01 Jul 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Goods and Services Tax
2. Ashadhi Bij
3. Grand Hackathon on Agriculture
4. Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator
5. Journalist Welfare Scheme
6. India’s largest floating solar power project commissioned

1. Goods and Services Tax

Syllabus: GS-3, Economy; Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, and development

Prelims: Facts about Goods and Services Tax (GST)

Mains: Significance and achievements of the GST regime

Context:

PM lauds GST on marking 5 years.

Details:

• The major tax reform initiated by the government, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) marks five years.

Know more about GST, its benefits and challenges, in the link.

2. Ashadhi Bij

Syllabus: GS-1, Indian Heritage and Culture; Important festivals in India

Prelims: Ashadhi Bij Festival

Context:

PM greets everyone on Ashadhi Bij.

About Ashadhi Bij:

• Ashadhi Bij is an auspicious day for the farming communities in northern India especially Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and some other places.
• The festival falls on the second day of the Shukla Paksha of the Ashadha month of the Hindu calendar.
• The festival is associated with the beginning of rains in the Kutch region of Gujarat and is celebrated as the Kutchi New Year.
• On this festival, farmers, astrologers and others predict the monsoon to assess which crop would be best in the coming season.

3. Grand Hackathon on Agriculture

Syllabus: GS-3, Economy; Agriculture: e-technology in the aid of farmers

Prelims: About Grand Hackathon on the Agriculture and ONDC

Context:

Union Minister launched a three-day “Grand Hackathon” on the Agriculture domain to promote an open eCommerce network.

About the Hackathon:

• It is organized by the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in collaboration with NABARD.
• Aimed at showcasing the innovations to aid the adoption of eCommerce in the agricultural sector, the hackathon is classified into two categories:
  • Agri Grant Challenge
  • Agri Innovation Hackathon
• The hackathon is expected to see about 700 participants.
• The participants will try to solve the challenges and offer technical solutions for large-scale future applications.
• This is expected to help the farming community and help state governments realise their goal of promoting their local agricultural products at a national level.

4. Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator

Syllabus: GS-3, Science & Technology, Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology

Prelims: Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator and UAVs

Context:

DRDO conducted the successful maiden flight of the Autonomous Flying Wing Technology Demonstrator.

Details:

• This flight marks a major milestone in terms of proving critical technologies towards the development of future unmanned aircraft and is a significant step towards self-reliance in such strategic defence technologies.
• The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is designed & developed by Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru, a premier research laboratory of DRDO.
• It is powered by a small turbofan engine. 
• The airframe, undercarriage and entire flight control and avionics systems used for the aircraft were developed indigenously.

5. Journalist Welfare Scheme

Syllabus: GS-2, Governance; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors 

Prelims: Journalist Welfare Scheme Details

Context:

Government approves assistance for 7 journalists and 35 families of journalists under the Journalist Welfare Scheme.

Details:

• The Central Government has approved a proposal of the Journalist Welfare Scheme Committee to provide financial relief to the families of 35 journalists who have lost their lives. 
• This includes 16 families of journalists who died due to Covid-19 under the Journalist Welfare Scheme (JWS). 
• The families will be provided with assistance up to Rs. 5 lakhs.
• Under the scheme, the families of journalists are provided with financial assistance up to Rs 5 lakh in the event of the death of the journalist causing extreme hardship. 
• Assistance is also provided to journalists in case of permanent disability, serious accidents and major health ailments.

6. India’s largest floating solar power project commissioned

Syllabus: GS-3, Environment & Ecology; Conservation

Prelims: Floating Solar PV Project in India

Mains: Advantages and the role of Floating Solar PV Project in environmental conservation

Context:

India’s largest floating Solar Power Project, the Ramagundam Floating Solar PV Project at Ramagundam, Telangana, is now fully operational.

Advantages of Floating Solar Power Projects:

• Floating solar power projects deploy photovoltaic panels on the surface of water bodies.
• They are a viable alternative to solar installations on land since they offer many advantages such as:
• No land acquisition issues
• Freeing up the land for agriculture
• The cooling effect of water proximity enhances the performance of the photo voltaic cells by 5-10%
• Less grid interconnection costs
• Less water evaporation
• Improvement in water quality
• Decrease in algal blooming

Examples of other floating solar power projects in India:

• Omkareshwar Reservoir, Madhya Pradesh
• Kayamkulam Project, Kerala
• Getalsud Dam Project, Jharkhand
• Rihand Dam, Uttar Pradesh

Read previous PIB here.

July 1st, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here