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

Maitri Setu

Context: PM to inaugurate ‘Maitri Setu’ between India and Bangladesh on 9th March.

About Maitri Setu

• The bridge ‘Maitri Setu’ has been built over the Feni river which flows between the Indian boundary in Tripura State and Bangladesh.
• The name ‘Maitri Setu’ symbolizes the growing bilateral relations and friendly ties between India and Bangladesh.
• The construction was taken up by the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd at a project cost of Rs. 133 Crores.
• The 1.9 km long bridge joins Sabroom in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh.
• It is poised to herald a new chapter for trade and people to people movement between India and Bangladesh.
• With this inauguration, Tripura is set to become the ‘Gateway of North East’ with access to Chittagong Port of Bangladesh, which is just 80 Kms from Sabroom.
• The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for setting up an Integrated Check Post at Sabroom, which will ease the movement of goods and passengers between the two countries, provide new market opportunities for products of North-East states and assist seamless movement of passengers to and from India and Bangladesh.

Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF) Scheme

Context: MoU between the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and the Central Silk Board on a convergence model for the implementation of Agroforestry in the silk sector under the ongoing Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF) Scheme.

Details

• The signing of this MoU aims to incentivize the farmers to take up sericulture based Agroforestry models thereby contributing to the Make in India and Make for the World vision of the Prime Minister.
• This linkage will add another dimension to agroforestry for faster returns to the growers as well as support the production of the range of silks that India is famous for.
• The Central Silk Board will act as a catalyst to promote Agroforestry in the silk sector.

About Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (SMAF)

• This scheme has been implemented since 2016-16 as part of the recommendation of the National Agroforestry Policy 2014.
• It is implemented by the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare in 20 states and 2 UTs.
• This sub-mission is under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
• SMAF aims to encourage farmers to plant multi-purpose trees together with the agriculture crops for:
  • Climate resilience
  • Additional source of income to the farmers
  • Enhanced feedstock to inter alia wood-based and herbal industry
• Hence, there is a concerted effort to include medicinal, fruits, fodder, tree-borne oilseeds, lac host, etc. in addition to the longer rotation timber species.
• This is especially targeted for augmentation of sericulture host plants e.g. Mulberry, Asan, Arjuna, Som, Soalu, Kesseru, BadaKesseru, Phanat, etc. to be cultivated both as block plantations and border or peripheral plantations on farmlands.

Significance

• Planting sericulture based tree species on the farm bunds and rearing silkworms has the potential of creating additional income opportunities for farmers.

SMAF Objectives

• To encourage and expand tree plantation in a complementary and integrated manner with crops and livestock to improve productivity, employment opportunities, income generation and livelihoods of rural households, especially the small farmers.
• To ensure the availability of quality planting material like seeds, seedlings, clones, hybrids, improved varieties, etc.
• To popularise various Agroforestry practices/models suitable for different agro-ecological regions and land use conditions.
• To create database, information and knowledge support in the area of agroforestry.
• To provide extension and capacity building support to the agroforestry sector.

Singorgarh Fort

Context: The President inaugurates conservation works at Singorgarh Fort in Damoh district (MP).

About Singorgarh Fort

• It is an old hill-fort of the Gondwana dynasty which is spread over hills in a forested area.
• Singorgarh fort is located in the Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh.
• The fort was the residence of Gond rulers of Central India.
• Prior to that, the fort was under the Chandela rulers of the Bundelkhand region.
• The fort has a special connection to Rani Durgavati, the queen of Gondwana from 1550 to 1564.

First ever visit by Indian Naval Ships to the historic port city of Mongla, Bangladesh

Context: Two Indian Naval Ships are scheduled to make a port call at the historic port town of Mongla in Bangladesh from 8th to 10th March 2021 to commemorate the ongoing Swarnim Vijay Varsh and reiterating Indo-Bangladeshi friendship.

Details

• The two ships are INS Sumedha, an indigenously build Offshore Patrol vessel; and INS Kulish, an indigenously built guided missile corvette.
• This is the first time that any Indian Naval Ship is visiting the port of Mongla in Bangladesh and the visit is aimed at paying homage to the Bangladeshi and Indian combatants and citizens who laid down their lives during the Liberation War of 1971.
• This move will reiterate India’s firm resolve and commitment to maintaining peace, stability and good order in the region, in line with the SAGAR doctrine.

DST Initiatives for Women

The Department of Science and Technology, GOI has many initiatives to provide support for women from all walks & stages of life to boost their career in STEM fields. Some of them are discussed below.

• Vigyan Jyoti: Programme running in 50 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) since December 2019.
  • It has now been expanded to 50 more JNVs for the year 2021-22.
  • Activities include student-parent counselling, visit to labs and knowledge centres, interactions with role models, science camps, academic support classes, resource material distribution, and tinkering activities.
  • Online academic support to students includes streaming of video classes, study materials, daily practice problems, and doubt clearing sessions.
• Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI): Launched for mentoring of institutions for transforming them towards more inclusive and sensitive approach towards women and to promote gender equity in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine (STEMM) domains.
  • The aim is to bring about gender balance in institutions.
• Consolidation of University Research for Innovation and Excellence in Women Universities (CURIE): Targets to improve infrastructure in women-only universities.
• Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (WISTEMM): Indo-US Fellowship that gives exposure to women to some of the best international scientific institutions for boosting their capability and enthusiasm.
• Knowledge Involvement for Research Advancement through Nurturing (KIRAN) programme: To provide various career opportunities to women scientists and technologists.
  • It is primarily aimed to bring gender parity in the Science & Technology sector by inducting more women talent in the research & development domain through various programmes.
• Women Scientist Scheme (WOS scheme): addresses the challenges faced by S&T qualified women primarily due to social responsibilities.
  • Its two components WOS-A and WOS-B are directly implemented by the KIRAN Division and the third component WOS-C or KIRAN-IPR is implemented by TIFAC with grant-in-aid from DST.
  • The WOS was launched to address the critical issues of “career-break”, identify neglected well-qualified women in the field of S&T and to provide opportunities to women scientists.
  • Women Scientist Scheme-A (WOS-A) – Research in Basic/Applied Science
  • Women Scientist Scheme-B (WOS-B) – S&T interventions for Societal Benefit
  • Women Scientist Scheme-C (WOS-C) – Internship in Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) for the Self-Employment