PIB Summary- 14th February, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Kakinada deep-water port

Context: Rice shipment flagged off from Kakinada deep-water port.

About Kakinada Port

• Kakinada Port is located at Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) off the east coast of India.
• It is 170 km south of Visakhapatnam Port.
• Kakinada Port is a large complex comprising Kakinada Anchorage Port, Kakinada Deep Water Port, Kakinada Fishing Harbour and Ship-Breaking Unit.
• Kakinada Anchorage Port has a century-long tradition.
• Kakinada forms the main gateway port for the rich agricultural belt of East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna Districts of Andhra Pradesh.
• Kakinada Deep Water Port is an all-weather port with a channel depth of 12 meters.

Maharaja Suheldev

Context: PM to lay the foundation stone of Maharaja Suheldev Memorial and development work of Chittaura Lake.

About Maharaja Suheldev

• Maharaja Suheldev, also spelt Suhaldev, was a ruler of Shravasti (Uttar Pradesh).
• He is mentioned in the 17th-century Persian-language historical romance Mirat-i-Masudi.
• Mirat-i-Masudi was written by Abd-ur-Rahman Chishti during the reign of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
• In this chronicle, Suheldev was the son of King Mordhwaj of Shravasti.
• Suheldev is popularly known to have defeated and killed the Ghaznavid general Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud (a nephew of Mahmud of Ghazni) at Bahraich in 1034 CE.
• Suheldev is alternatively known as Sakardev, Suhirdadhwaj, Sahardev, etc.
• The Maharaja Suheldev Memorial is being built in Bahraich, UP.

LRSAM Missiles

Context: Final production batch of Long Range Surface to Air Missiles (LRSAM), designed and developed by DRDO in collaboration with various industry partners and integrated by BDL, was flagged off at DRDL, APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex, Hyderabad.

LRSAM Missile System

• LRSAM is jointly developed by DRDO and IAI Israel to equip the latest ships of the Indian Navy.
• The missile system can provide point and area defence against various aerial targets including fighter aircraft, subsonic & supersonic cruise missiles.
• The missile is powered by indigenously developed dual-pulse rocket motor and dual control system to impart the required manoeuvrability at the terminal phase.
• This state of art weapon system is designed with active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker to identify, track, engage and destroy the target with high kill probability.

FASTag

Context: FASTag declared mandatory.

Details

• The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has decided that all lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways shall be declared as “FASTag lane of the fee plaza” w.e.f midnight of 15th/16th February 2021.
• Therefore, as per NH Fee Rules 2008, any vehicle not fitted with FASTag or vehicle without valid, functional FASTag entering into the FASTag lane of the fee plaza shall pay a fee equivalent to two times the fee applicable to that category.
• According to the Ministry, this has been done to further promote fee payment through digital mode, reduce waiting time and fuel consumption, and provide for a seamless passage through the fee plazas.

Overview FASTags

FASTAgs are basically stickers enabled with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, that are stuck to the windowpanes of vehicles so that automatic deduction of toll can happen in toll booths, without having the vehicle to stop.

What is Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)?
Radio-Frequency Identification is the use of radio waves to read and capture information stored on a tag attached to an object.  A tag can be read from up to several feet away and does not need to be within direct line-of-sight of the reader to be tracked.

• This is primarily meant to decrease the traffic at toll booths and also to enable more digital transactions in the country.
• It was rolled out in April 2016,  and the Government made it mandatory from December 1, 2017 for all new cars and trucks to be fitted with a FASTag before they were sold.
• Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) (a company incorporated by National Highways Authority of India) and National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) are implementing this program.
• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is trying to get all states on board so that FASTags can be applied all across India over both national and state highways. To encourage the use of FASTags, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) refunds 5% of the total monthly transactions.
• A FASTag is valid for 5 years and after purchasing, it can be recharged as when needed. It comes in seven different colours — violet, orange, yellow, green, pink, blue, black. Each colour is assigned to a particular category of vehicles.
• Currently, in national highways, cash is not being accepted at FASTag lanes, and any vehicle entering it will be charged twice the toll amount.
• These tags are linked to bank accounts and other payment modules and are prepaid. Once the amount is exhausted (or the customer reaches the minimum amount to be kept in the tag), they can be recharged.
• When a vehicle crosses a toll booth, the tag is detected by the sensor, and the amount is automatically deducted from the tag. 
• The barrier then opens up for the vehicle to pass through.
• The user then gets a notification on his linked phone number about the deduction.
• This should significantly reduce waiting time at the highway toll plazas, which generally see a lot of congestion.
• This also reduces the need for the drivers to carry liquid cash.
• Customers living close to toll booths (within 10 km as per a government notification) can get a concession on the toll amount which can be paid by the FASTag.

Benefits of FASTags
FASTags offer many benefits for users and the government. 

• Digital transaction making it easier and convenient – no need to carry cash.
• Decrease of congestion at the toll plazas.
• Enables non-stop movement at the highways leading to lower fuel usage.
• Online recharge is possible for FASTags.
• Reduced effort in managing the toll booths because of a hassle-free system.
• Environmental benefits because of reduced paper usage.
• Monthly passes for a specific toll booth is available for regular users.
• FASTags work all over the country and are not specific to the user’s place of residence or registration.

Problems with FASTags
Although FASTags offer many benefits, there are a few challenges being seen. Some of them are:

• There could be technical issues like the sensor not reading the tag properly. Technical glitches could also see a user being wrongly charged.
• They have not necessarily reduced the waiting time in the toll booths significantly because of some teething issues like people trying to pay by cash in the FASTag lanes, etc. 
• FASTags can be bought directly from the NHAI or from banks. Those sold by NHAI are bank-neutral, that means they can be recharged from any bank. However, those sold by banks are not, which means they have to be recharged from the same bank.

The Way Forward
The expanding use of FASTags for the payment of toll on highways should be seen as an opportunity to formulate and articulate a clear strategy on road-pricing and public transport.

• Once the scheme works well with cars, two-wheelers and three-wheelers, too, should be brought within the ambit of city road pricing.
• Better rules in place: What states ought to do is regulate pricing less and focus more on improving things such as safety and security, including the setting up of call centres to help customers in distress. There also ought to be heavier punishments for drivers refusing to ply when it suits them.
• Allow private cars that are currently underused to be converted to part-time Ubers and Olas. This will expand the idea of shared mobility at a much lower cost to both customers and drivers—and boost jobs for drivers.

Note

• The world’s first electronic toll plaza began operations in Norway in 1986.
• Japan was the first Asian Country to begin it in 2001 and China started in 2014.