Daily Current Capsules

29,30 and 31 August 2023

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

• The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) – the National Mission for Financial Inclusion – completes nine years of successful implementation
• The PMJDY was announced by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address on 15^th August 2014.

Background

• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a National Mission for Financial Inclusion to ensure access to financial services, namely, Banking/ Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in an affordable manner.

Objectives

• Ensure access of financial products & services at an affordable cost
• Use of technology to lower cost & widen reach

Basic tenets of the scheme

• Banking the unbanked – Opening of basic savings bank deposit (BSBD) account with minimal paperwork, relaxed KYC, e-KYC, account opening in camp mode, zero balance & zero charges
• Securing the unsecured – Issuance of Indigenous Debit cards for cash withdrawals & payments at merchant locations, with free accident insurance coverage of Rs. 2 lakhs
• Funding the unfunded – Other financial products like micro-insurance, overdraft for consumption, micro-pension & micro-credit

Initial Features of PMJDY

The scheme was launched based upon the following 6 pillars:

1. Universal access to banking services – Branch and BC
2. Basic savings bank accounts with overdraft facility of Rs. 10,000/- to every eligible adult
3. Financial Literacy Programme– Promoting savings, use of ATMs, getting ready for credit, availing insurance and pensions, using basic mobile phones for banking
4. Creation of Credit Guarantee Fund – To provide banks some guarantee against defaults
5. Insurance – Accident cover up to Rs. 1,00,000 and life cover of Rs. 30,000 on account opened between 15 Aug 2014 to 31 January 2015
6. Pension scheme for Unorganised sector

Extension of PMJDY with New Features

The Government decided to extend the comprehensive PMJDY programme beyond 28.8.2018 with some modifications

• • Focus shifted from ‘Every Household’ to Every Unbanked Adult’
  • RuPay Card Insurance – Free accidental insurance cover on RuPay cards increased from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2 lakhs for PMJDY accounts opened after 28.8.2018.
  • Enhancement in overdraft facilities: OD limit doubled from Rs 5,000/- to Rs 10,000/-; OD upto Rs 2,000/- (without conditions) with Increase in upper age limit for OD from 60 to 65 years

PMJDY has brought the unbanked into the banking system, expanded the financial architecture of India and brought financial inclusion to almost every adult.

• As on 9^th August 23 number of total PMJDY Accounts: 50.09 crore; 55.6% (27.82 crore) Jan-Dhan account holders are women and 66.7% (33.45 crore) Jan Dhan accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas

Jan Dhan Darshak App (JDD App) 

• JDD App is a mobile application which provides a citizen-centric platform for locating banking touch points such as bank branches, ATMs, Banking Correspondents (BCs), Indian Post Payment Banks etc. in the country. Over 13 lakh banking touchpoints have been mapped on the JDD App.
• This app is also being used for identification of villages which are yet to covered by banking outlets within 5 km radius. These identified villages are allocated to various banks by concerned SLBCs for opening of banking outlets.

NATIONAL SPORTS DAY

• India celebrates National Sports Day on 29th August to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey legend, Major Dhyan Chand.
• The primary motto of National Sports Day is to promote awareness about the significance of sports and being physically active in the day to day life
• The day is also dedicated to the nation’s sports heroes and champions, honoring their contribution and dedication towards bringing laurels to the country.
• India celebrated the first National Sports Day on August 29, 2012.
• Widely known as the ‘Hockey Wizard’ and ‘The Magician’, Major Dhyan Chand was born on August 29, 1905.
• The Wizard of hockey Major Dhyan Chand gave us three consecutive Olympic gold medals in hockey in 1928, 1932, and 1936.
• On the occasion of National Sports Day 2023, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Anurag Singh Thakur launched the third edition of the Fit India Quiz
• The Minister also launched an Information booklet on Sports Infrastructure Projects sanctioned under the Khelo India Scheme as well as launched a National Sports Federations portal
• The National Sports Federations portal launched is in line with the Government of India’s vision for Digital India, for ensuring ease of business and good governance.
• It is a unified online portal for the NSFs, which shall be a single window system for processing of annual renewal of recognition of NSFs, elections of National Sports Federations etc.
• This will do away with the existing system of physical mode of submission of documents by NSFs and examination of the same by the Union Sports Ministry.
• The online portal will also be ensuring better coordination among the Department of Sports and the National Sports Federations.

Zonal Councils

• Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah chaired the 26^th Meeting of the Western Zonal Council at Gandhinagar, Gujarat

Know! about Zonal Councils

• The Zonal Councils are the statutory bodies. They are established by an Act of the Parliament, that is, States Reorganisation Act of 1956.\The act divided the country into five zones (Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, and Southern) and provided a zonal council for each zone.

The present composition of each of these Zonal Councils is as under:

1. The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Union Territory of Chandigarh;
2. The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh;
3. The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Sikkim and West Bengal;
4. The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli;
5. The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

• The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya and (vii) Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils and their special problems are looked after by the North Eastern Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972.
• The State of Sikkim has also been included in the North Eastern Council vide North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002 notified on 23rd December 2002. Consequently, action for the exclusion of Sikkim as member of Eastern Zonal Council has been initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Each zonal council consists of the following members:

• Home Minister of Central government.
• Chief Ministers of all the States in the zone.
• Two other ministers from each state in the zone.
• The administrator of each union territory in the zone

The main objectives of setting up of Zonal Councils are as under :

• Bringing out national integration;
• Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies;
• Enabling the Centre and the States to co-operate and exchange ideas and experiences;
• Establishing a climate of co-operation amongst the States for successful and speedy execution of development projects.

National War Memorial

• A chapter on National War Memorial – ‘A Homage to our Brave Soldiers’ – has been included in the NCERT curriculum of Class VII from this year.
• The objective of this initiative, jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education, is to inculcate the values of patriotism, devotion to duty and courage & sacrifice among school children and increase the participation of youth in nation-building.
• Prime Minister had dedicated the NWM to the nation on February 25, 2019 in New Delhi. It was set up to inculcate a sense of sacrifice & national spirit among the people and pay a befitting tribute to the brave soldiers who laid down their lives defending the nation.

Quality Control Orders (QCOs)

• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has recently notified 2 more new Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for ‘Solar DC Cable and Fire Survival Cable’ and ‘Cast Iron Products

Quality Control Orders (QCOs)

• QCOs are regulatory measures introduced by the government to establish quality standards for specific products or product categories.
• These orders are designed to ensure that products meet certain prescribed quality, safety, and performance requirements before they can be manufactured, imported, stored, or sold in the country.
• The main objective of QCOs is to control the import of sub-standard and cheaper items into the domestic market and ensure that customers have access to quality products that meet the necessary standards.
• QCOs cannot be challenged at the World Trade Organization (WTO) if they are imposed on the grounds of health, safety, environment and deceptive trade practices, or national security.
• To ensure compliance with the quality standards set forth in the QCOs, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) play a crucial role.
• BIS is responsible for certifying products that meet the prescribed standards, both for

Technical Textiles

• The Ministry of Textiles has approved the Startup Guidelines for Technical Textiles – Grant for Research and Entrepreneurship across Aspiring Innovators in Technical Textiles (GREAT) providing grant-in-aid upto INR 50 Lakhs for upto a period of 18 months
• The GREAT Guidelines provides thrust in Technical Textiles’ application areas including Agro-textiles, Building-textiles, Geo-textiles, Home-textiles, Medical-textiles, Mobile-textiles, Packaging- textiles, Protective-textiles and Sports-textiles
• To incentivize the incubators, Ministry to additionally provide 10% of total grant-in-aid to incubators.
• To strengthen authenticity and commitment towards the project, a minimum investment of 10% of the funding from the incubatee in two equal installments is mandated.
• The Startup Guidelines (GREAT) to provide much needed impetus for the development of technical textiles startup ecosystem in India, especially in niche sub-segments such as Bio-degradable and Sustainable textiles, High-performance & Specialty fibres, Smart textiles, among others.

Know! about Technical Textile

• Technical textiles are defined as textile materials and products used primarily for their technical performance and functional properties rather than their aesthetic or decorative characteristics.
• This is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Textile Industry, which is manufacturing high-tech, high-performance fabric designed not just to look attractive, but to present a significant added value in terms of functionality.
• The textile coating process is widely used in the manufacturing of technical textiles.
• The textile industry is not only experiencing clothing application but also continuing a major outlook towards the non-clothing application of textiles known as Technical textiles.

Let’s Move Forward

• Union Education Minister launched a novel comic book titled “Let’s Move Forward.
• This comic book is a collaborative effort between the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and UNESCO New Delhi.
• It signifies a significant stride towards augmenting the goals of the School Health and Wellness Programme (SHWP).
• The SHWP, initiated under the Ayushman Bharat campaign in April ,2018 by Prime Minister is an initiative undertaken by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Its primary objective is to impart health education, prevent diseases, and enhance access to health services through wellness centers within educational institutions.
• The “Let’s Move Forward” comic book is designed to cater to the diverse requirements of adolescents and encapsulates crucial information pertaining to the 11 thematic components of the School Health and Wellness Programme.
• The “Let’s Move Forward” comic book will be distributed across various educational and health institutions nationwide.

Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA)

• The Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India organized an outreach programme on “registration of warehouses with WDRA”

Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA)

• The Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) was constituted on 26.10.2010 under the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007
• The WDRA is a Statutory Authority under the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India. The Authority has its Headquarters in New Delhi.
• The Authority consists of a Chairperson and two Members appointed by the Central Government.
• The main functions of the Authority are to make provisions for the development and regulation of warehouses which interalia includes negotiability of warehouse receipts, registration of warehouses, promotion of scientific warehousing of goods, improving fiduciary trust of depositors and banks, enhancing liquidity in rural areas and promoting efficient supply chain.
• The negotiable warehouse receipts issued by the WDRA will help the farmers to seek loans from banks against the NWRs to avoid distress sales of agricultural produce during the peak marketing season and to avoid the post-harvest storage loss.
• 136 agricultural commodities including cereals, pulses, oil seeds, spices, rubber, tobacco, coffee etc for issuing negotiable warehouse receipts and also 24 horticultural commodities for cold storage, and 9 non-agricultural commodities have been notified.
• To discourage distress sale by farmers and to encourage them to store their produce against warehouse receipts the benefit of interest subvention was made available to small and marginal farmers having Kisan Credit Cards for a period of six months @ 7%.

LAUNCH OF Y – 12654 (MAHENDRAGIRI)

• Mahendragiri, the last Project 17A Frigate, was launched at M/s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai on 01 Sep 23.
• Mahendragiri, named after a mountain peak in Eastern Ghats located in the state of Orissa, is the seventh ship of the Project 17A Frigates.
• These warships are follow-ons of the Project 17 Class Frigates (Shivalik Class), with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.
• Under the Project 17A program, a total of four ships by M/s MDL and three ships by M/s GRSE are under construction.
• The first six ships of the project have been launched so far by MDL & GRSE, between 2019-2023.
• Project 17A ships have been designed in-house by Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, the pioneer organisation for all warship design activities.
• A substantial 75% of the orders for equipment and systems of Project 17A ships have been ordered on indigenous firms, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Project 17-A

• The Nilgiri-class frigates, designated as Project-17 Alpha frigates (P-17A), form a collection of stealthy guided-missile frigates.
• These ships are equipped with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors, and platform management systems.
• Mahendragiri is the fourth and final Project 17A frigate built by MDL.
• The first-in-class ship, Nilgiri, was launched in September 2019 by MDL.
• The first Project 17A frigate built by GRSE, Himgiri, was launched in December 2020.
• Seven vessels of the class are planned. Four are being built by MDL and three by GRSE.

Know! about the Frigates

• The frigates are built with extensive use of low-observability technologies, including new radar-absorbing coatings, composite materials, and “faceted” shape superstructures.
• The ship will be fitted with a 76mm main gun, two 30 mm AK-630M anti-aircraft artillery systems, two torpedo tubes, launchers for eight BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, and 32 Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles.
• Its main radar will be the MF-STAR by IAI.

India will host 1st edition of ‘Global IndiaAI 2023 ’ in October

• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will be organizing the Global IndiaAI 2023, scheduled for October this year.
• There will be participation from leading AI players, researchers, startups, and investors in India and worldwide.
• The conference is poised to cover a wide spectrum of topics, including Next Generation Learning and Foundational AI models, AI’s applications in healthcare, governance, and next-gen electric vehicles, future AI research trends, AI computing systems, investment opportunities, and nurturing AI talent.

Exercise Bright Star- 23

• Indian Army contingent comprising of 137 personnel departed for “Exercise BRIGHT STAR- 23” scheduled to be conducted from 31 August to 14 September 2023 at Mohammed Naguib Military Base in Egypt.
• It is a multinational tri-services joint military exercise that will be led by US CENTCOM and Egyptian Army.
• It was initially conceptualized as a bilateral biennial training exercise between the US and Egypt during the Camp David Accord of 1977.
• The first edition of the Exercise was conducted in the year 1980 in Egypt.
• From 1995 onwards the Exercise was expanded for participation by other nations.
• The previous Exercise BRIGHT STAR was conducted in the year 2021 wherein forces of 21 countries had participated
• This year 34 countries will participate in Exercise BRIGHT STAR- 23.
• It will be the largest-ever joint military exercise in the Middle East & North Africa region.
• This is the first time that Indian Armed Forces are participating in Exercise BRIGHT STAR with a total strength of 549 personnel.
• The Indian Army is being represented by a contingent from 23 JAT Battalion.

Sagar Parikrama Phase VIII

• Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying launched Sagar Parikrama Phase-VIII on 31^st August in Thengapattanam Fishing harbour in Kanyakumari district.
• This phase of Sagar Parikrama will cover four coastal districts of Tamil Nadu including Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram.

Sagar Parikrama Yatra

• It is an outreach program intended to reach out fisher community across the coastal belt.
• The initiative has been launched to better understand the issues, experiences, and aspirations of fishermen, as well as to examine the scope of seafood exports and popularise programs available to fishermen in coastal areas.
• The first seven phases of Sagar Parikrama has covered 3600 km in 8 Western Coastal states/UTs including Gujarat, Diu & Daman, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, and Andaman & Nicobar.
• The journey signifies an evolutionary initiative of the Government of India demonstrating solidarity with fisher folk, fish farmers, and other concerned stakeholders across the coastal belt.
• Aim – to resolve the challenges faced by the fishing community and facilitate their economic upliftment through various fisheries schemes and programs implemented by the government, such as the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and to disseminate information about various fisheries related schemes and programs, promoting responsible fisheries with a focus on sustainable balance, and protection of marine ecosystems.

World’s first prototype of the BS 6 Stage II ‘Electrified Flex fuel vehicle’ launched

• Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari launched the world’s first prototype of the BS 6 Stage II ‘Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle’, developed by Toyota Kirloskar Motor
• It is the world’s first BS 6 (Stage II) Electrified Flex Fuel vehicle prototype, which has both the flex fuel engine as well as an electric powertrain, thereby offering higher use of ethanol combined with better fuel efficiencies.
• This innovative vehicle is based on the Innova Hycross and is engineered to adhere to India’s stricter emission standards, marking it as the first-ever BS 6 ( Stage II) Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle prototype globally.
• India has huge Ethanol potential, much beyond E20 mix.  This excess potential can be utilised by the country by promoting Flex Fuel vehicle (FFVs) and Flex Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle (FFV-SHEV) / Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle.

Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle

• Flex fuel is an alternative fuel made by mixing petrol with ethanol.
• An Electrified Flex Fuel Vehicle has both a Flexi Fuel engine and an electric powertrain.
• This gives it the ability to provide the dual benefit of higher ethanol use and much higher fuel efficiency as is in the case of a Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicle (SHEV), which can provide 30-50% higher Fuel Efficiency as it can run 40-60% in EV mode with engine shut off.

Ethanol blending in India

• It has increased by over 8 times.
• India has advanced the target for E20 blending to 2025 (5 years ahead of earlier planned schedule), from the original plan of 2030.
• E20 fuel is being dispensed at more than 3300 fuel stations across the country and shall be available pan India by April 2025.

Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP)

• A meeting between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India was held on August 29, 2023, to launch the new U.S. – India Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP) under the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership.
• RETAP was announced during the June 22, 2023 meeting in Washington D. C., between the President of the United States of America and the Prime Minister of India

Know! about RETAP

• The RETAP was established to take bilateral collaboration further with a result-oriented, time-bound technology focus.
• It is intended to advance new and emerging renewable technologies with a view toward deployment and scaling.
• RETAP’s initial focus will be on green/clean hydrogen, wind energy, long-duration energy storage, and exploration of geothermal energy, ocean/tidal energy, and other emerging technologies as mutually determined in the future.
• DOE and MNRE outlined an initial workplan regarding RETAP collaboration.

Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP)

• The SCEP was launched in accordance with the US – India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership announced by both countries at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate held in 2021.
• SCEP was established as one of the two-track engagements launched under the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership.
• 2030 agenda was announced in 2021 to accelerate progress toward shared climate and clean energy goals.
• The SCEP advances energy security and innovation with greater emphasis on electrification and decarbonization of processes and end uses; scaling up emerging clean energy technologies; finding solutions for hard-to-decarbonize sectors; and deploying technical solutions.
• The SCEP was earlier established as the Strategic Energy Partnership in 2018 and had replaced the U.S.-India Energy Dialogue, the previous intergovernmental engagement for energy cooperation.

The five technical pillars of the India-USA Strategic Clean Energy Partnership are:

• Power & Energy Efficiency
• Renewable Energy
• Responsible for Oil & Gas
• Sustainable Growth
• Emerging Fuels and Technologies

Composite Aluminium third rail

• Kolkata Metro Railway, India’s first Metro built by Indian Railways on 24th October 1984, has been serving as a lifeline for Kolkata, the city of Joy for nearly 40 long years.
• In Kolkata Metro Railway, the power to Metro Rake is supplied to rolling stock at 750V DC through steel Third Rail.
• Kolkata Metro Railway using steel Third Rail for the last 40 years.
• Kolkata  Metro Railway has now decided to use composite Aluminium Third Rail in all the upcoming corridors being undertaken for construction along with retro fitment in existing corridors with steel Third Rail.
• With this Metro Railway,  Kolkata would become the member of elite club of London, Moscow, Berlin, Munich, and Istanbul Metro who have also shifted from steel Third Rail to Aluminium Third Rail.

CSIR PRIMA11

• CSIR-CMERI has indigenously designed and developed compact 100% Pure Electric Tractor named CSIR PRIMA ET11 mainly to cater small and marginal farmers of India.

Salient features of the developed CSIR PRIMA ET11 are as follows:

• The entire tractor has been designed and manufactured with indigenous components and technologies.
• It has been designed in such a way that its dynamics, weight distribution, transmission engagements, then lever and pedal position have been well-designed
• Women friendly.
• The farmers can charge the tractor using a conventional home charging socket in 7 to 8 hours and operate the tractor for more than 4 hours at field. Otherwise, tractor can run more than 6 hours in case of normal Haulage operation.
• The tractor is being designed with the robust and efficient transmission system by using the semi Synchronized type gearing system.
• The tractor is equipped with best-in-class hydraulic with a lifting capacity of 500 kg or more.

World Sanskrit Day

• The Prime Minister has extended greetings on the occasion of World Sanskrit Day.
• World Sanskrit Day, is commemorated on the occasion of Shravan Poornima, which corresponds to the full moon.
• World Sanskrit Day is observed with the aim of promoting Sanskrit, recognized as the world’s oldest language.
• It serves as a tribute to the birth anniversary of Pāṇini, a distinguished Sanskrit scholar and grammarian.
• Sanskrit is often referred to as Dev Vani, signifying the language of the deities.
• This year, the Sanskrit Diwas falls on Thursday, August 31.
• The purpose of this day’s celebration is to raise awareness and advocate for Sanskrit, one of India’s oldest and ancient languages.

Utkela Airport

• Minister of Civil Aviation, inaugurated Utkela Airport and a direct flight between Utkela and Bhubaneshwar
• Utkela airport is owned by the Government of Odisha.
• It has been developed as a regional airport under the UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India at a cost of Rs. 31.07 Cr.
• Utkela airport has a runway of length 917 meters. (2,995 ft.) with a width of 30 meters.
• With the addition of Utkela Airport, Odisha will now have five airports.

Adopt a Heritage 2.0 programme

• ASI has launched “Adopt a Heritage 2.0” programme
• Under this programme, ASI invites corporate stakeholders to enhance the amenities at the monuments by utilizing their CSR funds.
• The programme is a revamped version of the earlier scheme launched in 2017 and clearly defines the amenities sought for different monuments as per AMASR Act 1958.
• The stakeholders can apply for adopting a monument or specific amenity/ amenities at a monument through a dedicated web portal with URL
• The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has 3696 monuments under protection, which are spread, throughout the country.
• The ‘Adopt a Heritage 2.0’ programme seeks to foster collaboration with corporate stakeholders through which they can contribute in preserving these monuments for our upcoming generations
• The selected stakeholders will develop, provide and/or maintain amenities in hygiene, accessibility, safety and knowledge categories.
• In doing so, they will get an opportunity to be recognized as a responsible and heritage-friendly entity.
• The term of the appointment will be for a period of five years initially, which may be further extended up to five years.
• A user-friendly mobile app, named ‘Indian Heritage’ has also launched, which will showcase the heritage monuments of India.

TAMARA

• In a significant move towards responsible waterbody management and environmental protection, the Technology Development Board (TDB) is supporting M/s Bariflo Labs Private Limited, Odisha, for their project called “Development and Commercialization of Intelligent Water Body Management System (IWMS)-TAMARA.
• The board has approved an amount of ₹ 89.00 lakhs for this project, out of the total project cost of ₹ 150.00 lakhs.

Know! about TAMARA

• It is a smart aeration system enhanced with sensors and IoT-based technology to manage water quality.

This comprehensive system comprises several key elements, each playing a vital role:

1. Smart Sediment Aeration System: This innovation uses robotic systems to move diffuser aerators up and down in water. It helps bring more oxygen to the bottom of water bodies. This system has been tested in real-world conditions and works well in both fresh and salty water.
2. Smart Climate-Driven Water Quality Monitoring System: This system moves around in water bodies and checks the quality of water from the bottom to the surface. It follows important points identified by computer simulations. It helps control the level of nutrients in the water and how much oxygen is in it.
3. Smart Weed Harvester System (PLASHBOT): This system removes unwanted plants from water bodies. It has different parts to find, remove, crush, and move the plants. It uses smart navigation to work smoothly.
4. Communication System and Data Protection: This system uses a special kind of technology to send and receive data between devices. It keeps the data safe and has been tested in labs to make sure it works well.

• The project’s approach is based on using robots, IoT, and artificial intelligence in a system that understands weather conditions and water quality.
• This smart system also keeps track of oxygen and nutrient levels, making sure the water is good for aquatic life.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving

TEAM CL/GKP