DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
1 – Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhuyday Yojana: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Context:
- This scheme was brought to the Parliament’s attention by the government.
Regarding the plan:
- The three Centrally Sponsored Schemes that make up the Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhuyday Yojana (PM-AJAY) have been combined.
These are:
- PMAGY stands for Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gramme Yojana.
- Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCA to SCSP) Special Central Assistance and
- BJRCY, or Babu Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojana
- It’s been in use from 2021–2022.
Goal:
- to lessen poverty in the SC communities by creating more job opportunities via income-generating projects, skill-development programmes, and other measures and
- to guarantee sufficient infrastructure and necessary services in the villages dominated by the SC in order to raise socioeconomic development metrics.
There are three parts to the scheme:
- creation of “Adarsh Grammes” out of villages governed by the SC.
- “Grants-in-aid” for district/state-level initiatives aimed at improving the socioeconomic standing of SCs.
- Building of hostels at top-ranked universities that receive full or partial funding from the federal, state, or local governments of India, as determined by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
- Building hostels in schools that receive full or partial funding from the federal, state, or local governments, as advised by the ministry of education
Source The Hindu
2 – “One nation, One Student ID” project: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Context:
- As part of the “One nation, One Student ID” project, a number of state governments have asked schools to get parental permission before creating a new student identity card called the Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR).
Regarding APAAR:
- The Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry, or APAAR, is intended to serve as a unique ID system for all Indian students, beginning with early childhood education.
- Every student would receive a lifetime APAAR ID as part of the programme, which would make it simple for students, teachers, and governments to monitor academic achievement from pre-primary through higher education.
- Additionally, APAAR would act as a portal to Digilocker, a digital system that allows students to retain critical records and accomplishments—like report cards and exam results—digitally for easy access and usage down the road.
- Ministry of Education is the nodal ministry.
The aim of APAAR is:
- The introduction of APAAR aims to simplify the educational process and lessen the necessity for students to carry physical documentation.
- The Education Ministry introduced this programme as part of the National Education Policy 2020.
Goals:
- to bring about a favourable shift,
- permitting state governments to monitor dropout and literacy rates
- providing states with the resources they need to achieve better.
- By giving educational establishments a single, reliable source, APAAR also seeks to decrease fraud and duplicate certifications.
- To ensure authenticity, credits can only be deposited into the system by first party sources that also issue certifications.
How will it function?
- Each person will have an own APAAR ID.
- This ID will be connected to the Academic Bank Credit (ABC), a digital repository that houses data on the credits students have accrued across their academic careers.
- Students would be able to store all of their certifications and credits—from both formal and casual learning—with the APAAR ID.
- Authorised institutions digitally certify and safely record a student’s accomplishments, such as finishing a course, on her account.
- By just giving the APAAR ID, all of the student’s data in the ABC is transmitted to her new school in the event that she transfers states, whether within the same state or to another.
- Neither transfer certificates nor hard copies of any documentation are required.
What steps must students take in order to create their unique ID?
In order to register for APAAR, students must submit the following essential information:
- call,
- ageing,
- the birthdate,
- sex, and
- A picture.
- Their Aadhar number will be used to verify this information.
- In order for the Ministry to use a minor’s Aadhar number for UIDAI authentication, the minor’s parents must sign the consent form.
- Enrollment in order to create an APAAR ID is optional; it is not required.
Issues pertaining to APAAR:
- Sharing Aadhar details raises worries among parents and students who fear that outside parties may obtain their personal information.
- According to the government, student information will remain private and will not be shared with any parties other than organisations involved in educational endeavours.
Source The Hindu
3 – Multipurpose Project of Jamrani Dam: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions
Context:
- The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana-Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (PMKSY-AIBP) has approved the inclusion of Uttarakhand’s Jamrani Dam Multipurpose Project. This approval was granted by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
Important information:
- The plan calls for building a dam in the Uttarakhand region of Nainital, close to Jamrani hamlet, to span the Gola River, a tributary of the Ram Ganga.
- The completed 244 km and 40.5 km canal systems of the dam will supply water to the Gola barrage that is now in place. The canal system was finished in 1981.
The project calls for 57,065 acres to be further irrigated:
- Uttarakhand’s 9,458 hectares and
- Uttar Pradesh has 47,607 hectares.
- The adjoining state of Uttar Pradesh would gain greatly from the project’s irrigation benefits, and the two states would share costs and benefits in accordance with an agreement made in 2017.
- However, Uttarakhand will be the only state to receive power and potable water.
About the Yojana Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee:
- With “Har Khet Ko Paani” as its motto, it was introduced in 2015.
Goal:
- Water waste reduction, increased water use efficiency, and expanded cultivated area with guaranteed irrigation are the goals of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
- In addition to providing sources of guaranteed irrigation, PMKSY also aims to provide protective irrigation by using “Jal Sanchay” and “Jal Sinchan” to collect rainwater at the micro level.
- Subsidies are another way to encourage microirrigation and guarantee “Per drop-More crop”.
Elements:
Source of Water:
- Additional rainwater collecting beyond IWMP, MGNREGA, lift irrigation, ground water development, source augmentation, distribution, and renovation of traditional water bodies. Diversion of water from places with abundant of water to areas with limited water.
Microirrigation: Crops Per Drop More:
- Field installation of drip and sprinkler microirrigation systems, extension activities, coordination, and administration.
The watershed:
- Treatments for ridge areas, drainage lines, soil and moisture conservation, structures for collecting water, livelihood assistance initiatives, and other watershed works.
Supervisory authority:
- An Inter-Ministerial National Steering Committee (NSC) including Union Ministers from relevant Ministries and the Prime Minister would be in charge of overseeing and monitoring PMKSY.
- Under the direction of Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, a National Executive Committee (NEC) will be established to supervise the execution of programmes, resource distribution, coordination among ministries, performance evaluation and monitoring, handling of administrative matters, etc.
Source The Hindu
4 – China launches its first guided missile submarine propelled by nuclear power: GS II – International issues
Context:
- China now has the ability to launch both sea and land attacks thanks to the launch of its first nuclear-powered guided missile submarines.
Important information:
- With land-attack cruise missiles, the Chinese navy “will be able to conduct long-range precision strikes against land targets from its submarine and surface combatants, notably enhancing China’s power projection capability” in the near future.
- After the US and Russia, China became the third nation to accomplish this.
Concerning submarines with cruise missiles:
- During the Cold War, the Soviet Union constructed conventionally armed missile submarines, known as SSGNs (cruise missile submarines), with the intention of targeting American aircraft carriers.
- By modifying ballistic missile boats to accommodate a significant number of land-attack Tomahawk cruise missiles, the U.S. Navy created its own variant.
- Unlike ballistic weapons, cruise missiles are usually long-range, precision weapons that fly at low altitudes or skim the sea’s surface.
Source The Hindu
5 – Studies reveal heavy metal pollution in veggies throughout Bengaluru: GS III – Environmental Conservation related issues
Context:
- Bengaluru: Researchers have discovered contamination in vegetables that exceeds the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) allowable limits due to the usage of wastewater for growing them.
Important information:
- More than a fifth of the state’s population lives in Bengaluru, which sources its vegetables from farmer’s networks in Bengaluru Urban’s surrounding districts.
- 400 samples were gathered by researchers from 20 different Bengaluru retailers.
- To check for the presence of heavy metals, samples of ten different vegetables were analysed: brinjal, tomato, capsicum, bean, carrot, green chilli, onion, potato, spinach and coriander.
- This resulted from the plant’s increased rate of transpiration to preserve moisture and growth.
Principal discoveries of the investigators:
Iron concentration:
- 5 mg/kg is the maximum amount of iron that is allowed.
- The concentration of beans was 810.20 mg/kg.
- The concentration of coriander was 945.70 mg/kg.
- The concentration of spinach was 554.58 mg/kg.
- Iron content in onions was 592.18 mg/kg.
Carbomer:
- The FAO has set a maximum limit of 0.2 mg/kg for cadmium.
- CBD content in brinjal was 52.30 mg/kg.
- Lead content in coriander was 53.30/kg.
- 50 mg/kg of spinach
- Molasses contained 54.60 mg/kg.
Head:
- “Purely toxic” lead shouldn’t be more than 0.3 mg/kg.
- 20 mg/kg were in beans.
Nickle:
- The recommended threshold for nickel is 67.9 mg/kg.
- The levels of nickel in green chilli, carrot, potato, tomato, and beans above the recommended limit of 67.9 mg/kg.
Path ahead:
- The current study clearly shows that vegetables’ edible parts are hyper-accumulators of heavy metals.
- Given the potential health concerns involved with eating these veggies, it is advised that waste water not be used in the production process.
- It is unethical for farmers to irrigate crops using drainage and effluent waters, for example.
- Tracing the vegetables’ origin is necessary to further guarantee an evidence-based strategy.
- We must delve farther and provide upper bounds for every veggie in addition to exposure times.
- It is necessary to determine the effects of the exposure on adults, children, and older adults.
- To determine the specific effects of vegetables on human health, a thorough investigation must be conducted.
Source The Hind
