Daily Current Affairs 17 January 2024 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 17 January 2024 focuses on the Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

4000 Crore Infrastructure Projects

Source: PIB
GS II: Infrastructure

Overview

1. News in Brief
2. About recently inaugurated Project

Why in the News?

Prime Minister inaugurated three major infrastructure projects worth more than 4000 Crore Infrastructure Projects in Kochi, Kerala.

News in Brief

• The projects being inaugurated
  • New Dry Dock (NDD) at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL)
  • International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF) of CSL
  • LPG Import Terminal of Indian Oil Corporation Limited at Puthuvypeen, Kochi.
• These major infrastructure projects are in line with the Prime Minister’s vision to transform India’s ports, shipping, and waterways sector, and build capacity and self-sufficiency in it.

About the recently inaugurated Project

New Dry Dock

• Built at a cost of about Rs 1,800 crores at the existing premises of Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi, is a flagship project reflecting New India’s engineering prowess.
• This one-of-a-kind 310-meter-long stepped dry dock, with a width of 75/60 meters, depth of 13 meters and a draught of up to 9.5 metres, is one of the largest marine infrastructures in the region.
• The New Dry Dock project features heavy ground loading which will position India with advanced capabilities to handle strategic assets like future aircraft carriers up to 70,000T displacement as well as large commercial vessels.
• It will eliminating India’s dependency on foreign nations for emergency national requirements.

International Ship Repair Facility (ISRF)

• The project built at a cost of about Rs 970 crores has a ship lift system with a capacity of 6000T, a transfer system, six workstations and a berth of approximately 1,400 metres which can accommodate 7 vessels of 130-metre length simultaneously.
• The ISRF will modernise and expand the existing ship repair capabilities of CSL and will be a step towards transforming Kochi into a global ship repair hub.

Indian Oil’s LPG Import Terminal

• Built at the cost of about Rs 1,236 crores boasts state-of-the-art facilities.
• With a 15400 MT storage capacity, the terminal will ensure a steady supply of LPG for millions of households and businesses in the region.
• This project will further strengthen India’s efforts towards ensuring accessible & affordable energy for all.

Prelims

India Post Payments Bank

• Launched: 2018.
• Governed by: Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• It was launched with 100% equity owned by the Government of India.
• It is a payments bank of the Indian postal department.
• It works through a network of post offices and nearly 4 lakh postmen.

• It accepts deposits and offers remittance services, mobile banking, and third-party fund transfers.
• It offers 3 types of saving accounts:
  • Regular Account – Safal,
  • Basic Savings Bank Deposit Account (BSBDA) – Sugam and
  • BSBDA Small – Saral
• The maximum limit on deposits for current and savings accounts is Rs 1 lakh.
• The bank offers a 4% interest rate on savings accounts.
• They can issue debit cards and ATM cards.
• It cannot issue credit cards.
• It cannot loan money.

Conjoined silverline

• Scientific Name: Cigaritis conjuncta.
• It is endemic to mid-elevation evergreen forests of the Western Ghats.
• Conjoined Silverline has shiny wing patterns size of a one-rupee coin
• It has been identified in Karnataka’s Kodagu district.
• This is the first such find in India’s Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot since the 1970s.
• The species was first sighted in 2008.

Similipal Kai chutney

• Made with red weaver ants is a traditional delicacy of the tribals in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.
• The ants are found in the forests of Mayurbhanj.
• It is rich in medicinal and nutritional value.
• The chutney is believed to be a good source of nutrients like protein, calcium, zinc, vitamin B-12, iron, magnesium, potassium, etc
• Believe that its consumption helps boost immunity and prevents diseases.

PM-eBus Sewa Scheme

• Launched: 2023.
• Objective: to give a push to the slow adoption of e-buses in public transport.
• Under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme, 10,000 e-buses will be deployed across cities in the country.
• It will include all the capital cities of the ‘Union Territories, North Eastern Region, and Hill States’.
• City bus operations managed through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
• Bus services supported for 10 years.
• Two segments of the scheme: Augmenting the city bus services and Associated Infrastructure, and Green Urban Mobility initiatives.

One Vehicle One FastTag

• Launched by: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
• Aim:  To improve the efficiency of the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system and provide seamless movement at the Toll Plazas.
• Linking one FASTag to one vehicle helps track transactions

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