11-11-21 Daily-Haryana-HPSC Current Affairs

Urging farmers to resort to crop residue management, the Additional Secretary, Union Agriculture Ministry, Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, said there was a significant reduction of 64 per cent in the number of incidents of burning of paddy residue in Haryana in the year 2020 compared to the year 2016.

Interacting with farmers during his visit to the Northern Region Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute (FMTTI) in Hisar today, Dr Likhi called upon the farmers to adopt the management of their crop residue which helps bring down air pollution further. He also took farmers feedback while inspecting the machines and equipment used for in-situ and ex-situ crop residue management at Northern Zone Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute.

He informed the farmers that the Agriculture Department had introduced a Central scheme on crop residue management in Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in 2018-19 to addressing the problem of air pollution in Delhi and National Capital Region due to stubble burning.

He said under this scheme, financial assistance for the purchase of crop residue management machines was provided at 50% of the cost to individual farmers and at 80% of the project cost to cooperative societies of farmers, registered farmers societies, FPOs and panchayats for establishment of custom hiring centres of crop residue management machines.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has released a list of 119 people who would get the Padma Awards this year from President Ram Nath Kovind.

Highlights

Art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service are all covered by these prizes.

While the ‘Padma Shri’ is given for distinguished service in any field, the ‘Padma Bhushan’ is given for exceptional service.

The ‘Padma Vibhushan’, on the other hand, is given for remarkable and distinguished service.

There are 29 women among the 2021 winners, one transgender person, ten foreigners/NRIs/OCIs, and 16 people who have died. In 2021, no one will be awarded the Bharat Ratna.

The top five aspirational districts in the education sector have been announced by NITI Aayog.

Highlights:

It has selected the school sector’s most improved aspirational districts for the month of September.

Bhoopalpalli in Telangana has topped the NITI Aayog’s delta rankings in the education sector.

Following Bhoopalpalli area are, Jharkhand’s Chatra and Sahibganj, Odisha’s Nuapada, and Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer.

In a notable development, the Baramulla district in north Kashmir has risen to third place among aspirational districts in the Delta ranking 2021 for September month.

Jharkhand’s Ranchi and Chatra districts were placed first and second, respectively.
Wayanad in Kerala came in fourth, and Shrawasti in Uttar Pradesh came in fifth.

NITI Aayog publishes the Delta ranking.

It depicts growth in India’s aspirational districts in categories such as health and nutrition, education, financial inclusion, agricultural and water resources, skill development, and basic infrastructure.

These rankings serve as a barometer of incremental progress in areas like health and nutrition, agricultural and financial inclusion, and water resource management.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently released the Logistics Ease Across Different States 2021 Index.

Highlights:

Index is now in its third version. Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab were ranked first, second, and third in the ranking, respectively, for goods mobility and logistics chain efficiency.

This index assigns states a ranking based on their logistics infrastructure.

Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab are the states with the best results (Top 3 slot respectively)
Tamil Nadu is ranked fourth, and Maharashtra is ranked fifth.

In comparison to the 2019 LEADS rating, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand have seen considerable improvements.

In 2018, the LEADS (Logistic Ease Across Different States) index was introduced. It was created by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The ranking assigns points to governments based on their logistical support for promoting goods commerce.

The rating is based on factors such as pricing competitiveness, infrastructure availability, and service availability.

Every year from November 9 to 14, the International Week of Science and Peace (IWOSP) is observed around the world.

Highlights

The occasion is commemorated in order to urge people to improve technology and promote peace in their respective countries.

The annual commemoration of this event contributes to the advancement of science, technology, and peace, as well as raising public awareness.

Participation and knowledge of the activities help to ensure that science is used appropriately to promote peace throughout the year.

United States of America (USA) became the 101st member country to join International Solar Alliance (ISA).

USA joined ISA as member country to accelerate the global adoption of solar energy.

This announcement was made at UNFCCC COP26 on November 10, 2021.

Now, USA will catalyse global energy transition through solar-led approach.

The ISA framework was first circulated in 2016 for the support of countries. It emphasises on delivering global relevance and local benefit through collaborations for all countries. Key interventions of ISA will focus on readiness and enabling activities, innovative financing instrument and risk mitigation in order to facilitate promotion and deployment of solar technologies.