• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has recently approved the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi (PMSSN).

Pradan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi (PMSSN)

• It is a single non-lapsable reserve fund for share of Health from the proceeds of Health and Education Cess levied under Section 136-b of Finance Act, 2007.

Salient features of the PMSSN

• A non-lapsable reserve fund for Health in the Public Account.
• Proceeds of share of health in the Health and Education Cess will be credited into PMSSN.
• Accruals into the PMSSN will be utilized for the flagship schemes of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare namely,

1. Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY)
2. Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs)
3. National Health Mission
4. Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY)
5. Emergency & disaster preparedness and responses during health emergencies
6. Any future programme/scheme that targets to achieve progress towards SDGs and the targets set out in the National Health Policy (NHP) 2017.

• Administration and maintenance of the PMSSN is entrusted to Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
• In any financial year, the expenditure on such schemes of the MoHFW would be initially incurred from the PMSSN and thereafter, from Gross Budgetary Support (GBS).

• Ministry/Department of Social Justice and Empowerment has constituted the Development and Welfare Board for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities (DWBDNCs) in 2019.
• It aims for Development and Welfare of Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities for a period of three years extendable up to 5 years.

The responsibilities of the DWBDNC are:

1. To formulate and implement Welfare and Development programmes, as required, for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities.
2. To identify the locations/areas where these communities are densely populated.
3. To assess and identify gaps in accessing existing programmes and entitlements and to collaborate with Ministries/implementing agencies to ensure that ongoing programmes meet the special requirements of De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities.
4. To monitor and evaluate the progress of the schemes of Government of India and the States/UTs with reference to Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Communities.

• Ms. Suchitra Durai, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Thailand received the prestigious “King Bhumibol World Soil Day - 2020 Award” of Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) on the behalf of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
• The international recognition was announced by the FAO, Rome on the eve of World Soil Day - 2020 in view of the ICAR’s excellent contributions in “Soil Health Awareness” on the theme “Stop soil erosion, save our future” during the last year.

• The India – Uzbekistan joint military exercise “DUSTLIK II” commenced recently in Foreign Training Node Chaubatia, Ranikhet (Uttarakhand).
• This is the second edition of annual bilateral joint exercise of both armies.
• The first edition of the exercise was held at Uzbekistan in Nov 2019.

• Indian Navy’s third stealth Scorpene class Submarine INS Karanj has been commissioned recently at the Naval Dockyard Mumbai through a formal commissioning ceremony.  

Project 75

• Six Scorpene Class submarines are being built in India under the Project-75 by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, under collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France.
• Two Scorpene-class submarines INS Kalvari and INS Khanderi have already been commissioned into the Indian Navy.
• The fourth and fifth Scorpene-class submarines- INS Vela & INS Vagir have been undergoing sea trials.
• The sixth scorpene class submarine named Vagsheer is currently under construction.
• INS Karanj would form part of the Western Naval Command’s Submarine fleet and would be another potent part of the Command’s arsenal.
• Scorpene Submarines are one of the most advanced conventional submarines in the world.

Sun Temple at Konark

• It was built by King Narasimhadeva I, the great ruler of Ganga dynasty.
• It remains a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, who gather here every year for the Chandrabhaga Mela around the month of February.
• A Jaga Mohan is an assembly hall in the Hindu temple architecture, especially in Orissa.
• It is located between the temple entrance and the Garba griha.
• The Jaga Mohana is built on a plan based on structures of rectangles and triangles and highly decorated with sculptures of deities, mythological scenes or ornaments.
• It is typical of the Nagara architecture temples of northern India.
• In the south of India, the halls are named mandapas which are often large halls with columns.

Jaganath Temple

• Ganga dynasty king Anantavarman Chodaganga built the puri Jaganath Temple in the 12th century CE.

National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

• It was operationalized in 2019 to provide a centralised mechanism to the citizens for online reporting of all types of cybercrime incidents.
• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Home Affairs under National Mission for the safety of women to facilitate victims/complainants to report cybercrime complaints online.
• The incidents reported on this portal, their conversion into FIRs and subsequent action thereon are handled by the State/UT law enforcement agency.
• The ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India.
• It caters all types of cyber-crime complaints including complaints pertaining to online Child Pornography (CP), Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) or sexually explicit content such as Rape/Gang Rape (CP/RGR) content and other cyber-crimes.

Banks Board Bureau (BBB)

• It was set up in February 2016 as an autonomous body– based on the recommendations of the RBI-appointed Nayak Committee.
• It was part of the Indradhanush Plan.
• It will make recommendations for appointment of whole-time directors as well as non-executive chairpersons of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and state-owned financial institutions.
• The Ministry of Finance takes the final decision on the appointments in consultation with the Prime Minister’s Office.
• Banks Board Bureau comprises of

1. A Chairman,
2. Three ex-officio members i.e Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises, Secretary of the Department of Financial Services and Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India,
3. Five expert members, two of which are from the private sector.

Urjit Patel Committee

• The Expert Committee to revise and strengthen the Monetary Policy Framework, headed by RBI Deputy Governor Urjit R Patel was appointed in 2014 by the RBI.

NISAR Mission

• It is a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).
• NASA is providing the mission’s L-band SAR, ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, launch vehicle and associated launch services for the mission.
• NISAR uses a sophisticated information-processing technique known as SAR to produce extremely high-resolution images.
• The radar penetrates clouds and darkness, enabling NISAR to collect data day and night in any weather.
• The NISAR will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet’s surface less than a centimetre across.

Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is located in Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli hill range on Delhi-Haryana border.
• This protected area contains one of the last surviving remnants of Delhi Ridge hill range and its semi-arid forest habitat and its dependent wildlife.
• This is an important habitat for the Indian leopard.
• Endangered species in the sanctuary include red-headed vulture and egyptian vulture.
• Recently Supreme Court-mandated Ridge Management Board has decided to constitute an expert committee to look into the proposal of dumping inert (non-reactive) waste in the mines of Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary (Delhi).

Ridge Management Board

• The Supreme Court mandated the Delhi Government to constitute a Ridge Management Board for protection of the Delhi Ridge through their orders in the M.C. Mehta case 1987.
• The Delhi Ridge acts as the green lungs of the capital and, through various government orders over the years, all construction has been banned in the Ridge in an effort to preserve it.
• It was establishment on 6th October 1995, Chairman of the board is Chief Secretary of Delhi and Head of the Forest Department of Delhi Government is its Member Secretary.
• The Board also has members from the Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs).