PIB Summary- 8th January, 2021 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)

Context: NIXI Offers free Domain in Local Indian Languages. 

Details

• NIXI is offering a free IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) in any of the preferred 22 official Indian languages along with every IN domain booked by the registrant. 
• Applicant will also get a free email in local language. 
• This offer has been created to stimulate the adoption of भारत (IDN) domain name and proliferation of local language content.

About NIXI

• NIXI is a not for profit organization under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, formed in 2003. 
• NIXI was set up for peering of ISPs (internet service providers) among themselves for the purpose of routing the domestic traffic within the country, instead of taking it all the way to US/abroad. 
  • This results in better quality of service (reduced latency) and reduced bandwidth charges for ISPs by saving on international bandwidth. 
• NIXI Activities
  • Spreading internet technologies to Indian citizens through 
    • Internet Exchanges through which the internet data is exchanged amongst ISPs and between ISPs and CDNs. 
    • IN Registry: managing and operation of IN country code domain and भारत IDN domain for India. 
    • IRINN: managing and operating Internet protocol (IPv4/IPv6). 
  • INRegistry 
    • .IN is India’s Country Code Top Level domain (ccTLD). 
    • The Govt. of India delegated the operations of INRegistry to NIXI in 2004. 
    • The INRegistry operates and manages India’s .IN ccTLD. 
  • IRINN is a division functioning under NIXI and provides allocation and registration services of Internet Protocol addresses (IPv4 & IPv6) and Autonomous System numbers to its Affiliates. 
    • Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN) in India provides allocation and registration services of IP addresses and AS numbers.

Digital Calendar and Diary of Government of India

Context: Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting launched the Digital Calendar and Diary of Government of India. 

Digital Calendar and Diary of Government of India 

• They are available as free mobile apps available on both Google Play and iOS App Store.
• They are offered in Hindi and English and will be made available in eleven regional languages soon. 
• The app has been designed and developed by the Bureau of Outreach and Communication, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC). 
• The app will provide: 
  • The timeline of launch of various government programmes so far. 
  • Latest information on various schemes, events and publications of GOI. 
  • Official holidays and various important dates. 
  • Inspirational and motivational messages from great personalities of our nation. 
  • Provision for taking notes digitally which will be stored with cutting edge security and privacy measures. 
  • Provision for scheduling of meetings and setting reminders for important tasks and events. 
• The app will also be made accessible for visually-handicapped people in the future.

NCAVES India Forum 2021

Context: NCAVES India Forum 2021 is being organised by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

What is NCAVES Project? 

• The NCAVES Project seeks to advance the theory and practice of environmental and ecosystem accounting in Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. 
• The NCAVES Project, funded by EU, has been jointly implemented by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD). 
• NCAVES full form: Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services 
• Overall Objective: 
  • To advance the knowledge agenda on environmental-economic accounting, in particular ecosystem accounting through pilot testing of the System of Environmental Economic Accounting (SEEA) Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (EEA), with a view to: 
    • Improve the measurement of ecosystems and their services (both in physical and monetary terms) at the (sub)national level; 
    • Mainstream biodiversity and ecosystems at (sub)national level policy planning and implementation; 
    • Contribute to the development of internationally agreed methodology and its use in partner countries. 
  • The project started in 2016 and continued till 2020.

NCAVES in India

• In India, the NCAVES project is being implemented by the MoSPI in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). 
• The participation in the project has helped MoSPI commence the compilation of the Environment Accounts as per the UN-SEEA framework and release environmental accounts in its publication “EnviStats India” on an annual basis since 2018. 
• NCAVES has also developed the India-EVL Tool which is essentially a look-up tool giving a snapshot of the values of various ecosystem services in the different states of the country, based on about 80 studies conducted across the country. 
  • The tool also provides a critical view on the literature that is available and the applicability of estimates spatially across India according to bio-geographical areas.