TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Kharchi Puja 2. Ministry of Agriculture MOU with Pixxel Space India Pvt. Limited 3. Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24 4. NANDI Portal 5. Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2022 6. UTPRERAK
1. Kharchi Puja
Syllabus: GS-1, Art & Culture
Prelims: Kharchi Puja
Context:
The Prime Minister greeted people on the occasion of Kharchi Puja.
Kharchi Puja:
- It is a prominent Hindu festival celebrated in Tripura in July or August.
- During the festival, the fourteen gods forming the dynasty deity of the Tripuri people are worshipped.
- It is a week-long festival that attracts thousands of people.
- It is performed in the fourteen-god temple at Agartala, the state capital.
2. Ministry of Agriculture MOU with Pixxel Space India Pvt. Limited
Syllabus: GS-3, Agriculture, Science & Technology
Prelims: Hyperspectral remote sensing technology & its applications in agriculture
Context:
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare signed an MOU with Pixxel Space India Pvt. Limited.
Details:
- The MoU aims to develop various geospatial solutions on a pro bono basis for the Indian Agriculture Ecosystem using Pixxel’s hyperspectral dataset.
- The project uses sample hyperspectral data from Pixxel’s pathfinder satellites to develop analytics models focused on crop mapping, crop stage discrimination, crop health monitoring, and soil organic carbon assessments.
- This will enable the Government to develop use cases with hyperspectral data provided by PIXXEL.
Significance of the MoU:
- Hyperspectral remote sensing technology includes spectral measurements in narrow wavelength bands by satellites that offer certain unique indices to monitor and assess the health of crops and soils.
- Such data can help detect changes in chlorophyll content and canopy moisture status.
- This can prove beneficial to find crop risk management solutions for farmers.
- Soil nutrient mapping including soil organic carbon assessments is one of the important applications of hyperspectral technology.
- Apart from estimating soil organic carbon, hyperspectral data can also help in the early detection of crop stress and accurate diagnostics of crop stress due to pests/disease or water.
3. Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24
Syllabus: GS-2 Govt Schemes
Prelims: Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24 Scheme
Context:
Centre approves Rs. 56,415 crore to 16 States for capital Investment under ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment 2023-24’ scheme for giving a timely boost to capital spending by states.
Details:
- This scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24.
- Under the scheme, special assistance is being provided to the State Governments in the form of a 50-year interest-free loan up to an overall sum of Rs. 1.3 lakh crore during the financial year 2023-24.
- The scheme has eight parts, Part-I being the largest with an allocation of Rs. 1 lakh crore.
- This amount has been allocated amongst States in proportion to their share of central taxes & duties as per the award of the 15th Finance Commission.
- Other parts of the scheme are either linked to reforms or are for sector-specific projects.
- Part-II of the scheme is related to old vehicle scrapping and setting up of automated vehicle testing facilities.
- Parts III & IV provides incentives to States for reforms in Urban Planning and Urban Finance.
- Part V is related to increasing the housing stock for police personnel and their families within the police stations in urban areas.
- Part VI is for the ‘Make in India’ and ‘One District One Product’ schemes’ promotion.
- Part VII is for setting up libraries with digital infrastructure at Panchayat and Ward levels for children and adolescents.
4. NANDI Portal
Syllabus: GS-3, Economy
Prelims: NANDI Portal
Context:
Union Minister launched NANDI (NOC Approval for New Drug and Inoculation System) Portal.
About NANDI Portal:
- The portal aims to speed up the process to assess and examine the safety, efficacy, and essentiality/desirability of veterinary product proposals received by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD).
- The larger goal is to develop a global manufacturing hub for veterinary products in the country and stimulate research and development focused on improving animal health.
- The portal allows the firms to apply for and obtain the required approval electronically, track the status of requests through email notifications, respond to queries, and print the approved certificates online.
- It also reduces the amount of time it takes for a firm to apply for and receive NOC and other approvals from DAHD; simplifies the process for applying for multiple approval requests; and enables faster processing.
5. Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2022
Syllabus: Miscellaneous
Prelims: Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award
Context:
Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports invites nominations for Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2022.
About the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award:
- The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India confers the National Adventure Awards called “Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award” (TNNAA) in order to recognize the achievements of persons associated with the field of adventure and to encourage young people to develop the spirit of endurance, risk-taking, cooperative teamwork and quick, ready and effective reflexes in challenging situations.
- The award consists of a bronze statuette, a certificate, a blazer with a silken tie/a saree and award money of Rs. 15 Lakh. The Awards are presented to the winners along with Arjuna Awards by the Government of India.
- Usually, One Award is given in four categories namely, Land Adventure, Water (Sea) Adventure, Air Adventure and Life Time Achievement for adventure activities on Land, Sea and Air.
6. UTPRERAK
Syllabus: GS-2, Development processes and the development industry
Prelims: UTPRERAK (Advanced Industrial Technology Demonstration Centre (AITDC))
Context:
The Power Ministry establishes UTPRERAK, a Centre of Excellence to Accelerate the Adoption of Energy Efficient Technologies in Indian Industry.
Details:
- The centre aims to scale up India’s contribution to the global energy transition.
- UTPRERAK stands for Unnat Takniki Pradarshan Kendra.
- The centre seeks to play a catalytic role in improving the energy efficiency of the Indian industry.
- The Centre, named otherwise as Advanced Industrial Technology Demonstration Centre (AITDC), has been set up by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, at the Badarpur, New Delhi campus of the National Power Training Institute (NPTI), Ministry of Power.
- The Centre is mandated to become the key reference and resource institution on industrial energy-efficient technologies.
- It will demonstrate and showcase energy-efficient technologies in key industry sectors. It will act as an exhibition cum information centre and knowledge repository.
- It will be a knowledge exchange platform, where best practices from across various key sectors could be diffused among industry professionals through workshops and seminars.
- It is expected to provide intensive training to more than 10,000 energy professionals from the industry and other potential sectors over the next five years.
- It will also provide key inputs for national energy policy formulation, link education and research in energy-efficient solutions, and develop innovative applied solutions for energy efficiency.
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