PIB Summary- 23th December, 2022 | PIB (Press Information Bureau) Summary - UPSC PDF Download

Samudrayaan Mission

Why in News?
According to the Ministry of Earth Science, the Samudrayaan Mission is expected to be realised by year 2026.

About Samudrayaan Mission

• The goal of the expedition is to deploy three people in the “MATSYA 6000” vehicle to a depth of 6000 metres to explore deep-sea resources including minerals.
  • The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, is designing and developing the “MATSYA 6000” vehicle for the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• For the safety of people, it can operate for 12 hours normally and 96 hours in an emergency.
• It is a part of the Rs 6000-crore Deep Ocean Mission and is India’s first unique manned ocean mission.

Significance

• The manned submersible will enable research experts to directly examine and comprehend unexplored deep-sea regions.
• It will also strengthen the central government’s plan for a “New India,” which includes the blue economy as one of the top ten growth drivers.
• There are nine coastal states and 1,382 islands along India’s 7517 kilometres of coastline, which is in a unique marine position.
• With the oceans on three of its sides and around 30% of the people living along the shore, the coastal regions are important for India’s economy.
• It promotes aquaculture, tourism, livelihood, and blue trade.

About Deep Ocean Mission

• Deep Ocean Mission is a mission mode project to support the Blue Economy Initiatives of the Government of India.
• Government of India has also launched a ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ for exploration of polymetallic nodules in Central Indian Ocean Basin.
  • Polymetallic nodules contain multiple metals like copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, iron, lead, zinc, aluminium, silver, gold, and platinum etc. in variable constitutions and are precipitate of hot fluids from upwelling hot magma from the deep interior of the oceanic crust.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme and no separate allocation for States is envisaged.
• It is proposed to collaborate with non-governmental organizations for research collaboration for various components of Deep Ocean Mission.

The major objectives proposed under Deep Ocean Mission are as follows:

• Development of technologies for deep sea mining, underwater vehicles and underwater robotics;
• Development of ocean climate change advisory services;
• Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep sea biodiversity;
• Deep ocean survey and exploration;
• Proof of concept studies on energy and freshwater from the ocean; and
• Establishing advanced marine station for ocean biology.

SAMARTH Scheme

Why in News?
Under the SAMARTH Scheme of Textile Ministry, more than 13,235 artisans have been trained in the last three years.

About SAMARTH Scheme

• Samarth (Scheme for Capacity Building in the Textile Sector) is a flagship skill development programme that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved as a continuation of the Integrated Skill Development Program for the 12th Five Year Plan (FYP).
• Under the National Handicrafts Development Program’s component “Skill Development in Handicrafts Sector,” the Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) is implementing the SAMARTH to offer skill training to handicraft artists.

Objectives

• To offer demand-driven, job-focused skill-upgrading programmes to encourage industry efforts to create jobs in organised textile and related sectors, as well as to promote skilling and skill upgradation in the traditional sectors through the relevant sectoral divisions/organizations of the Ministry of Textile.
• To give all societal groups in the nation a means of support.

One Nation One Ration Card

Why in News?
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has said that the ambitious scheme of the One Nation-One Ration Card across the country has brought a lot of relief to the poor.

About One Nation One Ration Card

• 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 especially empowers the migratory population mostly labourers, daily wagers, urban poor like rag pickers, street dwellers, temporary workers in organised and unorganised sectors, domestic workers etc, who frequently change their place of dwelling to be self-reliant in food security.
• 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.
• The poor migrant workers will be able to buy subsidised rice and wheat from any ration shop in the country but for that their ration cards must be linked to Aadhaar.
• Migrants would only be eligible for the subsidies supported by the Centre, which include rice sold at Rs. 3/kg and wheat at Rs. 2/kg, It would not include subsidies given by their respective state government in some other state.
• This scheme will ensure that no poor person is deprived of subsidised grains.
• For remaining beneficiaries, all the States have been given one more year to use point of sale (PoS) machines in the ration shops and implement the scheme.

National Food Security Act

• The basic concept of food security globally is to ensure that all people, at all times, should get access to the basic food for their active and healthy life and is characterized by availability, access, utilization and stability of food.
• In pursuance of this, the enactment of the National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013 marks a paradigm shift in the approach to food security from welfare to the rights-based approach.
• The Act legally entitles up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized foodgrains under the Targeted Public Distribution System.