PM e-bus Sewa Scheme 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Important Policies 

Why in News?

· The Union Cabinet has approved a scheme to add 10,000 e-buses to city bus services across the country.

 · The PM e-bus Sewa scheme will have an estimated cost of 57,613 crores of which centre will provide subsidies worth 20,000 crores. 

 PM e-bus Sewa scheme: 

 · There are two segments under this scheme. They are: 

 · Segment A: It provides the 10000 e-buses will be deployed in 169 cities by using a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) 

 · Segment B: Green Mobility Initiative which provides the infrastructure upgradation, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, multimodal interchange facilities, Charging infrastructure. 

 · This scheme will support bus operations for 10 years. 

 · This scheme wants to enhance the public transportation, promote e-mobility and generate the employment opportunities. 

 · The responsibility of running the bus services and also the payments to the bus operators remains with the States/Cities.

 · The Central Government will extend the support by providing subsidies as outlined in the scheme.

 Benefits: 

 · It promotes e-mobility and employment · Infrastructure for charging will be developed.

 · It promotes the innovation in the e-mobility sector. 

 · It reduces the air and noise pollution. 

 · It curbs the carbon emissions through the adoption of EV technology.

Vishwakarma Yojana 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Important Policies

Why in News?

Prime Minister of India has addressed the Vishwakarma Yojana on the occasion of 77^th Independence Day. 

 Vishwakarma Yojana: 

 · This scheme will be introduced to benefit the traditional workers and craftsmen.

 · It targets the professionals like goldsmiths, ironsmiths, hairdressers and masons mainly from the OBC class. 

 · It is set to launch on Vishwakarma Jayanti, September 17. 

 · Vishwakarma is the divine architect and craftsman. 

 · Under this scheme, about 13,000-15,000 crores will be allocated initially. 

 · It will work under the Ministry of MSMEs. 

 Features: 

 · It covers artisans and craftsmen from various sectors like textiles, leather, paper, glass etc. 

 · It provides financial assistance to the artisans and craftsmen in the form of loans, grants, subsidies, interest waver etc. 

 · The financial assistance will be provided for various purposes like procurement of the raw materials, tool purchase, quality improvement etc.

 · It provides skill training to the artisans and craftsmen according to their existing level of proficiency and market demand.

 · The training will be provided through many modes such as online courses, mobile apps, workshops etc. 

 · It even provides the market linkages to the artisans and the craftsmen by using various platforms like e-commerce, exhibitions, fairs etc.

 · It promotes branding and packaging also. 

 Importance: 

 · It will impact on the lives and livelihoods of the traditional artisans and craftsmen. 

 · It will increase their income, productivity, quality etc. 

 It will facilitate them to access both domestic and international markets

NDRF 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Important Policies 

 Why in News? 

NDRF and SDRF has carried out overnight rescue operations to evacuate the people in Himachal Pradesh. 

 NDRF:

 · It is known for being the only disaster response force in the world. 

 · It comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs

· Its headquarters is located in New Delhi. 

 · It is constituted under the National Disaster Management Authority.

 · It consists of paramilitary personnel who are specially trained and equipped for the disaster response.

 · It is the only agency with comprehensive response capabilities which have multi-disciplinary and multi-skilled, standalone nature.

 Composition: 

 · It is a force of 16 battalions which is organized on para-military lines

 · It is manned by persons on deputation from the para-military forces of India such as: 

a) Three Border Security Force b) Three Central Reserve Police Force c) Two Central Industrial Security Force d) Two Indo-Tibetan Border Police e) Two Sahastra Seema Bal f) One of the Assam Rifles. 

 SDRF: 

 · It was constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 like NDRF.

· It is the initial fund that is available with the state governments for the responses to notified disasters to meet the expenditures for providing the immediate relief. 

 Funding: 

 · For SDRF, the centre contributes 75% of the SDRF allocation for general category states and Union Territories and 90% for the special category states and Union Territories.

 · The State Government can use up to 10% of the funds available under SDRF to provide immediate relief to the victims of the natural disasters.

SAMUDRA App 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-2-Important Policies 

Why in News? 

Recently the INCOIS has introduced a new mobile application known as SAMUDRA

SAMUDRA: 

 · SAMUDRA stands for Smart Access to Marine Users for Ocean Data Resources and Advisories. 

 · This app offers a comprehensive ocean-related information. 

 · It benefits the seafarers and the fishing community. 

 · It provides real-time updates and critical alerts about the oceanic disasters like tsunamis, storm surges, high waves etc.

 · This app contains maps, charts and animations which explains about the oceanic phenomena.

 · It is very useful for fisherman because it offers potential fishing zone advisories. 

 · It even informs them about the fish aggregation locations. 

 · It is also useful for Indian Coastal Guard, the Navy and also the shipping industries.

 · It contributes to sustainable ocean activities and the Blue Economy. 

 Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services:

· It is an autonomous organization works under the Ministry of Earth Science.

 · It was established in the year 1999.

 · Headquarters: Hyderabad 

 · It is a unit of Earth System Science Organization.

 · It is aimed to provide the best possible ocean information. 

 · It provides the advisory services to the society, industries, government agencies etc. 

 It promotes constant improvement through systematic and focused research

National Company Law Tribunal 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Economy 

 Why in News? 

Centre pushes for faster admission of corporate insolvency cases at NCLT. 

 National Company Law Tribunal:

 · It was established on 1^st June, 2016.

 · It was established under the Companies Act, 2013. 

 · It was formed based on the recommendation of Balakrishna Eradi committee.

 · It is a quasi-judicial body which have the same powers and procedures as a court of law. Composition: 

 · It is chaired by a Judicial member. 

 · He is supposed to be a retired or a serving High Court Judge. 

 · NCLT consists of technical members. 

 · He/she is must be from Indian Corporate Law Service, ICLS Cadre. 

 Term: 

 · The term of office of chairperson and members of NCLT is five years or 65 years whichever is earlier. 

 Powers:

 · NCLT was given powers to adjudicate: 

 1. Cases which are initiated before the Company Law Board under the previous Act. 

 2. Cases which are pending in any District or High court under the old act.

 3. Cases that are pending before the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction.

 4. Cases related to insolvency under the insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of 2016. Important Points: 

 · NCLT deals with the companies that are registered in India 

 · It helps to reduce the time taken to wind up a company. 

 · It can appoint Amicus Curiae for an opinion on various specialized legal issues

Cannabis 

 Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Science & Technology

 Why in News? 

 · Germany Government has approved the controlled use of Cannabis. 

 · The legislation will allow adults to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis. 

 Cannabis:

 · Cannabis refers to the group of three plants with psychoactive properties such as Cannabis Sativa, Cannabis Indica and Cannabis ruderalis. 

 · It is made up of more than 120 components. 

 · Those components are known as cannabinoids. 

 · The experts have good understanding of two of them known as Cannabidiol and Tetrahydrocannabinol 

 Cannabis in India:

 · The farming of Cannabis in India is legalised in the state of Uttarakhand. 

 · Controlled cultivation of cannabis is done in some of the districts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. 

 · The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, of 1985 prohibits the sale and production of cannabis resin and flowers. 

 · But it allows the use of leaves and seeds of the cannabis plant 

 · The states of India have the power to regulate and also form the rules for it. 

 Uses: 

 Cannabis is mainly used in the treatments of: 

 · Chemotherapy 

 · Painful muscle spasms

 · Glaucoma ·

 HIV/AIDS 

 · Neuropathy etc 

 Side effects: 

 · Coordination issues · Nausea · Anxiety · Increased heart rate etc.

Vindhyagiri

Syllabus: GS Paper-3-Defence 

Why in News?

· Entire 4000 Tonnes special steel for Indigenous Frigate Ship “Vindhyagiri” supplied by SAIL. 

 · The steel which is supplied comprises of DMR 249 A grade HR Sheets and Plates. Vindhyagiri:

 · It was named after the mountain range in the state of Karnataka, Vindhyagiri. 

 · It was launched on 17^th August, 2023. 

 · It is the sixth ship that belongs to the Project 17A programme. 

 · It is the final ship of this series from the Nilgiri Class Frigates. 

 · It is also the technologically advanced frigate. 

 Project 17 Alpha Frigates: 

 · It is launched by the Indian Navy 

 · It was launched to construct a series of stealth guided-missile frigates. 

 · It was developed with the commitment to AatmaNirbharata. 

 · Under AatmaNirbharata 75% of the orders for equipment and systems of Project 17A ships are from indigenous firms. 

 · Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited is responsible for constructing four Project 17 A frigates while the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited is responsible for constructing three Project 17A frigates 

 Nilgiri Class Frigates: 

 · It is a class of frigates which serves in various maritime roles which includes even surveillance, patrol and anti-piracy operations

CPGRAMS

Syllabus: Prelims-Important Reports 

 Why in News? 

12^th Report on States/UTs performance on CPGRAMS has been released by DARPG for the month of July, 2023.

CPGRAMS: 

 · It stands for Centralized Public Grievance Redressal and Monitoring System 

 · It is an online web-enabled system. 

 · It was developed by National Informatics Centre in association with Directorate of Public Grievances and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. 

 · It provides the facility to lodge a grievance online from any geographical location.

 · It will enable the citizens to track online the grievance being followed up with the departments concerned 

 · Every office consists of a senior officer as the Director of Grievances/Grievance officer. 

 · It even fixes the time limit for disposal of work relating to the public grievances.

 Important Points:

 · The 12^th report of the CPGRAMS mentioned that 69,523 grievances were redressed by the states and Union Territories in the month of July, 2023. 

 · The pendency of grievances of states/UTs received on CPGRAMS portal has reduced to 1,79,077 grievances across the States/UTs. 

 · From May 2023, DARPG has initiated the process of ranking for the States/UTs. 

 · DARPG ranks the States/UTs across 4 categories.

 · Group-A-North Eastern States-Sikkim topped the list 

 · Group-B-Union Territories-Lakshadweep ranked first 

 · Group-C-States with grievances>=20000-Uttar Pradesh ranked first

 · Group-D-States with grievances <20000-Telangana ranked first

Questions

1.Consider the following statements regarding PM e-bus Sewa Scheme: 

 1. This scheme will support bus operations for 15 years. 

 2. The responsibility of running the bus services and also the payments to the bus operators remains with the central government. 

 Which of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only 1 

 b) Only 2 

 c) Both 1&2 

 d) Neither 1 nor 2

2.Consider the following statements regarding Vishwakarma Yojana: 

 Statement-I: This scheme will be introduced to benefit the traditional workers and craftsmen 

 Statement-II: It was launched on Vishwakarma Jayanti, August 17 

 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

3.Consider the following statements regarding NDRF: 

 1. It is a force of 12 battalions which is organized on para-military lines 

 2. It works under the Ministry of Defence 

 3. Its headquarters is located in Uttarakhand 

 How many of the above statements are correct? 

 a) Only One

 b) Only two 

 c) Only three 

 d) None

Comment the answers below.