Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 18 August 2022

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More than ₹ 30,000 crore has been sanctioned for projects aimed at cleaning Ganga and its tributaries, Jal Shakti Minister.
Emphasizing on the importance of limited water resources, the very beginning of economic development is our water resource and energy.

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Jalaj initiative in association with Wildlife Institute of India aimed at aligning the skillenhancement activities with Ganga conservation.
Sahakar Bharati to achieve sustainable and viable economic development by publicparticipation.
ImAvatar tourism portal to promote livelihood opportunities.
A new River Champ course on the Continuous Learning and Activity Portal (CLAP).
CLAP is an interactive portal that is working towards initiating conversations andaction around the rivers in India.
The focus of the project is 5 states Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

NHA announced fund allocation to States and Union Territories for implementation of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) based on their performance in recording data in the Health Facility Registry (HFR) and Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR).

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HFR is a comprehensive repository of health facilities of the country across modern and traditionalsystems of medicine.
HPR is a comprehensive repository of registered and verified practitioners delivering modern aswell as traditional healthcare services across India.
NHA has been entrusted with the role of designing strategy, building technological infrastructure and implementation of ABDM to create a National Digital Health Eco-system.

India has contributed four lakh US dollars to four Voluntary Trust Funds as part of its commitment to global promotion and protection of human rights and support for United Nations Human Rights.

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The Voluntary Trust Funds for Victims of Torture is a special UN programme that offers direct aid to torture victims and their families. It was created by the General Assembly in 1981 to raise awareness of the issues facing torture victims throughout.
India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Geneva in a tweet said that the contribution reflects India’s commitment in this regard.
The four Trust Funds to which contribution has been made include the Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation, the Voluntary Fund for financial and technical assistance for the implementation of Universal Periodic Review, and the Voluntary Technical Assistance Trust Fund to support the participation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDs) in the work of the council.

Cabinet approves signing of Contract between India and France to support ITF activities on the Indian Transport Sector.

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The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, was apprised of the signing of Contract between the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, France on behalf of the International Transport Forum and the Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), India to support the International Transport Forum (ITF) activities on the Indian Transport Sector.
The Contract was signed on 6th July, 2022.
The activities to be carried out under this Contract will lead to:

1. New scientific results;
2. New policy insights;

The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has approved the enhancement in the limit of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by Rs 50,000 crore from Rs. 4.5 Lakh crore to Rs. 5 Lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors.

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ECLGS is a continuing scheme. The additional amount of Rs. 50,000 crore would be made applicable to enterprises in hospitality and related sectors till validity of the scheme which is 31.3.2023.
ECLGS is an already operational scheme and on account of the disruptions caused by the COVID 19 pandemic on hospitality and related sectors, Government has specifically earmarked an amount of Rs. 50,000 crore for enterprises in these sectors.

How did the Earth, believed to have been covered in bubbling oceans of magma billions of years ago, transform into the ‘blue planet’ and become covered in water?

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In an article published in the journal Nature Astronomy onAugust 15, scientists from Japan suggest that water and organic materials might have been brought to our planet from the outer edges of the solar system.
The scientists made the hypothesis after analysing samples from the asteroid Ryugu, collected by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa-2 probe, which had brought 5.4 grams of rocks and dust from the asteroid to Earth in December 2020.

According to FIFA statutes, member federations must be free from legal and political interference in their respective countries.
FIFA, governing body of world football, has suspended the All India Football Federation (AIFF)with immediate effect due to undue influence from third parties.

Consequences of FIFA ban

Indian men’s or the women’s national teams can’t play against other national football teams.
Under-17 women’s World Cup, scheduled to take place in India in October, cannot be held.