29 October 2018: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

Read the daily PIB update and stay up-to-date on current affairs for the UPSC exam

PM addresses ‘Make in India’ Seminar in Tokyo

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, addressed the ‘Make in India: India-Japan partnership in Africa and digital partnership’ seminar, in Tokyo.

Highlights from his Speech:

• He explained how the Union Government is focused on improving ease of doing business, and ease of living for the citizens.
• He expressed happiness at the large presence of Japanese companies in India.
• Japan has been a partner in many important industrial projects in India, the Prime Minister explained the strength of India’s economic performance over the last four years.
• He said India is today the fastest growing major economy.
• He mentioned other major transitions in the Indian economy, including the move from informal to formal economy, digital transactions and GST etc.
• The Prime Minister said that India’s rising economy, fast growing middle class and young demography offer many new opportunities to Japanese investors.
• He also mentioned low cost manufacturing, IT industry, and electric mobility, among other sectors.
• The Prime Minister emphasized on the shared values between India and Japan.
• He said that both countries would look to develop stronger development partnerships in other parts of the world, including the Indo Pacific, South Asia and Africa.

Gujarat’s first Mega Food Park in Surat

• Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated the first Mega Food Park in Gujarat.

About:

• The Park is located at Village Shah and Vasravi, Taluka Mangrol, District Surat.
• The facilities being created by the developer at Central Processing Centre (CPC) of this Mega Food Park include Multi Chamber Cold Store of 3,500 MT (1,500 MT Frozen & 2,000 MT MA), Warehouse of 5,000 MT, IQF of 2 TPH, Pulping Line, QC Laboratory and other related food processing facilities.
• The Park also has a common administrative building for office and other uses by the entrepreneurs and 4 PPCs at Bharuch, Padra (Vadodara), Valsad and Navsari having facilities for primary processing and storage near the farms.
• The Park will also provide direct and indirect employment to 5,000 persons and benefit about 25,000 farmers in the CPC and PPC catchment areas.

Aim:

• At giving a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing Mega Food Park Scheme in the country.
• Mega Food Parks create modern infrastructure facilities for food processing along the value chain from farm to market with strong forward and backward linkages through a cluster based approach.
• Common facilities and enabling infrastructure is created at Central Processing Centre and facilities for primary processing and storage is created near the farm in the form of Primary Processing Centers (PPCs) and Collection Centers (CCs).

Vigilance Awareness Week

Context:

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will observe the Vigilance Awareness Week from 29^thOctober to 3^rd November, 2018 as per the directions of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), Government of India. 

Theme:

• The theme of the vigilance awareness this year is “Eradicate Corruption- Make a New India.”

Aim:

• The CVC aims to promote integrity, transparency and accountability in public life.

Benefits:

• The observation of Vigilance Awareness Week creates greater awareness among public and encourages all the stakeholders to collectively participate in prevention of and fight against Corruption.
• During the week-long Vigilance Awareness campaign, various activities like seminars, debates and essay competitions will be organized in the Ministry to sensitize and motivate its officers and staff to remain vigilant and transparent in their work in order to eradicate corruption in all spheres of life.

India’s first container movement on inland waterways

Context:

• Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) will transport container cargo belonging to the food and beverage giant PepsiCo (India) from Kolkata to Varanasi on river Ganga (National Waterway-1) tomorrow.
• This would be the country’s first container movement on inland vessel post-independence, and a milestone moment in the history of India’s IWT sector.

About:

• PepsiCo (India) will move 16 containers – equivalent to 16 truckloads- filled with food and snacks in the vessel MV RN Tagore which will reach Varanasi in 9-10 days.
• MV RN Tagore will make its return journey with fertilizers belonging to IFFCO that will be procured from its Phulpur plant near Allahabad.
• The event coincides with another momentous day for IWT in India as IWAI’s first foray into Public Private Partnership (PPP) model will become a reality with the handing over of operation and management of its terminals in Kolkata to M/s Summit Alliance Port East Gateway (India) Pvt Ltd. (SAPEL) on a supply, operate and maintain (SOM) model.
• Container cargo transport comes with several inherent advantages, as it reduces the handling cost, allows easier modal shift, reduces pilferages and damage, it also enables cargo owners to reduce their carbon footprints.
• The government is developing NW-1 (River Ganga) under JMVP from Haldia to Varanasi (1390 Km) with the technical and financial assistance of the World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs 5369 crore. The project would enable commercial navigation of vessels with capacity of 1500-2,000 DWT.
• The PepsiCo cargo will be the first container movement on inland waterways in the country.

Conference on “CCTNS–Good practices and success Stories”

• The Union Minister of State for Home, Shri Hansraj Gangaram Ahir inaugurated the two-day conference on “CCTNS–Good practices and Success Stories” organised by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB).
• He also released a Compendium of “CCTN–Good practices and Success Stories”.  
• He said that in a huge democracy like India, having population of 130 crore, CCTN System and associated technologies can help us get information quickly and track the criminals. 
• All the States/UTs should coordinate  and integrate the various organs of the Criminal Justice System such as the Police, Courts, Prisons, Prosecution, Forensic Laboratories, Finger Prints and Juvenile

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