UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 10-12-2020
iasparliament
December 10, 2020
Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana
It would boost employment in formal sector and incentivize creation of new employment opportunities during Covid recovery phase under Atmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0.
Government of India will provide subsidy for two years in respect of new employees engaged on or after 1st October, 2020 and up to 30th June, 2021.
It will pay 12% employees' contribution and 12% employers' contribution of wages towards EPF in respect of new employees in establishments employing upto 1000 employees for 2 years.
It will pay only employees' share of EPF contribution i.e. 12% of wages in respect of new employees in establishments employing more than 1000 employee for two years.
An employee with less than Rs. 15000/- monthly wage who was not working in an Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) registered establishment before 1st October, 2020 will be eligible.
EPFO will credit the contribution in Aadhaar seeded account of members in electronic manner.
EPFO shall develop a software for the scheme and also develop a procedure which is transparent and accountable at their end.
Height of Mt. Everest
Nepal and China jointly certified the elevation of Mount Everest at 8,848.86 metres above sea level.
This height is 86 cm higher than what was recognised since 1954.
The elevation of 8,848 m was determined by the Survey of India in 1954.
The devastating earthquake of 2015 in Nepal triggered a debate among scientists on whether it had affected the height of Mt Everest.
Nepal’s Survey Department decided to measure the mountain on its own, instead of continuing to follow the Survey of India findings of 1954.
New Zealand, which shares a bond with Nepal over the mountain, provided technical assistance.
Sir Edmund Hillary, the first climber on the peak in May 1953, worked as the mountain’s undeclared brand ambassador to the world.
VISVAS Scheme
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will introduce Vanchit Ikai Samooh aur Vargon ki Aarthik Sahayta (VISVAS) scheme.
It is an interest subvention scheme for the self help groups (SHGs) or SCs and OBCs households with an annual income of up to ₹3 lakh.
SC and OBC beneficiaries could avail an interest subvention of 5% p.a. on bank loans of up to ₹4 lakh per SHG and ₹2 lakh per individual.
With subvention of interest, banks too would be encouraged to lend to the disadvantaged sections.
The scheme would help in immediate liquidity as it would entail direct beneficiary transfer mode of crediting the accounts of beneficiaries.
PM WANI Scheme
PM Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM WANI) is a framework for the proliferation of public Wi-Fi networks.
According to the framework, Public Data Office (PDO) or public data centres will establish, maintain, and operate only WANI compliant Wi-Fi Access Points and deliver broadband services to subscribers.
Public Data Office Aggregators (PDOA), which will curate information regarding PDO, will be set up to perform the functions relating to authorization and accounting.
There will be no requirement for the proposed categories of PDOs.
However, the aggregators, who will work closely with the PDOs and app providers, will have to register in registration portal SARALSANCHAR.
The users can register and discover WANI compliant Wi-Fi hotspots in the nearby area through an app to access the internet service.
The app providers can deliver public Wi-Fi services without a licence.
Malana Cream
It is the charas or hash or hashish or bhang which comes from the Malana Valley in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
Charas is the resin obtained from a species or strain of the cannabis plant, which grows naturally in the valley and is also cultivated illegally.
It was banned in India in 1986 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
But the plant was considered an important crop in Kullu, used for a variety of other purposes such as making footwear.
Malana valley has a single village, Malana, and the hash produced there is more ‘creamy’, as compared to that produced in other parts of state.
With greater road connectivity, Malana and its neighbouring Parvati Valley became notorious for ‘drug tourism’.
Religious Freedom
The State Department of the US has designated 10 countries including Pakistan and China as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) for violation of religious freedom.
Nigeria is the first secular democracy that has been named a CPC.
The US placed the Comoros, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia on a Special Watch List (SWL) for governments that have engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.
It also designated certain terrorist organisations as ‘Entities of Particular Concern’.
It didn’t renew this designation for al-Qaida in Arabian Peninsula and ISIS-Khorasan due to the total loss of territory formerly controlled by these organisations.
Sudan and Uzbekistan have been removed from the SWL based on progress undertaken by their respective governments over the past year.
These designations were done pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).
Source: PIB, AIR, The Indian Express, Economic Times,
