13 Feb 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Sustainable Coal Mining
2. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
3. Production of Defence Equipment
4. AK-203 Assault Rifles
5. PM SHRI Schools

1. Sustainable Coal Mining

Syllabus – GS3, Infrastructure – Mobilisation of resources.

Prelims – Sustainable Coal Mining, Khanan Prahari Mobile App, Coal Gasification Projects.

Context – Steps adopted by Coal PSUs to ensure sustainable mining.

Details –

• The steps taken by Coal PSUs to ensure sustainable coal mining include –
  • Bio-reclamation (Plantation) – through sustained reclamation and afforestation in and around coal mines.
  • Development of eco-parks – 30 eco-parks have been developed. Mining areas offer great potential for developing eco-parks to promote tourism.
  • Mine water utilisation for community use – During the process of coal mining, a huge volume of mine water gets collected in the mine sumps and is pumped to the surface. By proper treatment, coal PSUs are utilising mine water for drinking and irrigation purposes.
  • Gainful utilisation of Overburden (OB) – Coal PSUs have taken an initiative to produce sand from overburden at a much cheaper price and the usage of processed OB for stowing purposes in underground mines.
  • Promote Renewables – Coal PSUs have installed renewables capacity of about 1649 MW (Solar – 1598 MW and Wind Mills – 51 MW) as of 31.03.2022. This is done to reduce carbon footprints and achieve the goal of net zero by 2070.
  • Energy-efficient measures – like using electric vehicles, LEDs, efficient water heaters, auto-timers in street lights, etc.
• The land reclamation is carried out as per the MCP (Mine Closure Plan)/Environment Clearance conditions which contain detailed provisions with regard to progressive as well as final mine closure activities.
• Satellite Surveillance Study (2021-22) shows that out of the total excavated area of 76 Open Cast Projects, producing more than 5 Million m3 (OB+Coal) annually, 45.01 % area is under back filling, 17.52 % is biologically reclaimed area and 37.47 % area is under active mining.
• Khanan Prahari Mobile app to Curb Illegal Mining – It is a Mobile App of the Ministry of Coal for reporting illegal coal mining and a tool for reporting any illegal coal mining incident through geo-tagged photographs as well as textual information by any citizen from the place of incidence.
• To incentivize private sector companies for developing Coal Gasification projects, the Ministry of Coal has formulated a policy wherein, a provision has been made for a 50% rebate in revenue share for all future commercial coal block auctions for the coal used in gasification purposes provided the coal quantity used for gasification is at least 10% of total coal production. Further, a separate auction window under the NRS sector has been created for making coal available for new coal gasification plants. From these incentives, the demand for dry fuel for the projects will be met.

Also read – Coal Mines in India

2. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)

Syllabus – GS3, Agricultural Marketing 

Prelims – APEDA

Context – APEDA – 37 years of journey.

Details –

• APEDA was established in 1986 through an act of Parliament under the Commerce Ministry. It replaced the then-existing Processed Food Export Promotion Council (PFEPC). APEDA has achieved immense success in the promotion of the export of agricultural products in its journey of 37 years.
• APEDA promotes IT-enabled activities for ease of doing business in the promotion and development of exports from India. The initiatives adopted by the APEDA include paperless office (re-engineering, digital signatures, electronic payment facility), APEDA Mobile App, phase-wise delivery of online services, monitoring and evaluation, uniform access, and virtual trade fair to make governance more efficient and effective.
• APEDA has been laying emphasis on the promotion of locally sourced GI tagged as well as indigenous and ethnic agricultural products. New products and export destinations are being identified and trial shipments have been facilitated.
•  There are 417 registered GI products and of them, around 150 GI tagged products are agricultural and food GI, out of which more than 100 registered GI products fall under the category of APEDA scheduled products (cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables, processed products, etc).
• A Market Intelligence Cell has been constituted in APEDA and the activity of dissemination of E-market intelligence reports comprising detailed market analysis has started. Also, a Farmer Connect Portal has been set up on its website which provides a platform for connecting with the exporters.
• APEDA has also launched Millet Portal for the promotion of Indian Millets.
• Agriculture contributes 20.2% to the GDP and 14.1% of India’s export is agricultural products (2020-21).
• The National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) was approved by the Government in May 2001 and APEDA was designated as Secretariat for NPOP.

3. Production of Defence Equipment

Prelims – GS3, indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Prelims – DAP, 2020; iDEX; SRIJAN

Context – Promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing in the country.

Details –

The GoI has taken several initiatives to bring in reforms to promote indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment. Some of the important ones are – 

• Priority to the procurement of capital items from domestic sources under Defense Acquisition Procedure 2020.
• Announcement of 18 major defence platforms for industry-led design & development in March 2022.
• Liberalisation of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy allowing 74% FDI under automatic route. 
• Launch of Mission DefSpace.
• Launch of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme involving start-ups & Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
• Implementation of Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017. 
• Launch of an indigenization portal namely SRIJAN to facilitate indigenisation by Indian Industry including MSMEs.
• Establishment of two Defence Industrial Corridors, one each in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
• Opening up of Defence Research & Development (R&D) for industry, startups and academia with 25 percent of defence R&D budget. 

Also, GoI has set the target of achieving defence manufacturing worth Rs. 1,75,000 Crore including defence exports of Rs. 35,000 Crore by the year 2024-25. 

4. AK-203 Assault Rifles

Prelims – GS3, Indigenisation of Technology.

Prelims – AK 203 Assault Rifles

Context – Manufacturing of AK-203 Assault Rifles

Details –

• A joint venture company, IRRPL (Indo-Russian Rifles Private Limited) is established for the production of indigenous AK-203 Assault Rifles.
• All the facilities needed for the production have been established in Korwa, Uttar Pradesh.
• The production of AK-203 will lead to self-sufficiency in respect of Assault Rifles for Indian Defence Forces in tune with Atmanirbhar Bharat.

5. PM SHRI Schools

Prelims – GS2, Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors.

Prelims – PM SHRI Scheme, NEP 2020

Context – PM SHRI Schools as model schools for implementation of NEP-2020.

Details –

• PM SHRI Scheme (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) – A centrally sponsored scheme was approved in September 2022. The duration of the scheme is from 2022-23 to 2026-27.
• These schools will showcase the implementation of National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) and over a period of time will emerge as exemplary schools offering leadership to neighbouring schools.
• The online portal of PM SHRI schools was launched in November 2022. Schools have to apply online for selection as a PM SHRI school.
• The major interventions in the PM SHRI Scheme are –
  • Quality and Innovation 
  • Beneficiary-oriented Entitlements under RTE Act
  • Annual School Grants 
  • Early Childhood Care and Education
  • Equity and Inclusion including the provision of safe and appropriate infrastructure for girls and Children with Special Needs (CWSN)
  • Encouraging flexibility in the choice of subjects offered to students
  • Encouraging mother tongue as the medium of instruction
  • ICT, smart classrooms and digital libraries for using digital pedagogy
  • Strengthening of existing infrastructure
  • Vocational interventions & enhancing internship/entrepreneurship opportunities, especially with local industry.

Read the previous PIB articles here.

February 13th, 2023, PIB:- Download PDF Here