NATIONAL:
1. EPR Credit
Why in news - Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) became the 1st urban body to get the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) credit.
Key Points –
• Reason - It recycled the banned single-use plastic items after seizing them.
• EPR portal works under Central Pollution Control Board.
Value Addition –
• Circular economy - a production and consumption model involving sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as
long as possible.
• Waste to Wealth – to identify, develop, and deploy technologies to treat waste to generate energy, recycle materials, and extract worth.
• Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 –
(a) to increase the minimum thickness of plastic carry bags from 40 to 50 micron
(b) stipulate a minimum thickness of 50 microns for plastic sheets to facilitate collection and recycling of plastic waste.
2. Ved Van Park
Why in news - UP CM Yogi Adityanath inaugurated India’s first Vedic-themed park in Noida’s Sector 78.
Key Points –
• It is home to over 50,000 plants, such as banyan, kalpavriksha, and coconut mentioned in Vedic literature.
• Dual objective - educating and entertaining its visitors.
• Divided into 7 zones, each named after renowned Vedic sages - Kashyap, Agastya, Vishvamitra, Vasishtha, Atri, Gautam, and Bharadwaj.
• Features excerpts from 4 Vedic literary works - Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, and Atharva Veda.
INTERNATIONAL:
1. Kiduthani Project
Why in news - External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar visited the Kiduthani project at Zanzibar in Tanzania.
Key Points –
• It was undertaken by India to provide drinking water to 30000 households in the town.
• He also visited the Arya Samaj and Shri Shiv Shakti temples in Zanzibar.
• He co-chaired the 10th India-Tanzania Joint Commission Meeting.
ECONOMY:
1. Mahila Samman Scheme Certificate Scheme
Why in news - Bank of India became the first bank to offer Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC) at all its branches.
Key Points –
• On June 27, 2023, the Department of Economic Affairs (M/o Finance) issued an e-gazette notification regarding the scheme.
• Both post offices and banks offer this scheme.
About MSSC –
• A new small savings scheme launched by Ministry of Finance.
• Aim – to encourage women investors. It is only for women investors.
• Introduced in the Budget 2023.
• Amount can be invested in the name of an individual girl (minor - natural or legal guardian) or woman.
• Minimum investment - Rs. 1,000 and in multiples of Rs. 100 thereof. Maximum amount - Rs. 2 lakhs.
• Maturity period - 2 years from the date of opening the account.
• Interest rate - 7.5% per annum (taxable), compounded quarterly.
• Withdrawal is allowed up to 40% of the eligible balance which can be taken after expiry of one year.
• Closure of the account –
(a) death of the depositor or guardian and on extreme medical grounds.
(b) Premature closure - any time after six months of opening but with the interest rate reduced by 2% i.e., 5.5%.
2. Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF)
Why in news – National Housing Bank (NHB) announced the operationalization of the Rs 10,000-crore UIDF.
Key Points –
• Aim - to ramp up infrastructure in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
• Annual allocation - Rs 10,000 crore.
• Fund source - grants of the 15th Finance Commission, as well as existing schemes, priority sector lending shortfall.
• Fund manager - National Housing Bank.
• Fund is operationalized broadly along the lines of Rural Infrastructure Development Fund.
Value Addition –
• Tier-2 cities - Cities having a population between 50,000 and 1,00,000.
• Tier-3 cities - population of 20,000 to 50,000.
• NHB (est - July 9, 1988) –
(a) statutory organization. set up under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987.
(b) wholly owned by the Reserve Bank of India.
(c) RESIDEX - India's first official housing price index prepared by NHB.
ENVIRONMENT:
1. Ozone-UV Bulletin
Why in news - World Meteorological Organization (WMO)-Global Atmosphere Watch updated the status of the ozone layer after a gap of 7 years.
Key Points –
• 99% of production and use of ozone-depleting substances has been phased out.
• stratosphere ozone layer will be complete in most parts of the atmosphere in the coming decades.
• Enhanced water vapour (volcanic eruption) and aerosol in the polar vortices could result in more polar stratospheric clouds, enhanced ozone depletion, and larger and longer-lasting ‘ozone holes’.”
Value Addition –
• Ozone layer (in stratosphere) - absorb intense ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Stratosphere gets warmer.
• Ozone hole - Damage to the ozone layer. It is more like a really thin patch than a hole. The ozone layer is thinnest near the poles.
• Ozone depleting substances - CFCs (refrigerants), HCFCs, HBFCs, halons (fire extinguishers), methyl bromide (fumigant), methyl chloroform (solvent - cleaning metal parts) etc.
• Protection of the Ozone Layer - Vienna Convention (1985), Montreal Protocol (1987).
SCIENCE – TECH:
1. ‘Gravity Hole’ in the Indian Ocean
Why in news - Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru has identified the cause of the ‘gravity hole’ in the Indian Ocean.
Key Points –
• Location - About 1,200 km southwest of the southernmost tip of India. Around 106 metres below the global average.
• This dip in the ocean is called the Indian Ocean geoid low (IOGL).
• Reason –
(a) It was caused by plumes of molten rock rising along the edges of the ancient Tethys Ocean bed as it sank into the Earth’s mantle.
(b) The gravity hole (depression) was developed around 20 million years ago.
• Hot material originating from the African superplume (movement of magma near the core up to the crust) was deflected eastwards, possibly due to the Indian plate’s rapid motion. This material then ended under the IOGL.
• This region is “the lowest geoid anomaly on Earth”, due to a lack of mass under it.
• Here, the Earth’s gravitational pull is at its weakest. As a result, the sea level is 100 meters lower than the global average.
Value Addition –
• Mantle convection - Movement caused within the Earth’s mantle where hotter and lighter material rises to the top and cooler and denser material sinks due to gravity.
• Earth doesn’t have uniform gravity everywhere because our planet is flat at the poles and it bulges at the equator.
• he strength of the gravitational pull is dependent on the mass of the Earth’s crust, mantle and core beneath that particular region.
STATES/UTs:
1. Mo Jungle Jami Yojana
Why in news - Odisha government launched the Mo Jungle Jami Yojana (MJJY).
Key Points –
• Aim - to effectively implement the provisions of The Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006.
• It aims to establish of a state program management unit (SPMU) at Tribal Research Institute, Bhubaneswar.
• If implemented successfully, Odisha would become the first state to be “FRA compliant”.
• Provisions under FRA - individual forest rights, community forest rights (CFR), habitat rights for particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG) and conversion of
forest and unsurveyed villages.
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) –
• Features - declining or stagnant population, low level of literacy, pre-agricultural level of technology and are economically backward.
• 75 such groups of tribals in 18 States and 1 Union Territory have been identified.
• Most vulnerable section among tribals.
Value Addition –
• Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana (2014) –
(a) Central Sector Scheme.
(b) By - Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
(c) Aim - creating enabling environment for need-based and outcome-oriented holistic development of the tribal people e.g., school, hospital, road, irrigation, housing etc.
BIHAR:
1. Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor
Why in news - Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC) linked to Bihar.
Key Points –
• It has been linked directly to Bihar after inauguration of the 137 km long route connecting Pt Deen Dayal Upadhaya Junction (DDU) to Sonenagar.
• It passes through at least 11 stations of the state falling under jurisdiction of the East Central Railway (ECR).
About EDFC Corridor
• It is a high speed and high capacity railway corridor that is exclusively meant for the transportation of freight,
• Length - 1875 km.
• Connects - Dankuni (West Bengal) to Ludhiana (Punjab).
• It covers Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Jharkhand and West Bengal.
POINTERS:
• Which company has received ASSOCHAM Business Excellence Awards 2023 - NMDC (National Mineral Development Corporation).
• Who has become the first Indian cricketer to be a part of Women's Caribbean Premier League - Shreyanka Patil.
• Which ministry has approved the draft notification to mandate the installation of air-conditioning systems in the cabins of trucks belonging to categories N2 and N3- Ministry for road, transport and highways.
• Who has recently become the acting chairman of National Green Tribunal (NGT) following the retirement of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel - Justice Sheo Kumar Singh.
• Who has recently been honored with the British National Award for 'What's Love Got To Do With It' - Shekhar Kapoor.
• In which state has Prime Minister Modi inaugurated Wildlife Friendly Highway Projects – Chhattisgarh.
• In view of the increasing use of drones, in how many cities of the country will drone clusters be made - 10 cities.
• Election Commission of India has signed MoU with which country for Electoral Corporation - Panama.
• India has signed a protocol document with which country to extend cooperation till 2028 – Singapore.
• How many member working group has been constituted by the Indian Banks Association (IBA) on the “working of the Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs)” - 5 member.