PIB Summary- 13th February, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

World Radio Day

• The World Radio Day is observed on 13 February annually.
• It was first proclaimed by UNESCO in 2011.
• World Radio Day 2021 theme: “New World, New Radio”.
• February 13 was chosen as the day to celebrate the medium because, on this day, the United Nations radio was established back in 1946.
• Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity and constitutes a platform for democratic discourse. 
• At the global level, radio remains the most widely consumed medium.

Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav

Context: The 11th edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav would be inaugurated on 14th February.

About the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav

• It is the flagship festival of the Ministry of Culture.
• It has been conducted since 2015 with the active participation of Seven Zonal Culture Centres.
• The festivals have been playing a pivotal role to take the vibrant culture of India out to the masses instead of confining it to auditoria and galleries. 
• It showcases folk and tribal art, dance, music, cuisines & culture of one state in other states reinforcing the cherished goal of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” and at the same time provides an effective platform to the artists and artisans to support their livelihood.
• The 11th edition is being organised in West Bengal, in Cooch Behar, Darjeeling and Murshidabad.
• The festivals are organised under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat initiative.

About Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) initiative

• This initiative was launched in October 2016 to promote engagement amongst the people of different States/UTs so as to enhance mutual understanding and bonding between people of diverse cultures, thereby securing stronger unity and integrity of India.
• Stated objectives of the EBSB initiative:
• To celebrate the Unity in Diversity of our nation and to maintain and strengthen the fabric of traditionally existing emotional bonds between the people of our country.
• To promote the spirit of national integration through a deep and structured engagement between all Indian States and Union Territories through a year-long planned engagement between States.
• To showcase the rich heritage and culture, customs and traditions of either State for enabling people to understand and appreciate the diversity that is India, thus fostering a sense of common identity.
• To establish long-term engagements.
• To create an environment that promotes learning between States by sharing best practices and experiences.

One Nation One Ration Card Reforms

Context: Punjab becomes the 13th State to complete the One Nation One Ration Card system reform.

Details

• Punjab has become the 13th State in the country to successfully undertake “One Nation One Ration Card system” reform stipulated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. 
• Thus, the State has become eligible to mobilise additional financial resources of Rs.1,516 crore through Open Market Borrowings. 
• Punjab has now joined 12 other States namely, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh, that have completed this reform.

Significance of the Reforms

• One Nation One Ration Card System is an important citizen centric reform. 
• Its implementation ensures availability of ration to beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other welfare schemes, especially the migrant workers and their families, at any Fair Price Shop (FPS) across the country.
• The reform also enables the States in better targeting of beneficiaries, elimination of bogus/duplicate/ineligible card holders resulting in enhanced welfare and reduced leakage. 

Background

• To meet the challenges posed by the pandemic, GOI had enhanced the borrowing limit of the states by 2 percent of their GSDP.
• Half of this special dispensation was linked to undertaking citizen centric reforms by the states.
• The four citizen centric areas for reforms identified were:
  • Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System (done by 13 states)
  • Ease of doing business reform (done by 12 states)
  • Urban Local body/utility reforms (done by 6 states)
  • Power sector reforms (done by 2 state)

CSI SIG E-Governance Awards 2020

Context: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs bags Award of Appreciation in the 18th CSI SIG E-Governance Awards 2020.

About the award

• The Computer Society of India (CSI) has instituted a series of awards for recognizing the contributions made in the field of e-Governance in the country. 
• These awards have been conducted by CSI-SIG eGov. 
• The awards are given for recognizing the efforts made in the e-Governance area at the State, Department, District and Project levels.
• The Ministry won the award for its ‘Performance Dashboard Empowering Tribals Transforming India through various ICT initiatives’.
  • The Performance Dashboard is an interactive and dynamic online platform that showcases updated & real-time details of 11 schemes/initiatives of the Ministry for achieving SDGs. 
  • The Dashboard captures the performance of various schemes of the Ministry, States, 41 Ministries to ensure that the funds meant for ST welfare are being utilized properly.

BL Lacertae

Context: Indian astronomers detect a huge optical flare in one of the oldest astronomical objects – BL Lacertae blazar.

Details

• Indian astronomers have reported one of the strongest flares from a feeding super massive black hole or blazar called BL Lacertae.
• The analysis of the astronomers’ report can help trace the source of emission and mass of the black hole.

About Blazars

• Blazars, or feeding super massive black holes in far off galaxies, are known for their complicated emission mechanism. 
• And for this reason alone they are of particular interest to the astronomical community around the world. 
• Blazars are one of the most energetic and luminous objects in the Universe and they emit jets of charged particles travelling at nearly the speed of light.

Women Excellence Award 2021

Context: SERB announces Women Excellence Award 2021.

Details

• Four young women fellows of the National Science Academies have been awarded for excelling in science and engineering on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021 by SERB.
• The award is a Rs 15 lakh grant for three years for the scientists to pursue their research.

About SERB

• The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) is a statutory body established through an Act of Parliament.
• Supporting basic research in emerging areas of Science & Engineering is the primary and distinctive mandate of the Board.
• The SERB Act 2008 is the legislation of Parliament that established the Board.
• It functions under the Department of Science and Technology, GOI.
• Objectives of SERB:
  • Serve as a premier agency for planning, promoting and funding of internationally competitive research in emerging areas.
  • Identify major inter-disciplinary research areas, and individuals, groups or institutions and fund them for undertaking research.
  • Assist in setting up infrastructure and environment for scientific pursuit.
  • Enable in order to achieve synergy between academic institutions, research and development laboratories and industry for promoting basic research in science and engineering.
  • Evolve a system of approach to expeditiously provide funding for research, including monitoring and evaluation, by adopting modern management practices.