10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #4 August 5, 2019

Explanation: Public housing programme in the country started with the rehabilitation of refugees immediately after independence and since then, it has been a major focus area of the Government as an instrument of poverty alleviation. Rural housing programme,as an independent programme, started with Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) in January 1996. Although IAY addressed the housing needs in the rural areas, certain gaps were identified during the concurrent evaluations and the performance Audit by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in 2014. These gaps, i.e. nonassessment of housing The shortage, lack of transparency in selection of beneficiaries, low the quality of the house and lack of technical supervision, lack convergence, loans not availed by beneficiaries and weak the mechanism for monitoring was limiting the impact and outcomes of the programme. To address these gaps in the rural housing program and in view of Government’s commitment to providing “Housing for All’’ by the scheme 2022, the IAY has been re-structured into Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana –Gramin (PMAY-G) w.e.f. 1st April 2016.
PMAY-G aims at providing a pucca house, with basic amenities, to all houseless householder and those households living in kutcha and dilapidated house, by 2022. The immediate the objective is to cover 1.00 crore household living in kutcha house/dilapidated house in three years from 2016-17 to 2018- 19.The minimum size of the house has been increased to 25 sq.mt (from20sq.mt) with a hygienic cooking space. The unit assistance has been increased from Rs. 70,000 to Rs. 1.20 lakh in plain and from Rs75,000 to Rs 1.30 lakh in hilly states, difficult areas and IAP district. The beneficiary is entitled to 90.95 person day of unskilled labour from MGNREGS. The assistance for construction of toilet shall be leveraged though convergence with SBM-G, MGNREGS or any other dedicated the source of funding. Convergence for piped drinking water, electricity connection, LPG gas connection etc. different Government programmers are also to be attempted.

Explanation: India’s first Disaster Risk Index was released in June 2018. The index prepared by the Home Ministry in association with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is now in the form of a draft report. According to which Maharashtra is the most vulnerable state in India i.e. is at top position. The disaster index is currently in form of a draft, which is yet to be officially released by the Centre. The list was prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs in coordination with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Maharashtra is followed by West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh respectively. While Delhi is at ‘most risk’ among Union Territories. The index gauges potential hazards and disasters across the 640 districts. It has been ranked on the basis of the disadvantages of population, animal, agriculture and environment against the disasters. According to the index in the recent past, some states like Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Tripura, and Himachal Pradesh have taken significant steps in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Among districts, Maharashtra’s Pune tops the list with a vulnerability factor of 9.48 on a scale of 10.

Explanation: The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has issued notification no GSR 547(E) dated 1st August 2019, exempting the armoured and other specialised vehicles of Indian armed forces and paramilitary forces from the new stringent vehicular emission norms (BS-VI) which are set to take effect from 1st April, 2020. The Ministry has also granted exemption to these vehicles from BS-IV compliance.
The exemption has been granted because these vehicles operate in remote and inhospitable terrains with most challenging operational and environmental conditions.Due to security challenges and requirements of specialized operations, the development of suitable engine compliant with the above norms would require considerable time. Further, it is difficult to maintain ideal transportation and storage conditions of fuel in these conditions.

Explanation: Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, recently announced that she will cross the Atlantic Ocean by boat to attend a United Nations global warming summit in New York. She does not believe in flying in airplanes, for the obvious reason that air travel is a contributor to the carbon emissions problem.

Explanation: The mid nineties and the subsequent decade saw much international debate & discussion around Disaster Response & Preparedness. Some of the notable and more impactful ones were the Yokohama Strategy Plan (1994) & the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005), adopted by the UN. The Sendai Framework is a 15year, voluntary, non-binding agreement which recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.