National
JALDOOT App
⇒ Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Steel, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste launched the “JALDOOT App and JALDOOT App e-brochure” at a function in New Delhi on 27 September 2022.
Developed by:
JALDOOT app has been jointly developed by Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
Key Points:
- Ministry of Rural Development has developed “JALDOOT App” that will be used across the country to capture the water level of selected 2-3 wells in a village.
- Manual monitoring of water levels in open wells will be measured twice in a year, from 1st May to 31st May as pre-monsoon water level and from 1st October to 31st October for post-monsoon level for the same well.
- Jaldoots, that is, officers assigned to measure the water levels, should also upload the geo-tagged photographs through the app on every occasion of measurement.
- The Jaldoot app will enable Gram Rojgar Sahayak (GRS) to measure the water level of selected wells twice a year (pre-monsoon and post-monsoon).
- In every village, adequate number of measurement locations (2-3) shall need to be selected. These will be representative of the ground water level in that village.
- The app will facilitate panchayats with robust data, which can be further used for better planning of works.
- The ground water data could be utilised as part of the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) and Mahatma Gandhi NREGA planning exercises.
- Further, the data can also be used for different kinds of research and other purposes.
Swachh Toycathon 2022
⇒ In response to Prime Minister’s clarion call for making the toy industry environment friendly, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is taking a step towards achieving circularity in toy sector.
Under the National Action Plan for Toys, MoHUA launched Swachh Toycathon, a competition for new ideas to transform waste into toys.
- This competition was launched under the ‘Swachh Amrit Mahotsav’, a fortnight of activities to galvanize action around Swachhata from 17th September 2022, Seva Diwas, to 2nd October 2022, Swachhata Diwas.
About Swachh Toycathon:
» Swachh Toycathon is a competition being undertaken by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-u 2.0) with the aim of ‘Rethinking Indian toy industry’.
Key Points:
- The Swachh Toycathon is a national competition for individuals and groups.
- The Center for Creative Learning, IIT Gandhinagar is MoHUA’s Knowledge Partner for the initiative, they will be providing support on aspects of pedagogy and creativity.
- The competition seeks to explore solutions for use of waste in creation or manufacturing of toys.
Swachh Toycathon is based on three broad themes:
- FUN & LEARN that seeks ideas for design and early prototype of toys from waste at home, workplace and surroundings,
- USE & ENJOY that seeks ideas for design and models of games and play in the park/open spaces made from waste and
- NEW & OLD that seeks ideas/solutions/working models for circularity in toy industry.
Entries:
The competition seeks entries of designs of toys and play-zones using waste and recycled material, prototypes of eco-friendly toys and packaging, and other innovative ideas rethinking the toy industry.
- Applicants registered through the website for the competition during the period of 26 September 2022 and 11 November 2022.
- Applicants submitted applications in all or any of the three themes of (i) Fun and Learn (ii) Use and Enjoy and (iii) New from Old.
Assessment:
The assessment criteria will be based on (i) Novelty of Idea (ii) Design (iii) Safety (iii) Usage of Waste Material (iv) Scalability and Replicability (v) Future Waste and climate and social implications.
Reward:
- The top three entries from each category and thematic area will be provided certification at the national level and creative learning workshops will be facilitated at IIT Gandhinagar.
- Winning start-ups/individuals will be provided incubation support by IIT Kanpur, as well as linkages with Urban Local Bodies to implement awarded play zone designs and with the toy industry to promote and scale up awarded designs.
International
Annual Training Exercise Operation Southern Readiness of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF)
⇒ INS Sunayna entered Port Victoria Seychelles on 24 September 2022 and participated in the annual training exercise Operation Southern Readiness of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).
- This was the maiden participation of the Indian Navy in Combined Maritime Forces Exercise.
- The ship participated as associate partner in the capacity building exercises conducted by CMF.
Key Points:
- This not only reinforces Indian Navy’s commitment to maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region but also marks the maiden participation of an Indian Navy ship in CMF exercise.
- The joint training exercise was attended by representative delegations from USA, Italy, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and ship participation from UK, Spain & India.
About CMF:
- The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) is a multinational maritime partnership, which exists to uphold the Rules-Based International Order (RBIO) by countering illicit non-state actors on the high seas and promoting security, stability, and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters, which encompass some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
- Established in 2001 to counter the threat of international terrorism, CMF began with 12 like-minded countries. The organisation later expanded to include counter-piracy operations and added a 34th member nation in 2021.
- CMF, headquartered in Manama, Bahrain with US Naval Forces Central Command and US 5th Fleet.
- CMF has 34 member nations: Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, United States, and Yemen.
» India is not a member of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF). At the India-US 2+2 dialogue held in April 2022, India announced that it would join the CMF as an Associate Partner.
INS Tarkash in Port Gentil, Gabon
⇒ INS Tarkash made a port call at Port Gentil, Gabon as part of her ongoing deployment in the Gulf of Guinea for anti-piracy patrol in September 2022.
- This was the first visit by any Indian Naval Ship to Gabon.
Key Points:
- During her stay in harbour, the ship and her crew participated in official and professional interactions as well as sports fixtures.
- Her professional interactions included discussions and drills on fire fighting and damage control, medical and casualty evacuation issues, and diving operations.