GS PAPER II
Lokarpan of Sardardham Bhavan and Bhoomi Pujan of Sardardham Phase – II Kanya Chhatralaya
Why in News
Prime Minister performed the Lokarpan of Sardardham Bhavan and Bhoomi Pujan of Sardardham Phase – II Kanya Chhatralaya via video conferencing.
Key Points
- The Prime Minister expressed happiness that the commencement of Sardar Dham Bhawan is happening on the occasion of Ganeshotsav.
- He lauded all the members associated with Sardar Dham Trust for their dedication to the service of humanity.
- He admired their emphasis on the empowerment of the youth of the Patidar society as well as the poor and especially women.
- Prime Minister said the Hostel facility being inaugurated today will also help so many girls to come forward. He said that the state of the art building, girls hostel and modern library will empower the youth.
- The Entrepreneurship Development Centre will enrich the strong business identity of Gujarat and the Civil Service Centre will give new direction to the youth interested in careers in civil, defence and judicial services.
- Sardar Dham will not only become an establishment for building the future of the country, but also inspire the future generations to live the ideals of Sardar Saheb.
- He remarked, September 11th, is a date in the history of the world that is known to have struck humanity. But this date also taught a lot to the whole world! A century ago it was on September 11, 1893, when the World Parliament of Religions was held in Chicago.
- He added that on this day, Swami Vivekananda stood on that global stage and introduced the world to the human values of India. Today the world is realizing that tragedies like 9/11 will have a permanent solution, only through these humanitarian values.
- The Prime Minister said that September 11th is another big occasion – the 100th death anniversary of India’s great scholar, philosopher and freedom fighter ‘Subramania Bharati’.
- The philosophy of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat envisioned by Sardar Saheb has been shining with full divinity in the Tamil writings of Mahakavi Bharati.
- He noted that Subramania Bharati drew inspiration from Swami Vivekananda and was influenced by Sri Aurobindo. Bharati gave a new direction to his thoughts and new energy while living in Kashi.
- The Prime Minister remarked that National Education Policy will prepare students for the skills demanded from our youth in the market in future from the very beginning. He said the ‘Skill India Mission’ is also a big priority for the country.
GS PAPER II
100-Day Plan for the Civil Aviation Sector
Why in News
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- Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on September 09, 2021 has announced a 100-day plan for India’s civil aviation sector which includes policy measures and development of airports as well as heliports.
Key points
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- The 100-day plan for civil aviation comprises three main foundational aspects: infrastructure improvement, policy targets and reform initiatives. This 100-day plan consists of 16 key points aimed at boosting the civil aviation sector which has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Indian airlines are currently allowed to operate at a maximum of 72.5 per cent of their pre-pandemic domestic flights. India resumed its domestic flights from May 25, 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
100-day plan designed to boost India’s civil aviation sector
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- This 100-day plan to boost India’s civil aviation sector will begin with the construction of 04 new airports in the next 100 days at Kushinagar, Agartala, Dehradun and Jewar.
- The first airport will be at Kushinagar which will have the capability to successfully land Airbus 321 and Boeing 737 flights. Scindia said that Kushinagar would become the focal point of the Buddhist circuit.
- A second airport terminal will be set up at Dehradun airport. 457 crore is being invested in its construction. This new terminal building will be able to handle 1,800 passengers as against 250 at present.
- The third airport will be built at Agartala in Tripura, for which an investment of Rs 490 crore is being made. This new airport will be able to handle 1,200 passengers per hour as compared to 500 passengers per hour at present.
- The fourth airport will be set up at Jewar in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. This is an ambitious project not only for Uttar Pradesh but for the whole of India. This airport project at Jewar will cost Rs 30,000 crore.
- Under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN, in addition to these airports, 06 heliports will be developed in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
- Under this 100-day plan, a new policy on Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) activities has also been announced.
- Out of these 16 key points, 04 pertain to infrastructure, 04 to reforms, and 08 to policy goals.
- This 100-day plan will continue from August 30, 2021 to November 30, 2021.
- This 100-day plan has been prepared after joint consultation with different advisory groups formed for each sector.
GS PAPER II
National Commission for Minorities
Why in News
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- Newly appointed Chairman of National Commission for Minorities Iqbal Singh Lalpura took charge.
Key points
- The Union Government set up the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
- Initially five religious communities, viz., Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) were notified as minority communities by the Union Government.
- Further vide notification dated 27th January 2014, Jains were also notified as another minority community.
- Union Government constituted National Commission for Minorities, New Delhi and State Government constituted State Minorities Commissions in their respective State Capitals.
- These organisations are set-up to safeguard and protect the interests of minorities as provided in the Constitution of India and laws enacted by the Parliament and the State Legislatures.
GS PAPER III
Gross domestic product
Why in news
- RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has said on September 09, 2021 that, in the financial year 2021-22, the Indian economy is likely to grow at the rate of 9.5 percent. He also said that there are several sharp indicators which show a pick-up in economic activity.
Key Points
- Speaking at a media event, the RBI Governor said that by August, the impact of the second wave of COVID-19 has subsided and economic growth will improve from the second quarter onwards.
- He further said that the RBI has decided to put more emphasis on economic growth due to the pandemic and work in the 2-6 per cent inflation band set by the government.
- He also said that, the central bank wants to move gradually towards achieving the target of 04 percent over time, he further added that, there is no possibility of a sustained increase in inflation.
Feature
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- According to the RBI Governor, easy liquidity conditions in the global markets are among the conditions that are causing a boom in the domestic markets. He added that there is no evidence of higher property prices affecting the inflation situation.
- Speaking on continuation of RBI’s lenient stance, he further said that, a meeting will be held by RBI’s rate setting panel on this.
- He said that the apex bank does not see high inflation normalizing.
- Das further added that, the Gross Non-Performing Asset Ratio of the banking system at the end of June quarter stood at 7.5 per cent and remains manageable as of now.
- The RBI governor also conveyed his “serious and major concerns” regarding crypto currencies to the government.
Background
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had earlier retained the real GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal year 2021-2022 at 9.5 per cent during its bi-monthly monetary policy review in August.
- RBI also decided to continue its accommodative stance and keep the repo rate unchanged at 04 per cent and reverse repo rate at 3.35 per cent. The RBI governor then also mentioned that, with the easing of the second wave of COVID-19 and the reopening of the economy, domestic economic activities have started returning to normal.
GS PAPER III
Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX)
Why in news
Oregon State University will lead an exploration to discover the oldest ice in Antarctica and learn more about how Earth’s climate has changed over the past several million years.
- Key Points
- This exploratory discovery will be funded by the National Science Foundation. “It’s fundamental exploration science,” said Ed Brooke, COLDEX’s principal investigator and a paleontologist in the OSU College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences.
- The oldest Ice Exploration Center (COLDEX) will be established to bring together experts from the United States to gain knowledge about Earth’s climate system. COLDEX is one of six new science and technology centers announced by the National Science Foundation.
Objective of NSF
- The National Science Foundation, established in 1987, aims to support transformational, complex research programs in fundamental areas of science that require large-scale long-term funding.
Antarctica’s oldest ice
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- The oldest record of ice in Antarctica is currently about 800,000 years old. The ice recorded in this record was collected by drilling miles below the surface of the continent.
- The principal investigator of COLDEX, Ed Brooke, has stated that the characteristics of the Earth’s climate system were actually quite different between the period between 800,000 years ago and 1.5 million years ago.
- Researchers currently hope to find a continuous record that goes back 1.5 million years, or a record of ice that may be three million years old and older.
Importance
- According to Ed Brooke, the ice and pristine air trapped in the mountains around Antarctica will present an unprecedented record of how greenhouse gases and climate are linked to a warmer climate.
- The study is also expected to help understand what controls the Earth’s climate system in the long term.
- background
- Oregon State University is home to the Marine and Geology Repository, one of the nation’s largest repositories for marine sediment cores, which also holds Antarctic ice core samples stored in freezers 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.