Daily Prelims Notes 2 January 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

2 January 2023

Table Of Contents

1. A labour of love, archive on Banaras Hindu University founder Madan Mohan Malaviya takes shape
2. National Internet Exchange of India
3. Rupee depreciation
4. Corporate Tax
5. Higher Education Financing Agency
6. The Millet Manifesto
7. How and why do vehicles in crashes catch fire
8. Croatia becomes fully integrated EU member
9. Ramappa temple
10. City Finance Rankings 2022
11. Stay Safe Online Campaign
12. About G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA)
13. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
14. Eco Parks
15. The Prajjwala Challenge

1. A labour of love, archive on Banaras Hindu University founder Madan Mohan Malaviya takes shape

Subject :Modern History

Context: To create an archive on the principal founder of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), ‘Mahamana’ Madan Mohan Malaviya, a Professor of History at the university Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Dhrub Singh, along with his two assistants, traversed the country over nearly a decade to give shape to their labour of love.

More about the news:

• In December 2011, at a commemoration event to mark Malaviya’s 150th birth anniversary, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced various projects under the Culture Ministry to celebrate his life and achievements, including a repository dedicated to the BHU’s founder.
• A national implementation committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Karan Singh, then Rajya Sabha MP and Chancellor of BHU, to oversee the execution of various projects.
• The team has started the process of digitising and cataloguing the documents and various resources so that readers have better access. The archive will continue to be a work in progress and we will continue to acquire documents from different sources they discover.

About Banaras Hindu University:

• Banaras Hindu is a Collegiate, Central and Research University located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916.
• Origin:
  • Banaras Hindu University was jointly established by Madan Mohan Malaviya, Annie Besant, Maharaja Rameshwar Singh of Darbhanga Raj and Prabhu Narayan Singh of Narayan dynasty, while the university is the brainchild of Malviya.
  • At the 21st Conference of the Indian National Congress in Benares in December 1905, Malaviya publicly announced his intent to establish a university in Banaras. He published his plan in 1911.
  • On 22 November 1911, he registered the Hindu University Society to gather support and raise funds for building the university.
  • On 22 March 1915, then Education Minister Harcourt Butler introduced the Benares Hindu University Bill in the Imperial Legislative Council.
  • Centralised in 1916 through the Banaras Hindu University Act, Banaras Hindu University is India’s first central university. BHU celebrated its centenary year in 2015–2016.
  • Malviya invited eminent guest speakers such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jagadish Chandra Bose, C. V. Raman, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Sam Higginbottom, Patrick Geddes, and Besant to deliver a series of what are now called The University Extension Lectures between 5 and 8 February 1916. Gandhi’s lecture on the occasion was his first public address in India.
• Organisation and administration:
  • The university is governed as per the procedures laid out in the Banaras Hindu University Act of 1915, and statutes of the university.
  • The university’s formal head is the chancellor though this is a titular figure, and is not involved with the day-to-day running of the university. The chancellor is elected by the members of the University Court.
  • The university’s chief executive is the Vice-chancellorappointed by the President of India on the recommendations of Ministry of Education which, in turn, is based on an open application process.
  • The Executive Council is the supreme executive governing body of the university and exercises all the powers on management and administration of the revenue, property, and administrative affairs of the university.
  • The Academic Council is the highest academic body of the university and is responsible for the maintenance of standards of instruction, education and examination within the university.
• Institutes
  • Banaras Hindu University maintains six institutes – Indian Institute of Techonlology Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU), Institute of Science, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Medical Sciences, Institute of Environment & Sustainable Development, Institute of Management Studies
• The University has confirmed shifting towards the All-India Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for admission to several undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
• Two former Presidents of India, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and A. P. J. Abdul Kalam have worked and taught at the university.
• The university is one of the eight public institutions declared as an Institute of Eminence by the Government of India.
• In 2022 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked BHU sixth among universities and eleventh overall. In NIRF 2022 rankings, BHU ranked fifth in medical20 in lawand 50 in management.

About Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya:

• Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was born on December 25, 1861, in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• Political Career
  • In December 1886, Malaviya attended the second Indian National Congress session in Calcutta under the chairmanship of DadabhaiNaoroji, where he spoke on the issue of representation in Councils
  • After finishing his law degree, he started practicing law at Allahabad District Court in 1891, and moved to Allahabad High Court by December 1893.
  • Malaviya became the President of the Indian National Congress in 1909, a position he held until 1918. He was president of the Indian National Congress four times.
  • He was a moderate leader and opposed separate electorates for Muslims under the Lucknow Pact of 1916. The “Mahamana” title was conferred on him by Gandhi.
  • When 177 freedom fighters were convicted to be hanged in the Chauri-chaura case, he appeared before the court and won the acquittal of 156 freedom fighters.
  • He was a member of the Imperial Legislative Council from 1912 until 1919, when it was converted to the Central Legislative Assembly, of which he remained a member until 1926.
  • He was opposed to the politics of appeasement and the participation of Congress in the Khilafat movement.
  • In 1928, he joined Lala Lajpat Rai, Jawaharlal Nehru, and many others in protesting against the Simon Commission.
  • During the Civil Disobedience Movement, he was arrestedonly a few days after he was appointed as the President of Congress.
  • In protest against the Communal Award to provide separate electorates for minorities, Malaviya and Madhav ShrihariAney left the Congress and started the Congress Nationalist Party.
• Other Avhievements:
  • Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya is most remembered for establishing Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1916. BHU is one of the largest and oldest universities in Asia. He was the vice chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University from 1919 to 1938
  • One of the most famous slogans, ‘Satyamev Jayate’ was said by Pandia Malviya in the session of 1918 when he was the President of the Indian National Congress.
  • Malaviya played an important part in the removal of untouchability and in giving direction to the Harijan movement. The Harijan Sevak Sangh was founded at a meeting in 1933 at which Pandit Malaviya presided.
  • Pandit Malviya is known for his contributions to journalism. He was the chairman of the Hindustan Times from 1924 to 1946, and he also founded many Hindi and English newspapers, namely: The Leader, Hindustan Dainik, Maryada, etc.
  • He was posthumously awarded the prestigious Bharat Ratna on March 30, 2015, by the honorable President Pranab Mukherjee.

2. National Internet Exchange of India

Subject: Science and Technology

Context:

National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) has floated a tender mandating that only Indian companies, registered on the Companies Act will qualify for the tender to manage the .IN registry.

Details:

• NIXI has floated a new tender, seeking a technical service provider who will partner with NIXI to manage the .IN registry.
  • The bidder should be registered as an Indian company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 (2013) or an LLP firm/ Partnership firm under Partnership Act 1932.
  • The bidder must be in existence for at least 7 years.
  • The bidder should have a minimum annual average turnover of ₹50 crore each and a positive net worth for the last three financial years  with at least 7 years of operations in India.
• In the past NIXI’s .IN registry was handled by American entities such as Afilias and GoDaddy.

Concept:

National Internet Exchange of India

• NIXI is a not-for-profit company registered under Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956 (now Section 8 under the Companies Act, 2013) with the primary objective of facilitating improved Internet services in the country.
• It was registered on 19 June 2003. 
• NIXI Chairman: Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• It aims to facilitate exchange of domestic internet traffic between the peering ISPs, Content players and any other organisations with their own Autonomous System number which enables more efficient use of international bandwidth, saving foreign exchange and also improves the Quality of Services (QoS) for internet users by avoiding multiple international hops and thus reducing latency.
  • An autonomous system (AS) is a collection of connected Internet Protocol (IP) routing prefixes under the control of one or more network operators on behalf of a single administrative entity or domain, that presents a common and clearly defined routing policy to the Internet.
  • Autonomous System Numbers are assigned to Local Internet Registries (LIRs) and end user organizations by their respective Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), which in turn receive blocks of ASNs for reassignment from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Effective from December 27, 2021, bulk domain registrations, with individuals registering for more than 2 or an entity registering for more than 100 .in domains are required to seek prior approval from the CEO of National Internet Exchange of India.
• Under NIXI, the .IN registry functions as an autonomous body with primary responsibility for maintaining the .IN & .Bharat (IDN) country code top level domain and ensuring its operational stability, reliability, and security.It has helped in the proliferation of web hosting and the promotion of internet usage in the country.

National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) Initiatives-The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) launched three pioneering initiatives for NIXI.

• IPv6 Expert Panel (IP Guru)-IP Guru extends support to the entities in India looking at migrating to the adoption of IPv6 but are facing technical challenges. It provides technical support and guidance to facilitate the adoption of IPv6.
• NIXI Academy-The academy has been established to help Indian citizens learn technologies like IPv6 that are mostly not included in the educational curriculums. It encourages both technical/non-technical people in India to take up the learning of such technologies.
• NIXI-IP-INDEX-IPv6 index portal has been developed by NIXI for the internet community. It gives information on IPv6 adoption rate in the country as well as around the world. It facilitates comparison of progress made by India in adoption of IPv6 in comparison to other countries.
• Since December 2012, NIXI also manages the National Internet Registry of the country delegation Internet Protocol addresses (IPv4 and IPv6) and Autonomous System numbers to its Affiliates.

3. Rupee depreciation

Subject: Economy

Context:

During the year, the rupee fell to a lifetime low of 83.2 against the dollar.

Details:

• The rupee was the worst-performing Asian currency in 2022, witnessing a fall of around 10 per cent against the dollar.
• Compared to rupee, depreciation of other Asian currencies was to a lesser extent.
  • During the same period–Chinese Yuan, Philippine Peso and Indonesian Rupiah fell around 9 per cent. South Korean Won and Malaysian Ringgit declined by nearly 7 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively.

Cause:

• Sharp appreciation of the dollar due to the US Federal Reserve monetary policy tightening (rise in fund rate)  to check inflation.
  • This led to a higher interest rate differential between the US and India, and investors pulled out money from the domestic market and started investing in the US market to take advantage of higher rates causing rupee depreciation
  • In 2022, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled out Rs 1.34 lakh crore from the Indian markets – the highest-ever yearly net outflow.
• Russian invasion of Ukraine accentuated the FPI withdrawals with the global economic slowdown making inflows tougher.

Currency depreciation 

• It is a fall in the value of a currency in a floating exchange rate system.
• In a floating exchange rate system, market forces (based on demand and supply of a currency) determine the value of a currency.
• Rupee depreciation means that the rupee has become less valuable with respect to the dollar.
• For example: USD 1 used to equal to Rs. 70, now USD 1 is equal to Rs. 76, implying that the rupee has depreciated relative to the dollar i.e. it takes more rupees to purchase a dollar.
• A currency depreciates with respect to foreign currency when the supply of currency in the market increases while its demand falls.
  • Balance of payment deficit
    • Decrease in net export i.e. Export-Import.
    • Net capital outflow i.e. capital outflow- capital inflow.
  • Fall in relative rate of interest in India (comparatively higher rate of interest in foreign capital market lead to capital outflow)
  • Higher crude oil prices/ higher global price of any imported goods that would  increase import bill.
  • Wars/Pandemic leading to global supply chain disruption and uncertainty in consumer-investment expectation. For example-recent Ukraine War.
  • Fall in the currencies of emerging market peers.
  • Higher foreign denominated external debts- it will increase demand of foreign currency relative to domestic currency.

Impact-

Positive: While a weaker currency may support exports as export becomes cheaper for foreign countries against which currency has been depreciated.

Negative: 

• It poses risk of imported inflation, and may make it difficult for the central bank to maintain interest rates at a record low for longer.
• The currency’s weakness makes imports costlier.
• It will be costlier for students studying in overseas universities as this is the time when they purchase dollars towards fees.
• A falling rupee can be a worry for those planning a holiday abroad.
• Importers of capital goods will see shrinkage in margins.
• Repayment of external debt becomes costly.

4. Corporate Tax

Subject : Economy

Context:

Corporate tax to GDP ratio exceeds 3 percent after two years in FY’22

Details:

• It reflects overall improvement in profitability of India Inc propelled by an increase in demand for goods and services.
• The corporate tax collection is yet to surpass its five-year high of 3.51 percent of GDP recorded in 2018-19.

Concept:

• A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed by a jurisdiction on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities.
• Corporate tax is the tax which is levied on the income of the domestic and foreign companies that arose in India.
• It is levied on both the public and private companies registered under the Companies Act of 2013.
• The rate at which the tax is imposed is as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• The Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) does not apply to such companies.
  • The Minimum Alternate Tax is a measure to include all companies in the income tax loop. The MAT ensures that no company with healthy finances and substantial income can avoid paying income tax, even after claiming exemptions.
• Taxes are levied on a company’s taxable income, which comprises revenue minus cost of goods sold, general and administrative expenses, selling and marketing, R&D, depreciation, and other operating costs.
  • Thus,it is imposed on the net income or profit that corporate enterprises make from their businesses.
• Corporate tax is an expense of a business levied by the government that represents a country’s main source of income, whereas income tax is a type of tax governmentally imposed on an individual’s income, such as wages and salaries.

Rates:

• The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 caused a reduction in the base corporate tax rate, that is, from 30 percent to 22 percent for the existing businesses.
• Corporate tax rate is 22 per cent without exemptions and Effective corporate tax rate after surcharge and cess to be 25.17 percent for existing companies.
• For new manufacturing firms that have been established post 1st October, 2019 and prior to 31st March, 2023 (The period was later extended by another year till March 2024), the base corporate tax was reduced from 25 per cent to 15 per cent.
• The effective tax for new companies shall be 17.01 percent, including cess and surcharge.
• The new corporate tax rates in India are much lower than USA (27%), Japan (30.62%), Brazil (34%), and Germany (30%) and for the new firms the tax rate is similar to Singapore (17%)

India Inc. is a common term used by the Indian media to refer to the formal sector of the nation. It employed 7 percent of the workforce in 2000 and contributed 60 per cent of the nominal GDP of the nation.

source-wiki

5. Higher Education Financing Agency

Subject :Government schemes

Context:

• Recently, the Union Ministry of Education has shared the details of funding patterns of special loans for higher education.

More about the news:

• Recently,the Union Ministry of Education has shared the details of funding patterns of special loans for higher education.
• In an official statement shared with The Indian Express, the Union Ministry of Education attributed the shortfall to Covid-19, which broke out in 2020, and a revision in the funding pattern during the same year for the shortfall of the loan.

What is Higher Education Financing Agency:

• Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) is a joint venture of MoE Government of India and Canara Bank for financing creation of capital assets in premier educational institutions in India as part of rising 2022.
• HEFA is registered under Section 8  as Not-for-profit under the Companies Act 2013 as a Union Govt company and as Non–deposit taking Systemically Important (NBFC-ND-SI) with RBI.
• HEFA incorporated on 31st May 2017, is a joint venture ofMoE, GOI and Canara Bank with an agreed equity participation in the ratio of 90.91% and 09.09% respectively
• The main aim of HEFA is for the development of India’s top-ranked institutions like IIT’s, IIIT’s, NIT’s, IISCs, AIIMS into globally top ranking institutions through improvement in their academic and infrastructure quality.

HEFA are particularly interested in financing the building of educational infrastructure, R&D infrastructure and thereby enabling the institutions to reach top rankings globally. 

6. The Millet Manifesto

Subject :Agriculture

Context:

• Recently, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets, a proposal sponsored by the Government of India to promote these “nutri-cereals.”

What are Millets:

• Millets are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food.
• The key varieties of millets include Sorghum, Pearl Millet, Ragi, Small Millet, Foxtail Millet, Barnyard Millet, Kodo Millet and others.
• Major producers include Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.
• Millets are a powerhouse of nutrients, which score over rice and wheat in terms of minerals, vitamins, and dietary fiber content, as well as amino acid profile.
• In India, millets are primarily a kharif crop, requiring less water and agricultural inputs than other similar staples.

What is the Status of millets in India:

• India, Nigeria and China are the largest producers of millets in the world, accounting for more than 55% of the global production.
•  In India, pearl millet is the fourth-most widely cultivated food crop after rice, wheat and maize.
• Major producers of millets include Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.                        

Conditions required for growing Millet:

Why famers and consumers ignore millets

Consumers:

Rollingrotis is easier with wheat than millet flour. This is because the gluten proteins, for all their drawbacks, make the wheat dough more cohesive and elastic. The resultant breads come out light and fluffy, which isn’t the case with bajra or jowar.

Farmers

Low per-hectare yields — the national average is roughly1 tonne for jowar, 1.5 tonnes for bajra and 1.7 tonnes for ragi, as against 3.5 tonnes for wheat and 4 tonnes  for paddy area disincentive. With access to assured irrigation, they would tend to switch to rice, wheat, sugarcane, or cotton

What are steps taken in India to promote millets:

• Millets are being promoted through technology dissemination, quality seeds through millet seed hubs, awareness generation, minimum support price and inclusion in PDS
• The Union Agriculture Ministry, in April 2018, declared millets as “Nutri-Cereals”considering their high nutritive value and also .Moreover, 2018 was observed as the ‘National Year of Millets’
•  The government hiked the MSP of nutri-cereals.
• The Government of India, through the revamped National Food Security Mission Operational Guidelines (NFSM) has laid specific focus on 212 millet districts in 14 states to provide incentives to farmers for quality seed production/distribution, field-level demonstrations, training, primary processing clusters and research support.

7. How and why do vehicles in crashes catch fire

Subject :Science and Technology

Context:

• Recently Rishabh Pant met with a tragic accident and his vehicle caught fire.

What triggers fire:

• Internal Combustion Engine Vehicles are not supposed to combust spontaneously. If they do end up bursting into flames after an accident, there could be multiple triggers:
  • Fires could result from leaks from the fuel tank upon impact ,and as fuel lines are particularly susceptible to rupturing in a major crash. Even a minor leak, if ignited by a spark can trigger a fire. Flammable materials apart from the fuel, including engine oil, brake oil, or lubricants, can ignite when exposed to a spark or contact with really hot metal parts.
  • Another trigger for fire could be defects in the vehicle’s electrical system or aftermarket modifications made by owners. Electrical system failures are typically triggered when the elaborate electrical wiring running along the length of the vehicle is damaged in an accident, resulting in severed cables or plugs that can then trigger sparks, which can start a small fire. This can then ignite the on board fuel, resulting in an inferno.
  • There have also been instances of airbags exploding upon impact, triggering on board fires of the kind that were linked to a batch of airbags manufactured by the Japanese company Takata. But such an occurrence is extremely rare, and almost inevitably involves a defective air bag

8. Croatia becomes fully integrated EU member

Subject: International relations

Context:

• At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, Croatia switched to the shared European currency, the euro, and removed dozens of border checkpoints to join the world’s largest passport-free travel area

More about news:

• Croatia joined the EU in 2013, but to adopt the euro the country had to fulfill a set of strict economic conditions, including having a stable exchange rate, controlled inflation and sound public spending.
• The Croatian kuna and the euro will be in dual use for cash payments for only 14 days and after that only EURO will be used.
• Joining Europe’s ID-check-free Schengen zone means Croatian will now be among almost 420 million people who are free to roam its 27 member countries without passports for work or leisure.

What is Schengen Area:

• The Schengen Area guarantees free movement to those legally residing within its boundaries. Residents and visitors can cross borders without getting visas or showing their passports. In total, there are 27 members of the Schengen Area.
• European Union countries not part of the Schengen Area are Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland.
• Four non-EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland have adopted the Schengen Agreement.
• Three territories are special members of the EU and part of the Schengen Area i.e the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands. 

Three countries that have open borders with the Schengen Area are Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City.

9. Ramappa temple

Subject :History

Context: The President laid the foundation stone for another project called ‘Development of Pilgrimage and Heritage Infrastructure of UNESCO World Heritage Site at Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple’ at Mulugu in the state.

Concept: 

• The temple located in Palmapet in Mulugu, was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by Recharla Rudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva.
• The presiding deity here is Ramalingeswara Swamy.
• It is also known as the Ramappa temple, after the sculptor who executed the work in the temple for 40 years.
• It is the only temple that has been named after its sculptor.
• The temple stands on a 6 feet high star-shaped platform with walls, pillars and ceilings adorned with intricate carvings that attest to the unique skill of the Kakatiya sculptors.
• The distinct style of Kakatiyas for the gateways to temple complexes, unique only to this region, confirm the highly evolved proportions of aesthetics in temple and town gateways in South India.
• One of the European travelers had remarked that the temple was the “brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan“.
• The temple has become the 39th site in India to gain the tag of UNESCO.

About Kakatiya dynasty:

• The Kakatiya dynasty ruled most of eastern Deccan region comprising present day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of eastern Karnataka and southern Odisha between the 12th and 14th centuries.
• Their capital was Orugallu, now known as Warangal.
• Early Kakatiya rulers served as feudatories to Rashtrakutas and Western Chalukyas for more than two centuries.
• They assumed sovereignty under Prataparudra I in 1163 CE by suppressing other Chalukya subordinates in the Telangana region.
• Ganapati Deva (1199–1262) significantly expanded Kakatiya lands during the 1230s and brought under Kakatiya control the Telugu-speaking lowland delta areas around the Godavari and Krishna rivers.
• Ganapati Deva was succeeded by Rudrama Devi (1262–1289) and is one of the few queens in Indian history.
• Marco Polo, who visited India in 1289–1293, made note of Rudrama Devi’s rule and nature in flattering terms.
• In 1303, Alauddin Khilji, the emperor of the Delhi Sultanate invaded the Kakatiya territory which ended up as a disaster for the Turks.
• Another attack by Ulugh Khan in 1323 saw stiff resistance by the Kakatiya army, but they were finally defeated. The Kakatiya rule finally came to an end in 1323 A.D. when Warangal was conquered by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, the then Sultan of Delhi.

Kakatiya Art & Architecture

• The Kakatiya era saw the development of a distinct style of architecture and notable examples are the Thousand Pillar Temple in Hanamkonda, Ramappa Temple in Palampet, Warangal Fort, and Kota Gullu in Ghanpur.
• The iconic KakatiyaThoranam was built by Rudramadevi’s father in the 12th Century. This ornate arch is said to have many similarities with the gateways at the Sanchi Stupa and is also the emblem of Telangana.
• The scenic Pakhal lake in Warangal was built by Ganapathi Deva.
• The 1000 pillar temple in Warangal was built during the Kakatiya Rule and is another example of the exquisite Kakatiya Architecture.
• The Koh-i-Noor Diamond, which is now among the jewels set in the British Crown, was mined and first owned by the Kakatiya Dynasty. The attacks started under AlauddinKhilji’s rule and it is said that it is during this time that the Koh-i-Noor went into the hands of the Delhi Sultanate.
• They were known for the construction of a network of tanks for irrigation and drinking water and thereby gave a big boost to the overall development of the region.
• Telangana has launched a massive rejuvenation movement in the form of “Mission Kakatiya” which involves the restoration of irrigation tanks and lakes/minor irrigation sources built by the Kakatiya dynasty.
• Golconda Fort in Hyderabad (Telangana) was also constructed by the Kakatiya rulers.
• Later, it became the capital of the QutbShahi kings, who ruled from CE 1518-1687.

PRASAD Scheme

• The Government of India launched the PRASAD scheme in the year 2014-2015 under the Ministry of Tourism. The full form of the PRASAD scheme is ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive’.
• This scheme focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India for enriching the religious tourism experience. It aims to integrate pilgrimage destinations in a prioritised, planned and sustainable manner to provide a complete religious tourism experience. The growth of domestic tourism hugely depends on pilgrimage tourism.
• For tapping the potential of pilgrimage tourism, there is a need for holistic development of the selected pilgrimage destinations by the government along with the cooperation of other stakeholders.
• The PRASAD scheme aims at paving the way for the development and promotion of religious tourism in India.

10. City Finance Rankings 2022

Subject :Government Schemes

Concept:

Aim:

• To evaluate, recognize and reward India’s cities (Urban Local Bodies or ULBs) on the basis of the quality of their current financial health and improvement over time in financial performance.
• to motivate city/state officials and decision makers, to implement municipal finance reforms.

Indicators: The participating ULBs will be evaluated on 15 indicators across three key municipal finance assessment parameters, namely: (i) Resource Mobilization, (ii) Expenditure Performance and (iii) Fiscal Governance.

Rankings: The cities will be ranked at the national level on the basis of their scores under any one of the following four population categories: (i) Above 4 million (ii) Between 1-4 million (iii) 100K to 1 million (iv) Less than 100,000. The top 3 cities in each population category will be recognized and rewarded at the national level as well as within each state/state cluster.

Purpose:

• City Finance Rankings are an effort to analyse and help the ULBs in identifying areas in their financial performance where they can make further improvements, to be able to deliver quality infrastructure and services to its citizens.
• The rankings will serve as a constant motivation for city/state officials to continue to implement municipal finance reform
• At a state- and national-level, the rankings will highlight the outcomes achieved by municipalities and provide critical insights to key policy makers into the state of finances of urban local bodies.
• ULBs can benefit immensely by participating in the fiscal rankings as they will be able to self-evaluate their own performance vis-à-vis other cities, which can help them in self-improvement in future.
• All 4500+ cities / urban local bodies (ULBs) across all states/UTs would be encouraged to participate in the City Finance Rankings 2022.
• ‘City Finance Rankings, 2022’ would create a conducive environment for developing a robust municipal finance ecosystem for promoting financially healthy, transparent and sustainable cities.

Other initiative by MoHUA: ‘City Beauty Competition’:

• The ‘City Beauty Competition’ aims to encourage and recognize the transformational efforts made by cities and wards in India to create beautiful, innovative and inclusive public spaces.
• Wards and public places of cities would be judged against the five broad pillars (i) accessibility (ii) amenities (iii) activities (iv) aesthetics and (v) ecology.
• The City Beauty Competition would felicitate most beautiful wards and beautiful public places at the city level. While selected wards would be felicitated at the city and State levels, at the City level, most beautiful public places in cities viz. Waterfronts, Green spaces, tourist/heritage spaces and market/commercial places would be awarded first at the State and then shortlisted for award at the National level.

11. Stay Safe Online Campaign

Subject: Government schemes

Concept :

• The objective of the ‘Stay Safe Online Campaign’ is to raise awareness among citizens to stay safe in the online world due to the widespread use of social media platforms and the rapid adoption of digital payments.
• This campaign will make citizens of all age groups, especially children, students, women, senior citizens, specially-abled, teachers, faculty, officials of Central/State Governments, etc. aware of the cyber risk and ways to deal with it. The campaign will be carried out in English, Hindi and local languages to reach a wider audience.
• The campaign involves the dissemination of multilingual awareness content in the form of infographics, cartoon stories, puzzles, short videos, etc. and amplifying the same through extensive use of the MyGov website and prominent social media platforms.
• Besides this, various publicity, promotion and outreach activities would be carried out throughout the year through print, electronics & social media to reinforce the stay safe online message.
• In addition, collaboration and involvement of key stakeholders viz. Union Ministries / Departments, industry associations/partners, NGOs, civil society organizations, etc. would be sought for wider outreach of the campaign.

12. About G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA)

Subject :International relations

Concept:

• The objective of the G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) is to identify, recognize, and enable the adoption of innovative and impactful digital technologies developed by startups, from G20 nations as well as the invited non-member nations, which can address the needs of humanity in the critically important sectors of Agri-tech, Health-tech, Ed-tech, Fin-tech, Secured Digital Infrastructure, and Circular Economy.
• Startup products in the aforementioned six themes enabled through Digital Public Goods Infrastructure can create a global population-scale impact and reduce the digital divide and enable sustainable, and inclusive techno-socio-economic development.
• The G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20–DIA) summit which will be held in Bangalore on the sidelines of the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting will be a multi-day program where top nominated startups from each of the theme areas from all of the G20 countries and the non-member invited countries will showcase their solutions to the global community of investors, mentors, corporates, and other government stakeholders.
• The engagement of innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, corporations, investors, mentors, and other ecosystem stakeholders will lead to the speedy acceptance of the platform that India plans to offer through the G20 Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA).
• The G20-DIA Summit will bring together the key players in the innovation ecosystem from both G20 member countries and the invited non-member countries in order to recognise and support startups creating cutting-edge digital solutions in the six themes that bridge the digital divide between different segments of humanity and advance the world economy.

13. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board

Subject :Governance

Context: Dinesh Kumar Shukla, former Executive Director of AERB  & Distinguished Scientist assumed the charge as Chairman, AERB on 31st December 2022.

Concept: 

• The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board was constituted on November 15, 1983, by the President of India by exercising the powers conferred by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 to carry out certain regulatory and safety functions under the Act.
• The regulatory authority of AERB is derived from the rules and notifications promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• The Mission of the AERB is to ensure the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to the health of people and the environment.
• The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board is the primary institution tasked to look at issues regarding everything related to nuclear safety.
• The Mission of the AERB is to ensure the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to the health of people and the environment.
• AERB’s headquarters is in Mumbai.
• Currently, it consists of full-time Chairman, an ex officio Member, three part-time Members and Secretary.

14. Eco Parks

Subject :Government schemes

Context: As part of the ongoing efforts of the Coal Ministry to develop Eco-Parks on reclaimed land and to promote mine tourism eight eco-parks have been constructed recently in different parts of the country and two more such parks will be completed in 2022-23.

Concept:

• An ecological park is a green space that is characterized by its special care of vegetation, ecosystems and the species that inhabit it.
• Eco Parks are large, connected landscapes with high nature conservation and environmental protection ambitions.
• They are parks which use ecological landscape features to reduce watering and other maintenance while enhancing wildlife and human values.
• Eco Parks serve as a vehicle for reconnection, and for developing the systems understandings necessary for creative and resilient problem-solving.
• An Eco Park is not just about preservation, but also about restoring nature conservation and a large-scale transformation of both the social and environmental landscapes.
• The main objective of the ecological parks is to serve as protection for the ecosystems they host and to raise awareness in the population about the importance of preserving the environment, making the population familiar with the nature that develops there.

Advantages of eco park 

• Landscapes have ecological value
• Ecological design reduces resource inputs and waste outputs.
• Eco parks allow us to see and interact with the ecological riches that formal parks hide.
• Ecological and social concerns are in increasing conflation;  modelling new expressions of the human relationship to nature provides solutions to both ecological and social problems and concerns.
• Sequestration of carbon emissions as well as in the preservation of plant species and the leisure of people. This carbon sequestration helps reduce the effects of climate change and by housing different species of animals, plant species and fungi, they help to conserve biodiversity on our planet.

15. The Prajjwala Challenge

Subject :Government schemes

Context: The Prajjwala Challenge was launched by Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Shri. Shailesh Kumar Singh in New Delhi yesterday.

Concept:

• To invite ideas, solutions and actions that can transform rural economy, the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) has launched the Prajjwala Challenge.
• It is one of the platforms where ideas are invited from individuals, Social Enterprises, Start up, Private Sector, Civil Society, Community Based Organization, Academic Institution, Start-ups, Incubation centres, Investors etc having potential to transform the rural economy.
• The Mission is looking for ideas and solutions around Innovative Technology Solution, Inclusive Growth, Value Chain Interventions, Enhanced Women Entrepreneurship, Cost effective Solutions, Sustainability, place-based employment, localised models etc.

The broad contours fall into following categories:

1. Focus on Women and Marginalized section of community
2. Localised Models
3. Sustainability
4. Cost Effective solutions
5. Multi sectoral ideas and solutions etc