25 Sep 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Asian Games
2. Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA)
3. Bharat Drone Shakti 2023
4. Unified Registration Portal for GOBARdhan Scheme

1. ​​Asian Games

Syllabus: Miscellaneous

Prelims: Sports Updates (GK)

Context:

Performance of Indian athletes at the Asian Games 2022 being held in China.

Details:

• The Indian Women’s Cricket team won the gold.
• The 10m Air Rifle Men’s Team (Rudrankksh Patil, Divyansh Panwar, and Aishwary Pratap Tomar) won the gold.
• The Rowing Men’s Quadruple Sculls team of Satnam Singh, Parminder Singh, Sukhmeet, and Jakar Khan won bronze.
• The 25m Rapid Fire Pistol Men’s Team (Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu and Adarsh Singh) won bronze.
• The men’s Coxless Four Rowing Team (Ashish, Bheem Singh, Jaswinder Singh & Punit Kumar) won bronze.

2. Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA)

Syllabus: GS-3, Environment & Ecology

Prelims: Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA), Indian Standards on Biofuels

Context:

Indian Standards on Biofuel to Aid GBA’s Clean Energy Goals.

Details:

• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has committed to complementing the country’s green initiatives by developing relevant standards. 
• The BIS also announced that the Indian Standards will significantly complement the objectives of the Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA).
• BIS has developed the following nine Indian standards on biofuels espousing the ethanol blending program and the objectives of the GBA:
  • IS 15464: 2022 Anhydrous Ethanol for Use as Blending Component in Motor Gasoline – Specification
  • IS 15607: 2022 Biodiesel B-100 – Fatty Acid Methyl Esters FAME – Specification
  • IS 16087: 2016 Biogas (Biomethane) – Specification (First Revision)
  • IS 16531: 2022 Biodiesel Diesel Fuel Blend B8 to B20 Specification
  • IS 16629: 2017 Hydrous ethanol for use in ED95 automotive fuel – Specification
  • IS 16634: 2017 E85 fuel (Blend Of Anhydrous Ethanol And Gasoline) – Specification
  • IS 17021: 2018 E 20 fuel – Admixture of anhydrous ethanol and gasoline – As fuel for spark-ignited engine-powered vehicles – Specification
  • IS 17081: 2019 Aviation turbine fuel (Kerosene Type, Jet A – 1) containing synthesised hydrocarbons – Specification
  • IS 17821: 2022 Ethanol as a Fuel for Use in Positive Ignition Engine Powered Vehicles – Specification

3. Bharat Drone Shakti 2023

Syllabus: GS-3, Defence & Security

Prelims: Bharat Drone Shakti 2023

Context:

First ever drone exhibition cum display ‘Bharat Drone Shakti 2023’ inaugurated by Raksha Mantri at Hindan Air Force Station, Ghaziabad.

Details:

• The drones featured during the event can be employed for a variety of military and civil applications. 
• By showcasing their capabilities through a series of aerial & statics demonstrations, the IAF and the Drone Federation of India (DFI) seek to bolster the government’s initiative to make India a major drone hub by 2030.

4. Unified Registration Portal for GOBARdhan Scheme

Syllabus: GS-2, Govt schemes

Prelims: GOBARdhan Scheme

Context:

The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti has introduced a Unified Registration Portal for GOBARdhan (gobardhan.co.in) to streamline the registration of Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) and biogas plants nationwide. 

Details:

• The registered CBG/Biogas plants are eligible for assistance under the Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme of the Deptt. of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
• According to the guidelines, MDA of Rs. 1500/MT will be granted for the sale of Fermented Organic Manure (FOM)/ Liquid Fermented Organic Manure (LFOM)/ Phosphate Rich Organic Manure (PROM) produced at BG/CBG plants under the GOBARdhan initiative. 
• Pre-requisites for MDA eligibility:
  • Registration of manufacturing plants on the Unified GOBARdhan portal of the DDWS 
  • Adhering to Fertilizer Control Order (FCO) specifications for organic fertilizers
• The MDA scheme was rolled out by the Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers to promote the production and uptake of organic fertilizers from Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBARdhan) plants.
• The objective of the MDA scheme is to drive the widespread adoption of organic manure, ushering in savings for rural households by cutting down reliance on chemical fertilizers/urea.

Read the previous PIB articles here.