PIB Summary- 5th January, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

PM CARES Fund

Context: PM CARES Fund Trust allocates Rs.201.58 crores for installation of 162 dedicated PSA Medical Oxygen Generation Plants in public health facilities.

PM CARES Fund Objectives
Keeping in mind the need to provide relief to the affected in emergent situations of Coronavirus COVID-19, a public charitable trust under the name of PM CARES Fund has been set up. The PM CARES is a dedicated national fund created to combat the dreadful contingencies like COVID-19 pandemic in India. The primary objective of this fund is to deal with forthcoming emergencies or distress situations.

Objectives of PM CARES Fund

• To undertake and support relief or assistance of any kind relating to a public health emergency or any other kind of emergency, calamity or distress, either man-made or natural, including the creation or upkeep of healthcare or pharmaceutical facilities, other necessary infrastructure, funding relevant research or any other type of support.
• To render financial assistance, provide grants of payments of money or take such other steps as may be deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees to the affected population.
• To undertake any other activity, which is not inconsistent with the above Objects.

Constitution of the PM CARES Trust

• The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund. Government of India, Minister of Defence, Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Finance are ex-officio Trustees of the PM CARES Fund.
• The Chairperson of the Board of Trustees i.e. the Prime Minister shall have the power to nominate 3 trustees to the Board of Trustees who shall be the eminent persons in the field of research, science, health, social work, public administration law, and philanthropy. Any person appointed a Trustee shall act in a pro bono capacity.

Other Similar Government Fundings
Not just the PM CARES Fund, there are other similar existing charitable trusts of Indian Government like Prime Minister National Relief Fund (PMNRF). The details of PMNRF are highlighted below:

• PMNRF was started in the year 1948 by Jawahar Lal Nehru.
• It was instituted to assist displaced persons from the neighbour country Pakistan.
• The funds of PMNRF are now used to tackle natural calamities like earthquakes, floods, and cyclones. Also, to help the needy with major medical treatment like cancer, kidney transplantation, acid attack, etc.
• The fund in the PMNRF are entirely the voluntary contributions from the public like the Individuals, Organizations,  Companies, Trusts, Institutions etc. and does not get any budgetary support.
•  Any disbursement from the PMNRF fund is made with the approval of the Prime Minister.
• The PMNRF is recognised as a Trust under Income Tax and contributions towards it are notified for 100% deduction from taxable income under section 80(G) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

PM CARES Fund Important FACTS

• The fund does not get any budgetary support and consists entirely of voluntary contributions from the individuals or organizations.
• The fund will be utilised in meeting the contingencies or emergency situation aroused in the country.
• Donations to PM CARES Fund by the individuals would qualify for 100% tax exemption under 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961. 
• Donations to PM CARES Fund by the organisations would qualify to be counted as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity expenditure under the Companies Act, 2013.
• A separate account for receiving the donations from the foreign countries has been opened. This enables PM CARES Fund to accept donations and contributions from individuals and organizations based in foreign countries. Foreign donations in the PM CARES Fund would also get exemption under the FCRA. This is consistent with respect to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF). PMNRF has also received foreign contributions as a public trust since 2011.

DRDO’s Advanced Biodigester Mk-II Technology

Context: DRDO signs MoU with MAHA-METRO for implementation of Advanced Biodigester Mk-II Technology in Metro Rail Network.

Details

• The MoU was signed between DRDO and MAHA-METRO (Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation), a joint venture company between GOI and the Govt. of Maharashtra.
• As per the MoU, DRDO will render technical support for the implementation of its advanced biodigester Mk-II technology for the treatment of human waste (night soil) in the metro rail network.

DRDO’s Biodigester

• DRDO’s biodigester is an indigenous, green and cost-effective technology, with a rare distinction of having one of the largest numbers of DRDO-licensees.
• The Indian Railways has already installed about 2.40 lakh biodigesters in its fleet of passenger coaches.
• Now for MAHA-METRO, the technology has been revamped and further improved in a bid to save water and space.
• A customized version of this MK-II Biodigester, suitable for treating human waste generated from houseboats in Dal Lake, was also successfully demonstrated by the DRDO to J&K Administration.
  • It is now being implemented and once fully done, it is expected to significantly reduce pollution in Dal Lake.

Udyog Manthan

Context: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India is organizing Udyog Manthan.

Details

• Udyog Manthan is a marathon of focused sector-specific webinars for promoting Quality and Productivity in Indian Industry.
• DPIIT is organising the webinars in association with the Quality Council of India, the National Productivity Council, and industry bodies.
• Udyog Manthan will identify challenges, opportunities, draw upon solutions and best practices.
• The conversations will enable learning across industries and sectors for enhancing quality and productivity to promote ‘Vocal for Local’ and realizing the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

Toycathon-2021

Context: Union ministers launch Toycathon-2021 and Toycathon Portal.

About Toycathon-2021

• This is a special kind of hackathon where students and teachers from schools and colleges, design experts, toy experts and start-ups will get together to crowd source ideas for developing toys and games that are based on Indian culture and ethos, local folklore and heroes, and Indian value systems.
• While this will greatly help India develop into a global hub for toys and games, it will also help our children to understand the ethos and values of Indian culture as envisaged in the National Education Policy 2020.
• The Toycathon is based on nine themes viz. Indian Culture, History, Knowledge of India and Ethos; Learning, Education and Schooling; Social and human values; Occupations & specific fields; Environment; Divyang ; Fitness and sport; Out of the box, creative and logical thinking and Rediscovering/redesigning traditional Indian toys.
• It will have three variants of tracks – junior, senior and start-up.
• It is an inter-ministerial initiative. The participating agencies are the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Women & Child Development, the Ministry of Textiles, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, DPIIT, Ministry of MSME, Innovation Cell (Education Ministry) and the AICTE.
• There are categories for both online and physical toys.

Climate of India in 2020

Context: IMD issues a statement on Climate of India during 2020.

Highlights of IMD’s Statement

• The year 2020 was the eighth warmest year on record since nation-wide records commenced in 1901.
• However, this is substantially lower than the highest warming observed over India during 2016.
• The monsoon and post-monsoon seasons with mean temperature anomalies mainly contributed to this warming.
• The 2020 annual rainfall over the country as a whole was 109% of its Long Period Average (LPA) based on the data of 1961-2010. The monsoon season rainfall over the country as a whole was above normal and was 109% of its LPA.
• During 2020, 5 cyclones formed over the North Indian Ocean. These are Super cyclonic Storm AMPHAN, Very Severe Cyclonic Storms NIVAR & GATI, Severe Cyclonic Storm NISARGA, and Cyclonic Storm ‘BUREVI’.
• The country also experienced other high impact weather events like, extremely heavy rainfall, floods, landslide, thunderstorm, lightning, cold waves, etc.
  • Bihar & Uttar Pradesh were the most adversely affected states during the year which reportedly claimed more than 350 deaths from each state mainly due to thunderstorm, lightning & cold wave events.
• Heavy rainfall & flood related incidents reportedly claimed over 600 lives from different parts of the country during pre-monsoon, monsoon & post-monsoon seasons.

Kamdhenu Gau-Vigyan Prachar-Prasar Exam

Context: Rastriya Kamdhenu Aayog announces Kamdhenu Gau-Vigyan Prachar-Prasar Exam.

Details

• The exam has been initiated for raising mass awareness about Indigenous cows among young students and all citizens.
• It will also help make study materials about cow science available.
• According to the government, this will infuse curiosity into all Indians about cows, and make them aware of the unexplored potential and business opportunities a cow can offer, even after it stops giving milk.
• Kamdhenu Gau-Vigyan Prachar-Prasar Exam will be an online exam to be conducted throughout the country on 25th February, 2021.
• It will be conducted in four categories, primary, secondary, college and general public levels.
• The exam will be in Hindi, English and 12 regional languages.
• There will be no fee for taking the exam.

About Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA)

• The Government of India has constituted the “Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog” to organize animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and to take steps for preserving and improving breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.
• The Aayog is a high powered permanent apex advisory body with the mandate to help the Central Government to develop appropriate programmes for conservation, sustainable development and genetic upgradation of indigenous breeds of cows.
• Functions of RKA:
  • The Aayog will review existing laws, policies as well as suggest measures for optimum economic utilization of cow wealth for enhanced production and productivity, leading to higher farm income and better quality of life for the dairy farmers.
  • It also aims at the transmission and application of improved technology and management practices at the farmers’ doorstep through coordination with dairy cooperatives, farmer producer companies and dairy industry as well as research institutions.
  • It will advise and guide the Central Government and State Governments on policy matters concerning conservation, protection, development and welfare of cows and their progeny.
  • Promotion of schemes to encourage the use of organic manure and recommend suitable measures including incentive schemes for use of dung or urine of cow in organic manure by farmers to minimize the use of chemical fertilizers.
  • The Aayog will also make provisions for solutions to the problems related to abandoned cows in the country by providing technical inputs to Gaushalas, Gosadans and pinjarapoles.
  • In the area affected by famine, drought or other natural calamities, guide in setting up cattle camps for the aforesaid purposes in the affected area and to take steps to prevent migration or smuggling of cows from such affected areas.
  • Develop pastures or grazing lands and to associate with institutions or other bodies whether private or public, for the purpose of developing pastures and Gauchars.
  • RKA will also work to create an enabling environment to attract investment for improving infrastructure supporting, milk production, processing, value addition and marketing in the sector.
  • Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog will function as an integral part of Rashtriya Gokul Mission.

Swasth Vayu Non-invasive Ventilator

Context: Swasth Vayu Non-invasive Ventilator developed by CSIR-NAL receives regulator nod.

What is the Device?

• The Swasth Vayu Non-invasive Ventilator is an indigenously designed and developed non-invasive bilevel positive airway pressure ventilator.
• The ventilator also has additional features to treat COVID-19 patients.
• It is a microcontroller based precise closed-loop adaptive control system with a built-in biocompatible “3D printed manifold and coupler” with HEPA filter (Highly Efficient Particulate Air Filter).
• These unique features help to alleviate the fear of the virus spread. It has features like CPAP, Bi-Timed, Spontaneous/AUTO modes with provision to connect oxygen concentrator or enrichment unit externally.
• The performance of the device has been evaluated by the expert committee constituted by the Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
  • The expert committee, after careful evaluation, has concluded that Swasth Vayu may be used on COVID-19 patients who require oxygen supplementation up to 35%.
• CSIR-NAL has commercialized this technology with six private companies and one of these companies (which is in the MSME category) has set up production facilities for almost 300 units per week.

About CSIR-NAL

• National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, is the only government aerospace R&D laboratory in the country’s civilian sector.
• CSIR-NAL is a high-technology oriented institution focusing on advanced disciplines in aerospace.
• NAL was established in 1959 and is situated in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• CSIR-NAL’s mandate is to develop aerospace technologies with strong science content, design and build small, medium sized civil aircraft, and support all national aerospace programmes.

Prelims Facts

Magneto-telluric (MT) Method

• Magneto-telluric (MT) is a geophysical method which uses natural time variation of the Earth’s magnetic and electric fields to understand geological (underground) structure and processes.
• It is now widely used to image the electrical resistivity distribution inside the Earth in various application fields ranging in scale from the shallow crust to the lithosphere.
• The MT method utilizes naturally occurring, broadband electromagnetic waves over the Earth’s surface to image subsurface resistivity structure.
• MT survey is also used in the assessment of seismic hazard.