(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 24 December 2020

::NATIONAL::

Agriculture Minister said the government plans to double the area under mechanised farming over ten years and urged the industry to make small utility machines that can be of use for smallholder farmers in the country.
The Minister said that Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation had been implemented in all the States so that they can promote the use of farm mechanisation and increase the ratio of agricultural power.
The objective is to increase the reach of farm mechanisation to small and marginal farmers, while promoting efforts to improve the economy by promoting custom hiring centres, creating hubs for high-tech and high-value agricultural equipment, creating awareness among stakeholders and capacity building, he added.

Custom hiring scheme:

Through custom hiring scheme, the government is trying to provide expensive and large advanced agricultural equipment to the farmers on rent basis.
There is a provision of up to 40 per cent subsidy in the project cost to the individual farmer, while a group of farmers can get a subsidy up to 80 per cent, the maximum amount of which is ₹10 lakh.
Farmers in the northeast can receive support up to 95 per cent of the project cost.

Crop residue management scheme:

Through the crop residue management scheme, introduced by the Union Agriculture Ministry in 2018, machinery is provided to the farmers to prevent burning of straw.
Subsidies are also provided to farmers for purchase of machinery through a custom hiring centre. During the last two years, support of 1,178.47 crore has been given to farmers in Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi. Out of the budget 600 crore for the current year, 548.20 crores was given to the States in advance.
According to the Minister, farm mechanisation can improve productivity by 30 per cent and reduce the cost of farming by 20 per cent.

The government will implement a Coal Import Monitoring System (CIMS) from February 1.
This will require coal importers to submit advance information in an online system for import and obtain an automatic registration number.
The categories of coal on which the CIMS would be applicable include anthracite coal, bituminous coal, coking coal, and steam coal.
The CIMS will enable the government to keep a tab on the various categories of coal being imported and help make policy decisions accordingly.
The importer can apply for registration not earlier than 60 day and not later than 15 day before the expected date of arrival of import consignment the automatic registration number shall remain valid for a period of 75 days.
Importer shall have to enter the registration number and expiry date of registration in the Bill of Entry to enable customs for clearance of consignment.
Earlier, the government had introduced an import monitoring system for a number of steel items to encourage its domestic manufacturing and keep a tab on imports.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission says more than 100 people have been killed in the latest massacre along ethnic lines in the western part of the country.
The attack occurred a day after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the region and spoke about the need to bring those responsible for recent attacks to justice.
Ethnic tensions are a major challenge as Abiy tries to promote national unity in a country with more than 80 ethnic groups.
Amharas are the second most populous ethnic group in Ethiopia. Amharas in the region have been targeted repeatedly in recent weeks.
One rebel attack on Nov. 1 in the far western Oromia region killed at least 54 people, according to Amnesty International.
An attack in the Benishangul-Gumuz region in early October killed at least 14 civilians, according to a security official.
It followed similar deadly attacks in September that also displaced over 300 people, leading the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to say it was deeply alarmed.

Nepal Communist Party’s (NCP) executive chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ was elected as the ruling party’s new parliamentary leader, replacing Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli.
The 66-year-old leader’s nomination was proposed by senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, who was earlier named as one of the two chairmen of the party, at a parliamentary party meeting of the Prachanda-led faction at the Parliament Building.
Prachanda said that his first priority would be to restore the dissolved House of Representatives and form a new government.
Earlier, the Supreme Court forwarded all the writ petitions against Prime Minister Oli’s move to dissolve Parliament to a Constitutional bench.

The Centre and the World Bank signed a $500-million project to build safe and green national highway corridors in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, said a release.
The project will also enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in mainstreaming safety and green technologies.
The Green National Highways Corridor Project will support MoRTH to construct 783 km of highways in various geographies by integrating safe and green technology designs such as local and marginal materials, industrial by-products and other bioengineering solutions.
The project will help reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in construction and maintenance of highways.
The $500-million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a maturity of 18.5 years, including a grace period of five years.

Adivasis of Jana village in the Gumla district of Jharkhand are trying to preserve ethnomedicine.
Ethnomedicine is a study or comparison of the traditional medicine practiced by various ethnic groups, andespecially by indigenous peoples.
It is concerned with the cultural interpretations of health, disease and illness and also addresses the healthcare-seeking process and healing practices.
It mostly uses behavioural changes to diagnose and is based on practice of indigenous religion in whichnature is worshipped.