PIB Summary- 6th April, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

National Maritime Day 2022

Why in News?
The Prime Minister,  has recalled India’s glorious maritime history on National Maritime Day. Stating importance of maritime sector towards India’s economic growth, he said that in the last 8 years Government of India has focussed on port-led development which is essential for economic growth and building an Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

About National Maritime Day:

• Every year on April 5th, National Maritime Day commemorates the first journey of the first Indian flag merchant vessel, the ‘S.S LOYALTY,’ from Mumbai to London on April 5th, 1919.
• Theme of National Maritime Day 2022:
  (i) Every year, National Maritime Day is marked with a specific subject that serves as the foundation for all events held on that day. This year’s theme is ‘Sustainable Shipping Beyond Covid-19,’ which is a continuation of last year’s.

Significance:

• It is commemorated in order to promote India’s merchant shipping industry.
• The shipping industry makes a significant contribution to the country’s economy.
• Currently, maritime transport accounts for 90 percent of India’s international commerce volume and 77 percent of its value.

Babu Jagjivan Ram

Why in News?
The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Babu Jagjivan Ram on his Jayanti.

About Jagjivan Ram:

• Jagjivan Ram was born on April 5, 1908, to a Dalit family in Chandwa, Bihar.
• His father served in the British army but eventually left to obtain farming land in his hometown.
• He attended school in the nearby town of Arrah, where he first encountered discrimination. He had to sip water from a different pot since he was regarded ‘untouchable.’ By shattering the pot, Jagjivan Ram expressed his displeasure with this. The school’s separate pot had to be removed by the principal.
• In 1925, Jagjivan Ram met scholar Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and was greatly inspired by him. On Malaviya’s invitation, he joined the Banaras Hindu University and faced discrimination there too. He also organised the scheduled castes to protest against injustice.
• He was noted by Subhas Chandra Bose because of his organisational skills. In 1935, he assisted with the formation of the All-India Depressed Classes League. He joined the Congress Party where he was appreciated as a brilliant spokesperson for the Depressed Classes.
• In 1935, he proposed at a session of the Hindu Mahasabha that drinking water wells and temples be open to untouchables.
• He took part in the freedom movement as well and was imprisoned during the Quit India Movement.
• When Jawaharlal Nehru formed the provisional government, Jagjivan Ram became its youngest minister.
• After independence, he was appointed the country’s first labour minister.
• Jagjivan Ram was a member of the Parliament uninterrupted from 1936 to 1986 and this is a world record. He also holds another record for being the longest-serving cabinet minister in India (30 years).
• He was a champion of social equality and equal rights for the Depressed Classes.
• He passed away on 6 July 1986. His memorial at his cremation place is named ‘Samata Sthal’.

Mission Integrated Bio-refineries

Why in News?
The Union Minister of State for Science and Technology recently announced the full launch of “Mission Integrated Bio-refineries,” a big futuristic PPP (Public Private Participation) mode initiative for “Clean Energy.”

• The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has also developed Material Acceleration Platforms (MAP), which will use developing capabilities in next-generation computing, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, and robotics to speed up the pace of materials discovery by up to ten times.

About Mission Integrated Bio-refineries
Goal:
Develop and demonstrate innovative solutions to accelerate the commercialization of integrated biorefineries, with a target of replacing 10% of fossil-based fuels, chemicals and materials with bio-based alternatives by 2030

Mission: 

• The Mission will advance sustainable biorefining pathways and technologies to support the development and commercialization of bio-based fuels, chemicals and materials, by also considering process energy demands.
• This will support de-risking new and emerging technology, while improving the cost-competitiveness of bio-based alternatives, notably biofuels.

Members will,

• promote research, development, and innovation across the biorefining supply and value chain,
• advance pilot-scale demonstration projects for sustainable biorefining technologies, and
• collaborate with industry and standards-setting organizations to support regulatory development for these new products.

Challenge:  

• Greenhouse gas emissions from the transport and chemicals sectors already account for nearly one-third of global emissions with transport responsible for already one-fourth of them, and are projected to increase by 2050, in particular from transport.
• Therefore, there is a need for low-carbon and renewable alternatives to fossil-based fuels, chemicals, and materials, particularly in hard-to-abate sectors such as, long-haul transportation, and industry.

Mission Innovation:

• Mission Innovation is a worldwide programme that aims to catalyse action and investment in research, development, and demonstration in order to make clean energy affordable, appealing, and accessible to all by the end of this decade.
• In 2015, it was launched along with the Paris Agreement.
• It is the primary intergovernmental forum tackling sustainable energy innovation via collaborative action.
• Its members account for more than 90 percent of worldwide public expenditures in clean energy innovation, and their yearly investments have climbed by USD 5.8 billion since 2015.
• Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Commission are among the 23 members of Mission Innovation (on behalf of the European Union).