• The 38th Meeting of Ministerial level Joint Rivers Commission, JRC, of India and Bangladesh was held in New Delhi.
• The two sides finalized the text of MoU on ‘Interim Water Sharing of Kushiyara river’. Both sides also welcomed finalization of the design and location of the water intake point on the Feni River to meet the drinking water needs of Sabroom town in Tripura, as per the October 2019 India -Bangladesh MoU on the subject.
• The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Bangladesh delegation was led by State Minister for Water Resources Zaheed Farooque.
• The meeting assumes significance as it was held after a long gap of 12 years, though the technical interactions under the framework of JRC have continued in the intervening period. India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers, of which seven rivers have been identified earlier for developing framework of water sharing agreements on priority.
• During the meeting, it was agreed to widen the area of ongoing cooperation by including eight more rivers for data exchange.
• The matter will be further discussed at the Technical Level Committee of JRC.
• The Joint Rivers Commission of India and Bangladesh was constituted in the year 1972.

• Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Sweden’s LFV Air Navigation Services have joined hands for developing and operationalizing the next generation sustainable aviation technology to explore smart aviation solutions.
• AAI and Sweden’s LFV signed a Memorandum of Understanding today in New Delhi in this regard. Civil Aviation Ministry informed that the MoU will pave the way for bilateral exchange of aviation knowledge, expertise and technology transfer between the two countries.
• It will also allow the Indian companies to accelerate growth while leveraging Swedish innovation and expertise. MoU aims to expand technical cooperation in airports and support the development of a safe, secure, sustainable and efficient aviation sector.
• On the occasion, Chairman of Airports Authority of India, Sanjeev Kumar expressed confidence that the mutual exchange in civil aviation between AAI and LFV Sweden will go a long way in building and operationalization of next generation smart and sustainable aviation technology.
• Ambassador of Sweden in India, Klas Molin said, he is looking forward to seeing how the MoU can foster more opportunities for Sweden and India to explore climate-smart solutions within the aviation sector.

• The Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, under its Aashwasan Campaign screened over one crore persons in over 68,000 villages.
• The Aashwasan Campaign started in January this year in Nandurbar District of Maharashtra for finding active case for Tuberculosis in 174 tribal districts of India, under the ambit of the Tribal TB Initiative.
• Recently, a national conclave was held at the National Tribal Research Institute (NTRI) in New Delhi to disseminate the learnings of the 100-day Aashwasan Campaign under ‘Tribal TB Initiative’.
• Addressing the event, Joint Secretary Ministry of Tribal Affairs Dr. Navaljit Kapoor said, the Aashwasan Campaign brought together about two lakh community influencers, including tribal leaders, tribal healers, Self Help Groups and youth in the tribal areas.
• The data indicates that the tribal communities are more vulnerable to respiratory diseases and TB, compared to other population groups.
• As a way forward, to mark 75 years’ of India’s Independence, 75 high-burden tribal districts have been selected for focused interventions in the coming months.

• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, DPIIT on reviewed 40 critical infrastructure projects across India with issues enlisted for resolution with Environment Ministry and Rail Ministry.
• Special Secretary, DPIIT reviewed 57 issues in 40 projects with an anticipated investment of approximately Rs 3.37 lakh crores and emphasized upon the importance of timely completion of projects and the role of seamless coordination between the various departments of the Central Government to ensure that projects having high socio-economic importance are not delayed.

Some of the projects which were reviewed are-

• BharatNet- The broadband connectivity plan seeks to bring broadband to 361,000 villages across 16 states and is scheduled to be completed by 2025.
• Hubli-Ankola New Line Project (164.44 km), a supercritical Railway project which was stuck due to litigation issues regarding wildlife clearance given by the National Board of Wildlife
• Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor connecting Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi with Modipuram in Meerut passing through key towns such as Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Muradnagar and Modinagar in Uttar Pradesh covering a total length of 82.15 km.
• Four laning of Bangalore – Chennai Expressway (NE-5), a 260.85 km 4-lane access-controlled road connecting Hoskote near Bengaluru, Karnataka with Sriperumbudur near Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

About DPIIT:

• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)is a central government department under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in India.
• It is responsible for formulation and implementation of promotional and developmental measures for growth of the industrial sector, keeping in view the national priorities and socio-economic objectives.
• While individual administrative ministries look after the production, distribution, development and planning aspects of specific industries allocated to them, DPIIT is responsible for the overall industrial policy.
• It is also responsible for facilitating and increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to the country.
• The Department in its current form came into being on 27 January 2019, when the erstwhile Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion was renamed to Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) after internal trade was added to its mandate

• The SJVN has been conferred with the Greentech Award in recognition of its environment protection measures adopted in projects under construction stage, said SJVN chairman Nand Lal Sharma.

About

• SJVN Limited, a Mini Ratna, Category-I and Schedule –‘A’ CPSE under administrative control of Ministry of Power, Govt. of India, was incorporated on May 24, 1988 as a joint venture of the Government of India (GOI) and the Government of Himachal Pradesh (GOHP).
• SJVN is now a listed Company having shareholders pattern of 59.92 % with Govt. of India, 26.85% with Govt. of Himachal Pradesh and rest of 13.23 % with Public. The present paid up capital and authorized capital of SJVN is Rs. 3,929.80 Crore and Rs. 7,000 Crore respectively.
• The Net Worth as on 31.03.2022 is Rs.13128.61 Crore.
• Beginning with a single project and single State operation (i.e. India’s largest 1500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station in Himachal Pradesh), the Company has commissioned seven projects totaling 2016.5 MW of installed capacity and 86 km 400 KV Transmission Line.
• SJVN is presently implementing or operating power projects in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat and Arunachal Pradesh in India besides neighbouring countries of Nepal and Bhutan.

• Illegal mining that continues unabated in the Binwa rivulet at Baijnath in Himachal’s Kangra has endangered another railway bridge on the heritage Pathankot-Jogindernagar track, besides posing threat to an adjoining highway bridge and the famous 13th century Shiva temple in the town.
• Despite tall claims by the local administration and the Mining Department, a large number of mules can be seen carrying extracted sand and gravel from the rivulet’s banks.
• The illegally mined material was transported on mules to certain points from where it was shifted to vehicles by the mining mafia for further sale, said Ghanshyam Awasthi, an environmental activist.
• Awasthi said several sand and gravel dumps could be seen on the Pathankot-Mandi highway.
• Deep trenches dug by the mining mafia on the riverbed had weakened the retaining walls of the temple as well as the pillars of the two bridges.
• A colonial-era bridge on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar rail track over the Chakki rivulet in Kangra’s Nurpur was washed away following heavy rain recently, an incident attributed by green activists to illegal mining.
• According to the state government’s policy, mining cannot be carried out within 100 metres of a bridge.
• Sources said in view of the temple, a complete ban had been imposed on mining in the Binwa. The mining mafia, however, is engaged in the illegal activity right next to the foundation of the bridges and the temple’s retaining wall.

About the famous 13th century Shiva temple in the town.

• The Baijnath temple is a highly popular temple as it houses one of the 12 holy jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva in the country and devotees from across the country throng the temple to offer prayers to the lord.
• The temple, constructed in 1204 AD by Lord Shiva devotees and local merchants Ahuka and Manyuka, is believed to have medicinal powers as the water emerging from the temple is believed to heal people from their illnesses.
• The Baijnath temple is constructed in the Nagara style of architecture.

• The world’s first fleet of hydrogen-powered passenger trains was launched by Germany. The first fleet of hydrogen-powered passenger trains has replaced 15 diesel trains that were previously operated on nonelectrified tracks in Lower Saxony, Germany. The engine of the trains is powered by electricity generated using hydrogen fuel cells.
• The use of hydrogen is a clean alternative to fossil fuels as per the German government’s announcement. The state governor Stephan Weil said that Lower Saxony has invested a total of 93 million euros for the first fleet of hydrogen-powered passenger train projects. This invitation is an excellent example and effort to make the economy of Germany greener.

Key points:

• Alstom is a French company that manufactures trains, and these trains are operated by regional rail company LNVG on routes between the Northern towns of Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervoerda, and Buxtehude.
• These trains have ranges up to 1000 kilometers and a maximum speed of 140 kph. After the introduction of the first fleet of hydrogen-powered passenger trains, the hydrogen produced with renewable energy the trains will save up to 6 liters of diesel in a year.
• For now, hydrogen is produced as a byproduct of chemical processes, however, the German Specialty Gas Company Linde, plans to manufacture hydrogen using only renewable energy in the coming years.

• Distinguished scientist Samir V Kamat was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), according to a Personnel Ministry order.
• Kamat, who is Director General, Naval Systems & Materials, at the DRDO will succeed G Satheesh Reddy who has been named as scientific adviser to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

About

• Dr Samir V. Kamat, a distinguished scientist, has on 1 July 2017 assumed charge as Director General Naval Systems & Materials (NS & M) at DRDO.
• He obtained Tech. (Hons) in Metallurgical Engineering from in 1985 IIT Kharagpur and in 1988 he completed his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University, USA, specialising in the area of mechanical behaviour of materials.
• In 1989, he joined DRDO at DMRL, Hyderabad, as Scientist ‘C’ and elevated to the position of OS/Sc ‘H’ in October 2013. Later, he took over as the Director of the lab on 17 August, 2015.
• In 1986, Dr Kamat received the Indranil Medal by the Mining, Geological and Metallurgical Institute of India, in 1998 he got DRDO Young Scientist Award; Binani Gold Medal (jointly) of the Indian Institute of Metals in 2006; the National Metallurgists’ Day Metallurgist of the Year Award by the Ministry of Steel in 2008; the National Science Day Oration Silicon Medal in 2009, the DRDO Scientist of the Year award in 2012, and IIT Kharagpur Distinguished Alumni Award 2018.

What is the DRDO?

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military’s research and development, headquartered in Delhi, India.
• It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production of the Indian Ordnance Factories with the Defence Science Organisation.
• Subsequently, Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS) was constituted in 1979 as a service of Group ‘A’ Officers / Scientists directly under the administrative control of Ministry of Defence.
• With a network of 52 laboratories, which are engaged in developing defence technologies, covering various fields, like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems, DRDO is India’s largest and most diverse research organisation.
• The organisation includes around 5,000 scientists belonging to the DRDS and about 25,000 other subordinate scientific, technical and supporting personnel.
• As part of Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, DRDO under Development cum Production Partner programme (DCPP) allowed handholding of domestic private sector industries to improve their development and production cycle of complex defence systems.
• VL-SRSAM (Vertical Launch – Short Range Surface to Air Missile) and Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) became some of the successful projects of this programme.

• Former German chancellor Angela Merkel has been awarded the UNESCO Peace Prize 2022  for “her efforts to welcome refugees”.
• In the summer of 2015, as refugees were streaming into Europe, Merkel opened her country’s borders and famously declared to Germans “Wir schaffen das”, “We can do this.”
• She eventually pulled back on her pro-immigration stance as support eroded among the public and within her own conservative party.
• All the members of the jury were touched by her courageous decision in 2015 to welcome more than 1.2 million refugees, notably from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea.

About the UNESCO Peace Prize:

• The honour, which is officially called Felix Houphouet-Boigny-UNESCO Peace Prize, is named after the former president of Ivory Coast.
• It has been awarded each year since 1989 to individuals, organisations or institutions that have made a special effort to promote, research or secure peace. It is awarded annually.
• The prize includes a cheque of USD 150,000, a gold medal and a peace diploma. If there are multiple recipients, the cheque is shared equally.

• Researchers at IIT Guwahati have created a fermentation process that uses ultrasound to safely generate Xylitol from sugarcane bagasse, the byproduct of crushing sugar cane.
• This approach gets over the operational constraints of chemical synthesis and the time lags of traditional fermentation.
• The use of ultrasound during the fermentation process not only reduced the time of fermentation to 15 hours, but also increased the yield of the product by almost 20%.

Xylitol: Requirement for Safe Sweetners

• There has been an increase in the use of safe alternative sweeteners as awareness of the negative effects of white sugar (sucrose) on individuals with diabetes and general health has grown.
• A sugar alcohol generated from plants called xylitol may have anti-obesogenic and anti-diabetic properties in addition to being a mild prebiotic and guarding teeth against caries.

Xylitol: Research Team

• The research team includes Dr. Belachew Zegale Tizazu and Dr. Kuldeep Roy, who co-authored the research articles, and was headed by Professor VS Moholkar of the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Guwahati.
• Two peer-reviewed publications, Bioresource Technology and Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, both published this research.
• Advantages of this new procedure: The use of ultrasound during the fermentation process not only reduced the time of fermentation to 15 hours (as opposed to almost 48 hours in conventional processes), but also increased the yield of the product by almost 20%, according to Professor VS Moholkar, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati.