12 June 2021: PIB Summary & Analysis

June 12th, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ALH Mk-III
2. 44th GST Council Meeting
3. New waste water treatment technology

1. ALH Mk-III

Context:

Coast Guard inducted Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) Mk III.

Details:

• The state-of-the-art helicopters are indigenously designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bengaluru. 
• Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mk III is an indigenously-built multirole helicopter with Shakti engine manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• The Mk III version of the ALH has an all-glass cockpit with HAL’s Integrated Architecture Display System (IADS) and will be used for search and rescue special operations and coastal surveillance.
• The customized Mk-III is powered by “Shakti” (Safran Ardiden 1H1) engines.

2. 44th GST Council Meeting

Context:

The 44th Goods and Services Tax Council meeting was held.

Highlights of the meeting:

• The GST Council waived tax rates on black fungus drugs Amphotericin (it was earlier 5%) and reduced rates on several other covid-related essential items like drugs, testing kits, ventilators, etc.
• However, it has decided to continue with 5% GST rates for covid vaccines.
• Pulse oximeters, hand sanitizers, and temperature check devices will attract lower rates of 5% (down from 12%).

Read more on the GST Council in the link.

3. New waste water treatment technology

What’s in the News?

A new technology developed by a professor at the Chemical Engineering Department in Jadavpur University, Kolkata can reduce costs for low and medium scale enterprises.

Background:

• Low-income group users mostly cannot afford the high cost of treatment technologies available for handling oily wastewater generated at their source points. 
• As a result, large amounts of untreated oily wastewater is discharged into the aquatic bodies without following the guidelines of the Pollution Control Board.

New Technology:

• The new technology uses a combination of Electrocoagulation and Electroflotation Enhanced Membrane Module (ECEFMM) techniques for wastewater treatment. 
• Electrocoagulation is a waste water treatment technique that uses electrical charge for changing the particle surface charge, allowing suspended matter to form aggregates.
• Electroflotation is the separation of suspended particles from water using hydrogen and oxygen bubbles generated by passing electricity through water.
• The innovation being an economically feasible wastewater treatment technology (both in terms of capital and recurring investment) for low-scale and medium enterprises, has a good market potential. 
• Moreover, unlike other conventional treatments, it can break the highly stable oil-water emulsion through electric discharge and simultaneously separates oil from water with high efficiency.
• The technology was developed with support from the Advanced Manufacturing Technologies programme of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India.
• Benefits of the new technology:
  • Requires less manpower.
  • Does not need high-end technical adequacy for its operation.
  • Low cost
  • Recovered oil can be further used as an industrial burner oil, furnace oil, mould oil, hydraulic oil and so on. 

Read previous PIB here.

June 12th, 2021, PIB:- Download PDF Here