19 Oct 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. ‘Heartland Tripura’ Project
2. REC Limited honoured with Golden Peacock Award
3. Little Ice Age (LIA)

1. ‘Heartland Tripura’ Project

Syllabus: GS-2, Govt schemes

Prelims: Heartland Tripura Project

Context:

Union Minister inaugurated the ‘Heartland Tripura’ project in Agartala.

Heartland Tripura:

• The project envisages opening new career and personal development opportunities for undergraduate students in both engineering and non-engineering fields in the state of Tripura.
• Backed by both the central and the Tripura state governments, the project was launched in partnership with Deloitte India and the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), Agartala. 
• The project will deliver a specific set of skill development certification courses through NIELIT – Agartala for the state. Further, it will provide internship opportunities to select professionals, ultimately paving the way for promising job prospects upon successful completion of certification and internship requirements. 
• The certification courses offered under the project will cover a wide range of new-age technical and professional development skills such as cyber security, internal audit, analytics, and softer skills around business communication, executive presence, and grooming amongst others.
• The pilot phase of the project will deliver training to around 350 people.

2. REC Limited honoured with Golden Peacock Award

Syllabus: GS-3, Economy

Prelims: REC Limited, Golden Peacock Award

Context:

REC Limited honoured with the Golden Peacock Award in Risk Management.

Details:

• REC Ltd has been recognized for its exceptional performance in risk management with the esteemed Golden Peacock Award, given by the Institute of Directors (IOD). 
• The award highlights REC’s continued commitment to implementing effective risk assessment strategies, thereby contributing to the organization’s sustainable growth and resilience in a competitive business landscape.
• The Golden Peacock Awards were established by the Institute of Directors (IOD), India in 1991.
• It has emerged as an internationally acclaimed standard for corporate excellence.

About REC Ltd:

• REC Limited is an NBFC focusing on Power Sector Financing and Development across India established in 1969.
• It provides financial assistance to state electricity boards, state governments, central and state power utilities, independent power producers, rural electric cooperatives and private sector utilities.

3. Little Ice Age (LIA)

Syllabus: GS-2, Geography

Prelims: Little Ice Age (LIA) 

Context:

New study on the Little Ice Age (LIA).

What is the Little Ice Age (LIA)?

• The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of regional cooling, seen especially in the North Atlantic region, between the 16th and the 19th centuries (1671 CE – 1942 CE).
• An alternative time period of 1300 to 1850 has also been proposed.
• It is not a true ice age of global extent.

What does the new study propose?

• The new study shows significant variations in rainfall patterns during the LIA challenging the conventional notion of a uniformly cold and dry climate with reduced monsoon rainfall during the LIA.
• The study reconstructed pollen-based vegetation dynamics and contemporary climate change and monsoonal variability between CE 1219-1942 from the Western Ghats.
• Moist/semi-evergreen–dry tropical deciduous forests were mainly recorded from the study area.
• The study was conducted by the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology.

Read the previous PIB articles here.