International Year of Millets 2023
Relevance:
India has shared the vision to make International Year of Millets 2023 a ‘People’s Movement’ alongside positioning India as the ‘Global Hub for Millets’.
About International Year of Millets:
- Proposed by – India
- Approved by – Food and Agriculture Organisation (2018)
- Declared by – United Nations General Assembly
- Objectives –
- Awareness of the contribution of millet to Food Security and nutrition.
- Inspire stakeholders to improve sustainable production and quality of millets.
- Focus on enhanced investment in research and development and extension services to achieve the other two aims.
About Millet:
- Millet is a collective term referring to a number of small-seeded annual grasses that are cultivated as grain crops.
- Areas of cultivation – Dry areas in temperate, subtropical and tropical regions (about 131 countries)
- Common millets in India – Ragi (Finger millet), Jowar (Sorghum), Sama (Little millet), Bajra (Pearl millet), and Variga (Proso millet).
- Earliest evidence – Indus Valley Civilization.
- India accounts for 20 % of global production and 80% of Asia’s production.
- Largest producers – India, Nigeria and China
- Importance –
- Nutritionally Superior owing to their high protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals like iron, calcium and magnesium.
- Ragi is known to have the highest calcium content among all the food grains.
- High iron content can fight high prevalence of anaemia.
- Gluten-free helps in tackling obesity, diabetes etc.
- Have a low glycemic index (a relative ranking of carbohydrate in foods according to how they affect blood glucose levels).
- Millets are Photo-insensitive (do not require a specific photoperiod for flowering) and less water consuming.
- Millets have low carbon and water footprint.
With reference to ‘Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion’, which of the following statements is/are correct? (2016)
- This initiative aims to demonstrate the improved production and post-harvest technologies, and to demonstrate value addition techniques, in an integrated manner, with a cluster approach.
- Poor, small, marginal and tribal farmers have a larger stake in this scheme.
- An important objective of the scheme is to encourage farmers of commercial crops to shift to millet cultivation by offering them free kits of critical inputs of nutrients and micro irrigation equipment.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- 1 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 2 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Reference: Indian Express
SAIME Initiative
Relevance:
In Sundarbans, a new shrimp farming initiative offers hope for mangrove restoration.
About Sustainable Aquaculture In Mangrove Ecosystem (SAIME) Initiative:
- Cultivation of shrimp at 30 hectares in West Bengal and restoring mangroves.
- Conceived by – NGOs Nature Environment and Wildlife Society (NEWS) and Global Nature Fund (GNF), Naturland, Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS).
- The mangrove ecosystem is integrated with shrimp cultivation, but when fisheries were expanded inwards, the mangrove ecosystem was excluded.
About Sundarbans Delta:
- Sundarbans – largest mangrove forests in the world
- A complex network of rivers and low-lying islands that face a tide surge twice a day.
- Location – Delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.
- Coverage – 40% of Sundarbans lies in India and the rest in Bangladesh.
- Mangrove ecosystem is a very specialised environment occurring in between the land and the sea in the tropical and subtropical regions.
- Species found – Estuarine crocodile, water monitor lizard, Gangetic dolphin and olive ridley turtle.
- Recognitions –
- UNESCO World Heritage site
- Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention
The 2004 Tsunami made people realize that mangroves can serve as a reliable safety hedge against coastal calamities. How do mangroves function as a safety hedge? (2011)
- The mangrove swamps separate the human settlements from the sea by a wide zone in which people neither live nor venture out
- The mangroves provide both food and medicines which people are in need of after any natural disaster
- The mangrove trees are tall with dense canopies and serve as an excellent shelter during a cyclone or tsunami
- The mangrove trees do not get uprooted by storms and tides because of their extensive roots
Reference: The Hindu
K9-Vajra
Relevance:
The Defence Ministry has started the process for the procurement of 100 more K9-Vajra tracked self-propelled howitzers.
About K9-Vajra:
- A self-propelled howitzer (a short gun for firing shells on high trajectories at low velocities).
- Built by – Larsen & Toubro (L&T)
- Technology transfer – South Korean defence major Hanwha Defence
- Developed under – Buy Global programme of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).
- Used in deserts, mountains and extreme cold weather conditions.
Reference: The Hindu
Deep Technology
Relevance:
Government will launch the Digital India Innovation Fund to support deep tech startups.
About Deep Technology:
- It refers to a class of startup businesses that develop new offerings based on tangible engineering innovation or scientific discoveries and advances.
- Deep tech fields – Agriculture, life sciences, chemistry, aerospace, green energy, Artificial Intelligence, advanced materials, blockchain, biotechnology, robotics, drones, photonics, and quantum computing etc.
- Characteristics –
- Innovations based on deep tech often change lives, economies, and societies.The time to reach the market-ready maturity is way more than shallow technology development.
- Requires a lot of early-stage funding for research and development, prototyping, validating hypothesis, and technology development.
- Atal New India Challenge –
- Launched by – Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of the NITI Aayog
- Objective – To serve as a platform for the promotion of Innovation Hubs, Grand Challenges, startup businesses, and other self-employment activities particularly in technology-driven areas.
- NASSCOM’s Deep Tech Club (DTC) 2.0
- Aim – To scaling the impact to over 1,000 firms that are leveraging technologies such as AI, ML, Internet of Things, robotics, and blockchain.
Atal Innovation Mission is set up under the (2019)
- Department of Science and Technology
- Ministry of Labour and Employment
- NITI Aayog
- Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship
Reference: PIB
PoSH Act
Relevance:
Recently, National Commission for Women (NCW) issued advisory to ensure safety of women in educational institutions.
News Summary:
- Ensure strict implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (PoSH Act).
- Conduct awareness programmes for better reporting of cases.
- Conduct a background check on those responsible for running coaching centres.
PoSH Act:
- It was enacted for making workplaces safer for women by preventing, prohibiting and redressing acts of sexual harassment against them in the workplace.
- Act is based on Vishaka guidelines laid down by Supreme Court in 1997.
- Features –
- Defines sexual harassment at workplace and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints.
- Wide definition of aggrieved woman to cover all women, irrespective of their age or employment status and whether in organized or unorganized sectors, public or private, and covers clients, customers and domestic workers as well.
- An Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) is mandatory in every private or public organisation that has 10 or more employees.
- District Officer to constitute Local Committee to receive complaints from organisations with less than 10 workers or if complaint is against the employer itself.
National Commission for Women:
- Statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990
- Established – 1992
- Composition –
- Chairperson (Nominated by the Central Government)
- Member Secretary
- 5 other members
- Mission – To strive towards enabling women to achieve equality and equal participation in all spheres of life by securing her due rights and entitlements through suitable policy formulation, legislative measures, etc.
- Functions –
- Review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women.
- Recommend remedial legislative measures.
- Facilitate redressal of grievances.
- Advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.
- Acts suo-moto in several cases to provide speedy justice.
Constitutional Safeguards for Women:
- Fundamental Rights – Article 14, Article 15(1) and Article 15(3)
- Fundamental Duties
Reference: The Hindu
Black Box
Spear phishing
- It is an email or electronic communications scam targeted towards a specific individual, organization or business.
- It attempts to trick a person or group into giving private information over the internet or by email, especially by sending emails that seem to be from someone they know.
- It may also intend to install malware on a targeted user’s computer.
Prajjwala Challenge
- Launched by – Ministry of Rural Development
- Aim – To invite ideas, solutions and actions that can transform rural economy.
- Categories of Ideas – Focus on Women and Marginalized section of community; Localised Models; Cost-effective solutions.
Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF)
- Created under Companies Act, 2013
- Aim – To protect investors’ interests and promote awareness.
- Administered by – IEPF Authority (A chairperson, a chief executive officer and maximum of 7 members appointed by the Central Government)
Rule of Law Index
- Published by – World Justice Project (WJP), a US based civil society group.
- 8 factors – Constraint on government powers, Absence of corruption, Open government, Fundamental rights, Order and security, Regulatory enforcement, Civil justice, Criminal justice.
- India’s Rank – 77 out of 140 (2022)
Responsible Tourism (RT)
- Kerala government to turn the Aymanam village as a hub of women friendly destinations along with showcasing women’s talent.
- Motto – Making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit.
- Features –
- 80% of the RT units in the village are already run by women.
- Included under Agri Street project of the State
Croatia
- Croatia adopted the Euro (bidding farewell to its Kuna Currency) and becomes fully integrated EU Member. (Joined the EU in 2013)
- It removed dozens of border checkpoints to become the 27th nation to join Europe’s passport-free Schengen Zone.
- Benefits – Easy travelling and business, removing the hassle of currency exchange for Croats going abroad.
Places in News
Croatia
- Capital – Zagreb
- Situated in Southeast Europe
- Location – North western edge of Balkan Peninsula.
- Boundaries –
- Land Borders: Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
- Maritime borders: Italy along the Adriatic Sea.
- River Danube (2nd biggest river of Europe, after Volga), forms its far north-eastern border with Serbia.
- Geographical Features –
- Highest Peak: Dinara (Sinjal).
- Biggest River: Danube.
