Current Affairs Mar 20

Energy Swaraj Yatra Bus

Why in News?

• The bus is fitted with solar energy and equipped to be a complete work cum residential unit.
• Chetan Singh Solanki, a professor from IIT Bombay, has conceptualised and built the Bus.
• The bus has facilities to go through all daily activities including sleeping, working, cooking, bathing, meeting, training, etc. The bus is fitted with 3.2 kW solar panels and 6 kWh of battery storage.
• The Energy Swaraj Yatra began in year 2020 and will continue till 2030.
• Professor Solanki has been recently conferred with the Brand Ambassador of Solar Energy of Madhya Pradesh by Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh.

PIB

Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY)

• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has been implementing the Central Sector Umbrella Scheme – Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY) for overall growth and development of the food processing sector, including the processing of agro- products.
• The scheme has an outlay of Rs. 6000 crore for the period 2016-17 to 2019-20. The period has since been extended to FY 2020-21.

The component schemes of PMKSY are – 

• (i) Mega Food Park, (ii) Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, (iii) Creation /Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities, (iv) Infrastructure for Agro-Processing Clusters, (v) Creation of Backward & Forward linkages,(vi) Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure, (vii) Human Resource and Institutions, (viii) Operation Greens.
• Under component schemes of PMKSY, MoFPI provides mostly credit-linked financial assistance (capital subsidy) in the form of grants-in-aid to entrepreneurs for setting up of food processing/preservation industries.
• PMKSY is not any region or state-specific but demand-driven and is implemented across the country including the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh.
• As part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Initiative, MoFPI is implementing a Centrally Sponsored Scheme-PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME) for providing financial, technical and business support for setting up/upgradation of 2 lakh micro food processing enterprises through credit linked subsidy during five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs.10,000 crore.

PIB

Labour Bureau to conduct all –India surveys

Why in News?

• The Labour Bureau and Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting signed a service level agreement for providing technical and manpower support to Labour Bureau in the conduct of All India Surveys on Migrant Workers & All India Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey(AQEES).
• The surveys to be undertaken by Bureau will be integrated with the technology provided by BECIL, which will substantially reduce the time taken for completion of surveys by at least 30-40%.
• The Ministry in order to implement the newly introduced category of ‘Fixed Term Employment’ (FTE) has decided that the manpower engaged through the IT partner for supporting these surveys will be offered Fixed Term Employment.
• The Fixed Term Employment is a historic provision in the recent labour codes which will bestow various benefits on the workers engaged for a fixed term by treating them at par with permanent workers.

PIB

GRAM UJALA

Why in News?

• Ministry of Power launched the GRAM UJALA programme in Arrah, Bihar.

About Programme

• Under the programme, 7 watt and 12-Watt LED bulbs with 3 years warranty will be given to rural consumers against submission of working Incandescent bulbs.
• The Gram Ujala programme will be implemented in villages of the 5 districts only and consumers can exchange a maximum of 5 LED bulbs.
• These rural households will also have metres installed in their houses to account for usage.
• Further on, carbon credit documentation will be sent to UN accredited validators for inclusion into the Shine Program of activities.
• Carbon credits will be prepared under the Shine Program of Activities with an option for verifying under the Voluntary Carbon Standard, depending on the needs of buyers.
• Carbon Credit Buyers will also be sought through an open process based on initial discussions with the market.
• The balance cost and margin on the LED cost will be recouped through the carbon credits earned.
• The GRAM UJALA programme will have a significant impact on India’s climate change action energy savings of 2025 million KWh/year and CO2 reductions of 1.65 million T CO2/year.

PIB

States can pass resolutions against Central laws

Why in News?

• The Supreme Court prima facie found no harm in State Legislative Assemblies, such as those in Kerala and West Bengal, passing resolutions against Central laws like the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act or the controversial new farm laws.
• A Bench said these resolutions are merely “opinions” of the majority members of a Legislative Assembly and do not have the force of law.
• The court was hearing a PIL filed by a Rajasthan-based NGO, Samta Andolan Samiti, that said State Assemblies, such as of Rajasthan, Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal, have no business passing resolutions against Central laws that come under the Union List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

THE HINDU

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2021

Why in News?

• The Lok Sabha passed The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2021, that seeks to put seven castes under one nomenclature of “Devendrakula Vellalars” with some exceptions for some of the castes in certain districts of Tamil Nadu.
• The castes include Devendrakulathan, Kadaiyan, Kalladi, Kudumban, Pallan, Pannadi and Vathiriyan.
• The Tamil Nadu government had earlier accepted a recommendation of a committee to reclassify the seven sub sects under the generic name ‘Devendrakula Velalar’ and forwarded it to the Centre.

THE HINDU

Pandemic may have doubled poverty in India

Why in News?

• India’s middle class may have shrunk by a third due to 2020’s pandemic-driven recession, while the number of poor people — earning less than ₹150 per day — more than doubled, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center. In a comparison, Chinese incomes remained relatively unshaken, with just a 2% drop in the middle class population, it found.
• The report, released recently, uses World Bank projections of economic growth to estimate the impact of COVID-19 on Indian incomes.

Report Findings

• The middle class in India is estimated to have shrunk by 3.2 crore in 2020 as a consequence of the downturn, compared with the number it may have reached absent the pandemic, defining the middle class as people with incomes of approximately ₹700-1,500 or $10-20 per day.
• The number of people who are poor in India (with incomes of $2 or less a day) is estimated to have increased by 7.5 crore because of the COVID-19 recession. This accounts for nearly 60% of the global increase in poverty, estimating an increase from almost 6 crore to 13.4 crore poor people.
• The vast majority of India’s population fall into the low income tier, earning about ₹150 to 700 per day.
• The middle income group is likely to have decreased from almost 10 crore to just 6.6 crore, while the richer population who earn more than ₹1,500 a day also fell almost 30% to 1.8 crore people.
• In contrast, China’s middle class is likely to see a miniscule dip of just one crore, while the number of poor people may have gone up by 10 lakh.

THE HINDU

Global Hunger Index report’s methodology

Why in News?

• Union Minister of State for Agriculture in the Rajya Sabha questioned the methodology and data accuracy of the Global Hunger Index (GHI) report, which has placed India at 94th (out of 107 countries) rank in 2020.
• India ranked below countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar, when it was among top 10 food-producing countries in the world.

National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4

• According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4, the percentage of wasted, stunted and malnourished children in 2015-16 stood at 21, 38.4 and 35.7, respectively.
• Compared to NFHS-4 data, the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) compiled in 2017-18 showed an improvement of 4%, 3.7% and 2.3% in wasted, stunted and malnourished children respectively.
• The first-ever CNNS was commissioned by the government in 2016 and was conducted from 2016-18, led by the Union Health Ministry, in collaboration with the UNICEF. The findings were published in 2019. CNNS includes only nutrition data, whereas NFHS encompasses overall health indicators.
• GHI is a peer-reviewed annual report, jointly published by Concern Worldwide, an Ireland-based humanitarian group, and Welthungerhilfe, a Germany-based NGO, designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.
• It aim of publishing the report is to trigger action to reduce hunger around the world.

THE HINDU

Vaccine Wastage

Why in News?

• At a meeting with Chief Ministers recently, Prime Minister raised concerns on vaccine wastage emerging from the Covid-19 inoculation drive.

What is vaccine wastage?

• Vaccine wastage is an expected component of any large vaccination drive, and a vaccine is procured from the maker with an estimated wastage. For each vaccine type, the wastage has to be within recommended limits.
• In general, high vaccine wastage inflates vaccine demand and increases unnecessary vaccine procurement and supply chain costs.
• The vaccine wastage rate is defined as 100 minus the vaccine usage rate. And the wastage rate directly determines the “wastage factor” that needs to be established for each vaccine in the immunisation schedule to accurately plan vaccine needs.

How does vaccine wastage happen?

• It is broadly divided into two categories: wastage in unopened vials, and in opened vials.
• Wastage in unopened vials can occur due to six broad reasons: if the expiry date has been reached; if the vaccine is exposed to heat; if the vaccine has been frozen; breakage; missing inventory and theft; and while discarding unused vials returned from the vaccination site.
• Wastage in opened vials can occur due to five broad reasons: while discarding remaining doses at the end of the session; not being able to draw the number of doses in a vial; submergence of opened vials in the water; suspected contamination; and poor vaccine administration practices.

At what stages can wastage occur?

• Wastage occurs at three levels: during transportation; during cold chain point; and at a vaccination site — both at service and delivery levels.

IE

Vaccine Passports

Why in News?

• Recently, the European Union announced its plans to roll out a joint vaccination passport for more than 440 million of its citizens in an attempt to kickstart cross-border travel and revive Europe’s struggling tourism sector.
• The aim of the document, which would act as a sort of certificate, would be to give people who have received the Covid-19 vaccine access to certain facilities and events.
• The EU’s decision has not been accepted by all its member states, with some pointing out that the rate of vaccination in Europe is still not on par with the United States and other countries.

What is a vaccine passport and how does it work?

• A vaccine passport is essentially a certificate given to an individual who has been vaccinated against a virus — in this case, Covid-19.
• These certificates could be made available in the form of a stamped certificate, or simply a digital document that can be stored on a smartphone.
• The aim of the document or ‘passport’ is to act as proof that the person has been vaccinated against the illness, and is hence, ‘safe’.
• But, despite what its name suggests, the vaccine passport is not only used by travellers. The document could become a requirement for a range of other activities and facilities as well.

So, why are people objecting to vaccine passports?

• Critics of the vaccine passport have pointed out that apart from the obvious scientific shortcomings of such a system, using such a document could also be discriminatory.
• These documents have been criticised by human rights activists and data protection advocates, who have raised concerns about the privacy and data security issues associated with vaccine passports.
• Another growing complication is the emergence of more virulent strains of the virus — such as the UK, South African and Brazilian mutations — and whether vaccines will be able to offer adequate protection against future variants as well.
• Ethical issues: Others have argued against the use of vaccine passports as they could be discriminatory against those who have not yet received the Covid jab. While those who are vaccinated will be able to travel and enjoy a number of facilities, non-vaccinated citizens will still have to face restrictions.
• Privacy concerns: Data security activists point out that the digital certificates can even be used by authorities to track the movement of their holders.

IE

Aluminium-air Battery

Why in News?

• State-owned Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. has entered into a joint venture with Israel-based battery technology startup Phinergy to develop aluminium-air technology based battery systems for electric vehicles and stationary storage, as well as hydrogen storage solutions.

What is an aluminium-air battery?

• Aluminium-air batteries are said to be a lower cost and more energy-dense alternative to lithium-ion batteries which are currently in widespread use for electric vehicles in India.
• Aluminium-air batteries utilise oxygen in the air which reacts with an aluminium hydroxide solution to oxidise the aluminium and produce electricity.
• One of the key downsides of aluminium-air batteries is that they cannot be recharged like lithium-ion batteries.
• Therefore, large scale use of aluminium-air battery based vehicles would require the wide availability of battery swapping stations.
• Aluminium-air battery-based electric vehicles are, however, expected to offer much greater range of 400 km or more per battery compared to lithium-ion batteries which currently offer a range of 150-200 kilometres per full charge.

Why is this technology important for India’s EV push?

• Currently, India is largely dependent on imports of lithium-ion batteries from China for electric vehicles.
• While some Indian companies have started manufacturing lithium-ion batteries in the country, metal-air battery solutions including aluminium-air batteries could offer a viable alternative to lithium-ion batteries and boost the domestic manufacture of batteries to meet India’s growing demand for energy storage.
• Aluminium-air based batteries are also expected to be significantly cheaper than lithium-ion batteries, thereby reducing the cost of electric vehicle usage and boosting electric vehicle adoption in the country.

IE

Krysuvik Volcanic System

Why in News?

• A volcano has erupted in Iceland near the capital Reykjavik after thousands of small earthquakes in the area in recent weeks.

About

• The Krysuvik volcanic system, which does not have a central volcano, is located south of Mount Fagradalsfjall on the Reykjanes peninsula in south-west Iceland.
• Volcanic eruptions in the region are known as effusive eruptions, where lava flows steadily out of the ground, as opposed to explosive ones such as that of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 which spewed ash clouds high into the sky and paralysed air traffic in Europe for weeks.
• The Krysuvik volcanic system has been inactive for the past 900 years, while the last eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula dates back almost 800 years to 1240.
• Located between the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates, among the largest on the planet, Iceland is a seismic and volcanic hotspot as the two plates move in opposite directions.
• The source of the eruption is a large body of molten rock, known as magma, which has pushed its way to the surface over the past weeks, instigating the earthquakes.

THE GUARDIAN

New bacteria lurking on ISS

Why in News?

• Four species of bacteria – three of them previously unknown to science – have been discovered onboard the International Space Station (ISS), begging questions about how they got there, and how they have managed to survive.
• Their discovery may also bolster future efforts to cultivate crops during long spaceflight missions, since related species are known to promote the growth of plants and help them fight off pathogens.

Previous studies

• Had suggested that certain resilient strains of bacteria could survive the harsh conditions of space, including dried pellets of Deinococcus bacteria – listed in the Guinness World Records as the world’s toughest – which survived on the space station’s surface for three years.
• They were deliberately placed there to test the “panspermia” theory that life exists throughout the universe and may be transported between planets by space dust, asteroids, comets, or even contaminated spacecraft.
• Another recent study identified a diverse population of bacteria and fungi associated with the human body inside the ISS, where they are somewhat more protected – though still subject to low gravity, recirculated air and high levels of carbon dioxide.
• The new bacteria, All of them are rod-shaped bacteria belonging to the Methylobacteriaceae family – usually found in soil and fresh water, where they help to promote plant growth and defend against pathogens.
• Methylorubrum rhodesianum was the bacterium found that was already known to science.
• The other three had never previously been identified, but genetic and taxonomic analysis suggests they are related to Methylobacterium indicum, a bacterium sometimes found on rice grains.

THE GUARDIAN