PIB Analysis (Prelims Focus) Date 29/10/2018

PIB ANALYSIS FOR UPSC CIVIL SERVICES EXAM

Topics Covered

1. Mega Food Park
2. SWAS, SAFAL, STAR and E crackers
3. Nari Shakti Puraskar

1 . Mega Food Park

Union Minister Smt Harsimrat Badal inaugurates Gujarat’s first Mega Food Park in Surat; says 2nd Park in Mehsana sanctioned

What is Mega Food Park

• Ministry of Food Processing Industries is focussed on boosting the food processing industry in India so that agriculture sector grows exponentially and becomes a major contributor to doubling the farmers’ income and to contribute to ‘Make In India’ initiative of the government.
• Aimed at giving a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with particular focus on perishables, Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing Mega Food Park Scheme in the country.
• The Scheme of Mega Food Park aims at providing a mechanism to link agricultural production to the market by bringing together farmers, processors and retailers so as to ensure maximizing value addition, minimizing wastage, increasing farmers income and creating employment opportunities particularly in rural sector
• Mega Food Parks create modern infrastructure facilities for food processing along the value chain from farm to market with strong forward and backward linkages through a cluster based approach.in.
• Mega food park typically consist of supply chain infrastructure including collection centers, primary processing centers, central processing centers, cold chain and around 30-35 fully developed plots for entrepreneurs to set up food processing units.
• Under the Scheme, Government of India provides financial assistance upto Rs. 50.00 Crore per Mega Food Park project.
• The Mega Food Park project is implemented by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which is a Body Corporate registered under the Companies Act. State Government, State Government entities and Cooperatives are not required to form a separate SPV for implementation of Mega Food Park project. Subject to fulfillment of the conditions of the Scheme Guidelines, the funds are released to the SPVs.

2 . SWAS, SAFAL and STAR

CSIR develops Less Polluting Firecrackers named – SWAS, SAFAL and STAR
These crackers are 15-20 % cheaper than conventional onesand NEERI team involved in the project has 80 % women scientists 
E-crackers also being developed with products like E-Ladi, E-Anar, E-cracker show. For the first time an Emission Testing Facility established in India for sound and emission testing of crackers

What is SWAS SAFAL and STAR

• CSIR scientists have developed Less Polluting Firecrackers which are not only environment friendly but 15-20 % cheaper than the conventional ones
• These crackers have been named as safe water releaser (SWAS), safe minimal aluminium (SAFAL) and safe thermite cracker (STAR).

Technical Details and Advantages

• The crackers have been named as safe water releaser (SWAS), safe minimal aluminium (SAFAL) and safe thermite cracker (STAR).
• It has unique property of releasing water vapour and /or air as dust suppressant and diluent for gaseous emissions and matching performance in sound with conventional crackers.
• SWAS crackers eliminates usage of (KNO₃) Potassium nitrate and Sulphurwith consequent reduction in particulate matter (30-35%) SO₂ and NOx. It has matching sound intensity with commercial crackers in the range of 105-110 dBA.
• TAR eliminates usage of KNO₃ and S with consequent reduction in particulate matter (35-40%), SO₂ and NOx. It has matching sound intensity with commercial crackers in the range of 105-110 dBA.
• SAFAL has minimal usage of aluminium (only in flash powder for initiation)with consequent significant reduction in particulate matter(35-40 %) compared to commercial crackers. It has matching sound intensity with commercial crackers in the range of 110-115 dBA.

E-Crackers

• Electronic firecrackers are small pods connected to each other with wires and powered by electricity. They are also equipped with twinkling LEDs to create a cracker lighting scenario.
• Each pod contains a high-voltage generator, which sparks itself internally at random intervals. These high-voltage sparks create a cracking sound to mimic firecrackers. The sparking is similar to the sound from electronic fly/mosquito rackets
• All you need to do is plug in the unit to the power source, switch it on and the electronic firecracker will produce the sound and lights similar to the conventional firecrackers you would light up. You can use these indoors or hang them up outdoors. They are reusable, eco-friendly and completely safe
• Currently E-Ladi, E-Anar, system are under development. At present CSIR-CEERI is ready with the laboratory level prototype of E-Ladi.

Flower Pot 

• Essentially comprises of alkali nitrates, Aluminium powders of different grain sizes and in some cases the binder to enhance luminescence.
• Aluminium has been used as a primary heat source and to produce flash. In order to reduce the ignition temperature and subsequently to minimize the particulate matter, Magnesium could be a viable alternative to Aluminium.
• By substituting Magnesium for Aluminium the team from CSIR-CECRI has been able to reduce particulate matter (PM) by 25-30%.

Emission Testing Facility

•  First time in India, an Emission testing Facility has been established at CSIR-NEERI and extensive testing is in progress for conventional and green crackers for monitoring the emissions and sound

3 . Nari Shakti Puraskar

What is Nari Shakti Puraskar

• Nari Shakti Puraskar is the highest civilian honour for Women in India and is conferred to exceptional Women and Institutions, who have been working incessantly towards the cause of Women Empowerment.
• The Awards, now in its 19th year, recognise excellent contribution in the fields of Economic and Social Empowerment of Women.
• Every year, the President of India confers the Nari Shakti Puraskar on the International Women’s Day.