01 January 2020: PIB Summary & Analysis

1. DRDO Young Scientists' Laboratories
2. Krishi Karman Awards
3. Gaganyaan mission
4. Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS)
5. Year End Review 2019: Ministry of Earth Sciences
6. Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020
7. Year End Review 2019: Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
8. Year End Review 2019 - Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
9. Year End Review: Ministry of Science and Technology

Context:

PM set to dedicate five DRDO Young Scientists’ Laboratories to the nation.

Details:

• The DRDO has set up five laboratories under young scientists below the age of 35 who would be working in fields including artificial intelligence and smart materials.
• The five labs will offer a useful template of research and development in the field of emerging technologies in the country.
• The dedication event will be held at the Aeronautical Development Establishment, DRDO at Bengaluru.
• For more on DRDO, click here.

Context:

The Prime Minister will distribute Krishi Karman Awards and Commendation Awards to states at a public meeting in Tumkur, Karnataka.

Details:

• The event will also witness the release of the 3^rd instalment of PM Kisan (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) of Rs 2000 for the period December 2019-March 2020.
• He will also distribute Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) to select farmers of Karnataka.

About the Krishi Karman Awards:

• The Krishi Karman Awards are given to the best performing states in food grain production.
• There are a total number of 7 rewards including 3 for the States with highest food grain production in three identified categories –large, medium and small producers; and 4 rewards one each for the highest production under rice, wheat, pulses and coarse cereals crops.
• The states are divided into the following 3 groups based on the highest production levels of food grains achieved by the States in the previous five years.

Group	Highest Production (in ‘000 tons)	States
Group 1	>10000	UP, Punjab, AP, WB, Haryana, MP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Bihar
Group 2	1000 – 10000	Odisha, TN, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, HP, J&K
Group 3	<1000	Rest of the states

• However, for rice and wheat, no grouping of states is carried out.
• The reward amount for the highest food grain producing State will be Rs 2 crores and for the individual crop categories, it is Rs 1 crore.
• The first Krishi Karman Awards were first given in 2011.

Context:

The process of astronaut selection for the Gaganyaan mission is completed: ISRO Chairman

Details:

• The ISRO Chairman announced in a press briefing that four astronauts have been selected for the country’s first manned mission to space, called Gaganyaan.
• The astronauts will undergo extensive training.
• For details on Gaganyaan mission, check: Semi Cryogenic Technology for Gaganyaan: RSTV – In Depth.

Context:

The Election Commission has launched the Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS) in order to enable applicants to track the status of the application for registration of political parties.

Details:

For details on the PPRTMS, check PIB dated 3^rd Dec 2019.

Major achievements of the Ministry of Earth Science in 2019:

• Alerts were issued for Cyclonic Storm ‘PABUK’ over Andaman Sea & neighbourhood, Cyclone ‘FANI’ over Southwest Bay & adjoining Southeast of Bengal, Cyclone Alert for Odisha, West Bengal & Srikakulam and Vijayanagaram districts of Andhra Pradesh Coasts, Cyclonic Storm ‘VAYU’ over Northeast & adjoining east-central the Arabian Sea, Depression over the northwest Bay of Bengal off north Odisha – West Bengal coasts, Cyclonic Storm ‘HIKAA’ over the northeast and adjoining east-central Arabian sea and Cyclonic Storm ‘BULBUL’ over northwest and adjoining West-Central Bay of Bengal.
• Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information (GEMINI) device launched for ocean states forecast and mapping potential fishing zones. Read more on GEMINI in PIB dated Oct 9, 2019, under the headline: GEMINI.
• Special Weather Services for Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj was launched.
• MoU between India and the UK on Cooperation in Weather and Climate Sciences was signed in Feb 2019.
• MoU between India and Argentina was signed in Feb 2019 on Antarctic cooperation. The MoU will help scientific cooperation on projects in the fields of Earth sciences, as well as those related to the protection and conservation of the natural environment of Antarctica and the Southern Oceans.

Context:

Prime Minister’s interaction programme – Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020 rescheduled.

About Pariksha Pe Charcha 2020:

• This is an interactive programme of the Prime Minister with a cross-section of students and teachers from India and abroad.
• The idea behind the programme is to beat exam stress.
• The first such event was held in 2018. 2020 is the third such interaction programme.
• The event is held in an auditorium in New Delhi.
• In connection with the event, the HRD Ministry conducted an essay competition for students. Students were to send their responses online. They were also asked to send questions for the event as well. The winners of this contest will take part in the interaction programme.

Major achievements of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in 2019:

• In the first session of the Parliament after the general elections, the productivity of the Lok Sabha shoots to 137% and of the Rajya Sabha to 103%.
• 30 bills passed in the winter session including the abrogation of Article 370 and Triple Talaq Bill.
• 126^th Constitutional Amendment Bill, providing for the continuation of reservation of seats for SC/STs for another decade passed.
• 124^th Constitutional Amendment Bill which will provide reservation for economically weaker sections in the general category also passed.
• The President of India launched the web-portal of “National Youth Parliament Scheme”.
  • The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has been implementing the Youth Parliament programme since 1966 in schools under the Directorate of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi and NDMC, Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Universities/Colleges.
  • So far, around 8,000 educational institutions and more than 4,00,000 students have been covered under the Youth Parliament programme of the Ministry.

Major initiatives of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways in 2019:

• National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program
  • The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has launched the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program which provides for the collection of user fee through FASTags based on RFID technology.
  • In order to save fuel, time and pollution and to ensure seamless movement of traffic, it has been decided to enable all lanes in Fee Plazas for electronic toll collection program through FASTags.
  • The Ministry is trying to bring inter-operability of the FASTags with the State Governments so that a single FASTag can be used both at State Highways Toll Plaza and National Highways Toll Plaza.
  • An NHAI Prepaid Wallet was also launched giving customers the choice of not linking their FASTags to their bank accounts and includes the feature of UPI recharge.
• State Support Programme
  • A State Support Programme aimed at incentivising the states to improve their road safety performance is proposed to be launched to reduce the overall fatalities by road accidents by 25% by 2024.
  • With a view to accurately recording the accident details so that timely corrective action is undertaken a geo-tagged accident data collection programme would be launched under the project “Integrated Road Accident Database (IRAD)”.
• The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019
  • The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is the principal instrument through which road transport is regulated in the country.
  • The same has been amended for the first time in a comprehensive way after thirty years by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, passed by the Parliament and published in the Gazette of India in August 2019.
  • The Act will bring reforms in the area of road safety, bring citizen facilitation, transparency, and reduce corruption with the help of information technology and removing intermediaries.
  • The Act will strengthen public transport, safeguard and protect Good Samaritan and reform the insurance and compensation regime.
  • It will allow innovation and new technologies such as driverless vehicles, to be tested in a live environment and increase efficiency in research.
  • The Act will facilitate physically handicapped people by allowing motor vehicles to be converted to adapted vehicles with post-facto approval and facilitating licence to drive adapted vehicles.
  • The provisions of compensation and post-accident treatment have been amended and measures will be taken to provide cashless treatment for accident victims.
  • More on the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act.
• Data on “Road Accidents in India 2018” was released by the Ministry. For more on the Report, check CNA dated Nov 20, 2019.

Major initiatives of the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2019:

• Indian Science Congress (ISC) was held in January 2019. More on the ISC-2019 on PIB dated 30 Dec 2018.
• The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill – 2019 was passed by the Lok Sabha. The Bill has been formulated recognizing the need for regulation of the use and application of Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) technology, for establishing the identity of missing persons, victims, offenders, under trials and unknown deceased persons.
• Drones to undertake large scale mapping of village areas in Maharashtra: the Survey of India, the national mapping agency of the country under the Ministry has signed an MoU with the Department of Revenue & Land Records, Govt. of Maharashtra to undertake the large scale mapping of village Gaothan (Aabadi) areas in the State of Maharashtra using drones.
• India joined the Global Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Research and Development (R&D) Hub as a new member in September 2019. This expands the global partnership working to address challenges and improve coordination and collaboration in global AMR R&D to 16 countries, the European Commission, two philanthropic foundations and four international organisations (as observers).
• The government launched the UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders) initiative to tackle inherited genetic diseases of newborn babies.
• India’s first-ever global Mega-Science exhibition, ‘Vigyan Samagam’, was inaugurated at the Science City in Kolkata.
• 3-day Global Bio-India Summit, 2019 held. Global Bio-India is one of the largest biotechnology stakeholders conglomerate being held in India for the first time.
• The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar prizes were conferred. More on the prize at PIB dated 28 Feb 2019.
• First Indigenous Fuel Cell System developed by CSIR. More on this at PIB dated 26 Sep 2019.
• The government launched “Green Crackers” developed by CSIR in a bid to curb air pollution. You can read more on Green Crackers at CNA dated 27 Oct 2019.
• CSIR-NPL designated as the National Verification Agency for air quality monitoring instruments. The organisation will certify instruments and equipment for monitoring emissions and ambient air quality, which will assist in maintaining standards of instruments and data of air quality being collected.
• CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur launched the Indian air quality Interactive Repository or IndAIR.
  • IndAIR conducted research to provide a history of air pollution research and legislation. The repository on air pollution is one of the first in the world.
  • IndAIR reveals air pollution was recognised as a subject in India even in 1905 when a study was carried out for Bengal Smoking Nuisance Act.
  • The repository, one of the few such facilities in the world, has the maximum number of studies (262) concerning Delhi-NCR.
• CSIR-CSMCRI has developed a technology for recovery valuable potash from spent wash that saves foreign exchange and prevents hazardous spent wash being discarded.

January 1st, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

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