1. NEW SCHEMES ON INDEPENDENCE DAY (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Economy)

Lakhpati Didi

• The government is planning skill development training for two crore women under the 'Lakhpati Didi' scheme that aims to encourage them to start micro-enterprises.
• The 'Lakhpati Didi' scheme has been in place in some states and now the government is planning to train two crore women under it.
• Women would be trained in skills like plumbing, LED bulb making and operating and repairing drones among others.

Context: Prime Minister announced two new initiatives - Vishwakarma Yojana, a new scheme with an outlay of Rs 13,000 crore to Rs 15000 crore, and Lakhpati Didi, under which skill training will be provided to two crore women so that they can earn at least Rs 1 lakh annually.

Vishwakarma Yojana

• It is a scheme that aims to provide skill development, financial assistance, market linkages, social security and empowerment to the artisans and craftsmen belonging to various communities, especially the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
• The scheme will have an initial allocation of around ?13,000 crore to ?15,000 crore and will be launched on the occasion of Vishwakarma Jayanti, which falls on September 17 this year.
• It will cover artisans and craftsmen from various sectors such as textiles, leather, metal, wood, clay, stone, bamboo, cane, paper, glass etc.
• It will provide skill training to the artisans and craftsmen based on their existing level of proficiency and market demand.

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2. CSR SPENDING (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Economy)

Context:As the focus on sustainability gathered traction, CSR expenditure on the environment more than doubled in FY22 from a year before to ?2,837 crore and the sector emerged as the biggest recipient of such funds after health and education. 

• Similarly, the pandemic prompted companies to sharply raise spending on health, which has now beaten education as the top sector for CSR expenditure.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending

• About: The Corporate Social Responsibility concept in India is governed by Section 135  and Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013 and Companies (CSR Policy) Rules, 2014.

• As per the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2019,CSR is applicable to companies before completion of 3 financial years.
• Companies are required to spend, in every financial year, at least 2% of their average net profits generated during the 3 immediately preceding financial years.
• For companies that have not completed 3 financial years, average net profits generated in the preceding financial years shall be factored in.
• The CSR activities in India should not be undertaken in the normal course of business and must be with respect to any of the 17 activities of CSR mentioned in Schedule VII of the act.

• Criteria: The Companies Act has made it mandatory for certain corporations to undertake CSR activities. The Act requires companies with: 

• (a) a net worth of INR 5 billion (500 crore) or more or; 
• (b) An annual turnover of INR 10 billion (1000 crore) or more or; 
• (c) Net profit of INR 50 million (5 crore) or more, to spend 2% of their average net profits of 3 years on CSR. 
• Prior to that, the CSR clause was voluntary for companies, though it was mandatory to disclose their CSR spending to shareholders.

• CSR Committee: Every company to which CSR criteria are applicable shall constitute a Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. 

• The CSR Committee should consist of 3 or more directors, with at least 1 independent director. 
• The activities to be undertaken under CSR are prescribed by the Government in Schedule VII of the Companies Act.

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3. PER CAPITA INCOME (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Economy)

Context: The per capita income of Indians as gleaned from income-tax filing is expected to increase from Rs 2 lakh in FY23 to Rs 14.9 lakh in FY47, coinciding with 100 years of the country’s Independence, according to SBI Research.

• Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.

• India's per capita net national income (at current prices) for 2022-23 stands at INR 172,000, according to estimates from the National Statistical Office (NSO).

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4. EDUCATIONAL REFORMS (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - Education)

Context:  Tamil Nadu Chief Minister called for transferring education back to the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. 

• Only this would help to abolish the centralised examinations like NEET.

• Education, originally a State subject, was moved to the Concurrent List by the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency.

Constitutional provisions on education in India

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5. DIGITAL INDIA PROGRAMME (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - Govt. Policies & Intervention)

Context: The Union Cabinet approved the expansion of the Digital India programme. The total outlay is ?14,903 crores.

Digital India programme 

• About: It is a Rs 1,13,000-crore flagship programme of the Government of India.

• Origin: Launched on July 1, 2015.

• Objectives: To transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

• Vision Areas:

• Digital Infrastructure as a Core Utility to Every Citizen
• Governance & Services on Demand 
• Digital Empowerment of Citizens

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6. BIRD SPECIES COUNT (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Env & Eco)

Context: About 275 bird species, including two critically endangered, four vulnerable ones and two endangered species, were counted during the bird survey at Corbett Tiger Reserve in Nainital. 

• The survey, conducted between June 20 and 23 by a 62-member team consisting of ornithologists, conservationists, volunteers from World Wide Fund (WWF) India, Tiger Conservation Foundation and Village Volunteer Protection Force, covering overall 540 km of 135 forest trails provided insights into the diverse bird species inhabiting at Corbett Tiger Reserve.
• The survey, conducted using two methods of recording the bird species — Point Count Method and Trail Monitoring Count Method — aims to give a holistic approach and protect all parts of the landscape which are extensively used by mega-fauna. 

Key Points

• Two species, namely white-rumped vulture and red-headed vulture, considered critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list, have been documented in the survey, which covered the vast range of landscape in the reserve, including grassland, dense forest, rivers and hilly terrains.
• Two endangered species - Pallas’s fish-eagle, Egyptian vulture were also counted by the researchers in the survey. 
• The scientific names of Pallas’s fish-eagle and Egyptian vulture are halieetus leucoryphus and neophron percnopterus respectively. 
• Four vulnerable bird species — great hornbill, great slaty woodpecker, grey-crowned prinia and river tern — have also been counted in the survey.
• About 10 near-threatened bird species — river lapwing, red-breasted parakeet, oriental darter, lesser fish-eagle, Himalayan griffon, great thick-knee, gray-headed fish-eagle, black-necked stork, Asian woolley-necked stork and Alexandrine parakeet — have also been found at the reserve.

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7. HIMALAYAN ECOLOGY (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Env & Eco)

Context: The Centre and governments of Himalayan states should focus on sanitation systems in the Himalayas as well besides taking stock of wanton illegal construction and heavy tourist inflow, an analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based think tank, has urged.

Key Points

• An analysis of a few destinations with high influx of tourists in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim by CSE shows that most Himalayan towns do not have sewerage systems.
• CSE’s analysis comes even as a parliamentary panel stated in its report on August 10, 2023, that the Himalayas are under a lot of strain due to tourism and illegal construction.
• In its 135th report tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment Forest and Climate Change stressed the need for a thorough examination of the illegal structures in the ecologically fragile region in coordination with local authorities and strict action against illegal construction to prevent tragedies akin to the ones experienced in Kedarnath in 2013 and Joshimath earlier this year.
• It recommended that the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change “should prepare a practical and implementable action plan with clear timelines to put a check on ecologically destructive activities,”.

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8. BAGHJAN BLOWOUT (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Env & Eco)

Context: The National Green Tribunal (NGT)’s principal bench ordered the Assam government to disburse interim compensation to the victims of Baghjan oil and gas leak that displaced close to 9,000 people in 2020 in Tinsukia district of Assam. 

Key Points

• The blowout left a trail of devastation by a fire from an oil and gas rig, which raged for close to five months. 
• It also impacted the fragile ecology of the villages situated close to Dibru Saikhowa National Park. 
• The Baghjan blowout is considered as the longest running oil spill in the country, where lakhs of rupees had been spent to control the fire that gutted several houses in the village, spewing crude oil and condensates on homesteads, rivers and lakes.
• NGT- Appointed Judge Katakey committee recommends legal action against Oil India Ltd. for violating various environmental as well industrial regulation.
• The Baghjan oilfield, along with 26 oil wells in Assam was operating without mandatory environmental clearance when one of the well experienced a blowout on May 27, 2020 following by fire.

• Katakay committee made interim recommendation in the status report submitted to the tribunal in which it sought legal action against Oil India Ltd. for violation the Air, water & Environment Protection Act.

• Committee also stated that Oil India limited had violated the directive of the Central pollution Control Board.

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9. BRAHMOS MISSILE (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Sci & Tech)

Context: India and the Philippines are looking to step up defence ties after the Southeast Asian nation's high-profile purchase of a BrahMos missile. 

BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles 

• About: A joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation of India (DRDO) and the NPOM of Russia.

• BrahMos is named for the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva (Russia).

• Range: 290 km 

• Fastest cruise missile in the world: A top speed of Mach 2.8 (nearly three times the speed of sound).

• Two-stage missile system: Solid propellant engine in the first stage and liquid ramjet in second.

• Multiplatform missile: Can be launched from land, air, and sea and multi capability missile with pinpoint accuracy that works in both day and night irrespective of the weather conditions.

• Operates on the "Fire and Forgets" principle: It does not require further guidance after launch.

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10. SADAIV ATAL (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 - Personalities)

Context:  The Prime Minister paid floral tributes at 'Sadaiv Atal' the samadhi of former Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his Punya Tithi.

Key Points

• Sadaiv Atal, the Samadhi of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was dedicated to the Nation on the birth Anniversary of the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• To emphasise on the unity in diversity, stones from various parts of the country have been used in the construction of Samadhi near Rajghat in New Delhi.  
• The Samadhi has a central platform comprising of nine square blocks, capped with a Diya in the centre. The number nine represents the navarasas, navaratras and navagrahas. 
• The placement of the nine square blocks is in a circular lotus shaped pattern.
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as the Prime Minister of India for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, and finally, for a full term from 1999 to 2004.
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December 1924 in Gwalior. He passed away on 16 August 2018 due to age-related illness. 
• His birth anniversary is celebrated as Good Governance Day.

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