Prelim Bits 04-02-2022 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change

• The National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC) is a Central Sector Scheme which was set up in the year 2015-16.
• It was established to support adaptation activities in the States and UTs of India that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
• The NAFCC is implemented in project mode and till date, 30 projects are sanctioned in 27 States and UTs.
• National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the National Implementing Entity (NIE) for NAFCC.
• The projects related to adaptation in sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry, water, forestry, tourism etc. are eligible for funding under NAFCC.
• The NAFCC projects implemented in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh include activities relating to coastal areas.

Adaptation Fund

• The Adaptation Fund (AF) was established in 2001.
• The AF was established to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing country Parties to the Kyoto Protocol that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
• It is financed with a share of proceeds from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project activities and other sources of funding.
• The share of proceeds amounts to 2% Â of certified emission reductions (CERs) issued for a CDM project activity.
• Management of the Fund - The Adaptation Fund is supervised and managed by the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB).
• The AFB is composed of 16 members and 16 alternates and meets at least twice a year.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1795075
2. https://www.nabard.org/content.aspx?id=585#:~:text=The%20National%20Adaptation%20Fund%20for,a%20budget%20provision%20of%20Rs.
3. https://vikaspedia.in/energy/environment/climate-change/national-adaptation-fund-for-climate-change
4. https://unfccc.int/Adaptation-Fund

Har Ghar Nal Se Jal Scheme

In the Union Budget 2022-23, the ‘Har Ghar, Nal Se Jal’ scheme was allocated INR 60,000 crores for providing tap water connection to 3.8 crore households during the financial year 2022-23.

• The ‘Har Ghar Nal Se Jal’ Scheme comes under the Jal Jeevan Mission, which is implemented by the Jal Shakti Ministry.
• This scheme aims to provide every household with a functional household tap connection (FHTC) in its premises.
• This will be done in order to reduce the burden of fetching water on women in the household.
• With the scheme, the government looks to provide all citizens of the country with sustainable water supply connectivity for the provision of clean drinking water by 2024.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1795109
2. https://www.investindia.gov.in/team-india-blogs/budget-2022-23-expanding-har-ghar-nal-se-jal-scheme
3. https://thewire.in/government/budget-2022-shows-modis-pet-nal-se-jal-scheme-remains-a-priority

River Yamuna

Under the Namami Gange Programme, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has sanctioned 23 projects for creating / rehabilitating 1840 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant capacity in Yamuna basin.

• River Yamuna, also called Jumna, is largest tributary of Ganga River.
• It is one of the major rivers of northern India, primarily in the states of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
• River Yamuna rises on the slopes of the Bandarpunch massif in the Great Himalayas near Yamnotri (Jamnotri) in western Uttarakhand.
• It flows through the Himalayan foothills and, exiting Uttarakhand, onto the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It also passes Delhi.
• Tributaries - Chambal, the Sindh, the Betwa, and the Ken.
• Near Prayagraj (Allahabad), the Yamuna joins the Ganga River.
• The confluence of the two rivers is an especially sacred place to Hindus and is the site of annual festivals as well as the Kumbh Mela, which is held every 12 years and is attended by millions of devotees.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1795101
2. https://www.britannica.com/place/Yamuna-River

Param Pravega

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has installed and commissioned Param Pravega, one of the most powerful supercomputers in India.

• It is the largest supercomputer in an Indian academic institution. 
• It was installed and commissioned under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
• The system is expected to power diverse research and educational pursuits.
• It has a supercomputing capacity of 3.3 petaflops (1 petaflop equals a quadrillion, or 1015 operations per second).
• It has been designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

National Supercomputing Mission

• NSM is steered jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• It is implemented by the eCentre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
• The Mission has supported the deployment of 10 supercomputer systems so far at IISc., in IITs, IISER Pune, JNCASR, NABI-Mohali and C-DAC, with a cumulative computing power of 17 petaflops.
• These systems have greatly helped faculty members and students carry out major R&D activities, and optimising telecom networks.
• To know more about the National Supercomputing Mission, click here.

Reference

https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/supercomputer-param-pravega-installed-at-iisc/article38374014.ece

Ethnocentrism

• Ethnocentrism refers to ethnic self-centredness and self-importance.
• This attitude could lead an individual to believe that their own culture or way of life is the correct way of living. It could also result in hostility towards other cultures.
• Therefore, ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one’s own group, the ‘in-group’, as the archetype and all the other groups, the ‘out-groups’, with reference to this ideal.
• The in-group’s boundaries are defined by one or more observable characteristics such as language, accent, physical features or religion, indicating common descent.
• Different opinions - Some argued that Ethnocentrism might simply be preference for in-groups over out-groups.
• While others argued that this feeling of superiority about the in-group curtailed an individual’s ability to understand the practices and values of other groups and to trust them.
• This feeling could lead to prejudice, dislike, dominance, ethnic conflict, instability of democratic institutions, and even war.
• Ethnocentrism can also affect consumer choices and voting.

Reference

https://www.thehindu.com/society/ethnocentrism/article38369090.ece