1.Five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur presented to President
News: The Ministry of Culture has presented the first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur published under the National Mission for Manuscripts(NMM) to the President.
Facts:
- Mongolian Kanjur: It is a Buddhist canonical text in 108 volumes which is considered to be the most important religious text in Mongolia.
- In the Mongolian language ‘Kanjur’ means ‘Concise Orders’- the words of Lord Buddha in particular.
- Significance: It is held in high esteem by the Mongolian Buddhists and they worship the Kanjur at temples and recite the lines of Kanjur in daily life as a sacred ritual.
Additional Facts:
- National Mission for Manuscripts: It was established in 2003 by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Government of India.
- Aim: To survey, locate and conserve Indian manuscripts with an aim to create a national resource base for manuscripts for enhancing their access, awareness and use for educational purposes.
- National Nodal Agency for the Mission: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi.
2.Govt notifies draft rules for Code on Wages
News: The Labour and Employment Ministry has notified the draft Code on Wages (Central) Rules under the Code on Wages,2019.
Facts:
- Code on wages, 2019: It has amended and consolidated laws relating to wages, bonus and related matters.The Code subsumed four labour laws – a) Payment of Wages Act,1936, b) Minimum Wages Act,1948 c) Payment of Bonus Act,1965 and the d) Equal Remuneration Act,1976.
Key Provisions of Draft Wage Rules:
- Working hours: The normal working day shall comprise eight hours of work and one or more intervals of rest which in total shall not exceed one hour.
- Central Advisory Board: Government will set up a Central advisory board to fix the floor-level minimum wages.
- Calculation of minimum wage: The criteria for fixing the minimum rate of wages per day for employees include: (i) standard family of four (self, spouse and two children) (ii) daily intake of 2700 calories per consumption unit, (iii) 10% expenditure on rent, (iv) 20% expenditure of fuel, electricity, and miscellaneous items, and (v) 25% expenditure on education, medical requirements and contingencies.
- Norms for fixing minimum wage:Minimum wages will be calculated on the basis of the geographical area of employment and the skill category of an employee.
- For this purpose, the central government will divide the geographical area into three categories: metropolitan,, non-metropolitan and rural areas.
- The occupations are also divided into four skill categories: unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled.
- Technical committee: A Technical Committee will be formed to suggest, modify, add or delete particular occupations in the tentative list of four categories: unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled.
3.Prime minister to inaugurate Rewa solar plant
News: Prime Minister will inaugurate the 750 MW Rewa Solar plant set up at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.
Facts:
- Rewa Solar Plant: It has been developed by the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL) a joint venture company of Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited.
- Solar Capacity: The solar plant has a total solar installed capacity of 750 MW.
- Significance: It is the first solar park of India to receive funding from the World Bank and also the first project to get funding from Clean Technology Fund in India.
- The project is also the first renewable energy project to supply to an institutional customer outside the state, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.
- Impact: The project would lead to avoiding 15.4 lakh tonnes of carbon dioxide generation every year.
Additional Facts:
- Clean Technology Fund: It is one of two multi-donor Trust Funds within the Climate Investment Funds(CIFs),the other being the Strategic Climate Fund.
- Aim: To provide scaled up financing to contribute to the demonstration, deployment and transfer of low-carbon technologies with a significant potential for long-term greenhouse gas emissions savings.
- Trustee: The World Bank is the Trustee and administering unit of CTF Fund.
4.North Eastern Region Community Resource and Management Program (NERCORMP)
News: Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region(DoNER) has interacted with Self Help Groups associated with North Eastern Region Community Resource and Management Program(NERCORMP).
Facts:
- North Eastern Region Community Resource Management Project (NERCORMP) is a livelihood and rural development project.
- Aim: To transform the lives of the poor and marginalized tribal families in North East(NE) India.
- Objectives:
- Social mobilization, organization and capacity building to tap and realize the great potential of the communities.
- Intervene with the economic, social activities and infrastructure with predominant thrust on income generating activities to achieve economic transformation.
- Bodies Involved: It is a joint initiative of the North Eastern Council (NEC), Ministry of DoNER and International Fund for Agricultural Development(IFAD).
- Implementation: It is operating in four states Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur.
Additional Facts:
- IFAD: It is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries.It is headquartered in Rome,Italy.
5.Maldives, Sri Lanka eliminate measles and rubella, ahead of 2023 target
News: Maldives and Sri Lanka have become the first two countries in the World Health Organisation’s South-East Asian Region (WHO SEAR) to have eliminated both measles and rubella ahead of the 2023 deadline.
Facts:
- Criteria: A country is verified as having eliminated measles and rubella when there is no evidence of endemic transmission of the respective viruses for over three years in the presence of a well-performing surveillance system.
- Other Countries:
- Bhutan, DPR Korea and Timor-Leste are countries in the region which have eliminated measles.
Additional Facts:
- WHO SEAR: It has 11 member countries- Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, DPR Korea, Myanmar, Maldives and Timor-Leste.
- Measles and Rubella(German measles): They are a contagious viral diseases that spreads by contact with an infected person through coughing and sneezing.Both of them can be entirely prevented with a two-dose of MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine.
- Difference between Measles and Rubella:
- Measles is caused by Rubeola virus and Rubella is caused by Rubella virus.
- Rubella causes a milder illness than measles but it is of particular concern because if a pregnant woman becomes infected, the virus can cause severe birth defects known as Congenital Rubella Syndrome(CRS).
- India: It has initiated the world’s largest Measles-Rubella(MR) Campaign in 2017.It targets vaccination of 410 million children and adolescents aged between 9 months and 15 years.
