ODISHA

Odisha forms nine-member task force to tackle forest fires

The government on Monday decided to press Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) to tackle the raging forest fire while constituting a nine-member task force led by former principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) Sandip Tripathy to bring innovations to check future fires.

“The chief minister had directed to engage ODRAF all over the state to assist in forest fire mitigation. The government will take a call as to when their services will be used,” said Tripathy, who is the chairman of the newly formed task force.

The taskforce has been asked to review ongoing forest fire incidences, find out causes and take immediate containment measures. The members of the taskforce will also suggest measures for augmentation of existing fire management protocols including geomatics-based fire alert system. It will also recommend ways to improve community participation in fire management and prevention besides conducting post assessment of forest fire affected areas. They will see whether the fire has caused loss to wildlife and biodiversity. They will also provide suggestions to bring improvement in fire prevention Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

INTERNATIONAL

World Tuberculosis Day is on 24th March

Every March 24th is World Tuberculosis Day, which aims to raise public awareness of the devastating health, social and economic consequences of tuberculosis, and to step up efforts to curb the global tuberculosis epidemic. Highlights:

March 24 was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of Dr Robert Koch’s discovery of the cause of tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) in 1882.

Japan-India Launches Patent Prosecution Highway

Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program launched by India and Japan in November 2019. Highlights:

India and Japan launched the Bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program between the two countries in November 2019.

According to the bilateral agreement between the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Indian Patent Office (IPO), the Indian Patent Office will only receive patent applications related to certain specific technical fields, including computer science, electrical, electronic, Information technology, physics, civil, machinery, textiles, automobiles and metallurgy fields, and JPO may be applied in all technical fields.

The patent prosecution highway includes a series of initiatives to speed up the patent prosecution process by sharing information among the patent offices of participating countries.

NATIONAL

Ventilation Index Air Pollution Management

Ventilation Index is a measure of the volumetric rate of wind transporting air horizontally Highlights:

It is a measure of the volumetric rate of wind transporting air horizontally in the mixed layer per unit distance in the vertical direction. The unit is in square meters per second or knot feet.

In simple terms, it is an indicator that indicates the efficiency of the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere.

The ventilation index is the multiply of wind speed and mixing height.

When the ventilation index value is low and harmful pollutants are close to the ground, air quality risks occur.

When the ventilation index value is low, there is also a visibility risk.

It is a useful tool for air pollution management.

Union Minister Launched GRAM UJALA Programme

The Union Minister launched the GRAM UJALA project. About GRAM UJALA Scheme:

The scheme aims to provide LED bulbs in rural areas at a price of Rs 10 each without any government support or subsidies.

As part of the first phase of the Gram Ujala program launched by Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Efficiency Services Ltd., approximately 15 million LED bulbs will be sold in rural areas at a cost of Rs 10.

The first phase will cover Bihar, UP, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and some villages in western Gujarat.

The bulb has a three-year warranty, and the bulb will be provided to rural consumers in case they work with incandescent bulbs.

Consumers can replace up to five bulbs.

Rural households participating in the plan will also install meters in their houses to illustrate usage.

In addition, the carbon letter of credit documents will be sent to a validator recognized by the United Nations for inclusion in the Shine Program.

Cabinet Approved PMFME Scheme

The Cabinet approved the PMFME (PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises) Scheme in May 2020. About PM-FME scheme:

The Ministry of Food Processing Industry, in cooperation with the State/UT government, initiated a all India Centrally Sponsored PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises Scheme (PM FME Scheme).

This scheme aims to provide technical, financial, and business support for the upgrading of existing micro-food processing enterprises. Objectives:

Increase opportunities for financing

Increase in revenue of the target company

Strengthen compliance with food quality and safety standards

Strengthen the capacity of the support system

Pay special attention to women entrepreneurs and ideal areas

Encourage waste-to-rich activities

Focus on secondary forest products in tribal areas

The transition from an unorganized sector to an organized sector

National Monsoon Mission – Indian Metrological Department

Forecast regarding Monsoon changes said Indian Metrological Department. Highlights:

According to the “National Monsoon Mission” initiative, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad and NOIDA’s National Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF) established a state maximum Advanced ocean coupled atmosphere model

Improved the forecast of monsoon rain, and the scope is expanded to the seasonal time range (16 days to one season)

Improved the prediction of temperature, rainfall and extreme weather events in the short and medium time range (up to 15 days)

IMD issues weather forecasts, severe weather warnings and recommendations at national, regional and state levels.

Disseminate information about monsoon onset and crop consultation information to farmers through different media based on print/visual/radio/information technology, including short message service (SMS) and interactive voice response service (IVRS)

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