Bihar Affairs
Land acquisition still a major hurdle for Patna metro rail project
Only 5% of overall work onPatna metro railproject has so far been completed in the state. Officials of thePatnaMetro Rail Corporation (PMRC) have cited various reasons for slow pace of work, including delay in land acquisition, non-availability of funds and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The construction work on the first phase of the project was initiated in September last year. The 6.6-km long elevated metro line (priority corridor) will have five stations from Malahi Pakri to Patliputra ISBT via Khemni Chak and Zero Mile. It also includes a viaduct leading to the ISBT metro rail depot, as well as a small rake-interchange viaduct at Khemni Chak to connect Corridor I.
The Corridor I will be 17.9-km-long from Danapur to Khemnichack via Meethapur 7.3km elevated and 10.5km underground.
National and International Affairs
Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2021 – SSG
Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2021 has been launched. Swachh Survekshan Gramin 2021 was launched in the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission.
Highlights:
The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) will undertake the Survekshan (survey) nationally to assist the acceleration of ODF Plus interventions and extend momentum for enhancing ODF Sustainability as well as Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) activities throughout villages.
More than 17000 villages in 698 districts will be included this time.
As part of the survey, schools, anganwadis, public Health centers, haats/bazaars, religious places, etc. will be visited.
Around 1,74,750 households will be interviewed for their comments on SBM issues.
Main Bhi Digital 3.0 – Campaign for Street Vendors
Main Bhi Digital 3.0 was launched A unique Campaign for Training for street vendors and Digital Onboarding.
The campaign has been launched by the Ministry of Housing Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology throughout 223 cities in the country.
This drive is a part of the PM SVANidhi scheme.
BharatPe, Mswipe, PhonePe, Paytm and Aceware are participating in this event to issue UPI IDs, QR codes and provide digital training.
Digital payment aggregators will work with street vendors to increase the adoption rate and behavior change of digital transactions.
To promote digital transactions, guidance has been issued to the Lending Institutions (LIs) to handover a long lasting QR Code and teach the beneficiaries for conducting digital receipt and price transactions within a week of disbursement.
India Rankings 2021 – Education Ministry
The Minister of Education released the 2021 India ranking established by the National Institutional Ranking Framework.
Highlights:
This is the sixth consecutive version of India Rankings of HEIs in India.
In the first edition in 2016, university categories and rankings in three specific fields were announced, namely engineering, management, and pharmacy rankings.
Over the years, three new categories and five new subject areas have been added, bringing the total to four 4 categories and seven subjects.
Medium Range Surface to Air Missile System
DRDO passed over the air DEFENCE missile (MRSAM) System to the Indian Air Force.
About MRSAM System:
MRSAM (IAF) is an advanced Network-centric combat air defense system developed by DRDO and the Israel Aerospace (IAI) in cooperation with Indian Industry, which includes the private and public sectors, including small, medium and micro enterprises.
The MRSAM system provides point and area air defense for ground assets to resist various threats, including fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, guided and unguided munitions, subsonic and supersonic cruise missiles, etc.
It is capable of engaging multiple targets at ranges up to 70 kms in extreme saturation scenarios.
The missile is powered by an indigenously developed rocket motor and control system for reaching excessive manoeuvrability during the terminal phase.
Strategic Clean Energy Partnership – US and India
The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm co-chaired a virtual ministerial meeting to launch the reformed US-India Strategic Clean Energy PARTNERSHIP .
Highlights:
SCEP was launched under the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden at the Climate Leaders Summit in April this year.
The SCEP organizes an inter-governmental engagement throughout 5 pillars of cooperation. They are: (1) Power and Energy Efficiency; (2) ; (3) Responsible Oil and Gas; (4) Sustainable Growth and (5) Emerging Fuels.
First Country to Vaccinate Toddlers Cuba
Cuba grew to be the first country in the world to vaccinate Toddlers from the age of two against COVID-19, the usage of Home-grown jabs now not recognised through the World Health Organisation.
Highlights:
The communist island of 11.2 million human beings aims to inoculate all its youngsters earlier than reopening schools that have been closed for the most part due to the fact that March 2020.
Countries such as China, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela have announced they plan to vaccinate younger children, however Cuba is the first to do so.
The Cuban Vaccines, the first developed in Latin America, have not undergone international, scientific peer review.