Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – Current Event

Context: The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s ambitious Agnipath scheme has faced opposition, from political parties and Armed Forces veterans alike, since it was announced in June 2022.Now, with the BJP short of a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha, crucial alliance partners too have called for a review of the contentious scheme.

Background:-

• In fact, a key plank in INDIA bloc’s campaign in states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan — where the Armed Forces are a sought after employer — was the opposition to this scheme for military recruitment. And the BJP’s performance in these states indicates that the pitch had some resonance on the ground.

What is the Agnipath scheme?

• Agnipath was aimed at recruiting personnel below officer ranks — soldiers, airmen, and sailors who are not commissioned officers — to the Indian Armed Forces for a period of four years.
• At the end of this tenure, upto 25% of these recruits, the so called ‘Agniveers’, can join the services on a permanent commission (another 15 years), subject to merit and organisational requirements.
• Aspirants between the ages of 17.5 years and 23 years are eligible to apply (the upper age limit was increased from 21), and the recruitment standards remain the same as with regular service, prior to Agnipath.
• At present, all sailors, airmen, and soldiers, except the technical cadre of the medical branch, are recruited to the services under the scheme, which has also opened doors for the recruitment of women to the IAF and the Navy.
• The scheme was announced in June 2022, after military recruitment was paused for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

How are Agniveers compensated?

• Agniveers draw a basic salary of Rs 30,000-Rs 40,000 per month, and are entitled to other risk and hardship allowances.
• They contribute 30% of their monthly emoluments to the Seva Nidhi fund, which the government matches. At the end of their service, they receive approximately Rs 11.71 lakhs (with interest) as a lump sum severance package from this fund, which is exempt from income tax.
• If they die on duty, their family receives a lump sum of Rs 1 crore (including the Seva Nidhi package), and full pay for the period which the soldier could not serve. In case of disability, an Agniveer can receive upto Rs 44 lakh as compensation, depending on the percentage of disability suffered which is attributed to, or aggravated by military service.

How is Agnipath different from regular military service?

• Unlike soldiers in regular service, Agniveers do not draw pensions post-retirement. Only the 25% of Agniveers who get absorbed into the forces after four years will receive pensionary benefits, although the initial four years of service will not be considered for these.
• This is the biggest change that Agnipath has brought in. Not only does the scheme will help reduce the Armed Forces’ permanent force levels, this in turn will considerably cut the defence pension bill, which has been a major concern for governments for many years.

Why was Agnipath introduced?

• Apart from the unsaid intention of reducing the Armed Forces’ wage and pension bill, the government has argued that the scheme will ensure the forces’ “youthful profile”.
• At the time the scheme was brought in, the average age in the Armed Forces was 32 years, which Agnipath will bring down to 26 years, if implemented.
• Moreover, the government has argued that after the completion of their service, Agniveers would contribute to the civil society “through their education, skill, discipline and other qualities”.

Why has Agnipath seen such strong opposition?

• Critics say that the scheme creates a “lesser” cadre of soldiers, who work on the same tasks as those with full commission, but with lesser pay, benefits, and prospects.
• On the ground, this disparity has caused significant disaffection among those who see military recruitment as a path to economic stability and upward mobility.

Source: Indian  Express

Syllabus

• Prelims – Science & Technology

Context: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has cautioned against use of liquid nitrogen in products such as cocktails, ice-creams, meetha pan and bakery items at the point of sale.

Background:

• The food safety regulator said such use of liquid nitrogen immediately before consumption of food items is “unauthorised” and will attract “ action” in accordance with the regulations.

Key Takeaways

• Nitrogen is a colourless and odourless gas or liquid, with the functional use of “freezing agent, propellant, packaging gas or foaming agent.
• FSSAI said that as per the FSS regulations, Nitrogen is a GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) additive and its use has been laid out in the regulations for specific food categories.
• In addition, dairy-based desserts (ice-creams) at GMP level liquid nitrogen is permitted to be used only for “technological function of contact freezing and cooling only,” FSSAI added.
• FSSAI has taken cognisance of several instances of liquid nitrogen being used in bars, restaurants, food serving establishement, caterer in fairs and marriage in food items to make them more “eye-pleasing” at the time of serving.
• In an advisory, the food safety authority expressed concerns of instances where such “unauthorised use” of liquid nitrogen in food items and direct consumption of liquid nitrogen infused food by consumers has led to “serious health issues and injuries.”
• “Liquid nitrogen which is illicitly being used directly at the point of serving or plating is not allowed as this is not the intended purpose and technological use of the additive and shall be considered as non-compliance by the food businesses doing so,” FSSAI said.

Source: Hindu Businessline

Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – Government Schemes

Context: The new Union Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has taken its first decision to provide assistance for the construction of three crore additional houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

Background:

• This initiative aims to address the increase in the number of eligible families requiring housing.

About Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is a flagship program implemented by the Government of India with the mission of ‘Housing for All by 2022’.
• It is a centrally sponsored scheme.
• It was launched in 2015 with the aim to provide affordable housing to the poor, including the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low-Income Groups (LIGs), and Middle-Income Groups (MIGs). The scheme has two components: PMAY-Urban (PMAY-U) and PMAY-Gramin (PMAY-G)

Key Points

• Under PMAY, there are three main schemes:
  • Credit Link Subsidy Scheme (CLSS): This provides subsidies on home loans for eligible beneficiaries.
  • Affordable Housing Projects (AHP/PDD): These projects focus on creating affordable housing options.
  • Beneficiary Lead Construction (BLC): Beneficiaries can directly construct their own houses with financial assistance from the government.
• Components: The scheme has two components:
  • Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Urban (PMAY-U) for the urban poor.
  • Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana, Gramin (PMAY-G) for the rural poor.
• Ministries Involved: Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (Urban), Ministry of Rural Development (Gramin).
• Aim: To provide a pucca house with basic amenities to all families, who are homeless or living in kutcha or dilapidated houses by the end of March 2022.
• Beneficiaries: People belonging to SCs/STs, freed bonded labourers and non-SC/ST categories, widows or next-of-kin of defence personnel killed in action, ex-servicemen and retired members of the paramilitary forces, disabled persons and minorities.
• Cost Sharing: The cost of unit assistance is shared between Central and State Governments in the ratio 60:40 in plain areas and 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly states.
• Progress: The PMAY-G has a completion rate of 67.72%, whereas the PMAY-U scheme that started a year ahead is lagging behind with a 50% completion rate.

Source: Hindu

Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Event

Context: Congress party demanded to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce the timeline for the updated census.

Background:

• The last census was scheduled for 2021 but has not been completed, which has led to concerns about the accuracy of data used for various welfare schemes and socio-economic planning.

About POPULATION CENSUS :

• Population Census is the total process of collecting, compiling, analyzing and disseminating demographic, economic and social data pertaining, at a specific time, of all persons in a country or a well-defined part of a country.
• It also provides the trends in population characteristics.
• The decennial Census is conducted by the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs.

• The population census is a Union subject under Article 246 of India Constitution. It is listed at serial number 69 of the seventh schedule of the constitution.
• Census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948.
  • The information collected during the population Census is so confidential that it is not even accessible to the courts of law.
  • The confidentiality is guaranteed by the Census Act, 1948. The law specifies penalties for both public and census officials for non-compliance or violation of any provision of the Act.
• The first census in India was conducted in 1872 under Viceroy Lord Mayo, but it was not complete in its coverage.
• The first complete census, which covered the entire country, was conducted in 1881.
• The most recent complete census was conducted in 2011.
• The subsequent census was scheduled for 2021, but it has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Economic Times

Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Event

Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)recently released images of the Sun captured by Aditya-L1 during May Solar Storm.

Background:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said these photos captured by the Aditya-L1 will help in studying solar flares as well as energy distribution and sun spots.

About Aditya-L1

• Aditya-L1 is India’s first space-based solar mission to study the Sun.
• It was launched on September 2, 2023, by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) into a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 1 (L1).

• Aditya-L1 would provide an uninterrupted view of the Sun for prolonged periods, overcoming the limitations of Low Earth Orbits where the view is frequently blocked by the Earth itself.
• Objectives
  • Understanding Coronal Heating and Solar Wind Acceleration.
  • Understanding initiation of Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), solar flares and near-earth space weather.
  • Understanding coupling and dynamics of the solar atmosphere.
  • Understanding solar wind distribution and temperature anisotropy.
• Significance
  • Aditya-L1 will facilitate India to establish its own solar observatory in space, which would have numerous applications in day-to-day life.
  • Its success would place ISRO into an elite space club along with NASA and ESA.
  • Understanding the Sun’s complex magnetic behaviour is crucial to advancing space weather prediction, securing technological assets and unravelling stellar evolution.
• Payloads
  • Aditya-L1 carries seven payloads to examine the Sun’s properties using visible and X-ray spectrometers, a coronagraph, analysers for solar winds and energetic particles, and magnetometers.
  • This multi-wavelength observation capacity will probe the Sun’s corona, the chromosphere, the photosphere, flares and coronal mass ejections.

Source: Hindu

Syllabus

• Mains – GS 2

Context: The Committee on Estimates presented the report on Empowerment through PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks Scheme and Revival Efforts for the Sick Textile Units/PSUs.

Background:

• Committee has recommended framing a comprehensive National Textile Policy.

PM MITRA Parks Scheme:

• It aims to develop world class infrastructure including plug and play facility with an outlay of Rs. 4445 crores for a period up-to 2027-28.
• It is inspired by 5F vision (Farm to Fiber to Factory to Fashion to Foreign) of Prime Minister to propel India into a leading global hub for textile manufacturing and exports.
• It will help in creating world-class industrial infrastructure that would attract large scale investment including foreign direct investment (FDI) and encourage innovation and job creation within the sector.
• It will offer an opportunity to create an integrated textiles value chain right from spinning, weaving, processing/dyeing and printing to garment manufacturing at a single location.

The main objectives of the PM MITRA Parks Scheme:

• To develop integrated large scale and modern industrial infrastructure facility including plug and play facilities for total value chain of the textile industry.
• To reduce logistics costs by housing entire value chain at one location and improve competitiveness of Indian textiles.
• To help India in attracting investments, boosting employment generation and position itself strongly in the global textile market through augmentation of export potential.

Important features/provisions of MITRA Parks:

• It will offer the opportunity to create an Integrated Textiles Value Chain right from spinning, weaving, processing, and printing to garment manufacturing, accessories making at one location.
• MITRA parks can be either greenfield or brownfield.
• The minimum estimated area per MITRA Park is 1,000 acres.
• A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) owned by center and state government jointly will be set up for each park which will oversee the implementation of the project.
• The Ministry of Textiles will provide financial assistance up to Rs 800 crores per park for greenfield projects and up to Rs 500 crores per park for brownfield projects.
• Commercial Development (CD) in a limited area up to 10% of the park area on self-financing model will enhance viability of the park and help maintenance of common assets and facilities by SPVs even after scheme’s completion.
• Competitive Incentive Support (CIS) up to Rs. 300 crores per park will incentivize early operationalization and quick scale up.

Source: Parliament Digital library

Q1.) With reference to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), consider the following statements:

1. It is a flagship program implemented by the Government of India with the mission of ‘Housing for All by 2022’.
2. It is a centrally sponsored scheme.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q2.) With reference to the Population Census in India, consider the following statements:

1. The first census in India was conducted in 1872 under Lord Mayo.
2. Census is conducted under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948.
3. The population census is a Union subject under Article 246 of India Constitution.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

Q3.) Consider the following statements about the Aditya-L1 Mission?

1. Aditya-L1 is India’s first space-based solar mission to study the Sun.
2. The main goal of the mission is to understand the Sun’s outermost layers and collect data about the solar wind and its impact on the space weather surrounding Earth.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

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