PIB Summary- 7th June, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

World Food Safety Day

About World Food Safety Day:

• June 7 was proclaimed as the World Food Safety Day in 2018 by the United Nations General Assembly.
• The theme of World Food Safety Day 2021 is ‘Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow’.
  • The theme stresses that production and consumption of safe food has immediate and long-term benefits for people, the planet and the economy.
• The day is celebrated worldwide to draw attention to the fact that food is not only an agricultural or trade commodity but is also a public health issue.

Unique Disability Identification Card (UDID)

Details:

• According to the Health Ministry, the UDID card, issued to persons with disability by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has all the necessary features such as the name, year of birth, gender and photograph of the person, and meets the criteria for use of identification in COVID-19 vaccination.
• Therefore, with a view to further facilitate access to vaccination for persons with disability, it has been decided to include the UDID in the list of prescribed Photo ID document for COVID-19 vaccination.

What is the UDID Project?

The UDID Project was launched in 2016 by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Govt. of India. 

• The chief objective of the project is to create a national database for Persons with Disability (PwD) and to issue a Disability Identity Card to such persons.
• The project is expected to improve the ease with which government benefits can be delivered uniformly to PwDs.
• It will also enhance transparency and efficiency in the process.
• The UDID project will also help in streamlining the tracking of physical and financial progress of beneficiaries at all levels of hierarchy of implementation – from village level, block level, district level, state level and national level.
• The idea is to build a holistic and integrated seamless system of issuing ID cards for PwDs that includes their identity as well as disability details.

Salient Features of UDID Project

The important features of the UDID Project are listed below.

• Online availability of information about PwDs from all over India through a centralized web application.
• Eligible persons can fill and submit their registration application form for certificate of disability online.
• The assessment process for calculating the disability percentage by medical board/hospitals will be expedited.
• Non-duplication of PwDs data.
• PwDs can renew and update relevant information online.
• The project will enable the effective management of the schemes launched by the government for physically disabled people.

UDID Project Benefits

The benefits of the UDID Project are given below.

• The disability card will contain all the necessary information about PwDs that can be captured by a reader. This will ensure that PwDs do not have to make multiple copies of their documents and papers making it easier and convenient for them to avail of benefits that are due to them.
• The UDID card will be the single document of identification, verification of the disabled for availing various benefits in future.
• This will facilitate the various authorities at the state/district/national/village levels to track the physical and financial progress of the beneficiaries.

Unique Disability ID Card Download

In this section, we give you a brief outline of how to download the Disability ID Card or the UDID Card online.

1. PwDs should register themselves with the UDID Portal.
2. After that, they can log in and apply online on the portal for the disability certificate and the UDID card.
3. They can download and print the card when the card is issued.
4. Applicants can track the status of their application online, and also use the online mode for renewing or applying for a new card in case of loss of their old cards.
5. PwDs can locate their CMO Office/Medical Authority for assessment of disability, District Welfare Officer to receive assistance and to know about the various schemes for Persons with Disabilities. They will also be able to view the latest news/announcements pertaining to disabilities.
6. Disability Certificate Issuing Authorities (CMO Office/Medical Authority) will use this application to record the details of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and issue Disability Certificate/UDID Card electronically. 
   • The card will be issued after the medical assessment is done and the medical assessment details are submitted on the portal.

Disabilities Covered

The list of disabilities covered under the project are mentioned below:

1. Blindness
2. Cerebral palsy
3. Low vision
4. Locomotor disability
5. Leprosy-cured
6. Mental retardation
7. Mental illness
8. Hearing impairment

UDID Project Need

According to Census 2011, there are 2.68 crore Persons with Disabilities in India, which is a little more than 2% of the total population of the country. There is no data of PwDs giving personal details, disability-wise, district-wise, education and employment-wise, etc. being maintained.

Disabled people can receive government assistance and benefits on the basis of the disability certificate issued to them. Currently, only about 50% of the PwDs have been issued certificates by the states/UTs. Also, with the passing of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, the number of listed disabilities have increased from 7 to 21.

Black Carbon

What’s in the News?

• Scientists at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in collaboration with scientists from the University of Delhi, IIT Kanpur and Space Physics Laboratory, ISRO have made extensive observations of black carbon and elemental carbon.
  • Black carbon is one of several particles and gases that are emitted when diesel, coal, and other biomass fuels are burned. Black carbon or soot is part of fine particulate air pollution and contributes to climate change.
• They have estimated monthly and wavelength-dependent values of mass absorption cross-section (MAC) over the central Himalayan region for the first time.

Significance of the study:

• Black carbon (BC) is a key contributor to global warming and its accurate estimation will help in improving weather and climate predictions.
• BC is the second most important global warming pollutant after CO2.
• The researchers have derived the values of MAC – an essential parameter which is used for obtaining Black Carbon mass concentrations.
• According to the ARIES team, the higher resolution multi-wavelength and long-term observations used in calculating MAC will help improve the performance of numerical weather prediction and climate models in estimating the warming effects caused by BC emissions.
• The precise knowledge on BC at various wavelengths will help in source apportionment studies done to constrain the sources of BC emissions. This can thus serve as important information to form the mitigation policies.

New eco-friendly process enhances fatigue life of aluminium alloy used in aerospace components

What’s in the News?

• Indian scientists have developed an environmental-friendly process, which can provide excellent corrosion resistance to the high-strength aluminium (Al) alloys extensively used in aerospace, textile, and automotive applications.
• It involves an electrochemical method for the production of an oxide film on the metallic substrate.

Background:

• High-strength aluminium alloys are extensively used in aerospace, textile, and automotive applications owing to their low density and high specific strength.
• Aluminium alloy components are used in landing gear, wing spar, fuselage, aircraft skins or outer surface and pressure cabins; parts which need resistance against wear, corrosion damages, and enhanced fatigue life.
• Currently, the widely used technique to enhance corrosion resistance is the hard anodizing (HA) process.
  • This process involves an electrolyte-based coating deposition using sulphuric/oxalic based electrolytes, which emits not only toxic fumes but are also hazardous to handle during processing.

The new development:

• In order to cater to the growing demand for cleaner industrial processes, an environmental-friendly process called micro-arc oxidation (MAO) has been developed at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous institute under the DST.

Micro-arc Oxidation (MAO):

• The process which involves an alkaline electrolyte is capable of providing better wear and corrosion resistance compared to the HA process.
• It is a high-voltage driven anodic-oxidation process, which through an electrochemical method, produces an oxide film on metallic substrates.
• The MAO process developed at ARCI has been patented in India and abroad.