24 Mar 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Wings India 2022
2. Indigenous Air Traffic Management Systems
3. Foundational Learning Study
4. Swachhata Start-up Challenge
5. Plastic Recycling And Waste Management
6. Dare2eraD TB

1. Wings India 2022

Syllabus: GS III, Infrastructure: Airports

Prelims: Facts about Wings India-2022

Context

Wings India 2022 will be held between 24th – 27th March 2022 in Hyderabad.

Wings India 2022

• Wings India is a biennial show which is jointly organized by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
• Wings India 2022 is Asia’s largest event on Civil Aviation.
• Wings India 2022 is organised at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad.
• The theme of Wings India-22 is “India@75: New Horizon for Aviation Industry”
• The event includes the exhibition by various Aircraft & Helicopter Manufacturers, Aircraft Interiors, Aircraft Machinery & Equipment Companies, Airport Infrastructure Companies, Drones, Space Industry, etc.

Aviation Industry in India

• The Civil Aviation industry in India is among the fastest-growing aviation markets globally and will play a crucial role in achieving India’s target of a $5 trillion economy.
• In the domestic air passenger traffic, India is the 3rd largest aviation market which stood at 274.05 million in FY20.
• Comprehensive regulatory policies and strategies are in place to decrease aviation carbon footprints and ensure greener airspace.
• The Indian Aviation market has a huge potential for growth and employment generation and the Wings India 2022 is expected to provide a platform for connecting Buyers, Sellers, and Investors.

2. Indigenous Air Traffic Management Systems

Syllabus: GS III, Science and Technology; Indigenization of technology

Prelims: Facts about Wings India-2022

Context

AAI and BEL collaborate to develop indigenous Air Traffic Management Systems.

Indigenous Air Traffic Management System

• In line with the Make in India initiative, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), under its R&D programme, will be collaborating with the Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for the development of systems for air traffic management and surface movement of aircraft at airports indigenously.
• Under the Agreement, BEL and AAI will jointly develop the Civil Air Traffic Management System (ATMS) with the Advanced-Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (ASMGCS) which is a complex ground-based surveillance system to manage air traffic.
• The functions of air traffic control are to ensure safety, maintain separation between multiple aircraft, and efficient management of operations at the airports.
• ASMGCS offers routing, guidance and surveillance facilities to the aircraft.
• The aim of ATMS with ASMGCS is to provide the air traffic controller with the complete air traffic picture of the coverage area while interacting with Radars, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast(ADS-B), Multilateration System (MLATs), and navigational equipment such as GPS.
• The system will be deployed in congested airports and airspaces to serve a large volume of air traffic, including military flights.

3. Foundational Learning Study

Syllabus: GS II, Education; Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education.

Prelims: Foundational Learning Study

Context

The Ministry of Education will be conducting a ‘Foundational Learning Study’ to understand the level of learning of students at the end of Grade 3.

Foundational Learning Study

• The Study will be conducted by the NCERT in all States and UTs.
• Nearly 10000 schools and 1 lakh students will be participating in the study. 
• It is the first of its kind study in the world that aims to set benchmarks for reading with comprehension in 22 Indian languages. 
• Objectives:
  • To assess the foundational learning levels of grade 3 students and establish a baseline for the NIPUN Bharat mission.
  • To establish benchmarks in fluency and comprehension skills in each of the languages.
  • To provide the data for SDG 4.1.1. (Covering aspects of foundational literacy and numeracy)

4. Swachhata Start-up Challenge

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

Prelims: Facts about Swachhata Start-up Challenge

Context

The Union Government has launched ‘Swachhata Startup Challenge’

Swachhata Startup Challenge

• The Swachhata Startup Challenge has been launched by the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in collaboration with the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
• Aim: To incentivise the start-ups to come up with innovative solutions and drive the transformation in the sanitation and waste management sector.
• The Challenge is open to start-ups registered in India and French actors collaborating with an Indian start-up as a joint venture.
• The challenge invites solutions across four thematic spheres namely;
  • Social inclusion (better working conditions for sanitation workers)
  • Zero dump (solid waste management)
  • Plastic waste management 
  • Transparency through digital enablement

5. Plastic Recycling And Waste Management

Syllabus: GS III, Environment; Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation

Mains: Various measures undertaken by the Ministry of MSME towards Plastic Recycling and Waste Management

Context

The Ministry of MSME organized an International Mega-Summit on Plastic Recycling and Waste Management.

Steps undertaken by Ministry of MSME

• The Ministry organizes awareness programmes across the country frequently for different sectors including plastics.
• As part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Ministry is conducting ‘Sambhav’ which is a National Level Awareness Program (NLAP) in various colleges across the country.
• Ministry is also organising more than 250 ‘Nukkad Natak’ in 46 Aspirational Districts covering nine states under a Special Drive called “Svavlamban”.
• The Ministry also organized the International Mega-Summit on Plastic Recycling and Waste Management at New Delhi in March 2022. 
  • The 2-day Summit brought together distinguished National and International Speakers from the industry and academia to deliberate upon challenges and opportunities in the plastics recycling sector.
  • New business opportunities in the plastic waste management sector were presented.
  • The summit also showcased the innovations and new technologies which help address the issues related to plastic waste collection, segregation and recycling. 

6. Dare2eraD TB

Syllabus: GS II, Health; Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health,

Prelims: Facts about “Dare2eraD TB”

Mains: Various initiatives by the government aimed at eradicating Tuberculosis in India.

Context

On the occasion of World TB Day, data-driven research aimed at eradicating TB called “Dare2eraD TB” has been launched.

Dare2eraD TB

• It is a data-driven research programme launched by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under the aegis of the Ministry of Science & Technology.
• “Dare2eraD TB” will be an umbrella TB programme of DBT.
• The programme consists of  key initiatives such as;
  • InTGS – Indian Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance Consortium
  • InTBK Hub – Indian TB Knowledge Hub- Webinar Series
  • Host Directed therapies against TB and developing an evidence-based regimen for treating extra-pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Other key initiatives by DBT against TB

• The Department has partnered with various international organisations for the research on Tuberculosis. 
• The Regional Prospective Observational Research in Tuberculosis (RePORT) initiative is a bilateral effort supported by the Indo-US Vaccine Action Programme (VAP), to advance tuberculosis (TB) research in India.
• The Department has initiated a major network programme called “MultiDrug Resistant – TB in North East India: a genomic driven approach” involving 22 institutes from 8 North states and 14 other Institutes.

Read previous PIB here.

March 24th, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here