UniFocus IAS ( UNIFOCUS UNIVERSAL )

Ramcharitmanas   ( Devanagari :   श्रीरामचरितमानस   Rāmacaritamānasa ), is an   epic poem   in the   Awadhi language , based on the   Ramayana , and composed by the 16th-century Indian   bhakti   poet   Tulsidas   (c. 1532–1623). This work is also called, in popular parlance,   Tulsi Ramayana ,   Tulsikrit Ramayana , or   Tulsidas Ramayana . The word   Ramcharitmanas   literally means "Lake of the deeds of   Rama ".   It is considered one of the greatest works of Hindu literature. The work has variously been acclaimed as "the living sum of Indian culture", "the tallest tree in the magic garden of medieval Indian poetry", "the greatest book of all devotional literature" and "the best and most trustworthy guide to the popular living faith of the Indian people". Tulsidas was a great scholar of Sanskrit. However, he wanted the story of Rama to be accessible to the general public, as many Apabhrams...

The Centre today established three Grievance Appellate Committees based on the recently amended Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“IT Rules 2021”). The notification to this effect has been published today. As per the notification, three Grievance Appellate Committees have been constituted with three members each. The details of the same are provided in the annexure. The IT rules 2021 provide for creating avenues for grievance redressal apart from Courts and ensure that the Constitutional rights of Indian citizens are not contravened by any Big-tech Platform by ensuring new accountability standards for SSMIs. During the extensive public consultations on the ITRules, the Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar had articulated the stand of the Government that - safety and trust of every Digital Nagrik, and robust grievance redressal syste...

Commissioned in 1973, Sagar Samrat turned tides of India’s oil fortune by putting it on the global oil map. In 32 years, Sagar Samrat has drilled almost 125 wells and has been involved with 14 key offshore oil and gas discoveries in India. Initially a jack-up drilling rig, Sagar Samrat has now been converted into a Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPU). The British engineering and consulting conglomerate Wood Group’s Mustang unit based in Texas carried out the front-end engineering and design for the vessel’s conversion. MOPU Sagar Samrat commenced production on 23 December 2022. The vessel is presently deployed at Western Offshore (WO)-16 field, located 140-145 kilometres west of Mumbai. Located adjacent to the ONGC’s existing WO-16 well head platform (WHP) in 76m of water depth, the vessel will be instrumental in producing from marginal fields in WO cluster thereby augmenting production from Western Offshore. The MOPU is designed to handle 20,000 barrels per day of crude oil and has...

In the recently concluded 12 th  Session of the Intergovernmental Technical Working Group (ITWG) on Animal Genetic Resources (AnGR) at Rome during 18 -20 January 2023, India was elected as Vice-Chair and represented Asia & Pacific region. Dr B N Tripathi, Deputy Director General (Animal Sciences), ICAR, and the National Coordinator, vice-chaired the Session and also act as Rapporteur. The Working Group, established by the FAO’s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), functions to review technical issues, advise and make recommendations to the Commission and further implement the Commission's programme related to AnGR at global level.  In the 12 th  Session of ITWG, implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources, monitoring of AnGR diversity and preparing 3 rd  Country Report were reviewed.  Further agenda points on role of microorganisms relevant to ruminant digestion, role of genetic resources in mitigatin...

Norovirus infection confirmed in Kerala - The Hindu Norovirus , sometimes referred to as the   winter vomiting disease , is the most common cause of   gastroenteritis .   Infection is characterized by non-bloody   diarrhea ,   vomiting , and   stomach pain .   Fever or headaches may also occur.   Symptoms usually develop 12 to 48 hours after being exposed, and recovery typically occurs within one to three days.   Complications are uncommon, but may include   dehydration , especially in the young, the old, and those with other health problems. The virus is usually spread by the fecal–oral route. This may be through contaminated food or water or person-to-person contact. It may also spread via contaminated surfaces or through air from the vomit of an infected person. Risk factors include unsanitary food preparation and sharing close quarters. Diagnosis is generally based on symptoms. C...

The role of infrastructure is crucial for agriculture development and for taking the production dynamics to the next level. It is only through the development of infrastructure, especially at the post harvest stage that the produce can be optimally utilized with opportunity for value addition and fair deal for the farmers. Development of such infrastructure shall also address the vagaries of nature, the regional disparities, development of human resource and realization of full potential of our limited land resource. In view of above, the Hon’ble Finance Minister announced on 15.05.2020, 1 lakh crore Agri Infrastructure Fund for farm-gate infrastructure for farmers. Financing facility of Rs. 1,00,000 crore will be provided for funding Agriculture Infrastructure Projects at farm-gate & aggregation points (Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies, Farmers Producer Organizations, Agriculture entrepreneurs, Start-ups, etc.). Impetus for development of farm gate & aggregation poin...

Wayanad becomes the first district in the country to provide basic documents to All tribal people. Basic documents and facilities include  Aadhaar cards, ration cards, birth/death certificates, election ID cards, bank accounts and health insurance etc . The Hindu

Indian Coast Guard Ships ICGS Shaurya and Rajveer were on a six-day visit to Chattogram, Bangladesh from 13 to 19 January, 2023 to enhance the cooperative engagements and interoperability under the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Indian and Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG). The visit holds significance in strengthening the bilateral relationships   with BCG which has grown manifold over the years to ensure safe, secure and clean seas in the Region. The fruitful   engagements   with various   senior officials and personnel of BCG during the visit  has further enhanced the safety and security of the fishermen and mariners. During the visit, Pollution Response Team of Indian Coast Guard conducted a five-day International Maritime Organisation Level I course on Pollution Response for the first time in Bangladesh for 20 BCG personnel. The BCG personnel were also imparted training on operations of PR equipment onboard...

The first ever joint exercise between the special forces of the Indian Army and the Egyptian Army named “Exercise Cyclone-I” is in progress at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan since 14 January 2023. The exercise aims to bolster defence co-operation between the two nations and focus on sharing professional skills and interoperability of Special Forces in desert terrain while undertaking counter terrorism, reconnaissance, raids and other special operations. Exercise “Cyclone - I” is the first exercise of its kind bringing the special forces of both the nations on a common platform. The 14 days long exercise which is being carried out in the deserts of Rajasthan engages both the contingents to advance special forces skills such as Sniping, Combat Free Fall, Reconnaissance, Surveillance & Target Designation, sharing of information on weapons, equipment, innovations, tactics, techniques & procedures. The participants would also undertake joint planning and drills for Special Forces operations...

Under the Project RE-HAB, “Bee-fences” are created by setting up bee boxes in the passage ways of elephants to block their entrance to human habitats. The boxes are connected with a string so that when elephants attempt to pass through, a tug or pull causes the bees to swarm the elephant herds and dissuade them from moving further. This is a cost-effective way of reducing human-wild conflicts without causing any harm to the animal. It is scientifically recorded that elephants   fear the bee swarms that can bite their sensitive inner side of the trunk and eyes. The collective buzz of the bees annoys elephants which force them to return. Under the RE-HAB farmers are trained in bee-keeping and each of them are supplied with 10 Bee boxes and installed in the elephant corridors so bee boxes and bee hives are placed in the Elephant corridor to restrict elephants from approaching the agricultural field.  This Pilot project has shown very good results in Ponnampet. This project h...

  1. Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras)-incubated firm has developed an Indigenous Mobile Operating System that can benefit India's 100 crore mobile phone users. 2. Called 'BharOS,' this software can be installed on commercial off-the-shelf handsets. It provides a secure environment for users and is a significant contribution towards 'Atmanirbhar Bharat.' 3. BharOS provides access to trusted apps from organisation-specific Private App Store Services (PASS). A PASS provides access to a curated list of apps that have been thoroughly vetted and have met certain security and privacy standards of organisations. This means users can be confident that the apps they are installing are safe to use and have been checked for any potential security vulnerabilities or privacy concerns. 4. BharOS comes with No Default Apps (NDA). This means that users are not forced to use apps that they may not be familiar with or that they may not trust. Additionally, this appro...

Retail inflation, based on the consumer price index (CPI), eased to a one-yearlow of 5.72 percent in December from 5.88 percent the previous month. As perthe Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation data releasedyesterday, the retail inflation slipped to lowest level since December 2021.Food Price Index dipped to 4.19 percent in December from 4.67 percent inNovember. The CPI has come below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper margin of 6 percent for the first time in the calendar year 2022. The government has mandatedthe central bank to maintain retail inflation at four per cent with a margin oftwo per cent on either side. In its December monetary policy meet, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das had said that RBI would continue its fight against inflation despite the worst being"behind us", suggesting the central bank was likely to remain hawkishin the near term. All India Radio

  A sensitisation workshop on G-20 Environment and Climate Sustainability is underway in Bengaluru. The stakeholders involving the Forest departments of all the states, associated international organisations, Knowledge partners, local influential persons, media and community representatives are taking part in the workshop. The first meeting of the G-20 Working Group on Environment and Climate Sustainability will be held in Bengaluru from the 9th to the 11th of February. The Sensitisation workshop will document, compile and collate the best practices from across the states in the country and present them during the G-20 Working Group meeting next month. The G-20 Working Group will focus on Arresting Land Degradation Restoration of Degraded Lands and Enhancement of Biodiversity. It will put specific emphasis on the restoration of areas affected by Forest Fire and Mining. The G-20 Working Group on Environment will hold four meetings across the country. All India Radio

Pacific island nations are urging Japan to postpone the release of water from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant due to concerns that fisheries will be contaminated, according to the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) on Wednesday. The Japanese government announced last week that water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant could be released into the sea this spring or summer, alarmed island nations still dealing with the fallout from decades of nuclear testing. After treatment, Japan approved the release of more than 1 million tonnes of water from the site into the ocean in April 2021. The PIF, a regional bloc of 17 island nations, claims that releasing the water will have a significant impact on fishing grounds that are vital to island economies and supply up to half of the world's tuna fish. All India Radio

The first G20 Health Working Group meeting under India's presidency being held in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, will conclude on Friday. Various discussions are being held focussing on international cooperation for Universal health care, in the three-day conference.  On the third and final day of meeting today, discussions on strengthening medical value travel enabling easy travel to countries with low cost treatment facilities and also on holistic health care through the integration of traditional methods of treatment like Ayurveda were held. Experts also shared their views on the economic potential of the medical tourism sector. The delegation will also visit Somateeram Ayurveda Village in Thiruvananthapuram today. Health experts, representatives from G20 countries, international organizations and senior officials of the Ministry of Health are participating in the meeting. All India Radio

External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar has said India will stand by Sri Lanka in its hour of need to overcome the challenges it currently faces. He added that India has taken proactive steps and extended financial assurances to the IMF without waiting for the other creditors. Dr Jaishankar added that India is a reliable neighbour and a trustworthy partner who is prepared to go to the extra mile. He said this during his official visit to Sri Lanka. With this announcement India has become the first creditor nation to extend assurance towards restructuring the debt of Sri Lanka as the island nation makes efforts to unlock a bridge financing package from IMF. Earlier, Dr. Jaishankar called on Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremasinghe. They discussed political devolution and India’s view on full implementation of the 13th amendment as well as early conduct of provincial elections. The need to pay special attention to the requirements of Indian Origin Tamils also featured in their talks. ...

India has produced a record over 5,000 Lakh Metric Tons (LMT) of sugarcane in the sugar season 2021-22. About 3,574 LMT of sugarcane was crushed to around 394 LMT of sugar. 36 LMT of sugar out of this was diverted to ethanol production and 359 LMT of sugar was produced by sugar mills. During 2021-22, the revenue of more than 20 thousand crore rupees was made by sugar mills from the sale of ethanol. During the sugar season between October and September 2021-22, India has emerged as the world’s largest producer and consumer of sugar. It has also become the world’s second-largest exporter of sugar after Brazil. All India Radio

 The Commission has today disbursed a  first instalment of €3 billion  of the up to €18 billion Macro-financial Assistance+ (MFA+) package for Ukraine. This follows the swift adoption and entry into force of the MFA+ Regulation mid-December 2022, less than two months following the request from the European Council meeting on 20-21 October 2022. With the  stable, regular and predictable financial support  of up to €18 billion  for 2023  under this instrument, Ukraine will be able to keep on paying wages and pensions and maintain  essential public services  running, such as hospitals, schools, and housing for relocated people. It will also allow Ukraine to  ensure macroeconomic stability  and  restore critical infrastructure  destroyed by Russia in its war of aggression, such as energy infrastructure, water systems, transport networks, roads and bridges. In comparison to standard MFA operations, and to reflect the current ci...

The adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis (TB) services has brought the urgency of vaccine development efforts into sharp focus. In This regard WHO announced plans to establish  a new TB Vaccine Accelerator Council. The Council will facilitate the licensing and use of effective novel TB vaccines catalysing high-level alignment between funders, global agencies, governments and end users in identifying and overcoming barriers to TB vaccine development. Despite countries making bold commitments to end TB by 2030, in the Sustainable Development Goals, the WHO End TB Strategy and the 2018 political declaration on the fight against TB, the epidemic shows no sign of slowing down. In 2021, approximately 10.6 million people fell sick with TB, and 1.6 million died. Drug-resistance continues to be a major problem with close to half a million people developing drug-resistant TB every year. BCG is currently the only licensed TB vaccine. While it provides mo...

  Indian Navy is set to commission the fifth Kalvari class submarine Vagir on 23 Jan 2023, Adm R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff will be the Chief Guest for the ceremony. These submarines are being built in India by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, under collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France. Four of the Kalvari class of submarines have already been commissioned into the Indian Navy. Glorious Past and Inception The erstwhile Vagir was commissioned on 01 Nov 1973 and undertook numerous operational missions including deterrent patrols. The submarine was decommissioned on 07 Jan 2001 after serving the nation for about three decades.  Launched and named ‘Vagir’ on 12 Nov 20, the submarine in its new avatar has the distinction of having the lowest build time among all indigenously manufactured submarines till date. She undertook her maiden sea sortie in Feb 22, marking the commencement of sea trials and has gone through a series of comprehensive accepta...

The Government of India has been making concerted efforts to promote financial inclusion as one of the important national objectives of the country. Some of the major efforts made in the last five decades include - nationalization of banks, building up of robust branch network of scheduled commercial banks, co-operatives and regional rural banks, introduction of mandated priority sector lending targets, lead bank scheme, formation of self-help groups, permitting BCs/BFs to be appointed by banks to provide door step delivery of banking services, zero balance BSBD accounts, etc. The fundamental objective of all these initiatives is to reach the large sections of the hitherto financially excluded Indian population. With a view to further enhance the financial inclusion interventions in the country, Government initiated the National Mission for Financial Inclusion (NMFI), namely, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) in August, 2014 to provide universal banking services for every unbanked...

 1. Background : The Government of India has introduced a pension scheme called the Atal Pension Yojana (APY), with effect from 1st June, 2015, pursuant to the announcement in the budget for 2015-16 on creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor, the under-privileged and the workers in the unorganised sector. APY is being administered by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) under the overall administrative and institutional architecture of the National Pension System (NPS).  2. Eligibility for joining APY : APY is open to all citizens of India who have a savings bank account. The minimum age of joining APY is 18 years and maximum age is 40 years.  3. Features of APY : APY is a voluntary, periodic contribution based pension system, under which the subscriber would receive the following benefits:  (i) Central Government guaranteed minimum pension amount : Each subscriber under APY shall receive a Central Gov...

DETAILS OF THE SCHEME: PMSBY is an Accident Insurance Scheme offering accidental death and disability cover for death or disability on account of an accident. It would be a one-year cover, renewable from year to year. The scheme would be offered / administered through Public Sector General Insurance Companies (PSGICs) and other General Insurance companies willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie up with Banks / Post office for this purpose. Participating banks / Post office will be free to engage any such insurance company for implementing the scheme for their subscribers.  Scope of coverage: All individual bank/ Post office account holders in the age group of 18 to 70 years in participating banks/ Post office will be entitled to join. In case of multiple bank/ Post office accounts held by an individual in one or different banks/ Post office, the person would be eligible to join the scheme through one bank / Post office account only. Aadhar wou...

1. Details of the scheme: PMJJBY is an insurance scheme offering life insurance cover for death due to any reason. It is a one-year cover, renewable from year to year. The scheme is offered / administered through LIC and other Life Insurance companies willing to offer the product on similar terms with necessary approvals and tie ups with Banks / Post office for this purpose. Participating banks/ Post office are free to engage any such life insurance company for implementing the scheme for their subscribers. 2. Scope of coverage: All individual account holders of participating banks/ Post office in the age group of 18 to 50 years are entitled to join. In case of multiple bank / Post office accounts held by an individual in one or different banks/ Post office, the person is eligible to join the scheme through one bank/ Post office account only. Aadhaar is the primary KYC for the bank / Post office account.  3. Enrolment period: The cover shall be for one-year period stretching from 1...