11 Oct 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Flexi - Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV)
2. United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC, 2022)
3. International Day of the Girl Child
4. Lok Nayak Shri Jayaprakash Narayan

1. Flexi – Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV)

Syllabus – GS 3, Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Prelims – Flexi – Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV)

Context – Launch of FFV-SHEV.

Details –

• Shri Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Roads, Transport and Highways launched Toyota’s first flex fuel hybrid car in India. The minister laid stress on the importance of converting surplus food grains and sugar to ethanol which will boost the rural economy. For realising Atmanirbhar Bharat, 6 – 8% agricultural growth is necessary. 
• Flex fuel vehicles can run on flexible fuels – petrol, ethanol or a blend of petrol and ethanol. Such vehicles offer the flexibility to switch engine fuel from petrol to ethanol. They can also power the engine from the battery as well, thereby reducing carbon emissions.
• The success of this pilot project will create an ecosystem of electric vehicles and can make India a leading manufacturer of these vehicles. Such innovations which are cost-effective, revolutionary, and energy efficient are surely going to transform the transportation sector in India.

2. United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC, 2022)

Syllabus – GS 3, Space Technology.

Prelims – UNWGIC, 2022 with the theme of Geo Enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind.

Context – The second UNWGIC, 2022 began in Hyderabad, India.

Details –

• The conference is being hosted by the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology convened by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management. 
• PM Shri Narendra Modi addressed the United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress via video message. The minister said that India has been working on a vision of Antyodaya which means empowering the last person at the last mile, in a mission mode.
• Geospatial technology has been driving inclusion and progress in national development projects like SVAMITVA, PM Gati Shakti master plan, JAM Trinity, etc. Technology and talent are the two pillars that are key to India’s development journey and technology is not an agent of exclusion but an agent of inclusion, it was said.
• National organisations like the Survey of India, Geological Survey of India, National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and National Informatics Centre have implemented several GIS-based pilot projects across a range of domains like waste resource management, forestry, urban planning, etc. to demonstrate the applications of Geospatial Technology.

3. International Day of the Girl Child

Syllabus – GS 2, Issues related to Girl Child.

Prelims – 11th October – International Day of the Girl Child, GOI schemes for the girl child.

Context– Betiyan Banein Kushal, an Initiative by the GoI.

About International Day of the Girl Child 

• On December 19, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 66/170 to declare October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.

Details –

• Betiyan Banein Kushal – an inter-ministerial conference on Non-Traditional Livelihood for adolescent girls, was organised collectively by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MWCD), the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Some Initiatives of the GoI for the Girl Child –

1. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) – The scheme was launched on 22nd January 2015 by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi with the aim of addressing sex-selective abortions and the declining child sex ratio.
2. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) – This scheme focuses on encouraging the parents of the female child to build a fund for their future education and marriage expenses. Also known as Sukanya Samriddhi Account, this scheme was launched by PM Narendra Modi as a part of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign. It was launched in the year 2015. 
3. Ladli Scheme – This scheme was launched by the Haryana government under the state’s Ministry of Child and Women’s Development. This scheme aims to create awareness about protecting girls to improve the sex ratio of the state and good education facilities for females across the state.

Read more about the Women Empowerment Schemes in the link –  List of Women Empowerment Schemes in India.

4. Lok Nayak Shri Jayaprakash Narayan

Syllabus – GS 1, Important Personalities.

Prelims – Lok Nayak Shri Jayapraksh Narayan. 

Context – 121st birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Shri Jayaprakash Narayan.

Details –

• The Prime Minister paid rich tributes to Lok Nayak Shri Jayapraksh Narayan on his birth anniversary. Shri Modi described him as a torchbearer of democratic ideals.
• Shri Amit Shah, the Union Minister for Home and Cooperation unveiled the statue of Lok Nayak Shri Jayaprakash at Sitab Diara, his birthplace in Bihar.  

About Lok Nayak Shri Jayaprakash Narayan (11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979)

• Jayaprakash Narayan popularly known as Lok Nayak was an Indian freedom fighter, social reformer and politician.
• In 1965, he was honoured with the “Magsaysay” award for his social services.
• In 1999, he was posthumously awarded the highest civilian award – Bharat Ratna.

Read more about Shri Jayaprakash Narayan in the link.

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