Addapedia Odisha | Daily Current Affairs | 09 November 2023 | Download PDF

• India and Bhutan agreed to discuss new routes of regional connectivity and upgrade border and immigration posts

Key points

• 58-km cross border rail link between Gelephu and Kokrajhar in Assam to be built by India.
• Agreed to explore a second rail link for about 18 km between Samtse in Bhutan and Banarhat in West Bengal tea gardens area.
• Allows Bhutanese trade items to be carried further on from Haldibari in West Bengal to Chilahati in Bangladesh
• Agreed to designate the Darranga-Samdrup Jongkhar border crossing between Assam and Bhutan as an immigration check post, so as to allow third country nationals to enter and exit as well “for enhancing connectivity, and promoting tourism”
• Bhutan plans for a smart city at Gelephu on the border between Bhutan and Assam, and to have an international airport and Special Economic Zone at Gelephu.

• About 80% funds for semiconductor PLI remain unused.
• About $8 billion of the $10 billion allocated by the Centre for the production of semiconductors under the PLI.

Key points

Production-linked incentive scheme

• Aims to enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports in 14 economic sectors
• Scheme comes under Ministry of Commerce & Industry
• Govt has allocated a $26 billion fund.
• PLI scheme is expected to have a cascading effect on the country’s   MSME ecosystem
• India is expected  to raise bilateral trade with South Korea to $50 billion by 2030 in  battery storage solutions through PLI scheme.

1. Mobile Manufacturing and Specified Electronic Components
2. Critical Key Starting Materials/Drug
3. Intermediaries & Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
4. Manufacturing of Medical Devices 
5. Automobiles and Auto Components
6. Pharmaceuticals Drugs
7. Specialty Steel
8. Telecom & Networking Products
9. Electronic/Technology Products
10. White Goods (ACs and LEDs)
11.  Food Products
12. Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles
13. High efficiency solar PV modules
14. Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery Drones and Drone Components.

• Navy Chief Admiral R. Hari Kumar says, IPMDA initiative proof of our commitment to a free Indo-Pacific Region.

Key fact about IPDMA

• The IPMDA was announced by the Quad grouping, comprising India, Australia, Japan and U.S., at the Tokyo summit in early 2022
• Aim to track “dark shipping” and build a “faster, wider, and more accurate maritime picture of near-real-time activities in partners’ waters”.
• Integrating three critical regions in the Indo-Pacific — the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• Become a critical platform for fostering cooperation and addressing maritime security challenges in the IOR.
• “Sharing of intelligence and information also contributed to enhanced Maritime Domain Awareness [MDA]. 
• Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) located at Gurugram, had greatly improved the situational awareness in the IOR region.

Do you know 

• Center govt proposed to constitute a FCU under the Information Technology Act, 2020, was challenged before the Bombay High Court which reserved its verdict.

• The PIL in High Court challenges formation of Fact Checking Unit by the government.

Key points

• Objective of FCU: Fact Check Unit is to act as a deterrent to creators and disseminators of fake news & misinformation and to provide people with an easy avenue to report suspicious and questionable information pertaining to the Government of India for fact-checking.
• The Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2020 ensures that all electronic documents, records, and information of Indian citizens are retained in data centers located in India. 
• The bill also gives the government the power to direct decryption and block information

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Report Findings

• 34% of households in the State earn ₹6,000 or less each month. 
• Among the upper castes, who make up about 15.4% of the population, the Bhumihars (2.9%) are poorer than others
•  the Yadavs (14.3%) are poorer than other OBCs, who make up about 27% of the population. 
• Overall, the State has 94 lakh poor families. 
• The State’s literacy rate has increased from 61.8% in 2011 to 79.7% now.

• The Bihar Cabinet has approved a proposal to increase reservations in the State for SCs,STs, OBCs and Extremely Backward Classes EBCs to 65%.
• Decision comes after caste survey report published.

Key point

• • Reservation for SCs,STs, OBCs and EBCs to become 65%.
  • Including 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), quota will go up to 75% crossing the ceiling set by the Supreme Court. 
• Currently 50% quota in the state. 

According to survey

SCs:- 

19.7% population, should get a quota of 20%, higher than the current 16%.

STs:- 

1.7% share in population, should get reservation doubled from 1% to 2%.

OBCs:-

 27% population to get a quota of 12%, while EBCs 36% of the population and get a quota of 18%;  together should get a quota of 43%.

• With wheat flour (atta) becoming costly around the festival season, Govt. expands ‘Bharat Atta’ sale.

Key points

• Union Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry released more stocks of the ‘Bharat’ brand atta for moderation of prices.
• Bharat Atta will be available at ₹27.50 a kg to increase supplies in the market at affordable rates.
• 100 mobile vans used for distribution
• Other outlets of  at Kendriya Bhandar, National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Ltd. (NCCF), and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED).

• President Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the Ekalavya model residential school (EMRS) at Kuliana of Mayurbhanj district 
• EMRSs are centrally funded residential schools established specifically for tribal students in remote areas. 
• These schools aim to provide students with access to quality education, enabling them to compete effectively in higher education and employment opportunities.

About Ekalavya Model school:

• According to Census 2011, Schedule Tribes (STs) constitute 8.6% of India’s total population and out of which only 58.96% are literate.
• Education is necessary to ensure the socioeconomic development of tribal societies.
• Issues like the language of education need to be addressed by designing the entire curriculum and teachers’ modules in the regional/local language of the tribal students.
• The need of the hour is to create adequate employment opportunities and ensure proper implementation of welfare programmes among the tribal people so that they send their children to attend schools instead of Child labour.
• To handle the shortage of teachers in Eklavya schools, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs highlighted that the only way to deal with the teacher shortage and to ensure uniformity in the teaching standards is to completely reform the administrative structure under which the Eklavya schools are functioning at present.

• CM inaugurated the Odisha Table Tennis Academy in Bhubaneswar
• Aim  is to give a major boost to the development of sports and fitness in the city, particularly Table Tennis.
• CM also declared open the 29th State Table Tennis Championship 2023.
• The new Odisha Table Tennis Academy features a spacious table tennis arena with 16 TT tables, a well-equipped gymnasium, a weightlifting room, and a chess area.

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired the short-range ballistic missile ‘Pralay’ off the Odisha coast.
• The surface-to-surface missile was fired from Abdul Kalam Island in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha.
• ‘Pralay’ is India’s first conventional quasi-ballistic missile, and weighs 5 tonnes. 
• It is capable of carrying a conventional warhead of about 800 kg.

About Short – Range Ballistic Missiles:

• • A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometers (620 mi) or less.
  • SRBMs are typically solid-fuel rockets, making them relatively easy to transport and store. 
  • They are also relatively cheap to produce, making them a popular choice for countries with limited budgets.
• SRBMs are typically used for tactical strikes against targets within their range.

• CM launched his government’s flagship ‘Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha scheme in parts of Kandhamal, Angul and Gajapati districts
• Under this each panchayat is given Rs 50 lakh for developmental works.
• As part of the scheme, Baliguda, G Udayagiri and Phulbani assembly constituencies in Kandhamal district will get Rs 85.50 crore. 
• In Angul district, Talcher, Pallahara, Chendipada, Athmallik and Angul assembly constituencies will get Rs 112.50 crore and Rs 74.50 crore has been granted for Mohana and Paralakhemundi constituencies in Gajapati district

About Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha Scheme:

• Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha was launched by the Odisha government in 2023
• It is an ambitious scheme aimed at transforming the state’s rural landscape by empowering panchayats and fostering holistic development at the grassroots level. 
• The scheme, which translates to “Our Odisha, New Odisha,” is envisioned to revitalize villages and enhance the quality of life for rural residents.

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