News: Grand ICT Challenge under Jal Jeevan Mission has received impressive response from the participants.
Facts:
- Grand ICT Challenge: It was launched by National Jal Jeevan Mission in partnership with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY).
- Aim: To harness vibrant ‘Internet of Things’ ecosystems for creating smart rural water supply systems to measure and monitor the service delivery of the water supply in rural areas.
- Significance: The mission focuses on service delivery rather than mere creation of infrastructure.
Additional Facts:
- Jal Jeevan Mission(JJM): It is being implemented in partnership with States for providing Functional Household Tap Water Connection(FHTC) to every rural household by 2024.The mission is based on a community approach to water and will include extensive Information, Education and communication as a key component of the mission.
2. India’s first multi-modal logistics park to come up in Assam
News: Union Minister has laid the foundation stone for Jogighopa Multimodal Logistics Park in Assam.
Facts:
- Jogighopa Multimodal Logistics Park: It is India’s first multi-modal logistics park that will provide direct connectivity to air, road, rail and waterways to the people.
- Developed under: It will be developed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana of the Government of India.
Additional Facts:
- Bharatmala Pariyojana: It an umbrella program for the highways sector that focuses on optimizing efficiency of freight and passenger movement across India.
- Objective: Optimal resource allocation for a holistic highway development and improvement.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
3. NITI Aayog & AWS Launch Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center in India
News: NITI Aayog has announced the establishment of a Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center(CIC) with Amazon Web Services(AWS)—the first of its kind in India.
Facts:
- Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center(CIC): It is a public-private partnership that focuses on addressing societal challenges through digital innovation by using emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence(AI), Internet of Things(IoT), robotics among others.
Additional Facts:
- What is CIC? It is part of the AWS CIC Global Program, which provides an opportunity for government agencies, nonprofits and educational institutions to come together on pressing challenges, apply design thinking, test new ideas and access the technical expertise of AWS.
- AWS: It is a subsidiary of Amazon.It provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and Application Programming Interfaces(API) to individuals, companies and governments on a metered pay-as-you-go basis.
- Frontier Technologies: It is defined as potentially disruptive technology that can address large-scale challenges.It is an intersection where radical forward-thinking and real-world implementation meet.For example AI, robotics, 3D printing, Internet of Things among others.
4. Indian Tourist Statistics 2020
News: The Ministry of Tourism has released the Indian Tourist Statistics,2020.
Facts:
Key Takeaways:
- Domestic Tourists: Uttar Pradesh has attracted the highest number of domestic tourists in year 2019.
- Foreign Tourists: Tamil Nadu has topped the highest number of foreign tourists in year 2019.
- Top 5 Source Countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2019: Bangladesh, United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
- Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India: The foreign tourist arrival in India saw an Annual Growth Rate of 3.5% in 2019.
- Foreign Exchange Earnings: The Estimated Foreign Exchange Earnings from Tourism is around US$30 billion in 2019.
- Top five destination countries for Indian Nationals Departures(IND) during 2019: UAE, Saudi Arabia, USA, Thailand and Singapore.
Additional Facts:
- Swadesh Darshan scheme: It was launched in 2014-15 by the Ministry of Tourism.It aims at the integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits. Example: Ramayana Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit.
- Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) Scheme: It was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in 2015. It aims at identifying and developing pilgrim sites across India.
- Iconic Tourist Sites Initiative: It was announced in Budget 2019-20 by the Finance Minister. The nodal ministry for the implementation of the initiative is the Ministry of Tourism.It aims to develop the selected sites into world-class tourist destinations to serve as a model for other tourism sites.
5. Foreign Direct Investment Inflow
Facts: The Ministry of Commerce has released the data on the Foreign Direct Investment Inflow in India.
Facts:
- For the period of last 6 years (2014-15 to 2019-20):
- Total FDI inflow grew by 55%, i.e. from US$ 231.37 billion in 2008-14 to US$ 358.29 billion in 2014-20.
- FDI equity inflow has also increased by 57% from US$ 160.46 billion during 2008-14 to US$ 252.42 billion(2014-20).
- For the Financial Year 2020-21 (April to August, 2020)
- Total FDI inflow received was US$ 35.73 billion.It is the highest ever for the first 5 months of a financial year.
- FDI equity inflow received during F.Y. 2020-21 is US$ 27.10 billion.It is also the highest ever for the first 5 months of a financial year.
Additional Facts:
- Foreign direct investment(FDI): It is a category of cross-border investment in which an investor resident in one economy establishes a lasting interest in and a significant degree of influence over an enterprise resident in another economy.
- Significance: It is a major driver of economic growth and an important source of non-debt finance for the economic development of India.
6. Environmental clearance to Kaleshwaram given in violation of law: NGT
News: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has held that environmental clearance (EC) to Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) was granted ex post facto, after completion of substantial work, by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) “in violation of law”.
Facts:
- Location: Kaleshwaram Multipurpose Lift Irrigation Project is located in Telangana. It was initiated in 2016 on the Godavari River.
- It is touted as the world’s largest multi-stage, multi-purpose lift irrigation
- Details: The total length of Kaleshwaram project is approximately 1,832 kms. It has 20 reservoirs spread across 13 districts with a total capacity to store 145 TMC.
- Significance:
- The project will support crop cultivation on 45 lakh acres of land.
- It will also meet the drinking water requirement of 70% of the state and also cater to the needs of the industry.
7. Hybrid model of ‘smart’ fence being tested along the LoC
News: The Indian army is testing smart fencing along LoC. The fence will be integrated with LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensors, infrared sensors and cameras among others.
Facts:
Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS)
- It is an integration of a number of high-tech surveillance equipment, technologies and trained human resource to ensure robust surveillance across borders. It is designed to guard stretches where physical surveillance is not possible either due to inhospitable terrain or riverine borders.
- The implementation of Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS), was formulated in 2016 after the attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station.
- Two smart border fencing pilot projects are in place along International Border in Jammu. In March 2019, BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique) was inaugurated on India-Bangladesh border in Dhubri District of Assam.
Additional Information:
- At present, Anti-Infiltration Obstacle System (AIOS) is placed along LoC.
8. Union Minister launches CSIR partnered clinical trials website “CUReD”
News: Ministry of Science and Technology launched “CUReD”
Facts:
- CuRED or CSIR Ushered Repurposed Drugs is a website that provides information about the drugs, diagnostics and devices including the current stage of the trials, partnering institutions and their role in the trials and other details.
