West Bengal launches ‘Duare Ration’ scheme
- The Duare Ration (ration at doorstep) scheme is going to benefit around 10 crore people of the state.
- Government has also decided to enhance commission for ration dealers from Rs75 to Rs 150 per quintal of food grains.
- Under the scheme, 10 crore people will get their ration at their doorstep on a fixed day in every month.
How it will work?
- Each dealer will be allowed to appoint at least two persons, to assist them in delivering ration.
- They will get a salary of Rs 10,000 per month, of which government will pay Rs 5,000 and rest will be paid by the dealer.
- By doing do, 21,000 dealers would create 42,000 jobs. This is benefit Local youth.
- Dealers will also get a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh from government, for purchasing vehicles to deliver ration.
- For this scheme, government will be spending Rs160 crore.
Distribution process
Taking ration to each doorstep is a tough job. Thus, it will take around one year to complete one locality. Till then, government will divide one stretch of a road into four parts to distribute ration to the people. The locals require to be informed about the distribution in advance.
Ration Dealership
To make this scheme, more ration dealers will be needed. Thus, the working capital to apply for a ration dealer will be decreased from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50,000. It will help more people to apply for dealership.
Khadya Sathi: Amar Ration Mobile App
West Bengal government also inaugurated the “Khadya Sathi: Amar Ration Mobile App” on the occasion. This app will help people to apply for ration cards and get related information. For the same purpose, a WhatsApp chatbot for Food & Supplies Department was also inaugurated.
e-Shram: 70% informal workers SC, ST, OBCs
On India’s first centralised database of unorganised workers, e-Shram portal, more than 7.86 crore registrations have been done till date. Out of this number, 40.5 percent belong to Other Backward Classes (OBCs), 27.4 percent general category, 23.7 percent scheduled castes (SCs) and 8.3 percent to scheduled tribes (STs).
Important Points
- These estimations are significant as they offer an indicator of social profile of informal sector workers in India.
- As per 2011 census, population share of SCs was 16.2 per cent and that for STs was 8.2 per cent.
- The count of OBCs is not detailed in 2011 Census. However, as per a survey conducted in 2007 by National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) had estimated the population share of OBCs as 40.9 per cent.
- Population share of general category population was around 34 per cent.
Occupation-wise registration data
- Maximum registrations (53.6 percent) have been seen in agriculture sector.
- It is followed by construction sector (12.2 per cent) and domestic & household workers (8.71 per cent).
- The e-Shram portal has been recording primary as well as secondary occupation of unorganised sector workers. Workers in rural areas are routinely recording two occupations.
Registration across states
- In agriculture sector, West Bengal is at the top slot with 13.38 per cent share. It is followed by Odisha (10.5 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (9.15 per cent), Bihar (5.71 per cent) and Jharkhand (3.03 per cent). Highest registrations were seen for crop & farm labourers and field crop & vegetable growers.
- In construction, top four countries with highest number of registrations are- West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha. Highest registrations were recorded for building and construction workers.
S-400 Triumf long-range air defence system
Russia recently started supplying S-400 Triumf air defence system to India, giving a major boost to Indian defence capabilities.
Important Points
- These defence systems will boost India’s capabilities to take out cruise missiles and enemy fighter aircraft at long range.
- The announcement that Russia started supplying S-400 systems to India, was made during Dubai Air Show.
- First squadron of this system will be deployed near Western border of India. it will help in tackling threats from both Northern as well as Western borders with China and Pakistan.
India’s requirement
India will require five squadrons to tackle air threats from up to 400-km. First squadron of the S-400 system is likely to be complete by end of 2021.
India-Russia S-400 system agreement
India inked an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with Russia in October 2016, during BRICS Summit. A formal agreement was signed in October 2018 for procuring the defence system. The deal is worth Rs 35,000 crores to contract S-400 air defence system from Russia. After several negotiations, India brought down the price of this deal by a billion dollars.
The Indian Air Force officers and personnel were trained in Russia to operate the system.
Importance of S-400 missiles for India
- The S-400 Triumf air defence system will give a major boost to Indian capabilities of taking out enemy cruise missiles and fighter aircraft at long range.
- It will provide India with an edge in South Asian skies.
- India would now be able to take out enemy missiles and aircrafts from a distance of 400-kms.
Components of the system
S-400 missile defence system comprises of four different missiles:
- 48N6DM: It is capable of destroying airborne targets up to 250 km
- 40N6: It can reach a distance of 400 km. It makes use of active radar homing for intercepting air targets at great distances.
- 9M96E: This component can strike moving targets like fighter aircraft with great accuracy.
- 9M96E2: This component is descended for direct impact. It can reach up to 102 km.
PM inaugurates Purvanchal Expressway
On November 16, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Purvanchal Expressway.
Important Points
- Purvanchal Expressway is a stretch of about 341-kms.
- It is more like an extension of the Greater Noida Expressway, Taj Expressway, and Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
Purvanchal Expressway
- It is a 340.8 km long, 6-lane wide, access-controlled expressway in Uttar Pradesh. The expressway is expandable to 8-lane.
- It connects Chand Saray village in Lucknow district with Haydaria village in Ghazipur district on NH-31.
- The expressway was developed by “Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA)”.
- It also comprises of a 3.2 km long airstrip at Akhalkiri Karwat village near in Sultanpur district for emergency landing of aircrafts.
- It is the longest expressway in India.
Background
- Its construction started by the UPEIDA on in October 2018 and was inaugurated on November 16, 2021.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived to inaugurate the expressway, in C-130 Hercules.
- Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets performed ‘touch and go’ operation, under which 30 fighter planes touched the expressway airstrip and then took off.
This project was announced by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in May 2015 as Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ballia Expressway. Later, Yogi Adityanath government changed the routes to Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ghazipur. Foundation stone of the expressway was laid July 14, 2018 by Prime Minister Modi. The total project value is Rs 22494 crore. It includes land acquisition cost.
UPEIDA
UPEIDA stands for Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority. It was established in 2007 by Uttar Pradesh government, to develop expressway projects in the state. Its headquarter is at Paryatan Bhawan in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow.
India at ADIPEC Conference
ADIPEC conference is being held in Abu Dhabi, from November 15 to November 18, 2021.
Important Points
- World’s biggest oil & gas companies and several OPEC+ energy ministers are there in Abi Dhabi to attend this conference.
- The conference is taking place in the backdrop of COP26 climate talks and increasing energy prices.
- Brent crude has increased by 60% in 2021, to above $80 a barrel.
- Natural-gas prices in Asia and Europe also hit record highs in recent times.
- During the conference, India’s petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, India made a “concerted push” with OPEC+ on oil production. However, it also advised major consumers against selling their strategic reserves.
Blue Ammonia
Mitsui of Japan and GS Energy of South Korea, will partner with Adnoc and Fertiglobe for developing blue ammonia. Blue ammonia will be developed at Ta’ziz industrial zone in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi. It will be taken by Mitsui and GS Energy to meet increasing energy demands in Japan and South Korea.
Blue Hydrogen
Several major state energy firms in Persian Gulf, like Adnoc and Saudi Aramco, are holding talks with companies in Asia regarding long-term supply contracts for blue hydrogen. Blue Hydrogen fuel is made by converting natural gas and capturing carbon emissions.
ADIPEC
ADIPEC is the world’s most influential meeting place. it is hosted by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). During the meeting, oil, gas and energy companies and professionals convene in-person, to engage & identify the opportunities in a bid to unlock new value in energy landscape. ADIPEC provides opportunities for visitors, sellers and buyers to meet, learn, do business as well as discover new products, solutions and technologies.
Antibiotic consumption up 46% in last two decades
The Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project published a study in Lancet Planetary Health. As per study, global antibiotic consumption rates have increased by 46% in last two decades.
Important Points
- GRAM used a novel approach, by deploying statistical modelling techniques.
- It incorporated several data sources and types like large-scale household surveys in low-income & middle-income countries, antibiotic consumption data from World Health Organisation (WHO) and pharmaceutical sales data.
- GRAM also gathered data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
- GRAM study provides a comparative analysis of “antibiotic consumption rates” globally. This rate is defined in WHO metric of “defined daily doses (DDD) per 1000 population per day”.
Key Findings
- Variation in total antibiotic consumption rates, across the country, ranges from 5 DDD to 45.9 DDD per 1000 population per day.
- In between 2000-2018, global antibiotic consumption rate increased by 46%, accounting for an increase from 9.8 to 14.3 DDD per 1000 population per day.
- In low-income & middle-income countries, anti-biotic consumption rate increased by 76%, accounting an increase from 7.4 to 13.1 DDD per 1000 per day.
- However, in high-income countries, consumption rates were stable.
- Antibiotic consumption rates in South Asia increased by 116%.
- Second largest increase (111%) was witnessed in North Africa and Middle East region.
