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Current Affairs Date: 21 January 2023

National

Asia's Largest Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) Plant in Sangrur

⇒ Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep S. Puri inaugurated Asia’s largest CBG plant in Lehragaga, Sangrur, Punjab on 18 October 2022.

    • Union Minister Shri Hardeep S. Puri, addressed the inaugural event of Asia’s largest Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plant in Sangrur, Punjab.
About CBG plant:
    • The Plant has been commissioned with an FDI investment of Rs 220 crores (approx.) by Verbio AG, one of Germany’s leading Bio-energy companies.
    • The CBG Plant at Sangrur, is spread across an area of 20 acres (approx.).
    • The plant’s present production is about 6 TPD CBG, but soon this plant will process 300 Tons Per Day of paddy straw at maximum capacity to produce 33 TPD of CBG using 8 digesters of 10,000 cubic meters.
    • The Compressed Bio Gas plant in Sangrur is a step in achieving objectives of SATAT scheme, which was launched by Government of India in October 2018 to establish an ecosystem for production of Compressed Bio Gas from various waste/ biomass sources in the country.
    • The scheme aims to empower and unleash the rural economy by supporting farmers, increase India’s domestic energy production and self-sufficiency and also reduce the air pollution, and help India lead the world toward a clean energy transition.
    • Apart from this plant, 38 CBG / Biogas Plants have been commissioned under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative.
Highlights:

» Union Minister said that this plant in Sangrur is just the beginning of India’s master plan for a CBG-based rural economy. He said that the CBG is the need of the hour, and Government is taking all steps to promote the ecosystem around it.

    • Talking about the benefits of the Sangrur CBG plant for rural economy, the Minister observed that this plant will consume 100,000 tons of paddy straw, which will be procured from 6-8 satellite locations within a 10 km radius of the plant.
    • There shall be daily production of about 600-650 Tons of FOM (Fermented Organic Manure), which can be used for organic farming.
    • The CBG Plant shall also provide direct employment to 390 and indirect employment to 585 people.
    • The minister further said that the CBG plant would also provide a much-needed alternative to stubble burning.
    • He said that this Plant will reduce stubble burning of 40,000 – 45,000 acres of fields, translating into an annual reduction of 150,000 tons of CO2 emissions, which will not only ensure that the citizens of Sangrur, Punjab, breathe in cleaner air but also contribute towards India’s COP26 Climate Change targets of total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now to 2030 Achieving the target of net zero emissions by 2070.

Mission Schools of Excellence at Trimandir

⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi launched Mission Schools of Excellence at Trimandir, Adalaj, Gujarat on 19 October 2022.

Key Points:
    • The Mission has been conceived with a total outlay of 10,000 Crores.
    • During the event at Trimandir, the Prime Minister also launched projects worth around Rs 4260 crores.
    • The Mission will help strengthen education infrastructure in Gujarat by setting up new classrooms, smart classrooms, computer labs and overall upgradation of the infrastructure of schools in the State.

Foundation stone of various development projects in Junagadh

⇒ The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of various development projects worth around Rs 3580 crore in Junagadh, Gujarat on 19 October 2022.

Details of Projects:
    • The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the improvement of coastal highways along with the construction of missing links. In the first phase of this project, a total highway length of over 270 Km will be covered across 13 districts.
    • Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of two water supply projects and for the construction of a godown complex for storage of Agri products at Junagadh.
    •  At Porbandar, Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for the holistic development of Shri Krishan Rukshamani Mandir, Madhavpur.
    • He also laid the foundation stone of sewage and water supply projects and for maintenance dredging at Porbandar Fishery Harbour.
    • At Gir Somnath, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of two projects, including the development of a fishing port at Madhwad.

International

First 11 awardees of WISER programme

⇒ The first 11 awardees of the Women Involvement in Science and Engineering Research (WISER) programme were felicitated in the presence of the German Ambassador to India & Bhutan and the Vice Chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University on 18 October 2022.

    • The First 11 awardees of WISER programme were felicitated to promote participation of women in international R&D and industry projects.

The ten women researchers from India and one from Germany holding regular/long-term research positions in academia, research institutions, or industry selected under the WISER-2022 programme will receive financial assistance to participate and collaborate in ongoing R&D & industry projects. They will not need to apply for fresh project grants in partnering countries.

The German Ambassador to India & Bhutan, H.E. Dr. Philipp Ackermann, appreciated the women researchers’ efforts in niche science & technology areas and said that their contribution would strengthen Indo-German collaborations in S&T.

Key Points:
    • The programme, with a three-year tenure period or till completion of the project, is open to all the areas of STEM and allows the researchers to work on international projects while continuing to stay in India.
    • It will cover one visit per year for a short stay up to 1 month.

Sports

1st Khelo India Women's Judo National League

⇒ The 1st Khelo India Women’s Judo National League was held in Delhi from October 20 to 23, 2022. IG Stadium, Delhi hosted the 1st Khelo India Women’s Judo National League.

Organized by:

The league, which was a National Ranking tournament for women Judokas of 4 Zones, was organised by the Judo Federation of India and the Dept of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

The tournament was backed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, who had sanctioned an amount of Rs 1.74 Crore for organization of the same and to encourage the development of Judo across the grassroots level.

Key Points:
    • The tournament was organized across four age groups – Sub Junior (12-15 years), Cadet (15-17 years), Junior (15-20 years) and Senior (15 years and above).
    • A total of 496 Judokas were set for competition. The competitors for the national league were selected based on their ranking and performance from their respective zones, i.e, North, South, East and West.
Cash prize:
    • The cash prize was awarded to the top 7 judokas across the 31 weight categories.
    • The total prize money of the tournament across 31 weight categories was Rs 24.43 Lakh.
1st Khelo India Women’s Judo National League Result (Official Link)

Source: PIB & Other News Reports

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