• One of the world’s biggest plant to capture carbon dioxide from the air and deposit it underground, would be set up in
• According to Swiss start-up Climeworks AG, its second large-scale direct air capture (DAC) plant will be built in Iceland in 18-24 months, and have capacity to suck 36,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from the air.
• The new “Mammoth” plant will contain around 80 large blocks of fans and filters that suck in air and extract its CO2, which Icelandic carbon storage firm Carbfix then mixes with water and injects underground where a chemical reaction turns it to rock. The process will be powered by a nearby geothermal energy plant.
• According to Co-CEO Christoph Gebald once this plant launches, Climeworks intends to build a far bigger facility capturing roughly half a million tonnes of CO2 per year — and then replicate multiple plants of that size, backed by project financing, towards the end of the decade.
• Mammoth was part-financed by a 600 million Swiss Franc ($627 million) financing round Climeworks announced in April. The firm also sells among the world’s most expensive carbon removal credit — costing up to 1,000 euros per tonne — to buyers including Microsoft, Audi and Boston Consulting Group.

• The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD)will be launched the One Health pilot in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
• The programme is aimed at bringing stakeholders from animal, human and environment health on a common platform to address challenges. DAHD in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)and The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) as implementation partner is implementing the One-Health Framework undertaking project in the states of Karnataka and Uttarakhand, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.

About the ‘One Health Pilot’:

• The Pilot project in Karnataka would be launched by Secretary Atul Chaturvedi, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying. Key dignitaries and stakeholders from the Centre and state level across livestock, human, wildlife, and environment sectors will also be a part of the inauguration.
• The ‘One Health India’ program initiated by the Department aims to work with stakeholders from various sectors to improve livestock health, human health, wildlife health, and environmental health through technology and finance.

‘One Health Pilot’: Benefits

• Human health cannot be viewed in isolation and it is dependent on the environment it lives which includes animals too. The One Health project helps in realizing the interdependencies that animal and environmental health have on human life.
• It will develop a national One Health roadmap based on the learnings of the pilot project implementation.
• This will be useful in preventing zoonotic disease outbreaks in the future and facilitate a better response mechanism. Earlier, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had called for the need of creating vigilance and awareness on zoonotic diseases.
• The pilot project will institutionalize better management, and development of a targeted surveillance plan, integrate a network of laboratories, develop and implement communication strategy across sectors
• It will also integrate data with the digital architecture of the National Digital Livestock Mission.
• Furthermore, it will also help in building a strong social infrastructure that supports the health of the people and the planet.

International Day of the Tropics: History

• The inaugural State of the Tropics Report was launched on 29 June 2014, as the culmination of a collaboration between twelve leading tropical research institutions.
• The report offers a unique perspective on this increasingly important region. Marking the anniversary of the report’s launch the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/70/267 in 2016, which declared that 29 June of each year is to be observed as the International Day of the Tropics.

KEY POINTS:

• International Day of the Tropics is observed globally on 29 June. The International Day of the Tropics celebrates the extraordinary diversity of the tropics while highlighting unique challenges and opportunities nations of the Tropics face.
• It provides an opportunity to take stock of progress across the tropics, to share tropical stories and expertise and to acknowledge the diversity and potential of the region.

• A report titled “India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy” was released by NITI Aayog. Suman Bery, vice chairman of NITI Aayog, CEO, Amitabh Kant, and Dr K Rajeswara Rao, special secretary, released the report.
• The study, which is a first of its kind, offers in-depth viewpoints and suggestions on the gig-platform economy in India.
• CEO Amitabh Kant emphasised the industry’s potential to generate jobs in light of India’s growing urbanisation, and widespread access to the internet, digital technology, and cellphones.

Key points:

• The report offers a comprehensive methodical approach to calculating the sector’s current size and potential for employment creation.
• It examines the benefits and drawbacks of this developing industry, shows international best practices for social security programmes, and outlines plans for skill development and job creation for various worker categories in the industry.

About the Report:

• According to the research, the gig economy employed 77 lakh (7.7 million) employees in 2020–21.
• They made up 1.5 percent of India’s total labour force or 2.6 percent of the non-agricultural workforce.
• By 2029–2030, there will be 2.35 crore (23.5 million) workers in the gig economy. By 2029–2030, it is anticipated that gig workers will account for 6.7 percent of India’s non-agricultural workforce and 4.1 percent of all income.
• Currently, medium-skilled occupations make up approximately 47% of gig labour, high skilled jobs make up about 22%, and low-skilled jobs make up about 31%.
• The trend indicates that the concentration of workers with medium skills is gradually decreasing while it is rising for those with low and high skills.
• The report suggests connecting self-employed people in the business of selling regional and rural cuisine, street food, etc., with platforms in order to enable them to sell their products to larger markets in towns and cities to accelerate access to finance through products specifically designed for platform workers.
• The report recommends platform-led transformational and outcome-based skilling, improving social inclusion through programmes that educate workers and their families about gender issues and accessibility, and extending social security measures in partnership as envisioned by the Code on Social Security 2020.
• Other suggestions include conducting a second census exercise to calculate the size of the gig and platform workforce and gathering data during official censuses (Periodic Labour Force Survey) to identify gig workers.

About the awards:

• Awards to States and UTs and Aspirational Districts for their contribution to the MSME, parameters like sector-specific policies & their performance, the efficacy of Facilitation Council, Grievance redressal, Y-o-Y growth of MSME budget, growth of MSME credit, implementation of the cluster approach, Udyam Registration, skill development programs, and awareness conducted, etc. were taken into account.

KEY POINTS:

• The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Department, Government of Odisha has been awarded first prize in the category “National MSME Award 2022 to States/UTs for outstanding contribution in the promotion and Development of MSME Sector” by virtue of various developmental initiatives taken up for the development of MSMEs.
• Bihar and Haryana were second and third respectively.

Other awardees:

• Kalahandi has been awarded third prize in the category “National MSME Award 2022 to Aspirational districts for outstanding contribution in the promotion and Development of MSME Sector” as the sectoral development was in the line of award parameters, according to an official statement issued by the state government.
• Similarly, Sumeet Mohanty M/s Saferisk Insurance Brokers Private Limited, Bhubaneswar has been awarded first prize in the category “Award for Service Entrepreneurship – Service Small Enterprise (Overall).
• In addition, Sibabrata Rout M/s Amarnath Pest Management Technology, Cuttack has also been awarded third prize in the category “Award for Service Entrepreneurship – Service Micro Enterprise (Overall).

• With the ban on single-use plastic all set to be implemented nationwide from July 1, the Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) has come out with a buyback policy for plastic waste.
• As many as 100 eco club schools — about 10 from rural and urban areas in each district — have been identified for the buyback scheme. Students from Class VI onwards are members of such clubs.
• Being the state nodal agency for the National Green Corps, a programme conceptualised by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the HIMCOSTE has formed eco clubs in 3,000 schools and 100 colleges.
• The waste thus collected will be put to use in road construction through the Public Works Department and also sent to cement plants where it is used as fuel.
• Those heading the clubs will have to coordinate with civic bodies concerned and the block development officer for collection and final disposal of the waste.
• Under the Novel eco scheme, Waste to be bought at Rs 75 a kg; Rs 50 lakh marked for plan and Max 50 kg waste/month to be bought from each club.

• Prem Lal, a postman from Himachal Pradesh, who covers 32 km daily to give mail to people in the far reaches of Lahaul bagged the prestigious Meghdoot Award of the Department of Posts.
• Instituted in 1984, the award is the highest recognition of the Department of Posts at the national level for overall performance and excellence of its employees. This award is conferred in eight separate categories and carries a medallion, certificate and a cash award of Rs 21,000.
• Posted as a mail runner in Mandi division, Prem Lal covers the Udaipur Shalgran Mail Line of Lahaul, which spans a distance of 32 km. His work involves moving across difficult terrains at an altitude of over 9,000 feet.
• Prem Lal was among the eight awardees, which also saw the government launch ‘Dak Karmayogi’, an e-learning portal of the Department of Posts to impart digital training to four lakhs rural ‘gramin sewaks’ of the government.

• As per the EY India-SED Fund report, India will need 115 GW of renewable power generation capacity and 50 billion litres of demineralised water supply to achieve the goal of five million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030.
• In this decade, industrial feedstock-based applications will drive the demand for green hydrogen.
• According to the EY-SED Fund report titled ‘Accelerating Green Hydrogen Economy’, released at the CII’s conference on ‘Green New Energy for a Net Zero India’ in Bengaluru, the Price parity between green and grey hydrogen production will determine the speed and scale of transition.
• The report highlights that India’s ambition to produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 will need 115 GW of renewable power generation capacity and 50 billion litres of demineralised water supply.
• To get a sense of this scale, the current all-India installed capacity of renewable power generation is 113 GW as of May 2022.
• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing global conflict are stark reminders of how India’s dependence on energy imports and other commodities linked to global supply chains can threaten its strategic interests.
• The emergence of green hydrogen as a promising low carbon feedstock and energy carrier for industrial applications is a boon for India’s long-term energy security, sustainability and self-reliance.
• The levelized cost of green hydrogen production and storage (LCOH) is currently Rs 400/kg.
• Around 40-50 per cent of this cost can be attributed to the renewable energy power plant, 30-40 per cent for electrolyser stack and balance of system, including demineralised water supply and 20-30 per cent for compressed storage.

• 835 Squadron (CG), an indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) MK III squadron, was commissioned into Indian Coast Guard at its Air Enclave in Porbandar, Gujarat on June 28, 2022.
• DG, Coast Guard Shri VS Pathania presided over the commissioning ceremony which was attended by various military & civil dignitaries based at Porbandar and Gujarat area.
• Virender Singh Pathania is from Ladori village in Nurpur, Himachal Pradesh.
• The commissioning of this squadron marks a tremendous leap towards self-reliance in the field of Search and Rescue (SAR) and maritime surveillance, in line with Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
• The ALH MK III helicopters have been indigenously manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• They feature state-of-the-art equipment including advanced RADAR as well as Electro optical sensors, Shakti engines, full glass cockpit, high-intensity searchlight, advanced communication systems, automatic identification system as well as SAR homer.
• The features enable them to undertake maritime reconnaissance as well as carry out SAR at extended ranges even while operating from ships during both day and night. The aircraft has the ability to switch roles from an offensive platform with heavy machine gun to that of a benign one carrying a Medical Intensive Care Unit to facilitate transfer of critically ill patients.
• So far, 13 ALH MK-III aircraft have been inducted in the Indian Coast Guard in a phased manner and four of these aircraft are positioned at Porbandar. Since the induction, the squadron has flown over 1,200 hours and conducted numerous operational missions, including the maiden night SAR mission off Diu coast.
• The 835 Sqn (CG) is commanded by Commandant Sunil Dutt. The commissioning will give a major fillip to the abilities of the Indian Coast Guard in the Gujarat region and further strengthen the country’s maritime security.

About Ambubachi Mela:

• An annual Hindu festival known as the Ambubachi Mela takes place at the Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, Assam.
• This annual festival is held in the middle of June, when the Brahmaputra River is at its highest flow, during the monsoon season, which also happens to fall within the Assamese month of Ahaar.

KEY POINTS:

• Devotees were finally permitted to take part in the annual Ambubachi Mela at Assam’s renowned Kamakhya Temple after a two-year absence.
• The head priest of Maa Kamakhya Devalaya, or “Bor Doloi,” Kabinath Sarma, explained that the “Pravritti” was used to symbolically close the temple doors for four days as part of the rites. The door will be unlocked or Nivriti in the morning of the first day.
• This year, the holiday is being observed in a more subdued manner due to the state’s terrible floods.