DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

24^th February 2022

No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	PM CARES FOR CHILDREN SCHEME	Prelims & Mains
2.	RAMANUJAN PRIZE	Prelims & Mains
3.	DATA ACCESSIBILITY POLICY	Prelims & Mains
4.	SEA CUCUMBER	Prelims Specific Topic
5.	DEUCHA PANCHAMI COAL BLOCK	Prelims Specific Topic

 

1 – PM CARES FOR CHILDREN SCHEME: 

GS II

Topic – Government Policies and Interventions

• Context:
• The Prime Minister’s Children’s Welfare Scheme has been extended till February 28, 2022. Previously, the program was only good through December 31, 2021.
• The plan is as follows:
• The program was created to help and empower children who have been affected by Covid.
• Eligibility: The scheme will assist all children who have lost both parents or a surviving parent, legal guardian/adoptive parents as a result of Covid 19.
• To be eligible for the plan, children must not have reached the age of 18 at the time of their parents’ death.
• The scheme’s features include:
• Fixed Deposit in the child’s name: When each child reaches the age of 18, he or she would get a sum of Rs 10 lakh.
• For children under the age of ten, admission will be granted as a day scholar to the nearest Kendriya Vidyalaya or a private school.
• Schooling: For children aged 11 to 18, admission would be granted to any Central Government residential school, such as Sainik School or Navodaya Vidyalaya.
• Support for Higher Education: As per the existing Education Loan guidelines, the child would be aided in acquiring an education loan for Professional courses / Higher Education in India.
• Health Insurance: Under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme (PM-JAY), all children would be enrolled as beneficiaries with a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakhs.
• (Note: We’ve simply touched on the scheme’s highlights and major elements here.) Please see the website for more information.
• These safeguards are required because:
• As India fights a blazing second wave, the number of children who have lost their parents to Covid-19 is increasing.
• Child trafficking under the guise of adoption has also become a concern.
• In the Covid-19-induced lockdown, child marriages have also increased.
• Source – The Hindu

2 – RAMANUJAN PRIZE:

GS I

Topic – Indian Culture

• Context:
• Professor Neena Gupta, a mathematician from the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata, received the Ramanujan Prize for Young Mathematicians at a virtual ceremony on February 22, 2022.
• For her remarkable work in affine algebraic geometry and commutative algebra, she got the award for the year 2021.
• The Ramanujan Prize is named after the Indian scientist Ramanujan.
• The prize is given annually to a researcher from a developing country who is supported by the Indian government’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) in collaboration with the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and the International Mathematical Union (IMU).
• Eligibility: Young mathematicians under the age of 45 who have done remarkable research in a developing nation are eligible.
• It is financed by DST in Srinivasa Ramanujan’s honor.
• Srinivasa Ramanujan’s life highlights include:
• Ramanujan’s first paper was published in the Journal of the Indian Mathematical Society in 1911.
• In 1914, Ramanujan moved to England, where Hardy educated him and cooperated on some research with him.
• He developed the Riemann series, elliptic integrals, hypergeometric series, zeta function functional equations, and his own divergent series theory.
• After a notable visit by Hardy to meet Ramanujan at a hospital, the number 1729 is known as the Hardy-Ramanujan number. It’s the smallest integer that can be stated in two different ways as the sum of two different cubes.
• Ramanujan’s work, according to Hardy, mostly involved fields that were unknown even to other pure mathematicians.
• Ramanujan’s home state of Tamil Nadu observes ‘State IT Day’ on December 22 to commemorate both the man and his achievements as a Tamil Nadu native.
• Ramanujan compiled around 3,900 equations and identities as a result of his work. His infinite series for was one of his most prized discoveries.
• The biopic ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity,’ starring Dev Patel, was released in 2015.
• Source – The Hindu

3 – DATA ACCESSIBILITY POLICY:

GS II

Topic – Government Policies and Interventions

• Context:
• A draft Data Accessibility and Use policy has been released by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• The following are some of the policy’s highlights:
• In order to meet the existing and rising technology demands of the decade, the strategy aims to improve data availability, quality, and use.
• Any data exchange must take place within India’s legal framework, including its national rules and legislation, as well as internationally accepted principles.
• The policy applies to all data and information generated, created, collected, or maintained by the central government and its entities.
• Applicability: Unless a negative list of data sets, categorised under the negative list of datasets that will not be shared, all government data will be open and shareable; and restricted access and shared only with trusted users, as defined by the respective ministry or department, under the controlled environment.
• The following important bodies are intended to be established:
• It suggests that an India Data Office (IDO) be established to streamline and unify data access and sharing among government and other stakeholders.
• In terms of the institutional framework, the draft said that every ministry or department should establish Data Management Units, led by Chief Data Officers, that will collaborate closely with the IDO to ensure that the policy is implemented.
• The India Data Council, which would be made up of IDOs and chief data officers, will be formed with the goal of completing activities that require deliberation among ministries, departments, and state governments.
• Policy outcomes to be expected:
• Across the economy, high-value data is being unlocked.
• Assisting in the development of a consistent and reliable governance plan.
• Creating a digital infrastructure that is interoperable.
• Data skills and a data-driven culture are both important.
• Source – The Hindu

4 – SEA CUCUMBER:

Prelims Specific Topic

• In India, the sea cucumber is classified as an endangered species under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
• They are seafloor-dwelling marine invertebrates that are mostly found in tropical areas. They get their name from their unique oblong shape, which looks like a fat cucumber.
• They are an important part of the coral ecosystem because one of the principal by-products of the sea cucumber’s sand digestion is calcium carbonate, which is necessary for coral reef life.
• They operate as garbage collectors for the ocean environment, recycling nutrients and helping to keep coral reefs healthy.
• In China and Southeast Asia, sea cucumbers are in high demand. It is primarily smuggled into Sri Lanka by fishing vessels from the districts of Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.
• Brown Sea Cucumber (Endangered), Blackspotted Sea Cucumber (Least Concern), Blue Sea Cucumber (Data Deficient), and others are listed on the IUCN Red List.
• Source – The Hindu

5 – DEUCHA PANCHAMI COAL BLOCK:

Prelims Specific Topic

• The Deaucha Panchami coal block in the Birbhum Coalfield Area of West Bengal is the world’s second largest coal block.
• Due to the volume of coal reserves, this coal mine is Asia’s largest coal mine or coal block.
• Why is this in the news:
• Despite protests by several organizations about land issues in Deucha Panchami, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has enhanced the monetary gift for tribals in Deucha Panchami.
• Source – The Hindu