1. China building dam on Yarlung Zangbo river near Indian border
Tags: International News
Recently it has been revealed through a satellite picture that China is building a new dam on the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra) river in Tibet near the tri-junction of India, Nepal and Tibet, which remains a matter of concern for India.
An overview of the news:
By increasing the construction activities in the areas adjacent to the Indian border, China is installing military equipment and its related equipment there.
The Chinese dam follows the announcement of plans to build a large dam downstream of the Yarlung Zangbo in 2021 to generate 70 gigawatts of electricity.
This is nearly three times the power produced by China's Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric power plant in terms of installed capacity.
Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra) River:
The Brahmaputra River is known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in China.
Origin Source:- Mansarovar Lake
Total length 2,880 km.
Tibet:- 1,700 km.
Arunachal Pradesh and Assam :- 920 kms.
Bangladesh:- 260 km.
2. Visakhapatnam Railway Station awarded 'Green Railway Station Certificate'
Tags: National News
Visakhapatnam Railway Station under East Coast Railway has been awarded the 'Green Railway Station Certificate' with the highest Platinum rating by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for adopting green concepts.
An overview of the news
Dr. S. Vijayakumar, President, IGBC Visakhapatnam presented the certificate to DRM/Voltaire Anup Satpathy at a function held at Visakhapatnam on 24 January 2023.
Visakhapatnam has joined some of the major railway stations in the country to receive this certificate. Visakhapatnam has scored 82 out of 100 in six categories of environment.
The Green Railway Station Rating System has been developed by the Environment Directorate of Indian Railways in collaboration with IGBC.
The system addresses national priorities such as water conservation, waste management, energy efficiency, limited use of fossil fuels, minimal reliance on the use of natural materials, and health and well-being of users.
3. “U-WIN” platform launched to keep digital records of immunization of women and children in the country
Tags: National News
The Union Health Ministry has launched the “U-WIN” platform to keep a digital record of vaccination of women and children in the country.
An overview of the news
This platform will be launched as a pilot project in two districts of each state and union territory of the country.
Every pregnant woman will be registered on this digital platform and records of her vaccination will be maintained. Later a record will be kept of their offspring and their vaccinations at the time of birth and later.
The platform is based on Co-WIN, the government's digital infrastructure in India's fight against COVID-19.
Vaccination appointments can also be booked through U-Win. Till now the record of vaccination under UIP was kept manually in the country, but now there will be no need to do so because now all the records of vaccination will be kept digitally.
With this, once the entire vaccination program is digitised, the beneficiaries will get the certificates immediately and they can also download them if they want. These certificates will be kept in Digi-Lockers.
4. Indian Railways launches 'Ideal Train Profile'
Tags: National News
Indian Railways has introduced 'Ideal Train Profile' for maximum capacity utilisation and income generation by regularly analysing movement of demand in each train in reserved express trains.
An overview of the news
The project has been started on a pilot basis in seven Zonal Railways - Eastern, Central, Northern, Southern, South Central, Western and West Central Railways.
This project has been implemented in more than 200 trains so far.
Through this facility, it is expected to increase the availability of confirmed seats and increase the number of passengers in the train by 5 percent.
This module has been developed after two years of hard work by the Railway team under the leadership of R Gopalakrishnan.
Project Benefits
'Ideal Train Profile' is a seat capacity optimization decision aid. It allows more than 5,000 combinations of ticket and class for a single date train journey.
It will also help Railways to review train quota from time to time to address the changing demand mix due to holidays, festivals etc.
5. Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (AGR) for Food and Agriculture
Tags: International News
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India has been elected as the Vice-Chair of the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (AGR) to be held in Rome during January 18-20, 2023.
An overview of the news
Dr. BN Tripathi, Deputy Director General (Animal Science) and National Coordinator, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) chaired the session and acted as ambassador.
This working group was formed by the FAO's Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA).
The task of this group is to review technical issues, advise and submit recommendations to the Commission and implement the Commission's program relating to AGR at the global level.
The 12th session of the ITWG reviewed the implementation of the Global Action Plan for Animal Genetic Resources, monitoring ANGR diversity and preparation of the third country report.
The Global National Coordinators' Workshop prior to the ITWG session was held in Rome on January 16-17, 2023.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that studies agricultural production, forestry and research related to agricultural marketing.
Establishment - 1945
Headquarters – Rome (Italy)
6. Border Security Force (BSF) started a seven-day "Operations Alert'' exercise
Tags: Defence National News
The Border Security Force (BSF) has started an "Operations Alert'' exercise to enhance security along the Indo-Pak border in Kutch district of Gujarat and Barmer in Rajasthan in view of the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.
An overview of the news
The 'Operations Alert' exercise commenced on January 21 and will continue till January 28 "all along the Indo-Pak international border from Sir Creek (marshy area) to the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer district of Rajasthan.
The BSF will carry out special operations in the depth areas as well as in the creek and 'Harami Nala' as part of the exercise.
It has also planned public outreach programs as part of the exercise.
The Indo-Pak border along Kutch in Gujarat is sensitive as several Pakistani nationals have been caught in the past after entering Indian waters on fishing boats.
To enhance security, for the first time concrete "permanent vertical bunkers" are being built to deploy BSF troops in the strategically important Sir Creek and Harami Nala marshy areas.
Sir Creek
Its original name is Baan Ganga which is named after a British representative Sir Creek.
It is a 96 kilometre long strip of water disputed between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands.
It opens into the Arabian Sea and divides the Kutch region of Gujarat from the Sindh province of Pakistan.
Harami Nala
It is also known as the Sir Creek area.
This area is a 22 km long and about 8 km wide marshy area which is navigable most of the time.
7. Union Petroleum Minister flags off low carbon cruise on Mahabahu Brahmaputra
Tags: National News
Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep S Puri on 24 January inaugurated the demo-run of Inland Water Vessel powered by Methanol blended Diesel (MD15).
An overview of the news
The boat ride was conducted on a 50-seater motor launch marine vessel named 'SB Gangadhar'.
The ocean liner is equipped with two Ruston-made diesel engines (105 hp engine each).
The boat will be run on MD-15 (15% methanol mixed HSD).
Methanol is a low carbon hydrogen carrier fuel produced from high ash coal, agricultural residues, CO2 from thermal power plants and natural gas.
This is the best route to meet India's commitment to COP 21.
Slightly lower in energy content than petrol and diesel, methanol can replace both these fuels in the transport sector (road, rail and marine), energy sector.
NITI Aayog's 'Methanol Economy' program aims to reduce India's oil import bill, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and convert coal reserves and municipal solid waste into methanol.
India Energy Week 2023 (IEW 2023) to be held in Bengaluru from 6-8 Feb 2023.
About India Energy Week
It is the first major event under India's G20 Presidency, which follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pledge at COP26 to cut India's emissions to net-zero by 2070.
Organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, India Energy Week is the only and all-encompassing international energy event supported at the highest level by the Government of India.
The week is being organised with the participation of all Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).
It is officially supported by the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI).
8. NABH and HSSC Sign MoU for Skilling Initiatives of Healthcare Professionals Across the Country
Tags: National National News
National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) and Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 21 January.
An overview of the news
The objective of the MoU is to accredit HSSC certification for NABH accreditation, develop training programs for essential skilling, reskilling and upskilling of healthcare professionals.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Atul Kochhar, CEO, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) and with Ashish Jain, CEO, Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC).
This collaboration will help in achieving the goal of enhancing the quality of healthcare in India.
Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC)
It is a National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) recognized awarding body working under the ambit of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
It aims to develop qualifications, learning resources, training programmes, assessment and certification mechanisms for skilling, reskilling and upskilling of professionals and facilitate placement and apprenticeship opportunities.
National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH)
It is a constituent board of the Quality Council of India established to set up and administer programs for healthcare organisations.
The board is structured to meet the desired needs of the consumers and to set benchmarks for the progress of the healthcare industry.
The Board enjoys complete functional autonomy in its operations, despite being supported by all stakeholders including industry, consumers, and government.
9. Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar-2023
Tags: Awards National News
President of India, Droupadi Murmu conferred the “Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar” instituted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to 11 exceptional children on 23 January.
An overview of the news
This year the award has been given to 11 children from 11 States/UTs, who represent the diversity of the nation for their exceptional achievements.
This year's awardees include one in the category of bravery and social service, two in the category of innovation, three in sports and four in art and culture.
Out of 11 awardees, 5 are girls and 6 are boys.
Smriti Zubin Irani also released a book "Young Heroes of India" on Bal Veer during the ceremony, who presented the first copy to the President of India.
Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar
Every year, the Government of India presents the 'Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar' for exceptional achievement to children in the age group of 5 to 18 years.
The awards are given to the children for their achievements in 6 categories - Art & Culture, Bravery, Innovation, Scholastic, Social Service and Sports which are worthy of national recognition.
Each awardee receives a medallion, a cash prize of Rs.1,00,000/-, a certificate and a citation.
Awardees of Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar -2023
S. no | name | category | state |
1, | Aadithya Suresh | Art & Culture | Kerala |
2. | Aditya Pratap Singh Chauhan | Innovation | Chhattisgarh |
3. | Anoushka Jolly | Social Service | Delhi |
4. | Hanaya Nisar | Sports | Jammu & Kashmir |
5. | Kolagatla Alana Meenakshi | Sports | Andhra Pradesh |
6. | M.Gauravi Reddy | Art & Culture | Telangana |
7. | Rishi Shiv Prasanna | Innovation | Karnataka |
8. | Rohan Ramchandra Bahir | Bravery | Maharashtra |
9. | Sambhab Mishra | Art & Culture | Odisha |
10. | Shauryajit Ranjitkumar Khaire | Sports | Gujarat |
11. | Shreya Bhattacharjee | Art & Culture | Assam |
10. US President Biden nominates Julie Turner as North Korea human rights envoy
Tags: Person in news International News
US President Joe Biden has nominated Julie Turner as special envoy for human rights in North Korea on 24 January.
An overview of the news
The move to fill the post, which has been vacant since 2017, comes amid debate over human rights issues as well as efforts to counter Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
Julie Turner is currently the director for East Asia and the Pacific in the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
Turner has served in the office for East Asia and the Pacific for more than 16 years, primarily focusing on initiatives related to the promotion of human rights in North Korea.
The post of special envoy had become controversial in South Korea as the previous administration tried to bring North Korea to the negotiating table.
Some activists said that human rights had been sidelined due to national security priorities.
North Korea has repeatedly denied allegations of human rights abuses and blamed the sanctions for the dire humanitarian situation.
A landmark 2014 United Nations report on North Korean human rights concluded that North Korean security chief and leader Kim Jong Un should face justice for Nazi-style atrocities.
