23-24-01-22 Daily-Odisha-OPSC Current Affairs

Smartcity Rourkela ranks among the Top 15 Cities of the world under the Bloomberg Global Mayors Challenge 2021.

This makes the city eligible for a grant of USD 1 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies and technical assistance to carry out innovation over the next three years.

Rourkela, one of the five Municipal Corporations and a leading industrial town of Odisha, is the only Indian city to make the honour.

Under Global Mayors Challenge, Rourkela has developed a sustainable model which augments the income of Women and small time traders of the city while promoting the use of technology.

As part of the project, the Rourkela (RMC) has developed a cold Storage Facility at the local Veer Surendra Sai (VSS) Market in PARTNERSHIP with a NIT Rourkela based startup and managed by women self help group members.

With the solution, the local farmers and fruit traders have been able to enhance their income by preserving their produce and preventing any wastage.

In addition, fresh vegetables and fruits are delivered to people’s doorsteps, especially in times of Covid 19. All of this is being managed by members of women Self Help Groups using mobile apps.

While developing the ecosystem and helping all the stakeholders, the model helps the women largely in augmenting their livelihoods.

Notably, 99 countries from around the world took part in the Global Mayors Challenge held in June 2021. At a critical time such as the Covid pandemic, the competition focused on proposals from 630 cities on economic recovery and overall Growth, Health and welfare, Climate and Environment, and <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/good-Governance“>Good Governance and Equality. Of these, 50 cities, including Rourkela, were finalists among proposals for innovative and modern projects. Currently, Rourkela is the only city from India to have made the cut among top 15 cities globally.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology established the Digital Government Mission.

Highlights:

The mission will provide citizens with government Services. The services will be delivered using machine Learning and .

It incorporates automated processes. For example, a student applying for a Scholarship will receive an alert directly from the relevant department.

He or she is not required to inquire. It also makes food grains available to the public through the Public Distribution System.

It includes driver license renewals as well as reminders to renew government-issued documents.

The mission seeks to provide benefits to citizens before they inquire about a scheme or subsidiary.

Jerri settlement in Reasi district was designated as the Union Territory’s first ‘Milk Village,’ with 57 additional farms sanctioned under the Integrated Dairy Development Scheme (IDDS) for the hamlet.

The administration of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has designated Jerri settlement in Reasi district as the first ‘Milk Village’ of the Union Territory.

It was Also officially recognized 57 more dairy farms for the hamlet under the Integrated Dairy Development Scheme (IDDS).

The village, which has 73 individual dairy units and 370 cows, will provide financial security to the local farmers.

Following the village’s designation as a ‘Milk Village,’ a total of 57 units have indeed been approved under the IDDS.

Under the IDDS, dairy units with five animals receive a 50% subsidy.

The Supreme Court asked the Centre whether it was planning a dedicated Indian Environment Service in Indias bureaucratic set-up.

In 2014, a committee headed by former Cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian had recommended to set up Indian Environment Service.

Petition was filed by a lawyer Samar Vijay Singh, for the creation of an independent Indian Environment Services at all-India level.

However, prima facie it is doubtful if a can be issued. Though, an enquiry can be made on whether the government proposes to follow the recommendation of TSR Subramanian committee.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) released its “Climate of India during 2021″ report.

Highlights:

According to reports, the year 2021 was the fifth warmest in India since national records began in 1901.

In 2021, India posted a loss of 1,750 lives due to extreme weather events. With 350 deaths, Maharashtra was the worst-affected state.

Among extreme weather events, lightning and thunderstorms claimed the most lives (787), followed by floods, heavy rains, and landslides, which killed 759 people.

In 2021, 172 people died as a result of in various states.

According to the report, 11 of the 15 hottest years in India occurred during the last fifteen years, from 2007 to 2021.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) published the bi-annual Electricity Market Report in early 2022.

Highlights:

According to the report, countries are increasingly turning to fossil fuels to meet rising electricity demand as Covid-19 lockdown restrictions ease.

In 2021, global electricity demand is expected to rise by 6% year on year. It was the IEA’s steepest year-on-year increase since the 2008 financial crash.

Year on year, global energy intensity fell by 1.9 percent. This drop was only half of what was needed to lay the groundwork for net-zero energy by 2050.

Renewable electricity generation will increase by 6% year on year in 2021. Coal-fired power generation has increased by 9%.