PIB Summary- 26th December, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

PM to visit Mandi on 27 December and inaugurate & lay foundation stone of hydropower projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore

Context

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will visit Mandi, Himachal Pradesh on 27 December 2021. He will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of hydropower projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore.

Focus on utilizing the potential of the resources available in the country

PM has constantly reiterated the importance of utilizing the full potential of untapped resources of the country, in this regard the various steps undertaken would be,

• Laying the foundation stone of Renukaji Dam project – A 40 MW project will be built with a cost of Rs 7000 crore, with the cooperation of 6 states viz. Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Delhi. It will be beneficial for Delhi, as it will receive around 500 million cubic metre water supply per year.
• Laying the foundation stone of the Luhri Stage 1 Hydro Power Project – A 210 MW project at a cost of over Rs 1800 crore, will lead to generation of over 750 million units of electricity per year.
• Laying the foundation stone of Dhaulasidh Hydro Power Project – A 66 MW project e built at a cost of over Rs 680 crore and first at  Hamirpur district, will lead to generation of over 300 million units of electricity per year.
• The PM will inaugurate the Sawra-Kuddu Hydro Power Project – A 111 MW Project that has been built at a cost of Rs 2080 crore. It will lead to generation of over 380 million units of electricity per year.

The PM will also preside over the second ceremony of the Himachal Pradesh Global Investors’ Meet. The Meet is expected to give a boost to investment in the region through the start of projects worth around Rs 28,000 crore.

MISSION SAGAR

Context

As a part of Eighth deployment undertaken by Indian Navy since May 2020 under Mission Security And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR), Indian Naval Ship Kesari entered Port of Maputo, Mozambique on 25 December 2021.

Overview of Mission Sagar

The initiative is a vision for economic and security cooperation between India and its maritime neighbours. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of India took the decision to fulfill the vision of the SAGAR initiative by providing essential humanitarian aid to its maritime partners.
A series of 3 missions were launched in 2020, which were carried out by the ships of the Indian Navy. These ships bought essential items such as medicines to the ports of India’s maritime partners.

Achievements of Mission Sagar

• Since May 2020, the Indian Navy has deployed ships to 15 Friendly Countries under SAGAR missions.
• These deployments spanned over 215 days at sea
• It has delivered a cumulative assistance of more than 3,000 MT of food aid, over 300 MT LMO, 900 Oxygen Concentrators and 20 ISO containers.
• Indian Naval Ships have traversed a cumulative distance of close to 40,000 nm which is nearly twice the circumference of earth.

With a steadfast intent of making such a high quantum of humanitarian assistance reach its destination in time, personnel from ships and shore organisations of the Indian Navy have invested close to a million man-hours to deliver succour to our friends overseas. 

BRAHMOS

Context

The Minister of Defence, Shri Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for Defence Technology & Test Centre (DTTC) and BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre, established by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on December 26, 2021.

BRAHMOS

The BrahMos is a ramjet supersonic cruise missile of a short-range developed as a joint venture by DRDO and the Russian’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya using the  Russian P-800 Oniks cruise missile technology.
BrahMos was named after Brahmaputra and Moskva, the two major rivers of India and Russia respectively.
BrahMos has continued to evolve as the most versatile weapon in its genre. To carry forward this excellent lineage, BrahMos Aerospace has initiated work on a new, more advanced variant of the missile – BRAHMOS-NG, this new missile, having smaller, lighter and smarter dimensions, would be designed for deployment on a wider number of modern military platforms, including land, sea, underwater and air. It will hugely bolster the Indian military’s modern combat capability and flexibility in the next few years.

Defence Technology & Test Centre (DTTC)

A first of its kind Defence Technologies & Test Centre (DTTC) is being set up to accelerate the growth of the defence and aerospace manufacturing clusters in Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC). It will consist of the following six sub centres:

• Deep-Tech Innovation & Startup Incubation Centre
• Design & Simulation Centre
• Testing & Evaluation Centre
• Centre for Industry 4.0/Digital Manufacturing
• Skill Development Centre
• Business Development Centre

Further the MOD added that, “BRAHMOS has empowered the Armed Forces and raised India’s military stature at the international level and added that the more advanced missile system, which has proven its firepower in land, water and air will greatly strengthen the modern combat capability of the Indian Army in the coming years”.

Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS)

Context

The Ministry of Power, Government of India, had launched the Reforms-based and Results-linked, Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS)

Objective

Improve the operational efficiencies and financial sustainability of State owned DISCOMs/ Power Departments by providing financial assistance to DISCOMs for modernisation and strengthening of distribution infrastructure, aiming at improvement of the reliability and quality of supply to end consumers.

Features

• Provide financial assistance to strengthen the infrastructure of DISCOMs
• All current reforms schemes such as Integrated Power Development Scheme, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, and Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana will be merged into one umbrella program.
• RDSS has an outlay of Rs.3,03,758 crore with an estimated budgetary support of Rs. 97,631 crores from the Central Government, which would be available till FY 2025-26.
• Provide support to DISCOMs to undertake activities for ensuring 100% System metering, implementing Prepaid Smart Metering, Energy Accounting, and implementing infrastructure works for Loss Reduction.
• Modernization and System Augmentation aimed at improving the quality and reliability of power supply.
• Segregation of feeders dedicated only for supply of power for agricultural purposes, which are proposed to be solarized under the KUSUM scheme, will be sanctioned on priority under the scheme.
• DISCOMs will also need to submit an Action plan for strengthening their distribution system and improving performance through reform measures in order to achieve improvement in quality, operational efficiency, financial viability and reliability of power supply.

The unique feature is that its implementation is based on the action plan for each state to address state specific issues, rather than a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Given the current state of operational and financial losses of Discoms in the country, the new initiatives are a step in the right direction.

INS SUDARSHINI deployment to gulf region

Context

Ship INS Sudarshini, was deployed to the Gulf as part of the Indian Navy’s endeavour to enhance maritime cooperation with the friendly navies in the region.
INS SUDARSHINI is an indigenous sail training ship built by Goa Shipyard Limited and based at Kochi, Kerala under the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy. The ship made port calls at Muscat, Dubai and Bandar Abbas and had professional interactions with the Royal Oman Navy (RNO), the UAE Navy and the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) Navy.