Daily Current Affairs - 26 April

The Hindu -

💥BARC DEVELOPS CHEAPER, LIGHTWEIGHT BULLETPROOF JACKETS ( DEFENCE)

The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has developed a state-of-the-art bulletproof jacket for the Indian armed forces, which is not only cheaper but also much lighter.
The jacket, christened Bhabha Kavach, will reduce the weight by nearly 50% (weighs just 6.6 kg in comparison to the 17-kg jackets in use) and will be able to withstand eight 7.62mm bullets fired from an AK-47 rifle from a distance of 5-10 metres.
The jacket named after nuclear physicist Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, was developed at BARC’s Trombay centre in response to a request from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The jacket would also be produced more cost effectively as the cost of a Bhabha Kavach is Rs. 70,000, jackets of similar strength are available only in the range of Rs. 1.5 lakh
Bhabha Kavach will be manufactured by Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited, a defence public sector unit based in Hyderabad.
👉CONTEXT
The decision to go for new jackets were taken when it was found that terrorist used specialised steel bullets in an attack in Pulwama, in December, 2017 which pierced the jackets, killing five CRPF jawans.

💥MORE INSTITUTIONS TO WORK FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT (GOVERNANCE)

Centre is aiming to launch a second stage of the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan scheme with a much wider spread than its first stage in order to provide solutions to the problems of villages.
While just 143 premier institutions like IITs and NITs took part in the first stage, UBA 2.0 incorporates students from 750 higher educational institutions from across the country to adopt villages and visit them to get acquainted with lifestyle of people there and the problems faced by them. Both technical and non-technical institutions have been invited to build systems in villages as per their strengths.
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. It will be coordinated and steered by IIT Delhi.
👉About the scheme
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is inspired by the vision of transformational change in rural development processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India.
👉Key points:-
  • It aims to connect HEIs (Higher Educational Institutes) with local communities to provide indigenous development solutions to backward GPs (Gram Panchayats) /Village
  • The programme, with the help of IITs, NITs and other leading technical institutions will prepare a roadmap for holistic rural development.
  • It will involve engaging with communities around each institute and for their upliftment.
  • Once the solution is identified then they will involve the industry in this to solve the problem.
  • Along with the HRD ministry and the institutes, some other ministries such as rural development and NGOs working in villages are also likely to be involved in the programme.
  • Some of the problems that the institutes will be looking at are, supply of potable water, sanitation, energy and low cost housing.

💥BAMBOO MISSION EXTENDED (SCHEMES)

With an eye on boosting farmers’ income, the government on Wednesday approved a re-structured National Bamboo Mission (NBM) to promote commercial cultivation and develop farm-to-industry linkages.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved an extended a National Bamboo Mission (NBM) with an outlay of Rs 1,290 crore for two years.
A decision has also been taken for setting up of an executive committee for the formulation of guidelines of the NBM and to make the changes therein, including cost norms for various interventions from time-to-time as per the needs and specific recommendations of States.
The Mission will be having a targeted approach that focuses on development of bamboo in limited states where it has social, commercial and economical advantage.
👉The National Bamboo Mission
The National Bamboo Mission was launched in 2006-07 as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to promote the growth of bamboo sector. It was mainly emphasizing on propagation and cultivation of bamboo, with limited efforts on processing, product development and value addition.
The state for implementation of the project includes, the North Eastern region, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

👉The restructured NBM strives to –

(i)      To increase the area under bamboo plantation in non-forest Government and private lands to supplement farm income and contribute towards resilience to climate change.
(ii)    To improve post-harvest management through establishment of innovative primary processing units, treatment and seasoning plants, primary treatment and seasoning plants, preservation technologies and market infrastructure.
(iii)   To promote product development at micro, small and medium levels and feed bigger industry.
(iv) To rejuvenate the under developed bamboo industry in India.

💥INDIA HAS A DUTY TO ENSURE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 1987 ACCORD (IR)

The Sri Lankan Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan recently said that the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 is still alive and it is India’s duty to ensure that it is implemented in fullest spirit.
He concluded that for Sri Lanka’s journey towards peace the accord is very much needed and it should be ensured that the spirit of the accord is implemented and India must do its duty to ensure the same. He also added that it not that India alone can solve the issue, but a political solution evolved with the consensus in India could go a long way in settling the Tamil question in the island nation.
👉What as the 1987 Accord
Tamils and Sinhalese are the two major ethnic groups In Sri Lanka. Sinhalese eternal conflict with Tamils for power had been gathering strength since before independence. As a result of open discrimination, in 1976 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was formed to fight for Tamil rights and in 1983 Civil war started.
The bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka deteriorated in 1980’s with this rising of the Tamil militant separatism in Sri Lanka.
In 1987 with the objective of improving the ties, Indo-Sri Lankan Accord was signed between India and Sri Lanka. It proposed a political solution to the Sri Lanka’s conflict by establishing a provincial council system and devolution of power for nine provinces in Sri Lanka. (This is popularly known as The Thirteenth Amendment (13A) to the Constitution of Sri Lanka). India also deployed Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka intended to perform a peacekeeping
But after two years of constant military engagement, the IPKF was withdrawn as it failed to defeat LTTE. Afterwards India completely forced its hand out of the Sri Lanka following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

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