1. Global Patidar Business Summit (GPBS) - 2022
Tags: National Popular Summits
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Global Patidar Business Summit (GPBS) in Surat, Gujarat on 29 april via video conferencing.
Sardardham is organising GPBS under Mission-2026 to accelerate the socio-economic development of the Patidar community.
The summit is held every two years. The first two summits were held in Gandhinagar in 2020 and 2018 and the current summit is now being held in Surat.
The main theme of GPBS-2022 - Atma Nirbhar Community to Atma Nirbhar Gujarat and India.
Aims of the Summit -
to bring together small, medium and large enterprises within the community.
nurture and support new entrepreneurs
provide training and employment assistance to the educated youth.
Who are the Patidars?
The Patidars or Patels claim themselves to be descendants of Lord Rama.
They are divided into two main sub-castes: Leuva Patels and Kadva Patels
The Patidars are spread throughout Gujarat, except in the eastern tribal belt, with high concentrations in northern Gujarat and Saurashtra.
‘Patidar’ means one who owns a strip of land.
Post independence, tenants got land ownership rights, and thus Patidars became lords of large swathes of prime agricultural land.
In mediaeval society, they were placed better in the caste hierarchy.
Patidars represent 12.3% of the population of Gujarat.
2. MSME Ministry launches MSME Sustainable Certification Scheme (ZED)
Tags: Government Schemes Popular National News
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Union Minister for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Narayan Rane launched the MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification Scheme.
The scheme is a comprehensive campaign to motivate and encourage MSMEs for ZED certification by adopting Zero Defect Zero Impact (ZED) practices and encouraging them to become MSME champions.
ZED has the potential to become a national movement and aims to provide a roadmap for global competitiveness for India's MSMEs.
Not only will ZED strive to improve productivity and performance, but it has the potential to change the mindset of manufacturers and make them more environmentally conscious.
Through this scheme MSMEs can reduce wastage to a great extent, increase productivity, environmental awareness, save energy, make optimum use of natural resources and expand their markets.
Subsidy Under the Scheme
Under the Scheme, MSMEs will get subsidy as per the following structure, on the cost of ZED certification:
1. Micro Enterprises: 80%
2. Small Enterprises: 60%
3. Medium Enterprises: 50%
Additional subsidy
There will be an additional 10% subsidy for MSMEs owned by women/SC/ST entrepreneurs in NER/Himalayan/LWE/Island areas/Aspirational Districts.
In addition to above, there will be an additional subsidy of 5% for MSMEs which are also a part of the SFURTI OR Micro & Small Enterprises - Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) of the Ministry.
Further, a limited purpose joining reward of Rs 10,000/- will be offered to each MSME once they take the ZED Pledge
Role of Ministry of MSME
It works to promote, develop and support MSMEs in all regions and states.
The Ministry runs more than 20 different schemes such as PMEGP, SFUTI, MSE-CDP, RAMP Scheme, ATI, Udyam Registration, etc.
These schemes offer support and strength in the areas of access to finance, market linkages, technology upgradation, capacity building, innovation/ideation and industrial infrastructure development etc.
3. Atal Tunnel receives IBC Best Infrastructure Project award
Tags: Awards National News
The Atal Tunnel, built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), received the ‘Best Infrastructure Project’ award from the Indian Building Congress (IBC).
Director General BRO, Lt Gen Rajeev Choudhary received the award during the 25th Annual Conference of IBC for the outstanding achievement of BRO in the construction of this tunnel connecting Manali to Lahaul-Spiti Valley.
About Atal Tunnel
The 9.02 km long Atal Tunnel is the longest highway tunnel globally and connects Manali with Lahaul-Spiti Valley throughout the year.
It provides a strategic advantage to the armed forces by providing an alternate link to the crucial Ladakh region.
It has also been a boon to the residents of Lahaul and Spiti district in Himachal Pradesh.
This tunnel, built using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 03, 2020.
It is equipped with a semi-transverse ventilation system, where large fans circulate air separately throughout the tunnel.
An emergency tunnel has been integrated into the tunnel cross-section under the main carriageway for evacuation during emergencies.
Fire inside the tunnel will be controlled within an area of 200 metres and fire hydrants will be provided at specific locations throughout the tunnel.
Pollution sensors continuously monitor the air quality in the tunnel and if the air quality in the tunnel is below the desired level, fresh air is injected into the tunnel through two heavy fins on each side of the tunnel.
4. AAI first time successfully conducts flight trials using 'GAGAN'
Tags: National Latest Science and Technology
Airports Authority of India (AAI) successfully test fired at Kishangarh airport in Rajasthan using GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) based LPV approach procedures.
The successful test is a major achievement and a major milestone in the field of Air Navigation Services (ANS) in the history of Indian Civil Aviation.
India is the first country in the Asia Pacific Region to achieve such a landmark.
What is LPV (Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance)
LPV is a Satellite Based Procedure which has been used by the aircraft for landing purposes at Kishangarh Airport (Rajasthan).
It permits aircraft guided approaches that are operationally nearly equivalent to Cat-IILS, without the need for ground-based navigational infrastructure.
The service depends on the availability of GPS and GAGAN geostationary satellites (GSAT-8, GSAT-10 and GSAT-15) launched by ISRO.
Significance
The LPV approach will make it possible to land at airports that are not equipped with expensive instrument landing systems, including many smaller regional and local airports.
AAI in coordination with Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has implemented Gagan Message Service (GMS) through which alert messages will be sent to fishermen disaster affected people on occurrence of natural calamities like flood, earthquake etc.
Additional capabilities of GAGAN are also being explored for its use in non-aviation sectors like railways, surveying, agriculture, power sector, mining etc.
About GAGAN
It is an Indian Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) jointly developed by AAI and ISRO.
This is the first such system developed for India and neighbouring countries in the equatorial region.
GAGAN System was certified by DGCA in 2015 for Approach with Vertical Guidance (APV 1) and en-route (RNP 0.1) operations.
There are only four Space-Based augmentation systems available in the world -
India (GAGAN),
US (WAAS)
Europe (EGNOS) and
Japan (MSAS).
5. Release of over Rs 2 lakh cr as GST compensation to States for FY 2020-21
Tags: National Economy/Finance Popular
The Finance Ministry has said that an amount of Rs 2 lakh 78 thousand crore has been released to the states as GST compensation for the financial year 2020-21.
The ministry has so far released 7 lakh 35 thousand crore rupees to the States including the assistance released on back-to-back basis.
Presently only Rs 78 thousand 704 crore compensation for the year 2021-22 is pending due to insufficient amount in the fund, which is equivalent to four months' compensation.
Normally, compensation for ten months of April to January of any financial year is released during that year and the compensation of February and March is released only in the next financial year.
The GST compensation for eight out of the ten months of 2021-22 has already been released to the states and the pending amount will also be released after the cess amount is deposited in the Compensation Fund.
At the time of the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, GST, a constitutional amendment provided that Parliament would, by law, provide compensation to the States for the loss of revenue due to the introduction of the GST, for a period of five years.
6. Labour and Employment Ministry’s 2021 third-quarter survey finds increase of 4 lakh jobs
Tags: Economics/Business National News
According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment's Third Quarter Employment Survey (QES) report, over four lakh jobs were created in nine selected sectors in October-December 2021 in firms with 10 or more workers.
The Ministry’s survey, which covered 10,834 units in the third round, found employment had increased from 3.10 crore in July-September 2021 to 3.145 crore in the next quarter.
The survey covered construction, manufacturing, trade, transportation, education, health, housing and restaurants, IT/BPO and financial services.
It creates 85% jobs in units with 10 or more workers.
The survey does not cover units established after 2013-2014.
The manufacturing sector accounted for 39% of the units, followed by education (22%).
Overall, 23.55% units provided on-the-job training to workers, while the number was higher in health sector units (34.87%).
At the same time, the nine sectors reported 1.85 lakh vacancies, with 81,846 in manufacturing, 47,076 in health and 39,014 in education.
The report said that 86.5% of the vacancies were "in the process of filling".
Around 4% of the vacancies could not be filled due to "non-availability of requisite skilled workers".
7. SC fixes final hearing on Sedition Law
Tags: Popular National News
Supreme Court to give final hearing on May 5 on petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the offence of sedition under Section 124A of IPC.
A three-member bench of CJI NV Ramana has fixed May 5 for hearing all the petitions related to this case together.
Attorney General K.K. Venugopal is assisting the court in the case in the capacity of his constitutional office.
The CJI had said sedition or Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code was prone to misuse by the government.
Sedition Law
Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code provides for the punishment of sedition.
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was enacted in 1860 during the British Raj.
The then British government in India feared that religious preachers from the Indian subcontinent would wage war against the government.
Throughout the British Raj, this section was used to suppress activists in favour of national independence, including Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi, both found guilty and imprisoned.
In 1973, sedition was made a cognizable offence for the first time in India during the tenure of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
A cognizable offence means arrest without a warrant.
Constitutional validity
After independence, it was found unconstitutional by two high courts, as it violates freedom of expression.
The Supreme Court upheld its validity in Kedar Nath Singh v State of Bihar (1962).
8. Union Cabinet approves upgradation of communication to 4G in Naxalite areas
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The Union Cabinet approved the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) project to upgrade 2G mobile services to 4G at security locations in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism.
This will enable better internet and data services in these LWE affected areas.
The project envisages upgradation of 2,542 mobile towers to provide 4G services in LWE areas at a cost of Rs 2,426 crore in 10 states including Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and Maharashtra.
All the sites will be upgraded by BSNL at a cost of Rs 2,426 crores.
The Union Cabinet also approved the Revised Cost Estimate on "Setting up of India Post Payments Bank".
The facility of India Post Payments Bank will be available in all 1.56 lakh branches of post offices, for which an additional Rs 820 crore will be spent.
This proposal is in line with the goal of providing mobile connectivity in rural areas and facilitating the delivery of various e-governance services, banking services, tele-medicine, tele-education etc. through mobile broadband in these areas.
The Cabinet also gave its approval for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between India and Chile for cooperation in the field of disabilities.
9. Govt approves Rs 60,939 crore subsidy for phosphate-based fertilisers
Tags: Latest Economics/Business National News
The Union Cabinet has approved nutrient based subsidy rates for Phosphatic and Potash, P&K fertilisers for Kharif season-2022.
The subsidy will cover the period to September 2022.
India provided a subsidy of 571.5 billion rupees for the previous 12 month period ending March 31.
A subsidy of Rs 2,501 will continue to be available at Rs 1,350 for every 50 kg bag of crop nutrient diammonium phosphate in local markets.
The decision to increase fertiliser subsidies was taken after rising crop nutrient prices in global markets, mainly due to supply chain disruptions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, increased freight traffic and rising energy costs.
Background
Government is providing Urea and 25 grade P&K fertilisers at subsidised prices to the farmers through fertiliser manufacturers/importers.
The subsidy on P&K fertilisers is being governed by the NBS Scheme.
In line with its farmer friendly approach, the Government is committed to ensure the availability of P&K fertilisers to the farmers at affordable prices.
10. Digital India RISC-V Microprocessor (DIR-V) Program launched
Tags: Latest National News
The Electronics and Information Technology ministry has launched the Digital India RISC-V Microprocessor (DIR-V) programme.
It aims to enable manufacturing of microprocessors for the world in India and achieve industry-grade silicon and design by December 2023.
IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamakoti will be the Chief Architect of DIRV-programme while S Krishnakumar Rao of C-DAC will be the Program Manager.
DIR-V program will see partnerships between Startups, Academia and Multinationals, to make India not only a RISC-V Talent Hub for the World but also supplier of RISC-V System on Chips for Servers, Mobile devices, Automotive and Microcontrollers across the globe.
The Ministry unveiled India's Strategic Roadmap for Semiconductor Design and Innovation to catalyse the semiconductor ecosystem along with the blueprint of the roadmap for the design and implementation of the DIR-V programme.
