PIB Summary- 25th May, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Vesak or Buddha Purnima

Context: PM to deliver the keynote address on the occasion of Virtual Vesak Global Celebrations on Buddha Purnima.

Details

• The GOI’s Culture Ministry is organising the event in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC).
• Over 50 prominent Buddhist religious leaders and the supreme heads of Buddhist Sanghas from all over the world will participate in the virtual event.
• This day marks the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha and is also known as Buddha Jayanti or Buddha Day.
• Vesak is from the Pali Vesākha or Sanskrit Vaiśākha.
• The day falls on the full moon day in the month of Vaiśākha, which falls in April-May.

National Mission on use of Biomass in Thermal Power Plants

Context: Ministry of Power decided to set up a National Mission on use of Biomass in coal based thermal power plants.

Details

• The Ministry of Power took this decision to address the issue of air pollution due to farm stubble burning and to reduce carbon footprints of thermal power generation.
• Objectives of the Mission:
  • To increase the level of co-firing from present 5% to higher levels to have a larger share of carbon neutral power generation from the thermal power plants.
  • To take up R&D activity in boiler design to handle the higher amount of silica, alkalis in the biomass pellets.
  • To facilitate overcoming the constraints in supply chain of bio mass pellets and agro-residue and its transport up to the power plants.
  • To consider regulatory issues in biomass co-firing.
• The mission will have a Steering Committee headed by Secretary (Power) comprising of all stakeholders including representatives from Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG), Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), etc.

What is biomass co-firing?

• Cofiring is a low-cost option for efficiently and cleanly converting biomass to electricity by adding biomass as a partial substitute fuel in high-efficiency coal boilers.
• Biomass cofiring has the potential to cut emissions from coal-fueled generation without substantially increasing costs or infrastructure investments.

International Day of Biological Diversity

Context: International Day of Biological Diversity is observed on 22 May annually.

Details

• The theme of the 2021 International Day for Biological Diversity is “We’re part of the solution”.
• It is a UN-sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues.

Khelo India Centres

Context: Sports Ministry gives go-ahead to open up 143 Khelo India Centres across 7 States in India.

Details

• Each of these Centres will be entrusted with one sports discipline each.
• The States include Maharashtra, Mizoram, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
• The total outlay for the program is Rs 14.30 Crores.
• The Khelo India Centres have been launched by the Sports Ministry in partnership with the State Governments to ensure the availability of grassroot-level sports infrastructure across the country.
• Previously, 217 KICs had been opened up.