Diammonium phosphate fertilizer subsidy hiked

In News: A historic decision was taken to increase the subsidy for DAP fertiliser from Rs. 500 per bag to Rs. 1200 per bag, which is an increase of 140%.

  • Despite the rise in international market prices of DAP, it has been decided to continue selling it at the older price of Rs.1200 and the central government has decided to bear all the burden of price hike.
  • The actual price of a DAP bag is now Rs 2400, which could be sold by Fertilizer companies at Rs 1900 after considering a subsidy of Rs 500. With the enhanced subsidy cover, farmers will continue to get a DAP bag for Rs 1200.
  • This is the second major decision in the farmers’ interest, after directly transferring Rs. 20,667 crore in Farmers’ account under PM-KISAN on the day of Akshay Tritiya.

Context:

Diammonium phosphate:

  • It is one of a series of water-soluble ammonium phosphate salts that can be produced when ammonia reacts with phosphoric acid. Its uses are as follows:
    1. DAP is used as a fertilizer: When applied as plant food, it temporarily increases the soil pH, but over a long term the treated ground becomes more acidic than before upon nitrification of the ammonium.
    2. DAP can be used as a fire retardant: It lowers the combustion temperature of the material, decreases maximum weight loss rates, and causes an increase in the production of residue or char.
    3. DAP is also used as a yeast nutrient: Used in winemaking and mead-making.
    4. Used as an additive: Used in some brands of cigarettes purportedly as a nicotine enhancer.
    5. As a flux for soldering tin, copper, zinc and brass.
    6. To control precipitation of alkali-soluble and acid-insoluble colloidal dyes on wool.

Exports of GI certified Gholvad Sapota (chikoo) from Maharashtra to UK

In News: In a major boost to exports of Geographical Indication (GI) certified products, a consignment of Dahanu Gholvad Sapota from Palghar district of Maharashtra was shipped to the United Kingdom.

Context:

  • GI certification of Ghovad Sapota is held by Maharashtra Rajya Chikoo Utpadak Sangh and the fruit is known for its sweet and unique taste.
  • It is believed that the unique taste is derived from calcium rich soil of Gholvad village.
  • APEDA has been thrust on promotion of exports of GI products. GI products with its uniqueness, intrinsic value and practically no competition from outsiders, offers good potential for export.
  • Sapota is grown in many states- Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Karnataka is known to be the highest grower of the fruit, followed by Maharashtra. It can be used in fruit salads, blended into milk or yogurt, as a smoothie or processed to make a jam out of it.
  • Earlier this month, a consignment of 2.5 Metric Tonne of GI certified Banganapalli & Survarnarekha mangoes sourced from farmers in Krishna & Chittor districts of Andhra Pradesh was exported to South Korea.

Virtual Imposters Beware of ‘FakeBuster’

In News: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar in Punjab and Monash University, Australia have developed a unique detector named ‘FakeBuster’ to identify imposters attending a virtual conference without anybody’s knowledge.

Context:

  • It can also find out faces manipulated on social media to defame or make a joke of someone.
  • In the present pandemic scenario when most of the official meetings and work is being done online, this standalone solution enables a user (organizer) to detect if another person’s video is manipulated or spoofed during a video conferencing.
  • That means the technique will find out if some imposter is attending a Webinar or virtual meeting on behalf of one of your colleagues by morphing his image with his own.
  • A paper on this technique – FakeBuster: A DeepFakes Detection Tool for Video Conferencing Scenarios – has been presented in the 26th International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, in USA in April 2021.
  • The real time mimicked visuals (videos) known as ‘Deepfakes’ can even be used during online examinations and job interviews.
  • This software platform is independent of video conferencing solutions and has been tested with Zoom and Skype applications.
  • The Deepfake detection tool-‘FakeBuster’ works in both online and offline modes.
  • The team claims that this software platform ‘FakeBuster’ is one of the first tools to detect imposters during live video conferencing using DeepFake detection technology. The device has already been tested and would hit the market soon.

New Recommendations of NEGVAC accepted by Union Ministry of Health

In News: The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) has shared fresh recommendations regarding COVID-19 vaccination with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

Context:

  • These recommendations have been based on the evolving situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and emerging global scientific evidence & experience.
  • Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has accepted these recommendations, which are as follows, and has communicated these to the States and UTs also:
    1. Deferring the COVID-19 vaccination in the following scenario:
      • Individuals having lab test proven SARS-2 COVID-19 illness: COVID-19 vaccination to be deferred by 3 months after recovery.
      • SARS-2 COVID-19 patients who have been given anti-SARS-2 monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma: COVID-19 vaccination to be deferred by 3 months from the date of discharge from the hospital.
      • Individuals who have received at least the 1st dose and got COVID-19 infection before completion of the dosing schedule: the 2nd dose should be deferred by 3 months after clinical recovery from COVID-19 illness.
    2. Persons with any other serious general illness requiring hospitalization or ICU care should also wait for 4-8 weeks before getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
    3. An individual can donate blood after 14 days of either receipt of COVID-19 vaccine or testing RT-PCR negative, if suffering from COVID-19 disease.
    4. COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all lactating women.
    5. There is no requirement for screening of the vaccine recipients by rapid antigen test (RAT) prior to COVID-19 vaccination.
    6. Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination of pregnant women, the matter is under discussion and further deliberation by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).
  • The Union Health Ministry has written to States and UTs to direct the concerned officials to take note of these recommendations and undertake necessary action for their effective implementation.

Government Launches first of its kind Six- Month CBID Program on Rehabilitation of Divyangjan

In News: Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment virtually launched a 6- month Community Based Inclusive Development (CBID) Program on rehabilitation of Divyangjan.

Context:

  • This CBID course has been co-designed by Rehabilitation Council of India and University of Melbourne as a joint initiative under the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of Australia and the Government of India on 22nd November, 2018 for cooperation in disability sector.
  • The Central Government has enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016which envisions a society inclusive of persons with disabilities.
  • The Minister reiterated that PwDs are an important human resource and if appropriate facilities/opportunities are given, they can excel in any field be it education, sports performing/fine arts.
  • The program aims to create a pool of grass-root rehabilitation workers at community level who can work alongside ASHA and Anganwadi workers to handle cross disability issues and facilitate inclusion of persons with disabilities in the society.
  • The program has been designed to provide competency based knowledge and skills among these workers to enhance their ability for successfully discharging their duties. These workers will be called ‘Divyang Mitra’ i.e. friends of persons with disabilities.
  • The Rehabilitation Council of India intends to roll out the course initially on a pilot basis for two batches.
  • Initially the programme will be available in English, Hindi and 7 regional languages, namely, Gujarati, Marathi, Odiya, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil and Garo.
  • Mode of training for this course would be both offline/online taking into account, the prevailing COVID scenario.
  • The National Board of Examination in Rehabilitation under the Rehabilitation Council of India will conduct examinations and award certificates to pass-out candidates.

51st IHGF –Delhi Fair-2021 Opens Virtually

In News:

  • The 51st edition of virtual IHGF of Delhi fair (19th -23rd May, 2021) was inaugurated by the Prime Minister.
  • The 51st IHGF Delhi Fair 2021 is India’s largest Virtual Fair in the Home, Fashion, Lifestyle, Textiles and Furniture sector and an exclusive B2B online platform is developed to assist the buyers from all across the globe to source from India.
  • The Fair organised by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH) will see participation of 1500 plus manufacturers and exporters showcasing 2000 plus product expressions.
  • The overseas buyers from over 85 countries from across the globe have already registered to visit the show.

AIM-ICDK Water Innovation Challenge concludes with great success

In News: As part of Indo-Danish bilateral Green strategic partnership, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog in partnership with Innovation Center Denmark (ICDK) – a unit under Embassy of Denmark and Denmark Technical University (DTU) concluded the global finals of the Next Generation Water Action (NGWA) Water Innovation Challenge.

Context:

  • The AIM-ICDK Water innovation challenge was placed to identify promising innovators from India, who could represent and form the Indian participation in the global Next Generation Water Action program hosted by International Water Association and Denmark Technical University.
  • The selected teams formed the Indian participation for the ‘Next Generation Water Action’- an initiative anchored by DTU to engage young talents from leading universities and innovation hub of 5 countries (India, Denmark, Kenya, Ghana and South Korea) to build their skills and apply their technical disciplines, innovation capacity and solutions to challenge and catalyse water solutions towards smart livable cities.
  • As part of the India challenge, student and startup teams were invited to present their ideas in following challenge areas:
    1. Digital water management solutions
    2. Solutions for monitoring and prevention of leakage in city water supply
    3. Waste water management across rural belts and urban settlements
    4. Rainwater harvesting in rural and urban settlements
    5. Safe and sustained drinking water.
  • ICDK shall continue to work together for the greater good in the area of environment and sustainability.

Karnataka CM announces ₹1,111.82 crore package

In News: The Karnataka government announced a package of ₹1,111.82 crore to provide relief to workers in unorganised sectors and farmers who are impacted by the month-long lockdown owing to the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Context:

  • Lockdown is in force in Karnataka till May 24, barring a window to buy essentials.
  • Among the compensation announced is ₹10,000 per hectare to each farmer growing flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
  • A compensation of ₹3,000 each would be given to drivers of autorickshaw, maxi-cab, and taxi, who are licensed and registered.
  • Construction workers registered with the Karnataka Building and Other Constructions Workers Welfare Board would get ₹3,000 each.
  • Workers such as barbers, dhobis, hamalis, rag pickers, potters, incense stick makers, goldsmiths, mechanics, blacksmiths, domestic workers, and cobblers would get a relief of ₹2,000 each and about 3.5 lakh workers would benefit, announced the Chief Minister.

Milk unions cut procurement rates as market shrinks during lockdown

In News: The shrinking market for milk and milk products during the lockdown period and mounting losses has forced the district milk unions to reduce procurement price paid to farmers.

Context:

  • While Hassan, Mandya and Shivamogga district unions have already reduced the procurement price, the Bangalore Milk Union Ltd. (BAMUL), among the largest procurer of milk in the State, announced reduction of procurement price by ₹1.5 per litre starting June 1, KMF sources said. Kolar and Tumakuru district unions are also expected to follow suit.
  • This will hit farmers directly as they have seen their income decline since March last year.
  • In Bengaluru, a dairy farmer received on average ₹29 per litre of milk depending on fat content in March 2020, which came down to ₹24 per litre as the union cut procurement price. It had climbed back to ₹27.5 per litre. With the latest announcement, their earning per litre will be ₹26. This is besides ₹5 per litre given by the State government.
  • According to KMF sources, the cost of production of milk in the State is about ₹35 per litre.
  • While BAMUL’s procurement has gone up from about 15 lakh litres to 19 lakh litres daily, the sales has dropped from earlier 11 lakh to 9 lakh litres daily. The sale of cheese has stopped, resulting in about two lakh litres of milk in addition. Currently, it converts close to 10 lakh litres of milk daily.
  • Many unions, including BAMUL, that have run out of capacity to convert milk into powder are taking milk to Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Unions are paying between ₹18 and ₹20 per kg for powder converted from milk.

Karnataka establishes Panel to frame guidelines for 2021-22 academic year

In News: With the pandemic threatening to throw yet another school year out of gear, the State government announced its decision to form an expert committee to frame guidelines for the 2021-22 academic year.

Context:

  • Primary and Secondary Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar said the committee will look into issues ranging from ways to engage children, especially those in rural areas and government schools, in academic activities to minimising dropouts.
  • It will also look at alternative teaching modules both online and offline in the backdrop of COVID-19 and teacher training methodology.
  • The Minister instructed officials to work on the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) in the ensuing academic year. Department officials have been instructed to ensure that students receive their textbooks within the next two months.
  • For the benefit of PU students and to engage them in online mode of education, study material will be made available on the Diksha portal launched by the Union government. For students of classes 1 to 10, textbooks, workbooks and other material have been made available on the portal.
  • The government is contemplating providing compensation to families of teachers who succumbed to COVID-19 under Teachers’ Welfare Fund.

New privacy policy to be scrapped, Centre tells WhatsApp

In News:

  • The MeitY notice directs WhatsApp to withdraw its Privacy Policy 2021 as the changes and the manner of introducing these changes “undermine the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security and user choice for Indian users and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens.”
  • The government has given seven days’ time to WhatsApp to respond to his notice and if no satisfactory response is received, necessary steps in consonance with law will be taken, the source said.
  • In the latest message to the U.S.-headquartered firm – Whatsapp, MeitY has reiterated the issue of discriminatory treatment of Indian users.

6 UNESCO heritage sites added in India

In News:

  • The Culture Minister said six of the nine sites submitted by the Archaeological Survey of India had been accepted by UNESCO for inclusion in the tentative list, which is a requirement before the final nomination of any site.
  • Six sites, including the Ganga ghats in Varanasi, temples of Kancheepuram and the Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, have been added to India’s tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites, Culture Minister said.
  • The recently-included proposals are the Maratha military architecture in Maharashtra, the Hire Bengal megalithic site in Karnataka and Bhedaghat-Lametaghat of Narmada Valley in Madhya Pradesh.
  • The six proposals were included in the list on April 13, according to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Rajasthan govt. declares Mucormycosis an epidemic

In News:

  • Amid the increasing instances of Mucormycosis or black fungus, which is primarily affecting people recovering from COVID-19, the Rajasthan government has declared it an epidemic and a notifiable disease.
  • It will be mandatory for the health facilities to report every case of the disease in the State.
  • The notification was issued under the Rajasthan Epidemic Act, 2020.
  • Mucormycosis appears as a side effect among COVID-19 patients who are put on oxygen support through liquid medical oxygen cylinders or oxygen concentrators.
  • The State government has also given instructions for procurement of oxygen concentrators of good quality and ensure strict compliance with safety measures while using them.

China protests U.S. Navy passage via Taiwan Strait

In News:

  • China protested the latest passage by a U.S. Navy ship through the Taiwan Strait, calling it a provocation that undermined peace and stability in the region.
  • The U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet said that the guided missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit in accordance with international law. The passage “demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
  • While the strait is in international waters, China claims self-governing Taiwan as its own territory and regards the U.S. Navy’s presence in the area as a show of support for the island’s democratic government.
  • Taiwan Strait: The Taiwan Strait is a 180-kilometer wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is currently part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north.

Finance Ministry grants ‘Infrastructure’ Status for Convention Centres

In News: The Finance Ministry has granted ‘Infrastructure’ status for exhibition and convention centres, a move that is expected to ease bank financing for such projects.

Context:

  • Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre is included in the Harmonised Master List of Infrastructure sub-sectors by insertion of a new item in the category of Social and Commercial Infrastructure, the Department of Economic Affairs said.
  • However, the benefits would only be available for projects with a minimum built-up floor area of 1,00,000 sq. m. of exclusive exhibition space or convention space or both combined.
  • As of now, the major projects under way in the sector are backed by the government – the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centres at Dwarka and Pragati Maidan in the capital.
  • Becoming a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) destination can generate significant revenue with several global firms active in India but it will take time to become a preferred destination.
  • Last August, the government had granted infrastructure status to affordable rental housing projects.