UPSC Quiz – 2021 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz 13th December 2021

Solution (b)

Mahaparinirvana Diwas’ Observed Nationwide on 66th Death Anniversary of Dr.Bhim Rao Ambedkar

On the occasion of the Mahaparinirvana Diwas 2021, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment (SJE) launched the ‘Shreshtha Yojna’ and National Fellowship Management and Grievance Redressal Portal during the event.

ShreshthaYojna’ will aid socio-economic upliftment and overall development of the Scheduled Castes students by providing quality residential education in reputed private schools.

In the Next 5 years, the Ministry has decided to extend support to 24800 meritorious Scheduled Caste students, involving Rs. 300 Crores approx. for providing them quality residential education from class 9th to 12th in reputed private residential schools in aspirational districts identified by the NITI Aayog, in educationally backward districts and districts having population of SC community at national average. 

Fellowship Management and Grievance redressal Portal software was launched with a view to enable an area based development approach. The initiative aims at integrated development of Scheduled Castes majority villages.

Article Link:

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1778573

Solution (b) 

Kazhuveli notified as 16th bird sanctuary in Tamil Nadu

An area of 3,027.25 hectares comprising eight villages in Marakkanam taluk and 2,124.35 hectares in five villages in Vanur form part of the sanctuary. The area has adequate ecological, faunal, floral and geomorphological significance for the purpose of protecting, propagating and developing wildlife and its environment.

The tank lies adjacent to the the Bay of Bengal along the East Coast

 Kazhuveli is a wetland of international importance on the East Coast 

The place is home to a diverse species of flora and fauna and is a feeding ground for long-distance migrants from the cold subarctic regions of Central Asia and Siberia including Black-tailed Godwits, Eurasian Curlew, White Stork and Ruff.” Spread over 670 sq. km of catchment areas, the Kazhuveli wetlands is said to be the second largest brackish water lake in South India after Pulicat lake

Article Link:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/kazhuveli-notified-as-16th-bird-sanctuary-in-tn/article37874874.ece

Solution (c)

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has spent over ₹1,000 crore on its Poshan or Nutrition Tracker, which records real-time data on malnourished and ‘severe acute malnourished’ children in each anganwadi. But four years since its launch, the Government is yet to make the data public.

The Poshan Tracker, known as the ICDS-CAS (Integrated Child Development Services-Common Application Software) in its earlier avatar, was set up with the aim of tracking and improving various services delivered at anganwadis and to ensure nutritional management of beneficiaries.

This real-time monitoring system is one of the key pillars of Poshan Abhiyan or Nutrition Mission approved by the Union Cabinet in November 2017 with a financial outlay of ₹9,000 crore for three years.

The Poshan Tracker gives the Ministry daily data from 12.3 lakh anganwadi centres, with 9.8 lakh beneficiaries, including children, in the age of six months to six years, as well as pregnant women and lactating mothers.

With the help of their mobile phones, anganwadi workers log into the Poshan Tracker mobile application and input data such as the height or weight of a child, which when tracked over a period of time indicates whether the child is growing appropriately for his or her age or is stunted, wasted or under-weight. Other services recorded include the vaccination status of the child; the nutrition status of pregnant women and lactating mothers; whether an anganwadi was opened on a particular day; how many children attended the anganwadi; how many received take-home rations and hot cooked meals, among others. It triggers alerts for beneficiaries and service providers, and provides a dashboard to enable officials from the Centre to district level to review progress.

Article Link:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/analysis-1000-crore-spent-on-poshan-tracker-but-where-is-the-data/article37822823.ece

Solution (d)

A Bill to replace an ordinance amending the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 was introduced in the Lok Sabha

The NDPS (Amendment) Bill, 2021 would replace an ordinance promulgated in September to correct a drafting error in a 2014 amendment to the Act. Before the 2014 amendment, clause (viii-a) of Section 2 contained sub-clauses (i) to (v), which defined the term “illicit traffic

This clause was re-lettered as clause (viii-b) by the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Act, 2014, as a new clause (viii-a) in section 2 defining ‘essential narcotic drugs’ was inserted

Psychotropics designate chemical substances that act upon the mind, which is on the conscious or unconscious mental life of an individual.

Narcotics include substances that cause stupor, muscular relaxation and a reduction or elimination of sensitivity.

Article Link:

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/parliament-proceedings-bill-to-correct-drafting-error-in-ndps-act-introduced-in-lok-sabha/article37864503.ece

Solution (c)

The Union Cabinet recently approved the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) till 2025-26, as a step towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat and with aim of making the cities ‘water secure’ and ‘self-sustainable’ through circular economy of water. 

The project shall lead to ease of living by providing piped water supply and sewerage / septage facility to urban households.

Mission will be monitored on a robust technology based portal. The projects will be geo-tagged. There will be an endeavor to make it a paper-less Mission. Cities will assess their water sources, consumption, future requirement and water losses through a city water balance plan. Based on this, city water action plans will be prepared which will be summed up as State Water Action Plan and will be approved by the Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs. The funds for the projects will be shared by Centre, State and ULBs

Other key features of AMRUT 2.0 (U) include Pey Jal Survekshan which will encourage competition among cities for benchmarking urban water services. 

Mission has a reform agenda focused towards financial health and water security of ULBs. Meeting 20% of water demand through recycled water, reducing non-revenue water to less than 20% and rejuvenation of water bodies are major water related reforms. Reforms on property tax, user charges and enhancing credit worthiness of ULBs are other important reforms. ULBs will be rewarded with incentive on accomplishing the reforms.

Article Link:

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1763350