20 Jan 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. India - Sri Lanka Science and Technology Cooperation
2. Agri-Nutri Garden Week
3. The BrahMos Supersonic cruise missile
4. India-Mauritius Developmental Projects

1. India – Sri Lanka Science and Technology Cooperation

Syllabus: GS III, Science and Technology

Prelims: Sustainable Agriculture, Artificial Intelligence

Mains: Role of International cooperation in expanding the scope of science and technology

Context: India and Sri Lanka extended their cooperation on Science and Technology for three more years taking further the legacy of their age-old relationship which is bound by culture and intellect. This decision was taken in the India-Sri Lanka 5th Joint Committee on S&T Cooperation.

Opportunities ahead:

• This cooperation will provide opportunities for discussing various other facets which are possible for collaboration in the domain of science and technology.
• Various fellowships are offered by India to international students and there is a huge scope for both Sri Lanka and India to work together to promote the scientific fellowships using multilateral platforms like BIMSTEC.
• The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) and Technical Cooperation Scheme have benefited several Sri Lankan students to get training from Indian institutions in areas like research, biotechnology, medical research, renewable energy and so on. These programmes operate under the Development Partnership Administration that was established by the Ministry of External Affairs in 2012.

2. Agri-Nutri Garden Week

Syllabus: GS II, Issues relating poverty and hunger

Prelims: Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana

Mains: India’s progressive steps towards eradicating poverty and hunger

Context: The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM) has observed the Agri-Nutri Garden week.

About the Agri-Nutri garden week:

• This is an awareness campaign to set up the Agri-Nutri gardens in rural households.
• It is in line with a mission to fulfill the nutritional needs of rural people along with income generation.

Significance:

• This initiative will ensure strengthening of the rural economy and mitigate the issue of malnutrition that is prevalent in rural areas.
• Within the ambit of DAY-NRLM, this initiative will motivate women farmers from the field to saturate their households with Agri Nutri gardens that include various vegetables and fruits serving the comprehensive household nutrition.

3. The BrahMos Supersonic cruise missile

Syllabus: GS III, Science and Technology – development and their applications

Prelims: DRDO, BrahMos Missiles

Mains: Contributions of DRDO

Context: The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with increased indigenous content and improved performance was successfully test-fired from an integrated test range.

About the Launch:

• The launch was conducted by Brahmos Aerospace in coordination with the teams of DRDO.
• The missile is equipped with advanced indigenous technologies and follows a modified optimal trajectory for enhanced efficiency.

Read more about BrahMos in the linked article

4. India-Mauritius Developmental Projects

Syllabus: GS II, International Relations, bilateral agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Mains: Significance of India- Mauritius relationship

Context: The Governments of India and Mauritius jointly inaugurated the social housing units project taking the developmental partnership to the next level.

About the Project:

• A state of the art Civil Service College along with a 8 MW(megawatt) solar photovoltaic farm , both supported by India, have been established as a part of the developmental partnership.
• The importance of the Civil Service College has been acknowledged in terms of its significance towards nation building.
• The need to expand the learnings of Mission Karmayogi has been emphasized in order to revamp civil services that aim to meet the demands of changing needs of the nation.
• The establishment of the solar farm reflects India’s commitment towards adopting renewable energy with its landmark vision of ISA.
• Besides, other developmental projects that were facilitated by India include the Metro Express Project, Supreme Court building, ENT hospital and supply of digital tablets to primary school children.

Read more about India – Mauritius Relationship in the linked article

Read previous PIB here.

January 20th, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here