WHY IN THE NEWS?

Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) has organized Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’. In this shivir, aids and assistive devices will be distributed among ‘Divyangjan’ under the ADIP Scheme and among Senior Citizens under the ‘Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’.

About ADIP Scheme:

• Launched by: Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
• Aim: To assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable and scientifically manufactured appliances. It will promote their physical, social, and psychological rehabilitation by reducing the effects of disabilities and enhancing their economic potential.
• Implemented by: NGOs, National Institutes under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, and ALIMCO (a PSU that manufactures artificial limbs).

Eligibility:

• Indian citizen of any age
• Has 40% disability or more
• Monthly income not more than Rs.20,000.
• In the case of dependents, the income of parents/guardians should not exceed Rs. 20,000/- per month
• Must not have received assistance during the last 3 years, and for children, it’s the last 1 year.

About Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana:

• Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana is the scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. It was launched in 2017.
• Type: It is a central sector scheme funded by the Senior Citizens’ Welfare Fund.
• Aim: to provide aids and assistive living devices to senior citizens belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category who suffer from age-related disabilities such as low vision, hearing impairment, loss of teeth, and locomotor disabilities.
  • The aids and assistive devices include walking sticks, elbow crutches, hearing aids, wheelchairs, and spectacles, etc.
• Implementated by: Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), which is a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

From August India will be the president of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the month and then the nation will host various events in the three major areas of the fight against terrorism, maritime security and peacekeeping.

About:

• Tirumurti India’s permanent representative to the UN will hold a press conference on the Security Council’s work plan for the month.
• He will also provide a briefing to UN member states which are currently not permanent members of the Council on its work for the month.
• On January 1, 2021, India’s two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council began. The August presidential term will be India’s first chairmanship during its non-permanent membership of the Security Council in 2021-22.
• India will again chair the Council in December next year, which is the last month of its two-year term.
• During India’s presidency, the nation will be hosting various high-level events in the three main areas of counter-terrorism, maritime security and peacekeeping.
• Maritime security is India’s top priority, and it is important for the Security Council to take a holistic approach to this issue.
• India is particularly focused on using better technology to ensure the safety of peacekeepers and how to bring perpetrators of crimes against peacekeepers to justice.
• As a leading country in the fight against terrorism, India will continue to focus on the fight against terrorism.

About UNSC

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six main organs of the United Nations (UN). It is responsible for ensuring international peace and security, approving any changes to the UN Charter and recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly. Its powers include establishing enacting international sanctions, peacekeeping operations and authorizing military operations. The UN Security Council is the only UN agency that has the authority to issue binding resolutions for member states. António Guterres is the current Secretary-general of UNSC

WHY IN THE NEWS?

In accordance with the second phase of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) programme, the government approved the establishment of two additional commercial and strategic underground storage facilities at Chandikhol (4 MMT) and Padur (2.5 MMT) with total capacity storage of 6.5 MMT in PPP model.

About:

• In the first phase of the SPR programme, the government, through its special tool India Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), established oil storage facilities with a total capacity of 5.33 million metric tons (MMT) in 3 locations. All the three storage facilities in Shakapatnam (1.33 MMT), Mangaluru (1.5 MMT) and Padur (2.5 MMT) are filled with crude oil.
• The petroleum reserves which were established in the first phase are of strategic importance, and the crude oil stored in these reserves will be used in the scenario of an oil shortage.
• In the second phase of the SPR programme, the government approved the establishment of two additional commercial and strategic underground storage facilities at Chandikhol (4 MMT) and Padur (2.5 MMT) with total capacity storage of 6.5 MMT in PPP model.
• Proposals for the construction of these storage facilities are being finalized.
• Under Phase II for land acquisition, an amount of Rs 210 crore was allocated in the budget, and ISPRL has received the amount.

Importance of the Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) programme

The 1990 Gulf War caused oil prices to skyrocket and imports from India increased significantly. During the Indian economic crisis after 1991, foreign exchange reserves could hardly finance three weeks of imports, and the government could hardly meet its financial obligations. India responded to the crisis through economic liberalization policies. However, the country continued to be affected by fluctuations in oil prices.

In the year 1998, the government of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee proposed the creation of oil reserves as a solution to manage the oil market. Three storage facilities were built at underground sites in Padur, Visakhapatnam and Mangalore. In the first phase, a total storage capacity of 5.33 million tons was created.

The current government approved two additional commercial and strategic facilities in July 2021, with a total storage capacity of 6.5 MMT. This will increase India’s strategic reserve capacity to 11.83 MMT. In times of crisis, India can manage its oil demand period for a specific time

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Vice Admiral S.N. Ghormade took over as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff from Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar on Saturday, who retired after 39 years of service.

About:

• Vice-Admiral Ghormade was appointed to the Navy on January 1, 1984 and is an expert in navigation and direction specialist.
• He was awarded the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM) by the President in 2017 and the Nausena Medal in 2007 by the commendation of then chief of the Naval Staff.
• During Vice Admiral Kumar’s tenure, the Navy had seen an increase in budget allocations with 100% utilization of the allocated budget with a capital acquisition boost.

Other news

The Navy’s INS Airavat rescued a fishing boat floating near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. According to the Navy, as part of Ops Samudra Setu II, INS Airavat passed through the area on its way back from Jakarta when it received a distress signal from Saleth Matha II near the Carnicobar Islands, Andaman and Nicobar at 2300 on Friday. INS Airavat is towing the ship to the nearest port.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• PM Modi has launched multiple educational initiatives including the Academic Bank of Credit that will provide multiple entry and exit options for students in Higher education.
• Academic Bank of Credit is envisaged as a digital bank that holds the credit earned by a student in any course.
• Academic Bank of Credit is a major instrument for facilitating multidisciplinary and holistic education and multiple entry and exit in higher education.
• Academic Bank of Credit and the Artificial Intelligence programme to make the youth future-oriented and open the way for an AI-driven economy.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The Kerala Police launched a new initiative called the Pink Protection project for the protection of women in public, private and digital spaces.
• The Pink Protection project aims to prevent dowry-related issues, cyber-bullying & humiliation in public places. It has 10 components, one of which is activating the existing Pink Police Patrol system, named Pink Janamaithri Beat.
• They will collect information from panchayat members, neighbours and other locals and hand it over to the Station House Officers for further action.
• The Pink Beat system, in which specially trained women police officers have been deployed, will be present at Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and private buses and in front of schools, colleges and other public places including bus stops.
• Pink control rooms have been set up in all 14 districts to coordinate the activities.
• The Pink Shadow Patrol team will also be deployed to detect the presence of anti-socials in crowded areas and to take action.
• A bullet patrol team of woman police officers called “Pink Romeo” was also launched as part of the project.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Karnataka has become the first state in the country to provide one per cent reservation for the ‘transgender community in all the government services.
• The government submitted a report to the High Court in this regard informing that a notification had already been issued after amending the Karnataka Civil Service (General Recruitment) Rule, 1977.
• The specifies one per cent reservation in all general as well as reserve categories for the third gender. Whenever a notification is published inviting applications for government jobs, the ‘others’ column must be added along with male and female columns.
• The notification also underlines that there should not be any discrimination against transgenders in the process of selection. In case of non-availability of transgender candidates, the job could be given to males or females from the same category, the notification notes.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The Indore city of Madhya Pradesh, or the cleanest city of India, has become the only city from the country to be selected for International Clean Air Catalyst Programme.
• The project will be operated for a period of five years to purify the air in the city with the cooperation of Indore Municipal Corporation and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board.
• Under the project, USAID and partners will work with local communities to better understand local pollution sources and identify, test, accelerate, and scale solutions for cleaner, healthier air.
• Clean Air Catalyst is a new flagship programme launched by The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and a global consortium of organisations, led by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to combat air pollution in low and middle-income countries by accelerating clean air solutions.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The Centre is setting up the Garima Grihas for transgender persons are with the help of community-based organizations.
• Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment A. Narayanaswamy informed Lok Sabha, 12 pilot shelter homes have been initiated with the aim of providing safe and secure shelter to transgender persons.
• The Garima Grihas for transgender persons is being set up with the help of community-based organizations. Such shelter homes have been set up in the states of Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Puri has become the first city in India where people can avail high-quality drinking water directly from the tap on a 24-hour basis.
• It has enabled the people of Puri to collect quality drinking water directly from the tap. Henceforth, people need not have to store or filter drinking water.
• The project would benefit 2.5 lakh citizens of Puri and 2 crore tourists who visit the tourist place every year. They need not have to move around with water bottles.
• Puri would no more be burdened with 400 metric tonnes of plastic waste. Water fountains have been developed at 400 locations in Puri.