UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 15-04-2021

e-SANTA

• Electronic Solution for Augmenting NaCSA farmers' Trade in Aquaculture (e-SANTA) web portal will act as an electronic marketplace that provides a platform to connect aqua farmers and the buyers.
• [NaCSA - National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture]
•  e-SANTA will enable the farmers to get a better price and the exporters to directly purchase quality products from the farmers.
• The farmers have the freedom to list their produce and quote their price while the exporters have the freedom to list their requirements and also to choose the products based on their requirements.
• It provides cashless, contactless and paperless electronic trade platform between farmers and exporters.
• The platform is backed by an end to end electronic payment system with NaCSA as an Escrow agent.
• Benefits - It will raise income, lifestyle, self-reliance, quality levels, traceability, and provide new options for aqua farmers.
• It will RAISE the lives of farmers by - Reducing Risk; Awareness of Products & Markets; Increase in Income; Shielding Against Wrong Practice and Ease of Processes.

• It will act as an alternative marketing tool between farmers & buyers, within the country and abroad, by eliminating middlemen.

National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture

• It was established by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Ministry of Commerce & Industry in 2007.
• It was established as an outreach organization for uplifting the livelihood of small-scale shrimp farmers.
• NaCSA started grouping these farmers into societies and educated them on better management practices (BMP) for safe and sustainable shrimp farming. It trained them to follow cluster approach in shrimp farming.

• It acts as a federation of all the Aquaculture Societies and facilitate formulation of common policies, strategies, etc.,

• It acts as a Central Agency for standardization of inputs in Aquaculture.

MANAS App

• Initiated by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, the Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System (MANAS) App aims to promote wellbeing across age groups.
• The initial version of MANAS focuses on promoting positive mental health in the age group of 15-35 years.
• It is a comprehensive national digital wellbeing platform and an app developed to augment mental well-being of Indian citizens. It was jointly executed by,
  1. National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru,
  2. Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC), Pune and
  3. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Bengaluru.
• MANAS app was endorsed as a national program by the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC).
• Motto - Uttam Mann, Saksham Jan
• It integrates the health and wellness efforts of various government ministries, scientifically validated indigenous tools with gamified interfaces developed by many national bodies and research institutions.
• This multi-lingual app is based on life skills and core psychological process, with universal accessibility, delivering age-appropriate methods and promoting positive attitude focusing on wellness.

Poshan Gyan

• NITI Aayog, in partnership with the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change, Ashoka University, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, launched Poshan Gyan.
• Poshan Gyan is national digital repository on health and nutrition.
• It was conceptualized as a source, enabling the search of communication materials on 14 thematic areas of health and nutrition across diverse media types, languages, target audiences, and sources.
• It introduces a unique crowd sourcing feature that allows anyone to submit communication material for inclusion on the website, followed by a review by a designated committee.
• It will help to make nutrition a ‘Jan Andolan’ (People’s Movement).

Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland

• Naga Hoho, an apex body of Naga tribes, has asked the Nagaland government not to be hasty with the exercise to prepare the Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN).
• The RIIN is seen as a variant of Assam’s National Register of Citizens.
• RIIN Committee - Nagaland government had earlier set a Committee on Inner Line Permit (ILP) which has recommended coming up with a master list which will be known as RIIN.
• A three-member Committee with Banuo Z. Jamir as its head was set up for studying, examining, and recommending and advising on the implementation of RIIN. The committee had been tasked to determine,
  1. Eligibility criteria to be an indigenous inhabitant,
  2. Authority to authenticate claims of being indigenous,
  3. Place of registration as indigenous inhabitant,
  4. Basis of claims of being indigenous, and
  5. Documents that will be acceptable as proof of being indigenous.
• However, the exercise was suspended following protests from community-based and extremist organisations.
• Objectives - Launched in 2019, the RIIN exercise has a stated objective of preventing outsiders from obtaining fake indigenous certificates for seeking jobs and benefits of government schemes.
• The RIIN will be the master list of all indigenous inhabitants of the state based on an extensive survey of the village-wise and ward-wise data.
• It would be prepared under the supervision of the district administration. It will be monitored by the Commissioner of Nagaland.
• Concern - The Naga Hoho was worried about the consequences if the RIIN implement the identification process with December 1, 1963 as the cut-off date for determining the “permanent residents” of the State.
• [Nagaland attained statehood on December 1, 1963]
• This date is likely to exclude Nagas who have come from beyond the boundaries of Nagaland.
• There is a fear that the non-indigenous Nagas could be treated as “illegal immigrants” and their lands and property confiscated.

Indian Rhino Vision 2020

• Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 program is drawing to a close with the translocation of two one-horned rhinos to Manas National Park, Assam.
• Under the IRV 2020 program, at least 22 rhinos have been translocated within Assam since 2008.

• Launched in 2008, IRV was a joint programme of the Assam Forest Department, Worldwide Fund for Nature India (WWF-India), Bodoland Territorial Council, and the International Rhino Foundation.
• Goal -IRV was designed by Rhino Task Force 2005 with a target to achieve rhino population to 3,000 by establishing populations in seven protected areas in Assam by 2020.
• [Seven protected areas - Pabitora Wildlife Reserve, Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Kaziranga National Park, Manas National Park, Laokhowa wildlife sanctuary, Burachapori wildlife sanctuary and Dibru Saikhowa wildlife sanctuary.]
• To reduce the risk to the rhino population, mainly from poachers by spreading the population in multiple parks with enough habitats to encourage population growth.
• IRV2020 partners perform regular monitoring and security assessments and make improvements based on recommendations by experts.

Greater One-Horned Rhino

• Also known as Indian Rhino, it is found in Indo-Nepal terai and northern West Bengal and Assam.
• Conservation Status
  1. Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 – Schedule I
  2. IUCN Red List – Vulnerable
  3. CITES – Appendix I

Hydrogen Roundtable

• The Hydrogen Roundtable, the first of its kind, was titled as “The Hydrogen Economy - New Delhi Dialogue 2021”.
• It was organised by the Energy Forum (TEF) and the Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI), under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• Objectives - To discuss about the emerging hydrogen ecosystems and exploring opportunities for collaboration, cooperation and coalition.
• To contribute to creating synchrony among the thinktanks,  Governments and the industry to join forces for developing innovative and sustainable technologies at attractive costs.
• To understand the progress of Hydrogen ecosystem across continents.
• It will comprise a High-level Ministerial Session, with focus on policy roadmaps and mapping demand and supply of Hydrogen.

Hydrogen Economy

• Hydrogen is gaining increasing importance as a source to bridge energy gaps and also as a standalone source to conventional fuels.
• The term 'hydrogen economy' was coined by John Bockris in 1970, who said that a hydrogen economy can replace the current hydrocarbon-based economy, leading to a cleaner environment.
• Hydrogen economy is an economy that relies on hydrogen as the commercial fuel that would deliver a substantial fraction of a nation’s energy and services.
• This can become a reality if hydrogen can be produced from domestic energy sources economically and in an environmental-friendly manner.
• The hydrogen economy is an envisioned future where hydrogen is used as fuel for vehicles, energy storage and long-distance transport of energy.

Source: PIB, The Hindu, Deccan Herald