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SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. JHARKHAND’S FIRST SURVEY OF MIGRANTS

TAGS: GS-II- SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

THE CONTEXT: Around 8.5 lakh migrants returned to their home state, Jharkhand, during the COVID crisis. To help these migrants with a good livelihood, the State Government of Jharkhand started the State and Responsible Migration Initiative in 2021.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Creating a robust database of the migrants in the state is a part of this initiative. To achieve this, the Jharkhand Government recently launched the first survey of Migrants. Jharkhand is not the only state to launch such states. Several other states like Tamil Nadu and Punjab had already launched such surveys.

About the Survey

• The survey is to be conducted in 24 districts. Officers will knock on the doors of 11,000 households to take the survey
• The survey outputs will be used to create a state-level policy
• The survey will also help the State in identifying the cause of migration.

Why the Jharkhand people are leaving the state?

• The survey will find out the factors influencing migration in the state
• During the survey, the officers will talk to community leaders to get a greater insight into the problem
• The survey has blocks of questions to understand and decipher the issue. They are household characteristics, incoming migrants, outgoing migrants, quality of life of migrants, understanding the mindset of migrants, etc.
• The survey will also collect details on the nature of work the migrants are expecting and what is the role of women in the household and in the earnings.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. WHAT IS THE INDUS WATER TREATY?

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE-GS-II-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

THE CONTEXT: India recently issued a notice to Pakistan for modification of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).

THE EXPLANATION:

About Indus Water Treaty:

• It was signed in September 1960 between India and Pakistan.
• The treaty was brokered by the World Bank, which too is a signatory to the treaty.
• The treaty fixed and delimited the rights and obligations of both countries concerning the use of the waters of the Indus River system.
• It gives control over the waters of the three “eastern rivers’ — the Beas, Ravi, and Sutlej — to India, while control over the waters of the three “western rivers’ ‘ — the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum — to Pakistan.
• The treaty allows India to use the western river waters for limited irrigation use and unlimited non-consumptive use for such applications as power generation, navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc.
• It lays down detailed regulations for India in building projects over the western rivers.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

3. LUCY MISSION

TAGS:PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE-GS-III- SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: NASA recently announced that it is adding a new target for the Lucy mission as the spacecraft goes on its more than 6-billion-kilometre-long journey to study the Jupiter trojan asteroids.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Lucy Mission:

• NASA’s Lucy mission is the first spacecraft launched to explore the Trojan asteroids, a population of primitive asteroids orbiting in tandem with Jupiter.
• Lucy was successfully launched Oct. 16, 2021, and will visit eight asteroids over 12 years — one asteroid in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter, and seven Trojan asteroids leading and trailing Jupiter in its orbit.

 What are Trojan Asteroids?

• Asteroids sharing an orbit with a planet, but which are located at the leading (L4) and trailing (L5) Lagrangian points, are known as Trojan asteroids.
• These asteroids occupy a stable Lagrangian point in a planet’s orbit around the Sun.
• Trojan Asteroids are some of the oldest remnants from the formation of our solar system 5 billion years ago.
• There are currently over 4,800 known Trojan asteroids associated with Jupiter.
• They orbit the Sun in two loose groups: one group leading ahead of Jupiter in its orbit, the other trailing behind at the same distance from the Sun as Jupiter.
• Due to the combined gravitational influences of the Sun and Jupiter, these Trojan asteroids have been trapped on stable orbits (around what is known as the Lagrange Points) for billions of years.

 What is a Lagrange point?

• Lagrange Points are positions in space where the gravitational forces of a two body system like the Sun and the Earth produce enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
• The Lagrange Points are positions where the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move with them.
• These can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position.

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND INITIATIVES IN NEWS

4. EXTENDED REALITY (XR) STARTUP PROGRAM

TAGS:PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE-GS-II- GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS

THE CONTEXT:The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), and Meta have recently announced the list of 120 startups and innovators for the Extended Reality (XR) Startup Program.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Extended Reality (XR) Startup Program:

• The XR Startup Program is a collaboration between Meta and MeitY Startup Hub (MSH).
• Aim: To accelerate India’s contribution towards building the foundations of the metaverse and nurturing the development of Extended Reality (XR) technologies in India.
• It includes two segments namely; an Accelerator and a Grand Challenge.

Accelerator:

• The Accelerator will nurture and foster 40 early-stage startups working with XR technologies through a well-designed 6-month program.
• Each startup will get access to many benefits, including a grant of ₹ 20,00,000, mentorship by industry experts and researchers, access to a network of potential strategic partners and investors, technology and infrastructure support, and opportunities to participate and present at relevant industry events.

Grand Challenge:

• The Grand Challenge is aimed at supporting early-stage innovators to upscale from the R&D phase to developing workable prototypes and Minimum Viable Products (MVPs).
• It will encourage early-stage innovators in sectors like Education, Learning and Skills, Healthcare, Gaming and Entertainment, Agritech& Climate Action and Tourism & Sustainability.
• It will include 4 sector-specific challenges to advance the XR technology ecosystem in India.
• A total of 80 shortlisted innovators will receive a grant of ₹ 50,000 and an opportunity to attend the boot camp.
• Of the 80 shortlisted innovators, 16 innovators will be supported with grants worth ₹ 20,00,000 to help them develop MVP(s)/ prototypes.

5. NATIONAL TECHNICAL TEXTILES MISSION

TAGS:PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE-GS-II- GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS

THE CONTEXT:Recently, The Union Minister of Textiles cleared 15 R&D projects across key strategic areas such as Speciality fibre, Protective textiles, High-Performance Textiles , Medical Textiles etc under the National Technical Textiles Mission.

THE EXPLANATION:

What are Technical Textiles?

• Technical Textiles are textile products which are manufactured primarily for their functionality and use rather than aesthetic appeal.
• Technical textiles are classified into 12 major groups based on their application areas namely;Agrotech, Geotech, Buildtech, Mobiltech, Hometech, Clothtech, Indutech, Meditech, Sportstech, Protech, Packtech, Oekotech.

Key features of the National Technical Textiles Mission India

• The Ministry of Textiles has launched NTTM to increase the penetration level of technical textiles in India while leveraging the extraordinary growth rate of the sector.
• The mission aims to position India as a global leader in Technical Textiles.
• The mission will comprise the following four components:
• Research, Innovation and Development
• Promotion and Market Development
• Export Promotion
• Education, Training, Skill Development
• Implementation:It has been approved with an implementation period of four years starting from FY 2020-21 till FY 2023-24. The total outlay of the mission is INR 1480 Cr.