08 Jul 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Cloudbursts
2. Monuments associated with Dr. BR Ambedkar
3. India Stack Knowledge Exchange 2022
4. PARIMAN

1. Cloudbursts

Syllabus: GS-1, Geography; Important Geophysical phenomena

Prelims: Cloudbursts

Context:

Cloud burst near Shree Amarnath cave killed around 16 people with many missing.

What are Cloudbursts?

• Cloudbursts are short-duration, intense rainfall events over a small area.
• It is different from normal rainfall only in the amount of rainfall received over a given area.
• According to the IMD, it is a weather phenomenon with unexpected precipitation exceeding 100mm/h over a geographical region of approximately 20-30 sq. km.
• Mountainous regions are more prone to cloudbursts than plain areas, although they also occur in deserts and in interior regions of continental landmasses.
• The Himalayan regions are prone to this because of their topography, geology, propensity for tectonic activity and ecological fragility.
• Cloudbursts are generally associated with thunderstorms.
  • Cloudburst occurs when moisture-rich air travels up a mountainous region, forming a vertical column of clouds known as Cumulonimbus clouds. 
  • These clouds usually cause rain, thunder and lightning. 
  • This upward movement of clouds is also known as ‘orographic lift’. 
  • Due to these unstable clouds, heavy rainfall may occur over a small area.

2. Monuments associated with Dr. BR Ambedkar

Syllabus: GS-1, History; Significant personalities

Prelims: About Dr. Ambedkar and National Monuments Authority

Context:

National Monuments Authority recommends two sites associated with Dr. Ambedkar to be declared as Monuments of National Importance.

Which are the sites?

• Sankalp Bhumi Banyan tree campus in Vadodara – This is where Dr. Ambedkar had taken a resolve to eradicate untouchability on 23rd September 1917.
• Pratap Rao Bhosle High School – the school in Satara, Maharashtra where Dr. Ambedkar received his primary education. Currently, the school is in a dilapidated condition and is under the Zila Parishad.

The recommendations have been made before the Minister of State for Culture by the National Monuments Authority.

National Monuments Authority (NMA):

• NMA has been set up as per provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains AMASR (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010.
• It is under the Ministry of Culture, GOI and its chief function is the protection and preservation of monuments and sites through the management of the prohibited and regulated area around the centrally protected monuments.
• Another function is to consider the grant of permissions to applicants for construction-related activity in the prohibited and regulated area.
• NMA is situated in New Delhi.

Also read: Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

3. India Stack Knowledge Exchange 2022

Syllabus:

GS-2, Governance; Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors 

Prelims: Indiastack.global

Mains: Initiatives to augment digitisation of the country and their impact.

Context:

The India Stack Knowledge Exchange 2022 was kickstarted as part of the ongoing Digital India Week 2022 celebrations.

Details:

• The event is an opportunity to showcase India’s most significant contribution to the Digital world – the India Stack, which is a unified software platform to bring India’s 1.4 billion population into the Digital Age. 
• The objective is to give an orientation to the basic building blocks of India Stack, which is driving Digital Transformation in India.
• Indiastack.global
  • It is a global repository of key projects implemented under India Stack like Aadhaar, UPI, Digilocker, Cowin Vaccination Platform, Government e-Marketplace (GeM), DIKSHA Platform and Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission. 
  • It is expected to help position India as the leader in building Digital Transformation projects at a population scale, and prove to be of immense help to other countries which are looking for such technology solutions.

4. PARIMAN

Syllabus:

GS-3, Science and Technology; Indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Prelims: PARIMAN

Context:

The Geo-Portal for NCR, PARIMAN, made public.

About PARIMAN:

• For the purpose of effective utilization of Remote Sensing and GIS technology, a web geo-portal has been developed through the National Informatics Centre (NIC), initially for use by NCR Participating states and the Office of National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).
• This Geo-Portal will help to improve decentralized planning and management in the NCR region.
• Although PARIMAN was launched in 2021, it is being made public now.

Read previous PIB here.

July 8th, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here