Grey Water & its Management

A grey water management system, which includes individual household soak pits and community soak pits with either horizontal or vertical type filter, has been successfully implemented in Pappankuzhi Village, Tamil Nadu.

This is achieved as a part of the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G) Phase II campaign of which greywater management is an integral component.

Grey Water

• Grey water is the category of waste water that is not contaminated with faecal matter or urine.
• This broad category includes post-use water from most domestic or household purposes like bathing, washing dishes, laundry, etc.
• Grey water can contain harmful bacteria and even faecal matter that contaminates soil and groundwater.

The Greywater Management is an integral component of the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G).

Sujalam 2.0 - Grey Water Recycling Project

• Started in 2021, Sujlam 1.0 campaign achieved building more than 1 million soak pits at household and community level across the country.
• Launched on the World Water Day 2022, Sujalam 2.0 is a countrywide Grey Water Recycling Project launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• It would focus on creation of institutional-level greywater management assets in Panchayat Ghar, healthcare facilities, schools, Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), community centres and other government institutions.
• It will encourage the creation of individual and community greywater management assets.
• Funding - The funds to execute the activities for greywater management will be sourced from SBMG Phase-II or through 15th Finance Commission tied-grants or MGNREGS or through convergence of all.

Reference

1. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1841784
2. https://swachhbharatmission.gov.in/SBMCMS/writereaddata/Portal/SLWM/Shrikant_Navrekar_GWM_PPT.pdf
3. https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1808621
4. https://swachhbharatmission.gov.in/sbmcms/writereaddata/Portal/Images/pdf/GWMtoolkit.pdf

National Institutional Ranking Framework 2022

The Ministry of Education has launched the seventh consecutive edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2022.

• The NIRF was approved by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and launched in 2015. 
• It ranks colleges, universities and research institutions and also provides an overall ranking of all of them combined.
• Institutes are also ranked across 7 subject domains, namely engineering, management, pharmacy, law, medical, architecture and dental.

• Methodology - The ranking framework outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country.
• The framework evaluates institutions on five parameters:
  1. Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR),
  2. Research & Professional Practice (RP),
  3. Graduation Outcomes,
  4. Outreach & Inclusivity (OI), and
  5. Perception (PR).

• Findings of the NIRF 2022 - Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) is the top higher educational institute in the country followed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and IIT Bombay.
• Among the universities, IISc, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia were among the top three.
• Among the colleges, Miranda House, Hindu College and Presidency College were among the top three.
• Among the research institutes, the IISc Bengaluru, IIT-Madras and the IIT-Delhi were among the top three.

Reference

1. https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/iit-m-ranked-indias-top-higher-education-institute/article65646085.ece
2. https://www.nirfindia.org/2022/Ranking.html
3. https://indianexpress.com/article/education/nirf-iits-sweep-rankings-iisc-tops-universities-delhi-colleges-shine-8032259/
4. https://www.nirfindia.org/About

Varanasi

The city of Varanasi, showcasing India’s culture and traditions over the ages, will be declared the first “Cultural and Tourism Capital” of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

The Beijing-headquartered Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will rotate the title of Cultural and Tourism Capital among the member states every year.

• Varanasi or Benaras or Kashi is one of the oldest living cities in the world.
• It is located in Uttar Pradesh, and is located on the left bank of the Ganges (Ganga) River.
• It is India’s ancient city, which is one of the seven sacred cities of Hinduism.

Seven sacred cities of Hinduism are Ayodhya, Mathura, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanchipuram, Ujjain, and Dwarka.

• History - Varanasi’s early history is that of the first Aryan settlement in the middle Ganges valley.
• Varanasi was the capital of the kingdom of Kashi during the time of the Buddha (6th century BCE), who gave his first sermon nearby at Sarnath.
• It remained a centre of religious, educational, and artistic activities as attested by the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang, who visited it in about 635 CE.
• Varanasi subsequently declined during 3 centuries of Muslim occupation, beginning in 1194.
• Ir became an independent kingdom in the 18th century, and under subsequent British rule it remained a commercial and religious centre.

Reference

1. https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/varanasi-to-be-cultural-and-tourism-capital/article65645954.ece
2. https://varanasi.nic.in/about-district/
3. https://www.incredibleindia.org/content/incredibleindia/en/destinations/varanasi.html

Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies

The Union Ministry of Textiles has extended the Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) for export of garments/apparels, and made-ups till March 31, 2024.

This move was authorised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The government has approved the continuation of the scheme to boost exports and job creation in the textile sector.

• In 2019, the Ministry of Textiles notified the Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL).
• This scheme replaced the Scheme for Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) following the introduction of GST in 2017.
• This scheme aims to reimburse all embedded State and Central Taxes/ Levies for exports of manufactured goods and garments.
• Importer-Exporter Codes (IECs) are necessary in order to apply for the RoSCTL programme.
• Under this scheme, the exporters are issued a Duty Credit Scrip for the value of embedded taxes and levies contained in the exported product.
• Exporters can use this scrip to pay basic Customs duty for the import of equipment, machinery or any other input.
• Coverage - The Rebate of State Taxes and Levies includes VAT on fuel mandi tax, embedded SGST paid on inputs, duty of electricity, stamp duty on export documents, purchases from unregistered dealers, etc.
• The Rebate of Central Taxes and Levies includes central excise duty on fuel, embedded CGST paid on inputs, purchases from unregistered dealers, inputs for transport sector and embedded CGST, etc.

Reference

1. https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/govt-extends-rosctl-plan-for-garment-exports/article65641933.ece
2. https://www.livemint.com/news/india/govt-extends-rosctl-scheme-till-march-2024-for-exports-of-apparelgarments-11657793318417.html
3. https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/ministry-of-textiles-rebate-of-state-and-central-taxes-and-levies-rosctl-scheme-central-government-203901

India’s Clean Energy Target

In the recently held Sydney Energy Forum, India proclaimed that it has achieved clean energy targets nine years ahead of schedule.

• India’s Clean Energy Targets - At the UN COP-21 Glasgow Summit, India’s target comprises of

1. 500 GW of non-fossil fuel installed power generation capacity by 2030
2. 50% electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030

• India’s INDC Targets under Paris Agreement 2015 -

1. To reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 % by 2030 from 2005 level.
2. To achieve about 40 % cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources by 2030.

• Status of Renewable Energy Capacity - India has installed 162 GW of renewable energy capacity, which is 41% of the total installed electricity (402 GW).
• Sydney Energy Forum – It was co-hosted by the Australian Government and the International Energy Agency.
• Business Council of Australia acts as a Forum partner.
• Ministers from the United States, Japan, India, Indonesia, and the Pacific Island nation of Samoa have attended the forum.
• Its aim is to secure clean energy supply chains for the Indo-Pacific region.
• The forum will foster connections between investors, business and government with a focus on innovations in key clean energy technologies such as solar, hydrogen, critical minerals and batteries.

Reference

1. https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/india-has-achieved-clean-energy-targets-9-years-before-deadline/article65637349.ece
2. https://www.sydneyenergyforum.gov.au/about