UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 28-12-2020

SEHAT Scheme

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) SEHAT scheme has been extended to all residents of Jammu and Kashmir.
Social Endeavour for Health and Telemedicine (SEHAT) scheme will provide free-of-cost health insurance cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family on a floater basis to all residents of J&K.
It will operate on insurance mode in convergence with PM-JAY.
The benefits of the scheme will be portable across the country.
The hospitals empanelled under the PM-JAY scheme shall provide services under this scheme as well.
To know more about Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, click here.

Monpa Paper

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) opened a Monpa paper making unit in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.
This unit aims at reviving the art and also engaging the local youths with this art professionally and earn.
Monpa Paper or Mon Shugu is the fine-textured handmade paper of Arunachal Pradesh that originated over 1000 years ago.
It has great historic and religious significance as it is the paper used for writing Buddhist scriptures and hymns in monasteries.
It will be made from the bark of a local tree called Shugu Sheng, which has medicinal values too.
It is a local product with great global potential, which is aligned with the Prime Minister’s mantra of “Local to Global”.

Lithium Refinery

India’s first Lithium refinery will be set up in Gujarat.
It will process Lithium ore to produce battery-grade material.
Lithium is a rare element not usually found in India, which would be imported from Australia and processed in this refinery.
The proposed Lithium refinery will help make Gujarat a domestic hub for Li-ion batteries manufacturing.
TDS Lithium-Ion Battery Gujarat Private Ltd is India’s first Lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant in Gujarat.
This Lithium ion battery manufacturing plant is expected to become operational by January or February 2021.

Zero-Coupon Bonds

Zero-coupon bonds or accrual bonds are debt security instruments that do not pay interest.
They trade at deep discounts, offering full face value profits at maturity.
The difference between the purchase price of a zero-coupon bond and the par value indicates the investor's return.
The Centre would recapitalise Punjab & Sind Bank using this bond.
The Centre has allowed this bank to account for these securities under ‘Held to Maturity’ portfolio without any limit.
Also, such investments will not qualify as Statutory Liquidity Ratio eligible papers.
It is a rarest of the rare situation where the recapitalisation exercise will not earn any interest to the bank during the tenure of the securities.

Fortification Standards

Food fortification is the supplementation of one or more components like micronutrients to improve the properties of newly designed functional food products.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) First Amendment Regulations, 2020 that will be effective from July 1, 2021.
It has restricted the amount of fortification for processed food products to 15-30% of the Indian adult RDA (Recommended dietary Allowance) of micronutrient.
This percentage is based on an average calorie intake of 600 kcal from processed foods.
The notification has defined the levels of these micronutrients per 100 g.
Also, products that are high in fat, salt and sugar will be excluded from the fortified processed foods category.
In 2018, FSSAI had notified standards of fortification for five staple product categories - milk, edible oil, rice, flour and salt.
It has also launched the ‘F+’ logo to be displayed on labels of fortified food products for easy identification by consumers.

Source: PIB, Livemint, The Indian Express, The Hindu, Business Line