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

PM-KISAN

Context: PM to release 8th instalment of financial benefit under PM-KISAN.

PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi is a central sector scheme under the government of India which provides income support to the farmers and their families. PM-KISAN scheme was first implemented as the Rythu Bandhu scheme by the Government of Telangana where a certain amount was handed directly to the eligible farmers. Later, on 1 February 2019, during the 2019 Interim Union Budget of India, Piyush Goyal announced the implementation of this scheme as a nationwide project.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the PM-KISAN scheme on 24 February 2019 in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Under this scheme, all small and marginal farmers will be provided with income support of Rs.6,000 per year in three instalments which will be deposited directly to their bank accounts. The total annual expenditure for this scheme is expected to be Rs.75,000 crore which will be financed by the Union Government.

About PM Kisan Yojana – Key Features of Scheme
The highlights of the PM-KISAN scheme are given in the table below:

Objectives of PM-KISAN scheme

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana is implemented as a central sector scheme by the Government of India. This scheme was introduced to augment the source of income of many small and marginal farmers. The main objectives of the PM-KISAN scheme are mentioned below:

• To provide income support to all eligible land-holding farmers and their families.
• PM-KISAN scheme also aims to supplement the financial needs of the farmers in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields, commensurate with the anticipated farm income.
• The scheme is expected to increase the coverage of PM-KISAN to around 14.5 crore beneficiaries. It aims to cover around 2 crores more farmers with an estimated expenditure of Rs. 87,217.50 crores that will be funded by the Central Government.

Eligibility to avail benefits under PM-KISAN scheme

Any small or marginal farmer should not fall under the following criteria to be eligible under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana. Below are some of the categories of beneficiaries who are not eligible for benefit under this scheme:

1. Any institutional land-holders.
2. The farmer as well as any member of the family belonging to the following categories:
3. Former and present holders of constitutional posts
4. Former and present Ministers/ State Ministers
5. Former or present members of LokSabha/ RajyaSabha/ State Legislative Assemblies/ State Legislative Councils
6. Former and present Mayors of Municipal Corporations
7. Former and present Chairpersons of District Panchayats.
8. Any serving or retired officers as well as employees under the Central/ State Government Ministries /Offices/Departments.
9. All retired pensioners who get a monthly pension of Rs.10,000/-or more and belonging to the above category.
10. Any individual who paid their income tax in the last assessment year is not eligible under this scheme.
11. Professionals like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, Chartered Accountants, and Architects registered with Professional bodies and carrying out profession by undertaking practices.

The farmers eligible under the scheme are required to produce the below-mentioned documents for their verification:

• Citizenship certificate
• Landholding papers
• Aadhaar card
• Bank account details

Advantages of PM-KISAN Scheme

Given below are the advantages and the impact of the PM-KISAN schemes:

• The direct transfer of funds is one of the biggest advantages of this scheme. On December 25, 2020, in the presence of PM Narendra Modi, Rs.18,000 crores were directly transferred to the bank accounts of 9 crore farmers
• All the records related to farmers is registered officially on a digital platform which has made the registration and fund transfer easy. The digitalised records have brought about a new start to this welfare scheme
• This scheme eases liquidity constraints of farmers
• PM-KISAN yojana is a big step towards the Government’s initiatives of modernisation of agriculture
• There is no discrimination in choosing the PM-KISAN beneficiaries

Mongolian Kanjur

Context: Reprinting of about 100 sets of sacred Mongolian Kanjur to be completed by Culture Ministry next year for distribution in the main centres of Buddhism in Mongolia: Culture Minister.

Rewa Solar Project
Context: PM to dedicate to the nation the 750 MW Rewa Solar Project.

About the Rewa Solar Project

• This project comprises of three solar generating units of 250 MW each located on a 500-hectare plot of land situated inside a Solar Park (total area 1500 hectare).
• The Solar Park was developed by the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), a Joint Venture Company of Madhya Pradesh UrjaVikas Nigam Limited (MPUVN), and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a Central Public Sector Undertaking.
• RUMSL received financial assistance from the Central Government for the development of the Park.
• The solar generating units inside the park were developed by other private companies.
• The Rewa Solar Project was the first solar project in the country to break the grid parity barrier.
  • Compared to prevailing solar project tariffs of approximately Rs. 4.50/unit in early 2017, the Rewa project achieved historic results: a first-year tariff of Rs. 2.97/unit with a tariff escalation of Rs. 0.05/unit over 15 years and a levelized rate of Rs. 3.30/unit over the term of 25 years.
• This project will reduce carbon emission equivalent to approximately 15 lakh tons of CO2per year.
• The Rewa Project has been acknowledged in India and abroad for its robust project structuring and innovations.
• Its payment security mechanism for reducing risks to power developers has been recommended as a model to other States by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• It has also received the World Bank Group President’s Award for innovation and excellence.
• The project is also the first renewable energy project to supply to an institutional customer outside the State, i.e. Delhi Metro, which will get 24% of energy from the project with the remaining 76% being supplied to the State DISCOMs of Madhya Pradesh.
• India has committed to achieving the target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by the year 2022, including 100 GW of solar installed capacity.

Mongolian Kanjur Manuscripts

Context: First five re-printed volumes of Mongolian Kanjur Manuscripts released.

Details

• The Ministry of Culture has taken up the project of reprinting of 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur under the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM).
• The first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur published under the NMM was presented to the President of India and the Mongolian Ambassador on the occasion of Guru Purnima.
• It is expected that all the 108 volumes of the Mongolian Kanjur will be published by March 2022.

What is Mongolian Kanjur?

• Mongolian Kanjur, the Buddhist canonical text in 108 volumes, is considered to be the most important religious text in Mongolia.
• In the Mongolian language ‘Kanjur’ means ‘Concise Orders’- the words of Lord Buddha in particular.
• It is held in high esteem by Mongolian Buddhists and they worship the Kanjur at temples and recite the lines of Kanjur in daily life as a sacred ritual.
• The Kanjur is kept in almost every monastery in Mongolia.
• The Mongolian Kanjur has been translated from Tibetan. The language of the Kanjur is Classical Mongolian.
• During the socialist era in Mongolia (1924 to the early 1990s), xylographs were consigned to flames and monasteries were bereft of their sacred scriptures.
• During 1956-58, Professor Raghu Vira obtained a microfilm copy of the rare Kanjur manuscripts and brought them to India.
• And, the Mongolian Kanjur in 108 volumes was published in India in the 1970s by Prof. Lokesh Chandra, former Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha).
• Now, the present edition is being published by the National Mission for Manuscripts, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, in which every volume will have a list of contents indicating the original title of the sutra in Mongolian.

Historical connection between India and Mongolia

• Historical interaction between India and Mongolia goes back centuries.
• Buddhism was carried to Mongolia by Indian cultural and religious ambassadors during the early Christian era.
• As a result, today, Buddhists form the single largest religious denomination in Mongolia.
• India established formal diplomatic relations with Mongolia in 1955.

About the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM):

• NMM was launched in February 2003 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
• It has the mandate of documenting, conserving and disseminating the knowledge preserved in manuscripts.
• One of the objectives of the mission is to publish rare and unpublished manuscripts so that the knowledge enshrined in them is spread to researchers, scholars and the general public at large.
• India possesses an estimate of ten million manuscripts, probably the largest collection in the world. These cover a variety of themes, textures and aesthetics, scripts, languages, calligraphies, illuminations and illustrations.
• Objectives of NMM:
  • Locate manuscripts through national-level surveys.
  • Document each and every manuscript and manuscript repository for a National Electronic Database that currently contains information on four million manuscripts, making this the largest database on Indian manuscripts in the world.
  • Conserve manuscripts incorporating both modern and indigenous methods of conservation and training a new generation of manuscript conservators.
  • To train the next generation of scholars in various aspects of Manuscript Studies like languages, scripts and critical editing and cataloguing of texts and conservation of manuscripts.
  • To promote access to manuscripts by digitizing the rarest and most endangered manuscripts.
  • To promote access to manuscripts through the publication of critical editions of unpublished manuscripts and catalogues.
  • To facilitate the public’s engagement with manuscripts through lectures, seminars, publications and other outreach programmes.

What is a Manuscript?

A manuscript is a handwritten composition on paper, bark, cloth, metal, palm leaf or any other material dating back at least seventy-five years that has significant scientific, historical or aesthetic value. Lithographs and printed volumes are not manuscripts. Manuscripts are found in hundreds of different languages and scripts. Often, one language is written in a number of different scripts. For example, Sanskrit is written in Oriya script, Grantha script, Devanagari script and many other scripts. Manuscripts are distinct from historical records such as epigraphs on rocks, firmans, revenue records which provide direct information on events or processes in history. Manuscripts have knowledge content.

Six strategic bridges in Jammu & Kashmir

Context: Defence Minister e-inaugurates six strategic bridges in Jammu & Kashmir.

Details

• These bridges of strategic importance were completed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in record time.
• The two bridges on the Tarnah Nallah in Kathua District and four bridges located on Akhnoor-Pallanwala road in Akhnoor/Jammu district have spans ranging from 30 to 300 metres and were constructed at a total cost of Rs 43 crores.
• These bridges constructed by Project Sampark of the BRO will facilitate the movement of the Armed Forces in this strategically important sector and will also contribute towards the overall economic growth of remote border areas.

Central Pollution Control Board

Context: The Central Pollution Control Board to strengthen monitoring of pollution in tributaries of Ganga.

Ministerial on Climate Action

Context: The fourth edition of the virtual Ministerial on Climate Action witnessed countries exchanging views on how countries are aligning economic recovery plans with the Paris Agreement and the critical enabling conditions to ensure continued climate action.

Details

• The meeting was co-chaired by the European Union, China and Canada to advance discussions on the full implementation of the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to demonstrate continued political commitment to global climate action.
• The virtual meeting was attended by representatives from more than 30 countries.
• The Union Environment Minister highlighted India’s achievements in the ministerial:
  • India has achieved a reduction of 21% in the emission intensity of its GDP between 2005 and 2014.
  • India’s renewable energy installed capacity has increased by 226% in the last 5 years and stands at more than 87 Gigawatt.
  • The share of non-fossil sources in installed capacity of electricity generation increased from 30.5% in March 2015 to 37.7% in May 2020.
  • 80 million LPG connections provided in the rural areas providing them with clean cooking fuel and a healthy environment.
  • Over 360 million LED bulbs distributed under the UJALA scheme.
  • India has moved on to Bharat Stage VI norms from Bharat Stage IV by April 2020.

World Bank to help rejuvenate the Ganga

Context: World Bank provides $400 million to enhance support for rejuvenating the Ganga.

Details

• The World Bank and the Government of India signed a loan agreement to enhance support for the Namami Gange programme that seeks to rejuvenate the Ganga river.
• The Second National Ganga River Basin Project will help stem pollution in the iconic river and strengthen the management of the river basin which is home to more than 500 million people.
• The government’s Namami Gange programme seeks to ensure that the river returns to a pollution-free, ecologically healthy state.

About the National Ganga River Basin Project:

• The World Bank has been supporting the government’s efforts since 2011 through the ongoing National Ganga River Basin Project, which helped set up the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) as the nodal agency to manage the river, and financed sewage treatment infrastructure in several riverside towns and cities.
• The National Ganga River Basin Project is a World Bank project with the objective to support India’s National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) in:
  • Building capacity of its nascent operational-level institutions, so that they can manage the long-term Ganga clean-up and conservation program.
  • Implementing a diverse set of demonstrative investments for reducing point-source pollution loads in a sustainable manner, at priority locations on the Ganga.
• There are two components to this Project:
  • Institutional development: The objectives of this component are to build the functional capacity of the NGRBA’s operational institutions at both the central and state levels, and to provide support to associated institutions for implementing the NGRBA program.
  • Priority infrastructure investments: The objective of this component is to finance demonstrative infrastructure investments to reduce pollution loads in priority locations on the river.
• The four main sectors of investments are municipal wastewater management, industrial pollution control, solid waste management and riverfront management.
• The NMCG is considered the operational wing of the Project.

About the Ganga:

• The Ganga is considered India’s most important and iconic river.
• It flows down from its glacial source in the high Himalayas to course through five states in the northern plains before draining into the waters of the Bay of Bengal through the Sunderbans delta, the largest mangrove system in the world.
• Along its 2,500 km journey, the river enriches huge swathes of agricultural land and sustains a long procession of towns and cities.
• The sprawling Ganga basin, an area of 860,000 sq km spread across 11 states, is the world’s most populous river basin.
• It houses close to half of India’s population.
• Over 40 percent of the country’s GDP is generated in this region.
• The basin provides more than one-third of India’s surface water, 90 percent of which is used for irrigation.
• Paradoxically, this fertile region is also home to some of the poorest sections of India’s population, with more than 200 million people living below the national poverty line.
• Cultural significance of the Ganga:
  • As India’s holiest river, the Ganga has a cultural and spiritual significance that far transcends the basin’s boundaries.
  • It is worshipped as a living goddess and, since time immemorial, people from across the country have flocked to the many historic temple towns the lie along the river’s banks to pray and bathe in its flowing waters.

Pollution in the Ganga:

• The Ganga today is facing formidable pollution pressures, along with the attendant threats to its biodiversity and environmental sustainability.
• An ever-growing population, together with inadequately planned urbanization and industrialization, has affected the quality of the river’s waters.
• Today, the Ganga’s waters are sullied by the incessant outpouring of sewage, as well as by the large volumes of solid and industrial waste that are churned out by human and economic activity along the river’s banks.
• The absence of adequate infrastructure, along with weak environmental governance and little technical expertise to manage these extreme pollution pressures, has resulted in the rapid deterioration of the water’s quality in recent decades.
• The Ganga’s mainstem runs through 50 major Indian cities, almost all of which have a population of more than 50,000 people.
• These towns and cities generate some 3 billion litres of sewage every day, only a fraction of which is treated before it reaches the river.
• While domestic sewage accounts for 70-80 percent of the wastewater that flows into the Ganga, Industrial effluents add another 15 percent, with far-reaching impacts on human and aquatic health due to their toxic nature.
• And, in the absence of adequate solid waste management in most cities, mounds of uncollected garbage add to the pervasive pollution.

Guidelines for Evaluation of Nano-based Agri-input and food products in India

Context: Union Ministers release Guidelines for Evaluation of Nano-based Agri-input and food products in India.

Details

• The formulation of these ‘Guidelines’ is one of the most important steps for delineating quality, safety and efficacy assessment of the novel nano-formulations which can be commercialized in the country.
• These guidelines are also intended to provide transparent, consistent and predictable regulatory pathways for nano-based agri-input and food products in India.
• The initiative has bought on board all the Departments and Ministries dealing with Nanotechnology, and nano-based products.
• The present ‘Guidelines’ apply to nano-agri-input products (NAIPs) and nano-agri products (NAPs). These ‘Guidelines’ also apply to nanocomposites and sensors made from nanomaterials and those that require direct contact with crops, food and feed for data acquisitions. These guidelines provide assistance on specific requirements for NAIPs and NAPs.
• The guidelines have been prepared jointly by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare through concerted inter-ministerial efforts coordinated by the DBT.
• These guidelines would help policymakers and regulators to frame effective provisions for future novel nano-based products in the agri-input and food sectors of India. They will also encourage Indian innovators and industries to develop and commercialise new nano-based formulations and products in these sectors.

Goa Maritime Symposium (GMS) – 2021

Context: The Indian Navy hosted ‘GMS-21’ under the aegis of the Naval War College, Goa.

Details

• The event was an online one due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
• Naval representatives from 13 Indian Ocean Littoral countries, which included India, Bangladesh, Comoros, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Myanmar, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated in the virtual event.
• The theme for GMS-21 was focused on “Maritime Security and Emerging Non-Traditional Threats: A Case for Proactive Role for IOR Navies,” with emphasis on capacity building amongst the IOR Navies to tackle emerging common maritime threats.
• The symposium will play a constructive role in bringing together the stakeholders who have a role in evolving strategies, policies and implementation mechanisms on the issues of common interest in the maritime domain.

eSanjeevani

Context:

More than half a crore patients served by the National Telemedicine Service (eSanjeevani) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What is eSanjeevani?
eSanjeevani is the first-ever online OPD (outpatient) consultation service offered by the government of India to citizens. According to the government, this is the first time the government of a country is offering a service of this kind to its citizens.

• The scheme was started in November 2019.
• It is run by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Also called the National Teleconsultation Service, it aims to provide healthcare services to patients in their homes. 
• It includes a structured and safe teleconsultation between a doctor and a patient through online mode (eSanjeevani OPD).
• The eSanjeevani OPD portal and system has been developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in Mohali.
• The panel of doctors on the service is drawn by the state governments.
• A few states like Jharkhand, Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu, etc. have started offering specialised doctor consultation services also.
• The service is also available on mobile application.

Difference between eSanjeevani and eSanjeevani OPD

eSanjeevani
It is a doctor to doctor telemedicine system that has been deployed nationally for the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare under Ayushman Bharat Scheme. It extends the reach of specialized healthcare services to masses in both rural areas and isolated communities. It tackles the issues of uneven distribution of healthcare personnel and infrastructure by bridging the divide that exists between urban and rural, rich and poor, in terms of access to healthcare services.
eSanjeevani was launched in 2019. The first state to launch this service was Andhra Pradesh.

eSanjeevani OPD
This is based on the eSanjeevani model and offers OPD consultation services to people in the comfort of their homes. This was launched during the COVID pandemic in April 2020. Here, doctor to patient teleconsultation is offered free of cost to the patients.
eSanjeevani OPD was launched in 2020.

Features of eSanjeevani OPD

Significance of Telemedicine Services like eSanjeevani

Telemedicine services are essential in a country like ours where the doctor to patient ratio is much lower than the number prescribed by WHO. In India, there is one doctor for every 1445 Indians (the WHO recommended ratio is 1:1000.
The availability of medical services including doctors is highly scarce in rural and remote areas of the country. In such conditions, it is important to have a system that will provide consultation services to people residing in rural and backward/hilly areas. This is where eSanjeevani OPD can be helpful.
Also, during the current pandemic times, it is important that patients find a way to have consultations with doctors for ailments. This can prevent them from travelling to hospitals/PHCs and increase the risk of catching infections especially covid-19. This has proved beneficial in containing the spread of Covid while simultaneously enabling provisions for non-Covid essential healthcare.

Clinical trials for COVAXIN for 2 – 18 year-olds

Context: DCGI approves Phase II/III clinical trial of COVAXIN in the age group of 2 to 18 years.

Details

• The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has accorded permission to conduct the Phase II/III clinical trial of Covaxin (COVID vaccine) in the age group 2 to 18 years, to its manufacturer Bharat Biotech Ltd.
• The trial will be conducted in 525 healthy volunteers.
• In the trial, the vaccine will be given by intramuscular route in two doses at day 0 and day 28.
• As a rapid regulatory response, the proposal was deliberated by the Subject Expert Committee (SEC) (COVID-19) in May 2021. The Committee after detailed deliberation recommended for grant of permission to conduct proposed Phase II/III clinical trial to certain conditions.

BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting

Context: First BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting amongst BRICS Countries.

Details

• The first BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting was held in the virtual format in New Delhi.
• India has assumed BRICS presidency this year.
• Prime agenda for the discussions:
  • Promoting Social Security Agreements amongst BRICS Nations
  • Formalization of labour markets
  • Participation of women in labour force
  • Gig and platform workers – Role in labour market
• Apart from the member nations’ representatives, representatives from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and International Social Security Agency (ISSA) also participated.
• On the issue of Social Security Agreement (SSA), the Member Nations resolved to enter into dialogue and discussion with each other and take it forward towards signing of the agreements.

What are Social Security Agreements (SSA)?

• SSA is a bilateral agreement between India and a foreign country designed to protect the interests of cross border workers.
• The agreement provides for avoidance of ‘double coverage’ and ensures equality of treatment to workers of both countries from a social security perspective.
• Generally benefits such as detachment, exportability of pension, totalisation of benefits and withdrawal of social security benefits are available under these SSAs.
  • Under Detachment or elimination of dual contribution, employees moving on employment to any SSA country are exempt from making social security contributions in the host country for a specified period (specific to each SSA), provided they continue to make social security contributions in their home countries.
  • Under the Exportability of Pension clause, the employees may choose to receive benefits of social security in their home country or any other country where they are currently residing (subject to the respective SSA) without any reduction of those benefits, i.e. benefits can be exported.
  • Under the Totalization of Benefits clause, the period of service rendered by an employee in the host country is to be counted for checking the “eligibility” of social security payment in the home country and vice-versa.
• It may be noted that withdrawal of PF and pension benefits is allowed only once the employee attains the age of 58 years (for non-SSA countries) or depending upon the conditions stipulated in the respective SSA (if any).
• To protect the interest of International Workers, India has signed bilateral Social Security Agreements with 19 countries, out of which 16 are operational.

Need for SSAs:

• The globalisation of the economy and development of international trade and business has considerably increased the international movement of individuals across geographies.
• While cross-border issues arise in the areas of tax, immigration and social security, of late, social security issues too have been gaining importance as they relate to the retirement benefits of the individual venturing beyond borders for employment.
• Till 2008, foreign nationals exercising employment in India were not covered under the Provident Fund (PF) regulations, since PF contributions were not mandatory where the employees’ pay exceeded the wage ceiling.
• On the contrary, Indian nationals working abroad were required to contribute to the social security scheme of the respective country.
• However, these contributions were generally lost due to limited tenure overseas or in failing to fulfill the minimum qualifying period of contribution or residence.