• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has released the benefits of the PM CARES for Children scheme for children who lost their parents due to the Covid-19 pandemic. PM Modi has promised Rs 4,000 a month for basic needs, financial support for schooling, scholarship for higher education, and free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh.
• Prime Minister transferred scholarships to school-going children.
• A passbook of PM CARES for Children, and a health card under Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana were handed over to the children during the programme.

About the PM CARES scheme:

• PM CARES for Children Scheme was launched by the Prime Minister on 29 May 2021.
• The aim was to support children who have lost both their parents or legal guardian or adoptive parents or surviving parents to the Covid-19 pandemic, during the period from 11 March 2020 to 28 February 2022.

• Param Ananta, is a state of the art supercomputer at IIT Gandhinagar dedicated to the nation under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
• It is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), which was commissioned. This indigenous software stack is developed by C-DAC and is a Make in India initiative.

About the Param Ananta:

• The Param Ananta is based on direct contact liquid cooling technology to obtain a high power usage effectiveness and thereby reduce the operational cost.
• The Param Ananta Supercomputing Facility will greatly benefit IIT Gandhinagar’s R&D activities in multidisciplinary domains of science and technology, including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), data science; computational fluid dynamics (CFD); bio-engineering for genome sequencing and DNA studies.
• Computational biology and bioinformatics are used in the prediction and detection of gene networks; atomic and molecular sciences that help in understanding how a drug binds to a particular protein; climate change and environment studies for extreme weather predictions and simulation of models which can predict the onset of a cyclone;
• Energy studies which will help in carrying out design simulation and optimization of energy conversion devices at various scales; fire dynamics simulation; nanotechnology; robotics; applied mathematics; astronomy and astrophysics; material sciences; quantum mechanics; and studies on civil engineering and structural mechanics to understand the dynamic behaviour of buildings, bridges, and complex structure.

• The agreement was signed in Dubai by Orna Barbivay and Abdalla Bin Touq Al Marri.

KEY POINTS:

• Regulatory and standardisation concerns, customs, collaboration, government procurement, e-commerce, and intellectual property rights are all covered under the agreement.
• This is a crucial visit for the State of Israel’s commercial relations with the United Arab Emirates, the first free trade zone deal with an Arab country.
• The free trade zone agreement they signed this morning is expected to improve bilateral commerce, remove barriers, and create new economic possibilities and collaborations, all of which will serve as a foundation for our common road forward.
• The commercial pact with Israel will usher in a new era in the Middle East. This agreement will boost economic growth and reinforce the notion that working together is the only way to build long-term, sustainable economies in a complicated environment.

• ‘Yoga for Humanity’ has been chosen as the theme of the eighth International Day of Yoga to be organised in India and across the globe on June 21.
• The main event of International Day of Yoga this year will be held in Mysuru, Focusing on the theme of ‘yoga for humanity’, special programmes have been designed this year for specially-abled people, the transgender population, women and children. Human values that are an integral part of yoga education in schools are also in focus.
• The 8th edition of International Day of Yoga (IDY) will see many firsts, one of them is an innovative programme, named “Guardian Ring”, under which participation of people performing yoga will take place along with the movement of the sun from different countries, beginning from the east and marching towards west.

• Gujarat will host the two-day National Education Ministers’ Conference.
• It will concentrate on the implementation of the National Education Policy 2020, school skilling, and digital projects such as the National Digital Education Architecture and the National Educational Technology Forum, among others.
• The state education ministers will also pay visits to Vidya Samiksha Kendra, BISAG (Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geoinformatics), NFSU (National Forensic Science University), and the International Automobile Centre of Excellence.

• The Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) Scheme launched by the Ministry of Tourism Government of India will prove to be a milestone in shaping the planned development in Chinnmastika Dham, Mata Shree Chintpurni temple of Himachal Pradesh.
• A sum of Rs. 40.07 crore has been approved for undertaking beautification and developing infrastructure in Chintpurni.
• After full implementation PRASAD scheme will help in nurturing the diverse religious and cultural heritage. The scheme will attract both domestic and international tourists, which will also help in adding revenue for the State.

• This MoU signed with the motive to initiate collaboration between the institutes for providing quality Medical care and rehabilitative services for the welfare of specially abled persons (Divyangjan) across the states.
• AIIMS shall provide specialist and super specialist medical care services to specially abled persons at the institute and through outreach camps in the community.
• National institute for the empowerment of persons with visual Disabilities (NIEPVD), Dehradun & Composite Regional Centre (CRC) Sundernagar shall help in providing rehabilitative services and assistive devices to the specially abled persons.
• Teleconsultation services shall also be made available for better coordination between the institutes.
• The institutes shall plan collaborative research to develop innovative, frugal, low-cost tools and technologies to improve quality of life of specially abled persons.
• The collaboration is expected to lead to comprehensive health care and rehabilitative services and the development of indigenous innovative, low cost tools and technologies for the benefit of the specially abled persons and improving their quality of life not only in the state of Himachal Pradesh but also adjoining states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand.

• NTPC was the first PSU to issue Biodiversity Policy in 2018.
• NTPC Ltd has issued renewed Biodiversity Policy 2022 to establish a comprehensive vision and guiding principle for conservation, restoration, and enhancement of biodiversity. This Biodiversity Policy is an integral part of NTPC’s Environmental Policy.
• Its objectives are aligned with environmental and sustainability policies. Moreover, the policy is also designed to support all the professionals of the NTPC Group to help them contribute toward the achievement of the targets set in this field.
• In a major initiative undertaken by NTPC, it has signed a five-year agreement with Andhra Pradesh Forest Department for conservation of Olive Ridley Turtles in the coastline of Andhra Pradesh. With the Financial Contribution of Rs. 4.6 Crores and increased participation of community, the no. of hatchings released in sea water as increased about 2.25 times since intervention by NTPC.

• Defence Ministry signed a contract worth Rs 2,971 crore with the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) for supply of ASTRA MK-I Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Air to Air Missile (AAM) and associated equipment for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
• The technology to manufacture missiles of this class indigenously was not available. ASTRA MK-I BVR AAM has been indigenously designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• The development of ASTRA MK-I BVR AAM would be based on the requirements of the IAF catering for Beyond Visual Range as well as Close Combat Engagement
• It will help in reducing the dependency on foreign sources.

• The central government has given its approval for the revised guidelines of its key scheme named Micro and Small Enterprises-Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP).
• This is to be implemented during the 15th Finance Commission cycle, i.e. FY22 to FY26. Various departments like Special Purpose Vehicle, MSME-Development Institute, and state governments had suggested simplifying the guidelines of the scheme to reduce the approval time and various processes of the projects.
• The aim of the scheme is to enhance the productivity and competitiveness of micro and small enterprises in the nation by undertaking certain interventions.
• The interventions include infrastructure development and the setting up of common facility centres (CFCs).
• The Cluster Development Programme is one of the oldest schemes under the Office of the Development Commissioner that is under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.