Prelim Bits 29-09-2018

Livestock Census

• The Livestock Census has been conducted in the country periodically since 19191-20.
• The 20th Livestock Census will be conducted in all districts across the country in participation with all States and Union Territories.
• The ultimate responsibility for conducting the Livestock Census rests with the Animal Husbandry Departments of the States/UTs.
• The Central Government coordinates the work of the States and gives necessary guidance to ensure uniformity in collection of census data.
• It is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% central assistance.
• It usually covers all domesticated animals and headcounts of those animals will be carried out during a specific time period.
• The breeds of various major species including poultry as registered by National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) will be covered in the Livestock Census.

Cyber Shikshaa Initiative

• Project Cyber Shikshaa focus on skilling women engineering graduates in the niche field of Cyber Security.
• It is launched by Microsoft & Data Security Council of India (DSCI) in association with Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY).
• The primary objective is to connect with underserved women from Tier 2 / Tier 3 cities and to align a career path for them in Cyber Security.
• Centre of Advance Computing (CDAC) will impart training to the selected women candidates from all over India.
• Initially, the project will be rolled out in the following cities - Noida, Patna, Hyderabad and Mohali, followed by other cities in the next phase.
• The program will be a 4-months interactive training course with combination of theory, case studies practical hands-on and projects.

Common Risk Mitigation Mechanism

• It is under the International Solar Alliance.
• It will be formally announced at the 24th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 24) to be held in Poland in December.
• It has been taken over by the World Bank and it has mobilised $1 million for preparatory work.
• The objective of CRMM is de-risking and reducing the financial cost of renewable energy projects in ISA-member countries.
• It will act as a pooled insurance with limited liability.
• Banks and multi-lateral institutions can contribute to the fund for a marginal premium.

Climate Finance Leadership Initiative

• The Climate Finance Leadership initiative support a global mobilisation of private capital in response to the challenge of climate change.
• It work to fulfill the private financing objectives included in the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement.
• Paris agreement reaffirmed the goal of mobilizing at least $100 billion per year by 2020 through a combination of public development finance and private foreign direct investment.
• It will draw members from top international financial firms and corporations.
• It focus on catalysing scaled-up investments in clean energy and climate resilience projects around the world, in both developed and emerging markets.
• The initiative will have a one-year term culminating in a UN Climate Summit to be held in September 2019.
• It will work closely with the government of France and will provide a first report to G7 Finance Ministers by July 2019.

Flood Forecast System

• The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has recently launched the country's first flood forecasting and early-warning system.
• It was launched with the support of the Asian Development Bank.
• It will provide real-time data on inundation, rainfall intensity, temperature, air quality and other climate-related data.

Source: PIB, The Hindu