Published on: December 18, 2024
Snippets :18 DECEMBER 2024
Snippets :18 DECEMBER 2024
- A committee led by economist M. Govinda Rao has been tasked with studying regional imbalances in Karnataka and exploring the use of satellite imagery to assess backward regions. The committee is considering utilizing satellite imagery developed by the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), with space experts analyzing night-time images to assess light density and economic activity in different areas. This data will be segregated at the taluk level for a more detailed study. The committee was formed 22 years after the D.M. Nanjundappa report highlighted regional imbalances, categorizing 114 backward taluks. Despite a special development plan, many of these areas remain underdeveloped. A team of statisticians is now comparing the current economic growth to the findings of the Nanjundappa report. Surveys and questionnaires have been distributed to various stakeholders, including politicians, scholars, and industries, and district visits are planned to understand the ground realities, with an inventory of responses expected to be completed by December 2024.
- In 2023-24, Karnataka’s economy experienced a growth of 10.2% in nominal terms, with the agriculture sector being a key contributor due to a strong south-west monsoon. This positive growth in agriculture helped boost both supply and demand-side factors, supporting the state’s overall economic progress. While national inflation rose from 4.83% in April to 5.49% in September, food inflation is expected to decrease due to favorable sowing conditions for kharif and rabi seasons. Revenue receipts saw a 13.8% increase, and foreign investments of $3.5 billion were attracted in the first half of the fiscal year. Additionally, capital investment saw a significant rise, with government expenditure on capital projects increasing by 28.3%. The state’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) policy aims to promote international tech and research companies, with incentives such as tax and rent breaks. The policy also focuses on investments beyond Bengaluru, targeting cities like Mysuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi-Dharwad, and Kalaburagi. Despite a revenue surplus of ₹3,648 crore for the April-September period, the state is projected to face a revenue deficit of ₹27,354 crore for 2024-25. Borrowing figures indicate a budgeted gross borrowing of ₹1.05 lakh crore, with ₹24,974 crore allocated for repayments, leading to a projected rise in liabilities from ₹5.81 lakh crore to ₹6.65 lakh crore.
- Recently, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), developed a newer version of the Search and Rescue Aid Tool (SARAT). Initially launched in 2016, SARAT was designed to assist in search and rescue operations at sea by quickly and efficiently locating individuals or vessels in distress. Developed under the Make in India initiative, it aims to enhance the country’s search and rescue capabilities. SARAT employs model ensembling to handle uncertainties in the location and time of missing objects and considers environmental factors like ocean currents and winds for accurate tracking. The tool uses high-resolution data from the Regional Ocean Modelling System, and users can select from up to 60 types of missing objects. With an interactive map and features such as search area visualization, alerts, and multi-language support, SARAT facilitates quick response to distress situations. The enhanced SARAT Version 2 offers improved search area expansion and better visualizations, providing clearer identification of the probable search areas and last known positions.
- A high-level committee, chaired by former ISRO Chairperson K. Radhakrishnan, has recommended the restructuring of the National Testing Agency (NTA) to improve its functioning. The committee suggested introducing a Digi-Exam system, inspired by Digi-Yatra, to ensure seamless authentication at all stages of the examination process. The restructuring plan includes creating an empowered governing body, with sub-committees focused on test audit, ethics, and stakeholder relations. The NTA’s scope should be limited to entrance exams, with expansion only after capacity augmentation. Additionally, the governance model recommends appointing a Director-General of Additional Secretary rank, organizing NTA into ten verticals, and improving coordination with state and district authorities for secure test administration. The committee also recommended policy interventions such as multi-session and multi-stage testing, enhanced security measures, and transparent score normalization for exams like NEET-UG and CUET.
- K-RIDE has achieved a milestone by launching India’s longest single-span precast U-girder, measuring 31 meters, on the Mallige Line of the Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project (BSRP). Cast in January 2024 at Gollahalli, the U-girder was installed at Yeshwantpur, forming part of the Baiyappanahalli-Chikkabanavara line. As the implementing agency for the 149-km BSRP, K-RIDE is deploying U-girders, which are pre-tensioned, precast, and U-shaped, to enhance quality and reduce construction time by minimizing the number of foundations and piers. While metro projects typically use 28-meter-long U-girders, BSRP’s 450 U-girders, including 60 cast so far at Gollahalli, will be longer, spanning the eight-kilometer elevated section between Hebbal and Yeshwantpur, with the Mallige Line slated for completion by December 2026.
- The influential Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) has accepted the Centre’s offer of a “unique arrangement with executive, legislative, and financial autonomy” for the proposed ‘Frontier Nagaland Territory’ (FNT), encompassing six districts—Mon, Tuensang, Kiphire, Longleng, Noklak, and Shamator. Despite reiterating their demand for separate statehood, the ENPO acknowledged the current challenges faced by the Government of India and temporarily accepted the FNT proposal during a tripartite meeting with the Home Ministry. This development follows boycotts of the 2024 Lok Sabha and civic polls by voters in these districts in support of their statehood demand. The ENPO expressed optimism about the ongoing negotiations, with the next meeting scheduled for January to address unresolved issues, while emphasizing their hope that the Centre will honour its proposed arrangement in the interest of the region’s people.
- Akin to the protective PPE kits that health workers don, scientists affiliated to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) have developed an ‘anti-pesticide’ suit called Kisan Kavach. The suit is intended to protect farm labourers from imbibing the pesticides they spray. Several of the common pesticides are potential neurotoxins and detrimental to health. The kit consists of a trouser, pullover, and a face-cover made of ‘oxime fabric’ that can chemically breakdown any of the common pesticides that get sprayed onto cloth or body during spraying operations. This prevents chemicals from leaching into the skin. The price per kit is ₹4,000.
- A parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, led by Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi, has recommended a legally guaranteed Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops, emphasizing its potential to address farmer suicides and improve rural livelihoods. The report, tabled in Parliament, called for doubling the PM-KISAN scheme’s financial assistance to ₹12,000 annually and extending benefits to tenant farmers and laborers. The committee argued that a legal MSP would enhance rural economic growth, stimulate local businesses, and ensure national food security. Assured income through MSP could enable farmers to invest in sustainable practices, mitigate market risks, and alleviate debt burdens, significantly reducing distress. The panel urged the government to outline a roadmap for implementing MSP as a legal guarantee, predicting it as a transformative step for Indian agriculture.
- Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior was crowned FIFA Best Men’s Player-of-the-Year at a ceremony on Tuesday, while Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati secured the women’s prize for the second time. Vinicius, who recently placed second in the Ballon d’Or, accepted the award in Qatar as Real Madrid prepared for their Intercontinental Cup final against Mexico’s Pachuca. Other honorees included Carlo Ancelotti (Men’s Coach), Emma Hayes (Women’s Coach), Emiliano Martinez (Men’s Goalkeeper), Alyssa Naeher (Women’s Goalkeeper), Alejandro Garnacho (Puskas Award), Marta (Marta Award), Thiago Maia (FIFA Fair Play Award), and Guilherme Gandra Moura (FIFA Fan Award).
- India is set to host the World Boxing Cup Final in November next year, reaffirming its support for the breakaway World Boxing body. The Boxing Federation of India will also simultaneously host the third World Boxing Congress, which will include elections for the presidency and executive board. The tournament will be the first international event hosted by the BFI after opting to join the new governing body earlier this year.
- India has established its first diabetes biobank at the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) in Chennai, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
- Recently, scientists have discovered a chemical pathway that exacerbates air quality in extremely cold winters, involving the formation of hydroxymethanesulphonate in aerosol particles. Published in Science Advances, the study highlights how aerosol chemistry changes under supercooled conditions in cold regions. Hydroxymethanesulphonate, a secondary aerosol, forms when formaldehyde reacts with sulfur dioxide in the presence of liquid water, and while it was previously thought to occur only in clouds and fog, it has now been observed in aerosol particles during Fairbanks winters. Extremely low temperatures (around -35°C) cause supercooling of aerosol particles, allowing liquid water to remain unfrozen and enabling hydroxymethanesulphonate formation. The study also explores aerosol acidity dynamics, which are influenced by the relative concentrations of sulfate ions (SO₄²⁻) that increase acidity and ammonium ions (NH₄⁺) that neutralize it. Following the 2022 sulfur fuel ban in Fairbanks, sulfate ion concentrations decreased, while ammonium ion levels increased, reducing aerosol acidity. In cold conditions, ammonium ions are less likely to evaporate into ammonia gas, causing their buildup and further lowering acidity, creating conditions that promote hydroxymethanesulphonate formation.
- Under the guidance of the Ministry of Coal, the Singrauli-based Coal India subsidiary, Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL), has launched the ‘CHARAK’ (Community Health: A Responsive Action for Koylanchal)initiative. The initiative, which stands for Community Health: A Responsive Action for Koylanchal, is a health-focused Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project aimed at providing free medical treatment to individuals suffering from life-threatening diseases in the economically weaker sections of the Singrauli region. Through this initiative, NCL will offer free treatment at its dedicated hospital or at specialized empanelled hospitals across the country. The scheme is open to residents of Singrauli and Sonbhadra districts with an annual family income below Rs. 8 Lakhs, covering various life-threatening conditions such as malignancy, tuberculosis and related complications, HIV, cardiovascular diseases, organ transplants, burns, liver disorders, sudden hearing loss, and more.
- Recently, the Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and New & Renewable Energy launched the Credit Guarantee Scheme for e-NWR based Pledge Financing (CGS-NPF), aimed at providing crucial financial support to small farmers and preventing distress selling. This scheme offers a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore for post-harvest financing, allowing farmers to avail loans against electronic negotiable warehouse receipts (e-NWRs) after depositing their produce in Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) accredited warehouses. The scheme covers loans up to Rs. 75 lakhs for agricultural purposes and up to Rs. 200 lakhs for non-agricultural purposes. Eligible institutions include all scheduled and cooperative banks, while eligible borrowers encompass small and marginal farmers (SMFs), women, SC/ST/PwD farmers, MSMEs, traders, FPOs, and farmer cooperatives. The scheme covers risks related to credit and warehouse management, providing guarantee coverage of 85% for loans up to Rs. 3 lakhs, 80% for loans between Rs. 3 to 75 lakhs for specific farmers, and 75% for other borrowers. This initiative is expected to improve the availability and accessibility of finances for the targeted beneficiaries, enhancing post-harvest lending against e-NWRs and boosting farmers’ incomes.
- Exercise SLINEX 2024 (Sri Lanka–India Exercise) will be conducted from 17 to 20 Dec 24 at Visakhapatnam under the aegis of the Eastern Naval Command
