28 Jul 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. 11th Agricultural Census
2. ‘VIKRANT’- An Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)
3. 44th Chess Olympiad
4. Namami Ganga Programme (NGP)

1. 11th Agricultural Census

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

Prelims- Agricultural Census.

Mains – Significance of Agricultural Census

Context – The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched the 11th Agricultural Census.

Details – 

• For the first time, data collection for agricultural computations will be done on smartphones and tablets.
• Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of the Prime Minister, emphasis is being given to increasing farmers’ income, changing their standard of living, organising small farmers in order to empower them, attracting them towards remunerative crops and ensuring the quality of the produce at par with the global standards.
• Agriculture computations can also contribute to the mapping of crops so that the country gets its benefits.
• The use of digitised land records, the use of mobile applications for data collection will enable the creation of a database of operational holdings in the country.
• The handbook on operational guidelines for the census for the use of States/UTs was released and the Data Collection Portal/App was launched.

About Agricultural Census –

• The Agricultural Census is conducted every five years.
• The agricultural census is the main source of information on a variety of agricultural parameters at a relatively minute level, such as the number and area of operational holdings, their size, class-wise distribution, land use, tenancy and cropping pattern, etc.

2. ‘VIKRANT’- An Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)

Syllabus – GS-3, Security; Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate. 

Prelims- Vikrant Aircraft Carrier.

Context – Delivery of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier.

Details –

• The Indian Navy has created maritime history by taking delivery of the prestigious Indegenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) – Vikrant.
• It is designed by the Indian Navy’s inhouse Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping (MoS). The carrier is christened after her illustrious predecessor, India’s first Aircraft Carrier which played a crucial role in the 1971 war.
• Coinciding with the celebrations to commemorate 75th anniversary of India’s independence ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, the reincarnation of Vikrant is a true testimony to the country’s zeal and fervour in pursuing capability build up towards enhanced maritime security.
• The 262 m long carrier has a full displacement of close to 45,000 tonnes which is much larger and advanced than her predecessor. The ship is powered by four Gas Turbines totaling 88 MW power and has a maximum speed of 28 Knots.
• With an overall indigenous content of 76%, IAC is a perfect example of the nation’s quest for “Aatma Nirbhar Bharat” and provides thrust to Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• The ship would be capable of operating an air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MIG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy). Using a novel aircraft-operation mode known as STOBAR (Short Take- Off but Arrested Landing), the IAC is equipped with a ski-jump for launching aircraft, and a set of ‘arrester wires’ for their recovery onboard.
• A major spin-off of this is the development and production of indigenous warship grade steel for the ship through a partnership between Navy, DRDO and Steel Authority of India (SAIL), which has enabled the country to become self-sufficient with respect to warship steel. Today all the warships being built in the country are being manufactured using indigenous steel.
• The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier would soon be commissioned into the Indian Navy as Indian Naval Ship (INS) Vikrant which would bolster India’s position in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and its quest for a blue water Navy.

Also read: INS Vikrant (R11)

3. 44th Chess Olympiad

Syllabus – Sports 

Prelims – 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai.

Context – PM Shri Narendra Modi declared the 44th Chess Olympiad Open.

Details – 

• PM welcomed all the dignitaries present at the occasion, chess players, and teams participating in the tournament and greeted all the chess lovers from all over the world.
• The tournament is being held at Chennai in July – August, 2022.

About the Chess Olympiad –

• The chess olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete.
• FIDE (International Chess Federation) organises the tournament and selects the host nation.

4. Namami Ganga Programme (NGP)

Syllabus- GS-3, Environment; Conservation 

Prelims- Rejuvenation of Ganga, and its tributaries under Namami Ganga Programme.

Mains – Achievements under Namami Ganga Programme

Context- Projects under Namami Ganga Programme

Details-

• The Government of India launched the Namami Gange Programme in 2014. It is an integrated umbrella programme, aimed to ensure effective abatement of pollution and conservation of river Ganga and its tributaries by adopting a river basin approach. Under Namami Gange, a comprehensive set of interventions in the areas of wastewater treatment, solid waste management, riverfront management (ghats and crematoria development), e-flow, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and Public Participation, etc. are being taken up for the rejuvenation of river Ganga.
• Out of the targeted 127 sewerage and Ghat/Crematoria projects, 80 projects have been completed. The Government of India releases funds to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), which is the empowered nodal agency for the implementation of the Namami Gange program nationwide.
• For aquatic biodiversity conservation, 7 projects have been taken up under Namami Gange. These projects aim at planning and management for aquatic species conservation and maintenance of ecosystem services in the Ganga river basin.
• More than 56 lakhs of fish seeds have been released in the river Ganga for conservation and restoration of IMC & Mahseer. 930 turtles have been released in Ganga River apart from supporting the conservation & breeding of freshwater turtles & Gharial at Kukrail, Lucknow. In addition, four rescue and rehabilitation centres for aquatic species have been established.

Read previous PIB here.

July 28th, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here