3rd February, 2022 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
Government approved 3,855 applications for PM CARES to support children who have lost parents due to COVID

The government has said that three thousand 855 applications have been approved so far for PM CARES for Children scheme to support children who have lost both parents due to COVID.
The applications of such children are uploaded on the portal by the respective State and Union Territories Governments.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced PM CARES for Children scheme to support children who have lost both parents or surviving parents or legal guardians or adoptive parents due to COVID-19 pandemic.
As per the scheme guidelines, a quantum of sponsorship of 2,000 rupees per child per month is available for Non-institutional Care of children in Need of Care and Protection, and the provision for maintenance grant of 2,160rs per child per month for children living in Child Care Institution.

Government has approved setting up of seven PM MITRA Parks in greenfield/brownfield sites.

Union Minister of State for Textiles, DarshanaJardosh has informed that the government has approved setting up of seven PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks in greenfield/brownfield sites to develop world class infrastructure.
The PM MITRA Park will have plug and play facility with an outlay of 4,440 crore rupees.
The allocated fund will be for a period of seven years upto 2027-28, adding that the scheme will be implemented pan India, and is intended for holistic development of the textile sector.
It clarified that no state-wise allocation will be made and the eligibility criteria for willing state governments to take benefits of the PM MITRA Park is to have ready availability of contiguous and encumbrance-free land parcel of over one thousand acres. She added that the PM MITRA Park will be built through Public Private Partnership mode.

Government provides financial assistance of Rs. 18.18 Cr for each Apparel and Garment Making Centre in North East States

Government is providing financial assistance of 18.18 crore rupees for each Apparel and Garment Making Centre in North East states for infrastructure capacity building under North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme.
Each Apparel and Garment Making Centres consisting of three units of 100 machines is set up with 100 per cent Government funding and the facilities are made available to entrepreneurs having background in textiles for starting their units.
Production Linked Incentive Scheme for textiles for Man Made Fibre, Apparel and Fabrics and Technical Textiles has been launched in 2021-22.
It is expected to attract investment of 19 thousand crore rupees for manufacturing of notified product and will be able to provide employment opportunity for seven lakh 50 thousand persons.

696 Anti Human Trafficking Units established in various States\UTs, says Centre

A total of 696 Anti Human Trafficking Units have been established in various States and Union Territories.
Government has provided financial assistance of approximately one hundred crore rupees to all States and UTs for strengthening the existing Anti Human Trafficking Units and for establishing new units covering all districts of States and UTs.

One Common Service Centre to be established in each of 2.50 lakh Gram Panchayats across country

At-least one Common Service Centre will be established in each of the 2.50 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country.It will help in the delivery of various government-to-citizen and other citizen-centric e-Services.
The network of Common Services Centres (CSC) under the Digital Indian programme is implemented.
As on December 2021, a total of 4 lakh 46 thousand 789 Common Services Centres are functional across all states and union territories of the country, out of which a total of 3 lakh 48 thousand 391 CSCs are functional at Gram Panchayat level.

Centre issues simplified procedure to install rooftop solar plant for residential consumers

Centre has issued simplified procedure to install rooftop solar plant for the residential consumers.
The household beneficiary, who wished to install Rooftop Solar under the new mechanism will have to apply on the national portal. The beneficiary will be required to submit necessary information including details of bank account where the subsidy amount will be transferred.
The application will be forwarded online to the concerned DISCOM for issuance of technical feasibility approval within next 15 working days.
It said, the beneficiary has to install its plant within a specified period otherwise his application will be cancelled.
The national portal will be developed in about six to eight weeks. Till the national portal comes into operation, the existing procedure for availing subsidy for installation of rooftop solar plant through DISCOMs will continue.

National Land Monetisation Corporation

According to Economic Survey, central government has set up a “National Land Monetisation Corporation” in a bid to FastTrack the monetisation of land and non-core assets of public sector entities.
As of now, CPSEs have referred 3,400 acres of land and other non-core assets for monetisation.
Lands have been referred from CPSEs including MTNL, BSNL, BEML, BPCL, HMT Ltd, B&R, and Instrumentation Ltd.
The National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) is being set up in accordance with the Budget announcement. It is being set up as a 100 per cent Government of India owned entity. The initial authorised share capital will be Rs 5,000 crore while subscribed share capital will be of Rs 150 crore. It work as an asset manager for lands owned by central government and central public sector enterprises (CPSEs).
It has the freedom to invest, lease or rent assets or monetise them based on suggestions by many sources. It is free to develop assets for commercial or residential purposes.
As per Economic Survey 2021-22, there is an aggregate monetisation potential of Rs. 6 lakh crore by means of core assets of the Union government over a period of four-year, from 2021-22 to 2024-25. Top five sectors, namely roads, railways, oil & gas pipelines, power and telecom account for 83 per cent of the aggregate value.

INTERNATIONAL

India’s stance on Ukraine at UNSC

Recently, India remained absent from United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on Ukraine.
This move of India is widely read as a play to balance its ties with Moscow and Washington.
It was a procedural vote, on whether to discuss the situation in Eastern Europe.
According to India’s Permanent Representative at UNSC, T S Tirumurti, India is interested in finding a solution that can led to immediate de-escalation of tensions, by taking into account the security interests of all countries. India’s stand is aimed at securing long term peace and stability in the region.

Russia accuses US of trying to draw country into war in Ukraine

Russia has accused the US of trying to draw the country into a war in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said, America's goal was to use a confrontation as a pretext to impose more sanctions on Russia.
The US was ignoring Russia's concerns about the European expansion of NATO - the Western military alliance. On the other hand, the US and its allies accuse Russia of planning to invade Ukraine, something Russia has repeatedly denied.

US to send destroyer, fighter jets to UAE amid Houthi attacks

The United States said, it would send a guided-missile destroyer and fighter jets to assist the United Arab Emirates after a series of missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
Austin also informed the Crown Prince of his decision to deploy fifth-generation fighter planes to assist the UAE against the current threat.
The statement concluded, the deployment was intended to be a clear signal that the United States stands with the UAE as a long-standing strategic partner.
The announcement comes after the UAE experienced the third missile attack in recent weeks, which the US deployed Patriot interceptors to thwart. The Pentagon later said UAE surface-to-air missiles struck down the incoming missile.
The UAE said it had intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen by the Iran-aligned Houthis, during Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to the Gulf nation.
This was the third missile attack in two weeks against the UAE, the Middle East's commercial and tourism hub.

Winter Olympics host China welcomes Year of Tiger with quiet celebrations amid COVID outbreaks

China is celebrating the Spring Festival, its most important annual festival as it entered the Lunar new Year of the Tiger bidding goodbye to the Lunar Year of the Ox.
Chinese residents normally ring in the start of the New Year with fireworks, lanterns, balloons, food, and family time. But this year, it is very different.
This year the celebrations coincide with the Beijing Winter Olympics, which open near the end of the weeklong holiday. Capital Beijing has been tightening controls to contain coronavirus outbreaks ahead of the international sporting event causing a subdued celebration.

US calls for emergency UN Security Council meeting on South Korea

The United States has requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on North Korea, which launched its most powerful missile since 2017 last weekend. The meeting is expected to be held on camera.
North Korea confirmed that it had fired a Hwasong-12 "ground-to-ground intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile, in its first test since 2017 of a weapon that was powerful.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the launch as "a clear violation of Security Council resolutions." The test on Sunday was North Korea's seventh in January -- the most ever carried out by the country in a calendar month, raising fears Pyongyang could renew nuclear and intercontinental missile tests.

SPORTS

Government approves continuation of scheme for Assistance to National Sports Federations

The government has approved continuation of Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations with an outlay of one thousand 575 crore rupees for 15th Finance Commission Cycle 2021-22 to 2025-26.
The Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations is the flagship Central Sector Scheme and the main source of funding for the preparation of national teams for all major national and international competitions.
These include the Olympic Games, Para-Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and other major international tournaments.
This will give a big boost to the country's quest for achieving a place of pride in the sporting arena. The financial support extended by the Ministry through this Scheme will be used by National Sports Federations to conduct national coaching camps, procure sports equipment and provide training of international standards to athletes.

Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra nominated for Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award

Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has been nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.
India’s first-ever winner of an Olympic athletics gold medal, Neeraj has been selected as one of the six nominees for the 2022 Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award.
The other five sportspersons who have been nominated for the award are Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev, British tennis star Emma Raducanu, Barcelona and Spain footballer Pedri, Venezuelan athlete Yulimar Rojas and Australian swimmer AriarneTitmus.
24-year-old javelin thrower is only the third Indian to be nominated for the award after wrestler VineshPhogat in 2019 and cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, who won the Laureus Sporting Moment Award 2000-2020.

ENVIRONMENT

World Wetlands Day 2022

Every year, the World Wetland Day is celebrated on February 2.
The day is marked to increase awareness about the importance of wetlands in the world. It is celebrated on February 2 because the Convention on Wetlands was adopted on February 2, 1971 in Ramsar, Iran. It is also popularly called the Ramsar Wetland Convention.
In 2022, the World Wetlands Day is celebrated under the following theme “Wetland’s action for people and nature”.
There are 47 wetlands in India. Their total surface area is 1 million hectares. India has lost 30% of its wetlands in the last thirty years.
Different countries define wetlands differently. India follows Ramsar convention definition of wetlands. Ramsar convention defines wetlands as the natural and manmade sites.
This includes reservoirs, tidal flats, marshes, salt pans, swamps, lakes and mangroves.
Swamp is land that is permanently saturated with water. It may or may not be covered with water. The swamps are dominated by the type of trees that grow there. On the other hand, marshes are wetlands that are saturated with water and also covered with water permanently.
Salt pan is formed when sea water evaporates rapidly. It is then replenished by rain water. Tidal flats are coastal wetlands. They are formed in inter tidal areas. Here the sediments are deposited by the rivers or tides.