GS PAPER I NEWS
Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
Why in News
- In the journey of more than six and a half years since the establishment of Atal Pension Yojana (APY), 3.68 crore people have registered their names in it.
Key point
- The performance in this financial year has been good as more than 65 lakh people have enrolled in it, which is the highest ever enrollment in the period since the launch of the scheme.
- Apart from enrollment, the male to female membership ratio is improving to 56:44 and the assets under management (AUM) are around Rs 20,000 crore.
- Government of India’s flagship social security scheme APY was launched on 9 May 2015 with the objective of providing old age income security to citizens in the unorganized sectors.
- APY can be subscribed by any Indian citizen in the age group of 18 to 40 years who has a bank account.
- It is distinguished by three distinct advantages. Firstly, on attaining the age of 60 years, a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs 1000 to Rs 5000 is provided.
- Secondly, in case of death of the subscriber (insured) the spouse is guaranteed the pension amount for life and finally in the event of death of both the subscriber and the spouse, the entire pension amount is paid to the nominee.
GS PAPER II
Ujala programme
Why in News
-
- Ministry of Power has successfully completed seven years of distribution and sale of LED lights under its flagship scheme UJALA programme.
Key point
-
- Hon’ble Prime Minister had launched Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Leds for All (UJALA – Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs) on 5th January, 2015.
- Within a short span of time, the program became the world’s largest non-subsidised indigenous lighting program, addressing the problems of high emissions due to costly electricity and inefficient lighting.
- So far more than 36.78 LED lights have been distributed across the country.
- The program has changed the lives of people. The success of the plan lies in a unique strategic approach to energy efficiency.
Background
-
- In the year 2014, the UJALA scheme was successful in bringing down the retail price of LED bulbs.
- The price of LED bulbs was reduced from Rs 300-350 per bulb to Rs 70-80 per bulb.
- Apart from providing affordable energy for all, the program also resulted in huge energy savings.
- To date, annual energy savings of 47,778 million kWh have been achieved.
- Apart from this, maximum demand of 9,565 MW has been relieved and 386 million tonnes of CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) has been cut.
Importance
-
- UJALA has been happily adopted by all the states. With the help of this, the annual electricity bills of the households have come down.
- Consumers have been able to save money, improve their standard of living and contribute to India’s economic progress and prosperity.
- Under the programme, the government has ensured transparency and encouraged competition through e-procurement of goods and services.
- As a result, the cost and time of transactions are reduced and the process is more efficient than before.
- Due to the UJALA scheme, the cost of LED bulbs has come down by up to 85 percent. Due to this the number of bidders has increased, the quality of the product has improved and better choices have been made available to the consumers.
- With increasing industrial competition and bulk procurement, EESL (Energy Efficiency Services Limited) has adopted a unique procurement strategy, which has resulted in well-known benefits. This has now become the USP of the Ujala program.
Other notable achievements:
-
- Ujala program has a major role in giving better benefits related to the environment. In addition, UJALA has also helped in making consumers aware of the financial and environmental benefits associated with energy efficiency.
- This gives impetus to the indigenous lighting industry. This gives impetus to ‘Make in India’, as indigenous manufacturing of LEDs has increased from one lakh per month to 40 million per month.
- Thanks to UJALA, manufacturers get cost-benefit through regular bulk purchases. This gives manufacturers an opportunity to reduce the prices of LEDs in the retail sector as well.
- Its purchase price has come down from Rs 310 to Rs 38 between 2014 and 2017. In this way, there has been a decrease of about 90 percent.
- The program has also attracted the attention of top management institutes of India. It has now become part of the Leadership Case Study at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.
- Apart from this, it is also being considered to be included in the curriculum of Harvard Business School.
- The credit goes to Ujala for saving energy efficiency and cost of bulbs etc. to middle class and lower middle class consumers.
- As a part of inclusive growth strategy for the upliftment of low income community, EESL has registered Self Help Groups for distribution of LED bulbs under UJALA programme.
GS PAPER II
World war orphans day
Why in News
-
- Every year 06 January is celebrated as World War Orphans Day.
Key point
-
- Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the day has become even more relevant this year. World Orphans Day reminds the world that caring for children in traumatic situations is a priority.
- This day is observed with the aim of creating awareness about the plight of war orphans all over the world and solutions to the painful situations faced by them.
- On World War Orphans Day, it is time we remind ourselves that every child deserves to be looked after. This day ensures the prophecy of the orphans of war.
- World War Orphans Day 2022 reminds the world that it is a duty to take care of children in dire circumstances.
- World War Orphans Day draws attention to the plight of children who have been injured in a shootout or separated from their families.
World War Orphans Day 2022
-
- World War Orphans Day is observed every year on 6 January to draw attention to the plight of orphans.
- Importance
- On World War Orphans Day, several awareness programs are organized to create awareness about the trauma suffered by orphan children.
- The coronavirus pandemic has led to issues such as food insecurity and access to basic health and sanitation facilities for many children around the world.
Background
-
- World War Orphans Day was started by the French organization SOS Enfants en Detresses.
- Its aim was to help children affected by conflict.
- According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), an orphan is defined as a child under the age of 18 who has lost one or both parents due to any cause of death.
GS PAPER II
‘Code of Practice for Securing Consumer Internet of Things (IoT)’
Why in News
- In order to secure Consumer Internet of Things (IoT) devices, Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), under Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, has released a report “Code of Practice for Securing Consumer Internet of Things (IoT)” as a baseline requirement aligned with global standards and best practices.
Key point
-
- These guidelines will help in securing consumer IoT devices & ecosystem as well as managing vulnerabilities.
This report is for use by manufacturers of IoT devices, service providers / system integrators and application developers etc.- The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the fastest growing technologies around the world, providing vast beneficial opportunities for society, industry and consumers.
- This technology is being used to build smart infrastructure with the help of connected devices in various sectors like power, automotive, security & surveillance, remote health management, agriculture, smart home and smart city etc.
- IoT has benefited from the recent advances in various technologies like sensors, communication technologies (cellular and non-cellular), AI/ML, cloud/edge computing etc.
- According to estimates, there could be 26.4 billion IoT devices in use globally by the year 2026. Of this, about 20 per cent of the devices will be based on cellular technologies.
- The ratio of consumer and enterprise IoT devices can be 45:55.
- According to the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) 2018 released by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), an ecosystem is to be created for five billion connected devices by the year 2022.
- Therefore, it is expected that by the year 2022, India may have about 60 percent of the five billion connected devices.
- Given the anticipated growth of IoT devices, it is necessary to ensure that the IoT endpoints comply with safety and security standards and guidelines to protect the users and the networks connecting these IoT devices.
- Hacking of devices/networks being used in daily life will harm companies, organizations, nations and above all the common people. Therefore, securing the IoT ecosystem end-to-end i.e. from devices to applications will be of utmost importance.
- Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC) under DoT is working in the area of IoT in partnership with various stakeholders and has released sixteen technical reports.
GS PAPER II
Omisure
Why in News
-
- The havoc of Omicron, the new variant of Corona, is spreading rapidly. Meanwhile, Omisure, the first Omicron detection kit, has been approved.
Key point
-
- Omisure Kit can detect Omicron infection. It has been prepared by Tata Medical. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has given this approval.
- Due to the oomicron of the virus in India, the cases of Covid are increasing rapidly.
- In such a situation, there is an urgent need to increase preventive measures like masks, vaccination, social distancing and not to become complacent.
- As per the latest guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the precautions and steps to be taken will remain as before.
RT-PCR Test
-
- Omisure test kit will work like any other RT-PCR test kit. A swab will also be taken from the nose or mouth for testing with this kit.
- Then the test report will come in 10 to 15 minutes as in other RT-PCR tests.
- The method of testing with Omisure will not be any different from other RT-PCR tests.
- Omicron Detecting RT-PCR Kit has been developed in partnership with Tata MD and ICMR to combat the new variant Omicron of Corona Virus.