• The ‘Ekalabya Puraskar’ for the year 2022 was presented to cyclist Swasti Singh.
• The award is given every year to encourage young sports talents.
• She presented with a citation, trophy and Rs 5 lakh cash in a programme organized by Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT), the charitable wing of IMFA.
• She was honoured for her performance from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022 at both national and international levels.
• Ekalabya Puraskar, instituted by IMPaCT in the year 1993, has come a long way to be recognized as the most prestigious sports award of Odisha, drawing parallels with many national awards.

• Ministry of Railways has formulated a new policy for modernization of stations named “Amrit Bharat Station” scheme.
• Amrit Bharat Station scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long term vision.
• It is based on Master Planning for long term and implementation of the elements of Master Plan as per the needs and patronage of the station.

Broad objectives:

• The scheme aims at preparation of Master Plans of the Railway stations and implementation of the Master Plan in phases to enhance the facilities including and beyond the Minimum Essential Amenities (MEA) and aiming for creation of Roof Plazas and city centres at the station in long run.
• The scheme shall aim to meet the needs of the stakeholders, station usage studies as far as possible based on availability of funds and inter-se priority.
• The scheme shall cater for introduction of new amenities as well as upgradation and replacement of existing amenities.
• This scheme will also cover the stations where detailed techno-economic feasibility studies have been conducted or are being conducted but the work for construction of Roof Plazas has not been taken up yet, ensuring the phasing of Master Plan being suitably implemented and relocation of structures and utilities being given more emphasis in the phasing plans.

• As India rides on 5G with more than 50 cities and towns now enjoying the new technology, the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said that by the end of 2023, 75-80 per cent of the new smartphone launches will be 5G-enabled.
• The 5G services were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 1.
• Telecom service providers have launched the service in select cities and plan to cover the entire nation by the end of 2023 or early 2024.
• India as a nation is an early adopter of 5G technology. This 5G technology has opened a vast opportunity for a new generation of telecom equipment manufacturers, application providers, and internet of things (IoT), machine-2-machine (M2M) and healthcare services, among others,”
• The mobile device ecosystem was an early starter for manufacturing 5G phones.
• Even before the launch of 5G services, approximately 80-100 million 5G-compatible phones were already in the market.
• 5G will represent around 53 per cent of mobile subscriptions in India by 2028, with 690 million users, according to ‘Ericsson Mobility Report’.
• 5G subscriptions in India were expected to reach around 31 million by the end of 2022.
• On semiconductor industry, Mohindroo said that the Indian semiconductor market was $15 billion in 2020 and expected to reach $63 billion by 2023 at 30 per cent CAGR.
• The India Semiconductor Mission offers an incentive outlay of Rs 76,000 crore for the development of semiconductor ecosystem in India, offering fiscal support of 50 per cent of the project cost.

• Power Ministry and the Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO, have signed an Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, for implementation of Early Warning System for Vulnerable Hydro Projects and Power Stations. 
• It is to work jointly towards developing suitable mitigation measures against avalanches, landslides, glaciers, glacial lakes and other geo-hazards.
• Power Ministry has taken the initiative of implementing Early Warning System, EWS, in the Hydro Power Projects, especially in upper reaches of Hilly regions.
• EWS is an integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness for timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events.
• The expertise of DRDO will also be utilized in developing comprehensive EWS for vulnerable hydro projects and power stations in hilly regions. Expertise of DRDO will also be utilized in developing comprehensive EWS, for these projects.

Why in News?

• Government starts joint inspection of drug manufacturing units across the country to ensure high quality of medicines.
• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has started conducting joint inspections of identified Drug Manufacturing Units along with State Drugs Control Administration as per a risk-based approach.
• The Joint Inspections are being conducted all over the country as per the Standard Operating Procedures.
• A Committee of two Joint Drugs Controllers has been constituted at CDSCO Head Quarters to monitor the process of inspection, reporting, and subsequent action so as to ensure compliance with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Rules thereunder.

About the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO):

• The objective of drug regulation is to ensure the safety, efficacy, and quality of the drugs available in the country. The drug control administration is required to ensure that manufacturing units comply with Drugs and Cosmetics Act, especially to the requirements of Good Manufacturing Practices.
• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO)under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India.
• Its headquarter is located in New Delhi and also has six zonal offices, four sub zonal offices, thirteen Port offices and seven laboratories spread across the country.
• The Drugs & Cosmetics Act,1940 and rules 1945 have entrusted various responsibilities to central & state regulators for regulation of drugs & cosmetics.
• It envisages uniform implementation of the provisions of the Act & Rules made there under for ensuring the safety, rights and well-being of the patients by regulating the drugs and cosmetics.
• CDSCO is constantly thriving upon to bring out transparency, accountability and uniformity in its services in order to ensure safety, efficacy and quality of the medical product manufactured, imported and distributed in the country.
• Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations by providing expert advice with a view of bring about the uniformity in the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
• Further CDSCO along with state regulators, is jointly responsible for grant of licenses of certain specialized categories of critical Drugs such as blood and blood products, I. V. Fluids, Vaccine and Sera.

• The decision by the Defence Ministry to procure indigenous short-range ballistic surface-to-surface (SRBM) missile Pralay, a conventional weapon that has become ready for induction in just seven years, gives Indian military the heft to its war-fighting capabilities.
• The missile will be India’s first tactical quasi-ballistic missile and will give the armed forces the capability to hit enemy positions and key installations in actual battlefield areas.
• Pralay, along with the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, will form the crux of India’s planned Rocket Force — a concept that was envisaged by former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), the late General Bipin Rawat.
• Only conventional missiles would come under the planned Rocket Force as and when it’s ready, while nuclear weapons would continue to be under the ambit of the Strategic Forces Command.
• The Pralay missile project was sanctioned in 2015 and is a derivative of the Prahaar missile programme, which was first tested in 2011.
• Pralay was formed through elements from multiple missile programmes that include the K-series of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and the ballistic defence shield programme.
• The canisterised Pralay missile, with a range of 150-500 kilometres, has been developed according to the specifications and requirement of the Army, which was looking to arm itself with a tactical conventional missile that could be used on the battlefield.
• Incidentally, both China and Pakistan have tactical ballistic missiles.

What makes Pralay deadly?

• The Indian missile can be compared to China’s Dong Feng 12and the Russian Iskander missile that has been used in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
• The US Army is in the process of increasing the range of a similar short-range ballistic missile called the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM).
• What makes Pralay deadly is that it is a quasi-ballistic weapon, which means that while it has a low trajectory and is largely ballistic, it can manoeuvre in flight. It has been designed to evade interceptor missiles.
• Ballistic missiles are initially powered by a rocket or series of rockets in stages, but then follow an unpowered trajectory that arches upwards before descending to reach its intended target at high speed.
• Unlike intercontinental ballistic missiles that exit the Earth’s atmosphere, short-range ballistic missiles stay within it.
• Pralay would eventually be part of the Rocket Force, which will also include the BrahMos as well as the Smerch and indigenous Pinaka multi-barrel missile launchers, besides a few other systems that are being built.
• Pralay is powered with a solid propellant rocket motor and multiple new technologies and, according to sources, accuracy is a highlight of this missile.
• It is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of about 350 kg to 700 kg, which gives it a deadly punitive capability.
• It can carry a high explosive preformed fragmentation warhead, penetration-cum-blast (PCB) and runaway denial penetration submunition (RDPS).

What was the need for a ballistic missile when there is already a cruise missile whose range can be shortened for use in a battlefield?

• Both have their own distinct advantages. While BrahMos has high agility, stealth and even loitering capability, Pralay has the advantage of speed and countering it is a difficult task, even for modern air defence systems.

Why in News

• Recently, the President inaugurated PRASAD project at the tourism facilitation centre in the pilgrim town of Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh.

About PRASAD scheme

• The full form of the PRASAD scheme is ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive’. 
• The scheme was launched in the year 2014-2015.
• It comes under the Ministry of Tourism. 

Aim:

• • This scheme focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India for enriching the religious tourism experience.

• • It aims to integrate pilgrimage destinations in a prioritised, planned and sustainable manner to provide a complete religious tourism experience.

• Funding:

• • The Ministry of Tourism provides Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to state governments under the Prasad scheme to promote tourism at pilgrim sites.

• • The Central Government will cover 100% of the costs under this program.

• • For improved sustainability, it also includes a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

• Cities Identified Under PRASAD Scheme: 

• • Amritsar (Punjab).

• • Kedarnath (Uttarakhand).

• • Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).

• • Ajmer (Rajasthan).

• • Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).

• • Gaya (Bihar).

• • Kamakhya (Assam).

• • Dwaraka (Gujarat).

• • Puri (Odisha).

• • Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh).

• • Kanchipuram(Tamil Nadu).

• • Velankanni (Tamil Nadu).

Why In News

• Recently, the Parliamentary panel on Social Justice and Empowerment has pulled up the Union government over the “very slow” process to categorise over 260 denotified, nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes under either the SC/ST/OBC lists.

Scheme for Economic Empowerment of DNTs( (SEED) Scheme

• Aim: 
  • To provide free competitive exam coaching to students, health insurance and financial assistance for housing and uplift clusters of these communities through livelihood initiatives.
• Implementation: 
  • The Scheme will be implemented through a portal, developed by the Department of Social Justice & Empowerment.
  • The funds will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries in their account. The other implementing agencies are the Ministry of Rural Development, National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and National Health Authority (NHA).
• 4 components:
  • To provide coaching of good quality for DNT candidates to enable them to appear in competitive examinations.
  • To provide Health Insurance to them.
  • To facilitate livelihood initiative at community level; and
  • To provide financial assistance for construction of houses for members of these communities.
• Budget: 
  • The Ministry has been allocated 200 crore for this scheme to be spent over five financial years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

The De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes

• They are the most neglected, marginalized and economically and socially deprived communities.
• Most of them have been living a life of destitution for generations and still continue to do so with an uncertain and gloomy future.
• They somehow escaped the attention of India’s developmental framework and thus are deprived of the support unlike Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi is promoting Kangra art at international level. He has gifted pieces of Kangra art to foreign dignitaries during his visits abroad.
• However, within Himachal there is no government institution that is making endeavours to promote and preserve the Kangra art. People associated with protecting Kangra art rue that little effort has been made by the government to protect the miniature painting styles that were made famous internationally by artists of the area.
• Raghav Guleria, who has been making efforts to protect Kangra art, says Haripur-Guler was the birthplace of Kangra miniature painting style. The art touched its zenith in the 18th century when Nainsukh and Manaku, sons of illustrious Pandit Sau, a painter of former Guler state, created masterpieces of art which are now exhibited in Reitberg museum in Zurich, Switzerland, in London museum and Boston museum in the USA, he adds.
• Guleria says the government of Himachal through the Government of India should try to bring back art pieces created by Pandit Nainsukh as they were part of the culture of Kangra. The government can also deploy artists to create replicas of paintings of Pandit Nainsukh and display them in a museum dedicated to Kangra art. This will attract international tourists to the place, he adds.
• Professor Akshay Runchal, who founded the Kangra Art Promotion Society in Dharamsala, says the society has trained about 40 artists in Kangra miniature art. He adds, “We have also created a private museum for Kangra art in McLeodganj.”
• “However, it will be good if the government patronizes the Kangra miniature art. One way of doing it can be to include it in the curriculum at the school and university level. The Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) can also start a course on Kangra art. It would help protect the art and provide a platform for research on Kangra miniature paintings,” Runchal said.
• Kangra miniature paintings, though influenced by the Rajasthan miniature paintings, evolved as a unique form of art under the aegis of rulers of the former Kangra state. However, without any government patronage the unique art form is dying a slow death.
• The uniqueness of Kangra miniature paintings is that 19 natural colours generated from locally available sources are used to create the painting. The colours are typically associated with the Kangra form of art. They are created from stones and plants found in Kangra valley. It takes about a year to create the required colours as they can be generated only from natural sources existing at particular times of the year.
• Besides the natural colours, gold is also used in the paintings, giving them the required shine.
• Another unique feature of Kangra form of art painting is the use of natural poison that protects it from decay and natural paper that is created from the bio-waste of pine trees.
• The natural poison used in the painting is generated from waste of slow fire (known as Dhuna in local language).
• Fallen wings of Turtle Dove, a local migratory bird, were also used for creating the brushes used in the paintings.

Why in News?

• The Himachal Pradesh Minorities Finance and Development Corporation (HPMFDC) has distributed total loans of Rs 130.07 crore to 4,980 beneficiaries till October,2022.
• Social Justice and Empowerment Department Secretary M Sudha Devi said the corporation had disbursed loans of Rs 78.90 crore to 3,155 beneficiaries belonging to the minority communities.
• Besides, Rs 1.04 crore has been disbursed as education loans to 31 beneficiaries, and loans worth Rs 50.76 crore have been given to 1,794 disabled beneficiaries.

Targets achieved:

• The target of Rs 781 lakh fixed by the National Minorities Finance and Development Corporation for 2022-23, the corporation had achieved a target of Rs 958.95 lakh by October 31, 2022.

About The Himachal Pradesh Minorities Finance and Development Corporation (HPMFDC)

• The H.P. Minorities Finance & Development Corporation (HPMFDC) was registered under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (not for profit) on 23-09-1996 and was declared State Channeling Agency (SCA) for National Minorities Finance & Development Corporation, New Delhi (NMFDC) with the objective to give social, economic and educational up-liftment to the people of Minorities below double the poverty line in H.P. by providing financial assistance/loans to them for setting up of self employment ventures of income generating activities  and education loan for acquiring professional/technical education and job oriented degrees in India and abroad as well, as per NMDFC guidelines and schemes.
• Similarly, the Corporation was also declared State Channeling Agency (SCA)  for National Handicapped Finance & Development Corporation, Faridabad (NHFDC) on 20-01-1999 for  providing them financial assistance/ loan for setting up  of self employment ventures of income generating activities and education loan for acquiring professional/technical education and job oriented degrees in India and abroad as well.