Uttarakhand Affairs
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in association with Dehradun Smart City Limited (DSCL) has prepared a work plan to start Eat Right Smart City programme to provide a healthful, safe and sustainable food environment to people. Under this programme, the officials will also work on developing a clean street food hub by marking such eateries which are famous among locals and tourists. The district food safety officer and a designated officer of the programme, PC Joshi informed this while adding that traditional local delicacies and local organic fruits and vegetables will also be promoted under this programme. Joshi said that in the initial phase, the officials are working on connecting sweet shops, restaurants, hotels, street food vendors, meat shops and other eateries located in the smart city area with this programme to promote safe and healthy food in campuses like workplaces, schools, colleges and universities among others.
Subsequently, a group of 25 to 50 owners of eateries and some local vendors will be formed to make a clean street food hub and Fssai authorised training will be provided to these group members to run their business more effectively, stated Joshi. He said that marked vendors and owners can take help of the training to eliminate any issues within the stipulated time frame under FSSAI. Joshi said that with this programme, FSSAI aims to develop a plan that supports a healthy, safe and sustainable food Environment supported by institutional, physical, social and economic along with the application of smart solutions to combat food related issues in a smart city. He said that the administration will also take help from the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) and local business associations for the smooth operation of the programme.
National and International Affairs
Indian Coast Guard Ship Vigraha – 7th of OPV
INDIAN COAST GUARD (ICG) Ship Vigraha is the seventh in the collection of Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs).
Highlights:
The ship will be primarily based in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh and operate on the jap seaboard underneath the Operational and Administrative Control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region (East).
The ship is additionally designed to raise one twin-engine Helicopter and 4 high pace boats for boarding operation, search & rescue, law enforcement and maritime patrol. The ship is additionally successful in carrying pollution response tools to include oil spills at sea.
It can obtain a maximum velocity of 26 nautical miles per hour with patience of 5000 nm at reasonable speed.
ICGS Vigraha will be deployed significantly for EEZ surveillance and different duties.
With this ship joining the fleet, the Indian Coast Guard will have 157 ships and 66 aircraft in its inventory.
POSHAN Abhiyaan is the flagship programme of government of India to improve nutritional outcomes for pregnant Women, lactating mother, children and adolescent Girls. This mission was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of International Womens Day on March 8, 2018. POSHAN stands for Prime Ministers Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition Abhiyaan. This mission was announced in Budget 2021-2022.
POSHAN Abhiyaan divert the attention of country towards the problem of Malnutrition and address it in a mission-mode. This mission focuses on the aims of POSHAN Abhiyaan, Mission Poshan 2.0. it seeks to strengthen nutritional content, delivery, outreach and outcomes in order to develop practices that nurture Health, wellness and immunity on disease as well as malnutrition.
POSHAN Maan is celebrated in the month of September to ensure community mobilization and bolster peoples participation. In the year 2021, as India celebrates Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, this month has been subdivided into weekly themes with a focused and assimilated approach to improve holistic nutrition.
Web version of e-GOPALA has been developed by National Development Board (NDDB).
Portal was launched to aid dairy farmers.
NDDB also launched IMAP web portal that provides real-time information to the dairy farmers in order to provide better productivity of dairy animals.
Web portal was launched in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modis dream of Digital India.
The e-Gopala App is a comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and information portal, directly used by farmers.
e-GOPALA platform will help farmers to manage their Livestock including buying and selling of disease-free germplasm like semen, embryos, etc. It will also inform regarding the availability of quality breeding Services as well as guide farmers on animal nutrition & treatment of animals with the help of appropriate Ayurvedic ethno veterinary medicine. It also comprises of mechanism to send alert regarding due date for vaccination, pregnancy diagnosis & calving and provide information to farmers about government schemes. Portal will facilitate real time checking of coverage and progress of several projects and government schemes.
Women Entrepreneurship Platform – NITI Aayog and Cisco
The and a US-based tech giant, Cisco launched the next segment of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) on August 26, 2021.
Highlights:
This phase of the WEP has been titled as WEPNxt.
It will leverage science from Cisco and journey working with Indias start-up ecosystem in order to enable more women-owned companies in India.
Cisco, in collaboration with Sattva Consulting, Nasscom Foundation, and DeAsra Foundation, will allow technology-led experiences and engagements in a bid to address the challenges that girls entrepreneurs face at person as well as enterprise levels.
According to the Sixth Economic Census, women solely incorporate 13.76 per cent of the total entrepreneurs, amounting to 8.05 million out of 58.5 million entrepreneurs in India.
Greater Male Connectivity Project – India and Maldives
The India Government and Maldives inked the contract for the mega Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP). The Greater Male Connectivity Project is the largest-ever civilian undertaking in the Maldives.
The Indian Government is funding the implementation of GMCP through a USD four hundred million Line of Credit (LoC) and USD a hundred million grant. The USD 400 million LoC will be furnished via the Export-Import Bank Of India.
This project will be developed by Indian construction & engineering firm, AFCONS, primarily based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) contains a 6.74 km lengthy bridge and causeway hyperlink that will join the national capital Male with three neighbouring islands namely: Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi.