Current Affairs 18th August 2023 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Current Affairs 18th August 2023 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Expansion of Digital India Programme

Context: Union Cabinet approved expansion of the Digital India programme with an outlay of ₹ 14,903 crore.

More the News

The expansion of the Digital India Programme includes the following:

• 6.25 lakh IT professionals will undergo upskilling and re-skilling training.
• 9 more supercomputers will be added under National Super Computer Mission. This is in addition to 18 supercomputers already deployed.
• 540 additional services to be available under Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) platform (presently offers 1,700 services).
• Bhashini, AI-enabled multi-language translation tool (currently available in 10 languages) will be rolled out in all of 22 languages included in Schedule 8 of Constitution.

About the Digital India Programme

• The Digital India Program is a Government of India flagship program launched in 2015 with a vision of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and information economy.

• Objectives:
  • To prepare India for a knowledge future.
  • For being transformative that is to realize IT (Indian Talent) + IT (Information Technology) = IT (India Tomorrow).
  • Making technology central to enabling change
• Vision Areas:
  • Digital infrastructure to each and every citizen as a core utility.
  • Governance and services on demand.
  • Digital empowerment of every citizen.
• Digital India Programme Structure: Digital India’s system management framework consists of a Monitoring Committee led by the Prime Minister, a Digital India Advisory Group chaired by the Communications & IT Minister, and an Apex Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.

Key initiatives undertaken by MeitY under the Digital India programme:

• Aadhaar: Aadhaar provides 12 digits biometric and demographic-based identity that is unique, lifelong, online and authenticable.
  • It has also given statutory backing through The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
  • Over 135.5 crore residents have been enrolled.
• Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG): For providing government services to citizens through mobile. More than 1668 e-Services and over 20,197 bill payment services are made available at UMANG.
• Diksha: It stands for Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing. It serves as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers.
• Common Services Centres: CSCs are offering government and business services in digital mode in rural areas through Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs).
  • Over 400 digital services are being offered by these CSCs.
  • So far, 5.21 Lakh CSCs are functional (including urban & rural areas) across the country.
• Unified Payment Interface (UPI): It is the leading digital payment platform. It has onboarded 376 banks and has facilitated 730 crore transactions (by volume) worth Rs 11.9 lakh crore.
• eSanjeevani: It is a telemedicine service platform of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
• Digi Locker: Digital Locker provides an ecosystem with the collection of repositories and gateways for issuers to upload the documents in the digital repositories.
  • Digital Locker has more than 13.7 crore users and more than 562 crore documents.
• e-Sign: e-Sign service facilitates instant signing of forms/documents online by citizens in a legally acceptable form.
• DigiBunai: DigiBunai aids the weavers to create digital artwork and translate the saree design to be loaded to the looms. DigiBunai™ is a first of its kind Open-Source software for Jacquard and dobby weaving.
• MyGov: It is a citizen engagement platform that is developed to facilitate participatory governance. Presently, over 2.76+ crore users are registered with MyGov.
• MeriPehchaan: National Single Sign-on (NSSO) platform called MeriPehchaan has been launched in July 2022 to facilitate/provide citizens ease of access to government portals.
• Jeevan Pramaan: Jeevan Pramaan envisages digitizing the whole process of securing the life certificate for pensioners.
• Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan (PMGDISHA): The Government has approved the scheme to usher in digital literacy in rural India.

Current Affairs 17th August 2023 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Jagannath Temple

Context: An amicus curiae appointed by the Orissa High Court has found evidence of wear and tear in the structures of the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri.

• An Amicus curiae an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case.

About Jagannath Temple:

• Shree Jagannath Puri Temple is a 12^th century structure constructed by King Anatavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty located in Odisha.
• The temple is called ‘Yamanika Tirtha’ where, according to the Hindu beliefs, the power of ‘Yama’, the god of death has been nullified in Puri due to the presence of Lord Jagannath, popularly known as Lord Krishna.
• This temple was called the “White Pagoda” and is a part of Char Dham pilgrimages (Badrinath, Dwaraka, Puri, Rameswaram).

Architectural features of the temple:

• The entire temple complex is enclosed within two concentric walls, the Kuruma Bheda (Inner wall) and the Meghnad Pachira (Wall).
• There are four gates to the temple- Eastern ‘Singhdwara’ which is the main gate with two crouching lions, Southern ‘Ashwadwara’, Western ‘Vyaghra Dwara’ and Northern ‘Hastidwara’. There is a carving of each form at each gate.
• The main entrance to the temple is through Singhadwara located on the Eastern Front of the temple with three other entrances along with the four cardinal directions.
• The Nilachakra – Or the Blue wheel perched on top of the temple is made of eight metals or ashtadhatu.
• The Aruna stambha– the 33 ft monolith structure pillar in front of the Singhadwar or the main entrance of the temple was originally located at the Sun Temple, Konark.

Luna 25

Context: Russia’s space agency ROSCOSMOS has asserted that its Luna 25 mission, launched aboard its Soyuz rocket recently would soft-land close to the lunar South Pole, just days before India’s Chandrayaan 3.

About Luna 25:

• Luna-25 was launched aboard its Soyuz rocket almost a month after the launch of Chandrayaan. However, it will cover the 3.84-lakh-km journey within days.
• This is because the Russian mission was able to follow a more direct trajectory towards the moon, owing to its lighter payload and more fuel storage.
  • The lift-off mass for Luna 25 is just 1,750 kg as compared with the 3,900 kg of Chandrayaan-3.
• To make up for the lower fuel reserve available on the LVM3 vehicle that launched India’s mission, a more circuitous route was taken.
  • After being launched around the Earth, the orbit of the spacecraft was increased in a series of manoeuvres to help it gain velocity.
  • The spacecraft was then slingshot towards the moon, reaching the lunar orbit nearly 22 days after it was launched.
• Another reason Luna-25 can land a couple of days before India is because lunar dawn at its landing site will happen earlier.
  • One lunar day is equal to 14 Earth days. With the payloads being powered by solar panels, landing at the beginning of a lunar day ensures that the experiments get the full 14 earth days.

LUNA 25 vs Chandrayaan 3:

Minamata Convention

Context: The Minamata Convention on Mercury has marked its sixth anniversary since entering into force in the year 2017.

About Minamata Convention:

• Minamata Convention on Mercury, adopted in 2013 at Geneva, is first global legally binding treaty to protect human health and environment from adverse effects of mercury.
• It is a multilateral environmental agreement that addresses specific human activities which are contributing to widespread mercury pollution.
  • It is named after the city in Japan that became the epicentre of Minamata disease, a neurological disorder caused by methylmercury poisoning in Minamata Bay, through fish contaminated with mercury industrial waste.
  • The disease is characterized by peripheral sensory loss, tremors, and both hearing and visual loss.
• It came into force in 2017.
• Presently, there are 144 Parties and 128 Signatories to the convention.
• India ratified it in 2018 with flexibility for continued use of mercury-based products and processes involving mercury compounds up to 2025.
• Minamata Convention requires that party nations:
  • Reduce and where feasible eliminate use and release of mercury from Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining.
  • Control mercury air emissions from coal fired power plants, coal-fired industrial boilers etc.
  • Phase-out or reduce mercury use in products like batteries, switches, lights, cosmetics, pesticides, dental amalgam.
  • Addresses supply and trade of mercury; safer storage and disposal, and strategies to address contaminated sites.

Mercury:

• Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in air, water and soil.
• Exposure to mercury – even small amounts – may cause serious health problems and is a threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life.
• Mercury may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.
• Mercury is considered by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the top ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern.
• People are mainly exposed to methylmercury, (an organic compound) when they eat fish and shellfish and are more vulnerable to Minamata disease.
• Methylmercury is very different from ethylmercury. Ethylmercury is used as a preservative in some vaccines and does not pose a health risk.

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