ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
Curtain raiser Indo-Nepal joint military Exercise SURYA KIRAN – XIV
Joint military exercise ‘SURYA KIRAN – XIV’ between India and Nepal will be conducted at Salijhandi, Rupendehi district of Nepal from 03 to 16 December 2019. The exercise will comprise of 300 soldiers from both Indian and Nepal Army who would be sharing their experience in conduct of various counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations as also various humanitarian assistance missions by both the Armies.
Exercise SURYA KIRAN - XIV is an annual event which is conducted alternatively in Nepal and India. Notably, in the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries, exercise SURYA KIRAN with Nepal is an important exercise in terms of the security challenges faced by both the nations in the realm of changing facets of global terrorism. The aim of this exercise is to conduct a Battalion level combined training between Indian Army and Nepal Army to increase interoperability in jungle warfare and counter terrorist operations in mountainous terrain, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, medical and environmental conservation including aviation aspects.
The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence cooperation which will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations.
Col Aman Anand
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Ministry of Coal
Pelma to become SECL's first opencast mine to produce coal under MDO mode
Over 219 million tonnes of coal to be extracted from the mine during a period of 20 years
SECL’s Pelma mine will become the first opencast mine in Chhattisgarh under MDO  mode. South Eastern Coalfields Limited  has signed an agreement with Pelma Collieries to operate Pelma opencast mine located in Raigarh area.
According to the agreement, Pelma Collieries will operate the mine for the next 20 years, under which Pelma Collieries will be responsible for all activities related to designing, financing, procurement, construction, operation and maintenance of the project. A total of more than 219 million tonnes of coal is proposed to be extracted from the mine during a period of 20 years, with an annual target of 15 million tonnes of coal. High quality G-12 grade coal will be extracted from the mine.
MDO mode is a novel concept of mine operation under which Government and private enterprises will work together to fulfil the country's energy needs. This will help in expansion of coal production of SECL and will play an important role in achieving 1 billion tonne production target of Coal India.
SECL has succeeded in starting its old and closed mines on MDO mode. Ketki UG of Bishrampur area has achieved the distinction of becoming the first coal mine in India to produce coal on MDO mode. On the other hand, Letter of Award has also been issued to Kalyani UG Mine of Bhatgaon area for operating it on MDO - revenue sharing model. Along with this, SECL is also working towards starting other projects on MDO mode.
SECL Raigarh area is a strategically important coalfield in terms of coal reserve and the Area will majorly contribute towards the total production of SECL in the coming future. It is the third largest coalfield in the country with an estimated coal reserve of about 1900 million tonnes. Rail corridor is also being developed in this area by SECL for speedy evacuation of coal.
Ministry of Finance
e-Filing portal of the Income Tax Department - updates
The e-Filing portal of the Income Tax Department  was launched on 7th June, 2021. Taxpayers and professionals have reported glitches and difficulties in the portal since then. The Ministry of Finance has been regularly monitoring the resolution of issues with Infosys Ltd which is the Managed Services Provider for the project.
A number of technical issues are being progressively addressed and there has been a positive trend reflected in the statistics of the various filings on the portal. Over 8.83 crore unique taxpayers have logged in till 7th September, 2021 with a daily average of over 15.55 lakh in September, 2021. The Income Tax Return  filing has increased to 3.2 lakh daily in September, 2021 and 1.19 crore ITRs for AY 2021-22 have been filed. Of these, over 76.2 lakh taxpayers have used the online utility of the portal to file the returns.
It is encouraging to note that over 94.88 lakh ITRs have also been e-verified, which is necessary for processing by the Centralized Processing Center. Of this, 7.07 lakh ITRs have been processed.
Taxpayers have been able to view over 8.74 lakh Notices issued by the Department under the Faceless Assessment/Appeal/Penalty proceedings, to which, over 2.61 lakh responses have been filed. An average of 8,285 Notices for e-proceedings are being issued and 5,889 responses are being filed in September, 2021 on a daily basis.
Over 10.60 lakh Statutory Forms have been submitted including 7.86 lakh TDS statements, 1.03 lakh Form 10A for registration of Trusts/institutions, 0.87 lakh Form 10E for arrears of salary, 0.10 lakh Form 35 for Appeal.
Aadhaar- PAN linking has been done by 66.44 lakh taxpayers and over 14.59 lakh e-PAN have been allotted. These two facilities are being availed of by over 0.50 lakh taxpayers on a daily basis in September, 2021.
It is reiterated that the Department is continuously engaged with Infosys to ensure a smooth filing experience to taxpayers.
Ministry of Home Affairs
MoS  Shri Nityanand Rai takes salute at the Central Reserve Police Force  82nd Raising Day Parade
Minister lauds CRPF personnel for their role as Corona Warriors
“CRPF has done exceptional work in women’s empowerment”: Shri Nityanand Rai
The Central Reserve Police Force  celebrated its 82nd Anniversary with zeal and ceremonial fervour. A parade was organised at the CRPF Academy, Gurugram to mark the occasion. Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai took the salute at the parade.
Addressing the gathering, the Minister lauded CRPF personnel for their role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as Corona Warriors. He also commended their selfless service to society as 80,000 personnel pledged organ donations, besides their contribution as Nature Warriors by planting 25 lakh trees, and establishment of the National Centre for Divyang Empowerment. Shri Nityanand Rai appreciated the exceptional work of the CRPF in women’s empowerment, as they shoulder equal responsibilities in effectively dealing with extreme internal challenges like terrorism, militancy, Left Wing Extremism, Rapid Action Force duties in riot control, law and order, maintenance of communal harmony and Disaster Management.
While presenting Gallantry medals and trophies for exceptional achievements in different categories, Shri Rai, in his address, congratulated the force personnel and their families. He paid tributes to all the martyrs and saluted their immense and unparalleled contribution in upholding the unity, integrity, and sovereignty of the nation. He also remarked that the unflinching commitment of the CRPF to its motto of ‘Service and Loyalty’ is ingrained in its work culture.
In his address, Shri Kuldiep Singh, Director General  CRPF thanked the minister for his august presence. The DG extended his best wishes to the force personnel and their families and assured that the Force will continue to serve the nation with reinvigorated dedication and devotion.
The celebrations also included enthralling demonstrations by the CRPF Sports team, the Mallakhamb team and motorbike stunts by the renowned Mahila Daredevils of CRPF.
It was on this day in 1950 that the then Home Minister, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel presented colours to the CRPF after the CRPF Act was enacted and the force rechristened to its present name. The CRPF was raised in 1939 as the Crown Representative's Police.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 Vaccination Update
More than 25.87 Crore vaccine doses provided to States/UTs
More than 1.12 crore doses still available with States/UTs to be administered
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In addition, the Govt. of India has also been facilitating direct procurement of vaccines by the States/UTs. Vaccination is an integral pillar of the comprehensive strategy of Government of India for containment and management of the pandemic, along with Test, Track, Treat and COVID Appropriate Behaviour.
Implementation of the Liberalized and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy of Covid-19 Vaccination has started from 1st May 2021.
Under the Strategy, in every month 50% of the total Central Drugs Laboratory  cleared vaccine doses of any manufacturer would be procured by Govt. of India. It would continue to make these doses available to the State Govts totally free of cost as was being done earlier.
More than 25.87 crore  vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far, through Government of India  and through direct state procurement category.
Of this, the total consumption, including wastages is 24,76,58,855 doses .
More than 1.12 crore  COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Furthermore, more than 10 lakh  vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the States/UTs within the next 3 days.
Ministry of Education
An IIT Kharagpur Alumni Receives his 200th US Patent Grant to Enter Global List of Prolific Inventors
Kolkata, December 30, 2021
An alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, belonging to the Computer Science and Engineering Department of the Institute has received his 200th US patent grant in November, this year. Anil Agiwal, thus has entered the global list of prolific inventors that includes individuals who have been granted 200 or more patents in the USA. Shri Agiwal is now on an all-time list of 316 inventors. The patents included innovations on advanced radio access technologies  for cellular communication.
It is to be mentioned that Shri Agiwal graduated with an M.Tech in Computer Science & Information Technology in 2001. He joined Samsung R&D Institute Bangalore  through campus placement from IIT Kharagpur in 2002. He is a researcher and standardisation expert in wireless communications. Currently, Shri Agiwal is working as a Director in the Samsung Research Centre at Samsung Research, Seoul. His current role involves research and standardization of 5G/5G-advanced radio communication technologies for lower and higher frequency bands , which enables enhanced Mobile Broadband , massive Machine Type Communication , Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communication  and support verticals such as Industrial Internet of Things  and Vehicle-to-Everything  communications.
Ministry of Civil Aviation
MoCA has accorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across the country so far
154 RCS airports including 14 water aerodromes & 36 helipads have been identified for development/upgradation under UDAN scheme
Upgradation and modernization of civil aviation infrastructure is an ongoing process and is undertaken by concerned airport operators from time to time depending on the availability of land, commercial viability, socio-economic considerations, traffic demand/willingness of airlines to operate to/from such airports. AAI has taken up development of new airports and expansion/ upgradation of existing airports at estimated cost of around Rs. 25,000 crores in next 4-5 years which includes expansion and modification of existing terminals, new terminals, expansion or strengthening of existing runways, aprons, Airport Navigation Services control towers, technical blocks etc. In addition, three Public Private Partnership  airports at Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru have undertaken major expansion plan to the tune of Rs. 30,000 Crores by 2025. These projects are at various stages of planning/development.
Government of India has formulated a Greenfield Airport Policy, 2008which provides Guidelines for establishment of new Greenfield Airports in thecountry. As per Policy, an Airport Developer, including the State Governments, willing to establish an Airport is required to send a proposal to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.There is a 2-stage process for approval of the proposal i.e.
‘Site-Clearance’ stage and 'In-Principle' approval stage. In accordance with this policy, MoCA receives proposals from the State Governments or Airportdevelopers from time to time for establishment of airports. MoCA has so faraccorded 'in-principle' approval for setting up of 21 Greenfield Airports across thecountry namely Mopain Goa, Navi Mumbai, Shirdi and Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Kalaburagi, Bijapur, Hassan and Shimoga in Karnataka, Datia in Madhya Pradesh, Kushinagar and Noida  in Uttar Pradesh, Dholera and Hirasar in Gujarat, Karaikal in Puducherry, Dagadarthi, Bhogapuramand Oravakal in Andhra Pradesh, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim,Kannur in Kerala and Hollongi  in Arunachal Pradesh out of which eight airports namely Durgapur, Shirdi, Sindhudurg, Pakyong, Kannur, Kalaburagi, Oravakal and Kushinagar have been operationalized.
Under UDAN scheme, so far, 154 RCS airports including 14 water aerodromes & 36 helipads have been identified for development/upgradation.
This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry Of Civil Aviation  V. K.Singh in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
This is a Victory of Gender Justice and will Further Equality In Society: PM on the Passage of Triple Talaq Bill
PM Shri Narendra Modi thanked all the parties and MPs who have supported the passage of the Muslim Women  Bill, 2019 in both Houses of Parliament. He said that they have risen to the occasion and this step of theirs will be forever remembered in India’s history.
In a series of tweets he said that “An archaic and medieval practice has finally been confined to the dustbin of history! Parliament abolishes Triple Talaq and corrects a historical wrong done to Muslim women. This is a victory of gender justice and will further equality in society. India rejoices today!”
He further tweeted that “This is an occasion to salute the remarkable courage of those Muslim women who have suffered great wrongs just due to the practice of Triple Talaq.The abolition of Triple Talaq will contribute to women empowerment and give women the dignity they deserve in our society.”
Ministry of Education
Union HRD Minister announces revision of syllabi by CBSE for classes IX-XII for the academic session 2020-21
Considering the importance of learning achievement, it has been decided to rationalize syllabus up to 30% by retaining the core concepts – HRD Minister
Union Minister for HRD Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has said that looking at the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country and the world, CBSE was advised to revise the curriculum and reduce course load for the students of Class 9th to 12th.Accordingly, CBSE has revised the syllabi for classes IX-XII for the academic session 2020-21
He also informed that a few weeks ago, he invited suggestions from all educationists on the reduction of syllabus on social media by using #SyllabusForStudents2020. ShriNishank informed that we received more than 1.5K suggestions and expressed his gratitude to everyone for the overwhelming response.
The union Minister said that the changes made in the syllabi have been finalised by the respective Course Committees with the approval of the Curriculum Committee and Governing Body of the Board.
The revision of syllabi is a measure taken due to the extraordinary situation prevailing in the country and at different parts of the world. Considering the importance of achieving the level of learning, the syllabus has been rationalised to the extent possible up to 30% by retaining the core concepts.
The Heads of Schools and Teachers have been advised by the Board to ensure that the topics that have been reduced are also explained to the students to the extent required to connect different topics. However the reduced syllabus will not be part of the topics for Internal Assessment and year-end Board Examination. Alternative Academic Calendar and inputs from the NCERT on transacting the curriculum using different strategies shall also be part of the teaching pedagogy in the affiliated schools.
For Elementary Classes  schools shall follow the Alternative Academic Calendar and Learning Outcomes specified by NCERT. The revised syllabus is available on CBSE Academic Website www.cbseacademic.nic.in
Ministry of Earth Sciences
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh says, Samudrayaan Project was launched in September, 2021 under Deep Ocean Mission with a budgetary outlay of Rs 119 Crores
Union Minister of State  Science & Technology; Minister of State  Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh today told the Rajya Sabha that Samudrayaan Project was launched in September, 2021 under Deep Ocean Mission with a budgetary outlay of Rs 119 Crores. Details on the budget allocated, disbursed and spent on the Samudrayaan Project since its launch is Rs 119 cr.
Regarding data on the deep-sea explorations undertaken since the launch of the Project, the Minister informed that during December 2022, Deep Ocean Exploration for Polymetallic Manganese Nodule at Central Indian Ocean basin preliminary trial was conducted at a depth of 5270 m using Autonomous Underwater Vehicle  to acquire geophysical, oceanographic and seabed characteristics.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, MoES/NCPOR has collected comprehensive oceanographic, geophysical, geological, and biological data in the deep-sea regions of mid-ocean ridges in the Indian Ocean to explore potential locations of multi-metal hydrothermal sulphides.The analysis, integration and interpretation of the collected data revealed multiple locales of potential hydrothermal venting and mineralization on the seafloor of the Indian Ocean. Additionally, several new biological species have also been mapped and identified.
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Ministry of Science & Technology
New electronic nose with biodegradable polymer and monomer can detect hydrogen sulphide from sewers
Scientists have developed an electronic nose with biodegradable polymer and monomer that can detect hydrogen sulphide , a poisonous, corrosive, and flammable gas produced from swamps and sewers.
H2S is the primary gas produced from the microbial breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen, and this necessitates easy detection of its emission from sewers and swamps.
Responding to this challenge, scientists from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences , Bangalore, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, in collaboration with their counterparts from Saudi Arabia, have developed an exceptionally sensitive and selective H2S Gas sensor developed by impersonating the neuron responsible for identification of airborne molecules or olfactory receptor neuron .
The impersonation of ORN with the help of an organic electronic device consisting of biodegradable polymer and monomer under Dr. Channabasaveshwar Yelamaggad from CeNS and Prof. Khaled N. Salama, Sensors lab, Advanced Membranes, and Porous Materials Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology , Saudi Arabia has been published in the journals ‘Materials Horizon’ and ‘Advanced Electronic Materials’ recently.
The fabricated sensor consists of a heterostructure consisting of two layers – the top layer a monomer and is realized with a novel chemical tris , which is both porous and contains H2S specific functional groups, and the bottom layer is the active channel layer which plays a key role in altering the current and mobility of charge carriers.
Thus the synergistic combination helps to pre-concentrate the H2S molecules, initiate an acid-base chemical reaction, and thereby brings a change in the majority carriers  of the channel region in the device. The capacitance sensor  developed by the scientists showed an excellent sensitivity in detecting H2S gas with an experimental limit of detection of around 25 parts per billion. It also has high ambient stability of around 8 months without compromising sensing performance.
Publication links:
1. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0MH01420F
2. S. Yuvaraja, B. N. Veerabhadraswamy, S. A. Bhat, T. Vijjapu, Sandeep G. Surya, Mani, C. V. Yelamaggad, K. N. Salama. Tris : A fully integrated highly stable and exceptionally sensitive H2S capacitive sensor Adv. Electron. Mater, 2021 
For more details, Dr. Channabasaveshwar Yelamaggad  can be contacted.
Election Commission
8 Parliamentary Constituencies in Bihar to go to Polls in Phase-7 of General Elections 2019
Over 1 Crore 52 lakh 52 thousand electors to cast vote for 8 Lok Sabha seats
157 candidates including 20 female candidates in fray
15,811 Polling stations in place for smooth conduct of Polls
 of Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Ara, Buxar, Sasaram, Karakat and Jahanabad in Bihar will go to Polls in Phase-7 of General Elections on 19th May.
157 candidates, including 20 female candidates are in fray for these 8 Lok Sabha seats. Nalanda, Patna Sahib, Patliputra, Ara, Buxar, Karakat and Jahanabad PCs are General Seats while Sasaram PC is reserved for SC.
As per the data issued by CEO Bihar, there are total 15252608 voters in these 8 PCs, out of which 8095447 are males, 7156660 females and 501 third gender voters. 15,811 Polling stations have been set up in this phase of elections in Bihar.
Number of Contesting Candidates and Polling Booths in 8 PCs in Bihar going to Polls in Phase-7:
|
|
SN
|
|
Parliamentary Constituencies
|
|
No. of Contesting Candidates
|
|
No. of Polling Booths
|
|
Male
|
|
Female
|
|
Total
|
|
1.
|
|
Nalanda
|
|
32
|
|
3
|
|
35
|
|
2,248
|
|
2.
|
|
Patna Sahib
|
|
15
|
|
3
|
|
18
|
|
2,007
|
|
3.
|
|
Patliputra
|
|
21
|
|
4
|
|
25
|
|
2,050
|
|
4.
|
|
Ara
|
|
11
|
|
0
|
|
11
|
|
2,162
|
|
5.
|
|
Buxar
|
|
15
|
|
0
|
|
15
|
|
1,856
|
|
6.
|
|
Sasaram 
|
|
10
|
|
3
|
|
13
|
|
1,927
|
|
7.
|
|
Karakat
|
|
22
|
|
5
|
|
27
|
|
1,869
|
|
8.
|
|
Jahanabad
|
|
11
|
|
2
|
|
13
|
|
1,692
|
|
Total
|
|
137
|
|
20
|
|
157
|
|
15,811
Ministry of Food Processing Industries
Employment in FPIS
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation releases data on various aspects including employment of registered manufacturing sectors including food processing sector through the Annual Survey of Industries. As per the latest Annual Survey of Industries 2019-20, food processing sector contributed 12.22% of total persons engaged in the registered manufacturing sector. The details of employment in food processing sector for last five years, as per Annual Survey of Industries, are as under:
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|
Year
|
|
Employment 
|
|
2015-16
|
|
17.65
|
|
2016-17
|
|
18.53
|
|
2017-18
|
|
19.33
|
|
2018-19
|
|
20.05
|
|
2019-20
|
|
20.32
Source: Annual Survey of Industries 2015-16,2016-17, 2017-18,2018-19 & 2019-20
 for augmenting processing/preservation capacity, creating off-farm employment, leveraging domestic investment and increasing value addition to the economy. The Production Linked Incentive  Scheme has been launched for creating global food champions through incentivizing investment in the food processing sector and for creating employment. The Pradhan Mantri-Formalisation of Micro Enterprises  scheme is also being implemented since 2020-21 which aims at upgrading/ formalising 2 lakh micro informal units. The government has also permitted 100% foreign direct investment under the automatic route.
The total FDI received in the food processing sector since April 2014 till March 2022 was US$ 5.29 billion. Also 679 completed projects under various component schemes of PMKSY has leveraged Rs. 9511.9 crore of investment as on 30.11.2022.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.