• Apple growers in remote and inaccessible areas of the tribal Kinnaur district are in for a new revolution as transportation of apples through drone technology would soon become a reality.
• Successful trials of transportation of 20 kg apple boxes were done in Rohan Kanda village in Nichar block of Kinnaur district and the boxes were transported for a distance of 12 km from an orchard to the main road in six minutes by the Vegrow apple procurement agency in collaboration with Skyeair.
• The trial for lifting apple boxes was done to check the feasibility, battery and rotation time and assess the load lifted in one rotation in November and the cost aspect is being worked on now. “Our target is to lift about 200 kg in one go to make the transportation economical for the apple growers and we are hopeful that the fruitful model would be implemented by the next season,” said incharge of Vegrow, Dinesh Negi.
• Financial feasibility is being chalked out and the administration would facilitate the company for getting the licence and other requirements but the deal is between the private company and the orchardists, said Deputy Commissioner Kinnaur, Abid Hussain Sadiq.
• “There is no road connectivity to the twin villages of Rohan Kanda and Chota Kanda in Nichar block of Kinnaur and the apple boxes are carried on foot and a maximum of three boxes (90kg) are brought to the road in one trip. It takes over four hours for one round due to hilly terrain and a coolie (labourer) can take maximum of three rounds in a day,  said an apple grower from Nichar, Manoj Mehta, adding as the process is time consuming the freshness of the fruit is compromised and labour shortage is another problem.
• Successful trial has rekindled hope of timely and safe transportation especially at time of early snow and talks are going on with the private company to fix the prices and efforts are afoot to made transportation of 200 kg of apple boxes at one time to reduce the cost, said Vice-Pradhan of Gram Panchayat Nichar, Jagdev.
• The move would help in reducing the cost of transportation besides saving time as bringing apples from hilly terrain to the main road for loading in trucks is an expensive, time-consuming and tough task as these orchards are not connected by roads, he told PTI.
• Apple is grown on 10,924 hectares in the district. The apple transportation from the lower areas of Kinnaur starts in August-end but the bulk of transportation takes place from October 15 to November 15.
• This year, 40.83 lakh boxes were produced as compared to 24.33 lakh boxes in 2021 while the number of boxes was 36.64 lakh in 2020, 28.43 lakh in 2019 and 30.83 lakh in 2018. One box contains 20 kg of apple, officials in the Kinnaur horticulture department said.
• The price for transporting five kg weight for one kilometre has been fixed at Rs 45 and for 10 Kg at Rs 55 by the Himachal Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd (HPSEDC) for government departments, said Managing Director of the corporation Mukesh Repaswal.
• The Himachal Pradesh government had given consent to Drone Policy 2022 with the objective of propagating Drone-enabled technology for heralding economic prosperity and creating employment avenues in June this year. In the agriculture and horticulture sector, drones would be used to gather farm and crop specific data to assess farm productivity, assess crop damage, spray of fertilizers on crops and reduce misapplication of resources, officials maintained.

About:

• The site is located along the coast and is about 20 km northeast of Visakhapatnam city and about 4 km southwest of Bheemunipatnam.
• This site, spread across an area of about 20 sq km, was declared as a geo-heritage site by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in 2014 and the Andhra Pradesh government has listed it under the category of ‘protected sites’ in 2016.
• This site needs to be protected to study the impact of climate change, as Erra Matti Dibbalu have seen both the glacial and the warm periods.
• The site is probably about 18,500 to 20,000 years old and it can be related to the last glacial period.

Distribution:

• Such sand deposits are rare and have been reported only from three places in the tropical regions in south Asia such as Teri Sands in Tamil Nadu, Erra Matti Dibbalu in Visakhapatnam and one more site in Sri Lanka.
• They do not occur in equatorial regions or temperate regions due to many scientific reasons.

Significance:  

• The uniqueness of this site is that the red sediments are a part of the continuation of the evolution of the earth and represent the late quaternary geologic age.
• With a height of up to 30 m, they exhibit badland topography with different geomorphic landforms and features, including gullies, sand dunes, buried channels, beach ridges, paired terraces, the valley in the valley, wave-cut terrace, knick point and waterfalls.
• It is a lively scientific evolution site, which depicts the real-time effects of climate change.
• The site also has archaeological significance, as studies of artefacts indicate an Upper Palaeolithic horizon and on cross dating assigned to Late Pleistocene epoch, which is 20,000 BC.

About:

• According to RBI, such framework is needed to balance the spirit of mutuality and co-operation more prevalent in banks of smaller sizes and those with limited area of operation vis-a-vis the growth ambitions of the large-sized UCBs and undertake more complex business activities.
• Based on size of deposits of the UCBs, the four-tiered regulatory framework will come into force with immediate effect.
• The extant regulatory framework classifies UCBs into two tiers – Tier I and Tier II.
  • The RBI has categorised all unit UCBs and salary earners’ UCBs (irrespective of deposit size), and all other UCBs having deposits up to ₹100 crore in Tier 1.
  • In Tier 2, it has placed UCBs with deposits more than ₹100 crore and up to ₹1,000 crore.
  • Tier 3 will cover banks with deposits more than ₹1,000 crore and up to ₹10,000 crore.
  • UCBs with deposits more than ₹10,000 crore have been categorised in Tier 4.
• Net worth and capital adequacy:
  • RBI also has come out with norms pertaining to the net worth and capital adequacy of these banks.
  • Tier 1 UCBs operating in a single district should have minimum net worth of ₹2 crore.
  • For all other UCBs (in Tier 1, 2 and 3) tiers), the minimum net worth should be ₹5 crore.
  • The UCBs, which currently do not meet the revised minimum net worth requirement, will have to achieve the minimum net worth of ₹2 crore or ₹5 crore (as applicable) in a phased manner.
• Minimum capital to risk weighted assets ratio:
  • The central bank also prescribed minimum capital to risk weighted assets ratio requirement for UCBs.
  • Tier 1 UCBs have to maintain a minimum capital to risk weighted assets ratio of 9 per cent of Risk Weighted Assets (RWAs) on an ongoing basis.
  • Tier 2 to 4 UCBshave to maintain a minimum capital to risk weighted assets of 12 per cent of RWAs on an ongoing basis.

About:

• The 15-tonne El Ali meteorite was unearthed in Somalia in 2020.
• It is the ninth largest celestial rock found on Earth at over 2 metres wide.
• The meteorite came from an asteroid in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter.
• The 2-metre-wide meteorite has been well known to generations of people who live in the area, where it was named Nightfall.
• The minerals have been named “elaliite,” after the town where the meteorite crashed, and “elkinstantonite,” after planetary scientist Lindy Elkins-Tanton.
• Around 4,000 minerals are known to science, and they comprise all the rocks already on Earth.
• Of those minerals, only about 300 were discovered in meteorites, alien rocks that crashed on Earth.

• The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0 and its component, Recognition of Prior Learning for upskilling of artisans and weavers of Kashmir will tremendously help in preserving and reviving the Namda craft of Kashmir.
• The Namda project will benefit more than two thousand persons of 30 Namda Clusters from six districts of Kashmir viz. Srinagar, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Bandipora, Budgam, and Anantnag.
• The RPL initiative targets to upskill around eleven thousand artisans and weavers of Jammu and Kashmir. Namda craft is a rug made of sheep wool through the felting technique instead of the normal weaving process.
• Earlier the export of this craft had declined and the Central Government through this special project under PMKVY, of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, has designed a short-term training curriculum to preserve this endangered craft.
• The project is being implemented in 25 batches in 3 cycles of training and each training program is of approximately three and half months, which results in the cycles being completed in approximately 14-16 months.
• The Namda project will be an industry-based training program with beneficiaries involved in Namda Crafts Production who will contribute towards preserving and reviving the rich heritage associated with Namda craft in Kashmir.
• This will also improve the access of existing artisans of Namda crafts cluster in Kashmir and will improve their prospects of employability. The objective of these projects is to boost and preserve the traditional Namda craft of Kashmir and upskill the local weavers and artisans to enhance their productivity through RPL assessment and certification.
• The vision of the Central Government is to revive and promote traditional and heritage skills and to give artisans support to make them economically sustainable. The Government is also offering artisans exposure to the international markets so that the world becomes aware of the vibrant culture of Kashmir.
• The programme will also focus on the skilling, upskilling, and reskilling of Kashmiri youth to create a ladder of career progression and make them strong pillars of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

• Ladakh is all set to have India’s first Dark Night Sky Reserve at Hanle village in Changthang region. In about eighteen locations in Hanley, powerful telescopes will be installed for stargazing.
• Union Territory Ladakh administration has distributed eighteen telescopes to the trained youths of Hanley village.
• At an elevation of 4,500 meters, Hanle is home for the second-highest optical telescope in the world, established in 2001 by Indian Institute of Astrophysics. On his maiden visit to Hanley, Ladakh Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur was convinced with the unique potential lied for Astro tourism in the area.
• Following a tripartite MoU between UT Administration, Leh Hill council and Indian Institute of Astrophysics in June this year, necessary approvals from Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Environment and Forests were issued for Dark sky sanctuary.
• On the other hand, Leh Hill Council CEC Tashi Gyaltson and MP Jamyang Tsering Namgyal have convinced the villagers about the economic development through Home stays and new avenues in tourism. LG Mr Mathur has kept establishment of Dark Sky Sanctuary on priority.
• He already instructed the concerned authorities to get affiliation with International Dark Sky Association and Star Light Foundation for Hanley Dark Sky Sanctuary. Sanctuary opens up personalized experiences to Astro tourists, economic opportunities for youths through the Telescope operation and villagers from the home stays.
• UT administration is also planning for mobile and static planetariums in the region. 24 youths from three hamlets of Hanley were provided with training by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics under the guidance of Engineering Chief Dorjey Angchuk.
• Locations are identified for the installation of telescopes including one big telescope in Punguk village. Nyoma Councillor Ishey Spalzang thanked the Centre for sanctioning the Sanctury, UT and Hill council for speedy execution of works.

• India is expected to receive a record $100 billion in remittance in 2022, the top recipient this year, the World Bank has said. In its Migration and Development Brief,the World Bank has said India’s remittance will grow 12 per cent from 7.5 per cent last year, resulting in $100 billion flow as compared to $89.4 billion in 2021. It attributed the feat to the large share of Indian migrants earning relatively high salaries in the United States, United Kingdom and East Asia.
• However, the report has noted, “Despite reaching a historic milestone at $100 billion and retaining its position as the top recipient of remittances globally, India’s remittance flows are expected to account for only 3 per cent of its GDP in 2022.”
• Led by strong performances in India and Nepal, the World Bank has predicted that remittance flows to South Asia this year will grow 3.5 per cent to reach $163 billion in 2022. This is, however, a slowdown from the 6.7 per cent gain of 2021, reflecting “the impact of an amalgam of external global shocks (inflation, slowing demand) in destination and source countries alike, as well as domestic factors.”
• The overall remittance growth in South Asia reflects a disparity in individual country results; while India has gained 12 per cent and Nepal 4 per cent, other countries have reported an aggregate decline of 10 per cent, the report states.
• The report also says that despite global challenges in 2022, remittances to low- and middle-income countries will grow by 5% to $626 billion.

Reasons for high remittance to India this year

• According to World Bank, there’s been a “gradual shift in destinations” for Indian migrants aided by a “structural shift in qualifications” that helped them move into the “highest-income-earner-category”, especially in services.
• “Higher education mapped on to high income levels with direct implications for remittance flows,” the World Bank says. Migrants moved “from largely low-skipped, informally employment in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to a dominant share of high-skilled jobs in high-income countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and East Asia (Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand).”
• During the Covid-19 pandemic, Indian migrants in high-income countries benefited from work-from-home and large fiscal stimulus packages, the report said. As the pandemic eased, the wage hikes and “record-high employment conditions” helped migrants send money home despite high global inflation, the report added.
• Despite Indian migrants in the Gulf Cooperation Council returning to India during the pandemic, “price support policies kept inflation at bay… and demand for labour increased with higher oil prices, which in turn increased remittances for Indian labourers.”
• The report says, “Remittances to India were enhanced by wage hikes and a strong labour market in the United States and other OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development] countries. In the GCC destination countries, governments ensured low inflation through direct support measures that protected migrants’ ability to remit.”
• Depreciation of the Indian rupee to the US dollar — it fell 10 per cent between January and September 2022 — may have also proven to be advantageous for Indian migrants and increased remittance flows, according to the brief.
• In 2022, vaccinations and the resumption of travel helped migrants resume work, increasing remittance to the country.

What is remittance?

• The World Bank defines it as “the sum of worker’s remittances, compensation of employees, and migrants’ transfers as recorded in the IMF Balance of Payments. Workers remittances are current transfers by migrant who are considered residents in the source.”
• Remittances are a vital source of household income for low- and middle-income countries.

Global remittance: What’s predicted in 2023?

• The growth of remittance flows into South Asia in 2023 is expected to slow to 0.7 per cent. “The year will stand as a test for the resilience of remittances from white-collar South Asian migrants in high-income countries,” the report notes.
• Remittance flows in India, specifically, are predicted to decrease due to inflation and an economic slowdown in the United States. Decline in economic growth in the GCC coupled with a fall in oil prices will further pull remittance flows down to all South Asian countries, the report states.

About:

• PM-DAKSH (Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi) Yojana was launched by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (MoSJ&E) in 2020-21.
• It is a National Action Plan for skilling marginalized persons covering SCs, OBCs, EBCs, DNTs, Sanitation workers including waste pickers.

Objective:

• The main objective of the PM-DAKSH Yojana is to increase the skill levels of the target youth by providing them short term and long-term skills, followed by assistance in wage/self-employment.

Target Group:

• It aims to improve all-round competency of 2.7 lakh persons, over the next 5 years, beginning with nearly 0.5 lakh youth in the first year i.e. 2021-22, from the following sections of the target group:
• Artisans– who may be able to improve their revenue generation capacities within their practicing vocations;
• Women– who may be able to enter into self-employment and financially empower themselves without neglecting their domestic activities; and
• Youth– who may acquire long-term training and specialization in employable vocations and gain a better standing in the job market.

Eligibility:

• Candidates of age group 18-45 years belonging to any of the following categories can apply for the training programme under PM-DAKSH:
  • Persons belonging to Scheduled Castes.
  • Other Backward Classes (OBCs) having annual family income below Rs. 3 lakh.
  • Economically Backward Classes (EBCs) having annual family income below Rs. 1 lakh.
  • De-Notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribe (DNT).
  • Safai Karamcharis (including waste pickers) and their dependants.

• The first Sherpa meeting under India’s G20 presidency began in Udaipur, that would give New Delhi the opportunity to put the agenda of developing countries before the leaders’ summit next September.
• India’s Sherpa Amitabh Kant set the tone for the meeting by flagging issues such as charting the path for inclusive, resilient and sustainable growth, accelerating the pace of creating better livelihood and improving healthcare and quality of life as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• We are passing through massive geopolitical crisis. We have seen the breakdown of global supply chains, countries suffering from rising debt and the huge crisis of climate action and climate finance,” Kant said addressing a side-event on Sustainable Development Goals at the first G20 Sherpa Meeting here.
• Earlier, in an informal chat with reporters Kant said the presidency of G20 has given an opportunity to India to place the issues of the developing countries on the agenda of the multilateral forum.
• Earlier, we used to get agenda items from the developed world. Now, we get to set the agenda for the G20 meeting. We will tell the world that we are the mother of democracy,” Kant said.
• The discussion during the four-day meeting will focus on economics and finance with the International Monetary Fund making a presentation on the global economic scenario, Kant sharing India’s priorities before his G20 counterparts, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth highlighting the priorities of the finance track.
• Leaders of G20 member nations, nine guest countries — Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the UAE — and representatives of international organisations are attending the four-day meeting in this scenic lake city.
• Issues such as technological transformation, green development, spotlighting women-led development, accelerating implementation of SDGs, and facilitating inclusive and resilient growth have been flagged by India as part of its agenda for the G20 presidency.
• The Sherpa meetings will work towards building consensus on key cross-cutting issues, which will be discussed in the various G20 work streams for inclusion in the Leaders’ Declaration, which will be tabled at the G20 Summit in New Delhi next year, Kant said.
• The Sherpas, personal emissaries of the G20 leaders, will oversee the negotiations to arrive at a consensus on key issues facing the world. There are 13 different working groups identified as Sherpa Tracks including the one on Disaster Risk Resilience and Reduction introduced by India for its presidency.
• The working group on Disaster Risk Resilience and Reduction is important as G20 countries have a high level of exposure to disaster risk.
• The working group is expected to encourage collective work by the G20, undertake multi-disciplinary research and exchange best practices on disaster risk reduction.
• During the meeting, India will introduce broad priorities of all Working Groups and hear views from G20 countries, guests, and international organisations, an official statement said.
• Discussions during the meet will focus on five overarching thematic areas of technological transformation, green development & LiFE, accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth, multilateralism and food, fuel and fertilizers, women-led development, tourism and culture.
• A ‘Chai pe Charcha’ will also be held to foster deeper conversations and strengthen ties among G20 member countries and their Sherpas.
• The first Sherpa meeting under India’s presidency plans to offer delegates a unique ‘Indian experience’ through cultural performances, art exhibitions, and excursions to various destinations including locations such as the Kumbhalgarh Fort (in Rajasthan), a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Ranakpur Temple Complex.

• Dr Dimple Kasana, Director, Central Research Institute, Kasauli, has won four gold medals in the 63 kg weight category, in the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship 2022 organised by the International Powerlifting Federation and New Zealand on November 30.