Current Affair 1:

India Innovation Index 2021

 

The index was released by NITI Aayog.

The India Innovation Index 2021 presents state-wise rankings based on the innovation landscape and performance of the country’s states and union territories. The latest framework of the index has been mapped from the Global Innovation Index, published annually by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization).

Pillars:

The India Innovation index lays down the broad pillars on which the country’s innovation landscape is determined.

Just like the previous edition, there are 7 pillars in the index—five ‘Enabler’ pillars measure the inputs and two ‘Performance’ pillars measure the output.

The innovation index is based on 7 pillars: human capital, investment, knowledge workers, business environment, safety and legal environment, knowledge output, and knowledge diffusion.

Other important graphs mentioned in the report:

 

Current Affair 2:

Basic Road Statistics in India 2018—19

Source Link

 

News:

Few important data and graphs. Interesting. See once and remember(not length of roads, just basic idea).

As per the report ‘Basic Road Statistics in India-2018-19’, India has a network of over 63, 31,757 kilometres of roads on 31.03.2019, which is the second largest in the world. There has been a consistent increase in the construction of roads under various categories during the period 1950-51 to 2018-19.

1. Report also reveals that, National Highways constitutes 2.09 % of total road network in the country and the total length of National Highways as on 31.03.2019 was at 1, 32,499, registering an increase of 4.9 % over previous year.
2. Maharashtra has the largest network of National Highways with 17,757 km (13.4%) followed by Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
3. The State Highways constitutes 2.8 percent of total road network in the country and the total length of State Highways as on 31.03.2019 was at 1, 79,535.
4. Maharashtra has the largest State Highways network in the country 17.83 % (32005 Km) followed by Karnataka 10.85 % (19473 Km), Gujarat 9.33 % (16746 Km), Rajasthan 8.39 % (15061 Km) and Andhra Pradesh 7.52 % (13500 Km). These five States accounted for 53.9% of the total State Highways network in the country.
5. Rural Roads (including JRY roads) constitute 71.4 % of total road network in the country.
6. Maharashtra accounted for the largest network of Rural Roads with 4,26,327 km (11.7%) followed by Assam 3,72,510 km (10.2%), Bihar 2,59,507 km (7.1%).

Current Affair 3:

Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan

 

To help achieve this and to enhance digital adoption, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is focusing on providing digital literacy to the citizens across the country especially in the rural areas. In line with this, the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) was approved by Union Cabinet in February 2017 with the approved budget outlay of Rs. 2351.38 crore, to usher in digital literacy in rural India with a target to cover 6 crore rural households (one person per household) across the country.

The PMGDISHA scheme is being implemented through CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle (CSC-SPV), incorporated under the Companies Act 1956, under the overall supervision of MeitY, with the collaboration of the State Governments and UT Administrations.

Under the scheme, digital literacy training to the beneficiaries is imparted through the select Common Service Centres (CSCs)/Training Centres that are operational at the Gram Panchayat Level.

The PMGDISHA Scheme is funded as a Central Sector Scheme, hence, funds are not sanctioned and allocated to States/UTs. The targets under the scheme are expected to be achieved within the approved duration of the scheme i.e., up to 31st March, 2023.

Current Affair 4:

Eco-Textiles

 

The textile industry is considered as the most ecologically harmful industry in the world. In the production process like bleaching and then dyeing, the subsequent fabric makes a toxin that swells into our ecosystem. Therefore, the need for eco-textiles is felt. Green textiles refer to clothing and other accessories that are designed to use the organic and recycled material.

Bamboo, corn husk, orange peels, pineapples, soya beans, eucalyptus, lotus stems, betel nut husks, nettle, hemp, aloe vera, rose petals, sugarcane, milk and even fish scales are no longer food or agri residues discarded as waste. They are increasingly becoming a favoured feedstock for the textile industry.

India generates over 500 million tons of agricultural and agro-industrial residues every year, according to official data of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). Across the country, agricultural waste is managed largely by burning, which causes unintended environmental damage

Similarly, most aspects of conventional textile manufacturing immensely damage the environment. “For instance, polyester is plastic. Consumers and manufacturers both want to shift to better materials, but choosing between environment and economics has been an either-or choice. This is where agro-waste fabrics come into the picture. When crop waste becomes feedstock for textile manufacturing, both sectors become planet-friendly.

Why it is beneficial for farmers?

Manufacturing yarns from agri-waste requires one-sixth of water needed for producing cotton yarns. As we don’t cultivate the raw material and use only waste, we can argue that these are zero water footprint raw materials.

The work of eco-textile manufacturers is helping reduce fashion’s carbon footprint, it is also benefiting farmers by improving their livelihood prospects in rural areas. From spending money to dispose of crop residues, farmers are now earning extra income by selling agri-waste.

Global fibre production has reached well over 100 million tonne per year in 2019 and is expected to rise even further. Developing alternative fibre sources is more critical now than it’s ever been.

 

Current Affair 5:

Improvement in the status of women in the country on various parameters

 

The latest data from National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS- 5), National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Health Management Information System (HMIS) etc. indicate improvement in the status of women and girls in the country during recent years on various parameters.

Further, the data published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on crime against women also shows a declining trend in the crime against women which was 3,71,503 in the year 2020, as against 4,05,326 in the year 2019.

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