11 Base Repair Depot (BRD), Ojhar:

• 11 BRD, Ojhar in Nashik, Maharashtra is the only fighter aircraft repair depot of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and undertakes repair and overhaul of frontline fighters such as MIG-29 and Sukhoi 30 MKI.
  
  
• It was established in 1974 and subsequently renamed as 11 Base Repair depot in 1975.
  
  
• Presently, the upgradation of MIG-29 and repair & overhaul (ROH) of the su-30 MKI aircraft is being undertaken at the depot.
  
  

About:

• Objective: Under the IMPRESS Scheme, 1500 research projects will be awarded for 2 years to support the social science research in the higher educational institutions. This will be used to understand and solve problems facing the society.
  
  
• Timeline: In August 2018, the Union Government sanctioned the scheme IMPRESS at a total cost of Rs.414 Cr for implementation up to 31.3.2021.
  • Implementing agency: Indian Council of Social Science and Research (ICSSR).
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• KAPS located in Surat district of Gujarat comprises of two units of indigenous 220 MW PHWRs (KAPS-1&2) which commenced commercial operation in 1993 and 1995 respectively. Two more units of 700 MW PHWRs (KAPP-3&4) are under construction at this site.
  
  
• KAPS-2 attained Criticality after completion of Renovation & Modernisation (R&M) works, encompassing En-Masse Coolant Channel Replacement (EMCCR), En Masse Feeder Replacement (EMFR) and other safety upgrades.
  
  

About:

• Parent agency: NBCFDC is an autonomous corporation under Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
  
  
• Background: NBCFDC, a Govt. of India Undertaking, was incorporated under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 in 1992 as a Company not for profit.
  
  
• Mandate: To promote economic and developmental activities for the benefit of Backward Classes and to assist the poorer section of these classes in skill development and self-employment ventures.
  
  
• Working:
  • NBCFDC provides financial assistance through State Channelising Agencies (SCAs) nominated by the State Governments/ UTs. NBCFDC also provides Micro Financing through SCAs/ Self Help Groups (SHGs).
    
    
  • It assist a wide range of income generating activities to assist the poorer section of these classes in skill development and self-employment ventures.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• National Rail & Transport Institute (NRTI) is India's first rail and transportation university.
  
  
• Status: It was established as a Deemed to be University under the de Novo category in 2018.
  
  
• Location: It has been set up in Vadodara, Gujarat.
  
  
• Management: The Vice-Chancellor shall be the Principal Executive Officer of the institution and shall exercise general supervision and control over the affairs of the institution.
  
  
• Mandate:
  • NRTI is focused on transport-related education, multidisciplinary research and training.
    
    
  • Its objective is to create a resource pool of best-in-class professionals for the railway and transportation sector.
    
    
  • NRTI at present is running two fully-residential undergraduate courses - BSc. in Transportation Technology and DBA in Transportation Management, the classes for which started in September, 2018. These are three-year degree programs.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• The North Koel Reservoir is located in the Palamau and Garhwa districts of Jharkhand State. It is situated on North Koel river which is a tributary of Sone river finally joining the river Ganga.
  
  
• The major components of project are –
  • Mandal dam
    
    
  • Mohammadganj barrage (located 96 km downstream of the dam)
    
    
  • and two canals originating from Mohammadganj Barrage with distributaries system for irrigation.
    
    
  
  
  
• The project aims to provide irrigation to drought prone areas of Palamu & Garhwa districts in Jharkhand and Aurangabad & Gaya districts in Bihar.
  
  
• The construction started in 1972 and it continued till 1993 when it was stopped by the Forest Department, Govt. of Bihar to prevent the submergence of Betla National Park and Palamau Tiger Reserve. Since then, the work on dam is at a standstill.
  
  

About:

• The Staff Selection Commission (SSC), one of the largest recruitment agencies in the country, was created to ease the burden of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) by taking over the recruitment for posts below the Group ‘A’ level.
  
  
• Arguments for giving it a statutory status:
  • The SSC performs functions similar to the UPSC and all State Public Service Commissions – which have constitutional or legal status – on a much larger scale, but still does not enjoy statutory status.
    
    
  • There has been a phenomenal increase in the workload of the SSC, from 9.94 lakh candidates in 2008-09 to over 2 crores in 2016-17.
    
    
  • Despite of this, it remains an “attached body” under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), and has to depend entirely on the government for all its needs, with no autonomy.
    
    
  • According statutory status to the SSC would contribute to greater functional autonomy and efficiency in the delivery of results in the recruitment process.
    
    
  • Earlier, an expert group constituted by the government in 2014, for reviewing the examination system in the SSC, had recommended according statutory status to the SSC.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Local female lawyers suggest the measure will end what are known as secret divorces, wherein men end a marriage without telling their wives.
  
  
• Women in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be able to view documents related to the termination of their marriage contracts through the Ministry’s website.
  
  
• The directive would ensure women are fully aware of their marital status and can protect rights such as alimony.
  
  

Recent initiatives towards women empowerment in Saudi Arabia:

• The new step is said to be part of economic and social reforms pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, such as allowing women to attend football matches and work in jobs traditionally reserved for men.
  
  
• Last year, a decades-old driving ban on women was lifted in Saudi Arabia.
  
  
• However, women still remain subject to male guardianship laws. There are many things that Saudi women are unable to do without permission from a male guardian, usually a husband, father, brother or son. These things include, but are not limited to:
  • Applying for passports; Travelling abroad
    
    
  • Getting married
    
    
  • Opening a bank account; Starting certain businesses etc.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Integrated Check Post at Moreh, the Dolaithabi Barrage Project, the FCI Food Storage Godown at Sawombung, and projects related to water supply and tourism.
  
  
• He dedicated to the nation the 400 kV Double Circuit Silchar-Imphal Line. He also laid the foundation stone for sports projects.
  
  

Integrated Check Post, Moreh:

• Facilities: The Integrated Check Post at Moreh house all regulatory agencies like Immigration, Customs, border security, etc. together with all support facilities like parking, warehousing, banking, hotels etc. in a single complex.
  
  
• Objective behind its establishment: To secure the country’s borders while facilitating legitimate trade and commerce.
  
  
• Implementing agency: Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI).
  
  

Dolaithabi Barrage Project:

• The Dolaithabi Barrage Project has been constructed at Dolaithabi village in the adjoining area of Kangpokpi district over Iril river known as ‘Zildung’ in Manipur.
  
  
• The project had been conceived in 1987 and is now complete.
  
  

Background:

• Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) had established an ITCOocean at INCOIS, Hyderabad in 2013 to provide training to scientists/ researchers/government officers/disaster managers/decision makers, etc. from India and abroad.
  
  
• Later, in order to assist UNESCO and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) in developing new methods of capacity building for the countries bordering the Indian and Atlantic Oceans and small island countries, the Government of India (GoI) offered to establish the ITCOocean as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre.
  
  
• This offer of GoI was approved by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 2017.
  
  

Mission:

• The mission of the Centre is to assist the Member States of IOC/UNESCO in developing oceanographic scientific base and to create a pool of trained ocean scientists, technologists and managers to cater the growing demands of operational oceanographic services.
  
  

About:

• E-NAM i.e. National Agriculture Market is a pan-India electronic trading (e-trading) portal.
  
  
• It seeks to network the existing physical regulated wholesale market (known as APMC market) through a virtual platform to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities.
  
  
• Benefits:
  • e-NAM platform promotes better marketing opportunities for the farmers to sell their produce through online competitive and transparent price discovery system and online payment facility.
    
    
  • It also promotes prices commensurate with quality of produce.
    
    
  • It provides single window services for all APMC related information and services. This includes commodity arrivals, quality & prices, buy & sell offers etc.
    
    
  
  
  

Recent development:

• Earlier trade used to happen either within the APMC or between two APMCs situated within same state.
  
  
• The very first Inter-State transaction in tomatoes has been carried out between trader of Bareilly e-NAM APMC of Uttar Pradesh and farmer of Haldwani e-NAM APMC of Uttarakhand.
  
  
• Similarly, the inter -State transactions in potatoes, brinjal & cauliflower have been carried out between the e-NAM mandis of Uttarakhand & Uttar Pradesh.
  
  
• In all the cases, e-payments have been made through e-NAM portal. This will help farmers get better market access, more buyers/ traders & realise better prices for their produce.
  
  

About:

• Braille is a system that enables blind and visually impaired people to read and write through
  
  
• Braille is named after its creator, Louis Braille, a Frenchman who lost his sight as a result of a childhood accident. It was devised by Louis Braille in 1821
  
  
• The Braille Script consists of raised dots arranged in "cells."
  
  
• A cell is made up of six dots that fit under the fingertips, arranged in two columns of three dots each. Each cell represents a letter, a word, a combination of letters, a numeral or a punctuation mark.
  
  
• In India, Evening Regional news of All India Radio Ahmedabad has been read by visually impaired news reader through Braille on this day since 2004. The aim of this initiative is to create awareness among the society for the plight of visually impaired persons.
  
  

About:

• The new object has been given the provisional designation 2018 VG18.
  
  
• It is nicknamed “Farout” by the team for its extremely distant location.
  • It is at about 120 astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. This makes it the first Solar System object observed beyond 100 AU.
    
    
  • The second-most-distant observed solar system object is Eris, at about 96 AU. Pluto is currently at about 34 AU, making 2018 VG18 more than three-and-a-half times more distant than Pluto.
    
    
  
  
  
• Its brightness suggests that it is about 500 km in diameter, likely making it spherical in shape and a dwarf planet.
  
  
• The new object has been discovered by a team of scientists from U.S as part of the team’s continuing search for extremely distant solar system objects, including the suspected Planet X, which is sometimes also called Planet 9.
  
  

About:

• Exercise 'DHARMA GUARDIAN-2018' will be yet another step in deepening strategic ties including closer defence cooperation between the two countries.
  
  
• The Indian contingent will be represented by 6/1 GORKHA RIFLES while the Japanese contingent will be represented by 32 Infantry Regiment of the Japanese Ground Self Defence Force.
  
  
• During the 14-day long exercise, due emphasis will be laid on increasing interoperability between forces from both countries.
  
  

About:

• Nomenclature: Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Temple is also known as Yadadri and Yadagirigutta temple.
  
  
• Location: It is situated on a hillock in Yadagirigutta of Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana.
  
  
• Features:
  • It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Narasimha, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
    
    
  • The sanctum sanctorum or Garbhagriha of the temple is located in a cave, under a huge slating rock, which covers half the abode.
    
    
  
  
  

Renovation:

• A new temple is being built at the old temple site. The Chief Minister of Telangana, K. Chandrashekhar Rao initiated the renovation of the temple
  
  
• The work started in 2016 and the entire temple project is expected to be completed by the end of 2019.
  
  
• The temple was renamed as Yadadri by Vaishnavaite ascetic Chinna Jeeyar Swamy, who is overseeing its construction.
  
  
• Key features:
  • The temple is built entirely in stone, probably the first one after the monolithic Kailasa Temple in the Ellora caves that was built in 8^th
    
    
  • The centuries-old practice of using lime mortar to join different stone parts is being used.
    
    
  • The architecture of the temple is based on Agama Shashtra.
    
    
  
  
  

List of New CMs:

• In Rajasthan, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot took oath as Chief Minister.
  
  
• In Madhya Pradesh, senior congress leader Kamalnath was sworn in as the 18th Chief Minister of the state.
  
  
• In Chhattisgarh, Congress legislature party leader Bhupesh Baghel was sworn-in as the new chief minister of state. He is the third chief minister of Chhattisgarh.
  
  

Key constitutional provisions for CMs:

• Article 163(1): There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is by or under the Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.
  
  
• Article 164(1): The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed on the advice of the Chief Minister.
  
  
• Article 164(2): The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State.
  
  

International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR):

• The International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ICADR), was set up in 1995.
  
  
• It works under the aegis of the Supreme Court. The chief justice of India is the ex-officio chairperson of the ICADR, while former law minister H R Bhardwaj is the patron of the institution.
  
  
• However, according to critiques, ICADR has not been able to embrace developments in the arbitration ecosystem.
  
  

New Delhi International Arbitration Centre, Bill, 2018:

• In this background, the bill has been passed to provide for the establishment and incorporation of New Delhi International Arbitration Centre for –
  • creating an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalised arbitration and
    
    
  • take over the undertakings of the ICADR.
    
    
  
  
  
• According to the bill, a high-level committee headed by Justice B N Srikrishna, a former Supreme Court judge, was constituted to promote institutional arbitration and make India its hub.
  
  

About:

• The Bodo Accord was signed in 2003 which resulted in the establishment of a Bodoland Territorial Council under Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
  
  
• However, there have been representations from different organizations of Bodos to fulfil various outstanding demands. 
  
  
• In this background, Union Cabinet has approved the
  • establishment of a Bodo Musuem-cum-language and cultural study center,
    
    
  • modernization of existing All India Radio Station and Doordarshan Kendra at Kokrajhar
    
    
  • and naming a Superfast Train passing through BTAD as ARONAI Express.
    
    
  
  
  
• Relevant Ministries will take the required actions to implement these decisions.
  
  
• The State Government will also take necessary measures related to appropriate land policy and land laws, besides setting up of Institutions for Research and Documentation of Customs, Traditions and Languages of indigenous communities.
  
  

About:

• HQ: The IFC has been established at the Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram, which is the single point centre linking all the coastal radar chains to generate a seamless real-time picture of the nearly 7,500-km coastline.
  
  
• Mandate: Strengthening maritime security in the region and beyond, by acting as a maritime information hub for the region.
  
  
• Working:
  • Through this Centre, information on “white shipping”, or commercial shipping, will be exchanged with countries in the region to improve maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean.
    
    
  • It will also impart training in maritime information collection and sharing.
    
    
  • At present, data will be shared by virtual means – telephone calls, Faxes, emails and video conferencing. The centre will in future host liaison officers from foreign countries for quicker analysis of information and timely inputs.
    
    
  
  
  
• Partner countries: The Information Fusion Centre will serve countries that have White Shipping Information Exchange agreements with India (about 21 of them).
  
  
• Significance: The IFC-IOR will strengthen maritime security in the region and beyond by building a common coherent maritime situation picture.
  
  

Benefits:

The approval will facilitate –

• Recognition of Trade Unions at Central and State level;
  
  
• Ensure true representation of workers in the tripartite bodies;
  
  
• Check on the arbitrary nomination of workers’ representatives by the Government; and
  
  
• Reduce litigations and industrial unrest.
  
  

Opposition to move:

• Most trade unions, however, opposed the proposed amendments, claiming that the government was trying to interfere in their functioning.
  
  
• Ten Central trade unions had earlier written to the Labour Ministry objecting to the draft version of the amendment Bill; the only major stand-out was the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
  
  
• They have alleged that the amendments would give the government final authority in case of disputes within or between the unions.
  
  

About:

• After Assam agitation of 1979-1985, Assam Accord was signed in 1985.
  
  
• Clause 6 of the Assam Accord envisaged that appropriate constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards, shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote the cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.
  
  
• However, it has been felt that Clause 6 of the Assam Accord has not been fully implemented even almost 35 years after the Accord was signed.
  
  
• The Cabinet, therefore, approved the setting up of a High-Level Committee to suggest safeguards as envisaged in Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.
  
  
• The Composition and Terms of Reference of the Committee will be issued separately by the Ministry of Home Affairs. 
  
  

Recent decision:

• Sachin Chaturvedi heads Delhi-based think tank Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).
  
  
• Revathy Iyer is a former Indian Audit and Accounts Services (IAAS) officer.
  
  
• Both have been appointed by the Central Government under Section 8 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, for a period of four years with effect from September 19, 2018.
  
  

Central board of the RBI:

• The board members are not responsible for setting the interest rate, but will provide a broader guidance to the central bank.
  
  
• With the recent appointments, RBI will now have 18 members on its central board, including four deputy governors and the governor.
  
  
• The Economic Affairs Secretary and Financial Services Secretary of the Finance Ministry are also on the board.
  
  

About:

• The Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram Scheme is an ongoing Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and has been continuing since 12th Five Year Plan.
  
  
• Objective: The Scheme aims to develop the personality and leadership qualities of the youth and to engage them in nation building activities.
  
  
• Sub-schemes: Following are eight sub-schemes under Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram:
  • Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS);
    
    
  • National Youth Corps (NYC);
    
    
  • National Programme for Youth & Adolescent Development (NPYAD);
    
    
  • International Cooperation;
    
    
  • Youth Hostels (YH);
    
    
  • Assistance to Scouting & Guiding Organizations;
    
    
  • National Discipline Scheme (NDS); and
    
    
  • National Young Leaders Programme (NYLP).
    
    
  
  
  
• Target beneficiaries:
  • The Scheme beneficiaries are the youth in the age-group of 15-29 years, in line with the definition of 'youth' in the National Youth Policy, 2014.
    
    
  • In case of programme components specifically meant for the adolescents, the age-group is 10-19 years.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• AB-NHPM will subsume the on-going centrally sponsored schemes – Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).
  
  
• It will be an entitlement-based scheme with entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) database.
  
  
• The target beneficiaries of the proposed scheme will be more than 10 crore families belonging to poor and vulnerable population based on SECC database covering both rural and urban.
  
  
• There is provision to partner with the States through co-alliance to ensure appropriate integration with the existing health insurance/ protection schemes of various Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments (at their own cost).
  
  
• Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission Council (AB-NHPMC): It will be setup at apex level for giving policy directions and fostering coordination between Centre and States. It will be chaired by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister.
  
  

Benefit cover:

• The scheme has the benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year.
  
  
• To ensure that nobody is left out (especially women, children and elderly) there will be no cap on family size and age in the scheme.
  
  
• This cover will take care of almost all secondary care and most of tertiary care procedures. It will also include pre and post-hospitalisation expenses.
  
  
• A defined transport allowance per hospitalization will also be paid to the beneficiary.
  
  

Hospitals covered:

• The beneficiaries can avail benefits in both public and empanelled private facilities.
  
  
• All public hospitals in the States implementing AB-NHPM, will be deemed empanelled for the Scheme.
  
  
• Hospitals belonging to Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) may be empanelled based on the bed occupancy ratio parameter.
  
  
• Private hospitals will be empanelled online based on defined criteria.
  
  

About:

• The 15 newly registered breeds include –
  • two cattle breeds - Ladakhi (J&K) and Konkan Kapila (Maharashtra & Goa);
    
    
  • three buffalo breeds - Luit (Assam & Manipur), Bargur (Tamil Nadu), Chhattisgarhi (Chhattisgarh);
    
    
  • one sheep breed – Panchali (Gujarat);
    
    
  • six goat breeds – Kahmi (Gujarat), Rohilkhandi (UP), Assam Hill (Assam & Meghalaya), Bidri (Karnataka), Nandidurga (Karnataka), Bhakarwali (J&K);
    
    
  • one pig breed – Ghurrah (UP);
    
    
  • one donkey breed – Halari (Gujarat) and
    
    
  • one chicken breed – Uttara (Uttarakhand).
    
    
  
  
  
• These native breeds are renowned for heat tolerance and disease resistance and thriving on low input system.
  
  
• The process of identification of animal breeds plays a special role in preserving the biodiversity of the country. India has about 15% of total cattle, 57% of total buffalo, 17% of goat, 7% of sheep and 4.5% of chicken of the world.
  
  

About:

• The Bill amends the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999.
  
  
• Features of 1999 Act:
  • It sets up a National Trust to enable persons with disability to live independently by promoting measures for their protection in case of death of their parents, evolving procedures for appointing their guardians and facilitating equal opportunities in society.
    
    
  • The Chairperson and members of the Board of the National Trust can hold office for a term of three years from the date of their appointment or until their successors are appointed, whichever is longer.
    
    
  
  
  
• Features of Amendment Bill, 2018:
  • The Bill fixes the tenure of the Chairperson and members of the Board to three years.
    
    
  • The Union government will initiate the process for appointment of the Chairperson or any member of the Board, at least six months prior to the expiry of his tenure so as to prevent the delay.
    
    
  
  
  
• Need of Bill: to government, the Bill was required as a Chairperson for the trust could not be appointed even after several attempts since 2012 as a suitable candidate meeting the stringent selection criteria could not be found.
  
  
• Timeline: The Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha in July, 2018 and passed by Rajya Sabha on December 12, 2018. It is yet to be introduced in Lok Sabha.
  
  

About:

• Location: Ultima Thule is a trans-Neptunian object located in the Kuiper belt.
  
  
• Features of the object:
  • It is a contact binary 31 km long, composed of two joined bodies 19 km and 14 km across that are nicknamed "Ultima" and "Thule", respectively.
    
    
  • With an orbital period of 298 years and a low inclination and eccentricity, it is classified as a classical Kuiper belt object.
    
    
  • It is believed to be the most primitive object in the Solar System, both bodies being planetesimal aggregates of much smaller building blocks.
    
    
  • Ultima Thule is a relic from the early days of the solar system and studying it could provide answers about the origins of other planets.
    
    
  
  
  
• Nomenclature:
  • Its scientific name is (486958) 2014 MU69.
    
    
  • It is nickname, Ultima Thule (a Greco-Latin term for a place beyond the known world) was chosen as part of a public competition in 2018.
    
    
  • The New Horizons team plans to submit a proper name to the International Astronomical Union when the nature of the object is better known.
    
    
  
  
  
• Discovery:
  • It was discovered in 2014 by astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope as part of a search for a Kuiper belt object for the New Horizons mission
    
    
  • With the New Horizons space probe's flyby on 1 January 2019, 2014 MU69 became the farthest object in the Solar System visited by a spacecraft.
    
    
  
  
  

About:

• Objective: Reason for introducing this concept was to take a comprehensive look at a particular produce/product located in a contiguous area for the purpose of developing and sourcing the raw materials, their processing/packaging, leading to final exports.
  
  
• Timeline:
  
  

The concept of Agri Export Zone (AEZ) was introduced in 2001, through EXIM Policy 1997-2001.

• In all 60 Agri Export Zones (AEZ) were notified by the Government till 2004 - 05.
  
  
• In December 2004, an internal peer review conducted by Department of Commerce concluded that the notified AEZs had not been able to achieve the intended objectives.
  
  
• It was decided that there will be no creation of new AEZs. Thus, No new AEZs have been set up after 2004.
  
  
• All the notified AEZs have completed their intended span of 5 years and have been discontinued.
  
  

Background:

• In 2012, Ekta Parishad movement mobilised more than 60,000 landless people from across the country for a similar padayatra from Gwalior to Delhi.
  
  
• They disbanded at Agra after then Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh promised homestead land of ten cents for all landless rural poor households and a draft National Land Reform Policy, as part of a ten-point agreement.
  
  
• To enforce the agreement, the Centre set up a 15-member task force on land reforms headed by the then rural development minister Jairam Ramesh and Tribal Affairs minister V Kishore Chandra Deo.
  
  
• However, After Mr. Ramesh quit as Rural Development Minister, the taskforce was shut down. But, now the government has agreed to reconstitute it to have an institutional mechanism to deal with the issue of Land Reform.
  
  

About:

• India is the first country in world to develop such a document (ICAP), which addresses cooling requirement across sectors and lists out actions which can help reduce the cooling demand.
  
  
• The overarching goal of ICAP is to provide sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all while securing environmental and socio-economic benefits for the society.
  
  

Broad objectives of ICAP:

• Assessment of cooling requirements across sectors in next 20 years and the associated refrigerant demand and energy use,
  
  
• Map the technologies available to cater the cooling requirement including passive interventions, refrigerant-based technologies and alternative technologies such as not-in-kind technologies,
  
  
• Suggest interventions in each sector to provide for sustainable cooling for all,
  
  
• Focus on skilling of RAC service technicians, and
  
  
• Develop an R&D innovation ecosystem for indigenous development of alternative technologies.
  
  

Targets under ICAP:

• Recognition of “cooling and related areas” as a thrust area of research under national science and technology programme
  
  
• Reduction of cooling demand across sectors by 20% to 25 % by year 2037-38,
  
  
• Reduction of refrigerant demand by 25% to 30% by year 2037-38,
  
  
• Reduction of cooling energy requirements by 25% to 40% by year 2037-38, and
  
  
• Training and certification of 100,000 servicing sector technicians by the year 2022-23, in synergy with Skill India Mission.