National
Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched a global initiative ‘Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement’ for Adoption of Environment-Conscious Lifestyle on 5th June 2022 via video conferencing.
- The launch also initiated the ‘LiFE Global Call for Ideas and Papers’, inviting individuals, universities, think tanks, non-profits and others worldwide to submit measurable and scalable behavior change solutions that can drive climate-friendly behaviors among individuals, communities and organisations.
» The Prime Minister said that the vision of LiFE is to live a lifestyle that is in tune with our planet and does not harm it. And those who live such a lifestyle are called “Pro-Planet People”.
- Mission LiFE borrows from the past, operates in the present and focuses on the future. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle are the concepts woven into our life.
- He stressed the need of the hour to solve the challenge faced by our planet using human-centric, collective efforts and robust action that further sustainable development.
Participation:
The programme witnessed the participation of Mr Bill Gates, Co-Chairman Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Lord Nicholas Stern, Climate Economist; Prof Cass Sunstein, Author of Nudge Theory; Ms. Inger Anderson, UNEP Global Head; Mr Aniruddha Dasgupta, CEO and President World Resources Institute; Mr Achim Steiner, UNDP Global Head; and Mr David Malpass, World Bank President, among others.
About LiFE:
- The idea of LiFE was introduced by the Prime Minister during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow last year.
- The idea promotes an environment conscious lifestyle that focuses on ‘mindful and deliberate utilisation’ instead of ‘mindless and destructive consumption’.
- The LiFE Movement aims to utilise the power of collective action and nudge individuals across the world to undertake simple climate-friendly actions in their daily lives. The LiFE movement, additionally, also seeks to leverage the strength of social networks to influence social norms surrounding climate.
- The Mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3), who will have a shared commitment to adopt and promote environmentally friendly lifestyles. Through the P3 community, the Mission seeks to create an ecosystem that will reinforce and enable environmentally friendly behaviours to be self-sustainable.
- The Mission envisions replacing the prevalent ‘use-and-dispose’ economy—governed by mindless and destructive consumption—with a circular economy, which would be defined by mindful and deliberate utilization.
Digital Skilling program in emerging and future technologies
⇒ Union Minister of Education and Skill Development Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched a Digital Skilling program in emerging and future technologies on 06 June 2022.
Focus:
The digital skilling initiative will focus on skilling, reskilling and upskilling students via internships, apprenticeships, and employment to 1 crore students in the Emerging Technologies.
Collaboration:
This is the first-ever collaboration on a national scale between Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Skill and affiliated NSDCs, Skill India programs (National Educational Alliance for Technology) and AICTE.
- Over 100+ technology corporate/manufacturing firms have already come on board on this platform to provide free-of-cost emerging technology certifications.
Key Points:
» As per data from the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MOSPI), the contribution of GDP from manufacturing is on the rise, making it imperative to bring in skilling initiatives that meet the diverse demands of industries.
- AICTE, through this initiative, will create job recruiters and skill trainers in every nook and corner of the country, with active support from the Centre.
- AICTE will give internship opportunities in technical fields for students from class 7th to Under graduation through this program ‘Digital Skilling’.
Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, Agni-4
⇒ A successful training launch of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, Agni-4, was carried out on June 06, 2022 from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, Odisha.
The successful test was part of routine user training launches carried out under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command. The launch validated all operational parameters as also the reliability of the system.
National Portal for Credit Linked Government schemes - Jan Samarth Portal
⇒ Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated iconic week celebrations of the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 06 June 2022.
- This week was celebrated by Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Corporate Affairs as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ (AKAM) from 6th to 12th June 2022.
» The Prime Minister also launched the National Portal for Credit Linked Government schemes – Jan Samarth Portal. This portal will improve the lives of students, farmers, businessmen, MSME entrepreneurs and will help them in realizing their dreams.
» The Prime Minister also released a special series of ₹1, ₹2, ₹5, ₹10 and ₹20 coins.
- These special series of coins will have the theme of the logo of AKAM and will also be easily identifiable to visually impaired persons.
» He also inaugurated a Digital Exhibition which traces the journey of the two Ministries over the past eight years.
About Jan Samarth Portal:
- “Jan Samarth” provides single window facility for 13 Government Schemes application submission and 125+ MLIs (including all Public Sector Banks) to choose from.
- Real time checks with CBDT, GST, UDYAM, NeSL, UIDAI, CIBIL etc ensures faster loan processing.
- “Jan Samarth” portal will facilitate credit under Government Schemes under Agriculture, Livelihood, and Education categories.
- 13 Government schemes are already on Jan Samarth portal and more will be onboarded.
- “Jan Samarth” portal will check eligibility, give in principle sanction and send the application to the selected Bank.
- It will also keep the beneficiaries updated at each stage of the journey. Multiple visits to Bank branches not required.
International
2nd BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting
⇒ Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman participated via virtual mode in the 2nd BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the BRICS China chairmanship, on 06 June 2022.
Speaking on India’s growth outlook, the Smt Sitharaman shared that India’s economic growth will continue to be supported by fiscal spending along with an investment push, imparting momentum to the economy based on the idea of growth at macro level complemented by all inclusive welfare at micro level.
Discussion:
- The agenda of the meeting included discussions on outcomes of BRICS Financial Cooperation agenda for 2022.
- This included discussion on BRICS Joint Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Statement, Infrastructure Investments, New Development Bank and BRICS Think Tank Network for Finance.
- The BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors also discussed other legacy BRICS Finance issues such as Infrastructure investment, New Development Bank (NDB), BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) etc.