PIB 23rd December

Contents

1. UDAN-REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY SCHEME(RCS)
2. FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FUND (FIDF)
3. 4,167 CITIES CERTIFIED ODF THROUGH THIRD PARTY VERIFICATION
4. BHARATIYA POSAN KRISHI KOSH
5. QRSAM
6. ECOCLUB PROGRAM OF MoEFCC
7. MODERN TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM TO BE IMPLEMENTED ON INDIAN RAILWAYS

UDAN-REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY SCHEME(RCS)

• 134 routes commenced from 1.1.2019 to 10.12.2019. 10 Airports have been operationalized in 2019 out of which 4 airports are underserved and 6 airports are unserved.
  • Underserved – Lilabari, Belgaum, Pant Nagar & Durgapur.
  • Unserved –Kullu, Kalaburgi, Kannar, Dimapur, Hindon & Pithoragarh.
• 335 routes were awarded during the year 2019 covering 33 airports (20 unserved, 3 underserved, 10 water aerodromes). 
• 34,74,000 approx. numbers of passengers were flown under RCS-UDAN Scheme till date. It has a direct bearing on major Airports since the smaller airports have been connected to various big cities. The travelling time has reduced drastically and public at large is benefitted for the purpose of tourism, medical emergencies and religious shrines, etc.
• Rs. 304.49 crores has been spent for upgradation of existing and new airports from April to November, 2019
• Belgaum, Prayagraj, Kishangarh, Hubli& Jharsuguda are the busiest airports commenced under UDAN   

FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT FUND (FIDF)

Why in News?

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister has given its approval for creation of special Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF).

Details

• This fund aims to provide loans at subsidized interest rate to State Governments / UTs and State entities, cooperatives, individuals and entrepreneurs etc., for taking up of the identified investment activities of fisheries development.
• It is to raise India’s fish production to 20 million tonnes per year by 2022-23 from current level of about 12 million tonnes

4,167 CITIES CERTIFIED ODF THROUGH THIRD PARTY VERIFICATION

• Urban Areas of 35 states / UTs ODF
• About 66 Lakh Individual Household Toilets has been constructed against Mission Target of 59 Lakh
• 819 Cities has been certified ODF+ & 312 cities ODF++
• 4 Cities (Indore, Ambikapur, Navi Mumbai and Mysuru) were certified 5-star cities, 57 cities as 3-star cities & 4 cities certified as 1-star cities
• Swachhata hi Seva campaign of 2019 garnered participation from more than 7 Crore Urban Residents, across 3200 Cities, from more than 1,06,000 Events & more than 7700 MT of plastic waste collected

Difference between Open Defecation + and Open Defecation ++

• Cities and towns that have already achieved ODF status as per the ODF protocol  prescribed by MoHUA and are working towards ensuring sustainability of the ODF status to ensure proper maintenance of toilet facilities are referred to as SBM ODF+.
• ODF ++ includes safe collection, conveyance, treatment and disposal of all fecal sludge and sewage besides the protocols of ODF+ in order to achieve safe sustainable sanitation for all. It is step further for enhanced sustainability of the sanitation in the cities.

BHARATIYA POSAN KRISHI KOSH

The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched the Bharatiya Poshan  Krishi Kosh (BPKK) in New Delhi.

• The BPKK will be a repository of diverse crops across agro-climatic zones in  India for better nutritional outcomes.
• The country has been broadly divided into fifteen agricultural regions based on agro-climatic features, particularly soil type, climate including temperature and rainfall and its variation and water resources.

QRSAM

• Successfully flight-tested from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the Odisha coast
• It operates on the move, comprises of fully automated Command and Control System, Active Array Battery Surveillance Radar, Active Array Battery Multifunction Radar and Launcher. Both radars are four-walled having 360-degree coverage with search on move and track on move capability
• The weapon system is expected to be ready for induction by 2021.

ECOCLUB PROGRAM OF MoEFCC

• Environment Education Awareness and Training (EEAT) is an established central sector scheme of the Ministry continuing since 1983-84 and aims to promote environmental awareness and mobilize student’s participation for environment conservation.
• Under this scheme, National Green Corps (NGC) ‘Ecoclub’ programme was initiated in 2001-2002 with the objective to impart knowledge to school children through hands on experience, about their immediate environment, interactions within it and the problems therein.
• The programme aims to inculcate proper attitude towards environment and sensitize children on issues related to environment and development.

MODERN TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEM TO BE IMPLEMENTED ON INDIAN RAILWAYS

• Plan to modernize the Signaling system on entire network by implementing Modern Train Control system with LTE based MTRC.
• This is one of the most ambitious modernization projects of Indian Railways, which envisages upgradation of signaling system for improving safety, Line Capacity and to run trains at higher speed.
• The work includes provision of
  • Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System
  • Electronic Interlocking System
  • Remote Diagnostic & Predictive Maintenance System
  • Long Term Evolution (LTE) based Mobile Train Radio Communication (MTRC) System
  • Centralized Traffic Control System (CTC) /Train Management System (TMS)