State Finance Commission of Odisha Recommends Rs 23,848 crore for PRIs and ULBs in the state

Over the period of next six financial year (2020-21 to 2025-26), an amount of Rs 23,848 crore for the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the state of Odisha has been recommended by the 5^th State Finance Commission of Odisha on 7^th July 2020.

• These funds allocated will be for strengthening the ULBs and PRIs in the state financially so that various developmental projects and maintenance of existing assets can be taken up by these institutes and bodies.
• Projects on which the funds will be invested by PRIs and ULBs: drainage networks, sanitation, drinking water, solid waste management, maintenance of public Health Sub Centers and Anganwadis, construction of roads, etc.

Breakdown of the Rs 23,848 crore funds

• Rs 15,715.60 crore for Panchayat Raj Institutions
• Rs 8,132.52 crore for Urban Local Bodies
• These funds will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of Panchayati Raj Institutions (Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, and Zilla Parishads) by using ‘PRIA Soft’- Panchayati Raj Institutions Accounting Software. PRIA Soft for the fund transfer will be integrated with the IFMS- Integrated Financial Management System.
• This Funds to be transferred in two tranches in a financial year: The first tranche will be released in the months on May-June while in the month of October-November the second tranche will be released. 
• For the second tranche to be released, the ULBs and PRIs will have to complete 30 percent of the work they had taken up under the first tranche provided in the financial year.

United States submits notice to U.N Secretary-General to withdraw from WHO by 6th July 2021

The formal notification to the United States Congress was provided on 7^th July 2020 by President Donald Trump-led Administration on the decision of ending the United States relations with the World Health Organization (WHO: Specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for public health globally).

• As per the notification, the United States Government has submitted its notice to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to withdraw from the WHO by the 6^th of July 2021.
• The withdrawal of membership from the WHO will be a yearlong process as several factors are likely to come up in between in which the Donald Trump-led administration won’t have control. 
• One such factor is the Presidential Elections in November 2020, if Trump loses and Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden is elected as the President of United States then United States will remain as a member of the WHO as Joe Biden has publically announced that he would have the United States rejoin WHO if elected as the President.

Background

• Citing the global outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic, the United States President on 18^th May 2020 has threatened to freeze the fundings of the WHO and also reconsider United States Membership with the organization as he accused the WHO of repeated missteps taken by them in handling the pandemic.
• On 29^th May 2020, Donald Trump announced that the funding to the WHO from the United States will be halted as he accused China of having entire control over the WHO.
• The United States is the largest contributor to the annual budget of the WHO, over the current two years budget period- 15 percent of the WHO’s total funding was made by the United States. 
• USD 450 million is being contributed by the United States in a year.

8th July: Rythu Dinotsavam (Farmer’s Day) in Andhra Pradesh

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The birth anniversary of Former and the 14^th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy is celebrated as Rythu Dinotsavam meaning Farmer’s Day.

The day was first celebrated in 2019 when the current Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy issued a government order designating the day as Farmer’s Day in Andhra Pradesh.

Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy

• Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy was elected as a member of Lok Sabha for 4 consecutive terms. 
• He served as the full term Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from 2004 to 2009 and was re-elected as the Chief Minister in the 2009 Assembly Election. 
• On 2^nd September 2009, Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy died in a helicopter crash. In his career, he had never lost in an election.
• The former Chief Minister is known for various reforms that have made a long-lasting transformational impact on the agricultural and health sector of the state, as on the first day of his tenure in 2004, he launched a campaign project under which free electricity was provided to the farmers in the state.
• Some of the projects and reforms made by Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy during his tenure are Jalayagnam water management program: To bring 8.2 million acres of land under irrigation, Indiramma Illu: housing for rural poor, Pavala Vaddi program: to encourage small business and entrepreneurship of rural women by providing loan at a subsidized rate, 108 and 104 helpline services were first introduced in the state under his tenure, etc.

2020 Farmer’s Day Celebrations

• Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the State Government will be launching new 412 ambulances in the state and 656 new mobile medical units.

Injeti Srinivas appointed as the 1st Chairman of IFSCA

Retired  1983 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Odisha Cadre- Injeti Srinivas has been appointed as the 1^st Chairman of the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) on 6^th July 2020.

• Injeti Srinivas has retired as the Secretary of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 31^st May 2020. 
• He has been appointed for a period of three years as the Chairman of International Financial Services Centre Authority.

International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA)

• During the winter session of the Parliament in 2019, on 12^th December the bill to set up a unified authority that will be regulating the financial activities across all the International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in the country was passed by the parliament.
• On 27^th April 2020, through a notification by the Union Ministry of Finance, the International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA) was established. 
• The notification also stated that the headquarter of the IFSCA will be in Gujarat’s capital city Gandhinagar (GIFT City: Gujarat International Finance Tec-City is the first IFSC of India which is also located at Gandhinagar).
• IFSCA will consist of a Chairman, and one member will be nominated by each of the regulators under the IFSCA Act 2019 (SEBI, RBI, IRDAI etc are the regulators). 
• Apart from this, there will also be two members of the Central Government in IFSCA.

First of its Kind Project in the World Commissioned by Indian Railways in collaboration with BHEL

Under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Scheme, the largest power generation equipment manufacturer in India- Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) had undertaken a project with the Indian Railways for setting up a 1.7 MWp (megawatt peak) solar energy project at the Madhya Pradesh’s Bina district that will connect directly to the Overhead Traction System of the Indian Railways. The solar power project between the Indian Railways and BHEL was signed on 9^th October 2019.

• The solar power project was completed as of 6^th July 2020 and is currently under extensive testing and trial. 
• The solar power project is expected to be commissioned with 15 days. 
• The Solar Power Project is the first solar power plant in the world in which the power generated from the plant will be directly fed to the Overhead Traction System of the Railways.

Challenges

• The major challenge in the project was that the Indian Railways use single phase 25 kV AC (Alternating Current) in its Overhead Traction System to power the locomotives, while the Solar Panels at the Solar Power Plant produces DC (Direct Current) Power.  
• Hence the DC power from the Solar Panels had to be converted into AC power.
• High Capacity Inverters with single-phase output were installed for converting DC into AC power. 
• To directly feed power to the TSS (Traction Sub Station of the Indian Railways), through the transformer the 25 kV AC is being stepped up from the inverters.

Benefits of the Project

• The Solar Power Plant will save Rs 1.37 crore for the Indian Railways in a year.  
• Approx 25 lakh units of energy every year will be produced by the Solar Power Plant for the Indian Railway.

‘Golden Birdwing’ dethrones ‘Southern Birdwing’ to become the largest Butterfly in India

In 1932, British Army officer Brigadier William Harry Evans (also a Lepidopterist: a person who studies or collects butterflies and moths) had recorded a Southern Birdwing (Troides minos) butterfly with 190 mm. Since then, for the last 88 years, Southern Birdwing butterfly is considered the largest butterfly in India. Brigadier Evans measured the butterfly from the centre of the thorax to the tip of forewing apex, the outcome of measurement was then doubled to obtain the exact measurement.

• Recently, new measurements of a Himalayan butterfly named ‘Golden Birdwing (Troides Aeacus)’ and 24 other species of butterfly were published in the BIONOTES (It is a quarterly newsletter that published Research Notes and News related to various aspects of life forms). 
• This new measurement study was done by Peter Smetacek (from Butterfly Research Centre in Nainital districts’ Bhimtal town) and Shistee Panthee (from University of Chinese Academy of Science in China’s Yunnan Province).
• As per the study, based on the length of wingspan, Golden Birdwing is the largest butterfly in India.

Highlights from the new Measurements found by the Study

• The female species of the Golden Birdwing had a wingspan of 194 mm that is 4 mm larger than that of the Southern Birdwing with 190 mm wingspan.
• The largest wingspan in the male species of the Golden Birdwing was recorded during the study was of 106 mm.
• The female Golden Birdwing with 194 mm wingspan was recorded at Uttarakhand’s  Pithoragarh district’s Didihat town, while the male Golden Birdwing with 106 mm wingspan was recorded at the Wankhar Butterfly Museum (in Shillong).

World Bank Group approves USD 400 million for SNGRBP

Last week the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank Group has approved a loan of USD 400 million for the rejuvenation of the Ganga River under the NAMAMI Gange Program of the Government of India. The loan approved by the World Bank Group is for strengthening the river basin.

• Back in 2015, the World Bank Group has approved USD 1 billion for the First National River Ganga Basin Project. 
• The loan approved for USD 400 million is for the Second National River Ganga Basin Project (SNGRBP).

Financing for the Project

• Lending arm of the World Bank Group- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will be sanctioning the loan amount. 
• USD 381 million is the loan amount that will be sanctioned by IBRD, while USD 19 million is for the IBRD Payment Guarantee for the loan amount. 
• The Guarantee expiry date is 18 years for the date of effectiveness. 
• Including a grace period of 5 years, the loan amount has a maturity of 18.5 years.

Objectives of SNGRBP

• Expand the sewage treatment infrastructure to more cities in the Ganga Basin
• In the long term, the assets related to sewage treatment is operated and maintained effectively
• Help develop State-of-the-art tools for National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) for effective management of the riverfront
• To help control pollution discharge, sewage networks and treatment plants will be set up in select cities across the Ganga Basin
• New infrastructure projects will be developed under the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) to ensure long term effectiveness and are well maintained