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Sunday, November 28, 2021

The HINDU Notes – 27th November 2021

10:25

 


📰 ₹10,000 crore more for MGNREGA scheme

However, the job scheme’s balance sheets remain in the red in 24 States, UTs.

•The Finance Ministry has allocated additional funds of ₹10,000 crore as an interim measure for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme after it ran out of funds allocated in the budget, according to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). More funds may be forthcoming based on the “assessment of demand,” added the Ministry.

•A Ministry spokesperson told The Hindu the extra money was allocated on November 5. However, the scheme’s financial statement on November 25 still reflects a negative net balance of ₹9,888 crore. Despite the additional allocations, the funds available for the scheme stand at ₹76,340 crore, well below the ₹86,229 crore which have been incurred as expenditure, including payments due for wages and materials. The scheme’s balance sheets remain in the red in 24 States and Union Territories.

Pending wages

•“Recently, the Ministry of Finance allocated additional funds of ₹10,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA as an interim measure. Further allocation may be made upon assessment of demand during the revised estimate stage,” said an MoRD statement issued on Thursday. These revised estimates will be included in supplementary budget demands made to Parliament when the winter session opens on Monday.

•In the meanwhile, more than ₹1,170 crore worth of wage payments for MGNREGA workers are still pending. “Lack of funds results in suppression of demand for work and delayed payment of wages to workers. These are violations of the Act; they also constrain economic recovery,” said an open letter from more than 70 economists to the Prime Minister on Wednesday, demanding that additional funds be provided immediately to strengthen and expand the scheme. They noted that 13% of households which demanded work had failed to get the same, adding that the unmet demand is as high as 20% in Gujarat, Telangana and Bihar.

•In its statement, the MoRD acknowledged that the MGNREGA is a demand-driven scheme, meaning that its funding must increase to accommodate increases in demand. “Whenever, additional funds are required, the Ministry of Finance is requested to provide the funds. In the previous financial year, the Ministry of Finance allocated ₹50,000 crore additional funds for the scheme over and above that of BE [budget estimates],” it said.

•“The Government of India is committed to release funds for wage and material payments for proper implementation of the scheme as per the provisions of the Act and guidelines applicable for the Central Government as well as the State Governments,” it said,

📰 Indian agriculture needs a Verghese Kurien

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THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 27.11.2021

10:07
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Friday, November 26, 2021

VISION IAS MAINS 365 Social Issues 2021 in Hindi PDF

16:40

VISION IAS MAINS 365 Social Issues 2021 in Hindi PDF

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VISION IAS MAINS 365 Science & Technology 2021 in English PDF

16:36

VISION IAS MAINS 365 Science & Technology 2021 in English PDF

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Insights IAS Main 2021 Exclusive Environment PDF

16:30

Insights IAS Main 2021 Exclusive Environment PDF

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SHANKAR IAS MAINSTORMING INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 2021 PDF

16:26

 SHANKAR IAS MAINSTORMING INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 2021 PDF

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Daily Current Affairs, 26th November 2021

16:18

 


1)  National Milk Day of India : Celebrated National Milk Day on 26 November 2021

•Every year November 26 is celebrated as National Milk Day in India. The day is being observed since 2014 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Father of India’s White Revolution, Dr Verghese Kurien. He is also nicknamed as “Milkman of India”. To celebrate National Milk Day, the College of Dairy Science & Technology (CODST) and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary & Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) is organizing “Milk Adulteration Testing Camp” on 25 and 26 November 2021.


2)  Indian Constitution Day 2021 : Indian Constitution Day observed on 26 November

•In India, Constitution Day is observed every year on November 26 to mark the anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the country. In India, 26 November is celebrated as Constitution Day or Samvidhan Diwas. On this day in 1949, the constitution was adopted which came into force on January 26, 1950, marking the beginning of a new era in the history of India. The day aims to spread the importance of the constitution and to spread the thoughts and ideas of BR Ambedkar, the father of the Indian constitution.


3)  Nirmala Sitharaman launched Tejasvini & Hausala schemes

•Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman has launched two schemes named ‘Tejasvini & Hausala schemes’ of J&K Bank for girls. Under 18-35 years of age to start their businesses and ‘Shikhar & Shikara’ schemes of Punjab National Bank (PNB) for development of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).


4)  PM Modi lays foundation stone of International Airport at Jewar in UP

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid the Foundation Stone of Noida International Airport at Jewar in Uttar Pradesh. The Jewar airport is the second international aerodrome in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). It is the fifth international airport in Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh has now become the state with the highest number of international airports in India.


5)  Centre releases new series of Wage Rate Index

•The Labour ministry has released the new series of wage rate index (WRI) with the base year being 2016. The government periodically revises the base year of WRI for key economic indicators in order to provide a clear picture of economic changes and record the wage pattern of workers. The new series of WRI with base 2016=100 will replace the old series with base 1963-65.


•According to the recommendations of the International Labour Organization and National Statistical Commission, the base year of WRI numbers has been revised from 1963-65 to 2016 by the Labour Bureau to enhance the coverage and to make the index more representative. The new WRI series has expanded the scope and coverage in terms of the number of industries, sample size, occupations under selected industries as well as weightage of industries among other indicators.


6)  Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurates 5th World Congress on Disaster Management

•The fifth edition of the World Congress on Disaster Management (WCDM) was virtually inaugurated by the Union Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh. The event has been organised at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi campus from November 24-27, 2021. The theme of the 5th WCDM is Technology, Finance and Capacity for Building Resilience to Disasters in the Contexts of Covid-19.


7)  Vice President represents India at 13th ASEM Summit Virtually

•The 13th edition of the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Summit has been organised on November 25 and 26, 2021. The Summit is being hosted by Cambodia as ASEM Chair. The theme of the two-day ASEM Summit is Strengthening Multilateralism for Shared Growth. The Indian delegation is being led by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu through the virtual platform.


8)  Cabinet approves extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana

•Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) for another four months. The Phase V of the PMGKAY scheme will be operational from December 2021 till March 2022. Under the scheme, all the beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) receives food grains @ 5 kg per person per month.


9)  Moody’s Projects India’s GDP growth forecast in FY22 at 9.3%

•Moody’s Investors Service in its latest report has projected that the economic growth in India will rebound strongly. It has pegged GDP growth for the nation at 9.3% and 7.9% in FY22 and FY23, respectively. India recently hit record Covid-19 vaccination rates. Moody’s notes that the vaccination drive in India has gathered pace after the second wave.


•Around 30% of the population of India is now fully vaccinated with two doses while around 55% of the population has received at least one dose. Improved vaccination coverage has led to stabilisation in consumer confidence.


10)  ADB approves USD 1.5 bn loan to India for COVID-19 vaccine procurement

•Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $1.5 billion loan (approx Rs 11,185 crore) to help the Government of India purchase safe and effective vaccines against the coronavirus (COVID-19). The fund will be used to procure at least 66.7 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses for an estimated 31.7 crore people of the country. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected to co-finance an additional USD 500 million for the project.


•Beijing-based AIIB is a multilateral development bank focused on developing Asia. It has members from all over the world. It will support India’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan which aims to fully vaccinate 94.47 crore people aged 18 years and above, accounting for 68.9 per cent of the population.

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The HINDU Notes – 26th November 2021

15:34

 


📰 Fourth Scorpene class submarine INS Vela joins Navy

With this, the Navy currently has 16 conventional and one nuclear submarine in service.

•The fourth Scorpene class conventional submarine, INS Vela, was commissioned into the Navy in the presence of Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh at a ceremony in Mumbai on Thursday.

•“Vela has taken the ‘Make in India’ spirit a notch higher with the fitment indigenised battery cells, which power a very silent permanently magnetised propulsion motor,” the Navy said in a statement.

•Construction of the submarine commenced with the first cutting of steel on July 14, 2009 and it was launched and named Vela on May 6, 2019.

•With this, the Navy currently has 16 conventional and one nuclear submarine in service. It includes eight Russian Kilo class submarines, four German HDW submarines, four French Scorpene submarines and the indigenous nuclear ballistic missile submarine INS Arihant.

•Vela, being named after a type of Indian fish belonging to the stingray family, the crest depicts the fish swimming across the blue seas. The submarine’s mascot is the Sub-ray which is an amalgamation of the submarine and the stingray which symbolises the metamorphosis of the submarine’s character with the qualities of a stingray, the Navy said.

•The new INS Vela carries forward the legacy of its namesake, the erstwhile Vela which was commissioned on August 31, 1973 as the lead boat of Vela class submarines and was decommissioned on January 25, 2010.

•Six Scorpene submarines are being built under Project-75 by Mazgaon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai, under technology transfer from Naval Group of France under a $3.75 bn deal signed in October 2005.

•The first submarine INS Kalvari was commissioned in December 2017, second submarine INS Khanderi in September 2019 and third one INS Karanj in March 2021. The fifth submarine, Vagir, was launched in November 2020 and is undergoing sea trails while the sixth one Vagsheer is in advanced stage of outfitting.

•The Navy has drawn up plans to install Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) modules on all Scorpene submarines as they go for their refit beginning with INS Kulvari in 2023 to enhance their endurance. That hinges on the successful fitment of the indigenous AIP module developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation on board a submarine. The land-based prototype has recently undergone successful trials.

•Parallely, the Navy recently issued the Request For Proposal for procurement of six advanced submarines under Project-75I.

•The Navy has a 30-year submarine building programme and after the P-75I the Navy intends to design and build conventional submarines indigenously. “This is going to be maybe the last time (P-75I) that we will take any outside assistance; henceforth we will design and build our own submarines,” Navy Chief Adm Singh told The Hindu recently.

•With delays in submarine induction, the SSKs-209s (German HDWs) and EKMs (Russian Kilo’s) are being put through the Medium Refit Life Certification process which will give them additional life of 10 to 15 years.

📰 Group of 8 Food secretaries to create national policy for community kitchens

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THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 26.11.2021

15:06
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Thursday, November 25, 2021

Daily Current Affairs, 25th November 2021

16:00

 


1)  International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

•The United Nations designated International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is celebrated worldwide on November 25. The day is celebrated to raise awareness of the fact that women around the world are subject to various forms of violence and the true nature of the issue is often hidden. This year’s theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is “Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!”.


2)  Financial Stability Board: JP Morgan named world’s most systemic bank

•JPMorgan Chase has once again been named the world’s most important bank to the health of the wider financial system, according to the latest annual ranking of top lenders by global regulators. The Financial Stability Board (FSB), made up of regulators from G20 countries, published its latest table of the world’s 30 most systemic banks.


•The 30 lenders are divided between four “buckets” in order of how systemic, international, interconnected and complex they are, with JPMorgan now in a higher bucket than its nearest peers. Being included in the table means having to hold additional capital and undergo more intense supervision to avoid a repeat of taxpayer bailouts in the banking crisis over a decade ago. In practice, the lenders typically hold capital buffers that are already above FSB requirements.


3)  NASA launches world’s first DART Mission

•The US space agency NASA has launched a first-of-its-kind mission named DART to change the path of an asteroid by intentionally crashing a spacecraft into it. DART stands for Double Asteroid Redirection Test. The $325 million DART mission was launched into orbit on November 24, 2021, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.


4)  Shimla tops NITI Aayog’s inaugural SDG Urban Index

•NITI Aayog launched the inaugural SDG Urban Index & Dashboard 2021-22, to further strengthen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) localization and institute robust SDG monitoring at the city level. The index is an SDG progress monitoring tool at the ULB level to highlight the strengths and gaps of ULB-level data, monitoring, and reporting systems. Shimla has topped among the 56 urban areas while Dhanbad in Jharkhand is at the bottom.


5)  Indore’s Railway Station renamed after Tribal Icon Tantya Bhil

•Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced the renaming of Indore’s Patalpani railway station after tribal icon Tantya Bhil, who was well known as ‘Indian Robin Hood’ by the tribals. CM also announced that 2 other landmarks, the Bhanwar Kuan intersection, and MR 10 bus stand, in Indore will also be named after Tantya Bhil. Notably, Bhopal’s Habibganj railway station was recently named after Rani Kamalapati, a tribal queen.


6)  SBI signed an MoU with Pondicherry Co-op Milk Producers’ Union Ltd

•The State bank of India (SBI) has signed an MoU with Pondicherry Co-op. Milk Producers’ Union Ltd (PONLAIT) for financing individual dairy farmers up to Rs 3 Lakh. The Loan will be made available through YONO application of the SBI Bank. SBI has introduced a technology product, named ‘SAFAL- Simple And Fast Agriculture Loan’ for financing individual Dairy farmers, who are supplying milk to commercial dairies on a regular basis.


7)  S K Sohan Roy 1st Indian to be honoured with Knighthood of Parte Guelfa

•Dr S K Sohan Roy from Kerala, CEO, and founder of Aries Group of Companies has become the first Indian to be honoured with the Knighthood of Parte Guelfa for his humanitarian and Environmental protection efforts in business and movies. The honorary title of “Knight of Parte Guelfa” has been conferred upon him during the conferring ceremony organized during the Investitures of Parte Guelfa of Annus Domini 2021 and was held at the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Palagio di Parte Guelfa in Florence, Italy.


8)  India, Maldives & Sri Lanka conducted biennial trilateral exercise ‘Dosti’

•The 5-day long, 15th edition of the Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka biennial Trilateral Exercise ‘Dosti’ was conducted in the Maldives from 20-24 November 2021 as part of regional security formation for a peaceful and stable Indian Ocean Region. The Exercise is conducted biennially among the Coast Guards of the 3 countries. This year marks the 30th year since the initiation of the exercise.


•Indian Coast Guard vessels, Integrated Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Vajra and Apoorva along with Sri Lanka Coast Guard Ship (SLCGS) Suraksha Participated in the exercise. The aim of the India-Maldives-Sri Lanka tri-lateral exercise ‘Dosti’ is to further fortify the friendship, enhance the mutual operational capability, and exercise interoperability and to build cooperation between the Coast Guards of Maldives, India and Sri Lanka.


9)  Art historian BN Goswamy’s book on Indian arts

•Distinguished art historian & Padma Awardee, Brijinder Nath Goswamy has authored a new book on Indian arts, titled “Conversations: India’s Leading Art Historian Engages with 101 themes, and More”. The book acquired by Penguin Random House India will be published in January 2022. In this book, B.N Goswamy explores a wide range of subjects on or around the arts.


•With this book, Goswamy opens a window to a wide range of subjects: on and around the arts. It not only invites those interested and literate in arts but also the general readers who want to take a dive into the field of the arts.


10)  Railways to start theme-based Bharat Gaurav trains

•Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced the launch of Bharat Gaurav, which will be run in theme-based circuits by both the private sector and the IRCTC. The Indian Railways is in the process of finalising theme-based tourist circuit trains through private and state-owned service providers in a move to display the country’s rich cultural heritage.


•To promote the first-of-its-kind theme-based trains, the railways has dedicated more than 3,000 AC and non-AC coaches of various categories to run around 190 tourist circuit trains to various cultural and heritage sites. The first Bharat Gaurav train may begin by January 2022.

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