• The theme for Digital India Week 2022 was Catalyzing New India’s Techade.

PM launched various initiatives:

• Digital India Bhashini’ will enable easy access to the internet and digital services in Indian languages, including voice-based access, and help the creation of content in Indian languages.
• Digital India GENESIS’ (Gen-next Support for Innovative Startups) – a National Deep-tech Startup Platform, to discover, support, grow and make successful startups in Tier-II and Tier-III cities of India.
• global’ – a global repository of key projects implemented under India Stack like Aadhaar, UPI, Digilocker, Cowin Vaccination Platform, Government e-Marketplace (GeM), DIKSHA Platform and Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission
• MyScheme’ – a service discovery platform facilitating access to Government Schemes. It aims to offer a one-stop search and discovery portal where users can find schemes that they are eligible for.
• Meri Pehchaan’- National Single Sign on for One Citizen Login. National Single Sign-On (NSSO) is a user authentication service in which a single set of credentials provide access to multiple online applications or services.

KEY POINTS

• PM announces the first cohort of 30 Institutions to be supported under Chips to Startup Programme.
• India is working on the target of taking electronics manufacturing to more than $ 300 billion in the next three-four years.
• India is guiding the world in the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0.
• Digital India has brought the government to the doorsteps and phones of the citizens.
• India’s FinTech endeavour is truly a solution by the people, of the people and for the people.
• India wants to become a chip maker from a chip taker.

• The RBI studied the debt-GSDP ratio of 10 states that prima facie appears to be in trouble.
• Besides Punjab, it identified four other states—Bihar, Kerala, Rajasthan and West Bengal—that are also highly stressed.
• Rajasthan, Kerala and West Bengal are projected to exceed the debt-GSDP ratio of 35 per cent by 2026-27, while Punjab is expected to cross 45 per cent.
• Five other states in trouble are Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.
• These 10 states account for around half of the total expenditure by all state governments in India.
• According to the RBI, the own tax revenue of Punjab, MP and Kerala has been declining over time.
• Among the 10 states, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Punjab exceeded both debt and fiscal deficit targets for 2020-21 set by the 15th Finance Commission.
• Kerala, Jharkhand and West Bengal exceeded the debt target, while Madhya Pradesh overshot the fiscal deficit target. Haryana and Uttar Pradesh met both criteria.
• Punjab would find it difficult to source loans after the RBI identified its debt position as the worst in the country.

• India’s largest floating Solar Power Project is now fully operational. NTPC declared Commercial Operation of the final part capacity of 20 MW out of 100 MW Ramagundam Floating Solar PV Project at Ramagundam, Telangana.
• With the operationalisation of 100-MW Solar PV Project at Ramagundam, total commercial operation of Floating Solar Capacity in Southern Region rose to 217 MW.
• Earlier, NTPC declared Commercial operation of 92 MW Floating Solar at Kayamkulam (Kerala) and 25 MW Floating Solar at Simhadri (Andhra Pradesh).
• The 100-MW Floating Solar project at Ramagundam is endowed with advanced technology as well as environment friendly features.
• The project spreads over 500 acres of its reservoir. Divided into 40 blocks, each having 2.5 MW.  Each block consists of one floating platform and an array of 11,200 solar modules.
• The floating platform consists of one Inverter, Transformer, and a HT breaker. The solar modules are placed on floaters manufactured with HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) material.
• The entire floating system is being anchored through special HMPE (High Modulus Polyethylene) rope to the dead weights placed in the balancing reservoir bed. The power is being evacuated up to the existing switch yard through 33KV underground cables.
• This project is unique in the sense that all the electrical equipment including inverter, transformer, HT panel and SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) are also on floating ferro cement platforms. The anchoring of this system is bottom anchoring through dead weight concrete blocks.
• The presence of floating solar panels, the evaporation rate from water bodies is reduced, thus helping in water conservation. Approximately 32.5 lakh cubic meters per year water evaporation can be avoided. The water body underneath the solar modules helps in maintaining their ambient temperature, thereby improving their efficiency and generation.
• Similarly, while coal consumption of 1,65,000 Tons can be avoided per year; Co2 emission of 2,10,000 tons per year can be avoided.

• The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) is re­engaging itself to develop the edible oil co­operatives and fruit and vegetable (F&V) sector in the country on the lines of dairy cooperative model.
• NDDB, which implemented the Operation Flood programme that helped the country achieve self-sufficiency in milk production, now expects to play a key role in boosting domestic oilseeds production such as sunflower and groundnuts, besides providing a forward linkage to co­operatives and the farmer producer companies focussed on F&V production.
• Fodder seeds NDDB Chairman Meenesh Shah said the board’s expertise in propagating the fodder seeds will be used to enhance the production of sunflower seeds.
• As a pilot, NDDB recently partnered with the Karnataka Oilseeds Federation and the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, to increase the production of hybrid sunflower seeds.
• NDDB will also look at replicating the initiative in other States like Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana
• In the 1980s, NDDB was instrumental in setting up edible oil co­operatives across the country.

• Ashadhi Bij is the second day of Shukla paksha of Aashaadha month, of Hindu calendar, which is associated with the beginning of rains in the Kutch region.
• Kutchi community of Gujarat celebrate their new year on this day.
• The Kutchi New Year is mostly a traditional affair and is observed in homes. Relatives, friends and neighbours join in the festival.
• Many organizations are also giving importance to the day and organize satsangs, musical competitions and other cultural programs.
• Ganesha, Goddess Lakshmi and other regional deities are worshipped on the day.

• The State bagged the first position among Himalayan and North-Eastern states in disbursing loan worth Rs 20,000 each to street vendors under the PM Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme.
• In the second phase of the scheme, applications of 1,007 vendors have been approved and the amount has been disbursed to 894 vendors.
• According to an Urban Development official, there are three phases of the scheme, under which a street vendor is eligible to get a loan of Rs 10,000, Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000, respectively. The scheme took off in July 2020, and will run till December 2024.
• All urban local bodies were surveyed to find the eligible beneficiaries for the scheme, and 4,892 street vendors have been identified.
• In the first phase, 3,444 vendors were disbursed a loan of Rs 10,000 each. Besides, 11 applications have already been received for a loan of Rs 50,000 in the third phase.

• Tashigang village in Spiti, the highest village in the country, got the domestic tap connection as Himachal achieved 93.05 per cent target of providing functional household connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission.
• Functional domestic tap connections have been provided to Tashigang, a small village at an altitude of 15,256 feet in the Spiti Valley.
• The government had achieved a 100 per cent target of providing tap connections in four districts, Una, Chamba, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti.
• During the last two-and-a-half years, 8.44 lakh households have been given tap connections while during the last 72 years, only 7.63 lakh households were provided these.
• Under the mission, Rs 4,418.37 crore has been allocated to the state, including an incentive amount of Rs 1,028.43 crore.

• Athlete Parul Chaudhary has set a new national record in the women’s 3000 metres event at the Sunset Tour in Los Angeles, surpassing the six-year-old record of Suriya Loganathan.
• The 27-year-old Chaudhary covered the distance in 8:57.19 to finish third.
• She clocked 8:57.19 in the women’s 3000 m event, surpassing the national record set by Loganathan, who had clocked 9:04.5.
• Chaudhary’s performance comes as a big boost ahead of World Championships, which will be held in Oregon from July 15 to July 24, where she will be competing in the 3000 m steeplechase event.

• India’s Tejas light combat aircraft has emerged as the top choice for Malaysia as the Southeast Asian nation looks at replacing its ageing fleet of fighter jets and the two sides are holding negotiations to firm up the procurement.
• According to R Madhavan, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Malaysia has narrowed down on the Indian aircraft notwithstanding the stiff competition from China’s JF-17 jet, South Korea’s FA-50 and Russia’s Mig-35 as well as Yak-130,
• As part of the package, India has offered to set up an MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility in Malaysia for its Russian-origin Su-30 fighter fleet as it is facing difficulties in procuring spares for the aircraft from Russia in view of western sanctions against Moscow.
• According to the top executive of the state-run aerospace behemoth if the deal is sealed, it will give a “very good signal” to other prospective buyers of the aircraft and boost its overall export potential.
• According to R Madhavan, It (the negotiation) is almost in the final stages. India is the only country which is offering them the support for their Su-30 aircraft as other than Russia.

• Karnataka Janapada Vishwavidyalaya (Karnataka Folklore University), the only university in the world which offers courses in folk arts and culture, has now set its eyes on expanding its reach globally. It is approaching colleges and organisations across the world.
• The decade-old university, was an initiative of former CM B S Yediyurappa in 2011 and was inaugurated by former CM D V Sadananda Gowda in 2012.
• Initially, when the university was started, around 50 colleges and organisations from Karnataka enrolled and were affiliated to the university.
• Presently, it offers certificate courses in doddata (folk drama), dollu kunitha, kamsale, thogalu bombeyata (puppet show), traditional embroidery, folk tourism, folk songs, folk dances, bamboo art, folk martial arts, folk sports, percussion instrument, and yoga.
• It also offers diploma courses in open air theatre, yakshagana, traditional tattoo art, martial arts and yoga. It also offers postgraduate diploma courses in folk poetry, traditional dairy and traditional horticulture.
• According to Prof C T Guruprasad, Registrar and Vice Chancellor (in-charge) of the university, over 600 students have enrolled for various courses offered by them. These classes are conducted on their campus at Shiggavi in Haveri district, which happens to be CM Basavaraj Bommai’s constituency.