10-02-23 Daily-Kerala-KPSC Current Affairs

Though the budget presented by finance minister K N Balagopal did not announce any major IT projects, all major IT parks in the state managed to get fund allocation for development works. This will help make the IT corridor project announced in the previous budget a reality.

An amount of Rs 26. 60cr has been earmarked for developmental activities of Technopark in Thiruvananthapuram, Rs 35. 75cr for the development of Infopark, Kochi and Rs 12. 83cr for Cyber Park, Kozhikode.

A total of Rs 559cr has been earmarked for the IT sector, in the budget. Among this, Rs 127. 37cr has been provided forKeralaState Information Technology Mission and Rs 53cr for State Data Centre.

Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON) project got Rs 100cr while Rs 2cr was earmarked for providing free household Internet connection under K-FON project to 70,000 eligible BPL families. For this, 500 families will be identified in each assembly constituency.

The government on Thursday, February 9, 2023, saidlithium reserveshave been found for the first time in the country in Jammu and Kashmir.

Lithium is a non-ferrous Metal and is one of thekey components in EV batteries.

Upon exploration by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), lithium reserves have been found in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Currently, India is import-dependent for many Minerals like lithium, nickel and cobalt.

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) is an umbrella scheme, consisting of two major components being implemented by this Ministry, namely, Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP), and Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP). HKKP, in turn, consists of four sub-components: (i) Command Area Development & Water Management (CAD&WM); (ii) Surface Minor Irrigation (SMI); (iii) Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of Water Bodies; and (iv) Ground Water (GW) Development. In 2016, with launch of revised AIBP format, CAD&WM sub-component of HKKP was taken up for pari passu implementation with AIBP.

In addition, PMKSY consists of two other components implemented by other Ministries. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) component was being implemented by Department of <a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under the umbrella of PMKSY, which is now being implemented separately. Further, Watershed Development component (WDC) of PMKSY is being implemented by Department of Land Resources.

India has been ranked as the fifth-best country in the world when it comes to its accreditation system according to recently released Global Quality Index (GQII) 2021. The ranking is based on the 184 economies infrastructure quality. The countrys overall ranking is still 10th in the GQII index.

In terms of metrology and standardization, India was ranked 21st and ninth, respectively, in the world. The report was released in December 2022.

The Quality Council of India (QCI) stated that it is proud to be acknowledged as one of the worlds top five accreditation systems. It noted that it would help pave the way for collaborations that aim to improve the quality of infrastructure.

Quality Infrastructure is a vital component of the international trade community. It provides various Services such as conformity assessment and metrology, which help ensure the safety and reliability between trading partners.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a new federal to build and commercialise the worlds first photonic-based, fault-tolerantquantumcomputer. According to a news release from the Prime Minsters website, the investment of 40 million Canadian dollars ($32 million) will enable Xanadu Quantum Technologies Inc., a Toronto-based Canadian quantum computing company, to develop thequantumcomputer which will have the potential to provide world leading capabilities to help solve complex data problems and could be used in a variety of sectors such as finance, transportation, environmental modelling, and Health.

Supported through the governments Strategic Innovation Fund, this project of 177.8 million Canadian dollars ($142 million) is expected to create 530 new highly skilled positions in the high-tech and quantum computing fields.

The United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, designated the historic center of Odesa as a World Heritage Site and categorized it as being in danger during a committee meeting in Paris. It is in recognition of the historical significance of a Black Sea port that Russia has pounded with missiles as it seeks to retake Ukraine.

Odesa has been dubbed the intercultural capital of Ukraine by the citys mayor, Gennadiy Trukhanov, making it a representation of Ukrainian identity.