25TH JULY
Contents
MIRABAI WINS INDIA’s FIRST MEDAL IN TOKYO
SMILE SCHEME LAUNCHED BY MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
INDIA GETS ITS 39th WORLD HERITAGE SITE
KODUNGAIYUR DUMP BIOMINING AFTER OCTOBER
CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY (CBDC) – RBI
Mirabai wins India’s first medal in Tokyo
- It was an incredible Saturday for India at the Tokyo Olympics as Mirabai Chanu won a silver in the 49 kg weightlifting category.
- Hailing from Manipur, the 26-year-old lifted a total of 202 kg to emerge second behind China’s Hou Zhihui, who won the gold at 210 kg.
- Mirabai lifted 87 kg in snatch and in the clean and jerk segment, she hoisted 115 kg and helped India open its account.
(SOURCE: THE HINDU)
SMILE SCHEME LAUNCHED BY MINISTRY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
- The government has devised a plan that includes comprehensive measures to improve the well-being of beggars.
- The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has developed a scheme called “SMILE – Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise,” which includes a sub-scheme called “Central Sector Scheme for Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Involved in Begging.”
- It focuses heavily on rehabilitation, medical facilities, counselling, basic documentation, education, skill development, economic links, and so on.
- The scheme would be implemented with the help of state/local governments/local urban bodies, non-profit organisations, community-based organisations (CBOs), institutions, and others.
- The scheme provides for the use of existing shelters provided by the state/UT government and urban local governments to help people who engage in begging recover.
- If existing shelter homes are not available, the implementing agencies will establish new dedicated shelter homes.
- The Ministry has also launched pilot projects in ten cities, including Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, and Ahmedabad, on Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Persons Engaged in the Act of Begging.
(SOURCE: PIB)
INDIA GETS ITS 39th WORLD HERITAGE SITE
- India’s nomination of Rudreswara Temple, (also known as the Ramappa Temple) at Palampet, Mulugu district, near Warangal in the state of Telangana has been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.
- The decision was taken at the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.
- Ramappa temple, a 13th century engineering marvel named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019.
RUDRESWARA (RAMAAPPA) TEMPLE
- The Rudreswara temple was constructed in 1213 AD during the reign of the Kakatiya Empire by RecharlaRudra, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapati Deva.
- The presiding deity here is RamalingeswaraSwamy.
- It is also knownas the Ramappa temple, after the sculptor who executed the work in the temple for 40 years.
- European merchants and travelers were mesmerized by the beauty of the temple and one such traveler had remarked that the temple was the “brightest star in the galaxy of medieval temples of the Deccan”.
(SOURCE: THE INDIAN EXPRESS)
KODUNGAIYUR DUMP BIOMINING AFTER OCTOBER
- The Greater Chennai Corporation will start biomining of the dump in Kodungaiyur in October, retrieving at least 100 acres of polluted land for planting trees.
- Another 100 acres of land was expected to be used for solid waste management, with focus on leachate treatment and waste processing.
- At least 65 lakh cubic metre of waste has accumulated in the dump in the past few decades.
- Plastics from the waste will be sent to cement factories near Chennai. Recyclable material would be used by various industries. Inert material would be used for land-levelling work in low-lying areas.
DPR in 3 months
- The Corporation, with support from Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Ltd., will prepare a detailed project report in three months.
- The study would assess the groundwater pollution. The extent of air pollution and its impact on public health in the vicinity would be assessed.
- It is planning to develop greenery in the dump, with space for recreation, after taking steps to mitigate pollution in the area.
(SOURCE: THE INDIAN EXPRESS)
CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL CURRENCY (CBDC) – RBI
- The Reserve Bank of India may soon launch a pilot project to evaluate the feasibility of using digital currencies for wholesale and retail payments.
- These projects will help adjust RBI’s strategy to introduce a comprehensive central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- A high-level inter-ministerial committee appointed by the Finance Ministry recommended the establishment of a CBDC along with changes to the legal framework, including the RBI Act, which currently allows the RBI to regulate the issuance of bank notes.
- About The Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC): It is the legal tender and responsibility of the national central bank in digital form.
- It is denominated in sovereign currency and appears on the balance sheet of a country’s central bank.
- CBDC is a digital currency that can be exchanged/exchanged at the same price as a country’s cash of similar denomination and traditional central bank deposits.
- At the moment, central banks from various countries are investigating the positive implications of digital currency for financial inclusion, economic growth, technology, innovation, and increased transaction efficiencies.
(SOURCE: THE HINDU)