DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS-11th August 2023


Tea Board of India 

 Syllabus: GS Paer-2-Polity 

 Why in News?

· The report, Role of Tea Board India in the Development of tea in India was placed in the parliament.

 · The report mentions that the Green Leaf Monitoring Committee which monitors the average green leaf price payable to small tea growers, did not meet even once in 10 out of 18 tea growing districts in the state of Assam. 

 Tea Board of India: 

 · It is a statutory body formed in the year 1953

 · It had started its functioning from the year 1954. 

 · It works under the Ministry of Commerce

 · Its vision is to make our country a leading producer of tea. 

 Members: 

 · The Tea Board consists of 31 members including chairman. 

 · The members are drawn from the Members of Parliament, tea producers, tea traders, tea brokers, consumers, and also the representatives of the Governments from the principal tea producing states and trade unions.

 · The Tea Board is reconstituted for every three years.

 Offices:

· The headquarters of Tea Board is located in the state of Kolkata.

 · It has 17 other offices in our country. 

 · It has two overseas offices in the countries of Dubai and Moscow

 Functions: 

 · It promotes packaged Tea of India. 

 · It provides subsidies for domestic exporters. 

 · Tea development and promotion scheme was launched in the year 2021 to enhance the production of tea.

PM JI-VAN Yojana 

 Syllabus: GS Paer-2-Polity

 Why in News?

The Union government has released the details of PM JI-VAN Yojana mission. 

 PM JI-VAN Yojana: 

 · JI-VAN stands for Jaiv Indhan-Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran

· It was introduced in the year 2019.

· It was introduced to provide financial support to integrated Bioethanol Projects using biomass and also other renewable feedstock.

 · It works under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

 · Centre for High Technology is the implementing agency for the scheme. 

 · It is promoting the second generation Biofuel Technology moving away from food crops used in the first generation to feedstocks, non-food crops agricultural residues or waste. Background: 

 · In the year 2003, the Indian Government has launched the Ethanol Blended Program.

 · It was introduced to blend the ethanol in petrol to reduce fossil fuels burning. 

 · Under this programme Oil Marketing Companies are to blend up to 10% of ethanol in Petrol. 

 · To improve the blending up to 10% of ethanol in Petrol, Second generation Ethanol for biomass has been explored to bridge the supply gap for EBP Programme. 

 · Then PM JI-VAN was launched to create 2G Ethanol. 

 Benefits: 

 · It acts as a substitution of fossil fuels for achieving the Green House Gas emission reduction targets. 

 · It improves the health of citizens by stopping the burning of biomass/ crop residues. · It improves the farmers income.

 · It creates employment opportunities in 2G Ethanol projects

 · It promotes Research & Development in our country.

UPI 

 Syllabus: GS Paer-3-Economy

 Why in News? 

· Reserve Bank of India has proposed to incorporate Artificial Intelligence in UPI

 · AI will enable the UPI payment using voice.

 · The RBI will enhance the transaction limit for small-value digital payment in offline mode from 200 to 500 rupees with the overall limit at 2000 rupees per payment.

 · This facility will be available in Hindi and English initially and will subsequently be made available in more Indian Languages.

 · The RBI is also planning to facilitate offline transaction in UPI. 

 Unified Payment Interface:

 · It was launched in the year 2016

 · In the year 2018, UPI 2.0 was launched by the National Payments Corporation of India 

 · It is a technology which integrates various bank accounts into a single mobile app.

 · It provides an instant real-time payment system. 

 · The interface of UPI is developed by the National Payments Corporation of India

 · It allows money transfer between any two bank accounts by using a smart phone. 

 · It allows to pay directly from the bank account to different merchants without the hassle of typing credit card details, IFSC code, or net banking/wallet passwords. 

 National Payments Corporation of India:

· It is an umbrella organisation which was introduced for all the retail payments in India. 

 · It was formed with the guidance of the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banks Association 

 · Its objective is to consolidate and integrate the existing multiple systems into a nation-wide standard business process for all retail payment system.

 · It aims to facilitate the affordable payment mechanism to benefit the common man across India.

Monetary Policy Committee

Syllabus: GS Paer-3-Economy 

 Why in News? 

The Monetary Policy Committee has decided unanimously to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5%. 

 Monetary Policy Committee: 

 · Monetary Policy indicates the policy of central bank regarding the use of monetary instruments. 

 · MPC is a statutory body established under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934

 · It was setup under the recommendation of the Urjit Patel Committee. 

 Objectives: 

 · To maintain the price stability 

 · To accelerate the growth of economy

 · To balance the savings and investments 

 · To generate employment. 

 Composition

 · Chairman: The Governor of RBI who is also the ex-officio member of MPC. 

 · Members: The MPC consists of 6 members. · It includes the chairman of RBI.

 · Among those 6 members, three members are RBI officials and the other three are government-nominated external members 

 · The members of MPC are appointed for a period of four years.

 · They are not eligible for reappointment. 

 Voting: 

 · Decisions in the committee will be taken by the majority vote. 

 · Each member has a vote in the committee.

 · RBI Governor does not have a veto power.

 · But he will have a casting vote in case of tie.

NavIC 

 Syllabus: GS Paer-3-Science & Technology 

Why in News? 

Indian GPS NavIC to be linked to Aadhaar enrolment devices. 

 NaVIC:

 · It stands for Navigation with Indian Constellation.

 · It is an independent regional navigation satellite system. 

 · It is designed for the position information in the Indian region and also 1500 km around the Indian mainland. 

 · It is designed with a constellation of 7 satellites and a network of ground station which operates 24/7.

· There are 8 satellites but only 7 are active. 

 · Three satellites are placed in the geostationary orbit and the remaining 4 are placed in the geosynchronous satellite. 

 Uses:

 · It is used in:

 o Terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation

 o Disaster Management

 o Vehicle tracking 

 o Integration with mobile phones 

 o Precise timing

 o Mapping and geodetic data capture. 

 Significance:

· It helps in scientific & Technological advancement of India. 

 · It makes the Indian armed force Self-reliant

 · India became the fifth country for having own navigation system. 

 · The other four countries which have their own navigation system is: 

 a. USA-GPS

 b. Russia-GLONASS 

 c. Europe-Galileo

 d. BeiDu-China

OS Maya 

 Syllabus: GS Paer-3-Science & Technology 

 Why in News? 

 Recently the Defence Minister has decided to switch to locally built OS Maya amid threats.

 OS Maya: 

 · It is a new Operation System which is based on the open-source platform.

 · It is introduced to prevent the malware attacks and other cyberattacks.

 · Its interface and all the functionality is similar to the windows. 

 · So, the users cannot feel much difference after the transition.

 · It was developed by the government development agencies within a period of six months.

 · At present, it is installed only in the Defence Ministry systems.

 · It is based on the Ubuntu Platform

 · So, it can be used free and is publicly available software. 

 · It contains a feature known as Chakravyuh which is an end-point to anti-malware and anti-virus software. 

 · The Chakravyuh creates a virtual layer between the user and the internet and blocks any malicious attempts to access the data.

Deepor Beel 

 Syllabus: GS Paer-3-Environment & Ecology 

 Why in News? 

Locals of Assam are trying to save the dying Deepor Beel.

 Deepor Beel: 

 · It is located in the Southwest of Guwahati, Assam 

 · It is the water channel of Brahmaputra River

 · It is one of the largest freshwater lakes in the state of Assam.

· It is up to 30 square kilometres in summer and about 10 square kilometres in winter. 

 · The Deepor Beel wildlife sanctuary measures about 1 square kilometres within this wetland. 

 · The word Deep means elephants in Assamese. 

 · The word deepor comes from the Sanskrit word Dipa, which means elephants.

 · Beel means lake in Assamese language

 · So, the name Deepor Beel means lake of elephants.

 · It was designated as the Ramsar site in the year 2002.

· It is the only Ramsar site in Assam.

 · It was selected as one of the Important Bird Area sites by the Birdlife International.

 Importance:

 · It plays an important role in Tourism

 · It provides livelihood for many local families.

 · It consists of many unique aquatic flora and fauna 

 Challenges: 

· The water became toxic. 

 · It has lost many aquatic plants on which elephants would feed on. 

 It is threatened by a railway track which is now doubled and electrified.

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme 

 Syllabus: Prelims-Important Policies 

 Why in News? 

Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of 508 railway station.

 Amrit Bharat Station Scheme:

· It was launched in February 2023 under the Ministry of Railways

 · It was introduced to modernize the railway stations across the country. 

 · Under this scheme, about 1309 stations will be redeveloped in India.

 · It is based on the Master Planning for a long term.

 · It is implemented as per the needs and demand of the station.

 Objectives:

 · Its main aim is to enhance the facilities beyond the Minimum Essential Amenities.

 · It is aimed to construct the Roof Plazas and City Centres at the station. 

 · It introduces new amenities and upgrades the existing amenities. 

 Benefits: 

· It redefines the Station’s architectural landscape. 

 · Under this scheme, the station will introduce a modular Sewage Treatment Plant.

 · It ensures efficient sewage treatment and cleaner environment. 

 · It provides Aesthetic Platforms.

 · It enhances connectivity in the station by providing lift and escalator facilities.

 · All improvements are designed to be specially abled friendly. 

 It ensures equal access and convenience for all the specially abled people.

Questions

1.Consider the following statements regarding Tea Board of India:

 1. It is a constitutional body formed in the year 1953. 

 2. It works under the Ministry of Commerce. 

 3. Its headquarters is located in Assam. 

 How many of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only One

 b) Only two 

 c) All three

 d) None

2.Consider the following statements regarding PM JI-VAN: 

 1. It was launched to produce 1G Ethanol. 

 2. It works under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. 

 3. Centre for High Technology is the implementing agency for the scheme. 

 How many of the above statements are incorrect?

 a) Only One 

 b) Only two

 c) All three

 d) None

3.Consider the following statements regarding Unified Payment Interface: 

 Statement-I: It was launched in the year 2014

 Statement-II: The interface of UPI is developed by the National Payments Corporation of India 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

4.Consider the following statements regarding Monetary Policy Committee:

 1)It is a ten member committee. 

 2) It is a statutory body established under the RBI Act of 1935. 

 3) RBI Governor will have a casting vote in case of tie in the MPC. 

 How many of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only One

 b) Only two 

 c) All three 

 d) None

5.Consider the following statements regarding NavIC:

 1. India is the 2nd country to have its own navigation system after U.S. 

 2. It is designed for the position information in the Indian region and also 2500 km around the Indian mainland 

 Which of the above statements are incorrect? 

 a) Only 1 

 b) Only 2 

 c) Both 1&2

 d) Neither 1 nor 2

6.Consider the following statements regarding OS Maya: 

 Statement-I: It is an indigenously built OS. 

 Statement-II: It is introduced to prevent the malware attacks and other cyberattacks.

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect 

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

7.Consider the following statements regarding Deepor Beel lake:

 1. It was designated as the Ramsar site 

 2. It was selected as one of the Important Bird Area sites by the Birdlife International. 

 Which of the above statements are correct?

 a. Only 1 

 b. Only 2 

 c. Both 1&2 

 d. Neither 1 nor 2

8.Consider the following statements regarding Amrit Bharat Station Scheme: 

 Statement-I: It was introduced to modernize the railway stations across the country

 Statement-II: It was launched in February 2022 under the Ministry of Railways 

 Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? 

 a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I. 

 c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

 d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct


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