Prelim Bits 18-08-2023 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

UDGAM Portal

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unveils UDGAM portal for search of unclaimed deposits.

• The RBI unveiled a Centralised Web Portal UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits – Gateway to Access inforMation).
• The Portal has been developed for use by members of public to facilitate and make it easier for them to search their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks at one place.
• The web portal will aid users to identify their unclaimed deposits/ accounts and enable them to either claim the deposit amount or make their deposit accounts operative at their respective banks.
• RBI Technology Pvt. Ltd. (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS), and participating banks have collaborated on developing the portal.
• To begin with, users would be able to access the details of their unclaimed deposits in respect of 7 banks currently available on the portal.
• 7 Banks – State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank, South Indian Bank, DBS Bank India, and Citibank.
• The search facility for remaining banks on the portal would be made available in a phased manner by October 15, 2023.
• Unclaimed Deposits – The deposits remaining unclaimed for 10 years in a bank are called unclaimed deposits.
• Such deposits are transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund maintained by the Reserve Bank of India.

As per the government, unclaimed deposits in public sector banks have increased by more than 70% between December 2020 and February 2023 and have more than doubled compared to December 2019.

References

1. The Hindu – RBI unveils UDGAM portal
2. The Economic Times – UDGAM portal to help customers track unclaimed deposits in banks

Mountain Railways of India

Heavy rain and floods batter famed Kalka-Shimla heritage railway line.

Kalka-Shimla Railway Line

• The Kalka Shimla Railway, a 96-km long, single track working rail link built in the mid-19th century to provide a service to the highland town of Shimla.
• It is located in the State of Himachal Pradesh and is divided into four parts such as Kalka to Koti, Koti to Barog, Barog to Solan and Solan to Shimla.
• The scenic route, a popular tourist attraction, has 20 stations, 103 tunnels and 912 curves.

Kangra Valley Railways

• It is located in the sub-Himalayan region of Kangra Valley and covers a distance of 164 Kms.
• It extends from Pathankot, Punjab to Jogindernagar in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Darjeeling Himalayan Railway

• It is located in the state of West Bengal.
• It was the first hill passenger railway in India.
• It was opened in 1881 and its design applies bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problem of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain of great beauty.

Matheran Hill Railway

• A hill resort at an altitude of 800 meters, Matheran is 110km away from Mumbai on Mumbai-Pune rail route.

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

• The construction of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a 46-km long metre-gauge single-track railway in Tamil Nadu State was first proposed in 1854.
• However, due to the difficulty of the mountainous location the work only started in 1891 and was completed in 1908.
• This railway, scaling an elevation of 326 m to 2,203 m, represented the latest technology of the time.

References

1. The Hindu – Heavy rain and floods batter famed Kalka-Shimla heritage railway line
2. UNESCO – Mountain Railways of India

Flood Watch Application

India launches Flood Watch app for real-time flood updates.

• CWC – The Central Water Commission (CWC) launched an app, called Flood watch, which can forecast the chances of floods a day in advance.
• It also provides a 7 day advisory on the chances of floods at various stations in the country where the CWC maintains its measurement gauges.
• The app has a map of India with coloured circles at water stations across the country indicating the current risk of flooding.
• Colour Coding – A ‘green’ circle indicates ‘normal’; yellow, above normal; orange, ‘severe’ and red, ‘extreme’.
• Clicking on a circle shows the current water level at the station, the highest level historically attained, the danger level and warning level.
• The warnings are in English or Hindi with an option for a voice-enabled prompt.
• The app will also provide State-wise/basin-wide flood forecast up to 24 hours or flood advisory, up to 7 days, that can be accessed via selecting specific stations.

References

1. The Hindu – India launches Flood Watch app
2. Live Mint – CWC to provide 7-day flood forecast, launches app Flood Watch

Traditional Medicine Global Summit

The First WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit held between 17 and 18 August 2023 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.

• The summit will be held alongside the G20 health ministerial meeting.
• It aims to mobilize political commitment and evidence-based action on traditional medicine, which is a first port of call for millions of people worldwide to address their health and well-being needs.
• The Global Summit will be co-hosted by WHO and the Government of India, which holds the presidency of the G20 in 2023.
• Stakeholders – Stakeholders like traditional medicine workers, users & communities, policymakers, international organizations, academics, private & civil society organizations use his platform.
• The stakeholders will share best practices and game-changing evidence, data and innovation on the contribution of traditional medicine to health and sustainable development.

Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM)

• The WHO’s GCTM, headquartered in Jamnagar, Gujarat, accelerates advancements in traditional medicine globally.
• This is the first and only global out posted Centre (office) for traditional medicine across the globe.
• It is established with the support of the Government of India.

References

• The Hindu – WHO asks countries to work towards unlocking the power of traditional medicine
• WHO – The First WHO Traditional Medicine Global Summit

Vindhyagiri

President Droupadi Murmu launched the 'INS Vindhyagiri' in Kolkata at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE).

• Project 17A – Vindhyagiri, named after the mountain range in Karnataka, is the sixth ship of the Project 17A program, as per PTI reports.

The Nilgiri-class frigates, formally classified as the Project-17 Alpha frigates, are a series of stealth guided-missile frigates (a type of warship).

• Vindhyagiri, a technologically advanced Frigate, and a tribute to the erstwhile INS Vindhyagiri, the Leander Class ASW Frigate.
• Old Vindhyagiri – It is nearly 31 years of service from July 1981 to June 2012, had witnessed various challenging operations and multinational exercises.
• Under the Project 17A program, a total of 4 ships by Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) and 3 ships by GRSE are under construction.
• The project's first 5 ships have been launched by the MDL and GRSE between 2019 and 2022.
• Project 17A ships have been designed in-house by the Indian Navy's Warship Design Bureau, the pioneer organization for all warship design activities.
• A substantial 75% of the orders for equipment and systems of Project 17A ships are from indigenous firms.

References

1. PIB – Launch of Y - 3024 (Vindhyagiri)
2. Live Mint – INS Vindhyagiri