesh.
- Godavari Mega Aqua Food Park will provide a platform and establish backward and forward linkages covering the entire aqua food processing value chain, quality assurance, food safety and implementation of best practices in post-harvest management.
Fifth International Dam Safety Conference
Context
The 5th International Dam Safety Conference–2019 is held during February 2019 in Bhubaneswar as a joint initiative of the Government of India, Government of Odisha and the World Bank under aegis of the on-going World Bank assisted Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) as a part of institutional strengthening.Â
About dam safety conference
- Dam Safety Conferences are being organized as an annual event in different DRIP States in collaboration with the Implementing Agencies and leading academic institutes to provide a common platform for all stakeholders including non-DRIP States.
- The basic objective of these annual events is to give exposure to non-DRIP States as well as other stakeholders across the Country and World, to the best global practices and technological advancements to address the emerging dam safety challenges. As these events are being organised in various regional centres of the country, they also make aware the overseas delegates with culture and traditions of India.
Status of dams in India
- Globally India ranks third after China and the USA in terms of the number of large dams with 5264 large dams in operation and 437 large dams under construction.
- The total storage capacity of the impounded water by these dams is about 283 billion cubic meters (BCM).
- About 80% of our large dams are over twenty-five years old. About 209 dams are over 100 years old and were built in an era when design practices and safety considerations were much below the current design and safety norms.
- Dams play a vital role in water security and foster rapid and sustained growth in agricultural, rural, urban and industrial development, which have been key priorities for the Govt. of India since independence.Â
About dam rehabilitation and improvement project (DRIP)
- In April 2012, project started by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation through Central Water Commission with World Bank assistance.
- The overall implementation, supervision, and coordination of DRIP has been entrusted to the Central Water Commission.
- The objective of DRIP is not to provide budgetary support for regular Operation and Maintenance (O & M), but to bring new initiatives in the dam safety area through technological advancements, novel rehabilitation construction materials, best global dam safety practices, capacity building of dam owning agencies as well as other selected stakeholders, cross-learning among partners, publication of technical guidelines and manuals, strengthening of the State and the Central Dam Safety Organisations etc.
- The project envisaged the rehabilitation and improvement of the projects located in seven States namely Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand.
Meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges
Context:
The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India held the 4thmeeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan under the Chairmanship of Vice- Chairman, NITI Aayog.
And the detailed report on progress in implementation of POSHAN Abhiyaan was also presented by MWCDÂ before the Council.
About Poshan Abhiyan:
The Government of India has set-up POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission)  through  which ,use of technology,  targeted approach and convergence strives to reduce the level of Stunting, Under-nutrition, Anemia and Low Birth Weight in Children, as also, focus on Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers, thus holistically addressing malnutrition.
Use of Space Technology for Border Management
Context
Union Government has formed a Task Force for identifying areas for use of space technology in improving border management headed by Joint Secretary (Border Management) with members from Border Guarding Forces (BGFs) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Details
The Task Force consulted all stake holders including BGFs, ISRO, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) before finalising the report.
Details of the areas identified for use of space technology are as under:-
- Island development and security
- Border Surveillance
- Communication and Navigation
- GIS and Operations Planning System
- Border Infrastructure Monitoring
This project will strengthen island and border security by providing observation, communication and navigation capability to border guarding and internal security forces in remote areas. It will also help Ministry of Home Affairs in planning and monitoring of development of border and island infrastructure.
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Also see:
| Mega Food Parks Scheme |
| RSTV – The Big Picture: Food Processing – A Game Changer for Indian Economy? |
| Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme |
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