5th August, 2023 Current Affairs

5th August, 2023 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
Centre aims to work towards achieving zero stubble burning in current season

• A high level inter-Ministerial meeting was held yesterday under the co-chairmanship of Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and Minister of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Shri Bhupender Yadav to review the preparedness of the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCT of Delhi in preventing paddy stubble burning in the current season.
• The high-level meeting was attended by Shri Surya Pratap Shahi Agriculture Minister, Govt. of UP, Shri Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Agriculture Minister of Punjab, Shri Jai Prakash Dalal, Agriculture Minister of Haryana and Shri Gopal Rai, Environment Minister of NCT of Delhi. Senior officers of Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment, Govt. of India and from the States of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, NCT of Delhi and ICAR were also present.
• During the meeting, the States presented their action plan and strategies for preventing stubble burning in the current season. The States were advised to utilize the funds provided for crop residue management, make Crop Residue Management (CRM) machinery available well before harvesting season and carry out Information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities in collaboration with ICAR and other stakeholders to bring awareness amongst farmers against paddy stubble burning.

Steps taken to promotion of alternative fertilizers

• For reducing the use of chemical fertilizers in agriculture, Government of India (GoI) is promoting the balanced and judicious use of fertilizers based on soil test based recommendations in conjunction with organic fertilizer and bio-fertilizers. Further, under organic schemes of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), Namami Gange, Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP), Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North- Eastern Region (MOVCDNER), National Project on Organic Farming (NPOF) etc., farmers are provided assistance for use of organic and bio-fertilizers. Further, National Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF) is involved in awareness generation & training activities for promotion of organic farming.
• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in its meeting held on 28th June, 2023 has approved the “PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment, and Amelioration of Mother-Earth (PM-PRANAM)”. The initiative aims to support the mass movement started by States/UTs to save the health of Mother Earth by promoting sustainable and balanced use of fertilizers, adopting alternate fertilizers, promoting organic farming and implementing resource conservation technologies. Under the said scheme, 50% of the fertilizer subsidy saved by a State/UT in a particular financial year by way of reduction in consumption of chemical fertilizers (Urea, DAP, NPK, MOP) compared to previous 3 years’ average consumption, will be passed on to that State/UT as Grant.
• Further, CCEA in its meeting held on 28th June, 2023 has approved the Market Development Assistance (MDA) @ Rs. 1500/MT to promote organic fertilizers, i.e.  manure produced at plants under GOBARdhan initiative covering different Biogas/CBG support schemes/programmes of stakeholder Ministries/Departments such as Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme of MoPNG, ‘Waste to Energy’ programme of MNRE, Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) of DDWS, etc. with total outlay of Rs. 1451.84 Crore (FY 2023-24 to 2025-26), which includes a corpus of Rs. 360 crore for research gap funding, etc

MASI Portal for Monitoring CHILD CARE HOMES

• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has developed The ‘MASI’ application for real-time monitoring of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and their inspection process across the country.
• The primary objective behind the development of the Monitoring App for Seamless Inspection (MASI) is to ensure the effective and efficient functioning of the inspection mechanism for CCIs as provided under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
• The app aims to synchronize the monitoring of the system by various authorities, including Child Welfare Committees (CWCs), State Inspection Committees, District Inspection Committees, Members of Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs) and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs).

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INTERNATIONAL
NSA Ajit Doval Joins Delegates in Jeddah for Peace Negotiations

• The National Security Advisor of India, Ajit Doval, arrived in Jeddah on 5th August 2023 to participate in a crucial meeting focused on finding a resolution to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The meeting, attended by senior officials from approximately 40 countries, aims to establish key principles for a future peace settlement to end Russia's war in Ukraine.
• The meeting in Jeddah presents a critical opportunity for various nations to collectively address the complex situation in Ukraine and work towards a lasting peace settlement.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy expressed his optimism on Wednesday, stating that he envisions the current initiative culminating in a "peace summit" . The summit aims to gather leaders from across the globe to endorse the principles for a peace settlement, based on President Zelenskiy's comprehensive 10-point formula.

ECONOMY
Global Standards Harbour

• Sagarmala is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways aims to promote port-led development in the country through harnessing India’s 7,500 km long coastline and 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways.
• As a part of Sagarmala Programme, more than 800 projects at an estimated cost of around 5.54 lakh crore have been identified for implementation.
•  These projects are broadly classified into five pillars of Sagarmala. Implementation of the projects under Sagarmala is to be done by the Central Line Ministries, State Maritime Boards, Major Ports and SPV preferably through Public Private Partnership (PPP) wherever feasible. Development of ports and harbours are covered under Port Modernisation Pillar of Sagarmala Programme.

Fish Ports in Coastal Areas

• The Government has approved nine (09) Fishing Harbour projects (Details at Annexure-I) in Maharashtra, out of which four (04) projectshave been approved by Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) in convergence mode with Department of Fisheries (DoF), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and five (05) projects have been approved by DoF under Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF).
• The Government has approved for construction of nine (09) Fish Landing Centres (Details at Annexure-II) in Maharashtra, under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) of DoF.

Sl. No.	Name of the Project	Scheme	Total Project cost	District
1	Development of Mallet Bunder Fishing Harbour	PMMSY &Sagarmala	96.60	Mumbai
2	Modernisation of Sassoon Dock Fishing Harbour	Blue Revolution &Sagarmala	92.52	Mumbai
3	Karanja Fishing Harbour	Blue Revolution &Sagarmala	149.80	Raigad
4	Anandwadi Fishing Harbour	Blue Revolution &Sagarmala	88.44	Sindhudurg
5	Construction of Fisheries Harbour at Jeevana, Taluka Shrivardhan, District Raigad	FIDF	185.48	Raigad
6	Construction of Fisheries Harbour at Bharadkhol, Near Shrivardham, District Raigad	FIDF	119.64	Raigad
7	Construction of Fisheries Harbour at Harnai Taluka Dapoli District Ratnagiri	FIDF	221.34	Ratnagiri
8	Construction of Fisheries Harbour at Sakhari Nate Taluka Rajapur District Ratnagiri	FIDF	146.90	Ratnagiri
9	Development of Fishing Harbour at Satpati Near Palghar, Palghar District	FIDF	267.12	Palghar

SPORTS
World Archery Championships 2023: India wins historic gold medal

• The Indian women’s compound archery team etched their names in history by clinching a gold medal at the World Archery Championships held in Berlin, Germany. This victory marked India’s first-ever gold at the archery world championships in any category. It was India’s first-ever gold at the archery world championships in any category.
• The triumphant team comprised Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur, and Aditi Gopichand Swami. In the final round, they showcased an exceptional performance against the Mexican team, consisting of Dafne Quintero, Ana Sofia Hernandez Jeon, and Andrea Becerra. The Indian trio emerged victorious with a score of 235-229, demonstrating their prowess and precision in the sport.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ISRO all set for Lunar Orbit Injection of Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft

• The Indian Space Research Organisation has said that it is all set for the Lunar Orbit Injection of Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft at 7 this evening.
• The spacecraft to the moon has covered about two-thirds of the distance to the moon

Published date : 07 Aug 2023 10:02AM