Mera Yuva Bharat

Recently the Union Cabinet approved establishment of an autonomous body Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) to focus on Youth led development.

• It is an autonomous body to serve as an overarching enabling mechanism powered by technology for youth development youth led development.
• It provides equitable access to youth to actualize their aspirations and build Viksit (advanced) Bharat across the entire spectrum of the Government.
• The primary objective of Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) is to make it a whole of Government platform for youth development.
• It will benefit the youth in the age group of 15-29 years, which is in line with the definition of ‘Youth’ in the National Youth Policy.
• The country has around 40 crore people in the age group of 15-29 years.
• In case of programme components specifically meant for the adolescents, the beneficiaries will be in the age group of 10-19 years.
• It will centralize youth database and offer suitable opportunities to engage in voluntary work across the country.
• It will act as a one-stop shop for young people and various central government ministries.
• Under this platform there will be no financial remuneration.
• Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) would lead to:
  • Leadership Development in the Youth,
  • Better alignment between youth aspirations and community needs,
  • Enhanced efficiency through Convergence of existing programmes,
  • Improved two-way communication to connect youth government initiatives and activities of other stakeholder that engage with youth and
  • Ensuring accessibility by creating a physical ecosystem.

Intelligent Grievance Monitoring System (IGMS) 2.0

Ministry of Personnel Public Grievances and Pensions recently launched Intelligent Grievance Monitoring System (IGMS) 2.0 Public Grievance portal and Automated Analysis in Tree Dashboard.

• The IGMS 2.0 is a major upgradation of Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities.
• IGMS2.0 Dashboard has been implemented by IIT Kanpur.
• The Dashboard provides instant tabular analysis of Grievances Filed & Disposed, State-wise & District-wise Grievances Filed & Ministry-wise data.
• The Dashboard will also help the officials identify the root cause of the grievance.
• CPGRAMS is an online platform available to the citizens 24x7 to lodge their grievances to the public authorities on any subject related to service delivery.
• It is a single portal connected to all the Ministries/Departments of Government of India and States.
• Every Ministry and States have role-based access to this system.
• CPGRAMS is also accessible to the citizens through standalone mobile application downloadable through Google Play store and mobile application integrated with UMANG.
• Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) is a one stop gateway to all government schemes and services through different channels like Mobile Application(iOS, Android), Chatbot, Voice Bot and Website.
• UMANG is an initiative of National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

Niobium

Recently the Cabinet approved royalty rates for mining of 3 critical and strategic minerals such as Lithium, Niobium and Rare Earth Elements (REEs).

• Niobium also known as columbium, is a chemical element with the symbol Nb (formerly Cb) and atomic number 41.
• Niobium is a light grey, crystalline and ductile transition metal.
• Pure niobium has a hardness similar to that of pure titanium, and it has similar ductility to iron.
• Niobium is used in alloys, tools and dies and superconductive magnets.
• Niobium in one of the Critical Minerals in India.
• It is not one of the 17 rare earth elements (REE).
• The main source of Niobium element is the mineral columbite.
• This mineral also contains tantalum and the two elements are mined together.
• Columbite is found in Canada, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria and elsewhere.
• Some niobium is also produced as a by-product of tin extraction.
• The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment act, 2023 delisted 6 minerals, including Lithium and Niobium, from the list of atomic minerals.

‘Ayyampalayam Nettai’ coconut variety

Recently the farmers in the region of Ayyampalayam, Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu have sent their application for getting a GI tag for Ayyampalayam Nettai’ coconut variety.

• ‘Ayyampalayam Nettai’ coconut variety is grown in coconut farms just above the dam, bordering the catchment area in Ayyampalayam, Dindigul district of Tamil Nadu.
• These century-old trees that have more than 60% oil content and an extremely sweet kernel have still not lost their crop yielding ability.
• It has oval shaped nuts that are drought resistant and disease resistant.
• Though some trees were attacked by whiteflies and leaf spot disease, these trees were able to withstand it unlike the hybrid trees.
• On an average, a single tree can give a yield of about 120 nuts per year and if fertilizers are applied the yield can increase to about 150 nuts.
• The hybrid trees, on the other hand, start yielding early giving about 200 nuts per tree per year.
• This variety also promotes sustainable intercropping.
• ‘Ayyampalayam Nettai’ coconut variety is yet to receive GI tag.

Operation Ajay

Recently the ministry of external affairs announced an initiative Operation ‘Ajay’ to evacuate Indian nationals from Israel.

• Operation Ajay is a major operation to evacuate its citizens who wish to return from conflict-hit Israel.
• There are at least 900 Indian students who are enrolled in various Israeli universities and institutions.
• This will be the second evacuation operation in 2023, after Operation Kaveri that brought back several thousand Indian citizens from conflict-torn Sudan.
• Operation Ganga – Is an operation executed by the Indian government to rescue Indians in the war hit Ukraine.
• Operation Devi Shakti – Evacuation of Indians and Afghans and shipment of humanitarian assistance for the people of Afghanistan.