Daily Current Capsules

29-30 April 2023

Prelims Factoids

Anji Khad bridge – India’s first cable stayed rail bridge completed

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the bridge and about Anji River)

What’s the NEWS

• The Prime Minister of India praised the completion of Anji Khad bridge, India’s first cable stayed rail bridge.

Bridge Highlights

• Anji Cable Stay bridge is designed with a total of 96 cables
• The bridge forms an important link in Indian Railways’ aim to connect J&K to the rest of the country with all-weather rail connectivity.
• It connects Katra and Reasi via tunnels T2 and T3 on the Katra-Banihal section.
• The asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge crosses the deep gorges of Anji river, a tributary of river Chenab. 

Government Initiative

India Calling Conference 2023

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Indian Merchants’ Chamber) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions)

What’s the NEWS

• Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, delivered the inaugural address at the ‘India Calling Conference 2023’ organized by the Indian Merchants Chamber in Mumbai
• IMC India Calling Conference is an annual feature for last 24 years established by IMC to provide networking platform for Indian and global players to come together and debate, share insights and explore potential investment opportunities and collaborations.

Indian Merchants’ Chamber

• It was founded on September 07, 1907 by few Indian Merchants, who came together to establish a Swadeshi institution to fight for the rights of the swadeshi businesses.
• The Chamber exclusively served the interests of Indian business community and also took part in several key political movement pre-independence.
• In recognition of the Chamber’s contribution to nation building, Mahatma Gandhi accepted honorary membership in 1931, the only Chamber which has this distinction.
• After independence, IMC has played a significant role in consolidating Indian business interests and making the Indian economy self-reliant.
• At its 100th year, a postal stamp was issued by the government of India recognizing the services of the Chamber.
• The foundation stone of the Chambers’ building in Churchgate at Mumbai was laid by first Home Minister of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• The Chamber represents the voice of over 400,000 businesses and industry establishments across India from diverse sectors of industry with its membership base of over 5000 members and over 150 trade associations affiliated to it.
• The Chamber’s core function is to provide policy inputs and to promote interests of industry and economic growth of the country.

Science and Technology

National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22

Relevance IN – Prelims ( NMIS 2021-22 Highlights) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions + GS III S&T developments)

What’s the NEWS

• Department of Science and Technology, released the “National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22: Summary for Policymakers”
• The National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22 was undertaken by DST

NMIS 2021-22 Highlights

• The National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22 is a joint study by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to evaluate the innovation performance of manufacturing firms in the India.
• The NMIS 2021-22 study was conducted as a 2-pronged survey that examined the innovation processes, outcomes, and barriers in manufacturing firms and also studied the innovation ecosystem that affects innovation outcomes in these firms.
• This study is a follow-up of DST’s first National Innovation Survey held in 2011.
• The collaborative study by DST-UNIDO allowed a 360-degree approach to measuring manufacturing innovation outcomes, processes, and barriers at the firm level, mapping the contributing processes and interactions and thereby assessing the performance of states, sectors, and firm sizes.
• The NMIS 2021-22 survey had two specific components: the firm-level survey and the sectorial systems of innovation (SSI) survey.
• The Firm-level survey captured data related to types of innovations and innovative measures taken by firms, including the process of innovation, access to finance, resources, and information for innovation,
• The Sectorial System of Innovation survey mapped the manufacturing innovation system and its enabling role in achieving innovations in firms

Prelims Factoids

World Veterinary Day- 2023

Relevance IN – Prelims (about World Veterinary Day)

What’s the NEWS

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying in close collaboration with Veterinary Council of India celebrated World Veterinary Day- 2023 on 29th April, 2023 at New Delhi at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi in order to recognize and celebrate the important roles of Veterinarians

Know! about the day

The day is observed to mark the importance of veterinary doctors who serve to protect animals.

The theme of World Veterinary Day for the year 2023 is “Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness in the veterinary profession”

The World Veterinary Association (WVA) established World Veterinary Day in 2000 to recognise and promote the role of veterinarians in safeguarding the health and well-being of animals, people, and the environment.

WVA awards individuals or organisations that have made significant contributions to veterinary medicine and animal welfare

Defence/Indigenisation of Technology

IMPHAL, INDIAN NAVY’S THIRD SHIP OF PROJECT 15B SAILS FOR MAIDEN SEA TRIALS

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Project 15B) + Mains ( GS III Indigenisation of Technology)

What’s the NEWS

• Imphal, Indian Navy’s third indigenous stealth destroyer of the Project 15B class, planned to be commissioned later this year, undertook her maiden sea sortie
• Imphal will have the unique distinction of being the largest and most advanced destroyer to be ever named after a city from the North-East.
• With the recent commissioning of her predecessor INS Mormugao in December 2022 and the fifth Project 75 submarine INS Vagir in January 2023, commencement of sea trials of Imphal is yet another important milestone

Know! about Project 15B

• The Project 15B class (or P-15 Bravo-class destroyers) of ships (also called as Visakhapatnam-class destroyers are the Navy’s next generation stealth guided missile destroyers
• The contract for four ships of Project 15B was signed on 28 January 2011.
• This Project is a follow-on of the Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers
• The lead ship of the Project – INS Visakhapatnam was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 21 November 2021.
• Designed by – the Warship Design Bureau, the Indian Navy’s in-house organization;
• Built by – M/s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, Mumbai
• The four ships of the Project are christened after major cities from all four corners of the country, viz. Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat.
• The Project 15B ships are 163 meters long and 17 meters wide, displace 7400 tonnes when fully loaded, and have a maximum speed of 30 knots.

The overall indigenous content of the project is approx. 75%:

• Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (BEL, Bangalore)
• BrahMos Surface-to-Surface Missiles (BrahMos Aerospace, New Delhi)
• Indigenous Torpedo Tube Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai)
• Anti-Submarine Indigenous Rocket Launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai)
• 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (BHEL, Haridwar)
• Like Project 15A, Project 15B will be fitted with 32x Barak 8 surface-to-air missiles (launched from VLS cells) as well as 16 BrahMos anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles.

Under the project four different destroyer warships are to be built and commissioned by the Indian Navy.

1. INS Visakhapatnam – commissioned on November, 2021
2. INS Mormugao – commissioned on December, 2022
3. INS Imphal – begins sea trail
4. INS Surat – to be commissioned in 2024

Internal Security

Dimasa National Liberation Army/Dimasa Peoples’ Supreme Council (DNLA/DPSC)

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Dimasa People/Sixth Schedule/) + Mains ( GS III Internal Security challenges)

What’s the NEWS

In the presence of Union Home Minister a tripartite Memorandum of Settlement between Government of India, Government of Assam and representatives of Dimasa National Liberation Army/Dimasa Peoples’ Supreme Council (DNLA/DPSC) was signed in New Delhi

Agreement Highlights

• Under the agreement, the representatives of DNLA have agreed to abjure violence, surrender all arms and ammunition, disband their armed organization, vacate all camps occupied by DNLA cadres and join the peaceful democratic process as established by the law.
• This agreement will bring a complete end to the insurgency in Dima Hasao District of Assam.
• Under the agreement, Dimasa Welfare Council will be set up by the Government of Assam to protect, preserve and promote social, cultural, linguistic identity to meet political, economic and educational aspirations and will ensure speedy and focused development of the Dimasa people residing outside the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Council.
• Along with this, agreement also provides for appointment of a Commission under Paragraph 14 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India to examine the demand for inclusion of additional villages contiguous to North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council (NCHAC) with the Council.

Know! about Dimasa people

• They are an ethnolinguistic community presently inhabiting in Assam and Nagaland states in Northeastern India.
• They speak Dimasa, a Tibeto-Burman language.
• They live mostly in Dima Hasao District, an administrative autonomous district of the Indian state of Assam
• This community is fairly homogeneous and exclusive, with members required to draw from both parents’ separate clans.
• Dimasa kingdom, one of many early states in Assam, was established by these people.
• The Dimasas are one of the oldest inhabitants of the Northeastern part of India and is one of the many Kachari tribes

Know! about Bodo–Kacharis

• It is a name used by anthropologist and linguists to define a collection of ethnic groups living predominantly in the Northeast Indian states of Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya.

Know! about  Sixth Schedule

• The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 provides for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions — Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) — that have some legislative, judicial, and administrative autonomy within a state.
• ADCs have up to 30 members with a term of five years, and can make laws, rules and regulations with regard to land, forest, water, agriculture, village councils, health, sanitation, village- and town-level policing, inheritance, marriage and divorce, social customs and mining, etc.
• The Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam is an exception with more than 40 members and the right to make laws on 39 issues.
• The Sixth Schedule applies to the Northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram (three Councils each), and Tripura (one Council).

Government Schemes

Revamped CGTMSE Scheme released

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about revamped CGTMSE Scheme) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions)

What’s the NEWS

• Union Minister for MSME launched the revamped CGTMSE Scheme
• CGTMSE has been provided with an additional corpus support of ₹9,000 crore in the Union Budget for FY 2023-24 to revamp its Scheme to provide guarantee for additional ₹2 lakh crore to Micro & Small Enterprises.

Know! the modification

• The modifications included reduction in guarantee fees for loans upto ₹1 crore by 50% bringing the minimum guarantee fee to the level of 0.37% pa only.
• Another major change announced was raising of ceiling for guarantee from ₹2 crores to ₹ 5 crore and enhancing the threshold limit for claim settlement without initiation of legal action to ₹10 lakh.

Know! about CGTMSE

• Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) is jointly set up by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to catalyse flow of institutional credit to Micro & Small Enterprises (MSEs).
• Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) was launched to strengthen credit delivery system and to facilitate flow of credit to the MSE sector, create access to finance for unserved, under-served and underprivileged, making availability of finance from conventional lenders to new generation entrepreneurs.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving

TEAM CL/GKP