3rd OCTOBER 2024 ENGLISH TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF TNPSC SHOUTERS
Classical language status for 5 more languages including Marathi and Bengali
- Our India has many different languages. People speak different languages in every state. The central government is continuously taking various measures to protect these languages. As part of that, the central government has now announced that it will grant classical language status to an additional 55 Indian languages.
- According to Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, the Union Cabinet has now decided to grant classical language status to Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali languages.
- At present Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Odia languages have been declared classical languages in our country, now the number of languages getting classical status increases to 11 in addition to 5 languages.
- It was reported that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin, who went to Delhi, met Prime Minister Modi in person and made demands related to various projects including the metro project. In this case, for the construction work of the 2nd phase of the metro project for Chennai, Rs. 63,246 crore has been approved by the central government.
- The second phase of the project consists of three lines, 45.8 km long with 50 stations from Madhavaram to Chipgad, 26.1 km long with 30 stations from Kalankara Deparra to Poontamalli Pai, and 47 km long with 48 stations from Madhavaram to Choshinganallur.
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved modification of the existing Productivity Linked Reward (PLR) Scheme for the major ports and dock labour Board employees/workers from 2020-21 to 2025-26.
- The modified PLR scheme applicable from 2020-21 to 2025-26 will benefit about 20,704 employees of Major Port Authorities and Dock Labour Board Employees/workers. The total financial implication for the entire period will be about Rs.200 crore.
- Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has accordingly modified the Productivity Linked Reward (PLR) Scheme for all Major Port Authorities and Dock Labour Board employees/workers for the years 2020-21 to 2025-26 increasing weightage for calculation of PLR to port specific performance instead of weightage to all India performance.
- Productivity |Linked Reward (PLR) has been calculated on the wage ceiling for calculation of Bonus at Rs.7000/- per month. PLR shall be paid annually by enhancing the port specific performance weightage from 50% to 55% and further increasing to 60%.
- All India Port performance weightage will also come down to 40% over a period till 2025-26, This is replacing the existing equal weightage of 50% for the All India port performance and the specific Port performance. It is expected that the proposed modification will bring about the efficiency factor along with competition among the Major Ports.
- In recognition of the excellent performance by the Railway staff, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved payment of PLB of 78 days for Rs. 2028.57 crore to 11,72,240 railway employees.
- The amount will be paid to various categories, of Railway staff like Track maintainers, Loco Pilots, Train Managers (Guards), Station Masters, Supervisors, Technicians, Technician Helpers, Pointsman, Ministerial staff and other Group C staff.
- The payment of PLB acts as an incentive to motivate the railway employees for working towards improvement in the performance of the Railways.
- Payment of PLB to eligible railway employees is made each year before the Durga Puja/ Dusshera holidays. This year also, PLB amount equivalent to 78 days' wages is being paid to about 11.72 lakh non-gazetted Railway employees.
- The maximum amount payable per eligible railway employee is Rs.17,951/- for 78 days. The above amount will be paid to various categories, of Railway staff like Track maintainers, Loco Pilots, Train Managers (Guards), Station Masters, Supervisors, Technicians, Technician Helpers, Pointsman, Ministerial staff and other Group 'C staff.
- The performance of Railways in the year 2023-2024 was very good. Railways loaded a record cargo of 1588 Million Tonnes and carried nearly 6.7 Billion Passengers.
- The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of ‘Letter of Intent’ thus enabling India to join the ‘Energy Efficiency Hub’.
- India will join the International Energy Efficiency Hub (Hub), a global platform dedicated to fostering collaboration and promoting energy efficiency worldwide. This move solidifies India's commitment to sustainable development and aligns with its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Established in 2020 as the successor to the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC), in which India was a member, the Hub brings together governments, international organizations, and private sector entities to share knowledge, best practices, and innovative solutions.
- By joining the Hub, India will gain access to a vast network of experts and resources, enabling it to enhance its domestic energy efficiency initiatives.
- As of July, 2024, sixteen countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, European Commission, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United States and United Kingdom) have joined the Hub.
- The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the proposal of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) for rationalization of all Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) operating under Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s into two-umbrella Schemes viz.
- Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY), a cafeteria scheme and Krishonnati Yojana (KY). PM-RKVY will promote sustainable agriculture, while KY will address food security & agricultural self-sufficiency. All components shall leverage technology to ensure efficient and effective implementation of the various components.
- The PM Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (PM-RKVY) and Krishonnati Yojana (KY) will be implemented with total proposed expenditure of Rs.1,01,321.61 crore. These Schemes are implemented through the State Governments. This exercise ensures that all the existing schemes are being continued.
- Wherever it was considered necessary to give fillip to any area for farmer’s welfare, the scheme has been taken up in Mission mode, for example National Mission for Edible Oil-Oil Palm [NMEO-OP], Clean Plant Program, Digital Agriculture & National Mission for Edible Oil-Oil Seeds [NMEO-OS].
- The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds), a landmark initiative aimed at boosting domestic oilseed production and achieving self-reliance (Atmanirbhar Bharat) in edible oils.
- The Mission will be implemented over a seven-year period, from 2024-25 to 2030-31, with a financial outlay of Rs 10,103 crore. The newly approved NMEO-Oilseeds will focus on enhancing the production of key primary oilseed crops such as Rapeseed-Mustard, Groundnut, Soybean, Sunflower, and Sesamum, as well as increasing collection and extraction efficiency from secondary sources like Cottonseed, Rice Bran, and Tree Borne Oils.
- The mission aims to increase primary oilseed production from 39 million tonnes (2022-23) to 69.7 million tonnes by 2030-31. Together with NMEO-OP (Oil Palm), the Mission targets to increase domestic edible oil production to 25.45 million tonnes by 2030-31 meeting around 72% of our projected domestic requirement.
- This will be achieved by promoting adoption of high-yielding high oil content seed varieties, extending cultivation into rice fallow areas, and promoting intercropping. The Mission will harness ongoing development of high-quality seeds by using cutting-edge global technologies such as genome editing.
