01-02-22 Daily-Odisha-OPSC Current Affairs

The has sought Rs 7,600 crore in theUnion Budgetfor the development of rail Infrastructure with emphasis on strengthening rail connectivity to various Ports, mining belts and tribal-dominated districts.

Official sources said the demand include fund for various on-going projects, sanctioning of new lines, station modernisation, introduction of new trains, extension of existing trains, improved passenger amenities at stations, on-board Services, establishment of rail-based industries and multi-modal Logistics parks.

Major port connectivity projects for which fund has been sought in the annual budget include Rs 100 crore forJajpur Keonjhar Road-Dhamra Portvia Jajpur and Aradi (95 km), Rs 300 crore forTalcher-Gopalpurrail link, Rs 50 crore for Paradip-Dhamra rail link and Rs 200 crore for Gopalpur-Sambalpur link.

As creation of rail infrastructure is the responsibility of the Centre, the official said the government has already partnered with Indian Railways to fill the viability gap wherever it has been asked for.

The Ministry of Chemicals recently launched the NIPER Portal to help the pharmaceutical innovate and research.

Highlights:

NIPER is the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research.

The NIPER Research Portal will provide information on the organization’s research efforts.

The portal will also provide a list of NIPER’s patents and publications. It will house all of the NIPERs’ research data in one location. This makes information more accessible.

Researchers will be able to contact appropriate organizations with the help of the site.

It will enable researchers to work with the appropriate institution and make their study more impactful.

The gateway will aid the pharmaceutical industry’s development. It will aid collaboration between industry and academia.

The European Union is the first to propose digital rights in the world. The rights are intended to promote Democracy and protect people’s rights.

Highlights:

It ensures a secure Internet experience. The rights aspire to give all of its member countries affordable digital connectivity.

It also intends to improve the internet’s speed. The rights will equip the classrooms and hire digitally adept teachers.

In addition, digital rights will allow for seamless access to government Services. It will give children a secure .

India and the United Arab Emirates have pooled their Resources to create a $150 million fund to support startups.

Highlights:

Within the next ten years, the fund will assist in creating ten unicorns. Unicorns are companies with a market capitalization of more than one billion dollars.

The fund was announced at the Dubai EXPO 2020. The fund will act as a Catalyst for the startups’ development.

It will be highly beneficial to startups in their early stages of development.

In both countries, the fund will support at least fifty startups. The fund’s Indian representative is NASSCOM.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between India and the United Arab Emirates to raise the fund.

In December 2021, the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, inscribed the Nordic “clinker boats” to its Heritage List.

Highlights:

For thousands of years, wooden sailboats have allowed northern Europeans to spread influence, trade, and even conflict across continents and seas.

The UNESCO designation was requested jointly by Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, and Norway.

The term “clinker” is said to refer to the way the building’s wooden boards were attached.

The use of overlapping longitudinal hardwood hull planks distinguishes wooden clinker boats.

These planks are held together by stitched or riveted seams. Internally, boats are fortified with additional wooden components, particularly tall oak trees.

Gaps are filled with a mixture of tar or tallow, animal hair, moss, and wool.